Analysis Of The Problem Of Evil Philosophy Essay

Analysis Of The Problem Of Evil Philosophy Essay In the paper written by Collins entitled, The Problem of Evil Basics, It has been noted that reconciling the concept of existence of a perfectly good God and evil is necessary in solving the problem of evil. Collins presented two valid arguments in clarifying the problem of evil in the theistic perspective. One argument is coming from theodicy. Theodicy argues that God exists and He permits evils in this world. The Defense argument proposes that the existence of evil is not dependent on the notion that God exist. The Defense argument further claims that if there is God and He is good, then evils in the world would not exist. However, since evils exist, then there is no God because the existence of a supreme being presupposes that good would prevail. With this, should we justify evils in relation to the existence of God? Or should we deny the existence of God in order to justify evils? Basically, the analysis of this paper would revolve around the above contentions. Basically, the problem of good and evil is quite a complicated and complex topic. It has no definite answer since it goes beyond the sphere of the material world and human knowledge is limited. This is not to say that the finite capacity of the human knowledge is inadequate in comprehending the said topic. Plausible explanations can still be formulated and accepted in responding to the issues mentioned above. Accordingly, if we would provide a justifiable explanation about the problem of evil, ones personal analysis is necessary but it has to be coupled with the arguments coming from the philosophical claims of the experts. Of course, everybody has his/her own explanation about the existence of evils in this world. Evils are usually viewed as something harmful or destructive to the normal flow of things. It can be caused by man or by nature. The issue of morality would also be tackled in line with the existence of evil. In this sense, it is inevitable that the concept of right and wrong actions when it comes to human actions would have to be explained. On the other hand, natural occurrences such as floods, typhoons, earthquakes, tsunamis and the like are judged based on the harm done to man, other living creatures and the planet in general. In short, harm as a result of a natural phenomenon is equated with evil. In addition, the natural inclination of other primitive creatures such as lions, tigers, sharks and other ferocious animals could also be seen as evil producing actions. This is because the actions of these predators normally bring more harm than good to their prey. If deeply analyzed, the survival of the fittest within the world of the primitive creatures inevitably create destructive condition in the wild. Though they are part of the evolutionary process, as argued by most biologists or other natural scientists , the whole process can be equated to an evil producing condition where subduing other species is a natural phenomenon. Now, how does the concept of God situate in the mentioned assumptions? In the paper entitled, In Connection Building Theodicy Handout, the Greater Good Principle is explained in relation to the problem of evil. This principle suggests that if God is perfectly good then He has all the power to eliminate evils in the world. Consequently, God allows evils but those which are freely chosen by man. This strengthens the proposition that God doesnt exist because evils are ever-present in this world. On another angle of the debate, the Theodicy argument has been criticized by many experts. In the paper of Collins, the flaws of theodicy argument were explicated. It is said that suffering in this world is a result of committing sin. This is why by committing sinful acts, man receives certain kind of punishment in the form of suffering. Thus, suffering is inevitable and should be accepted. However, as argued by Collins, this argument is flawed because it does not explain clearly why God allows evil and the reason why the innocents have to suffer also. The second theodicy argument is the fall theodicy which states that suffering was a result of the fall of man. This line of thinking claims that man has to suffer because of the original sins committed by Adam and Eve. However, this is also flawed because no concrete explanation could be extracted as to why God allows evils to happen. The third argument is the Satan theodicy which declares that suffering is a consequence of the rebellion of Satan from God. This is another invalid argument simply because it would be hard to prove that such situation is real. Also, it does provide any concrete explication as to the reason why God has to allow evils to exist in this world. In a related academic paper, Evolution and the Problem of Evil, the Intelligent Design argument in the creation of the universe as perfect has been debated by the natural scientists and advocates of evolutionary theory. It is argued in this perspective that the Intelligent Design theory conveys that God is cruel since He allows sufferings of lower forms of animals. The anatomy of the ferocious animals such as tigers, lions, and the like is basically designed to cause sufferings to other creatures. Thus, this implies that the God we know who created the universe is either evil or doesnt exist. In an article, Why Does God Allow Evil? written by Eric V. Snow , it was explained the basic reason why God allows evil to exist in this world based on the Christian perspective. The premise of the article is that God created man in his own image and with 100% free will. As Gods creation, man has to choose to be 100% righteous. It was based on the thesis coming from Genesis 1:26 which states that Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. This is one of the basic arguments of the theist. This proposes a belief that God created man in his own image which has a righteous path. However, the goodness of man should be chosen because of free will. Being righteous is not an easy and immediate process. It has to be intended and calculated by man. Man must also know and will it. Moreover, the ar ticle argued that God created man with free will like himself. Without free will man would be nothing like God. Incidentally, total obedience to Gods laws is the only way to be righteous. Hence, pain and suffering are caused by mans free will as a result of bad motive, ignorance and miscalculated intentions. In connection, the article further explains that suffering would make man trust God. Pain is experienced so that faith in God would be attained. It was also the position of the article that mans knowledge is inadequate enough to understand why God allows evil. Man is not in the