An extraordinary economic growth was witnessed in the BRIC countries before the financial crisis. This helped in reinforcing the common viewpoint among the investors that this group is an essentially uniform whole but there were some persistent growth differentials even during the period of economic boom with China showing a threefold growth rate, Brazil having a growth rate ranging between 2.5 to 3.7% while as Russia and India performed moderately.
Business Analysis of Economic Boom in BRIC countries – a Myth or a Reality
When it comes to economic theory, GDP growth is decomposed into three factors- the growth of capital stock, labour force and total productivity. Looking back at the statistics of the past year China was the clear leader among the group in terms of productivity and investment. Meanwhile the growth in Brazil is mostly powered by capital accumulation and increased employment but surprisingly there was a negative productivity growth. Moreover, this upsurge in capital accumulation was the result of foreign capital inflows. When it comes to Russian investment, it also shows signs of weakness due to much emphasis on exports. This shows that the performance of these BRIC countries has oscillated between stability and insecurity.
Business Analysis Focuses on the Reversal of the Roles Due to Domestic and External Constraints
The rapid weakening of the demand growth coupled with de-leveraging process in the developed economies of the world after the recent financial crisis has resulted in weakening of the external growth driver in the BRIC countries. The impact of this change has been most prominent in China because exports had been a vital driver of economy. Moreover, the cutback on trade finance by the Western banks and slowed commodity demands have also contributed to this negative dynamic. BRIC governments provided a kind of hangover from policy incentive to counter the financial crisis but it resulted in weakening the economies of the respective countries.
The Current Financial Strength is an Advantage when it comes to Business Analysis of BRICS
The recent global economic meltdown is a warning sign for the policy makers in BRIC countries against adopting an aggressive stimulus policy but there are some financial strength indicators that point towards a positive trend. In spite of the current reduction in the balance sheets of BRIC countries, the private debt metrics and government debt are in a comparatively better position when compared to the industrialized countries of the world. Moreover, all the countries are showing a healthy external asset position in addition to a robust foreign currency reserve. This means that BRIC countries aren’t under extreme pressure of constraining their growth and they can even afford to ease their policies to some extent. This is likely to result in a moderate recovery cycle in 2013.
The Future Strategy in Terms of Business Analysis of BRIC Markets
In terms of the future prospectus of BRIC nations, it is expected that India and China can look forward to emerge as growth leaders among this group. The key factors that would drive success in future would be encouragement of private saving and steering this saving into private investment instead of the conventional route of governmental spending. The transfer of foreign technology and investment should be encouraged and the regulatory barriers that come in the way of expansion of manufacturing and service sector needs to be eased.
Although the BRIC countries have a lot of potential to offer from an investor’s point of view effective safeguards need to be put into place to prevent the group from falling.
Umbrella companies are a very useful tool that can be used by a number of different types of people. Those who are in roles such as completing contract work, temporary work, intern work, consultancy and freelance work will need to complete their own tax returns and ensure that they are paying the right amount for the various taxes and contributions they must complete.
This can prove to be a time consuming and difficult task, with many people far from experts on the ins and outs of the situation and what they are supposed to be doing and paying. A great way around this is for people to make use of the services of umbrella companies, who can deal with these sorts of things for them and ensure that they are paying the right amount for the various taxes, leaving them safe in the knowledge that it is all being taken care of and that they will not have any unwelcome further charges of fines.
Here, we are going to take a look at some of the different sorts of services that umbrella companies may have on offer for their users and clients.
Umbrella services
Any umbrella company based in the UK is classed as an Employment Management Company, meaning that they must operate by the PAYE set of rules. Some of these employment management companies claim to be able to help their clients get more of their money by offering them a greater percentage of their take home pay, but this is simply not the case, and would be illegal if it was true. The real basic service that the umbrella company offers is that being an “employee” of one means that a person will simply pay the same amount of tax and National Insurance as any full time employee would. The regulations and legislation regarding this are the same for everyone, “without exemption”.
CIS (Construction Industry Scheme) services
The Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) sets out the rules for how payments to subcontractors for construction work must be dealt with by the contractors. Although applying mainly to the field of construction, businesses or organisations whose core industry is not construction but still have a high spend in the field may also count and be able to fall under the scheme. For someone to make the most of the services offered with regards to this by umbrella companies, an individual must be registered as being self employed with HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) with their own unique tax reference. They can then register as a subcontractor under CIS.
Help with mortgages
An interesting and potentially worrying circumstance came about, when lenders realised that their traditional criteria for assessing a mortgage application would mean a large number of contract and freelance staff would have no chance of being successful. So, some umbrella companies now offer the extremely useful service whereby the lenders assess the applications differently, judging them on criteria more specifically relevant to those in the contractor and freelancer community.
This article takes a look at the different sorts of services that can be offered by umbrella companies. The umbrella company can help contractors and other freelance staff in a number of different capacities.
