Internship in Valentino Fashion Group Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Entry level position in Valentino Fashion Group - Essay Example The exposition Temporary position in Valentino Fashion Group discusses working in the Valentino Fashion Group as an assistant. From a larger setting I have increased a more prominent comprehension of how study hall components in many cases defectively reflect events in the business world. In such matters, while my study hall encounters have without a doubt set me up for the temporary position it has been in a procedure where I have needed to consider the underlining basic reasoning components. For example, one of the major basic components I came to consider all through my entry level position was flexibly chain the executives. The Valentino Fashion Group has various contributions from outside sources and my investigation of flexibly chain techniques significantly uplifted my examination of these procedures around here setting. The idea of the entry level position as far as retail deals additionally made it to such an extent that I joined a lot of my course experience from business t he board and administration. I came to perceive the significance of value-based initiative as far as worker relations as this model is maybe the best in restraining the assorted interests and wants of these people. On the other hand, my investigation of situational authority models likewise helped me in managing customer relations as the multi-changed difficulties I experienced required that one not expect a too unbending way to deal with critical thinking. The experience significantly impacted my point of view on profession alternatives and tentative arrangements. I accept that a person’s profession approach ought to be linked.... Another thought is the idea of this business as spend significant time in better quality retail deals. I accept that this qualification is significant in my profession as I am increasingly keen on these parts of design. I accept clients in this retail condition place a more significant level of worry on the style parts of the apparel and exhibit an a lot higher pledge to the item. I accept my enthusiasm for design is more qualified to this condition than a huge scope retailer that would be progressively worried about broad intrigue and plans of action over style patterns. There were numerous parts of this temporary job that influenced various aspects of my life. In such matters, my involvement with this temporary job incredibly engaged my future scholarly interests. My cooperation in the business division before this event had been propelled by a longing to increase an expansive comprehension of business hypothesis and the executives models without thought of a particular strategy. S ince I have had this entry level position experience I am progressively keen on promoting practices and showcasing. One of the significant encounters I had at the Valentino Fashion Group was item position in the store, as it was accepted this incredibly added to client intrigue and buying. I accept such models are a fundamental part all things considered and I am keen on becoming familiar with them in the business condition. Maybe the most transferable aptitude I picked up in this experience was the capacity to peruse and recognize customer’s character and wants. I accept that by and large the I arrived at the objectives I set for myself. My objectives were to be a principled representative: stay timely and function admirably in gatherings.

Motown Music free essay sample

Motown acts were getting a charge out of a broad fame among dark/white crowds the same where William â€Å"Smokey† Robinson expressed â€Å"Into the 60s, I was still not of a mood that we were not just making music, we were impacting the world forever. In any case, I recognized the effect since acts were going everywhere throughout the world around then. I perceived the extensions that we crossed, the racial issues and the obstructions that we separated with music. I perceived that since I lived it. I would go toward the South in the beginning of Motown and the crowds would be isolated. At that point they began to get the Motown music and we would return and the crowds were incorporated and the children were moving together and holding hands† Thus expressing Motown’s social effect. The record organization had practical experience in a ‘type’ of soul music it alluded to with the trademark â€Å"The Motown Sound†, made and made with an ear towards pop intrigue, Motown Sound ordinarily utilized tambourines to emphasize the steady rhythm, melodic electric low register guitar lines, particular melodic and harmony structures, in addition to a call and reaction singing procedure style that began in gospel music. We will compose a custom exposition test on Motown Music or then again any comparative theme explicitly for you Don't WasteYour Time Recruit WRITER Just 13.90/page The utilization of complex courses of action and expand melismatic vocal riffs were kept away from and Motown makers put stock in the rule of â€Å"KISS† (Keep it straightforward, inept). A considerable lot of Motown’s most popular and well known melodies including The Supremes’ early hits were composed by numerous significant Motown makers and musicians, for example, William â€Å"Smokey† Robinson, Gloria Jones, Frank Wilson, Stevie Wonder, even Gordy himself, and so forth. Motown’s commitment to Music incorporate being the principal American music name claimed by an African-American and to effectively advertise dark specialists to white standard crowds, answerable for finding, tutoring, and culminating various American well known music’s generally powerful and fruitful craftsmen, and so on. Asked on by one of his different specialists, William â€Å"Smokey† Robinson, Gordy made the Motown Label as a pop partner to Tamla’s RB desires. 1960’s â€Å"Shop Around† by Smokey and the Miracles, was the label’s first pop crush where Gordy extended his stable of generally dark specialists, preparing them to be ‘presentable’ to White America’.