position to question the intention of God. Like Job, man has to believe and obey God without question. Since death is inevitable, we would be judged by God based on our actions in the material world. Hence, God allows evils in this world because of His benevolent intention for us whatever it may be. Free will is given to man in order for him to know and obey Gods laws. Pain and suffering are merely temporary tests in attaining the rightful path, as argued by the article (Snow). In another article, The Problem of Evil, by P.J. McHugh (2006), the same argument was put forward about the problem of evil. As stated by McHugh (2006), the common ground of all who believe why God allows evil to prosper in this world is the free-will defence. Man is a self-directing agent with a limited source of freedom that would make him responsible for his every decision. With freedom, man is free to choose between right and wrong as a moral agent. However, with free will it also recognized by McHugh (2006) that evil actions are unavoidable. Good cant be separated by bad actions. This is why man has to be careful in making decision because every decision has an accompanying good and evil consequences. Accordingly, the free-will defence is challenged by the idea that if free will is God-given and that it is the cause of evil actions, then it is logical to assume that God is also responsible for creating a creature that produces harm because of free will. The question still arises, why did God create a being that can do harm to the world? McHugh (2006) presented the Augustinian Theodicy in answering the above question. According to McHugh (2006), Augustine (354-430 A.D.) formulated explanations that influence the thoughts of the Christians for many centuries. One of the fundamental premises of the philosophical view of St. Augustine is that the universe is good because it was created by a good God with a good intention. Every creation has a good purpose in line with Gods good intention. Evil is a result of an on-going process of attaining good that is innate in all the things created. The universe is perfect and out of that perfection is the ultimate purpose of goodness. In short, evil is an intended consequence of taking the path of goodness which is divine. However, those who dont abide with the divine path imposed by God, would be punished as they would be judged at the end of human history. McHugh (2006) claims that the Augustinian theodicy seems to be removing the responsibility from God when it comes to evil act ions of man. The Augustinian theodicy further assumes that evil is the consequence of free will as misused by man. McHugh (2006) also presented criticisms of the said theodicy by St. Augustine. According to him, the universe that God created might have gone wrong. With all the evils in the world that we would observe, this universe might not have went to the things that God wanted it to be. It is either God committed a mistake of creating the universe or He did not really intend to make the universe perfect as assume by some Christians. The second criticism offered by McHugh (2006) is the one proposed by the scientific perspective about the evolution of mankind. As explained by the Augustinian point of view, man was created perfect and good. However, the scientific evidence would prove that man evolved from the lowest form of animals that can be argued as imperfect and hostile creatures. Primitive man has crude knowledge of morality and that hostility seemed to be his natural response to his environment. In the same argument, natural disasters and calamities existed long before man came into this world, as proposed by the evolutionary perspective. These natural phenomena certainly cause evils and sufferings. Consequently, if these phenomena already existed before man, then it is logical to assume that they were not caused by man. If they were not caused by mankind, then God was the one responsible for evil effects of such natural calamities. The third argument against the Augustinian theodicy is the existence of hell as a venue for those who will not abide by the law of God. The concept of hell is a punishment for those who will choose to do wrong. This concept is challenged because it only show how Gods justice works. Sinful acts are punishable according to St. Augustines argument that is why man is compelled to do good which is the main intention of God. If this is true, then majority of the human race might be tormented in hell since humanity now is characterized by immorality and sinful acts. Is this the justice that God wants man to realize? Whatever the answer to this question, it is certain that the concept of hell acquits of Gods purpose of punishing the disobedient. In a related article, The Problem of Evil, written by Vincent Cheung (2004), it discusses the problem and solution in the issue of the existence of evil. Cheung (2004) also recognizes that the basic problem of the Christian point of view about good and evil is that there is a God who is omnipotent and omnibenevolent. In this line of thinking, if God is all-powerful, then He has the ability to eradicate all the evils in the world. If God is a loving supreme being, then He would not allow evil to thrive that causes pain and suffering to mankind. What complicates the Christian perspective is the notion that God and evil are irreconcilable concepts. If God really exists then there is no evil, as argued by Cheung (2004). Accordingly, if evil exists, then there is no God who is ever loving. In case that God really exists and evil also prevails in this world, then the God that really exists is not an ever-loving supreme being. In this line of thought, the God that exists might be a being wh o loves suffering and pain because He allows evils to prevail. In short, it is a choice between God or evil. Cheung (2004) offered insightful analysis in reconciling they contradictions of God and evil. It was argued in his article that the flow of argument of the problem of evil cant be answered by the Christian perspective. The Christian point of view of God is illogical and cant be accepted because it has many flaws. If one has to take the route of the Christian perspective an all-powerful and all-loving God would not exist with the evil prevailing in this life. This is why in the article, Cheung presented a more logical argument that emanated from the fundamental premises of the Christian perspective. In a gist, Cheung (2004) argued that there is God who is all-powerful and all-loving. With Gods power, He is capable of eliminating suffering and pain. His benevolence would result to His intention of eradicating evils. Consequently, evil still exists because God a good purpose for it. With Gods power and goodness, He would