Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Globalization of South Africa Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Globalization of South Africa - Essay Example In early days of 17th century, South Africa was sparsely populated. Major trade and commerce developed only after the first European settlement that took place in southern part of Africa in 1652. The objective was then to establish a supply base at the site currently known as Cape Town. South African history made major upheavals in the year 1867 when mines of diamonds were discovered near and around Kimberley and Cape Town. Economic activities got further intensified when worlds largest deposit of gold was discovered in the year 1886. South Africas first integration to global economy was seen through its exports of diamonds and gold. At the same time, the country imported variety of agricultural products. Mining industry continued to expand with increasing gold and diamond exports from the shore of South Africa. The wealth so generated was used to import consumer goods from Europe. This can be seen as South Africas first integration to global economy that continued until at least Wor ld War I (South Africa, 1996)) After 1920, the government started imposing tariffs to safeguard local manufacturers. By 1930s, most of the manufacturing activities came under the fold of state-owned enterprises keeping blacks outside the main economy. World War II saw new growth in manufacturing activities with the government increasing its control on industries. With the onset of great depression in 1930s, South Africa also suffered heavily due to economic down cycle. The government had already started its efforts in 1920s to consolidate state-owned enterprises with the objective to provide impetus to import-substitution industries. The Electricity Supply Commission (Eskom) and the South African Iron and Steel Corporation (Iscor) were founded in 1920s to spearhead domestic industries. The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) came into operation in 1940. The IDC became instrumental to promote other

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Business ethic analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business ethic analysis - Essay Example Without ethical measures and programs the company is set to loss the benefit it has enjoyed financially by doing business ethically. We should always put in mind the principles of professional ethic which if our company would take into account we are going to avoid potential or apparent conflict of interest which in this case I see us breaching.   Ethical dilemma My point of concern is payment of bonuses to shareholders in these times of economic crisis when we have not even completed repaying of the loan granted to us by the government and further organizing retreats for the employees. I have realized that if we pay bonuses and continue organizing retreats, this will be more costly to the company. it is evident from the bonuses paid in 2008 and the retreat organized when the company was experiencing financial difficulties has impacted negatively on the public image of the company and its performance (French,1995). It is highly expected that we are going to pay bonuses to our share holders and the employees are expectant of the retreat. If we grant bonuses, it is going to be highly costly financially since the company has not been able to fully from the economic crisis that we have just been through. Because of the position of our company, anything we do would be highly publicized in the media thus creating unwanted attention from the public whose money has been used to bail us. On the other hand, failure to pay bonuses would raise eyebrows to our trusted shareholders and employees. Employees further expect to be motivated and over the year’s retreats for them has been the mean of motivating them. This company has to strive to maintain its reputation which it has built over the years. Ethical practices have been key to the success and performance of this company. Although the company is set to benefit by rewarding best performance of its employees, it has to consider the implications to the public which is a critical part of this company. Furthermore, o ur shareholders are critical to the continuous success of this company but payment of bonuses at such a time might have negative implications on the integrity of the company since it has not even cleared repayment of loans resulting from the bail out by the government and also considering that the company has been selling off some of its holdings and subsidiaries to clear the loan. The management of this company thus needs to offer continued support to enable the ethical values of this company to work.    Furthermore the company needs to communicate this effectively to employees and shareholders. It is in my view that we should include in our code of conduct  when the company can organize retreats for its employees and when the bonuses can be paid without having any negative impact on the company’s reputation. The issue of giving bonuses and organizing retreats is unethical especially at such a time when the company is just recovering from financial difficulties (French, 1995). It is obvious that incentives and rewards play an important role in motivating employees to accomplish corporate goals and a company committed to doing business ethically would want to reward its employees for that. But the matter of rewarding employees by organizing retrea