Large Scale Manufacturing in Pakistan

Compiled by: Mirza Rohail B http://economicpakistan. wordpress. com/2008/01/27/large-scale-manufacturing/ The manufacturing sector grew at an average rate of 8 percent from the sixties to the eighties, but fell to 3. 9 percent during the nineties. This was mainly caused by reduction in investment levels due to lack of continuity and consistency in policies. Political instability law and order position in the major industrial centers, transport bottlenecks, as well as unreliability and inadequate availability of power supply at affordable rates were additional factors pulling down the sector. The sector has shown impressive recovery recently and has grown at a compound rate of 10. 9 percent per annum during 2001 – 05, with Large Scale Manufacturing (LSM) growing even faster, becoming 19. 9% in 2005. The contribution of Large-Scale Manufacturing at basic prices stand at Rs 844 billion as compared with Rs 264 billion in 2000-01, figures from the Census of Large-Scale Manufacturing Industries (CMI) 2005-06 show. LSM contribution to GDP also called as Gross Value Added (GVA) at producers’ prices has been estimated at Rs 912 billion as compared with the previous Census 2000-01 amount of Rs 280 billion. Political and macroeconomic stability, rationalization of tariffs, increase in investments, improved utilization of productive capacity, and growth in demand for manufactured products, resulting from higher exports and consumer financing have been the major factors leading to this growth. Large Scale Manufacturing 1999 and 2000 – 1. 5% 2000 and 2001 – 11% 2001 and 2002 – 3. 5% 2002 and 2003 – 7. 2% 2003 and 2004 – 18. 1% 2004 and 2005 – 19. 9% 2005 and 2006 – 8. 7% 2006 and 2007 – 8. 6% 2007 and 2008 – 5% Census of Large-Scale Manufacturing Industries The contribution of Large-Scale Manufacturing at basic prices stand at Rs 844 billion as compared with Rs 264 billion in 2000-01, figures from the Census of Large-Scale Manufacturing Industries (CMI) 2005-06 show. The CMI is conducted after every five years using the frame of Provincial Labour Departments . It is conducted by Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) in collaboration with Provincial Directorates of Industries and Bureaus of Statistics (BoS) under the Industrial Statistics Act 1942. The basic price is the amount receivable by the producer from the purchaser for a unit of a good or service produced as output minus any tax payable, and plus any subsidy receivable. Census of manufacturing industries 2005-06 shows value of production at Rs 2929 billion depicting an increase of 165 percent over Rs 1104 billion in CMI 2000-01. LSM contribution to GDP also called as Gross Value Added (GVA) at producers’ prices has been estimated at Rs 912 billion as compared with the previous Census 2000-01 amount of Rs 280 billion. Capital stock or value of fixed assets amounted to Rs 1147 billion at the end of fiscal year 2005-06 as compared with Rs 428 billion at the end of fiscal year 2000-01. CMI 2005-06 frame was enhanced using industrial directories provided by provincial directorates of industries as well as results of Economic Census 2001 conducted by FBS. The total number of industries surveyed in CMI 2005-06 was 13,146 establishments. Out of these 6417 establishments supplied requisite data (compared to 4528 units in CMI 2000-01). 2364 establishments were found closed and 3213 establishments gave no response. The results of CMI would be cornerstone for the forthcoming revision of Pakistan’s National Accounts. Pakistan Manufacturing Industry Pakistan’s manufacturing industry is heavily dominated by food, textiles and apparel, and leather industries to the JF-17 Thunder extent of over 50 percent. The share of textiles and its derivatives in exports was as large as 67 percent in 2003-04. Other major segments in manufacturing include chemicals and pharmaceuticals (15. 2 percent), basic metal industry (7. 7 percent), nonmetallic mineral products (5. 1 percent), machinery (4. 6 percent), cement (4. percent), automobiles (4. 4 percent). Automobiles, electronics, cement, fertilizers and textiles have all showed cumulative double digit growth during the last three years. An important feature of the engineering sector is the level of competence reflected in local design and local content, (with deletion levels of 80 – 100 percent in electrical goods, 56-89 percent in automobile s and motor cycles, and 75-100 percent in domestic appliances). Manufacturing Statistics Progressive Year Initial data for Jul-Sep FY08 suggested a deceleration in the growth of LSM production to only 6. percent. Further, Large Scale Manufacturing (LSM) growth has declined to 5. 57 per cent during the first five months (July-November) of the current financial year due to economic slow-down and high interest rates and poor law and order situation. Similarly, improved prospects in transportation & storage sub-sectors on the back of relatively better production in major crops, strong contribution by finance and insurance sector and augmented administrative and defence related spending will provide support to adequate level of growth in the services sector. These prospects of the services sector would be neutralized to some extent by negative growth in the LSM, imports contraction, shrinking profits in the telecommunication sector. Leading indicators pertaining to the major sector wholesale and retail trade points towards a reasonable growth in this sub-sector. The targeted growth of 4. 1 percent is already almost half of last year’s actual 8. 2 percent. (c) ECONOMIC PAKISTAN

