Biography of Hadrian, Roman Emperor

Biography of Hadrian, Roman Emperor Hadrian (January 24, 76–July 10, 138) was a Roman emperor for 21 years who unified and consolidated  Rome’s  vast empire, unlike his predecessor, who focused on expansion. He was the third of the so-called  Five Good Emperors; he presided over the glory days of the  Roman Empire and is known for many building projects, including a famous wall across Britain to keep out the barbarians. Known For: Roman Emperor, one of the five good emperorsAlso Known As: Imperator Caesar Traianus Hadrianus Augustus, Publius Aelius HadrianuBorn: January 24, 76, possibly in Rome or in Italica, in what is now SpainParents: Aelius Hadrianus Afer, Domitia PaulinaDied: July 10, 138  in Baiae, near Naples, ItalySpouse: Vibia Sabina Early Life Hadrian was born on Jan. 24, 76. He probably was not originally from Rome. The Augustan History,  a collection of biographies of the Roman emperors,  says his family was from Picenum, but more recently of Spain, and moved to Rome. His mother Domitia Paulina came from a distinguished family from Gades, which today is Cadiz, Spain. His father was Aelius Hadrianus Afer, a magistrate and cousin of future Roman Emperor Trajan. He died when Hadrian was 10, and Trajan and Acilius Attianus (Caelium Tatianum) became his guardians. In 90 Hadrian visited  Italica, a Roman city in present-day Spain, where he received military training and developed a fondness for hunting that he kept for the rest of his life. Hadrian married Vibia Sabina, grand-niece of Emperor Trajan, in 100. Rise to Power Toward the end of Emperor Domitians reign, Hadrian started out on the traditional career path of a  Roman senator. He was made a military tribune, or officer, and then became a quaestor, a low-ranking magistrate, in 101. He was later curator of the Acts of the Senate. When Trajan was consul, a higher magistrates position, Hadrian went with him to the Dacian Wars and became tribune of the plebeians, a powerful political office, in 105. Two years later he became praetor, a magistrate just below consul. He then went to Lower Pannonia as governor and  became consul, the  pinnacle  of a senator’s career, in 108. His rise from there to emperor in 117 involved some palace intrigue. After he became consul his career rise stopped, possibly triggered by the death of a previous consul, Licinius  Sura, when a faction opposed to Sura, Trajans wife Plotina and Hadrian came to dominate Trajans court. There is some evidence that during this period, Hadrian devoted himself to studying the nation and  culture  of Greece, a long-held interest of his. Somehow, Hadrian’s star rose again shortly before Trajan died, probably because Plotina and her associates had regained Trajan’s confidence. Third-century Greek historian Cassius Dio says that Hadrians former guardian, Attianus, then a powerful Roman, also was involved. Hadrian was holding a major military command under Trajan when, on  Aug. 9, 117, he learned that Trajan had adopted him, a sign of succession. Two days later, it was reported that Trajan had died, and the army proclaimed Hadrian emperor. Hadrians Rule Hadrian ruled the Roman Empire until 138. He is known for spending more time traveling throughout the empire than any other emperor. Unlike his predecessors, who had relied on reports from the provinces, Hadrian wanted to see things for himself. He was generous with the military and helped to reform it, including ordering the construction of garrisons and forts. He spent time in Britain, where in 122 he initiated the building of a protective stone wall, known as Hadrians Wall, across the country in to keep the northern barbarians out. It marked the northernmost boundary  of the Roman Empire until early in the fifth century. The wall stretches from the North Sea to the Irish Sea and is 73 miles long, eight to 10 feet wide, and 15 feet high. Along the way, the Romans built towers and small forts called milecastles, which housed up to 60 men. Sixteen larger forts were built, and south of the wall the Romans dug a wide ditch with six-foot-high earthen banks. Though many of the stones were carried away and recycled into other buildings, the wall still stands. Reforms During his reign, Hadrian was generous to citizens of the Roman empire. He awarded large sums of money to communities and individuals and allowed the children of individuals charged with major crimes to inherit part of the family estate. According to the Augustan History, he wouldnt take the bequests of people he didnt know or of people whose sons could inherit the bequests, contrary to earlier practice. Some of Hadrians reforms indicate how barbaric the times were. He outlawed the practice of masters killing their slaves and changed the law so that if a master was murdered at home, only slaves who were nearby could be tortured for evidence. He also changed laws so that bankrupt people would be flogged in the amphitheater and then released, and he made the baths separate for men and women. He restored many buildings, including the Pantheon in Rome, and moved the Colossus, the 100-foot bronze statue installed by Nero. When Hadrian traveled to other cities in the empire, he implemented public works projects. Personally, he tried in many ways to live unassumingly, like a private citizen. Friend or Lover? On a trip through Asia Minor, Hadrian met Antinoà ¼s, a young man born about 110. Hadrian made Antinoà ¼s his companion, though by some accounts he was regarded as Hadrians lover. Traveling together along the Nile in 130, the young man fell into the river and drowned, Hadrian was desolate. One report said Antinoà ¼s had jumped into the river as a sacred sacrifice, though Hadrian denied  that explanation. Whatever the reason for his death, Hadrian mourned deeply. The Greek world honored Antinoà ¼s, and cults inspired by him appeared across the empire. Hadrian named Antinopolis, a city near Hermopolis in Egypt, after him. Death Hadrian became ill, associated in the Augustan History with his refusal to cover his head in heat or cold. His illness lingered, making him long for death. When he couldnt persuade anyone to help him ​commit suicide, he took up indulgent eating and drinking, according to Dio Cassius. He died on July 10, 138.   Legacy Hadrian is remembered for his travels, his building projects, and his efforts to tie together the far-flung outposts of the Roman empire. He was aesthetic and educated and left behind several poems. Signs of his reign remain in a number of buildings, including the Temple of Rome and  Venus, and he rebuilt the  Pantheon, which had been destroyed by fire during the reign of his predecessor. His own country residence, Villa Adriana, outside Rome is considered the architectural epitome of the opulence and elegance of the Roman world. Covering seven square miles, it was more a garden city than a villa, including baths, libraries, sculpture gardens, theaters, alfresco dining halls, pavilions, and private suites, portions of which survived to modern times. It was designated a  UNESCO  World Heritage site  in 1999. Hadrians tomb, now called the Castel Sant’Angelo in Rome, became a burial place for succeeding emperors and was converted into a fortress  in the 5th century. Sources Birley, Anthony. Lives of the Later Caesars: The First Part of the Augustan History, with Lives of Nerva and Trajan. Classics, Reprint Edition, Kindle Edition, Penguin, February 24, 2005.Roman History by Cassius Dio. University of Chicago.Pringsheim, Fritz. The Legal Policy and Reforms of Hadrian. The Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 24.Hadrian. An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors.Hadrian: Roman Emperor. Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Lieutenant General A.P. Hill in the Civil War

Lieutenant General A.P. Hill in the Civil War Born November 29, 1825, at his family plantation near Culpeper, VA, Ambrose Powell Hill was the son of Thomas and Frances Hill. The seventh and final of the couples children, he was named for his uncle Ambrose Powell   Hill (1785-1858) and Indian fighter Captain Ambrose Powell.   Referred to as Powell by his family, he was educated locally during his early years. At age 17, Hill elected to pursue a military career and received an appointment to West Point in 1842.   West Point Arriving at the academy, Hill became close friends with his roommate, George B. McClellan. A middling student, Hill was known for his preference for having a good time rather than academic pursuits. In 1844, his studies were interrupted after a night of youthful indiscretions in New York City. Contracting gonorrhea, he was admitted to the academy hospital, but failed to improve dramatically. Sent home to recover, he would be plagued by the effects of the disease for the remainder of his life, usually in the form of prostatitis. As a result of his health issues, Hill was held back a year at West Point and did not graduate with his classmates in 1846, which included notables such as Thomas Jackson, George Pickett, John Gibbon, and Jesse Reno. Dropping into the Class of 1847, he soon befriended Ambrose Burnside and Henry Heth. Graduating on June 19, 1847, Hill ranked 15th in a class of 38. Commissioned a second lieutenant, he received orders to join the 1st US Artillery which was engaged in the Mexican-American War. Mexico Antebellum Years Arriving in Mexico, Hill saw little action as the bulk of the fighting had finished. During his time there he suffered from a bout of typhoid fever. Returning north, he received a posting to Fort McHenry in 1848. The following year saw him assigned to Florida to aid in fighting the Seminoles. Hill spent the majority of the next six years in Florida with a brief interlude in Texas. During this time, he was promoted to first lieutenant in September 1851. Serving in an unhealthy climate, Hill contracted yellow fever in 1855. Surviving, he received a transfer to Washington, DC to work with the US Coast Survey. While there, he married Kitty Morgan McClung in 1859. This marriage made him brother-in-law to John Hunt Morgan. The marriage came after a failed pursuit of Ellen B. Marcy, daughter of Captain Randolph B. Marcy. She would later marry Hills former roommate McClellan. This would later lead to rumors that Hill fought harder if he thought McClellan was on the opposing side. The Civil War Begins On March 1, with the Civil War looming, Hill resigned his commission in the US Army. When Virginia left the Union the following month, Hill received command of the 13th Virginia Infantry with the rank of colonel. Assigned to Brigadier General Joseph Johnstons Army of the Shenandoah, the regiment arrived  at the First Battle of Bull Run that July but did not see action as it was assigned to guard Manassas Junction on the Confederate right flank. After service in the Romney Campaign, Hill received a promotion to brigadier general on February 26, 1862, and was given command of the brigade formerly belonging to Major General James Longstreet. The Light Division Serving gallantly during the Battle of Williamsburg and the Peninsula Campaign in the spring of 1862, he was promoted to major general on May 26. Taking command of the Light Division in Longstreets wing of General Robert E. Lees army, Hill saw substantial action against his friend McClellans army during the Seven Days Battles in June/July. Falling out with Longstreet, Hill and his division were transferred to serve under his former classmate Jackson. Hill quickly became one of Jacksons most reliable commanders and fought well at Cedar Mountain (August 9) and played a key role at Second Manassas (August 28-30). Marching north as part of Lees invasion of Maryland, Hill began bickering with Jackson. Capturing the Union garrison at Harpers Ferry on September 15, Hill and his division were left to parole the prisoners while Jackson moved to rejoin Lee. Completing this task, Hill and his men departed and reached the army on September 17 in time to play a key role in saving the Confederate right flank at the Battle of Antietam. Retreating south, Jackson and Hills relationship continued to deteriorate. Third Corps A colorful character, Hill typically wore a red flannel shirt in combat which became known as his battle shirt. Taking part in the Battle of Fredericksburg on December 13, Hill performed poorly and his men required reinforcement to prevent a collapse. With the renewal of campaigning in May 1863, Hill took part in Jacksons brilliant flanking march and attack on May 2 at the Battle of Chancellorsville. When Jackson was wounded, Hill took over the corps before being wounded in the legs and being forced to cede commander to Major General J.E.B. Stuart. Gettysburg With Jacksons death on May 10, Lee began to reorganize the Army of Northern Virginia. In doing so, he promoted Hill to lieutenant general on May 24 and gave him command of the newly formed Third Corps. In the wake of the victory, Lee marched north into Pennsylvania. On July 1, Hills men opened the Battle of Gettysburg when they clashed with Brigadier General John Bufords Union cavalry. Successfully driving back Union forces in concert with Lieutenant General Richard Ewells corps, Hills men took heavy losses. Largely inactive on July 2, Hills corps contributed two-thirds of the troops involved in the ill-fated Picketts Charge the next day. Attacking under the leadership of Longstreet, Hills men advanced on the Confederate left and were bloodily repulsed. Retreating to Virginia, Hill endured perhaps his worst day in command on October 14 when he was badly defeated at the Battle of Bristoe Station.   Overland Campaign In May 1864, Lieutenant Ulysses S. Grant commenced his Overland Campaign against Lee. At the Battle of the Wilderness, Hill came under heavy Union assault on May 5. The next day, Union troops renewed their attack and nearly shattered Hills lines when Longstreet arrived with reinforcements. While fighting shifted south to Spotsylvania Court House, Hill was forced to cede command due to ill health. Though traveling with the army, he played no part in the battle. Returning to action, he performed poorly at North Anna (May 23-26) and at Cold Harbor (May 31-June 12). After the Confederate victory at Cold Harbor, Grant moved to cross the James River and capture Petersburg. Beaten there by Confederate forces, he began the Siege of Petersburg. Petersburg Settling into the siege lines at Petersburg, Hills command turned back Union troops at the Battle of the Crater and engaged Grants men several times as they worked to push troops south and west to cut the citys rail links. Though commanding at Globe Tavern (August 18-21), Second Reams Station (August 25), and Peebles Farm (September 30-October 2), his health began to deteriorate again and his missed actions such as Boydton Plank Road (October 27-28). As the armies settled into winter quarters in November, Hill continued to struggle with his health. On April 1, 1865, Union troops under Major General Philip Sheridan won the key Battle of Five Forks west of Petersburg. The next day, Grant ordered a massive offensive against Lees overstretched lines in front of the city. Surging forward, Major General Horatio Wrights VI Corps overwhelmed Hills troops. Riding to the front, Hill encountered Union troops and was shot in the chest by Corporal John W. Mauck of the 138th Pennsylvania Infantry. Initially buried in Chesterfield, VA, his body was exhumed in 1867 and moved to Richmonds Hollywood Cemetery.

