The Doctrine Of God Theology Religion Essay

The Doctrine Of God Theology Religion Essay Many people find the study of the principals of Christianity to be interesting and even intriguing. For some, however, the interest goes well beyond idle curiosity. For this group of truth seekers, a hunger for knowledge and truth drives them to dedicate years of their lives to the pursuit of deeper and meaningful insight into what it all means. They dive into their studies: reading, analyzing, listening, discussing, and debating the issues surrounding creation, divinity, and human relationships with nature, one another, and deity. Though their paths may be diverse, they share the universal hope that their efforts are fruitful; that they are able to tell the story of Jesus Christ, the history of the Christian church, and share the message of a loving Creator in a way that will have a positive impact on humanity and be pleasing to God. This is where my colleagues and I find ourselves today. We are charged with explaining what we have read, heard, learned, and understand, and the magni ficent task of doing so with clarity and authority. The greatest challenge of sharing this message of hope, that is both exciting and challenging, is to be able to teach it (and live it) in a way that is not hypocritical or exclusive. While some are passionate and some are curious about the gospel message, there is still an entirely different group of people who are affected by it: those who are ignorant of Christian teachings and those who have negative feelings toward them. It is perhaps the majority of society, whom we should be reaching out to. Those people who are living outside of religion and spirituality are doing so because someone failed to share the message of God with them, or because someone failed to share it effectively. I believe there is more danger in being ineffective in sharing the message than in not sharing it at all. I grew up a pseudo-Southern Baptist. I say pseudo because my familys attendance at church was very inconsistent. We were faithful to attend church at least once a month, maybe twice in some months. I was never involved in youth activities, vacation bible school, or bible study groups. I did not have a close group of friends within the church. My experience with pew sitting included hellfire and brimstone sermons delivered by preachers who were well-versed in salvation founded in fear rather than faith. It is easy to imagine that, for me, church was not a place where I felt peace or grace. I eventually stopped attending church altogether during my teens. I had not felt any affirmation or nurture during my church experiences, so for a long time, all I felt I was missing was the guilt and fear I associated with church membership. I stayed away for about fifteen years before I felt God calling me to a relationship. Shortly after meeting Christi, who would soon become my wife, we visited the United Methodist Church with our daughters. It was then that I became deeply involved in a bible study for the first time in my life, and so much of the gospel message from my hit-and-miss church attendance finally began to make sense. We began to participate in several church activities with our children, volunteering in youth events, Sunday School activities, mission projects, and small group bible studies. It wasnt long before I was drafted into the church praise band, leading worship on Wednesday nights and at the early service on Sunday mornings. I had known for a while that I had a desire to serve more fully, but it was through a very unexpected event at church that I was rapidly introduced to full-time ministry. Stepping out on faith, I was hired as the youth minister and soon became a licensed local pastor. This served my purpose temporarily, but it did not provide fully for the kind of education I felt was necessary to preach and teach in pastoral ministry. The more tha t I learned during this time of rapid growth and awakening, the more I hungered for even more knowledge. My understanding of Christianity and church membership has since changed drastically from the narrow-minded perspective I had maintained throughout my childhood and well into adulthood. My perspective has shifted and my understanding continues to evolve. There are things which had no importance to me at all, that have become priorities. I have grown passionate about social justice and have gained a true appreciation for programs that promote the wellness and interests of women, children and others who are oppressed or marginalized. I have felt a calling to be a voice of support for women in ministry; to support their ministries and ensure that they are fully enabled to accomplish all of the good that they can, particularly in areas of ministry that they can be far more effective than a man could be. I feel strongly about the importance of encouraging inclusiveness in the church. I believe that it is important for all Gods people to have a place to participate in corporate worship. Church membership should not exclude members of the gay and lesbian community, as we all are in desperate need of feeling ever closer to God. There are several mainstream congregations within our communities that would not welcome gay or lesbian individuals into their churches. It is often openly and overtly preached against such blatant sinners becoming church members. I believe that none of our own sins can fairly or accurately be judged. Inclusiveness must be an overriding theme in all areas of the mission field. We are called to go make disciples and since we are all sinners, we would be hard-pressed to make disciples among those who are perfect. Our worship space and our church families should be places that are welcoming and inclusive, rather than rejecting and exclusive. If we are to model ourselves after Jesus, the Christ, we must remember that our savior ate with sinners. In those examples of love and forgiveness, Christ showed us the perfect model. If we are to be like Him, we must remember all those on the fringes; not just those who are victimized, but also those who are marginalized of their own poor choices. I believe that Jesus is my example and I am to