The resource curse in myanmar

The resource curse in myanmar Introduction Myanmar (Burma) has distinguished diversity in both its ethnicity and geography. Myanmar has been ruled by the formidable military junta that has contributed to raising many problems in the social, political and economic spheres. Myanmar is infamous for the worlds longest civil war, dire poverty, poor public health and systematic human rights violations. Especially, the oppression of the military regime against some indigenous groups and pro-democracy demonstrators have been done in cruel manners such as forced displacement, arbitrary detentions, rapes, torture and massacres. In the pro-democracy demonstration in 1988, as many as 3,000 unarmed protestors were killed by the Myanmar army (Human Rights Watch, 1989). The regime has maintained tight control over all facets of economy and society, including the countrys natural resources. Myanmar has plenty of natural resources: natural gas, petroleum, timber and valuable minerals such as gold, tin, rubies and jade. In contrast with the countrys abundance of natural resources, Myanmars development has never been on the right track; the outcomes are poor economic growth, extensive poverty, military dictatorship and prolonged civil war. In reality, the abundance of natural resources in Myanmar has contributed to extensive human right abuses and environmental degradation: forced labor, displacement, deforestation, soil contamination, etc. According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the military regime of Myanmar spends at least 40 percent of its national budget on military expenditures, in contrast with the indiscreetly low allocation of the health budget (only 0.4 percent), regardless of the exploding public health crisis (Taisamyone 2007). The military junta has exploited billions of dollars from the national revenue to fuel the military force; in other words, the money that was supposed to enrich the Myanmar citizens has been used for the military activity to control or oppress the citizens. The situation of Myanmar ― a paradoxical outcome of natural resource abundance ― can be true of the â€Å"resource curse† that has been addressed for years in a multitude of researches of countries development. The term resource curse is used to describe the paradox that dependence on natural resources, especially in developing countries often negatively affects the economic growth, democratization and promotion of human rights. As a matter of fact, many countries rich in natural resources have failed to develop and remain in miserable situations. (Humphreys 2007) It is well known that the economic instability in a resource-rich country is caused by an economic concept called â€Å"Dutch disease† ― a countrys currency value is raised by the export of natural resources, and it will makes the other domestic industries uncompetitive in the other export activities due to the inflationary exchange rate (Humphreys 2007). In addition, it is now widely agreed that the curse of natural resources degrades the quality of governance, and as a result, natural resources often provokes civil war (Collier 2007). This paper seeks to analyze the formation of the resource courses in Myanmar, by taking up the key issues of the primary resources that have largely influenced the states condition. The paper especially focuses on the relation of the parties involved with the natural resource issues in the context of economical, ecological and social aspects, rather than focusing on the theory of economic science such as the Dutch disease. Also, this paper will provide some suggestions of how to resolve the Myanmars resource curse from a point of view of sustainable development and environmental scarcity. Natural Gas Myanmars natural gas exports in the fiscal year of 2007-08 was 2.6 billion U.S dollars, and account for 43 percent of the total exports, according to the report from Myanmars Customs Department (Yao 2008). The largest of Myanmars industrial projects is the Yanada project. The Yanada pipeline was bridged from the offshore area to the Thai border with a 60-kilometer-long route across southern Burma. During the construction, the Burmese military regularly conscripted villagers in the pipeline area to impose forced labor. The villagers were afflicted with extensive human rights violations including torture, rape and extrajudicial killings by the military junta (ERI 2008). Environmental degradation during the construction and operation period is also serious problem. Offshore drilling creates massive toxic wastes that are usually dumped into the ocean. Both the disposal of toxic waste and the drilling cause a hazardous effect on the wet lands, fish and habitats, and pollute water supplies (ALTSEAN-Burma 2009). There is another serious problem in natural gas projects other than human rights abuses and environmental degradation. The military expenditure of the military junta dramatically increased due to the Yanada project. According to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Myanmars military budget was estimated at $900 million U.S. of the total budget of $2.3 billion. The Yanada project provided the largest portion of the revenue, and at least 50 % of it would flow directly to the military regime (CIA Factbook cited in ERI 2008). The natural gas and multinational corporations have not benefited the local population at all but they have contributed much to financing the military junta. There has been no threat from neighboring countries since the countys independence in 1948; the purpose of enforcing military rule is only to control or oppress its citizens. While Myanmar pours its huge budget into the military activities, the country is severely impoverished as one of the poorest countries in the world. Timber Aside from the natural gas industry, the timber industry also produces a significant profit in Myanmar. Because of its lucrative nature, especially in the variable teak, the military junta has overexploited the countrys forests. The extensive illegal logging is a huge problem, leading to the deforestation and the destruction of biodiversity. The forests covered 70% of Myanmars total land area at the time of its independence in 1948, but most independent estimates indicated that over half of the countrys forests were cut down by commercial logging operations as of 1998 (Dennis 1999). Deforestation contributes to massive soil erosion, temperature increase and flooding in the areas logged. Deforestation spoils the quality and availability of water and directly harms the local communities livelihood; farming is impossible in the land and a shortage of clean water undermines the health of the people. Not only that, forests are furthermore important for the indigenous people in their religious beliefs and practices. â€Å"Karen people in Lu Thaw Township are famous for their traditional beliefs related to forests†¦If there was no forest, there would be no rotational farming, plant diversity, and the specific cultural identity, traditional beliefs and values of the Karen would disappear.