Credit Assessment and Consulting in Rating Agencies Research Paper

Credit Assessment and Consulting in Rating Agencies - Research Paper Example nsulting administrations whereby obligation backers demand rating offices to guide them on the way to structure their obligation issues with the point of making sure about a positive rating (Crockett, Harris, Mishkin and White, 2004). In such conditions, the FICO score offices are as a result evaluating their own work. In addition, FICO assessment organizations may convey ideal appraisals so as gain additional customers for the auxiliary counseling business. A great part of the difficulties related with Credit Assessment and Consulting in Rating Agencies identify with the unwavering quality and respectability of evaluations. Speculators use FICO assessments that reflect the likelihood of default to learn the reliability of certain obligation protections (Langohr and Langohr, 2008). Irreconcilable situation can yield a reduction in the progression of solid data fixating on either covering of the data, or spread of misdirecting data (Brooks and Dunn, 2010). This has desperate outcomes on the estimation of stakeholder’s benefits. The business sectors can in certain cases improve the effects of irreconcilable circumstances inside money related administrations firms and can't generally contain the motivators to misuse irreconcilable situations. A portion of the ways to deal with curing irreconcilable circumstance incorporate: â€Å"leaving it to the market† or letting market powers settle the contention by punishing monetary firms that adventure irreconcilable circumstance and initiating new institutional intends to contain irreconcilable circumstance (Brooks and Dunn, 2010). Different methodologies incorporate controlling for straightforwardness through required exposure and administrative oversight. Extra methodologies towards curing irreconcilable circumstances inside FICO assessment offices envelop division of capacities and socialization of data creation. All in all, there is a need to improve responsibility of Credit Rating Agencies in order to nullify the traps related with irreconcilable circumstance (Werther and Chandler, 2006). Notoriety stays one of the key

The Rise in Political Power of 17th Century England and France :: European Europe History

The Rise in Political Power of seventeenth Century England and France In the seventeenth century, the political intensity of the Parliament in Britain, and the Monarchy in France expanded enormously. These conditions were roused by three significant changes: the outcome of the renewal, the requirement for an expanded legislative financing, and the rearranging of focal governments. These three focuses were each settled in an alternate route in both England and in France. The primary significant point which in the end expanded political force was the repercussions of the Protestant transformation. In England, after the foundation of the different Anglican church of England there were numerous protestant gatherings left in England still in struggle. These gatherings all attempted to push and pull parliament in support of them - which at last made it so nothing should be possible. These contentions even got to the meaningful part of wicked common wars and enduring on the two sides of the battling. Parliament at last chose to stop these wars by making strict Act of Toleration (1689) for the non-conventionalist protestants. For some individuals, this caused greater solidarity in England and expanded force. In France, the choice was made to bind together the nation through the foundation of a single strict position, the Catholic Church. The ruler of France became the core of this approach, which gave him control of religion when this went into impact. The following significant point was the expansion deprived for legislative financing. In England, burdening had become heavily influenced by Parliament. What's more, the expense of running an administration all in all had gone up and the nation required more cash. Since the ruler didn't have so a lot capacity to burden however he sees fit, government could make a firm and exact tax assessment from the individuals. In France, the cost of government had likewise gone up. Be that as it may, here the was a government and a ruler with extraordinary authority over the government. Utilizing his control of the economy, a solid Mercantilism framework was utilized planned for amplifying outside fares and saves. The ruler turned into the focal point of this new force. The last significant point which expanded political force was the revamping of the focal governments in both England and in France. The financial changes in this century required new connections between the Lord and his subjects. In England, the parliament due to this need, developed to have control over the ruler and cause incredible toleration of individuals'

Product Liability Suit against British Petroleum

Presentation BP is a worldwide partnership whose primary exercises remember investigation and exchanging for oil and gas. BP is the third biggest organization in the vitality part on the planet and sixth in the general class. The organization is associated with a few exercises inside the vitality part particularly investigation of gas and oil, processing plant and dissemination of the equivalent, age of intensity and in retailing of gas and oil products.Advertising We will compose a custom research paper test on Product Liability Suit against British Petroleum explicitly for you for just $16.05 $11/page Learn More BP has likewise made significant walks in the sustainable power source division particularly in bio-powers, wind force, hydrogen and sun based vitality. The parent organization has its worldwide headquarter in London. There have been a few suits brought against BP because of their careless and dishonest conduct which put the two individuals and condition in danger. BP has h ad many negative episodes which have imprinted its social duty picture the world over. A portion of these slip-ups have had serious ecological effects and have influenced the jobs of a few people. There is by all accounts a culture of exemption inside the company’s top officials since a portion of its errors continue happening over and over. Obviously the organization has wound up on the negative side of a few item risk suits because of mishaps in its site and the utilization of a portion of its items. These suits have been brought by individuals, organizations and gatherings who have been harmed during these mishaps and are requesting equity and requital for the activities or absence of them with respect to BP. Item Liability Suit against BP There have been a few item risk suits against BP over the world because of mishaps and mischief from utilizing a portion of its items. In any case, this paper considers the ongoing and progressing suit against BP because of the unfavorab le impact occasioned by the oil slick at the Gulf of Mexico. Late disclosures by the Orlando Sentinel have uncovered a condemning truth with respect to BP that the structures they utilized in the profound water rig were not the best for that specific reason and area. Considerably all the more alarming is the allegation by the sentinel that this specific plan was wrong as well as imperfect. This end was shown up at through a few meetings with engineers.Advertising Looking for explore paper on business corporate law? How about we check whether we can support you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This uncovered the way that BP decided to utilize a plan which was less expensive and inconsistent. Notwithstanding the pre-owned plan, there were a few mechanical botches which ought to have been a sign of conceivable emergency. Oil masters have singled out the Gulf of Mexico as one of the spots where boring is difficult and in this manner requires more secure and solid penetratin g techniques. BP plainly disregarded this pool of extraordinary counsel and decided to put cost cutting before human security and ecological concerns. The subsequent spill, one of the biggest ever, has risked BP of fire and is confronting a few item obligation suits from influenced individuals and organizations. Because of the numerous item risk suits documented against BP, the offended party legal counselors have chosen to utilize a case methodology called multidistrict case (Ashby, 2010). This arrangement of prosecution has been utilized a few times in the US in significant suit against significant organizations. This permits all bodies of evidence brought against a solitary organization to be brought to one court and be heard by one adjudicator with the end goal of productivity. The significant advantages are efficient components like sharing affidavits and pooling assets during the time spent proof assortment. This thus diminishes asset wastage in situations where legal counselo rs would need to contend the equivalent in various courts. BP as of late needed to pay a few millions because of a comparable issue in Alaska and it’s almost certain that they will be requested to do so again after the fruition of this item obligation suits. Relief against item risk suits and different emergency Six sigma examinations ought to have impacted BPs the board in utilizing the correct framework from the beginning or transforming it when framework and support issues began happening. They ought to have utilized the information gathered in this remote ocean rig and in different locales to figure the conceivable hazard and sanction the correct moderation measures. In any case, they excused most thoughts realized by eminent specialists in the field, something which repudiated the sigma approach (Meredith Schafer, 2010). They additionally neglected to set up elevated expectations in building the apparatus and subsequently the low principles may have caused the blast and the acceleration of the emergency. The circumstances and logical results belief system can be seen grinding away during this emergency where BP’s broken plan and their reluctance to listen turned into the reason for both the catastrophe and the extraordinary degree to which it influenced the general condition. Obviously, had they being sensible from the beginning, they would have forestalled the momentum cost of review and the ensuing item risk suits.Advertising We will compose a custom research paper test on Product Liability Suit against British Petroleum explicitly for you for just $16.05 $11/page Learn More Crisis the executives has picked up importance as of late because of the capacity of single emergency to dissolve the advantages accumulated after some time by a firm and cause death toll and income. Be that as it may, the ramifications of an emergency may frequent an association just like the instance of BP for quite a while to come. BP has indicated that the expense of an emergency is great and the expense of review is constantly monstrous. One of the dangers that face organizations during times of emergency is item obligation cases. There is no preferable model over BP’s ongoing verifiable settlement of an item obligation case. The outcome isn't simply paying out huge settlement or harms yet the expense of initiating a PR crusade to modify the company’s picture. It