Organisational Design and Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Authoritative Design and Change - Essay Example Also, the system clarifies of the decisions and the plans an association makes and assessment is simpler. For example, if an organization sought after a procedure before, the official can take a gander at the outcome against the set structure to see whether the arrangement worked or not. This is advantageous in light of the fact that it gives indispensable data on deals (Hamel, n.d.). Thirdly, through the SWOT apparatus, the choice made gets noticeable all through all degree of the board. A SWOT investigation which sets up organisation’s qualities and shortcomings along with fringe dangers and possibilities it faces. These modalities assist officials with producing methodologies to use qualities or reduce shortcomings to tear the chance and disregard dangers (Eisenhardt, n.d). Then again, adherence to a predefined system empowers administrators, first to assemble a common aggregate instinct that enlarges the limit of the top organization group to spot dangers and opportunity all the more quickly and all the more definitely. It additionally animates fast clash to propel the nature of vital judgment without giving up impressive time and keeping up taught quickness to oblige the choice course to a very much coordinated end. Strategically, the assessment forced on ranchers in the nations delivering the espresso basically implies that as by 2013, the Starbucks follows through on an enormous cost for all the espresso they get. In this way, any burden or changes in tax assessment levels in the organization are totally passed to the purchasers. For example, if different nations income specialists force a duty it not just results in loss of productivity for Starbucks, yet in addition gigantic salary moves can turn ambiguous with value. Financial: An increment in loan costs crashes Starbucks extension techniques in this way bringing about declining deals for Starbucks and deals of their providers. Subsequently, if the country where Starbucks of found is encountering eases back development,

Balanced Scorecard: Traditional Performance Measurement

Adjusted Scorecard Traditional Performance Measurement Historically, the estimation framework for business has been money related. Exercises of organizations were estimated and checked through the conventional budgetary bookkeeping model. Notwithstanding, the broad, even selective utilization of budgetary estimations in business has been censured principally on the grounds that an overemphasis on accomplishing and keeping up momentary money related outcomes can make organizations overinvest in present moment fixes and to underinvest in long haul esteem creation, especially in the impalpable and scholarly resources that produce future development. For sure, the Harvard Business School Council on Competitiveness venture in 1992 recognized the accompanying precise contrasts between speculations made by U. S. partnerships and those made in Japan and Germany: The U. S. framework is less strong of long haul corporate speculation on account of the overemphasis on improving momentary comes back to impact current offer costs. The U. S. ystem favors those types of speculation for which returns are most promptly quantifiable; this prompts underinvestment in impalpable resources †item and procedure advancement, representative aptitudes, consumer loyalty †whose momentary returns are increasingly hard to quantify. Definitely, as chiefs are constrained to deliverconsistent and great momentary budgetary execution, exchange offs are made that limit the quest for interests in development openings. Surprisingly more dreadful, the weight for transient money related execution can make organizations decrease spending on new item advancement, process enhancements, human asset improvement, data innovation, information bases, and frameworks just as client and market improvement. In the short run, the monetary bookkeeping model reports these spending reductions as increments in announced pay, in any event, when decreases have torn up a company’s supply of assetsand its capacities for making future financial worth. On the other hand, an organization could boost momentary money related outcomes by abusing clients through significant expenses or lower administration. In the short run, these activities upgrade announced gainfulness, yet the absence of client steadfastness and fulfillment will leave the organization profoundly powerless against serious advances. The worry with the overemphasis on money related execution measures has additionally penetrated the U. S. rofessional relationship of open bookkeepers as a significant level unique board on monetary revealing of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants strengthened worries with select dependence on money related detailing for estimating business execution: â€Å"Users center around the future while today’s business announcing centers around the past. Despite the fact that data about the past is a valuable pointer of future execution, clients additionally need forward-looking data. The advisory group recognized the sign ificance of giving an account of how well organizations are making an incentive for the future, and prescribed connecting business execution answering to management’s key vision: â€Å"Many clients need to see an organization through the eyes of the board to assist them with understanding management’s point of view and foresee where the executives will lead the organization. † It proceeded to state that nonfinancial estimation must assume a key job: â€Å"Management ought to unveil the monetary and nonfinancial estimations it utilizes in dealing with the business that evaluate the impacts of key exercises and occasions. The council finished up by suggesting that organizations embrace a more â€Å"balanced† and forward-looking methodology: To meet users’ evolving needs, business announcing must: Provide more data about plans, openings, dangers and vulnerabilities Focus more on the variables that make longer-term esteem, including nonfinancial estim ates showing how key business forms are performing Origins of the Balanced Scorecard By the mid-1990s other authoritative scholars had taken up Kaplan and Norton’s work and adjusted the structure strategy for adjusted scorecards, resolving early imperfections. Kaplan and Norton distributed their thoughts in full in The Balanced Scorecard: Translating Strategy enthusiastically in 1996 and it turned into a business hit. The Balanced Scorecard Each point of view of the Balanced Scorecard incorporates destinations, proportions of those goals, target estimations of those measures, and activities, characterized as follows: Measures †the discernible parameters that will be utilized to quantify progress toward arriving at the goal. For instance, the goal of productive development may be estimated by development in net edge. Targets †the particular objective qualities looked for every one of the measures, for instance, +2% development in net edge. Activities †activity projects to be started so as to meet the goal and arrive at the objective. The structure for the reasonable scorecard is shown underneath: Figure 1: Balanced Scorecard Framework {draw:frame} As can be seen from the chart, the targets and proportions of the scorecard are gotten from an organization’s vision and procedure. The decent scorecard ought to decipher a business unit’s crucial technique into substantial destinations and measures. The measures speak to a balancebetween outer measures for investors and clients, and inner measures if basic business procedures, development, and learning and development. The measures are likewise balancedbetween the result measures †the outcomes from past endeavors †and the measures that drive future execution. In conclusion, the scorecard is balancedbetween targets, handily evaluated result measures and emotional, to some degree critical, execution drivers of the result measures. Each measure chose ought to be a piece of a connection of circumstances and logical results connections that come full circle in improving money related execution. The scorecard should recount to the tale of the procedure, beginning with the since quite a while ago run budgetary targets, and afterward connecting them to the arrangement of moves that must be made with monetary procedures, clients, inward procedures, lastly representatives and framework to convey the ideal since a long time ago run financial execution. Budgetary Perspective Table 1: Stages of a Business’s Life Cycle Table 2: Measuring Strategic Financial Themes Income development and blend allude to extending item and administration contributions, arriving at new clients and markets, changing the item and administration blend toward higher-esteem included contributions, and repricing items and administrations. The cost decrease and profitability target alludes to endeavors to bring down the immediate expenses of items and administrations, diminish circuitous expenses, and offer regular assets with different specialty units. For the benefit usage subject, supervisors endeavor to lessen the working capital levels required to help a given volume and blend of business. They likewise endeavor to acquire more prominent usage of their fixed resource base, by guiding new business to assets at present not used to limit, utilizing rare assets all the more effectively, and discarding resources that give lacking profits for their fairly estimated worth. Every one of these activities empower the specialty unit to build the profits earned on its money related and physical resources. Client Perspective The client point of view tends to the topic of how the firm is seen by its clients and how well the firm is serving its focused on clients so as to meet the monetary destinations. In the client point of view of the decent scorecard, directors recognize the client and market portions in which the specialty unit will contend and the proportions of the business unit’s execution in these focused on fragments. These fragments speak to the sources that will convey the income part of the company’s budgetary goals. The client point of view empowers organizations to adjust their center or conventional result measures to focused clients and market portions. This center estimation gathering of results is nonexclusive over a wide range of associations, and is outlined in the accompanying chart: Figure 2: The Customer Perspective †Core Measures {draw:frame} These result measures speak to the objectives for companies’ promoting, operational, coordinations, and item and administration advancement