† (PKDS and KESAN 2004) In the peripheral part of the country, the ethnopolitical groups manage the logging industry for the benefit of .hard currency. The logging business provides both the military junta and the local ethnopolitical minorities with profit, and this has led to an incompatible relationship between them. The military junta started to monopolize the timber industry and forcibly removed ethnopolitical groups that managed some forest areas, such as Karen National Union States (KNU) that dealt with the logging business in the unreserved forest area of Karen State. The military junta has cut down forests indiscriminately whether they are reserved or unreserved. The military junta stripped the living environment and a significant source of income from the local communities. Thus, logging and political conflict are interrelated in the Karen State (PKDS and KESAN 2004). Dams The military junta has been enforcing the construction of dams along the Salween River for the sake of hydropower. In the dome sites, forced labor and human rights violations were regularly conducted by the Burmese military, as well as the construction of the natural gas pipeline construction described above. A series of dam constructions caused a threat of flood and water scarcity, and tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee to higher ground. Although the military junta once promised abundant electricity and water supplies along the dam sites, the local population has never received the benefit. On the contrary, local communities in the area, mainly Karenni ethnic people, have been suffering from the destruction of the environment and shortage of water, which have directly damaged both farming and fishing industries, and the local communities livelihood. One of four dams of the Salween River, the Weigyi Dam, flooded several times, extending over 640 square kilometers, and made 30,000 villagers homeless, submerging 28 towns in Karen State (KDRG 2006). Ongoing Civil War in Myanmar Myanmar has a long history of numerous civil wars due to the great diversity of the ethnic groups and the problematic politics of the military regime. Several ethnopolitical minorities had organized rebellion and fought simultaneously against the military regime to achieve their self-determination. Most of the ethnopolitical minorities, however, compromised on cease-fire agreements with the military regime in the end of 1980s, after an offer of the military regime that promised a part of the political rights for the combatant ethnopolitical groups. A few ethnopolitical groups such as the Karen National Union (KNU) and Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) are still in combat against the military junta. Both the Karen and Karenni state have been severely oppressed by the military junta. In Karen State, the number of Internal Displaced Persons (IDPs), by forced displacement or relocation by military junta, counts over 157,000 since the end of 2002, and over 240 villages were destroyed or relocated (Human Rights Watch 2005). In Karenni State, more than 81,000 civilians, equivalent to 25 percent of the total population, were displaced and 267 villages were destroyed (Burma Issues 2008). Karen and Karenni State are the locations that are troubled with some of the largest numbers of IDPs in Myanmar. The cruel oppressions of the military junta against Karen and Karenni definitely caused a grievance that incites the ethnopolitical groups to take up arms against the military junta. In some cases, those oppressions are closely linked with the interest of natural resources. As a reason for displacement, there are two main reasons: â€Å"conflict induced displacement†Ã¢â‚¬â€¢ a forced displacement induced as a result of conflicts in the area and â€Å"development induced displacement† ― a forced displacement for the purpose of development or exploitation of natural resource of the area (Burma Issues 2008). Karenni State is a very example of development induced displacement. â€Å"Karenni State a number of different development projects are being undertaken by the military junta including, mining, logging, hydro-electricity, industrial development and agriculture projects.† (Burma Issues 2008) The development project led the military junta set up military base along the construction sites, and forces extensive human rights abuses and causes environmental degradation. Massive forced displacement was done along both with its process and operation process (see Dams section in this paper). Also, there are several examples that conflicts were exacerbated over a right to control natural resources. One of the cease-fire groups, Karenni National Democratic Party (KNDP), was compelled to recruit into the military junta as the exchange condition for receiving the control of the local area. The KNDP participated in the Burmese troops in 1997 to attack a refugees shelter located in the side of Thai border. This means ceasefire groups fought against non-ceasefire groups, resulting in intra-ethnic conflicts. Moreover, the military junta granted control of areas and resources to the ethnopolitical groups who joined to attack non-ceasefire groups to raise a grievance among ethnopolitical groups. (KDRG 2006) Some displacement in Karen State was done for the purpose