isn't constantly conceivable to anticipate the event of an emergency and the resultant misfortune that follows, however it is conceivable to moderate that likelihood. This would guarantee that should they happen, the degree to which they influence the association and those around the influenced zones won’t be as exceptional if no measures had been taken. It is no big surprise that many feel that BP ought to be rebuffed brutally for its numerous bumbles that cost lives and extreme harm to the earth. Most academicians accept that there exist enough motions toward foresee the conceivable event of calamity and disregarding them until it’s past the point of no return comprises carelessness. It is just passage then that organizations who inability to do so ought to be considered responsible and be made to pay for the expense of fix and remunerate the influenced people. Insofar as organizations keep on disregarding moderation by making solid emergency supervisory crews, at that point item risk suits will are digging in for the long haul. End This paper shows unmistakably that the direct of BP was reckless and ought to be considered responsible for the death toll and the disastrous harm to nature. Despite the fact that the organization has swore billions in recovery exertion, it isn't sufficient for the individuals who have lost a vocation because of the oil slick. It is not yet clear whether the courts will decide for the few plaintiff’s who have recorded an item obligation class suit against BP. In any case, by all signs, it is tre acherous to run in any case notwithstanding such gross wrongdoing and carelessness with respect to BP.Advertising Searching for examine paper on business corporate law? How about we check whether we can support you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Find out More References Ashby, J. (2010, September 13). As BP Suits Take Off, a Hard Look at the ‘MDL’ Process. Money Street Journal. Recovered from https://blogs.wsj.com/law/2010/09/13/as-bp-suits-remove a-hard-take a gander at-the-mdl-process/Meredith, J. Shafer, S. (2010). Tasks Management for MBAs, fourth Ed. John Wiley Sons. This examination paper on Product Liability Suit against British Petroleum was composed and put together by client TheFury to help you with your own examinations. You are allowed to utilize it for research and reference purposes so as to compose your own paper; nonetheless, you should refer to it appropriately. You can give your paper here.

A Solution To The Present Important Marketing Strategy Problems - 275 Words

A Solution To The Present Important Marketing Strategy Problems (Coursework Sample) Content: Marketing Strategies Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Marketing Strategies 1. One of the positioning statement for South West Airline Company is "The low-cost airline" (Weiss, Friesen, Weiss, 2017). This statement is highly effective and makes it market itself to more customers since passengers like to enjoy traveling at reduced prices and with better services. 2. I agree with the statement effective brand positioning decisions establish foundations upon which successful marketing programs are built and create a brand equity. The South West Airlines have various positioning decisions which have enabled them to have a better branding name for the Company. For example, they are the on-time airline and true to this the flights happen at the scheduled time without delays. 3. Defender strategy is where an organization has a narrow market domain. Usually, they do not look for more markets or opportunities but struggle to maintain dominance within their specific market and penetrate deeper into these contemporary markets without considering outside opportunities (Heiens, Quttainah, Pleshko, 2018). On the other hand, prospector strategy is where an organization continuously searches for a new opportunity and market by responding to current trends. They broadly monitor different market domains and create new products and bring changes to new markets (Heiens, Quttainah, Pleshko, 2018). Contrarily, analyzer strategy is where a business tries to get to a market which has better or fair products immediately a new market is opened instead of being the first to enter such market and display their products. They wait till there is an opp...

Inter Firm Relationships In The Silicon Fen Economics Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 21 Words: 6329 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Statistics Essay Did you like this example? The attention that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"clustersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ have received from policy makers and academics has substantially increased in the last 20 years. Since Porter ´s seminal work on The Competitive Advantage of Nations (1990) presented à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"clustersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ as one of the determinants of the international competitiveness of nations and regions, many scholars have adopted and further developed his approach. Porter bases his arguments on what he describes as the globalization paradox, pointing out that despite the logical implications that the globalisation process might have in dismissing the relevance of regional factors, the most competitive firms in world are located in groups geographically concentrated in specific locations. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Inter Firm Relationships In The Silicon Fen Economics Essay" essay for you Create order That perspective contributed to attracting attention to the existence of characteristics tied to a local context that could not be accessed by firms positioned elsewhere, and more, to the positive effects that the concentration and the geographic proximity could exert on the firm ´s competitiveness. However influential, Porter ´s ideas were not the precursor to discussing the competitive outcomes originating from the geographic concentration of firms (Martin and Sunley, 2003). The roots of cluster theory go back to the industrial districts identified by Marshall (1890), who offered the first detailed description about the economic and social systems created as a result of the spacial concentrations of industrial activities. The Marshallian industrial districts were arrangements of small firms interconnected by commercial operations (buyers and sellers) and other firms engaged in the same or similar activities, that shared productive factors, such as the labour market, infrastructure and tacit knowledge (Becattini, 2004, p. 68). According to Marshalà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s descriptions, a group of firms operating in one specific sector within a well-defined, concentrated and relatively small geographic area would experience higher levels of productivity and innovation, indeed t he emergence of a fertile environment for technical and organisational developments. Thus the local characteristics would enable the emergence of an à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"industrial atmosphereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ that would increase the firmsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ potential to acquire (especially tacit) knowledge, and create positive external economies accessible only to the firms located within the district (Asheim, 2003, p. 416). That perspective tried to evidence that firms geographically concentrated could accesses restricted positive exogenous benefits (exogenous to firms, but endogenous to the district), which would be an alternative to the scale economies achieved by a single (integrated) firm. Additionally, following some of the seminal ideas proposed by Marshall, it is possible to observe a significant number of economic geographers that also explored regional development using the spatial economic agglomeration to support their ideas. Some examples of concepts emerging from that theoretical trend are à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"regional innovation milieuxà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (Crevoisier, 2004), à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"neo-Marshallian nodesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (Amin and Thrift, 1992) and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"learning regionsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (Asheim, 1995). More examples can be found in Markusen (1996, p. 297), in which another three different types of industrial districts are described according to the firms configurations, internal versus external orientations and governance structures: a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"hub-and-spoke industrial districtà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢, which is concentrated around one or more dominant firms; a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"satellite platformà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢, formed by a group of unconnected br anches embedded in external links; and the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"state-anchored districtà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢, concentrated on one or more public-sector institutions. Despite the logical and robust assumptions found in many of those concepts, their influence and dissemination were not as successful as the more general cluster framework proposed by Porter. Martin and Sunley (2003) attributes the successful dissemination of the Porterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ concepts to the very general descriptions and delimitations that encompass a wide range of actors and many different structures. Following much of the concepts proposed by Porter, the description of advantages conferred on clustered firms associated with a general and structured analytical framework stimulated the development and dissemination of academic studies and subsidized the creation of supply-side competitiveness policies directed at structuring and supporting the development of clusters (Pitelis, 2010). That fact resulted in what Martin and Sunley (2003) describe as a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"policy panaceaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ in the use of clusters as a standard (sometimes the unique) target for promoting competitiveness, innovation and economic growth. Moreover, in the last 20 years an increasing number of empirical studies in different countries and sectors have been observed, which aim to identify and discuss the competitive outcomes originating from the concentration of firms and other actors in the same location, for example: Brazil à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" shoe manufacturing in the Sinos Valley (Schmitz, 2000); Spain à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" the textile and clothing industries in Catalonia (Porter, 1998); Taiwan à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" electronic products at the Hsinchu Science Park (Chen, 2008); and the United States à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" computer and information systems at the Silicon Valley (Saxenian, 1994). The large significant number of academic studies has