BRITISH GOVERNMENT’S SPENDING REVIEWS

BRITISH GOVERNMENT’S SPENDING REVIEWS

From the later years of the 1960s to 1998, the British Government spending was put under the annual limits that arose from an annual process that was known as the Public Expenditure Survey. However, in June 1998, the Government introduced a new regime for planning and managing public expenditure. It introduced a new aggregate for spending plans, Total Managed Expenditure that had two elements including the Annually Managed Expenditure and the Departmental Expenditure Limits. In terms of the Departmental Expenditure Limits, the departments were required to set strong and realistic multi-year limits that were intended to assure greater certainty and flexibility for long-term planning and management. On the other hand, the Annually Managed Expenditure included other spending that fell within the Total Managed Expenditure that could not be accorded firm multi-year restrictions, for instance, locally financed expenditure, social security benefits and government debt interest payments. This was set to be a function of a regular review outside the context of the Spending Reviews (Crawford, et al., September 2009, p. 8).

With respect to the Departmental Expenditure Limits, the Government drew up three-year plans that would run up to 2001-2002 period. This was set out in the 1998 Comprehensive Spending Review. Further reviews were done that made more three-year limits to be set in the Spending Reviews of 2000, 2002, and 2004. These were placed under a system understood as Three Year Planning Cycle reviewed within the period of every two years (Mitchell, 1998, p. 56). The Spending Review of fiscal management came into existence after the Labor Government that took power in 1997 stated that the Total Control method that was being used for budgeting purposes was not effective because it denied departments the chance to invest and spend money in a calculated and efficient manner. The government gave three reasons behind its argument. First, the it argue that the indicative nature used in the control totals to predict two or three years ahead had the meaning that it could be revised substantially to another year. This meant that an uncertain environment of operation was created for departments while planning their expenditure. Secondly, the totals were being separated into capital and current spending. This meant that departments would have to cut back on investment if their budgets were stringent. They would do this in order to meet certain pressing needs. This brought about a negative effect on the quality and quantity if public services. Thirdly, the government argued that when departments failed to use the funds allocated to them in a certain year, they were unable to carry forward the funds to the next year. This issue brought about the ‘use it or lose it’ idea that made departments rush spending especially towards the end of financial years. This issue encouraged failure of planning and a further misuse of allocated funds. The government outlined all the factors given above to be the causes of underinvestment and inefficient public services (Crawford, et al., September 2009, p. 14).

The plan established since the year 1998 was not followed to the end. If it had been followed, the next Spending Review that came after the one put for 2004 would have been arranged for 2006. On his first appearance before the committee in the then parliament, Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown MP., the Chancellor of the Exchequer made an announcement that there would be a Comprehensive Spending Review in 2007 that would introduce expenditure totals within the Departmental Expenditure Limits for three more periods including 2008-2009, 2009-2010 and 2010-2011. This meant that the review of 2007 would be taken back to the initial Review of 1998 (The Treasury Committee, June 2007, p. 12).

The government initiated the 2007 Spending Review with the view of spending from a Zero base. The Government stated that the main significance of the zero-based reviews was to bring in a new departmental baseline expenditure that would reflect the changing priorities that had been realized since the usage of the first Comprehensive Spending Review (Mitchell, 1998, p. 45). This was a strategic move by the Government in the sense that the past Spending Reviews had laid a focus on the allocation of incremental budgets in expenditure. This means that the new plan would set new long-term objectives in the Comprehensive Spending Reviews  and provide an opportunity for reallocation within and across departments with most past objectives having been realized. The new plan was strategic for the Government in the sense that it would allow the government realize its main goal of achieving value for money issues as set out in the July and November2006 documents (Crawford, et al., September 2009, p. 13).

The new regime of Spending Reviews for planning and managing public expenditure was initiated in 1998 through a new fiscal arrangement created to ensure that public finances would be managed on a long-term sustainability basis (The Treasury Committee, June 2007, p. 14). This introduced a new code of fiscal stability that mandated the Government to clearly outline the rules that would govern the application of the fiscal policy. This brought about the introduction of two rules that include the golden rule and the sustainable investment rule. The golden rule states that the Government would borrow money only for investment purposes rather than funding current spending over the economic cycle. The sustainable investment rule states that the debt net of the public sector, as a proportion of GDP would be put over the economic cycle on a prudent and stable level.

The Spending Review was set in determination of how the coalition government would carry out Britain’s deficit reduction plan that was unavoidable. This was brought in as an urgent priority measure would secure the financial stability of the country especially in the time of a lot of uncertainty of the global financial system. The Spending review by the coalition government also set out to significantly accelerate the reduction of the structural current budget deficit. The coalition government set out to eliminate the deficit in a five-year rolling plan (Horton & Reed, 2010, p. 15). The spending review also highlighted the plans of the government for capital spending. For example, as part of the Spending Review Process, the government made several considerations regarding a range of capital projects and identified those that had the highest value. The government also looked at the spending issue of the previous government’s contractual commitments. This made the government increase the capital range by 2.3 billion euros a year by 2014-2015 financial year to ensure that long-term economic plans were funded (Chancellor of the Exchequer, October 2010, p. 13). The spending review was set to protect the high value transport investment and maintenance, ensure UK remains a leader in science and research, increase adult apprenticeship funding by 250 million Euros, invest in low carbon economy and put higher education on sustainable financial base. The Spending Review of 2007 also set out to bring reforms in the Banking sector, benefits scheme, employment creation, education and planning.

In the 1998-2007 economic cycle, the sustainable investment rule was developed with the observation that the government should maintain a net debt of not more than 40 percent of the Gross Domestic Product in each year of cycle (The Treasury Committee, June 2007, p. 10). This was clearly set to ensure that the government becomes strategic in the management of the country’s finances. On the other hand, using the golden rule raises certain concerns. The golden rules as it was formulated maintained that the calculations of compliance to the set standards of the rule would depend on the judgement of the date of initiation and the date of ending. This also rests on the treasury because the treasury has the right to alter its judgement about the date of initiation using new economic data. An instance such as this happened in 2005 when the treasury changed its judgement on the beginning date of the economic cycle that existed from a beginning in 1999-2000 to another one in 1997-1998 (Horton & Reed, 2010, p. 20).

The setting of the Spending Review helped the Government for the reasons of forecasting financial expectations, to judge issues of compliance with economic rules. Therefore, the Government comes up with a series of assumptions about planning that occur beyond the term for which allocations have been accorded under the new Spending Reviews regime. For instance, an assumption about the levels of the spending in 2008-2009 was done and put in the Pre-Budget Report of the 2003 economic cycle. Further, an assumption of the current spending in the economic cycle of 2009-2010 was put in the Pre-Budget Report of 2004. In each of the above cases, assumptions were made that the public expenditure would face a growth of 1.9 percent in each year. Despite the fact that Exchequer used these figures for several years, the figures were not final. For instance, the 2006 Budget saw a change in the assumption of the current spending of 2008-2009 from 1.9 percent to 2.0 percent in real terms (Chancellor of the Exchequer, October 2010, p. 80).

In 2008, the total Government outlays of the UK Government as measured by the OECD were 48.1 percent of national income (Crawford, et al., September 2009, p. 6). This figure gave the British Government the tenth highest out of twenty-eight countries, in terms of public spending as a proportion of national income for which the OECD had consistent data. The United Kingdom was also the third highest among the G7 countries. In the OECD report, most countries had a similar increase to UK in their public spending between 1970 and 2010 particularly during the recession that happened in the 1980s. From 1999, the United Kingdom has experienced a sustained increase in public spending greater than other countries such as Italy, France and the USA.