of seizing control of the dam, mining and logging sites, that is, the development induced displacement. However, the displacement of Karen State was triggered in reasons for conflict-induced displacement rather than development-induced displacement. Those conflicts can be regarded as the consequence of a series of oppression and development-induced displacement by the military junta (see Timbersection in this paper). The destruction of environment, livelihood, and cultural value of the ethnic people induced the KNU to take up arms against the military junta. As a result of prolonged numerous conflicts, the people in Karen State, especially the 157,000 IDPs, were severely victimized in both development-induced displacement and conflict-induced displacement. As the examples of Kanenni and Karen State, an abundance of natural resource have induced huge mount of cruel displacement and civil wars across the country, and it would be the body of the resource curse in Myanmar. Analysis from a Concept for Sustainable Development and Environmental Scarcity This section examines: 1) how the military junta, the body of Myanmars politics, is getting along with a major concept of sustainable development, 2) the relation between environmental scarcity and conflict, based on a academic theory. Promoting sustainable development is based on the three pillars: The social: this relates to human mores and values, relationship and institutions. The economic: this concerns the allocation and distribution of scarce of resources. The ecological: this involves the contribution of both the economic and the social and their effect on the environment and its resources. (Ekins 2000 cited in Banker 2006) For the social context, military junta has extensively violated human rights against the citizens, especially ethnopolitical group who live in the sites of natural resources. For the economic context, military junta has monopolized the profit of the resource to enforce their military capacity, intending to control over the population with the country. This resulted in the extremely poor economic growth of the country. For the ecological context, there have been a myriad of environmental degradations in any types of natural resource extraction (see sections of Natural Gas, Timber and Dam in this paper). Unflatteringly, the military junta has been doing the things in the opposite way of sustainable development. In the concept of sustainable development, scholars all agreed that social participation is an essential to promote sustainable development; making decision procedure should involve democracy with local communities (Banker 2006). In the case of Myanmar, the National League for Democracy gained the support from the majority of the country citizens in 1990 national election, and Aung San Suu Kyi was elected as the Prime Minister. However, the military junta demolished the election and refused the citizens to participate the national politics, by making military threats. In recent decades, environmental scarcity could plausibly generate some types of violent conflict in a country much dependent on environmental goods and services. One of the types refers to â€Å"Disputes arising directly from local environmental degradation caused, for instance, by factory emissions, logging, or dam† (Thomas and Homer 1999). For the relation between environmental scarcity and conflicts, some scientists adopt a process called reciprocal causation. As the causal steps show, Myanmars environmental degradation by military junta caused a significant environmental scarcity in the local communities, such the cases of Karen and Karenni State that is still in a situation of violent conflicts today. All the cases of Myanmar, described above in the paper, have proved that the military junta has contributing to ignoring the countrys sustainable development, and inducing to create violent conflict against local communities. In this perspective, it is absolutely important to address the Myanmars ethnopolitical conflicts, based on environmental issues. Conclusion Due to the combination of the bad governance and an abundance of the natural resources, Myanmar has lapsed into a miserable situation: poverty, poor economic growth, continuous civil wars, etc. These catastrophic outcomes are definitely attributable to the failure of the natural resource management by the military junta. Even the effort to establish a democratic state by the citizens was destroy by the injustice of the military junta. It is necessary to have further cooperation both within the country and out side of the country (international communities). The attitude of international communities against the military junta is controversial.Althoughinternational communities have imposedeconomicsanctionandlimittheir trading, this directly benefited the nonbearing countries such as China, Thailand, and India. As a result, the economic sanction has decreased the performance of the countrys economic growth; Myanmar has to sell their products in cheap price due to the lack of trade partners. Besides, the interest between China and Myanmar has hindered the use of Responsibility to Protect of United Nations Security Council. In any case, international communities have to immediately come up with another alternative to change the military junta. For the cooperation within the country, it is important to refer to the capacity of ethnopolitical minorities. Although some ethnopolitical minorities have some power to negotiate with the military junta, each group has their own policy and sometimes the policies among ethnopolitical minorities are incompatible. If there is a chance to overcome the power of the military regime, it is a time when all the ethnopolitical minorities and citizens unite their purpose for the democracy for whole nation, not pursuing each own political rights. Reference: ALTSEAN-Burma(Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma) (2009) KEY ISSUES ENVIRONMENT, Retrieved on 22nd January 2010 from http://www.altsean.org/Key%20Issues/KeyIssuesEnvironment.htm Collier, P. (2007) The Bottom Billion, Oxford: Oxford University Press Dennis, J. V. (1999) A REVIEW OF NATIONAL SOCIAL POLICIES