Strategic Quality and System Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Strategic Quality and System Management - Essay Example Each of these phases requires careful planning, which operations management facilitates in achieving. Through specialisation of activities, it becomes possible to produce in mass quantities in short duration alongside of meeting the objectives of quality. The process of effective operations management involves setting up suitable facilities, procuring resources and developing effective supply chain strategies. Work force management, training and communicating with clients are also essential peripheral activities associated with operations management (Heizer, Render and Weiss, 2004). The prime motive of an operations management process is to develop systems which facilitate manufacturing quality goods and services. The system design includes phases such as product development, process planning and capacity panning (Slack, Chambers and Johnston, 2010). Product development is a vital part of the success of operations management process. The designed product must be as per the needs and objectives of the organisation. Products must be designed in a manner such that they offer differential benefits to customers as compared with existing competitors (Slack, Chambers and Johnston, 2010). Product designing process would broadly include two important phases, namely technical component and business component. The technical components would include planning for the required tools, machines and selecting the sequence of operations. The business component includes selecting proper human resource and management systems so that the output is achieved as per the pre establishe d plans and objectives of the organisation (Voss, Tsikriktsis and Frohlich, 2002). Process planning is a method which matches and allocates the resources required to different production activities, as per the product design. The capacity planning process includes forecasting demand and determining the type of resources which needs to be acquired

Raise or Lower Tuition Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Raise or Lower Tuition - Assignment Example This would result into more revenues for the university. On the other hand, if the demand for the university is less than the number of available seats, a rise in tuition would result in lowering of the revenues (Mankiw, 2011). Due to lesser demand, the students would opt for alternate choices where the tuition is comparatively less. Answer 2 The revenue earnings of the university would vary depending upon the prevailing conditions of demand for the university and the number of seats available. The revenues of the unity will rise when the demand for admission exceeds the number of seats available. The university would have the option to raise tuition resulting into higher revenue earnings. The revenue earnings of the university are likely to fall when the demand for university admissions is less than the number of available seats. Due to lesser demand, the university would have to reduce the tuition that would result into fall of revenue earnings (Marshall, 2006). Even stagnant tuiti on fees would lead to fall of revenue due to lesser number of students. The revenues of the university are likely to remain same when there is equilibrium between the demand for university admissions and the number of seats available. ... Due to the high demand for university admissions, there is large number of students available for enrollment. The students would be ready to pay more for their preferred university. This would positively impact the process of revenue earnings. The loss of revenue from the lower number of student enrollments is a scenario that can occur due to lower demand of university admissions against the number of available seats. Due to lower demand, a hike in the tuition fees would cause lower number of students to enroll. The students would prefer other universities for which the process of revenue earnings would get affected. Answer 4 A negative price elasticity of the university indicates with the rise in the tuition fees, the demand for university admissions is likely to fall. Considering the situation when the price elasticity of the university is (-1.2), a rise in tuition fees of the university would result in considerable fall of demand of the university admissions. The university has al so been suffering with the revenue earnings in recent times. A further rise of revenue in such a condition would result in the further lowering of student enrollment (Schotter, 2008). This would result into lowering of revenue earnings for the university. In such a situation, the university would be suggested to lower the tuition fees in order to revive the situation of revenue crunch of the university in recent times. A reduction of tuition would draw more students for enrollment. The students would want to take the advantage of comparatively low tuition fees. This would lead to expansion of revenue for the university. Answer 5 Being the President of NSU, the economic theories of supply, demand and price elasticity would be

Gender Discrimination in Saudi Arabia