Diverisity Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Diverisity - Research Paper Example ts and may involve an employee reporting a fellow colleague involved in unlawful or illegal activity to the in charge of the department but this only happens when the complaint systems are available. â€Å"There are some reasons to believe that people are more likely to take action with respect to unacceptable behavior within an organization if there are complaint systems that offer not just options dictated by the planning and control organization but a choice of option for confidentiality (Rowe, Wilcox and Horwad). With regard to external reporting, whistleblower may report to different persons depending on the severity of the case and range from media, law enforcement or watchdog agencies. In UK, whistle blowing is subject to public interest Disclosure act including culture of raising concerns apart of normal business activity of any well led NHS Organizations, culture free from bullying where staff have the freedom to speak out without being bullied, support to find alternative employments elsewhere in cases where the employee can’t continue working in the same organization after reporting. In USA, there are several contradictory laws on the subject which keep on varying from state to state and the subject matter of the whistle blowing. Still state laws protects employees who call attention for the violations, help with enforcement proceedings, or refuse to obey unlawful proceedings. The first act was established in 1863 as a false claim Act which was revised in 1986 which tried to combat fraud by supplies of United States during America’s civil war. The act encourages whistleblowers by promising them certain percentage of recovered money by the government and protecting them from retaliation from the employer. Another law that protects whistleblowers is the Lloyd-La Follette Act of 1912. This guaranteed the right of federal employees to give information to the United States Congress. A good example is the clean water Act of 1972with subsequent acts like

Operating System Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Operating System - Assignment Example Thirdly, it ensures that there is as little as possible the amount of damage that errant programs are likely to cause. Therefore, the protection mechanisms are either tools or procedures for the enforcement of the security policies while protection policies encompass what is allowed and those that are prohibited, while using a computer system (Whitman & Mattord, 2009). An access matrix is a protection security model which contains columns representing varied system resources; and the rows representing varied protection domains. Implementation is executed with reference to: domain, objects and rights entries. The model uses a lock-key mechanism where each resource is linked to a unique lock (bit patterns). Each domain has a specific bit pattern known as a key. Access is only granted if a domain key fits a resource lock. Moreover, modification of its own keys is not allowed. Every column of the table is kept as an access right for the specific object in order to discard blank entries. Every row is maintained as a list of a domains capability (Whitman & Mattord, 2009). The capabilities lists cannot be directly accessed by any user or by the domain because they are protected using a tag and an address space which can further be segmented. Based on Whitman & Mattord (2009) a computer virus is a program-code that attaches itself to an application so as operate concurrently while the application is running. A worm is a program that replicates itself in order to consume the host’s genetic code and mechanism. A virus attaches itself to a particular file or an opened program while a worm exploits the weakness an operating system or an application in order to duplicate itself. A virus relies on user(s) so as to spread the infected programs or files to other computer devices while a worm uses networks to duplicate itself to other computer devices without the help of user interventions. A virus can modify, delete or change the

Memory Essay Example for Free

Memory Essay 1. What is primary memory? What are the characteristics of primary memory? It has long been noted that it is possible to hold some information in mind for a brief period of time. In the late 1950s, researchers began to think that such brief memories might be supported by the primary memory. The three characteristics of primary memory are: forgetting (caused by both interference and decay); the format in which the information is coded (in terms of sound, visual appearance, and meaning); and the amount of information that can be held, or capacity (which depends on the type of information). Much (but not all) of the forgetting from primary memory occurs due to interference. Proactive interference occurs when older learning interferes with new learning. In retroactive interference, later learning interferes with earlier learning.   It appears that material can be coded in primary memory in at least three ways: visuospatially, acoustically (in terms of sound), and semantically (in terms of meaning). There is also evidence for a primary memory component that can store tactile memories—that is, how things feel on the skin—but not much research has been directed toward that representation (Harris, Miniussi, Harris, Diamond, 2002; Romo Salinas, 2003). Around the turn of the 20th century, researchers began to use the digit span task to measure the capacity of primary memory. 2. What is the process of memory from perception to retrieval? What happens when the process is compromised? The perception of primary memory occurs in manifold ways. Much of it consists of our knowledge of what words mean, about the ways they are related to one another and the rules of communication and thinking. This kind of memory, which makes use of language possible, is semantic memory; while primary memory can also consist of episodic memory which is organized with respect to when certain events happened in our lives. It is a record of what happened to us and does not lend itself to drawing of inferences. The storing of primary memory occurs in various ways. One of them is organizing and arranging the input so that it fits into existing long-term memory categories, grouping in some logical memory, or arranging in some other way that makes â€Å"sense†. The organizational encoding may be inherent in the input itself or it may be supplied by individuals as they learn and remember new things. Imagery also plays an important role in storing of information into memory. One explanation for the importance of stimulus imagery in learning and storing information to memory, is that a concrete stimulus (one, for which, imagery is readily evoked in mind) provides a conceptual peg on which responses can be hung. During encoding, the to-be-remembered information, especially if it is a complex life event or something you have read, is modified. Certain details are accentuated, the material me be simplified; which is called constructive processes. One important constructive process is encoding only the gist or meaning of complex information such as what we have read in a newspaper, magazine, or book. 3. Is it possible for memory retrieval to be unreliable? Why or why not? What factors may affect the reliability of ones memory? Successful retrieval of a memory depends largely on the cues available at the time of retrieval. But sometimes, when cues will not help; the memory is simply lost. The idea that memories simply fade away with time corresponds to our everyday experience, but it is difficult to prove. It is more certain that new things you learn can interfere with things that you already know, thereby causing forgetting. The idea that memories simply fade away with time corresponds to our everyday experience, but it is difficult to prove. It is more certain that new things you learn can interfere with things that you already know, thereby causing forgetting. Forgetting can occur because (a) you don’t have the right cue for retrieval, (b) the association between the cue and the target memory is compromised in some way, or (c) the target memory itself is lost. There is some evidence supporting each mechanism. We briefly consider the possibility that some memories are never lost.

Magical and Sublime Characteristics of A Very Old Man With Enormous Win

Magical and Sublime Characteristics of A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings      Ã‚  Ã‚   "A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings" is a short fiction story written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez in 1955. It has both characteristics of magical realism and of the modern sublime. Therefore, Magical Realism and the Sublime seem to be related in many ways depending on how a person looks at a story. From all of the research I have read, magical realism and the sublime help to explain the characteristics of one another. This story definitely meets the criteria for magical realism and the sublime because of the many elements described. The very old man with wings, the unusual miracles, the woman spider, and the crab infestation, represent elements of the sublime and magical realism. Marquez makes these magical elements seem like the natural thing to occur. Angels, miracles, crabs, spiders, and money -making events are very real, but in this story he makes them sound so real and normal, whereas in real life they would be crazy and hard to believe. I discovered that that this story is based on a spiritual subject rather than something that is just completely not able to be related to some certain thing or place. Longinus talks about different authors stating that "the import of the sublime is clearly that it plumbs the depths of natural, visible reality to evoke an aesthetic and psychological experience of its hidden and invisible dimension of mystery, magic, and spirituality"(461). Sublime, having spirituality as a characteristic, and magical realism, having magic as a characteristic, are mixed in the story. The very old man with wings is sublime and magical because of its spirituality and the magic he made as he lived in the town. It is a r... ...all based on opinion. I know that there will be many people will place the two genres in different categories based on what they see. When a magical element is given, not everyone gets the same view out of it. I stand by my point, though; magical realism and the sublime are more alike than different. Works Cited Arensberg, Mary. The American Sublime. Ed. Mary Arensberg. Albany; N.Y.: State University of New York Press, 1986. 1-5. Faris, Wendy B. "Magical Realism : Post Expressionism. "Magical Realism: Theory, History, Community." Ed. Lois Parkinson Zamora and Wendy B. Faris. Durham; N.C.: Duke UP, 1995: 163-190. Longinus. On the Sublime. Cambridge. Harvard UP, 1995. Shopenhauer, Arthur. The World as Will and Idea! Philosophies of Art and Beauty. Eds. Albert Hofstadter and Richard Kuhns. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1976. 448-468.   

