Pakistan's Current Economy and Job Market - Challenges and Suggestions

Current Economic Situation: Pakistan, 27th largest economy of the world has been going through some rough times in recent years. The triumph of 6% plus gross domestic production GDP has been over since 2008. Hit with terrorism, rampant corruption and long hours of power breakdowns, Pakistan's economy is truly bleeding. Factors Affecting Growth: There isn't a single factor for this total disaster rather it seems that a whole lot of problems have "ganged up" against the fragile economy of Pakistan. If one would identify a single most difficult of challenges Pakistan faces today would undoubtedly be power crisis. No fuel for power generation plants, no money to pay GENCOS (generation companies) and on top of it no apparent policy or seriousness to resolve this issue. Terrorism is also one of the major factors affecting foreign investments hence growth of the overall economy. The casualty of these factors is the job market. Pakistan has one of the fastest growing and young populations in the world. Each year around 2 million people enter the job market and current GDP growth rate is not enough to provide them the jobs. That further aggravates the situation as the unemployed soon fall down the poverty line resulting in increase of crimes and providing a breeding ground for terrorism. Suggestions: The below suggestions if implemented could help jumpstart the economy and increase the number of job opportunities for fresh entrants to the job market. Effective Tax Regime: Unlike developed or even emerging economies, Pakistan does not have an encouraging tax to GDP ratio. At around 10% of the GDP, it is the lowest in Asia. Effective policies should be evolved and implemented to increase tax to GDP ratio without increasing the current taxes rather, by expanding the tax net and encouraging direct taxation instead of indirect taxation. Effective Energy Policy Implementation: A lack of seriousness is evident on government's part as there does not exist an energy policy for a country of 190 million people. Sincere and serious efforts have to be initiated to evolve a strategy to deal with the issue. Needless to say, input from the stakeholders (industries, business bodies, power regulators etc.) should be sought. Industry/Job Market Diversification: Instead of just focusing on energy/resource intensive industries (large-scale manufacturing, textiles etc.), Pakistan should explore the opportunities available in today's global world, where knowledge economies are prospering. Besides attracting foreign investments, knowledge industries (BPOs, Software houses, ITES providers etc.) can also provide much-needed employment opportunities for the youth entering the job market. Revenue earned through IT/Software exports is an added benefit for the economy. One such example is India. With year on year IT and ITES exports reaching $ 70 billion in 2012 alone, India is all set to lead the knowledge export market in the world. Improvement in Law and Order Situation: The issue of terrorism should be resolved on priority. In today's globalized world, no economy can survive without substantial foreign investments. Overall law and order situation should be made investor friendly so that new investments could be made to generate economic activity hence creating new job opportunities.

Effective Policy Making and Business Management

Businesses are currently developing a code of ethics which is meant to govern the way they operate in the current economy. Proper business management is increasingly embracing new practices in a fast changing economy. To be in the cutting edge a manager must be well equipped with relevant updates that guide him/her to make informed decisions that do not jeopardize the smooth operations of the firm. This may include open door policy where a business owner becomes more accessible to his/her employees, customers and suppliers. A call for honesty and accountability is also essential, not forgetting a serene atmosphere for all employees. In today's destabilized economy, every company is confronted by prerequisite implementations like retrenchment; shutting down of departments or branches which consistently make losses, in other words known us rationalization. Companies therefore should facilitate ideas that bring in resources and enhance easy flow of business operations. The wise said "a good name is better than riches." Those that have spent quality time building a name and brand can hire out the same and have other market players sail on. By doing this the company gets extra revenue that does not necessary call for monetary out-put. This process is known as franchising. I would ask myself what is effective leadership and management? Who or what should gains more value in an esteemed firm? Is it the employees, company's assets, or management board? The policy maker must carefully ponder before making any company policies that impact the future of all involved. For these policies will determine whether the firm will remain in the cutting edge.