forms. Be that as it may, these result measures have a portion of the deformities of conventional money related measures in that they are slacking measures †representatives won't realize how well they are getting along with consumer loyalty or client maintenance until it is past the point where it is possible to influence the result. Likewise, the measures don't impart what representatives ought to do in their everyday exercises to accomplish the ideal results. Due to these, chiefs should likewise distinguish what clients in focused fragments esteem and pick the offer they will convey to these clients. The fragment explicit drivers of center client results speak to those variables that are basic for clients to change to or stay faithful to their providers. These characteristics are delineated in the Figure 3 underneath: Figure 3: The Customer Value Proposition {draw:g} {draw:frame} The client point of view empowers specialty unit chiefs to express the client and market-based procedure that will convey predominant future budgetary returns. Subsequently, the client viewpoint of the scorecard deciphers an organization’s crucial methodology into explicit destinations about focused clients and market fragments that can be imparted all through the association. Inside Business Process Perspective Inside business process destinations address the topic of which procedures are generally basic for fulfilling clients and investors. These are the procedures where the firm should focus its endeavors to exceed expectations. Targets and measures for this point of view are ordinarily evolved in the wake of detailing destinations and measures for the monetary and client viewpoints to empower organizations

Shortening Your List of Stressors

Shortening Your List of Stressors Stress Management Management Techniques Print Shortening Your List of Stressors By Elizabeth Scott, MS twitter Elizabeth Scott, MS, is a wellness coach specializing in stress management and quality of life, and the author of 8 Keys to Stress Management. Learn about our editorial policy Elizabeth Scott, MS Updated on January 30, 2020 How Stress Impacts Your Health Overview Signs of Burnout Stress and Weight Gain Benefits of Exercise Stress Reduction Tips Self-Care Practices Mindful Living RelaxFoto.de / Getty Images If the list of stressors in your life is longer than youd like (and whose isnt?) its important to find a way to shorten that list. One simple route to a less stressed lifestyle is to create an actual list of stressors in your life, known as tolerations, prioritize the tolerations according to how simple they would be to eliminate or how much frustration they are currently causing and eliminate these stressors in a way that brings the highest payoff. You should learn  how to identify these tolerations in your life, prioritize or rank these stressors, and then move on to the following strategies for ridding yourself of the stressors on your list, freeing yourself up for a less stressed lifestyle. Get Rid of the Simple Stressors As you go through your list of tolerations, notice the items that are easy to take care of. You may be able to drastically reduce the number of tolerations in your life by tackling the easy-to-eliminate tolerations as soon as possible. Simple-to-fix tolerations might be a cluttered car, a burned-out light bulb, an annoying co-worker who could easily be avoided, or anything that can be fixed simply and without much stress. Look at all the items on your list that you’ve highlighted (if you’ve completed this toleration ranking exercise), and tackle a few today. Most likely, you’ll find an energy boost from marking those items off your list, and you can use that motivation to shorten your list more tomorrow and in the coming weeks. Make a Plan to Eliminate the Costliest Tolerations Certain items on your list of stressors are more draining than others. As you work on eliminating your tolerations, its wise to focus your attention on tolerations that cost you the most in terms of time, money, and energy. This is a good idea for obvious reasons and some less-obvious reasons. Strategically speaking, cutting out these tolerations first can compel us to more easily eliminate other tolerations in our lives. The most draining stressors and tolerations drag us down the most, and eliminating such drains on our resources can feel better than eliminating the drains that don’t affect us as much. For example, cutting out money-draining toleration (like weather-sealing a door to save on electricity) leaves more money available to use as a resource in eliminating other tolerations (like hiring a housekeeper to help with the messy kitchen). Cutting out energy-draining tolerations (like creating a better filing system at work so you don’t spend as much time searching for what you need) can leave you with more energy to tackle other tolerations, or be more productive at work. Time saved by streamlining your schedule can be devoted to creating an even more smooth-running routine. The beauty of taking these costly tolerations is that they create their own forward momentum. Create Life Structures As you’re minimizing some tolerations and eliminating others, you may find that different lifestyle changes can help with the management of your tolerations, and lifestyle structures can help with these lifestyle changes. Lifestyle structures are systems we have in our lives that can streamline different tasks. For example, if several of your tolerations center around messes in your house, instituting a regular cleaning day or hiring a housekeeper can take care of these tolerations. If you have tolerations in your health, working with a nutritionist or trainer can provide the structures you need. Electronic structures can help minimize workload tolerations. Structures take much of the work out of getting tasks done, which can cut down on the stress of having so many loose items cluttering up a to-do list. Identifying tolerations that can be eliminated or managed with structures, and instituting those structures, can be an activity that you do once, and it can eliminate untold stress in the future. As you whittle down your list of stressors and tolerations, you should feel more energy and less stress in your life. Be sure to use this positive momentum to make even more healthy changes.

The Ethical Practices in theLong-Term Care Facility Free Essay Example, 2000 words

The two cornerstones of the ethical practices in the long-term care facility are providing excellent patient care along with avoidance of any harmful incident. The healthcare management and professional staff have to make sure that the business activities are conducted in an appropriate manner and every challenge has to be properly addressed. Although the ethical dilemmas modify with the passage of time but the concerned authorities have to make sure that they allocate sufficient resources for resolving them (Foglia et al. , 2009). The two major ethical dilemmas faced by the long-term facility are as follows: Balancing profit between patient care and charity care As the long-term care facilities exist to meet the demands of the patients, it is vital for the management to make sure that the profit is properly allocated. The long-term care institution has to make sure that the patients are provided with superior quality services without making any compromise on their services. Even i t has to make a valuable contribution to society by helping charitable organizations. This long-term care organization will be making a worthwhile addition in society by providing a facility to old people for meeting their medical requirements. The staff members will have to make sure that they conduct their duties with integrity and honesty. We will write a custom essay sample on The Ethical Practices in theLong-Term Care Facility or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page

The Pros and Cons of Fracking Essay - 1352 Words

In todays global economy, energy is one of the most crucial and sought after commodities. Who supplies it and how much they supply determines how much influence they have over other countries as well as the global economy. This is why hydraulic fracturing is currently such an important and controversial topic in the United States. Hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as fracking or hydrofracturing, is the process of using pressurized liquids to fracture rocks and release hydrocarbons such as shale gas, which burns more efficiently than coal. This booming process of energy production provides a much needed economic boost, creating jobs and providing gas energy for Americans. The efficiently burning shale gas reduces carbon†¦show more content†¦This is even more important because so many Americans lost their jobs as oil and gas production, with the number of employees in oil and gas with the number of employees in oil and gas extraction shrinking by over 50 percent to 118 ,400 in 2003 (Hassett and Mathur). Americans were losing jobs in gas production starting from the early twenty-first century due to the fact that easily tapped oil reserves grew scarcer and domestic oil production declined, until improvements in fracking for shale gas created more jobs(Hassett and Mathur). The jobs fracking creates is much needed to boost the sagging American economy, but even more important to the economy is the gas produced. Natural gases are the most important source of energy in the modern world of technology and electricity production, which makes the skyrocketing gas production in the U.S. due to hydraulic fracturing incredibly valuable in terms of global trade and economy. The United States has always been reliant on the Middle East and other European and Asian countries for energy, but is very quickly becoming energy independent. By 2020, the Energy Information Administration predicts that the USA will become a net exporter of natural gas, reaching energy i ndependence from other countries and starting to export gas to provide revenue and pay off debts (Hassett and Mathur). EvenShow MoreRelatedFracking (Pro-Con)1159 Words   |  5 Pagesis a nightmare. Often the word ‘fracking’ itself raises a lot of concerns, protests, and controversies. Environmentalists and the general public who are not aware of the facts and statistics about fracking, what’s called the bigger picture, often tend to think that fracking is a major concern and its impact on environment and in the sector of public health is disturbing. While it is the responsibility of the citizens to analyze and understand the reality of fracking, it is also the duty of the governmentRead MoreThe Environmental And Economic Pros And Cons Of Hydraulic