51 Ideas on How to Improve the US Education System

Last updated: April 2017Navigation:→ South Korea education performance [Infographic] → Expert roundup: how to improve the education system in the US? → From the students point of viewBack in 2014, Pearson released their Learning Curve. This education assessment service gathered the information of The Economist Intelligence Unit, did extensive desk research, and interviewed the world’s education leaders to report each nation’s ability to prepare students for the modern workforce.What did they evaluate?Including but not limited to, contributing factors were:the amount each nation spends on educationaverage school attendancethe salaries and earning potential of teacherstest scores in math, science, and literatureemployment ratesaverage salariesBased on the info, researchers had created a ranking system identifying the top 40 countries in the world.Interpreting the Report’s FindingsLooking beyond the numbers, there are several important conclusio ns we can draw from this report:Significant financial investment in a country’s education system does not necessarily produce academic returns.The countries with the best rankings make basic skill development (like numeracy and literacy) a high priority.Non-cognitive skills are equally important. Countries who excelled in the report also valued communication, leadership, teamwork, global citizenship, problem solving, emotional intelligence, and entrepreneurship.Effort is more valuable than inherited intelligence.Clear, measurable goals and outcomes are essential.It really does take a community to raise a child; the leading countries relied on the accountability and involvement of a well-utilized network of people to educate their students.So what?The Learning Curve 2014 concludes East Asian nations are best in education. With South Korea on top, followed by Japan (2nd) and Singapore (3rd), these countries have clear learning outcomes and a strong culture of accountability and engagement among a broad community.As for the leader, the education system of South Korea has transformed the country over the last 50 years, leading to an expanding economy.Is South Korea’s Education System One to Mimic? The Secret of SuccessSouth Korea does deserve some praise. After all, their students rank exceptionally high in reading, math and science. It’s also noteworthy that nearly 65% of young adults (ages 25-34) have a university degree. This graduation rate is significantly higher than the average 9% of other nations examined by The Learning Curve 2014.To many, the success of South Korea is enviable. But is that the right mindset to have?Let’s take a look at some of the factors contributing to South Korea’s â€Å"success:†All 12 years of elementary and high school education is about the need to prepare for the Suneung, known as the College Scholastic Ability Test. The result is the admission to the countrys top universities.South Koreans spend more than $17 billion on private tuition, accounting for nearly 15% of consumer spending.Four out of five students seek out private education.Students attend classes from 9am to 5pm. Then, from 5pm to 10pm, students attend a hagwon, or cram school.Of those who have graduated from university, only 75% are employed. Of those, 24% are overqualified for their current job (a percentage that is three times higher than the world average).Students report low interest and satisfaction rates in school.Stress associated with academic performance and career outlook is the leading reason teens contemplate suicide.The #1 reason for suicide among 15-24-year-old youngsters in South Korea is stress associated with academic performance.In 2015, South Korea was the 3rd in math and science after Singapore and Hong Kong. In 2016, the education system of this country stayed debatable: despite high ranks, South Korean kids seemed to be those paying for that success.Former students describe the Korean education as stressful and authoritarian, emphasizing high pressure and high performance:â€Å"To be a South Korean child ultimately is not about freedom, personal choice or happiness; it is about production, performance, and obedience.† (See-Wong Koo)â€Å"In my three years of high school, not once did any teacher ask me what I would like to do or what I would like to study in college. No one really cared about my interest or what I’d be better at.† (Dongyoung Shin)What About the US Education?Despite the above-mentioned human factor and stresses South Korean youths have to overcome for education success, statistics say it all. And many US educators and parents look at OECD and Pearson reports as a roadmap for enhancing the academic learning of their kids.Everyone wants to be among the world’s top nations in education, dont they? And while some name reasons why the US education system is failing and agree the US needs to reevaluate the current learning opportunities for students, the question remains: What are the best tactics for improving our education system, taking into account the fact we dont consider going to extremes, as is evident in South Korea?To find the answer, we went to several educators and education professionals with the only question: â€Å"If you could name three key ways on how to improve the US education system, what would they be?†Respondents:nameoccupationcontacts1Jeremy KunGraduate TA Mathematician Programmerweb G+2Frank FranzSocial Studies teacher James Madison High Schoolweb G+3Travis WardPhysics and Math tutorweb G+4Jason Jurotichwriter teacher (Philosophy and English)web T G+5Brandon D StillerBiology teacher at New Trier High Schoolweb G+6Laurie FloodNational Board Certified teacher and teacher trainerweb G+7Mitchell TiminPh.D. from UCSD Science Mathematics tutorweb8Jake LopataTeaches Economics at SUNY University at AlbanyT G+9Jim Cullenhistory department at the Ethical Culture Fieldston School NYweb F10Michael MazenkoAP English Teacher in suburban ColoradoT11Austin WaltersUniversity of Illinois student studying Computer Scienceweb T12Ken HallaEducation Technologist Teacher at Fairfax County VAweb G+13Evan WinogradAP and SAT II Physics Math TutorG+14Quincy Smithformer teacher and founder of ESLAuthority.comweb TBy combining their suggestions, we’ve come up with several ways to improve the US education system.[Back to top]  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Respect and Encourage TeachersMore respect for teachers. Higher pay, fewer classes, and less classroom time, with this extra time being used for training and curriculum development. Discipline should come in the form of training with temporarily reduced class loads. / Jeremy KunTreat teachers differently. They are responsible for each new generation of learners and should be regarded as some of the most influential individuals in the country. Teaching should be considered a top level profession with higher salaries. Teachers would quickly teach to inspire and so students can learn versus just to retain their job by passing yearly tests. / Travis WardMore freedom for teachers.  Hire the best teachers, pay them well, a nd let them teach in the way they best see fit (trust and mild oversight). / Jeremy KunThe Importance of Teacher EducationPeople need to understand that we are a country of immigrants.   Part of this professional development that teachers in most all areas of the country also need is in the area of teaching students in their class who are English Language Learners.   Studies of teachers in America show that the majority do not feel they have the skill set in order to meet the demands of second language learners in their classrooms. / Laurie FloodRaise the standards for becoming an educator. Require more stringent training for teachers in their actual subject (c.f. the extremely low standards for degrees in math education). / Jeremy KunTeachers will need more training in order to adapt to the way of mathematics instruction that the Common Core Standards and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics suggest.   The old way of teaching formulas and procedures is only a porti on of the picture.   Students understand the use of these formulas and procedures (and remember them) when they can derive the formulas themselves in interesting activities done with manipulatives and visuals to make mathematics real and real life.   Then, students need to utilize these traditional formulas and procedures solving real life problems and have whole class discussions about their findings.   This makes mathematics a field of problem solving, which it truly is, rather than just a field of disparate numbers.   The legacy will be a generation of adults who can utilize mathematics seamlessly to solve real life problems, instead of generations of adults who state, I never really understood mathematics, as we have now.  Teachers need time to get the professional development to teach these new standards and to create lessons that are targeted and relevant for their students.  / Laurie FloodContinuous Education for Teachers. Provide annual seminars/workshops/classes for teachers. In order to stay competitive with the world, our teachers, the backbone of the education system, need to be continuously growing and learning new skills and ways to effectively teach our youth. / Jake LopataI take a page from Amanda Ripleys book (The Smartest Kids in the World) and say that we should make it harder to become a teacher, trying to make the profession more of a first than a last resort. Finland and South Korea, though opposites in many ways, agree on this. / Jim CullenEliminate the bachelor degree for certification and provide internship opportunities combined with a graduate program for teacher certification. / Michael MazenkoUpdate and improve teaching curriculums yearly. Use a forum setting among teachers that teach the same subjects across several school districts. Allow teacher to learn from each other. This could include summer retreats to learn from and network with each other. No single teacher following a set strict level of rules from a book wi ll ever become the best teacher. You need multiple teachers coming together iteratively to achieve the best level of teaching and improving upon it each year. / Travis WardProviding Personalized Learning OpportunitiesMore personalized learning for students. / Frank FranzMove away from standardization and uniformity of learning focused on a one-size-fits-all system that is excessively focused on bachelor degrees for all as a measure of success and achievement. In its place, the system should develop and promote career and technical education at grades 6-10, offering greater choice, including graduation at sixteen for students pursuing associate degrees and trade certificates. / Michael MazenkoTeachers need to work one-on-one with students to see if proficiency is achieved and re-teach if necessary. Reduce class size to make this a possibility. / Frank FranzLearning needs to be individualized both in pace and format. / Ken HallaThe Importance of Basic Skill DevelopmentFocus on reading analysis skills. / Frank FranzStay the course with the Common Core Standards.   Unfortunately, there are many misconceptions out there about the Common Core Standards.   These standards focus on critical thinking skills and learning all of the traditional curriculum (and more) in a manner that allows students to solve real life problems.   This is critical for US workers to stay competitive in a global workforce.   We have barely begun the process in this country, and a misinformation campaign is forcing some states to rethink whether they will use the Common Core Standards or not.   This is a mistake. Also, there is a view that the Common Core Standards and high stakes testing are intertwined.   