Gender Discrimination in Saudi Arabia The issues of gender discrimination in Saudi Arabia seriously need to be alert to every woman out there. Public need to understand how vulnerable these Saudi Arabia women been living throughout their whole life and the misery they went through. There is no freedom for them. This happens because of the extremely conservation of religious culture. They are not just being retracted by the Islam law, also by the social norms and tradition. SECTION II THE ISSUES AND WHO ARE INVOVLED I have chosen to focus on prejudice and discrimination against women in Saudi Arabia and comparing it with Singapore. The reason why I have chosen this is because I realized in Saudi Arabia, women have a pitiful life. They have been categorized by men for over many decades. Men are being more prioritized over women in their country in terms of gender, education, society which I will be covering in this topic. There is no freedom of speech. Their life is being controlled by men. Hence there is a need to bring up this issue to everyone so that the discriminated gender in Saudi Arabia can be reduced and the womens quality of life can be improved. Women in Saudi Arabia are normally seen wearing dull colours veil, head covering and a full black cloak. They must cover the parts of their body except the eyes. The clothing must be thick and loose-fitting which will not interest male. The reason of dressing so is because no seduction is allowed to men. According to Saudi culture, womens employment place is at home whereas mans is at the workplace. Women are not allowed to neglect their responsibilities of house chores. A new report released by Human Right Watch (HRW), it state that Requirements that each female, regardless of age, be assigned a male guardian be it a father, a husband, or even a son who must give permission for their charges to do everything from travel abroad or locally to study, seek medical care, work and marry effectively deprives women of their most basic rights and makes their participation in public life far more difficult. (Jim Lobe, 2008 Apr 21) Also in the same article, One 40-year-old Saudi woman, who was divorced from her husband and whose father had died, who had to seek permission from her 23-year-old son to travel outside the kingdom (Jim Lobe, 2008, Apr 21) This is an extremely absurd information for any Singaporean women to believe if this act was to be implemented in Singapore. In normal situation in Singapore, it is usually the children be it of gender have to seek permission from parents to leave a country. However in Saudi Arabia, they are being based on gende r where men have all the authority over women. And in most cases, women are needed to be accompanied by a man on streets. It is extremely common to see women driving on the road in Singapore. Unlike Saudi Arabia, women are allowed to own a car but they are not given the rights to drive. Women can still own cars in Saudi Arabia, but they are banned from driving them. (Associated Press, July 5 2010) They are the only county that does not allow women to drive. In addition to such extend, Saudi Arabia women actually threaten to breastfeed their male colleagues or men that they often come in contact with. The reason why they will do so is because they think that by breastfeeding the men, it will create a symbolic maternal relation. Within the same article, it also stated that if the women give their drivers their breast milk, the chauffeurs would be able to mingle with all members of the family without having to worry about violating Islamic law. In both scenarios, women are at disadvantage because despite of breastfeeding those strangers, they are still not allowed to drive. But if they do so, it also means giving the chance for those strangers to associate with their family members without fears breaking the Islamic law. SECTION III WHY IS IT IMPORTENT FOR US TO TALK ABOUT IT? Women are often being seen as more inferior as compared to men in Saudi Arabia, especially where the lack of education further verifies this. Majority of the women are not allowed to attend school just because of gender. It affects the society as it does not give a good impression to other countries. Women in Saudi Arabia do not have any say in almost everything even basic human rights like receiving medical care or working. As stated in the first example, they must seek permission from their male guardian before doing so. They are also being forbidden from participating in political issues such as election. Giving men the authority over women could means a higher danger for them. An article stated that The power given to male guardians actually contributes to womens risk of abuse and family violence, according to the report. Even when guardians are found to be abusive against their charges, social workers, doctors, and lawyers who work on such cases told HRW that it was almost impossible for their guardianship to be dissolved or transferred. (Jim Lobe, 2008 Apr 21) As women are considered the substandard ones in the society, majority of them are not literate. The only jobs that are suitable for them are those that do not required any skills as such being a domestic worker. In the same article, it also added that Many migrant domestic workers, mostly women, were kept in highly abusive conditions, being made to work up to 18 hours every day, in some cases for little or no pay. Domestic workers have no protection under Saudi Arabian labour law and have little possibility in practice of obt aining redress against abusive or exploitative employers. The government said that a law against domestic violence was being drafted. (Amnesty International, 2009) In most situations, women can only bear with all the misery and feel so helpless regarding it. The rate of discrimination in Saudi Arabia is extremely high and need to be brought up to everyone. Women are not given a fair chance when it comes to employment. Women remained subordinate to men under family law, were denied equal employment opportunities with men, remained banned from driving vehicles or travelling alone (Amnesty International, 2009) Women