resulted in a large number of definitions aiming to describe and establish an accepted cluster à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"templateà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (e.g., Enright, 1996; Swann and Prevezer, 1996, Rosenfeld, 1997; Porter, 1998) to support policy makers and academics has led to intense debates and controversial perspectives. Even though the concept of clusters has been increasingly widely disseminated and used by geographers, economists and policy makers, it has suffered from some conceptual confusion. Porter defines a cluster as a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"geographic concentration of interconnected companies, specialized suppliers, service providers firms in related industries, and associated institutions (for example, universities, standards agencies and trade associations) in particular fields that compete but also co-operateà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (1998, p. 197). However, Martin and Sunley (2003, p. 12) present consistent arguments that indicate the vaguen ess and superficiality of the concept proposed by Porter. According to their arguments, those characteristics make the concept of cluster means different things to different researchers and policy makers, creating problems for its proper use in the guidance of academics and governments. Those highly controversial aspects of the cluster theory have stimulated the continuous emergence of new concepts and definitions for à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"clustersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. Proposing a definition aiming to fill some of the gaps and failures found in extant cluster theory, Pitelis (2010, p. 5) defines clusters as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"geographical agglomerations of firms in particular, related, and/or complementary, activities, with a geographical dimension, that exhibit horizontal and/or vertical intra- and/or inter-sectoral linkages, which operate in the context of a facilitatory socio-institutional setting, and which co-operate and compete (co-opete) in inter-national marketsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. That definition tries offer to a more delimited approach that incorporates four major elements: geographical agglomeration, linkages, social-capital[1]and co-opetition (competition and cooperation). The use of those four elements in a single definition offers the possibility to cover the cluster characteristics using delimited criteria to identify and distinguish developed clusters from less complex geographical agglomerations of firms and institutions. Although it is possible to observe some level of ambiguity encompassing the clusterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s theory, the existence of links interconnecting local actors complemented by geographical dimensions constitute some of the main common points used to guide academics and policy makers with interesting by the competitive outcomes originating from clusters. Those characteristics have frequently been used as the starting point to understand the economic dynamics of clustered firms, putting emphasis on the levels of innovation and productivity emerging from the concentration of different actors in the same area. Suggesting conditional characteristics to the presence of competitive advantages obtained by firms inside clusters, Ketels (2004) considers that the positive economic effects originated from the geographical concentration will only take place if four critical characteristics are shared among firms and institutions: Proximity: they must be geographically close to allow the emergence of knowledge spillovers and to share the same common resources; Linkages: the necessity of similarities in their activities leading to the establishment of connections and synergies; Interactions: the social interactions developed among firms, clients, suppliers, research institutes, and so on, is what forms the social capital that becomes possible firms to achieve differentiated competitive performances; Critical mass: it is important to have a significant number of firms and institutions in order to create meaningful impacts on performance of the local actors. Those characteristics described by Ketels may be used to guide the identification and distinction between à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"developed clustersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (Pitelis, 2010) from à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"incipient clustersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (Schmitz, 1999) in order to dismiss some incorrect interpretations associated with the clusters dynamics. Considering that the presence of geographic concentration of firms in the same industry is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"strikingly common around the worldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (Porter, 1990, p.120), it is necessary the use of specific benchmarks to distinguish and classify different groups of firms geographically concentrated according to their specific characteristics (Gordon and McCann, 2000; Isbasoiu, 2006). Describing how the existence of local capabilities[2]create differentiated conditions for companies within à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"realà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ clusters, Menzel and Fornahl (2010) argue that clusters are essentially formed from path dependencies (Martin and Sunley, 2006), transaction costs economies (McCann and Sheppard, 2003) and small cognitive distances originating from spatial proximity (Maskell, 2001). Thus, that set of factors are expected to create a specific regional dynamics with influence on the firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s economic performance. Taking into consideration the different stages of a cluster life cycle, and the misunderstandings related to the claims associated with the clusters and competitiveness, Schmitz points out that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"A group of small producers making the same or similar things in close vicinity to each other constitutes a cluster, but such concentration in itself brings few benefitsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (1999, p. 4), emphasizing that the mere pres ence of firms in a delimited area does not represent a source of value creation able to improve in a significant way the local economic performance. Following the arguments above, the differences between regional clusters and simple agglomerations (groups of firms) lie mainly on the interconnected nature and spatial proximity. Thus, clusters are characterized by intense collaborative networks and concentrations of collaboration and competition (co-opetitition) (Pitelis, 2010), conditions which offer significant opportunities and stimulate the emergence of regional competitive advantages (Steinle and Schiele, 2002). Complementarily, another critical characteristic observed within clusters is the diversity of actors. According to Porter (1990, 1998, 2000), an industrial cluster includes suppliers, consumers, related industries, governments, and supporting institutions such as universities. This way, the existence of a regional network formed by a significant group of interconnected local actors is one of the critical factors to understand the differentiated competitive performance of firms within clusters (Steinle and Schiele, 2002 ). Illustrating that argument, Saxenian (1994) observed that Hewlett Packard and other firms at the Silicon Valley had their performance improved by the development long-term partnerships with suppliers located geographically close. Moreover, based on that observation, Saxenian concluded that, especially in high-tech industries, the physical proximity represents a facilitator to the establishment of efficient collaborative arrangements required to create and manage complex products and services. 1.2 Evolutionary Stages of Industrial Clusters Despite the vast cluster literature, the number of academic works discussing the evolutionary patterns of clusters overtime is not so extensive. Some examples can be found in Pouder and John (1996), Klepper (2001, 2007), Wolter (2003) and Andersson et al., (2004), and despite the divergent perspectives, it is accepted that clusters follow a kind of life cycle comprised by different phases that significantly differ in their characteristics and influence on firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s performance. Regarding the cluster dynamics, Pouder and John (1996) argue that comparative analysis between clustered and non-clustered firms during the industry life cycle reveal that firms within clusters outperform those geographically dispersed at the initial stages of development, and have a worse performance at its end. That fact suggests that the cluster life cycle is not just a local representation of the industry trajectory, but is a result from local peculiarities. The comparative analysis developed by Saxenian (1994) between the computer industry in Boston and Silicon Valley illustrates how different clusters belonging to the same industry are very likely to follow different trajectories (Menzel and Fornahl, 2010). Proposing a different perspective, Klepper (2001, 2007) suggests a model to demonstrate how the clusterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s life cycle is determined by some the industry patterns. Klepper analyzed the automobile, tire and television industries and observed that at the beginning of the industry life cycle it was not possible to observe clear geographic concentrations of firms, with most of the firms spatially dispersed. He observed that in those industries clusters started to emerge and develop according to the industry growth rates. Klepper argues that the local characteristics originating from the spacial proximity (e.g., intensive spin-off process) give the stimulus for the geographic agglomeration of the whole industry, not only for specific groups. At the time the industry growth rate reduces, the attractiveness to remain agglomerated will also decrease and the industry will become dispersed again. That model proposed by Klepper represents a Technology-Product- Industry (TIP) life cycle. The logic behind this model is on the impact that the evolution of products and innovations has on the size, number, and location of firms. Wolter (2003) criticizes the model proposed by Klepper arguing that the growth rate cannot explain the agglomeration process in all industries on equal basis. Moreover, Wolter disagrees with the determinist perspective proposed by the TIP model, once it neglects that mature industries can be reinvented by radical or incremental innovations of new products and process. Analyzing the economic performance of firms within clusters Pouder and John (1996) attribute to the existence of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"mental modelsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ and biased cognitive focus the characteristics responsible for shaping the movement through the clusterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s life cycle. Following that perspective, at