Electronic Waste

Electronic waste From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For the EC directive, see Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive. Defective and obsolete electronic equipment. Electronic waste, e-waste, e-scrap, or waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) describes discarded electrical or electronic devices. There is a lack of consensus as to whether the term should apply to resale, reuse, and refurbishing industries, or only to product that cannot be used for its intended purpose.Informal processing of electronic waste in developing countries may cause serious health and pollution problems, though these countries are also most likely to reuse and repair electronics. Some electronic scrap components, such as CRTs, may contain contaminants such as lead, cadmium, beryllium, orbrominated flame retardants. Even in developed countries recycling and disposal of e-waste may involve significant risk to workers and communities and great care must be taken to avoid unsafe exposure i n recycling operations and leaching of material such as heavy metals from landfills and incinerator ashes.Scrap industry and USA EPA officials agree that materials should be managed with caution. [citation needed] Contents [hide] †¢1 Definitions †¢2 Problems †¢3 Global trade issues †¢4 E-waste management o4. 1 Recycling o4. 2 Consumer awareness efforts o4. 3 Processing techniques o4. 4 Benefits of recycling †¢5 Electronic waste substances o5. 1 Hazardous o5. 2 Generally non-hazardous †¢6 See also †¢7 References †¢8 Further reading †¢9 External links [edit]DefinitionsHoarding (left), disassembling (center) and collecting (right) electronic waste in Bengaluru, India â€Å"Electronic waste† may be defined as discarded computers, office electronic equipment, entertainment device electronics, mobile phones, television sets andrefrigerators. This definition includes used electronics which are destined for reuse, resale, salvage, recyclin g, or disposal. Others define the re-usables (working and repairable electronics) and secondary scrap (copper, steel, plastic, etc. to be â€Å"commodities†, and reserve the term â€Å"waste† for residue or material which is dumped by the buyer rather than recycled, including residue from reuse and recycling operations. Because loads of surplus electronics are frequently commingled (good, recyclable, and non-recyclable), several public policy advocates apply the term â€Å"e-waste† broadly to all surplus electronics. Cathode ray tubes (CRT) are considered one of the hardest types to recycle. [1] CRTs have relatively high concentration of lead and phosphors (not to be confused with phosphorus), both of which are necessary for the display.The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) includes discarded CRT monitors in its category of â€Å"hazardous household waste†[2] but considers CRTs that have been set aside for testing to be commodities if th ey are not discarded, speculatively accumulated, or left unprotected from weather and other damage. Debate continues over the distinction between â€Å"commodity† and â€Å"waste† electronics definitions. Some exporters are accused of deliberately leaving difficult-to-recycle, obsolete, or non-repairable equipment mixed in loads of working equipment (though this may also come through ignorance, or to avoid more costly treatment processes).Protectionists may broaden the definition of â€Å"waste† electronics in order to protect domestic markets from working secondary equipment. The high value of the computer recycling subset of electronic waste (working and reusable laptops, desktops, and components like RAM) can help pay the cost of transportation for a larger number of worthless pieces than can be achieved with display devices, which have less (or negative) scrap value. In A 2011 report, â€Å"Ghana E-Waste Country Assessment†,[3] found that of 215,000 t ons of electronics imported to Ghana, 30% were brand new and 70% were used.Of the used product, the study concluded that 15% was not reused and was scrapped or discarded. This contrasts with published but uncredited claims that 80% of the imports into Ghana were being burned in primitive conditions. [edit]Problems A fragment of discarded circuit board Rapid changes in technology, changes in media (tapes, software, MP3), falling prices, and planned obsolescence have resulted in a fast-growing surplus of electronic waste around the globe. Dave Kruch, CEO of Cash For Laptops, regards electronic waste as a â€Å"rapidly expanding† issue. 4]Technical solutions are available, but in most cases a legal framework, a collection system, logistics, and other services need to be implemented before a technical solution can be applied. Display units (CRT, LCD, LED monitors), Processors (CPU chips, RAM), and audio components have different useful lives. Processors are most frequently out-da ted (by software) and are more likely to become â€Å"e-waste†, while display units are most often replaced while working without repair attempts, due to changes in wealthy nation appetites for new display technology.An estimated 50 million tons of E-waste are produced each year. [citation needed] The USA discards 30 million computers each year and 100 million phones are disposed of in Europe each year. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that only 15-20% of e-waste is recycled, the rest of these electronics go directly into landfills and incinerators. [5] According to a report by UNEP titled, â€Å"Recycling – from E-Waste to Resources,† the amount of e-waste being produced – including mobile phones and computers – could rise by as much as 500 percent over the next decade in some countries, such as India. 6] The United States is the world leader in producing electronic waste, tossing away about 3 million tons each year. [7] China already produces about 2. 3 million tons (2010 estimate) domestically, second only to the United States. And, despite having banned e-waste imports, China remains a major e-waste dumping ground for developed countries. [7] Electrical waste contains hazardous but also valuable and scarce materials. Up to 60 elements can be found in complex electronics. In the United States, an estimated 70% of heavy metals in landfills comes from discarded electronics. 8][9] While there is agreement that the number of discarded electronic devices is increasing, there is considerable disagreement about the relative risk (compared to automobile scrap, for example), and strong disagreement whether curtailing trade in used electronics will improve conditions, or make them worse. According to an article in Motherboard, attempts to restrict the trade have driven reputable companies out of the supply chain, with unintended consequences. [10] [edit]Global trade issues See also: Electronic waste by country Electroni c waste is often exported to developing countries. 4. -volt, D, C, AA, AAA, AAAA, A23, 9-volt, CR2032 and LR44 cells are all recyclable in most countries. One theory is that increased regulation of electronic waste and concern over the environmental harm in mature economies creates an economic disincentive to remove residues prior to export. Critics of trade in used electronics maintain that it is still too easy for brokers calling themselves recyclers to export unscreened electronic waste to developing countries, such as China,[11] India and parts of Africa, thus avoiding the expense of removing items like bad cathode ray tubes (the processing of which is expensive and difficult).The developing countries have become toxic dump yards of e-waste. Proponents of international trade point to the success of fair trade programs in other industries, where cooperation has led to creation of sustainable jobs, and can bring affordable technology in countries where repair and reuse rates are h igher. Defenders of the trade[who? ] in used electronics say that extraction of metals from virgin mining has been shifted to developing countries. Recycling of copper, silver, gold, and other materials from discarded electronic devices is considered better for the environment than mining.They also state that repair and reuse of computers and televisions has become a â€Å"lost art† in wealthier nations, and that refurbishing has traditionally been a path to development. South Korea, Taiwan, and southern China all excelled in finding â€Å"retained value† in used goods, and in some cases have set up billion-dollar industries in refurbishing used ink cartridges, single-use cameras, and working CRTs. Refurbishing has traditionally been a threat to established manufacturing, and simple protectionism explains some criticism of the trade.Works like â€Å"The Waste Makers† by Vance Packard explain some of the criticism of exports of working product, for example the ba n on import of tested working Pentium 4 laptops to China, or the bans on export of used surplus working electronics by Japan. Opponents of surplus electronics exports argue that lower environmental and labor standards, cheap labor, and the relatively high value of recovered raw materials leads to a transfer of pollution-generating activities, such as smelting of copper wire.In China, Malaysia, India, Kenya, and various African countries, electronic waste is being sent to these countries for processing, sometimes illegally. Many surplus laptops are routed to developing nationsas â€Å"dumping grounds for e-waste†. [4] Because the United States has not ratified the Basel Convention or its Ban Amendment, and has few domestic federal laws forbidding the export of toxic waste, the Basel Action Network estimates that about 80% of the electronic waste directed to recycling in the U. S. does not get recycled there at all, but is put on container ships and sent to countries such as Ch ina. 12][13][14][15] This figure is disputed as an exaggeration by the EPA, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, and the World Reuse, Repair and Recycling Association. Independent research by Arizona State University showed that 87-88% of imported used computers did not have a higher value than the best value of the constituent materials they contained, and that â€Å"the official trade in end-of-life computers is thus driven by reuse as opposed to recycling†. [16] Guiyu in the Shantou region of China, Delhi and Bangalore in India as well as the Agbogbloshie site near Accra, Ghana have electronic waste processing areas. 12][17][18] Uncontrolled burning, disassembly, and disposal causes a variety of environmental problems such as groundwater contamination, atmospheric pollution, or even water pollution either by immediate discharge or due tosurface runoff (especially near coastal areas), as well as health problems including occupational safety and health effects among those directly and indirectly involved, due to the methods of processing the waste. Thousands of men, women, and children are employed in highly polluting, primitive recycling technologies, extracting the metals, toners, and plastics from computers and other electronic waste.Recent studies show that 7 out of 10 children in this region have too much lead in their blood. [citation needed] Proponents of the trade say growth of internet access is a stronger correlation to trade than poverty. Haiti is poor and closer to the port of New York than southeast Asia, but far more electronic waste is exported from New York to Asia than to Haiti. Thousands of men, women, and children are employed in reuse, refurbishing, repair, and remanufacturing, unsustainable industries in decline in developed countries.Denying developing nations access to used electronics may deny them sustainable employment, affordable products, and internet access, or force them to deal with even less scrupulous suppliers. In a series of seven articles for The Atlantic, Shanghai-based reporter Adam Minter describes many of these computer repair and scrap separation activities as objectively sustainable. [19] Opponents of the trade argue that developing countries utilize methods that are more harmful and more wasteful. An expedient and prevalent method is simply to toss equipment onto an open fire, in order to melt plastics and to burn away unvaluable metals.This releases carcinogens and neurotoxins into the air, contributing to an acrid, lingering smog. These noxious fumes include dioxinsand furans. [20] Bonfire refuse can be disposed of quickly into drainage ditches or waterways feeding the ocean or local water supplies. [15][21] In June 2008, a container of electronic waste, destined from the Port of Oakland in the U. S. to Sanshui District in mainland China, was intercepted in Hong Kong by Greenpeace. [22] Concern over exports of electronic waste were raised in press reports in India,[23][24] Ghan a,[25][26][27] Ivory Coast,[28] and Nigeria. 