Myanmar, Retrieved on 22nd January 2010 from http://www.mekonginfo.org/mrc_en/doclib.nsf/0/AE24021D05C497DDC725682E003722D4/$FILE/FULLTEXT.html Burma Issues (March 2008) Living Ghosts -The spiraling repression of the Karenni population under the Burmese military junta, Retrieved on 22nd January 2010 from http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs4/livingghosts.pdf EarthRights International (ERI) (April 2008) The Human Cost of Energy, Retrieved on 23rd January 2010 from http://www.earthrights.org/sites/default/files/publications/Human-Cost-of-Energy.pdf Humphreys, M. et al (2007) Escaping the Resource, New York: Curse Columbia University Press Human Rights Watch (1989) BURMA (Myanmar), Retrieved on January 22nd 2010 from http://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/1989/WR89/Burma.htm Human Rights Watch; Vol. 17, No.4 (June, 2005). â€Å"They Came and Destroyed Our Village Again† The Plight of Internally Displaced Persons in Karen State: New York. Retrieved on 25th October, 2009 from http://www.ashleysouth.co.uk/files/Human_Rights_Watch_2005.pdf Karenni Development Research Group (KDRG) (2006) Dammed by Burmas Generals, Retrieved on 22nd January 2010 from http://www.khitpyaingnews.org/reports/Dammed%20by%20Burmas%20Generals.pdf Kramer T. (July, 2009) Neither War Nor Peace: The Future of the Cease-Fire Agreements in Burma, Transnational Institute. Retrieved on 25th October, 2009 from http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/documents/TNI_Burma_CeasefireAgreements.pdf Pan Kachin Development Society (PKDS) and Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN) (2004) Destruction and degradation of the Burmese Frontier forests, Amsterdam: Kaboem, Rerieved on 22nd January 2010 from http://www.aaa.htm Taisamyone (6th July, 2007) Editorial: Disproportionate military expenditure in Burma, Burma Digest, Retrieved on 22nd January, 2010 from http://burmadigest.wordpress.com/2007/07/06/editorial-disproportionate-military-expenditure-in-burma/ Thomas, D. and Homer, D (1999) Environment, Scarcity, and Violence, United Kingdom: Princeton University Press. Yao Amber (2008) Natural gas tops Myanmar exports in 2007-08, Xinhua News Agency, Retrieved on 22nd January 2010 from http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-06/15/content_8374394.htm

The Film Camila Essay -- Maria Luisa Bemberg Movies essays papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The film â€Å"Camila† was produced in 1984 and directed by Maria Luisa Bemberg (1922-1955). Based on the true story of Camila O’Gorman, an Argentine woman who falls in love with a priest in 1840’s Buenos Aires, this story dealt with the terrifying reign of Juan Manuel de Rosas. Camila is from an influential family and is betrothed to a Rosas loyalist. She is passionate and daring, just like her grandmother, and reads books that have been censored by the ruthless Rosas. When she falls in love with Father Ladislao, the two flee Buenos Aires and assume new identities as school teachers in a small village. During a party, a priest from Ladislao’s old church recognizes Ladislao and turns them both in. They are both executed by firing squad even though Camila is pregnant.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The director, Maria Luisa Bemberg was a famous director known for attracting actors like Imanol Arias who were already established in their careers. Her most famous films are â€Å"Camila† (1984), â€Å"I, Worst of All† (1990), and â€Å"I Don’t Want to Talk About It† (1990) (McClennon). Many of her films, including â€Å"Camila† had similar themes. She often criticized patriarchies and authoritarianism by telling stories of courageous women who dealt with historical events that had direct effects on women.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Camila’s father, Aldolfo O’Gorman, represents a more intimate version of Rosas. He brings the terror of the government into her home, reminding her daily that she should do only as a respectful and loyal socialite woman is expected. He is obsessed with moral obligations as outlined by the Catholic Church, and also loyalty to family, church, and state. However, the family’s loyalty is meant for the male head of the house. The first scenes of the film show Camila playing with kittens, then cuts to the servant who is carrying out her orders to drown the kittens. This scene immediately develops the cruelty the film will display within the O’Gorman family and the terror of the Rosas regime. Later, he scolds her at the dinner table, in front of guests, for questioning Rosas’s laws and ideals. Taken to extremes, he even turns her unto Rosas when she elopes. d also represents the order of repression in the movie. Rosas oppresses the men unfairly, and then they go home and do the same to their wives and daughters.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Camila is also inspired by her grandmother, Ana Perichon. La Perichona was known to be... ...t loved ones decapitated heads on spikes in the square. Red was indeed the color of the ruling party, and obsessive adherence to the mandate to always wear read was not optional, but mandatory for life (Wilson). Other details like the lace scarves worn to mass, the banned books, the frequency of mass, and the clothes were customary for the time period.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Because â€Å"Camila† was released shortly after the end of the Argentine Proceso, it was clearly a timely criticism of dictatorship in Argentina. The real story of Camila occurred in a time following a brief bout with democracy. This film could be seen as a cautionary tale in terms of warning against ever returning to that form of government. If this, indeed, was Bemberg’s intentions, she was a brave, courageous woman that would have made a great character in one of her own films. Works Cited Barrera, Adriana, et al. Cinergia Movie File: Camila. 10 Apr. 2001. 15 Feb. 2005 . Cagliani, Martin. Argentine Women. University of Buenos Aires. 15 Feb. 2005 . McClennen, Sophia. Bemberg, Maria Luisa. 15 Feb. 2005 . Wilson, Bobbie. Camila O'Gorman. 2003. 15 Feb. 2005 . Wilson, Bobbie. Styles of Camila. 2002. 15 Feb. 2005 .

