SWOT Analysis of Chile: Business and economic trends

SWOT Analysis of Chile: Business and economic trends Country Profile – Chile 2014 2014 LATIN AMERICAN BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT REPORT INTRODUCTION In 2014 the business environment in Latin America did not live up to expectations, and seems that it will not deliver significant results for 2014.Growth rate dropped again, down in 13 of the 18 countries covered in the LABER analysis. Lower commodity prices and financial market volatility in Latin America Governments struggled to cope with growing economic imbalances and rising social discontent. The 14 countries adhering to the centrist social-market paradigm, in spite of these pressures, did not deviate from its more business-friendly policies. Should the economic slump deepen in 2014, it was not unreasonable to expect pressures for change to deepen. Country Profile –Chile Political Factors: SWOT Analysis of Chile: Strengths Chile experiences open economy and the bilateral, regional and multilateral trade agreements led to a increase in foreign trade International competitiveness has faced an increased growth rate due to the trade agreements Chile offers foreign investors some of the world’s most competitive business costs Privatization and deregulation have created public utility and telecommunications industries Corporate taxes and labor costs are relatively low No evidence of active terrorism in Chile Occurrence of serious offences remains relatively low, despite reports of increased crime levels Chile capital, Santiago is considered one of the safest countries in Latin America Enjoys a stable democratic political system, with strong institutions Comprehensive legal framework and independent judiciary Weaknesses Binomial electoral system is ripe for reform Chile is vulnerable to external shocks due to overdependence on primary export industries Supply shortages and potential power stoppages due to heavy dependence on imported sources of energy Reforms of Chile’s institutions and labor market remain unlikely. Absence of reform exacerbate structural imbalances in the economy Absence drags on economic growth Opportunities Foreign investors are supported by the Government through three investment mechanisms The mechanisms offer the rights of both the state and the investor throughout the implementation of project Significant opportunities for inbound investment in areas of power generation and transportation, as well as copper production Since 1990, Chile has enjoyed an uninterrupted period of stable democracy Voting is compulsory for all voters older than 18. Government took important measures to increase efficiency of public administration by 2003 and ensuring a transparent government Congress also approved a law to regulate the financing of political parties and election campaigns Threats Growing public protests among the poorer sections of society High levels of income inequality and discontent with the cost of education Weakening government’s popularity Chile’s major ports and industrial mines suffer growing labour unrest Business environment in the country: BMI Business Environment Risk Ratings Chile ranks 28th out of 191 countries in business environment rankings and scoring around 64.0. This makes Chile the outperformer of the neighboring countries by some distance and places it higher than several developed industrial economies. In terms of ‘market orientation’, it ranks well ahead of many developed states including the US and the UK. Nonetheless, causes for concern remain. The country has a sizeable infrastructure deficit, reflected in our relatively weak score for Chile’s business infrastructure, a category in which Chile ranks just 55th globally. Chile is an open economy and practices bilateral, regional and multilateral trade agreements. This has led to a steady increase in foreign trade and the country’s international competitiveness. Chile offers foreign investors some of the world’s most competitive business costs. Privatization and deregulation have created sophisticated telecommunications, healthcare and public utility industries. Chile at the same time has maintained a moderately low corporate taxes and labor costs. Environmental factors: Chile is a highly Election dominated environment. It possesses the following features with regard to the environment: Solid economic performance Throughout the region of Latin America growth softened, but the drop was not steep in Chile and the outlook was encouraging with average annual growth rates for the period 2004-12. The causes of slower economic growth were lower export earnings, weaker investment and slower growth in the domestic demand. The local stock market has downgraded by 15% in dollar terms for the year, making it the worst performing of the major exchanges. This fall in the exchange rates made the economic scenario quite unfavorable for the foreign