29] This section has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. This section does not cite any references or sources. (April 2012) This section is written like a personal reflection or essay rather than an encyclopedic description of the subject. (April 2012) What becomes challenging for the United States, then, is balancing recycling discourses when considering how to implement legislation measures as they manifest through divided interests. Those concerned solely about the environment would create discourse and those concerned about the economy would as well.It is not to say that these discourses don't necessarily agree about certain initiatives; both parties might benefit from the same piece of legislation. That is, if the Environmental Commissioner in the United States put into action recycling legislation that was both sustainable and profitable, it could likely be a positive for both sides. How ever, because most environmental and economic advocates are privy to certain facts about the industry, they would most likely be reluctant to side with any legislation that could either be detrimental to a foreign environment, or overly beneficial to a foreign industry or economy.By exporting e-waste to other countries, some firms in the United States may be avoiding the costs of homeland environmental degradation on one hand, but on the other are missing out on recovering byproduct materials left after they are smelted. As a result, numerous perspectives articulate through both quantitative and qualitative analysis, not only exemplifying how the differences between these perspectives are articulated, but how electronic waste legislation seemingly takes both the environmental and the economic discourse into consideration, albeit with more onus on the latter. edit]E-waste management [edit]Recycling Computer monitors are typically packed into low stacks on wooden pallets forrecycling and then shrink-wrapped. [20] See also: Computer recycling Today the electronic waste recycling business is in all areas of the developed world a large and rapidly consolidating business. Part of this evolution has involved greater diversion of electronic waste from energy-intensive downcycling processes (e. g. , conventional recycling), where equipment is reverted to a raw material form. This diversion is achieved through reuse and refurbishing.The environmental and social benefits of reuse include diminished demand for new products and virgin raw materials (with their own environmental issues); larger quantities of pure water and electricity for associated manufacturing; less packaging per unit; availability of technology to wider swaths of society due to greater affordability of products; and diminished use of landfills. Audiovisual components, televisions, VCRs, stereo equipment, mobile phones, other handheld devices, and computer components contain valuable elements and substan ces suitable for reclamation, including lead, copper, and gold.One of the major challenges is recycling the printed circuit boards from the electronic wastes. The circuit boards contain such precious metals as gold, silver, platinum, etc. and such base metals as copper, iron, aluminum, etc. Conventional method employed is mechanical shredding and separation but the recycling efficiency is low. Alternative methods such as cryogenic decomposition have been studied for printed circuit board recycling,[30] and some other methods are still under investigation. [edit]Consumer awareness effortsThe examples and perspective in this section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (December 2011) ? In the US, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) urges consumers to dispose properly of end-of-life electronics through its recycling locator at www. GreenerGadgets. org. This list only includes manufacturer and reta iler programs that use the strictest standards and third-party certified recycling locations, to provide consumers assurance that their products will be recycled safely and responsibly.CEA research has found that 58 percent of consumers know where to take their end-of-life of electronics, and the electronics industry would very much like to see that level of awareness increase. Consumer electronics manufacturers and retailers sponsor or operate more than 5,000 recycling locations nationwide and have vowed to recycle one billion pounds annually by 2016,[31] a sharp increase from 300 million pounds industry recycled in 2010. ?AddressTheMess. com is a Comedy Central pro-social campaign that seeks to increase awareness of the dangers of electronic waste and to encourage recycling.Partners in the effort include Earth911. com, ECOInternational. com, and the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency. Many Comedy Central viewers are early adopters of new electronics, and produce a commensurate amount of waste that can be directed towards recycling efforts. The station is also taking steps to reduce its own environmental impact, in partnership with NativeEnergy. com, a company that specializes in renewable energy and carbon offsets. ?The Electronics TakeBack Coalition[32] is a campaign aimed at protecting human health and limiting environmental effects where electronics are being produced, used, and discarded.The ETBC aims to place responsibility for disposal of technology products on electronic manufacturers and brand owners, primarily through community promotions and legal enforcement initiatives. It provides recommendations for consumer recycling and a list of recyclers judged environmentally responsible. [33] ? The Certified Electronics Recycler program[34] for electronic recyclers is a comprehensive, integrated management system standard that incorporates key operational and continual improvement elements for quality, environmental and health and safety (QEH) performa nce. The grassroots Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (svtc. org) focuses on promoting human health and addresses environmental justice problems resulting from toxins in technologies. ?Basel Action Network (BAN. org) is uniquely focused on addressing global environmental injustices and economic inefficiency of global â€Å"toxic trade†. It works for human rights and the environment by preventing disproportionate dumping on a large scale. It promotes sustainable solutions and attempts to ban waste trade. It requires companies to be either ISO 14001 or R2 certified. Texas Campaign for the Environment (texasenvironment. org) works to build grassroots support for e-waste recycling and uses community organizing to pressure electronics manufacturers and elected officials to enact producer takeback recycling policies and commit to responsible recycling programs. ?The World Reuse, Repair, and Recycling Association (wr3a. org) is an organization dedicated to improving the quality of exp orted electronics, encouraging better recycling standards in importing countries, and improving practices through â€Å"Fair Trade† principles. Take Back My TV[35] is a project of The Electronics TakeBack Coalition and grades television manufacturers to find out which are responsible and which are not. [edit]Processing techniques Recycling the lead from batteries. In developed countries, electronic waste processing usually first involves dismantling the equipment into various parts (metal frames, power supplies, circuit boards, plastics), often by hand, but increasingly by automated shredding equipment. A typical example is the NADIN electronic waste processing plant in Novi Iskar, Bulgaria — the largest facility of its kind in Eastern Europe. 36][37] The advantages of this process are the human's ability to recognize and save working and repairable parts, including chips, transistors, RAM, etc. The disadvantage is that the labor is cheapest in countries with the lowes t health and safety standards. In an alternative bulk system,[38] a hopper conveys material for shredding into an unsophisticated mechanical separator, with screening and granulating machines to separate constituent metal and plastic fractions, which are sold to smelters or plastics recyclers.Such recycling machinery is enclosed and employs a dust collection system. Some of the emissions are caught by scrubbers and screens. Magnets, eddy currents, and trommel screens are employed to separate glass, plastic, and ferrous and nonferrous metals, which can then be further separated at a smelter. Leaded glass from CRTs is reused in car batteries, ammunition, and lead wheel weights,[20] or sold to foundries as a fluxing agent in processing raw lead ore. Copper, gold, palladium, silver and tin are valuable metals sold to smelters for recycling.Hazardous smoke and gases are captured, contained and treated to mitigate environmental threat. These methods allow for safe reclamation of all valua ble computer construction materials. [15] Hewlett-Packard product recycling solutions manager Renee St. Denis describes its process as: â€Å"We move them through giant shredders about 30 feet tall and it shreds everything into pieces about the size of a quarter. Once your disk drive is shredded into pieces about this big, it's hard to get the data off†. 39] An ideal electronic waste recycling plant combines dismantling for component recovery with increased cost-effective processing of bulk electronic waste. Reuse is an alternative option to recycling because it extends the lifespan of a device. Devices still need eventual recycling, but by allowing others to purchase used electronics, recycling can be postponed and value gained from device use. [edit]Benefits of recycling Recycling raw materials from end-of-life electronics is the most effective solution to the growing e-waste problem. Most electronic devices contain a ariety of materials, including metals that can be recove red for future uses. By dismantling and providing reuse possibilities, intact natural resources are conserved and air and water pollution caused by hazardous disposal is avoided. Additionally, recycling reduces the amount of greenhouse gas emissions caused by the manufacturing of new products. It simply makes good sense and is efficient to recycle and to do our part to keep the environment green. [40] [edit]Electronic waste substances Several sizes of button and coin cell with 2 9v batteries as a size comparison.They are all recycled in many countries since they contain lead, mercury and cadmium. Some computer components can be reused in assembling new computer products, while others are reduced to metals that can be reused in applications as varied as construction, flatware, and jewelry. [39] Substances found in large quantities include epoxy resins, fiberglass, PCBs, PVC (polyvinyl chlorides), thermosetting plastics, lead, tin, copper, silicon,beryllium, carbon, iron and aluminium . Elements found in small amounts include cadmium, mercury, and thallium. 