Corporate Social Responsibility Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Corporate Social Responsibility - Essay Example When determining strategies, it is important to integrate social issues as an element of a business’s social responsibility to further instill social realignment of businesses. A firm must implement those social business practices that have economic benefits. The business must carry out its operation in a socially responsible manner which reflects its commitment to corporate social responsibility. Do for the society which is legally required and also benefits the business. Firstly, the business must be able to make enough profits so that future costs can be covered and social responsibility met (Fred R, 2005. Corporate social responsibility can be defined as a form of corporate self-regulation incorporated into a business model. The concept first came into use after the advent of many multinational firms after 1960s. The self-regulated conduct of businesses must abide by the law, ethical standards and international customs. The goal of CSR is to basically endorse the firms to take responsibility for their actions and must not negatively impact the environment, consumers, employees, stakeholders and communities. The must make sure not to harm the public in any way and promote their interest by encouraging community development. It instills the concept of ‘triple bottom line’ that is; people, planet, and profit by including public interest in the decision-making of firms. The businesses have to bring some much-needed changes into their mission statements to comply with the social responsibility. Many businesses have started to introduce the concept of social accounting which emphasizes the need for corporate accountability, that is; developing appropriate measures and reporting techniques to those who the firm is accountable to. There are some standards and frameworks which the business can use as a guideline for their auditing and reporting like AccountAbility’s AA1000 standard. CSR requires firms to produce ethically strong annual fin ancial report and sustainability report so that their social, economic and environmental performance can be measured (Visser, 2008). A business might have to forgo short-term financial benefits when adopting CSR strategy, but there are many long-term advantages that help a business in future, other than financial ones. By adopting CSR, the recruitment and retention can improve. The recruits are more likely to enroll in a firm which follows CSR. The morale of the employees is also lifted when they are asked to participate in social activities like payroll giving, fundraising programmes and community volunteering. A company’s decade old reputation and goodwill can be easily damaged by socially irresponsible actions like corruption scandals or environmental accidents. Negative reactions from media, government, courts and regulators can affect the public image of a firm. CSR also helps build consumer loyalty by practicing distinctive ethical values. Successful businesses such as The Body Shop and American Apparel have a strong reputation for integrity and best practice and therefore maintain a strong brand loyalty. The Body Shop strictly opposes product testing on animals and support community trade with developing countries. Companies easily get a license to operate in many countries when they follow Corporate Social Responsibility. There is also a great argument of insincerity and hypocrisy attached to CSR. Some people

Trustees Duties and Powers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Trustees Duties and Powers - Essay Example â€Å"A Trust is an arrangement where one or more persons (the â€Å"Trustees†) hold property for another person or persons (the â€Å"Beneficiaries†). This relationship is governed primarily by the document creating the trust (the â€Å"Trust Deed†) and by legislation and case law. Legal ownership of Trust property is in the Trustees’ names but the beneficial interest belongs to the beneficiaries. The idea behind a Trust is the concept of duty. Trustees are under a duty to deal with the property in their hands in the interests of the beneficiaries. If they do not do so, they will be in breach of Trust and the beneficiaries may seek relief from the courts to ensure that the terms of the Trust are carried out.† Understanding from the above explanation, we find that a trust is an arrangement of one or more persons, who are known as the trustees. Over here, Sally is a trustee. A trustee arranges property, which may also be included as cash money, for the benefit of another person or persons, and those persons are known as beneficiaries. Therefore, from the understanding of the quoted text, we may figure out that under this circumstance, Harry and Caroline. The question is whether George may be included as a beneficiary for the 25,000 USD legacies. With regard to the first question, the trust which Sally had held for George is a secret trust. She has put the 25,000 on her own legacy as the money which is deemed to be distinguished from the main trust beneficial to her 2 children. There are many reasons why an individual might want to have a protective trust against the name of an outsider, however the purpose is to allow a certain sum of money as a safeguard in case of any misfortune or unfortunate event happening in the distribution of the trust. Since Bill is the executor of the will, it is on his discretion to award the legacy of the trust to George. The gift which Sally has given to George is a valid gift under the law of trust and therefore should be awarded to the beneficiary, which is George on the discretion of Bill himself. B) The second question is as follows: â€Å"Harry has, since