The high stakes testing was a part of the previous standards and No Child Left Behind legislation.   This does not have to be the case if teachers and parents raise their voices against high stakes testing.  / Laurie FloodWe need to have everyone  using standards based le arning. / Ken HallaHow Schools are StructuredStudents in the States are not pushed to learn, nor do they have any motivation to. Kids in the US dream about playing football, but kids in Germany what to solve problems (for example). The culture plays an important role here. We have to make education interesting again or things will just get worse.  / Jason JurotichMake schools more progressive environments. Allow 4 day school weeks, increase or decrease the lengths of days, allow students to teach, allow students to rate teachers so that it enforces teachers to care and have to try. / Travis WardReduce the distorting role of sports in school life, which engenders misplaced priorities for too many people. / Jim CullenGo completely digital and let the students investigate a lot more. Most of the worlds info is online and we dont need professors simply repeating it.  / Jason JurotichAs teachers and schools have begun to retool to teach the Common Core Standards, there needs to be a moratorium on strong sanctions against schools that get poor scores in some areas in the next few years.   Teachers and students need time to adapt to the new standards.   In California in the 1990s, we adopted standards that were precursors to the Common Core Standards.   The state gave us a few years to retool in order to adapt to the new, more rigorous standards. / Laurie FloodClassrooms should be used for discussion of lectures that are on video.   Khan Academy video lectures are an example of lectures that should replace classroom lectures.   The classroom is best used for discussion of material previously seen on video.   Testing can also be done via computer and internet if there is a system to prevent cheating. / Mitchell TiminCareer Exposure. Students need access to the careers that are available in todays economy. It could be a class, a seminar, a work study, etc but the point would be to familiarize students with real world careers and jobs that could be avail able to them someday. This would help student be more focused on what career or field of work they would like to pursue when they reach college, saving them time and money. / Jake LopataRestructure a school finance system thats based on local property taxes. Its deeply regressive and, again, out of touch with the rest of the world. / Jim CullenTeaching StylesMore thinking/analyzing and less memorizing. Innovation and creativity are based on understanding things, not on something memorized. / Jason JurotichHave a practical skills program in addition to an academic program.   I understand that this approach is successful in Germany.   An academic education is not appropriate for everyone. / Mitchell TiminCritical Thinking and Problem Solving. Focus on teaching students how use and apply their minds to tasks or problems. These are skills that are usable in any career field. / Jake LopataTeachers then need to move from passive (in terms of the student learner) to facilitators for st udent learning. / Ken HallaMake math/science relevant. Example: for the football players, a wide receiver lines up 15 yards left and he catches the ball 20 yards down field.   How far did the quarterback throw the ball?   The Pythagorean theorem (and just about every bit of math) can be applied to common real life scenarios.   Not only does a real example make the topic more tangible, it also makes the topic more interesting. / Evan WinogradHow Students are EvaluatedMore demanding ways to show you know something. Exams based on memory dont cut it, but on the other hand, evaluation systems need to be a lot more demanding to find out what the student really knows. There has to be objective rubrics that allow for universal, international proof that a student really knows his stuff. / Jason JurotichReduce some or most of the high stakes testing that sucks time and creativity from students who need it most starting in 3rd grade. Weeks and weeks are lost to teaching to the tests and then taking the tests. The best performing countries (one example is Finland) do not spend time and money on such testing. / Brandon D StillerDecrease the emphasis on standardized testing as a measure of rigor and accountability, and replace that with support for a childs whole education, including social-emotional needs. Included in this is devoting funding and resources to providing social supports to students and families in terms of nutrition, health care, child care, counseling, supervision, etc. / Michael MazenkoThe Role of Post-Secondary EducationMake post-secondary education more affordable so that student loan debt does not limit students and graduates. / Brandon D StillerMake scholarships for service to the country more lucrative. If 18 year olds spend a few years giving back (e.g., in the Armed Forces or AmeriCorps) while their minds mature and earn all or most of their tuition, room and board, they will be able to afford college and possibly be in much better position t o make the most of their educational opportunity. / Brandon D StillerTreat college like an option instead of the ultimate goal. Real world programs like internships, apprenticeships, and even gap years are effective in preparing students for life after school and don’t leave you with a mound of debt. / Quincy SmithCultureThe US has an attitude problem. There is a stigma that math (and school in general) is boring / uncool.   For example: http://mathfour.com/commentary/att-in-my-day-commercial-is-killing-math-students this commercial drove me crazy. It took me about 5 seconds on Google to find this article that shares my view. / Evan WinogradI believe education needs to start at an early age in the home. When I was younger, my family would do math problems at the table and turn it into a game. As a result, I was ahead of the curve in all of my math classes (Sure, there may be an argument made that I had a natural disposition to math, but I believe that nurturing a skill at a young age can help the brain develop to support that skill in the future). As a young student, despite my parents efforts, I did not read as much as I should have. As a result, my vocabulary, albeit not bad, is worse than I would like it to be. / Evan Winograd[Back to top]From the Student’s Point of View:Professors and teachers shouldn’t be the only ones allowed to sound off. Students have opinions too. After all, they’re the ones we are encouraging to do better — let’s learn what they need.Austin Walters:Do not discourage students. Do not assume incompetence or that they do not want to learn. It is important that every person is encouraged to learn. I wrote about my experiences here:  http://austingwalters.com/please-excuse-my-grammar/Give students some autonomy, which helps support longterm motivation. Perhaps have a suggestion box, which allows the students to ask questions anonymously related to any subject (obviously filter out inappropria te questions). Then every friday, or some other designated date, answer the questions in a fun way. Maybe bring in some snacks and make it a fun day.Engage students by telling stories and using metaphors. Its important that students stay engaged and doing so by providing them with funny/interesting stories helps maintain motivation.Heres great post on Reddit with several more suggestions from students to consider: Feed us. Seriously! You’d be amazed at how attentive we can be after a fun sized candy bar!For more opinions and thoughts on the topic, please check:7 Ways to Repair the Public Education System, by Anya Hollis for The Huffington PostHow To Fix Education In America, by Robert Reiss for ForbesWhat Happens Now?Education is still at the center of many debates. Experts conduct surveys and do research to find out what else we can do for a better education system in the US. Statistics are all well and fine, but some go further and let students share thoughts on the problem .After all, who see it better?One way of letting them speak is through essay writing. University World News published the article where shared the excerpts from the essays young people sent to take part in the international essay contest.The topic was The Ideal Higher Education Model for My Country, and thats what American students said.Anne Hentzen, University of Missouri-Kansas City:My vision of an ideal higher education model would almost require a complete overhaul of the current higher education model in the United States. Colleges could remain privatized in order to retain academic freedom. However, the government should fully fund students’ tuition and textbooks until the students achieve at least a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent.Professors work even harder than some of those in administrative positions. So, the salaries of administrative staff, departmental heads and sports coaches would need to be lowered.Other problems of the US education, from the students point of view, include teachers looking for one type of student only and the reduced level of the teaching staff.Can the US learn from their mistakes?As one of the world’s leading developed countries, the US is constantly under scrutiny regarding areas in need of improvement. However, education should remain at the top of everyone’s priority list. As The Learning Curve 2014 points out, our children aren’t the only ones at stake here; our entire country depends on a sound and capable workforce.It’s time for US leaders to stop wasting money and start to seek out a solution. Let’s listen to educators and students who are in the trenches, and lets allow them to lead us to the brighter future.[Back to top]

Tapping Into Your Creativity essays

Tapping Into Your Creativity essays For the Tapping into Your Creativity assignment I chose to go to the Minnesota Science Museum in St. Paul. At the museum I saw the Omni Theatre presentation of Dolphins. The Omnitheatre presentation of Dolphins was probably one of the most incredible movies I have ever seen. It was not only incredible due to the content of the movie. It was also incredible because of the way that it was presented. When I first went into the theatre I commented to the woman sitting next to me that we probably were not in the greatest seats due to the fact the screen was way above us. I thought I would be craning my neck the whole show. Then it happened. The screen actually began to move. It was rotating down like the face guard of an astronauts helmet and encircling us. The whole process took five minutes only lending to the feel that you were experiencing something out of science fiction even more. The story of the screen is an experience in it self and led me to find out more about these theatres: The movie Dolphins I saw is produced and exhibited on the world's most advanced film format. Imax Corporation and Iwerks Entertainment manufacture 15 perforation/70mm (15/70) film projection systems currently installed at approximately 200 giant screen theatres internationally. IMAX motion picture systems, invented and developed by Imax Corporation, display images of unsurpassed size, clarity and impact. The images are enhanced by a superb specially-designed six-channel, multi-speaker sound system and projected onto giant rectangular screens, up to eight stories high and, in the case of IMAX Dome theatres, onto domes as large as 27metres (88'- 5") in diameter. The 15/70 image is 10 times larger than a conventional 35mm frame and three times bigger tha ...