initial stages the cluster dynamics creates an innovative environment that exerts positive impacts on the firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s performance. However, overtime that initial condition is eroded by strong institutional pressures that create a homogeneous macroculture that acts inhibiting the innovative capacity of the firms within the cluster. As in the model presented by Klepper (2001, 2007), that trajectory proposed by Pouder and John may also be criticized by the determinism that ignores the possibility of adaptations or reconfigurations in order to avoid lock-ins and other negative effects. Considering the arguments proposed by Menzel and Fornahl (2010, p. 8) that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"very few clusters follow a rigid life cycle from emergence to growth and declineà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢, it is expected that clusters evolve overtime according to the local dynamics created by economic and social interactions among firms and institutions. That dynamics may be influenced, but not strictly determined by industry patterns (Wolter, 2003). Following a generic and stylized trajectory, within successful clusters the local network formed by inter-firm connections will tend to be intensified overtime, with an increasing number of formal and informal interactions between the long-established companies and new the ones attracted to the cluster. Even though it is more conceivable to assume that the decisions adopted by firms and institutions are shaped by specific circumstances, a generic trajectory can be described following the stages illustrated in Figure 1. Figure 1: The cluster life cycle C:UsersLucasAppDataLocalMicrosoftWindowsTemporary Internet FilesContent.WordSem tÃÆ' ­tulo.jpg Source: Andersson et al. (2004, p. 43) Agglomeration: It is possible to observe the existence of a number of companies and other actors (e.g. banks, government agencies, universities, accountants, and lawyerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s offices) in a specific region working around the same or interrelated activities. Emerging cluster: Forming the embryo to the cluster some actors start to cooperation around some core activities, and start to realize the existence of common linkages. Developing cluster: The linkages are intensified by the emergence and attraction of new actors to the region, resulting in the creation of more interaction. In this context the development of inter-firm-cooperation becomes more evident through the development of joint efforts. The Mature cluster: This stage is configured by the presence of a certain critical mass of factors that consistently influence the competitive performance of the firms inside the cluster. The internal dynamics is characterized by the presence of an institutional environment, strong linkages, complementarities and the emergence of new firms through startups, joint ventures and spin-offs. Transformation: Indeed the process of continuous environmental change in markets, technologies, regulations and other process, to be successful a cluster have to innovate and adapt to these new conditions, other way stagnation and decay may affect the cluster dynamics. That process of change/adaptation may happen through the emergence of one or several interconnected clusters with focus in other activities, or by new configuration in terms of networks of firms and institutions. The presence of economic benefits for clustered firms described by authors like Schmitz and Nadvi (1999), Ketels (2004), Isbasoiu (2006) and Pitelis and Pseiridis (2006) are closely related to the stage of development that a cluster is experiencing. For example, an emerging cluster is not actually a cluster, since the small number of firms is not expected to present a high level of linkages and do not form a critical mass. Moreover, the absence of strong interdependencies such as labour mobility, spin-off, socioeconomic networks and intense exchange of good and services prevent the emergence of local capabilities. Thus, same considering that this stage constitutes the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"embryoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ that determines the future cluster orientation, at this point the firms are not expected to be strongly influenced by a complex local dynamics. Observing that fact, Menzel and Fornahl (2010) present a skeptical position regarding the effectiveness of any competitiveness policy intended to stimulate the development of clusters at initial stages (agglomeration and emerging), since the existence of horizontal and vertical links among firms concentrated in the same region constitutes a very common fact around the world. Thus, it is almost impossible to distinguish agglomerations with real potential to become a cluster from less complex structures. Consequently, emerging clusters are almost always only described ex-post. After the initial stages of the clusters life cycle it is expected the development and intensification of interdependencies between firms within cluster boundaries (Press, 2006). Indeed the development of those interdependencies, firms start to resemble more with each other, being observe the emergence of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"convergent designsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ in terms of technological models (Menzel and Fornahl, 2010), specialized labour market (Cooke et al., 2007), production systems (Pitelis, 2010) and inter-firm relationships (Blien and Maier, 2008). Moreover, developing clusters also attract a high number of start-ups that act stimulating the intensification of intra-cluster relationships. This way, that process of convergence and expansion of the number of firms within the cluster boundaries culminates in the development of self-reinforcing external economies that decrease the heterogeneity among firms at the same time that creates benefits like transactions cost economies and the privileged access to local knowledge. As clusters reach the stage of maturity, the standards and configurations originating from past decisions become consolidate and it is observed a reduction in the growth rate of firms attracted to the cluster (Klepper, 2007). At this point the cluster trajectory may take two different directions. Keep unchanged, and suffer with a homogenization process that creates bias economic activities and therefore prevent firms to adapt to external shocks (Menzel and Fornahl, 2010). That situation traps firms in previous successful development path and lead to the geographic dispersion of the local actors and to the deterioration of the interdependencies and capabilities. The other possible trajectory is observed in clusters that reach the stage of maturity and successfully sustain the local dynamics by a continuous process of reconfiguration and adaptation to the external shocks (Wolter, 2003). 1.2 Clusters and Economic Performance The extant theory offers a wide range of explanations to justify the economic and competitive benefits experienced by firms located within clusters. Krugman (1991) stress the existence of increasing returns originating from the concentration of firms in the same area, arguing that the geographic proximity puts together the main parts related to firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s activities (e.g., labours, firms, suppliers and costumers) resulting in transaction costs economies. Following other perspective, Schmitz and Nadvi (1999) argue that unintentional external economies are not sufficient to explain the competitiveness of firms located within clusters, attributing to the existence of deliberate joint actions (e.g., sharing equipments, associations, strategic alliances and producers improving components) a critical source of the competitive advantages. Pitelis and Pseiridis (2006) explain the levels of competitiveness and productivity associated with clustered firms considering the existence of specialized human resources, infrastructure and befits associated with unit costs economies complemented by the presence of an institutional atmosphere. Stressing a different point of view, Bahlmann and Huysman (2008) adopts the knowledge-based view of clusters to emphasize the relevance of knowledge spillovers among the firms to explain the advantages originated from the agglomeration process. Dupuy and Torre (2006) explains the existence of cluster in terms of the advantages originating from trust relationships that increase confidence and reduce risk and uncertainty about the intra-cluster operations taking place among the firms. Moreover, Zyglidopoulos et al. (2003), describe the positive effects that the reputation of a cluster may exert on the internalization process of small and micro enterprises through the alleviation of strategic constraints associated with factors like qualified work force, financing and reduction of the firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s legitimation expenses. Despite that wide range of arguments, the most traditional perspective found in the cluster literature has explained the competitive advantages of clusters in terms of productivity and innovation (Pitelis, 1998; Porter, 1998), suggesting that the special characteristics originated from the economic and geographic proximity have significant impact on those two factors. Supplementary, Enright (1998) considers that the characteristics present inside the clusterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s local environment result in pressures, incentives and capabilities that increase the firmsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ competitiveness comparatively to dispersed competitors, explaining the clustering process in terms of geographically restricted characteristics. Moreover, Solvell et al. (2003) suggests that the competitive advantages emerging from regional clusters may be classified as static and dynamics. According to this perspective, while the agglomeration process triggered and sustained intensively or exclusively by factors like natural resources, low cost labors and government subsidies offers a vulnerable (easy to be copied, substituted or simple eroded by environmental changes) competitive position, clusters based on dynamics characteristics like multi-sectorial externalities, advantages of scale and scope and specific knowledge spillovers are more dynamics and competitive. Extending the arguments presented by Solvell and his colleagues, Andersson et al. (2004) considers that the sustainability of static and dynamic competitive advantages is not strictly determined, arguing that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"staticà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ factors are the main responsible for the emergence of clusters, while the dynamics factors are only developed along t he different stages of the cluster life cycle. Complementing the understanding about the influence of the cluster dynamics on the firmsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ economic performance some authors like Porter (2001); Garnsey and Heffernan (2007); Karlsson (2008) and Mason (2008) describe the existence of a self-reinforcing process originating from the agglomeration