Sally’s death, been made bankrupt. He asks for money from his trust fund to buy a house for himself Louise and George to live in. † As mentioned before, Harry is one of the main beneficiaries in the distribution of the trust. Even though his mother did not approve of his lifestyle and found him to be irresponsible to carry out the duties as beneficiary properly, there is no denying to the fact that he is indeed one of the beneficiaries and therefore has all the rights under the trust law to claim his stake in the property left by his mother. Understanding from the above statement, only the trustee has the power to assign where the trust is distributed, and the document of trust has the final binding nature with respect to the distribution of the trust property. Over here, Sally had assigned a protective trust to her son of an amount of 500,000 USD to be given to him, and the rest on RSCPA. â€Å"In order to understand a protective trust, it is first necessary to understand the purpose of its establishment. In contrast to an asset protection trust, which tends to be established with the interests of the settler (that is, the individual establishing the trust) in mind, a protective trus

Financial Decision Making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Financial Decision Making - Essay Example From this, financial ratios could be compared with competitors and be able to understand its strength and weaknesses. Using the financial statements of Abel Athletics, the interpretations of ratios are arrived at and described after each table. 3. Net profit margin. NPM measures how much out in every dollar of sales in a company is kept for earnings. A higher profit margin shows the company is profitable and is in better control of its costs as compared to its competitors.(Answers.com) Again here, Abel keeps 26.4% of its sales for earnings, again higher ratio than the industry. 4. Gross profit margin. The table shows that after deducting the goods sold, Abel has enough funds to support other expenses, such as 58.2% is left for operating costs and profit. Abel also has higher GPM than the industry index. * In terms of profitability based on ROA, ROE, NPM and GPM, Abel Athletics show better performance than the industry index. It is a good indication of growing company for the first year of operation. 1. Quick ratio: This is a measure to find out how Abel will be able to pay its maturing obligations without necessarily selling inventory and a higher ratio is considered better. If this ratio declines over time, or it falls below the benchmark index of the industry, this means the company may be investing too much capital on inventory, or it has taken up too much short term debt. (Investorwords) Abel shows a low quick ratio which is below 1, but still way above benchmark index. 2. Current ratio. This is also similar to quick ratio which consider current assets divided by current liabilities. A ratio of above 1 shows strength, and in this case Abel has more assets to cover obligations and is more liquid than the industry. 3. Net working capital ratio is a measure to find out if company is being able to pay off its short term liabilities. Abel shows a positive working capital which is much higher than the industry bench

Law and management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Law and management - Essay Example IMO purpose is established in the ISM Code to reduce damages and accidents during shipping and voyage. Especially in operations of the ship. This code promotes cleaner and safer ships (Anderson, 2003, pg 23). The MV ‘Shields Happiness’ ship requires proper safety management to ensure competence by the crew in the ship. In this scenario between the Hall and South Shields, pollution was caused during voyage because the drip trays had not been cleared of oil and the oil later overflowed in the main deck. If the crewmembers had applied the safety management culture, they would constantly think about improvement and safety of the ship. They would have improved the deep trays by clearing the oil voyage. In addition, the Third Mate would constantly be thinking of safety and would have rechecked whether his instructions were followed. With this safety culture it places a duty on everyone on board to be constantly thinking about the safety of the ship, therefore another crewmember would have noted the discrepancy and cleared the oil on the drip trays, and this would have avoided overflow into the main deck that polluted the sea. Application of the safer culture management method would support and encourage safety in shipping. This method of management is successful if certain factors like commitment, belief and values are instilled to the shipping crewmembers. Such values of safety, if instilled in the maritime personnel, would create a positive impact (Anderson, 2003, pg 44). The second scenario shows that the tanks were not correctly inserted, and the required oxygen was not at the required level that caused a 12-hour delay and this increased costs. To improve the efficiency and performances of the ship by the ship-owner, the method to incorporate would be the organizational culture. This type of culture applies where there is a group of people from and can form their culture. There are two perspectives on it that