Angel Investors, The Economy, and Other Capital Raising Issues

Always start a negotiation with offering minimal equity as it relates to working with angel investors or any other type of providing funding source. In this discussion, we are going to touch on a number of different subjects as it relates to raising capital as well as ensuring that the business venture that you are launching will remain profitable and cash flow positive in any economic climate. It is very important to take into account the state of the economy and the industry that you are entering as it relates to your business. In your business plan, you should always provide a complete analysis of the economy in its current state as it is imperative to understand whether or not your business will thrive in any economic climate. There are a number of economic analysis firms that can assist you with providing an understanding of the economy and whether or not you should start your planned business. Some entrepreneurs start businesses with the intention to sell them from the beginning of their operations. As such, if you fall into this category, then you must create a business plan that clearly showcases how you intend to start the business and sell it after a predetermined period of time. This is especially important if you intend to raise capital from a private source, such as an angel investor, as this will be extremely important to them when they are reviewing your business plan, private placement memorandum, or business prospectus. Some angel investors specialize in real estate transactions which may allow you to acquire owner-occupied properties. However, if you are only seeking capital for this type of transactions then it may be in your best interest to find bank financing for a real estate acquisition. If you are actively involved with the buying and selling of real estate then it may be in your best interest to not work with a private investor as you will need to pay them a substantial return for a relatively simple business transaction. Finally, when you are seeking private capital should create lists of prospective investors that would take a look at your business plan or your business prospectus. You should only seek outside capital if it is absolutely necessary in order to grow work spend your business as this is an extremely expensive but low risk form of financing. Debt capital almost always requires a guarantee, whereas investment capital does not in most instances depending on the funding source that you are working with as it relates to staring or expanding your business.

Tough Times In 2008 - UK Economy And Jobs Market

On the surface all is looking very rosy for the UK labour market if you're looking for a job. Despite a huge inflow of migrant workers since the enlargement of the European Union the number of people claiming unemployment benefit has consistently remained below the one million mark in the last two years and has fallen by over 100,000 in 2007. Nevertheless cracks are starting to show in the economy. Interest rates have risen five times since July 2006 and are likely to rise one more time by the end of the year. Higher interest rates are likely to hit both consumers and businesses alike as debt repayments become even more of a stretch. It should be noted that increases in interest rates take about a year to feed through to the economy so get ready for last years rate rises to start to hit! Other weaknesses are showing. The slowdown in the US economy has been going on for most of the year without major consequences for the UK. The recovery in the major EU countries has helped to buffer the reduction in US demand for UK exports. However, the EU recovery is starting to look short-lived. The Italian economy posted very weak growth figures in the second quarter of year, whilst higher European Central Bank (ECB) interest rates are starting to hinder Germany and France. Nevertheless on the surface it would seem that the slowdown is not having much of an impact on people's day-to-day lives. Last week's financial market chaos would have been a big headache for those working in the City of London or those with large share portfolios, but that's a minority of the country. The financial chaos should however start alarm bells ringing. It is not yet clear how the current mess in the international financial markets will play out, but if this turmoil continues then the cracks in the economy could well become holes for jobs to fall through. The financial crisis has exacerbated problem - few had been predicted that the United States could potentially move into recession until the events of last week. It seems unlikely that the UK will suffer as much as the US. There are no credible analyst suggesting that the UK will enter a period of recession, but as the economy is squeezed by higher interest rates and as chaotic financial markets hit business confidence there will be those that will lose their jobs. The first possible group to see job losses will be those working in the financial and business services sector in the City of London. Initial estimates had suggested that job losses in the City are likely to number a few thousand, but this number is likely to be revised upwards. The impact of this will be relatively limited to the London area. The next sign to watch out for is a slowdown in consumer and business spending. With the financial markets looking wobbly and with higher debt repayments businesses will reduce their spending on goods and services, and also on headcounts. Uncertainty in the financial markets leads to uncertainty in the business environment. Plans to invest will be hit as uncertainty increases the risk that they may not be able to afford the repayments in the future. A slowdown in consumer spending is likely to follow. Higher interest rates will increase the cost of consumer debt repayments, primarily mortgages. However, this is likely to have a limited impact according to the Bank of England. Consumer spending will also be constrained by the reduction in business spending. As businesses reduce spending employment growth will slow as will wage growth. With less money in their pockets the consumer will stay at home, rather than spending on the high street. With business spending less on goods and services, those that supply those goods and services will have a reduction in turnover. With consumers spending less on goods and services these suppliers will also see reduced turnover. Lower turnover cause firms to fold or reduce costs; inevitably job cuts will be part of this process. So when will this all come to a head? Most analysts suggest that 2008 will be the crunch point when the various factors come together to produce an economic slowdown. Expect to feel the pinch wherever you work, there are unlikely to be many sectors that don't see an impact. With this warning in hand I would suggest knuckling down and making sure your boss realises that you're indispensable, even when business is bad! 2008 is going to be a tough year try to limit the suffering.

What is Knowledge Based Economy and How Can We Benefit from its Coming?