41] Elements found in trace amounts include americium, antimony, arsenic, barium, bismuth, boron, cobalt, europium, gallium, germanium, gold, indium,lithium, manganese, nickel, niobium, palladium, platinum, rhodium, ruthenium, selenium, silver, tantalum, terbium, thorium, titanium, vanadium, and yttrium. Almost all electronics contain lead and tin (as solder) and copper (as wire and printed circuit board tracks), though the use of lead-free solder is now spreading rapidly. The following are ordinary applications: [edit]Hazardous Recyclers in the street in Sao Paulo, Brazil with old computers ?Americium:the radioactive source in smoke alarms. It is known to be carcinogenic. ?Mercury: found in fluorescent tubes (numerous applications), tilt switches (mechanical doorbells, thermostats),[42] and flat screen monitors. Health effects include sensory impairment, dermatitis, memory loss, and muscle weakness. Environme ntal effects in animals include death, reduced fertility, slower growth and development. ?Sulphur: found in lead-acid batteries. Health effects include liver damage, kidney damage, heart damage, eye and throat irritation. When released in to the environment, it can create sulphuric acid. BFRs: Used as flame retardants in plastics in most electronics. Includes PBBs, PBDE, DecaBDE, OctaBDE, PentaBDE. Health effects include impaired development of the nervous system, thyroid problems, liver problems. Environmental effects: similar effects as in animals as humans. PBBs were banned from 1973 to 1977 on. PCBs were banned during the 1980s. ?Cadmium: Found in light-sensitive resistors, corrosion-resistant alloys for marine and aviation environments, and nickel-cadmium batteries. The most common form of cadmium is found in Nickel-cadmium rechargeable batteries.These batteries tend to contain between 6 and 18% cadmium. The sale of Nickel-Cadmium batteries has been banned in the European Union except for medical use. When not properly recycled it can leach into the soil, harming microorganisms and disrupting the soil ecosystem. Exposure is caused by proximity to hazardous waste sites and factories and workers in the metal refining industry. The inhalation of cadmium can cause severe damage to the lungs and is also known to cause kidney damage. [43] ? Lead: solder, CRT monitor glass, lead-acid batteries, some formulations of PVC. 44] A typical 15-inch cathode ray tube may contain 1. 5 pounds of lead,[2] but other CRTs have been estimated as having up to 8 pounds of lead. [20] ? Beryllium oxide: filler in some thermal interface materials such as thermal grease used on heatsinks for CPUs and power transistors,[45] magnetrons, X-ray-transparent ceramic windows, heat transfer fins in vacuum tubes, and gas lasers. [edit]Generally non-hazardous An iMac G4 that has been repurposed into alamp (photographed next to a Mac Classic and a flip phone). ?Tin: solder, coatings on compone nt leads. Copper: copper wire, printed circuit board tracks, component leads. ?Aluminium: nearly all electronic goods using more than a few watts of power (heatsinks), electrolytic capacitors. ?Iron: steel chassis, cases, and fixings. ?Germanium: 1950s–1960s transistorized electronics (bipolar junction transistors). ?Silicon: glass, transistors, ICs, printed circuit boards. ?Nickel: nickel-cadmium batteries. ?Lithium: lithium-ion batteries. ?Zinc: plating for steel parts. ?Gold: connector plating, primarily in computer equipment. [edit]See also Environment portal Electronics portal ?2000s commodities boom Basel Action Network (BAN) ?Basel Convention ?China RoHS ?Computer Recycling ?Digger gold ?E-Cycling ?e-Stewards ?eDay ?Electronics ?Electronic waste in Japan ?Green computing ?iPhone recycling ?Material safety data sheet ?Polychlorinated biphenyls ?Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS) ?Retail hazardous waste ?Retrocomputing ?Sustainable Electronics Initiativ e (SEI) ?Waste ?Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive Organizations ?Empa ?International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement ? Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) ?Solving the E-waste Problem World Reuse, Repair and Recycling Association [edit]References 1. ^ http://www. executiveblueprints. com/aboutweee/WEEECRTandMonitor. htm 2. ^ a b Morgan, Russell (2006-08-21). â€Å"Tips and Tricks for Recycling Old Computers†. SmartBiz. Retrieved 2009-03-17. 3. ^ â€Å"Ghana e-Waste Country Assessmen†. Ghana e-Waste Country Assessment. SBC e-Waste Africa Project. Retrieved 29 August 2011. 4. ^ a b Prashant, Nitya (2008-08-20). â€Å"Cash For Laptops Offers ‘Green' Solution for Broken or Outdated Computers†. Green Technology (Norwalk, Connecticut: Technology Marketing Corporation). Retrieved 2009-03-17.In â€Å"Opinion†. National Center For Electronics Recycling News Summary (National Center For Electronics Recycling). 2008-08-28. Retrieved 2009-03-17. 5. ^ â€Å"Statistics on the Management of Used and End-of-Life Electronics†. US Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved 2012-03-13. 6. ^ Section, United Nations News Service (2010-02-22). â€Å"As e-waste mountains soar, UN urges smart technologies to protect health†. United Nations-DPI/NMD – UN News Service Section. Retrieved 2012-03-12. 7. ^ a b â€Å"Urgent need to prepare developing countries for surges in E-Waste†. 8. ^ Kozlan, Melanie (2010-11-02). What is ‘E-Waste' & How Can I Get Rid Of It?! â€Å". Four Green Steps. 9. ^ â€Å"Poison PCs and toxic TVs†. 10. ^ Ingenthron, Robin (2011-03-31). â€Å"Why We Should Ship Our Electronic â€Å"waste† to China and Africa†. [Motherboard. tv]. 11. ^ Where computers go to die — and kill (4/10/2006) 12. ^ a b Basel Action Network and Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (2002-02-25). â€Å"Exporting Harm: The High-Tech Trashing of Asia† (PDF). Seattle and San Jose. 13. ^ Chea, Terence (2007-11-18). â€Å"America Ships Electronic Waste Overseas†. Associated Press. 14. ^ Slade, Giles (2006). â€Å"Made To Break: Technology and Obsolescence in America†.Harvard University Press. 15. ^ a b c Carroll (January 2008). â€Å"High-Tech Trash†. National Geographic Magazine Online. 16. ^ â€Å"Product or Waste? Importation and End-of-Life Processing of Computers in Peru†, Ramzy Kahhat and Eric Williams, Center for Earth Systems Engineering and Management, Arizona State University, published Environmental Science and Technology June 2009. 17. ^ â€Å"Activists Push for Safer E-Recycling†. Retrieved 2006-11-13. 18. ^ â€Å"Computer age leftovers†. Denver Post. Retrieved 2006-11-13. 19. ^ Minter, Adam. â€Å"Shanghai Scrap†. Wasted 7/7. The Atlantic. Retrieved March 7, 2011. 20. a b c d Royte, Elizabeth (2005-08-01). â€Å"E-gad! Americans discard more than 100 million computer s, cellphones and other electronic devices each year. As â€Å"e-waste† piles up, so does concern about this growing threat to the environment. â€Å". Smithsonian Magazine (Smithsonian Institution). Retrieved 2009-03-17. 21. ^ â€Å"Computer waste disposal in China† (WMV). CBC News. 22. ^ â€Å"Illegal e-waste exposed†. Greenpeace International. 23. ^ â€Å"E-Trash Industry Poses Hazards to Workers†. 24. ^ â€Å"British Broadcasting Corporation†. BBC News. 2005-10-14. Retrieved 2010-01-03. 25. ^ â€Å"Electronic Waste in Ghana†.YouTube. 26. ^ â€Å"Poisoning the poor – Electronic Waste in Ghana†. Greenpeace International. 27. ^ â€Å"British Broadcasting Corporation†. BBC News. 2008-08-05. Retrieved 2010-01-03. 28. ^ â€Å"British Broadcasting Corporation†. BBC News. 2006-11-27. Retrieved 2010-01-03. 29. ^ â€Å"British Broadcasting Corporation†. BBC News. 2006-12-19. Retrieved 2010-01-03. 30. ^ Yuan, C. , Zhang, H. C. , McKenna, G. , Korzeniewski, C. , and Li, J. â€Å"Experimental Studies on Cryogenic Recycling of Printed Circuit Board†, International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, Vol. 34, 2007, pp. 657–666 31. http://ecyclingleadershipinitiative. com/index. html 32. ^ http://www. electronicstakeback. com 33. ^ â€Å"How to Find a Responsible Recycler†. Electronics TakeBack Coalition. 34. ^ http://www. certifiedelectronicsrecycler. com 35. ^ â€Å"Take Back My TV†. 36. ^ â€Å"40 Million BGN Invested In Bulgaria's 1st Appliances Recycle Plant†. Sofia News Agency. 2010-06-28. Retrieved 2011-03-28. 37. ^ â€Å"Bulgaria Opens Largest WEEE Recycling Factory in Eastern Europe†. Ask-eu. com. 2010-07-12. Retrieved 2011-03-28. 38. ^ http://simsrecycling. com/news-and-resources/audio-and-video 39. ^ a b Haffenreffer, David (2003-02-13). Recycling, the Hewlett-Packard Way†. Financial Times(CNN). Retrieved 2009-03-17. 40. ^ Bene fits of Recycling 41. ^ â€Å"Chemical fact sheet: Thallium†. Spectrum Laboratories. Retrieved 2008-02-02. 42. ^ â€Å"Question 8†. 43. ^ . http://www. lenntech. com/periodic/elements/cd. htm#ixzz1MpuZHWfr. 44. ^ â€Å"CollectiveGood and Environmental Issues†. 45. ^ Becker, Greg; Lee, Chris; Lin, Zuchen (July 2005). â€Å"Thermal conductivity in advanced chips: Emerging generation of thermal greases offers advantages†. Advanced Packaging: 2–4. Retrieved 2008-03-04. [edit]Further reading ?Hicks, C; Dietmara, R. , Eugsterb, M. (2005). The recycling and disposal of electrical and electronic waste in China—legislative and market responses†. Environmental Impact Assessment Review 25 (5): 459–471. doi:10. 1016/j. eiar. 2005. 04. 007. ISSN 01959255. ?†Scrapping the Hi-tech Myth: Computer waste in India†. India: Toxics Link. February 2003. Retrieved 25 March 2011. ?Ogunseitan, O. A. , Schoenung, J. M. , Saphores, J-D. M. , a nd Shapiro, A. A. (2009). â€Å"The Electronics Revolution: From E-Wonderland to E-Wasteland. â€Å". Science 326: 670–671. doi:10. 1126/science. 1176929. [edit]External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Electronic waste RECYCLING – FROM E-WASTE TO RESOURCES (UN Environmental Program, 2009, 120 pages) ? EMPA E-waste Guide ?World Reuse, Repair and Recycling Association ?Carroll, Chris (January 2008). â€Å"High-Tech Trash†. National Geographic Society. ?Disposal of Old Computer Equipment ?WEEE Forum [show] ?V ?T ?E Waste and waste management [show] ?V ?T ?E Recycling View page ratings Rate this page What's this? Trustworthy Objective Complete Well-written I am highly knowledgeable about this topic (optional) Submit ratings Categories: †¢Electronic waste †¢Create account †¢Log in †¢Article †¢Talk †¢Read †¢Edit †¢View history †¢Main page Contents †¢Featured content †¢Current events †¢Random a rticle †¢Donate to Wikipedia Interaction †¢Help †¢About Wikipedia †¢Community portal †¢Recent changes †¢Contact Wikipedia Toolbox Print/export Languages †¢ †¢Catala †¢Cesky †¢Dansk †¢Deutsch †¢Espanol †¢Euskara †¢ †¢Francais †¢ †¢Italiano †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢Nederlands †¢ †¢Portugues †¢ †¢ †¢Slovenscina †¢Svenska †¢ †¢ †¢Turkce †¢ †¢ †¢This page was last modified on 23 August 2012 at 20:31. †¢Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of use for details.Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. , a non-profit organization. †¢Contact us †¢Privacy policy †¢About Wikipedia †¢Disclaimers †¢Mobile view †¢ †¢ E-waste is a popular, informal name for electronic products nearing the end of their à ¢â‚¬Å"useful life. † Computers, televisions, VCRs, stereos, copiers, and fax machines are common electronic products. Many of these products can be reused, refurbished, or recycled. Unfortunately, electronic discards is one of the fastest growing segments of our nation's waste stream. With the passage of the Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003 , certain po