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Dying to be Thin - Assignment Example old Erin, who starved herself, under the illusion that she was fat and ugly, even when she was way below her normal weight and at the verge of death due to malnutrition. In Chapter 6, Jennifer Schmid, who is a victim of another form of anorexia, is unable to balance diet and workout. She eats well but burns a lot more, while exercising, than what she is capable of consuming. And in Chapter 7, we see Anne Chavarro, who suffers from Bulimia, taking to purging to keep up with her binge eating habits. What surprised me the most, was the fact that these eating disorders possessed the power to make human beings capable of withstanding all emotional and physical hardships or of resorting to extremely unpleasant methods like purging or of even putting themselves through starvation which is the worst a human body could suffer, just to be extremely thin. The victims seemed only too pleased about having a disease which left them a subject of admiration, even if it came with a death warrant. Towards the end of Chapter 2, Dr. Joan Jacobs Brumberg, talks about cases of anorexia recorded in history, of women who lived hundreds of years ago. She opines that the common theme in those instances is that those women were using the appetite to express different things, depending upon their historical situation. In Chapter 1, we learn about how Katey Tracey starved herself in a desperate attempt to be accepted by her teacher as the best dancer in her group. Eleena Melamed, another ballet dancer, talks out in Chapter 5, about what led her to anorexia. Her story matches more or less with that of Katey Tracey. It could be said that they were expressing their need to be accepted and admired. Erin, who felt lonely and insecure when her mother had to stay away for a year, took to starvation, to become thin and look glamorous, in order to attract the attention of those around her. She also admits to have been sexually harassed, which added to her feeling of insecurity. Here, she is

Defining a line Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Defining a line - Essay Example These all correlate with the way we think and act as people. In these terms, a line can be a shallow mind, hatred, ignorance, segregation, and an arrogant person. In essence, the word â€Å"line† almost always implies dissimilarities, divisions, and opposition in our world. A line is something that delineates boundaries and sets limits on the ideas, beliefs and actions of humankind. A line is a shallow mind. Shallow minds are narrowly constricted and do not allow for any room for critical thinking and reasoning. They cannot see past one aspect of an idea, situation or problem. They could not comprehend the idea of a challenge thus they never really rise above that is asked of them. Their trend of thoughts is static and stale. If you feed a shallow mind with garbage information, then expect to get garbage information in return. A shallow mind is often restricted to living in a world without the more. Seeking the more is characteristic of a healthy, working mind that works off the beaten path. Therefore, a shallow mind lives in a world containing only the absence of the more. It recoils from the curvaceous and ever expanding path of deeper thought. Therefore, a shallow mind is a line. When we think of hatred, we do not normally think of it as a line. However, if we take a closer look into nature of things, hatred limits the capacity of the mind to understand. It narrows down our way of thinking, thus hatred is a line. When you are angry, you draw a line; you close down your mind and channel your energies into one direction. Prejudice exemplifies a type of hatred. It is the persistence of racism that has emanated from ways of recognizing and classifying strangers. In the Medical Dictionary, hatred is defined as â€Å"an affection of the mind awakened by something regarded as evil.† The word â€Å"evil† is the key word. It is the seed that cultivates hatred, the hatred that when grown, enshrouds a mind, and turn it into

T&D 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

T&D 2 - Essay Example Firms regularly employ ‘Training Needs Analysis (TNA)’ to train their employees in order to serve their employees with quality services. TNA allows companies to assess their internal requirements for improving staff skills. For this purpose, a determination of job roles and responsibilities is undertaken at every level and category with respect to the employees working in the various departments. This paper details the outcomes of a TNA study conducted on an electrical engineer (referred to as the ‘subject’) who works at ESB International, a prominent energy company. The subject works in the ‘Engineering and Facility Management’ department and his roles primarily include the design and management of projects related to electrical sub-stations. The subject works in a team of five people and is the technical manager of the group. The study has been influenced by the recommendations of Garavan et al (2003) in identifying the training needs of entities at various levels within the organization. Thus, the literature review and the analysis are driven by the key aspects outlined by Garavan. Essentially, an ideal TNA process should be carried out at 3 levels: The different levels mentioned above are important elements of assessing the training needs and are highly interrelated. Thus, performing a study based on this structure will provide a balanced analysis that can address the requirements at each of these levels. A typical TNA analysis begins with a review of the strategic and operational objectives of the organization. For example, the SWOT (Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis is a technique to identify such objectives. At the departmental level, the role of managers is widely studied and the skills of team members are reviewed against all identified objectives. This is important as organizational success is only possible if all departments and

Analysis of Economics and Finances of Multan District

Analysis of Economics and Finances of Multan District Abstract Public finance deals with the financial management of public entities. This paper provides an overview of the financial affairs of local government of district Multan and identifies issues faced by the systems to deliver efficiently and effectively. It also highlights areas or improvement and opportunities to fund these activities. The district government heavily relies on the provincial grants and has very limited self generated revenue. Although it is responsible to manage various institutions of social services and carry out developmental activities in the district, its reliance on provincial grants make its effort less effective. TMA on the other hand have significant revenue generation and use this to their advantage and work with autonomy. However they still rely on provincial grants for any developmental activities. The stale business process and hurdles in the legal framework also contribute significantly towards the in efficiency of the systems. There are solutions that can help turn around the situation but it needs a sincere effort on part the provincial and local government. Automation and legal reforms could cover a lot of issues. They would not only increase efficiency but would help curtail corruption at various levels. However strong political could change the scene altogether. A comprehensive process was adopted in collecting secondary data through official documents, template and meetings with officials. District Multan was chosen due to its importance specially in the current political setup and based on convenience. Introduction Despite some modest achievements, the economic and social progress in Pakistan has been far from satisfactory during the last more than five decades of independence. Average annual growth rate of 6.8, 4.8, 6.5 and 4.6% (Government of Pakistan, 2003) respectively in the decades of 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s is not comparable with the rapid economic progress made by South Korea, Malaysia, China and many other countries which were initially at nearly the same level of economic development (or even below) as that of Pakistan. The performance on social indicators has been gloomier. Despite average figures for economic growth, many countries like Vietnam and Cuba have been able to eradicate illiteracy and have achieved health statistics comparable with developed countries (Zaidi, 2000). Pakistan still ranks at the tail end of social development ranking. Pakistan is also a signatory to the Millennium Declaration, a landmark event showing commitment of political, corporate and civil society leadership to eliminate extreme hunger and poverty and to improve education, health, gender and environment situation through global partnerships for development. A study of the progress achieved on achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) shows that the performance of Pakistan has not been noteworthy in the decade of 90s. There has been a gradual convergence of opinion amongst all stakeholders – government, civil society as well as international development partners – that the failure in social sectors is a direct outcome of the crisis of governance and macro economic imbalances. Further, there is a broad consensus that governance cannot be improved without a meaningful devolution of authority to functional tiers and without ensuring peoples participation in decision making processes at all levels. This stakeholder consensus provided the necessary impetus for the present government to introduce its devolution reforms conceived in 2000 and launched simultaneously in all provinces of Pakistan through introduction of Local Government Ordinances in 2001. Until the promulgation of Local Government Ordinances, the elected local government tiers had a precarious existence depending upon the will of the provincial governments. Many times these would be dissolved and un-elected administrators appointed. Working under the ambit of Local government Ordinances of 1979, there were urban and rural local councils. While urban local councils consisted of Metropolitan/Municipal Corporations and Municipal/Town committees, the rural councils were called District Councils and Union Councils. Traditionally the local councils in Pakistan have performed municipal functions like water supply, sanitation, solid waste management, fire fighting, maintenance of slaughter houses, promotion of cattle markets, fairs and exhibitions and street lighting. They also had varying roles in primary and preventive health care, maternal and child health, promotion of literacy and rural infrastructure development. Devolution reforms in Pakistan, introduced by the promulgation of Local Government Ordinances of 2001 have provided a 3-tier local government system consisting of District Government (DG), Tehsil/Town Municipal Administration (TMA) and Union Administrations (UA). Working under the direction and control of elected councils and Nazims, the present local government system attempts to create institutions and mechanisms for public participation in design, management, monitoring and control of social service delivery. Many of the functions previously performed by the local offices of provincial government departments now clearly fall within the domain of DGs. These reforms are aimed to increase local governments responsibility for efficient and effective social and municipal services delivery. Municipal functions with a wider scope are being carried out by Town Municipal Administrations and City District Governments (established initially in provincial headquarters but subsequently in sele cted big cities as well). Access to adequate resources for the local governments is now considered essential. Additional fiscal space is required for enhanced allocations for the social sector as well as infrastructure development. These resources are also required to meet the social deficits that have accumulated over the past due to inadequate funding coupled with low utilisation in social sectors. Devolution reforms, as originally conceived and articulated, envisaged large scale fiscal decentralisation to follow the administrative and political decentralisation. While a fiscal relationship has been forged between the province and the districts, an extensive reorganisation of resources has not taken place and the vertical financial imbalance stays in place with the major financial collections being made at the federal (and to a lesser extent at the provincial) level. On the other hand, the service provision has fallen at the DG level where the tax base and collection potential is the lowest. Courtesy: Decentralization Support Program, Role Book: 4-day workshop for elected local leadershipResultantly, the biggest challenge facing the local councils in Pakistan (which are more empowered today and have a wider scope of functions than ever) is to ensure consistent, reliable and fool proof mechanisms of transfers from provincial governments and to expand ‘own source revenues in order to provide efficient and effective service delivery as envisaged in devolution reforms. Public Finance  is that part of finance which hovers around the central question of allocation of resources subjected to the budget constraint of the government or public entities. It is that branch of economics which identifies and appraises the means and effects of the policies of the government. Public sector finance tries to examine the effects and consequences of different types of taxation and expenditures on the economic agents (individuals, institutions, organizations, etc.) of the society and ultimately on the entire economy. Public finance also analyzes the effectiveness of the policies aimed at certain objectives and consequently to the development of procedures and techniques for increasing the effectiveness of the policy. Literature Review Much of the functional autonomy of the local governments depends upon their ability to raise the required resources from their own sources and to get the balance from the provincial/federal government through consistent and assured mechanisms. This requires not only devising institutional mechanisms for formula and criteria based fiscal transfers but also exploring revenue potentials of local own source revenues. These own source revenues can be in the form of taxes and fees for services provided. It is quite surprising that despite the significance of this, very few local studies have been carried out to examine the resource potential of the local bodies in Pakistan. Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP) of Pakistan, formulated after considerable debate and input from all major stakeholders, admits that the local governments depend primarily upon fiscal transfers from provincial governments and recognises the need for local revenue mobilisation as an important activity for the sustainability of local government system. Factors steeped in political economy and elite structures have influenced local revenue generation decisions. Howe and Reeb (1997) conducting a survey of the local tax system in USA since the colonial times have determined that economic and political considerations have influenced the tax systems. Bird (2000) gives the desirable characteristics of a local tax. First, the tax base should be relatively immobile so that local governments can vary the rates without losing a significant portion of the base. Second, the tax yield should be adequate to meet the local needs, increase overtime as expenditure increases, and be relatively stable and predictable. Third, the tax should be one that is not easy to export to non residents. Fourth, the tax base should be visible to ensure accountability. Fifth, the tax payers should perceive the tax to be reasonably fair. Sixth, the tax should be reasonably easy to administer. According to Bird (1999), ‘international experience tells that the most responsible and accountable local governments are those that raise their own revenues and set their own tax rates. Meaningful local autonomy and accountability can only take place if the local governments are able to set their own tax rates. In Pakistan, on the other hand, provincial government has the power to vet the tax proposal and no tax can be levied by a local council without publication in official gazette. Kitchen and Slack (2003) after a comprehensive analysis of local taxes in developed world, including Canada, are of the view that in order to meet the growing needs of municipalities, it is mandatory that new resources in addition to the traditional property tax and user fees must be explored. There is little autonomy in preparing district development and non development budgets because of inability to convey the quantum of provincial transfers and vertical programmes. There is more ‘budgetary certainty in TMAs because of increased reliance on OZT replacement tax and own source revenues. Formula based transfers to districts through Provincial Finance Commission (PFC) awards have several weaknesses. District governments have weak tax base in terms of buoyancy and potency of taxes assigned. Urban Immovable Property Tax (UIPT) assigned to TMAs is a buoyant tax but there are administrative confusions. According to Shah et al. (1996) and World Bank (2000) the existing provincial taxes and user charges are inefficient and inequitable and are incapable of meeting significant share of provincial expenditures. Frequently changing and low yield tax instruments with poor tax records create incentives for tax evasion. Considering that agriculture contributes approximately 25% of the GDP in Pakistan, it is estimated that a properly enforced Agricultural Income Tax (AIT) could generate over Rs. 500 million in NWFP only. Presently due to collusion between revenue officials and landowners, lack of understanding, improper assessment and poor collection by the tax collectors, very little of the potential is realised. Bahl (2004) states that in the contemporary world nearly 80 countries are implementing fiscal decentralisation policies. Local government should have the power to define revenue bases, set tax rates and raise taxes. A good tax system should be administratively feasible, revenue burden should correspond to the general condition of local economy, revenue yield should be stable and it should be adequate both for payer and local government. A research study carried out by Provincial Program Support Office, DSP, Punjab ‘Tax and Non Tax Receipt Database Development – TMA Khanewal in 2005 indicates that there is substantial potential of increase in revenues without enhancing the rates. It has been observed that service delivery potential of the TMA is weak because of its inability to meet all the expenditures. The record of TMA is old; there is no practice of periodic update; and monitoring system is weak. The study also noted that revenue generation can improve dramatically by improving record keeping through maintenance of disaggregated information of taxes and tax payers in all details by the use of information technology. The study recommended computerisation of tax records, capacity building of tax/revenue staff, and increase in transparency of tax records, wider dissemination of information about tax policies, rates and procedures through establishment of people friendly frameworks. Research Methodology The paper examines the current financial situation of district Multan and identifies areas of potential improvement. It also recommends areas that need restructuring and legal reforms to bring about the change that would not only improve systems but would make it robust and ready for future economic growth of the district, keeping in mind the potential the district. Mixed methodology including quantitative and qualitative tools was employed for data collection and analysis. Broadly speaking, it had the following three components. Component 1: The first component involved conducting a comprehensive literature review to see the national, regional and international trends in local resource mobilisation and issues faced by the system. The range of sources accessed and reports/publications examined is broad and includes similar studies conducted for other districts in Pakistan (e.g. Khanewal) and elsewhere. Unfortunately, to the extent of Pakistan, the Khanewal study is so far the only study available as a reference for examination of local resource enhancement in the local government. Greater reliance, therefore, had to be placed on studies conducted in other countries. Nevertheless, the literature review helped in identifying the issues involved in local taxation (levy, assessment and collection) and an examination thereof in a comparative perspective. The success of local governments to raise resources locally is largely contingent on framing appropriate laws and rules in consonance with the ground realities. Therefore, an important part of the literature review exercise was to identify relevant laws, rules, regulations, notifications and circulars that in some distinct manner impinge upon the resource mobilisation at district/tehsil level. Component 2: Along with the literature review an exercise was also undertaken to collect data for the District Government (DG) Multan and each of the six Tehsil Municipal Administrations included in the two districts. A comprehensive template was developed to standardise data collected from various councils. It lists all major and minor sources of revenue for a local council; the legal framework (law/rule/regulation) authorising its levy; business process for assessment and collection; the amount budgeted against each tax/levy/fee/cess etc for each of the last four fiscal years 2007-10; budgetary revisions (if any) and collections actually realised. The budget documents for the last four years were used as the starting point and the amount budgeted for each source was picked from the budget documents. Component 3 A detailed analysis of receipts, expenditure, development initiatives, review of business process and relevant legal provision and their issues was carried out. Component 4: Then a series of individual interviews were held. This included meeting the Tehsil Municipal Officers, Executive District Officers (Revenue, Finance and Planning, Municipal Services), various District Officers, Excise and taxation officials, Multan Development Authority and Water and Sanitation Agency officials The suggestions and recommendations on the perspectives emanating from these interviews. Data Analysis and interpretation Overview of Public Finance (district government budget) Rs. in millions Description 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 Expenditure Actual Actual RE Non-development 2,762.80 3,912.51 4,066.98 Development 1,462.49 1,539.14 882.19 Development – tied grant 300.12 512.19 965.16 Total 4,525.41 5,963.84 5,914.34 Source of revenue 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 Opening balance 386.16 995.15 1,086.13 Provincial grants 3,780.30 3,853.29 5,172.88 Own Source revenue 201.07 149.37 140.13 Tied grants (development and non-development) 475.84 801.40 1,017.88 Total 4,853.37 5,726.64 7,417.02 Revenue of the district is of two types i.e. Own source revenue and provincial transfers. In district Multan there is a heavy reliance on funding from provincial government since district OSR is almost negligible. Efforts are needed to change the scenario and move the district towards sustainability A sharp rise of 37% in provincial grants could be noticed in the FY 2008-09 over FY 2007-08 endorsing districts dependence on these transfers. The provincial grants are transferred as per the PFC criteria which will be discussed in depth later in the chapter. Tied grants being the second highest source has been transferred for development and non development expenses of the district government. For the FY 2008-09 the tied grants are Rs. 1,018m which constitute 13.7% of the total sources. These grants are for specific expenditure and are not in districts control. The own source revenue (OSR) of the district govt. forms a very insignificant amount (2%, 2008-09), rendering the district to re ly heavily on provincial transfers. The OSR of the district has been on a decreasing trend compared to overall resource requirement. This is a major cause of concern as this not only increases dependence on provincial transfer but it also affects the autonomy of the district to make decisions. A sincere effort to revamp the taxes and their collection mechanism is required with the focus on generating more resource. In budget for FY 2009-10 there is an increase in OSR of 40% which includes estimation of arrears that are more than 3 years old. These balances are very old and have been appearing in budget estimates for over more than 3 years. However the increase is still insignificant compare to the requirement of the district. A detailed analysis of item by item sources of income was done. Issues relating to a few significant items will be highlighted in the section of recommendations. Expenditures are categorized in to two broad categories i.e. Development and Non development. The ratio of development vs. non development expenditure has changed over the years with a downward trend in development expenditure. This trend should be a cause of concern as the development projects loose priority to make way for funding ongoing activities In 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 the ratio of non developmental expenses vs. development expenses is 61% to 39%, 66% to 34% and 69% to 31% respectively. This shows the declining trend of developmental budget. The year 2008-09 saw a drop in the allocation for developmental activities out of district government resources from Rs. 1,538 m in FY 2007-08 to Rs. 1,082 m in FY 2008-09. This huge reduction was somewhat compensated through increase in development expenditure through tied grants which rose from Rs. 512m in FY 2007-08 to Rs. 965m in FY 2008-09. In FY 2008-09 the budget estimate for development activities other than CCB and tied gr ants stood at Rs. 558 m for ongoing activities and Rs. 742 m for new activities. The revised estimate for same expenditure came out to be Rs. 656m. Which means that not only new activities were not initiated nor ongoing expenditure targets were met. The major reasons identified during discussion is the change in political setup in the province resulting in delay tactics for funds transfer. The development budget for the district government consists of funds allocated towards Annual development program, Citizen Community board and Tied grants (provided by provincial government against specific development projects). In the FY 2009-10 the total budget for development stands at Rs. 2,749 m which is 38% of the total budget for this year. The total allocation towards ADP is Rs. 1,492 m which is 54% of the total development budget. This ADP has Rs. 966m as ongoing projects that have started in previous years. This is a large allocation and has taken up approximately 35% of the share from development budget. The new projects identified for the year are 19% of the total development budget. The ADP (ongoing and new) are mainly focused on following sectors Annual development program 2009-10 % Sectors Rs. in millions Education 214.342 14% Health 159.877 12% Dist. Govt. facilities 52.166 3% Solid waste management 26.188 2% Sports 47.14 3% General bus stand 64.259 4% Livestock and Fisheries 24.027 2% Firms to market roads 223.931 15% Roads, Building and Roundabouts 348.837 23% Others 332.034 22% Total 1492.801 The above table reflects district governments priorities for sector development. The social services such as health and education take up 26% of the share whereas the roads network takes up 38% of the allocation. Overview of Public Finance (All 6 TMAs) Rs. in millions Description 