eventually end all these sufferings and pains in life. The prevalence of evils doesnt mean that God doesnt exist. It merely implies that it would eventually be eliminated because God is good. Analysis and Conclusion With the surveyed articles presented above, this paper has formulated its own analysis to answer the quite controversial issue of the existence of evil. First and foremost, this paper proposes that there is God. If we would formulate a notion of God, it is always good and logical to assume that He is all-powerful and all-benevolent. It would be difficult and more painful to imagine that there is supreme being who exists for the sole purpose of punishing us. There is God because there is a creation. The cause and effect analysis of St. Thomas Aquinas is quite a convincing argument for this. It would be natural for a creator to produce something with no good intention. For instance, a sculptor would not create a work of art with bad intention on his/her mind creating it. It is innate to him/her to produce a beautiful and as much as possible perfect masterpiece. Of course, the actual product would not be as perfect as it is in his/her mind. However, this doesnt imply that the sculptor is evil. He may be innately good even if there is imperfection in his/her creation. Needless to say that this analogy also applies with the existence of a n all-loving and all-powerful God. There is a supreme creator who made man in his own image. As an all-powerful being, God couldnt interfere with the affairs of man because of free will. Free will has unintended consequences, that we call evils. Inasmuch as God wants to eradicate evils and harms in this world, His authority could have superseded by the power of free will which He gave to man as a sign of love. Through free will, man make choices so as not being controlled by God. If free will doesnt exist, man is like a puppet that is being controlled by a puppet master. Subsequently, since God loves man, He took his control out of mans life. In connection, free will doesnt mean doing evil. It is a powerful instrument of choosing the right path. With it, man should take the right path. Although evils seem to reign in life, they could be viewed as temporary. It is logical to assume life is meaningless if we are just expecting bad things to happen. We might have to annihilate humanity if that would be true. However, it is the position of this paper that every choice that we make has an accompanying equally balanced results that may good or evil. There are no options that have purely good or bad consequences. In other words, there is no situation in this world that would only produce an unpleasant result because that would mean complete annihilation of everything. The result would come from a balance of good and evil actions. Now, when it comes to the nature of things in the lower form of animals, harm really exists. It is the normal flow of things that other creatures to subdue other species. It is part of the grand design. It is a design that can only be sustained if man would not interfere in it. It would be valid to assume that mans interference with nature has caused destruction to the planet. This is because the natural laws are perfect. It has all the necessary functions for the planet to survive. Typhoons, earthquakes, and the like are natural occurrences that are caused by the overproduction and overconsumption of man through the utilization of the environments resources. The natural inclinations of the lower forms of animal are also necessary for the survival of each and their own species and for the emergence of the new species. These phenomena are all beneficial to the existence of the planet. Man seems to be the unnecessary component in sustaining the equilibrium of the planet if free will would not be used properly. It is certainly true that man is capable of moral actions. Mans actions may interfere or not with the natural flow of things in nature. However, as mentioned earlier, there are actions that are good-producing. These actions may contribute to the well being of the planet if man would only realize the power of free will. In contrast, evils caused by man are unintended consequences of the free will given by God. This is why free will is coupled with superior intellect. Man is guided by free will and a superior intellect for him to do good and avoid harm to others. The superior intellect is here to compensate with mans free will. There are no absolute standards of good and evil. It has to depend on the ability of man to evaluate a particular situation. It can be judged based on the motive, actual behavior and the consequences of the action. In short, actions should be based on the use of the ability of man to calculate, rationalize and good intention. Man has to plan his actions with the intention of doing good. In relation to theodicy, it is the position of this paper that there is God but He doesnt want evils to happen. Evils can be speculated as a result of unintended consequences of free will and superior intellect of man. With regards to the Defense argument, it is more valid to claim that evils dont have to be equated with the non-existence of God. The problem of evils doesnt depend on whether there is God or not. It is a necessary result of the free will, miscalculation or ignorance of man. Definitely, there are choices to be made in life. The best choice is coming from many choices with the use of the intellect and free will. Evils would arise because of irrationality, lack of planning, miscalculation or ignorance. Equating evil with the non-existence of God is like blaming God for mans mistakes. In this line of thinking, man is removing himself from accountability that makes God his scapegoat. Finally, it is the position of this paper that part of the theodicy argument is valid more particularly the argument that God exists but he has no intention of bringing harm to this universe. Evils, as emphasized above, are unintended consequences brought about by mans ignorance, miscalculation and bad intention. It is also the point of this paper that it is illogical to accept the Defence argument since the existence of evil cant be equated with the denial of God. Of course, it would be noted that this paper doesnt assume that it provided all the absolute answers nor it has figured all out the problem of evil. The problem of evil is quite complicated issue that it cant be discussed easily in a single paper. The analysis of this paper has been deduced from several articles and from the finite capacity of the writer. Message from client: Can I have a rewrite? None of my sources were used and they need to be in the paper. Please just use the sources I provide in the rewrite and no other sources. Thank you.