Civilised Life and the Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Civilised Life and the Environment - Essay Example This brings in conflicts between the desire to have a civilized life and the maintenance of the innate environment. While mechanisms applied by engineers could likely help in handling continuous resource competition, no solutions are offered to the running out ecological services. Most critical ecosystem services such as watershed filtration, climate stability, and soil fertility are not valued and thus as these natural resources are threatened, no technological ability is put in place to substitute ecological services at the costs and volumes needed. Life is increasingly surrounded and tied down by Technological schemes. Although modern science helps people to understand, control, and reform nature, the inappropriate use and development of technology lead to major negative impacts such as resource depletion, environmental pollution, and ecological destruction. Modern technology enriches improves living conditions and enriches material life, but its rapid and strong power can result in ethical controversies like genetic modification, cloning, and nuclear weapons. These complicated matters are inevitable and challenge the current environmental maintenance. While all tend to consent that technology creates civilization and must be continually developed, opinions differ as to the way technology should be related to the environment. The idea that technology destroys the environment should not destruct our attention from the reality that developed and civilized countries are still major movers in environmental processes and have continuing responsibilities concerning the issue. Many of the most critical environmental problems faced by the modern world are not caused by industrialized countries. Additionally, emerging civilized artifacts and processes have a chance to shape the future of the environment as compared to the previous days. China for instance, is emerging as a new center of recycling. It seems aware of the opportunity they posses to initiate new technolo gy under various conditions. Thee most pressing worldwide environmental problems are not of their making; yet they have a valid way to undo these issues by bending the recognizable curve that illustrates the relationship between technology and environmental degradation. Technology has been the one of the key drivers of environmental processes. For example, transport technologies have made the world more global and smaller planet, but have also led to new environmental stress, particularly through the raise in atmospheric carbon concentrations. Though the civilized processes have sped up prosperity in most cases, it has also permitted the extraction of natural resources such as timber, fish, metals, and minerals at unexpected rates. On the other hand, technological advances have allowed reduced environmental problems. Research shows that China’s economic advancements go hand in hand with a comparatively lesser emissions than the earlier rates in North America and Europe becaus e China has utilized technologies that are much cleaner than the other two were using at the same stages of creation. Automobiles are an important area when looking into the conflict between technological advances and environmental maintenance. Automobiles at present are cleaner in environmental terms than they were 30 or 40 years back. The

The Problem of Tōkōkyohi in Japanese Middle Schools Essay Example for Free

The Problem of TÃ… kÃ… kyohi in Japanese Middle Schools Essay Introduction Tokokyohi ( ) has become an increasingly prominent issue in Japan since the 1980s. Official figures showed that there were 84,026, or 1. 9% of Japanese middle school students suffering from tokokyohi in 1997 . However, tokokyohi, which is classified as form of â€Å"school non-attendance†, does not appear to be a problem that is unique to Japan. A similar form of â€Å"school non-attendance† affects less than 1% of the student population in Britain, which has the situation under control . In contrast, tokokyohi appears to be more problematic than the Japanese government wishes to acknowledge. Official Japanese figures appear to be artificially deflated as they do not account for tokokyohi sufferers who have special schooling arrangements . Moreover, among the 5,193 middle school students surveyed in 1988, almost two-thirds of them felt jaded about school but compelled themselves to continue schooling . This suggests that tokokyohi is a deep-seated problem in Japan as most middle school students have to confront the emotions that result in tokokyohi for some of their peers. It is important to distinguish tokokyohi from other forms of â€Å"school non-attendance† such as school absence due to truancy as well as medical and economic reasons. In contrast to students who shun school due to poor physical health or financial constraints, tokokyohi occurs when an irrational fear of schooling compels students to miss school for more than 29 days with their parents’ cognisance . This sets tokokyohi apart from truancy, where students deliberately avoid school without their parents’ knowledge to partake in frivolous activities with others . Unlike truants, students suffering from tokokyohi remain confined to their homes and are not characterised by misconduct . This paper will focus on tokokyohi in Japanese middle schools (students aged 13 15 years old). There are numerous reasons for tokokyohi ranging from societal problems to individual psychological difficulties. We will focus on three modern Japanese societal problems which lead to tokokyohi: children who are excessively dependent on their parents, shame society and educational mother. However, the unique structure of Japanese society must be taken into consideration in order to understand the severity of tokokyohi in Japan. Hence this paper will explore the link between these three modern Japanese societal problems and traditional Japanese values and mind-sets. This link emphasizes the continued