In the recent years, the government has used the Spending Reviews in developing a capital budget that is targeted for spending cuts. For example the Comprehensive Spending Review of 2007set the platform for investment spending to increase to a figure of 2.3 percent of the total national income in the 2012-2014 financial year (Crawford, et al., September 2009, p. 11). The treasury, through its Long-term Public Finance Report that was published in 2008, assumed that in the end, the national income would stabilize at 2.0 percent. However, the government has reduced its investment plans and has decided to major on investment spending of about 1.3 percent of the national income of the 2013-2014 financial year. When studied on a closer point of view, this decision seems to have been informed by the financial crisis and the recession that the government has faced rather than by the belief that lower investment spending would go in line with the aspirations of the government for making public services efficient. If this can be delivered, it would be comparable to the level that was met in the beginning part of the 1990s (Tanzi & Schukne, 2000, p. 10).

The Spending reviews that were brought in 1998 also brought in new changes in terms of how departments would handle unused funds at the end of a financial year. The departments were allowed to carry forward the funds to the next financial year. This would be done by accruing an end-year flexibility (EYF) entitlement. Under the new scheme, the departments would retain an entitlement to all of the unused allocations from the previous years. The government took this measure with the hope that it would discourage the need for end-year splurges that encouraged poor planning and misuse of funds (The Treasury Committee, June 2007, p. 5).

Looking at the scenario before the introduction of the End Year Flexibility, the monthly totals for the central government cash outlays hardly recorded any significant changes especially in terms of the annual spending proportions that happen in the last months of a financial year. This clearly shows that the EYF scheme was not a success and the government did not meet its goal of using it. For instance, the spending done in the financial year 1988-1989 was 9.8 percent and 18.0 percent respectively. The spending recorded in the financial year of 1998-1999 after the introduction of EYF is 9.5 percent and 17.4 respectively (Crawford, et al., September 2009, p. 12). This figures still show high spending rates than if spending was evenly distributed over the whole financial year.

Spending on the payments of the net debt interest has historically grown in a slow pace than TME especially under the Conservative government between the years 1979 and 1997. On the other hand, since the entry of the Labour government, the level of spending on the net debt interest has been dropping by an average of 2.5 percent in real terms each financial year. However, it was predicted that from April 2008 onwards, the average rate of spending on an annual basis would increase to 16.1 percent. This rapid growth will supersede any other area of public spending (Crawford, et al., September 2009, p. 16).

The Comprehensive Spending Reviews introduced in 1998, 2000 and 2002 brought in fast growth in total spending than had been originally planned. For instance, in the adjustment for actual inflation, the spending plans initiated by the Spending Review of 1998 showed that TME would grow by 3.4 percent. However, the figures show that TME grew by 3.7 percent. However, the fast growth rate was because of the higher than planner DEL growth. The Spending Review of 2004 had a growth that was similar to what was planned for in the Review (Crawford, et al., September 2009, p. 40).

The 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review saw the introduction of setting a three-year DELs and testing it on a period characterized by a weak growth of the economy. The lower than expected inflation rates meant that the cash spending plans from the Comprehensive Spending Review of 2007 implied a fats real growth rate  over the period than it was planned for. It is also projected that there will be a higher fiscal spending on AME than was projected originally. This is because of the rising benefit payments and social security that came during the recession. When it comes to departmental spending the government was keen on is plans to implement the spending plans that were outlined in the Comprehensive Spending Review of 2007. It is noteworthy to point out that the government has not made significant reductions in the planned departmental spending. Nevertheless, the capital budget of the NHS in 2010-2011 was reduced, but the government claimed that it identified 5 billion Euros of further efficiency savings across the current budget allocated to governmental departments that was expected to be delivered within that period (Crawford, et al., September 2009, p. 41). This means that the planned spending was reduced. Within the 2010-2011 fiscal period, the government also brought certain planned investment spending forward into the preceding two years to ensure that the economy is stimulated. Therefore, since the introduction of the Comprehensive Spending Review of 2007, the departmental financial spending plans for 2010-2011 have been reduced slightly since the inception of the Spending Review. Despite this, the latest prediction for real DEL growth over the period is still high than the original plan of growth.

In conclusion, the British Government’s use of Spending Reviews from 1998 to 2007 and from 2008 onwards has made the government strategic. The Labour Government that took over power from the conservatives initiated this change. The Coalition Government also implemented the Spending Reviews to ensure greater spending investment and reduce net public debt below 40 percent. The use of Spending Reviews has helped the government to be strategic in terms of organizing its economic policies and allocation methods towards various departments. The usage of government funds has also been made efficient in public service by allocating more funds to the needy institutions, such as education social security and science and research. Therefore, despite the fact that the Spending Reviews have not met their targets on a 100 percent score, the reviews have helped the government become strategic.

References

Chancellor of the Exchequer, October 2010. SPENDING REVIEW 2010, Norwich: TSO (The Stationery Office).

Crawford, R., Emmerson, C. & Tetlow, G., September 2009. A Survey of Public Spending in the UK. IFS BrIefing Note BN43, Issue 4-43.

Horton, T. & Reed, H., 2010. The distributional impact of the 2010 Spending Review. Radical Statistics, Volume 103, pp. 13-24..

Mitchell, P., 1998. UK health service benefits in public spending review. The Lancet , 352(9124), p. 298.

Tanzi, V. & Schukne, L., 2000. Public Spending in the 20th Century. London: Cambridge University Press.

The Treasury Committee, June 2007. The 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review: Prospects and Processes, Norwich: The Stationery Office Limited.

 

Case Analysis: Internationalization of human resources at OBI

Case Analysis: Internationalization of human resources at OBI

Introduction

Internationalization of activities is a strategic approach of developing enterprises’ performance. This is because globalization of operations attracts various benefits to the business. For example, a global market is characterized with opportunities such as new market and diverse consumers that enable the company grow its profits and distribute its risks. This means that OBI’s consideration of internationalizing its operations is a calculative strategy. However, successful internationalization of company’s activities is challenging because of the diverse nature of the global market (Banfield & Kay, 2008). A significant factor to consider when operating a global business is the challenge of internationalizing human resources. The presented case highlights effort of OBI in internationalizing their human resource. Critical examination of this case can review important concepts about the procedure of globalizing human resources. This paper examines the case of OBI in its endeavor of globalizing its operation with the intention of enhancing knowledge of internationalization of human resource. Initially, the paper examines how the firm utilized its multi-domestic strategy strengths when adjusting its structure to a transnational model. Furthermore, the study evaluates the rationale behind the company’s strategy of creating “Centers of Competency.” Lastly, the paper examines the effect of shifting from multi-domestic to a transnational scheme on the organization’s culture and Human Resource.

OBI took advantage of various strengths of its multi-domestic strengths when assuming a transnational structure. For example, the company utilized it domestic reputation in establish joint ventures with local enterprises. This provided OBI with the opportunity of growing its activities while retaining full operation control. Following this strategy, the company was able to develop its activities considerably. The company understands the concern of the partners who would decline the idea of joint venture in the fear of losing their authority (Dowling, Festing & Engle, 2008). Consequently, the company initially allowed its affiliates to remain autonomous and access support from the company’s headquarters at their will and through informal procedures.  However, as the company developed, it utilized its increased authority to convince its affiliates into adopting a centralized operation strategy.

The idea of creating “Centers of Competency” highlights the company’s concealed strategy of implementing its centralized scheme of operation that was facing resistances. OBI understood that a centralized model was essential for successful transitional to a transnational business. However, the company could not have pressured its affiliates into embracing the system because such a practice would ruin relations. Consequently, the company had to design a friendly or harmonized strategy that was acceptable (Banfield & Kay, 2008). The company allowed each domestic operation to establish solutions to its problems. However, the company examined the models adopted by each country acknowledging states with the best interventions as “Centers of Competency” for particular essential procedures. Centers of competency were to act as good examples of strategies that the company needs its affiliate to follow. This meant that procedures such as recruiting, performance management and training among others needed to coincide with the strategies practiced in “Centers of Competency,” although they might be executed autonomously. This case highlight that the strategy allowed OBI to initiate its desired operational procedures in one country and apply them to other countries with time. This was an informal approach of executing centralized administration.