Equal Exchange: Trading Fairly and Making a Profit Essay

I, Executive Summary Equal Exchange is a for-profit Fair-trade worker-owned, cooperative company. Founded in 1986, it is the oldest and largest Fair Trade coffee company in the United States. Equal Exchange began with $100,000 as started up funds and a 2,000-quare-foot room in Boston’s South End. It purchased coffee beans from small-scale farmers at above-market price in Latin America. Initially, EE relied on other roasters and packers to prepare the premium coffee beans.  It sold to natural food grocers, gourmet shops, restaurants, and non-profit organizations. The company’s founders wanted to help famers get a better, more stable price and, at the same time, take advantage of the growing consumer demand for higher-quality â€Å"specialty† coffee. However, after 25 years in business, and 10 of which were spent as the only fair trade company in the coffee industry, Equal Exchange’s tremendous success seemed to have come to a screeching halt. If the impact of price increases is excluded, for a second year in a row, its revenues have grown only 2 percent. This is hardly acceptable comparing with the double-digit growth it had been through for the previous 15 years. Additionally, over the past few years, consumers have begun to show a strong desire to purchase products from local businesses, thus increased competition from local roasters. Moreover, there is a major push by companies to offer a wide variety of green, organic, and wholesome food products. There are so many new initiatives developing and it may be possible that fair trade products will not stand out so much anymore. As a result, Equal Exchange is likely going to fail into the red zone in next few years, if nothing is changed. Since EE has become a famous brand, I highly recommend EE’s staff to continue expand its potential in producing new products and starting to offer service, in order to solve listed problems. More specifically, in business strategy, EE need to keep following its broad differentiation strategy. However, it needs to create more products in order to be able to compete with many competitors. EE has been taking customers’ trust in its products, so that producing new ones would bring its customers into experiencing them no matter what. There were still various fairly traded goods that EE did not offer, and they might become preferred products. In corporate strategy, if EE choose to start offering service, this would be consistent with the company’s mission such as ecotourism to coffee or cacao growing zones to support those communities. II, Introduction In 1983, Rink Dickinson, Jonathan Rosenthal, and Michael Rozyne were all recent college graduates and working for a food co-op warehouse in the Boston area. They began to question the system such as, â€Å"What if food could be traded in a way that is honest and fair, a way that empowers both farmers and consumers? What if trade supported family farms use of organic methods  rather than methods that harm the environment?† Almost simultaneously they started to hear about groups in Europe who were doing Fair Trade. The advocates of Fair Trade wanted to ensure that the producers of products such as coffee, teas and chocolate would get a better price for their crops while supporting improvement in their environmental, social and political conditions. Rink, Jonathan and Michael liked the idea. According to Rink, they â€Å"were basically food co-op people, interested in connecting small, local farmers with consumers to change the marketplace.† It was not their intention to found a company at that time. They took the idea to the Board of Directors of the co-op warehouse. Half of the board supported the idea and half voted against it. It became apparent to them that if they were going to pursue their vision, they were going to have to develop an organization. Over the next three years they met once a month to develop the plans and raise the capital for founding their own organization. During that time Rink said they used their jobs to learn about cooperatives, small farmers, entrepreneurship, marketing and â€Å"making mistakes, right and left.† The food co-op gave them â€Å"a great environment to learn some skills†. In 1986, Rink, Jonathan and Michael decided to launch Equal Exchange (EE). By that time, their ambition was â€Å"†¦to change the way food is grown, bought, and sold around the world.† The founders decided to meet once a week – and did so for three years — to discuss how best to change the way food is grown, bought, and sold around the world. At the end of this time they had a plan for a new organization called Equal Exchange that would be: A social change organization that would help farmers and their families gain more control over their economic futures. A group that would educate consumers about trade issues affecting farmers. A provider of high-quality foods that would nourish the body and the soul. A company that would be controlled by the people who did the actual work. A community of dedicated individuals who believed that honesty, respect, and mutual benefit are integral to any worthwhile endeavor. Around 1991, Equal Exchange established itself as a Fair Trade specialty coffee company, offering loyal food co-op customers a store bin system with a full line of beans, decaf coffee, different roasts, and flavored coffees. By the end of the year what had once been the â€Å"pipe dream† of reaching $1  million in sales had become a reality. By 1994, Equal Exchange was a worker-owned cooperative with 20 members—with departments, managers, and a growing number of outside investors. A pivotal early investment by the Adrian Dominican Sisters helped to alert others that this undertaking, however risky, might be worthy of outside financial support. Another exciting chapter in our history started in 1996, when Equal Exchange joined with Lutheran World Relief in a path-breaking collaboration to launch what has now become our Interfaith Program. This major initiative helped Equal Exchange create partnerships with communities of faith throughout the U.S. Over the next seven years more than 10,000 congregations across the U.S. began using our Fair Trade coffee. III, Assignment Question 1. Question 1 What are the strategically relevant components of Equal Exchange’s macro-environment? Are socio-cultural, environmental, economic, and other components of the macro-environment favorable to the sellers of fair trade food and beverage products? Does the industry offer attractive opportunities for growth? a) Strategically relevant components of Equal Exchange’s macro-environment Political factors: There were no laws in the U.S restricting the use of the term â€Å"Fair Trade† on a product labels. This makes it is a little difficult for EE to