Adr – Alternative Dispute Resolution

ADR is an assortment of systems in which conflicts can be resolved without litigation and the courts. Types of alternative dispute resolution are arbitration, mediation, and negotiations. Without the litigation process, alternative methods provide fast and efficient results without the high cost and long litigations (Cheeseman R. Henry). Learning Team Dispute Conflicts, disputes, or disagreements among team members will be initially settle and handle through proper communication and negotiation between team members.ADR will be exclusive for those disputes and problems that can not be resolve in a timely manner and are affecting the team to achieve goals and deliver their projects. Some conflicts are necessary to bring new perspectives and different points of view among a diverse group of people. They enhance positive productivity, responsiveness, and effectiveness in achieving goals. Disagreements that are subject to an alternative dispute clause †¢ Violation of conduct code. â € ¢ Lack of participation. †¢ Minimum communication. †¢ Poor performance. †¢ Negative attitude toward the team. Late delivery of assignments that can affect the team members. Type of Alternative Dispute Resolution for Learning Team This type of ADR will be used to resolve disagreements among the learning team members during the length of this course, and will be suitable for use by any learning team in any course of the program. Mediation This method involves an attempt by the team members to resolve the dispute with the help of a neutral third party; in this case the mediator will be the instructor. The instructor’s role will be advisory, he or she may offer suggestions but the resolution will be made by the team members themselves.Mediation proceedings will be confidential and private. The team members will be in control of the outcome for the settlement of the dispute. In mediation, the third neutral party is involved to help facilitate the teams own settl ement process. They will agree to the procedures and to the individual who will assist in the dispute resolution process (LLL, 2010).Reference: Cheeseman R. Henry 2010 Chapter 3: Judicial, Alternative, and Online Dispute Resolution ‘Lectric Law Library. (2010). A Beginner’s Guide to Alternative Dispute Resolution.

Over the Rainbow Essay

What transforms a piece of information into evidence? when it comes from a reputable source when it is supported by a citation when it is used to support or refute something when it uses transitional words and phrases If a hard fact or visual representation of a fact is needed, which method of incorporating evidence would be most effective? summarizing providing data paraphrasing quoting If you would like to emphasize a particularly authoritative source, what method of incorporating evidence should you use? summarizing paraphrasing quoting providing data If you’d like to provide background information regarding a topic using a source, which method of incorporating evidence would be most effective? providing data paraphrasing quoting summarizing If you wanted to write a paper analyzing how John Milton uses language in the epic poem Paradise Lost, which method of incorporating evidence would be most effective? quoting paraphrasing summarizing providing data What do you need to do to avoid a floating quotation? rephrase each direct quotation in your own words give parenthetical citations for each direct quotation make sure each quotation is placed within a paragraph introduce and provide context for each quotation How do you summarize a passage? borrowing the exact words from the source restating a section of text from the source expressing the main ideas of the passage in your own words restating at least five facts in your own words When using a direct quotation, how do you signify that the words are not yours? quotation marks in-text citations parenthetical citations works cited page Which action should you never take when selecting quotations? choosing the fewest words needed  changing the meaning of the quotation by changing the context quoting long passages (block quotations) rarely  adjusting the sentence to fit the grammar of the quotation How do you paraphrase a passage? expressing, in your own words, the main ideas of the passage restating, in your own words, a section of text from the source borrowing the exact words from the source restating at least five facts in your own words How does the MLA style of citation work? brief in-text citations connected to a works cited page brief in-text citations connected to parenthetical citations a works cited page connected to a list of parenthetical citations at the end parenthetical citations connected to an alphabetical list of in-text citations at the beginning If you’d like to provide background information regarding a topic using a source, which method of incorporating evidence would be most effective? providing data paraphrasing quoting summarizing Which action should you never take when selecting quotations? choosing the fewest words needed changing the meaning of the quotation by changing the context quoting long passages (block quotations) rarely adjusting the sentence to fit the grammar of the quotation When using a direct quotation, how do you signify that the words are not yours? quotation marks in-text citations parenthetical citations works cited page How do you summarize a passage? borrowing the exact words from the source restating a section of text from the source expressing the main ideas of the passage in your own words restating at least five facts in your own words What is an example of a reference marker that a source might use? quotation print Web page numbering Which of the following is an example of plagiarism? using too many in-text citations using the Internet to conduct research failing to format properly the title of the works cited page failing to cite direct or indirect quotations In the MLA style, what are in-text citations called? parenthetical citations works cited entries brief sources antiplagiarism notes What do you need to do to avoid a floating quotation? rephrase each direct quotation in your own words give parenthetical citations for each direct quotation make sure each quotation is placed within a paragraph introduce and provide context for each quotation Which statement about the ellipsis is true? I. An ellipsis indicates the omission of a word or words. II. It is appropriate for an ellipsis to appear in any part of a sentence. III. A single space between the periods is necessary when using an ellipsis. I only II and III I and III I, II, and III Based on the passage above, which of the following reflects the correct use of the colon? At the beginning of his essay â€Å"The Insufficiency of Honesty,† Stephen L. Carter establishes a definition for integrity: â€Å"discerning what is right and what is wrong; acting on what you have discerned, even at personal cost; and saying openly that you are acting on your understanding of right and wrong.† At the beginning of his essay: â€Å"The Insufficiency of Honesty,† Stephen L. Carter establishes a definition for integrity, â€Å"discerning what is right and what is wrong; acting on what you have discerned, even at personal cost; and saying openly that you are acting on  your understanding of right and wrong.† At the beginning of his essay â€Å"The Insufficiency of Honesty†: Stephen L. Carter establishes a definition for integrity â€Å"discerning what is right and what is wrong; acting on what you have discerned, even at personal cost; and sayi ng openly that you are acting on your understanding of right and wrong.† At the beginning: of his essay â€Å"The Insufficiency of Honesty,† Stephen L. Carter establishes a definition for integrity, â€Å"discerning what is right and what is wrong; acting on what you have discerned, even at personal cost; and saying openly that you are acting on your understanding of right and wrong.† Based on the passage above, which of the following reflects the correct use of brackets? â€Å"[W]hen I refer to integrity, I have something very specific in mind,† states Carter in his essay. It is important to remember that â€Å"[w]hen [he] refer[s] to integrity, [Carter has] something very specific in mind.† â€Å"Referring to integrity† is something that is important to [Carter]. According to Carter, â€Å"he [has] something specific [integrity] in mind.† Which of the following reflects the proper punctuation of the above sentence? â€Å"Should states require adolescents to be eighteen before obtaining a driver’s license (Bipin)?† Should states â€Å"require adolescents to be eighteen before obtaining a driver’s license† (Bipin)? Should states, â€Å"require adolescents to be eighteen before obtaining a driver’s license?† Bipin. â€Å"Should states require adolescents to be eighteen before obtaining a driver’s license?† Bipin. Which statement about quotation marks is true? I. Quotation marks set apart short quotations. II. Typically, a direct quotation requires three quotation marks. III. Commas used to introduce short quotations appear outside the quotation marks. II only I and II II and III I and III Based on the passage above, which of the following reflects the correct use of quotation marks? â€Å"When I refer to integrity,† I have something specific in mind, states Carter. Carter states that the first criterion states that integrity requires a degree of â€Å"moral reflectiveness.† â€Å"acting on what you have discerned is one of the â€Å"three steps† of Carter’s definition of integrity.† According to Carter, integrity â€Å"includes keeping one’s commitments.† Based on the passage above, which of the following reflects the correct use of parentheses? In his definition of integrity, (Carter) states that â€Å"discerning what is right and what is wrong . . . captures the idea that integrity requires a degree of moral reflectiveness.† The essay begins with the claim that â€Å"discerning what is right and what is wrong . . . captures the idea that integrity requires a degree of moral reflectiveness.† (Carter) Regarding integrity, â€Å"discerning what is right and what is wrong . . . captures the idea that integrity requires a degree of moral reflectiveness† (Carter). (Carter) writes, â€Å"[D]iscerning what is right and what is wrong . . . captures the idea that integrity requires a degree of moral reflectiveness.† Which of the following reflects the proper punctuation of the above sentence? â€Å"Why do parents underestimate the significance of writing in one’s journal Hartwig asks?† â€Å"Why do parents underestimate the significance of writing in one’s journal,† Hartwig asks? â€Å"Why do parents underestimate the significance of writing in one’s journal?† Hartwig asks. â€Å"Why do parents underestimate the significance of writing in one’s journal? Hartwig asks†. Which of the following reflects the proper punctuation of the above sentence? Reading from a book each night before bed, â€Å"according to Jang,† encourages the brain to remember the text. â€Å"Reading from a book each night before bed,† according to Jang, â€Å"encourages the brain to remember the text.† . . . [R]eading from a book each night before bed according to Jang encourages the brain to remember the text? â€Å"Reading from a book each night before bed (according to Jang) encourages the brain to remember the text†. Which statement about parentheses is true? I. Parentheses often appear at the end of the sentence. II. Citations for a direct quotation need to be set apart by parentheses. III. Periods always come after the parentheses. I only I and II II and III I, II, and III Based on the passage above, which of the following reflects the correct use of brackets? â€Å"[W]hen I refer to integrity, I have something very specific in mind,† states Carter in his essay. It is important to remember that â€Å"[w]hen [he] refer[s] to integrity, [Carter has] something very specific in mind.† â€Å"Referring to integrity† is something that is important to [Carter]. According to Carter, â€Å"he [has] something specific [integrity] in mind.† Which statement about the ellipsis is true? I. An ellipsis indicates the omission of a word or words. II. It is appropriate for an ellipsis to appear in any part of a sentence. III. A single space between the periods is necessary when using an ellipsis. I only II and III I and III I, II, and III Which statement about parentheses is true? I. Parentheses often appear at the end of the sentence. II. Citations for a direct quotation need to be set apart by parentheses. III. Periods always come after the parentheses. I only I and II II and III I, II, and III