Shifting from a multi-domestic to transnational model meant that OBI had to adjust it organization culture to assume a multi-dimensional approach. Internationalization attracts multifaceted issues in business operations and the firm must establish a diverse culture that is capable of addressing such concerns (Chitakornkijsil, 2010). For example, shifting to a transnational model demanded the company to developing inclusive operational strategies that accounts for all scenarios presented by various partners. Furthermore, the organization’s culture needed to be flexible in order to have the capability of addressing diverse setups. This becomes essential because a strategy that is effective in one country may fail to work in another (Isidor, Schwens, & Kabst, 2011). Adopting a transnational model also obliged OBI into embracing international perspectives and values. Aligning the company’s values with the concerns and expectations of the global community became essential in order to enhance acceptability of the company’s activities (Mura, 2012).

Furthermore, adoption of a transnational model affected the OBI’s human resources strategies because of the need of accommodating the varied aspects of the global community (Perkins, Shortland & Perkins, 2006). For example, the company had to assign each country’s operations a vital role in establishment of HR policies. This became essential in ensuring that the company was operating under HR policies that are sensitive to the concepts of diversity and equal representations (Harzing & Ruysseveldt, 2004). Particularly, OBI had to adopt a HR plan that is capable of handling high flexibility and differences in economic, legal and cultural aspects. Any transnational company should account for these important factors because they affect activities of enterprises considerably (Mura, 2012). For example, companies that assume procedures that clashes with cultural believes or legal guidelines are likely to face resistances and suffer legal penalties (Hitt, Bierman, Uhlenbruck & Shimizu, 2006). Consequently, OBI had to adopt a diverse HR strategy that accounts for the concerns characterizing all stakeholders in the global market.

Conclusion

It is apparent that internationalization of business activities demands strategic management of human resources. OBI utilized its multi-domestic strengths in enhancing its transnational plan by establishing joint ventures with local partners. The concept of “Centers of Competency” enabled the company implement its centralized operation plan. Furthermore, shifting from a multi-domestic to a transnational model affected OBI’s organization culture and HR strategies making them assume an international dimension. From the analysis, one can identify the need of utilizing business’s strengths when venturing the global market. Furthermore, organizations should utilize strategic approaches in implementing their essential internalization procedures that may face resistances and ensure that their HR procedures are diverse and inclusive in order to succeed in the international market.

 References

Banfield, P., & Kay, R. (2008). Introduction to human resource management. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Chitakornkijsil, P. (2010). The internationalization of human resource management in the host nation context & strategic approach of HRM. International Journal of Organizational Innovation, 3(2), 379-400.

Dowling, P., Festing, M., & Engle, A. D. (2008). International human resource management: Managing people in a multinational context. London: Thomson Learning.

Harzing, W., & Ruysseveldt, J. (2004). International human resource management. London [u.a: SAGE Publ.

Hitt, M. A., Bierman, L., Uhlenbruck, K., & Shimizu, K. (2006). The importance of resources in the internationalization of professional service firms: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Academy Of Management Journal, 49(6), 1137-1157. Doi:10.5465/AMJ.2006.23478217

Isidor, R., Schwens, C., & Kabst, R. (2011). Human resource management and early internationalization: is there a leap-frogging in international staffing?. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 22(10), 2167-2184. doi:10.1080/09585192.2011.580186

Mura, L. (2012). Performance of human resource management in an internationally operating company. Serbian Journal of Management, 7(1), 115-129. Doi: 10.5937/sjm1201115M

Perkins, S. J., Shortland, S. M., & Perkins, S. J. (2006). Strategic international human resource management: Choices and consequences in multinational people management. London: Kogan Page.

 

A PROJECT PLAN FOR MANAGEMENT OF TYPE 2 DIABETES IN AUSTRALIAN RURAL AND REMOTE AREAS

A PROJECT PLAN FOR MANAGEMENT OF TYPE 2 DIABETES IN AUSTRALIAN RURAL AND REMOTE AREAS

 

Introduction

The problem of chronic illness is increasing swiftly in Australia. Type-2 diabetes (T2D) has recently presented alarming prevalence in the Australian population that challenges the effort of establishing a healthy Nation. The increased prevalence of the type-2 diabetes within the Australian’s indigenous youths and the disproportionate distribution of the disease prompted the establishment of this project. This is because the scenario creates the need of developing a strategic plan that would inform management of type-2 diabetes within the indigenous young individuals especially the ones living in Australian’s rural areas. This subject is important to the health of the target group and the entire Australians because it will enable healthcare providers and policy makers identify essential areas that the primary health care interventions should emphasize (Sealey, Sinclair, Pollock, & Anne-Marie, 2010 p. 34). This would promote the management of the type-2 diabetes within the target group that would improve the health status in the entire community. The project concentrates in the manifestation of the T2D in young indigenous Australians inhabiting the rural and remote areas.  The study explores theoretical frameworks relevant to the management of T2D in order to establish broad knowledge about the subject. Particularly, the project explores the possibly of applying the concept of self-management in reducing the prevalence of the disease. Furthermore, the project examines the multiple risks factors associated with the management of T2D in the context of the target population and its environment. This is with the intention of designing a customized plan that would foster management of the presented healthcare problem.

Literature Review

It is apparent that management of chronic diseases is a serious health challenge in Australia. Studies account that in Australia, about 65% of the total serious health concerns are attributable to chronic diseases such diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma, cancers and renal complications among others (Perrin et al., 2012). Particularly, T2D is currently presenting terrifying establishment rates. Type-2 diabetes is a chronic state that is associated with unmanageable levels of sugar in the body. This blood condition happens when the body fails to generate enough insulin that is vital for the management of blood’s sugar levels. Surprisingly, health records indicate that 88% of diabetes patients have T2D diabetes.  Furthermore, Tabrizi, Wilson, Coyne & O’Rourke (2008) states that about one million Australian were diagnosed with type-2 diabetes in the year 2001. Earlier, physicians identified diabetes type-2 diabetes as an adult-onset condition. However, current studies establish that the prevalence of type-diabetes is increasing extensively in young people including children and adolescents (Andreasyan, Hoy & Kondalsamy-Chennakesavan, 2007 p. 423).

According to Perrin, et al. (2012), indigenous Australians have presented inexplicable high rate of T2D in the last few decades.  An outstanding pattern highlighted by recent epidemic records present the increased risk among individuals in remote settings and early age of onset.  Although the available data about the disease is limited, it is apparent that the T2D among indigenous juveniles is increasing and its burden in this group is considerably higher than the one recorded in non-indigenous young individuals. Indigenous juveniles with T2D often present a family history of the disease, and are overweight and may have signs of hyperinsulinism. Onset of T2D mainly happens during earlier adolescence and the victims tend to be asymptomatic at presentation. Various records including the data from the United States have confirmed this scenario. Statistics explaining the co-morbidities of the condition at diagnosis are lacking. Nevertheless, the incidence of micro-vascular and macro-vascular problems and mortality related to T2D within the population of Indigenous young individuals is notable.