Mind the Gap

Mind the Gap The Associated Press has a nice story about Gap Years that has been picked up by news organizations across the country. I first saw it at cnn.com/education, but its been in newspapers and on websites from Kentucky.com to SanLuisObispo.com. You can read the story yourself here, but Ill pull out some choice quotes below for comment. Many college admissions officers support the idea [of deferring admission for a year or two]. While cautioning that a gap year between high school and college isnt for everyone and that just goofing off isnt worthwhile they say many students who take one return more confident and self-aware. [] Generally, schools make students submit a proposal beyond lying on the beach, but often little more is required. The University of Chicago says it will grant deferrals for almost any reason as long as students dont apply elsewhere. Its reached the point where a lot of us in admissions are talking about ways to get students to just kind of relax, said Martha Merrill, dean of admission and financial aid at Connecticut College. We at MIT are among those college admissions officers who are supportive of students taking a gap year. And, like the University of Chicago (and many other schools), were happy to grant deferrals to most any proposal you might have. Also, we agree with Connecticut Colleges Martha Merrill as youve probably read on these blogs, were quite interested in finding ways of making college admissions and the high school to college transition less stressful and frenzied. If you are a member of the Class of 2009 and would like to request a one-year (or sometimes two-year) deferral from starting at MIT, you can send a letter outlining your plans to our office: Office of AdmissionsMassachusetts Institute of Technology77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 3-108Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 Gap Year is a bit of a loaded term, I think, with images of British aristocracy vacationing in the south of France coming to mind. But during my years in admissions, Ive seen students take some time before starting MIT for many great reasons. For example, one of my favorite students spent a year as an EMT in Israel before his freshman year. This gave him a lot of perspective on the world, and when he got his first bad grade at MIT, he knew that it wasnt a disaster, but rather an indication that he might want to reexamine his study habits and try a little harder next time. No crisis. Ultimately, his impact on MIT and the students around him was great, and his mentorship, with the help of his gap years perspective, was invaluable to many students here. The article also addresses the different kinds of gap years: Gap years need not be a luxury for the rich. Some students use them to earn money for school. Many programs offer scholarships or compensation for labor; AmeriCorps offers a living allowance and education funding. Reardon says anyone would be hard-pressed during a gap year to spend the $30,000 or more many of them would be paying for college. Im not writing to say that all students should take some time off before starting college. But I do think that there is a bit of a stigma about such plans in many areas of the country, a stigma that should be eliminated. The AP writes: In the United States, however, experts say the increasing stress of college admissions makes parents nervous about any kind of unusual path. These are families that somehow see this as not part of the grand plan, said Gail Reardon, who founded a Boston company, Taking Off, that helps students plan gap years. Adds Lee Stetson, dean of admissions at the University of Pennsylvania: Not wanting to break stride is the American way. [] I dont think theres any rational explanation to just run to college, [Gerrit Lansing, a student who took a gap year] said. Theres no reason. Its just what everyone does. The bottom line here is that it is okay to slow down. Life, college, career its not a race. The other story today on all the news sites: NASA has postponed todays planned shuttle launch. Im only slightly disappointed, but also very hopeful that in not rushing and in catching mistakes before they become big problems, the space program can return, and become once again a great symbol of science in this world. Post Tagged #gap year

How to Start an Academic Club in School

For students planning to apply to a selective college, membership in an academic club is a must. College officials will be looking for activities that make you stand out, and club membership is an important addition to your record. This doesnt mean you will have to feign interest in an organization that already exists. If you share a strong interest in a hobby or subject with several friends or fellow students, you may want to consider forming a new club. By forming an official organization that really interests you, you are demonstrating true leadership qualities. Wanting to take on the role of a leader is only the first step. You need to find a purpose or theme that will engage you and others. If you have a hobby or interest that you know enough other students share, go for it! Or maybe there is a cause you want to help. You could start a club that helps keep the natural spaces (like parks, rivers, woods, etc.) clean and safe. And once you establish a club around a topic or activity you love, you are sure to stay more engaged. You might receive the added honor of recognition from the public and/or school officials who appreciate your initiative. So how should you go about this? If you are starting a club at school, you may want a teacher to serve as advisor as a first step. You may need a teacher or coach just to gain permission for using school facilities.The teacher or advisor may be temporary. Sometimes, a teacher will start the first meeting and encourage students to follow through with organization.The most important requirements for starting a successful club are interest and commitment.Once you know you have a team willing to commit to a regular meeting time and a cause, you can manage the rest with ease.Next you will need clear organization. Structure will keep the club together in slow times (like during a few heavy months of heavy homework and testing) or in the event of a disagreement. Steps to Forming a Club Appointment of a temporary chairman or president. At first you will need to assign a temporary leader who will preside over the drive to form the club. This may or may not be the person who serves as permanent chairman or president.Election of temporary officers. The members should discuss which office appointments are necessary for your club. Decide whether you want a president or chairman; whether you want a vice president; whether you need a treasurer; and whether you need someone to keep the minutes of each meeting.Preparation of constitution, mission statement, or rules. Decide upon a committee to write a constitution or rule booklet.Register club. You may need to register with your school if you plan to hold meetings there.Adoption of constitution or rules. Once a constitution is written to everyones satisfaction, you will vote to adopt the constitution.Election of permanent officers. At this time you can decide if your club has enough officer positions, or if you need to add s ome positions. Club Positions Some of the positions you should considered are: President: Leads meetingsVice president: Plans eventsSecretary: Records and reads minutesTreasurer: Handles fundsHistorian: Keeps a picture book and notesPublicity Officer: Makes and distributes flyers, postersWeb master: Maintains web site General Order of a Meeting You can use these steps as a guideline for your meetings. Your specific style can be less formal, or even more formal, according to your goals and tastes. Call to order by the president or chairmanReading and approval of the minutes from the previous meetingDiscussion of old businessDiscussion of new businessProgramAdjournment Things to consider When to meet and how oftenHow many members you can handleHow much funding you will needWays to raise moneyWhether or not to have club duesActivities for everyone to participate in Finally, you will want to make sure that the club you choose to create involves an activity or a cause that you really feel comfortable with. You will be spending a lot of time on this venture in the first year.