externalities that contribute to create a regional virtuous-circle of increasing productivity, competitiveness and value creation. Following that argument, the economic and geographic proximity will stimulate firms to innovate more indeed benefits originating from local capabilities, which will stimulate even more the agglomeration process through the intensification of inter-firm relationships and the attraction of other firms from outside the cluster, which in turn will strength the local capabilities (Blandy, 2003, p. 101). Thus, the dynamics of clusters is expected to be self-reinforced by agglomeration benefits with significant influence on the firm ´s performance. Putting together the arguments associated with the economic impacts experienced by clustered firms indeed the existence of local factors, it is possible to identify and describe the following positive location-specific externalities: Cost savings indeed the geographic proximity with specialized suppliers, labours and distributors; Knowledge-spillovers (intentional and unintentional), since firms inside clusters can benefit from the knowledge dissemination process that may take place especially through inter-firm cooperation, specific linkages and labour mobility; Deliberate joint actions facilitated by the engagement in alliances and partnerships to achieve strategic objectives; Trust relationships, that through the geographic and economic proximity minimize the uncertainty associated with commercial operations, resulting in transactions costs economies; Pressures for higher performance, stimulated by the proximity with competitors; Specific Infrastructure and public goods that are oriented to attend the cluster demands, like roads, ports, laboratories and telecommunication networks; Complementarities, associated with firms in different activities but sharing common factors like raw material, clients and technologies that may enhance the cluster efficiency as whole. Discussing the role of regional clusters in shaping competitive patterns, Tallman et al. (2004) proposes a distinction between the types of competitive advantages emerging from clustered firms: based on traded interdependencies and based on untraded interdependencies. The concept of traded interdependencies is related to the existence of inter-firm transactions inside the cluster, and is observed in formal exchange operations that may take place in form of alliances, commercial operations and acquisitions. On the other hand, untraded interdependencies are related to less tangible effects, and are à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"based on shared knowledge for which no market mechanism exists; with no formal exchange of value for valueà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (Tallman et al. 2004, p. 261). To illustrate the mechanisms by which the untraded interdependencies take place, it is possible to mention unintentional external economies associated with tacit knowledge shared through mechanisms like labor mobility. Those different types of interdependencies, especially untraded, present at the cluster level, represent a source of competitive advantage that is likely to be causal ambiguous (for firms inside and outside the cluster) and high complex in terms of their origins, what consequently constitutes attributes difficult to be replicated by competitors. However, the presence of untraded effects, especially unintentional knowledge spillovers, is viewed Enright (1998) as a constraining factor for firms within clusters, since the establishment of an efficient information flow may limit the firm ´s capacity to obtain monopoly profits from the development of innovations. Complementing the negative effects originating from the clusters dynamics, some authors also describe agglomeration diseconomies that have a negative impact firms located within clusters. For example, congestion effects (Arthur, 1990), institutional sclerosis (Pouder and John, 1996; Pitelis, 2010), rigidities associated with labour mobility and natural resources (Krugman, 1989) and pollution (Fan and Scott, 2003). This way, the dynamics and performance of a cluster is determined by the interplay between positive and negative externalities observed during the different stages of development that a cluster is expected to pass overtime (Wolter, 2003) Limitations in the Cluster Theory Notwithstanding the advances in the cluster theory some questions still remain insufficiently explored. One of the main limitations observed in the current state of the cluster literature is the lack of comparative perspectives to explain the advantages and disadvantages of clusters relatively to other alternative models of organization of economic activities. In his very novel approach, Pitelis (2010) suggests that any perspective trying to explain clusters in terms of absolute advantages is at the very best incomplete. In this context, Pitelis proposes the comparison of clusters vis-ÃÆ'  -vis to markets and hierarchies in order to understand the reasons and conditions that lead firms to engage in intra-clusters relationships, market operations (outside the cluster) or integrate within the firm ´s hierarchy. In fact it is not necessary a great effort to conclude that most of the cluster theory has been developed following a mono-institutional approach (e.g. Porter, 1990, 1 998; Saxenian, 1994; Rosenfeld, 1998; Swann and Sennett, 1998; Schmitz and Nadvi, 1999), while some few exceptions concentrated on transactions costs (e.g. Fujita and Thisse, 1996; Iammarino and McCann, 2006; Takeda et al., 2008) and knowledge creation efficiency (e.g. Hendry et al., 2000; Tracey and Clark, 2003; Reinau, 2007; Kongmanila and Takahashi, 2009) have been drawn on a comparative approaches between clusters and open-market operations. Assuming the arguments proposed by many scholars that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"clusters are engines of innovationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (Davis, 2006, p. 32), the lack of comparative perspectives do not answer the question à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"whyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ clusters are more efficient than markets or the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"hierarchyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ to improve the firmsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ innovative capacity (Pitelis, 2010). Thus, despite the wide number of ramifications observed in the cluster theory such as innovative efficiency, productivity, social capit al and social interactions, its explicative power remains almost always restricted to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"absoluteà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ terms. Considering that the existence of a regional inter-firm network formed by local actors is one of the critical characteristic to understand the dynamics of regional clusters, that lack of comparative perspectives represent an even more important issue. The mono-institutional approach adopted by many cluster scholars assumes that cooperation with local actors is positively associated with the firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s performance, while more distant cooperative arrangements are usually neglected or supposed to have little significance (Tracey and Clark, 2003; Kongmanila and Takahashi, 2009). Moreover, apart from some very few exceptions (e.g., Pitelis, 2010; Best, 1999), the cluster theory does not offer a consistent explanation to justify the cluster efficiency comparatively to the firm à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"hierarchyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. Thus, in terms of inter-firm relationship one main gap remains in the cluster theory: what are the comparative advantages and disadvantages of clusters vis-ÃƒÆ '  -vis to markets and the firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s hierarchies? Inter-firm Relationships and Clusters Despite the fact that the firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s productivity and innovative capacity depends immediately from its own strengths and weakness (Barney, 1991) the knowledge exchange and the extension of resources and capabilities taking place through networks formed by clients, suppliers, institutions, etc. have an important influence on the firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s economic performance (Lavie, 2006). Pitleis (2010, p. 3) defines inter-firm cooperation as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"quasi-stable and durable, formal or informal arrangements between two or more independent firms, aiming to further the perceived interests of the parties involvedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢, stressing that indeed the specific local factors (e.g., labour mobility) clusters are characterized by the lower degree of formality of the linkages. Analysing the significance of regional networks, many scholars have developed empirical investigations demonstrating a close relationship between inter-firm cooperation, clusters and the creati on of local capabilities. For example, studying the cluster of shoe manufactures at the Sino Valley in Brazil, Schimitz (1999) concluded that clustered firms engaged in cooperative arrangements with competitors, suppliers, subcontractors and business associations demonstrated a superior competitive performance relatively to firms outside the cluster. Moreover, Knorringa (1999) observed that the presence of vertical and horizontal cooperative linkages have strong influence on the competitiveness of firms concentrated in the knit footwear industry in India, acting as an important source of flexibility to take advantage of scope and scale economies. Kongmanila and Takahashi (2009) give examples of different types of arrangements and interactions like subcontracting, market linkages with suppliers and costumers, informal and formal collaborations (e.g. joint ventures, strategic alliances and franchise), memberships associations and the movement of labours among firms to describe the possible inter-firm connexions that can be developed within clusters and shaped by the existence of local characteristics (e.g. geographic proximity, institutional environment and knowledge spillovers). Additionally, the presence of vertical linkages is described by Lazerson (1998) using a distinction between à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"backwardà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ cooperation (with suppliers) and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"forwardà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ cooperation (with traders and buyers) to differentiate different kinds of interactions. Nadvi (1999) stress the importance of horizontal linkages between two or more local firms in terms of collective efforts associated with purchas e operations, use of equipments and the conjunct development of marketing strategies. The relevance of joint actions using à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"multilateral horizontal linkagesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (Kongmanila and Takahashi, 2009, p.6) is also described by Schmitz (1998) as