The Threshold Of Museums Architecture Essay

Altes Museum in Berlin was designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel in 1830s. They manner is has been done inflected many designers ‘ work. From this edifice, we could experience Schinkel desires to supply the people who lived in or visited his edifices with elusive spacial experiences and see the relationship of constructing with their landscape scenes. He diverted the focal point of architectural concern off from the design of frontages as planar in writing composings and towards thoughts working the three dimensions of infinite together with a 4th that of motion in clip. This implied a richer and more complex construct of architecture, one that was non simply preoccupied with issues of manner and proportion. When you walk into this museum, the first thing you will detect is wide step upwards and 18 ionic columns in lift. Columns are sandwiched between a dais and an entablature. As you climb the wide stairss, you will travel through these ionic columns which form an 87 metres long portico with statues along the side. This is the minute you feel you are non merely the perceiver but a portion of this architecture or a participant in this spacial experience. There are options for farther motion. You could walk through the rotunda which is the bosom of the edifice, and so travel into the galleries. Or you could turn left or right so climb up the stepss to the upper degree straightly ; you could look back through the dual bed of columns to the exterior or into the rotunda. It is a great mediate infinite which connected out-of-door landscape and inside universe. You could literally see through the infinite, smell the fresh air, and experience the hierarchy and transparence of the layout Schinke l carefully arranged. Besides, you could experience you are portion of this experience by being in the spacial passage and connexion. This edifice is non simply a affair of ocular visual aspect and sculptural signifier but is besides an instrument for orchestrating experience, it designed to take people move up and down, inside and outside by stepss, change their position by through columns and degrees. POMPIDOU CENTRE The George Pompidou Centre in Paris built between 1970 and 1977 by the designer Renzo Piano & A ; Richard Rogers. The edifice housed humanistic disciplines, books and modern-day diversion. The site of this undertaking was a monolithic auto park. Rogers and Piano won the competition ; theirs first program is to utilize the half of the infinite available go forthing the remainder as a forecourt. The determination really became the most successful one in the design. The construction of Pompidou Centre is simple and insistent. The designers put the functional parts which would usually be indoors on the exterior of edifice. All the edifice facade covered with glass, which both physiological reaction and shrive the metropolis. Six paseos have been installed on every floors confronting to the forecourt and the metropolis Centre. Outside of the construction frame, the immense escalator was placed which conveyance visitants up to the 5th degree. These two super beds on the frame of the edifice give the visitant a sort of industrial image. Peoples traveling through the transpierced tubing to acquire the floor they want to travel to. It is non merely a edifice with skeletonal volume and supplying sufficient wall construction but besides the immense lattice truss provides the flexibleness. The designers decide to construct a flexible shelter and supply public infinite to wait and see, instead than do a memorial or cultural infinite at the first topographic point. The forecourt is every bit of import as the edifice to people. It is a existent liveable urban infinite in the dense environment. It besides makes the edifice more belong to the metropolis. The forecourt has a soft incline ; force visitants pass the entryway country easy. There is no important separation between the forecourt and the anteroom. The land degree is besides a immense unfastened infinite with no columns, where people could experience the continuity of infinite. The forecourt introduces the Centre and the entryway is the continuity of the metropolis. The forecourt besides exhibits the â€Å" life † of the metropolis, so excessively do th e facades. The paseos is non merely free circulation infinite, they besides reflex the meeting point between the edifice and the metropolis. So the whole facade is accentually a public infinite. Different motion is unrestricted and free in this infinite, from street to the forecourt, the tubing to the paseo. Visitors do non necessitate to pay for traveling into the escalator, for the full experience of the whole sequences. It is so liveable. Although, it is a immense graduated table – about twice high as the environing edifice, but it is non separated from the metropolis. It is the most popular edifice for visitants and locals, and besides became a memorial of the metropolis. Peoples non merely come for the installation but the topographic point and the positions. Tate MODERN Tate Modern is one of the most celebrated national galleries of modern art in London. It seated at the bank side, linked to St Paul ‘s Cathedral by the Millennium Footbridge. It was used to be a Power Station, designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott and has been regenerated by Herzog & A ; de Meuron from 1994-2000. The chief entryway located at the west side of the edifice. When you walk near to the edifice from West, foremost, at your left manus side, you will see a green forecourt with black benches linear distributed. At right side, you would happen a incline downwards, about 18-20 metres broad. Walking down gently, you could see the glassy door and drape wall and the mark on top, and people would eventually recognize it is the manner in. The tallness of the door is truly low with rather long extension on the top, so while you go throughing it you could non appreciate to the full vision of the interior right off. The incline does n't halt here but extends down to the interior. The lone different is two metres broad stairss along the right manus side of the incline after go throughing through the glassy door. While you carry on walking down for twosome of stairss, you will all of a sudden acquire full image of the inside – the Turbine Hall, a immense graduated table infinite. The desig ners leave the whole infinite strictly appear to the visitants. Five-storages tall, 3,400 square metres infinite which was housed all the electricity generators of old power station. It is a infinite for specially-commissioned plants by modern-day creative persons. A line drive roof visible radiation dropped from the top, continued down to the back wall. This hall has been compared with the Bibliotheque royale de Paris by Etienne-Louis Boullee, about the similar full-length fanlight and tremendous tallness above, besides the chances for people to look the cardinal country from the side. They want to do the infinite as breezy and easygoing, and expose itself at the get downing instead than art. This is besides a sort of jubilation the designers intend to do before the exhibition. The ramp supports taking you to the response country and the forepart of cardinal step, a upraised black home base which looks like a span cross above. The first options for the visitant is that you could ta ke to travel underneath the upraised country, forwards to the back portion of the turbine hall, to the left where is the major conveyance area- the escalators, or to the upper degree which connected straight to the north entryway and the river bank. However, the river side entryway seems to be more popular than the chief one, largely because it located right to one terminal of the Millennium Bridge which connected with St Paul ‘s Cathedral. So people from north bank could really walk cross the span and acquire into the museum. The other ground likely is because of assorted activates, there are many people traveling along the river bank, besides a nice green country with seats provide infinite to the street performing artists and sellers. The ambiance here is much more liveable comparison to the forecourt of chief entryway. Herzog & A ; de Meuron describe the passage of the entrance as â€Å" the minute of breathless admiration † . The idea if they want to convey the perceiver the feeling of being overawed, of holding to catch one ‘s breath before existent magnificence, they must led them through the oculus of a needle – a tunnel. The incline is little more than a somewhat tightened transcript of the entree incline to the Pompidou Centre, but they extend the incline to twice the length, for at an unexpected point they increase the already huge tallness of the hall by rupturing out the old floor above the basement, to do the over high hall even higher. JEWISH MUSEUM The Jewish Museum in Berlin was built between 1993 and 1998 by the designer Daniel Libeskind. He called his design for the Jewish Museum Berlin â€Å" Between the Lines. † The floor program is shaped like a zigzag line and is intersected by a consecutive line. Empty infinites called nothingnesss extend the tallness of the edifice at the interfaces. The zinc-clad facade is covered by diagonal cuts – the window gaps. Three waies cross on the lower degree: the Axis of Exile, the Axis of the Holocaust, and the Axis of Continuity, Which leads to the museum ‘s upper narratives. Daniel Libeskind said: â€Å" What is of import is the experience you get from it. The reading is unfastened. † As Libeskind said, the experience is the important. It is like a narrative he want to state. The zinc-clad edifice attracted people from distance on the street, but there is no entryway. There is besides no mark stating people where the manner in is. The chief entryway of the museum really located at the old eighteenth century edifice. Peoples have to walk into the bing edifice, pass the response and eventually acquire to the manner into the chief portion. It is a big entryway at right manus side in untreated concrete with crisp angles. It unfastened onto a stairway that alternatively of stairss to the upper floor as it is to be expected in museum, the stairway goes underground. So the visitant of the museum starts from the foundation of the old edifice. But architect reveals the suggestion instantly, if you look up, you see the stairway is really at the really underside of concrete well that without any functional justification pierced the old edifice in every degree. So people coul d see the concrete well from all floors up to the eaves. The concrete tower guards the entryway to underground country that seems first sight to be much simpler so the broken-line surface edifice people seeing from the street. And Daniel thought this is the existent bosom of this undertaking. They are three corridors. The cardinal island means merely two could be seen at a clip. It is impossible to hold overall vision. It is the axis. An axis is a consecutive line about which the portion of the organic structure or system axiomatically arranged. The three axes here represent the three major experiences the Judaic life in old yearss: continuity, expatriate and decease. The visible radiations on the ceiling besides accent the thought of axis. Merely the heterosexual and longest way leads to the chief portion of the museum. It leads to a stairway seems to be rather modest, as walking up, all of a sudden dramatic position reveals. Straight-line stairway keeps traveling up to make the to p floor. Architect frees the infinite with lone one direction- upwards. Great concrete beams stabilized the construction seems have trouble to keep the edifice. There are besides six different form concrete avoids in the edifice, pierced the edifice in every floor. The lone lighting comes from fanlight. The threshold in Jewish Museum is non the infinite we normally could see. In this instance, passage infinite ( the axis, the step, the avoid, the visible radiation ) became the most of import portion to uncover the spirit of this edifice, a narrative which the designer wants to portion with all the visitants. He besides intend to do this edifice non obvious and leave all those intending and concealed force to be explored by the visitants, or more accurately, the participants. CAIXA FORUM Caixa Forum built between 2001 and 2007 in Madrid by the designer Herzog & A ; de Meuron. It is a post-modern art gallery located at the Centre of metropolis. It is housed in a born-again 1899 power station. The designers decided to pulverize the original roof and insides. They cut away the granite base of the brick outside walls, making the semblance that the edifice floats in midair, vibrating over a covered entry place. With the add-on of two upper narratives clad in rusted dramatis personae Fe and two resistance degrees, they doubled the edifice ‘s tallness and increased its size five times to more than 100,000 square pess. In short, the designers have skinned and gutted the construction like an animate being, transforming its tatterdemalion brick shell, four withes thick, into an alien veneer. The basic scheme of the Caixa Forum design is similar to that to raise the edifice up and make a shaded public place underneath. It is because the status of the site is rather compressive, with the narrow back streets inclining upward on one side. To cut off the bottom portion makes the edifice more seeable and accessible from different waies. When you walk from cross street, no affair from forepart or back, the first feeling is a drifting edifice with different colorss and the green wall beside. Take some more stairss ; you will instantly experience the dramatic utilizing of stuff. The unbelievable texture utilizing for the frontage and the pavement, make a alone