Leadership in Workplace Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Leadership in Workplace - Research Paper Example Trust is the basis for success in every interpersonal association, both individual as well as social. Trust is the assurance or confidence an individual feels for a particular person or group. Thus, trust is one of the most important connecting forces in any interpersonal association. It allows individuals to rise above uncertainties and have peace of mind. The lack of trust creates uncertainty, concern, and apprehension. When interpersonal trust is there, a person experiences an assurance that everything will work out in some way. At the place of work, trust is a must for successful interpersonal interactions. Lacking trust, workers may experience ambiguity, anxiety, and a sense of uncertainty. No association, on individual or social level, can survive for even a small period of time if some aspect of trust is not there. Trust is an important leadership training component that unites any human association into a successful, effective partnership. Importance of Building Trust â€Å" Trust is an emotional as well as a rational act† (Reina & Reina, 2006). The emotions linked with it consist of friendliness, appreciation, safety, assurance, recognition, awareness, esteem, admiration, fondness, positive reception, satisfaction, and contentment - all of them essential components of psychosomatic wellbeing. â€Å"The logic of it is grounded in assessments of a party’s dependability, which play a significant role in decisions to trust† (Bednarz & Pawlak, 2011). As anticipated, there are various intensities to trust, reliant on why one gives trust as well as why it is acknowledged: identifying the different forms of trust informs decision making on every level. Within organizations, business processes are carries out by means of interaction. In view of the fact that trust is the basis of successful dealings, it makes sense that organizations can gather advantages from reinforcing it. In fact, high-trust situations associate completely with high leve ls of human resources participation, dedication, and organizational accomplishment. Certain benefits incorporate better assessment; accelerated development; better modernization; encouraging, transparent associations with employees and other shareholders; improved teamwork and collaborating; completely aligned structures and methods; sharp reliability; dominant involvements of flexible energy; strong improvement, commitment, assurance, and devotion; enhanced implementation; better adaptableness; and robust maintenance and replacement of well-informed staff. â€Å"Nothing is as relevant as the ubiquitous impact of high trust† (Bednarz & Pawlak, 2011). Trust - A Key Leadership Ability In companies, executives are originators of trust and are required to play a vital role in finding out its general level as well as particular beliefs in individual work units. Their capability to start, develop, expand, and reinstate trust is a most important managerial proficiency. A number of i ndividuals say that expanding trust is the primary job of every manager, to be carried out in ways that release the flair, imagination, aptitude, and involvement of individuals as well as teams and allow them to offer their best in synergy with others. The tasks of leaders cover five