tried to protest against the discrimination act that men put on them, however the way they protest has limited effect. Such as the incident of being banned from driving, women protest it by threatening to breastfeed the men. This behavior will never happen in Singapore because it is never practiced in here. One woman who was being interview by the Gulf News said Is this all that is left to us to do: to give our breasts to the foreign drivers? She commented this because she understand even such threaten will only put women at disadvantage. SECTION IV WHERE CAN WE START TO FIX PROBLEM? I believe equal rights exist for everyone regardless of age, gender. This inequality treatment women received is the society is causing women to protest. Although the International committee such as United Nation (UN) has already stepped into Saudi Arabia to help those women, nevertheless there is still much limitation they can do. There isnt much that can be done by outsiders as its my belief that sustainable change is only change that happens from within. (Eman Fahad Al Nafjan, 2010, September 9) In 2001, the UN has a Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Its purpose was to ask Saudi Arabia to take action to end discrimination against women in all forms. The convention oblige Saudi Arabia to pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating discrimination against women, including any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field. (Human Rights Watch, 2009 July 8) However, this convection has little effect. The Saudi government sacrifices basic human rights to maintain male control over women. Saudi women wont make any progress until the government ends the abuses that stem from these misguided policies. (Jim Lobe, 2008 Apr 21) To end the misery of women, firstly the government have to start their part. The Islam law is the biggest factor causing the restrictions for women in the country. Men should stop being chauvinistic and mentality that they are superior, where women should be stay home, this mindset needs to be highlighted. Various actions done by the Amnesty International USA of helping these vulnerable women in Saudi Arabia was to create awareness to people all over the world about how are they being treated. They even urge readers to send in appeals to the Head of Election Committee and the Ministry of Interior to help these women. Write to the Head of the Election Committee and the Minister of Interior, calling for women in Saudi Arabia to be given their basic fundamental right to universal suffrage without delay. (Amnesty International USA, 2004 November)

Lee Harvey Oswald :: essays research papers

Outline Thesis Statement: Because of extensive evidence, I believe that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone on the day of November 22, 1963 in the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. The additional gunman was strategically placed in the grassy knoll area, in order to shoot at Kennedy from a frontal view (Rubinstein 4). A. Opening Paragraph   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Since November 23, 1963, the day after President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was assassinated, there have been speculations as to the happenings of November 22, 1963. Along with the Warren Commission, there are hundreds of conspiracies and theories attempting to explain the assassination of Kennedy. Many people agree with the Warren Commission in that Lee Harvey Oswald acted as the lone gunman, while others maintain that another gunman was involved. Because of extensive evidence, I believe that Oswald did not act alone on November 22, 1963 in the assassination of Kennedy. The additional gunman was strategically placed in the grassy knoll area, in order to shoot at Kennedy from a frontal view (Rubinstein 4).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   B. Warren Commission (Refutation) 1. The Warren Commission was a team of people chosen to examine the assassination of John F. Kennedy (Rubinstein 2).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  a. Give a brief summary of the Warren Commission’s account. 2. Many people agree with the Warren Commission in that Lee Harvey Oswald is the lone gunman.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  a. Give evidence as to why they agree.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  b. Tell why this evidence is wrong. C. The Grassy Knoll (Reason) 1. The grassy knoll was an area on the left side of Elm Street, where President Kennedy was shot (Hurt insert page).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  a. Give more general information on the grassy knoll area. 2. The grassy knoll, when the shooting began, was positioned in front of Kennedy’s limousine (Rubinstein 4).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  a. Describe the â€Å"head snap† of John F. Kennedy. D. More Than One Gunman (Reason) 1. Often, it is concluded that a lone gunman couldn’t have made the shots in the short seconds of the shooting (Rubinstein 4). a. It appears that President Kennedy and Governor Connally were injured by two different shots (Hurt 63).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   b. Describe the abilities of Oswald’s gun (Hurt 63). E. Witnesses on the Grassy Knoll (Reason) 1. Several eyewitnesses to President Kennedy’s assassination, which were present in the grassy knoll area, testify to the fact that a shot was made from the grassy knoll area. a. Gordon Arnold was standing in the grassy knoll area when he was asked to move over a little. Just as he stepped away he felt a bullet nearly hit his left ear (Hurt 111).

