Business Project Managing And Assignments Management Essay

Business Project Managing And Assignments Management Essay Presentation Before one can handle the current inquiry, for example the choices that a venture director needs to make so as to make a firm and profitable condition for his task group, one should initially be comfortable with the essentials of undertaking the board. Task the board is a wide territory which has picked up generally more prominent significance over the most recent three decades. Directors started to understand that venture the executives procedures and capacities were key to the achievement or disappointment of tasks and in this manner a lot of exploration and writing was distributed on the variables that effect and impact venture the board methods (Maylor, 2005). Obviously, venture the executives is a territory of study that requires a lot of study in light of the quantity of factors related with it. This paper will accordingly begin by giving a concise review of task the board in an offer to initially build up that the earth in which the undertaking group feels inspire d can in reality decide the achievement or disappointment of a venture and afterward proceed onward to basically break down various manners by which a task chief can improve this condition essentially. Business Project Management (1)Various writings have characterized a venture in an unexpected way, one could casually consider a to be as an offer to achieve a given goal through a lot of interlinked undertakings utilizing a given measure of assets. It could be something as straightforward as arranging a wedding or a progressively mind boggling task like structure another house. All the more officially, an undertaking can be characterized as, â€Å"A complex, non-standard, once exertion restricted by time, spending plan, assets, and execution determinations intended to address client issues (Allan 2004, p.12).† From this proper definition we can derive some fundamental characteristics of activities, for example, the way that a venture has a set up objective, a characterized lif e range, has explicit time, cost and execution necessities and requires over the-association cooperation. The primary properties of an undertaking are not just basic for arranging and executing the task at the end of the day, the achievement or disappointment of a venture is decided on how well it has clung to these fundamental characteristics. Fundamentally one needs to perceive how well a venture meets client necessities and whether it has had the option to do it inside the time, cost and execution prerequisites that had been at first settled. As referenced before, ventures can involve enormous complex assignments or little undertakings crossing just a couple of days. For functional purposes, one should likewise be acquainted with the overall sorts of hierarchical structures so as to all the more likely comprehend the different manners by which approaching tasks are handled by different associations. The main kind can be named as the useful authoritative structure. Various fragmen ts of the venture are assigned to particular utilitarian units of the association and coordination is kept up through ordinary correspondence channels. Such a structure takes into account adaptability, inside and out mastery and simple post-venture progress for colleagues. Simultaneously in any case, there is poor incorporation, an absence of center and all the more significantly an absence of possession for the achievement or disappointment of specific errands. At that point there is the committed undertaking group structure. It is ordinarily executed by projectized associations that are basically reliant on one time ventures to lead the greater part of their business. In this framework, each undertaking or task is treated as an unmistakable venture and a gathering of workers is placed into an undertaking group and gave the sole duty of finishing that specific venture (Burke 2003, p.89). The framework is quick, straightforward, durable and takes into consideration cross-utilitarian joining from various offices. On the drawback, it demonstrates costly, prompts inward difficulty between colleagues and there emerges an issue of post-venture change for the representatives. Thirdly, there is the framework structure. It’s a half breed hierarchical structure and tries to join the best characteristics of the two structures earlier talked about. Essentially, there are two levels of leadership and undertaking members report at the same time to both utilitarian and task supervisors. The lattice structure accomplishes a more prominent combination of ability and task prerequisites. There are three sub-sorts of the lattice hierarchical structure. In the powerless structure grid, the authority of the utilitarian director prevails and the undertaking chief just has aberrant position. In the decent structure grid, the task director sets the general arrangement and the practical supervisor decides how work is to be finished.

The relationship between marijuana and juvenile delinquency Essay

The connection among maryjane and adolescent wrongdoing - Essay Example In view of value-based investigation hypothesis, for the current situation, it very well may be found from the physical and incidental proof that my son’s companion has carried out the accompanying criminal infringement: trespass to staying, burglary, and unlawful ownership of picklocks. Trespass to abiding is submitted by an individual who will go into the house or staying of another without the latter’s earlier assent. For the situation at bar, the insignificant nearness of my son’s companion inside the house (which is attempted to have been shut and briefly occupied as not so much as a solitary tenant was found consequently around then) raises the assumption that he is blameworthy thereof. Around then, nobody could have given him the consent to come inside the house as there was no real tenant was there around then. His being my son’s companion doesn’t in any capacity legitimize his interruption into the house without greeting or earlier authoriz ation. My son’s companion is additionally assumed liable of illicit ownership of picklocks. I should consider first the way that I am certain, non one in the house has ever had a picklock nor utilizes the equivalent. The way that my son’s companion had the option to go into the house without the help of anyone, or any tenant from inside, ought to be considered according to the nearness of picklock found on the counter extremely close to where I discovered him. Good judgment would show that the picklock could have been utilized to open the house entryway with the end goal for him to pick up section subsequently. It isn't vital however to really observe him in the demonstration of utilizing it as unimportant belonging is adequate to implicate him. Burglary could likewise be considered against him comparable to my adornments which I discovered lying in the counter close to him. Obviously, I ought to be cautious with the way that neither I nor anyone from my family in the house had put the gems there. Plus, gems are not normally positioned in or close to the kitchen however inside the room. For instance, on the off chance that I ordinarily keep my gems inside my room bureau, the minor certainty that they were taken outside the bureau (where they ought to be), as of now fulfills the wrongdoing of burglary. The gems need not be effectively taken outside the house in light of the fact that the criminal has just practiced authority over the subject gems when he took them outside the room bureau where they are kept. There is no other intelligent assumption that could be made on the data of the nearness of my gems in the kitchen alongside the offender whose nearness in the house is under inquiry. Then again, the way that he scents of maryjane isn't adequate to prosecute him for infringement of the law on denied or controlled medications. On this perspective, the intercession of an expert is fundamental so as to appropriately decide his condition. On the off chance that it is sure, at that point he is blameworthy thereof. On the off chance that it is negative, at that point he isn't. I can't depend completely on my instinct as I may not be viewed as a specialist in deciding the smell of maryjane. In light of the realities given and conversation above, I will do the accompanying: First, I will summon the police right. This is for the