As a freelance journalist, Simon Wells is a regular user of umbrella companies and would highly recommend their services. Simon writes on a whole range of topics, from news and sport to finance and entertainment.
The mantra for servicing the needs of today’s generation of customer is ubiquity. The customer is indeed getting more and more mobile. Businesses need to customize their offering to suit this new age requirements. The customers need your offering and you need to reach out to them when they need it, where they need it and in the form they need it. This is where Location Based Services (popularly called LBS in short) are typically changing the nature of the services rendered through technology during mobility.
LocationBased Servicesare typically information intermediary that creates value by providing services, accessible with mobile devices like smart phones, web-enabled basic phones, PDAs, Notepads and Palmtops through the services of a telecom network provider. Typically these services utilize the ability to make use of the geographical positioning data of the mobile device to render the service offering. These services are getting immensely popular as a tool for services marketing for B2C focused businesses.
For example, you are at prime location within a city and you are travelling. Suppose you are not very familiar with the city and its layout, which is likely to be the case, if you are in any of the industries which requires frequent travelling (e.g. Consulting, IT, Business Development). In fact, give the growth in the service sector in current times, this essentially encompass the majority market of potential consumers. You, a potential consumer, suddenly feel the need of servicing your car or filling up your gas tank. Also you are hungry and some snack would be highly relished. With a system like LBS enabled on your mobile device, you can be guided to the closest place at the time of your need to the junction that can service your needs in the best possible way. It may be a Gas Station with a food joint. Thus you may be also cross-sold products or services while you are servicing your own need. This is rather a move towards need based marketing from the impulse based marketing.
This is why solutions developed over a framework using Location Based Services have a very high potential for cross-selling and upselling new offerings and lower the cost of new customer acquisition drastically. It essentially is need driven marketing rather than impulse driven marketing. Intimation of location specific services may be offered to potential customers, and conversion of leads to sales may be extremely high, in certain administrations. For instance, near a roadway, if a joint is available that provides refreshments, and the travellers are intimated of the same during a journey about the same, this may rake in huge benefits.
Further, even if conversion of a potential customer does not happen, information regarding services which are delivered over mobile commerce channels using Location Based Services have a much higher recall and offering awareness, which create tremendous network value through the cascading and spiralling reach into a potential customer’s social network. Imagine, you friend knowing about a service when he or she is with you on a trip. This is again where indirectly Location Based Services create value for firms.
About Arpan Kar: Dr. Arpan Kar (PhD) is a faculty of the globally renowned Indian Institute of Management. He has rich experience in research, training and consulting in e-business, e-commerce, digital marketing, technology marketing and technology enabled supply chain administration. He was prior connected with IBM Research and Cognizant Business Consulting besides handling advisory projects for multiple Fortune 500 MNCs. He is the Editor of Business Fundas and also writes for Technorati.
Many people in the ranks of companies look up to their CEO or CFO and dream of having their job one day. This dream, while achievable, is rarely easy. Executive recruitment teams look only for the very best people when filling the top jobs in a company or corporation because so much is at stake when choosing a new chief officer. To fulfil a dream of rising to the top of a company employees should gain a solid education both inside and outside of school, network extensively, and never be afraid of doing what it takes.
A good CEO or CFO has to be more than just a smart person. They must have a thorough understanding of basic business practices, their own business’ practices, their competitors, and the world around their business. Then they take that information and put it into practice, making the company better. This is why most CEOs and CFOs have both a bachelor’s and master’s degree, as well as years of experience behind them. People who dream of becoming the top boss must remember this and constantly be looking for ways to expand their knowledge and utilizing that knowledge on the job.
From there, a person must also network. It is important to become a person known for reliability, intelligence, courage and resourcefulness when looking into opportunities for executive recruitment. Having friends and acquaintances throughout the company will help you not only become a CEO or CFO, but will make the job run smoother once you have achieved the top ranks. Another part of this is mentoring. Find people you admire in the company and ask for their help when you need it. Their experience can become your experience.
It is vital to turn into an individual known for unwavering quality, sagacity, fearlessness and resourcefulness when investigating chances for official recruitment. Having companions and acquaintances all around the organization will help you turn into a Ceo or Cfo, as well as will make the employment run smoother once you have accomplished the top ranks. An alternate part of this is tutoring. Find individuals you appreciate in the organization and request their assistance when you require it. Their experience can turn into your experience.
Finally, a good way to rise up the corporate ladder is to be willing to take chances if those chances lead to greater opportunities. This might mean switching jobs if your own company is holding you back; it might mean accepting a promotion that requires moving across the country, or the world. If you can see an advantage to doing something unexpected or different, do it. Learning when and how to take chances is part of the process you must undergo if you wish to become a leader.
A good CEO will have the knowledge, connections and familiarity with risk and opportunity to take their company farther. Start now and those skills will follow you.
