The role of World bank and IMF: or The Bretton wood conference initiated organizations 1.

Known collectively as the Bretton Woods Institutions, they were founded by the delegates of 44 nations in July 1944. 2.Membership of World bank requires membership of IMF 3.The world Bank and the IMF are the twin agencies of the United nations, inter governmental pillars supporting the world's economic and financial order. 4.The world bank was given the domain over long term financing for the nations in need. IMF's mission is to monitor exchange rates, provide short term financing for balance of payment adjustments, provide a forum for discussion about international monetary concerns and give technical assistance.s 5.Both are in a sense owned and directed by the governments of member nations. 6.Located on opposite sides of a street very near the White House, they share a common library and other facilities, regularly exchange economic data. 7.The fundamental difference is this: the Bank is primarily a development institution; the IMF is a cooperative institution that seeks to maintain an orderly system of payments and receipts between nations. Criticisms: 1.Critics of the World Bank and the IMF are concerned about the conditions imposed on borrower countries what is termed the Washington Consensus, focusing on liberalisationof trade, investment and the financial sector. 2.Often the conditions are without due regard for the borrower countries individual circumstances. They to resolve the economic problems within the countries. 3.World bank and IMF conditions may additionally result in the loss of a states authority to govern its own economy as national economic policies are predetermined under IMF packages. 4. Regulation of national economies from state governments to a Washington-based financial institution in which most developing countries hold little voting power. 5.IMF packages have also been associated with negative social outcomes such as reduced investment in public health and education. 6. Decisions are made and policies implemented by leading industrialised countriesthe G7 because they represent the largest donors without much consultation with poor and developing countries

The World Bank is an investment bank, liaisoning between investors and recipients, borrowing from the one and lending to the other.

World Bank Operations 1.The World Bank provids poor countries with technical assistance and funding for projects and policies that will realize the countries' economic potential. The Bank views development as a long-term, integrated endeavor. 2.During the first two decades of its existence, two thirds of the assistance went to electric power and transportation projects. Although these so-called infrastructure projects remain important, the Bank has diversified its activities in recent years and acquired new insights into the development process. 3.The Bank gives particular attention to projects that can directly benefit the poorest people in developing countries. 4.The Bank is helping the poor to be more productive and to gain access to such necessities as safe water and waste-disposal facilities, health care, family-planning assistance, nutrition, education, and housing. Within infrastructure projects there have also been changes. 5.In transportation projects, greater attention is given to constructing farm-to-market roads. Rather than concentrating exclusively on cities, power projects increasingly provide lighting and power for villages and small farms. 6.In addition to electric power, the Bank is supporting development of oil, gas, coal, fuelwood, and biomass as alternative sources of energy. 7.The Bank provides most of its financial and technical assistance to developing countries by supporting specific projects. 8.The decision whether a project will receive IBRD or IDA financing depends on the economic condition of the country and not on the characteristics of the project. 9.The Bank serves as executing agency for technical assistance projects financed by the United Nations Development Program in agriculture and rural development, energy, and economic planning. 10.In response to the economic situation in many of its member countries, the Bank is now emphasizing technical assistance for institutional development and macroeconomic policy formulation. 11.Indeed, about half of all Bank-assisted projects also receive cofinancing from official sources, that is, governments, multilateral financial institutions, and export-credit agencies that directly finance the procurement of goods and services, and from private sources, such as commercial banks.

12. It assists only those projects for which the required capital is not available from other sources on reasonable terms. 13.The range of the Bank's activities is far broader than its lending operations. Since the Bank's lending decisions depend heavily on the economic condition of the borrowing country. World bank source funding 1. Its owners are the governments of its 180 member nations with equity shares in the Bank, 2.The IBRD a major organization of World bank, obtains most of the funds it lends to finance development by market borrowing through the issue of bonds to individuals and private institutions in more than 100 countries. 3.Its concessional loan associate, IDA, is largely financed by grants from donor nations. 4.The Bank is a major borrower in the world's capital markets and the largest nonresident borrower in virtually all countries where its issues are sold. 5. It also borrows money by selling bonds and notes directly to governments, their agencies, and central banks. The proceeds of these bond sales are lent in turn to developing countries at affordable rates of interest to help finance projects and policy reform programs that give promise of success.