How to Write a Killing Essay Outline

How to Write a Killing Essay Outline Definition of an outline What is an essay outline? What is an essay outline format? Getting the right answers for these among other questions will get you started as far as the process of writing an outline for your essay is concerned. As such, having the right understanding about how to outline an essay will help you develop a strong and comprehensive outline for any essays or articles. An essay outline refers to a template that writers create to capture the main ideas that are to be discussed in an essay alongside the subtopics. For this reason, it is more likely that an outline for an essay serves the purpose of a roadmap for any piece of writing. To develop a great essay and ensure that the pertinent issues are covered, you need to organize your thoughts and research in the form of an outline prior to engaging in the actual writing process. Having an outline for your essay makes the writing process quite simple and easy, for you are able to divide a complex subject into small parts. Does that sound encouraging? Stick around and we will show you how to write an essay outline with the shortest time possible. There are numerous essay outline templates that you can find online and use when it comes to writing your outline. However, it is important that you consider the exact topics and type of essay that you are writing and the number of words that have to be contained in your essay. Ensure that you have a clear idea of what you want to accomplish and how you are going to go about it. The effectiveness of your outline in explaining the content of your essay will depend on the manner in which you have been able to detail each and every point in the essay and at the same time the kind of language register that you will choose along the way. Prepare an outline The first step after you have approximated your essay structure and size is to make sure that you settle on your essay outline format. The format that you settle on will be a great determinant of the steps that you will have to follow. Ensure that you have a clear objective of what you will cover in your essay and at the same time make sure that you have a clear thesis that you seek to argue in your essay. These are two important elements that you must not ignore in your writing process and at the same time focus on the manner in which you will achieve them. Your preparation of the structure should be based on the kind of needs you initially identified at the beginning and at also what you intend to achieve at the end of the essay. Structure Style The structure and style that you adopt for your outline is also an important factor in your essay outline format. There are several formats that you can adopt along the way when writing your essay but the most common one is the MLA outline format.. The structure and style choices of your outline are the ones that will be able to guide you throughout the essay and at the same time promote a better approach. Consult with your instructor to be aware of the style that your paper should adopt, as this will determine the inclination of your essay outline. When outlining an essay, focus on the recommended style and structure as well as the type of essay that you are writing about, as different essays require different structure and format. For example, a scientific essay can be quite different from a business essay.   Highlighted below are the main elements to include in your essay outline. Introduction The introduction part of your outline must tell the reader how you plan to engage them and get their attention in terms of approaching the topic. The outline must tell the reader the kind of background information to expect in the actual essay. Your introduction must also tell the reader what thesis statement you seek to argue in your paper and why it is important for the reader. You must also tell the reader why you selected the topic in your paper and how you plan to present your thoughts and ideas along the way. In other words, your introduction must cover all the elements that you plan to cover in your paper in a nutshell and at the same time ensure that you have everything included in the paper. Body The body section of your essay outline must tell the reader what you are going to write in terms of content, topic sentences, and the kind of support you are going to give to each one of them. The success of each one of these will depend on the kind of information you gathered initially and the manner in which you organized it along the way. The body must also list the topic sentences for each of the paragraphs and at the same time the kind of evidence that you seek to use when it comes to supporting the claim you make in each of the premises in the essay. The body of your essay is where you present everything and the outline therefore must cover most parts in as far as arguments in the essay are concerned. Your outline should present a true picture of what your essay is all about and the kind of explanation that you will give for each subtopic. Lastly, your body must also explain to the reader the kind of approaches that each of the paragraphs will be able to take when presenting arguments. The procedure you seek to adopt throughout the essay must be clear to your readers from the start. Conclusion The conclusion part of your outline must tell the reader what you seek to conclude out of the essay and after presenting several arguments. You must repeat and echo the argument that you presented from the start while at the same time providing a summary of what you argued out in the essay. The outline must also be clear to the reader when it comes to handling the kind of information that was obtained and used in the body section. Lastly, this section of the essay outline must reveal to the reader what you seek to recommend in your essay. Organizing information in your outline The information contained in your outline must be organized to avoid confusion that comes with poor structuring. Your outline must cover a number of areas that your topic and essay will touch on but this must be done in a proper way to avoid cases of mix up. You also need to read about the kind of steps that your essay outline covers and how to approach it. Your outline must also be neat to the point where each of the points you seek to discuss in the body section are clear to the reader. This is an important move because of the manner in which it will help you when writing the actual paper. Organization of your outline also includes making changes where you might have made errors along the way and at the same time have additional information that might be needed by the instructor. Here are a few tips to set you off with your essay outline: Under the introduction, think about the hook and the thesis statement and include them here. Divide the body of your outline and essay into 3-paragraphs and start each paragraph with a topic sentence. In addition, ensure that each paragraph covers only one idea. Restate your thesis in the conclusion section followed by a summary of the main ideas that you plan to discuss in the body of the paper. Read through and proofread It is important to read through your outline so as to avoid mistakes that might emerge along the way and at the same time also get a glimpse of what your actual essay will look like once it has been written. The process of reading through your essay outline means that you are keen on the kind of information that you included and what might have been left out along the way when you were writing the essay. Proofreading will also help you identify the kind of mistakes that you might have made along the way especially in grammar and punctuations of your outline. The step towards perfecting the work that you might have done with your essay starts when you look at the kind of information that you presented in your essay outline. The last step towards writing a good essay outline is to get needed feedback from your instructor and make the needed corrections. This is a minor step but very important in terms of the way you plan your essay outline. Your instructor will be useful in terms of making sure that your essay outline covers everything that is needed in terms of content. Once your instructor has provided you with the needed feedback, you can be able to go ahead and write the essay based on the outline that you wrote.

Economy in Early American Civilizations Maya, Aztecs and...