investment. The depreciating peso was accounted for the major fall in the economic performance. (upto 521 to the dollar) Exports softened but FDI surged Chile is the world’s largest producers of copper. Being in its maximum height of production, the decline in world copper prices affected Chile’s market negatively. Copper accounts for 60% of exports and 20% of GDP. Chile drew its attention away from copper due to the long-term need to diversify the economy and such heavy dependence on a single commodity. As the Chinese economy relaxed, copper prices fell down by 12% in November affecting Chile’s trade and exports, resulting in a fall in 2012. The CAD (current account deficit) and debt increased due to the exports slump. Chile has favorable access to bond markets and foreign investors due to its best managed economy and the highest credit rating in Latin America, and hence its environment remains very investor friendly. Resulting in a Net FDI tripled in 2012. Public protests broke out again Chile was recognized as a world leader in the implementation of the market reforms that was responsible for the generation of growth and rising standards of living. Chile has proven unemployment rate that fell to a historical low of 5.7% in October. Despite the growth, Chile was the first country to face rising citizen discontent in the form of the street demonstrations, which are now common throughout Latin America. Chile experienced for the first time in 2013 students, unions and Mapuche Indians all conducted disruptive demonstrations. Election returned center-left coalition to power As expected, former President Michelle Bachelet easily defeated Alianza por Chile, the candidate of the governing party, and her New Majority coalition won a majority in Congress. In many respects, the outcome was disappointing for Bachelet and her supporters. The disappointing fact was the low turnout , with voting was no longer mandatory, especially among first-time voters who were expected to deliver an easy first-round victory. Central Bank lowered interest rates to stimulate growth In order to stimulate the growth in the face of weak domestic demand, the Central Bank cut interest rates. This will further enhance the growth of the economy and productivity. National strategies and public policies: Chile follows the strategies to raise taxes, reform education and providing free tuition for university students. These reforms were mainly targeted in reducing inequality, thereby reducing the protests. Keys: Progress on reform agenda; price of copper Industry structure and competitive dynamics in terms of Infrastructure Labor: Infrastructure: Chile has a well developed and efficient infrastructure network, which contributes to the governments export-driven development strategy. Since the adoption of build-operate transfer concessions the countrys physical infrastructure has improved substantially. Though considerable damage was done to the existing countrys infrastructure network by the devastating 2010 earthquake, the ongoing focus of government attention ensure the rebuilding of Chiles infrastructure. The Pan-American Highway is considered to be high international standards and backbone of Chiles road system. Chile also has world-class airport and seaport infrastructure. Chile is working to develop a network of transport corridors across the region, using rail and road infrastructure. This will uplift the Chiles exports to Argentina and Brazil, and also facilitate the use of Chilean ports for exports to Asia. Energy: Energy supply in Chile is considered the Achilles heel. With its limited domestic energy supply, the country heavily relies on the bulk of its energy resources on Imports. It has to maintain sound relations with its neighbors to realize the valuable energy supply. The reliance on energy imports, particularly on natural gas from Argentina (where 80% of gas imports originate), is a growing problem. The Chilean government has prioritized addressing the electricity issue. Intellectual Property Rights In the International Property Rights Index of 2013, Chile comes in 28th place out of 130 countries. This places Chile the highest ranked of all emerging markets. Chile approved legislation to bring the country into compliance with the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) signatory obligations .As per the TRIPS signatory, Chile must meet the agreed standards pertaining to copyrights, including producer rights, industrial designs, patents and trademarks. The area in which Chile was most scrutinized is IPR in pharmaceutical products. This is due to the fact that Chile lacks a transparent system for protecting pharmaceutical patents. In 2005, the MOP established a system in protecting data related to pharmaceutical products. Business-government relations: Chile is positioned with a stable political outlook and sound economic fundamentals for steady, albeit