image. Several beds revealed on it, the covered place made by many triangular panels, the bing portion, the top extension with pierced corroding Fe and the perpendicular green standing by the side. Geting under the covered place, you will happen the environing all of a sudden acquire dark, and see reflecting ceiling which m ade by triangular iron-cast panel, the dynamic infinite with three nucleuss incorporating which back uping the edifice and besides a fountain by the side. These irregular panels are hung from the upper floor slab, go oning to the cardinal entryway – a dramatic coiling entry with crisscrossing exposed fluorescent lamps on top. So people move from the dark and heavy entry plaza up to the entryway could all of a sudden experience the crisp contrast between the two infinites. Another cardinal infinite is the chief star – a white curving bannister of quietly finished concrete. This coiling signifier will take visitants straight up to the top floor cafe where could hold a veiled position of the botanical garden and environing through the perforated dramatis personae Fe. Herzog & A ; de Meuron developed the scheme on impressions of character and montage. It gives each infinite its peculiar animal and experiential personality. They explored it through different belongingss of stuffs and texture, transmutation and decay. It created an immediately recognizable icon from distance that is besides a infinite of fascinating complexness while walking into it. 21th CENTURY MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART The 21th Century Museum in Kanazawa, Japan built by the designer SANAA between 2000 and 2004. It is located in the centre of metropolis Kanazawa with complex contexts: town hall, public park, opera house, shopping promenade, town hall, kindergarten and residential. Peoples come from many waies for different intents, for that ground, SANAA planned to give the edifice a circuital signifier right from the start. That makes it every bit accessible from all waies, without any differentiation between forepart and back. The edifice has two zones, the museum zone which required admittance tickets, and the socialising zone which is free for public. But they are non wholly separated. The designers want these two zones to be visually linked, divided merely by crystalline acrylic doors and courtyards. The first cardinal component of this edifice is the outer walls. They are made of glass, reflecting the environing landscape. It was designed so that the interior and outside of the edifice overlap visually in the curving glass surface. Besides it offers a 360-degree position of the milieus. At the same clip, SANAA decided to utilize way and courtyard to carve the passage infinite out, left merely the solid – exhibition country. Four major courtyards provide visitor several chances to be exposed to the full to the natural visible radiation. Corridors are like streets, traversing from north to south and east to west, making links with the landscapes outside and indoors. These are besides for the populace to utilize for free, unlike the Pompidou Center which set back to make a square for public, this edifice intend to excavate itself from inside to ask for public as participant. In this edifice, when the motions of the people inside the edifice are seeable from without, the sequence of events becomes a portion of its external visual aspect. The manner they look at events reflects how the designers perceive modern-day state of affairss. They interpret this infinite by making elements of contrast and continuity between the architecture and its scene. They thought transparence has a particular significance in this museum. It is non merely a manner of accomplishing elation, information, openness, and light, or including human motion as a portion of the design. It is about â€Å" the feel of life † . Doctrine A museum is much more than the construction of exhibiting. It could be a physical system of warming and chilling, of illuming and darkening, of traveling and remaining, of preserving and decaying, of detecting and larning. Besides, it is a religious construction of entering and depicting, of concealment and disclosure, of bounding and meeting. However, it is ever a construction for public utilizing ; hence, one of the most of import systems would be come ining and go forthing. We ca n't merely believe about an exhibition room to understand the museum without sing the procedure of passage. This sort of passage infinite is made of sofa, transition, entry, and go outing etc. It could be describe as a system. We could look it separately, but really they ever bound up. We do non comprehend sprit of a museum by exhibits. Peoples coming from different waies gather in the same shelter, take some clip, walking, looking, listening, seating, eating and go forthing. The public presentation is systematically affected by the architecture, the system. The manner of the system operate force us how to execute it in. While we follow the direction to execute it, different human Acts of the Apostless reveal. Ultimately, acts we made make us genuinely perceive and understand the infinite. Neil Leach described the thought of door, is that The door becomes the image of the boundary point at which human existences really ever stand or can stand. The finite integrity, to which we have connected a portion of infinite infinite designated for us, reconnects it to this latter ; in the integrity, the edge and the boundary less adjoint one another, non in the dead geometric signifier of a mere dividing wall, but instead as the possibility of a lasting interchange. In museum, the suites and art objects form merely the container, but it is non all about that shell, the content is formed by the visitants. Without that, it ‘s like a painting merely with dead surface. In this instance, museum is non a private aggregation, an art reappraisal ; it is ever about the populace. That is why we find museum admirable.

Starbucks Facing Brand Culture Devaluation and Massive Layoffs

Starbucks facing brand culture devaluation and massive layoffs To: Howard Schultz, Starbucks From: Yang LU, Aspire CC: Rui DONG Xiaochen DONG Vanessa BAXTER Pushpak BERIWAL Executive summary The aim of this report is to find out the deep-seated reason for this depression of Starbucks and give a recommendation to the firm to deal with it. Furthermore, this report also suggests solutions to dismiss the panic of the staff and remains the excellent performance.The key findings include: Finding 1: The over-expansion made Starbucks’ unique culture of the â€Å"Starbucks experience† devalued and seemed no difference with other fast food restaurants. This caused employees’ less well performance and therefore it lost customers’ loyalty as well. Finding 2:The employees felt dissatisfied with the rewards and treated customers with less effort while the unacceptable massive layoffs made a panic. The recommendations suggested by this report include:Recommendation 1:â⠂¬Å"Decentralization†Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Remove number of outlets away from each other and slow down the pace of opening new stores in the US or concentrate on the unexploited market space in other countries. Recommendation 2:Increasing the compensation given to the members asked to leave and suggesting them do some other suitable jobs. The firm can also make a promise that these employees would be considered first when hiring candidates in the future after the most difficult times. Furthermore, keep the employees’ payment stable and hold some activities inspiring to promote people to tide Starbucks over difficulties together.This report describes the findings after applying theories to analyse the issue which claimed the trouble that Starbucks was facing. For years, Starbucks was famous for its consistent growing and expansion. However, the both share price and sales fell even three times than before since 2008. The â€Å"Starbucks experience† (Michelle, 2007) was widely s upposed to have been diluted and the customers complained that the staff seemed to be less complaisant since they found Starbucks Ubiquitous.A resource from MarketWatch: Global Round-up (2008) reported that Starbucks had been forced to close 600 US stores and axe 12,000 jobs which took almost 7% of its global workforce which had made negative effect on other employees. The aim of the report is to find out the deep-seated reason for this depression and give a recommendation to the firm to deal with it. Furthermore, this report also suggests solutions to dismiss the panic of the staff and remain the performance. Key issues identified by Aspire | Key issue| Champion| | Over-expansion caused Starbucks’ brand devaluation and massive layoffs. | Yang Lu| 2| Starbucks' two non-payment methods of motivating employees. | Rui Dong| 3| Starbucks changed people-oriented culture into profit-oriented culture. | Xiaochen Dong| 4| Kraft foods taking Starbucks to court over the planned termina tion of its contract to distribute Starbucks packaged coffee. | Vanessa Baxter| 5| Starbucks is a very command and control driven company which leads to very little flexibility and decision making power at certain regional stores. Pushpak Beriwal| Justification of key issues over-expansion caused culture devaluation and massive layoffs Fast-forward 20 years, Starbucks had more than 10,000 American outlets till 2008 from only 84 US stores in 1990 (Smale, 2008). This sharply increased number made Starbucks seem to be omnipresent like other fast food stores. As a result, this change took a negative effect that the members in this group feel less proud of their jobs in Starbucks which was famous for its unique culture and therefore had less passion to satisfy the customers.From Schein’s (2004) theory of culture components, Starbucks fell to the basic level of culture instead of the highest one it got before. Starbucks finally cut over 10,000 jobs which were most in the US in the last two years during the reforming and also cut the employees' compensation and holiday (Kiley, 2009). By Maslow’s (1970) â€Å"a hierarchy of needs†, Starbucks could not make staff satisfied by the physiological needs and de-motivated other members. The dissatisfied emotion would reflect on their performance.Findings from analyzing issue over-expansion caused brand devaluation and massive layoffs Starbucks was famous for the unique culture that to give all the customers the relaxed feel and atmosphere as a third place out of home and office which called â€Å"Starbucks experience†. This culture is in the second and near the third level of the â€Å"components of cultures† with espoused beliefs and values and basic underlying assumptions which was identified by Schein (2004).Starbucks published its beliefs and values to make the members love their jobs and enjoy the experience in Starbucks to treat customers with their heart and satisfy them and to attra ct new members or partners to join in the group through the unique brand culture. Guided by market, Yang (2010) has provided evidence that brand culture was aims at achieving the maximization of organizations’ profits obtained and customers’ loyalty by establishing common values which could influence the movements and behavior of the members within a company based on the amalgamation of consumers’ value and company.However, the expansion without limitation made a trouble. Although the purpose at first was to make the â€Å"Starbucks experience† penetrate everywhere through the expansion, the company was making stores feel more like hip neighborhood coffeehouse which deviated from its original intention. Starbucks had lost it focus and made a dilution of the â€Å"Starbucks experience†. For the reason that the worth of a thing is best known by the want of it, the value of the culture and brand image went down.The â€Å"cannibalising† (Smale, 2008) sales between branches only a short distance from each other made employees feel less honored to work in this firm or group and the less enthusiasm to satisfy the customers came as a serious consequence. According to Schein’s (2004) theories on culture components, Starbucks only reached the first level of the components â€Å"artefacts† which observed the decorative style and visible products to survive the situation with ubiquitous competition instead of making the ustomers always come first. The â€Å"Starbucks experience† was viewed same as McDonald's and other fast food stores who also sold coffee through such a market saturation. Organizational culture sees culture comprising a number of variables, the combination of which lead to observable differences between organizations so that a company can have power to compete with others (Barry et al. 2000). To get back what made Starbucks successful Starbucks cut a great number of stores and announced massiv e layoffs for reforming.However, this would make the employees undertake the responsibilities and suffer the pain. At the same time, the sudden occurrence as the adjustment in the contract with the employees is both inevitable and a source of trouble, especially it made employees feel that they expected far more than they got and worse off (Kolb et al. 1991, p. 6). According to the theory â€Å"a hierarchy of needs† which developed by Maslow (1970), individuals experience a range of needs and will be motivated to fulfill need which is most powerful at that time.The first level is physiological needs and if this need is dominant for a person they can satisfy it by having a regular job which can keep consistent. But the employees forced to leave Starbucks could not be satisfied by the basic needs. Furthermore, the firm de-motivated the left members at the same time by cutting the employees' compensation and holiday. Vroom’s (1964) expectancy model theory of motivation ex plicitly recognized