The economic systems of early American societies were very similar. One of these societies, the Mayans, lived in southern Mexico and northern Central America from the 3rd to the 10th century CE, and they relied on the trade of goods such as obsidian and crops such as cacao beans. Another American civilization was the Aztec civilization. They were located in the Valley of Mexico around the 13th to 16th century CE, and they used slash-and-burn farming to plant crops to trade. The Inca Empire existed from the 13th to the 16th century CE along the Pacific coast of South America near the Andes Mountains. The Inca used terrace farming and irrigation to grow crops such as corn. The economies of these early American civilizations were heavily†¦show more content†¦Maya economy and trade is still one of the more mysterious aspects of Maya life. Research into the area is very tricky, as the records left behind by the Maya themselves in terms of their trade are little. They mostly woul d document their wars and lives of their leaders much more completely than their trading patterns. The Mayan economy depended upon trading and centralized markets to sustain itself. They used canoes to transport goods across rivers and lakes. Cacao beans were used as currency, or traders bartered with each other to exchange goods. They traded food with societies close to them and nonperishable goods, such as obsidian, with societies farther from them. In Mayan society, agriculture was looked upon as a key part to the economy. The Mayans main crops that were grown were corn, beans, chili peppers, and squash. These crops were a very big priority for the Mayan settlement and economy for trading purposes. The Mayans also developed wonderful cities with larger community centers. These centers featured temples, pyramids, and palaces. These were good strategic central location which would enhance the economy. The Mayan economies wonderful trade and agricultural products all helped form a great base for the Mayan economy. Those aspects like agriculture and trading also immensely helpe d the Aztec civilization. Some major aspects of the Aztec civilizations were farming and trading. The Aztecs were hunters andShow MoreRelatedLatin Americ Latin American Cultures2513 Words   |  11 PagesTimothy Su Professor Patricio Navia Latin American Cultures, Sect. 001 20 October 2014 Latin American Cultures Midterm Section 1 – Question 1 Throughout the pre-Columbus era in Latin America, The Mayas, Aztecs, and Incas built unique civilizations, each with its own distinctive achievements, creating distinctive cultures to unite their individual societies. The Mayas, Aztecs, and Incas not only shared many similarities in the ways they built their civilizations, but also had differing characteristicsRead MoreThe Impact of the First Europeans to the Native Cultures of America915 Words   |  4 PagesThe first Europeans arrived in North America in the fifteenth century CE. Native cultures included the Olmec, the Maya, the Aztecs, the Incas, the Mound Builders of the Mississippi region, and the Anasazi of the American Southwest. The first metropolis in Mesoamerica, was the city of Teotihuacan, capital of an early state about thirty miles northeast of Mexico City that arose around the third century B.C.E. and flourished for nearly a millennium until it collapsed under mysterious circumstances.Read MoreEssay on Pre-Columbian civilizations1533 Words   |  7 Pageshemisphere, there were fully functional and highly developed societies here. These civilizations were sophisticated, could even be considered more advanced than the European nations at the time. While the rest of the Eastern world was in the dark Middle Ages, the people here were flourishing. The Aztecs were the Native American people who dominated northern Mà ©xico at the time of the Spanish conquest led by Hernan CORTES in the early 16th century. According to their own legends, they originated from a placeRead MoreApush - American History: a Survey Chapter 1 Outline Essay3138 Words   |  13 PagesColumbus * At first, early settlers of America formed small nomadic groups, hunting and fishing to obtain food. * Gradually, stable civilizations were formed, many of substantial sizes and variety. II. The Civilizations of the South * The greatest of these civilizations were in South America and in Mexico * These civilizations developed complex political systems and large networks of paved roads that unified the civilization Incas in Peru. * The Mayas created a written languageRead MoreChapter 1 Apush Notes [Americas History]2669 Words   |  11 Pagesgreyhounds to rip indians to pieces French killed hundreds of Natchez and sold survivors into slavery-- forced to work on sugar plantations The Native American Experience The First Americans 1st movement-- Migrants from Asia crossed 100 mile wide land bridge that connected Siberia and Alaska during Ice Age-- 1st Americans Asians and Native Americans have a genetic marker on their Y Chromosomes that proves that they migrated from about 15k to 9k years ago Glaciers melt-- Bering Strait 8k yrsRead MoreEssay on Change Analysis Chart Postclassical (600-1450 C.E.)8730 Words   |  35 Pagesan advantage | * Bantu migrations end * Germanic migrations end * Settled societies find efficient ways to defend agains nomads | * Stronger centralized states reduced the effectiveness of nomadic migrations | * fall of classical civilizations created political vacuums and those who wished to excape other rising powers moved * Developing states start to weaken nomads | Gender Systems What other beginning features were there? Discuss the decline in the status of women. Women of pastoralRead MoreApush Chapter 1 Notes3298 Words   |  14 Pagessettlement. †¢ adaptation to surroundings created distinct civilizations, even though the same racial heritage existed. †¢ Civilizations of the South †¢ Most elaborate societies emerged in - S/Cent. America and Mexico †¢ Peru- Inca Empire (Cuzco and Machu Picchu)(over 6 million people) o Created a complex Political System o Network of Paved Roads that brought tribes together(under single rule) o No system of writing or paper †¢ Yucatan Peninsula- Mayas (Mayapan) o Written Language o Numerical System like ArabicRead MoreEssay on Plowing New Soil with World Agriculture2585 Words   |  11 PagesPlowing New Soil with World Agriculture Since agriculture began to be developed nearly 10,000 years ago, people throughout the world have discovered the food value of wild plants and animals, and domesticated and bred them (Early Civilization). Today, people go to the market or grocery store to pick up cereal, rice, bread, meat, fruit, vegetables, and olives. People hardly ever think of where the food generally comes from. Most of the food that is found in the grocery store wouldnt beRead MoreThe Birth of Civilization18947 Words   |  76 Pages1 The Birth of Civilization Mohenjo-Daro Figure. Scholars believe this limestone statue from about 2500 B.C.E. depicts a king or a priest from Mohenjo-Daro in the Indus valley in present-day Pakistan. Does this figure seem to emphasize the features of a particular person or the attributes of a particular role? Hear the Audio for Chapter 1 at www.myhistorylab.com CRAIMC01_xxxii-031hr2.qxp 2/17/11 3:22 PM Page xxxii EARLY HUMANS AND THEIR CULTURE page 1 WHY IS â€Å"culture† considered a defining

Essay Intel Corporation, 1968-1997 - 1123 Words

Intel Corporation, 1968-1997 Synopsis: This case traces the strategic decisions of Intel Corporation which defined its evolution from being a start-up developer of semiconductor memory chips in 1968 to being the industry leader of microprocessors in 1997 when it ranked amongst the top five American companies and had stock market valuation of USD 113 billion. Intel in DRAM business: The strategies employed by Intel for DRAM business focussed on: 1. Pushing the envelope of product design 2. Being first to market with newest devices 3. Premium pricing and skim marketing. No emphasis on mass production Initially, Intel had a successful run in this business as they: 1. Had no immediate competition 2. The demand for memory†¦show more content†¦Intel realized the advantage of partnering with IBM and initiated projects like â€Å"Crush† and â€Å"Checkmate† to counter Motorola to ensure microprocessor supremacy. With the success of securing IBM contract along with more wins, Intel was on set on track to ensure industry dominance. Exit from DRAMs Intel TMT had an emotional connect with the DRAMs business. Successful development of 1M DRAM was traded off for microprocessor development more on the behest of the middle line managers who developed the microprocessor technology over time with resources allocated for DRAM research. This was in line with Intel’s entrepreneurial culture which encouraged strategic planning through all functions. By 1986, Intel’s TMT officially approved middle managers’ pursuit to exit from the DRAM business and focus on the microprocessor. Intel as a Microprocessor company Intel began supplying microprocessor to IBM. To meet the demand, Intel licensed to as many as 12 other companies to produce 8086 chips, which left Intel with just 30% of the total revenues and profits for that product. Gradually, they reduced the number of licensee to only IBM. Thus they retained the â€Å"profits pool† within their value chain. Meanwhile, IBM, who was Intel’s star customer, decided to produce own proprietary components. This was an inflection point for Intel. It partnered with Compaq and Microsoft, to break the hegemony of IBM. Though Microsoft products did notShow MoreRelatedIntel Corporation: 1968 – 19971177 Words   |  5 PagesINTEL CORPORATION: 1968 – 1997 Synopsis: This case traces the strategic decisions of Intel Corporation which defined its evolution from being a start-up developer of semiconductor memory chips in 1968 to being the industry leader of microprocessors in 1997 when it ranked amongst the top five American companies and had stock market valuation of USD 113 billion. Intel in DRAM business: The strategies employed by Intel for DRAM business focussed on: 1. Pushing the envelope of product design Read MoreCase Preparation Questions734 Words   |  3 Pagessecond region? Intel Corporation: 1968-1997 1. What was Intel’s strategy in DRAMS? What accounts for Intel’s dramatic decline in market share in the Dram market between 19974-1984? To what extent was Intel’s failure a result of its strategy? 