Essay on Triumph of The Nerds - 859 Words

Akshay!1 Akshay Jain Professor Susan Hubbard Computer’s Impact on Society 11 September 2014 ! The Blunders of Computer Giants historically affected their Economy. The remarkable contribution and digital competition between the computer giants historically affected the economy of the world wide industry. The inception of an innovation, aimed at proliferating the productivity of the contemporary technology on a global scale, encouraged the nerds to establish digital empires that continue to thrive today. Computer Giants contributed in the economic boom, thereby increasing the employment, sales, and the commercial demand in the market. The crucial and the careless mistakes or simply ignorance; economically affected the Giants†¦show more content†¦The relationships and collaboration for developing a product, between these computer giants were quite interesting. Another Computer Giant ‘IBM’ wanted to develop a PC with a thinking of making it open architecture by using off the shelf components. Gary Kildall, the guy who had OS called CPM, refused to contribute with IBM, of which IBM was in need of. IBM and Microsoft came for making a PC as Microsoft had software and OS with a person whom they knew, he was Tim Patterson. It was called as â€Å"The Floridian Project†. Microsoft paid SCP $50,000 for OS as Tim was working for them. And for more chunks of profit, Microsoft sold the licenses to each computer for $50. After selling those PCs IBM gained 50% of the market. Though IBM was taking over the market, their some careless mistakes made them suffer. IBM did not buy the OS from Microsoft and did not prevent him from licensing it other computer giants. It was matter of time and other companies took on IBM. Even hardware suppliers of IBM such as Intel(CPU), Compaq started selling their own PC. The only thing that was proprietary to IBM was ROM-BIOS but that too was legally acquired by competitors through reverse engineering. IBM market was shrinking and they suffered from economical cutback. Akshay!3 Lastly, the Computer Giants in the silicon Valley started making clones to earn big chunks of sales and economic gain. The economy of the Giants wasShow MoreRelatedThe Triumph Of The Nerds938 Words   |  4 Pagesfascinating? Depending on one’s inclination and angle he could select either of those. Somebody can munificently share it with others so as to serve and facilitate whereas others entangled in their greediness could build cash out of it! The Triumph of the Nerds is one in every of the foremost necessary chapters in human history. It has affected the daily life of an individual’s today†¦and clearly, for the years and centuries to come. The existence of the individuals has been transformed at the speedRead MoreSummary of Triumph of the Nerds1449 Words   |  6 Pagesto put together. As with anything, if you did not put it together properly it would not work. After the introduction of Altair other people wanted to make computers as well. People such as Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, and because of all of these â€Å"nerds† they help fuel the economic boom of the 1980’s and changed how businesses ran companies. The first P.C Altair was a large box that had a front panel on it and numerous switches on it to input data. The Altair had no external display and no otherRead MoreMovie Analysis : Film, Japanese Clothing, And Japanese Apparel, A Traditional Form Of Japanese Footwear854 Words   |  4 Pagesshown in a film truly affects people outside the theaters, particularly on how specific cultures are identified. As a child growing up watching blockbuster films, when I watched a new, hit movie where a Chinese person was labeled as a nerd, soon after, I was called a nerd; this is through the connection of the film’s view of the Chinese. This stereotype led me to believe that I actually needed to be as smart as the media stated my culture was. What we have seen on the screen emanates what society reallyRead MoreThe New Black Of Music1280 Words   |  6 Pageswhich are all now predominantly white. There are hip hop artist like Harlem native female rapper, Azaelia Banks, who believes that there is no place for white artist in hip hop. There are also music appreciators, like the Internet s Busiest Music Nerd and politically aware, Anthony Fantano, who believe although cultural appropriation exists, the most remembered artist are those with true talent. Although I see both points, I believe that those who appropriate others culture do not deserve mainstreamRead MoreSchool Is A Waste Considering Education Is Mandatory906 Words   |  4 Pageswhile participating in extra-curricular activities after school. These activities can be very tiring after a long day, especially since because these students usually participate in more than one. Some may call these students â€Å"teachers’ pets† or â€Å"nerds,† but in reality they are at the top of the class and doing the best that they can to earn scholarships and awards by graduation. These motivated students use their determination and goal-setting abilities to their advantage. Whether it is to getRead MoreStudent Academic Clubs And Student Organizations : Do They Help Students With A Sense Of Belonging? Essay1939 Words   |  8 Pagesstated â€Å"When I was in high school in the ï ¬ fties there was a vast gulf between the nerds and the popular crowd or the jocks (though these terms did not yet exist). In many schools today the nerds have so inï ¬ ltrated the popular crowd and the jocks that the words may be losing their meaning. â€Å"Nerds rule,† declares Stephen S. Hall in a recent New York Times Magazine article, featured on the issue’s cover as â€Å"The Triumph of the Brainiac.† Though Hall concedes that such a claim is an exaggeration, he presentsRead MoreThe Odyssey And Oedipus The King : How Bonds And Abilities Shape Our Lives Essay1556 Words   |  7 Pageschoices that we make, which are influenced by our individual talents and abilities. In both works, the correlation between personal bonds and individual abilities appears in the protagonists and their families. Father and son relationships and the triumphs and downfalls that occur because of the unequal distribution of strength and intellect between individuals are two representational ideas that correlate between both works and attempt to demonstrate how our lives develop and the outcome of our destinyRead MoreIs Higher Education Necessary?1193 Words   |  5 Pagescollege is the next step to a bigger future after high school. So many people look forward to the fun, the new experiences, the new people, and the new life. College is sometimes a getaway for that bullied student or a safe haven for that scientific nerd, but where do these people end up after college? A college education is not a decision for everyone, as several students graduate with a huge amount of student debt and qualified job opportunities. Do they even complete it? Secondary ins titutions areRead MoreA Life Of Balancing School And Business Essay1185 Words   |  5 PagesA Life of Balancing School and Business With the vogue around with startups, entrepreneurship is not a post educational phenomenon anymore. The world has shown how young people whilst studying, can triumph in creating great companies. But, how young of a student are we talking about? You would think ‘college’, but no; today we are to look at a high school student who dreamt enough to do enough. Ahmed Fahad is a high school senior who resides in Dhaka. His dreams are big and his actions bigger. InRead MoreHistory of the Computer1148 Words   |  5 Pages Work Cited 1. Ceruzzi, Paul E. A History of Modern Computing. Massachusetts: Cambridge, 1999 2. Campbell-Kelly, Martin, and William Aspray. A History of the Information Machine. New York: Basic Books, 1996 3. Cringely, Robert X. Triumph of the Nerds: A History of the Computer. June 1996. PBS. Feb. 28, 2006