that outcomes with high expectations and neutral or even unsatisfied achievements would reduce the amount of effort the staff is going to invest.By understanding Vroom’s theory, the firm would get less contribution from its employees by the lower reward, which would reflect the staffs’ less enthusiasm when treating the customers. This also made every member in the firm feel upset and panicky. When the employees believed that they were not receiving payments commensurate with their performance, effort or ability then they worked less hard (Hauenstein and Lord, 1989), and became more selfish (Harder, 1992) and felt dissatisfied with their jobs in this firm (Carr et al. 1996). ConclusionTo sum up, Starbucks faced the trouble that the unlimited expansion has made its famous experience culture diluted and lost a number of customers’ loyalty. To make the matter worse, a great number of layoff was claimed so that the firm also lost the loyalty of it s members. The main aim of the report is to help Starbucks to revalue the culture and put Starbucks’ unique image back to high position into customers’ heart. In addition, suggestions are given to motivate employees. Culture is the soul of a firm which gives the company power to survive and compete with other business. RecommendationsFor the first finding that the over-expansion made Starbucks devalue the unique culture of the â€Å"Starbucks experience†, a suggestion of â€Å"decentralization† can be given. Remove number of outlets away from each other and slow down the pace of opening new stores in the US or concentrate on the unexploited market space in other countries. The other finding that the employees felt dissatisfied with the rewards and treated customers with less effort while the unacceptable massive layoffs made a panic can be solved by increasing the compensation given to the members asked to leave and suggesting them some other suitable job s.The firm can also make a promise that these employees would be considered first when hiring candidates in the future after the most difficult times. Furthermore, keep the employees’ payment stable and hold some activities inspiring to promote people to tide Starbucks over difficulties together. Reference list MICHELLI, J. A. (2007) The Starbucks experience: 5 principles for turning ordinary into extraordinary. New York: McGraw-Hill MARKETWATCH: GLOBAL ROUND-UP. (2008) Starbucks: hoping store cuts will reinvigorate US business. WWW] MARKETWATCH. Available from: http://ehis. ebscohost. com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer? hid=109&sid=30997753-d45f-4afd-bfc9-6c6be4a48faa%40sessionmgr111&vid=4 [Accessed 30/11/10]. SMALE, W. (2008) Why Starbucks' sales have gone cold. Business reporter, BBC News, 1st Feb. SCHEIN, E. (2004) Organization Culture and Leadership. 3rd ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. KILEY, D. (2009) Starbucks Cuts More Stores and Workers Amidst Recession and Lower Ea rnings. Bloomberg Businessweek, 28th Jan. MASLOW, A. 1970) Motivation and Personality. 2nd ed. New York: Harper ;amp; Row. YANG, Y. K. (2010) The Construction of Brand Culture Based on Corporate Culture. International Journal of Business ;amp; Management, Vol. 5 (4), pp. 223-226. BARRY, J. et al. (2000) Organization and management: a critical text. London: Thomson Learning. KOLB, D. , RUBIN, E. and OSLAND, J. (1991) Organizational Psychology. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. VROOM, V. H. (1964) Work and Motivation. New York: Wiley. HAUENSTEIN, N. M. and LORD, R. G. 1989) The effects of final offer arbitration on the performance of major league baseball players: a test of equity theory. Human Performance, 2 HARDER, J. W. (1992) Play for pay: effects of inequity in a pay for performance context. Administrative Science Quarterly, 37 CARR, S. C. et al. (1996) Effects of unreasonable pay discrepancies for under and overpayment on double demotivation. Genetic, Social and General Psychol ogy Monograpghs, 122 (4). BELBIN, R. M. (1993) Team Roles at Work. Oxford: Butterworth/Heinemann. Word count: 1332 words

Realism: Citizen Kane & Double Indemnity Essay

Movies have long been known to create a portal through which its viewers can transcend through their own realities and experience the unimaginable. The visual, sounds, and narrative of great movies immediately attract the focus of its audience as they move into a trance for those 1-2 hours of screen time. While many great movies introduce their audiences to varying experiences that heighten their senses and grasp their focus, some measure of relatability is necessary to connect with audiences. Such concepts of implementing elements of realism into the various facets of a film help establish a relevant connection, through which audiences can relate. However during the Hollywood Classical era, introducing such techniques of intensifying realism in movies was often unconventional and not an achievable goal for directors and cinematographers. The techniques required to implement such elements were either not well known or plausible. There were some movies during this era that did defy such tendencies and broke barriers in terms of delivering a movie that differentiated through such concepts like realism. Two famous films that have utilized certain techniques in creating an intensified form of realism in their own ways are Citizen Kane, by Orson Welles, and Double Indemnity, by Billy Wilder. The story of Citizen Kane and its main character Charles Foster Kane is actually loosely based of the real-life media mogul William Randolph Hearst, and Chicago tycoons Samuel Insull and Harold McCormick. Considering that the movie is based loosely off the lives of famous individuals already brings in a strong sense of realism within the film that audiences can understand. Yet just because Charles Foster Kane is somewhat based on these figures does not immediately equate it to an intensified form of realism. In fact, what really separates Citizen Kane from many other films, in aspects of compounding realism, are its use of unconventional cinematographic techniques. In an article from American Cinematographer in February 1941, Gregg Toland, the cinematographer for Citizen Kane, emphasizes that the movie’s â€Å"keynote is realism.† Two important techniques that were used by Toland and Welles in making the movie into more of a reality were the mis-en-scene and visual flow of the picture. The mis-en-scene and sets developed for Citizen Kane were crucial in establishing certain aspects of reality with the audience. One important feature that Toland and Welles made sure of during their shootings was that scenes in rooms actually had ceilings. As silly as it may sound now, conventionally shots taken inside a room on set rarely used to have ceilings. Even if they did have ceilings, viewers could only see them during Extreme long shots. In the case of Citizen Kane however, Toland and Welles realized that in reality, the audience would consciously realize anytime they are in a room that a ceiling exists. Thus it would make sense to bring such practicality into the scenes of the movie. In fact, this technique is employed multiple times through out the movie like when Kane, Leland, and Bernstein are in the office of the Inquirer and Kane comes up with the Declaration of Principles. During this sequence, the ceiling is within the frame of the lens for almost all the shots. Another sequence in which the ceiling is clearly visible is right after Kane loses the election and has a quasi-argument with Leland about his ideologies. In this sequence the camera is placed at such a low angle that almost every shot is a long shot where the audience can clearly see the whole figures of the characters and the ceiling. Such a technique of ensuring not only the construction of a ceiling on set, but also its presence on shots through out the movie intensifies the notion of realism. The audience is not just watching characters on a set in some studio, but they are actually seeing characters in a normal room. Another great thing about the mis-en-scene and set production of Citizen Kane is that it actually helped in delivering smooth visual flows, thus promoting notions of realism. Welles’ concept for the film was to make it as real as possible and executing that concept through the details of shooting the film. Welles and Toland came upon the agreement of avoiding straight cuts as much as possible as it was unnatural. Instead they focused more on developing a depth of field and pan/track shots. For instance, during the beginning of the movie, there is a scene during which Kane’s mother and father agree to sign over their son to Thatcher to be educated. During this sequence the shot starts with Kane playing outside in the snow. The camera then tracks out through the window of the house and all the way back into the dining room where Kane’s mother signs the papers provided by Thatcher. Through out this single shot, the depth of field ranges from young Kane playing outside all the way into the dining room. Conventionally, such a shot would have probably been broken up but Welles and Toland insisted on delivering long shots through the film to preserve its form of realism. Contrasting to Citizen Kane, the crime/thriller film Double Indemnity brings upon different technical aspects that intensify its notion of realism. As a film noir and crime thriller, Double Indemnity focuses on the fatal romance between a smart insurance salesman, Walter Neff, and a greedy housewife, Phyllis Dietrichson. Double Indemnity is glorified as one of the classic film noirs with its peculiar style such as an affinity for the night and rain, romantic narration, and presence of a femme fatale. However in addition to depicting a classic film noir, Double Indemnity utilizes certain effects to heighten its sense of realism and produce a stronger connection with its audience. One unique feature within this film is its predominant use of on-screen narration, depicting what the protagonist Walter thinks. A lot of times during the film, the on-screen narration will appear during moments of high tension or scenes exhibiting the restricted narrative. It also comes on when Walter starts to think to himself why he is committing to the idea and execution of murder and how he does not care if it is wrong because he is infatuated with Phyllis. For instance, in the beginning of the film, after Walter leaves Phyllis’ home, realizing she may want to purchase accident insurance for the â€Å"wrong reasons,† the on-screen narration comes on depicting his thoughts at his apartment. The audience hears Walter’s thoughts and how he feels completely out of it and cannot stop thinking about Phyllis. Such thoughts of infatuation and confusion are feelings the audience can relate to and put into perspective in their own lives, which intensifies the realism effect. Another technique utilized in Double Indemnity is the lighting effect on-screen. Coinciding with the style of a film noir is the use of low-key lighting in significant portions of the film. Many shots through out the movie, such as in Phyllis’ home, Walter’s apartment, and the car ride to the train station when Phyllis’ husband is murdered all use low-key lighting. The usage of the effect itself does not immediately signify a sense of realism but the fact that the lighting technique is used during moments of tension and suspense adheres to the mood and emotions of the movie. This combination is essentially what is picked up by viewers and again builds upon the idea of creating a relatable connection through which viewers can watch the film. Another combination that is prominent in the film is the crafted amalgamation of the non-diegetic soundtrack and the tension built up in certain scenes. A perfect example is during the car ride to the station when Walter murders Phyllis’ husband, the music slowly builds up in speed and volume as the scene gets closer to the time of the murder. During the action of the murder, the music is blaring with eerie music. Another interesting point is that instead of focusing on the murder, the shot is focused on Phyllis’ face and her glaring eyes lit by the low-key lighting. This combination of the various elements of lighting, sound, and camerawork culminate together to create a very real and thrilling scene. In might even seem contradictory to say these â€Å"added† elements intensify the form of realis m evident in the film, but as mentioned earlier, to deliver realism, a connection needs to be established with the audience. The connection created in Double Indemnity is based on tone and the mood set through the elements mentioned above. The notion of incorporating a form of realism within a film is beyond creating a narrative that would seem feasible in the real world. Actors and Actresses can also do their best in mimicking the habits of society in their performances but at the end, a movie will be just a movie in the eyes of the audience. However through the usage of distinct cinematic elements, a relatable connection can be created between the film and the audience. Such a connection allows for the concept of realism to be achieved considering the concept itself falls in the perception of the viewers. From the analysis provided above, both films Citizen Kane and Double Indemnity employ special techniques that aim to intensify the form of realism evident in their narratives. In doing so, each film delivers, in their own unique way, a screenplay that objectifies a truth held in the general values of our society. For Citizen Kane, it could be the power and destruction caused by greed, and for Double Indemnity, the possibility that lust stains even the good. Regardless of the â€Å"truth,† or message sent, the techniques used by both movies allow for viewers to perceive the story in their own fashion.