2. What strategy did Intel use to gain a competitive advantage in microprocessors? What threats has Intel faced in sustaining its competitive advantage in microprocessors and what strategies has it used to deal with each? Why has Intel been able to sustainRead More Intel Essay1911 Words   |  8 Pages Introduction nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;This analysis of Intel Corporation is to educate the investor about the company and provide them with useful information that will enable them to make a decision as to whether they should invest in the company. 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In the 1990s Samsung began to expand globally building factories in the US, Britain, Germany, Thailand, Mexico, Spain and China until 1997. In 1997 nearly all Korean businesses shrunk in size and Samsung was no exception. They sold businesses to relieve debt and cut employees down lowering personnel by 50,000. But thanks to the electronic industry they managed to curb this and continue toRead MoreCompetition in the Microprocessor Market: Intel, Amd and Beyond11958 Words   |  48 PagesMicroprocessor Market: Intel, AMD and Beyond Andrà © Semmler  October 17th, 2010 Abstract This paper analyzes the competition in the microprocessor market be-tween Intel and AMD. The evolution of market structure is traced and it is shown that the main ways in which these two companies compete is through Price, Technological Innovation and Vertical Integration. Empir-ical Research is conducted showing consumer preference across two coun-tries. 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(ETL)1  in the niche market of fruit juices and virtually created a new product category. By 1999, Onjus gained a 19% share (Refer Table II) in the tetra-pack fruit beverages market (ReferRead MoreSupercomputers2584 Words   |  11 PagesINTRODUCTION A supercomputer is a computer that is at the frontline of current processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation. Supercomputers were introduced in the 1960s and were designed primarily by Seymour Cray at Control Data Corporation (CDC), which led the market into the 1970s until Cray left to form his own company, Cray Research. He then took over the supercomputer market with his new designs, holding the top spot in supercomputing for five years (1985–1990). In the 1980s a largeRead More Economic Theories Applied to the New Economy Essay7222 Words   |  29 PagesFinally I will explain the relationship between marketing theories concept and the successful of firm and finally I set my own conclusion. 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Critically Examine the Trend and Size of Poverty in Hong Kong Free Essays

string(103) " special needs including school fees, school-related expenses, essential traveling expenses and so on\." No city in the world is as ironic and contradictory as Hong Kong. This city has not only the 6th highest per capita GDP, but also the highest Gini coefficient in the world (World Bank, 2011). Fortunately, the Hong Kong government isn’t turning a blind eye towards this dilemma but are instead actively looking for a trade-off between economic performance and social welfare. We will write a custom essay sample on Critically Examine the Trend and Size of Poverty in Hong Kong or any similar topic only for you Order Now One notable example is the re-establishment of the Commission on Poverty, it is hoped that a clearly-defined poverty line will shed a new light into the poverty situation in Hong Kong. Another important policy in recent years is the implementation of minimum wage law, which has been in effect for two years aiming to guarantee a basic wage for low-income workers, however its effect on overall employment level in Hong Kong is still to be determined. In this essay, I will first examine the overall trend and size of poverty in Hong Kong, then move on to assess the effectiveness of the present social security system, as well as the minimum wage in eradicating poverty in Hong Kong. Poverty, is an ambiguous term especially in Hong Kong. The United Nations places the benchmark for poverty as living under a monthly income less than or equal to half of the median household income of equal size households. This is the definition that the Commission on Poverty is likely to adopt. But before the launch of official poverty line people are considered poor only if they apply for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA), which eligibility is largely determined by nominal income. As a result, the number of people applying for CSSA decreased after minimum wage law has been imposed. In this essay therefore, I will adopt the UN definition of poverty in examining its trend and size in Hong Kong. Poverty rate up to the year 2011 was the lowest since that of 2001. Before 2011, there had been an overall increasing trend in both the number of households living in poverty as well as the poverty rate. In this sense, 2011 can be seen as a watershed year; the poverty rate plummeted to 17. 1% when compared to 17. 9% in the previous year, which meant a reduction of 55000 people suffering from poverty. Additionally, the total number of poor households had been rising from 2001 to 2007, but this trend started to decline from then on. The total number of poor households in 2011 was 444,000, when compared with that of the years 2007 and 2010; there had been a reduction of 11,000 and 7000 households respectively. In spite of the declining poverty trend and size, income disparity in Hong Kong has been worsening. In the year 2001, the median monthly income of high-income group was $31,000 while that of low-income group was $10,000, which meant that the former was 3. 1 times that of the latter. However, this disparity continued to grow and in the year 2011, the median monthly income of the high-income group increased to $35,000, while that of the low-income group plunged to $9000, which meant that the high-income group had a monthly income 3. 5 times more than that of the low-income group. In brief, it is undeniable that the declining trend and size of poverty has been promising, but that was largely due to the thriving economy instead of governmental efforts, at the same time, the income gap has been widening despite the implementation of minimum wage law. These statistics all indicate that the current social policies are inadequate in eliminating the imminent threat of poverty. The social security system in Hong Kong is a three-tier system consisting of social assistance and social allowance in the form of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance and Old Age Allowance, mandated occupational pension in the form of Mandatory Provident Fund as well as private saving. In the remaining part of the essay, the effectiveness of the above social security policies in lifting poverty will be assessed one by one. The Comprehensive Social Security Assistance was renamed after the Public Assistance Scheme in 1993 has the sole purpose to provide â€Å"a safety net for those who cannot support themselves financially. It is designed to bring their income up to a prescribed level to meet their basic needs. † (Social Welfare Department, 2012) It is a non-contributory and means-tested scheme financed wholly by the government. CSSA payments can be broadly classified into three categories: standard rate, supplements and special grants. Standard Rates from 2012 is divided into 5 types: elderly person aged over 60 or above, ill health adult under 60, disabled child, able-bodied adult aged under 60 and able-bodied child. The amount of standard rates payable to each type differs, but they are under the same guiding principles; the standard rates for children and seniors are higher than those of the adults, rates for single individuals living alone are greater than those of family members, and rates will increase with levels of severity of disability. Tsoi, 2002) Additionally, there are five types of supplements. Long-term