What is knowledge based economy and how can we benefit from its coming? It has been a long time since the coming of knowledge-based economy was announced. The major change that is said to turn a society upside down is upon us now. But what does knowledge-based economy really mean? Definition Knowledge based economy is a kind of economy based solely on the production, distribution and the use of knowledge. In short, it means that the most important thing in the coming economy model will be knowledge and skills, not the material products. What's the difference? At first it may seem that there is only little difference between a normal economy model and a knowledge based one. In both we just create, buy and sell the products, and their nature seems to be exactly the same. But as we take a closer look, things change. There are a few reasons for that: 1. Knowledge is easily copied. If you've had a good idea, everyone will quickly adopt it unless you do something to prevent it. 2. Knowledge comes through the borders easier than material products. While Chinese are dangerous only to a few sectors of the US economy, knowledge-based economy model calls for moving most of jobs away from US to those countries that have skilled workforce, but are much cheaper than US (India, and eastern part of EU are the good examples of such places). 3. The knowledge is quickly becoming obsolete. You need to be prepared for constant creation of knowledge if you hope to keep up with your competitors. How to cope with knowledge problems in your company and benefit rather than suffer from the incoming changes? In short, knowledge based economy will create a lot of problems for small and large companies alike. Counterfeits and violation of your copyrights will eat your profits, most of your contractors will move their orders abroad and the situation in your company (and the whole economy) will change at the speed of light. However instead of fighting the inevitable we can profit from that. The coming of a new economy model will create as many new possibilities as problems. 1. You will be able to use outsourcing to minimize your cost. In the effect you will be able to offer lower prices while still having an upper hand because of running a business in US. 2. Instead of preventing everyone from using your ideas, go for paid Internet-sharing and let everyone profit from your concepts. Or leave it altogether, offer your ideas for free and profit from the advertisements and high traffic on your website. 3. With coming of knowledge based economy business management has become easier than before. Internet and cell phones make contacting anyone anywhere anytime possible. 

Company and Business Law - Specialists Navigating the Legal Minefields

With entrepreneurship reaching new heights with the expanding of the global marketplace, exhibiting characteristics of the new information economy, the creation, buying and selling of businesses is at an all time high. Many of those who wish to become their own boss are turning to established businesses as the logical option, as they have a record of trading, established customer base and generally involve less risk than starting a business from scratch. However, for those contemplating the purchase or sale of a business, careful consideration should be given to following up on the relevant checks on the business, its performance and any contractual agreements that may be entered as the result of the purchase. The real estate agent provides valuable information in regards to the property and business itself in a prima facie view; but this is not sufficient. Before the final negotiation periods are scheduled to take place and the purchase of the business confirmed, it makes business sense to utilise the services of a law firm which specialises in company and business law. Without this expert knowledge and advice, you may get left with a business that doesn't reflect the promises made by those selling the business.� Completing due diligence is essential to protect your new investment. The body of law that covers and governs business and commercial transactions is termed commercial law; a branch of the civil law. The law of businesses, or company law, covers companies and other business entities. The laws that regulate and monitor the behaviour, ethics and commercial operation of businesses are complex and abundant. Furthermore, as they are written in legal text, with specialised wording and jargon, it can be difficult for individuals to interpret and fully understand. However, there is help; in the form of experienced specialist lawyers who specialise in company and business law. These firms can easily guide you through the legal minefield that is company and business law in respect to your business and its operations. If you are considering selling an existing business or purchasing a new investment, it is absolutely essential that you consult with an experienced company and business law specialist to ensure your investment is equitable, secure and justified. When selling or purchasing a commercial property or business, there are many loopholes and legal requirements that have to be satisfied. For the individual business owner, it is simply infeasible for them to comprehend and cover all the legal responsibilities. As well as having peace of mind that a professional is deciphering the legal requirements, you will save yourself much time and frustration in dealing with this without the professional assistance required.