Critics on World bank 1.Many infrastructure projects financed by the World Bank Group have social and environmental implications for the populations in the affected areas. For example, World Bank-funded construction of hydroelectric dams in various countries has resulted in the displacement of indigenous peoples of the area. 2.The World Banks role in the global climate change finance has also caused much controversy. Civil society groups see the Bank as unfit for a role in climate finance because of the conditions and advisory services usually attached to its loans. 3.The Banks undemocratic governance structure which is dominated by industrialised countries.Its favouritism to private sector and the controversy the performance of Climate Investment Funds the bank have also been subject to severe criticism. 4.The Banks role in climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts is in direct conflict with its carbon-intensive lending portfolio and continuing financial support for heavily polluting industries, which includes coal power. 5.As an increasing shift from public to private funding in development finance has been observed recently, the Banks private sector lending arm the International Finance Corporation

(IFC) has also been criticised for its business model, the increasing use of financial intermediaries such as private equity funds and funding of companies associated with tax havens. 6.Decisions are made and policies implemented by leading industrialised countriesthe G7 because they represent the largest donors without much consultation with poor and developing countries e-commerce: Conducting business online. Selling goods, in the traditional sense, is possible to do electronically because of certain software programs that run the main functions of an ecommerce Web site, including product display, online ordering, and inventory management. The software resides on a commerce server and works in conjunction with online payment systems to process payments. Since these servers and data lines make up the backbone of the Internet, in a broad sense, e-commerce means doing business over interconnected networks. The definition of e-commerce includes business activities that are business-to-business (B2B), business-to-consumer (B2C), extended enterprise computing (also known as "newly emerging value chains"), d-commerce, and m-commerce. E-commerce is a major factor in the U.S. economy because it assists companies with many levels of current business transactions, as well as creating new online business opportunities that are global in nature. Here are a few examples of e-commerce: accepting credit cards for commercial online sales generating online advertising revenue trading stock in an online brokerage account driving information through a company via its intranet driving manufacturing and distribution through a value chain with partners on an extranet selling to consumers on a pay-per-download basis, through a Web site

The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is an international agreement administered by the World Trade Organization (WTO) that sets down minimum standards for many forms of intellectual property (IP) regulation as applied to nationals of other WTO Members.It was negotiated at the end of the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1994. Specifically, TRIPS contains requirements that nations' laws must meet for copyright rights, including the rights of performers, producers of sound recordings and broadcasting organizations; geographical indications, including appellations of origin; industrial designs; integrated circuit layout-designs; patents; monopolies for the developers of new plant varieties; trademarks; trade dress; and undisclosed or confidential information. TRIPS also specifies enforcement procedures, remedies, and dispute resolution procedures. In 2001, developing countries, concerned that developed countries were insisting on an overly narrow reading of TRIPS, initiated a round of talks that resulted in the Doha Declaration. The Doha declaration is a WTO statement that clarifies the scope of TRIPS, stating for example that TRIPS can and should be interpreted in light of the goal "to promote access to medicines for all." TRIPS has been criticized to its consequences with regards to the AIDS pandemic in Africa. What are TRIMs?

The measures adopted by governments to attract and regulate foreign investment include fiscal incentives, tax rebates and the provision of land and other services on preferential terms. In addition, governments impose conditions to encourage or compel the use of investment according to certain national priorities. Local content requirements, which require the investor to undertake to utilize a certain amount of local inputs in production, are an example of such conditions. Export performance requirements are another example; they compel the investor to undertake to export a certain proportion of its output. Such conditions, which can have adverse effects on trade, are known as trade-related investment measures or TRIMs.

IFRS
Guidelines and rules set by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) that companies and organizations can follow when compiling Financial statements. The creation of international standards allows investors, organizations and governments to compare the IFRS-supported financial statements with greater ease. Over 100 countries currently require or permit companies to comply with IFRS standards. The International Financial Reporting Standards were previously called the International Accounting Standards (IAS). Organizations in the United States are required to use the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). See also International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC).