supplement is an annual payment to recipients who have been receiving assistance for at least 12 months for the replacement of household and durable goods. Single parent supplement is a monthly payment to single parent families with special difficulties in bringing up their families. Community living supplement is a monthly payment to old, disabled and certified ill-health CSSA recipients living in th e community instead of any institutions. Transport supplement aims to promote social integration and geographical mobility by providing monthly assistance to certified 100% disabled as well as population between 12 to 64 years of age. Last but not least, the intention of the residential care supplement is to relieve the accommodation burdens of old, disabled and certified ill-health CSSA applicants who are not living in subsidised housing estates. Besides, a range of special grants are also set up to meet applicants’ special needs including school fees, school-related expenses, essential traveling expenses and so on. You read "Critically Examine the Trend and Size of Poverty in Hong Kong" in category "Essay examples" Famous English philosopher Midgley once commented that redistributing wealth in the form of social assistance has the â€Å"most direct potential impact on the poverty problem. † She identified three necessary conditions in order to fully realize this potential, first, social assistance must be financial by progressive taxation, second, the level of benefit provided must be sufficient to raise recipients out of poverty and third, needy people must have easy access to social assistance schemes and that these schemes would not deter them from applying for help. Tsoi, 2002). With applies the above mentioned three principles to Hong Kong, it is worthy to highlight that Hong Kong only fulfilled the first condition out of the three. In the following paragraphs, the low effectiveness of the CSSA will be discussed with respect to its level of benefits, process of application as well as incentives for its recipients to reintegrate into the job market. The level of benefits by the stand ard rates of the CSSA cannot reflect the actual needs of its recipients, but are in fact set arbitrarily. At the oment, the standard rates of CSSA recipients are reviewed and adjusted annually by the Legislative Council to reflect the changes in Price Level by the Census and Statistics Department. The Consumption Price Index however, is a reference to the household expenditure of the 25% of the population with the lowest income. It is highly dubious as to whether the household expenditures of the poor households would be an authentic indicator and correspond to what they actually need to support their daily living. In addition, some CSSA recipients described the process of application as humiliating and intimidating. According to a joint project by the Department of Applied Social Sciences in Polytechnic University and Oxfam Hong Kong on Perception and Utilization of the CSSA in 2007, it was found that some recipients felt that their applications were always delayed and mishandled. Some applicants even accused the social security officers as having bad manners and lack empathy. These findings were found out after in-depth interviews and group discussion, although it is questionable as to the representativeness of the sample size, the critique to the â€Å"humiliating† application procedures must point to some bearing of truth that the CSSA recipients feel. Besides, some social workers in the study also complained that â€Å"some officers tend to insult and threaten the applicants by making unreasonable requests†. Going back to Midgley’s third condition in order to eradicate poverty which concerns the access to social security must not deter the needy from applying; the Social Services Department could clearly do a better job. Furthermore, there is always an unspoken concern that receiving CSSA would encourage a â€Å"dependency culture†, especially when the CSSA mechanisms do not encourage able-bodied recipients to attain economic independence. Contrary to common misconception that only able-bodied lazy people and new immigrants would apply for CSSA, most CSSA applicants, amounting to 60% (Oxfam, 2007) treat social security as the last resort to alleviate their dire financial circumstances. However, due to a lack of support services, only 8%-10% of able-bodied CSSA recipients are able to re-enter the competitive job market (Ming Pao Daily News, 2000) through the Special Job Attachment Programme. In addition, the additional cost for attempting to re-enter the job market may ut an extra toll on the families receiving CSSA, let alone some single parent’s families with insufficient child-care facilities may choose to keep on receiving welfare instead of working. In short, CSSA do not provide sufficient incentive for its recipients to re-join the work force, which is the only way to escape poverty. Another aspect of the social security system in Hong Kong is mandated occupational pension, which is in the form of Mandatory Provident Fund in Hong Kong. It is a compulsory, occupation-related scheme with defined monthly contribution by both employers and employees. The Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance was passed in 2000 with the hope of strengthening the safety net and retirement protection. Contribution to the MPF is mandated to be 10% of the employee’s income with which 5% is contributed by his/her employer. Besides, the mandatory contribution is adjusted with relevance to employees’ income. After the implementation of minimum wage, the monthly relevant income is readjusted, for employees with monthly income less than $6500, only their employers are mandated to contribute 5% of relevant income, this becomes the minimum contribution. On the other hand, for employees with income higher than $25000, both employers and employees are required to contribute $1250, this becomes the maximum contribution. All MPF contributions will be injected into registered MPF trustee in the market chosen by the employers, but now, employees will be able to choose new MPF scheme annually based on their performance. In the following paragraphs, the limitations of the MPF scheme will be discussed including its limited coverage as well as inadequate retirement protection which undoubtedly hamper its effectiveness. As aforementioned, MPF is an employment-related protection scheme, which means that only people with long-term employment contract will receive retirement protection. The MPF only have limited coverage and do not have universal protection as people excluded from the workforce including the sick, the disabled, housewives, hawkers, domestic employees and so on are unprotected, this amount to quite a sizable portion in the population. Besides, the employers might try to evade from the mandated contributions by altering the terms of employment contract. Employers are legally bound to contribute to MPF for their employees if they are employed for more than 60 days, therefore, some employers may deliberately change the employment contract to 59 days or terminate the contract and re-employ the employees. In brief, the MPF scheme does not provided for universal protection in the sense that a significant portion of the population is left unprotected, let alone some canny employers attempt to alter the employment contract in order to avoid contributing to their employees’ retirement protection scheme. Furthermore, the predicament of the MPF Scheme is that despite its objective is to provide retirement protection and reinforce the safety net, the protection is in fact far from sufficient. MPF is a define-contribution scheme but it is not a defined-benefits scheme, which meant that employees’ contribution is contingent upon many factors including the duration of contribution, returns from investments by the trustees after deducing the high administrative and transaction costs incurred, as well as the amount of contribution. This led to the inevitable unpredictability of benefits which is neither guaranteed by the trustees nor protected by the government. Besides, the scheme was introduced only in 2000, which meant that people around retirement age at that time would receive either little or no protection at all due to the short contribution period. At the moment, elderly poverty was one of the severest forms of poverty in Hong Kong. In short, contrary to its initial intention, the MPF does not guarantee retirement protection, instead only added more uncertainties and unpredictability to lives after retirement. The statutory minimum wage was passed in 2010 and fully implemented Labour Day of 2011. It aims at â€Å"striking an appropriate balance between forestalling excessively low wages and minimising the loss of low-paid jobs while sustaining Hong Kong’s economic growth and competitiveness (Labour Department, 2011). The initial minimum wage rate was set at $28, but the commission set up by the government to review the minimum wage rate biannually has agreed to increase to $30 an hour. From a theoretical standpoint, setting up a wage floor would upset the balance of the labour market by forcing some low skill workers to be laid off. Nevertheless, the government estimated that 273800 grassroot workers would benefit from the law and could sustain a basic level of living by avoiding from being underpaid. After about two years since the law has passed, however, it seems that reports about employers trying to cut the fringe benefits of employees were not uncommon and the actual effect and repercussion of minimum wage on the labour market is yet to be unravelled. In the following essay, I will examine the implementation of minimum wage law with regard to its effectiveness in eradicating poverty in Hong Kong. In order to assess the effectiveness of minimum wage, the first indicator is changes in monthly income of the lower income groups when compared with higher income groups in the lower half year of 2011. If we divide the whole population equally into ten decile groups with the first decile group being the poorest 10% of the people and the tenth decile group being the wealthiest 10%, it was found that in the first three decile groups all experience increase in monthly income ranging from 6. 