Fracking2962 Words   |  12 Pages The Environmental and Economic Pros and Cons of Hydraulic Fracking Figure 1 – Drilling on the Pinedale Anticline (Rocco 2013) Submitted to: Dr. Judy Sneller Professor of English Humanities Department South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Submitted by: Molly Nelson December 3, 2014 â€Æ' TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF ILLUSTRATIONS†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.3 ABSTRACT†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..4 INTRODUCTION†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.5 BACKGROUND†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Read MoreThe Effects Of Fracking On The Environment1267 Words   |  6 Pagesknown as fracking by most people. First let me explain what this process involves and how it works. Fracking involves using a 99.5% sand, water, and special chemical additive to help bore through rock to release the natural gas so it can be harvested (Loki (2015)). It is this process that has caused environmental concerns. While there are some pros and cons with this process we need to look both of them. Also, multiple scientists have started to showed that it is quite possible that the pros do notRead MoreFracking : Hydraulic Fracturing ( Fracking ) Essay1505 Words   |  7 PagesAlqatami Hydraulic Fracturing Fracking process is a type of drilling water beneath the earth surface in order to access to natural gas and oil. A huge drill is used to pass through many layers of earth and rock that lie between us as the natural gas. The mixture is water, sand and certain chemicals forced into the rock at high pressure in order to force the gas out to where they can collect it. The drill can be driven into the earth either vertically or horizontally. Fracking began as an experiment inRead MoreFracking : Is It Worth The Risk?961 Words   |  4 Pagesto be on â€Å"environmental and economic issues† which we’re facing in our home countries, I decided to do mine on fracking. I’m sure most of us in the US have heard about fracking. There are pros and cons to it, the pro side is that it taps into the natural gas within the earth and provides a natural resource. This, in turn, will allow the US to reduce their reliance on foreign oil. The con side is what it is said to be doing to the earth. The technology isn’t new and neither is the knowledge that thereRead MoreInternational Energy Resources And Prices1259 Words   |  6 Pagesbelieve to be the most important few pros and cons of expanding natural gas production through hydraulic fracturing? Expanding natural gas production will have consequences on the environment. Starting with, it is admitted that hydraulic fracturing enables a decrease in coal burning compensated by a higher quantity of gas. By that, the major pro will be a cleaner air and better quality, reducing the number of deaths caused by poor quality air. The con of fracking for health problems is that air qualityRead MoreFracking : A Modern Society Essay1645 Words   |  7 Pagesuse of the Earth’s natural resources, is at the top of the list of contested subjects, with hoards of advocates and opponents on either side. One of the newest methods of natural gas energy production is a process called Hydraulic Fracturing, or fracking. This process uses large drills to create tunnels down into the earth’s crust and then introduces thousands of gallons of water and various chemicals to create horizontal cracks. Sands are pumped down next to hold the cracks open. Through these cracksRead MoreShale Gas Good for America964 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction Shale gas is a natural gas that is found deep in the earth’s crust. This type of natural gas usually forms in shale deposits and can be released with a drilling technique known as fracking. Shale gas has become the most important source of natural gas in the United States. Scientist and researchers have always known of shale gas, but none have had the technologies to reach it till now. In early 2000, shale gas compensated for one percent of the United States supply of natural gas resourcesRead MoreNatural Gas Is A Non Renewable Resource1143 Words   |  5 PagesHydraulic Fracturing, otherwise known as ‘fracking’. Part of the fracking procedure is that a high water pressure is sent through tubes and pipes under water being forced onto different rocks. This water, however, contains several harmful chemicals that damage the organisms and animals and their habitats under water. Once the rock is cracked/ fractured, the oil and gas is carried back up the pipes. The ai r is also polluted in this procedure as the findings of the fracking process are relocated into eitherRead MoreHydraulic Fracturing or Fracking1319 Words   |  5 PagesResearch Paper: Fracking â€Å"A man’s errors are his portals of discovery† (Joyce). The question that arises from this quote is, are some errors worth making in hope for future discovery? One presumable error that is being practiced today is Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking). The debate of this issue is very controversial and it is hard to decide which side of the argument is the right side. But before one can plunge into the debate, one must understand Fracking entirely. Fracking is the process of breaking

Old-Age Pension Reform in China Free Essays

-aAvailable online at www. sciencedirect. com Journal of Aging Studies 22 (2008) 74 – 87 www. We will write a custom essay sample on Old-Age Pension Reform in China or any similar topic only for you Order Now elsevier. com/locate/jaging Old-age pension reform and modernization pathways: Lessons for China from Latin America Esteban Calvo ? , John B. Williamson Department of Sociology and Center for Retirement Research, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 USA Received 31 July 2006; received in revised form 26 January 2007; accepted 26 February 2007 Abstract While numerous Western countries first experienced cultural rationalization, next economic modernization, and then faced the challenges of population aging and pension policy reform, both Latin America and China, in contrast, are dealing with these challenges in the context of much less developed economies and stronger traditional cultures. In this article we analyze old-age pension reform efforts in eight Latin American countries that have introduced funded defined contribution schemes with individual accounts. We are searching for insights about the potential success of similar reforms being implemented in China. All of these societies are organized primarily around the principles of family, reciprocity, loyalty and poverty. Our analysis suggests that these distinctive characteristics have important implications for the likely success of the reforms currently being implemented in China, particularly in four interrelated areas: coverage, compliance, transparency, and fiscal stability.  © 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Pension reform; China; Latin America; Social Security; Culture; Economy; Rationalization . Introduction Latin America is a pioneer with respect to the shift from old-age pension schemes based on pay-as-you-go (PAYG) defined benefit models to schemes based all or in part on funded individual accounts. In 1981 Chile became the first nation to make the shift with the introduction of mandatory fully-funded privately managed individual retirement accounts (IRAs ). Today there are 12 Latin American countries that have shifted to schemes influenced by the Chilean model (Gill, Packard, Yermo, 2005; Kritzer, 2005). ? Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: calvobra@bc. du (E. Calvo), jbw@bc. edu (J. B. Williamson). 0890-4065/$ – see front matter  © 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10. 1016/j. jaging. 2007. 02. 004 On the opposite side of the earth, China is following a similar path, though the Chinese IRAs are currently publicly managed and remain largely unfunded (Jackson Howe, 2004). Since 1995 China has introduced a number of reforms, the most important of which were promulgated in 1997 and 2000. By 2025, one quarter of the world’s population aged 60 and over will be living in China (United Nations, 2005). For this reason the success or failure of the reform of China’s old-age pension system will affect a major proportion of the world’s elderly population (Williamson Shen, 2004). In many respects the reforms in China have not been working out as had been intended. The major problems faced by the old-age pension reform in Latin America appear again in the newly introduced reforms in China. These problems include low coverage and compliance rates, poor transparency, and serious fiscal difficulties. E. Calvo, J. B. Williamson / Journal of Aging Studies 22 (2008) 74–87 5 Our analysis tries to obtain insights about the potential consequences of reforms currently being introduced in China based on evidence from eight Latin American countries – Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay – that introduced some form of funded IRAs (partial privatization) between 1981 and 1998. Four other countries – Costa Rica, the Domin ican Republic, Ecuador, and Nicaragua – are not included because their reforms are so new, because they are not yet fully implemented, or due to the lack of information. Many differences can be found between the Latin American countries, and perhaps even more between them and China. For example, Latin American countries have undergone a variety of political regimes, but none of them has been close to Chinese communism. Differences acknowledged, our analysis emphasizes the major cultural and economic factors shared by the countries analyzed. We argue that the eight selected Latin American countries and China are strong traditional cultures and low-income economies characterized by the centrality of: (1) the family, (2) reciprocal relationships, (3) rules of loyalty, and (4) poverty. Our analysis highlights the role of these factors in shaping the unfolding of the pension reform process with respect to four areas: (1) coverage, (2) compliance, (3) transparency, and (4) fiscal stability. The role of the cultural and economic factors considered in this article has been largely overlooked in the literature on pension reform. Much of this literature focuses on political factors, such as the welfare state, communism, and the World Bank policies (e. g. Esping-Andersen, 1996; Fox, 1997; Frazier, 2004; Myles Pierson, 2001). In this article our focus is on Latin America and China, but we find it essential to make some comparisons with the Western European nations. The latter will be characterized as rationalized cultures and affluent economies displaying centrality of: (1) the institutions supporting elderly, (2) individual financial planning, (3) legality, and (4) wealth. Although a detailed analysis of Western European countries is beyond the scope of this paper, the comparison has important advantages. A comparative perspective calls attention to the factors shared by Latin America and China. In addition, the Western European nations constitute a reference point that can be used to provide all observers with a common frame through which to assess the pension reform in Latin America and from which to speculate about some of the challenges China will face in connection with pension changes currently being implemented. But above all, the comparison to Western European nations helps to uncover some of the nderlying assumptions of these pension reforms that do not entirely hold for Latin America and China. In a somewhat oversimplified formulation, these assumptions are: (1) preeminence of formal-institutional support systems of the elderly, (2) emphasis on individual responsibility for financial planning, (3) zealous attachment to the law, and (4) perception of old-age poverty as an isolated problem. Formulated in a more general way, we will argue that the reforms fail to account for so me of the major cultural and economic characteristics shared by Latin America and China. Fig. 1 and Table 1 provide a brief summary of a number of key points that we have briefly introduced above, but more importantly they also serve as guide to much of the analysis which follows. 