Performance appraisal system of milma Essay

1.1Introduction to the study In the business world. Investment is made in machinery, equipments and services. Quite naturally time and money is spent ensuring that they provide what their suppliers claim. In other words, the performance is constantly appraised against the results expected. When it comes to one of the most expensive resources companies invest in, namely people, the job appraising performance against results is often carried out with the same objectivity. Each individual has a role to play and management has to ensure that individuals objective translate to overall corporate objective of the organization. The process of HRD helps the employees to acquire and or develop technical, managerial and behavioral knowledge, skills and abilities and moulds the values, beliefs and attitudes necessary to perform present and future roles. The process of performance appraisal helps the employee and the management to know the level of employee’s performance compared to the standard/ pre- determined level. Performance appraisal is essential to understand and improve the employee’s performance through HRD. It was viewed that performance appraisal was useful to decide upon employee promotion/transfer, salary determination. However, the recent developments in human resource management indicate that performance appraisal is the basis for employee development. Human Resource (or personnel) management, in the sense of getting things done through people, is an essential part of every manager’s responsibility, but many organizations find it advantageous to establish a specialist division to provide an expert service dedicated to ensuring that the human resource function is performed efficiently. â€Å"People are our most valuable asset† is a clichà ©, which no member of any senior management team would disagree with. Yet, the reality for many organizations is that their people remain undervalued, under trained and underutilized. Performance Appraisal is the process of assessing the performance and progress of an employee or a group of employees on a given job and his /  their potential for future development. It consists of all formal procedures used in the working organizations to evaluate personalities, contributions and potentials of employees. HRM practices mostly depend upon strategy adapted by the company. Similarly, performance appraisal practices also depend on the strategy. Traditional technique of performance appraisal is appropriate for the stability and sustainable growth strategy. Similarly, appraisal by superior is appropriate for these strategies. Modern performance appraisal technique is sustainable for growth strategies like expansion, diversification, joint venture, merger and acquisitions. These strategies helps the company to meet competition, built competencies, acquire strength, enhance market share, innovate and create new, market, new product and new technologies. Performance appraisal was formerly used for the purpose of evaluating the employee’s performance and controlling the performance against the set standard. This technique was used to control the employee ignoring the human aspect. However, with the emergence of human resource concept, organizations are using this technique to analyze employee’s performance and to further improve or develop it. Thus, this technique is used as an enabling and motivating tool to improve the performance. 1.3 RESEARCH PROBLEM The problem selected for research is to make an in depth study of performance appraisal system of MILMA at THRISSUR. Performance appraised is the systematic description of an employee’s job relevant strength and weakness. It is aimed at knowing how the employees feel about the system that is prevailing in the firm, their suggestions if any for making system effective and to know whether it satisfies the need of company and employee. Thus the main problem behind is to make the performance appraisal an effective tool to improve employees work level and their productivity 1.4 TITTLE OF STUDY The study entitled â€Å" a study on performance appraisal system at supervisory level of Milma in Thrissur 1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY In every business organization, the most important asset is its employees in  all level. The performance appraisal is a systematic process consisting of number of steps to be followed for evaluating an employee’s strength and weakness. It is a systematic and objective description of an employee’s strength and weakness in terms of job. The appraisal is continuous and ongoing process where the evaluation is arranged periodically according to definite plan. This study would provide valuable suggestion to management. The presented study related to the survey including the office staff of various departments. 1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY Performance appraisal have been considered as the most significance as indispensible tool for an organization. For an organization, information it provides is highly useful in making decisions regarding various personnel aspect such as promotion and merit increases. Performance measure also link information gathering and decision making processes, which provides a basis for judging the effectiveness of personnel sub divisions such as recruiting, selection, training and compensation. Accurate information plays a vital role in the organization as a whole. They help in finding out weakness in the primary area. Formal performance appraisal plans are designed to meet three needs of the organization and other two of individual namely: They provide systematic judgments to back up salary increase, transfers demotion or termination They are the means of telling a subordinate how he is doing and suggesting needed change in his behavior attitude skill or job knowledge. They let him know where h e stands. Superior uses them as basis for coaching and counseling the individual 1.6 OBJECTIVE OF STUDY To study the performance appraisal system in MILMA DIARY THRISSUR To know the employees awareness of performance appraisal system To know the satisfaction level of employees with current performance appraisal system To suggest measures for improving current system 1.7 RESAERCH METHODOLOGY RESEARCH DESIGN Research design gives the outline of a research work that involves planning  for data and analyzing the collected data. The research design is the conceptual structure within which research is conducted. There are 2 type of research design Exploratory research designs Conclusive research design Descriptive research design Causal research design Tools and techniques The tools and technique involve various accounting technique and statistical tools like percentage, which are used as a device to analyze and interpret the performance appraisal of Milma. Graphs, tables figures, pie and bar diagram are used as it helps in presenting facts and figures in simple and easy way so as to get a clear idea. DATA COLLECTION Primary data Secondary data Primary data: the primary data was collected through personal interview and questionnaire given to the staff at supervisory level. Each individual employee in the sample was separately interviewed and asked to fill the questionnaire Secondary data: Data, which are not originally collected but rather obtained from published or unpublished. Secondary data used in study are project reports and records. Questionnaire Construction Questionnaires were constructed based on the following types: †¢ Open ended questions †¢ Close ended questions †¢ Multiple choice questions Sampling method Survey is used as a sampling method. Out of total employees, 50 employees are selected as samples. And data was collected through questionnaire method. FIELD OF STUDY: Milma at Thrissur DURATION OF STUDY: Three week 1.8 LIMITATION OF STUDY: Employees were reluctant to reveal their problem freely before students Personal bias and prejudice of the respondent could have affected the result of study Most of the respondents seem to be very busy with their jobs and are not interested in answering the questionnaire CHAPTER – II PROFILES 2.1 INDUSTRY PROFILE MILK INDUSTRY Milk and milk based industries plays an important role in the world. Internationalization remains a key focus for almost all of the world’s leading dairy farm. The entire world’s largest dairy farm operates in more than one country and some of them are truly international with the activities in every part of the world. The availability of milk and milk product, in the modern world is blend of the centuries old knowledge of traditional milk product with the application of modern science and technology. Diary is a place where handling of milk and milk product is done. WORLD SCENARIO HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL DIARY FEDERATION The internal diary federation, with its head quarter brissels, was established in 1903 and consists of 32 member countries throughout the  world. UNICEF has been the motivating force for establishing diary industry in many under developed countries. One of these in India, where large processing plant have been set up to process locally produced milk or to reconstitute milk from donated or purchased milk fat and powder. Domestic milk production has increased in India and a part of the pasteurized milk is provided free to children in the larger cities through UNICEF. The first co-operative artificial breeding association was organized in Denmark in 1936. There are now many such association which helped the diary industries. After 1950, diary industry faced a wide range of development throughout the world. INDIAN SCENARIO ORIGIN OF THE INDUSTRY Indian diary sector has come a long way during the past independence era of acute milk shortage and depended on foreign aid in the form of milk powder to meet the growing milk demand. India’s milk production in 1950-1951 was low as million tones. The diary sector in India has shown remarkable development in past decades and India has shown now become one of the largest producer of milk and the value added milk product in the world. Today Company has emerged as the second largest milk producer in the world currently there are over 275 diary plants and 83 milk products factories in co-operative, public and private sector. The world famous ‘Anand Milk Union Limited’ popularly known as Amul was established in 1946 and the National Dairy Development Board was set up in 1965. Kerala Cooperative Marketing Milk Federation (KCMMF) popularly known as Milma was established in April 1980. Diary co-operative accounts major share of processed liquid milk marketed in the country. Milk is processed and marketed by 170 milk producers’ co-operative unions, which federated into 15 state Co-operative milk marketing federation. By the end of the third phase of operation flood programme about 72700 dairy co-operative societies with 93 million farmer member where organization. The company has at present one lakh organized primary village diary co-operative with an aggregate membership of 1.1 crore producers. The co-operative milk procurement crossed 20-millon kg/day in 2004-05. Over the years, brand created by cooperatives have become synonymous with quality and value. In Kerala there are 3243 dairy  co-operative includding2404 Anand pattern society functioning under KCMMF. Milam represents more than 7.63 lakh diary framers who have organized 2404 Anand pattern diary cooperative diary societies. It also represents 10 diaries, handling 9.96 lakh liters milk/ day chilling plant, 2 cattle plant, a milk powder plant, an established training center and 5000 distribution outlets. OPERATION FLOOD The dairy program called operation flood was launched in 1970 under the aegis of NDDB. NDDB. Functional as technical consultant and the rest while Indian diary co-operation as the funding agency as the ideology followed by the operation flood was the remuneration linking of rural milk producing centered with the demand centers so as to build up a viable dairy industry. STATE SCENARIO OPERATION FLOOD IN KERALA The operation flood in Kerala was included in the second phase of operation flood (1981-87) the 8th southern district from Trivandrum to Thrissur were included in the area of the project which has a total outlay of Rs. 99 crores. The uncovered northern area from Palakad to Kasargod was thus brought under the co-operative umbrella with the inspection of north Kerala Dairy Project. KERALA CO-OPERATIVE MILK MARKETING FEDERATION LIMITED (KCMMF) The Kerala Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (KCMMF) popularly called ‘Milma’ was established in April 1980 as a part of operation flood 2nd program, with head office at Thiruvananthapuram. It was started under the indo Swiss project. The project was launched in 1963 based on a bilateral agreement execute between the Swiss Confederation and the Government of India. The project was made great strides in the improvement of livestock farming in the state. One of them is the development of Swiss brown a cross bread suited for the state condition. The project is now Kerala livestock board. Its main motive was to implement the operation flood program started by NDDB in Kerala. KCMMF has played a major role in the development of dairying in the state. It has a strong presence in the market. With an  ever-increasing demand for the entire product manufactured by KCMMF, it is necessary that efforts be taken to fill in the gaps arising out of inadequate supply. The KCMMF is a three-tier system with the primary milk co-operative societies at village level, regional milk producers union at middle level and an apex body at the state level. At present there are three regional co-operative unions operating. They are: 1. Trivandrum regional Co-operative Milk Producers Union limited (TRCMPU) 2. Ernakulum Regional Co-operative Milk Producers Union Limited (ERCMPU) 3. Malabar Regional Co-operative Milk Marketing Producers Union Limited (MRCMPU) 2.2 ORGANISATIONAL PROFILE Brand household name, ‘MILMA’ stands for milk and a whole variety of milk products, which enjoy the confidence of each Keralite, for their unmatched quality and standard. The name also signifies the vast organization Kerala Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (KCMMF) with it units of procurement, processing and sale spread over all the villages and towns of the state, giving employment and prosperity to a large number of small and marginal farmers including women and the landless, processing employees and sellers. KCMMF was established in 1980 with its Head Office at Thiruvananthapuram for the successful implementation of the dairy programme ‘Operation Flood’ under NDDB. Over the years, MILMA has developed a long-term health perspective about the people of the state, who suffer from life style diseases including diabetes and obesity, albeit economic prosperity. So, MILMA has attuned its products to ensure balanced nutrition as well as reduced cost of healthcare and also launched new beverages other than milk products. Founded because of the great democratic principle ‘of the People, by the People and for the People’, the dominant concern of MILMA is to render true service to society while ensuring that it does not incur losses. Organizational study is conducted in the Kerala Co-operative milk marketing federation popularly known as Milma at Thrissur diary is under the control of ERCMPU ltd Edapilly. This regional union was registered 12/09/1985 and is an ISO: 9001:2000 certified company. The company aims in the socio-economic progress of dairy farmer by procuring  their milk at most remunerative price around the year and by ensuring consumer Satisfaction through prompt satisfaction of prompt supply of pasteurized milk products. Now 142 APCOS are functioning and milk from these societies are collected twice per day by diary around the year. By providing input facilities such as veterinary services, cattle feed supply, insemination facilities, support for folder department activities and manpower