MW corporation

Structure and execute a DCF valuation of all the MW reserves using APV. How much are the reserves worth? Is your estimate more likely to be biased high or low? What are the sources of bias? Answer: The DCF valuation of all the MW reserves using APV Indicates that the net worth of the portfolio is around $516. 30 million. The estimate Is more likely to be biased on the higher side. The data for the projections was collected by Morgan Stanley and Amoco. Thus, the probable undeveloped and possible reserves estimated may be different from the ctual reserves.Amoco can get higher valuation by projecting higher reserves. Also, Amoco and Morgan Stanley projected that the price of a oil barrel will continue to rise for the next 15 years from the current price of S 20. 4 per barrel to S 443 per barrel. This increasing value of per barrel can significantly increase the valuation of the oil fields. COSTS: The costs In the projections were estimated based on the historical costs and cash overhead savings that Amoco expected to save from the sale of MW petroleum. However, Apache had very low costs and was an efficient operator of properties.Also, since the MW fields were operated by Amoco; this would result In more potential savings to Apache. likely to biased on the higher side. The DCF valuation using APV is shown in the next page. Interest tax shields: Assumed coupon on debt 12. 32% Assumed initial debt 182. 7 Year 1 interest 22. 5 Tax rate 36% Year 1 tax shield 8. 1 Assumed cost of debt 12. 00% Growth rate -4. 06% Value of tax shield (perpetuity) 50. 4 Value of â€Å"Additional assets† 25. 0 Total value of MW 516. 3 2. How would you structure an analysis of MW as a portfolio of assets-in-place and options?Specifically, which parts of the business should be regarded as assets-in- place and which as options? The whole portfolio of MW consists of 5 parts: i. Proved developed reserves it. Proved undeveloped reserves iii. Probable reserves ‘v. Possible reserves v . Other opportunities options as capital expenditures are associated with proved undeveloped reserves, probable reserves and possible reserves, and the company can choose whether to make these expenditures basing on the then prevailing prices of oil and natural gas.

Money Can Not Buy Happiness Essay

Do you believe that your income is the main factor in determining your happiness? It is a classic debate that has reached its tentacles into the minds of our nation’s individuals and wrapped itself firmly around their minds having them strive for happiness. Money does not buy happiness. Too many Americans are so blinded by their own ignorance that they constantly pursue happiness as if it was a matter of circumstance rather than their own perspective. Such a way of life is crippling to those individuals because they miss the plethora of opportunities for happiness that surrounds them in every way of life. Today, more and more people argue that money can buy happiness. Proponents of such a viewpoint often argue that money â€Å"makes the world go ‘round†. They may argue that it allows us to have carefree lives because we don’t have financial strain with money. They may argue that it gives people the ability to buy whatever they may want and that causes us to be pleased with our purchase. They may even argue that money allows one to be charitable to others. Those who make these arguments have the wrong perspective of the world. Those who argue that many buys happiness and those who live their lives in such a manner can never really attain true happiness. Clearly, these people who are striving to make money are really just striving to be happy. They dedicate their lives to being happy and thus place very significant value on being happy. One study attempted to determine the paradoxical effects of valuing happiness. It concluded, â€Å"valuing happiness could be self-defeating, because the more people value happiness, the more likely they will feel disappointedâ€Å" (Savino et al. 807). Furthermore, those that argue that happiness allows us to live carefree lives by removing the burden of financial strain need to change their  perspective in order to truly be carefree. People living life in such a manner are never truly carefree because they constantly have the stress on them to be making more money in order to live a carefree lifestyle. Such a conditional â€Å"happiness† is not truly carefree. Rather than living life in such a manner, people should remove the excessive stress of making money and appreciate their own respective situations. That certainly beats caging the circumstances under which they can thrive and be happy to only being included in a specific income bracket. Basically, put less value on how you regard happiness. â€Å"Valuing happiness may lead people to be less happy just when happiness is within reach† (Savino et al. 807). Individuals who believe that money can buy them happiness may believe that money allows them to buy certain objects or allows them to have certain experiences that allow them to be happy. However, one study showed, â€Å"†¦ that happiness seekers voluntarily choose to practice up to eight happiness strategies at a time suggests that by experience or instinct they have discovered a successful approach to the pursuit of happiness† (Lyubomirsky et al). However, there was little correlation between the application of these happiness seeking strategies and an actual real-world application’s effect on a boost in well being (Lyubomirsky et al). There is close to no correlation between activities or objects that â€Å"happiness-seekers† seek to buy and their own happiness. Rather than believing you can buy happiness with your money, one should perhaps try helping an old lady cross the street. The good feeling in your belly after such a kind and gracious act is true happiness. Raymond Angelo Belliotti argues that, â€Å"†¦leading a robustly meaningful, valuable life merits worthwhile happiness. But worthwhile happiness does not automatically follow from such a life. If we must choose, a robustly meaningful, valuable life is preferable to a merely happy life†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Belliotti). I completely agree with Mr. Belliotti. However, I believe that placing value and finding meaning in all that we do will correlate to a happy life. Finding meaning in what we choose to do can be the true pursuit of happiness that attains happiness. Thus, it is the pursuit of meaning and value rather than a pursuit of money that gives one happiness. Throughout history, the adage that money does buy happiness has been disproven. If this argument was true, then the argument would be made that serfs, peasants, and all poor or financially unprivileged individuals throughout history were unhappy. However, when put it such a broad context, that argument seems ridiculous. Throughout all of history, individuals found happiness in love, their families, their religions, their surroundings, their countries, etc. Uncivilized human beings who had no concept of money probably found much more happiness in all that they did because they lived without the shackles of the concept of money. One fascinating study was conducted that may silence those who believe money can buy happiness forever. â€Å"This study provides the first evidence that money impairs people’s ability to savor everyday positive emotions and experiences. In a sample of working adults, wealthier individuals reported lower savoring ability (the ability to enhance and prolong positive emotional experience). Moreover, the negative impact of wealth on individuals’ ability to savor undermined the positive effects of money on their happiness† (Mikolajczak, et al). This study clearly demonstrates the inability to have a prolonged positive emotional experience in wealthier individuals. This study literally states that money cannot buy happiness in other words. Furthermore, it goes on to say that those who have money actually tend to be less wealthy. This study gives evidence that could give so many people so much happiness if they applied it to themselves and stopped believing that money could buy happiness. The individuals who argue for the idea of money buying happiness may argue that money allows individuals to be more charitable and therefore allows individuals more happiness through their charitable work. Certain wealthy individuals like Bill Gates even has his own charity, which truly does magnificent work and helps the world. However, people are not all as privileged as Bill Gates. Individuals who have less money can still be incredibly charitable and save many lives. For example, thinking outside the box, volunteering at homeless shelters, helping the elderly, helping individuals around you in need on a daily basis, planting trees, etc. all  have great benefits and can help the lives of many people! All you really need to do to be charitable is ask yourself what it is that interests you and put your efforts into pursuing that charitable task! In conclusion, money simply does not buy anyone happiness. Happiness is a result of our perspective and how we see the world around us. People have found happiness is the worst circumstances imaginable. Many stories are told of those who survived the holocaust who put all their efforts into finding some piece of beauty around them in order to be happy. Something as simple as appreciating the sunrise can make someone happy. Happiness is not limited to high net worth individuals. Happiness is not reserved for the people who have money. Happiness is a human emotion and experience that is engrained into who we are as living creatures. Living things all around us experience happiness. My dog literally does not have a penny to his name (unless he has been stashing hundred dollar bills that I am unaware of), and literally is one of the most joyful things when he is taken to the park to run around with his owner and the other dogs. Happiness surrounds us in everything we do, it permeates every situation, money does not buy it; it is only attainable when you realize it was always there in the first place. Just reach out and grab it. Works Cited Belliotti, Raymond Angelo. â€Å"The Seductions Of Happiness.† The Oxford handbook of happiness. 291-302. New York, NY US: Oxford University Press, 2013.PsycINFO. Web. 1 July 2013. Moà ¯ra Mikolajczak, et al. â€Å"Money Giveth, Money Taketh Away: The Dual Effect Of Wealth On Happiness.† Psychological Science (Sage Publications Inc.) 21.6 (2010): 759-763. Academic Search Complete. Web. 16 July 2013. Nicole S. Savino, et al. â€Å"Can Seeking Happiness Make People Unhappy? Paradoxical Effects Of Valuing Happiness.† Emotion 11.4 (2011): 807-815.PsycARTICLES. Web. 1 July 2013. Sonja Lyubomirsky, et al. â€Å"Pursuing Happiness In Everyday Life: The Characteristics And Behaviors Of Online Happiness Seekers.† Emotion 12.6 (2012): 1222-1234. PsycARTICLES. Web. 1 July 2013.