Canadian Blood Services Analysis Research Paper

Canadian Blood Services Analysis - Research Paper Example Introduction It has been the wish of Canadian Blood Services to continue saving lives through supplying adequate blood. Nonetheless, it is quite obvious that the blood supply is barely enough to meet the increasing demand resulting from the ageing population as well as increased number of emergencies and elective surgeries. As a result, this has called for development of efficient and effective strategies aimed at increasing blood supply through increased donors as well as repeat donations. This memo contains SWOT analysis and strategies that can be used to attain increased blood supply are outlined. Discussion Objectives of Canadian Blood Services Canadian Blood Services is an organization that attempts to motivate people to donate blood. The organization’s main objective is to increase the number of donors to approximately 400,000 and donor retention statistics in order to meet the challenges of increasing blood demand. Increasing blood demand is associated with ageing popul ation, increased emergencies and elective surgeries, and the need to reduce waiting time. Attaining this objective however, requires effective motivational strategies. SWOT Analysis In order to identify the best strategies that will lead to increased blood supply from donors, there is need to understand the strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats surrounding CBS. The SWOT analysis exhibit 1 displays some of the strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats facing the organization. Market Segmentation Market segmentation is an important aspect in marketing since it provides an overview and vista to identify specific groups of persons or individuals to focus on while using promotional strategies to influence their behaviors. There are two forms or categories of market segment that CBS should focus on in a bid to increasing number of donors and repeated donations. These two categories are non-remunerated and remunerated blood donation market segments. Remunerated Blood Donati on Segment: The remunerated blood donation segment involves individuals who are above 17 years of age. These individuals are reached out to through mails, flyers, or word or mouth. In most cases, the segment obtains financial incentives from CBS hence termed as remunerated blood donation segment. CBS has concentrated so much on this segment given that they are the majority within the country. However, the main challenge the organization faces is to motivate this segment in order to increase blood donations. Non-remunerated Blood Donation Segment: This segment contains three main groups; schools individuals aged between 15 and 24, working individuals between age 25 and 24, and the senior donors aged above 55 years. The first two categories of this segment are often influenced by their friends who have donated before. Other ways through which they are motivated to donate include satisfaction in saving another person’s life, the need for acceptance, friendship, and love, and the conviction that some day they will be in the same situation. Reaching the school and working age is usually through internet, school learning programs, word of mouth, mails, and television programs. Notably, such individuals rarely donate blood since their donations depend on donation program in schools, time, and other obligations. The senior donors (aged above 55 years) on the other hand make donating decisions depending on personal

Home depot Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Home depot - Essay Example Home Depot had been doing quite well in growing from 1 to 1,000 big box stores in 21 years. It reached the $40 billion faster than anyone ever has (Charon, 2006). Their success was tied to the fact that they seemed like a warehouse, including the fact that they were cluttered and their lighting was not great. Their culture was one of having a huge inventory would sell a huge inventory. Store managers did pretty much what they wanted to do and there was very little in the way of consequences to pay. In fact, most of these managers did not know whether they were doing well or not. This is the atmosphere and culture that Robert Nardelli walked into. He seemed to be direct opposite of the culture that was presently within this corporation. He used techniques from his leadership style that very much mimic what Schein would say would work. He decided to first go to the core of the beliefs that Home Deport management had. This according to Shien is where the overall assumptions that employees and management have about their organization. In this case Home Depot thought they were successful and that that success was built upon the casual attitude they had, including how their stores were run. However, it's share price was dropping and the competition was doing well. Mr. Nordelli also wanted to extend services which Home Depot had seen themselves as a big box business that mostly men visited. To make this happen, Mr. Nordelli had to tackle the other two layers. The values of this company have been that the management team was had made all their own decisions regardless of what the corporation thought, sometimes sabotaging deals they did not agree with. They had previously been very autonomous. He changed this by giving them information that blatantly showed what their own production looked like and how successful they were. He then held them accountable for their own performance with the expectation that it would improve and the values of those who stayed began to change. They actually became a very cohesive group. Those things that Shein (2009) would call artifacts included those things such as a messy story with little signage and heaped product. One visit to Lowe's gave them new insight as to where their artifact was headed. Women were shopping at Lowe's as well as men and they were talking about the new big box everywhere. This had to change and the only way the new leadership would see that is to be confronted and they were. However, Nordelli was just the beginning for Home Depot. When Nordelli left, Donovan arrived. He found that though some things had been tightened up there was a long ways to go. He found that managers were not as accountable as they seemed and they were getting excellent reviews even when their stores were failing. He also saw that there were different standards according to where the store was. He put into place a culture change toolbox which many corporations have picked up to use at this stage. The culture toolbox (Charon, 2006), included new artifacts such as data templates, reviews and conference calls, new values which were driven through those artifacts and strategic and operating planning and Monday morning conference calls and new assumptions at the core brought on through all of the change that occurred through these changes. In conclusion, Home Depot was successful from the

Justify Punishment in Modern Society Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Justify Punishment in Modern Society - Assignment Example The other just has to do with punishing a person who has committed a crime, leaving a victim who seeks retribution. 2. Although the saying â€Å"crime does not pay† is widely popular, I would have to disagree with this statement. The connotation of this saying is that a criminal will always get caught. However, the police department is swamped with unsolved and cold cases. Our judicial system also finds itself often foiled by a technicality that often sets a criminal free. There are many ways and means that a criminal can get out of the accusations provided he has a good lawyer who knows how to find and work loopholes in the law. That is why I cannot agree with this statement. 3. The Quakers were of the idea that criminals could be reformed if they were imprisoned in a building that looked blank and lifeless upon their entrance. The Quakers strongly believed that in a place where a solitary, and sad existence was the way of life for the prisoner, he would have time to reflect upon his crimes which would, in turn, make him penitent and convince him to reform his ways upon leaving the penitentiary. To correctly quote the Quaker policy on solitary confinement; No prisoner is seen by another after he enters the wall. When the years of confinement have passed, his old associates in crime will be scattered over the earth, or in the grave and the prisoner can go forth into a new and industrious life, where his previous misdeeds are unknown. (Walsh, â€Å"Black Hoods and Iron Gags†) The end result of this Quaker experiment? Most of the inmates either went insane or died after a few months. That is why the penitentiary saw itself being reformed by 1903 to become more humane in the treatment of the inmates. 4.The issues of social class, gender, age, and victim characteristics are often pointed to as having a tremendous influence on the jury and judge when it comes to sentencing the guilty party. However, aside from juvenile related crimes, social class, and gender are not really considered by the judge when sentencing the guilty party because those are not part of the official lawful criteria to be considered in the sentencing of a guilty party. Instead, the extent of the guilt of the person based upon the gravity of the offense and victim characteristics, cruelty of the offender, circumstances of the case, number of offenses the guilty party has committed, and whether he was the main offender or accessory all play a role in determining the sentence of the guilty party.

