Role of Construction Industry in UK Economy

Role of Construction Industry in UK Economy Introduction The UK construction sector plays a key role in the UK economy, which comprises an ocean of products, services and technologies. These may vary in terms of their economic value they generate, reflecting differences in their use of particular factor of productions and the value they generate from them. In line with this the UK construction can be classified in, firstly construction contracting industry, then provision of construction related professional services and finally construction related to products and materials. This sector is also to be hold a considerable growth opportunities of the globalisation of the construction market which a forecast shows that it will grow by over 70% by 2025. The below mentioned coming paragraphs will elaborate more on the pros and cons of being globally competitive Construction industry in the UK economy The UK construction industry nowadays is one of the largest sectors, which has added  £90 billion, to the UK economy and has created almost 10% of the UK employment. It also bares many factors that can affects demand, which one of them is globalisation. The construction industry in UK has a good position to take advantage of global market. The construction sector in UK is known for its services like architecture and development of advanced technologies used in construction such as Building Information Modelling (BIM) and also it has a higher proportion of patents to construction. In 2011 UK has exported construction contracting to give a trade surplus of  £590 million. One of the main strength of UK is at exporting architecture and quantity surveying services. In line with this the contracting industry form part of one of the largest sub-sector in the construction industry in the UK. This have been proven as it has accounted nearly 70% of the total value added generated by UKâ₠¬â„¢s construction and around 70% in the job sector. In spite of that, the UK’s technologies capabilities in the construction export are mixed up across its sub-sectors. Although significantly smaller compared to others, construction products and services play an important key role in the well-being and generate economic profits, about  £4.2 billion in gross value added in 2011. However UK this is not the case in UK’s trade performance in construction related products, which has, make a deficit of about  £6.2 billion in 2012. The construction sector was not spared with the 2008’s recession. From 2007 to 2011 the construction sector has accounted a downfall of 2.2% of the UK’s GVA. But everything seems to start going on the track according to a survey done by ONS. The most recent Construction Product Association forecasts clearly indicate that a fall in construction output of 2.1% in 2013 because of the effects of cuts in public investment. The table b elow shows the output in the construction industry statics. UK construction in the global economy It is also important to note that the UK construction industry has came across problems concerning global market during the economic downfall in 2008, in spite of this UK remains one of the largest construction contracting industry. The construction industry in the United Kingdom has face many drastic changes over the pass 5 years which include increasing of prices of raw materials, limited funding, government spending cuts, corporate failures and falling consumer spending coupled with new accounting standards and regulatory requirements. It has been predicted that global construction market will significantly rise by 4.3% per annum, from USD$8,663 billion in 2012 to USD$15,030 billion in 2025. There are several factors that can accentuate international development. Globalisation Globalisation endorses the main key features to be globally competitive. Most of us globalisation concerning political, economic, social and technological force appears all but unstoppable. As a result of this constant increase in demand global transport infrastructure, advancements in information and communication technologies, and significant progress in the elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers, businesses are now more fluid in concur this more geographical locations around the world. Consumer Demand As the construction sector covers a wide variety of sub-sectors, including civil engineering, engineering manufacturing and house building, consumer preferences vary considerably across parts of the sector. Overall, greater consumer uncertainty and restricted credit conditions since 2008 have dampened consumer demand for a range of construction products. However, over the past 20 years there has been a general growing interest in property development in the UK and globally, with individuals placing increasingly high demands on builders including requirements for energy efficiency and high quality finishes. Preferences between urban and rural dwellings, and regarding home ownership versus rental accommodation, also have important effects on the demands placed upon the sector. Demographic change An ageing population and change in entire well being of the population has brought forward the provision of the healthcare facilities, housing, education and infrastructure. The increase in life expectancy the overall population has pushed to find the need for hospital and care homes and thus their construction, repair and maintenance. Supply of a proper workplace of elders can be beneficial to the younger generation as they can learn key skills, which are in the verge of becoming lost skills. This can be a reason why UK construction industry must not fully invest into international. Sustainable construction An Annual growth of 22.8% has been forecasted for 