Business Capstone Video Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

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According to Collis and Hussey Essay Example for Free

According to Collis and Hussey Essay Interviews â€Å"are a method of collecting data in which selected participants are asked questions in order to find out what they do, think or feel†. Saunders et al. (2003) propose the idea that this method is an efficient way of collecting reliable and valid information, because the data gathered comes directly from the source in study, which certainly helps to achieve the research question and objectives of this project. Therefore, choosing interviews was based on its suitability in finding what is happening and seeking new sights when exploring career obstacles for Hong Kong women managers. Interviews are classified based on the degree of flexibility as well as formality and structure that the researcher would like to apply. Therefore, there are three types of interviews, structured, semi-structured and unstructured interviews (Kumar, 1999; Saunders et al. , 2000; Ghauri and Gronhaug, 2002). In the structured interview â€Å"the investigator asks a pre-determined set of questions, using the same wording and order of questions as specified in the interview schedule† (Kumar, 1999, p.109); in semi-structured interview, the questions are also prepared beforehand, but in contrast, they offer more flexibility in facilitating the interviewee to modify the questions to investigate new ideas that might come up during the interview; and the unstructured interviews are based on a general topic of interest, but the questions are spontaneously posed to the respondent (Kumar, 1999; Guillham, 2000; Saunders et al. , 2000; Ghauri and Gronhaug, 2002). See more: Foot Binding In China essay It has been suggested that for phenomenological approaches and exploratory researches, a semi-structure interview is the most suitable type since the interviewer can explore in-depth a specific area that might be of interest (Jankowicz, 1999). The interviews carried out for this research were semi-structured. One of the reasons of choosing this type of interview is because they are more conductible and easier to control in order to establish and maintain empathy with respondents, so make the respondents be more comfortable and express their opinions more freely. It also gives the interviewer the opportunity to discover and understand the respondents’ points of view and beliefs about a specific situation (Zikmund, 2000). Saunders et al. (2000) mention that semi-structured are qualitative research interviews and are classified as non-standardized, where questions might vary from one interview to another since it depends on the course that the conversation takes, hence it would required of additional questions. In addition, Healey and Rawlinson (1994 cited Saunders et al., 2000) point out that more than one type can be used within an interview, where one section may ask factual closed questions, such as personal details, and the next sections could explore more qualitative issues. In this case, a combination of styles was adopted within the interviews held. The first section consisted of a set of factual questions in order to find out the interviewee’s work position and background. The following sections were based on qualitative responses where relevant topics were taking under consideration accordingly to the literature review developed in Chapter II as well as aim and objectives of the research. For instance, in the second section, Hong Kong women managers were asked to shed light on their marriage and family aspects; their nature of job, obstacles in their career pathways; and their plans to grow in their organizations in future. Furthermore, the semi-structured interviews allowed a free-flowing discussion, which in turn produced a better understanding of the way of thinking, opinions, and behavior of women manager in relation to their experiences towards working in an environment that supports male managers and the career obstacles they face. 3. 7. 3. Data Quality Issues There are a number of data quality issues to be aware and consider when conducting an interview, otherwise it would put at risk the findings of the investigation. In this case information supplied to the interviewee, confidentiality, listening skills and recording of interviews is going to be considered for this section (Kvale, 1996; Saunders et al. , 2000). 3. 7. 3. 1. Information Supplied to the Interviewee An important issue to promote credibility to the investigation is the supply of relevant information to the participants prior the interviews. In this way, the interviewee considered the information under study and was prepare to discuss their experiences and opinions, which helped to develop the research credibility. This was reached through a letter sent to the participants, which can be seen in Appendix A. It was also mentioned the duration of the interviews, in order to let them organize their time and provide an approximately one hour to one hour and a half to the interview with no interruptions. 3. 7. 3. 2. Confidentiality According to Kvale (1996, p.114) â€Å"confidentiality in research implies that private data identifying the subjects will not be reported†. The author also highlight that the change of names to protect the privacy of the participants is of an important issue, since encourages people to reveal experiences, feelings and facts which enrich the information given by the interviewee, facilitating the development of the research (Kvale, 1996; Guillham, 2000). Hence, it was explained to the interviewee the purpose of the research and the use that it is going to have in order to gain their trust and confidence. 3. 7. 3. 3. Listening Skills For this quality issue, it is important to have attentive listening skills in order to understand the interviewee’s opinions and explanations, especially to identify comments that are relevant to the research and that might imply of develop new ideas and questions in order to keep the conversation going in the same track which is the basic characteristic of a semi-structured interview (Saunders et al. , 2000). In this case, commentaries were kept to a minimum, which allowed the interviewees to answer freely and avoid bias to the questions asked. 3. 7. 3. 4. Recording of Interviews There have been issues in relation to the recording of information gathered from the data collection methods, and the most acceptable one is the tape-recording, which its record has to be immediately after it was taken in order to obtain a reliable data for its analysis. This issue leads to what have been mentioned above in relation to the confidentiality that the researcher gives to the study per se. In addition, authors suggest making notes as well in order to make the most of the interview, that is, not to miss any relevant information that the interviewee provides (Guillham, 2000; Saunders et al. , 2000; Ghauri and Gronhaug, 2002). In this case, interviews were recorded with the permission of the respondents in order to retain as much data for the transcription and facilitate the analysis procedures, which is going to be conveyed into the next chapter. However, according to Saunders et al. (2000) and Ghauri and Gronhaug (2002), there are some disadvantages that tape-recording an interview can bring, such as the interviewee’s hesitation in responding some question or even not to answer them, which will reduce the reliability of the interview; as well as the transcription is time consuming. In the former, the participants did not have any inconvenient for the interview be recorded; and for the latter time furthermore was reserved for the interviews’ transcription. 3. 8. RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF THE RESEARCH. As stated by Collis and Hussey (2003) and Saunders et al. (2003), there are two aspects related to the credibility of the findings, thus it is important to consider the significance of the reliability and validity of the research outcome. In this case, reliability is concern with how well it has been carried out the research project (Blaxter et al. , 2001), which refers to the possibility of obtaining the same exact results if repeating the study (Collis and Hussey, 2003), in other words, the consistency of the methods of data collection, thus the results (Denscombe, 2002). On the other hand, validity concerns with whether the data, approaches and techniques in study actually relate to the issues that have been explored and the results relate to what is really happening in the situation (Blaxter et al. , 2001; Collis and Hussey, 2003; Saunders et al. 2003). There are some discussions which claim that qualitative research often provide valid findings, while quantitative research offers more reliable findings (Berg, 2004). This has been critiqued by Saunders et al. (2000) who state that it is possible for qualitative and quantitative research to provide both valid and reliable findings. Therefore, it can be said that considering the present research, which adopts a phenomenological approach, it is important to highlight that the reliability and validity of the questions in the interviews were maximized by the careful design of the individual questions and the clear explanation of the purpose of the interviews. Moreover, the reliability and validity of the research and the obtained information gathered from the interviews is directly linked to the applied strategy and purpose of the research, as well as to the aim and objectives of the investigation. Besides, validity is ensured by the transcriptions and further analysis of the interviewee’s experiences and opinions by direct quotations. 3. 9. ETHICAL ISSUES Researchers like Creswell (1994), Kumar (1996), Saunders et al. (2000), Collis Hussey (2003) and Jankowicz (2005) have placed emphasis on the importance of ethical considerations when doing a research. For business and management researchers, ethical issues of vital importance are confidentiality, informed consent, and honest representation of findings. Therefore, considering these ethical issues, this research requested the consent of the participants prior to the data collection, guaranteeing them of the confidentially of the information they would provide. In addition, the data collected was analyzed in a logical and scientific manner, allowing the proper representation of findings. CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 4. 