Critical Approaches to Human Resource Management Essay

Critical Approaches to Human Resource Management - Essay Example Over the past decade, Boxall and Purcell (2011) posit that the worker engagement levels in the US have significantly fallen. As a result, a people strategy that is effective should be devised to stimulate high levels of engagement of employees in order to gain the much sort after competitive advantage in the most dynamic business environment to ever exist globally (Woods and West, 2010). Numerous studies have been conducted by dozens of firms and researchers with respect to the value of employee engagement (Holbeche and Springett, 2003). All these studies have employed varied research methods, employee engagement measures, in addition to the extensive variety of varied measures of financial and operational performance; yet they all lead to the same conclusion, that â€Å"employee engagement or disengagement has a huge impact on the financial performance of individual organisations, and in the aggregate, a significant impact on the performance of the U.S. economy as a whole† (S chaufeli, Bakker and Salanova, 2006:703) The Role of Engagement The global economy has been experiencing significant shifts in the past decade (Woods and West, 2010). ... Despite the fact that new strategies have been devised to respond to these shifts; Harter, Schmidt and Hayes (2002) believe that it is essential that the organisation’s success alongside the high performance of workers be maintained. According to Boxall, Purcell and Wright (2007), the key strategy to implement to ensure this is to introduce processes that measure and improve the work engagement of the employees. Past research has over and over again made known that employee engagement has powerful links with a number of success factors in business organisations, for instance (Holbeche and Springett, 2003): i. Employee productivity ii. Employee efficiency/performance iii. Employee safety iv. Employee attendance and retention v. Profitability vi. Customer loyalty and retention vii. Customer service and satisfaction Economic instabilities are on and off events and the way different business organisations react to these shifts in the economy determines or rather predict if the com pany will survive or how well it will succeed (Roberts and Davenport, 2002). Many organisations tend to focus less on management of their talent as well as on engaging their employees during periods of crisis and uncertain business forecasts and instead direct their efforts towards devising strategies to reduce costs incurred via slicing of bonuses, salaries, rewards, in addition to costs involving development of employees (Attridge, 2009). Furthermore, Redman and Wilkinson (2009) report that some leaders without an eye for the future may go to an extend of thinking that employee engagement is not important since their employees are left with few or no options and as a result they will stay put in the organisation due to their need for job security. On the other hand, smart leaders with

Public argument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Public argument - Essay Example We have the responsibility to protect the wild in the best way possible with consideration that they are also meant to get used to the new habitats and evade extinction. This paper supports the argument in favor of zoos. The main reasons include provision of learning opportunities, for animal protection, and reducing extinction. In addition, this paper disagrees with leaving the animals in the wild to expose them to fear, hunger, injury, disease, cruelty, human conflicts, and loss of habitats. In the debate on zoos ethos largely support zoos. Throughout the world, wild animals are subjected to harsh dangers in the wild yet a little interest in the position of animals in human lives or establishments of meanings through human and animal intersections could save their lives (Rothfels 481). For years, the zoo has been understood as a cultural object that cannot be dismissed by the academy that considers them as places for the intelligent to gain more intelligent. Evidently, zoos have been sought by people since their inception and continue being sought both to pass interaction with extraordinary zoo animals, and to acknowledge that the conception and thought of human history involves even the encounter with nonhumans. Besides interacting with animals and understanding human history, zoos offer humans the opportunity to interpret the world as being in a position to provide environments that are beyond human expectations cute; rare; ferocious; and elusive (Rothfels 482). It is for such reasons that many flock zoos yearly, and pay large sums of money to experience pleasure through the recreation offered in these places. Contrary to the opinion that zoos bring captivity, the lives of animals in zoos vastly differs from that of members of the same species living in the wild. Pathos presents a great strategy in support of zoos. A great difference is evident in the lives of

Criminology 11 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Criminology 11 - Research Paper Example Certainly to a victim of crime the sentencing phase is the most critical part of the justice system. The Canadian system incorporates the input of the victim whenever practical to do so. In this way the sentencing process focuses on addressing the damage inflicted by the offender’s actions and its impact on the victim and to society, instead of focusing exclusively on the punishment aspect. If the person accused of a crime either pleads or is found guilty, the court has many options. Prior to sentencing the judge generally requests a pre-sentencing report which provides information regarding the accused party’s realistic prospects for rehabilitation. It also assesses the potential threat to the community they present. While preparing the report, the parole officer usually contacts the victim to establish the nature and significance of the physical, psychological, financial and material harms they suffered. (â€Å"Victims,† 2011). The Canadian government reformed the Criminal Code in September 1996. Included in these comprehensive reforms is sentencing guidelines that promote reparations for the various injuries inflicted on victims and the community. In addition, the sentencing guidelines are meant to teach the offender a sense of responsibility and appreciation of the hurt caused to the victim(s) and to society. Both of these objectives demonstrate the restorative nature of the sentencing phase in the Canadian system of justice. However, this rethinking of sentencing procedures does not replace but adds to the traditional objectives of sentencing such as deterrence, denunciation and rehabilitation. The addition of restorative sentencing in 1996 was referred to as a â€Å"watershed marking the most significant reform to the law of sentencing in Canada’s history† by the Supreme Court of Canada when considering the Gladue decision. (â€Å"Making,† 2012). The high court