2017 as a result of the increasing low carbon regulatory requirements and a much greater societal demand for greener products. According to a recent survey around half the architects, engineers, contractors, building owners and building consultants around the world anticipate that at least 60% of their work will be green by 2015. Emerging markets By 2020 emerging economies are expected to account for 55% of all construction spending. Recent countries, like China and Brazil, are expected to follow this trend to be able to experience transformational changes in the performance of their economy to develop their economies compared to developed economies, although they are more prone to have an increase in demand in areas such as utilities provision and infrastructural renewal, for the big-ticket and development to arise, it will depend on how the growth of the nation is going on. Drivers of long-term growth One among of the numerous drivers of growth in this sector are certainly to gain access to foreign markets and increases export activity. In line with this there are much more factors associated to long-term growth. The below mentioned point will elaborate more on the factors that pushes UK construction industry to drive competitiveness and a long-term growth organisation. People and skills The future of UK construction industry, either international or domestic, resides in the skills and flexible workforce. One other hand there has been a drastic fall in the apprenticeship completions in construction related to industries during these past years. In addiction to that about one fifth of all vacancies in the wider construction sector are persistent and hard to fill because employers cannot recruit staff with the right skills, qualifications or experience. Innovation capability Being competitive, to survive and grow, innovation will be essential to meet these expectations. Competitiveness can lead be advantageous, thus improve productivity and enable companies to aim higher. The RD showed that construction industry has been less innovative compared to other sectors in the UK economy. Although there has been  £7.42 billion versus  £3.15 billion in 2007 to invest in terms of design and organisational innovation it still remains low compare to the other sectors. This is due to: High level of industry fragmentation and limited collaboration Procurement impacting on the level of collaboration Sub-optimal knowledge transfers and lost learning points Issues around market uptake and awareness of benefits from innovation Access to finance and risk-averse attitude to innovation. Access to finance For long the access to finance have been one of the most important aspect for a company to operate and grow. Studies proved that construction faces more difficulties to obtain finance from bank this is because they are considered to have a much higher risk due to low level of fixed capital and smaller firm size. In addition to this late payment make it difficult for construction industries to rely on credit to smooth cash flow on their businesses. Supply chain development Supply chain has a large part in the construction industry. Most of the supply chain is being source in the UK. A survey has made to estimate for every  £1 spent in construction at least 90% stays in UK. Also an analysis made by BIS has clearly show that for a large building project, the main contractor directly manage around 70 sub-contracts which most are smaller in size. To end there are more factors that can impact on the demand for construction and influence the sector’s performance and activity. For example, including regulation and standards, land availability and the planning system and the wider macroeconomic environment. Conclusion Given, the advantages and disadvantages of being an international industry outlined in the previous paragraph, it is quite predictable that despite of the unpredictable challenges that has arise in the recent financial and economic crisis of 2008, the construction industry in the UK still play an important role in the well being and vital for the UK economy. This has lead UK to be one of the largest construction markets in the Europe. UK construction sector has been responding well to the challenges that global market has brought foreword but also it has shown potential of taking advantage of substantial opportunities that global market will give them in the future. The UK is famous for having the most professional construction services. Also being for providing world-class architecture and development of technology such as Building Information Modelling (BIM). In line with this, UK is also known to have a greater proportion of employees in construction contracting with the required qualification like a degree or equivalent qualification, which has almost doubled over the last ten years. In some professional services such as architecture and quantity surveying, the sector continues to run a trade surplus in construction sector. UK construction sector have seize many opportunities present to them. Being globally competitive, the UK construction industry is will place to benefit more from the opportunities for a global shift such as low carbon economy and green and sustainable construction. But, there will be a continuous need to ensure investment in the innovation and technology, along with this there must have and increase in collaboration between businesses and research institution for UK to be able to realise its potential. In connection with this UK construction sector must pay particular attention to shortage of skills, and limited awareness of financing options. They must also brought improvements concerning supply chain and they have relatively low levels of exports in construction products and materials.