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 Expenditure Non-development 251 247 326 Development 470 449 584 Total 721 697 910 Source of revenue 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 Provincial grant 246 303 290 Own Source revenue 293 339 414 Total 540 642 704 There are 6 TMAs in the district and all of them have a reasonable amount of OSR to help them fund their activities. However there is still potential to increase their revenue specially taxes that form a major component of their OSR. Receipts of TMA consist of provincial transfer and OSR. In TMAs OSR contributes significantly. The ratio of contribution of OSR has in fact increased in FY 2008-09. This is a positive sign as far the TMAs ability to make decisions is involved. However there is still room for increase in revenue. The major source being taxes should be tapped into for more efficiency. It is worth noting, looking at the combined figures for all 6 TMAs, that the OSR in all the 3 FY under discussion has been sufficient to fund the non development activities even leaving a surplus to be spent on development activities. The development vs. non development expenses are more or less consistent at a ratio of 64:36 over the last 3 years. The above table shows the break up of development expenditure for the TMA. The allocation towards development expenditure is 64% of the total outlay. It has remained at this level over last 3 years. The allocation in FY 2008-09, which comprises of the annual development projects, CCB contribution and payment against liabilities amounts to Rs. 255m, Rs. 262m and Rs. 66 m, respectively. Payments against these liabilities were frozen by the government of Punjab and have asked the TMAs to present these liabilities as new projects under the ADP. Optimistic planning and change in political setup at the provincial level resulted in huge payment liabilities being carried forward to the next year. PFC award – This is another source of income for the DG and TMAs. The criteria for distributing the PFC grant is specified by the Punjab Government and takes into consideration the population and socio economic indicator of the district (GOP, 2009-10) The district government and the TMAs have received funds at around 5% level from the provincial allocation over last 4 years. If we take a simple benchmark of population to compare the level of funding, Multan district has 4.26% population of Punjab (GOP, Punjab Development Statistics, 2009). This reflects that district Multan has been receiving fair share of the pie. 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 Resources transfer by Province to DG 90,794 96,952 99,413 108,822 TMA 13,541 14,431 15,320 15,209 Total 104,335 111,383 114,733 124,031 Allocation to DG and TMAs of Multan 4,512.56 4,885.02 6,480.43 6,108.37 % share 4.325% 4.386% 5.648% 4.925% Population Punjab 87,548 89,036 90,550 92,089 Multan 3,727 3,792 3,858 3,925 % population 4.26% 4.26% 4.26% 4.26% Recommendations Business process and legal reforms In this section we will focus our discussion on business process and relevant legal reforms to help identify areas of improvement. Section 116 of PLGO 2001 empowers the council to impose, increase, reduce, abolish, suspend and/or exempt any tax mentioned in the second schedule there in. However the section also mentioned that any amendment to taxes is vetted by the provincial government. This process hampers the local governments autonomy to set their own tax rates as the provincial government plays a controlling role. If full autonomy to fix rates etc. is not to be devolved, then the issue can be resolved by providing band widths within which the DGs and the TMAs would be free to act. To address the issue of stale process it is recommend that automation of business process, a comprehensive revenues base assessment and capacity building of staff should take place. The automation of business processes would result in better accounting, efficiency in tax collection mechanism hence increasing revenue, provide up to date databases, availability of information to be used by various department and timely reporting. It has been assessed that without increasing the rates of present taxes the yield can improve dramatically by maintaining records/registers properly, regular survey and incorporation of changes in tax records, improved monitoring and inclusion of systems of rewards and punishments for tax collecting machinery. Capacity and training of staff are critical to success of any initiative for enhancement of own source revenues. Local government officials dealing with these issues (in many cases) do not have up to date information about government laws and rules. Training with respect to financial management and procurement plus IT is also critical for bringing positive change. Low yielding taxes/fees are an administrative hassle for the collecting authority and they should be done away with or their rates be revised upwards to increase revenue. Dissemination of information about process, assessments, valuation table, and fees would help curtail corruption. One of the major reason people fall in the trap of providing kick backs is lack of information. This information could be made available through IEC material, notices in newspapers, display through posters in relevant offices and media awareness campaign. The business process of all OSR items such as taxes, rents and fees and user charge in the DGs and TMAs have mostly been defined a long time ago and the current LG setup has inherited them. There has not been any significant investment in review and reform of business processes of the taxes. Our research has shown that many improvements in the system can result from identification and removal of various loopholes and weaknesses in the processes. We recommend a comprehensive effort to be made to overhaul these processes which would result in collection efficiencies and significant improvement in tax payer facilitation. A quality control mechanism should be introduced to check functioning of various departments in the district. Conclusion This study briefly discusses the financial position of District Multan. It also carries out the financial analysis of the current situation and identifies issues faced by the local government. The major issues highlighted are capacity of the local government and the will to address issues. Multan being the 5th largest city of Pakistan has the potential to grow economically. It is well geographically well positioned since it lies in the middle of the trade route connecting south with north. A major initiative to revamp the systems would result in positive outcome for the people of the district. This paper also recommends few areas of improvement. A much larger effort needs to go into this. Recommendations such as legal reforms, revamping business process, trainings and automation needs to be implemented together to bring quick change. However this whole effort needs to be financed. The financing could take place with one or all of the following options; Lists of 11 properties were identified on a pilot basis. These properties/facilities are all in prime locations inside the city and are owned by the DG. We propose to sell of these properties and either abolished these facilities or relocate them to a more economical location. Through this proposal we would be able to raise Rs. 4,682 m. This in only the tip of iceberg, a more comprehensive study would reveal a lot more properties. Another area of resource generation is the property given on rent. The DG and TMA have many shops, stores and buildings that have been rented out. One of the ways forward could be to revise the rents and bring them at market level. Another option is to sell out these properties on market value and receive a good cash inflow that could be used for major initiatives. There are many government educational institutions with city limits many of them being on prime locations. A designated education city should be developed and all these institution should be shifted. A cost benefit analysis should be carried out to assess the potential of this option. Municipal bond is a  bond  issued by a city or other local government, or their agencies. Municipal bonds may be general obligations of the issuer or secured by specified revenues. Interest income is received by holders of municipal bonds. Municipal securities consist of both short-term issues (often called notes, which typically mature in one year or less) and long-term issues (commonly known as bonds, which mature in more than one year). Short-term notes are used by an issuer to raise money for a variety of reasons: in anticipation of future revenues such as taxes, state or Analysis of Economics and Finances of Multan District Analysis of Economics and Finances of Multan District Abstract Public finance deals with the financial management of public entities. This paper provides an overview of the financial affairs of local government of district Multan and identifies issues faced by the systems to deliver efficiently and effectively. It also highlights areas or improvement and opportunities to fund these activities. The district government heavily relies on the provincial grants and has very limited self generated revenue. Although it is responsible to manage various institutions of social services and carry out developmental activities in the district, its reliance on provincial grants make its effort less effective. TMA on the other hand have significant revenue generation and use this to their advantage and work with autonomy. However they still rely on provincial grants for any developmental activities. The stale business process and hurdles in the legal framework also contribute significantly towards the in efficiency of the systems. There are solutions that can help turn around the situation but it needs a sincere effort on part the provincial and local government. Automation and legal reforms could cover a lot of issues. They would not only increase efficiency but would help curtail corruption at various levels. However strong political could change the scene altogether. A comprehensive process was adopted in collecting secondary data through official documents, template and meetings with officials. District Multan was chosen due to its importance specially in the current political setup and based on convenience. Introduction Despite some modest achievements, the economic and social progress in Pakistan has been far from satisfactory during the last more than five decades of independence. Average annual growth rate of 6.8, 4.8, 6.5 and 4.6% (Government of Pakistan, 2003) respectively in the decades of 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s is not comparable with the rapid economic progress made by South Korea, Malaysia, China and many other countries which were initially at nearly the same level of economic development (or even below) as that of Pakistan. The performance on social indicators has been gloomier. Despite average figures for economic growth, many countries like Vietnam and Cuba have been able to eradicate illiteracy and have achieved health statistics comparable with developed countries (Zaidi, 2000). Pakistan still ranks at the tail end of social development ranking. Pakistan is also a signatory to the Millennium Declaration, a landmark event showing commitment of political, corporate and civil society leadership to eliminate extreme hunger and poverty and to improve education, health, gender and environment situation through global partnerships for development. A study of the progress achieved on achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) shows that the performance of Pakistan has not been noteworthy in the decade of 90s. There has been a gradual convergence of opinion amongst all stakeholders – government, civil society as well as international development partners – that the failure in social sectors is a direct outcome of the crisis of governance and macro economic imbalances. Further, there is a broad consensus that governance cannot be improved without a meaningful devolution of authority to functional tiers and without ensuring peoples participation in decision making processes at all levels. This stakeholder consensus provided the necessary impetus for the present government to introduce its devolution reforms conceived in 2000 and launched simultaneously in all provinces of Pakistan through introduction of Local Government Ordinances in 2001. Until the promulgation of Local Government Ordinances, the elected local government tiers had a precarious existence depending upon the will of the provincial governments. Many times these would be dissolved and un-elected administrators appointed. Working under the ambit of Local government Ordinances of 1979, there were urban and rural local councils. While urban local councils consisted of Metropolitan/Municipal Corporations and Municipal/Town committees, the rural councils were called District Councils and Union Councils. Traditionally the local councils in Pakistan have performed municipal functions like water supply, sanitation, solid waste management, fire fighting, maintenance of slaughter houses, promotion of cattle markets, fairs and exhibitions and street lighting. They also had varying roles in primary and preventive health care, maternal and child health, promotion of literacy and rural infrastructure development. Devolution reforms in Pakistan, introduced by the promulgation of Local Government Ordinances of 2001 have provided a 3-tier local government system consisting of District Government (DG), Tehsil/Town Municipal Administration (TMA) and Union Administrations (UA). Working under the direction and control of elected councils and Nazims, the present local government system attempts to create institutions and mechanisms for public participation in design, management, monitoring and control of social service delivery. Many of the functions previously performed by the local offices of provincial government departments