training on scientific aspect of clean milk providing to dairy farmers. The capacity of Thrissur plant is 60000liter/day. Every day they procure 34000-liter milk from primary society twice per day by milk routs. In this unit, they produce ghee, buttermilk and milk. Thrissur dairy have seven departments. Among this, one is handled directly from the head office. The departments are Procurement and input section Marketing Engineering Quality control Production Accounts Procurement and administration For procuring milk from primary society, vehicles are used on basis of contract with the owners. Three-tier system is followed for this purpose. If any one of them could not meet the requirement, then it is given to the third party. In each department one assistant manager is been appointed. The name Milma represents 2568 primary milk co-operative societies 7.5 lakh farmer members 3 regional co-operative milk producers union 11 dairies capable of handling 9- 90 lakh liters of milk per day 13 milk chilling centers 2 cattle feed plant with cumulative capacity of 600 MT per day One milk powder plant of 10 MT/ day A well established training centers 5200 retail outlets Over 32000 people working directly or indirectly for the functions of Milma  apart from these Milma serve millions of consumer day in and day out. OBJECTIVES To channelize marketable surplus milk from rural area to urban deficit area to maximize the return to the producer and provide quality milk and milk products to the consumer. To carry out activities for promoting production, procurement, processing and marketing of milk and milk products for the economic development of farming community To build up a viable diary industry in the state To provide constant market and stable price to the diary farmers for their producers. MILMA NETWORKS The motto of co-operative â€Å"of the people, by the people, and for the people† is the three-tier structure followed by the organization. At the village level, they have the village milk co-operatives societies, which have the local milk producers as its members. The village co-operative unit at the regional level form regional co-operative milk producer unions. These unions are federated at the state level to form state federated namely Kerala Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (KCMMF). MILMA’S ASSOCIATES Milma is in constant touch with other organization in this sector. It is namely through this tremendous change that Milam grew from a small diary co-operative to the position it holds today. CHIEF ASSOCIATES ARE: National diary development board NDDB under Dr. Kurien’s guidance set up KCMMF in 1980. Ever since they, there has been a very close co-operation between NDDB and the federation. NDDB are the originator of the operation flood programme and have been funding agent for the operation flood project in Kerala. AMUL The diary co-operative of Gujarat have been the inspiration of the  development of such a vast network of diary co-operative in Kerala. Among the co-operative in Gujarat, the kaira district co-operative milk producer union (AMUL) is the first in this sector. Its cooperative is called â€Å"Anand Pattern Co-operative Societies† following the illustrious lineage of AMUL. GOVERNMENT OF KERALA The phenomenal success of dairy co-operatives in Kerala could not have been achieved without the foundation of animal husbandry activities, led by animal husbandry department and Kerala livestock department development board of the government of Kerala. ORGANISATIONAL CHART DIARY MANAGER P & A P& I ACCOUNTS MARKETING ENGINEERING PRODUCTION QUALITY CONTROL Junior Assistant A/c officer Assistant Technical TS dairy Dairy Supervisor PO Marketing Supervisor Chemist Officer Junior Senior Junior Marketing Junior Plant Lab Assistant Supervisor Supervisor Organizer Assistant Operator Technician Junior Junior Marketing Technician Plant attender Lab Supervisor Assistant Assistant Assistant Attender Attender FUNCTIONAL AREAS OF KCMMF KCMMF HEAD OFFICE Provides staff management functions to support its units and regional milk unions. KCMMF head office has a well established marketing, quality control, production , finance, HRD. MARKETING Brand management Lean flush management Bulk trading of surplus products Institutional supply contracts Co-ordinate promotional activities Packaging and product development Procurement and consumer pricing PURCHASE Centralized purchase of dairy consumables. Purchase of raw materials for cattle feed plants Purchase function of KCMMF head office QUALITY CONTROL Render technical and legal assistance to primary dairy co-operatives and regional milk unions. Liaison and maintain quality of milk and milk products as per the standards Liaison with statutory authorities for bringing in suitable amendments in statutes Attend to consumer complaints on quality problem FINANCE Financial management of KCMMF and its units. Liaison with financial institutions for availing loan for creation of infrastructure. Liaison with government for availing government financial assistance Long term repayment and scheduling of loans Capital management scheme for primary co-operative societies. Recommend remunerations of APCOS employees. HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELPOEMENT Milma family has 2098 skilled, efficient and qualified personnel and has an excellent labour relationship. Take active role in farming personnel policies and service rules. Finalize long-term wage settlement, bonus etc. CHAPTER III LITERATURE REVIEW LITERATURE REVIEW Rationale of performance appraisal Performance appraisals are one of the most important requirements for successful business and human resource policy (Kressler, 2003). Rewarding and promoting effective performance in organizations, as well as identifying ineffective performers for developmental programs or other personnel actions are essential to effective to human resource management (Pulakos, 2003). The ability to conduct performance appraisals relies on the ability to assess an employee’s performance in a fair and accurate manner. Evaluating employee performance is a difficult task. . Once the supervisor understands the nature of the job and the sources of information, the information needs to be collected in a systematic way, provided as feedback, and integrated into the organization’s performance management process for use in making compensation, job placement, and training decisions and assignments (London, 2003). After a review of literature, a performance appraisal model will be described in detail. The model discussed is an example of a performance appraisal system that can be implemented in a large institution of higher education, within the Student Affairs division. The model can be applied to tope level, middle-level and lower level employees. Evaluation instruments (forms) are provided to assist you with implementation the appraisal system. Introduction to performance appraisal Performance evaluations have been conducted since the times of Aristotle (Landy, Zedeck, Cleveland, 1983). The earliest formal employee performance evaluation program is thought to have originated in the United States military establishment shortly after the birth of the republic (Lopez, 1968). The measurement of an employee’s performance allows for rational administrative decisions at the individual employee level. It also provides for the raw data for the evaluation of the effectiveness of such personnel- system components and processes as recruiting policies, training programs, selection rules, promotional strategies, and reward allocations (Landy, Zedeck, Cleveland, 1983). In addition, it provides the foundation for behaviorally based employee counseling. In the counseling setting, performance information provides the vehicle for increasing satisfaction, commitment, and motivation of the employee. Performance measurement allows the organization to tell the employee something about their rates of growth, their competencies, and their potentials. There is little disagreement that if well done, performance measurements and feedback can play a valuable role in effecting the grand compromise between the needs of the individual and the needs of the organization (Landy, Zedeck, Cleveland, 1983). Performance appraisals should focus on three objectives: Purpose of performance appraisal system Performance, not personalities; valid, concrete, relevant issues, rather than subjective emotions and feelings; reaching agreement on what the employee is going to improve in his performance and what you are going to do (McKirchy, 1998). Both the supervisor and employee should recognize that a strong relationship exists between training and performance evaluation (Barr, 1993). Each employee should be allowed to participate in periodic sessions to review performance and clarify expectations. Both the supervisor and the employee should recognize these sessions as constructive occasions for two-way communication. Sessions should be scheduled ahead of time in a comfortable setting and should include opportunities for self-assessment as well as supervisor feedback. These sessions will be particularly important for new employees who will benefit from early identification of performance problems. Once these observations have been shared, the supervisor and employee should develop a mutual understanding about areas for improvement,  problems that need to be corrected, and additional responsibilities that might be undertaken. When the goals are identified, a plan for their achievement should be developed. The plan may call for resources or support from other staff members in order to meet desired outcomes. In some cases, the plan might involve additional training. The supervisor should keep in contact with the employee to assure the training experiences are producing desired impact (Barr, 1993). A portion of the process should be devoted to an examination of potential opportunities to pursue advancement of acceptance of more complex responsibilities. The employee development goals should be recognized as legitimate, and plans should be made to re ach the goals through developmental experiences or education (Barr, 1993). Encouraging development is not only a supervisor’s professional responsibility, but it also motivates an employee to pursue additional commitments. In addition, the pursuit of these objectives will also improve the prospect that current employees will be qualified as candidates when positions become available. This approach not only motivates current performance but also assists the recruitment of current employees as qualified candidates for future positions (Barr, 1993). How to arrive? Reasons why need to be done Benefits of productive performance appraisals. – Employee learns of his or her own strengths in addition to weaknesses. – New goals and objectives are agreed upon. – Employee is an active participant in the evaluation process. – The relationship between supervisor and employees is taken to an adult-to-adult level. – Work teams may be restructured for maximum efficiency. – Employee renews his or her interest in being a part o f the organization now and in the future. – Training needs are identified. – Time is devoted to discussing quality of work without regard to money issues. – Supervisor becomes more comfortable in reviewing the performance of employees. – Employees feel that they are taken seriously as individuals and that the supervisor is truly concerned about their needs and goals. (Randi, Toler, Sachs, 1992). Pitfalls to Avoid performance appraisal When conducting performance appraisals on any level, it is important to keep in mind the common pitfalls to avoid. These pitfalls may include but are not limited to : 1. Bias/prejudice. Race, religion, education, family background, age and/or sex. 2. Trait assessment. Too much attention to characteristics that have nothing to do with job and are difficult to measure. 3. Over-emphasis on favorable or unfavorable performance of one or two task, which could lead to an unbalanced evaluation of the overall contribution. 4. Relying on impression rather than on facts. 5. Holding the employees responsible for factors beyond his/her control. 6. Failure to provide each employee with an opportunity for advance preparation (Maddux 1993 LEGAL IMPLICATIONS Any performance appraisal system used to make employment decisions about a member of a protected class (i.e. Based on age, race, religion, gender, or national origin) must be a valid system (an accurate measure of performance associated with job requirements). Otherwise, it can be challenged in the courts based on Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1991 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1975 (London, 2003). Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection 1978 is the controlling federal law in the area of performance appraisals. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) requires that any measurement used to differentiate between employees must be valid and fairly administered. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) suggests that performance appraisals for people with disabilities for people with disabilities will not be conducted any differently than those for other employees. Another important aspect to consider is the employee’s right to privacy. Employees must have complete access to their personnel files, but others should have controlled access. The records should be accurate, relevant, and current. Rewards Effective reward systems are often hard to establish when creating performance appraisals. The question of how specific the reward, when the  reward should be given, and how to reward group efforts can be a tricky subject to master. Our advice on this is to keep it simple. It is important to have an established reward system. However, rewards can be as simple as more autonomy on the job, praise for progress, additional professional development funding, and vacation time. The important aspect to remember when establishing reward systems is to be consistent. If two employees are being evaluated in the same way, their reward opportunities should reflect their evaluation outcomes. THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK Meaning Performance appraisal system is a method of evaluating the behavior of employees in the work spot normally including both the qualitative and quantitative and qualitative aspect of job performance. Performance here refers to the degree of accomplishment of the task that makes up an individual’s job. It indicates how well an individual is fulfilling the job demand. Some of the important features of performance appraisal may be captured thus Performance appraisal is the systematic description of employee’s job relevant strength and weakness. The basic purpose is to find out how well the employee is performing the job and establish a plan of improvement Appraisals are arranged periodically according to a definite plan. Performance appraisal is not job evaluation. Performance appraisal refers to how well someone is doing the assigned job. Job evaluation determines how much a job is worth to the organization and therefore what range of pay should be assigned to the job. Performance appraisal is a continuous process in every large-scale organization. NEED FOR PEORFORMANCE APPRAISAL Performance appraisal is needed in order to: Provide information about the performance ranks basing on which decision regarding salary fixation, confirmation, promotion, transfer and demotion are taken. Provide feedback information about the level of achievement and behavior of subordinate. The information helps to review the performance of subordinates, rectifying performance deficiencies and to set new standards of work, if necessary. Provide information, which helps to counsel the  subordinates. To prevent grievances and in disciplinary activities. WHO WILL APPRAISE 360-degree performance appraisal: the appraiser may be any person who has thorough knowledge about the job content, contents to be appraised standards of