Fixing the Economy and Federal Budget - It's Simple Really

Most folks feel as if there is just nothing we can do in the US to get our economy going, fix the Federal budget gap, now $1 trillion per year (last 3 years under Obama Administration), and still bring jobs back to America. I disagree, and I don't believe the problem is insurmountable, not even politically impossible. Sure some of the constituency will be pissed off if we do what we must do, but we must, now or later, and the longer we wait the worse it's going to be. The reality is that we can fix our economy and Federal Budget on short order, and forgo the claim by S&P and various Russian economists who claim the US will default. We can fix things without dealing with what Greece is dealing with now - civil unrest, runaway interest payments, and the potential chaos of absolute economic collapse. Don't worry about the US defaulting, we can fix that problem overnight, simply by doing the following: 1.) Raise the Social Security age to 65 by 2015, 70 by 2025, and 80 by 2038. 2.) Reduce Medicare by 46% - "minimum fee on doctor visits and drugs" 3.) Reduce Military budget by 15% (excluding wars) - Increase military R and D by 300% 4.) Reduce Regulations on Small Businesses 5.) Reduce Regulatory Attack on Energy Infrastructure 6.) Eliminate duplication regulations and laws 7.) Flat Tax for "everyone" no exceptions. 8.) Mandatory Volunteerism for anyone getting government services regardless 9.) Reciprocal trade, free trade. Look, we are not the only nation challenged with run-away government spending, all nations that lean towards socialism have to reckon with their choices eventually. Look at the EU right now, I sure wouldn't want to be them, and yes, China has some growing pains too, they have other things they should be dealing with, but are currently in denial about. We shouldn't be shocked by anything that happens there in the next 5-10 years. All nations need to consider such things, they need to live within their means, not allow themselves to get fat, dumb, and happy, or to allow socialism to creep in and domesticate their populations and kill productivity. We only have ourselves to blame for the road we are headed down right now, and we can easily rectify the situation in short order if we will simply stop pretending and do what we must do to get back to doing what we do best. Now with that, I will leave you and ask that you please think on it.

The Economy and Underwear Sales: The Connected Link

The economy is a tricky business-tracking it, dealing with it, loving it, hating it-it's always out of reach of us. Well, not as far out of reach as you may have once thought. The Economy and Underwear Sales are actually linked quite closely, if you can believe that. Recent Economic Trends Recently, a recession had taken over the globe faster than any of the Star Wars films. Most of Europe got out of it quite early, though some nations are still in it, few having actually once gotten out of the poor economy to only get back into it. A bad economy is bad for fashion, but a bad fashion statement can mean a well-educated fashionista in the arts of the economy. Underwear sales for men is not something that anyone would ever consider looking at for the sake of economic conditions. Why start now? Underwear sales are often quite constant. In fact most men rarely buy new underwear except around the holidays or extreme weather-looser ones for the hot times and longer, thicker ones for the cold time. So, even though underwear sales may not be the highest stock, it's also quite an inactive one because of how stable it is. So, the economy is changing when such a constant sale, such as underwear sales, alter. Noting the change If the stock of underwear drops, the economy is in trouble. But there isn't a stock just for underwear, is there? Well, no. Stocks are meant for individual companies, but some companies are underwear sales based, such as Fruit of the Loom, for example. So how can you really track underwear sales in general? It's simple-through personal experience. Check your underwear drawer; you probably have a lot of worn out underwear, and it's not like you never noticed since you do put a pair on quite often, hopefully. Yet, you rarely though to buy new ones, right? That means you're not looking to spend money on new underwear. In other words, if you are not anxious to spend money on new male underwear, chances are that few others will feel differently. So, few men are buying underwear-underwear sales are dropping. This all leads to the fact that the economy is not improving, or at least improving enough, for men to wait in long lines just for a fresh pair of underwear rather than washing the old pair until it starts to disintegrate.