slower, economic progress. Due to its high reliance on copper exports and oil imports, Chile is posed to a high risk to economic progress. Diversification of the countrys economic drivers will be essential to ensuring sustainable growth to remove the high dependence on the copper exports and oil imports. But this diversification may drag the GDP of the country leading to a more consumer-driven economy. Moreover, the GDP per capita is envisioned to nearly double between 2013 and 2022, in line with President Sebastià ¡n Pià ±eras goal of at least US$25,000 GDP per capita by 2020. This would give Chile de facto developed country status. Nevertheless, we will face two obstacles that would hamper Chiles economic growth over the upcoming years: Despite the countrys vast reserves of hydroelectric power, periods of drought have exposed Chiles dependence on energy imports; modernizing power generation and transmission will be highly essential to continued growth. Potentials Risks and bottlenecks faced by Chile Government: Chile faces few terrorist activity and regional security threats in comparison with neighboring countries. Other Potential risks are in the field of labor, education, healthcare, communication and transportation facilities. Strikes and public protests present a significant risk to business in Chile. In recent years these events have been concentrated in the areas of health, education, transportation, communication and civil service sectors. The real wages are slowly increasing in a less alarming way and high corporate profits have led to greater worker resentment. Strike action is becoming more widespread. It is not totally uncommon for labor tensions to develop into full-blown conflict. These labor conflicts largely affect the copper mines functioning. This leads to a significant amount of delays in certain large mining and energy projects. Mapuche political activists pose a growing threat to the foreign investments due to hindrances in the domestic security and the countrys business climate. These conflicts lead to a significant drag on the Chilean business environment if left unresolved. According to government statistics, crime rates are falling. Chile OUTLOOK in the face of Attractive Business Environments In the business environment analysis conducted by Business Monitor, only 9 nine countries emerged with the most business attractive environments in the Latin America region. Although there are differences among them, they all share significant positive strengths: Sustained growth with moderate inflation Favorable external profiles Declining poverty and growing middle classes; Stable, multiparty, centrist politics; Social-market economic policies; Slowly improving legal systems Seven of the nine ranked highest of the 18 LABER environments on the 2013 World Economic Forum’s global competitiveness score as given below. Chile government supports business and related investments with its strong and efficient legal framework Most accommodative in the region Government continues to place attracting foreign investment high on its priority list Infrastructure network is a major asset to the Chilean business climate Open foreign trade regime, helps to maintain the countrys reputation as an attractive foreign direct investment (FDI) destination Corruption and criminal activity remains a nuisance Pià ±era government has struggled to produce results on these fronts

Netw4 Essay

Netw410 Week 1Report The first objective in the LAN Modeling tutorial is Setting Up the Scenario. The final step in setting up your scenario appears below. 1. (30 points) Once your project is created (after Step 6 above), your workspace will contain a map of the United States. Your project and scenario name can be seen in ITGuru’s top window border in the form of Project: Scenario: . Capture a screenshot of your new project workspace that clearly shows your project and scenario name, and paste it below. 2.(40 points) In college-level paragraph(s), describe how background traffic affects both e-mail data and VoIP data. INTRODUCTION In this week’s lab exercise, we had the opportunity to create a network simulation from the ground up using OpNet IT Guru. The purpose of the exercise was to gain familiarity with OpNet functions along with network objects and associated behavior based on the configuration of network variables. Some of these objects include Application Definit ions, Profile Definitions, Subnets, and the various means of connecting these components in a topology. The lab exercise itself provided a foundation for creating a simulated environment that was focused on evaluating the impact of background link load on FTP traffic. After creating the initial simulation environment, we were able to validate the configuration by matching output data for FTP performance with the reference data provided in the iLab instructions document. The graphs below illustrate the student