importance of these traditional values and mind-sets in the modern Japanese society and how these values and mind-sets affect societal attitudes towards education, eventually leading to tokokyohi in middle schools. Over-Dependent Children About 50% of mothers whose children are in Japanese middle schools are full-time homemakers . Mothers’ domestic roles have become increasingly prominent after World War Two, motivating housewives to excel in these roles . This motivation drives them to emulate the role model of ryosai kenbo. Ryosai kenbo portrays an idealised virtuous woman who can handle household chores and nurture children well . To guarantee future success, mothers attempt to provide their children with excellent up-bringing and monitor their children’s behaviour closely to ensure proper learning. The reduced size of the modern Japanese family also implies that mothers can devote more energy to monitoring their children, resulting in more intimate mother-child relationships . Such intimacy drives parents to shield their children from adversity . The shielding results in children who are incapable of autonomous decision-making, eventually developing into an over-dependence on their parents . Over-protective parents also worsen their children’s dependency on them when they accede to both legitimate and illegitimate demands from their children. Some children exploit this by engaging in amae. Amae ( ) describes the actions of one who tries to influence another to care for him/her unknowingly . However, these parents do not stop this behaviour as indulging their children’s demands is seen as an expression of maternal love . This gradually emboldens the child as they know that their parents will yield to their demands, including tokokyohi. Having always been cared for meticulously, these children begin to display signs of tension and fear when away from their parents , especially in new and unfamiliar environments such as schools. These children experience difficulty being away from their parents for long hours when they attend school. Their tendency to maintain close physical proximity to their parents results in little personal time and few opportunities to socialise. Thus these children become socially inapt as they lack the requisite skills for interacting amicably with their playmates . This social awkwardness heightens their feelings of tension and fear when separated from their parents in a school setting. As a result, these children are more likely to develop a fear of schooling. Moreover, the hectic curriculum in Japanese middle schools exerts more pressure on middle school students as compared to elementary school students. This is because Japanese middle school students have to undergo demanding high school entrance examinations . The additional stress may leave these children incapable of managing negative emotions due to routine separations from their parents . These children would eventually resort to tokokyohi in order to escape this situation. Kyoiku Mama, (Educational Mother) In Japan, men are often assumed to be breadwinners while women are expected to stay home to tend to housework and childcare . Fathers, being the breadwinner, spend long hours on business entertainment , which is emphasised by Japan’s business industry . This forces them to be away from home frequently, giving rise to ‘fatherless families’ . Thus mothers assume a central role in the family , taking charge of the children’s welfare and education. However, the competitive Japanese education system means that children find it harder to succeed. This gives mothers an added sense of responsibility in guiding their children towards educational success. This gives rise to kyoiku mamas ( ), loosely translated into ‘education-mamas’ . Kyoiku mamas are known for their borderline neurotic behaviour of controlling every facet of their children’s lives so as to outdo their peers academically . Kyoiku mamas strive to send their children to elite schools with the highest rate of future admission into prestigious universities . Some kyoiku mamas may opt to work in order to afford cram schools (juku, ? ) for their children . They endeavour to provide the best home study environment for the children. This includes bringing their children refreshments when they study overnight to researching on subjects that their children struggle with to coach them . Modern kyoiku mamas† may even seek professional help in guiding their children as they lack confidence in child-raising . Her ultimate achievement would be for her child to enrol into the prestigious Tokyo University as this would ensure a bright future for her child . The mothers’ desire for their child to succeed is mainly due to the gender roles in Japan and is supported by the change in power structure in the family. In the Japanese society, women are denied career advancement opportunities due to gender discrimination, preventing them from achieving any career aspirations that they might have had . Hence, a kyoiku mama thrusts all her ambitions upon her children to achieve what she could not . However this is only possible due to the change from a patriarchal to a matriarchal family. As the fathers are frequently absent, mothers gain a larger authority in the family . They also suffer from loneliness and anxiety due to the lack of attention from their husbands . Thus mothers are then able to put all their energy into nurturing their child as an outlet of their pent-up loneliness, anxiety, and an extension of their ambitions. As discussed above, kyoiku mamas closely monitor their child’s life. However this tight control may be detrimental to the child’s psychological well-being. In