prove themselves overwhelming their competitors. Economic conditions: In 2010, Fair Trade USA reported that there were over 9,500 fair trade-certified consumer products being offered by 700 industry partners in more than 600,000 retail locations. Paul Rice, the president and CEO of fair Trade USA, said that in 2010 the fair trade retail sales market was $1.4 billion in the U.S and $3 billion in Europe. Socio-cultural forces: EE developed advertisements, implemented public education campaigns, partnered with religious organization, and created a school fund-raising program. EE also offered a wide variety of fair trade product. Technological factors: EE was effective in creating messages about the origins of products and where consumer dollars went. For example, it used logo and labels that suggested consumers could have a great cup of coffee or bar of chocolate while feeling good about them. It also created a website as a place for consumers to connect to the farmers who grew the products they bought. Legal and regulatory factors: Fair Trade USA has  certain guidelines for participating business to follow, including EE. Fair trade certifiers agreed on eight basic principles, which are: + Long-term direct trading relationships + Prompt payment of fair prices and wages + No child, forced or otherwise exploited labor + Workplace non-discrimination, gender equity, and freedom of association + Safe working conditions and reasonable work hours + Investment in community development projects + Environmental sustainability + Traceability and transparency b) Are these factors favorable to the sellers of fair trade food and beverage products? This depends on the product itself, though these factors do make products are increasingly imported over more than a decade from 1998 to 2010. Some products have great growth rate, such as tea (38%), sugar (60%), cocoa (67%), and vanilla (97%). On the other hand, some products are not favorable to consumers, such as produce (2%), flower (0%), and wine (-63%). c) Opportunities for growth The far trade movement caught on in 2000 when many companies began to follow the same path as EE – more specifically, into the business of fair trade coffee. Basically, the industry still offer very attractive opportunities for growth due to its growth rate, but it is quite difficult to reach those opportunities due to rivalry. 2. Question 2 Explain the competitive pressures facing the fair trade food and beverage products industry. What does a five-force analysis reveal about the nature and strength of the competitive pressures facing Equal Exchange? Which of the five forces is the strongest? Which of the five forces is weakest? a) The competitive pressure facing the fair trade food and beverage product industry. Fair trade coffee was EE’s primary product, accounting for 80 percent of sales in 2010. At that point, there were over 300 companies in the U.S that provided fair trade coffee. EE managers admired the social mission of some of these companies and even considered those who were truly committed to far trade to be friends. However, they were also competitors. There were two groups of competitors to EE. One class consisted of larger companies that competed in the high-end, organic coffee market, but also got involved in fair trade coffee. The other one were small, local, and regional competitors operating in different areas off the U.S. There are a lot of name can be pointed out, such as Starbuck, Green Mountain Coffee, Deans Beans, and Thanksgiving Coffee. With this much rivalry, EE sure had a great pressure in the industry. b) Five-forces analysis Threat of new entrants: Since fair trade food and beverage products industry is a profitable market that yield high returns, new firms would be attracted. But this is not a problem for EE to concern, because it knows those farmers and their struggles. Nevertheless, when it came to rivalry, EE’s values provided a much different outlook than a typical business. Threat of substitute products: Coffee is a special product with hardly substitute product, so this is not really a threat for EE. Bargaining power of customers: EE partnered with fair trade advocacy organizations, such as Global Exchange, to create a nationwide public education campaign. In 1996, EE partnered with Lutheran World Relief to create something that later became known as the Interfaith Program, and it raised relief funds for farmers in Nicaragua who were hit hard by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. These partnership helped EE generate revenues, create goodwill within communities, and create awareness among consumers about fair trade products. Bargaining power of suppliers: EE’s promise to provide consumers with reasonably priced, good quality food, all while fairly paying the farmer who produced the goods was quite unlike most other companies. Intensity of competitive rivalry: As mentioned before, there are many strong competitors against EE, both as small and large ones. Addition, the fair trade industry is open, so competing is unavoidable. Though EE do not mind too much having many competitors, those ones still create barrier for them to reach more customers. To be concluded, threat of substitute is the weakest force and intensity of competitive rivalry is the weakest force. 3. Question 3 What are the key elements of Equal Exchange’s strategy? Which of the five generic strategies is the company pursuing? How has the cooperative integrated corporate social responsibility into its business strategy? a)  Key elements of Equal Exchange’s strategy EE wanted to change traditional purchasing habits and make consumers more aware of where products came from and who was responsible for making them. At the same time, it wanted to encourage consumers to buy more fair trade products. To do that, EE use advertising in packaging and labels, website, and public awareness. Also, it created interfaith program, applied fundraising program and outbid their competitors in terms of product variety. b) Generic strategy EE follows broad differentiation strategy.  