content, and who observers the employee while performing a job. Typical appraisers are supervisors, peers, subordinates, employees themselves, user of service Consultant. Performance appraised by all these parties is called 360-degree performance appraisal. Supervisors include superiors of the employee, other supervisors having knowledge about the work of the employee and department head or manager. General practice is that immediate superiors appraise the performance, which in turn is reviewed by the departmental head/manager. This is because supervisors are responsible for managing their subordinates and they have the opportunity to observe, direct and control the subordinates continuously. On the negative side, immediate supervisors may emphasize certain aspect of employee performance to the neglect of others. In addition, managers, have been manipulate evaluation to justify their decision on pay increase and promotions. Peers appraisal may be reliable if the work group is stable over a reasonably long period and performs tasks that require interaction. However, little research has been conducted to determine how peers establish standard for evaluating others or the overall effect of peer appraisal on the group’s attitude. Subordinates: the concept of having superior rated by subordinates is being used in most of the organizations especially in developed countries. Such a  navel method can be useful in other organizational setting too provided the relationship between superior and subordinates are cordial. Subordinates rating in such cases can be quite useful in identifying competent superiors. Self-appraisal: if individuals understand the objective they are expected and the standards by which they are to be evaluated, they are largely in the best position to appraise their own performance. In addition, since employee development means self-development, employees who appraise their own performance may become highly motivated. User of services, customers: The customers or user of services can better judge Employee’s performance in service organization relating to behavior, promptness, speed in doing the job and accuracy. Consultant: sometimes consultant may be engaged for appraisal when employees or employer do not trust supervisor appraisal and management does not trust self appraisal or peer appraisal or subordinates appraisal. In this situation, consultants are trained and they observe the employee at work for sufficiently long time for the purpose of appraisal. METHODS OF PERFORMNACE APPRASIAL With the evolution and development of appraisal system a number of methods and techniques of performance appraisal have been developed. Some of them are TRAIT METHOD Trait method to performance appraisal measures the extent to which employees possess trait or characteristics like dependability, creativity, initiative, dynamism, ability to motivate and leadership. Trait method is based on job description and job specification. Graphic rating scale: graphic rating scale compares individual performance to absolute standards. In this method, judgments about performance are recorded on a scale. This is oldest and widely used technique. One of reason for the popularity of the rating scale is its simplicity, which permits many employees to be quickly evaluated. Such scales have relatively low design cost and high in case of administration. The major drawback to these is their subjectivity and low reliability Ranking method: Under this method, employees are ranked from  best to worst on some characteristics. The rater first finds the employee with the highest performance and the employee with the lowest performance in that particular job category and rates the former as best and the later as the poorest. One important limitation of the ranking method is that the size of the difference between individual is not well defined. Paired comparison method: this method is relatively simple. Under this method, appraiser ranks the employee by comparing one employee with all other employees in the group, one at a time. Forced distribution method: forced distribution method is developed to prevent the rater from rating too high or too low. Under this method, the rater after assigning points to the performance of each employee has to distribute his rating in a pattern to confirm to normal frequency distribution. This method eliminates central tendency and leniency biases. Essay or free form appraisal: this method requires the manager to write a short essay describing each employee’s performance during the rating period. This format emphasizes evaluation of overall performance, based on strength and weakness of employee performance, rather than specific job dimensions. The time involved in writing separate essay about each employee can be formidable. Group appraisal: under this method, a group of appraisers appraises an employee. This group consists of the immediate supervisors of the employee, to other supervisors who have close contact with the employees work, manager or head of the department and consultants. The group appraises the performance of the employee, compared the actual with the standards of performance, find out deviations, discusses the reason therefore, suggest ways for improvements of performance, prepare action plans, study the need for change in the job analysis and standards and recommends change if necessary. Confidential report: assessing the employee’s performance confidentially is a traditional method of performance appraisal. Under this method, superior appraises the performance of the subordinates based on his observation, judgment and intuitions. The superior keeps his judgment and report confidentially. In other words, the superior are not allow the employee to know his report and performance. BEHAVIOURAL METHODS While trait measures various characteristics, behavioral methods measures employee behavioral skill on a continuum. Behavioral checklist method: a  checklist is designed with the list of statements that describe the behavior essential for employee performance. The appraiser checks whether the appraise possess them or not. Employee’s performance is rated based on the behavioral skills that the employee possesses to the total statements. Critical incident method: employee are rated discontinuously, i.e. once in a year or six months under the earlier methods. The performance rated may not reflect real and overall performance as the rater would be serious about the appraisal about two or three weeks before the appraisal. Hence, a continuous appraisal method, i.e. critical incident method was developed. Under this method, the supervisor continuously records the critical incident of the employee performance or behavior relating to all characteristics in a specially designed notebook. The critical incident method has the advantage of being objective because the rater considers the record of the performance rather than the subjective point of opinion. Behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS): the BARS method combines elements of the traditional rating scale and critical incident methods. Using BARS, job behavior from critical incidents- effective and ineffective behaviors are described more objectively. This method employs individuals who are familiar with a particular job to identify its major components. They then rank and validate specific behaviors for each of the components. Behavior observation scale (BOS): the appraiser, under this method, measure how frequently each of the behavior has been observed. Appraiser plays the role of observer rather than a judge and provides the feedback to the appraise continuously. Assessment centre: in this approach, individual from various departments are brought together to spend two or three days, working on an individual or group assignment similar to ones they would have been handling when promoted. Observers rank the performance of each participant in order of merit. RESULT METHODS Organizations of contemporary period evaluate employee performance based on accomplishments they achieve rather than based on the behavioral factors/traits. Employee accomplishments include sale turnover, number of units produced, and number of customers served, number of complaints settled and the like. Productivity measures: under the productivity measures of performance appraisal, employees are appraised based on the ratio of output  they turned out to the input they used. The balanced scorecard: it brings the linkage among financial, customer, processes and learning. Learning and people management contribute to the enhancement of internal processes. Internal processes are critical for enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty. The balanced scorecard can be used to appraise employee performance. The following recommendations ensure the successful application of balanced scorecard to performance management. Human resource accounting: human resource accounting deals with cost and contribution of human resource to the organization. Cost of the employee includes cost of work force planning, training, development, wages etc. employee contribution is the money value of employee service, which can be measured by labour productivity, or value added by human resource. Management by objectives: MBO is a process whereby the superior and subordinate manager of an organization jointly identifies its common goals, define each individual’s major areas of responsibility in terms of results expected of him, and use these measures of guides for operating the unit and assessing the contribution of its members. SYSTEMS OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL Establish performance standards Communicate standards/ expectations to employee. Measure actual performance by following the instructions. Adjust the actual performance due to the environmental influence Compare the adjusted performance with that of others and previous Compare the actual performance with standards and find out deviations, if any. Communicate the actual performance to the employee concerned. Suggest changes in job analysis and standards, if necessary. Follow – up performance appraisal report. USES OFPERFORMANCE APPRIASAL Performance appraisal has several uses. The important among them are: Performance improvement: performance feedback allows the employees, manager and personnel specialist to intervene with appropriate actions to improve performance Compensation adjustment: A performance evaluation helps decision-makers determine who should receive pay raises. Many firms grant  part or all of their pay increases and bonuses based upon merit, which is determined mostly through performance appraisal. Placement decisions: promotions, transfers and demotions are usually are based on past or anticipated performance. Often promotions are reward for past performance. Training and development needs: poor performance may indicate the need for retraining. Likewise, good performance may indicate untapped potential that should be developed. Career planning and development: performance feedbacks guide career decision about specific career paths one should investigate. Staffing process deficiencies: good or bad performance implies strength and weakness in the personnel departments staffing procedure. Informational inaccuracies: poor performance may indicate error in job analysis information, human resource plans, or other part of personnel management information system. Reliance on accurate information may led to inappropriate hiring, training, or counseling decisions. Job design errors: poor performance may be a symptom of ill- conceived job design. Appraisals help diagnose these errors. PROBLEMS OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL The major problem of performance appraisal is- 1. Rating biases Halo effect The error of central tendency The leniency and strictness The recency effect 2. Failure of the superiors in conducting performance appraisal nad post performance appraisal interviews 3. Most part of the appraisal is based on subjectivity 4. Les reliability and validity of the performance appraisal techniques 5. Negative rating affect interpersonal relations and industrial relation system 6. Influence of external environmental factors and uncontrollable internal factors 7. Feedback and post appraisal interview may have a setback on production 8. Relationship between appraisal rates and performance after promotions was not significant 9. Absence of inter –rater reliability

Definition of Middle Income Trap Essay

As the name implies, the middle income trap is an economic development situation, where a country which attains a certain income (due to given advantages) will get stuck at that level. Part of this concept was firstly discussed in the 2006 World Bank report ‘Equity and development’ as the ‘inequity trap’. But this report does not state very clearly on the definitions, classifications and measures to avoid it, etc. Then in the famous 2007 World Bank report ‘An east Asian Renaissance’, this economic phenomenon was officially addressed. According to the latest definition of The International Monetary Fund in 2013, the ‘middle-income trap’ is the phenomenon of hitherto rapidly growing economies stagnating at middle-income levels and failing to graduate into the ranks of high-income countries (2013 The International Monetary Fund Working Paper: Growth Slowdowns and the Middle Income Trap). From the publications and journal articles, it seems there has not been universal and very concrete understanding on the details of this issue yet. For example, different researchers and even different journalist may have different classifications on it based on various standards. However, the principles applied are similar. The most recent World Bank classification with data for 2010 is as following: a country is classified as low-income if its GNI (Gross National Income) per capita is US$1,005 or less, lower-middle-income if its GNI per capita lies between US$1,006 and US$3,975, upper-middle-income if its GNI per capita lies between US$3,976 and US$12,275, and high income if its GNI per capita is US$12,276 or above. This classification was also used by The International Monetary Fund in its working paper in 2013: Growth Slowdowns and the Middle Income Trap. After the International Monetary Fund applies this classification to its sample of 138 countries in 2010, the result yields 24 low-income countries, 36 lower middleincome countries, 33 upper middle-income countries, and 45 high-income countries (2013 The International Monetary Fund Working Paper: Growth Slowdowns and the Middle Income Trap). It’s very clear that most of the countries are still in the situation of low income or middle income. In addition, middle income  countries are much more than low income countries, which ensure us that it is make sense to pay more attention to the countries in the middle income situation. In recent years the world turned to recognize the existence of a Middle Income Trap. The term Middle Income Trap is by now also being widely used in economic literature as well as businessoriented media. The Middle Income Trap occurs when the growth of an economy slows and eventually flattens after it reaches a middle income level. The problem usually arises when developing countries ï ¬ nd themselves stuck in between high and low income levels. On the one hand, with rising wages, middle income countries are less competitive compared to lessdeveloped, low-wage countries in terms of the cheap production of manufactured goods. On the other hand, they are unable to compete with developed cou ntries in terms of high-skill innovations. As the Asian Development Bank describes, these countries cannot â€Å"compete with low-income, low-wage economies in manufacturing† and similarly are disadvantaged against advanced economies in high-skill innovations†. In another word, these countries cannot continue to compete on cost for cheap goods, and they cannot yet compete on quality for more sophisticated items. Let us have a deeper look at this economic