Literature Review Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Literature Review - Thesis Example Applying the lean principles is an important part of the stages where the product development takes place. The key part of VSM is to understand and visually represent the processes involved. It is essentially therefore a modelling of all processes involved in the product development. When the product is developed or even during the design stage, it is also necessary to validate these processes. The various case studies mentioned in this paper show how lean principles have been applied and how VSM is carried out, for what purpose and the outcomes achieved. It is shown that at the heart of this is the extraction of as much value as possible. The important element that enables the above is data. Data collection and analysis is therefore the foundation for the entire endeavour. However, managing the data is not a straightforward task. There are issues of quality and procedures to consider for data management and movement, security and traceability, and appropriate data modelling. Data warehousing provides a total architecture for all data collection, storage and retrieval requirements, which is suitable for today’s needs. Moreover, data mining allows lean principles to be applied for extracting valuable data. Vibration testing is one particular area in which lean principles and VSM not only have significant potential but their use is critical. This is especially so for safety reasons besides improvements to structural design, increasing the longevity of the product and enhancing its overall quality. This review of the literature delves on the ideas and studies of others on the topic of value stream mapping. This could help to gather useful ideas, improve existing ones, and also put the researcher’s own study into context. Following a brief description of lean principles and methodologies, we describe Value Stream Mapping (VSM) in detail and discuss the significance of value as well as

Business Strategy for Coca-Cola Company Research Paper

Business Strategy for Coca-Cola Company - Research Paper Example The Coca-Cola Company was created in Atlanta, Georgia in 1886. It engages in the manufacture, distribution, and marketing of nonalcoholic beverages and syrups. The Company is responsible for the production and distribution of 400 brands of beverages, which include light and diet beverages, juice drinks and juice, waters, coffees, teas, energy and soft drinks. Moreover, the company owns various canning and bottling subsidiaries in different regions worldwide. In addition, the organization sells finished products of beverages which bear its trademark in more than 200 nations worldwide. By 2006, the Coca-Cola Company operated via eight segments which include Africa, Pacific Rim, East, South Asia; Latin America; European Union; North America; the Middle East and Eurasia; corporate and bottling companies. The Coca-Cola Company activities straddle various sectors of the soft drink industry: in world’s trade in 2004, the company was leading in terms of value and volume in the carbona tes, vegetable or fruit juice, coffee and ready to drink sectors. In the Asian specialty and functional drinks, Coca-Cola Company was the second-best player in the world (The Coca-Cola Company, 2015).   The company produces syrups and concentrates which are sold to different bottling organizations for final, processes such as dilution and packaging.   The collaboration between the Coca-Cola Company and other bottling companies creates the most effective distribution and production system in the world.

Should Community College increase its tuition fee Essay

Should Community College increase its tuition fee - Essay Example Some of the key players associated with the issue of college fee increment include the institution, the taxpayers, the government and students. Measures put in place by various governments has weakened the ability of most institutions to produce the required results to both taxpayers and students. In most cases, colleges have lost the ability to attain the required student capacity. The other stakeholders being the institutions stakeholders and students also play a significant role in ensuring that the cost accrued per completion of one’s learning is favorable and the money does not attract higher taxations. Typically, taxpayers put in an average of $56000 per degree expecting an average amount return of almost twice the initial investment. The unavailability of sufficient fund allocation acts as a diminishing factor since it only allows a limited number of students to attain education given the tough economic outlook. Community college education also spurs opportunity for mobility integration which is essential since it reduces the dependency rate of students on their parents. Moreover, community colleges effectively rely on government funding so as to get their resources therefore making them non-profitable and they end up having the highest enrollments. Implementing implement decisions that will ensure a reduction of community college tuition fees is rather important in fostering improved achievement amongst colleges. Through policy implementations, the public policies should always aim at increasing resource allocation to community colleges and cutting down on expenditure. The policies are significant in ensuring a reduction on the cost of education while enhancing strengths of community colleges in performing its initial mandate which is to serve students in the community. Community colleges can introduce short term courses to increase efficiency. This will significantly assist some students

Innovation management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Innovation management - Essay Example The new age of media has been cannibalizing the TV business. It is agreed that people are also watching a lot of content over the web but the charm and the thing about watching your favorite broadcasts with convenience at a desired time and location still holds good. Along with the digital challenge and the advent of innumerable choices in terms of content to be viewed has also let the viewers get spoilt for choice. Along with this, the social networking sites have also started getting connected to the viewership patterns where tweets and discussions on social networking sites lead towards the rise of real time viewership for shows â€Å"An Essay: Innovation Models For The Digital Age.†. The following report is a development of a new innovation of within the television industry for Samsung Group. The paper proposes a remote free television that shall be controlled by voice, gestures and expressions of the user. The report brings out a comprehensive study of development, launch, implementation and execution of the desired product into the marketplace. Samsung and its success has been recognised the world over through the last decade. The South Korean company has been synonymous with being the world leader in terms of televisions production and mobile phone technology. The company has also been ranked among the world third most innovating firm by the Fast Company Magazine. The company has grown over the years to become the global leader in consumer electronics from being a local industrial player in its home country. The conglomerate is involved into a number of businesses from apparels to foods and consumer electronics. It has about 19 listed companies under the Korean Exchange and employs about 427,000 people as of 2013 data (â€Å"About Samsung†). Samsung Electronics, the most revered technology company had launched its 3D television in March 2010. It was the pioneer in the 3D vision technology in its television sets. With this innovation, the

Question and Answers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Question and Answers - Essay Example With regard to ownership, a business can be owned by one individual, a small group of individuals and it can be owned by the public at large as a publically traded company. For privately owned companies, the main advantage is control since these companies do not have to keep the wishes of the shareholders in mind while making large business decisions. Additionally, the profits earned by them are taken by the owners and not divided amongst the shareholders. However, they may not have access to large amounts of capital which publicly owned companies can generate from issuing shares. Publicly owned companies also have the advantage of limited liability in case the business fails or the company hits the ground regarding the investments made by the company. The primary source of capital for privately owned businesses are investors such as venture capital companies, individual investors and banks which give out loans to privately owned company. For companies under a partnership, several individuals may bring their assets together and use that as a capital base for the company. The relationship between a business and its investors may be defined by ownership where the profits made by the company are owned by the investors until their liability has been paid up. The two most important factors which must be understood well before a business is started are the business plans and the value chain which the business seeks to provide to its clients. In the first instance, the business plan shows investors and company owners the method by which the company plans to make money over a period of time. The value chain shows the process by which the company will deliver a certain value to the customers and how the customers will reward the value given to them with money that can be used by the company. Once these elements are understood, it becomes easy to see if the

The Universal Subordination Of Women To Men Essay

The Universal Subordination Of Women To Men - Essay Example Female subordination is universal in that it transcends every type of social and economic arrangement in societies of every degree of complexity. Ortner argues that the cultural logic behind the assumption of female inferiority is so highly persuasive that people inevitably subscribe to it. For example, in China, the ideology of Taoism equates both yin (the female principle) and yang (the male principle). The opposition or the interaction and alteration of these two forces influence all the phenomena in the universe. Based on this principle, one would assume that males and females are universally valued in the ideology of Chinese culture. However, looking at the social structure, one observes the strongly emphasized patrilineal descent principle, advocating the importance of sons and the absolute authority of fathers in the family. Thus, we can conclude that China is the archetypical patriarchal society (Ortner, 1974, P.69). Considering the actual roles played, power and influence wielded, and the material contributions made by women in Chinese society, which are a one would observe that women are allotted a high status in the system. For instance, the goddess Kuan Yin is the prominent deity, in terms of worship and depiction, in Chinese Buddhism. Thus, in reference to goddess-worshiping in China, like most prehistoric and early historical societies, is a form of matriarchy. Ortner asserts that in her investigation of cultures, she found women to be subordinate to men in every known society. For example, among the matrilineal Crow society, women had highly honorific offices in the Sun Dance. They could become directors of the Tobacco Ceremony and played a more conspicuous part in it than men. They could sometimes play hostess in the Cooked Meet Festival, and were not

SWOT Analysis for CH2M Hill Strengths Essay Example for Free

SWOT Analysis for CH2M Hill Strengths Essay CH2M Hill has many strengths within the company; some of which will be identified in this section. CH2M Hill is a well established brand name with lots of successful Government projects and private projects including the Program Management of the Olympic venues for the 2012 London Olympics. The company has a well defined code of ethics, outlined in â€Å"Jim’s Little Yellow Book†, that each employee should follow and an anonymous hotline, The Guideline, to notify the company of observed ethics violations. CH2M Hill is employee owned through an internal common stock market, giving the employees buy-in into policies and procedures (BUS100mottariano, n.d.). The company has a diversified revenue stream utilizing various areas of expertise in several engineering aspects. CH2M Hill offers full-service capabilities in various business components, among three key operating divisions, Water, Energy Facilities; Government, Environment Infrastructure; and International. Business groups served include: Water; Transportation; Operations and Maintenance; Government Facilities and Infrastructure; Nuclear; Environmental; Energy and Chemicals; Power; and Industrial and Advanced Technology. CH2M Hill developed, upholds and brings out its own process for organization projects for clients, called the CH2M HILL Project Delivery System. This system is such a comprehensive proven system that other firms have engaged CH2M Hill for training and a book has been publish by the firm on the process (Free SWOT Analysis, 2013). Weaknesses Along with its strengths, CH2M Hill also has weaknesses that it needs to overcome to maintain its level of success. The company is rather large and occupies many offices around the world making it difficult to enforce the code of ethics it is so known for in the industries it serves. CH2M Hill has difficulty ensuring compliance to regulations while performing work in so many different states and countries, opening it up to fines and lawsuits. The firm has acquired and merged with other companies to increase its diversity and market position but in turn has had troubles ensuring that these new acquisitions conform to regular practices (BUS100mottariano, n.d.). With the joint ventures CH2M Hill has entered into has come the inability to determine the exact effectiveness of that division where  failure will lead to recognized losses. The firm’s high tech nature and complete reliance on computers and systems makes it vulnerable to financial losses and reputation loss if any of their networks or systems were to fail. CH2M Hill has an employment disadvantage as its existing work force continues to get older every year due to a declining incoming work force and its inability to attract or hire younger professional personnel (Wikidot, n.d.). Opportunities The external market and business factors have created opportunities for CH2M Hill. As other countries develop their sustainable energy futures, there is great opportunity to work in these countries in energy development, one of the main business groups of CH2M Hill. During the course of projects CH2M Hill employees work alongside many subcontractors who could be acquired in the future so that the firm could offer whole project delivery. CH2M Hill‘s management is heavily involved in corporate responsibility activities that can increase the public view of the company (BUS100mottariano, n.d.). The cost leadership that CH2M Hill enjoys as its market strategy has positioned it in the market, enabling it to become the most documented name in the business. This provides an opening for attracting new clients to its web of customers (Free SWOT Analysis, 2013). As developing countries or developed countries look to upgrade their deteriorating infrastructures, CH2M Hill who is known for resource and infrastructure management will have a greater potential client pool. CH2M Hill who has succeeded in form their own 100% secured cloud could offer rentable cloud computing networks for small companies. C2HM Hill has vast experience in the asset management business and could offer this skill to others in North America. Although CH2M Hill has much experience in water management, they tend to work in smaller markets with the global water shortage the larger markets, such as China, are becoming more attractive. CH2M Hill could utilize its vast experience and expertise in renewable energy to gain new projects as the global market demand for cleaner energy resources increases. In addition to operational and maintenance aid in this increasing energy segment CH2M Hill could offer facilities management consultation to these plants (Wikidot, n.d.). Threats Threats to CH2M Hill will come from many different sources; we will discuss some of them below. A declining global economy with less money to invest in infrastructure and private projects will affect the amount of jobs to bid on. Even when there are jobs to bid competitors responding to requests for quotes and proposals can under bid and win projects over CH2M Hill (BUS100mottariano, n.d.). When jobs are won the unpredictable economic cycles could result in the failure of clients to pay their fees to CH2M Hill. To win certain jobs CH2M Hill must rely on subcontractors and suppliers opening them up to any issues that company may have. Unstable economic and industry pricing could lead to losses especially in fixed price contracts. Tightening of and ever changing environmental regulations can make it hard for CH2M Hill to keep up with the changes (BUS100mottariano, n.d.). With CH2M Hills many government projects changes in and functions of government spending priorities can affecting future revenues and even contract risk of termination. Being a part of the consumer industry and dealing with the consumption of fast moving consumer goods, CH2M Hill is highly affected by market trends worldwide. CH2M Hill suffers from the same employment that all North American companies face with the shrinking of the qualified labor force. International business and market risks relating to security corruption, weather and governmental policies threaten projects that CH2M Hill tries to win (Wikidot, n.d.). References BUS100mottariano. (n.d.). SWOT analysis. Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/a/email.vccs.edu/bus100mottariano/home/swot-analysis Free SWOT Analysis. (2013). SWOT Analysis on CH2M Hill. Retrieved from http://www.freeswotanalysis.com/construction/596-swot-analysis-on-ch2m-hill.html Wikidot. (n.d.). CH2MHill Business Model. Retrieved from http://civ1299bmreview.wikidot.com/ Wikidot. (n.d.). CIV1299 intermin report. Retrieved from http://interimreport.wikidot.com/#toc4