It is worthwhile affirming that determinants of the increased risk of T2D in juveniles are sophisticated. Some scholars argue that intrauterine exposures that may comprise diabetes during pregnancy have the potential of interfering with the expression of genes that are related to carbohydrate metabolism. Interestingly, studies have confirmed that gestational diabetes is common among indigenous mothers and physically inactive individuals. This means that genetic predisposition and social-economic conditions play a vital role in defining the prevalence of the disease. Perrin, et al. (2012) argues that a diabetic condition especially during childhood is associated with severe implications for the juveniles, their family and the entire community. This means that the condition is capable of straining health system and affecting the development trajectory of youths negatively. Consequently, Perrin, et al. (2012) argues that the Australian healthcare procedures face a severe challenge of addressing the increasing number of the youths with T2D especially among rural residents.

Studies examining the distribution of type-2 diabetes within the Australian population highlights that the prevalence of the disease is high among the indigenous groups and in the rural areas (Bergin, Brand, Colman & Campbell, 2009). Mortality rates related to diabetes are double in the remote areas than in Australian’s metropolitan. Lau et al. (2012) study on the demographics of the T2D indicates that the prevalence of diabetes among native and Torres Strait Islander individuals is 6% with those dwelling in remote areas presenting higher rates of about 9%. This is in contrast to their city counterparts who recorded a prevalence rate of about 5%. Further analysis indicated that the natives were three times more likely to present diabetic conditions when compared to non-indigenous. Andreasyan, Hoy & Kondalsamy-Chennakesavan (2007) identifies that female living in Australia’s rural areas are 1.3 times likely to record diabetes than the ones living in the urban areas. However, rural males have low chances of reporting the condition. Furthermore, admission rates for T2D are two times higher in rural areas than in urban areas.

According to Bergin, Brand, Colman, & Campbell (2009 p. 672), the high burden of the condition in rural setups is attributable to “social determinants” of health. This regards to the situation in which people live and work. Harvey et al. (2008) study highlights that inhabitant of Australia’s remote areas present low socioeconomic status. This is associated with increased health risks factors and deteriorated health outcomes.  Further surveys assert that rural residents are characterized with higher levels of definite lifestyle-related risk factor for diabetes than city dwellers. Prevalence of T2D is affected by multiple risk factors that include age, ethnicity and genetic attributes. Furthermore, aspects like poor nutrition, lack of physical activity. Smoking and poor weigh management play a vital role in the development of a diabetic condition. Interestingly, Grist (2008) affirms that rural residents have high chances of smoking, eating inadequate fruits and being obese.

Understanding influential challenges in establishing effective health care delivery procedures in rural areas is essential in designing strategic interventions. According to Butler, Petterson, Bazemore & Douglas (2010 p. 201), the major factor affecting management of diabetes in rural areas includes limited resources at personal, community and institution levels. For example, socioeconomic disadvantages limit opportunities for accessing healthcare. Furthermore, health systems mainly emphasize on handling high risks of chronic diseases in adults while ignoring young subpopulation. Lau et al. (2012 p. 68) argues that the combination of these factors result in inadequate follow-up for indigenous young people who have T2D. Poor management of conditions such as persistent hyperglycemia, poor administration of insulin therapy and limited screening enhances the development of the disease.

Harvey et al. (2008) report highlights that rural dwellers experience poorer access to preventive and acute health services because of shortages of the health professionals needed for early detection and management of the disease. Particularly, the limited number of professionals such as podiatrists, dietitians, optometrists and diabetes specialists has challenged the management of the T2D within the rural residents. Furthermore, the rural community has limited access to community infrastructure and health promoting facilities. This includes limited access to fresh foods, healthy workplaces, recreation facilities and other health promoting elements of the built environment (Smith, et al., 2010 p. 889).

Various studies have examined efficiency of diverse strategies in the management of T2D in the rural setups. Grist (2008) argues that that some lifestyle modification strategies are successful in primary healthcare environments in rural and remote areas. This position is supported by the idea that community’s lifestyle plays a significant role in the development and management of T2D. Strategic studies argue that care for the patients who have chronic conditions should involve multiple health care providers working in multiple settings. These studies indicate that an integrated system and collaborative interventions are essential in establishing a healthy environment. This demands commitment from patient, healthcare providers and agencies to work together in attaining shared goals. Butler, Petterson, Bazemore & Douglas (2010) supports the need of designing strategies that would foster modification of lifestyles in a manner that would promote self-management interventions. Self-management entails making people participate actively in their health care. This strategy is supported by various principles and is acknowledged by Commonwealth as a vital component of diabetes management. Other informed studies support the need of designing interventions that target reducing poverty and unemployment and improving the social-economic status of the rural residents by providing them with essential facilities and infrastructure (Harvey et al., 2008 p. 334).

Project Proposal

There is need of establishing effective health care strategies that would reduce the burden of the T2D among the rural residents. The problem of T2D diabetes is pronounced within the indigenous Australians who reside in remote areas. The literature review indicates that the main cause of the problem includes the rural areas’ poor social-economic status. This predisposes the rural residents to risky habits and unhealthy environment that encourage the development of the disease. Furthermore, such status leads to a situation of inadequate resources that interfere with the management of the condition. For example, limited healthcare professionals and infrastructure discourage strategies of early detection and follow-up that are vital in the management of the disease (Sealey, Sinclair, Pollock, & Anne-Marie, 2010). The problem of T2D mainly occurs when individuals are exposed to predisposing environments and are involved in activities that foster the establishment of the disease. However, the disease often has genetic background that makes a particular group present high prevalence than others. The problem of T2D occurs in diverse setups including in populations of all races, classes, gender and different age groups. However, as affirmed by various studies, the severity of the problem differs extensively and the indigenous Australians residing in rural areas present the highest rates.

The major effects of high prevalence of T2D include the low living standards and reduced life expectancy. The general objective of this project includes designing a plan that utilizes effective strategies in the management of T2D in order to reduce its prevalence among the indigenous including the Australians youths particularly the one living in rural areas. The specific objective of the project includes reducing the prevalence of T2D in indigenous children and adolescents living in Australia’ rural from 80% to 20% in five years.  This is essential in ensuring a healthy wellbeing of the entire Australian population.

Project Design and Implementation

The project will be structured into various implementation stages that includes the promotion, execution and monitoring. The initial phase includes the promotion of the project that run for about five months. This stage aims at marketing and popularizing the project to the stakeholders who are essential for successful implementation of the project. Consequently, the project managers will access prominent healthcare administrators, policy makers, agencies and the target community in order to lure them into embracing the project’s ideologies. This stage will be essential in ensuring that the project has obtained financial support and approval from relevant authorities.

The second phase includes the execution of the project’s strategies. The project will initiate by applying its proposals to the most vulnerable populations. The most active period of the implementation stage is expected to last for about a year. Execution of the project will include joint efforts where healthcare providers, agencies, governments and the community will participate actively in practicing the project’s interventions. Furthermore, multi-dimensional interventions will be utilized in the management of the condition; however, the project will emphasize lifestyle modification strategy by popularizing the concept of self-management. An effective strategy for managing the disease is ensuring that there is frequent screening for T2D for any indigenous individual aged more than 10 years who presents sign for the disease (Smith et al., 2010). Individualized management strategies will include identification of risk factors, behavioral factors, treatments targets and psychosocial factors that may affect disease management procedures. The final stage includes a progressive monitoring of the performance of the project in order to establish areas that need improvements and propose essential adjustments to the project. This will run for the entire project’s time and will eventually describe the success of the plan attaining its objectives.

Expected Outcomes and Evaluation

The project is expected to attain its objectives within the proposed five-year term.  The project will have a special team whose main role is evaluating the performance of the project. Initially, the major healthcare institutions in the region will be provided with data collecting manuals for recording essential important regarding the disease. The evaluation team will be collecting these manuals on monthly bases and compile them in order to draw descriptive statistics about the prevalence of the T2D in the region. Furthermore, the team will be conducting frequent surveys to examine the compliance to the project’s proposals both in private and public healthcare institutions. These surveys will also evaluate the commitment of the society in embracing self-management approaches. Project managers will utilize all data obtained from these sources in quantifying the performance of the project.