Alice Walker Outling Free Essays

Alex Teague Language Arts outline 5-2-07 3rd period Alice Walker Outline I. Alice Walker was not only one of the most superior African American writers over the century, but also an activist in the civil rights movement, growing up in the time period where African Americans were just beginning to experience equality. In addition to her work about race, she wrote about the poor treatment that black women faced, and was often criticized for her portrayal of the black man being the bad guy. We will write a custom essay sample on Alice Walker Outling or any similar topic only for you Order Now The color purple is one of her most profound books, involving racial discrimination and same-sex relationships. A lot of her novels and stories are based on her childhood experiences. II. Difficulties growing up A. She was the youngest of eight kids to parents that were sharecroppers. (source # 2) B. At the age of eight, he brother scarred and blinded her right eye with a bb gun, in a game of cowboys and Indians. C. She was constantly teased by classmates and no one in her family understood her, so she became shy and reclusive. (source #2) D. She was a southern black girl, growing up in a rural community, during a time when blacks had no rights. source # 3) E. Walker’s state of mind identified in the following quote, shows her perspective on her life thus far; â€Å"Black women are called, in the folklore that so aptly identifies one’s status in society, the ‘mule of the world,’ because we have been handed the burdens that everyone else –everyone else- refused to carry. † (source # 1) F. In the winter of 1965 she wrestled with suicide after deciding to have an abortion, and some of her poems recount the despair and isolation she felt at the time. (source # 1) III. Educational background A. he attended a segregated high school in Eatonton, Georgia, and she had inspiring teachers. ( source # 3) B. She first attended Spelman on a state scholarship. – During these two years she became active in the civil rights movements. (source # 2) C. After Spelman, she transferred to Sarah Lawrence College in New York. – spent her junior year in Africa as an exchange student. (source # 3) D. She has taught African American women studies to college students at Wellesley, the university of Massachusetts at Boston, Yale, Brandeis, and the university of California at Berkeley. source # 2) E. She served as a writer-in-residence for Jackson State College, now called Jackson State University, and Tougaloo College. (source #2) Civil Rights involvement A. She was invited to Martin Luther King’s home in recognition of her attendance at the youth world peace festival in Finland. (source # 2) B. She also registered black voters in Liberty County, Georgia. (source # 2) C. She worked for the New York City department of welfare. (source # 2) D. She married a white civil rights attorney. (source # 2) E. In Jackson, Mississippi she was a black history consultant for a Head Start Program. (source # 4) F. She is also an advocate for women’s rights. – she performed protest against the oppressive rituals of female circumcision in Africa and the Middle East. (source # 2) G. she participated in various demonstrations started but other civil rights activist. (source # 3) IV. Greatest Accomplishments A. ‘The Color Purple’ was published in 1982, and made into a motion picture in 1994. B. ‘You Can’t keep A Good Woman Down’ was published in march 1981. C. The Temple Of My Familiar’ was published in 1989. D. ‘ We Are The Ones We Have Been Waiting For’ in 2006. E. ‘Possessing the Secret of Joy’ was published in 1992. F. ‘Now Is The Time to Open Your Hearts’ was published in 2004. G. ‘Meridian’ was published in 1976. ^ fiction novels/books (source # 3) H. ‘The Same River Twice: Honoring The Difficult’ was published in 1996. I. ‘The Way Forward Is With a Broken Heart’ was published in 2000. J. ‘In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens: Womanist Prose’ was published in 1983. ^ nonfiction (source # 3) K. ‘Once: Poems’ was published in 1968. L. Revolutionary Petunias and Other Poems’ was published in 1973. M. ‘Goodnight, Willie Lee, I’ll See You in the Morning’ was published in 1979. N. ‘Horses Make a Landscape Look More Beautiful’ was published in 1984. O. ‘Her Blue Body Everything We Know: Earthling Poems’ was published in 1991. P. ‘Absolute Trust in the Goodness of the Earth: New Poems’ was published in 2003. ^ poetry (source # 3) V. The Male Character A. She is often criticized for her portrayal of the black man being a violent and abusive figure, because this appearance was how black men were viewed by society, coming from a black women was critical. sou rce # 1) B. After writing the color purple she was considered a black feminist because of how she showed the black male character of society. Some say that when she received the Pulitzer prize and the American Book award for â€Å"the color purple†, ‘that the award only proved that black women writers were being awarded for bashing black men. ’ (source # 4) C. She often demonstrates the struggle and constant down fall of Black women in society during the 1950-1990’s , through her novels and poems. And she makes a spiritual connection with God and her characters in almost all the books. (source # 3) D. Some of her stories such as, The Third Life of Grange Copeland, create controversy because of her recurring theme of the suffering of black women at the hands of men. (source # 3) E. Walker explains that the depiction of these stories is not to bash black males, its to show the strength of black females and how much expected failure they have overcome. (source # 5) VI. Influences and inspirations A. In her poem, Once (1968), she writes about her experiences in the civil rights movement and her visit to Africa, including love and suicide. – after visiting Africa in 1964 , she struggled with an unwanted pregnancy. Upon deciding to have an abortion she battled with the thought of suicide, but she soon reclaimed her life. (source # 2) B. After the accident at age eight, Alice’s eyes were opened up to the true meaning of life and she noticed relationships and how to be patient, she expresses her learning about life through these stories. source # 1) C. Walker mentions that growing up a southern black girl, in a poor rural community, she possessed the benefit of double vision; her quote†¦. – â€Å"Not only is the [black southern writer] in a position to see his own world, and its close community†¦but he is capable of knowing, with remarkably silent accuracy, the people who make up the larger world that surrounds and suppresses his own. † (source # 3) D. A major theme of Alice Walker is the preservation of black culture, and her woman characters are important aspects in demonstrating hard-earned success. (source # 3) E. Alice recounted in, Our Mothers’ Gardens, that she was inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. ‘s message that being a southern black meant â€Å"I †¦ had claim to the land of my birth. † (source # 3) F. She was also influenced by black writer Zora Neale Hurston, who’d wrote lively folk accounts of the thriving small, southern black community she grew up in. source # 3) VII. Alice Walker continues to write today and her legacy will live on for generations to come, as possibly the most inspirational black writer of our time. Alice’s books have two effects on people, either inspiring or a waste of time. But despite their opinion, her novels provide insight that most people would never learn in a lifetime. She even appreciates the constructive criticism from her readers, because it makes her a better writer. How to cite Alice Walker Outling, Papers

Rise and Fall of Protectionis Essay Example