Is K-Pop a Good Influence or Bad Influence?

What is K-Pop? K-pop or known as Korean Pop is a new music genre that was originally come from South Korea, Asia. Some say K-pop offered another style of music which has catchier and offer easy listening songs for their lovers. What makes it different too is that the style the singer has shown is something new for us and how they can deliver music on their own way that I believe none of this ever existed before. Just like how they could mix perfectly between the upbeat songs with various kinds of dancing and obviously with their good looking actresses who will make anyone who watch it will fall for them. Good morning Sir/ Madam, today I would like to talk about how K-Pop brings good influences for many teenagers. The love for K-Pop has been spreading widely nowadays, especially in Indonesia. People are arguing whether K-Pop brings a good influence or bad influence for teenagers. Firstly, it is fine for teenagers to like K-pop. I believe to be fond of Korean idol is fine. How could I say so? First, as I read on an article, admiring someone who has professionalism in doing their job will bring a good suggestion to the fans that will suggest the fans to do the same. As it is already a fan's nature for admiring and feeling proud to the attitude of their idol. Being a K-pop artist is really hard, they must have good grade at school because their grades would show whether they are willing to learn or not, and have a good skill that has been examined by the agency and also a good attitude. So that’s why professionalism is the most important thing for being a K-pop artist. This professionalism will enforce teenagers to do so. Fans want to be like their idols, K-Pop idols are showing hard working attitude and how they never give up their dreams and become better as time goes by, for example they undergo packed and brutal training schedule in order for them to be better and better. Thus it will motivates the fans. Another thing that it is already a nature for fans when they love an idol, they'll do everything. Many of K-pop artists are smart, for example is Cho Kyu Hyun who is very smart in Mathematics and has won several Math Olympiads in South Korea, this encourages the fans of Cho Kyu Hyun to study hard as hey are seeing Kyu Hyun as their role model, at the time when Cho Kyu Hyun won several medals he was also in his teenage year, therefore it's easy for fans to look upon him because it suits their situation now. Secondly, teenagers could widen their social intercourse and even knowledge. Why? When someone likes K-pop I can make sure that they will not keep it for her or himself. They will share it with others, for example joining fans gathering, K-pop fans will try to spread the love. By liking K-pop fans usually will always get the latest updates of their idols as a fans' nature is to dig as much as they can as long as it's related to their idols and that will force them to be aware on how to connect themselves with the world that might make them being sophisticated teenagers. Sounds rare? But that’s the truth. Knowing K-pop will make fans curious about South Korea itself, as they will be trying to be closer to their idols as much as they can, they would try to learn South Korea's culture and language, this is useful for teenagers as it could enriches their knowledge about the world outside. Furthermore, I would like to say that K-pop unites the world. Teenagers nowadays are able to meet new friends around the world through K-pop fancafe or social networks as they are sharing the same interests. Having friends overseas are good as they'll be using English since English is the universal language and that would train them to speak English more. Articles about K-pop for international fans are also written in English, therefore fans will try to improve their English as they don't want to miss their idols latest updates. Despite the view from the adults that liking K-pop will cause teenagers to lose their nationalism, as when someone is obsessed about something, they will do everything related to it and by liking K-pop means that teenagers will spend more time in learning about South Korea and forgetting about Indonesia's tradition and culture. Adults have also been saying that K-pop just gives distraction to teenagers. Especially parents think that their children are distracted from their studies as they always think about K-pop, watching videos about K-pop or reading fan fiction and neglect their studies. Another reason that was given by them is because of the consumerism soul of teenagers. It is true that being K-pop fans is not cheap. Even an album that only has 5 songs in it could cost Rp. 200,000 . It is a fans nature that they want to meet their idols so when their idols come, they become desperate to watch the concerts and moreover whenever there's concert, merchandises such as light-stick, banner would be essential for them to cheer their idols and all of those are not cheap. Adults are thinking that it's just wasting money. People are saying that K-pop artists are