A Violent Act-Taking Place at Work

As difficult as it may be to imagine a violent act-taking place at work, in these times it is an eventuality that cannot be ignored. Too frequently, these days, the evening news leads off with a report about a disgruntled employee committing some horrifying act of violence in the workplace. Something like that could never happen here, is what most assumes. Unfortunately, the statistics show that violence can and does happen in the workplace. In fact, the chances of violence occurring in the workplace are shockingly high and increasing. An important question that should be asked is, what causes violence in the workplace? The answer to this question is very complex. There are numerous contributing factors that can push an employee to the point that may seem unbearable. To an employee, being perceived unfair is one of the significant factors. Many times the organization is looked upon as not treating their employees properly. Other contributing factors are, but not limited to, an unstable economy, downsizing, layoffs–each causes fear, depression, and paranoia, evaluations, lack of promotion or advancement, authoritarian management, relationships brought to the workplace, and stress (Liabig 33). Stress is one of the more common causes of violence at any place of employment. The body†s response to any demand on it for adaptation is called stress. A stressor may be acute or chronic. Stress can also be both good and bad. Examples of good stress are reasonable deadlines and competition. This type of stress if needed to function, without stress people become stagnates. The level of anxiety caused by a good stressor is usually in the low moderate range. Levels of high anxiety are okay for short periods of time. If levels of high anxiety last for an extreme period then the stressor is bad, and the person functioning becomes impaired and overwhelmed (NIOSH 1). The failure to adapt to stress can cause clinical depression. Clinical depression is a depression that is organic in nature whose origin is usually a chemical imbalance or caused by outside factors. It is obvious that these circumstances may result in subsequent aggression. In turn, such feelings may produce intense emotions of anger and resentment, which may lead to the feeling of needing to harm the people that is responsible in some manner. Other contributing factors that may trigger workplace aggression and violence frequently are related to three types of workplace changes. 1) The increased use of part-time and temporary workers. This causes aggressions for two reasons. First, the increased use of contingent workers makes existing employees feel threatened. Secondly, a revolving door of temps can make employees uncomfortable. 2) Management turnover and change. When bosses start changing, the workplace aggression level increases. This is because employees may not like the new boss style, they may feel uncertain about their own job security or they may view the new managers as an opportunity to act out. 3) Major schedule changes. Employees who suddenly find themselves working a new shift after getting comfortable with a certain set of hours can become uneasy. Detecting the characteristics of an employee that may display some of the above attributes should certainly be continuously in effect (Caudron 51). It is important that data that is collected be as specific as possible and focus on job performance or any unusual behavior on the job. Recurring patterns should be noted. Everyone has an off day once in a while so observation or documentation should go on over a period of time. Collection of data helps the supervisor make a fair and impartial assessment of job performance. It also guards against remembering only the peaks of performance, the good days and not the bad days. There are several characteristics that should alert an employer of possible signs of workplace aggression. Individuals who commit violence tend to fit a pattern. Often, they are loners, and the main focus of their lives is their job. Absenteeism, which consist of frequent absences or days off with vague or unlikely excuses. Also included would be excessive use of sick leave, tardiness and early departures are some things to look for. There is also the factor of on-the-job absenteeism. This may entail an employee being regularly absent from post, long lunches and always preoccupied. Then there is the issue of personal appearance, attitude and behavior. An employer should take notice when the personal appearance becomes untidy and when distinct mood swings occur during the day for no apparent reason. If the smell of alcohol and or excessive use of breath deodorizers are used and repeated unusual accidents on or off the job occur, yes the employer should take notice. Another issue that may create workplace aggression would be interpersonal relations. If there are complaints from co-workers and from clients on a regular basis, and if the employee has a tendency to avoid associates. Direct threats of violence, verbal abuse or intimidation toward employees. An intense anger that does not defuse over time or a fascination with the killing power of weapons that go far beyond a hobbyist gun collection. These behaviors are observable warning signs of violent behaviors. Having the ability to recognize is one thing but what counts the most is being able to prevent workplace violence. If it is not understood what triggers violence then it is difficult to prevent it. Although many acts of workplace violence appear completely random, there are actually many things companies can do to prevent violent outbreaks from occurring. The initial step would include the screening of potential employees thoroughly. If the resources are not there, an outside service should be hired to conduct criminal background checks for a nominal cost. The implementation of a zero-tolerance policy with harsh repercussions for violent or threatening behavior at the workplace should be established. All threats of violence should be reported to the police immediately. Certain circumstances may even warrant the temporary use of a security firm. It is significant for an employer to create a workplace culture that encourages mutual respect and open communication. It would be essential to conduct training for employees and supervisors that covers conflict resolution, how to report and handle complaints of unfair treatment and how to recognize signs of a potentially violent employee. The use of the Employee Assistance Program, which is a plan that provide employees with assistance for various problems, as a means to prevent workplace violence due to stress. All employees should be trained in methods to handle stress. When firing or disciplining a potentially violent employee, the employer should be sensitive. To sound as if the employee is being accused, is not a good approach. An example is to simply state that other employees have begun to feel fearful and that according to the company policy, it is required to take action. This approach will avoid blame. Also when firing or disciplining a potentially violent employee, the manager should make sure that they find something good to say about the employee (Liabig 33). By building up the persons dignity, it decreases the likelihood that the employee will see the manager as part of the larger corporate conspiracy that is out to get him or her. Last but not least, it is very relevant for the employer to provide job counseling for terminated employees. Termination is a traumatic change and counseling can help these individuals cope. It is a fact that an individual can exhibit one or more warning signs and never resort to violence. It is important to remember that people have different levels of sensitivity. What is a violence-triggering event to one person may not be to another. Each case must be examined on an individual basis and, to the extent possible, viewed from that person's perspective.