a stressful environment where every action must benefit their studies, these children may develop a fear of school and studying . Clinical psychologists have observed that most tokokyohi sufferers came from ‘fatherless families’ . The determination of kyoiku mamas for their children to succeed may cause the children to reject the competitive Japanese education system, causing tokokyohi . Shame Society In Japan, an individual’s actions are governed by the need to avoid shame on oneself and the group that one belongs to. The Japanese society operates on a system of shame, where shame arises when one suffers a loss of dignity and respect . This sets Japanese society apart from Western societies that operate on a system of guilt. Guilt deters Western individuals from acting inappropriately in an autonomous environment . In Japan, failure to meet a personal goal or expectation of others results in self-reproach and disapproval from others, leading to shame. Japanese citizens are compelled to conform to socially acceptable conducts and norms to avoid shame . Therefore being unique or individualistic is greatly frowned upon. The Japanese do not view conformity as an inability to assert autonomy . Conformity indicates that one possesses the will to sacrifice for the greater good of the group . This self-glorification also motivates them to conform. In the Japanese society, a shameful act by individuals implicates the entire unit they belong to, including the school and family . This stresses the children since failure puts their families’ reputation and honour at stake. Poor results would reflect badly on the children’s academic ability. This would be attributed to parental failure in instilling appropriate work ethic. Fear of implicating their families through their academic incompetence might result in tokokyohi. Tokokyohi would conceal the children’s shortcomings since they avoid school activities and tests, hence preventing their families from being shamed. The demands of the society also force the individual to conform. Japanese are made to participate in activities that promote unity from young . They are inculcated with the idea that every individual should do their best to contribute economically. Paper qualification is needed to secure stable employment . This makes academic excellence a prerequisite for stable employment. Individuals who fail to achieve academic excellence will believe that they have failed to meet the lofty standards set by the society. This failure exacerbates the shame caused by their academic incompetence. To avoid this shame, children who are unable or unwilling to excel academically could resort to tokokyohi. Social status, which is highly regarded by families in Japan, is boosted when the children enrol into a competitive school . Many families strive to send their children into such a school. However, the competitive school environment would present the children with stressful social situations as they would be constantly judged by their peers and teachers . The children must always be at their best behaviour and will fret over the implications of their every word and action in order to be viewed positively. These children will be reluctant to attend school in order to avoid such situations, eventually developing school phobia, which contributes to tokokyohi. Traditional Basis: Shame. Shame as a means of social control can be traced to traditional values and mind-sets in Japan. These traditional values and mind-sets include the emphasis on group harmony and the notion that humans are fundamentally good. Shame is used to reinforce conformity among the Japanese. The need for conformity can be linked to the group mentality that is prevalent in Japan. This group mentality refers to the individuals’ focus on their role within the group . They learn to appreciate the importance of others and their reliance on one another . This appreciation starts within the family and eventually expands to the school and workplace . In order to ensure that the group functions effectively, Japanese society emphasises group harmony over individualism . The group’s interests are prioritised over those of its constituent members, giving rise to conformism. This emphasis is also reflected in the idea of honne and tatemae, which refers to the individual’s inner feelings and the appropriate social behaviour respectively . Honne is only expressed privately while tatemae is applied to interactions with strangers, colleagues and superiors . This conscious effort to avoid publicly expressing innermost emotions that might discomfort or shame others can be seen as conforming to social norms. This also shows how group harmony takes precedence over individualism. The emphasis on group harmony can also be seen in how shame lessens tension between the members of the Japanese society. The use of shame as social control makes the Japanese more empathetic to the shame felt by others . This empathy restrains individuals from displaying their greater abilities, thus reducing feelings of inferiority that might be felt by less able individuals in the group . Such a willingness to conceal their abilities also contributes to group harmony as less able individuals will not feel ostracised or intimidated by their more capable counterparts. Such restraint can also be attributed to the idea that flaunting one’s ability diminishes its worth . The influence of this idea on 15th century Kado art underscores its roots in Japanese tradition. The use of shame as social control is also derived from the Japanese idea that human nature is fundamentally good. This idea can be traced to traditional Confucian teachings in Japan . Shame