Rise and Fall of Protectionis Essay PII: S0305-750X(99)00160-6 World Development Vol. 28, No. 5, pp. 789 ±804, 2000 O 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved Printed in Great Britain 0305-750X/00/$ see front matter The Rise and Fall of the Washington Consensus as a Paradigm for Developing Countries CHARLES GORE * United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Geneva, Switzerland Summary. The introduction of the Washington Consensus involved not simply a swing from state-led to market-oriented policies, but also a shift in the ways in which development problems were framed and in the types of explanation through which policies were justi ®ed. Key changes were the partial globalization of development policy analysis, and a shift from historicism to ahistorical performance assessment. The main challenge to this approach is a latent Southern Consensus, which is apparent in the convergence between East Asian developmentalism and Latin American neostructuralism. The demise of the Washington Consensus is inevitable because its methodology and ideology are in contradiction. O 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Key words ? development theory, development policies, World Bank/IMF policies 1. INTRODUCTION Developing countries is an international practice. The essence of this practice is the mobilization and allocation of resources, and the design of institutions, to transform national economies and societies, in an orderly way, from a state and status of being less developed to one of being more developed. The agencies engaged in this practice include national governments of less-developed countries, which have adopted development as a purpose to which State power is put, and governments of richer countries, which disburse o? cial development aid to support and in? uence this process; a variety of non-governmental organizations concerned to animate and channel popular concerns; and international intergovernmental organizations, such as the organs of the United Nations and the World Bank, many of which have been expressly set up o resolve various development problems. Often it is the last group who have acted as the avant-garde of development practice. It is because of their activities, as well as the widespread tendency of governments to copy successful practice elsewhere, that it is appropriate to describe developing countries as an international practice. But it is by no means global in scope. We will write a custom essay sample on Rise and Fall of Protectionis specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Rise and Fall of Protectionis specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Rise and Fall of Protectionis specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Indeed the practice of developing countries is only done in a particular set of countries? those which in the 1950s and 1960s were generally 789 alled underdeveloped or less developed countries, but which now generally identify themselves, and are identi ®ed by others, as developing countries. This paper discusses trends in the body of knowledge which guides and justi ®es the practice of development. It examines, in particular, the ideas propagated by international development agencies, and focuses on the shift in thinking which occurred in the 1980s with the introduction and widespread adoption of an approach to the practice of developing countries known as the Washington Consensus. In broad terms, this approach recommends that governments should reform their policies and, in particular: (a) pursue macroeconomic stability by controlling in? ation and reducing  ®scal de ®cits; (b) open their economies to the rest of the world through trade and capital account liberalization ; and (c) liberalize * This paper is an extended version of comments made at the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften Conference on Paradigms of Social Change held in Berlin on September 3 ±5, 1998. I would like to thank John Toye, Gabrielle Khler, Richard Kozulo Wright and two anonymous referees for critical comments on an earlier draft. The arguments and interpretations are those of the author. The views expressed do not necessarily re? ect those of UNCTAD. Final revision accepted: 17 October 1999. 790 WORLD DEVELOPMENT domestic product and factor markets through privatization and deregulation. Propagated through the stabilization and structural adjustment policies of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, this has been the dominant approach to development from the early 1980s to the present. The paper examines the introduction of the Washington Consensus as a paradigm shift, and assesses the con ®guration of development thinking in the 1990s and pressures for a further paradigm shift, particularly in the light of the East Asian  ®nancial crisis and recent attempts to construct a post-Washington Consensus. The paradigmatic nature of the Washington Consensus is most clearly evident in the work of John Williamson (1990,1993,1997), who coined the name and also set out a speci ®c formulation of the approach at the end of the 1980s. This formulation was founded on an attempt to summarize, with particular reference to policy reform in Latin America, the conventional wisdom of the day among the economically in? uential bits of Washington, meaning US government and the international  ®nancial institutions (Williamson, 1993, p. 1329). Williamson never explicitly identi ®es the Washington Consensus as a paradigm. But the way he describes the approach conforms in many respects with Thomas KuhnOs notion of one. Thus, he argued that the Washington Consensus is a universal convergence, and that it constitutes the common core of wisdom embraced by all serious economists (Williamson, 1993, p. 1334). He codi ®ed the approach as a set of 10 axiomatic generalizations which, given certain values, are generally shared by scholars and practitioners concerned with economic growth in developing countries; and he listed remaining analytical problems on which normal economic science needs to focus. Finally, he dismissed those who challenged the consensus view as cranks (p. 1330). As he put it, [T]he superior economic performance of countries that establish and maintain outward-oriented market economies subject to macro-economic discipline is essentially a positive question. The proof may not be quite as conclusive as the proof that the Earth is not ? at, but it is su? ciently well established as to give sensible people better things to do with their time than to challenge its veracity (p. 1330). Washington Consensus policies is usually seen as a shift from state-led dirigisme to marketoriented policies. Such a switch undoubtedly occurred. But it is not a su? ient description of the nature of the change as a paradigm shift. As Kuhn shows, when paradigms change, there are usually signi ®cant changes in the methods, problem- ®eld, and standards of solution which are accepted by a community of practitioners (Kuhn, 1970, p. 103). As a consequence, the proponents of competing paradigms practice their trades in di? erent worlds [they] see di? erent things when t hey look from the same point in the same direction (p. 150). In examining the introduction of the Washington Consensus as a paradigm shift, what matters is not simply the substantive di? rences with earlier approaches, but also the nature of the change in the disciplinary matrix and worldview. Here it will be argued that together with the swing to market-oriented policies, there was a deeper shift in the way development problems were framed and in the types of explanation through which development policies were justi ®ed. This involved changes in the spatial and temporal frame of reference of development policy analysis. In brief, these changes were: the partial globalization of development policy analysis; and a shift from historicism to ahistorical performance assessment. . THE PARTIAL GLOBALIZATION OF DEVELOPMENT POLICY ANALYSIS Specifying development policy problems involves both explanations of development trends and normative judgements about how the world should be. For each of these activities, an important decision which must be made is deciding the policy frame, i. e. what elements should be included when viewing a problem and what elements excluded. 