fake and just motivates teenagers to do plastic surgery in order to look pretty or handsome. They are saying that K-pop is all about plastic surgery, the K-pop artists will do it so they can be pretty or handsome and sometimes it's necessary if they want to have a lot of fans in Korean music industry. I myself believe that nothing is wrong with plastic surgery, why would we accuse someone for being fake only because they did plastic surgery? It's not like they are doing crime. Every person in this world has their own rights, if the K-pop artists want to do it, then it's their rights, it doesn't go against the human rights. Afterall, what is wrong for someone having a desire to have a better look? I don' think that this brings bad influence for teenagers, even in South Korea itself, parents usually give their children plastic surgery as birthday presents and this motivates the children to be a good and well-mannered child if they want to get plastic surgery as their present. So, I strongly believe that there is nothing wrong with it. All of those are true. However it's back to themselves. It's back to their ability to control themselves and to hold their temptation. As long as it's consumed wisely, I believe that K-pop will only bring good influences for teenagers as I myself experience it. In my experience, I believe that K-pop has bring good influences into my life. Despite people saying that K-pop will distract me from my studies, I am very sure that it doesn't. In fact, K-pop is one of the main factors that motivates me to study even harder and keep up good marks. I see K-pop as my motivation, I always think that if I study hard and get good results, in the end I can award myself by going to K-pop concerts or buying their official merchandises. Whenever there's a big exam coming, I always make a note which says something like â€Å"Rank 1 = K-pop Concert† , and it really motivates me. I really respect all the K-pop artists, they sacrifice everything to chase their dreams. There's this one quote that always stuck in my head, â€Å"If you really want one thing, you have to give up on another† , said Lee Tae Min, a member of SHINee. It teaches me that if I really want something, I have to stick to it, be consistent and not easily influenced by others, I have to focus on my aims. Moreover, K-pop teaches me to fight for what I want, just as what Minho, a member of SHINee, korean boy group says, â€Å" If you don't give up your hopes and dreams, then there will always be a good ending. † Thank you for your attention and now I end this speech.

Public Employees and the Right to Strike Essay

â€Å"After a 60-hour strike that halted subway and bus service in 2005; a state judge penalized the Transport Workers Union by taking away its most powerful money-raising tool: automatic collection of dues from members’ pay checks.† (New York Times, November 2007)   Ã‚   An incongruity due to establishment of new employment conditions or some other contention between the employer and his employees is referred to as a collective labour dispute. According to Eamets and Philips [2005], the United States constitution does not allow its citizens to conduct a strike. The government employees are encouraged to present their point of views to the government but no law permits them to form adversaries as bargaining envoys against it. The laws from Britain that forbid the people to speak against the monarchy are still in practice by some American States. If an agreement is not feasible through debate, both the opponent parties are required to consult the communal mediator to avoid disarray at work sites. The employees in public sector are divided into three groups, The public servants, who work as law permits on civil servants and have particular employment pledges, The technical recruits, who work in the state institutions and district metropolis, The temporary workers, working project based or for a limited time period.   Ã‚  According to ROTAL – Riigi- ja Omavalitsusasutuste Tà ¶Ãƒ ¶tajate Ametià ¼hingute Liit, [represents the interests of civil servants], at least the technical recruits and the temporary workers should have the right to strike. Conversely as declared by the Collective Labour Dispute Act, disputes between the labour and the employers must be resolved through the consultation of a moderator, deciding on a mutual agreement. Strikes are barred in the following associations: â€Å"Government agencies and other state bodies and local government; and The defence forces, other national defence organisations, courts and fire fighting and rescue services.† (Eamets and Philips, 2005)    The divergence amid the private and the public management concerning the collective bargaining is quite intense. The public sector comprises of political decisions by the government affecting everyone. They also benefit from more privileges and benefits as compared to the private sector employees. As declared by the Massachusetts’ Governor Calvin Coolidge in 1919 when he broke the Boston police strike, the civil workers have no right to strike against the public. The same thoughts were voiced by President Roosevelt in 1937 â€Å"A strike of public employees is unthinkable and intolerable.