one critical source of competitive advantages created by the existence of intentional collective efforts among two or more firms. This way, it is possible to observe the existence of theoretical and empirical evidences supporting the influence of inter-firm relationships on the dynamics of regional clusters. However, the overemphasis put on the internal relationships has obfuscated the relevance that cooperation with actors that are located outside the cluster may represent for the firmsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ economic performance. Supporting this point of view, Hendry et al. (2000) argues that the clusterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s theory has à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"failed to take account of other forms of networking in which firms engage, extending beyond their immediate localityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (p. 129), considering that the complexity necessary for innovation (especially in high-tech industries) demands the development of global linkages in order to establish different sources of inputs (especially knowledge) and explore advantages inherent to different locations. Complementarily, Pitelis (2010, p. 7) suggests that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ËÅ"the argument that clusters may reduce transactions cost, because of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“trustà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?, social capital, and lower cognitive distance, (vis-ÃÆ'  -vis armà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s length transactions), need not imply that clusters can do so more than à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“integrationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? by firms, thus à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“hierarchyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. Consequently, clusters have been explained in terms of positive agglomeration economies (previously described in this dissertation) and local capabilities, using the description of absolute advantages of clustering. A Comparative Perspective between Clusters and Markets Considering the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"limitedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ adopted by many cluster scholars, authors like Hendry et al. (2000), Tracey and Clark (2003), Reinau (2007) and Kongmanila and Takahashi (2009) point out the existence of logical implications associated with the cluster ´s dynamics that imply the necessity for a better comprehension of the role that external linkages have for firms within clusters. The first implication emerges from the fact that the same traded and untraded interdependencies that present positive impacts like transaction cost economies, expanded absorptive capacity and collective efficiencies, also exert a strong homogenisation pressure that drives the firm ´s practices, resources and strategies in the same direction. Secondly, local characteristics, like access to the same pool of specialised labours, create what Hamel and Prahalad (1994) describe as lack of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"genetic variabilityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ of individuals, limiting the firmà ‚ ´s capabilities associated with the generation, absorption and management of new à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"bodies of knowledgeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (Reinau, 2007, p. 4). Another constraining characteristic is observed in the spin-off process, enhanced within the cluster ´s boundaries by formal and informal channels, that acts increasing similarities among firms. Finally, the existence of specificities associated with the local context like roads, ports or communication systems tends to push firms in the same direction regarding strategic investments associated with structural factors. Complementarily, discussing the effects of the path dependency (Dosi, 1988) originating from the cluster trajectory (past decisions), Bell et al. (2009, p. 624) describe à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"how higher-order beliefs and assumptions, which constitute the shared macroculture of a cluster, enable and constrain transaction-level governance choicesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. The arguments proposed by Bell and his colleagues may be used to demonstrate how institutional configurations tend to create asymmetric costs for strategic decisions. In other words, the existence of an established cluster macroculture imposes pressures that lead firms to make transactions, mimic and engage in cooperative alliances with other firms that are also part of the cluster. Consequently, the cluster macroculture constitutes a strong determinant of the governance choices adopted by clustered firms. Other characteristic that also contributes to increase the homogenization of firms within cluster is the number of redundant contacts created through the labor mobility between firms positioned in the same area (Pouder and John, 1996). Describing the local dynamics of regional clusters Grove (1987, p. 156) states that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"A popular joke about Silicon Valley is that all you have to do to change jobs is turn left instead of right when you come out of your drivewayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. This way, indeed the existence of job opportunities in the same location, managers and other employees of companies located in regional clusters are stimulated to stay in the same area, even when they change their jobs. That characteristic contributes to stabilize and increase the density of the local network. Consequently, the local network of regional clusters is expected to present low knowledge diversity indeed the high number of redundant connections[3]. Considering those evidences, Tichy (2001) describes the existence of a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"cluster paradoxà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢, since at the same time that the high level of specialisation, strong linkages and the synergy offer a wide number of benefits, ranging from knowledge sharing to transaction costs, those same characteristics decrease the ability of firms to create, incorporate and manage new knowledge that departs from the standards incorporated to the cluster dynamics. Moreover, Pouder and John (1996) describe how the local characteristics contribute to creating similar à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"mental modelsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ between the cluster members. As a result, once these mental models are formed and disseminated, they will tend to persist, even when confronted with contradictory evidences therefore firms positioned in regional clusters will have their ability to recognise and adapt to environmental changes limited indeed by the severe homogenisation pressures imposed by the local dyna mics. Consequently, the same factors that create similarities and facilitate the exploitation of synergies also limit the benefits associated with the creation and absorption of heterogeneous knowledge. Thus, strong diversity enables firms within clusters to incorporate and adapt to changes in environmental conditions, or to depart from the previous development path more easily. However, large heterogeneity among firms can also prevent exploitation of synergies and other benefits that emerge from the presence of similar characteristics and therefore limit the benefits associated with transaction costs, absorptive capacity and the access to knowledge present within the cluster boundaries. Considering the negative impacts that the homogenization exerts on the firms performance, Menzel and Fornahl (2010, p. 19) state that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"The cluster declines if its heterogeneity cannot be sustainedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢, describing the importance of the knowledge diversity for the competitiveness of firms within clusters. This way, considering all the aforementioned characteristics, firms are expected to be stimulated to engage in cooperative arrangements with other firms positioned within the same cluster in the case of demands that do not strongly depart from the already disseminated standards (e.g., knowledge, technologies and specialized services). In this context, it is also important to present a comparative argument to explain à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"whyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ firms prefer to use the local network (the cluster) instead of establishing distant cooperative arrangements. In other words, unless the in the situation that the firmsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ demands could only be attended by another firm within the same cluster (e.g., in case of monopoly of a technology), there would be no reasons or obstacles for the clustered firms to look for partners outside the cluster (market operations). Two complementary rationales can be used to explain that fact. First, following the propositions made by Krugman (1991); Pitelis, and Pseiridis (2006) and Takeda et al. (2008), the short geographic distances between firms contribute to create transaction costs economics that increase the cost-efficiency of the local operations, stimulating the interaction with local actors through the creation of asymmetric transaction costs. Second, the arguments presented by Dupuy and Torre (2006) that within clusters the inter-firm relationships are supported by a higher level of confidence between the parts, indicates that intra-cluster relationships are expected to be less risky and be encompassed by lower levels of uncertainty when compared to market operations. Colocar mais enfase na aboragem comparativa, ainda nÃÆ' £o ÃÆ' © suficiente LIGAR ESSAS IDÃÆ'†°IAS COM O CICLO DE VIDA, DIZENDO QUE EM ESTÃÆ'?GIOS INICIAS AS EMPRESAS NÃÆ'Æ’O CONTEM COM ELEVADOS NÃÆ'?VEIS DE CONFIANÃÆ'†¡A E POR ISSO SÃÆ'Æ’O ESTIMULADAS A INTERAGIR COM ATORES EXTERNOS Consequently, using a comparative perspective between the inter-firm relationships developed within and outside clusters, it is expected that the transaction costs economies associated with higher level of confidence between parties stimulate firms to engage in local operations. However, it is also important to acknowledge that in most of the cases that firms present demands that depart from what is already spread inside the cluster they will develop market operations indeed the limitations associated with the low knowledge diversity created by the strong homogenization pressures originated from the cluster dynamics. H: Inter-firm relationships within the cluster boundaries are characterized by low transaction costs and higher level of confidence H: The dynamics of regional clusters creates strong homogenization pressures that results Clusters and Hierarchies The transaction cost logic and trust levels can not be used to explain clusters vis a vis with hierarchy, since the activities integrated to the firm will present less transaction costs and higher level of control.