now clearly fall within the domain of DGs. These reforms are aimed to increase local governments responsibility for efficient and effective social and municipal services delivery. Municipal functions with a wider scope are being carried out by Town Municipal Administrations and City District Governments (established initially in provincial headquarters but subsequently in sele cted big cities as well). Access to adequate resources for the local governments is now considered essential. Additional fiscal space is required for enhanced allocations for the social sector as well as infrastructure development. These resources are also required to meet the social deficits that have accumulated over the past due to inadequate funding coupled with low utilisation in social sectors. Devolution reforms, as originally conceived and articulated, envisaged large scale fiscal decentralisation to follow the administrative and political decentralisation. While a fiscal relationship has been forged between the province and the districts, an extensive reorganisation of resources has not taken place and the vertical financial imbalance stays in place with the major financial collections being made at the federal (and to a lesser extent at the provincial) level. On the other hand, the service provision has fallen at the DG level where the tax base and collection potential is the lowest. Courtesy: Decentralization Support Program, Role Book: 4-day workshop for elected local leadershipResultantly, the biggest challenge facing the local councils in Pakistan (which are more empowered today and have a wider scope of functions than ever) is to ensure consistent, reliable and fool proof mechanisms of transfers from provincial governments and to expand ‘own source revenues in order to provide efficient and effective service delivery as envisaged in devolution reforms. Public Finance  is that part of finance which hovers around the central question of allocation of resources subjected to the budget constraint of the government or public entities. It is that branch of economics which identifies and appraises the means and effects of the policies of the government. Public sector finance tries to examine the effects and consequences of different types of taxation and expenditures on the economic agents (individuals, institutions, organizations, etc.) of the society and ultimately on the entire economy. Public finance also analyzes the effectiveness of the policies aimed at certain objectives and consequently to the development of procedures and techniques for increasing the effectiveness of the policy. Literature Review Much of the functional autonomy of the local governments depends upon their ability to raise the required resources from their own sources and to get the balance from the provincial/federal government through consistent and assured mechanisms. This requires not only devising institutional mechanisms for formula and criteria based fiscal transfers but also exploring revenue potentials of local own source revenues. These own source revenues can be in the form of taxes and fees for services provided. It is quite surprising that despite the significance of this, very few local studies have been carried out to examine the resource potential of the local bodies in Pakistan. Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP) of Pakistan, formulated after considerable debate and input from all major stakeholders, admits that the local governments depend primarily upon fiscal transfers from provincial governments and recognises the need for local revenue mobilisation as an important activity for the sustainability of local government system. Factors steeped in political economy and elite structures have influenced local revenue generation decisions. Howe and Reeb (1997) conducting a survey of the local tax system in USA since the colonial times have determined that economic and political considerations have influenced the tax systems. Bird (2000) gives the desirable characteristics of a local tax. First, the tax base should be relatively immobile so that local governments can vary the rates without losing a significant portion of the base. Second, the tax yield should be adequate to meet the local needs, increase overtime as expenditure increases, and be relatively stable and predictable. Third, the tax should be one that is not easy to export to non residents. Fourth, the tax base should be visible to ensure accountability. Fifth, the tax payers should perceive the tax to be reasonably fair. Sixth, the tax should be reasonably easy to administer. According to Bird (1999), ‘international experience tells that the most responsible and accountable local governments are those that raise their own revenues and set their own tax rates. Meaningful local autonomy and accountability can only take place if the local governments are able to set their own tax rates. In Pakistan, on the other hand, provincial government has the power to vet the tax proposal and no tax can be levied by a local council without publication in official gazette. Kitchen and Slack (2003) after a comprehensive analysis of local taxes in developed world, including Canada, are of the view that in order to meet the growing needs of municipalities, it is mandatory that new resources in addition to the traditional property tax and user fees must be explored. There is little autonomy in preparing district development and non development budgets because of inability to convey the quantum of provincial transfers and vertical programmes. There is more ‘budgetary certainty in TMAs because of increased reliance on OZT replacement tax and own source revenues. Formula based transfers to districts through Provincial Finance Commission (PFC) awards have several weaknesses. District governments have weak tax base in terms of buoyancy and potency of taxes assigned. Urban Immovable Property Tax (UIPT) assigned to TMAs is a buoyant tax but there are administrative confusions. According to Shah et al. (1996) and World Bank (2000) the existing provincial taxes and user charges are inefficient and inequitable and are incapable of meeting significant share of provincial expenditures. Frequently changing and low yield tax instruments with poor tax records create incentives for tax evasion. Considering that agriculture contributes approximately 25% of the GDP in Pakistan, it is estimated that a properly enforced Agricultural Income Tax (AIT) could generate over Rs. 500 million in NWFP only. Presently due to collusion between revenue officials and landowners, lack of understanding, improper assessment and poor collection by the tax collectors, very little of the potential is realised. Bahl (2004) states that in the contemporary world nearly 80 countries are implementing fiscal decentralisation policies. Local government should have the power to define revenue bases, set tax rates and raise taxes. A good tax system should be administratively feasible, revenue burden should correspond to the general condition of local economy, revenue yield should be stable and it should be adequate both for payer and local government. A research study carried out by Provincial Program Support Office, DSP, Punjab ‘Tax and Non Tax Receipt Database Development – TMA Khanewal in 2005 indicates that there is substantial potential of increase in revenues without enhancing the rates. It has been observed that service delivery potential of the TMA is weak because of its inability to meet all the expenditures. The record of TMA is old; there is no practice of periodic update; and monitoring system is weak. The study also noted that revenue generation can improve dramatically by improving record keeping through maintenance of disaggregated information of taxes and tax payers in all details by the use of information technology. The study recommended computerisation of tax records, capacity building of tax/revenue staff, and increase in transparency of tax records, wider dissemination of information about tax policies, rates and procedures through establishment of people friendly frameworks. Research Methodology The paper examines the current financial situation of district Multan and identifies areas of potential improvement. It also recommends areas that need restructuring and legal reforms to bring about the change that would not only improve systems but would make it robust and ready for future economic growth of the district, keeping in mind the potential the district. Mixed methodology including quantitative and qualitative tools was employed for data collection and analysis. Broadly speaking, it had the following three components. Component 1: The first component involved conducting a comprehensive literature review to see the national, regional and international trends in local resource mobilisation and issues faced by the system. The range of sources accessed and reports/publications examined is broad and includes similar studies conducted for other districts in Pakistan (e.g. Khanewal) and elsewhere. Unfortunately, to the extent of Pakistan, the Khanewal study is so far the only study available as a reference for examination of local resource enhancement in the local government. Greater reliance, therefore, had to be placed on studies conducted in other countries. Nevertheless, the literature review helped in identifying the issues involved in local taxation (levy, assessment and collection) and an examination thereof in a comparative perspective. The success of local governments to raise resources locally is largely contingent on framing appropriate laws and rules in consonance with the ground realities. Therefore, an important part of the literature review exercise was to identify relevant laws, rules, regulations, notifications and circulars that in some distinct manner impinge upon the resource mobilisation at district/tehsil level. Component 2: Along with the literature review an exercise was also undertaken to collect data for the District Government (DG) Multan and each of the six Tehsil Municipal Administrations included in the two districts. A comprehensive template was developed to standardise data collected from various councils. It lists all major and minor sources of revenue for a local council; the legal framework (law/rule/regulation) authorising its levy; business process for assessment and collection; the amount budgeted against each tax/levy/fee/cess etc for each of the last four fiscal years 2007-10; budgetary revisions (if any) and collections actually realised. The budget documents for the last four years were used as the starting point and the amount budgeted for each source was picked from the budget documents. Component 3 A detailed analysis of receipts, expenditure, development initiatives, review of business process and relevant legal provision and their issues was carried out. Component 4: Then a series of individual interviews were held. This included meeting the Tehsil Municipal Officers, Executive District Officers (Revenue, Finance and Planning, Municipal Services), various District Officers, Excise and taxation officials, Multan Development Authority and Water and Sanitation Agency officials The suggestions and recommendations on the perspectives emanating from these interviews. Data Analysis and interpretation Overview of Public Finance (district government budget) Rs. in millions Description 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 Expenditure Actual Actual RE Non-development 2,762.80 3,912.51 4,066.98 Development 1,462.49 1,539.14 882.19 Development – tied grant 300.12 512.19 965.16 Total 4,525.41 5,963.84 5,914.34 Source of revenue 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 Opening balance 386.16 995.15 1,086.13 Provincial grants 3,780.30 3,853.29 5,172.88 Own Source revenue 201.07 149.37 140.13 Tied grants (development and non-development) 475.84 801.40 1,017.88 Total 4,853.37 5,726.64 7,417.02 Revenue of the district is of two types i.e. Own source revenue and provincial transfers. In district Multan there is a heavy reliance on funding from provincial government since district OSR is almost negligible. Efforts are needed to change the scenario and move the district towards sustainability A sharp rise of 37% in provincial grants could be noticed in the FY 2008-09 over FY 2007-08 endorsing districts dependence on these transfers. The provincial grants are transferred as per the PFC criteria which will be discussed in depth later in the chapter. Tied grants being the second highest source has been transferred for development and non development expenses of the district government. For the FY 2008-09 the tied grants are Rs. 1,018m which constitute 13.7% of the total sources. These grants are for specific expenditure and are not in districts control. The own source revenue (OSR) of the district govt. forms a very insignificant amount (2%, 2008-09), rendering the district to re ly heavily on provincial transfers. The OSR of the district has been on a decreasing trend compared to overall resource requirement. This is a major cause of concern as this not only increases dependence on provincial transfer but it also affects the autonomy of the district to make decisions. A sincere effort to revamp the taxes and their collection mechanism is required with the focus on generating more resource. In budget for FY 2009-10 there is an increase in OSR of 40% which includes estimation of arrears that are more than 3 years old. These balances are very old and have been appearing in budget estimates for over more than 3 years. However the increase is still insignificant compare to the requirement of the district. A detailed analysis of item by item sources of income was done. Issues relating to a few significant items will be highlighted in the section of recommendations. Expenditures are categorized in to two broad categories i.e. Development and Non development. The ratio of development vs. non development expenditure has changed over the years with a downward trend in development