Case on TQM Essay

ABSTRACT: Using case study methodology, the authors asked quality managers about their company’s experience with ISO 9000:1994 and total quality management (TQM) implementation. The results show that initially the standard could help some companies reorganize their procedures and define responsibilities and duties. However, managers’ perspectives on its possible effect on company performance are not positive. Only product quality improves after implementation. On the contrary, TQM has improved many aspects of performance, the most influential aspects being those â€Å"soft† dimensions of leadership and human resource management. These aspects were not included in ISO 9000:1994. After analyzing ISO 9000 as a first step toward the TQM implementation, as much of the literature advises, the authors’ findings suggest that managers consider it to be a disturbing element when implemented jointly with TQM. Their study points out that, in practice, there are two parallel quality systems in a company. To get better results, it is important to adapt ISO requirements to facilitate TQM implementation; otherwise, the only advantage of the registration is the â€Å"permission† to selling the market. INTRODUCTION: Over the last decade, ISO 9000 certification has been the subject of many articles. The phenomenon of its quick development led to a belief that it was a great advantage for a company to attain registration. In keeping with this, many researchers tried to identify the impact of ISO 9000 certification on companies’ results and management. An important group of researchers has not found any strong positive relationship between certification and results. However, there is another group of articles that points out an influence of registration on product quality. Apart from any influence derived from implementation, some authors advocated that certification could be a good first step toward a total quality management (TQM) system, raising awareness of quality among workers and a good climate in which to implement it. Regarding this point, implementation of the standard was advised with the aim of implementing TQM in order to obtain maximum benefits from the registration (Brecka, 1994; Meegan and Taylor 1997; Huarng, Horng, and Chen 1999; Hughes, Williams, and Ryall 2000; Sun 2000; Gotzamani and Tsiotras 2002). The question is: Do companies really implement ISO certification with this aim? Is the accepted wisdom that ISO certification could â€Å"help† companies attain a TQM system true? Which aspects of ISO do that? The purpose of this research is to empirically evaluate the real contribution of ISO 9000 toward TQM implementation. METHODOLOGY: Case study methodology is best when the objective is to build theory in preliminary phases of a research study or to add new perspectives to previous research (Yin 1994). Part of this research can be considered as preliminary, because there is still little evidence on how the ISO 9000 and TQM act jointly in management. The objective of the case study is not the statistical generalization, but the analytical one. This methodology tries to generalize from case to theory; it does not attempt to extrapolate facts from sample to population. Relating to the number of cases, the lower number will allow the researcher to obtain more information (Voss, Tsikriktsis, and Frohlich 2002). However, a multiple case study increases reliability and external validity. †¢ Predict similar results (literal replication) †¢ Get different results due to predictable reasons The authors chose a multiple case study instead of a single one to increase external validity and reliability. Fourteen companies among the biggest manufacturing companies in Spain were selected for the study. The cases were selected with the condition of being certified at least by the ISO 9000:1994. Three of them were applying TQM and two were recently certified by the new version of ISO 9000:2000. The case study protocol included two questionnaires in order to apply triangulation. One of them was used in the interview with the quality manager. The other questionnaire was to be completed by other managers not associated with the quality area. The authors took into consideration other documents supplied by the company and direct observation through plant visits. Table 1 shows the companies participating in the study and their characteristics. Later in this article, the authors assign a number for each company in order to safeguard confidentiality of responses. The criteria used to select companies were mainly: †¢ Homogeneity of external factors: The authors focused on manufacturing companies since ISO 9000 was initially designed for industrial companies. RESULTS: Effects of TQM on Company Performance: First the authors classified companies according to the degree of implementation of a total quality system. They identified three companies with high levels and experience in TQM the remaining companies had a low degree of TQM implementation. This classification was based on information about TQM dimensions such as customer orientation, work teams for continual improvement, consciousness