Gender Stereotypes in Literature - 1570 Words

Throughout history women have been victims of many stereotypes. The stereotypes that will be analyzed in this essay are the ideas that women are somehow inferior to men, the weaker sex, both mentally and physically; they are self-sacrificing mothers and wives and that they are dependent on men. This is seen in the play Medea, set in Greece during a time that was dominated by men. Women could only, under exceptional conditions, obtain a divorce yet any Greek man could rid himself of a wife simply by publicly renouncing his marriage. The ideal woman was spoken of as little as possible among men, whether for good or for ill[1]. Hedda Gabler is set in Norway during a period of many changes. In 1854 women were given the right to inherit†¦show more content†¦A clear example of this is her playing with the pistols and yelling Im going to shoot you, sir![3] to Brack. The importance of Hedda’s past, because of her lifetime of going against social convention, can be seen in th e conversation Mrs. Tesman has with Berte: â€Å"Think what she was accustomed to in the Generals day. Do you remember her riding along the road with her father?† (p. 265). This is an action not taken up by many women, but shows how allowances were made for Hedda based on her father’s social position. Furthermore, her strength can be seen though her interactions with other characters, for example convincing Lovborg to commit suicide or the way in which she manages to keep Brack at a distance yet allowing him to feel in control, as she is aware of the power he has over her. Another stereotype for women is that of a self-sacrificing wife and mother. However, Hedda proves to be everything but this. For one, she does not seem to really care about Tesman and married him because she had â€Å"simply danced [her] self out†(p. 299). She makes fun of him on different occasions, especially when in company of Brack. These encounters with the judge wouldn’t normally be appropriate for married women yet Hedda again breaks this stereotype. Again contrast can be seen here with Aunt Julle, a woman that devotes herself to others and doesn’t know another way of life. This can be seen in the way she speaks of her ill sister; â€Å"IShow MoreRelatedGender Stereotypes Throughout Literature And Literature968 Words   |  4 PagesGender stereotypes exist in modern civilization and are heavily influenced in film and literature as well. The deeply ingrained values in our culture of standardized gender roles in terms of women are seen heavily in both Tarzan of the Apes and in Knocked Up. Alternatively, these stories released almost a hundred years apart portray masculinity very differently. To understand what constitutes an ideal male, both genders need to be considered and their differences exemplified. Tarzan is a stereotypicalRead MoreGender Stereotypes And Expectations In Literature1724 Words   |  7 Pagessuch means as literature, popular cul ture, and tradition, has perpetuated these gender stereotypes and expectations for much of history. Unconscious and conscious assumptions about gender shape how readers perceive sex in literature; men are typically considered lustful, whereas women are considered loving. 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Gary Paulsens Hatchet and Katherine Patersonss The Great Gilly Hopkins are books for a boy and a girl, respectively, yet aside fr om the gender of their protagonist they also useRead MoreGender Roles : Gender Role Play Essay1226 Words   |  5 PagesGender role play is the concept of young children partaking in a form of play that already sets them within a specific gender role, for example, a girl pretending to be a mother or a girl partaking in a â€Å"pink-collar† job such as nursing, teaching etc. This form of play can be seen within make-believe play. 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Gender therefore becomes a characteristic that defines other’s perceptions and evaluations of us. People come to manage gender along with aspects of other aspects of the self by making sure that we are acting in gender-appropriate way (Goffman, 1959, Libby). In itself, the self is a product of social forces and it emerges through socialization. Being that gender is a major function of one’s identity, stereotypes aboutRead MoreChildren s Development And Self Image Essay1473 Words   |  6 PagesChildren’s literature and picture books are often entertaining and interesting to read as a child and even sometimes as an adult. However, there is a myriad of children’s stories that significantly influences children of their perception of other races and the opposite gender. In fact, â€Å"at ages 3-5, children begin the processes of actively learning to distinguish the sexes and of forming gender stereotypes [Powlishta, Serbin Moller, 1993]. Therefore, the gender roles and the number of female andRead MoreGender Inequality in Womens Rugby1181 Words   |  5 PagesIntroduction As the nation’s gender inequality continues to diminish, things like sports stereotypes, and labour force conflict cannot be understood without understanding the term of identity. Identity work is explained by Schwalbe and Mason-Schrock in 1996 as â€Å"anything people do, individually or collectively, to give meaning to themselves or others† (as cited in Ezzell, 2009, p. 1). I propose to examine inequality based on gender identity and in depth the process of stereotype issues, - how people constructRead MoreIdentity in the Workplace Creates Gender Inequality801 Words   |  3 PagesAs the nation’s gender inequality continues to diminish, things like sports stereotypes, and labour force conflict cannot be understood without understanding the term of identity. Identity work is explained by Schwalbe and Mason-Schrock in 1996 as â€Å"anything people do, individually or collectively, to give meaning to themselves or others† (as cited in Ezzell, 2009, p. 1). I propose to examine inequality based on gender identity and in depth the process of stereotype issues, - how people constructRead MoreHow Women Are Portrayed On Advertising And The Second Looks At This Time1104 Words   |  5 PagesAssignment #1 1. State your topic area for the literature review project. Be as specific as you are able to at this time. The topic area that I would like to cover for my literature review project is the topic of how women are portrayed in advertising and the impact this has on women in society. 2. State the claim the study supports The scholarly article I am reviewing is a research article that did two separate examinations on the role of humor in gender stereotypes. The first one is the role of humor seen

Value of the Annual Lease Payments