Dissemination

Dissemination of project’s findings is an important aspect to account for when designing a disease management plan because it affects the acceptability and adoption of the plan (Tabrizi, Wilson, Coyne & O’Rourke, 2008). The major dissemination plan of the findings of this project includes persuasive advocacy and enlightenments.  This plan targets establishing support and adoption the project’s interventions. Initially, the project promoters will explain to the relevant stakeholders the urgent need of addressing the problem of T2D among the rural residents. This will include making the stakeholders understand the alarming rates of the prevalence of T2D in target population.  The project will further describe how high prevalence of T2D affects health promotion strategies and the entire Australian population. After the stakeholders have acknowledge the idea of responding to the problem of high rates of T2D in the target group, the project managers will explain the capability of this plan in responding to the problem. This will include explain to the stakeholders the rationale, the objectives, the reliability and efficiency of the project tools in attaining its objectives. The implementation team will also conduct extensive campaigns that will target healthcare institutions and the community in order to popularize the project’s strategies. With persuasive promotion, the project’s interventions are likely to reach the target group.

Implications

Successful adoption of the project will have various implications to healthcare providers, consumers, and the entire Australian health system. Initially, health care providers may need to undergo special frequent training that would empower them with new skills for managing the condition. This is because realization of the project’s objectives demands skilled professional who understands the challenges associated with the management of T2D and the available alternatives for addressing such concerns. For example, studies identified that early detection would be effective in the management the condition (Tabrizi, Wilson, Coyne & O’Rourke, 2008). This means care that providers should have skills for detecting the disease even when the condition is at asymptomatic stage. Furthermore, the project may demand consumers to adjust their lifestyles. As identified, this project emphasizes lifestyle modification as a strategic approach for managing T2D. This means that consumers are obliged to abandon the predisposing habits and assume behaviors that promote healthy living. The project will also affect the organization and the fiscal patterns of the Australian health system. This is because the system must prioritize the project’s interventions that may lead to adjustment of system’s strategies. For example, the Australian health system will be obliged to increase its budgetary allocation especially for the promotion of primary healthcare in rural areas.

Conclusion

The study indicates the crucial importance of adopting a project that would enhance management of T2D among indigenous children residing in Australian rural. It is apparent that the high prevalence of the T2D recorded by this particular population demand urgent corrective measures. Through literature review, this study has established informed concepts regarding the prevalence and management of T2D in the target group. Furthermore, the study has established a strategic plan that has the potential of addressing the problem. Successful adoption of this project will reduce the incidence of T2D in indigenous individuals living in rural areas considerably. Implementation of the project may be challenging; however, with communal effort and high dedication, the project can achieve its objectives. Furthermore, adoption of the project may be costly, but this a worthy project considering its potential in building a healthy nation. Adoption of the project may also be associated with various implications. However, stakeholders should not worry of such implications because they are all happening for the benefit of the entire Australian population. This is because successful implementation of the program will improve the community’s living standards and reduce suffering and wastage of resources. Consequently, the government, healthy institution, relevant agencies and the entre society should present a high degree of commitment towards successful adoption of this project.

 

 Reference List

Andreasyan, K, Hoy, W, & Kondalsamy-Chennakesavan, S 2007, ‘Indigenous mortality in remote Queensland, Australia’, Australian & New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 31, 5, pp. 422-427, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 14 January 2013.

Bergin, S.M., Brand, C.A., Colman, P.G. & Campbell, D.A. 2009, “An evaluation of community-based resources for management of diabetes-related foot disorders in an Australian population”, Australian Health Review, vol. 33, no. 4, pp. 671-8.

Butler, D, Petterson, S, Bazemore, A, & Douglas, K 2010, ‘Use of measures of socioeconomic deprivation in planning primary health care workforce and defining health care need in Australia’, Australian Journal Of Rural Health, 18, 5, pp. 199-204, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 14 January 2013.

Grist, J. 2008, “Diabetes under assault”, Australian Doctor, pp. 39-n/a.

Harvey, P.W., et al. 2008, “Self-management support and training for patients with chronic and complex conditions improves health-related behaviour and health outcomes”, Australian Health Review, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 330-8.

Lau, P. et al. 2012, ‘Factors influencing access to urban general practices and primary health care by aboriginal australians–a qualitative study’, Alternative: An International Journal Of Indigenous Peoples, 8, 1, pp. 67-84, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 14 January 2013.

Perrin, et al. (2012) “An organised approach to the podiatric care of people with diabetes in regional Australia”, Australian Health Review, vol. 36, no. 1, pp. 16-21.

Sealey, R.M., Sinclair, W.H., Pollock, P. & Anne-Marie Wright 2010, “A case study identifying disease risk factor prevalence in government office workers in Queensland, Australia”, International Journal of Workplace Health Management, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 34-43.

Smith, K, et al.  2010, ‘Factors associated with dementia in Aboriginal Australians’, Australian & New Zealand Journal Of Psychiatry, 44, 10, pp. 888-893, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 14 January 2013.

Tabrizi, J.S., Wilson, A.J., Coyne, E.T. & O’Rourke, P.,K. 2008, “Review of patient-reported type 2 diabetes service quality”, Australian Health Review, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 23-33.

 

Music Business

Music Business

Acquisition is one of the corporate strategies used my different organizations to either enter new markets or expand existing markets (Finkelstein and Cooper, 2008). Sometimes, acquisitions provide the acquiring organization a chance to expand its customer base due to the presence of the acquired organization in a particular market. Moreover, the organization taking over another one gains means of production such as expertise from employees in the organization being acquired, physical structures and machinery and patent rights (Gaughan, 2007).

Beats Electronics is a company that produces audio equipment and products and had given another company, Monster Cable the exclusive license to manufacture its products. The electronic industry within which Beats Electronics operate is highly competitive with many players entering the market each year. Among Beats Electronics’ competitors include Sleek Audio, Sennheiser Electronic Corporation and Apple Inc. Sleek Audio is a direct competitor to Beats Electronics because is manufactures and sells wireless headphones. The company, therefore, manufactures and sells the same products as Beats Electronics. Moreover, Sennheiser Electronic Corporation is a direct competitor to Beats Electronics because some of its products compete directly with those manufactured by Beats Electronics such as headphones. Compared to the other competitors, Sennheiser is one of the biggest challenges because of the number of years it has been in operation. Sennheiser has been in operation for around sixty years. This means that the company’s experience provides it with ability to make high quality products compared to new entrants into the market such as Beats Electronics. Apple Inc is an indirect competitor to Beats Electronics. Apple manufactures electronic products such as smart phones and iPods. These products do not compete directly with earphones and headphones manufactured by Beats Electronics, but target the same market segment. The products manufactured by Apple Inc use products such as headphones and earphones as accessories. Due to the good brand image of Apple Inc, its products may reduce the attractiveness of Beats Electronics to its customers. This can happen because once an iPhone is purchased with its headphones, the customer may not be motivated to search for other headphones since there is an assumption that if the phone is the best in the market, its accessories are also the best. Although Apple Inc came into existence later compared to Sennheiser, the founder’s innovation and leadership has helped the company to attract the best talents in the technology industry.