2. Modernization pathways Population aging and with it the associated problems of reforming the old-age pension systems are taking place around the world. However, the challenge of pension policy reform is context-specific. In Latin America and China, this challenge is framed in the context of a traditional culture and low income economy. This claim should be understood in relative or comparative terms: Latin America and China contrasted to the Western European nations. In this section we will use the construct â€Å"modernization pathway† to describe broad historical transformations of the culture and the economy that precede the old-age pension reform and are common to a number of countries. We will consider two modernization pathways, one that fits a number of Western European nations and a second which better fits China and Latin America. Both can be viewed as Weberian ideal types (Weber, 1949, 1958). They are not meant to correspond to all of the characteristics of any particular country, but rather to highlight common elements that play an important role in the pension policy reform acceptance and effectiveness. The Western Pathway is limited here to the Western European countries, though it may be – carefully – extended to a few Western countries outside Western Europe. Southern European countries (e. g. Spain, Portugal and Italy) are more culturally similar to Latin America and for this reason were excluded from the pathway described here. The United States was also excluded because its exceptionalism adds unnecessary complexity to the typology (Lipset, 1996). However, the United States shares many characteristics of the Western European nations and is also influencing the pension reform in Latin America and China, as proponents of 76 E. Calvo, J. B. Williamson / Journal of Aging Studies 22 (2008) 74–87 Fig. 1. The challenge of population aging for the pension system has come through dissimilar modernization pathways. world system and dependency theories have pointed out repeatedly (Wallerstein, 2004). Culture is one important domain where the Pathway of Latin America and China differs from the Western Pathway (Fig. 1). Latin America and China are both facing the challenge of population aging for their pension systems in the context of much stronger traditional cultures than found in the West. The Western Pathway, in contrast, is characterized by a deeply rationalized culture. According to Max Weber (1968) the process of rationalization tends to foster and to be associated with secularization and the view that everything is explainable by reason, at least in principle (Giddens, 1971; Kalberg, 1994; Lash Whimster, 1987). In behavioral terms, rationality involves a second meaning: greater reliance on means-ends calculations designed to organize activity so as to more efficiently reach a particular goal. One indicator of the level of rationalization in a society is a strong and uncorrupt formal legal system which fosters a social order based in large measure on laws, not just traditional cultural practices. Fig. 2 suggests that corruption levels are lower in Western European countries than in China and in most Latin American countries. Although a traditional culture may have a formal legal system, the social order may be less based on these laws than in Western countries (Sandholtz Taagepera, 2005; Treisman, 2000). In China, for example, if there is a dispute between two families, rather than engage lawyers and courts, people may turn to spirit-mediums, respected in the community, familiarized with the parties involved and local history, and thus qualified to suggest solutions that are acceptable to both sides (Adler, 2002). Such evidence suggests that China and Latin America have not undergone as profound a rationalization process as have the Western European nations. Economy is a second important domain where the Pathway for Latin America and China differs from the Western Pathway (Fig. 1). In contrast to Western countries, Latin America and China are also facing the challenge of rapid population aging before reaching high levels of national income. Despite rapid economic growth since the early 1980s, China is still a poor country. In 2001, more than 16% of the Chinese population was living on less than one dollar per day (World Bank, 2003). In Latin America, one-fifth of the total population lives in extreme poverty and almost half in poverty (ECLAC, 2004). Fig. 3 illustrates the recent trends in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita of the Western Pathway in comparison to the trends for China and Latin America. While this data covers a very recent time period, it is consistent with and lends support to the Weberian idea that in Western Europe the rationalization process is followed by a prosperous capitalist economic development. Summing up, only after becoming rational and affluent societies do the Western countries start facing the challenge of a rapid population aging and the associated need for pension system reform. Clearly this is not the case of Latin America and China, which have Table 1 Modernization pathways and areas of challenge for old-age pension system reform China and Latin America1 Family (xiao) Reciprocity (chung) Loyalty (zhong) Poverty 1 Western Countries Institutions Individual Planning Legality Wealth Old-age pension reform Coverage Compliance Transparency Fiscal stability The pinyin system of Romanization has been used for Chinese terms for Confucian virtues. E. Calvo, J. B. Williamson / Journal of Aging Studies 22 (2008) 74–87 77 Fig. 2. Western countries are perceived as less corrupt than China and Latin America (Transparency International, 2005). much stronger traditional cultures and have not yet reached the Western European level of economic development (Fig. 1). However, these distinctive characteristics have received little attention in the design of pension reforms or in efforts to evaluate the efficacy of these reforms in Latin America and China (Gill et al. 2005; Holzmann Hinz, 2005; Mesa-Lago, 2005; Williamson Deitelbaum, 2005; World Bank, 1994, 1997). Many have argued that religion is one of the most important factors explaining the differences between Western Europe and China and Latin America (Cousino 1990; Cousino Valenzuela, 1994; Morande, 1984; Weber , 1951, 1963, 2002). Chinese Confucianism and Latin American Marianism â₠¬â€œ the Catholic adoration of the Virgin Mary – have been said to lack the elements central to the Protestant ethic that would bring about an early and profound rationalization process and capitalist development. Max Weber posed the question: why did the modern West develop the way it did, and why did China not develop at the same time and in the same way as the West? He focused on a number of factors that distinguish European modernization from that of China arguing, for Fig. 3. The western pathway is characterized by wealth (International Monetary Fund (IMF), 2005). 78 E. Calvo, J. B. Williamson / Journal of Aging Studies 22 (2008) 74–87 example, that Western European countries were characterized by the separation of the productive enterprise from the household, while China was organized on the basis of extended kinship clans (Weber, 1961). But the most important difference Weber (1951, 1963, 2002) highlights is that between European Protestantism and Chinese Confucianism. Protestantism is based on an ethic that prompts an active attitude to change the world and places an emphasis on the individual. Confucianism is an ethic of adjustment to the world; it accepts things as they are and promotes a contemplative, mystical and passive attitude that tends to prolong ancient traditions. In this sense, Confucianism lacks the active tension that exists between Protestant religion and the world. That is, it lacked a â€Å"mentality† or â€Å"moral energy† suited for the early emergence of modern capitalism and a rationalized social order. Similarly to Weber’s comparison of Confucianism to Protestantism, Latin American Sociologists contrast Marianism with Protestantism (Cousino, 1990; Cousino Valenzuela, 1994; Morande, 1984). The â€Å"ethic† of Marianism is that of grace and mercy rather than individual merit and responsibility. Mary is viewed as a mother-like figure with compassionate attitude towards offenders and willingness to grant favors. She recompenses devotion with clemency and unmerited divine concessions. Accordingly, Marianism – as is the case with Confucianism – lacks the â€Å"moral energy† that would bring about a profound rationalization process and early capitalist development. Note that this is an historical argument. Hence, we are not arguing that China or Latin America can not develop (or will not at some point in the future) a rationalized culture or modern capitalism; rather, we are arguing that they did not do so before and in the same way as the West. Actually, between the 1960s and 1980s, Latin America and China were actively trying to rationalize their cultures, though the results of these efforts were modest. The rationalization efforts in China and Latin America were driven by the desire to emulate the Western countries and not