A Microeconomic Analysis of Indian Retail Industry

MODERN RETAIL MICRO ECONOMICS PROJECT REPORT ABSTRACT The growing number of modern retail outlets in India on the one hand and frequent sale seasons and talks of underperformance on the other point to a mixed bag and make us wonder whether the sector is on the right growth trajectory. In this report, rather than providing with just the facts, we have tried to understand the modern retail sector from an economist’s point of view and visualize its future-whether it is in its expansion or contraction phase.Motivated by the rising per-capita incomes and increased spending on consumer goods, modern retail stores are coming up with new strategies and plans to unlock the Pandora box of the untapped and unorganized retail sector. In the course of the report, we try to find out – how the retail sector works, major regulations that affect its functioning and the challenges that await the sector and summarize with our analysis and recommendations. Note: We have used where weâ€⠄¢ve analyzed the situation from a micro-economic point of view. INTRODUCTIONThe retail sector in India can broadly be classified as organized and unorganized where the share of unorganized sector is more than 93% of the total and includes the kirana stores, mom and pop stores and the ilk. The organized or modern retail sector on the other hand captures a mere 7% of the total market share. Modern retail is defined as a form of retailing whereby consumers can buy goods from a similar purchase environment across more than one physical location and operates under three levels: Specialist stores catering to some particular category of product such as footwear, pharma & beauty, food and grocery etc. classified under level I. Departmental stores that cater to a few categories of retail put under level II, and malls where we find an agglomeration of many departmental stores, hypermarkets etc – classified under level III retail. The figure 1 below shows the various players at differe nt levels of retail. Retail stores can also be classified under ‘lifestyle’, ‘value’ and ‘luxury’ formats based upon the consumer income segment they target.Figure : Players operating at different levels Figure: Organized Retail Although, the sector boasts of covering almost all the verticals, a look at the markets under different verticals shows that Organized Retail Penetration is extremely low – 2. 4 percent – for the food and grocery, which in contrast makes up for the biggest part of the total retail market. The apparels, foot wear and home decor are the major contributors under organized retail and have been prospering at a rapid pace.The figures below depict the market share and Organized Retail Penetration in different verticals. Figure: Market Share of Different Verticals in Organized Retail Source: CRISIL Figure: Organized retail penetration (%) in different verticals Source: CRISIL Retail almost accounts for around 15% of India’s GDP and thus plays an important role in determining the Indian economic indicators. Organized retail became the apple of everyone’s eye when Vishal Mega Mart profited from its operations in different parts of India.Soon, other players started with their own retail chains such as V-Mart, Big Bazaar, Subhiksha, Pantaloons et al and the market turned into a very competitive market, probably lowering the economic profits of the retailers, and consequently the situation now is that Vishal, Subhiksha and others stand nowhere compared to the biggies such as Reliance, Big Bazaar and others. The major reasons for this are the marketing mix of these brands and benefits from economies of scale. However, because a number of factors go into determining business profitability, it would not be correct to give all credit to the above mentioned factors.Let’s now look at the major player in organized retail in India. MAJOR PLAYERS The organized retail sector of India h as many domestic corporate houses competing with their ventures such as Tata’s Chroma, Reliance Trends, Reliance Fresh, Futures Pantaloons, RPG & so on. Other than these, fascinated by the Indian demographics and potential market, international players have entered through joint ventures with national players and are planning to compete for the share through such strategies.Major players along with their brands are shown below. * Landmark (books and music) * Croma(multi-brand electronics) * World of Titan (watches) * Tanishq (jewellery) * Titan Eye+ (eye wear) * Westside (lifestyle retail store) * Star Bazaar (hypermarket chain) * Fashion Yatra(family fashion store) * Central (shopping mall) * Big Bazaar (hypermarket) * Pantaloons (fashion outlet) * Blue Sky (sunglasses) * Brand Factory (multi-brand readymade garments) * KB's Fair Price (essential products) * Navaras(jewellery) Planet Store (multi-brand sports and lifestyle speciality retail) * aLL(fashion garments) * Ethnici ty (Indian ethnic wear) * Home Town (home needs), * eZone(electronics), * Furniture Bazaar (home furniture), * Electronics Bazaar(under Big Bazaar, electronics stores) * Home Bazaar (satellite version of Home Town) * Collection I (lifestyle furniture) * Gen M ; One Mobile (mobile phones) * M-Port (electronics) * Shoe Factory (footwear) * Depot (books and music) * Reliance Fresh (neighbourhood store) * Reliance Mart (supermarket) * Reliance Super (mini-mart) Reliance Digital (consumer durables and information technology) * Reliance Trends (apparel and accessories) * Reliance Wellness (health, wellness and beauty) * iStore(Apple products) * Reliance Footprint (footwear) * Reliance Jewels (jewellery) * Reliance TimeOut(books, music and entertainment) * Reliance AutoZone (automotive products and services) * Reliance Living (home ware, furniture, modular kitchens and furnishings) * Music World (music and home video store) * Books ; Beyond (book store) * Spencers (multi-format retail stor e) K RAHEJA Shoppers Stop (clothing, accessories, fragrances, cosmetics, footwear and home furnishing store) * Crossword (book store) * Inorbit Mall (fashion, lifestyle, food and entertainment) and