expenditure. This trend should be a cause of concern as the development projects loose priority to make way for funding ongoing activities In 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 the ratio of non developmental expenses vs. development expenses is 61% to 39%, 66% to 34% and 69% to 31% respectively. This shows the declining trend of developmental budget. The year 2008-09 saw a drop in the allocation for developmental activities out of district government resources from Rs. 1,538 m in FY 2007-08 to Rs. 1,082 m in FY 2008-09. This huge reduction was somewhat compensated through increase in development expenditure through tied grants which rose from Rs. 512m in FY 2007-08 to Rs. 965m in FY 2008-09. In FY 2008-09 the budget estimate for development activities other than CCB and tied gr ants stood at Rs. 558 m for ongoing activities and Rs. 742 m for new activities. The revised estimate for same expenditure came out to be Rs. 656m. Which means that not only new activities were not initiated nor ongoing expenditure targets were met. The major reasons identified during discussion is the change in political setup in the province resulting in delay tactics for funds transfer. The development budget for the district government consists of funds allocated towards Annual development program, Citizen Community board and Tied grants (provided by provincial government against specific development projects). In the FY 2009-10 the total budget for development stands at Rs. 2,749 m which is 38% of the total budget for this year. The total allocation towards ADP is Rs. 1,492 m which is 54% of the total development budget. This ADP has Rs. 966m as ongoing projects that have started in previous years. This is a large allocation and has taken up approximately 35% of the share from development budget. The new projects identified for the year are 19% of the total development budget. The ADP (ongoing and new) are mainly focused on following sectors Annual development program 2009-10 % Sectors Rs. in millions Education 214.342 14% Health 159.877 12% Dist. Govt. facilities 52.166 3% Solid waste management 26.188 2% Sports 47.14 3% General bus stand 64.259 4% Livestock and Fisheries 24.027 2% Firms to market roads 223.931 15% Roads, Building and Roundabouts 348.837 23% Others 332.034 22% Total 1492.801 The above table reflects district governments priorities for sector development. The social services such as health and education take up 26% of the share whereas the roads network takes up 38% of the allocation. Overview of Public Finance (All 6 TMAs) Rs. in millions Description 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 Expenditure Non-development 251 247 326 Development 470 449 584 Total 721 697 910 Source of revenue 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 Provincial grant 246 303 290 Own Source revenue 293 339 414 Total 540 642 704 There are 6 TMAs in the district and all of them have a reasonable amount of OSR to help them fund their activities. However there is still potential to increase their revenue specially taxes that form a major component of their OSR. Receipts of TMA consist of provincial transfer and OSR. In TMAs OSR contributes significantly. The ratio of contribution of OSR has in fact increased in FY 2008-09. This is a positive sign as far the TMAs ability to make decisions is involved. However there is still room for increase in revenue. The major source being taxes should be tapped into for more efficiency. It is worth noting, looking at the combined figures for all 6 TMAs, that the OSR in all the 3 FY under discussion has been sufficient to fund the non development activities even leaving a surplus to be spent on development activities. The development vs. non development expenses are more or less consistent at a ratio of 64:36 over the last 3 years. The above table shows the break up of development expenditure for the TMA. The allocation towards development expenditure is 64% of the total outlay. It has remained at this level over last 3 years. The allocation in FY 2008-09, which comprises of the annual development projects, CCB contribution and payment against liabilities amounts to Rs. 255m, Rs. 262m and Rs. 66 m, respectively. Payments against these liabilities were frozen by the government of Punjab and have asked the TMAs to present these liabilities as new projects under the ADP. Optimistic planning and change in political setup at the provincial level resulted in huge payment liabilities being carried forward to the next year. PFC award – This is another source of income for the DG and TMAs. The criteria for distributing the PFC grant is specified by the Punjab Government and takes into consideration the population and socio economic indicator of the district (GOP, 2009-10) The district government and the TMAs have received funds at around 5% level from the provincial allocation over last 4 years. If we take a simple benchmark of population to compare the level of funding, Multan district has 4.26% population of Punjab (GOP, Punjab Development Statistics, 2009). This reflects that district Multan has been receiving fair share of the pie. 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 Resources transfer by Province to DG 90,794 96,952 99,413 108,822 TMA 13,541 14,431 15,320 15,209 Total 104,335 111,383 114,733 124,031 Allocation to DG and TMAs of Multan 4,512.56 4,885.02 6,480.43 6,108.37 % share 4.325% 4.386% 5.648% 4.925% Population Punjab 87,548 89,036 90,550 92,089 Multan 3,727 3,792 3,858 3,925 % population 4.26% 4.26% 4.26% 4.26% Recommendations Business process and legal reforms In this section we will focus our discussion on business process and relevant legal reforms to help identify areas of improvement. Section 116 of PLGO 2001 empowers the council to impose, increase, reduce, abolish, suspend and/or exempt any tax mentioned in the second schedule there in. However the section also mentioned that any amendment to taxes is vetted by the provincial government. This process hampers the local governments autonomy to set their own tax rates as the provincial government plays a controlling role. If full autonomy to fix rates etc. is not to be devolved, then the issue can be resolved by providing band widths within which the DGs and the TMAs would be free to act. To address the issue of stale process it is recommend that automation of business process, a comprehensive revenues base assessment and capacity building of staff should take place. The automation of business processes would result in better accounting, efficiency in tax collection mechanism hence increasing revenue, provide up to date databases, availability of information to be used by various department and timely reporting. It has been assessed that without increasing the rates of present taxes the yield can improve dramatically by maintaining records/registers properly, regular survey and incorporation of changes in tax records, improved monitoring and inclusion of systems of rewards and punishments for tax collecting machinery. Capacity and training of staff are critical to success of any initiative for enhancement of own source revenues. Local government officials dealing with these issues (in many cases) do not have up to date information about government laws and rules. Training with respect to financial management and procurement plus IT is also critical for bringing positive change. Low yielding taxes/fees are an administrative hassle for the collecting authority and they should be done away with or their rates be revised upwards to increase revenue. Dissemination of information about process, assessments, valuation table, and fees would help curtail corruption. One of the major reason people fall in the trap of providing kick backs is lack of information. This information could be made available through IEC material, notices in newspapers, display through posters in relevant offices and media awareness campaign. The business process of all OSR items such as taxes, rents and fees and user charge in the DGs and TMAs have mostly been defined a long time ago and the current LG setup has inherited them. There has not been any significant investment in review and reform of business processes of the taxes. Our research has shown that many improvements in the system can result from identification and removal of various loopholes and weaknesses in the processes. We recommend a comprehensive effort to be made to overhaul these processes which would result in collection efficiencies and significant improvement in tax payer facilitation. A quality control mechanism should be introduced to check functioning of various departments in the district. Conclusion This study briefly discusses the financial position of District Multan. It also carries out the financial analysis of the current situation and identifies issues faced by the local government. The major issues highlighted are capacity of the local government and the will to address issues. Multan being the 5th largest city of Pakistan has the potential to grow economically. It is well geographically well positioned since it lies in the middle of the trade route connecting south with north. A major initiative to revamp the systems would result in positive outcome for the people of the district. This paper also recommends few areas of improvement. A much larger effort needs to go into this. Recommendations such as legal reforms, revamping business process, trainings and automation needs to be implemented together to bring quick change. However this whole effort needs to be financed. The financing could take place with one or all of the following options; Lists of 11 properties were identified on a pilot basis. These properties/facilities are all in prime locations inside the city and are owned by the DG. We propose to sell of these properties and either abolished these facilities or relocate them to a more economical location. Through this proposal we would be able to raise Rs. 4,682 m. This in only the tip of iceberg, a more comprehensive study would reveal a lot more properties. Another area of resource generation is the property given on rent. The DG and TMA have many shops, stores and buildings that have been rented out. One of the ways forward could be to revise the rents and bring them at market level. Another option is to sell out these properties on market value and receive a good cash inflow that could be used for major initiatives. There are many government educational institutions with city limits many of them being on prime locations. A designated education city should be developed and all these institution should be shifted. A cost benefit analysis should be carried out to assess the potential of this option. Municipal bond is a  bond  issued by a city or other local government, or their agencies. Municipal bonds may be general obligations of the issuer or secured by specified revenues. Interest income is received by holders of municipal bonds. Municipal securities consist of both short-term issues (often called notes, which typically mature in one year or less) and long-term issues (commonly known as bonds, which mature in more than one year). Short-term notes are used by an issuer to raise money for a variety of reasons: in anticipation of future revenues such as taxes, state or

Essay on the Setting in Shakespeares The Tempest -- Tempest essays

Importance of Setting in The Tempest   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Shakespeare’s enchanted island in The Tempest is a restorative pastoral setting, a place where ‘no man was his own’ and a place that offers endless possibilities to the people that arrive on it’s shores. Although the actual location of the island is not known, the worlds of Seneca aptly describe it’s significance to the play – it represents the ‘bounds of things, the remotest shores of the world’. On the boundary of reality, the island partakes of both the natural and supernatural both the imaginative and the real. It allows the exploration of both man’s potential and his limitations, his capacity for reform through art and his affinity for political and social realities. It is constructing this opposition between art and reality and in giving Shakespeare’s romance the freedom to explore mankind free from the concerns of everyday life that the setting of The Tempest is crucial to it’s overall dramatic design.    The only scene in the play that does not take place on the island is the opening tempest scene. It is in itself an important use of setting. It hints at the fact that the characters social assumptions will capitulate when exposed to adversity – we have the boatswain apparently inappropriately comment none aboard the ship that ‘I love more than myself’. In fact, quite the reverse is true. In the court scene we are presented with the characters Antonio and Sebastian who are interested in political gain despite the predicament in which they find themselves. In this respect the setting functions to present the idea that our social conditioning transcends time and place. The inference is that if political clambering can take place on an enchanted island in the middle of now... ...gic and music.    The contrast between the representative characters and the magic art of the island does not resolve itself, rather, it leaves the audience in what Russ McDonald called a â€Å"marginal condition between expectation and understanding, affirmation and skepticism, comedy and tragedy†. The setting functions to present the worlds of both art and reality in order to affirm the transcendent human desire for power and order, as well as affirm the world of art as a means of dealing with reality.    Bibliography/ Works Cited    Meller, A., Moon, G.T. Literary Shakespeare (1993) Sydney: Canon Publications    Lecture on â€Å"The Tempest† (1988)   C. Holmes    Shakespeare, W. The Tempest. Ed. Sutherland, J.R. (1990)    Mikhail M. Morozor, (1989)â€Å"The Individualization of Shakespeare’s Characters through Imagery†, Shakespeare Survey.