phenomenon. When low-income countries first begin to take off, they often do take the advantage of a low-wage. This allows the country’s manufacturers to offer competitive prices on the global market, since they have a lower cost base. However, as economic growth rates and productivity rise quickly, rapid wage increases tend to follow. Thus the trap is generally characterized by the fact that rising wages eventually begin to eat into the competitiveness that low-base wages originally offered. Once economies get closer to the development frontier, the growth model will become more complex. It is increasingly determined by innovation, investment in more sophisticated technologies and through the raising of the level and quality of education, notably secondary and higher education of the potential labor force. Among these factors, it must be noted that education dose matter. In addition, the second education is more important than the ge neral education. Lower level of education in the majority of the labor force definitely leads to insufficient qualified  workers. The risks of falling into the Middle Income Trap have increasingly become a focus of discussions in terms of the long-term economic and social development of developing economies. These risks, and how to minimize them, are being discussed at the highest levels of policy making in some of the fast growing emerging economies, even while these countries may still be sources of envy to the rest of the world, such as China, Russia and India. Countries in the trap and how to avoid the middle income trap As we mentioned above, due to a variety of factors, many countries risk getting stuck in this trap. According to the International Monetary Fund, most notably, several Latin American economies, at least until recently, would seem to belong in this category, having failed to achieve highincome levels despite attaining middle-income status several decades ago (2013 The International Monetary Fund Working Paper: Growth Slowdowns and the Middle-Income Trap). Actually it has been well accepted that countries across Latin America as well as the several Middle East economies saw catch-up growth in the 1960s and 1970s but then they hit an invisible ceiling and have mostly stuck in the â€Å"middle income trap† ever since, with per capita incomes far behind the rare â€Å"break-out† countries. Most of the evidence on the middle-income trap comes from these economies of Latin America and the Middle East. These are regions abundant in land and natural resources. They have had growth during commodity booms, often followed by growth crashes when commodity prices drop sharply. In Eva Paus’s article about the Latin America’s middle-income trap, she points out that the accumulation of technological capabilities is at the heart of the development process. Technological capabilities refer to the resources and organizational abilities needed to generate and manage technological change. In a changing national and global context, accumulation those capabilities is the key to sustained productivity growth and high-end economic development. She also mentioned Policymakers should promote entrepreneurship and innovation to begin reaping the benefits of information networks and skilled labor before the gains from cheap labor and knowledge  spillovers are exhausted. Nowadays people are more studying on Asian countries with more both low income and middle income countries. Through the evidence from countries already stuck in middle income trap and the current research in Asia, people could not only forecast the future in terms of economic development, but also make the policy maker to develop the suitable measures to avoid the trap. We could take a look at the middle-income Asian economies for our further investigation. There are eight countries that stand out in East and South Asia: the ASEAN-5 (Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam), China, India and Sri Lanka. But they are at very different levels of development. They could be divided into ‘high middle-income’ and ‘low middleincome’ groups. Malaysia is at the top of the high middle-income group. Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, India and Sri Lanka are in the low middle-income group. China and Thailand are roughly in the middle. As we will discuss China in every detail later, let us take Indonesia as an example. According to the Asian Development Bank, Indonesia could be the case of the country in the middle-income trap. It became a middle-income economy in 2003. It actually attained middle-income status in 1993, but fell back after the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis. It took six years to jump back to the middle income level. Now it needs to battle the â€Å"middle-income trap†. Indonesia is not unique to this problem. Regardless the different external international economic environment, many middle-income countries are without a viable high-growth strategy. They are faced with new challenges, including social cohesion, a large pool of young people in search of jobs, as well as millions who still live in misery and poverty. Typically, countries trapped at middle-income level have: (1) low investment ratios; (2) slow manufacturing growth; (3) limited industrial diversification; and (4) poor labor market conditions. The Asian Development Bank in its 2011 report ‘Asia 2050: Realizing the Asian Century’ raised the question that considering that the region has to face up to the daunting  opportunity that lies before it, how many countries will meet this challenge? The answer is still unclear. Given this reality and uncertainties about the future the report postulates two quantitative scenarios with very different outcomes. Most of the discussion in the report is based on the optimistic Asian Century scenario. This scenario assumes that the 11 economies (Armenia; Azerbaijan; Cambodia; P.R.China; Georgia; India; Indonesia; Kazakhstan; Malaysia; Thailand; and Viet Nam) with a demonstrated record of sustained convergence to best global practice over the past 30 years or so continue this trend over the next 40 years and that a number of modest-growth aspiring economies will become convergers by 2020. In this scenario, Asia will take its place among the ranks of the affluent on  par with those in Europe today; some3 billion additional Asians will become affluent by 2050. This is the desired or ideal scenario for Asia as a whole.  The Middle Income Trap scenario assumes that these fast-growing converging economies fall into that trap in the next 5 – 10 years, without any of the slow- or modest-growth aspiring economies improving their record; in other words, Asia follows the pattern of Latin Ameri ca over the past 30 years. This is the pessimistic scenario and could be taken as a wake-up call to Asian leaders. According to this report by the Asian Development Bank, there will be a huge difference in the outcomes of the two scenarios. The economic and social costs of missing the Asian Century are staggering. If today’s fast-growing converging economies become mired in the Middle Income Trap, Asia’s GDP in 2050 would reach only $65 trillion, not $174 trillion (at market exchange rates). GDP per capita would be only $20,600, not $40,800 (PPP). Such an outcome would deprive billions of Asians of a lifetime of affluence and well-being. The possibility of a â€Å"perfect storm† cannot be ruled out in thinking about Asia through 2050. A combination of bad macro policies, finance sector exuberance with lax supervision, conflict, climate change, natural disasters, changing demography, and weak governance could jeopardize Asian growth. In this worst case scenario, Asia could stumble into a  financial meltdown, major conflict, or region wide chaos well before 2050. It is impossible to quantify this scenario, but Asia’s leaders must be aware of the potential for such a catastrophe and avoid it at all costs. By contrast, several East Asian economies have in recent decades provided a template for success to get out of the trap and continue to grow rapidly after attaining middle-income status, and thereby attaining per capita income levels comparable to advanced countries (2013 the International Monetary Fund Working Paper: Growth Slowdowns and the Middle-Income Trap). So far, five Asian countries or regions have successfully escaped the middle-income trap, which are Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. What do we need to do to follow them? There is no uniform policy solution for avoiding the middle-income trap. South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore have made the transition to advanced ec onomies. As noted by the Economist 2013, even still little is known about why so few countries succeed in making the transition from middle-income to high-income status, however, it’s clear that their paths were different but they shared a willingness and ability to change course. To better understand this question ‘How did these east Asian countries escape the middle income trap’ and find the answer, it will be very useful for us to go back to the World Bank’s landmark report â€Å"The East Asian Miracle†, which was published in 1993. It has analyzed the catch-up growth of the several East Asian Tigers, and some of its conclusions are relevant to the middleincome trap. Its foremost conclusion was that it is vital to ‘get the basics right’: macroeconomic stability, relatively low distortions to domestic competition, openness to external trade, flexible labor markets, and investment in hard infrastructure as well as education. On the other hand, w e could analyze both low-income Asian countries and high-income Asian countries to further evaluate the situation in middle-income Asian economies which include China. For low income Asian countries like Cambodia, Nepal, etc., to get the basics right must still be the top – we may even include the less developed states in China and India. These countries and regions should be in the business of catch-up growth, which comes from maximum mobilization of capital and labor inputs, and large productivity gains from efficient resource reallocation. This is what Prof. Paul Krugman calls growth through ‘perspiration’. At the  other extreme, for high income Asian economies, from Japan down to Singapore, has to rely on ‘output-led,’ productivity- and innovation-based growth. This is what Prof. Paul Krugman calls growth through ‘inspiration’. To get the basics right is still important – note that Japan is hurtling in the opposite direction with wildly profligate fiscal and monetary policies. But this has to be complemented with more sophisticated structural and institutional reforms. These â€Å"second generation† reforms (sophisticated structural and institutional reforms) have to go beyond liberalization of product markets to encompass deregulation of factor markets (for land, labor and capital). They must also include opening up of services sectors, upgrading â€Å"soft infrastructure†, and improving the quality of public administration, regulatory agencies and judicial systems. Among them, being part of â€Å"soft infrastructure†, higher education and skills are of the most important factors. So what about middle income countries â€Å"in between†? They need a mix of getting the basics right and second generation reforms. But the balance should differ as between high middle income and low middle income countries. For example, high middle-income countries need to crack on with structural and institutional reforms for productivity-based growth. This also applies to China (especially its coastal provinces). Moreover, in a recent report of International Monetary Fund, economists suggest four ways to avoid that: 1. Invest in infrastructure. The International Monetary Fund analysis suggests that subpar infrastructure is a key factor that can check an emerging economy’s growth. India, the Philippines and Thailand are particularly exposed in this area and should focus on building new and upgrading existing public transit systems, freight channels, ports and energy infrastructure. 2. Guard against excessive capital inflows. Money flows from abroad can energize an economy and give domestic consumption a boost, but can send an economy south if investors retreat in a hurry. Policy makers should have macro-prudential controls in place to mitigate potential rapid outflows, according to the International Monetary Fund. 3. Boost spending on research and development and post-secondary education. Both are needed to foster the innovation that’s a hallmark of advanced economies. According to the International Monetary Fund data, Malaysia and Thailand have the highest college enrollment rates among emerging Asian countries. However, China is rapidly catching up. China far outstrips other developing Asian countries on R&D, with 2009 spending at more than 1.5% of GDP. 4. Get more women into the workforce and raise the retirement age. Aging population is a problem in a lot of Asian countries. Governments should take actions to reduce â€Å"dependency ratios† by raising the age when workers are eligible for pensions and encouraging girls to enter university and vocational training. Anyway, avoiding the Middle Income Trap entails identifying strategies to introduce new processes and find new markets to maintain export growth. Ramping up domestic demand is also important—an expanding middle class can use its increasing purchasing power to buy highquality, innovative products and help drive growth. The biggest challenge is moving from resource-driven growth that is dependent on cheap labor and capital to growth based on high productivity and innovation. This requires investments in infrastructure and education. As the several East Asian countries has proven, building a high-quality education system which encourages creativity and supports breakthroughs in science and technology is the key. As Asian countries have approached or are approaching the technological frontier, the role of education does matter a lot. Many Asian countries have noted for their commitment to improve the quality of their education, and already have some of the highest educational attainments in the world. Yet the fiscal and institutional challenges to lifting educational performance in the way that is needed to sustain economic growth is another thing altogether. The success or failure in that will be a major determinant of whether Asia fulfils the expectations of its long-term economic growth. Looking at China Many observers believe China’s amazing growth is nearing its limits. A joint report by the World Bank and China’s Development Research Centre has warned that the low-hanging fruit of statedriven industrialization is largely exhausted. According to this joint report, ‘If countries cannot increase  productivity through innovation, they find themselves trapped. China does not have to endure this fate’. This report emphasized that China has reached another turning point in its development path when a second strategic, and no less fundamental, shift is called for. For China, it can no longer rely on imported technology to keep up robust growth of averaging 9.9 percent since the economy was open in 1978. The report said China’s growth of economy will slow to 7 percent later this decade and even 5 percent by the late 2020s even if China does not perform deep reform. However, this report also point out, if everything goes smoothly, China will be a â€Å"high-income† economy by 2030 and perhaps as dominant as Britain in 1870 or the United States in 1945, or indeed as flourishing as the Qing Empire itself in 1820 before the onset of catastrophic decline. As Economists 2013 points out, for all problems of China, in the coming 10-15 years it is still likely to reach several symbolic milestones. The International Monetary Fund predicts that in 2016 it will become the world’s largest economy on a purchasing-power-parity basis. The Economist Intelligence Unit reckons that on the basis of market exchange rates China will attain that glory in 