Business Plan For Hakuna Matata Coffee Shop Marketing Essay

Business Plan For Hakuna Matata Coffee Shop Marketing Essay Hakuna Matata coffee shop is managed by a team of three individuals. It is a joint of each persons contribution and different ideas and skills which we have expressed our best opinions and interest to achieve the roles of Hakuna Matata. This is a business pursued by three individuals executing the opportunity of opening a coffee shop right in the city centre and to best coffee sellers in the city, we have got the opportunity to be not only the best coffee sellers but also to gain a market share and create market segment and most of all to build a customer relation, the customer could either be a walk in customer or a corporate customer. The major roles of Hakuna Matata are to become the best and most popular coffee shop in the area serving at least five hundred customers daily. The companys objective is to turn profits for every month of operations and maintain a gross profit margin of 60%. Hakuna Matata is specialized in coffee and other value added service is that it provides other beverages like various types of juices and sodas, milk, tea and distilled water bottles and snacks, as coffee would certainly be more attractive with chocolate cookies and some crackers to enjoy the coffee. Each member of the team contributed evenly towards the completion of the business plan. Grace Busara researched on the management, Halimafilsan researched on the financial plan while I researched more on the marketing plan for the business plan. There are a lot of different things that could help the coffee shop be more successful that is by efficient team work within the 3 of us, including our hired staff, these are the waiters and the security guard, which all play their roles, and are part of the coffee shop. Where the team runs smoothly, we make sure that that every process is been taken charge to work efficiently, that is by assigning the tasks equally, so that there is all equal inputting to the coffee shop. It is efficient to do work as a team than as an individual as team work comes up with different ideas and views; we get to know each other more, which could lead us to the success of our coffee shop. By team work the tasks are accomplished efficiently. PROCESS OF IDEA INITIATION Through our research we discovered that there are very few coffee shops in the market, most of which subscribe to the low cost leadership strategy, therefore, Hakuna Matata as an opportunity in the market and by using differentiation strategy it could gain a market share and create its market segment and build a strong customer base. There are tremendous interest in entrepreneurship in Tanzania, inspire of the country being a third world country; we managed to compile the resources needed for an entrepreneurship. We came up with three ideas of small scale business enterprise which would be booming in Tanzania for at least the next five years. The idea of coming up with a business of coffee shop was accepted by very all three members of the team, that is by considering all the positive factors of opening a coffee shop in the city which includes the opportunity which from our research we discovered that there are very less coffee shops in Dar es salaam city and in the market which subscribes to the low cost leadership strategy , where Hakuna Matata can get a chance to use the differentiation strategy whereby we can have an opportunity to gain a market share and also create market segment and build a strong customer base. The idea of a coffee shop business plan came up after a long thinking and analyzing the ideas and views of other proposed business plans which was contributed by the team members. The structure of the business is quickly evolved, like the experiences in the commercial market, that knows how many coffee shops exist in the city and the coffee shops surrounded near by our coffee shop location. It takes much more to operate a coffee shop as such a product, the idea of selling coffee as a beverage, we have to be able to continuously offer what customers are looking for, and therefore we should consider that there is no shortage of consumers for the coffee beverage, as there less coffee shops surrounded within the area. After a lot of brainstorming and doing research of opening a venture in a country like Tanzania, we had come up with several ideas in which we had three best choices, these are the coffee shop, garbage collection and event management planning, all these three ventures seemed interesting to us, but we found that the coffee shop would me more attractive the market. INDUSTRY AND COMPETITIVE The position of Hakuna Matata Coffee Shop fills in the market place, which will be on reason for its success; the coffee shops aim is to accomplish its target by being the best coffee sellers in the city, and to attract every customer by our coffee by providing the best coffee and providing good customer services. The position of Hakuna Matata Coffee Shop will carve out for itself in the market, as it will be opened the whole day till evening, our target customers will be all the surroundings offices, these are The Bank Of Tanzania, National Bank Of Commerce, Azania Bank Limited, FBME Bank Limited, CRDB Bank limited and many other banks surrounding our coffee shop, including also the walking customers and other offices surrounding the location of the coffee shop. Looking at the grid, Hakuna Matata Coffee Shop is the only concept which feels good about its role pf selling and preparing the best coffee in the city, which captures the families and children and all types of genders and ages. It also captures the advantage of relatively short preparation time, and coffee is served. Hakuna Matata Coffee Shop is well positioned to take advantage of the significant opportunities by expanding the industry of providing coffee beverages. The coffee consumption on the rise is dependent on the agricultural sector, whereby there are a lot of coffee farmers but a few coffee beverage sellers in the market, thus Hakuna Matatas bargaining power is high and thus it can acquire large volumes at a low price and the culture of drinking coffee has always been there in the market for example the local vendors who walk around with coffee in a kettle. Hakuna Matatas market is within the metropolitan area whereby the number of consumers is substantially high. Since Tanzania is a tropical area and the need for cols drinks is necessary, thus Hakuna Matata will make its beverages both cold and hot as Dar es salaam city is has a moderate temperature above 28 degrees centigrade, therefore various types of other beverages will be offered, such as soda, tea, distilled bottle water, tea, milk and different flavors of juices. In this same segment the customers are further divided into female consumer who prefer milk tea and coffee which is not strong while the male clients prefer black coffee or coffee that is very strong. Hakuna Matata is targeting two main customers, one is the fixed customers which consists of the office workers, shop keepers, college and university students, whereby this group is the most liquid and consume large amounts of coffee per day, since our fixed consumers have limited time, Hakuna Matata will have store the coffee in the privately owned utensils which can will make it easier to the customers to leave with them as take away. The second target groups are the mobile consumers, these are the daily and new consumers, this group consists of individual who do not have a fixed location such as shoppers, pedestrians, walk in customers and many more. Our competitors are classified into two categories, that is the first priority competitors and second priority competitors, the first priority competitors are the ones which we have used the differentiation strategy, this includes serving coffee at the best quality level. The second priority customers are using the low cost and no frill strategy to gain a market share; this includes the local coffee makers and the street vendors in the city. Currently the completion for coffee as a beverage amongst coffee sellers is not fierce, whereby the seller can enter and leave the market rapidly. Coffee beverage selling is a relatively new industry in Tanzania, as it is not in the culture of Tanzania compared to tea, therefore the industry is in the state of flux, with less market leaders and nationally known providers or widely recognized brands as the other coffee sellers provide coffee which does not meet the taster and the requirements of the consumers. PRESENTATION EXPERIENCEANALYSIS Presetting a business plan helps us and the user to identify the objective of the business and analyze it in a critical manner; it helps us to focus in the feasibility of the business and to identify the chances of growth and success. It also enables to manage the business too accordingly and with a positive attitude. The presentation of the business plan is a way of communicating with your business which defines the purpose and the competition of the business and the management; it identifies the intention of creating a business into reality. it is important to present a business plans as it is useful if we are applying for a bank loan to fund our coffee shop, or trying to get an investor who can come and invest in our coffee shop, this could either be our friends and relatives or the government. The business plan presentation is useful if we are fund raising in general. No one will give us money nor fund as we have not planned your business plan positively as the business plan consists of how much money we need and for what purposes of the business, the marketing plan, the sales strategies, the profit projection. A business plan guides us on how we can raise capital and gives us a road map so we should know where the business is building up and growing. By presenting the business plan it is easy to identify the strength of the coffee shop business, as the demand for coffee increases daily due to our location which is in the city centre, this will also enable us to know who our customers are. We also noticed that coffee beverage is a push product as Tanzania does not have the culture of drinking coffee, though our target customers are mainly, the corporate offices, banks and other large organizations in the city, as coffee could become seasonal due to the weather in Dar es salaam which is humid through out the year. We also fear new entrants in the coffee market which could deploy our venture, although we have fewer competitors. It is very important to plan the business before executing it to reality, this will make us know how the business is going to survive and grow within the specific time, a business without a plan would certainly fail in a short period of time, hence it also enables us to achieve our targets and business goals. ALTERNATIVE SCENARIO Our start up capital is 20 million Tanzania shillings, where each member has contributed 5 million and another 5 million will be taken from FBME Bank limited as a loan. Our assumptions are that we assume a slow growth without recession taking place in Tanzania, we assume that there will be no unforeseen changes in the public health perceptions about our coffee and beverages that we offer to the consumers, we also assume that our finances are going to be sufficient to maintain our projected financial plan and we also assume that it will continue to grow as production increases. Besides coffee shop we also had different ideas on creating a small scale enterprise, researched the market and the environment surrounding us, whereby a lot of brain storming was done by all the three members of the group and came up with three different scenarios which we could create business plans were coffee shop business plan, event management business plan and garbage collection business plan, whereby our last and final choice was the coffee shop business plan. One of the ideas was to open a garbage collection, we researched and compiled the information which was to target the commercial and residential market, we came to know that the competitors are going to be low but the legal and financial requirements will not be able to cop up with our minimum amount of our startup capital. We came to know that there is a political risk in this business as the ministry of health had to approve the standard of our venture. We had come up with three different ideas amongst the coffee shop and garbage collection; we also had done our research on event management. From our research we learnt that event management planning will need a small start up capital and even the costs would be low, the marketing would be much more easier, planning the financials was depending on the event, being three of us it would be difficult to run an event, where a large labor force is required for this venture in order for this business to run well and the even to be successful, due to the large labor turnover, as since it is a new business we would be able to pay our staff. Event management being a high profit margin industry, as everyone would likes celebrations, and a well organized event the venture is highly profitable. This venture requires professional skills and high degree of energy for the execution of the event, it also requires communication, strong networking to be known in the market, excellent public relation is very important and we all three lack experience in events as we do not expertise art and creation of the venues. This two mentioned scenarios, disapproved us from choosing to open the ventures, therefore we choose coffee shop as a venture, as we all had the passion of selling coffee and making coffee in different methods and styles and from our knowledge and experience we finally concluded by opening the coffee shop in the city centre. USEFULNESS OF A BUSINESS PLAN As time passes the business develops. The business plan is a very useful and strategic tool which enables the company to achieve its target and goals within a given period of time, business plans are believed to be attainable if followed accordingly and by planning to reach the targets. The business plan compromises the plan on how to achieve the goals and targets including the management team, the usefulness of the business plan are that it includes the financial plans indicating the profit margin for each year respectively. It also shows the break even analysis. The business plan includes the marketing plan, this enables on how our coffee shop will be useful to the population surrounding the shop The financial plan section is the most important part of the business plan which shows how the ideas are viable and it is a key component in determining wither the business plan is going to be able to attract any investment in the planning of the coffee shop. The financial plan section compromises of financial statements which are divided into the income statement, the cash flow projection and a balance sheet including a brief explanation and analysis of each statement, therefore, the financial plan guides the growth and development of the coffee shop. When starting a venture, seeking additional capital for the coffee shop and setting new business process incase of the coffee shop fails to run, we need to write a plan detailing on how we will mange the resources and requirements which also includes the marketing decisions, the financial projections, a trend of the production demands and also personal needs. The plan reflects on three main constituencies that is the customer, the investor and the producer. A business plan has to be presentable to convince the venture capitalist, which should consists of a number of related issues that relate to the factors such as the critical success of the coffee shop, the human factor, the opportunity, the context and the possibilities of risk and reward, by analyzing these issues a business plan illustrates how the enterprise will seize the opportunity to enter the market and how its stand out amongst its competitors and how it plans to maintain a continuing growth trend. The investor or the per son who would be interested in captivating the coffee ship should see the level of detail before making any financial decision to the new coffee shop. OTHER AREAS For a business plan to be successful and profitable we clearly need to understand the firms customers and strength and completion in the market, it is the owners and shareholders who have to understand the behaviors of the customers and the strength and weaknesses. We should also have the ability to foresight and plan the future of Hakuna Matata Coffee Shop and its future expansion strategies. When it comes to the expansion of the coffee shop we need to know the financial plan which will enable us to how the coffee shop is growing. In order to operate the coffee shop more effectively we will have to manage the bargaining power of the suppliers and to manage the bills and also customer complains, as we need to take this matter into consideration in a calm manner and not to chase away the consumers. We have to show the consumers that we not only serve the best coffee but also our services are to a high standard of customer expectation.