A Comparative Study of Consumers Prefernce for Big Retailers Against Small Departmental Stores

ASSIGNMENT OF : RESEARCH OBJECTIVE : â€Å"A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF CONSUMERS PREFERENCE TOWARDS BIG RETAILERS AGAINST SMALL DEPARTMENTAL STORES . † SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY TUTOR BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS REGD NO. 11209876 SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND ARTS LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY INTRODUCTION â€Å"Unorganized retailing† is defined as an outlet run locally by the owner or caretaker of a shop that lacks technical and accounting standardization. The supply chain and sourcing are also done locally to meet local needs.Its organized counterpart may not obtain its supplies from local sources. Indian retail is dominated by a large number of small retailers consisting of the local kiryana shops, owner-manned general stores, chemists, footwear shops, apparel shops, paan and beedi shops, hand-cart hawkers, pavement vendors, etc. which together make up the so-called â€Å"unorganized retail† or â€Å"traditional retail†. â€Å"Organized retail† is nothing bu t a retail place where all the items are segregated and brought under one roof, unlike the unorganized retail where there are different things are sold in different shops.It also aims to bring maximum of different brands making the same type of product together. In India there has been a huge growth in organized retail since 2002-03 and this is associated with the growth in the economy and the attendant rise in consumption spending. The last 3-4 years have witnessed the entry of a number of organized retailers opening stores in various modern formats in metros and other important cities. Organized retailing has begun to tap the enormous market but its share indeed is small. A number of large business houses have entered the retail business with very ambitious expansion plans.Big foreign retailers are also keen to invest in India but their entry depends on changes in the government’s FDI policy regarding retailing. Organized retailing played a significant role in the present-d ay developed countries during their period of high growth. Since the early 1990s, it is also contributing substantially to the growth of developing countries. In India, organized retail is poised to make a mark in the near future. Modern retail sector is at the crossroads where the growth of organized retailing and growth in the consumption by the Indian population is going to take a higher growth trajectory.It is undergoing a major transformation as entry of global players and watchful expansion by major Indian retailers has opened new vistas of joint ventures, tie-ups and franchise offering new formats, services, private labels, locations and recently to diverge from metros to smaller towns, Arvind Singhal Chairman Techno pak Advisors has rightly said that, â€Å"A lot of international retailers and brands are most likely to look at India, as global markets have stabilized and the Indian economy has proved to be better than most other countries†.With the changing retail sce nario the consumers are bound to look beyond traditional retail stores towards organized outlets may be with some reservations. This necessitates study of the factors which influence the consumers to move towards the organized retailing from unorganized one besides most prioritized attributes which attract the consumers towards either of them. Retailing in India is one of the pillars of its economy and accounts for 14 to 15% of its GDP.The Indian retail market is estimated to be US$ 450 billion and one of the top five retail markets in the world by economic value. India is one of the fastest growing retail markets in the world, with 1. 2 billion people. India's retailing industry is essentially owner manned small shops. In 2010, larger format convenience stores and supermarkets accounted for about 4% of the industry, and these were present only in large urban centers. India's retail and logistics industry employs about 40 million Indians (3. 3% of Indian population).Until 2011, Indi an central government denied foreign direct investment (FDI) in multibrand retail, forbidding foreign groups from any ownership in supermarkets, convenience stores or any retail outlets. Even single-brand retail was limited to 51% ownership and a bureaucratic process. In November 2011, India's central government announced retail reforms for both multi-brand stores and single-brand stores. These market reforms paved the way for retail innovation and competition with multi-brand retailers such as Walmart, Carrefour and Tesco, as well single brand majors such as IKEA, Nike, and Apple.The announcement sparked intense activism, both in opposition and in support of the reforms. In December 2011, under pressure from the opposition, Indian government placed the retail reforms on hold till it reaches a consensus. In January 2012, India approved reforms for single-brand stores welcoming anyone in the world to innovate in Indian retail market with 100% ownership, but imposed the requirement th at the single brand retailer source 30% of its goods from India.Indian government continues the hold on retail reforms for multi-brand stores. IKEA announced in January that it is putting on hold its plan to open stores in India because of the 30% requirement. Fitch believes that the 30% requirement is likely to significantly delay if not prevent most single brand majors from Europe, USA and Japan from opening stores and creating associated jobs in India. LITERATURE REVIEW Many studies have been undertaken to understand and analyze the changing consumer preference for organized retail outlet: Baker and Haytko (2000) in their qualitative study of teen girls and their mall shopping experiences, find that the teens are looking for stores that carry specific merchandise, especially the latest fashions. â€Å"Coolness† of the mall is tied to the types of clothes and the merchandise the stores carried. * (Pachauri Moneesha, 2001), attempt to develop a framework for studying consume r behavior by considering the evolution of the field of consumer research and the different theories of consumer buying behavior that have influenced the consumer preference.India is on the threshold of a revolution in its retail industry, and if managed cleverly, it would pay handsome returns beyond retailers' expectations * (Mangleburg et al. , 2004). ) teens like to â€Å"hang-out† at malls and meet their friends Indeed, the social aspects of the mall, such as visiting and shopping with friends, are major activities for teens. * Pan and Zinkhan (2006) found only gender as a key predictor of frequency of store visit—women visit the store more often than men.Other studies also found gender to be a major predictor of shopping behavior, with women playing a more significant role in retail shopping, especially in traditional societies. * (Mishra S. Mridula, 2007). The changing consumption patterns trigger changes in retail styles of consumers, for consumers, the shopping mall or variant of organized retail format is the preferred type of retail store, due to convenience and variety. * Singh (2007) had concluded that production oriented market has been shifting towards consumer oriented market. Traditional consumption pattern has also been facing large-scale changes.The study pointed out that the degree of brand awareness of various food products among urban respondents is more in comparison to the rural consumers. * Arshad et al. ,( 2007) have found that dynamics of the demographics, double income, urbanization and internet revolution tilt the consumer’s preference towards organized retail outlets. * Mathew and Gupta (2008) while studying the impact of organized retailing on traditional retailing observed that with the increase in number of various formats for shopping like malls, departmental stores, hypermarkets etc. the Indian consumer’s preferences are changing towards these. * (Paromita Goswami & Mishra S. Mridula, 2009). Custome r patronage to grocery stores was found to be positively related to location, helpful, trustworthy salespeople, home retail, cleanliness, offers, quality and negatively related to travel convenience. Kiranas do well on location but poorly on cleanliness, offers, quality, and helpful trustworthy salespeople. The converse is true for organized retailers. Tender and Crispen, (2009) studied the influence of in-store shopping environment on impulsive buying among consumers and the results show that among poor consumers, economics factors such as cheaper prices, coupons and helpful shop assistants were more likely to influence impulsive buying. On the other hand, factors with an atmospheric effect such as music, fresh scent and ventilation may have only been important in helping to keep consumers longer in shops although they were unlikely to directly influence impulsive buying. Ghosh and Tripathi (2010), attempted to analyze purchase pattern of customers towards organized retail outlets in terms of merchandise categories purchased, time spent within the store, number of merchandise purchased on each visit, stores switching behavior and store attribute. The results of the study depicted that the younger generation has greater tendency to visit organized retail outlets. The shoppers which remained within a store for at least two hours considered shopping to be a stress releaser and fun activity.The commonly purchased items from a retail outlet are garments followed by groceries, lifestyle products and household appliances. The study further reveals that customers in tier 2 and tier 3 cities evaluate a store on convenience and merchandise mix, store atmosphere and services * Urvashi, Gupta (2012) in her study in Jammu. RNCOS (2009) has stated that as per â€Å"Global Convenience Store Market Analysis†, changing consumer preferences, lifestyle and rising income level, which is heavily influenced by economic growth, remains the major driving force for c-store ind ustry in the Asian region. Purohit and kavita (2012) according there studies that the traditional retailers are not very much clear about the consequences of the modern retailing the traditional retailers are netural or undecided, modern retailing will cut the profit margin of the traditional retailers; the modern retailing will lead healthy competition in the market, modern retailing will reduce the sales volume of the traditional retailers and traditional retailers should improve customer care services in the era of modern retailing.RESEARCH METHODOLOGY OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY: â€Å"A comparative study of consumers preference for big retailers against small departmental stores at cc departmental store lpu. † For this study an interview was conducted and for this we visited the owner of cc departmental store at lpu and discussed various problems faced by him. The major problem he focused on was that his sales were declined because of the shifting consumers preferences from d epartmental stores to wanabuy mall located at lpu.He discussed various other problems also like promotion is banned due to policies of lpu, inventory management etc. So to look into this matter this survey is conducted and the results will be analysed later. There is a need to study shifting preferences of consumers towards various retail formats. Whether there is any relation between the demographic profile of the consumers and preferred retail format and does income besides other family attributes play a role in selection of the retail formats are some of the questions require a probe in.One of the objectives set for this study is to identify the factors that influence the choice of organized retail trade. For this purpose, the choice of retail store will be studied along with demographic factors like gender, age, qualification, occupation, annual income and location of the respondents. This present study will be conducted with a purpose of understanding the changes taking place i n the minds of consumers towards modern retail formats and traditional retailers. POPULATION: In my study the population will be all the students and staff embers of lovely professional university. SAMPLE: Primary data will be collected from 60 respondents which will include (40 students and 20 staff members). These respondents will be selected by convenience sampling technique of probability random sampling. Secondary data will be collected from various journals, books, articles, newspapers. QUESTIONNARE: A structured questionnaire will be prepared in which there will be questions asked to respondents related to their visits in departmrntal stores and big retails and various scales will be used i. Likert scale, and the questions wil be of open ended and multiple choice questions. The purpose of this study will be to grab the preferences of consumers, whether they like to visit small stores or big organized retails and what is the main reason for their shifting preferences. It will be helpful for both the organized as well as unorganized retailers. REFERENCES: * Baker, Julie, and Diana Haytko (2000), â€Å"The Mall as Entertainment: Exploring Teen Girls’ Total Shopping Experiences,† Journal of Shopping Center Research, 7(1): 29-58. Pachauri Moneesha (2001). Consumer Behaviour:a Literature Review. The Marketing Review, 2(3), 319-355. * Arshad, S. A. (2007) â€Å"Issues in Retailing†, Research in Management and Technology, Ed. by Aneet and Ramanjeet Singh, Deep and Deep Publications Pvt. Ltd. , pp 109-118. * Singh, H. (2007) â€Å"Consumer Awareness and Consumption Pattern of Food products in Haryana†, Journal of IMS group, Vol. 3, No 1, pp 24-33 * Mishra S. Mridula (2007). The Consumption Pattern of Indian Consumers Choice between Traditional and Organized Retail. Retrieved Feb. 1, 2012, from http://ssrn. com/abstract=994238 * Goswami, P. and Mishra, M. S. (2008) â€Å"Would Indian consumers move from kirana stores to organized reta ilers when shopping for groceries? † Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Vol. 21, No. 1, pp 127-143. * Tender, M and Crispen, C. (2009) â€Å"In-store shopping environment an impulsive buying†, African Journal of Marketing Management, Vol. 1(4), pp 102-108 * Goswami Paromita & Mishra S. Mridula (2009). Would Indian Consumers Move from kirana Stores to Organized Retailers When Retail for Groceries?.Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 21(1), 127-143. * Ghosh, P. et. al. , (2010) â€Å"Customer expectations of store attributes: A study of organized retail outlets in India†, Journal of Retail & Leisure Property, Vol. 9, No 1, pp 75–87 * Gupta, Urvashi (2012), â€Å"Impact of Organized Retailing on Unorganized Sector†, A study in Jammu Region. International Journal of Research in Commerce, IT & Management, Vol. 2(2012), No 01, pp 112-15. * India Retail Report (2009) â€Å"The India Retail Story† www. indiaretailing. om/in diaretailreport- 2009-detailed-summary. pdf * â€Å"Indian retail: The supermarket’s last frontier†. The Economist. 3rd December 2011. http://www. economist. com/node/21541017 * â€Å"India Goes Wild Over Wal-Mart†. The Wall Street Journal. November 29 2011. http://online. wsj. com/article/SB10001424052970203802204577066501218085104. html? mod=googlenews_wsj * â€Å"A good retail decision badly sold†. India Today. 3 December 2011. http://indiatoday. intoday. in/story/fdi-in-multibrand-retail-congress-cpim-bjpinflation/1/162586. html