† (Stopping Public-Employee Strikes, 1966) Governor Bill Ritter declared an administrative command that rules out any strikes by civil servants, which encourages the employees and labour unions to join together and create harmonious working conditions. However concern was voiced by the State Representative Bob Gardner, specializing in government regulatory law; that legislation should be introduced to prohibit strikes in law as they may surface after this new order. Since the unions may try to negotiate for higher reimbursements possible producing unsatisfactory results for the union leaders thus conduct a strike. (Lawmaker: Public Employees Have Right to Strike, Despite Ritter’s Order, 2007)    This fact creates problems in deciding whether to allow the workers to strikes or not, it is human nature to be unsatisfied with the present circumstances and strive for more. In the early years, federal employees were not allowed even to join unions or groups that may sponsor strikes otherwise deal with one year imprisonment. It is the temperament of labour unions to ask the employers much more than they are willing to partake, which then precede strengthening of perceptions and then eventually the strike. Increasing strikes will result in greater costs of state and local government and the taxes as well.   Ã‚  Ã‚   The debate accumulated during the year 2004 that all civil workers should not be prohibited to advocate their rights through strikes. The proposal from the trade unions that request for some modification in the legislation regarding the Collective Labour Dispute Act, making the public employees rights issue a notorious one globally. (Eamets and Philips, 2005) Even today the arguments still continue, the concern being that the public suffer most by the workers’ strikes, which ceases to provide them with the essential services. At the same time according to the employers, it acts as a major threat to the public finances and the government policies. Public employees like doctors, nurses, teachers and industrial workers hold power to raise an opinion against their employer which might force him to entertain their demands.   Ã‚   All this creates a critical issue in employment regulations; how to achieve a bargain with the workers effectively, catering to their demands and at the same time achieving hundred percent labour. Often the strike becomes the sole way to gain attention of the higher authorities like the government. However it must be stated that the worker has his own rights and requirements, there should be proper bargaining conducted to assure a sound working system. The workers should be allowed to protest or display their demands, if an individual is working hard to fulfil his employers stipulate, he or she holds the right to be treated properly so as to encourage and compliment his work standard. If the fundamental rights of labour are being considered, there will be no need for calling strikes in the future. REFERENCES Raul Eamets and Kaia Philips,†Controversy over civil servants’ right to strike† [6 January 2005] â€Å"Lawmaker: Public Employees Have Right to Strike, Despite Ritter’s Order in Unions† [7 November 2007] â€Å"Stopping Public-Employee Strikes† [14 January 1966] OSCAR A. WEIL and ORVILLE V. BERGREN â€Å"The right to strike: Should teachers get or do they have it?† [16 April 1977] WILLIAM NEUMAN, â€Å"M.T.A. Asks for Restoration of Automatic Dues Payment† [2 November 2007] New York

Communism vs Capitalism - 992 Words

Is Communism a better economic system than capitalism? By Michael Kujawski Since the beginning of the 20th century many countries have favored the economic system of communism over capitalism many political partys around the world that are communist based have the term â€Å"workers party†incuded in their name because communism is a system for the working class and capitalism is a competitive system for the upper class society to benefit. Communism was not envisioned by one person but molded and perfected by many one of the key contributors to the creation of communism was Karl Marx who wrote The Communist Manifesto which heavily criticized capitalism â€Å"The flaws Marx found in†¦show more content†¦,145).Also like communism, capitalism benefited the economy and because of the free markets people are most likely more pleased with filling their own quota Than that of a controlling and demanding communist state who owned all of the land like lords owned land and surfs were brought to farm it in the feudal age Both capitalism and communism were positive in their own ways and also negative in their own ways but to find the dominant force one must compare the pros and cons of both economic systems that are the most popular in the world today. â€Å"The primary point of difference between capitalism and communism is regarding the ownership of means of production or resources in general† ( Phatak.,1). 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