Major medical condition Essay Example for Free

Major medical condition Essay Virtual communities are a good example of how social exploration is impacted by ICT (and impacts) human interaction. A virtual community is an Internet-based medium where persons can ‘post’ thoughts, ideas, and opinions they would like to share with others. People experience a connection and social interaction through the virtual management of information in a digital medium. The virtual community allows information to be gain an open diversity that promotes the broadening of â€Å"horizons in terms of connecting with people of different backgrounds† (Ward p 101 1999). Citizens of the virtual community are not geographically secluded to their local culture, and therefore the management of information across the virtual community â€Å"seems to add to the interest and depth of the community† (Ward p 101 1999). ICT convergence allows for the Internet to be used for communication in multiple manners. The Internet is the medium where internet telephony, phone text message or SMS, online chat or IM, email, podcast, blog, and so forth take place. There is not another medium for transfer of digital information, but there are multiple and convergent methods (cell phone, computer, PDA) to utilize in the transfer. Internet telephony is one example of ICT convergence that has changes the manner in which society communicates. This refers to technology that enables routing of voice conversations over the Internet or any other IP network. The voice data flows over a general-purpose packet-switched network, instead of the traditional dedicated, circuit-switched voice transmission lines. The home computer or mobile laptop can function as a home based telephone, which allows for multiple social connections to be made. Phone text messages, instant messages, online chat and Short Message Service (SMS) are computer programs that enable two-way typing to connect users to each other. Available on digital networks these allow text messages of written characters to be sent and received via the network message centre to the mobile phone, or from the Internet. If the digital device is powered off or out of range, messages are stored in the network and are delivered at later. This increases the opportunity of social connectivity to overcome the concern of time and place, as messages can now be written and received instantly rather than left on a traditional answering machine, and accessed instantly or at a later time. Society places a profound monetary value on information communication technology. People pay for cellular phone access and satellite television. People purchase subscriptions to access the Internet for the ability to make medical, financial, housing, and even education decisions via digital communication. In 2005, 21 million Americans used the Internet to gain career education (Horrigan and Rainie p 4 2006). 17 million Americans used the Internet to help another person with a major medical condition, where 7 million used the Internet to help themselves deal with a major medical condition (Horrigan and Rainie p 4 2006). Another 17 million used the Internet to choose a college, where 16 million Americans used the Internet to purchase a car, and to make a major financial investment (Horrigan and Rainie p 4 2006). 10 million Americans used the Internet to find housing, and 8 million used the Internet to change jobs (Horrigan and Rainie p 4 2006). Podcasts are a form of digital broadcasting that allows the user to publish audio and video files to the Internet for users to download at anytime. This increases the ability to access media related information. A blog and email are written information that is sent instantly to a destination web site, forum, or individual person. Email is mail or text composed and transmitted on a computer network. A blog is basically a web-based journal that are typically updated daily using software that allows people with little or no technical background to update and maintain the blog in much the same manner as email, simply by typing the message and pressing send. Another significant example of using information communication technology to achieve a desired goal is the blogging community. Blogging is the act of creating and sharing a blog. A blog is written communication published on the Internet. Blogging has changed the manner in which writers achieve their publishing goals of sharing personal information and stories (Lenhart and Fox p 2 2006). There are about 12 million bloggers in America (persons who maintain a blog). 54% of bloggers â€Å"say they have never published their writing or media creations anywhere else† (Lenhart and Fox p 2 2006). Statistically speaking, that is six million Americans who have utilized a blog by managing information to reach desired writing and publishing goals.