EE’s promise to pride consumers with reasonably priced, good quality food. Though it tried to keep their price lowest as possible, it still fairly paid farmers quite a lot even if coffee prices in the world’s commodities exchanges dropped below the fair trade minimum price. It also focused on keeping their quality on products in any condition. c) Cooperative integrated corporate social responsibility EE worked with financial institutions to give farmers pre-harvest loans with affordable 8 to 9 percent short-term interest rates. Brokers typically offered loans at much higher rates of 25 percent. EE also guaranteed a quarter of each pre-harvest loan. It thus shared the risks associated with misfortunes, such as hurricanes, that could destroy a cooperative’s crops. EE bought the coffee beans once a year, as soon as they were harvested (even though this tied up its capital in inventory). In terms of employee, EE wanted to cultivate excellent working relationships with its employees. Its managers believed that a democratic work environment in which employees shared responsibility for decision making would lead to higher levels of job satisfaction, morale, and productivity. It made sure that the pay gap between the highest-paid manager and the lowest-paid employee was reasonable. Besides, EE sought to reconnect consumers with the farmers who grew their food. When consumers saw a brand-name product in the supermarket, EE wanted them to realize that there was often a person toiling away for little pay behind it. By raising such awareness, the company hoped to direct consumers towards products for which farmer got paid higher prices so they  could better support their ways of life. 4. Question 4 What are Equal Exchange’s competitively important resources and capabilities? Which of its resources have the greatest competitive power? Are any of its resources and capabilities able to pass all four VRIN tests for sustainable competitive advantage? Explain. a) EE’s competitively important resources and capabilities Worker co-operative model: EE believed strongly in creating better, healthier relationships with the Earth, with farmers, its workers, and with the consumer. Worker-owners enjoyed many rights and responsibilities and democratically controlled the workplace. At EE, a co-executive director, a roaster, a packer, and a customer service representative were equal, with one share and one vote per person. This makes every employee of EE want to contribute their best to the company. Marketing strategies: EE wanted to change traditional purchasing habits and make consumers more aware of where products came from and who was responsible for making them. This leads to many well-crafting strategies, such as interfaith program and fundraising. Supplier: Unlike other companies, EE wanted its suppliers, farmers specifically, to be paid more, not less. So, it sought out fair trade-registered co-operatives that enabled small-scale farmers to pool their resources, increase their power in the market-place and share the costs of upgrading their operations. These farmers were trained in how to acquire information on market trends and in how to cultivate high-quality crops . b) Unique resources and capabilities The only resource or capabilities that is able to pass all four VRIN test for sustainable competitive advantage is worker co-operative model. Value: It is difficult to find good employees, but it is much harder to keep good employees to work for the company. That is the reason why building relationship between employees is very important, and critical. EE’s worker co-operative model is showing its precious value for this part. Rare: Treating everyone the same is really rare. Normally, the higher-ups receive much more respect than lower staffs do, but EE deals nothing like that. This hardly can be found in any other company, which makes it a unique component. Inimitable: Human relevant is the only one that is inimitable. EE’s worker co-operative model makes its workers feel comfortable, as everyone is equal. Therefore, employee loyalty is guaranteed and untouchable from external conditions. Non-substitutable: EE built up its image with equal employees, and no other capability can replace this. EE likely is said to stick with its worker co-operative model at anytime, and the way around. It is hard to find another company which can apply this model better than EE. 5. Question 5 What does a SWOT analysis reveal about Equal Exchange’s ability to seize market opportunities and nullify external threats? Strength Experienced in the market High social awareness Technology up-to-date Unique work model Good financial performance Weakness Lack of consumer awareness Unsatisfactory working condition Farmer exploitation Opportunities Expanding business Offering new products Threats Many wealthy competitors Unstable market Table 1: SWOT analysis of Equal Exchange EE can use its strength to seize opportunities and nullify threats. More specifically, due to high social awareness and with technology up-to-date, EE can easily expanding its business into other activity, such as services. Otherwise, it can produce new products that have not been offered in fair trade market. On the other hand, with experience in the market, EE can find a way to compete with competitors in the fair trade market using its good financial performance. 6. Question 6 What is your assessment of Equal Exchange’s financial performance and condition? Is the company in good financial shape? Why or why not. Use financial ratios in Table 4.1 to help support your assessment. Figure 1: Equal exchange sales growth Since importing its first coffee container in 1986, EE had become the leading fair trade brand of food and beverages in the U.S. This helped the co-operative achieve a trend of double-digit revenue growth. However, the recession that struck the U.S changed the outlook for business. The financial data for the fiscal year of 2006 through 2010 demonstrated EE’s growth and showed whether the co-operative was able to weather the economic downturn. Figure 1 demonstrates EE’s growth of sales from fiscal year 2006 to fiscal year 2010. In 2006, success in many areas defined much of EE’s 14 percent increase in revenues, which translated into an additional $2.86 million in annual sales. In particular, sales were exceptionally strong in the West Coast region. Another key contributor to sales was EE’s chocolate products, which were a hit in 2006 because the quality chocolate market was seeing growing demand, or a â€Å"renaissance†, as EE called it, similar to what occurred with specialty coffee 20 years prior. While this was occurring, EE simultaneously expanded its chocolate line to products such as organic dark chocolate, organic mint chocolate, and organic chocolate syrup. This expansion allowed the company to ride the growing demand for quality chocolate. EE also introduced three new tea bagged products, which helped increase tea sales 35 percent. Till 2010, it is a hard time as coffee and chocolate prices continued to rise. EE was faced with a difficult challenge of helping farmers during this time, providing customers with stable prices, and maintaining a profit margin consistent with the co-operative’s goals. Sales totaled $36,525,856. This growth of roughly 2 percent was relatively flat for the second year in a row. The growth experienced was due in part to the notable increase in EE’s direct sales to food co-operatives. This is something the co-operative did to avoid the use of distributors.