2020. By the end of this decade, according to Daiwa Securities, GDP per person in Shanghai, China’s richest city, could be almost the same as the average for America in 2009. Now, officials and experts discuss endlessly whether China is slowly heading towards a â€Å"middleincome trap†. According to Economists 2011, China was already a lower-middle-income country in 2010, with a GDP per person of around $4,400. The fear is that it might suffer the same stagnation and turbulence as Latin American economies in the 1980s and 1990s. Nevertheless, with trend GDP growth in China slowing to around 8% a year from as high as 11% previously, it’s no wonder economists are asking whether it and other fast-growing Asian economies will fall victim to the middle-income trap. Income inequality The relationship between equity and development was thoroughly illustrated in  the World Bank’s World Development Report 2006: Equity and development. According to this famous report, equity means that individuals should have equal opportunities to pursue a life of their choosing and be spared from extreme deprivation in outcomes. The main message is that equity is complementary, in some fundamental respects, to the pursuit of long-term prosperity. Institutions and policies that promote a level playing field— where all members of society have similar chances to become socially active, politically influential, and economically productive— contribute to sustainable growth and development. Greater equity is thus doubly good for poverty reduction: through potential beneficial effects on aggregate long-run development and through greater opportunities for poorer groups within any society. The complementarities between equity and prosperity arise for two broad sets of reasons. First, there are many market failures in developing countries, notably in the markets for credit, insurance, land, and human capital. As a result, resources may not flow where returns are highest. The inequality of education is taken as an example in this report. Some highly capable children from poor family may fail to complete basic education even primary schooling, while others, who are less able, may finish university. When markets are missing or imperfect, the distributions of wealth and power affect the allocation of investment opportunities. Correcting the market failures is the ideal response; where this is not feasible, or far too costly, some forms of redistribution— of access to services, assets, or political influence—can increase economic efficiency. From the World Bank’s perspective, the second set of reasons why equity and long-term prosperity can be complementary arises from the fact that high levels of economic and political inequality tend to lead to economic institutions and social arrangements that systematically favor the interests of those with more influence. Such inequitable governments can generate economic costs. When personal and property rights are enforced only selectively, when budgetary allocations benefit mainly the politically influential, and when the distribution of public services favors the wealthy, both middle and poorer groups end up with unexploited talent. Society, as a whole, is then likely  to be more inefficient and to miss out on opportunities for innovation and investment, which will accordingly have negative impact on the economic development. At the global level, when developing countries have little or no voice in global governance, the rules can be inappropriate and costly for poorer countries. These adverse effects of unequal opportunities and political power on development are all the more damaging because economic, political, and social inequalities tend to reproduce themselves over time and across generations. Such phenomena was named by the economists of the World Bank as ‘â€Å"inequality traps’, as we mentioned in the very beginning. Disadvantaged children from families at the bottom of the wealth distribution do not have the same opportunities as children from wealthier families to receive quality education, which really does matter for a qualified labor force in the future. So these disadvantaged children can expect to earn less as adults. At the same time, because the poor have less voice in the political process, they—like their parents—will be less able to influence spending decisions to improve public schools for their children. And the cycle of underachievement continues. This report documents the persistence of these inequality traps by highlighting the interaction between different forms of inequality. It presents evidence that the inequality of opportunity that arises is wasteful and inimical to sustainable development and poverty reduction. It also derives policy implications that center on the broad concept of leveling the playing field— both politically and economically and in the domestic and the global arenas. If the opportunities faced by children from the poor families are so much more limited than those faced by children from wealthier families, and if this hurts development progress in the aggregate, then public action has a legitimate role in seeking to broaden the opportunities of those who face the most limited choices. Furthermore, this World Bank report addresses three considerations which are  important at the outset. First, while more even playing fields are likely to lead to lower observed inequalities in educational attainment, health status, and incomes, the policy aim is not equality in outcomes. Indeed, even with genuine equality of opportunities, one would always expect to observe some differences in outcomes owing to differences in preferences, talents, effort, and luck. This is consistent with the important role of income differences in providing incentives to invest in education and physical capital, to work, and to take risks. Of course outcomes matter, but we are concerned with them mainly for their influence on absolute deprivation and their role in shaping opportunities. Second, a concern with equality of opportunity implies that public action should focus on the distributions of assets, economic opportunities, and political voice, rather than directly on inequality in incomes. Policies can contribute to the move from an â€Å"inequality trap† to a virtuous circle of equity and growth by leveling the playing field—through greater investment in the human resources of the poorest; greater and more equal access to public services and information; guarantees on property rights for all; and greater fairness in markets. But policies to level the economic playing field face big challenges. There is unequal capacity to influence the policy agenda: the interests of the disenfranchised may never be voiced or represented. And when policies challenge privileges, powerful groups may seek to block reforms. Thus, equitable policies are more likely to be successful when leveling the economic playing field is accompanied by similar efforts to level the domestic political playing field and introduce greater fairness in global governance. Third, there may be various short-run, policy-level tradeoffs between equity and efficiency. These are well recognized and extensively documented. The point is that the (often implicit) cost-benefit calculus that policymakers use to assess the merits of various policies too often ignores the long-term, hard-to-measure but real benefits of greater equity. Greater equity implies more efficient economic functioning, reduced conflict, greater trust, and better institutions, with dynamic benefits for investment  and growth. To the extent that such benefits are ignored, policymakers may end up choosing too little equity. As emphasized by the World Bank, income inequality is not all. However, as a lot of people believe, the greatest challenge ahead is still income inequality. All attempts will fail if this greatest challenge is not tackled. As state redistributive mechanisms have been weakened in the transition toward a market-oriented economy, China has turned into one of the most unequal countries in the world. Inequality, if not reduced, will be a huge barrier of future growth as it undermines consumption, constrains development in poorer regions, and generates social tensions. Income redistribution policies and social safety nets need to be strengthened to close the inequality gap, through increased budget support and improved government’s transfers to poorer provinces and households. In China, the gap between the rich and the poor and between cities and countryside has continued to widen. Since 2003, absolute poverty has dropped remarkably. But at the same time, the number of people in relative poverty (with 50% or less of the median income) grew from 12.2% of the population to 14.6% between 2002 and 2007, according to research by Terry Sicular of the University of Western Ontario and Li Shi and Luo Chuliang of Beijing Normal University. In addition, in 1981, at least 77 per cent of Chinese were in absolute poverty (that is, with family incomes below $1.25 a day). By 2008 this figure had fallen to 13 per cent. But, the bank notes, a far, far smaller group of people have been able to rise above $2 a day, and hundreds of millions appear stuck in this awkward space between the end of starvation and the beginning of actual comfort and hope. Wang Xiaolu, the economist of national economic institution of China reform foundation, thoroughly elaborated the inequality and economic development in China in his 2006 report. Wang mentioned in his report that before China’s economic reforms, the income gap between urban residents was quite small due to the unified wage policy. On the other hand, in rural areas, the income  gap within one region was relatively small. But there was a very large urban rural income gap, as well as significant differences between different regions. To demonstrate the income gap, let us take a look at China’s Gini coefficient. This index is a measurement of the income distribution of a country’s residents. The number, which ranges between 0 and 1 and is based on residents’ net income, helps define the gap between the rich and the poor, with 0 representing perfect equality and 1 representing perfect inequality. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, in 1980 when wa s the very early stage of the economic reforms, China’s Gini coefficient stood at 0.320, which is quite low and indicates a more equal distribution of wealth. After the rural reforms in the early 1980s, farmers’ income significantly increased which led to the reduction of the urban-rural income gap. The Gini coefficient once dropped to 0.257 in 1984, which meant China had been into the more equal income countries ranks of the world. However, in the subsequent period of China economic reforms, the income gap between urban and rural areas, different regions, and different social strata is rapidly expanding regardless the acceleration of economic growth, the rapidly increasing of per capita income. Until 2001, the Gini coefficient reached 0.447, ranking 88 in the world’s 120 countries and regions in the order from low to high. Most of the countries behind China are those in Latin America and Africa with intense social conflicts, of which a considerable part is in a long-term economic stagnation (data from the World Bank, 2004; World Institute for Development Economics, 2004). In recent yearly the situation might be worse. This index has been retreating gradually since hitting a peak of 0.491 in 2008, slight ly dropping to 0.49 in 2009, 0.481 in 2010 and 0.477 in 2011, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Most recently, the Gini index reflecting the gap between rich and poor reached 0.474 in China in 2012, which is still higher than the warning level of 0.4 set by the United Nations. According to the data from the National Bureau of Statistics, in terms of the urban rural income gap in China, the urban per capita disposable income is 2.5 times of the rural per capita net income in 1980, 1.9 times in 1985 and 3.2 times in 2004. With the data mentioned above, if we use the average urban per capita income of each province to measure regional income gaps, we could find out that the figure of eastern regions is 1.3 times of that of western regions in 1980 and 1.5 times in 2004. The statistics are incomplete in terms of the income gap among different social strata, but the huge inequality is an indisputable fact. If we look at urban per capita income in 1985, the highest 10% of households in the income is 2.9 times of the lowest 10% of households in; while in 2004 the highest is 8.7 times of the lowest. If we look at rural per capita income in 1980, the highest 10% is about 7 times of the lowest 10% (rough estimate number), up to approximately 11 times in 2004 (rough estimate number). We should also take into account that household income and expenditure survey for the highest and the lowest income residents are more likely to be missed, as well as high income underreporting of cases. As a result, the actual income gap will be larger than the income gap based on surveys. More than likely the increasingly widen of income disparities between different classes has become the primary factor of income inequality. Growing gap in income distribution is seriously ch allenging the social justice, which easily leads to social instability and economic stagnation. In addition, we must pay great attention to the rich caused by corruption and other non- normal channels and the poor caused by unfair distribution of wealth (such as landless farmers and laid-off workers are not properly compensated, etc. ), which are the important reasons of the widening income gap and induction of social conflict. As we mentioned above, a lot of researchers and economists further noted that the distribution of income reversely has a very important impact to economic growth and severe income inequality will hinder economic growth (e.g. Galor and Zeira 1993and Bourguignon 2003). In a situation of economic stagnation, poverty and income inequality become more difficult to resolve, which turns to be an important reason of pushing many economies into Middle-Income Trap. In several studies of the World Bank in recent years, the economist point out that economic growth plays a decisive influence in reducing poverty, but its effect varies in different. Meanwhile, economic growth shows no significant role in reducing income gaps. In contrast, if the income gap is too large, it will indeed lead to frequent social conflict and accordingly directly affect economic growth. Therefore, for the eradication of poverty and reduction of the huge income gap, the economic growth is a necessary, but only economic growth is not enough (The World Bank reports, 2000, 2003 and 2004). In a research of Wang Xiaolu and Fan Gang in 2005, it was concluded that China’s urban residents’ income gap, rural residents’ income gap as well as the income gap between urban and rural areas have continued to widen with a clear trend, but data of their study does not confirm that the income gap will automatically have the tendency to shrink when per capita GDP reaches a certain level. If the income gap continues to expand, China’s Gini coefficient of income will soon break 0.5 (some articles have concluded that in fact it has exceeded 0.5), and China will become one of the world’s most unequal countries in terms of income. Generally, equality and efficiency may be alternative of each other. The increase of equality in the distribution of income will lead to a decline in economic efficiency, which in some cases exists. However, if several factors discussed below are adjusted, the economic efficiency will not be lost, and the wealth equality will c ontinue to be improved. First, social security is an important measure of reducing the income gap, as it can provide protection and assistance to residents to reduce their financial burden or increase their income when they are in the face of illness, unemployment, retirement and low income, etc. But this approach is constrained by