the same differentiated culture that drove the rationalization process in Western Europe. We will use the term â€Å"differentiated culture† to refer to a culture in which people are confronted with conflicting world views (e. g. , Protestant vs. Catholic) and contrast it with a traditional culture in which everyone shares basically the same world views and assumptions. A differentiated culture was found on Western Europe during the sixteenth century, when the Protestant Reformation and related religious controversies split the traditional Catholic unity of the region. A differ- entiated culture does not provide an adequate level of social integration and requires the creation of rational arrangements to assure social order (Cousino Valenzuela, 1994). In Latin America and China the rationalization effort took place in the context of a less differentiated culture and as a result the rationalization process has been less pervasive in these regions than in West. For example, during the Cultural Revolution (1966– 1976) the traditional culture was harshly attacked in China: temples were destroyed and Confucianism was declared an outdated ideology and popular religion mere superstition. However, starting with the 1980s there is widespread evidence of a strong revival of traditional religious practices and beliefs (Adler 2002; Lagerwey, 2004; Overmyer, 2003). Temples are being re-built and devotion to local deities continues to thrive. Festivals, rituals, dances, processions, communication with supernatural beings, fengshui, and popular medicine are now part of ordinary life for any Chinese people. Altars for ancestors and patron deities are found in many households. Confucianism remains at the core of the cultural unity of China, albeit more as an ethical philosophy or system of thought than as a formal religion. Similarly, Latin America has not experienced the level of cultural differentiation found in Western Europe. Latin American Soc iologists argue that Latin American culture remains integrated by the values and norms underlying â€Å"Marianism† (Cousino, 1990; Cousino Valenzuela, 1994; Morande, 1984). Just to remind, these claims should be understood in comparative terms: Latin America and China are strong traditional cultures relative to the West. It is also important to note that numerous factors other than religion may have influenced the modernization pathways. However, describing these factors goes beyond the scope of this article. The point that we want to stress here is the disparity between the modernization pathways of China and Latin America as opposed to Western Europe. To summarize, for the countries under consideration there is a difference in the type of cultural and economic transformations that have preceded the challenge of rapid population aging and the associated need for pension reform. There has also been a difference in the timing of these processes. While numerous Western countries first experienced cultural rationalization, next economic modernization, and then faced the challenges of population aging and pension policy reform, both Latin America and China are dealing with these challenges in the context of much less developed economies and stronger traditional cultures (Fig. ). E. Calvo, J. B. Williamson / Journal of Aging Studies 22 (2008) 74–87 79 3. Pension reform in low-income traditional societies Latin America and China both have traditional cultures and low-income economies. As defined here, a â€Å"traditional culture† is organized around three principles: family, reciprocity, and loyalty. In comparison, a â€Å" rationalized culture† is organized around institutions, planning, and legality. In this case the traditional cultures are also low-income economies characterized by poverty while the rationalized cultures are developed economies characterized by ealth (Table 1). Note that the separation of traditional and rational does not imply that traditional cultures are irrational. Conflicting principles can coexist in the same culture, but typically one has preeminence over the other. Drawing evidence from Latin America, in this section we argue that the modernization pathway preceding the aging challenge in China will shape the challenge to the old-age pension system reform in four interrelated areas: coverage, compliance, transparency, and fiscal stability (Table 1). Coverage: old-age pension institutions and family The effects of the pension reform on coverage rates in Latin America have been largely discussed in previous literature (Arenas de Mesa, 2000; ECLAC, 2006; Gill et al. , 2005; Jimenez Cuadros, 2003; Mesa-Lago, 2004; Packard, 2002). There is not much agreement about what measure of coverage should be used. However, regardless of the indicator used, for most of the countries analyzed a substantial fraction of the popula- tion is left without coverage (Table 2). For a detailed discussion of the reason for the discrepancies between these various indicators see Rofman (2005). As with Latin America, a large fraction of the Chinese population is left without coverage. About two-thirds of Chinese workers live in rural areas and in those areas only about 11% of these workers are covered by a formal-institutional pension system. Coverage goes up to 55% of the workforce in urban areas, although even this level of coverage is insufficient by Western standards. Overall, three out of four Chinese workers have no pension coverage at all (Jackson Howe 2004). It is generally agreed by most Chinese policymakers that it is not feasible at this point in time to extend coverage by the formal-institutional old-age pension institutions to the vast Chinese rural population, despite the high level of rural old-age poverty (Williamson Shen, 2004). Based on analogous pension reform efforts in a number of Latin American countries, it does not seem likely that current reform efforts in China are going to substantially increase coverage any time soon (Arenas de Mesa, 2000; ECLAC, 2006; Gill et al. 2005; Jimenez Cuadros, 2003; Mesa-Lago, 2004; Packard, 2002). Today most Chinese rely heavily on family networks for support. According to the 2000 census data, about two-thirds of those age 65 and over live with their children (Table 3). This tendency is particularly strong for elderly women living in rural areas. The lack of formal-institutional pension coverage for most elderly Chinese and the evidence from Latin America suggesting that coverage may not substantially increase any time soon, leads us to the conclusion that in China Table 2 In Latin America pension system reform has left a substantial fraction of the population without coverage a Country Coverage before the reform Coverage after the reform Contributors/economically active population (year) Chile Argentina Mexico Uruguay Colombia Peru El Salvador Bolivia a b Other indicators of coverage after the reform Contributors/economically Contributors/employed Contributors/wageBenficiaries/population active population b (2002) persons b (2000–2003) earners b (2000–2003) age 65+ c (2000–2003) 0. 58 0. 26 0. 33 0. 45 0. 18 0. 12 0. 22 0. 11 0. 63 0. 40 d 0. 39 0. 65 d – 0. 14 0. 32 0. 11 0. 77 0. 55 d 0. 2 0. 79 d – 0. 31 0. 53 0. 29 0. 64 0. 68 d 0. 19 0. 87 d 0. 19 0. 24 0. 15 0. 15 0. 64 (1980) 0. 50 (1994) 0. 37 (1997) 0. 32 (1997) 0. 32 (1993) 0. 31 (1993) 0. 26 (1996) 0. 12 (1996) Adapted from AIOS, 2005; Mesa-Lago, 2005; and Rofman, 2005. These measurements could overestimate coverage for workers doing sporadic contr ibutions, or underestimate coverage for workers not doing contributions but covered by non-contributory pensions. c This measurement could underestimate coverage for spouses of beneficiaries, for individuals who continue working and delayed the benefits, and individuals receiving non-contributive benefits. Information for urban areas. 80 E. Calvo, J. B. Williamson / Journal of Aging Studies 22 (2008) 74–87 Table 3 The majority of Chinese elders live with their children1 Rural Urban Rural-urban combined Males Living alone 8. 7 7. 7 8. 4 With spouse only 26. 3 33. 7 28. 8 With spouse and other, not with children 0. 7 0. 8 0. 7 With spouse and children 36. 5 39. 0 37. 4 With children, not with spouse 25. 6 16. 8 22. 6 With others, not with spouse and 1. 9 1. 3 1. 7 children Institution 0. 3 0. 7 0. 4 Grand total 100. 0 100. 0 100. 0 Subtotal of living with spouse 63. 73. 5 66. 9 Subtotal of living with children 62. 1 55. 8 59. 9 Females Living alone 9. 8 12. 4 10. 7 With spouse only 17. 9 21. 3 19. 1 With spouse and other, not with children 0. 3 0. 6 0. 4 With spouse and children 22. 8 21. 7 22. 4 With children, not with spouse 48. 1 42. 6 46. 2 With others, not with spouse and 0. 9 1. 0 0. 9 children Institution 0. 2 0. 4 0. 3 Grand total 100. 0 100. 0 100. 0 Subtotal of living with spouse 41. 0 43. 6 41. 9 Subtotal of living with children 70. 9 64. 4 68. 7 1 of the family in the Latin American culture. There is no reason to expect a different outcome in China. The Confucian ethic of filial piety (xiao) involves respect, obedience, gratitude and the obligation to reciprocate for parents having given us life and, in comparison to the Western countries, this ethic remains very strong in China (Gu Liang, 2000; Sung, 2000). It has been motivating children to take care of their elderly parents for centuries and will probably continue to play a role for care for the elderly long into the future (Zeng Wang, 2003), though increasingly in combination with formal old-age pension institutions. The assumption made by some analysts that the family support system is going to break down places the Chinese case into a conceptual framework better suited to the Western Pathway. But that framework overlooks the fact that China continues to be a traditional culture and it limits policymakers to considering individualized ways to support retirees, relegating the family network of support to a secondary role in the policy debate about the reform. Compliance: individual financial planning and reciprocity Closely related to the coverage problem are low compliance rates and low contribution densities. One goal of the pension reform in Latin America has been to improve incentives for workers to participate in the system and to increase personal contributions to their funded accounts. A strengthened â€Å"equivalence principle† (a linkage between contributions and pension benefits) was expected to get workers to view their contributions as investments or savings rather than as a tax. This in turn was expected to increase the incentive for participating and contributing to the system (World Bank, 1994). However, the evidence from Latin American does not point to any such trend (Gill et al. , 2005; Jimenez