Ethics in international business:

Business ethics are the accepted principles of right or wrong governing the conduct of business people.(the accepted principles of right and wrong ) An ethical strategy is a strategy or course of action that does not violate these accepted principles. Many of the ethical issues and dilemmas in international business are rooted in the fact that political systems, law, economic development, and culture vary significantly from nation to nation.as the world has many different ethical systems mostly derived from different religions Different systems can lead to different opinions about what is ethical Ethical issues in international business: 1.Employment Practices When work conditions in a host nation are clearly inferior to those in a multinationals home nation, what standards should be applied? How much divergence is acceptable 2.Human Rights Basic rights are not respected in many nations What is the responsibility of a foreign firm in a country where human rights are not followed 3.Environmental Pollution Environmental regulations (or enforcement) in host nations may be inferior to those at home Multinationals can produce more pollution than at home The tragedy of the commons occurs - The water in Mekong River 4.Corruption Interrnational businesses can, and have, gained economic advantages by making payments to government officials US passed the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) adopted the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions 5.Social responsibility Multinational firms have power, wealth from control over resources and ability to move production moral philosophers argue that with power comes the responsibility to give something back to the societies that enable them to prosper Why do managers behave in a manner that is unethical? Business ethics are not divorced from personal ethics Businesspeople sometimes do not realize they are behaving unethical because they fail to ask if the decision is ethical The climate in some businesses does not encourage people to think through the ethical consequences of business decisions Pressure to meet unrealistic performance goals that can be attained only by cutting corners or acting in an unethical manner Managers must confront real ethical dilemmas The ethical obligations of a multinational corporation toward employment conditions, human rights, corruption, environmental pollution, and the use of power are not always clear cut Ethical dilemmas are situations in which none of the available alternatives seems ethically acceptable The Roots of Unethical Behavior Personal ethics, organizational culture,decision making processes,unrealistic performance goals, leadership Philosophical approaches to ethics The Friedman Doctrine states that the only social responsibility of business is to increase profits, staying within the law May be defensible in developed countries What if youre in systems that let you destroy a countrys environment or keep people poor? Cultural Relativism suggests that ethics are nothing more than the reflection of a culture (When in Rome, do as the Romans) If a culture supports slavery, is it OK to use slaves? The Righteous Moralist claims that his or her own standards of ethics are the appropriate ones in all countries Utilitarian approaches to ethics hold that the moral worth of actions or practices is determined by their consequences An action is judged to be desirable if it leads to the best possible balance of good consequences over bad consequences One problem with utilitarianism is in measuring the benefits, costs, and risks of an action The second problem related to utilitarianism is that it does not explicitly consider justice, so the minority will always be at a disadvantage The philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) introduced the principle that people should be treated as ends and never purely as means to the ends of others People are not instruments like a machine People have dignity and need to be respected Rights theories recognize that human beings have fundamental rights and privileges, which transcend national boundaries and cultures Rights establish a minimum level of morally acceptable behavior Moral theorists argue that fundamental human rights form the basis for the moral compass that managers should navigate by when making decisions which have an ethical component

the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act toward one another in a spirit of brotherhood Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favorable conditions of work, and to protection against unemployment Justice theories focus on the attainment of a just distribution of economic goods and services A just distribution is one that is considered fair and equitable There is no one theory of justice Several theories of justice conflict with each other in important ways John Rawls argues valid principles of justice are those with which all persons would agree if they could freely and impartially consider the situation Right ethics to be followed Five things that an international business and its managers can do to make sure ethical issues are considered 1.Favor hiring and promoting people with a well-grounded sense of personal ethics 2.Build an organizational culture that places a high value on ethical behavior 3.Make sure that leaders within the business not only articulate the rhetoric of ethical behavior, but also act in a manner that is consistent with that rhetoric 4.Implement decision-making processes that require people to consider the ethical dimension of business decisions 5. Develop moral courage According to experts, a decision is acceptable on ethical grounds if a businessperson can answer yes to each of these questions: 1.Decision falls within the accepted values or standards that typically apply in the organizational environment (as articulated in a code of ethics or some other corporate statement)? 2.willing to see the decision communicated to all stakeholders affected by it for example, by having it reported in newspapers or on television? 3.Would the people with whom I have a significant personal relationship, such as family members, friends, or even managers in other businesses, approve of the decision? 4.Moral courage enables managers to walk away from a decision that is profitable, but unethical 5.Moral courage gives an employee the strength to say no to a superior who instructs her to pursue actions that are unethical 6.Moral courage does not come easy and employees have lost their jobs when acting on this courage 7.Moral courage enables managers to walk away from a decision that is profitable, but unethical 8.Moral courage gives an employee the strength to say no to a superior who instructs her to pursue actions that are unethical 9.Moral courage enables managers to walk away from a decision that is profitable, but unethical 10.Moral courage gives an employee the strength to say no to a superior who instructs her to pursue actions that are unethical