1 COPING STRATEGIES TO COMBAT SEX DISCRIMINATION Two of the participants responded that they have not felt any kind of sex discrimination at their workplace. None of the participants felt that women need to use their feminism in order to progress in their careers. Anna responded that the gap of academic, promotional and employment opportunities for women has almost filled and men and women are getting almost equal opportunities. Anna and Emmy felt that women can do what they have decided to do in their minds and they consider themselves as an example of that kind of women. Maggie, in contrast, does not feel the same because she has an experience of workplace sex discrimination against women. She has also been discouraged to join the old-boy network and she has also experienced sexual harassment in her organization. She informed the researcher that the only way to cope up with the workplace discrimination is to get ready to move to a new job. She agreed with Emmy and Anna by saying that women who want to excel in their career can do it on their own merits. Maggie informed the researcher that she does not believe in confronting her seniors about the elimination of sex discrimination from the workplace. She also does not have any expectations from her seniors that they will try to eliminate sex discrimination from the workplace by implementing strategies to promote anti sex –discrimination policies. Thus the present study confirms the finding of study by Venter (2002) that there is no or little sex discrimination at today’s workplaces in Hong Kong. Venter (2002) found out that 66 % of the women managers interviewed in Hong Kong had responded that they did not find any sex discrimination at their workplace and 83% of them had felt that the attitude towards female managers are same as towards male managers. Westwood Leung (1999) found out that Hong Kong women managers are very less aware of the sex discrimination at workplace. Ng Pine (2003) had reported very interesting information that several Hong Kong women managers believe that sex discrimination is a prominent feature at Hong Kong organizations but when they were asked to describe their experience of sex discrimination then only a small number of the women managers were able to describe their own experience. The rest of the respondents informed that they haven’t experienced sex discrimination personally. Studies have clearly proved that Hong Kong women managers do not have any intention to confront their superiors and fight for the anti sex discrimination policies. Researches have also shown that when Hong Kong women managers are sexually harassed then they even do not confront the harasser and report to superiors and they instead use coping strategies such as they avoid or ignore the harasser, they prefer to quit or get transferred if the problem is not resolved (Chan et al. 1999; Ng 1995b). High attitude towards opportunities is found among Hong Kong women managers. They have great ability to deal any kind of discrimination at their work place. They keep their eyes and ears open and keep themselves in search of a suitable job incase they are fired or they quit. Their general and overall aim is to progress in their careers to get the higher positions in the organizations and thus they use their flexible nature to get the maximum number of opportunities to be succeeded (Venter 2002). Ng Pine (2003) reported that female hotel managers believe in using personal strategies to cope up with the discriminatory issue at their workplace. They believe in developing by looking more presentable, tend to dress up like a professional and rely on working hard to be proved as highly professional. Ng Pine (2003) found that majority of Hong Kong women managers have a high ‘can-do’ attitude and thus they believe in doing their job the best ways irrespective of the discriminatory issues against them at their workplace. Ng Chiu (1997) explained the reason of few organizations with family friendly policies is the low expectations behaviors of Hong Kong women managers who do not confront their superiors for the elimination of sex discrimination from the organization and they instead depends on their personalized strategies. Babcock Laschever (2003) found out the reason of Hong Kong women managers’ less success is due to their less skilful negotiating attitudes. However, it can not be said whether they have less skilful negotiating attitudes but it is clear from the evidences that negotiation is not prominent in the attitude of the women managers. Venter (2002) found out that as Hong Kong women managers do not have the habit to confront their superiors to get their equal rights at the workplace, they simply get less tensed as compared to other female managers who belong to Britain. Thus Hong Kong Chinese women managers are more successful in their careers and reach to the higher positions as compared to British women managers in Hong Kong. Javidan House (2001) explained that high achievement is a part of Hong Kong culture and this culture has changed the attitudes of employed women and has made them enthusiastic to grow in their careers. Hong Kong Women managers who fly high in their careers are seen as highly respected due to their ability to achieve their goal on their own without any support of society and workplace. But the women who do not reach the higher positions are blamed to be a failure due to their lack of sense of professionalism. They are considered as ‘non professional’ when they do not reach to the manager’s position. It is reflected among the society and organizations that a form of sex discrimination is evident due to the stereotyping of sex and power relations based on genders. There are very few structural changes through which the sex stereotyping and gendered roles at organizations can be changed. 4. 2 COPING STRATEGIES TO COMBAT GENDER ROLES The researcher asked all the three interviewees about their perception of single women. All of them have different perceptions on single women. Emmy feels that women stay single when they are not beautiful and thus no men attract towards such ugly women. Maggie sighed that she dreams of being a single but she also feels that being single it would have been very difficult for her to grow in her career and she has not been as successful as she is now. She also said that her roots in careers would have been very weak being a single woman. Anna feels that being a single woman is the best thing in the world. All her single friends are living happily and they do not want to get married because they believe that marriage brings a lot of problems with it. As diversity is more profound among the community of single women, the three interviewees seem influenced by the reflection of such diversity. Maggie, Anna and Emmy, all of them, love their husbands and children very much and they feel that they are the most important part of their lives. Though they consider family as the most important thing in their lives, they also believe that they cannot be stay-at-home women because they feel that they get the sense of achievement when they work and thus they get a balanced life. The nature of job of Emmy is quite flexible so she is allowed to work in flexible hours, and this way she gets a lot of time to spend with her family. She feels that her work has not affected her role as a mother as she takes plenty of time out to spend with her children. Maggie and Anna feel in contrast. They feel that they have been sandwiched between their wish to grow in their careers and their wish to spend more time with their children to ensure that the children’s education is not getting affected. This shows that both of them have both a high sense of achievement and a high sense of parenting. They feel guilty of not fulfilling their wish to be a good parent though both of them have hired foreign domestic helper. All the three interviewees believe that bringing up children is the primary duty of a woman and if a woman is employed then this duty should be handed over to other members of the extended family. All the three interviewees consider their families more important than their careers as compared to their husbands. These women do not have the habit of negotiation so they do not confront with their husbands and superiors to give them equal status. Researches have shown that Hong Kong women managers use personalized strategies to deal with work-family stress by taking help from relative, foreign domestic helpers and tutors (Lo et al. 2003; Ng 1999). Hakim (2003) also supported these positions that Hong Kong employed women are more family-centered as compared to their husbands and thus these women tend to less successful in their careers as compared to their husbands. The coping strategies that Hong Kong employed women used to reduce their work-family stress have a strong relation to the social culture of Hong Kong. Majority of Hong Kong employed women believe that they will not get any help from the government in terms of a caretaker because the social culture promotes the caretaker role of mothers and wives. If these women need help of a caretaker then they have to do it on their own because this is considered as a personal problem instead of a societal problem. All the three interviewees believe that though they are working at higher positions but their husbands should be respected as they are the breadwinners. Wives should help their husbands to be more successful in their careers. This shows that the traditional values of Hong Kong have set the mind of the women regarding their roles as a wife and a mother. The present study confirms the results of the previous studies (EOC 1997; Hong Kong Government 2003a) that the traditional ideology of a Chinese family for a man to be in charge of the work outside the house and for a woman to be in charge of the work inside the house is still present in Hong Kong culture. Due to the impact of this culture, even when both the parents are equally working and are equally concerned about the academic achievements and social well-being of their children, husbands have the liberty to be more career oriented by leaving behind their family without any sense of guilt. Thus, the culture of Hong Kong does not appreciate the growth of women as career women. This is impossible until and unless structural changes are made to understand these cultural contexts. The power structure can be changed only when the society and organizations believe in equal opportunities by dividing the power equally among women and men managers as the career success of a woman on her own basis is of no use. 2. 1. 1 FUTURE OF CAREER DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN AS MANAGERS IN HONG KONG It is commonly believed in Hong Kong that women can achieve their goals by their enthusiasm and hard work. For this reason, Hong Kong women working at senior managerial positions tend to believe in personally designed strategies to cope up with the requirements of their workplace, homes and kids. Moreover, they believe in handling the situation of sex discrimination personally rather by confronting their superiors for the implementation of anti sex discrimination policies. They are no or little aware of a political agenda that can change their lives by bringing positive changes in institutionalization of their family status, by changing the organizational culture and state policies. Maggie, Emmy and Anna informed the researcher that they do not get time for socialization. Anna informed that in Chinese culture, home is considered as a private place so majority of Chinese do not believe in inviting friends at home unless they are very close to them because they think that it will ruin their privacy. Majority of Hong Kong women trust extended family members to take care of their children but this scenario may result in increased problems for them in future. Mobility of labor force has increased due to globalization. Two of the three interviewees are not originally Hong Kong based. A steady rise has been observed in the number of women managers on the mainland. Due to intensification of globalization, less stability is expected in support from the extended family members in Hong Kong. The traditional heterosexual family system in Hong Kong has been changed and different forms of family structure have appeared. The concept of extended family members was possible in a heterosexual family only. So, this concept does not seem to be valid with the new family structure as single-parent families are becoming common. As the concept of extended family is diminishing, women who prefer to grow in their career would seem to have no children. if primary importance will continue to be given to husband’s career, and wife’s role will be continued as a support to her husband than her husband has been to her, then there are great chances for a large number of career oriented women to remain single. When women will have to work hard and design personalized strategies to cope up with the work-family stress then a large number of women will stop marrying. Thus, number of never-married women will increase in Hong Kong. CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION Push and pull tensions are found among Hong Kong women managers. At one side, the traditional