Impact of Chinas Joining the WTO for SSA Countries

Impact of Chinas Joining the WTO for SSA Countries INTRODUCTION 1. INTRODUCTION For China, the worlds 7th largest and most populous economy, November 2001 was a momentous period when it made a giant leap into the much quested free market by becoming a member of the world trade organisation (W.T.O). Although, China had embarked on market liberalization policies since the 1970s membership into the W.T.O. was a compelling opportunity to standardise its trade principles and practices in accordance with those of other free market economies and assimilate into the new era of globalization. The implication of this great milestone is remarkable not only for China itself, but also for the global market system. However, for Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the accession of China into the W.T.O. marked a new era of economic milieu, due to the fact that, conventionally, the western powers were the countries with substantial interest in trade, aid and economic partnership and, unfortunately, due to recent domestic challenges facing these western nations, or what some policy analysts would call the marginalization of Africa, the attention given to SSA has been fast declining. However, the last ten years have brought China closer to the need of African countries. As observers would note; this increasing role does single-handedly invalidate the growing marginalization of Africa by the much traditional European and American powers (Mandy, 2005). In contrast to the western powers, by offering aid with fewer preconditions, China has presented a more attractive alternative to conditional W estern aid and debt cancellation together with a boom in Sino-African trade, while gaining valuable diplomatic support to defend its international interests. It should be noted that in 2001, China was the 7th largest economy in the world, although, this status has presently changed, however it is pertinent to state that the researcher takes into account Chinas status when it became a W.T.O member in 2001 (See: UNCTAD, Global Investment Report 2002). While the continuous engagement of China with SSA has continued to spawn important policy implications for growth and investment distribution, there are growing concerns about its adverse effects on key developmental areas such as manufacturing, inward foreign direct investments, production and other key sectors. In fact, its much advertised benefits for commodity boom for African countries is ambiguous since this apparent benefit is inextricably linked with erratic exchange rates and institutional corruption. Thus, the aim of this study is to contribute to literature on the implication of Chinas accession into the WTO for Sub-Saharan African countries. This study assesses both its positive impacts and negative implication for trade, manufacturing and FDI, while it also explores the underlying factors behind the growing involvement of China in SSA. In order to achieve these aims; this research has identified a number objectives which will inform its scopes and direction. 1.1 Research Aims and Objectives The overarching aim of this study is to critically explore the impact of Chinas accession into the WTO for SSA countries and identify the specific channels through which this impact manifests. Objectives: Identify andanalyse the specific vector channels through which the impact of Chinas accession into the WTO is transmitted to SSA countries. Examine the overall impact of Chinas accession into the WTO on Sub-Saharan SSA countries Investigate into the primary drivers of Chinas increasing interest in SSA Conduct a case study analysis of two SSA countries aimed at illustrating and understanding the extensive influence of China on SSA 1.2 Background There is mounting evidence in literature to suggest that while Sub-Saharan African economies are economic winners on one hand. They are losers on the other, from Angola, to Nigeria; SSA countries have been reaping the enormous gains of commodity boom during the past ten years. In fact Chinas demands for these commodities have in many cases been less fulfilled and thus its growing interest for more and more imports. Stevens and Kennan (2005) noted that economies which are endowed with natural resources demanded by China will continuously record an exponential growth in their export and consequently earn more money. While countries that produce what china produces like (apparels and garments) will see a huge decline in exports and consequently earn less money. This concept from both perspectives points to the SSA example: while on one hand, individual countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have enjoyed huge financial gains from commodity exports. On the other, these huge gains are in turn use d to purchase manufactured goods from China, thus, killing the local industries and genuine small scale manufacturers. Stevens and Kennan (2006) in their further examination of the impact of China on developing economies proposed a method which was subsequently termed as the typology of â€Å"winners† and â€Å"losers† (Goldein et al, 2006). â€Å"winners† are those economies for which the number of sectors recording trade gains are associated with lower costs of imports or where higher prices for exports is greater than the number of sectors incurring losses due to increased competition from China or higher import prices resulting from higher Chinese demand for a given product. Regarding the winners, Stevens and Kennan assess the gains from trade to check whether the gains arise primarily from lower import costs, from greater export revenue, or from both; and conclude that all the SSA countries (except South Africa) gain primarily from lower import costs. Other empirical studies (see e.g. Razmi, 2006; Qureshi and Wan, 2006) have explored the phenomenon of lower import costs and interestingly, their results shows that SSA countries have indeed enjoyed importing more products from China due to the lower import costs involved and even if SSA countries do not import from China, their local industries will not be as competitive as it should be because of stiff competition from china. 1.3 Problem Discussion Africas quest for a more cordial relationship with China is grounded in its depth of poverty and genuine need for foreign direct investment as an incentive to accelerate economic development and consolidate recent democratization efforts. However, the increasing interest of China in Africa is questionable and in fact has been the focus of several policy and research studies during recent years. The possibility that the biggest economy of the 21st Century will not be a democratic or western state serves to challenge conventional â€Å"international relation theories† that have emanated since the culmination of the World War II through the pre-eminence of the western economies in global affairs. Chinas current friendship with Africa are not traditionally restrained to the post Cold-War era, but China admits, it is more dynamic and influential to international politics and indicate a new background for South-South collaboration. China insistently advocates, that its considered af fairs with African economies has stemmed from a common history and is based on bilateral understanding and fairness in a climate that ensures fair-play and mutual benefits. The EU, US and an array of important observers, voice concerns about the real objective of China in Africa. London and Washington however, considers Chinas new affairs with Africa as a long term obstruction to their interest and a threat to their strategic-partnership with African countries. On top of these growing opposition and concerns, there are more worries that the risk-adverse keenness of China to parley with corrupt African governments can undercut democratic reforms and conflict resolution on the continent where the west have keen interest. The questions remain, whose claims have more validity and legitimacy and how can the truth be substantiated? Should the neo-realists proposition which is well grounded in empirical positivism be relied upon in coming to terms with the corrupt leaders of Africa? Or do we rely on the theories of the west whose well grounded postulation provides a combination of free-market experience, albeit with little self-interest. Or do we simply put forward unconventional epistemologies that will provide an expanded collection of truth possibilities about Sino-African engagement? This study theoretically explores these extant perspectives and seeks to bridge existing gaps in literature within the context of the current study. 1.4 Motivation During the last ten years, policy observers have noted that China and Sub-Saharan Africa have become more cordial such that Beijings interaction with Africa has significantly increased and as such spawned impressive growth in bilateral trade. This relationship has been demonstrated by the establishment of 700 Chinese firms with an investment of around  £1 billion in SSA over the last ten years, (Bejing Times, 16. December, 2003). As evidence to this growing relationship, the UNCTAD investment report of 2008 shows that Chinese FDI stock in Africa has grown from under  £35 million in 1990 to over  £1.5 billion in 2006. This translates to 30% growth in annual trade and investment since the late 1990s between Africa and China. However, in spite of this growing and impressive development, there is consensus amongst policy makers in SSA that key sectors of the economy have been declining since the engagement of China. These sectors usually include the manufacturing, the textile indus try, productive sectors and the Small business sectors (UNCTAD, 2004; ANIP, 2005). Notwithstanding the negative implications, Chinas engagement with SSA have been growing exponentially and by 2010, China is forecast to be the number one trading partner of SSA, ahead of the United States, France and the United Kingdom. This study therefore, seeks to examine why in spite of the adverse implication for SSA, the Sino- African relationship is still growing, in addition to the investigation of what specifically underlies Chinas continuous interest in Africa. The Non-Aligned movement gave meaning to the concept of south-south cooperation as a concerted effort by developing states (often newly independent) to avoid being sucked into the dichotomy of the Cold War power struggle (Murray, 2008). 