Management and Business

The information about Business presented here will do one of two things: either it will reinforce what you know about Business or it will teach you something new. Both are good outcomes. The only way to keep up with the latest about Business is to constantly stay on the lookout for new information. If you read everything you find about Business, it won't take long for you to become an influential authority. It seems like new information is discovered about something every day. And the topic of Business is no exception. Keep reading to get more fresh news about Business. So what is Business really all about? The following article includes some fascinating information about Business--info you can use, not just the old stuff they used to tell you. Once you begin to move beyond basic background information, you begin to realize that there's more to Business than you may have first thought. You know, I think that over the last few decades that "business" has lost the art of managing their people. (I say "business" because obviously there are some great managers out there - but, in general, management is a lost art!) We've managed to pull through the GFC ("Global Financial Crisis") and have emerged into a market that is very competitive, with tighter margins and that is far more globalised than ever before. There are also significant opportunities for businesses that are have the capacity and capability to embrace them. But here lies the challenge... I am finding that most businesses do not have the necessary "middle- management" skills and personnel to pull it off. Why is this so? Well, in an effort to become more efficient, we have "exised the fat" and removed layers of middle-management by pushing more and more responsibility down the "chain of command." "Delegation and empowerment" have been the buzz words of the first decade of this century. Now, this was fine when economies and businesses grew at unprecedented rates and that being an effective sales person meant that you were quickest to the fax to collect new orders when they came through. In the 1980's and 1990's, high profile CEO's ("Chainsaw" Al Dunlap, etal) made a big impact with their "razor gangs" laying off hundreds of thousands of people, mainly middle managers, in the search for improved profits. I believe this was short-term thinking and that the long-term effects were camouflaged by the huge economic growth from the late 1990's to 2008. "Money can paper over a lot of cracks" has been my mantra and since 2008, when the cash vanished, the cracks have been laid bare. My colleague, Mike Boyle - the Sales Scientist (Mike is a leading sales consultant) - has found similar issues in Sales Management and has expressed it beautifully. Mike says "If managers are seen as by managing by results, they are actually managing by fear. If they are seen as managing by activities, they are managing by pressure. Neither of these management strategies will grow the capabilities of the team to meet future challenges. They should be placing a large proportion of their time in developing and coaching their sales team to lift skills, improve knowledge and change behaviors" and he has the data to prove that this works. I agree wholeheartedly with Mike. In essence, we have lost the art of coaching and mentoring our team members. We are often very good at measuring the numbers and "cracking the whip" on activities but not very good at coaching our team to build skills, knowledge and change behaviours. I believe it will be exacerbated in our changing workforce, as the "experience" of the Baby Boomers leaves the workforce and is replaced by the "enthusiasm" of Gen Y who have not been coached and developed to the same extent. For me, this raises a couple of fundamental questions: What are your managers doing to "grow" their people? How will you move from a management culture based on fear and pressure to one based on mentoring and growth? Your answers will be critical to your long term business success. Is there really any information about Business that is not essential? We all perceive things from different angles, so something relatively insignificant to one may be crucial to another. There's a lot to understand about Business. We were able to provide you with some of the facts above, but there is still plenty more to write about in subsequent articles.

The Economy and The Garbage Truck

On the way to work this morning I was listening to two people on the radio go on and on about the economy and unemployment. Their contention was as soon as the economy starts to grow again companies will begin to rehire employees and unemployment will drop. I was just starting to agree with what they were saying when I noticed the garbage truck in front of me. It was at that point I begin to realize that the garbage truck epitomizes the economy and the state of modern business. I am not talking about our economy being in the trash nor am I saying that business is going to the landfill. That is an argument that has more political overtones to it than I care to debate. For this discussion let's focus on the garbage truck. Do you remember your typical garbage truck picking up trash in your residential neighborhood several years ago? In our community it involved a large garbage truck, one driver and two people riding on the back. The two on the back would jump off and empty the trashcans into the back of the truck. One or ten trashcans it did not matter, they got the job done. Then the economy went through a small downturn and the garbage companies had to make changes to economize and stay profitable. To do this they restructured their organization and downsized which resulted in one of the two trash handlers on the back of the truck going through an economic layoff. To make this new corporate structure succeed they sent notices to all their customers limiting the number of trashcans that could be placed curbside on trash day to two cans. As the economy continued to stumble and the garbage companies struggled to make a profit for their investors they had to look at other cost cutting measures. The next major change came with the customers receiving notice that the garbage pickup days were being reduced from 2 days per week down to one day per week but the limit of 2 trashcans per pickup remained. Then the economy collapsed and the garbage company had to take drastic cost cutting steps to continue operation. They supplied each of their customers with a special standardized garbage can which could be picked up by a special automated garbage truck. Now the only person needed on the truck was the driver. The result was the last of the trash handlers being unemployed. Now as the economy starts its slow change from a failing economy to one that is beginning to show signs of growth do you think the garbage company is going to rehire the trash handlers they laid off? When the garbage company begins showing strong profits will they increase the days of pickup? They have learned to operate more efficiently, doing the same amount of work using less resources and cost. This same scenario has played itself out throughout the economy and business. Companies and businesses have had to restructure and redesign their organization and operations in order to survive in the harsh economic times of the past several years. Many, by making hard choices, have not only survived but grown during this time period. They have learned to accomplish the same amount of work and an acceptable level of service utilizing less cost, less resources and less waste (no pun intended). As the economy begins to grow the vast majority of these companies will not replace the people who were downsized. Their job functions have been automated, absorbed by others in the company or eliminated as non-essential. Yes there will be new jobs created and some laid-off employees being reinstated as the economy grows and demand exceeds supply. This will happened based on the new improved operating plans and staffing structures. Efficiency, automation and cost savings are great and some of us will reap the benefits of them. But, as we go forward don't forget about that trash handler who use to work on the back of the garbage truck.