lab configuration findings compared with the iLab reference graphs. The graphs, while not an exact match, provide enough similarity to validate the student simulation environment. Point to Point Utilization (reference) Figure 2 – Point to Point Utilization (student) BACKGROUND LINK LOAD Impact on Email Traffic After validating the simulation environment is correctly configured, the iLab Report Instructions ask us how background load affects network performance as it relates to email traffic and voice traffic. In order to assess this impact, it was necessary to add email and voice services to the Profile Configuration and the server named FTP located in the Washington DC subnet. The graphs below illustrate the impact of background load on point to point throughput–> and point to point utilization for the back_load and no_back_load scenarios. The data in these charts is reflective of using the predefined Email(heavy) application profile metric. Figure 3 – Email Point to Point Throughput (bits/sec) Figure 4 – Email Pont to Point Utilization It’s clear that background load has a significant impact on link throughput and utilization. The simulation without background loading remains steady and relatively flat with throughput at roughly 2Kbps and link utilization at under 5%. When background load is added, we see a marked upward trend in utilization and throughput early in the simulation that keeps with our scheme of incrementally ramping up background load from 19,200 to 32,000 during the first 8 minutes, followed by a less pronounced continued upward trend over the remainder of the simulation. Link throughput begins to stabilize at just over 30kbps late in the simulation, while link utilization approaches 50%. Interestingly, we see a sharp drop in email download response time during the first seconds of both scenarios even as background load is ramping up at the same time. However, both scenarios flatten out to a more consistent level as the simulation progresses. The background load simulation stabilizes at roughly 1. 4 seconds for email download response time while the no background simulation settles at about . 7 seconds (see graph below). Figure 5 – Email Download Response Time (sec) BACKGROUND LINK LOAD Impact on Voice Traffic As with the FTP and email simulations, the topology was updated to include Voice Over IP (PCM Quality) followed by running new simulations for both scenarios. In this run, we continue to look at point to point throughput? and point to point utilization?. Additionally, we measured packet end to end delay (seconds). Without the use of other voice configuration metrics such as codec selection and quality of service for voice packets, in either scenario voice over IP fails as a result of the high packet delay. The chart below illustrates that the no background load simulation provides better performance for voice packets with an average delay of about 7 seconds. Alternatively, the simulation including background load produced an average packet delay of roughly 8 seconds. Figure 6 – Voice Packet End to End Delay (sec) When looking at link utilization metrics, on the other hand, there does not appear to be a significant difference between the background load simulation and the no background load simulation. Figure 7 below indicates that, with the exception of the simulation startup being pre-loaded with 19,200 kbps in background load, both scenarios show a sharp ramp up over the first 8 minutes before leveling off at just over 60kbps. Link utilization, illustrated in figure 8, produced similar results in terms of the trend lines between the two scenarios. Both ramp up sharply over the first several minute and begin to level off as the link utilization approaches 100%. With utilization so high, it’s clear that this particular implementation is not optimized for convergence. Voice services alone would consume all available bandwidth between East Coast sites making it impossible to support email and FTP services concurrently. Figure 7 – Point to Point Throughput (bits/sec) Figure 8 – Point to Point Utilization CONCLUSION Beginning with the initial lab exercise of comparing throughput and link utilization for FTP stabilized at roughly 10% of capacity while adding background load resulted in a peak utilization of about 55%. Similarly, link throughput for email remained under 5kbps and 5% link utilization with no background load present while spiking up to nearly 50% of link capacity when background load is added. Finally, we learned that there is still some optimization work that needs to be done in order for this topology to be ready for convergence. Both scenarios resulted in nearly 100% link utilization when voice over IP was the only supported service. In any event, it’s clear that background load has a significant impact on the user experience based on download response times as well as efficient use of available link bandwidth.