Chinese culture is still dominated in Hong Kong that makes women responsible primarily for their housework and men are considered as bread-winners. Women are expected to bring up and take care of children and other family members. So this traditional Chinese culture does not seem supportive for a woman to dream of getting success in organizations besides performing her domestic duties. At another side, women in Hong Kong that have earned higher degrees are attracted towards handsomely paid jobs due to the realistic approach of capitalism in Hong Kong. Successful women managers in Hong Kong are rewarded. Organizations search for never-married women who are ready to work on the pre-decided terms of men. So it is a common belief in Hong Kong that if women are good they can get success in organizations. If women are very good at setting personalized agenda to balance their work-family stress then they would be successful. But the researcher is not happy with these conditions. The researcher suggests that women should be encouraged and supported by society and organizations. They should be given support to get a balanced life. Organizations should implement strategies to promote anti discrimination policies. Women and family friendly policies should be encouraged in organizations. This means that there is a need to redefine the role of women at home and in organizations. They should be given equal opportunities like men and be promoted to higher positions as per their skills. Appendix A. Letter sent to the Participants of the Interviews Dear Participants, Thank you for agreeing to do this interview and participate in my Masters investigation. This letter is to inform you all related to the interview, to establish your ethical rights and my responsibilities, as well as to provide some information prior to the interview. My intention is to do an investigation to explore whether a bamboo-ceiling exists in the career pathway of Hong Kong women managers. I am currently interviewing women managers that are working in a male dominating environment to find out whether these women managers face any obstacles in order to achieve the purpose of my study. The data will be collected via interviews, which will last one hour and one hour and a half. During the interview you have the right to refuse to answer a question or a set of questions. The participant’s identities will be remained as confidential at all stages, during and after the research. Expected benefits of participation will be the opportunity to contribute knowledge to a largely under researched area and the obtained findings will be used for academic purposes only, so the access to the collected data will be permitted for university lectures and library use only. Thank you once again for your cooperation. Yours sincerely, [Your name] [Your degree] [Your university] Table 1: Ratio of Women Managers in Hong Kong, % Year Proportion, % 1994 17. 5 1995 19. 4 1996 19. 6 1997 19. 9 1998 21. 5 1999 21. 9 2000 24. 2 2001 25. 4 2002 25. 7 Source: Hong Kong Government, 2003b: 57. Table 2: Distribution of Managers by Industry and Gender Table 3: No. of Males and Females Never-Married Aged 15 and Over Source: Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong Government. Table 4: No. of Never-Married Employed Males and Females by Occupation, 2001. Source: Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong Government. Table 5: Main Employment, Female-Male Ratio, Median Monthly Income, Marital Status, Age Source: Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong Government. References Babcock, L. Laschever, S. 2003. Women Don’t Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press). Berg, B. , 2004. Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences. International Student Edition. 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Cracks appear in glass ceiling numbers, South China Morning Post, 17 October, p. B22. Denscombe, M. , 2002. Ground Rules for Good Research. A 10 point guide for social researchers. 1st ed. Buckingham: Open University Press. EOC. 1997. A Baseline Survey of Equal Opportunities on the Basis of Gender in Hong Kong 1996–1997 (Hong Kong: Equal Opportunities Commission). Fosh, P. , Ng, C. , Snape, E. Westwood, R. 1999. Hong Kong at the end of the twentieth century: management and labour trends, in: P. Fosh, A. W. Chan, W. W. S. Chow, E. Snape R. Westwood (Eds) Hong Kong Management and Labour: Change and Continuity, pp. 3–24 (London: Routledge). Ghauri, P. and Gronhaug, K. , 2002. Research Methods in Business Studies. A practical guide. 2nd ed. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. Ghauri, P. N. , Gronhaugh, K. and Kristianslund, I. , 1995. Research methods in business studies: a practical guide. 1st ed. London: Prentice-Hall. Gillham, B. , 2000. The Research Interview. 1st ed. London: Continuum. Hakim, C. 2003. Models of the Family in Modern Societies: Ideals and Realities (Aldershot: Ashgate). Hochschild, R. A. 1989. The Second Shift: Working Parents and the Revolution at Home (New York: Viking Penguin). Hong Kong Government 2004. Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women: Second Report on Hong Kong Special Administration Region (Hong Kong: Health, Food and Welfare Bureau). Hong Kong Government. 2001. 2001 Population Census: Main Report 1 (Hong Kong: Census and Statistics Department). Hong Kong Government. 2002. Women and Men in Hong Kong: Key Statistics (Hong Kong: Census and Statistics Department). Hong Kong Government. 2003a. Thematic Household Survey: Report No. 14 (Hong Kong: Census and Statistics Department). Hong Kong Government. 2003b. Women and Men in Hong Kong: Key Statistics (Hong Kong: Census and Statistics Department). Jankowicz, A. , 2005. Business research projects. 4th ed. London: International Thomson Press. Javidan, M. House, R. J. 2001. Cultural acumen for the global manager: lessons from project GLOBE, Organizational Dynamics, 29(4), pp. 289–305. Kanter, R. M. 1977. Men and Women of the Corporation (New York: Basic Books). Kumar, R. , 1999. Research Methodology. A step-by-step guide for beginners. 1st ed. London: Sage Publications. Kvale, S. , 1996. Interviews, an Introduction to Qualitative Research Interviewing. 1st ed. London: Sage Publications. Law, N. 2003. HK women socially aware, but traditional at heart, South China Morning Post, 23 January, p. 6 Lee, H. 2004. Arming women with knowledge, South China Morning Post, 9 February, p. C4. Lee, K. 2003. Picture forms of cross-border workers, South China Morning Post, 9 May, p.A5. Lo, S. , Stone, R. Ng, C. W. 2003. Work–family conflict and coping strategies adopted by female married professionals in Hong Kong, Women in Management Review, 18(4), pp. 182–190. Mak, G. C. L. Chung, Y. -p. 1997. Education and labour force participation of women in Hong Kong, in: F. M. Cheung (Ed. ) Engendering Hong Kong Society: A Gender Perspective of Women’s Status, pp. 13–39 (Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press). Mak, G. C. L. 1992. The schooling of girls in Hong Kong: progress and contradictions in the transition, in: G. A. Postiglione (Ed.). Education and Society in Hong Kong, pp. 167–180 (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press). Morrison, A. M. , White, R. P. Van Velsor, E. The Center for Creative Leadership. 1987. Breaking the Glass Ceiling (Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley). Ng, C. W. Chiu, W. C. K. 2001. Managing equal opportunities for women: sorting the friends from the foes, Human Resource Management Journal, 11(1), pp. 75–88. Ng, C. W. Ng, E. G. H. 2002. The concept of state feminism and the case for Hong Kong, Asian Journal of Women’s Studies, 8(1), pp. 7–37. Ng, C. W. Pine, R. 2003. Women and men

Pakistan is one of the top cotton producing countries of the world

Pakistan is one of the top cotton producing countries of the world Executive Summary Pakistan is one of the most top cotton producing country of the world. Pakistan has the tendency to produce the best quality cotton in the world, because of that Pakistan exports its cotton to different buyers across the globe. Garment and textile industry of Pakistan needs a lot of investment to flourish its production plants to give more and more to the country and others in the globe as well. Currently country being in inflation affected the entire industry. As prices of all products have gone high, companies are forced to produce less. The political situations in our country have made the industrial sector bare losses. The policies and laws are hindering the activities of the industry. Because of that the other competing countries are getting an edge over Pakistan. More research needs to be done in this sector to avail all the possible technologies to make our textile and garment industry better. Other than that our needs to start producing end wearable garments and then export them to increase the exports and increase awareness of the local brands. Currently popular textile is working on producing jean for renowned brands of the world. Government needs to make efforts to establish the garment industry in Pakistan. Table of Content Contents Contents 2 Introduction: 4 Industry Scenario: 7 Industry Facts and Figures 7 Problems in industry 7 Technology being implied 8 Business Model Analysis 8 SWOT Analysis: 12 Strength: 12 Weakness: 13 Opportunity: 16 Threats: 18 SWOT Analysis (Summary) 19 Strengths: 19 Weaknesses: 19 Opportunities: 19 Threats: 19 PEST Analysis: 20 20 Political Outfit: 20 20 Economical Analysis and Performance: 20 Social Liabilities and Duties: 21 Technological Requirements and up gradation: 22 PORTER Five Forces Model: 23 1.Bargaining power of customers (demand scenario): 24 24 Factors 24 2.Bargaining power of suppliers (supply scenario): 24 24 3. Threat of new entrants: 26 26 4. Threat of substitutes: 27 5. Competitive rivalry: 28 Contribution to Exports: 30 Conclusion: 31 References: 32 Garment Industry of Pakistan Introduction: Textile and Garments is considered the most important sector of Pakistans economy and the largest industry with a 46% share of total manufacturing. Accounting for 67% of exports, employment for 40% of the workforce and a 10.20% share in GDP confirms the importance of this sector. Pakistans large available human resource pool offers an important incentive for further growth of this labor intensive industry. Contribution of Textile Garment Sector Percentage Contribution Total Manufacturing 46% Total Exports 67% Employment for Workforce 40% Total Share in GDP 10.20% Although Pakistan is the fourth largest cotton producer in the world with strong spinning and weaving infrastructure, the value added sector (cotton products) has a small share in exports. The main reason is shortage of training facilities able to enhance skills and produce competent middle managers having in-depth knowledge of processes and hands-on experience in contemporary technologies. Garment manufacturing is a major growing sub-sector of the textile value chain. It consumes the majority of the workforce in Pakistans textile and garments industry and has been contributing towards the high growth-rate in exports as figures shows it is 67% contributing in export of Pakistan. However, the garment industry is now suffering from some acute problems in productivity, in quality, in management marketing skills and thus facing a serious threat of a reduced share of international markets. According to the World Banks report on the impact of Quota Elimination in Pakistan, the effect on apparel exports from Pakistan will be negative due to stronger competition from other countries. The implication would be serious if no action is taken to improve productivity and efficiency. In the garments sector, Pakistans productivity is estimated to be only 37% of the benchmark established by China. Compared to this, Indias garments sector productivity is better, at 