1.5 Research Questions The research question for this study was inspired by the definition of (Rea and Parker, 2005) who defined it as a question or set of questions that can help in bringing out evidence based facts which provide answers to research problems. As they further suggest, it not only provide answers to research problems but also helps in the development process of new research ideas (Rea and Parker, 2005). Primary Research Question RQ1: What are the inherent economic implications of Chinas increasing engagement with Sub-Saharan Africa? Secondary research questions RQ2: What are the channels through which the impact of Chinas accession into the W.T.O transmits into SSA countries? RQ3: What specific sector(s) does the Sino-African relationship play the highest positive role? RQ4: What is the underlying factor behind the interest of China in Africa? RQ5: Is there a significant relationship between economic development and Chinese investment in SSA countries? 1.6 Research Outline Following the first chapter where the objectives and research problems have been rightly identified, the subsequent chapters are ordered with the following sequential arrangement. Table 4: Chapter Mapping Source: Researchers Conception Chapter 2 is the review of extant literature relating to the present investigation and conceptualization of empirical framework with an identification of theoretical support for the previously established facts. This chapter is followed by Chapter 3, which is the research methodology where the research approach, strategy and data collection methods were discussed and explained. In this section, the researcher provides an explanation for the case study approach and introduced the Complimentary-Competitive impact framework. This was followed by Chapter 4, where the case studies presented were analyzed. This chapter further considers the impact of China on SSA countries using the earlier introduced Complimentary-Competitive framework; this was followed by a critical discussion of the impact. Chapter 5 is the conclusive part where the researcher considers the implications of the result for SSA countries and the future of Sino-African relationship.. LITERATURE REVIEW 2. INTRODUCTION Existing literature offers a reasonable amount of information about the scale and size of bilateral-trade between China and SSA. We learn for example that trade between these two regions have increased tremendously, particularlyfollowing the years after2001. Available data-records can be explored to give us more information as to what is traded and by whom. The literature, nonetheless, is ambiguous about how this bilateral trade and relationship actually affects Africa or how the impacts of FDI manifest. Which particular SSA economies benefit and in what particular sectors? Who are the winners and who are the losers? Why? It is so apparent that trade is not the only vector channel between China and SSA, and that other channels may also create positive or negative implications. The aim of this chapter is to identify and explore other vector channels through which the impact of Beijings interaction with Sub-Saharan Africa manifests. Following this identification is a conceptual framewo rk developed by the researcher in order to deeply understand the inherent research issues and broad problems with the Sino-African relationship. 2.1 Previous Research The accession of china into the WTO and its rise as a great economic power-house is one of the defining events of the 21st century. Consequently, there has been a rising interest of literature studying its impact on various factors. But notwithstanding this considerable attention, there is relative dearth of systematic research on the Sino-African relationship impact especially relating to Chinas accession into the WTO (Geda, 2006). Notable exceptions of this trend are the IMF qualitative research of (Wang 2006) which finds that Africas needs for trade, road and rail networks including foreign direct investment are the prominent factors drawing the continuous interest of china. Another study by World Bank (2004) examined the limitations and policy restraints for increasing Sino-African trade and investment. Since these two prominent studies, more and more studies have been investigating how Chinas engagement affects Africa in one way or the other. The study of Mayer and Fajarnes (200 5) conducts a comprehensive analysis of the advantages that Africa can anticipate from Chinas increasing trade engagement and finds that, while the advantages are liable to be modest, the predilections have been considerately adapted to African export capabilities. The quantitative study of Eichengreen et al(2008) analysed the competitive issue between China and some African countries using a gravity model. Their results indicate that countries at different level of development are affected very differently. Whereas an increase in Chinas output positively affects the exports of high-income African countries. However, it negatively affects those of the less-developed countries in the East African region of SSA. In another study, Stevens (2005) identified possible winners and losers among African countries as China becomes more prominent in world trade; they found that while African countries are winning on one hand, they are losing on the other. Shafaeddin (2002) studied the impact o f Chinas accession into the WTO on exports of developing countries. He found that Chinas accession into the WTO will increasingly give its industries a better domestic value leading to more competitive advantage over other exporters and this could be a threat to the local industries of those developing economies. In 2008 another study exploring the growing relationship between China and Africa observed that â€Å"A key factor underlying Chinas recent rapid expansion in Africa is Beijings desire to gain secure access to supplies of oil, gas, and key minerals. As a late entrant to the global oil market, Africa perhaps represents the last major sources of oil reserves that are not primarily managed by major Western energy companies, and hence available for Chinese corporations to invest in, and ultimately resulting in partial control† (Besada et al, 2008). (Kaplinsky, McCormick and Morris, 2006) studied the impact in four vector areas; Aid flows, trade flows, FDI flows, technolo gy transfer and integration. Other recent studies have also explored the specific vector areas through which the impact of Chinas accession into the WTO manifests on SSA using GDP growth, income distribution, governance, competition, diversification and many others. (Geda, 2006; Tull, 2006; Goldstein et al, 2006; Palley, 2003) 2.2 Assessing the Impact of China on Sub-Saharan Africa As aforementioned, there is a growing body of evidence in literature to suggest that the Sino-African relationship is manifesting through different specific channels. Within each of these channels, it is possible for the Sino-SSA relationship to either be competitive or complementary (Geda, 2006; Kaplinsky et al, 2008). Looking at the trade channel, for instance, China may provide SSA with appropriate capital goods and cheap consumer products and SSA may in turn provide China with the commodities it requires to fuel its continued economic expansion. Both economies gain from this relationship. On the other hand, Chinas export of consumer goods to SSA may displace local producers leading to competitive impacts on workers and entrepreneurs in these sectors. (Kaplinsky et al, 2006) The impact of these relationships for Africa has been both significant and positive. Growth rates have been elevated, with a positive impact on poverty alleviation. These flows provide substantial and largely untied development finance for Africa (in contrast to present conditional OECD flows). The continent may therefore present only a small part of a rapidly changing global economic structure in which China is centrally involved, but for Africa this will likely prove to be of high significance (Besada et al, 2008). What lies behind this development are a number of factors and motivated by chinas need to secure natural resources to sustain its economic boom at home. More so, there are little doubts that natural resources are at the core of Chinas economic interests in Africa and also Chinas share in the increase in global demand for some mineral resources such as aluminum, Nickel, copper and mostly oil consumption (Besada et al, 2008). This increasing development also reflects a high-level Chinese decision to contribute to South-South cooperation via mutually beneficial commercial relationships with the African continent. But at the same time, it also reflects commercial decisions made by individual Chinese enterprises (ibid). One claim that is supporting this theory is that Chinese firms have been successful in delivering comparable infrastructure projects at prices in the range of 25 percent and 50 percent less than those which other foreign investors charge (Besada et al, 2008). In assessing the impact of China on SSA, various studies have employed several empirical measures. However, prominent amongst this is the method devised by Kaplinsky (2008) who integrated a three vector channel of this impact into one synthetic framework; called the complementary-competitive and direct-indirect impacts. As shown in the (table 1) this framework shows that complementarity and competitiveness is easily understood. By contrast the distinction