about quality, quality planning, and so on. Managers of the three TQM companies were asked about the perceived performance improvements as a result of TQM implementation. The three managers agreed that TQM implementation had benefited the company in many ways. Then the authors asked them to position the improvements in a set of performance measurements, explaining why the TQM system had improved every measure. Measurements were obtained from a literature review that relates quality management and performance. The richness of the case study is that the manager is able to explain at the moment of completing the questionnaire the â€Å"why† of each rate and to add evidence to the question. Table 2 shows the results along with some notes from managers. The last column shows the value of the influence on each measure based on the majority of responses (1-2=low, 3=medium, 4-5=high). In the cases where companies’ responses are very different (one of each) there is not enough evidence to affirm that TQM influences that point. According to these managers’ perceptions, TQM influences product quality, customer service, fast response, competitiveness, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction and motivation, rate of defects, and stock price. Regarding the customers’ claims, it is important to note that two managers indicated that this point had not improved because customers today are more demanding than before. A similar explanation is valid for warranty costs. One company also pointed out that these costs often come from a wrong use of the product and not from its quality. Exports and innovations were not tested because of the particular characteristics of the companies interviewed Financial measures were difficult to mark. Managers agreed that they would need more information to position themselves, although they perceived that the market in general values the fact that the company has implemented a TQM system and consequently, the stock price rises. After completing the questionnaire, managers were asked to indicate the elements of TQM that are â€Å"more responsible† for company improvements. Following are their responses †¢ Company 1: â€Å"The most important aspect is that everybody in the company, including the cleaning service, the doorman, and the accountant, is conscious and worried about quality. Before, the only people interested in quality were the quality department staff.† †¢ Company 4: â€Å"Personnel motivation and participation. If you get this, then the complete system works.† †¢ Company 12: â€Å"First, the general belief of the importance of quality. Second, the decision to be real leaders. Managers and staff move together towards the same aim.â⠂¬  Effects of ISO 9000 on Company Performance: Quality managers were also asked about the influence that ISO 9000:1994 registration has had on the same aspects of company results that were considered for TQM. They were asked to give a score from 1 to 5 (1=no influence, 5=very strong influence). The global influence that ISO 9000:1994 has had over each variable, evaluated according to the majority of responses, is presented in the final column of Table 3. As can be seen, the only aspect that clearly improved from the date of certification was product quality. One manager said this was because they had to create procedures and reduce variability in the production process because of ISO implementation. All of them agreed that the product was the same as before certification. The only difference was that after ISO implementation it was more controlled. The defect rate had consequently decreased as well. The effect on both customer satisfaction and competitiveness was medium. It is worth explaining that when the quality manager considered that certification could improved these variables, he always explained that â€Å"customer satisfaction† was derived from the accomplishment of a previous requirement from him: to attain certification. Some other managers pointed out that this satisfaction could be due to improvement in claims management. When ISO 9000 was first created, being a certified company was a competitive advantage. Today this advantage has disappeared and it has become a requirement to compete in the market. The effect on customer service was also medium. In this sense, ISO 9000 certification has been useful to organize the claims management system. Each claim must be registered and evaluated. There must exist a procedure to solve claims. Regarding the employees, the ISO 9000 system improved their productivity and their interest in quality problems. Improvement in productivity is again explained by better procedures and work instructions. However, many managers have confessed that employee satisfaction worsened because of the bureaucracy of the system. The documentation needed to sustain the system increased their workload. The remaining variables are not considered to have any impact on results. Note that the financial measures were not influenced by the implementation of the standard. When managers were asked about the main advantages and disadvantages of certification, they agreed that