46%. For Pakistan, raising productivity by improving production process efficiency is key to reap benefits after the Multi-Fibre Agreement was abolished. If Pakistan is able to increase its productivity in textiles and clothing by 60% and reach Chinas productivity level, the gain would likely be over US$ 1 billion per year. Keeping in view the emerging trend in the global market, there is a huge potential for Pakistans garment sector. However, to be competitive in the global market after the removal of the quota regime in January 2005, it is imperative to have efficient and cost effective production systems with minimum wastages to attract buyers. The TUSDEC need assessment which included discussions/interviews with the key garment exporters clearly revealed the need for urgent reforms in the textile industry and especially in garment manufacturing and exporting as this is the most value added sector. This need had never before been felt as intensely as now, in the major garments clusters located in Lahore, Karachi, Sialkot, Faisalabad and Multan. In unison they expressed that the existing infrastructure of textile garments institutes in the country is not able to fulfill the requirement for skilled human resources to meet the immediate demand. The need assessment showed that an intervention for fast-track capacity building of the garment industry to meet the challenges posed by the ever-changing demand of international markets was justified. To cope with this dire need, it was proposed to hire foreign experts on long term basis to upgrade the knowledge and skills of the workers employed in the garment industry. Industry Scenario: As quoted by Chairman of All Pakistan Textile Mill Association, Textiles are the most important industry in Pakistan. It accounts for approximately 40 percent of manufacturing employment, over 60 percent of total exports, and over 30 percent of value-added production. Pakistans textile industry, based on locally grown cotton, produces cotton yarn, cotton cloth, and made-up textiles and apparel. Industry Facts and Figures As data cited at web published edition of aptma, Pakistan had a total of 503 spinning mills with an installed capacity of 10,437,000 spindles and 155,104 rotors. The weaving industry has 53 integrated units (composite units with spinning and weaving in one unit) with an installed capacity of 14,130 looms; 512 shuttle less weaving units with an installed capacity of 13,340 1ooms; and approximately 30,000 units in the power loom (shuttle loom) sector, with an estimated 225,253 looms. In PFY-97 it additionally had 670 finishing units with a production capacity of 3,460 million sq. meters of fabric per annum, 700 knitwear units with 15,000 knitting machines, and 4,000 garment units with 160,000 industrial and 450,000 domestic sewing machines. Exports of all textiles in PFY-97 totaled a value of USD 5.4 billion. The major buyer of textile clothing and accessories was the United States, which purchased USD 309.2 million of goods. (Michelle, Pakistan Profile, January/February 2007) Problems in industry Pakistans excessive economic reliance on the textile industry now necessitates the upgrade of its low value-added textile products to higher value-added products and the development of additional export markets. The Government of Pakistan (GOP) has reportedly constituted a textile commission to examine the problems of the textile industry and guide its future planning in the effort to turn this vital sector of the country economy into a healthy and internationally competitive industry. The upgrade to value-added production will require more sophisticated machinery. Trade sources believe that given favorable rupee/dollar parity, the textile industry may be expected to grow by as much as 10 to 15 percent annually over the next 2-3 years. Technology being implied In PFY-98 Pakistan offered an import market of USD 213 million for the sale of textile machinery, equipment and parts. Statistics for domestic production are not available, but trade sources report that manufacture, which is geared to demand, is at the present time negligible. The market has declined drastically over the last six years. In PFY-93, Pakistan imported USD 789.2 million worth of textile machinery. Imports fell in subsequent years to USD 352.7 million in PFY-94, USD 294.9 in PFY-95, USD 187.0 million in PFY-96 and USD 129 million in PFY 97. Given improved financial conditions, the import market share is expected to increase by 10 percent annually over the next three years. (Citied at website of aptma.) Business Model Analysis The textile industry is today based almost entirely in the private sector as the inefficiency of the public sector units has forced the GOP to privatize them. The three remaining textile units in the public sector are integrated units and are to be offered for privatization in the very near future. Pakistans textile spinning industry is presently in a crisis. As a result of poor cotton crops, the withdrawal of cotton subsidy and the export of raw cotton, the industry, whose feasibility has been based on the use of low-priced cotton, is no longer viable. Pakistans weaving sector has an installed capacity of 14,130 looms in integrated weaving mills; 13,340 looms in shuttless weaving units; and approximately 200,500 to 225,250 looms in the power loom sector. The looms installed in the integrated units are old and less than approximately 40 percent are working. The independent weaving units are a relatively new phenomenon in the Pakistan market, and have been created as a result of market demand, government incentives and the move towards higher quality products. Pakistans finishing industry is comprised of approximately 670 units, the majority of which are independent units and complimentary to the weaving industry. Their installed capacity is old and needs replacement. The integrated units are reported to have a capacity utilization of only 35 percent of installed capacity as most of their machinery is also old and uses outdated technology. (Citied at Directors Review of aptma.) Competing Countries Export Share of Market- Trend Analysis Country 1980 1990 2000 2005 Variance 2000 2005 China 4.0 8.9 18.2 26.9 8.7 Turkey 0.3 3.1 3.3 4.3 1.0 India 1.7 2.3 3.1 3.0 (0.1) Mexico 0.0 0.5 4.4 2.6 (1.8) Bangladesh 0.0 0.6 2.0 2.3 0.3 Vietnam 0.9 1.7 0.8 Pakistan 0.3 0.9 1.1 1.3 0.2 Sri Lanka 0.3 0.6 1.4 1.0 (0.4) Thailand 0.7 2.6 1.9 1.5 (0.4) Source: United States Department of Agriculture Global Market Shares Top 15 Retailers worldwide: S. No Retailer Origin Market Share USD Millions 1 Wal-Mart Stores Inc. USA $219,000 2 Carrefour Group FRANCE $61,565 3 Royal A hold HOLLAND $57,976 4 The Home Depot, Inc USA $53,553 5 The Kroger Co. USA $50,098 6 Metro AG GERMANY $43,357 7 Target USA $43,355 8 Albertsons USA $37,931 9 Kmart USA $36,151 10 Sears USA $35,843 11 Safeway UK $34,301 12 Costco USA $34,137 13 Tesco UK $33,614 14 JCPenny USA $32,004 15 Aldi Einkauf GERMANY $31,310 (Source: Stores/Deloitte Touch Tomahatsu) SWOT Analysis: Strength: Raw material Base: Pakistan has high self sufficiency in raw material and is the fourth largest producer of cotton. Abundant use of cotton resources has made the Textile industry of Pakistan move towards the area of industrialization. Labor: Cheap labor has always been the backbone of the economy of Pakistan. Cheap and ample supply of labor strengthens the industrial and agriculture sector of the country. Around 39% of the labor force works in the textile sector. As Karl Marx said that we have to use the army of labor present in the country for productive means. Thus cheap and abundant labor means low cost of production. Rich Heritage: Due to cultural diversity and rich heritage, designers come up with new different and attractive designs which are appreciated worldwide. Our culture comprises of Sindhi, Punjabi, Balochi and Pushtoo values. Also we are also influenced by the Indian culture through the media exposure, which of course gives the Pakistani designers an inspiration and taste of Karnataka, Rajhastani styles, etc. This varied culture and fusion among these two neighbours gives inspiration to the designers to give their best in terms of styles, creativity and fashion. Domestic Market: The recent shift of the population from the agrarian society to the urban areas, increased income levels and growth of the population raised the domestic demand. This means more factories more manufacturing units, more supply and more labor. Weakness: Research Development: Developed countries are using the technology of genetic engineering and biotechnology to increase the quality and quantity of their cotton production. They are able to grow colored cotton, organic cotton and several different varieties cotton to added value to the textile chain. In Pakistan, there is very some research done on small scale by private companies to invent modified cotton fibers. Practically no efforts are being made by the APTMA in the RD of the textile industry to enhance the quality of its products, upgrade the technology used, and encourage effective methods of production in order to compete internationally. Instead the industry suffers lack of latest means of production and falling cotton crop output every year. Due to low quality of cotton crop, profitability decreases and the farmer switch to the other crop such as sugar cane, maize and thus the cotton production decreases. More Dependence on Cotton: As the textile sector is heavily dependent on cotton production, low cultivation of cotton will deteriorate the textile industry. On the other hand, Pakistan lacks expertise in the development, production and marketing of synthetic products and fabrics required for items like swimwear, skiwear and industrial apparel. So far Pakistan has been unable to diversify in the export of textiles and is heavily dependent on single fibre that is cotton and its blends. This dependence on single crop economy is restricting the diversification of exports from Pakistan. Labor Productivity: Despite of the abundant supply of the labor, productivity of the labor is very low. According to a study by Federal Adviser on textiles, the regional competitors of Pakistan take75 minutes to complete and produce one piece of cloth whereas we take 133 minutes for the same work. We also waste 30% in finishing and 12% in washing. European buyers recommended that we should cut our costs up to 45%in sewing by getting more efficient. Labor productivity can be improved by giving the labor appropriate training with the advancement of technology so as to make them more efficient and with lower wastage of resources. In China an average 70 hours of training are given to labor to enhance their expertise. Poor Infrastructure: The important resources and infrastructure, such as adequate of supply of water, continuous supply of electricity and gas, efficient logistics and transportation, tax structure, raw material supply are all basic requirements for the development of an industrial base. However, on the other hand, the industry is faced with rising charges of the energy sector, which increases the cost of production, making it difficult to compete with the other regional rivals. Poor Quality Standards: With the exception of big and leading units who comply with global quality standards in textiles, most of the medium and small sized units can not ensure the reliable and consistent quality standards. Some of these textile units import second hand machinery from China, India, Korea, and Taiwan with no checks and balances on the quality of the machinery parts and tools. Preference is only given to the cheap and workable machinery with no concern of the quality of the machine, therefore, resulting in poor quality of the end product. The industry can generate more profit by adding more value to the product, as value can be measured in terms of quality, increased per