9% to 9. 3%, while the last three decile groups experience either no change or negative growth in their monthly income (HKCSS, 2011). However, looking at income alone would not be a comprehensive assessment of the effect of minimum wage law given that the economic began to boom around the time minimum wage was implemented. Therefore, a much more reliable assessment would be to compare the living standards of low income households before and after the minimum wage came into force. A study commissioned by Oxfam Hong Kong adopted a two-stage stratified surveys that interview impoverished households with at least one family member receiving minimum wage and compare their livelihood from March 2011 to January 2012. In the following paragraphs, findings from this study will be further analysed. In terms of monthly income, the minimum wage law has indeed increase the nominal household income. About 70% of interviewees, representing 131125 families reported an increase in household income after the introduction of minimum wage. Moreover, 72. 6% of them also reported a rise in individual workers’ income. In spite of an increase in monthly income and in fact, hourly income as well, working hours of workers decreased. The average hourly wage of respondents who stayed in the same job before and after implementation of minimum wage increased, 56. 8% of them even receive an hourly wage that exceeded $28. However, the same group of people who remain in the same job also experience an average cut of about 13. 9 working hours. This reduction of working hour is more often than not, at the expense of the workers’ benefit such as cancelling paid lunch hour or meal break and no overtime payment and so on. 46. % of respondents complained that the previously paid rest days were cancelled since the enforcement of minimum wage law. Taking into account of the loss of paid rest days as well as other fringe benefits, coupled with the reduction in working hours, over half of the respondents, 55. 8% of them experienced a drop in individual income despite the apparent increase in nominal monthly income. In the paragraph above concerning CSSA recipients, it was briefly mentioned that they treat social assistanc e as their last resort to mitigate their financial situation. In fact, most of them felt â€Å"perceivable prejudice† against them. The introduction of minimum wage has a wide application, but it affects most significantly low-income jobs that CSSA recipients crave. About half of the respondents receiving CSSA in the Oxfam study affirm the effectiveness of wage floor as an impetus to quit receiving social assistance. This in brief, could address the need of CSSA recipients to self-reliance and eliminate the stigmatization or label that they feel attached to them by re-entering the job market. Nonetheless, increase in income to a certain extent does not mean or signify poverty alleviation. The most pivotal finding in the Oxfam study is that it reveals 40. 5% of households still live in deprivation despite the minimum wage law. This is because they define â€Å"deprivation† as the inabilities to afford at least three items that are dubbed essential by most Hong Kong residents including dental check-ups, leisure activities, afford to go to private clinics when sick and tea house and so on. According to Townsend (1979), â€Å"a person is considered to be in poverty if he or she does not have enough resources to enable him or her to participate in normal activities commonly engaged by ordinary members in the community and therefore cannot become fully integrated into the mainstream of society. † Therefore, when 40. 5% of respondents, representing 531354 households are still deprived of a chance to engage in social activities simply due to the fact that they still could not afford the items they need highlighted just how ineffective minimum wage legislation has been in eradicating poverty. In conclusion, lifting people out of poverty is a difficult problem that could not be solved by any social policy alone, let alone the many flaws and limitations that are embedded in social policies. However, it is only through identifying the imperfection in social welfare policies could we make improvement on them and hopefully attain the final goal of eradicating poverty at the end. Reference list: Hong Kong Council of Social Service, The Statistic review of the Low Income Household in Hong Kong, 2011. w. hkcss. org. hk/index_e. asp Labour Department (2011). Statutory Minimum Wage: Reference Guidelines for Employers and Employees. Legislative Council (2012). Before and After the Statutory Minimum Wage Ordinance in Hong Kong: Survey of Low-income workers and their Families. Oxfam Hong Kong and Centre for Social Policy Studies, Department of Applied Social Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University (2007). Perception and Utilization of CSSA: a Study on the Views of the Public and th e Lower Income people. Social Welfare Department (2012), Comprehensive Social Assistance Scheme, retrieved from: http://www. swd. gov. hk/en/index/site_pubsvc/page_socsecu/sub_comprehens/ Tsoi Kcon-wah , â€Å"Poverty Eradication and Social Security in Hong kong†, in Advances in Social welfare in Hong Kong, ed. ,) by D. T. L. Shek, 2002, Chapter 9. World Bank (2011), Gini Index, retrieved from: http://data. worldbank. org/indicator/SI. POV. GINI How to cite Critically Examine the Trend and Size of Poverty in Hong Kong, Essay examples

Critically Examine the Trend and Size of Poverty in Hong Kong Free Essays

string(103) " special needs including school fees, school-related expenses, essential traveling expenses and so on\." No city in the world is as ironic and contradictory as Hong Kong. This city has not only the 6th highest per capita GDP, but also the highest Gini coefficient in the world (World Bank, 2011). Fortunately, the Hong Kong government isn’t turning a blind eye towards this dilemma but are instead actively looking for a trade-off between economic performance and social welfare. We will write a custom essay sample on Critically Examine the Trend and Size of Poverty in Hong Kong or any similar topic only for you Order Now One notable example is the re-establishment of the Commission on Poverty, it is hoped that a clearly-defined poverty line will shed a new light into the poverty situation in Hong Kong. Another important policy in recent years is the implementation of minimum wage law, which has been in effect for two years aiming to guarantee a basic wage for low-income workers, however its effect on overall employment level in Hong Kong is still to be determined. In this essay, I will first examine the overall trend and size of poverty in Hong Kong, then move on to assess the effectiveness of the present social security system, as well as the minimum wage in eradicating poverty in Hong Kong. Poverty, is an ambiguous term especially in Hong Kong. The United Nations places the benchmark for poverty as living under a monthly income less than or equal to half of the median household income of equal size households. This is the definition that the Commission on Poverty is likely to adopt. But before the launch of official poverty line people are considered poor only if they apply for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA), which eligibility is largely determined by nominal income. As a result, the number of people applying for CSSA decreased after minimum wage law has been imposed. In this essay therefore, I will adopt the UN definition of poverty in examining its trend and size in Hong Kong. Poverty rate up to the year 2011 was the lowest since that of 2001. Before 2011, there had been an overall increasing trend in both the number of households living in poverty as well as the poverty rate. In this sense, 2011 can be seen as a watershed year; the poverty rate plummeted to 17. 1% when compared to 17. 