SAARC : AN APPRAISAL

(SAARC) is an organisation of South Asian association of regional cooperation, founded in December 1985 by Ziaur Rahman and dedicated to economic, technological, social, and cultural development emphasising collective self-reliance. Its seven founding members are Sri Lanka, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Afghanistan joined the organization in 2005. Meetings of heads of state are usually scheduled annually; meetings of foreign secretaries, twice annually. It is headquartered in Kathmandu, Nepal. The objectives promote the welfare of the people of South Asia and to improve their quality of life; to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region to provide all individuals the opportunity to live in dignity and to realize their full potential; to promote and strengthen selective self-reliance among the countries of South Asia; to contribute to mutual trust, understanding and appreciation of one another's problems; to promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in the economic, social, cultural, technical and scientific fields; to strengthen cooperation with other developing countries; to strengthen cooperation among themselves in international forums on matters of common interest; to cooperate with international and regional organisations with similar aims and purposes. Achievements" 1. SAARC12th Summit at Islamabad,devised the South Asia Free Trade Agreement. . bring their tarriffs down to 20 per cent by 2009. 2. A SAARC Disaster Management Centre (SDMC) was established in New Delhi in October 2006.to provide policy advice and facilities for effective disaster risk reduction and management. SAARC Coastal Zone Management Centre in the Maldives, the SAARC Forestry Centre in Bhutan, SAARC Meteorological Research Centre in Bangladesh were established. 3. Sixteenth SAARC Summit, Thimphu, in April 2010 adopted important initiatives to address the adverse effects of climate change. The Inter-governmental Expert Group on Climate Change (IGEG.CC) was established. 4.At the Thirteenth SAARC Summit 2005 in Dhaka, India proposed to create a Centre of Excellence, which can provide world class facilities and professional faculty to students and researchers drawn from every country of the region. 5. Sixth Summit (Colombo, 1991) established an Independent South Asian Commission on Poverty Alleviation (ISACPA). 6. in May 2006, adopted the Cox's Bazar SAARC Action Plan on Tourism.

NAFTA, or the North American Free Trade Agreement, is the world's largest free trade areaCanada, the U.S. and Mexico $17 trillion in goods and services produced by the three countries. NAFTA made it possible for many U.S. manufacturers to move jobs to lower-cost Mexico, lowered wages to compete in those industries.

many of Mexico's farmers were put out of business by U.S.-subsidized farm products. NAFTA provisions for Mexican labor and environmental protection were not strong enough to prevent those workers from being exploited. Nearly 80% of the losses were in manufacturing. California, New York, Michigan and Texas were hit the hardest as they moved plants to Mexico. Thanks to NAFTA, Mexico lost 1.3 million farm jobs. The 2002 Farm Bill subsidized U.S. agribusiness by as much as 40% of net farm income. When NAFTA removed tariffs, corn and other grains were exported to Mexico below cost. Rural Mexican farmers could not compete. At the same time, Mexico reduced its subsidies to farmers from 33.2% of total farm income in 1990 to 13.2% in 2001. In response to NAFTA competitive pressure, Mexico agribusiness used more fertilizers and other chemicals, costing $36 billion per year in pollution. Rural farmers expanded into more marginal land, resulting in deforestation at a rate of 630,000 hectares per year.