between the direct and indirect impacts is less obvious, and its significance is less widely recognized. The direct impacts are relatively simple and clear. Both complementary and competitive impacts occur as a result of direct bilateral relations between China and SSA. These impacts can be measured, by charting the direct trade flows between China and SSA, breaking these down by sectors and countries, and over time. The indirect impacts occur as a result of Chinas relations with third countries, working their way indirectly through to SSA. Staying with the trade example, Chinas demand for commodities may raise their prices at a global level, and even though a country like Ethiopia does not export animal feed to China (a direct relationship), it sells animal feeds into a global market in which prices have been raised by Chinas growing imports (indirect impact). As we shall see below, and particularly in the case of trade, the indirect impacts of China on SSA are sometimes much more substantial than the direct impacts. However, almost all of the analysis of the impact of China on SSA focuses on direct, bilateral relations, and hence tends to miss some important issues. Table 5: Complimentary-Competitive Framework Source: (Kaplinsky et al, 2006) Since this study is focusing on other vector channels as the one seen above, it might be pertinent therefore to have a specific framework in analyzing the impact China on SSA. Thus, the need for the next section 2.3 Conceptual Framework Figure: 3 Conceptual Framework Source: Authors conception This conceptual model shows the four conceptualized vector channels through which the impact of china transmits on SSA. Theoretical explanation is further given in support of each of these vectors channels. 2.3 TRADECHANNEL There is evidence to suggest that trade between China and SSA since 2001 is a small percentage of each regions total trade. However, its rapid growth suggests that the trade channel is a momentous source of impact (Kaplinsky et al, 2008). The volumes of Trade more than quintupled from over  £5 billion in 2002 to over  £25 billion in 2005 and more than  £50 billion as at 2006 (ibid). The basis for Chinas rising trade links with SSA has been its particular impressive growth since its accession into the WTO. One of the main features of this growth has been its deepening trade orientation, with the trade-GDP ratio in excess of 70 percent, well above the â€Å"norm† for large countries. Within this, China has become a major exporter of manufactures and a significant importer of commodities (Zafar, 2007). In 1990, SSAs total imports from China were less than 1.1% of its imports from industrialized economies, but by 2006, it had risen to over 8 %. In the same vein, SSA exports to China were less than 1% of its total exports to industrialized economies, but by 2006 the proportion had risen to eleven percent. However, Since 2002 after china joined the WTO, imports from China have been expanding more slowly than exports, allowing SSAs trade balance with China to turn from negative to positive ( Kaplinsky et al, 2008) Figure 4: Sino-SSA: Balance of Trade Source: (IMF Dots: Kaplinsky et al, 2008) For some SSA economies, the importance of China as a direct destination of exports grew particularly rapidly. In the case of oil, for example, exports to China account for almost around 86 and 100 percent of all oil exports for Angola, Sudan, Nigeria, and Congo. A similar picture is true for the DRC, which sends 99.6 percent of its basic metal exports to China. On the import side, only seven SSA countries source a significant share of their total imports from China. Sudan, which has growing and policy-related energy links with China stands out, with 14.2 percent of its imports coming from China, followed by Ghana and Tanzania (9.1 percent), Nigeria (7.1 percent), Ethiopia and Kenya (6.4 percent) and Uganda (5.1 percent) (Jenkins and Edwards, 2005). Almost all of these imports were manufactured products. With that historic picture as background, we look forward to areas of potential bilateral trade between China and SSA. 2.4 EXPORT CHANNEL Positive impact for SSA is sufficiently provided in the literature assessing when assessing export links between China and Sub-Saharan Africa. However, unlike this present study, most authors have assessed this vector as an indirect trade channel. Several studies has however, attempted to explore the impact of this indirect trade channel. For example, the study of (Kaplinsky and Santos-Paulino 2006) investigated the similarity between China and SSA exports (Jenkins and Edwards 2006) classified losers and winners and from exports with China, The losers are those economies which export products which China exports or import products which China imports (Stevens and Kennan (2006). All these empirical investigations have provided constructive insights into the export impacts of Chinas trade on SSA. Kaplinsky, McCormick and Morris (2008) noted however that, the fact is apparent that only a small amount of engagement exists between China and SSA in intermediate products thus, it appears th at there exists little Sino-African integration in coordinated global value chains. More so, owing to the reason that most if not all of the previous analysis have been conducted at fairly high levels of trade aggregation they have tended to impede the severity of Chinas indirect trade impact on SSA exports. Thus, it is better if the real impacts are examined sectorally or through particular products (Kaplinsky, McCormick and Morris, 2008). Table 9 Share of particular commodities in exports to China Sources: IMF, Direction of Trade Statistics Each of this graphs shows how Chinas trade has grown over the years, figure 9 shows the share of exports to China by particular natural resources while figure 10 shows how the exports of Africa has grown notably since 2001 at the inception of China into the WTO. Figure 11, shows that Sino-SSA trade, although is increasing but relatively small in the global perspective: 16% of total African exports is accounted for by china (19 percent of exports from SSA) in 2006, a proportion well less than that of the U.S.A and the E.U. The graph also shows that while U.S.A. and the E.U have persistently contributed significantly to the growth of Africas export, China is playing a fast catch. 2.5 FDI CHANNEL FDI is one of the notable channels through which many extant researchers have assessed the impact of China on SSA. Interestingly, this channel has proven positive for SSA from the perspective of many studies. See e.g. (Kaplinsky, McCormick and Morris, 2008; Zafar, 2007; World Bank, 2007). This is so because FDI inward into SSA has apparently increased considerably in the last 10 years since Chinas accession into the WTO. According to Morris (2009): â€Å"As China began to emerge in the international global scene, its outward FDI flows remained small; equivalent to just $916mIn 2000, not much higher than the $830m registered in 1990. However, post 2001; FDI outflows have been rising, reaching $17.8bn in 2006. The flows are expected to continue to increase and to reach $72bn by 2011 (Morris, 2009) According to Kaplinsky, McCormick and Morris (2008) there literally exists little FDI inflow from China into SSA before the 1990s. Then from less than  £15 million per annum for Africa as a whole, FDI from China climbed to over  £200 million in 2002 and reached  £1 billion in 2008 (Zafar, 2007). According to UNCTAD (2007) this growth represents higher FDI inflow into SSA than anywhere in the world. More so, it is a notable FDI stock in contrast with inflows from Europe and America particularly because it has come from fully or in some measures state owned corporations who have more access to very low-cost capital, and hence can operate with much longer time-horizons. According to UNCTAD (2007) most FDI from China usually comes in the variety of equity joint ventures with local business partners of SSA or state and national government agencies. The most recent and instances are those of the big energy and transport investment in Angola, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Sudan and Mali amongst many. Other areas of Chinese interest driving FDI growth is the import of oil, manufacturing and investment in other local businesses. For example: China have made Investments valued at $757m in Sudanese Oil and $2.7bn in Nigerian oilfields in the past few years (Africa Frontier Advisory March, 2008) Table 7: FDI Flows to Africa, 2002-05 and the Top five FDI spots The World Bank (2004) observed that in spite of the usual picture of China as a resource hunger and raw material driven investor in SSA. The reality is that almost 48% of the amount invested in SSA since the 1980s till 2001 was in the productive and manufacturing sector. Slightly over (18%) of investments went into services and construction business. Agriculture (7.1%), Resource development accounts for just over one quarter of the investments, slightly over (27 %), though and other (.9%) claimed the balance. Although, this figures has slightly increased, (ibid). According to UNCTAD (2007), by 2005, chinas investment had grown into 48 African nations. Table 8: Distribution of Chinas Outward FDI Stock in Africa, 1990, 2005 (%) Source: UNCTAD (2007a) Consistent with several empirical perspectives, Kaplinsky, McCormick and Morris (2008) also suggest that the increasing account of FDI into SSA is due to its involvement four major economic areas: Although, this study will be looking at only two of these areas, the first and second as they tend to have more significant impact on FDI Increasing investments in the energy and resource sectors Participation in infrastructural projects Integration to production systems globally Small scale entrepreneurial investments 2.7 Investments in the energy and resource sectors Owing to the increasing energy quest of China to fuel its own economic growth, inter