certification is helpful to organize the production system through procedures and work instructions. The paperwork generated was identified as the most negative consequence. After asking if certification was profitable, the majority answered that â€Å"it had to be,† pointing out that nowadays it is a basic requirement. â€Å"If we did not have it, we couldn’t sell,† they affirmed. ISO 9000 and TQM: If data on the companies that had implemented TQM are analyzed, it can be seen that certification had less impact on nearly all results. The first company shows higher marks in some variables. This company was the only one that started the quality journey by implementing ISO 9000 first and then TQM. It would explain the fact that the ISO standard could help managers organize the production process when quality management was at an initial stage. In fact, the manager of this company stated that formalization was useful for learning and for having criteria for future comparisons. The other two managers of companies applying TQM did not find any impact, although they suggested that the certification could help in some cases when companies had problems regarding process management. Finally, as an interesting note, one of the managers was worried about the new version of the standard, ISO 9000:2000. As explained before, managers try to establish minimal requirements in the quality manual to avoid what they believe as disturbances in their normal work. In his opinion, the new version represents a higher level of a quality system, is more demanding, and tries to incorporate some points more in line with the TQM system. It would mean that the auditor should have access to new fields in his or her company, and they would have to allow him or her to interrupt many aspects of the process. It could mean that the company worked less well than before. CONCLUSION: The authors asked quality managers of 14 companies about their experience with both ISO 9000:1994 implementation and TQM. Only three of the 14 companies had implemented TQM. Those companies have had improvements in performance as a result. These were mainly in product quality, customer and employee satisfaction, and competitiveness. When asked about the most important dimensions of TQM for getting these better results, managers agreed on leadership and employee participation. Regarding ISO 9000, the results show that the only clear improvement is in product quality. Managers agree that certification was useful in the initial stages of quality system implementation, mainly because they improved their production process through the development of work procedures, creating an atmosphere in which quality played an important role and defining responsibilities and duties. Initially, ISO 9000 certification was a competitive tool because it was still a novelty. However, today, certification is no longer a competitive advantage, but a prerequisite to play in the market. The authors have detected that companies that are applying TQM have fewer improvements in performance when ISO 9000 was implemented than the others. One of them presents slightly higher values, and, by coincidence, it is the only one that was ISO 9000 registered before implementing TQM. This could give the impression that the standard could be a good first step toward TQM implementation n. However, a more in-depth interview with managers changed the authors’ point of view. The managers point out that the ISO standard can be an obstacle when implemented jointly with a TQM system, interfering in the normal operation of the business and allowing the auditor to â€Å"inspect† too many aspects of the quality system and slowing it down. The solution to this problem provided by some of the Spanish managers interviewed was to completely separate implementation of a TQM system from the ISO 9000 system. Within other business culture contexts, the solution could well be different. Those companies that decided to apply the ISO regulation more strictly introduced all those aspects related to GCT in the manual. Then, the auditor will have a more important role and his or her understanding of what TQM is will be more important in these cases. Therefore, the effect of ISO 9001:2000 on company results will also depend on two factors: 1) the managers’ fulfilment of norms, and 2) the auditors’ understanding of TQM. Differences among countries due to different management cultures will then be a cause of differences in ISO 9001 effects and an interesting topic of analysis. The new version of the standard is closer to a TQM system. In particular, it tries to improve human resource management, customer focus, and leadership. According to managers, and supported by the conclusions of previous authors, the â€Å"soft† variables of TQM are responsible for the improvement in results derived from TQM implementation. It is an opportunity for companies to achieve better performance by applying the new version adequately. This new standard could also be a good first step toward a TQM system. Further research in this sense would be interesting to help managers attain more benefits from certification.