Anticipated Challenges and Planned Responses

ANTICIPATED CHALLENGES AND PLANNED RESPONSES As our business enters the world of food industry, INTERNAL QUALITY CONTROL 1. Sanitation Problem Every food would not be one if it is not clean. It takes several stages to ensure that our products are not only edible or delicious, but most importantly safe for every consumer. This is also a serious matter of all food industries because its good name is at stake. Orion Foods Inc. being a competitive newcomer, will go through big paces to earn the market’s trust, which is too costly. We have to respond to regulatory authorities which provide the compulsory national framework for food or meat hygiene programmes through laws and regulations. Response Hygienic measures are to be taken during the various processing steps in the manufacture of meat products – the Meat Processing Hygiene.This is part of a firm’s Quality Management (QM) based on the following three principles crucial for meat processing operations: * Prevent m icrobial contamination of raw materials, intermediate (semi-manufactured)goods and final products during meat product manufacture through absolute cleanliness of tools, working tables, machines as well as hands and outfits of personnel. * Minimize microbial growth in raw materials, semi-manufactured goods and final products by storing them at a low temperature. Reduce or eliminate microbial contamination by applying heat treatment at the final processing stage for extension of shelf life of products Fig. *** Microbiological contamination in the meat processing chain Figure *** shows the extent of contamination among meat processing operations, and the possible remedies, if any. If these processes were relinquished, it would highly contaminate meat which is unsuitable for further processing. Final products could be unattractive, tasteless or shorter in shelf life. In light of this issue, Quality Management schemes are needed.Such schemes have technical and hygienic components. The fo rmer encompasses product composition, processing technologies, packaging, storage and distribution. The hygienic aspect, related to meat processes, focuses not only for the final product, but also for the raw materials in various processes. It has two useful schemes: * Good Hygienic Practices (GHP) It follows general hygienic rules and applies recognized hygienic principles as well as laws and regulations issued by the competent authorities, referring to meat and meat products, equipment, Premises and personnel.GHP schemes are not factory specific, they apply to all types of meat plants. They are intended to establish and maintain acceptable hygienic standards in relevant meat operations. * Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) HACCP are factory and product specific strictly sanitary control schemes that shall prevent, detect, control and/or reduce to save levels accidentally occurring hazards to consumers’ health. Despite GHP in place, accidental hazards cannot be ruled out and may occur at any processing step of the individual meat product.Specifically for meat processing plants, such hazards may be provoked by failures such as: * batches of incoming raw meat materials with abnormal tissues or * heavy contamination, * breakdowns in refrigeration, * failure in cooking/sterilization operations, * abnormal pH or a * in raw or finished products, * errors in levels of application of * curing salts and other additives, * technical problems in sealing of * vacuum packages or cans with * the risk of recontamination.

Essay about Descartes’ Argument from Divisibility

Descartes’ Argument from Divisibility Works Cited Missing Reneà ¬ Descartes’ treatise on dualism, his Meditations on First Philosophy, is a seminal work in Western intellectual history, outlining his theory of the mind and its relation to the rest of the world. The main argument running through the Meditations leads from his universal methodic doubt through his famous cogito, to proofs of dualism, God, and the world. The Cartesian dualism is one of the most influential ideas to come out of the work; the style of the Meditations, however, is one of personal rumination, following what appears to be Descartes’ stream of consciousness , and it allows for mild tangential discussions. Hence alongside his more famous argument for dualism,†¦show more content†¦Stated in this way the argument is valid, but for it to be sound we must be able to accept all of its premises. The first premise is uncontroversial, as it follows from the concept of numerical identity that if two things are numerically identical then anything that is true of one is true of the other, as both things are actually only one thing being referred to in two different ways. We can therefore accept it as true. Moving to the second premise, it should be noted that physical bodies may not, in fact, be infinitely divisible, but as they are still divisible to some extent, this does not invalidate the argument and is only a tangential concern. At any rate, that material bodies are divisible seems almost self evident. The third premise is really the crux of the argument and the point of uncertainty. Is the mind really indivisible? Upon initial reflection it would certainly seem so; Descartes’ claim that one cannot conceive of â€Å"half of a mind† seems intuitively true on the face of it. However, one must remember that by â€Å"mind† Descartes meant only â€Å"a thing that thinks† (Meditations, p. 20), which is to say that thinking is the essence of the mind. From this kernel of truth Descartes builds up the rest of his understanding of the mind and part of this understanding is that the mind is entirely accessible to itself and in this sense is one unified thing. However, today theShow MoreRelatedHow