9% in the previous year, which meant a reduction of 55000 people suffering from poverty. Additionally, the total number of poor households had been rising from 2001 to 2007, but this trend started to decline from then on. The total number of poor households in 2011 was 444,000, when compared with that of the years 2007 and 2010; there had been a reduction of 11,000 and 7000 households respectively. In spite of the declining poverty trend and size, income disparity in Hong Kong has been worsening. In the year 2001, the median monthly income of high-income group was $31,000 while that of low-income group was $10,000, which meant that the former was 3. 1 times that of the latter. However, this disparity continued to grow and in the year 2011, the median monthly income of the high-income group increased to $35,000, while that of the low-income group plunged to $9000, which meant that the high-income group had a monthly income 3. 5 times more than that of the low-income group. In brief, it is undeniable that the declining trend and size of poverty has been promising, but that was largely due to the thriving economy instead of governmental efforts, at the same time, the income gap has been widening despite the implementation of minimum wage law. These statistics all indicate that the current social policies are inadequate in eliminating the imminent threat of poverty. The social security system in Hong Kong is a three-tier system consisting of social assistance and social allowance in the form of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance and Old Age Allowance, mandated occupational pension in the form of Mandatory Provident Fund as well as private saving. In the remaining part of the essay, the effectiveness of the above social security policies in lifting poverty will be assessed one by one. The Comprehensive Social Security Assistance was renamed after the Public Assistance Scheme in 1993 has the sole purpose to provide â€Å"a safety net for those who cannot support themselves financially. It is designed to bring their income up to a prescribed level to meet their basic needs. † (Social Welfare Department, 2012) It is a non-contributory and means-tested scheme financed wholly by the government. CSSA payments can be broadly classified into three categories: standard rate, supplements and special grants. Standard Rates from 2012 is divided into 5 types: elderly person aged over 60 or above, ill health adult under 60, disabled child, able-bodied adult aged under 60 and able-bodied child. The amount of standard rates payable to each type differs, but they are under the same guiding principles; the standard rates for children and seniors are higher than those of the adults, rates for single individuals living alone are greater than those of family members, and rates will increase with levels of severity of disability. Tsoi, 2002) Additionally, there are five types of supplements. Long-term supplement is an annual payment to recipients who have been receiving assistance for at least 12 months for the replacement of household and durable goods. Single parent supplement is a monthly payment to single parent families with special difficulties in bringing up their families. Community living supplement is a monthly payment to old, disabled and certified ill-health CSSA recipients living in th e community instead of any institutions. Transport supplement aims to promote social integration and geographical mobility by providing monthly assistance to certified 100% disabled as well as population between 12 to 64 years of age. Last but not least, the intention of the residential care supplement is to relieve the accommodation burdens of old, disabled and certified ill-health CSSA applicants who are not living in subsidised housing estates. Besides, a range of special grants are also set up to meet applicants’ special needs including school fees, school-related expenses, essential traveling expenses and so on. You read "Critically Examine the Trend and Size of Poverty in Hong Kong" in category "Essay examples" Famous English philosopher Midgley once commented that redistributing wealth in the form of social assistance has the â€Å"most direct potential impact on the poverty problem. † She identified three necessary conditions in order to fully realize this potential, first, social assistance must be financial by progressive taxation, second, the level of benefit provided must be sufficient to raise recipients out of poverty and third, needy people must have easy access to social assistance schemes and that these schemes would not deter them from applying for help. Tsoi, 2002). With applies the above mentioned three principles to Hong Kong, it is worthy to highlight that Hong Kong only fulfilled the first condition out of the three. In the following paragraphs, the low effectiveness of the CSSA will be discussed with respect to its level of benefits, process of application as well as incentives for its recipients to reintegrate into the job market. The level of benefits by the stand ard rates of the CSSA cannot reflect the actual needs of its recipients, but are in fact set arbitrarily. At the oment, the standard rates of CSSA recipients are reviewed and adjusted annually by the Legislative Council to reflect the changes in Price Level by the Census and Statistics Department. The Consumption Price Index however, is a reference to the household expenditure of the 25% of the population with the lowest income. It is highly dubious as to whether the household expenditures of the poor households would be an authentic indicator and correspond to what they actually need to support their daily living. In addition, some CSSA recipients described the process of application as humiliating and intimidating. According to a joint project by the Department of Applied Social Sciences in Polytechnic University and Oxfam Hong Kong on Perception and Utilization of the CSSA in 2007, it was found that some recipients felt that their applications were always delayed and mishandled. Some applicants even accused the social security officers as having bad manners and lack empathy. These findings were found out after in-depth interviews and group discussion, although it is questionable as to the representativeness of the sample size, the critique to the â€Å"humiliating† application procedures must point to some bearing of truth that the CSSA recipients feel. Besides, some social workers in the study also complained that â€Å"some officers tend to insult and threaten the applicants by making unreasonable requests†. Going back to Midgley’s third condition in order to eradicate poverty which concerns the access to social security must not deter the needy from applying; the Social Services Department could clearly do a better job. Furthermore, there is always an unspoken concern that receiving CSSA would encourage a â€Å"dependency culture†, especially when the CSSA mechanisms do not encourage able-bodied recipients to attain economic independence. Contrary to common misconception that only able-bodied lazy people and new immigrants would apply for CSSA, most CSSA applicants, amounting to 60% (Oxfam, 2007) treat social security as the last resort to alleviate their dire financial circumstances. However, due to a lack of support services, only 8%-10% of able-bodied CSSA recipients are able to re-enter the competitive job market (Ming Pao Daily News, 2000) through the Special Job Attachment Programme. In addition, the additional cost for attempting to re-enter the job market may ut an extra toll on the families receiving CSSA, let alone some single parent’s families with insufficient child-care facilities may choose to keep on receiving welfare instead of working. In short, CSSA do not provide sufficient incentive for its recipients to re-join the work force, which is the only way to escape poverty. Another aspect of the social security system in Hong Kong is mandated occupational pension, which is in the form of Mandatory Provident Fund in Hong Kong. It is a compulsory, occupation-related scheme with defined monthly contribution by both employers and employees. The Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance was passed in 2000 with the hope of strengthening the safety net and retirement protection. Contribution to the MPF is mandated to be 10% of the employee’s income with which 5% is contributed by his/her employer. Besides, the mandatory contribution is adjusted with relevance to employees’ income. After the implementation of minimum wage, the monthly relevant income is readjusted, for employees with monthly income less than $6500, only their employers are mandated to contribute 5% of relevant income, this becomes the minimum contribution. On the other hand, for employees with income higher than $25000, both employers and employees are required to contribute $1250, this becomes the maximum contribution. All MPF contributions will be injected into registered MPF trustee in the market chosen by the employers, but now, employees will be able to choose new MPF scheme annually based on their performance. In the following paragraphs, the limitations of the MPF scheme will be discussed including its limited coverage as well as inadequate retirement protection which undoubtedly hamper its effectiveness. As aforementioned, MPF is an employment-related protection scheme, which means that only people with long-term employment contract will receive retirement protection. The