Economic Crisis in Europe

How does Economic Crisis Affect European Union and how Does EU Reacts Introduction to the European Union and the Economic Crisis It is a fact world wide that we are facing an economic crisis. There are many Countries inside European Union that can hardly respond to the values of the crisis. The whole commission has to Decide and act properly for all those countries that can hardly respond to the crisis. The depth and breath of the current global financial crisis is unprecedented in post-war economic history.It has several features in common with similar financial-stress driven crisis episodes. It was preceded by relatively long period of rapid credit growth, low risk premiums, abundant availability of liquidity, strong leveraging, soaring asset prices and the development of bubbles in the real estate sector. Stretched leveraged positions and maturity mismatches rendered financial institutions very vulnerable to corrections in asset markets, deteriorating loan performance and disturba nces in the wholesale funding markets.Such episodes have happened before and the examples are abundant (e. g. Japan and the Nordic countries in the early 1990s, the Asian crisis in the late-1990s). But the key difference between these earlier episodes and the current crisis is its global dimension. ( http://ec. europa. eu/economy_finance/publications/publication15887 ) THE CRISIS FROM A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE A perfect storm. This is one metaphor used to describe the present global crisis. No other economic downturn after World War II has been as severe as today's recession.Although a large number of crises have occurred in recent decades around the globe, almost all of them have remained national or regional events – without a global impact. So this time is different – the crisis of today has no recent match. To find a downturn of similar depth and extent, the record of the 1930s has to be evoked. Actually, a new interest in the depression of the 1930s, commonly class ified as the Great Depression, has emerged as a result of today's crisis. By now, it is commonly used as a benchmark for assessing the current global downturn. The purpose of this hapter is to give a historical perspective to the present crisis. In the first section, the similarities and differences between the 1930s depression and the present crisis concerning the geographical origins, causes, duration and impact of the two crises are outlined. As both depressions were global, the transmission mechanism and the channels propagating the crisis across countries are analyzed. Next, the similarities and differences in the policy responses then and now are mapped. Finally, a set of policy lessons for today are extracted from the past.A word a warning should be issued before making comparisons across time. Although the statistical data from previous epochs are far from complete, historical national accounts research and the statistics compiled by the League of Nations offer comprehensive evidence for this chapter. Of course, any historical comparisons should be treated with caution. There are fundamental differences with earlier epochs concerning the structure of the economy, degree of globalization, nature of financial innovation, state of technology, institutions, economic thinking and policies.Paying due attention to them is important when drawing lessons. (http://ec. europa. eu/economy_finance/publications/publication15887 ) Responses to Crisis In a single market and a huge trading bloc like the EU, coordination of national economic policies is important. Through such coordination, the EU can act with speed and consistency when faced with economic challenges, as the current economic and financial crisis. Sixteen countries have even one step further by adopting the euro currency.The framework for cooperation in economic policy is Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), whose members are all EU countries is a framework within which countries agree common guidelines on important issues of the economy. The final result of the cooperation is more growth, more jobs and higher level of social protection for all. Moreover, this cooperation allows the EU to respond to global economic and financial challenges in a coordinated way. The EU as a major trading power, is more resilient to external shocks and, thus, can effectively address the various economic and financial problems.The EU has faced in a coordinated way the current financial and economic crisis, from the first moment occurred in October 2008. National governments, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Commission work together to protect their savings to maintain the flow of credit at affordable terms for businesses and households, and to establish a better system of global management of the financial sector. The aim is not simply the restoration of stability but to ensure that the conditions to re-launch growth and job creation.So far, EU governments have placed more than 2 trillion for the rescue effort of their economies. European leaders have coordinated their interventions, providing support and allowing banks to grant loan guarantees. The EU also increased state guarantees for private savings accounts to 50,000 euros. The use of the euro as common currency in many European countries worked very positively during the crisis. Helped the EU to react to the global credit crisis in a coordinated manner and provide greater stability than would happen without it.For example, as the ECB could cut interest rates throughout the euro area (instead of each country sets its own exchange rate), banks across the EU can now borrow or lend to each other under the same conditions . The euro is used daily by more than 60% of EU citizens Having a single currency was a win-win for abolished the cost of converting currencies at leisure or business trips within the eurozone, abolished or significantly decreased in almost all Where the cost of cross-border payments; consumers and busine sses can easily compare prices, thus fostering competition.Participation in the euro zone is a guarantee of price stability. The ECB sets the key interest rates at levels designed