The Mind And Body Are United Based On Rene Descartes Argumentations1523 Words   |  7 Pagesbody are united based on Rene Descartes’ argumentations in The Meditations Of First Philosophy. First, I am going to introduce a few of Descartes’ arguments and his position on the matter. Then, I will pick the most questionable argument and put it up against logical reasoning with evidence. Finally, I am going to conclude how the 17th-century philosopher proposes a fallacious argument which interferes with his Cartesian dualism theory. The Position Rene Descartes believed in what is known as â€Å"substanceRead MoreDescartes Debate On Dualism944 Words   |  4 PagesDescartes’ debate for dualism is called the divisibility argument, where he believes the mind cannot be divided while the body can and, as a result, the mind and body are distinct. But is this really true? I have evaluated Descartes’ reasons for believing in the divisibility of the body and the indivisibility of the mind from Descartes Meditations. I argue that Descartes argument does not work as he is trying to make science and church compatible and the existence of instances where the mind canRead MoreThe Brain Identity Theory, Logical Behaviorism, And Dualism Essay989 Words   |  4 Pagespresent and explain the argument for dualism and how it works to effectively provide a solution for the mind-body problem in spite of any objections offered. I will first proceed to describe the idea of dualism and provide two arguments that aim to support this solution towards the mind-body problem (II). I shall then present the two objections offered by Elliott Sober (III). Following Sober’s objection, I will convey my evaluation on how I object to one of the arguments for dualism, but acknowledgeRead MoreFor Years, Philosophers Have Debated The Mind-Body Problem,1195 Words   |  5 Pagesthe physical world. Philosopher Descartes believed in substance dualism, the belief that the mind and the body are two different things. In this essay, I will examine Descartes’ substance dualism theory. First, I will review Descartes’s theory and reasons that support it. Then, I will review objections with Descartes’s argument. After that, I will imagine how Descartes would respond to these objections. Finally, I will conclude with an overall assessment. Descartes’ substance dualism theory was formedRead MoreThe Mind / Brain Identity Theory1718 Words   |  7 Pagesdualism. I will also attempt to show the subsequent problems that rise from such distinction and some of the prominent reasons for why Dualism do not hold weight against the Identity Theory. Dualism being the brainchild of Rà ©ne Descartes was subsequently labeled as Cartesian Dualism. This theory holds that one possesses an entity called the soul, which can exist independently of the body (the soul can be translated to the mind). Descartes argues that there are two fundamentally different kinds of substancesRead MoreThe Mind Body Problem And Substance Dualism869 Words   |  4 Pagesto provide support for Descartes notion of the immaterial mind, by critically discussing the view of substance dualism, pertaining to the relationship between the mind and body. The two arguments of which I will provide in this paper to support this view are divisibility and disembodied existence. There are two fundamentally different substances in this universe, physical and mental properties, this paper will explore both of these substances (8). The first supporting argument which I will presentRead MoreFor Descartes And More One Common Dominator Between The1523 Words   |  7 PagesFor Descartes and More one common dominator between the two is the belief that the essence of the body is merely extension. Within the Fifth Meditation, Descartes addresses a premise that results in being the building block to his conception on extension being the essence of bodies. He asserts, we can’t know that physical stuff exists without a doubt considering deception, for instance the dream dilemma presented by Descartes. Hence, how do I know objectively and soundly that my sensory knowledgeRead MoreDescartes Vs. Descartes s Theory950 Words   |  4 PagesAccording to Descartes a mind cannot be divisible but the body can. He says that it is not humanly possible that someone can live with a divided brain. The argument also says that is it possible to divide our bodies into different part. Therefore scientists attacked this argument and figured they would test to see if it was true. Descartes divisibility argument is not correct, in fact it seems as if it has been proven by scientific experiments that his argument is wrong. In order for Descartes to be rightRead MorePhilosophy: Questions on Descartes Principles740 Words   |  3 PagesOne, Descartes writes, My reason tells me that as well as withholding assent from propositions that are obviously false, I should also withhold it from ones that are not completely certain and indubitable (p. 1). Which of the following does this quotation express? Principle of Universal Doubt Principle of Indiscernibility Archimedean Principle Epistemic Principle None of the above. ____ In Meditation One, Descartes ultimately dismisses the conclusion of the Dream Argument because:Read MoreCartesian Dualism vs Logical Behaviorism Essay1483 Words   |  6 Pagesyou do of your own free will? Are people genuinely moved by the welfare of others, or is all behavior, in reality, selfish? (Sober 203). These are questions relevant to philosophy of the mind and discussed through a variety of arguments. Two of the most important arguments with this discussion are Cartesian dualism and logical behaviorism, both of which argue the philosophy of the mind in two completely different ways. Robert Lane, a professor at the University of West Georgia, define the two as