The acquisition of MOG by Beats Electronics provides Beats electronics with a competitive advantage due to the synergy created by the two organizations coming together (Nilsson and Rapp, 2004). Pairing the two companies will expose Beats Electronics to a wider target audience than before. By March, 2012, HTC a big shareholder of Beats Electronics had about 6.3% market share of the mobile phone market. Digital music streaming faces a stiff competition especially due to the ever-increasing technological innovation. As technology changes new players emerge to take advantage of new opportunities created by the technological innovations. MOG is one of the largest companies that provide users with digital music streaming. In spite of the company being a force to reckon with in this sector, there are competitors who are struggling to snatch the market share from MOG.  One of the competitors of MOG is Spotify. Spotify is a Swedish company that offers digitally restricted streaming from both independent record labels and major record labels. It is a direct competitor of MOG because it sells the same product-live streaming music. The two companies, therefore, target the same customer base and market share. Another MOG competitor is Rdio. Rdio is a music subscription service free of ads. It is available in various countries and exists as a website and clients for various products such as iPhone, Blackberry and Androids. Just like MOG, Rdio has other features that enable clients to share their playlists with their friends. Rdio is also a direct competitor of MOG because it is offers the same products and services and targets the same audience and customers as MOG. Sonos is another competitor of MOG that manufactures consumer electronics, but also has devices that allow free online streaming of music. Sonos is an indirect competitor because its main products are electronics, but the electronics have features that allow its clients to access free music streaming the same way MOG clients do. As such, Sonos is competes indirectly with MOG for the live music streaming. Although this company’s main products are electronics, the product features may take away clients from MOG. The HiFi system manufactured by Sonos is an example of the systems that allow free music streaming from the internet.

Pairing MOG with Beats Electronics headphones would introduce MOG to a larger audience than its current customer base. As a result, the consolidated corporation would increase its earnings through the increased clientele. In addition, since promotions and advertisement would be done jointly, the consolidated corporation would enjoy the benefits of economies of scale and thus increase its profits. By being associated with Beats electronics, MOG would get endorsement from celebrities who endorse Beats Electronics’ products. Consequently, MOG products would gain popularity compared to those of their competitors (Warzel, 2012). This would translate to competitive advantage in terms of loyal customer base and high profitability.

The acquisition of MOG by Beats Electronics has several implications on copyright holders of the recorded music. The first implication is that they may lose business for which they had entered a contract with MOG. This can result from the unwillingness of the new owner to enforce the contract that had been entered between the former owner and the copyright holders. The second implication of the acquisition could be that Beats Electronics has totally new plans for the acquired MOG Corporation. This change of plan could mean that the original function of MOG does not match with the expectation of Beats Electronics. As a result of the breach of contract, the copyright holders can seek legal redress so that the original contract could be enforced by a court of law. On the other hand, the copyright holders may opt to try and enter into a new contract with Beats Electronics so that the intentions of the original contract can be achieved. Since Beats Electronics is the music industry, it is highly improbable that it has intentions of changing the business model of MOG. Therefore, it is possible for the newly acquired GOM to enter into new agreements with copyright owners under the leadership of Beats Electronics.

References

Finkelstein, S., & Cooper, C.L. (2008). Advances in Mergers and Acquisitions. West Yorkshire: Emerald Group Publishing.

Gaughan, P.A. (2007). Mergers, Acquisitions, and Corporate Restructurings. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Nilsson, F., & Rapp, B. (2004). Understanding Competitive Advantage: The Importance of Strategic Congruence and Integrated Control. New York: Springer.

Warzel, C. (2012). Beats Electronic acquires Mog rapper Dr. Dre’s headphone makers scoop up digital streaming service. Retrieved from: http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/beats-electronics-acquires-mog-141575

 

Creative expression

Creative expression

The role of creative expression in social harmony

Creative expression refers to the origination and or innovation of a new solution , artwork, a product  and literary work that adds value.  Creative expression may involve the expression of an individual or the society at large, in which novelty is expressed.  Social harmony on the other hand, refers to peaceful co-existence and interaction of human diversity among individuals of a social group. Creative expression has been helpful in improving the tourism sector particularly in developing countries (Duygu & Duygu, 2010).  Complex societies or subsistence families thrive and develop in forms of social harmony.  The survival of a society is enhanced by productive exchange of products and creative expression within different divisions thus increasing returns of social harmony

The role of creative expression

Personal development

Creative art plays an integral part in developing and nurturing an individual and to the extension the whole society at large.  Creative art when expressed form a platform for cultural heritage and a form of belonging to one’s culture.  Through this people in society are able to appreciate the works of an individual and make it a heritage of their own.  The society will then preserve such expressions for future reference and sustainability in culture.  The people who are expressing such creative works of art are  then respected and encouraged to express more as they become icons in society.  People of society will be looking up to these creative individuals and admire their work and yearn to be like them .  This provides a basis for cohesion within the community and societal harmony.  Sufficient data on researchers suggest that participation in expressive art is a crucial component in improving and developing individuals who in turn help develop society through cohesion.

Furthermore creative expression develops  neural systems of an individual which produce a wide range of benefits including emotional balance, community creativity and learning capacities in society.  On the other hand creative expressions might be destructive. Some individuals have used creative expression to retrogress societies.  During political platforms, some artists are used to express destructive speeches that have led to the downfall of societies rather than develop them.

Social responsibility

The concept of creative expression recognizes and appreciates the interdependence of individuals as interactive and coherent social beings who need to reciprocate  social responsibility for the society.  Creative expression brings about social quality and social well-being of people in a society.  This is further enhanced with humor that creative expression brings (Elad, 2011) The individual potential is increased and realized through being tasked to hold responsibility towards a society.  Them being people that are respected in society, there are responsibilities that come with this role they play in society.  They have to full fill these expectations and improve on it.  The creative expression further improves responsibility of leaders towards people in society and by so doing they ensure social harmony.

Creative expression makes people and responsibility to be inseparable throughout social domains of social inclusion, social empowerment, and social security.  These domains are essential in influencing people especially leaders, toward society.  Creative expression in  their purses to have a responsible society, it helps in cultivating moral values and character in individuals and groups within a society for a wider moral order and social responsibility.  In addition it helps individuals to the fulfillment of their chores and roles in accordance to social values and demands.  The demand by the creative expression proponent to have social responsibility has led to cohesion within society, hence, social harmony.   In contrast, social responsibility demand by creative expression may lead to social animosity among individuals as some members might think they are being targeted.  This would in turn negatively affect social harmony within a society.  At the same time some concepts of creative expression demands for self-cultivation and responsibility of individuals, thereby causing a sacrifice to social harmony.

Development of education

Today’s society is influenced by education. Education in turn is used to influence and determine the level of social harmony among individual groups in society.  Creative expression such as art form important component of education, they are used to engage learner’s brain and thus have crucial effects in the development of the individual’s mind and that of a society.  Education promotes the share and understanding of culture and social heritage, which improves cohesion between people in society.  Creative expression enhances the thinking capacity of individuals thus enabling them to critically and analytically examine any information relating to education.  Through this,. Individuals are able to interact well and thus ensure and promote social harmony.  Furthermore, creative expression like art promote and improve cognitive and perceptual skills of individuals, hence making them cooperatively involved in society interaction.

The fact that in education, creative expression provides a capacity of engaging everyone in society, is sufficient enough to promote harmony in society.  Education of creative expression is superior in provision self-concept, risk taking, cooperation, self expression and problem solving in society.  This draws people in fine art and expressive arts participation therefore forming a basis of social interaction and education effectively contributing to social cohesion. The role of creative education in social harmony can be retrogressive in some circumstances if not well checked.  There may arise instances of continuous destructive arguments based on race and religion thus  affecting social harmony negatively.

Structural platform for interaction

Among the most engaging elements of creative expression and its entire process is its promotion of connectedness and vitality among societies who use it.  Creative expression has been used to address and appreciate the concept of aesthetic experience which draws people towards it and thus provide a basis for interaction.  Through this, people are able to engage each other and understand to appreciate each others diversity therefore promoting peaceful coexistence among these individuals in the society they live.  Creative expression is able to lead people to a deeper level of self discovery and understanding.  This in response helps in connecting people to their authentic self in terms of culture appreciation and heritage sustainability.