Question: Lessor Ltd has entered into an agreement to lease a machine to ChiHerbal Ltd. The lease agreement details are as follows: Lease term 5 years Commencement date 1 July 2015 Annual lease payment, payable 30 June each year commencing 30 June 2016 $8 400 Fair value of the machine at 1 July 2015 $35 197 Estimated economic life of the machine 8 years Estimated residual value of the machine at the end of its economic life $2 000 Residual value at the end of the lease term, of which 50% is guaranteed by ChiHerbal Ltd $7 600 Interest rate implicit in the lease 9% The lease is cancellable, but a penalty equal to 50% of the total lease payments is payable on cancellation. ChiHerbal Ltd does not intend to buy the machine at the end of the lease term. Lessor Ltd incurred $1 000 to negotiate and execute the lease agreement. Lessor Ltd purchased the machine for $35 197 just before the inception of the lease. Required: a) Explain why the lease should be classified as a finance lease by both Lessor Ltd and ChiHerbal Ltd. b) Prepare a schedule of lease payments and the journal entries for ChiHerbal Ltd regarding the lease over the lease term. c) Prepare a schedule of lease receipts and the journal entries for Lessor Ltd regarding the lease over the lease term. d) Prepare an appropriate note to the financial statements for both Lessor Ltd and ChiHerbal Ltd as at 30 June 2016. Answer: The given lease would be treated as a finance lease as the present value of the annual lease payments as per the lease exceeds 90% of the assets fair market value at the time of lease agreement (AASB, 2010). This is demonstrated below. Year Lease Payment ($) PV factor (9%) PV of lease payment ($) 1 8400 0.9174 7706.42 2 8400 0.8417 7070.11 3 8400 0.7722 6486.34 4 8400 0.7084 5950.77 5 8400 0.6499 5459.42 5 3800 0.6499 2469.62 Total 35142.68 The fair value of the asset is given as $35,197. 90% of the fair value of the machine = 0.9* 35,197 = $31,677.3 Since the present value of the lease payments (including guaranteed residual value) over the lease term of five years is greater than 90% of the assets fair value, hence the requisite condition for classification of lease as financial lease has been fulfilled both on the part of the lessor as well as lessee. Additionally, the in case of cancellation of lease, 50% of the total lease payments is payable by the lessee which also implies that the given lease is finance lease (Damodaran, 2008). The schedule of lease payment for the lessee is given below (Brealey, Myers Allen, 2008). Period Date of Payment Amount of lease payment ($) Principal ($) Interest ($) Closing Balance ($) 0 35142.68 1 30th June 2016 8400 5237.16 3162.84 29905.52 2 30th June 2017 8400 5708.50 2691.50 24197.02 3 30th June 2018 8400 6222.27 2177.73 17974.75 4 30th June 2019 8400 6782.27 1617.73 11192.48 5 30th June 2020 8400 7392.68 1007.32 3799.80 5 30th June 2020 3800 3800.00 -0.20 The relevant journal entries for the lessee (i.e. ChiHerbal Ltd) during the lease term are given below (Deegan, 2014). Date Account Debit Credit 1st July 2015 Equipment Account 35142.68 Capital lease liability account 35142.68 30th June 2016 Capital lease liability account 5237.16 Interest expense account 3162.84 Accounts payable account 8400 30th June 2016 Depreciation Expense (leased) 6268.54 Accumulated Depreciation (leased) 6268.54 30th June 2017 Capital lease liability account 5708.50 Interest expense account 2691.50 Accounts payable account 8400 30th June 2017 Depreciation Expense (leased) 6268.54 Accumulated Depreciation (leased) 6268.54 30th June 2018 Capital lease liability account 6222.27 Interest expense account 2177.73 Accounts payable account 8400 30th June 2018 Depreciation Expense (leased) 6268.54 Accumulated Depreciation (leased) 6268.54 30th June 2019 Capital lease liability account 6782.27 Interest expense account 1617.73 Accounts payable account 8400 30th June 2019 Depreciation Expense (leased) 6268.54 Accumulated Depreciation (leased) 6268.54 30th June 2020 Capital lease liability account 7392.68 Interest expense account 1007.32 Accounts payable account 8400 30th June 2020 Depreciation Expense (leased) 6268.54 Accumulated Depreciation (leased) 6268.54 30th June 2020 Capital lease liability account 3800 Cash account 3800 The Lessor in this case has incurred direct cost of $ 1,000 with regards to negotiating and executing the lease agreement. Assuming that Lessor Ltd. is not a manufacturer or dealer of the machine, hence in accordance with AASB 117 (Para. 18), it can be assumed that this cost is already included in the financial lease receivable as calculated through the implicit rate (AASB, 2010). The financial lease receivable by Lessor Ltd. is shown below. PV of all the lease payments over the five years = $ 32,673.06 PV of the guaranteed residual value = $ 2,469.62 Hence, total leave receivable by Lessor = 32,673.06 + 2,469.62 = $ 35,142.68 The schedule for receipt of lease payment by Lessor Ltd. is shown below (Damodaran, 2008). Date of Receipt Lease Payment Received ($) Interest income ($) Reduction in balance ($) Lease Receivable balance 1st July 2015 35142.68 30th June 2016 8400 3162.84 5237.16 29905.52 30th June 2017 8400 2691.50 5708.50 24197.02 30th June 2018 8400 2177.73 6222.27 17974.75 30th June 2019 8400 1617.73 6782.27 11192.48 30th June 2020 8400 1007.32 7392.68 3799.80 30th June 2020 3800 0.00 3800.00 -0.20 The relevant journal entries for the lessor (i.e. Lessor Ltd) during the lease term are given below (Deegan, 2014). Date Account Debit Credit 1st July 2015 Lease Receivable 35142.68 Machine 35142.68 30th June 2016 Cash 8400.00 Lease Receivable 5237.16 Interest Receivable 3162.84 30th June 2016 Interest Receivable 3162.84 Interest Revenue 3162.84 30th June 2017 Cash 8400.00 Lease Receivable 5708.50 Interest Receivable 2691.50 30th June 2017 Interest Receivable 2691.50 Interest Revenue 2691.50 30th June 2018 Cash 8400.00 Lease Receivable 6222.27 Interest Receivable 2177.73 30th June 2018 Interest Receivable 2177.73 Interest Revenue 2177.73 30th June 2019 Cash 8400.00 Lease Receivable 6782.27 Interest Receivable 1617.73 30th June 2019 Interest Receivable 1617.73 Interest Revenue 1617.73 30th June 2020 Cash 8400.00 Lease Receivable 7392.68 Interest Receivable 1007.32 30th June 2020 Interest Receivable 1007.32 Interest Revenue 1007.32 30th June, 2020 Cash 3800.00 Lease Receivable 3800.00 Note for Lessor Ltd. Note: Trade and other Receivables Finance Lease Commitments The financial lease receivables are summarised below. June 30, 2016 Particular Gross Investment Unearned Income Payments Receivable Less than one year 8400.00 3162.84 5237.16 Between one year and fie years 37400.00 7494.28 29905.72 Total 45800.00 10657.12 35142.88 Note for ChiHerbal Ltd Note: Leases The future lease payments that the company needs to make for the existing lease agreements is mentioned below. Finance Lease FY2017 FY2018-FY2021 Total Expected lease payments in future 8400 37400 45800 Less: Interest Amount 3162.84 7494.28 10657.12 Present Value of lease payments($) 5,237.16 29,905.72 35,142.88 References AASB (2010), AASB 117-Leases, Retrieved on August 5, 2016 from: https://www.aasb.gov.au/admin/file/content102/c3/AASB117_07-04_ERDRjun10_07-09.pdf Brealey, R., Myers, S. and Allen, F. (2008), Principles of Corporate Finance (9th edition), New York: McGraw Hill PublicationsDamodaran, A. (2008), Corporate Finance (3rd edition), London: Wiley PublicationsDeegan, C.M. (2014), Financial Accounting Theory (4th edition), Sydney: McGraw-Hill Education Australia