Group Areas Act No. 41 of 1950

On April 27, 1950, the Group Areas Act No. 41 was passed by the apartheid government of South Africa. As a system, apartheid used long-established race classifications to maintain the dominance of the colonial occupation of the country. The primary purpose of apartheid laws was to promote the superiority of whites and to establish and elevate the minority white regime. A suite of legislative laws was passed to accomplish this, including Group Areas Act No. 41, as well as the Land Act of 1913, the Mixed Marriages Act of 1949 and the Immorality Amendment Act of 1950: all of these were created to separate the races and subjugate nonwhite people. South African race categories were set up within a few decades after the discovery of diamonds and gold in the country during the mid-19th century: native-born Africans (Blacks, but also called kaffirs or Bantu), Europeans or European-descended (Whites or Boers), Asians (Indians) and mixed raced (Coloured). The 1960 South African census showed that 68.3% of the population were African, 19.3% were White, 9.4% Coloured, and 3.0% Indian. Restrictions of the Group Areas Act No. 41 The Group Areas Act No 41 forced physical separation and segregation between races by creating different residential areas for each race. Implementation started in 1954 when people were first forcibly removed from living in wrong areas, leading to the destruction of communities. The Act also restricted ownership and the occupation of land to groups as permitted, meaning that Africans could neither own nor occupy land in European areas. The law was also supposed to apply in reverse, but the result was that land under black ownership was taken by the government for use by whites only. The government set aside ten homelands for relocated non-white residents, mostly scattered bits of unwanted territories, based on ethnicity among the black communities. These homelands were granted independence with limited self-rule, the main purpose of which was to delete the homeland residents as citizens of South Africa, and cut back on the governments responsibility for providing housing, hospitals, schools, electricity, and water supplies. Implications However, the Africans were a significant economic source in South Africa, in particular as a labor force in the cities. Pass Laws were established to require non-whites to carry passbooks, and later reference books (similar to passports) to be eligible to enter the white parts of the country. Workers hostels were established to accommodate temporary workers, but between 1967 and 1976, the South African government simply stopped building homes for Africans at all, leading to severe housing shortages. The Group Areas Act allowed for the infamous destruction of Sophiatown, a suburb of Johannesburg. In February 1955, 2,000 policemen began removing Sophiatown residents to Meadowlands, Soweto and established the suburb as an area for whites only, newly called Triomf (Victory). In some cases, the nonwhites were loaded onto trucks and dumped into the bush to fend for themselves.   There were serious consequences for people who didnt comply with the Group Areas Act. People found in violation could receive a fine of up to two hundred pounds, prison for up to two years, or both. If they didnt comply with forced eviction, they could be fined sixty pounds or face six months in prison. Effects of the Group Areas Act Citizens tried to use the courts to overturn the Group Areas Act, though they were unsuccessful each time. Others decided to stage protests and engage in civil disobedience, such as sit-ins at restaurants, which took place across South Africa during the early 1960s. The Act hugely affected communities and citizens across South Africa. By 1983, more than 600,000 people had been removed from their homes and relocated. Colored people suffered significantly because housing for them was often postponed because plans for zoning were primarily focused on races, not mixed races. The Group Areas Act also hit Indian South Africans especially hard because many of them resided in other ethnic communities as landlords and traders. In 1963, approximately a quarter of Indian men and women in the country were employed as traders. The National Government turned a deaf ear to the protests of the Indian citizens: in 1977, the Minister of Community Development said that he wasnt aware of any cases instances in which Indian traders who were resettled that didnt like their new homes. Repeal and Legacy The Group Areas Act was repealed by President Frederick Willem de Klerk on April 9, 1990. After apartheid ended in 1994, the new African National Congress (ANC) government headed by Nelson Mandela was faced with an enormous housing backlog. More than 1.5 million homes and apartments in the urban areas were located in informal settlements without property titles. Millions of people in rural areas lived in terrible conditions, and urban blacks resided in hostels and shacks. The ANC government promised to build one million homes within five years, but most of them were of necessity located in developments on the outskirts of cities, which have tended to sustain existing spatial segregation and inequality. Great strides have been undertaken in the decades since apartheid ended, and today South Africa is a modern country, with an advanced highway system and modern homes and apartment buildings in the cities available to all residents. While nearly half of the population was without formal housing in 1996, by 2011, 80 percent of the population had a home. But the scars of inequality remain.   Sources Bickford-Smith, Vivian. Urban History in the New South Africa: Continuity and Innovation since the End of Apartheid. Urban History 35.2 (2008): 288–315. Print.Christopher, A.J.  Apartheid Planning in South Africa: The Case of Port Elizabeth. The Geographical Journal 153.2 (1987): 195–204. Print.---. Urban Segregation in Post-Apartheid South Africa. Urban Studies 38.3 (2001): 449–66. Print.Clark, Nancy L., and William H. Worger. South Africa: The Rise and Fall of Apartheid. 3rd ed. London: Routledge, 2016. Print.Maharaj, Brij. Apartheid, Urban Segregation, and the Local State: Durban and the Group Areas Act in South Africa. Urban Geography 18.2 (1997): 135–54. Print.---. The Group Areas Act and Community Destruction in South Africa. Urban Forum 5.2 (1994): 1–25. Print.Newton, Caroline, and Nick Schuermans. More Than Twenty Years after the Repeal of the Group Areas Act: Housing, Spatial Planning and Urban Development in Post-Apartheid South Africa. Journal of Housing and the Built Environment 28.4 (2013): 579–87. Print.