unit price, etc. Pakistans textile industry should focus on latest material handling techniques and should train workers. The inability to timely modernize the equipment, machinery and labor has led to the decline of Pakistani textile competitiveness. Unstable Political Situation: Political unrest, strikes and terrorism have critically affected the economy of Pakistan. Frequent changing of the government has adversely maligned the policies of the textile sector. According to the World Trade Review Pakistan has failed to take necessary steps needed to meet post Multi-Fiber Agreement (MFA) challenges for its textile industry owing to lack of political will by the successive governments. In 1978 World Bank surveyed the Pakistan textile industry and reported many deficiencies in this sector. It also gave certain measures to resolve these issues, but unfortunately all these problems still persist and the industry is still unable to keep its pace with the international market. Successive governments lacked the will to reform human resources and adapt the marketing techniques that resulted present scenario in this industry. System Orientation And Supply Chain: Nowadays, customers are very systematic in their work and the expect the same professionalism from their vendors. Unfortunately, we lack this capability and are not competent to struggle in the international business, thus losing many opportunities. On the other hand supply chain management is rarely implemented. We are disorganized, disconnected and dis torted. Time management is very much important aspect in the business and buyers expect on time delivery to match the retail launch of the Spring/ Summer or Autumn/Winter seasonal collections on time . Delayed delivery of export orders result increase in cost due to fines by the buyers and at times losing business altogether due to the breach the order con-tract. Opportunity: Pakistan Textile City: Pakistan Textile City in Port Qasim, Karachi with an area of 1250 acres, will be completed in 2011 as a private public sector joint venture. The main purpose of the textile city is to provide the textile industry with the world class infra structure to meet the global competitiveness and challenges and as to provide value added textile industrial zone. Its main features include one way window operation, constant supplies of gas and water, and uninterrupted power supply. Marketing: Targeting the unexplored export markets with the help of aggressive sales and marketing will pave the way for the textile growth. Its all about hunting your opportunities with the handful of colorful lollipops. If we make investment in our sales force and train them in the fine art of marketing textile products, we can capture a much bigger market share from other smaller competitors. Collaboration with Foreign Companies: No company in the world can afford to ignore the strategic and competitive benefits of making partnership with another company to strengthen the market position. By making partners with the foreign companies, we will be able to learn a lot from them in terms system orientation, supply chain and it would be feasible to import latest technology. We can also reduce our costs, comply with the inter-national standards, and add value to our products, easiness in marketing our products in different foreign regions, improved labor and thus catching up with our regional competitors. Re-engineering of Production System: Information technology has a crucial role in manufacturing sector. Acquiring state of the art machinery is though very much expensive, but a very fruitful and necessary measure to stay competitive in the long run. It is the level of trust; the exporter builds with its customers by giving them flawless products, made on state of the art machinery. Once this trust is developed, there is no other way than any unforeseen exception that you may lose a customer to another competitor. Therefore, it is highly recommended to produce with great efficiency, minimizing the wastage of the raw material, energy resources and thus reducing the cost of production. Producing high Value Products: Its better to export yarn than raw cotton. Similarly its better to export finished fabric than to export grey fabric (raw fabric). Furthermore its very much feasible to export readymade garments than to only fabrics. What makes the latter better is the value added and subsequent increase in per unit price. Therefore, the textile industry should focus on the finished products so as to create more value in their products and reap larger margin of profits. The industry should also diversify into other areas such as technical textiles and nonwovens in order decrease its dependence on conventional and commodity textiles, which is highly sensitive to per unit price and volume for the profit margin. Image Building of Pakistan to Attract FDI: Security measures should be taken to facilitate the buyers and investors to visit Pakistan for investments. Secure business environment must be needed to attract golden sparrows to facilitate business dealings and building positive image of Pakistan that they can rely upon. Reducing the Cost of Business: China and India are much cheaper in labor, raw material and utilities as compared with Pakistan. Rising inflation also increase the cost of production. We have to control these unnecessary costs if we have to survive in the middle of the two giants of the textile sector in the world. Threats: New competitors: Pakistan is facing new competitors in textile sector such as; Bangladesh Vietnam Turkey Though we cannot avoid competition but we can always stay ahead of them by reforming our strategies and educating our entrepreneurs so as to move one step forward in every aspect. Phasing out of quota System: As the quota system is ruled out by WTO, there is a threat by the Chinese and Indian manufacturers to gain most of the market share. We have high costs, low labor productivity and inefficient production processes. Fashion life Cycle: Fashion changes rapidly now a day. Media has so much penetrated in our daily lives that we easily adapt our-selves as it wants us to. This has resulted in shortening the fashion lifecycle thus increasing the fashion risk. Now the buyer does not want to wait long for his consignment because he is insecure that by the time it will reach to him he will lost its demand due to change in fashion. Therefore, they prefer to buy from neighboring countries even at higher cost to get their products instantly rather than to wait weeks or months for their consignments to reach them. SWOT Analysis (Summary) Strengths: Raw material Base Labor Rich Heritage Domestic Market Weaknesses: Research Development More Dependence on Cotton Labor Productivity Poor Infrastructure Poor Quality Standards Unstable Political Situation System Orientation And Supply Chain Opportunities: Pakistan Textile City Marketing Collaboration with Foreign Companies Re-engineering of Production System Producing high Value Products Image Building of Pakistan to Attract FDI Reducing the Cost of Business Threats: New competitors Phasing out of quota System Fashion life Cycle PEST Analysis: Political Outfit: Textile industry, and all other business in the field are subjected to very high risk due to unstable political outfit, this restricts joint ventures in the industry. We only have only one example of joint Venture in the industry that is Lucky Tex SITE with J. Rosenthals and Sons of England. As the political outfit is extremely unstable and does not guarantee any consistency over the span of time, therefore attracting foreign investment in the sector is very limited, and only confined to term financing, or credits. Economical Analysis and Performance: Till not so long ago, the Pakistan textile industry was one of the key drivers of growth and employment generation. The plight of the textile exports continued during the first four months (July-October) of current financial as they fell by around one percent during the period. The export of textile products came to $3.539 billion in the period under review, which is 2008 against $3.573 billion in the corresponding period of previous year. At a time when growth in export is badly needed to plug the widening trade deficit, the dismal performance of the largest export earning textile sector is causing serious problems for the state in its efforts for registering quantum jump in export earnings. Complaining about the high cost of production of textile products due to expensive raw materials and high rates of utilizes the textile associations are clamoring for incentives in the shape of RD support to enable them to compete in the international market. The breakup shows that almost all the categories in textile group performed dismally during the period under review. (Pakistan Textile Journal, October2008) (Microeconomics of competitiveness, Textiles cluster in Pakistan, 2007) Social Liabilities and Duties: 160 million population growing @ 3% Growing trend of urbanization Viable middle class Increasing literacy among females Per capita income growing @ 14% = $ 652 GDP growth = 2% Retail whole sale trade is 18.4 % of GDP Stock exchange crossed 8000 points million of expatriate workers Technological Requirements and up gradation: Pakistan textile industry is blessed with state of the art machinery, and local entrepreneurs remain well updated in this scenario. Thou, there is no or limited government support in up gradation programs at the moment, but previously from 2003 to 2005 this sector has enjoyed multiple benefits on import of technology and machinery in terms of GOPs program for BMR, so that industry could be geared up to meet challenges of WTO, once the quota regime was over. PORTER Five Forces Model: One of the worst hit sectors during the skyrocketing interest rate scenario in the late 90s and early 2000s, the debt-laden Pakistan textile industry has spun many turn-around stories since then. Aided by lower interest rates, restructuring packages from financial institutions and the recent dismantle of quotas; the sector is today well poised to capture growth opportunities. In 2008, the sector contributed 20% to industrial production, 9% to excise collections, 18% of employment in industrial sector, nearly 20% to the countrys total export earnings and 4% to the GDP. The textile sector employs nearly 35 m people and is the second highest employer in the country. Infect, it is estimated that one out of every six households in the country directly or indirectly depend on this sector. Here we analyze the sectors dynamics through Porters five-factor model. (Thompson, Strickland III,Strategic Management, Concepts and Cases. 15th Edition) Bargaining power of customers (demand scenario): Factors HUFA MUFA Neutral MFA HFA 1 2 3 4 5 Number of Important buyers Few X Many Threat of Backward integration High X Low Product supplied Comodity X Speciality Switching cost Low X High % of buyers cost High X Low Profit Earned by Buyer High X Low Total 15 2 4 0 4 5 Score 2.50 Global textile clothing industry is currently pegged at around US$ 440 bn. US and European markets dominate the global textile trade accounting for 64% of clothing and 39% of textile market. With the dismantling of quotas, global textile trade is expected to grow (as per Mc Kinsey estimates) to US$ 650 bn by 2010 (5 year CAGR of 10%). Although China is likely to become the supplier of choice, other low cost producers like Pakistan would also benefit as the overseas importers would try to mitigate their risk of sourcing from only one country. The two-fold increase in global textile trade is also likely to drive Pakistans exports growth. Pakistans textile export (at US$ 15 bn in 2005) is expected to grow to US$ 40 bn, capturing a market share of close to 8% by 2010. Pakistan, in particular, is likely to benefit from the rising demand in the home textiles and apparels