Hyper City (hypermarket) As we can see that all major groups in India have opened up their retail stores catering to different sections of the society providing for different needs of the customers. This has resulted in a sort of monopolistic competition in organized retail market in metro and Tier 1cities owing to the large number of variants being offered to the customers.However, in Tier 2 and 3 cities there are fewer of such modern retail stores and the market situation can be compared to oligopoly, but however because of local players and unorganized retail the effects of oligopoly generally don’t show up. The presence of competitors thus affects not only the player, but the industry and the nation as whole. Let’s discuss in brief the effects of competition. COMPETITION AND RIVALRY Competition is one of the means to achieve economic efficiency.It restrains prices and encourages companies to innovate ; provide better quality of products. In the retail sector competition is driven by many factors, including variety, products, price, quality, service, location, reputation, credit and availability of retail space etc. It can broadly be classified under: 1. Competition because of Internal Factors The large number of groups in multibrand retail such as TATA, Raheja et al and also single brand established foreign players such as Adidas, Nike etc pose a threat to speedy expansion of Indian Retail. . Competition because of External Factors The organized retail industry in India is facing immense competition from the unorganized sector. Traditionally, retailing has been established in India for centuries. It is a low cost structure, mostly owner operated, has negligible real estate and labor costs and little or no taxes to pay. The unorganized retail sector constitutes over 93% of India’s total retail sector and thus, poses a serious hurdle for organized retailers.Because of the largely unorganized nature of Indian retail, inefficiencies have crept in and large number of intermediaries exists, reducing the functional and productive efficiency of the retail industry. The government in power has thus been keen to promote FDI in retail in India. Hundred percent FDI in single brand retail invited global companies for competition in the Indian retail sector. With this the companies are working with a strategy so as to be able to cater to the needs of the consumers and grow volumes by ensuring footfalls, while being able to reduce costs, withstand downturns, and face competition.Here we also see a common practise to prevent other companies from affecting the economic status quo of a country, by imposing barriers and caps on FDI, for example what has been done in multibrand retail. As of now, FDI in multibrand retail cannot exceed the specified cap which has kept global retailers such as Walmart, Carrefour et al from entering the Indian market, although they still do exist in whole sale cash and carry segment.The market structure of the modern retail is that of monopolistic competition in metros ; tier I cities which usually have hundreds of shopping alternatives including multi-brand retail outlets, single brand outlets in the shopping malls and nation-wide chains. Whereas in the tier II ; tier III cities the market structure is oligopoly in nature as they have fewer stores and somewhere only a single super centre or shopping mall. Also if we look at prices of different products in various retail outlets, we find that there is not much difference between the prices, except during periods or seasons of sale.This shows that because of the very competitive nature of modern retail, which now also includes online retail, the players are almost operating at zero economic profit, and thus don’t have much scope to offer different prices for similar products. Moreover almost all use similar technologies and processing techniques to provide the final product and thus the prices cannot be increased significantly, for fear of loss of market share. For example, Pantaloons and Westside have almost the similar brands in offering for the customer, leaving little scope for differentiation or price discrimination.Price discrimination can however happen when we compare lifestyle or luxury and value format stores, value stores charging lesser price for the same product sold at a higher price in lifestyle stores. To gain advantage in such a competitive environment major retailers have started to distinguish themselves by providing products under ‘private labels’. In India, fresh produce purchases are made more often from cart vendors who buy their stock from wholesalers. Retailers have tried to bridge the gap with direct farm procurement  eliminating middlemen and introducing  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ private labels'.They are coming up with new ideas to grab a major share of the market which is prospering (see figure below) because of the following factors: The average income of the middle class population has been increasing at a rate of around 12%, which will result in increased expenditure Increasing proportion of working women in the country Increasing population of employed youth Increasing desire for better standards of living and trends in consumer expenditure Increase in the use of plastic money Emerging markets in Tier II and Tier III citiesFigure: Sales (in million Rs. ) plotted against the financial year Source: Company official website These factors may cause a shift in the demand curve, but more number of retailers will be willing to enter and eventually the price would not be impacted much. There would, infact a gradual shift from unorganized to the organized retail. All these and a huge untapped market potential that’s locked in the unorganized retail has mo tivated modern retailers to invest heavily in marketing and advertising, to grab customer attention and retain them.ADVERTISING Promoting the modern retail brand is very important – especially in metro and Tier I cities. The retailer must strive hard to communicate the USP of the brand and help the end-users know to which brand a particular product belongs