2 The framing of policy issues has various aspects but one which critically a? ects the practice of developing c ountries is whether policy problems are seen within a global or national frame of reference. Explanations and normative judgements can each be elaborated within a national or global frame of reference, and so the thinking which underpins the practice of developing countries can be wholly national, wholly global, or some combination of both (Figure 1). The full globalization of development policy analysis will be understood here to mean a shift from a The structure of the revolution in thinking which occurred with the introduction of RISE AND FALL OF THE WASHINGTON CONSENSUS 791 Figure 1. Four main combinations of explanatory and normative framework in development policy analysis. ational to a global frame of reference both for explanations and normative evaluations. Before the propagation of the Washington Consensus in the 1980s, mainstream explanations of the development process and evaluative judgements of the goals of development were both conducted within a national frame of reference. First, economic and social trends within countries were explained, in the mainstream, on the basis of conditions within the countries themselves, i. e. as a result of national factors. Particular external relations might be necessary to start the process, or to close gaps which threatened its breakdown. But the key ingredients of a successful development process were usually identi ®ed through analyses of sequences of change within already industrialized countries, which were then applied in less developed countries without any reference to their di? erent external situation. Second, development policies were geared toward the achievement of national objectives. This orientation was often simply taken for granted in development policy analysis. But it was also in? enced, more or less strongly, by political and economic nationalism. According to Johnson (1967), key features of economic policy in new States? namely, the desire for greater selfsu? ciency and early industrialization, the preference for economic planning and public control, and hostility to foreign investment? can all be traced to the mutual supporting relations between nationalism, aid policy, and id eas about the development problem formed in the 1930s. Those ideas became part of a common understanding and language of national and international policymakers after WWII. There were, of course, major controversies both over the meaning of development and the means of achieving it. In the 1950s and 1960s there were debates about development strategy (for example, balanced or unbalanced growth), the nature of dualistic development processes, and the role of human capital. Moreover, in the 1970s the earlier focus on economic growth with structural change was strongly challenged by those who pointed to the need to focus on social objectives, notably income distribution, poverty, employment and basic needs satisfaction. But these disputes actually served to reinforce the normative and explanatory frames of development policy analysis as being national. Whatever objectives were taken to be central, national objectives were the focal concern. Moreover the development strategy debates essentially examined the articulation and sequencing of internal (national) ingredients which could facilitate or accelerate the national development process. An important count ercurrent to mainstream development policy analysis before the 1980s came from structuralist and dependency theories elaborated in Latin America (see Kay, 1989). Like the dominant approach the normative concern of these theories was national, and indeed strongly informed by nationalist concerns. But their analytical perspective was global in scope and this underpinned their critiques of mainstream thinking. Both structuralist and dependency theorists emphasized the importance of centerperiphery relations as determining or conditioning the national development process. But some strands within dependency theory, 792 WORLD DEVELOPMENT instead of indicating how national development was a? cted by the articulation between internal and external factors, simply put forward an antithesis to the mainstream approach, arguing that external factors were the only ones that mattered, and then deduced that by delinking from the world economy, an authentic development process, solely founded on internal factors, could be made to occur. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the growth rate of most developing countries, with the notable exception of some countrie s in East Asia, collapsed. The economic crises which beset most developing countries lent weight to arguments that mainstream development practice had failed. But at the same time the East Asian success neutralized those versions of dependency theory which argued that development would always be blocked on the periphery, and also Latin American structuralism, which allegedly was wedded to inwardoriented import-substitution policies in contrast to East AsiaOs alleged outward-orientation. In this situation, arguments which emphasized the positive role of free markets in development attracted greater attention. These ideas had always been an element within development policy analysis, represented, for example, by early critiques of protectionism, such as G. Haberler and H. Myint, Milton FriedmanOs support of free enterprise, and P. T. BauerOs dissection of mainstream thinking (Bauer, 1971). The uptake of these ideas was not strong however until the late 1970s and early 1980s, when a new approach to developing countries, which was later labeled the Washington Consensus, emerged as the main alternative to national developmentalism. The frame of reference for this new approach was, like the Latin American countercurrents of the pre-1980s, partially global and partially national. But rather than combining normative economic nationalism with a methodological internationalism, the Washington Consensus was its mirror image. It combined normative economic internationalism with a methodologically nationalist form of explanation which attributed what was happening within countries mainly to national factors and policies (Figure 2). In this new approach, the key norms which played the decisive role in de ®ning development practice were the norms of a liberal international economic order (LIEO). In most general terms, these norms involve a commitment to free markets, private property and individual incentives, and a circumscribed role for government. But they can be speci ®ed in di? erent ways, according to di? erent interpretations of the precise content of the LIEO. For example, in the early 1980s, laissez-faire liberalism was strongly advocated. This entailed liberalization of both external and domestic economic relations. But at the start of the 1990s, this extreme market fundamentalism was softened with the emergence of the socalled market-friendly approach to development (see, notably, World Bank, 1991). This Figure 2. The con ®guration of development policy analysis: 1950 ±1990. RISE AND FALL OF THE WASHINGTON CONSENSUS 793 continued strongly to advocate liberalization of external trade and capital movements. But, the scope of domestic economic liberalization was limited, in particular, by recognizing more fully the legitimacy of state intervention in cases of market failure. These norms were propagated through two types of persuasive argument:  ®rst, arguments about the intrinsic ethical superiority of economic liberalism; and second, theoretical and