The share of creative expression drives people to evoke what lies within their heart and spirit therefore providing safety of interaction and enchantment of expressive inner souls.  The platform of interaction provided by creative works facilitates the expression of feelings and thoughts that might be difficult to let out by individuals hence letting society in harmony.  This is particularly essential in helping a society with feuding individuals to come to terms as they interact through creative expression.  However, the interaction provided might lead to animosity if not cultivated.  This conflict can only be resolved through peaceful interaction (Esther& Oana, 2010)

In conclusion, creative expression is essential in bringing coexistence among people in society.  People are able to interact and understand each others character thus reducing the prevalence divisions among society and misunderstanding.  Interaction is able to remove any instances of negative attitudes, perceptions and emotions thereby establishing new relationships that facilitate social harmony.

 

References

Duygu, S., & Duygu, U. (2010). “Creative tourism and emotional labor: an investigatory model of possible interactions”, International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research,. ( 4) 3,186 – 197

Elad, G. (2011). “Creative managers and managing creativity: a hermeneutic exploration”, American Journal of Business, (26): 2, 161 – 182

Esther, M., & Oana, B. (2010). Chapter 13 Creative conflict in digital imaging communities. New York: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Japan’s Attack on Pearl Harbor

Japan’s Attack on Pearl Harbor

On the December 7, 1941, the world awoke to the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, by the Japanese. Yet, this was not the first time Japan had executed such an attack. The Japanese surprise attack could trace its history with the Russo-Japanese war that erupted in early 1904 and which lasted for slightly over one year ending in late 1905[1]. In fact, many historians agree that the Russo-Japanese was the first major war of the twentieth century[2] as it was a war that led to the first defeat of a major European military power by an Asian military. In the Russo-Japanese War, Japan had successfully showed the importance and relative effectiveness of preemptive attacks when its units attacked the Russian bases in the middle of the night. The Japanese surprise attack began by targeting Port Arthur, previously heavily fortified by the Russian Imperial Army. The war entirely gave a heavy blow to Russia as it lost Fleets in the Pacific and Baltic Sea and made Japan victorious. This war was also an important fillip for Japan’s future military and economic policies as it planned to conquer regions in the Asia. Nevertheless, the causalities for both countries involved in the Russo-Japanese war were heavy. On the December 7, 1945, Japan put its surprise attack techniques to use by attacking Pearl Harbor. While the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was intended to be a surprise attack to the US Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Japanese plans and execution of these plans not only led to failure in achieving their goals, but also would severely affect their chances of victory in WWII.

This attack, which led to several casualties and damages, was a culmination of the Japanese desire to achieve a short-term victory over the US and the ultimate decision to attack the US Naval Base. The main intention of targeting the US naval base at Pearl Harbor was to thwart the capacity of the US naval military fleet in the Pacific in intervening in case the Japanese made good their plans to prevent overseas territories from occupying and influencing the Southeast Asia[3]. Therefore, the attack on Pearl Harbor was executed as a preventive measure against the US Pacific Fleet.

Rationale and Objectives of the Pearl Harbor Attack

As already mentioned in the introductory part, one of the major objectives of the Pearl Harbor attack was to ensure that the preventive attack deterred the US Pacific Fleet from interfering in the Japanese military plans of safeguarding the Southeast Asia against foreign military interests that included the US itself, the UK and Netherlands[4]. With this objective, the Japanese were determined and had already put plans in place to attack and conquer the Philippines (which was a US territory in the South-East Asia), British Borneo, Burma, Malaya and Dutch East Indies (currently Indonesia). However, the attack on Pearl Harbor was just a short-term objective of deterrence. The long-term objectives of the attack lay in the long-term ambitions of the Empire of Japan[5]. With these conquests well planned and if successful, access to oil, minerals and other natural resources would be within the reach of the Japanese empire. These resources would not only help the Empire of Japan sustain its aggressive military objectives but they would also help in stamping its authority in the region as a formidable economic and military power.

Planning and Execution of the Attack

Planning for the attack included preparing the necessary resources besides training the military personnel that would carry out the attack and all the needed logistics. Planning also included establishing the actual targets to be attacked or destroyed at the Pearl Harbor Naval Base[6]. Admiral Yamamoto was the commander-in-chief behind planning and giving the encouragement and reasons for the efficacy of the surprise attack. Admiral Yamamoto was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the Japan’s combined Fleet in early 1941. He did not support the cautious policy that was being taken by the country’s naval general staff. He believed that the US Pacific Fleet would respond in the event that Japan attacked or conquered the Philippines or other foreign territories in the South-East Asia.[7] For this reason and belief, Yamamoto’s plans considered this possibility hence the need to cripple the US Fleet in the Pacific at Pearl Harbor to mitigate the possibility of an attack from the US military. He further believed that the attack should coincide with the attack on the other target foreign territories that included US, British and Dutch interests in the Southeast Asia.

Yamamoto used his strong conviction to consider a shocker carrier-launched air attack at Pearl Harbor and time this attack such that it would simultaneously occur as the Japan’s military aggression on the target Southeast Asia countries was unleashed. Yamamoto gave instructions to Takijiro Onishi, Rear Admiral and Chief of Staff of the Eleventh Fleet, to carry out an assessment of the feasibility of an attack on Pearl Harbor from carrier-launched aircraft[8]. With enlisting of Commander Genda’s assistance, four major factors were determined to be essential in ensuring the feasibility of the attack as follows.

  1. The attack must be completely made by surprise so that it takes the Americans by utter surprise
  2. It should be carried out early on Sunday since then most Americans would either be attending Sunday mass or preparing for it hence unprepared for defensive move
  3. Japan’s six best aircraft carrier to be deployed in the mission
  4. Use of highly skilled aircrews only

For these factors to make the attack a complete surprise to the Americans, Commander Genda admonished against giving any warning of an attack to the Americans or declaration of war prior to the attack.[9] The planned attack became easier to plan on the side of Yamamoto as a result of the decision made by US President Roosevelt when he ordered for relocation of US Pacific Fleet to Hawaii from its bases in California. By destroying this fleet, Japan would have sufficient time to seize and gain control of the Philippines and the other target foreign interests in the region[10].

One flaw that was later evident in this approach and notion in planning was that America would be willing or prepared to enter into peace treaty and allow Japan to take hold of its new conquests in the Southeast Asia[11]. It was a mere demonstration of hope on the part of Yamamoto.

During the early stages of the plans by Yamamoto, the Japanese Naval General Staff rejected Yamamoto’s proposition of the attack on the basis that it was not only extremely risky but also too great a gamble. Their fears and doubts were founded because the striking fleet would be at sea for about two weeks before reaching positions for attack on Pearl Harbor. This means that Japanese best aircraft carriers were at great danger and risk of the gamble; hence leaving the main attacks without proper naval protection. Japanese Naval General Staff were in favor of defensive naval war. However, only when Yamamoto threatened to resign were his plans taken into consideration. As mentioned in the introductory part, the Russo-Japanese war was very essential in preparing the Japanese in terms of their years of night warfare and greatly accurate long-range torpedoes. Even though the Japanese undertook these years to strengthen their accuracy in long range torpedoes and night warfare mainly as a measure of defensive naval war these advantages would prove even more advantageous during the attack on Pearl Harbor. The tactics gave the Japanese Navy an added advantage and edge over the Allied navies when it came to night warfare[12].