the level of economic development. As Wang and Fan point out in their report, social security and transfer payments beyond the affordability will result in heavy social burden and negatively affect economic development, investment and employment initiative. At present, China’s pension insurance, basic pension insurance, unemployment insurance and minimum living security system are still running in a very low level, and only conditionally implemented in urban areas and a few rural areas. Fully implementing these social securities in all rural areas will go beyond the current financial affordability. Even in cities and towns, the current  social security system does not play an active role in reducing the income gap. On the contrary, it has the effect of widening the income gap between urban residents. This is mainly because this social security system is still with a considerable degree of coverage limitations, particularly in the low income people and the mobile labor force. More importantly, the population without coverage is precisely the low income population which is most in need of social protection by these insurance systems. On the other hand, high income residents benefit from these social security systems significantly higher than low income residents. According to a survey of the National Economic Research Institute, the Medicare reimbursement for medical expenses in low income urban residents is much lower than that in high income urban residents. Moreover, the proportion of Medicare reimbursement for the former is lower than the latter, while the proportion of self-paid medical expense in the expenditure for the former is significantly higher than the latter. Therefore, how to ensure the current social security systems to cover urban workers not in the social security system yet as soon as possible will be a critical issue to be addressed. At the same time, social security issues of rural residents need certainly also be placed on the agenda as soon as possible. Long-term difference in treatment between urban and rural residents is not fair. However, this issue needs a longer period of time to gradually resolve due to limited financial resources. A few wealthy rural regions have already established a unified social security system conditions. For residents of most rural areas, although the conditions of establishment of a comprehensive social security system are not mutual, some pressing issues still need to be prioritized to solve, such as the problem of farmers have no money to see a doctor. The new rural cooperative medical care system needs to be quickly spread. Experiences of some rural areas have demonstrated that cooperative medical care system is very effective to protect the low income population. On the other hand, according to international experience, financial transfer payment is also one of the main approaches to eliminate the income gap and regional disparity. As Wang Xiaolu points out in his report in 2006, in this regard in China, in addition to financial support for agriculture, pension  and social welfare and supporting underdeveloped regions expenditures, tax return from central government to local government as well as the construction investment of key projects in the less developed regions, in fact, have been performed financial transfer payment function. The total amount of financial transfer payment is quite large. However, some studies have found that financial transfer payment did not play a significant role in reducing income disparities and regional development gaps. In Wang’s opinion, this is mainly caused by the following reasons, First, the transfer payments are lacking of a rigorous and standardized system as well as standards of implementation. Hence the transfer payments’ strongly subjective profile makes their role in reducing income disparities and regional development gaps greatly reduced. Second, the transfer payments do not have clear objectives and their structures are not reasonable. The proportion of the transfer payments for general investment projects and government expenditures is too high while that for alleviating poverty and decreasing the bottle neck of development of backward areas (such as insufficient education and other public expenditure, weak infrastructure, etc. All of those are impediments to economic development) underfunded. It makes the transfer payments difficult to play a critical role in reducing the income gap. Third, there are no strict and effective measures to oversee the usage as well as the effect of transfer payments. For example, in some poor areas, the government poverty alleviation and disaster relief funds were frequently misappropriated to cover office buildings, luxury cars and government staff bonuses. Due to lack of management and supervision, some of the earmarks turned into waste, and provided the chances for some rent-seeking and  corrupt government officials. Therefore, for transfer payments, the main problems now seem not to be the quantity, but rather setting up clear objectives and rationalization of the system to regulate the management and to strengthen supervision. These measures will reduce the income gap. At the same time, they will not reduce economic efficiency, but improve efficiency, reduce corruption and promote development. In addition to social security system and financial transfer payments, education and infrastructure also play the similarly important role in the relationship of equality and economic efficiency. According to Wang’s research, many domestic and foreign literatures have pointed out that education plays a crucial role in the promotion of economic development; moreover, education to the whole population helps to reduce the income gap. In 2004 the National Economic Research Institute conducted a survey on the income of mobile labor force. Across the country, 3,000 randomly selected migrant workers and self-employed persons from rural areas were classified according to the average monthly income. The results are as following: for those not graduated from primary school the average monthly income is 769 yuan, for primary school graduated 815 yuan, for junior high school graduated 960 yuan, for high school graduated 1268 yuan, for college and above 1554 yuan. This very clearly illustrates the level of education greatly impacts on income levels. Obviously, improving education is a fundamental way to improve the employability and income levels of low income population. On one hand, currently there are hundreds of millions of rural labor force migrates into cities and towns to work. On the other hand, there are three hundred million people who are still engaged in agriculture, with wages of a small fraction of the average urban per capita. They are waiting to continue to transfer to cities. But most of them are facing low level of education, lack of vocational skills and oversupply in the labor market. Meanwhile, a lot of city workers returned to the status of poverty due to layoffs and unemployment. It’s very difficult for them to get reemployment because of the lack of professional skills. However, the labor market needs workers with a higher level of education and professional skills but has to facing  the reality of supply shortage. Therefore, in order to narrowing the income gap, it is very critical to enhance the popularity of primary and secondary education and expanding vocational education. In Wang’s research, he found out that China’s per capita level of education exhibits unexpected negative impact on urban residents income gap. Surprisingly, higher level of education led to a widening income gap. This is a strong signal that China’s education -age population is facing unequal educational opportunities, and educational opportunities for high income groups are significantly greater than the low income population. As a result, the per capita level of education increases, while the income gap has not narrowed. Instead, the income inequality is expanding. If we look at the popularization of compulsory nine years education in China, you will find in recent years, pupils’ dropout rate in rural areas was significantly higher than that in urban areas, with many dropout of school due to poverty situation in rural areas. This point can also be reflected from the allocation of education funds. Especially a few key universities get large amount of fund s, while a great number of rural primary and secondary education underfunded. Compared the situation in 2003 with that in 1999, the state financial allocations to universities increased by 40.4 billion yuan (in another word, increase 85%), while state financial allocations to ordinary primary and junior high schools increased by 52.5 billion yuan (increase 79%) and 49.8 billion yuan (increase of 65%), respectively. Although the situation has improved to various degrees, but this increase did not exceed the revenue and expenditure growth rate (90% and 87%). Even so, in 2003 the national average education budget per 420,000 primary schools is only less than 30 million, of which the budget allocation in rural schools is far less than that of urban schools. Some individual prestigious university obtained an education funding up to ten billion. Excessively unbalanced distribution of educational resources not only will exacerbate income inequality, but also is not helpful for efficient allocation of education resources. Another educational problem to be solved is how to correctly handle the relationship of general education and vocational education. Although in China currently there’re more than 4million people each year go into  colleges for education, but there are also more than 17 million people directly get employment without higher education. For the labor market, each year the number of demand for workers with the level of secondary education as well as specialized skills far exceeds in number of the demand for college graduates. However, the current dominant position of general secondary education is still basically to provide students into college In another word, the main objective of general secondary schools is the examination-oriented education and does not pay attention to skills training. The dominant ideology of the entire education system is to measure the success of education by entering the university or not. Four out of five school-age youth entered the labor market as the losers of their education. This reality has incalculable negative impact on workers’ skills, work ethic and healthy psychology, according to Wang’s report. At the same time, secondary vocational and other professional education live in a subordinate position in the education system, with very limited quantity. Compared the situation in 2003 with that in 1999, the state financial allocations to secondary vocational schools increased by 300 million yuan (an increase of 2.5%), and state financial allocations to technical schools decreased by 400 million yuan (down 16% )and vocational schools increased by 3 billion (an increase of 42% increase ). These increases are negligible compared to the funding’s growth of universities and ordinary primary and secondary. Such education dislocation makes the most of new entrants to the labor market is lacking of professional skills, and their low level knowledge on employment helps rather limited. In addition, local education and vocational education system’s exclusion for migrant workers and their children is also need to be carefully addressed. Like South Korea, China needs to focus on creating a highly qualified workforce so that they can increase innovation. South Korea adopted a policy to intensify investments in education and innovation in preparation for this. This policy aided South Korea in developing a plan for long term growth as opposed to short term consumption driven growth. Meanwhile, the World Bank has just released its detailed report: China 2030: Building a Modern, Harmonious, and Creative High-Income Society. In this report the World Bank believes that the export-led model that has delivered the past  30-years of growth and development in China has now run its course. From the World Bank’s perspective, China can only succeed in becoming a modern, high income country if it implements a six-step series of reforms. Not surprisingly, to increase innovation and to reduce inequality are among these six reforms as following, ï‚ · Accelerate the pace of innovation and create an open innovation system in which competitive pressures encourage Chinese firms to engage in product and process innovation not only through their own research and development but also by participating in global research and development networks. Essentially, the World Bank recommends that China seek to move away from being an imitator to an innovator in its own right. Reducing inequality by expanding opportunities and promoting social security for all by facilitating equal access to jobs, finance, quality social services, and portable social security. With regard to infrastructure construction in recent years, transportation, communication and other conditions as well as the urban landscape have significantly improved. But we should note the imbalance in the allocation of resources. In many areas, much more emphasis and attentions were put on the facade construction, highway construction and urban centers transformation than that on rural infrastructure in remote areas. On the one hand, highways are vacant or rarely used in some less developed regions. On the other hand, there are 173 towns and more than 50,000 administrative villages still inaccessible by road, the latter accounting for 8% of the total number of administrative villages across the whole country, according to Wang’s research. For these remote areas, the weak infrastructure is an important cause leading to poverty and backwardness. In summary, China’s development level is still at the low level. Hoping to rely on transfer payments to drastically eliminate the income gap is unrealistic. What the governments should focus on is to provide more equal opportunities and conditions in education, infrastructure and other areas. Investment in these  areas will provide human resources and infrastructure supply better meeting the social and market needs. By doing them, it is entirely possible to improve residents’ economic situation. China is facing the continually widen income gap. If this critical issue could be reasonably resolved, Chinese social justice, harmony and long term economic development will be able to be ensured. . Otherwise, China may turn into a society with huge income gap, serious social conflict, power and money collusion, corruption and plunder prevailed, which will eventually result in economic stagnation. Middle-income trap will be impossible to avoid in this case. As we mentioned above, there are several factors leading to the current expansion of the income gap or blocking reduction of the income gap. These factors include that social security system is not sound, the financial transfer payment system is with flaw, educational opportunities are not fair enough, the education system is not conducive to the promotion of employment, weak infrastructure in rural and backward areas, lack of job opportunities as well as the irrational distribution of resources and corruption and other social in equities due to the not perfect system. To resolve these issues, it’s urgent to perform further reform and development. The following most crucial problems need to be addressed: to solve the fairness of education, to solve the disjointed issues between educations, economic development as well as employment, to create more job opportunities through economic development and urbanization, to correct government’s action, eventually eliminates the problem of corruption and unfair distribution through administrative reform. Resolving these problems not only will not affect economic efficiency, but also will ensure the impartiality of Chinese social harmony, economic efficiency and long-term sustainable development.