empirical analyses which demonstrate that conformity to the norms of a LIEO (variously de ®ned) would lead to better outcomes, not simply for the world community as a whole, but also for individual nation-states within it. The latter, which have served as the principal form of argument supporting the new approach, have mainly been articulated on a terrain in which promoting the national interest has been narrowly equated with promoting economic growth and increasing personal economic welfare. Important developmentalist concerns such as constructing national unity and realizing national sovereignty are thus excluded. On this narrowed ground, attention and publicity has been given to analyses which show that national policies which are in con? ct with the norms of LIEO, including many elements at the heart of earlier development practice, such as protection of infant industries, managed interest rates and selective credit, have been harmful to national interests, and thus constituted domestic mismanagement and irrationalities. At the same time, the policies of the East Asian newly industrializing economies which had actually achieved rapid and sustained growth have been described in ways which suggest t hat they conformed to the requisite liberal norms. 5 For both con? icting and conforming policies, their impact on the e? iency of resource allocation has been identi ®ed as the main mechanism by which domestic policies a? ect economic growth. While the normative frame of reference of the new approach was global in scope, the explanatory arguments which sought to prove the instrumental superiority of the LIEO were characterized by methodological nationalism. That is to say, in explaining economic trends within countries, they partitioned in? uences into external and internal factors and attributed most of what was happening to internal (national) factors and, in particular, to domestic policy. In making the case for trade liberalization and export promotion, for example, conditions of global demand are generally ignored and, through the small country assumption, it is typically assumed that foreign markets are always available, and at prices largely independent of a countryOs expo rts. Empirically, the most common approach to prove the dynamic bene ®ts of outward-orientation has been crosscountry regression analyses which establish the statistical relationships between indicators of national economic change and a series of national variables, which include, in particular, indicators of national policy. The essence of this methodology is areal correlation between dependent and independent variables, to identify the extent to which variation in the former between a given set of national territories matches variation in the latter between the same territories. This can be done at a certain point in time or for periods of time (e. g. by using growth rates over 20 years). In either case, speci ®c histories are  ®ltered out and it is assumed that relationships which pertained in the past will continue into the future. Economic trends are necessarily attributed to the behavior of the national factors. In the 1990s, changes in the nature of the external environment are increasingly being used to explain why liberalization, coupled with the right macroeconomic fundamentals, works. Thus it is argued that in an increasingly globalized world economy, in which there is the globalization of production systems, increasing reliance on trade and increased availability of external  ®nancial ? ows, countries which do not follow Washington Consensus policies will be especially penalized, as they will be cut o? and thus excluded from the intensifying (and implicitly bene ®cial) global  ®eld of ? ws. Concomitantly, those countries which do follow the right policies will be rewarded, as they can capture foreign direct investment which brings technology and market access, and they can also supplement national savings with international capital ? ows, thus reaping the bene ®ts of the new external environment. In this way, the case for liberalization is rooted in the rhetoric of the globali zation. But the analysis remains methodologically nationalist as it retains the distinction between external and internal (national) factors, and still attributes ountry trends largely to domestic policy (see, for example, IMF, 1997; World Bank, 1997). Globalization is something which is happening to the external economic environment of countries; it is outside them. 794 WORLD DEVELOPMENT 3. THE SHIFT FROM HISTORICISM TO AHISTORICAL PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT The curious combination of global liberalism 7 and methodological nationalism which underpins the way in which development is seen in the new paradigm has been buttressed by a second key shift which occurred in development policy analysis at the end of the 1970s. This can be characterized as a shift from historicism to ahistorical performance assessment. Theorizing on development strategy from the 1950s to the 1970s was historicist in the general sense that it was founded on an attempt to understand rhythms, patterns and laws of development. 8 This understanding was based on historical analysis of long-term sequences of economic and social change, which had occurred in the past in already-industrialized countries and which were expected to re-occur, particularly if the right policy interventions were made, in less developed countries. Such theorizing most typically understood development as a societal and economy-wide transition from a traditional (rural, backward, agricultural) society to a modern (urban, advanced, industrial) society. This process was seen as a sequence of stages of growth, a process of modernization, or recurrent patterns of structural transformation. 9 All countries were expected to go through such patterns of development, and development agencies sought to ensure or accelerate the arrival of a better future for whole societies through interventions in these long-term processes of historical transformation. With the shift to ahistorical performance assessment, the focal object of enquiry has been to describe and explain national performances of various types. Not surprisingly but now taken-for-granted, the key word in the discourse propagated by international development agencies since the start of the 1980s has been performance. Attention has been particularly paid to economic performance, but also agricultural performance, industrial performance, trade performance,  ®nancial performance,  ®scal performance, poverty performance, human development performance and so on. Using these various standards, countries have been partitioned into good and bad performers, and ranked according to their performance in various new leagues of nations. Moreover comparative performances have been explained by reference to national factors and national policy. It is according to these performance standards that past development policies have been criticized because they do not work and narratives have been constructed about the e? ectiveness of the Washington Consensus. A succession of countries which have undertaken policy reform in the requisite way and achieved good short-term growth results have also been identi ®ed as, and dubbed, success stories. These stories have acted as exemplars for the new paradigm, providing not only practical rules-of-thumb guidance on how policy reform should be undertaken, but also proof of the validity of the Washington Consensus. The transition from historicism to ahistorical performance assessment started in the 1970s, and was initially animated by those who sought to re ®ne the de ®nition of development by adding social aspects. E? rts to measure poverty based on the quality of life and satisfaction of basic needs were particularly important in this regard. Michael LiptonOs book Why Poor People Stay Poor was a key