Threat To India Or Economic Need Of China

Threat To India Or Economic Need Of China I have always thought that it is important, even essential, that these two countries of Asia, India and China, should have friendly and, as far as possible co-operative relations. It would be a tragedy, not only for India, and possibly for China, but for Asia and the whole world, if they develop some kind of permanent hostility  [1]   Jawahar Lal Nehru India and China have laid the ghost of the 1962 war to rest, and have turned their faces to the future. Prem Shankar Jha INTRODUCTION For more than 60 years, Pakistan and India and have been arguing and periodically coming to blows over one of the most beautiful places in the world i.e. Pakistan occupied Kashmir (POK). India, Pakistan and China are in possession of various parts of Jammu Kashmir. China-Pakistan relations have always been a matter of concern for India, however due to the increased involvement of China in POK the matter has worsened further. With presence of an estimated 11,000 soldiers of the Peoples Liberation Army in POK, one can confidently state about the growing foot-prints of China in POK  [2]  . This prompted views among many Indian military and political leaders and journalists that Islamabad is handing over the de-facto control of the strategic Gilgit-Baltistan region of POK to China. Further it is believed that as the years proceed, Pakistan will emerge as an instrument of Chinas force projection into South Asia.  [3]   With this as background, it is imperative to examine and understand Chinas interests and strategy in POK as these developments hold large significance for Indias security interests. INDIA CHINA RELATIONS India and China are two of the oldest civilizations of the world and in spite of the present economic, political and military environment and compulsions, these two countries have a long history of friendly relations. However, since 1913-14 Shimla Conference, the Sino-Indian border as part of the issue of Tibets status has been a matter of dispute in relations between the two countries and has resulted in military conflicts. Presently the renewed tensions between the two countries have been dominating diplomacy with issues like Chinas refusal of visa to a top Indian Army General and aggressive Chinese intrusions across the LAC. Pakistan Chinas strategic equation with Pakistan is another issue which is a hindrance to any meaningful improvement in Indias relations with China. China has been the biggest supplier of military hardware to Pakistan, some of which is made available to Kashmiri militants. The increasing involvement and presence of Chinese soldiers in POK has raised concerns in India. Economic A strategic partnership was announced by China and India in 2005 and both countries have in recent years successfully attempted to reignite diplomatic and economic ties and consequently, the two countries relations have become closer. Presently, China is Indias largest trading partner and has recently changed its stance on Indias bid seat at UNSC. This is viewed as beginning of a maturity period in Sino-Indian relations. CHINAS ECONOMIC GROWTH In 1949, Chinas economic system changed to a communist system and as Chinas contribution in world trade has grown; its importance to the international economy has also increased. China is the worlds second largest economy after the United States by purchasing power parity and is the worlds fastest-growing economy. Unequal Regional Development Deng Xiaoping, orchestrated Chinas reform and opening-up 30 years ago, once said that some areas must get rich before others.  [4]  This was due to the countrys massive scale, the economic development could not happen all at once across China. Planning and implementation of such an economy would take years, even decades and some areas would inevitably be developed before others and thus coastal regions of China were the best place to place to start, due to the natural advantage of access to Asian and overseas markets via the Pacific Ocean and South China Sea.  [5]  The two areas which benefited most from this economic strategy of China were the Yangtze River Delta region in the East and Pearl River Delta region in the South.  [6]   West China the New Economic Story Chinas unequal transportation system, combined with differences in the availability of resources (natural and human) and industrial infrastructure has resulted in large variations in the regional economies of China. Although Chinas coastal regions continue to develop, the initial boom has already slowed.  [7]  Furthermore, foreign investors are beginning to grow weary of the increasing costs of doing business in cities like Shanghai and Shenzhen.  [8]  Therefore, now both domestic and international businesses are looking towards the interior of the country, where overhead costs are lower. Chinas Western region will emerge as the most interesting economic development story of the coming decade. This Western region comprises of 28% of Chinas population and 70% of its landmass and presently it also accounts for 17% of the countrys GDP, but surely this is set to change for the better.  [9]   In 2001, the Chinese government implemented its Western Development Strategy also known as the Go West policy. The plan called for large infrastructure development in urban and rural areas. The main components of the strategy included the development of infrastructure (transport, hydropower plants, energy and telecommunications), enticement of foreign investment, increased efforts on ecological protection (such as reforestation), retention of talent flowing to richer provinces and promotion of education. The Western Development Bureau affiliated to the state, had released a list of 10 major projects in 2008, with a combined budget of 436 billion Yuan which included projects like, new railway lines connecting Guiyang and Guangzhou, Lanzhou and Chongqing, Kashgar and Hotan in Xinjiang; highways between Wanyuan and Dazhou in Sichuan Province, Shuikou and Duyun in Guizhou Province and airport expansion projects in Chengdu, Chongqing and Xian.  [10]  They also include building of hydropower stations, coal mines, gas and oil transmission lines and also public utilities projects in the western region. By the end of 2007, China had started 92 key construction projects in Western region, with a total investment of more than 1.3 trillion Yuan. The Big Western Line, also known as the South-North water transfer project, is another project being planned to be undertaken for diverting water from six rivers in Southwestern China to the dry areas of Northern China through a system of tunnels, reservoirs and rivers. A robust growth is already in place in the West, reaching 11.9% in the last year.   Over the past 10 years, the railway capacity has increased by 160%, Highway capacity by 280% and the energy capacity by 550%.  [11]  Fixed investment of West was 3,600 billion Yuan and per capita gross domestic product rose to 1,933 dollars per year in 2008, which is just 41.9% compared to the per capita GDP of East. In early July 2010, China announced fresh investments to the tune of 100 billion dollars for 23 infrastructure projects to promote rapid and healthy development of western areas.  [12]   CHINAS ECONOMIC SECURITY Chinas spectacular economic growth is largely responsible for its rising energy demands. While energy production in China sharply increased since 1980, consumption exceeded production by the end of the 1990s and the gap between consumption and production is continuing. Chinas natural gas supply is even more limited than oil. The IEA 2006, forecasts that Chinas oil import will increase five folds by 2030 from slightly less than 2 MMBD in 2002 to 10 MMBD, when imports will account for 80% of Chinas total oil needs. Moreover, as in the rest of Asia, China will become heavily dependent on the Persian Gulf (70% of oil by 2015) for future supplies and its oil will increasingly have to transit a series of vulnerable maritime choke points.  [13]  The constant and safe importation of oil has become a crucial issue in Chinas energy sector. SINO- PAK ECONOMIC NEXUS Gwadar Port Pakistan inaugurated its third deep sea port at Gwadar in 2005 and it became operational in 2008. Work for phase II, at estimated cost of US $ 932 million is in progress for building nine additional berths (including two oil terminals with capacity of 2, 00,000 DWT ships). Other then the economic and military advantages to Pakistan it is important to examine Chinas role and strategic interest in this project. It is widely claimed that there is Chinese interest in reaching the blue waters of Arabian Sea.  [14]  This is considered to be a strategic move by Chinese as they funded US $ 198 million (out of the total Phase I cost of US $ 248 million) and also provided 450 engineers onsite. Towards success of Chinas Go West policy, Gwadar provides access to a port at just 1500 km as compared to the Eastern ports at 3000 km for the products produced in Western China. Gwadar is the ideal transit corridor for China to import oil and gas from Iran and the Persian Gulf. It offers an alternative route which is safer and cheaper as compared to the Strait of Malacca, where China faces problems of piracy and is under US sphere of influence. In Oct 2010, Pakistan government also decided to build a connecting gas pipeline from Gwadar to Xinjiang, China.  [15]   Official sources confirm that an understanding has already developed at highest levels between Pakistan and China that the Gwadar port is to be taken from the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) and handed over to the Chinese. The port should have gone to the Chinese, who built it largely from their own investment, in the first place, says Baloch nationalist Rauf Khan Sasoli, who accuses former President Pervez Musharraf of giving it to the PSA to please his American masters.  [16]  This will result in not only transfer of power at the Gwadar port but will also allow Chinese to build Gwadar as tax-free industrial center, including oil and gas refineries and a network of roads and railways from Gwadar to China through the ancient silk route. An ambitious deal to build railways along the Khunjrab pass has already been signed between Pakistan.  [17]   There is another thought to this project where Gwadar is considered as the Naval base for the Chinese as part of its String of Pearls strategy and providing defence to its oil movement as part of energy security. However, China had always denied that Gwadar will be used by Chinese military. Pakistan occupied Kashmir The geopolitics amongst China, Pakistan and India has been under the influence of development in POK. The building of the Karakorum Highway proved to be a turning point and was instrumental in strengthening the Sino-Pakistan strategic relations. The Karakorum highway was constructed by Chinese engineers and was completed in 1986. It connects Chinas region of Xinjiang with Gilgit-Baltistan. China and Pakistan had signed a deal in 2006 to widen the Karakoram highway by almost 20 meters wherein China had promised US$ 350 million for the project and once the project is completed, the transport capacity of the strategically significant region will increase significantly which will facilitate Chinas free access to the oil-rich Gulf through the Pakistani port of  Gwadar.  [18]  Thus, it may be visualized that the Gwadar port will be an integral part of Chinas Foreign Trade route in future.   In return for Chinese assistance in the building the highway, Pakistan ceded the Trans-Karakorum Tract to China.  [19]  Since then, it has been a constant source of supply of arms, ammunition and nuclear material to Pakistan from China and other countries like North Korea. Apart from this, goods manufactured in China have crept into Pakistan on a massive scale due to this highway. The Sino-Pak collaboration in hydro-power projects in the POK region including controversial Diamer Bhasha Dam on the Indus River is also a matter of concern for India. During Zardaris visit to China in 2009, the two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on construction of a hydro-power station at Bunji, in the Astore district of POK, with the agreement to construct the hydro power project (7000 MW) on build, operate and transfer basis, which means that all the investment ($ 6-7 billion) will be made by Chinese entrepreneurs.  [20]  Further, there were agreements for cooperation in fisheries, agriculture, education, dams and investment. China has contributed substantially to the rehabilitation and rebuilding projects in POK after the devastating earthquake of Oct 2005. These investments have helped China strengthen its control over POK. China has also encashed on the deprivation and alienation of people in POK both at political and social level. The Karakorum highway has helped in providing the necessary support during the rebuilding and trading opportunities for people of POK. It has been reported that of an estimated 7,000 to 11,000 soldiers of the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army are in POK. Many of the PLA soldiers entering Gilgit-Baltistan are expected to work on the railroad and some are extending the Karakoram Highway, others are working on dams, expressways and other projects. In a way, these developments in POK brings out that, since Pakistan Army is unable to handle multiple conflicts, thus it apparently gave the Chinese army de facto control over Gilgit and Baltistan regions. For China, it is a win-win situation, as it stands to gain unfettered road and rail access to the Middle East through Pakistan.  [21]  The map of karakorum highway is shown below for better appricaition of the situation and its impoartance for Western Chinas economic growth. Karakoram Highway Map Karakorum Highway AN ALTERNATE VIEW TO INDO-CHINA RELATIONS China has finally moved away from Deng Xiaopings principle of hide your strength, bide your time so as to adopt a more proactive role in international affairs. The transformation that China is currently undergoing is clearly visible. Its changes in the socio-political and legal conditions confirm that the regime has changed away from the label of authoritarianism. The course of making decisions and strategy has slowly become decentralised and actors like media, think tanks, academic institutes/ university and voluntary associations and interest groups constitute major linkages between the government, its mechanism and the governed.  [22]   Visit of the Indian External Affairs Minister to China in 1999 marked the resumption of high-level dialogue. The joint declaration signed during the visit of Indian Prime Minister to China in June 2003 stated that China was not a threat to India.  [23]  Special representatives were appointed by the China and India in order to provide thrust to border negotiations. India also acknowledged Chinas sovereignty over Tibet and pledged not to allow anti-China political activities in India. On its part, China had acknowledged Indias 1975 annexation of the former monarchy of Sikkim and later rectified official maps to include Sikkim as part of India.  [24]  India and China are in the second stage of exploring the framework of a final package settlement covering all aspects of the India-China boundary dispute, which will be followed by the final stage of delineation and demarcation of boundary.  [25]   Convergence of Interests India and China have found substantial convergence of interests at the international level wherein they both share similar concerns about the growing international dominance of the US, the threat of terrorism disguised as religious and ethnic movements and the need to accord primacy to economic development. Both nations also favour more democratic international economic regimes.  [26]  They have strongly resisted efforts by the US and other developed nations to link global trade to labour and environmental standards. China and India put forward a joint Sino-Indian position in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and International trade negotiations. Chinas Neutrality Towards Indo- Pak Relations There has been a subtle shift in Beijings stance on Pakistan vis-à  -vis India. Chinas neutral position during the Kargil conflict, during Indo-Pak crisis following the terrorist attack on the Indias Parliament and during Mumbai terrorist attack is seen as sincere attempts of Chinas to improve ties. Towards Chinas attempts to project itself as a responsible regional player, it is supporting peace and anti-terrorist efforts in South Asia by cooperating with the India and US. China is also seen to be instrumental in encouraging Pakistan to negotiate with India by using its linfluence over Pakistan. On, 02 Dec 1996, when Jiang Zemin famously advised the Pakistani senators to set aside the Kashmir problem and improve their relationship with India, he thereby decisively distanced China from the Kashmir imbroglio.  [27]   Bilateral Trade As India and China have found a distinct convergence of their interests on world stage, they have used it to strengthen their bilateral relations on social, military and economic front. Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs government had made it clear that it favoured closer ties with China and would continue to work towards improving and strengthening bilateral relations with China. Among the most encouraging developments in India-China ties is the rapid increase in bilateral trade. A few years ago, India Inc had a fear of being swamped by Chinese imports, whereas today, it is estimated that the bilateral trade between the two countries will grow by 20 per cent to reach beyond $60 billion in 2010-11 from the present US $ 50 billion. Political Initiatives Chinese premier Wen Jiabao told Manmohan Singh during the Indian Prime Ministers visit to China in Jan 2008, that there was enough space for China and India and the two leaders resolve to promote building of a harmonious world of durable peace and common prosperity through developing the Strategic and Cooperative Partnership for Peace and Prosperity between the two countries. China and India also cemented a shared vision for the 21st century by agreeing to raise the annual volume of bilateral trade to $ 60 billion by 2010 and to play role in transforming Asia and the World. In 2009, China and India witnessed frequent high-level interactions. Chinese President Hu Jintao held talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) summits in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Premier Wen Jiabao interacted with Manmohan Singh at the East Asia Summit in Thailand and the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference.  [28]   CHINAS PRESENCE IN PAKISTAN NOT A THREAT TO INDIA China and India know that any conflict would have devastating effect on both countries, because of the nuclear threat and thus the ability to co-operate and solve disputes through diplomacy is in the interest of both countries. India is continuing to improve its relations with China on the convergence of interests that the two nations have achieved in recent years. In respect to Indo-Chinese cooperation it is noted that while they are rivals, they are not enemies and that they knew how to work together with common interests in mind which is exemplified by their burgeoning trade relationship and the potential to work together on a number of key issues, such as terrorism, drug trafficking, global trade and climate change.  [29]   China is presently busy in Xinjiang region trying to calm the Uighur separatist movement, it is trying its best to hold Tibet, the military intervention in Taiwan is now a possibility and war of words with Vietnam has already started. Importantly, Indias relations with China are improving with improved bilateral trade, increased political initiatives and military co-operations. Thus, having studied the Chinese need and strategy for development of its Western region, the importance of Gwadar port and POK for the western region and Chinas energy security concerns, it can be confidently stressed that Chinas presence in Pakistan is not a threat to India but is the economic need of China.