Cuadros, 2003; Mesa-Lago, 2004; Packard, 2002; Rofman, 2005). Evidence presented in Table 4 shows that compliance rates have actually decreased in Latin America suggesting that IRAs are not having the expected impact on the incentive to contribute. It is generally agreed both in Latin America and in China that some segments of the population are particularly reluctant to contribute. For example, workers in rural areas, workers in the informal sector of the economy, and low-wage workers choose savings options other than IRAs, such as housing and the education of their children (ECLAC, 2006; Gill et al. , 2005; Kritzer, 2000; Mesa-Lago, 2004; Packard, 2001; Rofman, 2005). Living arrangements for Chinese population aged 65 and over, rural urban comparison, year 2000. Adapted from Zeng Wang, 2003. family support is likely to remain the primary source of old-age security during the foreseeable future, at least in rural areas, where there is virtually no pension coverage. On the other hand, the projected demographic change for China gives us reason to questions the efficacy of the traditional family support system for meeting the economic needs of tomorrow’s Chinese elderly (Gubhaju Moriki-Durand, 2003; Zeng Wang, 2003). In 1970, the Chinese elderly were outnumbered by children six to one, but by 2040 there will be two elderly people for every child (UN 2003). This projected demographic change will place great strain in the traditional family support system and suggests that the need for old-age pensions is going to be increasing. It is clear that the Chinese elderly will not be able to rely solely on family arrangements (Friedman, James, Kane, Queisser, 1996; World Bank, 1997). Nonetheless, it is also true that family support networks will continue to play a very important role for many of the elderly. Examination of recent pension reform efforts in Latin America suggest that the family performs a crucial function as a source of support and protection for the elderly, given the limited coverage of the pension system in the region (ECLAC, 2004) and the centrality E. Calvo, J. B. Williamson / Journal of Aging Studies 22 (2008) 74–87 Table 4 Compliance rates have declined in Latin America a Country Argentina Bolivia Chile Colombia b El Salvalor Mexico c Peru Uruguay 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 48. 9 – 52. 8 – 67. 2 63. 4 45. 6 67. 4 44. 3 – 53. 4 51. 6 63. 8 60. 2 45. 7 58. 7 39. 1 – 50. 9 48. 5 53. 5 57. 9 41. 7 53. 9 29. 0 47. 0 53. 7 48. 7 53. 2 44. 7 41. 2 53. 2 33. 2 46. 9 51. 0 47. 6 47. 6 41. 7 39. 4 45. 1 35. 2 39. 0 51. 9 48. 7 46. 3 39. 3 41. 9 52. 7 35. 4 44. 9 50. 4 49. 5 41. 9 38. 39. 9 52. 5 40. 3 47. 5 51. 2 50. 6 39. 5 37. 6 36. 2 55. 7 81 a Percentage of affiliates who contributed in the past month to IRAs, December 1998–2005. Source: Mesa-Lago, 2005; and AIOS, 2005. b In 1993–2003 contributor was an affiliate who had at least one contribution in the last six months. c In 1993–2003 contributor was an affiliate who had at least one contribution in the past two mont hs. Why might these groups avoid contributions to a reformed old-age pension system if it is clearly strengthened with respect to the equivalence principle? We will focus on explanations connected to the modernization pathway preceding the reform. One potential explanation is that individuals are â€Å"irrational†; not contributing to the IRA reveals a myopic behavior or short planning horizon (Valdes-Prieto, 2002). Here we offer an alternative explanation: the preference for the education of one’s children and housing over IRAs is a â€Å"rational† behavior for an individual in a traditional culture and in a low-income economy, where the family is a strong social unit organized around reciprocity and affected by poverty. What is considered rational in Latin America and China may not be considered rational from the perspective of the Western Pathway. Numerous studies in Latin America conclude that contributing to the IRAs is too costly, particularly for low-income workers who struggle to meet immediate basic needs for survival and face the pressing consumption needs of their families (Barr Packard, 2000; Gill et al. , 2005; Jimenez Cuadros, 2003; Kritzer, 2000; Mesa-Lago, 2004; Packard, 2002). In Fig. 4 we present aggregate data that points to a similar trend. We see that compliance rates tend to increase as GDP per capita increases, despite evidence of some variation between nations in similar GDP per capita ranges (e. g. Mexico versus Uruguay). At the cultural level, contributing to an IRA could disrupt the cycle of reciprocity inside a family. By investing in housing and childhood education, wealth is shared and transferred among generations in a permanent cycle of giving, receiving, and returning (Bataille, 1998; Mauss, 1967), a dynamic that assures family support at older ages. Summing up, in a lowincome economy and a culture where reciprocity has primacy over individual financial planning, a strengthened equivalence principle is likely to have little impact on a worker’s propensity to contribute to the system. As with Latin-Americans, the Chinese are severely affected by poverty and tend to show a lack of enthusiasm for IRAs (Zhao Xu, 2002), but support for the principle of reciprocity inside the family (Bengston Putney, 2000; Gu Liang, 2000; Sung, 2000). Therefore, it is reasonable to hypothesize that a stronger equivalence principle is an insufficient incentive for Chinese workers to contribute. Two caveats should be mentioned when assessing ways to increase compliance rates in China. First, while the value placed on reciprocity is associated with what we call an â€Å"ethic of family savings† in China, in Latin American it occurs within an â€Å"ethic of ritual spending of wealth† (Cousino, 1990; Cousino Valenzuela, 1994; Fig. 4. Coverage is larger in wealthier countries (International Monetary Fund (IMF), 2005; Transparency International, 2005). 82 E. Calvo, J. B. Williamson / Journal of Aging Studies 22 (2008) 74–87 Morande, 1984). In Latin America, reciprocity is extended beyond the family to God and nature. For example, a profuse harvest is comprehended as a gift of nature or a favor from God. The spontaneous reaction of people is to greet the benefactor with sacrifices or to spend part of the wealth received in a celebration. The popular belief is that human efforts cannot succeed without luck or divine support. This belief is confirmed in Latin American semantics, where the concepts â€Å"earning† and â€Å"winning† are indistinct: you win a wage as you win a lottery. This example illustrates Latin Americans’ predisposition to spend and share wealth as if it were a prize. Individual financial planning is not based on this type of reasoning where wealth is often attributed to God or the earth. Such behavior is more typical in cultures that attribute the origin of wealth to human work. In Chinese culture this link seems to be stronger, perhaps because land is more highly regulated and is perceived as a particularly scarce resource. The Chinese more readily save wealth than Latin-Americans, though savings may be for children’s prosperity and perpetuating the principle of reciprocity. Even Chinese individuals living in foreign countries, where changes in the family support patterns are more prevalent, tend to sacrifice part of their personal gain for the well-being of their family (Lan, 2002; Wong, Yoo, Stewart, 2006). The fact that the equivalence principle could be strengthened a lot more in China constitutes a second caveat when assessing ways to increase compliance rates (Dorn, 2004; Zhao Xu, 2002). China has formally based its old-age pension system reform, at least in part, on funded IRAs; but in actual practice these IRAs are often closer to the NDC (notional [or unfunded] defined contribution) model than to the funded defined contribution model (Williamson Deitelbaum, 2005). The NDC model (also referred to as the Non-Financial Defined Contribution model) is explicated in detail elsewhere (Holzmann Palmer 2006; Williamson, 2004; Williamson Zheng, 2003). IRAs have been set up and a record is being kept of what has been contributed, but the government routinely diverts money from IRAs to pay pensions to the currently retired. The discrepancy between pension policy as described in government documents and what happens in actual practice, has the unintended effect of contributing to distrust and discouraging both participation and compliance. Fig. 5 suggests that transparency and credibility (high CPI scores) are associated with higher compliance rates. Corruption levels in China are similar to those of Argentina and Peru, and most likely have a negative effect on compliance rates. Transparency: legality and loyalty The privatization reforms in Latin America were designed to provide pension systems with a high degree of resistance to political manipulation (World Bank, 1994). However, the economic crisis in Argentina that started in the late 1990s has been attributed in part to the deficit created by the old-age pension reform and poor management of the funds (Bertranou, Rofman, Grushka, 2003; Matijascic Kay, 2006; Mesa-Lago, 2004). Argentina deferred its debt by selling bonds to the fund management companies. This risky behavior illustrates that the new funded systems are not immune to political manipulation and that it is important to invest in asset classes other than just government bonds. The Fig. 5. Coverage is larger in countries with better CPI score (less corrupt) (International Monetary Fund (IMF), 2005; Transparency International, 2005). E. Calvo, J. B. Williamson / Journal of Aging Studies 22 (2008) 74–87 83 case of Bolivia is another good example. Loose regulations led to fraudulent interpretations of the rules for the transition, contributing to higher than expected costs (Dowers, Fassina, Pettinato, 2001; Escobar Nina, 2004; Gill et al. , 2005). On the other hand, Chile’s better coverage can be attributed, at least in part, to its lower level of corruption. Fig. 2 shows the disparity in levels of corruption between Chile and other Latin American countries. Chile has a CPI score closer to Belgium and France, while Argentina and Bolivia have the lowest scores. China also has low CPI scores; this may foreshadow problems with corruption in the funded component of the Chinese pension system. As discussed earlier, a strong and clean legal system is an indicator of rationalization. A rationalized set of laws is needed when traditional behaviors are unable to provide sufficient social order. In traditional cultures, â€Å"loyalty† upholds order to a greater extent than â€Å"legality† and leads people to provide favors and preferential