influencing the buying behavior of the customer. Not only in India, retail industry all over the world spends large amount of funds on advertising. The figure below shows comparison of expenditure by the retail sector with others on online advertising in the United StatesFigure 5: US Online Ad Spending The growth of online video ads among the brand marketers and Social networking are primary contributors to the growing market share of the retail sector. Advertising in modern retail is broadly done under the following three categories: Traditional Advertising Traditional advertising means advertising using traditional media such as TV, newspaper, radio, circulars, hoardings etc. For eg. we frequently see advertisements from major retail players such as Big Bazaar, Chroma etc in newspapers.Digital Advertising This form uses advertising using digital media. Video advertising, Mobile advertising etc are some of its examples. Alternative Offers Under this we may have guerilla marketing where the marketer may use graffiti, fliers, deal of the day type offers, groupon etc to promote or advertise the product. Website Communication or on-site communication evaluates how well retailers currently collect the kind of information that helps them localize their own communications with consumers.For this category, we evaluate two criteria: whether the retailer offers localized information about their own stores on their eCommerce site, and whether they solicit customer information – email address and mobile number, prominently on their site. The expansion of the retail sector and the creation of meta-mediarie s has provided with increasing job opportunities. JOB CREATION With a CAGR of around 14. 5% in the last five years and the bright prospects of expansion , the the no of jobs in this sector are expected to grow at a fast pace.The existing players will have to face competition from the new players and this would also lead to opening up of new stores and thereby increasing the job opportunities in the country. Shift in consumers preference from traditional stores and shops to departmental stores and hypermarkets is definitely going to put pressure on retailers to provide for adequate staff and services, thereby increasing the number of people employed and thus creating job opportunities. The rural market is home to the 46% of the rich and prosperous people of the country. Besides, these people stay in 17% of the villages of the country.The infrastructure costs in setting up retail outlets in these places are going to be lower compared to the cities. This will encourage the emergence of regional players and would again lead to creation of jobs in many regions. However, some more prospering regions or cities which have shown good growth rates will have an edge over others, even in the same state. Whatever is the case, the supply has to be met with the demand, especially when there is no dearth of labor in India and job creation is highly likely, an event when it comes to the retail sector expansion and penetration.FDI in multi-brand retail is going to be a deciding factor in creation of jobs as well. Once permitted, this will lead to aggressive competition. The entry of new players would balance the supply chain and farmers will be benefitted. If this happens, more people will be attracted towards farming, also contract farming would lead to creation of rural jobs. Moreover, entry of foreign investors is likely to shift the production possibility frontier outwards(see figure below), because they are more likely to invest in storage, supply chain and other capital g oods.Retail sector is expected to expand by leaps and bounds in the near future and this would create a lot of jobs. The advancement of technology though can also reduce the manpower required in the long run and the jobs created over a period of time may get killed. The entry of multi brand retailers may also adversely impact the local kirana walas, because they will be able to recover there fixed cost easily and gain from economies of scale. Further, because all food and grocery require very similar capital investment, they also stand to gain from economies of scope.Figure: Expansion of Production Possibility frontier (not by reducing consumption but with introduction of new technology) RECENT TRENDS Growth of Modern Retail India moved from being 10th largest economy in 1990 to 4th largest in 2010 according to Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). The growing economy has driven the growth in per capita income of Indian consumers. Indian retail sector (organized and unorganized) has grown by 14. 5% from 2006-07 to 2011-12 and is valued at $396 billion out of which 5-6% is the share of organized retail.Organized retail has had growth more than double of total retail. With the overall rise the penetration of organized retail sector has increased and is expected to grow its share to 10% by the year 2016. Changing shopping behavior Shopping behavior has changed over time, with growing urbanization there has been rise in affluence and growing attraction towards branded goods. The parameters over which modern retail has been faring better than traditional retail are product assortment and range, quality, everything under single roof model. FDI in retail FDI in Single Brand:In 2006, FDI in single brand retail was permitted to the extent of 51% which has recently been increased to 100% in Jan, 2012. There is also a mandate of sourcing of goods from local SMEs and local dealers. FDI in multi-brand sector: International retailers are allowed 100% ownership in cash ; carry whol esale trade stores. But similar initiative in multi-brand retail stores, i. e. allowing 51% FDI has been met by widespread rejection and has been put on hold. Online Retailing Online retailing is gaining popularity in India with growing penetration of internet.It is expected that online retail will triple in size by 2014-15. It will be dominated by branded, low ticket size, easily transportable, lifestyle products and books. Flipkart and Yebhi. com have already established themselves as major