text in propagating a performance-oriented approach. The uptake of the notion of urban bias, a concept which was forged within debates about how to achieve redistribution with growth but which be came central to the neoliberal paradigm, can be attributed to its performance-based de ®nition, and the vitriolic debates of the late 1970s, particularly with Byres, can be interpreted as an attempt to sustain a historicist view (see, for example, Byres, 1979). In the 1980s, these initial moves toward performance assessment were overtaken by, and later incorporated in, the discourse and practice of structural adjustment. Adjustment involved improving the performance of national economies by increasing the e? ciency of resource allocation. The central criterion used to measure performance was current or recent GDP growth rate, and macroeconomic stability, indicated by  ®scal and external payments balance and low in? ation. The dynamics of long-term transformations of economies and societies slipped from view and attention as placed on short-term growth and re-establishing  ®nancial balances. The shift to ahistorical performance assessment can be interpreted as a form of the postmodernization of development policy analysis. It re? ects, in particular, the questioning of grand narratives of historical transformation which was central to the appeal of the post- RISE AND FALL OF THE WASHINGTON CONSENSUS 795 modern ethos in the 1980s. 10 Befo re the shift, development agencies acted as handmaidens of progress, modernization, industrialisation, or the emancipation of people from oppression, exploitation, disease and drudgery. After it most agencies re-oriented their work to monitor and seek to improve performance, often through local problem-solving and local social engineering designed to make economic and social institutions work better. Adjustment also entailed the abandonment of grand long-term government-directed designs for whole societies and a shift to decentralized decision-making, laissez-faire and local social engineering. But ironically, this shift away from holism could not be achieved without a holistic approach. Everything has been made subject to the rules and discipline of the market. The vision of the liberation of people and peoples, which animated development practice in the 1950s and 1960s, has thus been replaced by the vision of the liberalization of economies. The goal of structural transformation has been replaced with the goal of spatial integration. 4. THE CONFIGURATION OF DEVELOPMENT POLICY ANALYSIS IN THE 1990S The collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union has served as con ®rmation of arguments which predicted the impossibility of central planning and reinforced the apparent superiority of a market-oriented development approach. Since the late 1980s however there have developed two important challenges to the Washington Consensus. The  ®rst is the UNDPs sustainable human development (SHD) approach. This approach takes up some of the themes of the UNICEF critique of the dominant approach, Adjustment with a Human Face, originally published in 1987, and has been elaborated through the annual Human Development Report, which  ®rst appeared in 1990 (UNDP, Various years). The second is a latent Southern Consensus, which is founded on analyses made from the perspective of countries undertaking late industrialization and seeking to catch up with richer countries in the global economy. This Southern Consensus does not exist as a political reality. Nor has it, as yet, been articulated analytically. Its existence is apparent however in the convergence between the policy conclusions of Latin American neostructuralism, initially set out by ECLAC in 990, and the deeper understanding of East Asian development models, which is described in ESCAP (1990), but has been most thoroughly reconstructed by UNCTAD in its annual Trade and Development Report (particularly 1994, part 2, chapter 1; 1996, part two; 1997, part 2, chapters V and VI; and 1998, part 1, chapter 3). 11 These two challenges to the Washington Consensus have shaped development thinking and practice in di? erent ways. Indeed development policy analysis is now characterized by a double dialectic. The clash between the Washington Consensus and the sustainable human development approach acts to reinforce and conserve the key elements of the current paradigm, and in particular its ahistorical approach and its combination of normative internationalism with methodological nationalism, whilst the clash between the Washington Consensus and ideas within the two strands of the Southern Consensus serves to undermine these elements and creates tensions and pressures for a further paradigm shift. The key feature of the sustainable human development approach which distinguishes it from the Washington Consensus, is that it espouses a di? rent set of values. Whereas the Washington Consensus focuses on the promotion of GDP growth, and has been implemented through a top-down, donorconditionality-driven and outside-expert-led, approach, the sustainable human development approach argues that the ultimate test of development practice is that it should improve the nature of peopleOs lives, and ad vocates that it should be founded on participation and a more equal partnership between developing countries and aid donors. This people-centered approach, which explicitly identi ®es itself as an alternative paradigm (see, for example, ul Haq, 1995, Part I), has been quite in? ential. An important strand of development research in the early 1990s has sought to refute its challenge by showing that Washington Consensus policies in fact serve to reduce poverty, increase employment and can, in themselves, deliver growth with equity, and that therefore social concerns are already adequately addressed by the mainstream approach. But the SHD alternative has promoted the introduction of poverty reduction as a key goal of development practice and increasing attention to possible LIEO-compatible relaxation of Washington Consensus poli- 96 WORLD DEVELOPMENT cies in order better to achieve poverty objectives (see World Bank, 1990). These changes have certainly made the Washington Consensus m ore humane. But at the same time, the SHD approach has had the e? ect of conserving key features of the worldview of the dominant paradigm. Although its di? erent values have emphasized di? erent indicators and weighting systems, particularly to capture levels of human development and poverty, these measures have reinforced a focus on short-term performance assessment. The substitution of multidimensional indicators of poverty for simple income poverty, for example, has added greater reality to the description of deprivation and more leverage for moral outrage, but at the cost of crippling e? ective analysis of the dynamics of change. Signi ®cantly also, the analytical basis of the SHD approach, which is itself somewhat loose, is methodologically nationalist. A central focus is the mismatch between economic growth performance and social performance and the ways in which domestic policy can rectify this mismatch to deliver more social achievements for any given level of GDP per capita. Even the apparent di? erence in values between the SHD approach and the Washington Consensus is less clear-cut than it appears. This applies whether human development is speci ®ed rigorously, as in Amartya SenOs capability approach which underpins the human development index, or through a vaguer focus on decentralization and participation. SenOs capability concept emphasizes freedom of choice which is quite consonant with the liberal perspective. 12 Moreover the project of making economic and social institutions work better through decentralization and the use of local knowledge, indigenous management ractices and the participation, not of the masses, but of local people and small comm