seeks to appeal to this good and encourage conformity . As humans are fundamentally good, the Japanese believe that there is no need to threaten humans with individual penalties. Instead, they seek to use shame to remind themselves to stay true to their good nature. Shame is thus used as a guiding light as opposed to guilt, which is used as a deterrent. In contrast, the traditional Western belief that humans are fundamentally evil results in the use of guilt and the threat of penalties in Western societies to deter any potentially harmful acts . This accounts for different forms of social control between the West and Japan. Traditional Basis: Kyoiku Mamas and Over-Protective Mothers Kyoiku mamas and over-protective mothers can be traced from the oppression of women in Meiji Japan. Meiji Japan was a patriarchal society where women could only strive to become ryosai kenbos . Japanese women were only allowed into noble families to bear and rear children . These women, who were struggling to find their place and status in families, would put all their energy into nurturing their children . Both kyoiku mamas and over-protective mothers are modern manifestations of this oppression of women. For kyoiku mamas, the ideology of â€Å"good wife wise mother† still weighs strongly on them. Women are expected to juggle household chores and their children’s education even if they hold full-time jobs. A woman who allows others to care for her children would be looked down upon as not sufficing in her job as a mother . The Japanese believe that mothers should be blamed for bringing up unsuccessful children rather than the children shouldering the blame themselves for their lack of success . Mothers, who are burdened by such extreme responsibility, will push the children to and beyond their limits. To these mothers, only by successfully nurturing their children can they achieve the ideals of â€Å"good wife wise mother†. This gives rise to kyoiku mamas. Over-protective mothers strive to encourage their children to excel due to the mothers’ obligation to nurture them well, increasing interaction between mothers and children. This greater interaction would foster a closer mother-child relationship. The resultant strong maternal love might drive mothers to shield their children excessively from adversity. This shielding would cause children to become over-dependent on their mothers. Thus, the ryosai kenbo role model, which can be traced to the Meiji period, can result in over-protective mothers and over-dependent children. The pervasive ideology of the roles and responsibilities of Japanese women, together with the need to achieve it, leads to kyoiku mamas and over-protective mothers, which in turn contribute to the situation of tokokyohi in Japan. Traditional Basis: Amae Amae, which perpetuates the relationship between over-dependent children and their mothers, can also be traced back to traditional Japanese mind-set. Traditionally, the nation of Japan has been viewed as a giant family unit with the Emperor at the core . A common reverence for the Emperor unifies the numerous disparate Japanese families into a giant family unit . The Emperor enjoyed an exalted status despite his ceremonial position and reliance on officials to handle state affairs . Officials are expected to comply with the Emperor’s subtle demands in a dynamic relationship that embodies the concept of amae . Such reverence can be traced back to before the Tokugawa period [1603-1868 CE] and continues even today . This reverence drives Japanese families to emulate the relationship between the Emperor and his officials . With the child being important in the family as discussed earlier, the family’s emulation of this relationship results in the child assuming a position in the family that is similar to that of the Emperor in Japan. This allows the child to engage in amae, which facilitates the child’s over-dependence on the mother and contributes to paternal approval for demands such as tokokyohi. Thus amae can be seen to be rooted in the traditional Japanese reverence for the Emperor, and continues to be present in modern day families. Conclusion In our paper, we have shown that although Kyoiku Mamas, shame society and over-dependent children are some of the direct causes of Tokokyohi, the foundations of these factors can be traced to traditional Japanese values and mind-sets such as reverence for the Emperor, ryosai kenbo and Confucianism. These traditional values and mind-sets, which were prominent in the past, continue to hold great importance today. This is evident in how these traditional values and mind-sets continue to influence modern Japanese education. The continued importance of these values and mind-sets also show that tokokyohi is a complex problem that is rooted in the foundations of Japanese society. The severity and complexity of Tokokyohi also means that the Japanese government must play a bigger role in tackling this issue. Future research could explore why the Japanese government appears reluctant to acknowledge the scale of this problem and assess the viability of solutions that focus on advising the families of these tokokyohi sufferers. ? Bibliography Allen, Eileen K. , Glynnis . E. Cowdery, and Jennifer M. Johnson. The Exceptional Child: Inclusion in Early Childhood Education. Belmont: Wadsworth, 2011. Allison, Anne. Producing Mothers. Chap. 6 In Re-Imaging Japanese Women, edited by Anne E. Imamura. 135-55. Berkeley: Univ of California Pr, 1996. Aoyagi, Hiroshi. Pop Idols and Gender Contestation. In Japan at the Millennium: Joining Past and Future, edited by David W. Edgington. 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