Training for the Attack

Despite the fact that Chief of Naval General Staff had not yet given the go-ahead for the surprise attack, Admiral Yamamoto directed that intensive planning and training should begin for the attack on Pearl Harbor early 1941.  Meanwhile, most of the naval aircrews had already bolstered their skills when they flew raid maneuvers against the Chinese air force and army. Despite these prior knowledge and skills, Pearl Harbor had its own challenges and needed more training to be undertaken.[13] The first challenge is that of distance since it was far away and the navy fleet would take longer before getting there. Secondly, the Chinese air force and army and were a poorly trained lot and did not provide a formidable challenge to the Japanese. Another special challenge was that Pearl Harbor had a relatively shallow harbor[14]. An island at the center of the harbor narrowed the area between the eastern shores and the battleships, meaning that the training had to include redesigning of the Japanese torpedoes, to allow deployment in shallow waters such as Pearl Harbor. It also implied that the aircrew had extra lessons to learn that had to target increased precision in shallow waters with narrow stretches. This training was carried out with dedication and enthusiasm that saw the crew ready for the attack by November of 1941. Following the completion of the training exercise, the Chief of the Japanese General Staff approved the plan to attack Pearl Harbor on 3rd November 1941.

Departure and Attack

One of the tactics used by the Japanese government to ensure that the American was distracted long enough for the attack to succeed was the instruction given to the Japanese envoys in Washington to engage the American government in diplomatic talks; thus, distracting them from the imminent attach.[15] These diplomatic talks were meant to enable the Japanese military to surreptitiously position a powerful aircraft carrier attack force for the “stealth surprise attack” on the US Naval Base at Pearl Harbor[16]. This force departed from Japan on 26th November that year.

The attack comprised two waves of attack from 353 Japanese fighters and bombers besides torpedo planes[17]. The attack failed to destroy important installations at the base including submarine piers and shipyard. Maintenance and storage facilities were also not destroyed and these made it easier for the US to service the damaged ships and take them back to battle. This serves to prove that the attack on Pearl Harbor achieved the element of surprise but failed to consider the long-term objective of crippling the US naval power beyond getting into the war in the Pacific.

Results of the War

When the attack ended, there were about 2,400 Americans dead and more than 1,200 wounded. Besides these figures, there were also about 100 civilians wounded or killed. The number of American aircraft destroyed or damaged as provided by the Americas Government Library is 310 (160 of them were destroyed while 150 damaged)[18]. In addition to these aircraft destroyed or damaged, the attack completely destroyed an American battleship and sank another one. These battleships were U.S.S. Arizona and U.S.S. Oklahoma respectively. Nine ships were damaged while twelve were either sank or beached[19].

Flaws in Planning and Assumptions

Surprise attack would mean leaving out important targets like oil tank farms and the navy yard. Even the submarine base would be left. The thinking behind this was that the object of the attack was cripple US naval ability at the base. The thinking was that crippling the US naval at the base would limit any form of response in the aftermath of the attack[20]. This, intermarried with the erroneous timing highlighted below, proved that Japanese planners failed in their planning.

Timing was erroneous as the important US carriers were not at the Pearl Harbor at the time of attack[21]. The erroneous timing had relied on faulty intelligence, which made them believe that they would find U.S.S Lexington, US.S Saratoga, US.S Enterprise and US.S. Yorktown all based at Pearl Harbor when they strike.[22]

Another flaw that was evident in this approach and notion in planning was that America would be willing or prepared to enter into peace treaty and allow Japan to take hold of its new conquests in the Southeast Asia[23]. It was a mere demonstration of hope on the part of Yamamoto. This mistake was probably due to lack of consideration for what impact the attack would have on American people. Initially, Americans were opposed to the US joining any war including the World War. The Japanese planners did not consider the moral outcome that would put the Americans together and support war as opposed to peace as they had thought in their planning.[24]

Conclusion

With the conclusive investigation of the way the Japanese Military planned and executed their attack on Pearl Harbor, and juxtaposing this against the outcomes of the attack and the objectives or aims of the attack, the results indicated in this paper show that Japanese Military fell short of achieving their long-term objectives. First, they did not cripple the US military as they had thought even though they achieved their element of surprise. In fact, this failed attempt to cripple US military made the US to officially declare war on Japan the next day and officially joined the world war. This made Japanese chances of achieving any success in the war to shutter. With US contributing in terms of the great naval assets and military personnel, Japanese could not hope for anything more than total defeat. Secondly, they did not deter the US from joining the war nor did they make it seek peace. In addition, the Japanese failed to achieve their long-term objective of conquering its targets foreign territory interests in the Southeast Asia region. All these support the stand that even though the Japanese were successful in achieving the element of surprise at Pearl Harbor when they attacked, they failed in achieving the intended long term objectives of the attack due to several flaws and errors in their planning and assumptions.


Bibliography

Bruce, Russett “Pearl Harbor: Deterrence Theory and Decision Theory” Journal of Peace Research 4 (1967): 89-105

Ephraim Kam and Ephraim, Kam “Surprise Attack: The Victim’s Perspective, With a New Preface” (Harvard University Press 2004): 112-230

Fredrick, Borsch “Comparing Pearl Harbor and” 9/11″: Intelligence Failure? American Unpreparedness? Military Responsibility?” Journal of Military History 67 (2003): 845-86

John, Stephan “Hawaii Under the Rising Sun: Japan’s Plans for Conquest After Pearl Harbor”(University of Hawaii Press 2002): 69-150

Kahn, David “The Intelligence Failure of Pearl Harbor” Foreign Affairs Hein Online 70 (1990-1992) 138

Kowner, Rotem “The Impact of the Russo-Japanese War” (Routledge Publications 2007): 87-117

Library of Congress “The Japanese Attacked Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941” Accessed January 14, 2013 http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/wwii/jb_wwii_pearlhar_3.html

Naoko, Shimazu “The Myth of the ‘Patriotic Soldier’: Japanese Attitudes towards Death in the Russo–Japanese War” War & Society, 19 (2001): 69-89

Porch, Douglas and Wirtz, James “Surprise and Intelligence Failure” Journal of Contemporary Conflict 5 (2002): 5

Ronald H. Carpenter “Admiral Mahan, “narrative fidelity,” and the Japanese attack on pearl harbor” Quarterly Journal of Speech 72 (2009) 290-305

Wallin, Homer “PEARL HARBOR: Why, How, Fleet Salvage, Final Appraisal,” Naval Engineers Journal 80 (1968): 897–900 accessed January 14, 2013 doi: 10.1111/j.1559-3584.1968.tb04583.x

Wolff, David and Steinberg John “The Russo-Japanese War in Global Perspective: World War Zero, Volume 2” (Brilling Publications 2002) 44-203

[1] Kam and Kam, Surprise Attack, 112-230

[2] Russett,  Deterrence Theory, 89-105

[3] David and John, World War Zero

[4] Russett,  Deterrence Theory, 89-105

[5] David and John, World War Zero

[6] Carpenter , Admiral Mahan, 290-305

[7] Russett,  Deterrence Theory, 89-105

[8] Carpenter , Admiral Mahan, 290-305

[9] Douglas and James, Intelligence Failure, 5

[10] Carpenter , Admiral Mahan, 290-305

[11] Shimazu, Patriotic Soldier, 69-89

[12] Shimazu, “Patriotic Soldier”

[13] Russett,  Deterrence Theory, 89-105

[14] Homer “PEARL HARBOR”

[15] Borsch, Pearl Harbor and” 9/11″, 845-86

[16]Library of Congress,  “December 7, 1941”

[17] Stephan, Hawaii,  69-150

[18] Library of Congress, “December 7, 1941”

[19] Library of congress, “December 7, 1941”

[20] Shimazu, Patriotic Soldier, 69-89

[21] Borsch, Pearl Harbor and” 9/11″, 845-86

[22] David, Intelligence Failure, 138

[23] Russett,  Deterrence Theory, 89-105

[24] Shimazu, Patriotic Soldier, 69-89