treatment to friends or relatives. When a morality based on personal relationships and favors is extended to public institutions, such as the pension system, corruption is a high risk (corruption is a judgment made from the reference point of legality). Accordingly, in a traditional culture, the shift from family support to the support of a formal-institutional pension system – either with or without IRAs – is prone to corruption. China is particularly vulnerable to corruption for several reasons (Sandholtz Taagepera, 2005). First, loyalty (zhong) is a longstanding Confucian virtue that permeates all social relationships (Adler, 2002). Second, mechanisms that facilitate regulation and supervision of the pension system have been slow to emerge (Holzmann Hinz, 2005). Third, funds are typically invested with low public transparency in a context where there is too much money for too few opportunities (Holzmann Hinz, 2005; Williamson Shen, 2004). Fourth, the money is collected, administered, and owned by the government (Dorn, 2004; Jackson Howe, 2004; Holzmann Hinz, 2005). Consequently, separating these roles, diversifying the investment opportunities, carefully establishing and legitimating the regulatory system, creating technical organizations of supervision, and enabling greater public access to information about fund management are all much needed steps in Chinese pension reform. Fiscal stability: economic growth and poverty reduction One of the major political selling points for the partial privatization of pension schemes has been governments’ difficulty with financing the increasing pension burden associated with prior PAYG defined benefit schemes. Therefore, the fiscal stability of the new systems is fundamental to the credibility of the reforms (Dowers et al. , 2001; Gill et al. , 2005). In Latin America the fiscal burden has remained substantial, though it may have been even higher, particularly in future decades, without recent reforms. The shift to partial privatization typically calls for some form of â€Å"double payments†: payments associated to the new system, but also payments recognizing benefits and contributions for those participating in the old system (Jimenez Cuadros, 2003; Mesa-Lago, 2000). The transition costs associated with these reforms have typically turned out to be much larger and are currently projected to last much longer than had originally been expected. Permanent costs may also increase: low rates of compliance could force the government to aid more people than initially anticipated through the minimum pension guarantee and social assistance pensions. For the region as a whole the cost of social security and social assistance taken together increased from 5. 2% of the GDP in 1990–1991 to 7. % in 2002–2003 (ECLAC, 2006). These costs are likely to be high in China as well. Fiscal difficulties have been a problem affecting the Chinese old-age pension system since the 1980s (Jackson Howe, 2004; Whiteford, 2003; Williamson Deitelbaum, 2005). Previously, State-Owned-Enterprises (SOEs) were responsible for providing pensions to their retired employees. In the 1980s the finances of the SOEs became deeply strained by the transition to a market economy and the governments’ decision to stop subsidizing them. Without government support and with a declining number of workers, SOEs faced serious difficulties in providing pensions for their former workers. In response to this problem, the Chinese government has called for municipal pooling of pension obligations and contributions. This reform largely shifted the financial crisis from SOEs to the municipalities. With the 1997 reforms, the pension burden, previously shifted from the SOEs to the municipalities, was in part returned to the central government. China’s long history of fiscal problems in its pension system and the evidence of pervasive fiscal problems associated with the new privatization related reforms in Latin America suggest that the pension related fiscal burden will continue to be a major challenge for pension reformers in China. China’s weak fiscal situation in the years preceding recent reforms raises concerns about how the nation will deal with the impending cost of the transition. Fig. 6 illustrates the fiscal situation of Chile, Argentina, and 84 E. Calvo, J. B. Williamson / Journal of Aging Studies 22 (2008) 74–87 Fig. 6. The fiscal strength prior to the reform is key to overstep its costs. China in the years preceding the privatization related reforms. Argentina dramatically underestimated the cost of the transition, and during its recent economic crisis paid a heavy price for this mistake. In Chile the transition cost was also very high (about 5. 7% of annual GDP during the 1980s and 1990s), but the general fiscal surplus was very helpful in dealing with this burden (Gill et al. , 2005; Mesa-Lago, 2000). Fig. 6 shows that China is in a comparatively weak position to handle the fiscal pressures of the reform. Finding a way to finance the pension system is a problem for most countries around the world, but this problem becomes particularly acute for low-income countries, such as China and those in Latin America. However, there is an important difference between China and Latin America. The Chinese government has called for a new pension system that is based in part on funded IRAs, but due to lack of alternative ways to raise the money needed to pay promised pensions to those who are currently retired, these â€Å"funded† accounts are today for the most part unfunded. The money has been used, typically by the local government to pay pensions to those who are already retired, leaving little more than electronic records in the accounts of individual workers specifying that they have made specific â€Å"contributions† to their account and the level of the unfunded balances in those accounts. In practice, China is using a variant of â€Å"notional accounts† as a financing strategy for the pension system (Williamson, 2004; Williamson Shen, 2004; Williamson Zheng, 2003). The discrepancy between the formal structure of the program and what is actually going on must be contributing to mistrust of the government and to a lack of confidence in the pension system. It must also be reducing the incentive to contribute and increasing the incentive to evade paying into the scheme. However, there are advantages to the NDC model when properly designed as the model does help to spread the transition costs over more age cohorts and it does tend to reduce administrative costs. Low-income countries face difficulties as they try to balance the aims of fostering economic growth and poverty reduction as they reform their pension schemes. It is generally assumed that the main objective for an old-age pension system is to provide at least some financial security for the elderly. In those countries with many elderly in or at risk of poverty, the need for income redistribution becomes particularly salient. Minimum and non-contributive pensions can be used to help with redistribution and poverty reduction, but they do not maximize the equivalence principle and do increase the cost of the system (Gill et al. 2005; Holzmann Hinz, 2005; Jimenez Cuadros, 2003; Johnson Williamson, 2006; Matijascic Kay, 2006; Mesa-Lago, 2004). 4. Conclusion While numerous Western countries first experienced cultural rationalization, then economic modernization, and after that faced the challenges of population aging, both Latin America and China are dealing with pension system reform s in the context of much stronger traditional cultures and less developed economies (Fig. 1). The analysis presented in this article suggests that these distinctive characteristics have shaped the consequences of the reforms in Latin America and will likely do so in China. Specific challenges arise in the context of a traditional culture and a low-income economy where society is organized around the principles of family, reciprocity, loyalty, and poverty (Table 1). One of the most predictable challenges will be the coverage problem. Most Chinese elderly are not covered by formal old-age pension E. Calvo, J. B. Williamson / Journal of Aging Studies 22 (2008) 74–87 85 institutions and currently rely only on traditional family support. There is no evidence from the Latin American countries that have introduced pension reforms calling for partial privatization suggesting that coverage for the Chinese system is likely to approach universality in the foreseeable future. Therefore, the family unit, the traditional source of well-being at older ages, seems likely to continue being the major pillar of the old-age security, particularly in rural areas. However, in the decades ahead the Chinese elderly will with increasing frequency find that their families are not in a position to provide the needed support. The need for formalinstitutional pension coverage will be increasing rapidly in the years ahead. A key question will be whether the recent reforms calling for partial privatization will in the end undermine or strengthen traditional family networks of support and filial piety. Low compliance rates are another major challenge for China. Although incentives to contribute have improved, the current low compliance rates point to a preference for old-age security based on reciprocity (e. . investments on children’s education) rather than individual financial planning. Strengthening the equivalence principle that links contributions and benefits could stimulate compliance for some. Nevertheless, those used to living in poverty, particularly in rural areas, may resist efforts to encourage individual financial planning and may p refer to sacrifice part of their modest wealth for the family. It would make sense for policy makers to adjust incentives in such a way as to take into consideration historical, cultural, and contextual factors. Corruption and lack of transparency aggravate the coverage and compliance problems and constitute yet another challenge for the Chinese reforms. Where loyalty has primacy over legality, corruption and lack of transparency are likely outcomes. Favors are expected in a traditional culture, but such favors are considered corruption in a modern institutional context. Carefully designing, fully legitimating, and cautiously implementing the regulatory system and supervisory institutions are important steps to improve transparency and credibility. Another foreseeable challenge for the Chinese reform is the fiscal burden. How to finance the reform and to balance the objectives of economic growth and poverty reduction are major questions almost everywhere, but low-income countries such as China face additional difficulties. The empty IRAs, which were supposed to accumulate funds, are likely to increase distrust of government and of government sponsored old-age security schemes. It might make sense for Chinese policy makers to introduce a system based on unfunded defined contribution accounts at least until it is clear that ational financial markets and administrative structures are ready for the demands of a partially privatized social security system. The nations in Latin America under consideration here have not succeeded with respect to coverage and compliance. In addition, transparency and fiscal stability are far from certain. This evidence suggests that without some major changes in the current policy direction, China may be headed for potentially serious pension policy problems in these four areas. The modernization pathway preceding old-age pension reform in China will likely shape the process and outcomes in these four areas. Chinese policymakers might well benefit from a close analysis of the flaws that are starting to become clear in connection with the new partially funded pension schemes that have been introduced in Latin America in recent years. Acknowledgments The authors acknowledge partial financial support for this project from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. The authors also thank the following people for their comments on and other forms of help in connection with this article and previous versions: Michael Agliardo, Joaquin Blaya, Michael Cermak, Paula Errazuriz, Shari Grove, Jessica Johnson, Stephen Kalberg, and Ce Shen. 