to keep medium-term inflation in the euro area below 2%. It also manages the foreign reserves of the EU to intervene in currency markets to influence the euro exchange rate. (http://europa. eu/pol/financ/index_el. htm ) Europe, mistakes and the economic crisis The crisis was born on August 9, 2007, when the European Central Bank (ECB) introduced 95 billion liquidity to markets, while the BNP Raribas freeze three investment funds because of subprime had value.The injections are slightly stimulated the patient and the ECB has gained credibility. Apart from the monetary policy should, however, warned governments to take steps to eradicate the evil and to prevent the liquidity crisis be turned into a solvency crisis. Then the ECB was slow to cut interest rates. When in March the European Parliament held a deba te devoted to these issues in preparation for the European Council in April, the former Irish Finance Minister Charlie Mc.Creevy had preferred to keep racing †¦ Also the perception of Manuel Barroso's role is questionable. Rather than enshrine it in the spirit of community spirit, arrested him as a dead leaf which is led and borne by the wishes of the Council: the Commission should propose only what Member States want. The organization of the Commission creates a blind spot in understanding this crisis. The macroeconomic and related issues with the markets depend on two different committees.In the European Parliament in October 2006 calling on the Commission â€Å"to pay more attention to the effects of market behavior on the macroeconomic situation in the euro area. Because there had to break the morale of the household, mobile motorized development, and because it was easier not to go ahead, the governments leave the ECB to intervene alone. Adopt them journey to the lessons of the crisis are not dealt with the pollution of subprime, the address of which is limited to calls for transparency from banks.But this is contrary to the rules of the market because it requires â€Å"players† to risk their reputation. Transparency could be only by on-site inspections, for which nobody had the means. In the spring the International Monetary Fund released figures decline in growth in Europe while car sales fell in Germany. In the holy alliance of the European executive and the ECB decided that the data were under American influence and too pessimistic. By optimizing the expectations we had in denial of reality.After a serious error assessment of the Bush administration ran away evil and rotten egg of subprime cut the mayonnaise in the world economy have serious economic and social consequences. The decision to leave at the Lehman collapse Vrothers on September 15 caused a systemic crisis marking the death certificate of the Reagan-Thatcher era. In Europe-in this new phase of the crisis-the first reflex was to rescue the Irish, which has decided to guarantee all deposits of banks. Angela Merkel initially denied any plan to support the European banking sector.After Nicolas Sarkozy left alone against the German refusal, Gordon Brown presented his own plan and moved to the Eurogroup. As a former Finance Minister of the main economic spot of Europe, he knew very well what he was talking and was able to combine the political imperative for action control mechanisms. Nicolas Sarkozy, who has made Jean-Claude Trichet in the class of head of state or government, seemed to be trying to play a kind of changing the State Monopoly French capitalism, industry and the media depending on the mood.This was perhaps another reason why the banks refused the first version of the plan and forced the state to offer loans without taking any involvement. We thus present a massive plan to support banks without exchange intervention to long-term strategy. There is also a risk that the pressure for reforms to evaporate with a new relative stabilization of markets and argued that any significant change endangers the fragile economies. Finally, the European response to banking crisis will be in parallel with national plans.An ambitious Commission will undertake to lead the implementation of these projects to be used in a European strategy. Europe can provide the best, the ability of the default rules, is the soft power of the modern era that is so necessary by globalization. For this reason the Commission should rediscover the nature and take-back initiatives is one of the great challenges of the next European schedule. (http://www. tovima. gr/default. asp? pid=2&ct=6&artid=23784&dt=18/11/2008 ) Economic crisis leading to â€Å"relaxation† of EU rules on deficitsThe ‘relaxation' of the rules on deficits under the Stability Pact (up to 3% of GDP) in fact go the European governments, as the financial crisis requires more government spending to avoid recession. Although the head of the Eurogroup Jean-Claude Juncker said at the meeting of four European leaders in Paris on Saturday that â€Å"the Stability Pact should be respected† in its entirety, is a common belief within the EU that will be tolerated a-temporary-breaching the 3% of GDP as the primary objective in this very difficult international situation is the stability of the system.Officially, most EU leaders insist on fiscal discipline is, but everyone knows that without government intervention the situation will deteriorate and European economies will slip into recession. The ‘culture' that prevails in Europe, captured the French president Nicolas Sarkozy, saying that â€Å"the implementation of the Pact should reflect the exceptional circumstances where we are. † The â€Å"exceptional circumstances†, according to international organizations, the most serious economic crisis of the Great Depression of the 1930s.This issue wil l be addressed by the European finance ministers Monday (Eurogroup) and Tuesday (Ecofin) in Luxembourg. The ministers will discuss the crisis and will refer to measures taken in their countries to reduce the impact of the credit â€Å"suffocation†. The EU prefers assistance â€Å"in case† and, for the moment at least, does not discuss the possibility of a common reserve fund (suggested and took back then N. Sarkozy) to rescue the banking and general corporate financial industry tested by the crisis.