MPF only have limited coverage and do not have universal protection as people excluded from the workforce including the sick, the disabled, housewives, hawkers, domestic employees and so on are unprotected, this amount to quite a sizable portion in the population. Besides, the employers might try to evade from the mandated contributions by altering the terms of employment contract. Employers are legally bound to contribute to MPF for their employees if they are employed for more than 60 days, therefore, some employers may deliberately change the employment contract to 59 days or terminate the contract and re-employ the employees. In brief, the MPF scheme does not provided for universal protection in the sense that a significant portion of the population is left unprotected, let alone some canny employers attempt to alter the employment contract in order to avoid contributing to their employees’ retirement protection scheme. Furthermore, the predicament of the MPF Scheme is that despite its objective is to provide retirement protection and reinforce the safety net, the protection is in fact far from sufficient. MPF is a define-contribution scheme but it is not a defined-benefits scheme, which meant that employees’ contribution is contingent upon many factors including the duration of contribution, returns from investments by the trustees after deducing the high administrative and transaction costs incurred, as well as the amount of contribution. This led to the inevitable unpredictability of benefits which is neither guaranteed by the trustees nor protected by the government. Besides, the scheme was introduced only in 2000, which meant that people around retirement age at that time would receive either little or no protection at all due to the short contribution period. At the moment, elderly poverty was one of the severest forms of poverty in Hong Kong. In short, contrary to its initial intention, the MPF does not guarantee retirement protection, instead only added more uncertainties and unpredictability to lives after retirement. The statutory minimum wage was passed in 2010 and fully implemented Labour Day of 2011. It aims at â€Å"striking an appropriate balance between forestalling excessively low wages and minimising the loss of low-paid jobs while sustaining Hong Kong’s economic growth and competitiveness (Labour Department, 2011). The initial minimum wage rate was set at $28, but the commission set up by the government to review the minimum wage rate biannually has agreed to increase to $30 an hour. From a theoretical standpoint, setting up a wage floor would upset the balance of the labour market by forcing some low skill workers to be laid off. Nevertheless, the government estimated that 273800 grassroot workers would benefit from the law and could sustain a basic level of living by avoiding from being underpaid. After about two years since the law has passed, however, it seems that reports about employers trying to cut the fringe benefits of employees were not uncommon and the actual effect and repercussion of minimum wage on the labour market is yet to be unravelled. In the following essay, I will examine the implementation of minimum wage law with regard to its effectiveness in eradicating poverty in Hong Kong. In order to assess the effectiveness of minimum wage, the first indicator is changes in monthly income of the lower income groups when compared with higher income groups in the lower half year of 2011. If we divide the whole population equally into ten decile groups with the first decile group being the poorest 10% of the people and the tenth decile group being the wealthiest 10%, it was found that in the first three decile groups all experience increase in monthly income ranging from 6. 9% to 9. 3%, while the last three decile groups experience either no change or negative growth in their monthly income (HKCSS, 2011). However, looking at income alone would not be a comprehensive assessment of the effect of minimum wage law given that the economic began to boom around the time minimum wage was implemented. Therefore, a much more reliable assessment would be to compare the living standards of low income households before and after the minimum wage came into force. A study commissioned by Oxfam Hong Kong adopted a two-stage stratified surveys that interview impoverished households with at least one family member receiving minimum wage and compare their livelihood from March 2011 to January 2012. In the following paragraphs, findings from this study will be further analysed. In terms of monthly income, the minimum wage law has indeed increase the nominal household income. About 70% of interviewees, representing 131125 families reported an increase in household income after the introduction of minimum wage. Moreover, 72. 6% of them also reported a rise in individual workers’ income. In spite of an increase in monthly income and in fact, hourly income as well, working hours of workers decreased. The average hourly wage of respondents who stayed in the same job before and after implementation of minimum wage increased, 56. 8% of them even receive an hourly wage that exceeded $28. However, the same group of people who remain in the same job also experience an average cut of about 13. 9 working hours. This reduction of working hour is more often than not, at the expense of the workers’ benefit such as cancelling paid lunch hour or meal break and no overtime payment and so on. 46. % of respondents complained that the previously paid rest days were cancelled since the enforcement of minimum wage law. Taking into account of the loss of paid rest days as well as other fringe benefits, coupled with the reduction in working hours, over half of the respondents, 55. 8% of them experienced a drop in individual income despite the apparent increase in nominal monthly income. In the paragraph above concerning CSSA recipients, it was briefly mentioned that they treat social assistanc e as their last resort to mitigate their financial situation. In fact, most of them felt â€Å"perceivable prejudice† against them. The introduction of minimum wage has a wide application, but it affects most significantly low-income jobs that CSSA recipients crave. About half of the respondents receiving CSSA in the Oxfam study affirm the effectiveness of wage floor as an impetus to quit receiving social assistance. This in brief, could address the need of CSSA recipients to self-reliance and eliminate the stigmatization or label that they feel attached to them by re-entering the job market. Nonetheless, increase in income to a certain extent does not mean or signify poverty alleviation. The most pivotal finding in the Oxfam study is that it reveals 40. 5% of households still live in deprivation despite the minimum wage law. This is because they define â€Å"deprivation† as the inabilities to afford at least three items that are dubbed essential by most Hong Kong residents including dental check-ups, leisure activities, afford to go to private clinics when sick and tea house and so on. According to Townsend (1979), â€Å"a person is considered to be in poverty if he or she does not have enough resources to enable him or her to participate in normal activities commonly engaged by ordinary members in the community and therefore cannot become fully integrated into the mainstream of society. † Therefore, when 40. 5% of respondents, representing 531354 households are still deprived of a chance to engage in social activities simply due to the fact that they still could not afford the items they need highlighted just how ineffective minimum wage legislation has been in eradicating poverty. In conclusion, lifting people out of poverty is a difficult problem that could not be solved by any social policy alone, let alone the many flaws and limitations that are embedded in social policies. However, it is only through identifying the imperfection in social welfare policies could we make improvement on them and hopefully attain the final goal of eradicating poverty at the end. Reference list: Hong Kong Council of Social Service, The Statistic review of the Low Income Household in Hong Kong, 2011. w. hkcss. org. hk/index_e. asp Labour Department (2011). Statutory Minimum Wage: Reference Guidelines for Employers and Employees. Legislative Council (2012). Before and After the Statutory Minimum Wage Ordinance in Hong Kong: Survey of Low-income workers and their Families. Oxfam Hong Kong and Centre for Social Policy Studies, Department of Applied Social Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University (2007). Perception and Utilization of CSSA: a Study on the Views of the Public and th e Lower Income people. Social Welfare Department (2012), Comprehensive Social Assistance Scheme, retrieved from: http://www. swd. gov. hk/en/index/site_pubsvc/page_socsecu/sub_comprehens/ Tsoi Kcon-wah , â€Å"Poverty Eradication and Social Security in Hong kong†, in Advances in Social welfare in Hong Kong, ed. ,) by D. T. L. Shek, 2002, Chapter 9. World Bank (2011), Gini Index, retrieved from: http://data. worldbank. org/indicator/SI. POV. GINI How to cite Critically Examine the Trend and Size of Poverty in Hong Kong, Essay examples