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The Persians things we never saw or heard Essay Example For Students

The Persians: things we never saw or heard Essay This deadly silence with its taste of acid fills our mouths, declares the Chorus in Robert Aulettas update of Aeschylus The Persians. The stage is set in the Persian court as the Chorus (Ben Halley Jr.) awaits news of his armys invasion of Athens: The muezzins song has been heard, and the Chorus, in the traditional black robes of the mullah, sits resplendent in the dead of night, recalling past glories. Although his words, intoned in a grand theatrical style, are sometimes hard to catch, a young man in vest and trousers (a second Chorus, played by Joseph Haj) lays out his prayer mat near the front of the stage and kneels toward Mecca, quietly repeating the words of the mullah into a microphone, so that they are transmitted to the audience through speakers placed in the backs of the theatre. There is a seconds disjunction between the two versions, and in that gap it seems that the public and the private come together: Our political senses are awakened as well as our intimate responses . The human and the technological meld in a new synthesis of understanding. Outline1 A first chance to grieve  2 Dreams of ill-omen  3 Contrasting textures  4 Critics notebook   A first chance to grieve   We will write a custom essay on The Persians: things we never saw or heard specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Silence and its opposite, speech, are the twin mantles on which Aulettas text and director Peter Sellarss production rest. When the news does come through of the battles endthe unforeseen and total devastation of the Persian armyit is communicated in song and an extraordinarily affecting Javanese mime dance by a masked messenger (Martinus Miroto), while the microphoned Chorus again speaks the words. The descriptions of destruction, mutilation and death are distressingly graphic; they are clearly recognizable as everything we never heard from our own leaders during the Gulf Warthat war in which we never saw the image of a single Iraqi victim transmitted on our television screens. But they are equally recognizable as what we have witnessed, and have been powerless to prevent, in Bosnia, Somalia and Vietnam. The stage images are simple, sparse and even beautiful, their gruesome detail offset by heightened, poetic language simultaneously whispered into a microphone with the fervency of a prayer. It gives the audience the first chance to grieve, collectively and publicly, for what has gone before, unmourned and unrepented. At this point in Sellarss production, some audience members noisily exited the auditorium, outraged (as indeed were some critics) that this young American director had dared to appropriate Aeschylus to his own ends. Its surprising that they were surprised, with the work coming as it does from the man who set The Marriage of Figaro in Trump Tower and Ajax in front of the Pentagon. But to see only the obvious results of Sellarss artistic transfiguration of the original (one critic described the directors work as political bandwagoning) is to be oblivious of the way in which this production, paradoxically, conveys the spirit of Aeschylus more faithfully than many versions which obey the letter of the text. To write a play set in the Persian court only eight years after the actual battle of Salamis, after all, was surely as provocative of Aeschylus as this is of Sellars. There have been several great productions of Greek tragedies in Britain in recent years: Deborah Warners searing Electra with Fiona Shaw, Adrian Nobles weighty Theban Trilogy, Clare Venables updated Medea for the Sphinx (formerly Womens Theatre Group) and Andrei Serbans Ancient Trilogy, among them. Whatever the considerable merits of these productions, however (and with the exception of Warners Electra), only perhaps in Sellarss Persians has tragedy become more than an excuse for spectacle, instead fulfilling the Greek ideal of theatre as a forum for moral and political discussion and achieving catharsis for the audience. .ud3228f7d24822635ef1cba91a497c384 , .ud3228f7d24822635ef1cba91a497c384 .postImageUrl , .ud3228f7d24822635ef1cba91a497c384 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ud3228f7d24822635ef1cba91a497c384 , .ud3228f7d24822635ef1cba91a497c384:hover , .ud3228f7d24822635ef1cba91a497c384:visited , .ud3228f7d24822635ef1cba91a497c384:active { border:0!important; } .ud3228f7d24822635ef1cba91a497c384 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ud3228f7d24822635ef1cba91a497c384 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ud3228f7d24822635ef1cba91a497c384:active , .ud3228f7d24822635ef1cba91a497c384:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ud3228f7d24822635ef1cba91a497c384 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ud3228f7d24822635ef1cba91a497c384 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ud3228f7d24822635ef1cba91a497c384 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ud3228f7d24822635ef1cba91a497c384 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ud3228f7d24822635ef1cba91a497c384:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ud3228f7d24822635ef1cba91a497c384 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ud3228f7d24822635ef1cba91a497c384 .ud3228f7d24822635ef1cba91a497c384-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ud3228f7d24822635ef1cba91a497c384:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: New tracks on Tobacco Road Essay Dreams of ill-omen   Sellars, with often stunning effect, reaches through the epic, political terrain of the play to a more immediate and human scale. Atossa (Cordelia Gonzalez), wife of the late king Darius and mother of the present king Xerxes, enters in a modern, Western-looking floral dress, saying she has been troubled by dreams of ill-omen. She cannot rest, she complains, and so has the supremely human urge to talk. When the bad news of her armys defeat comes through, fear and confusion solidify into anger against her late husband. The result is an extraordinary family conference from beyond the grave, with Darius (Howie Seago) rising up from a polythene Underworld and communicating, since he is dead, only in sign language. In spite of the comical clumsiness of the staging, Atossas passionate resentment, mixed with self-doubt and deep regret, are formidable and moving, and her relationship to her dead husband is wholly convincing. Here is an intelligent woman arguing with the man she loved over his culpability, as ruler, for the political situation in which she now finds herself, and as a father for his emotional neglect of their son Xerxes. Yet her insight and honesty are such that she cannot exonerate herself from complicity in the situation: Where did we go wrong? she asks. Where did I go wrong? In the final act of the play, Xerxes (John Ortiz) returns in faded battle fatigues bearing the manic energy of the killer he has become. His presence challenges the stately authority of his dead father, and his arrival is marked by a change of pace and rhythm and a brightening of the stage into a dawn of harsh, yellowish light. In contrast to Darius grand immobility, Xerxes dashes around the stage, leaping and careening. Atossas indulgent maternal joy at seeing again the son she feared was lost is infectious, but ambiguous. Xerxes bellicose words echo the proud opening lines of the Chorus, but he speaks of defeat, not victory; the action of the concluding moments is upbeat, but the optimism it suggests is peculiarly tainted. Contrasting textures   Throughout the production a complex soundscape gives contrasting textures to different sections of the action. Most noticeable is the inspirational music of the Nubian musician and composer Hamze El Din, which combines traditional Eastern elements with modern Western structures. In the same way that the anachronism of the two Chorusesone steeped in the traditional, the other equipped with a microphonereconciles the ancient and the modern, so the music provides a spiritual dimension and another level of understanding. Similarly, Sellarss appropriation of dance forms and mime traditions from all over the world are incorporated into the drama in a way which is not inimical to the ancient Greek traditions of theatre. And the layering of all those elementsvisual, musical, verbalcombine powerfully to make The Persians a simultaneously intellectual and emotional experience. Critics notebook   Last summer, iconoclastic director Peter Sellars returned to the non-musical stage for the first time in seven years with a new version of Aeschylus The Persians, adapted by Robert Auletta. Critics and audiences were divided when the work was seen at the Salzburg and Edinburgh international summer festivals and the Los Angeles Festival at the Mark Taper Forum, where it received its American premiere in September. Here, two critics (both of whom saw the Edinburgh production) offer opposing views of the directors radically contemporary take on the first written play in the history of Western theatre.