players in this segment in the Indian market. Challenges posed by recent developments Indian government intended to bring 51% FDI in multi-retail sector but due to its widespread opposition, it has not been approved yet. This has put entry of world’s leading retail chain in Indian market. A lot has been said about possible loss of potential job and infrastructure development due to this.Besides that the suggested provision of sourcing from local SMEs is also proving to be a deterrent. IN DIA AND THE INTERNATIONAL MARKET The graph below shows India’s status wiz a wiz status of organized retail in other countries. It can be observed that India still has a long way to go if it wants to increase the share of organized retail in the retail market. Figure: Organized retail as a percentage of total retail in different countries Source: CRISIL In the second half of the 20th century, many countries opened up there markets for Organized Retail and some also opened for multi-brand retail.There were some countries who felt a positive impact of the same, China is one such example; while there were others such as Uk which were adversely affected. India should also proceed with implementing FDI in multi-brand retail in phases, looking for any drawbacks, before it opens up fully. REFERENCES CRISIL Research, http://crisil. com/research/list-of-industries. html# Dun and BradStreet, http://www. dnb. co. in/IndianRetailIndustry/overview. asp Indian retail News, http://www. india retailnews. com/ Tata group official website, http://www. tata. com/company/profile. aspx? ectid=oH90Rc8X7Dg= Croma retail, http://www. cromaretail. com/ FDI in Retail, http://cci. gov. in/images/media/ResearchReports/FDI%20in%20Indian%20Retail%20Sector%20Analysis%20of%20Competition%20in%20Agri-Food%20Sector. pdf Futures group Official website, http://futuresgroup. com/ BIBLIOGAPHY Economics by Samuelson and Nordhaus ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Lifestyle formats include departmental stores and specialty stores [ 2 ]. Value formats include supermarkets and hypermarkets [ 3 ]. Retailers can use price differentiation to gain from the consumer surplus [ 4 ].Private  labels or private  brands  Ã‚  are the brands that are owned and sold by  Ã‚  retailers at their stores   and are typically  priced lower  (5-15 percent)   as compared to  the existing  brands. [ 5 ]. These factors will result in a shift of demand curve to the right [ 6 ]. Source: CRISIL [ 7 ]. Organised retail penetration expected to cross 10 per cent by 2016-17 [ 8 ]. In such cities, the number of market players is very large forming a monopolistic market, brand positioning thus becomes very important to create great brand recall value. [ 9 ]. Unique Selling Proposition [ 10 ]. Opened up multi brand retail in phases.

Canadian T3 Tax Slips for Trust and Mutual Funds Income

A Canadian T3 tax slip, or Statement of Trust Income Allocations and Designations, is prepared and issued by financial administrators and trustees to tell you and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) how much income you received from investment in mutual funds in non-registered accounts, from business income trusts or income from an estate for a given tax year. Quebec residents receive the equivalent Relevà © 16 or R16 tax slip. Deadline for T3 Tax Slips Unlike most other tax slips, T3 tax slips do not have to be mailed until the last day of March the year after the calendar year to which the T3 tax slips apply. Sample T3 Tax Slip Canadian Tax Form T3 2018.   Canadian Revenue Agency The Canadian government creates a new T3 each year, so be sure your advisor downloads the most recent form. That site includes a standard pdf version of the form that the financial administrator of your trustee can print and fill out; and an electronic version that allows him or her to fill it out online. The sample T3 tax slip  from the CRA above is from the 2018 tax year and shows you what to expect. The information required for this form includes your recipient identification number (social insurance number or business number), the cash amount of income from dividends you will need to report, capital gains, capital gains which are eligible for a deduction, and any other income. Most of that will come from your relevant financial administrator per trust or mutual fund. See the second page of the downloaded PDF form for more information on what is included in each box. Filing T3 Tax Slips With Your Income Tax Return When you file a paper income tax return, include copies of each of the T3 tax slips you receive. If you file your income tax return using NETFILE or EFILE, keep copies of your T3 tax slips with your records for six years in case the CRA asks to see them. If you decide to file your T3 slips online, you can use either Internet file transfer (XML) or web forms. Details on that process are available on the Canadian Revenue Agency website, Filing Information Returns Electronically. Missing T3 Tax Slips If you have trust or mutual funds income and havent received a T3 tax slip as you reach the CRA filing date, get in touch with the relevant financial administrator or trustee. If necessary, file your income tax return by the deadline anyway to avoid penalties for filing your income taxes late. Calculate the income and any related deductions and credits as closely as you can using any information you have. Include a note with the name and address of the financial administrator or trustee, the type and amount of trust or mutual funds income and related deductions, and what you have done to get a copy of the missing T3 tax slip. Include copies of any statements you used in calculating the income and deductions for the missing T3 tax slip. Other Tax Information Slips Other tax information slips include: T4 - Statement of Remuneration PaidT4A - Statement of Pension, Retirement, Annuity, and Other IncomeT4A(OAS) - Statement of Old Age SecurityT4A(P) - Statement of Canada Pension Plan BenefitsT4E - Statement of Employment Insurance and Other BenefitsT4RSP - Statement of RRSP IncomeT5 - Statement of Investment Income