model myself after Him. This is my calling. Prolegomena- The central theme of the Bible is God calling us, Gods people, back into a relationship with God. If we believe this, then we can only accomplish this restored relationship by ensuring that all of Gods people have not only the chance, but the understanding of what that relationship means. But, for many, the Bible is a strange writing. It is filled with stories and situations and language that are not easily understood. In fact, for many, it is like a foreign language. In addition, as I have come to experience in the world of theological education, there are so many terms that are indecipherable to the common person. We take our knowledge of the Bible and continue to turn it into terms that are still not user friendly. I believe that as theologians and faithful followers of Jesus Christ, we have a responsibility to humanity to give our best efforts to share Gods message with others. We are called by God and by the scripture in Matthew to go out and spread the gospel in order that all people may have the Bible accessible to them and to bring the message of scripture interpreted to them in a language that they might understand. When I use the phrase for the fringes, I am referring to those who are outside the church. For whatever reason, they do not have any affiliation with a church- possibly from a bad experience, never having been exposed, or disbelief. I believe that this is partially what we are being told in the passage from Matthew 25, the least of these. These children of God may be in the far corners of the earth, or in our back yards. They may be from the poorest of society, or they may be in the wealthiest ten percent. They may be pre-teen children, or they may be in the eve of their lives. In any case, I feel as though it is the responsibility of those who know the truth of scripture, the Christian community, to educate in common terms. More specifically, I believe that it is my responsibility, as a response to Gods amazing grace, to make it a priority to share Jesus with everyone that I can, in a language that everyone can understand. Dr. Rieger referenced our God as a fairly radical God.  [1]  This God of creation and liberation is the radical God that can appeal to the masses of those who are believed to be on the fringes, those just outside the church. Some believe that God is only available to those who gather in community and in relationships found within the fellowship and experiences of like-minded persons. We characterize those outside established congregations with terms like unchurched, or underchurched, or lost. The fact that they are not incorporated into an organized body of believers does not make them wrong. Too often the Christian community carries within itself, perhaps even in its doctrines, the belief that God can only be found inside the church. There are some who may even believe that they are the only ones who do church right. As theologians, we are faced with the challenge of presenting good God-talk, rather than bad. Unfortunately, many people experience theology as nothing more than anothers unlearned opinion or agenda, which could be limiting, damaging, or complete destruction. It is the responsibility of every person to seek knowledge and to share that knowledge. The Doctrine of God- Theology begins and ends with God. In an effort to firm our theological stance, we seek resources to support what we have learned and understand of God. The Bible and other historical documents are not written to provide proof of God, but to show what God has done, what God is doing, and what God is yet to do. They are, in fact, a documentation of Gods existence throughout history. Of these resources, there is no place better to start than with the Bible. In Genesis, we see that God created the heavens and the earthà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. and God swept over the face of the waters.  [2]  We see evidence of Gods existence at the beginning of time. However, Gods existence in the lives of the individuals is measured not by the accounts of others, but in the relationships and experiences of the individuals. The book of Deuteronomy, chapter 26 carries a hidden creed showing that the God of mercy and love delivered the writer from captivity and bondage. We cried to the Lordà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil and our oppression. The Lord brought us out of Egyptà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.with a terrifying display of power.  [3]  Throughout the text, a merciful image of God is evident as God helped liberate a people from their captors. The Word shows that while being a God of great mercy and faithfulness, and love, that there is the existence of a God who can be terrifying. Both characteristics are contained within the same account. But, the testimony would not carry the same effect had it not been in a relational setting. The oppression and captivity were very real and very personal to the writer; also the action of God was also very personal. It is through these kinds of stories that the God of our Christian faith can be better understood. God has been presented to us with many attributes. These include Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer, omniscient, omnipotent, holy, loving and forgiving, to name a few. Perhaps the best defining words for God would be self-existent. The fact that Gods existence does not rely on anything but God is somewhat overwhelming. The challenge is not only to gain a personal understanding of who and what God is, but to be able to effectively articulate God to others. This is the mystery of God. God can be described as everywhere, yet among us. God is said to be the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.  [4]  These terms provoke questions within those who do not have a relationship with God. God has been said to be all things to all people. It is through these examples that we begin to gain an understanding of the enormity of God. God is immeasurable through our human understanding. We cannot possibly have a complete understanding of God. To simply say that God is Chri st leaves God somewhat boxed and therefore not the true God. Origen said that God is incomprehensible, transcending being itself. God is known only by inference from the created order.  [5]  We see the presence and existence of God through the world around us. God is seen in the actions of neighbors and strangers. The God of creation is seen through the beauty of nature and in the faces of our fellow humans. God said in Genesis 1:26, let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness.  [6]  It is clearly seen that God is intentional in Gods communion with humankind. Biblically speaking, the image of God can be seen in each and every person. John Wesley referenced in his Sermon 111, the scripture found in Jeremiah 23:24, Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? Says the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth?  [7]  Both John Wesley and biblical scholars agree that we see through this scripture that God is both immanent and transcendent. God exists entirely in this world and beyond. But the way that God is go ing to be seen in each persons perspective is going to depend on where this person is in his or her life. God will meet us where we are at. The circumstances that surround a persons life will shadow how God is viewed. A person who is suffering from loss, or poverty, or oppression might view God as uncaring, or distant. Whereas a person who is experiencing success- either socially, financially, spiritually, and relationally, may see God as very involved in their lives. It is those times where it is easier to see and acknowledge the existence of God. It is much harder to give God credit when times are hard. But the bridge to a better understanding of God is putting the two together and showing where God is present throughout. Trying to completely describe God would be failure. We cannot accurately speak of Gods greatness. Too many facets would be left out, and that would illustrate a God who fell short of the God that we have in our midst. Explaining the Trinity is equally difficult. As theologians, we are to be able to put into words that the three- God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all one. In our limited ability to understand, we seek to make sense not only to ourselves, but others. The Trinity may be likened to a full chord on a guitar. Each note, or string, has equal responsibility and equal worth. Each has its own tone and depth. But when all the notes are played simultaneously, the chord makes a complete and beautiful sound- a harmony, a relationship. This is how the Trinity works. As previously discussed, God the Father, Creator is with us always, from the beginning of time. As Christians, we understand that each point of the Trinity is equal to the other two. There is no subordination. If subordination were the case, the idea of the Trinity would be pointless. A wonderful example of the Trinity in modern writing would be illustrated in the book The Shack. The main character has suff ered loss and brokenness and experiences all three facets while dealing with his circumstances. Though based on a fictional account, the lesson of each point of the Trinity, being in harmony with each other rings true. Each point of the Trinity was able to help the character in a different way. Understanding God and the Trinity has and will be a continuous journey. As we move and study and live, the presence and knowledge of God will move within. Our understanding will change daily, as will our maturity in explaining. By helping others to identify God in their own personal experiences and relationships, we have a greater chance of helping them to understand scripture and the greatness of God. The Doctrine of Jesus Christ- Jesus Christ the Son, born of a virgin, is both fully divine and fully human. Jesus came and lived among sinners and died for our sins. This is the general idea of what Jesus Christ is to the world. But, there is so much more to the idea of the Son of God. The Christian faith says that the most significant way in which it has been able to see God present within the world is through the life, work, and legacy of Jesus Christ. It is claimed that Jesus Christ is the physical embodiment of God in the world. Jesus himself is not all there is to God, but He is God as God has chosen to physically manifest Godself in the midst of Gods creation. The historical Jesus is the Jesus of today, acting in history. In Mark 8:29, Jesus asks, Who do you say that I am?  [8]  It seems that the world has been trying to answer the question since it was asked. The problem is that many different people have many differing answers. Or is that a problem. For some, He is simply a man who lived over two thou sand years ago. To others, He was a prophet, much like Elijah. To some He was a politician, or a public figure that was well known and killed for His views. And yet to many of us, He was a man, who lived over two thousand years ago, who was able to tell us things that were of another dimension, who was political and stood for a cause greater than we could humanly imagine. And then, just as He said, He would be betrayed by a close friend, arrested for upsetting the higher political figures, and murdered- all the while, changing the course of history and the future of the world. Jesus only had a short ministry, but the magnitude of things done in that time would shape a faith that give millions hope and peace all over the world. He began by assembling a group of men who were not in the upper crust of society. He never promised wealth or position, something that the average person might aspire to achieve, but instead offered life, unlike they had ever experienced before. These young men would have been the blue collar workers of our times. They understood what it was like to work long hours for very little pay. Most of them were barely educated. But Jesus saw something in them and He chose them to help Him carry the message- His message. Much of the time, they did not understand the words or actions of this man. He spoke unlike anyone had ever spoken. He used parables to teach them how to live and how to love. He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, cleansed the lepers, raised the dead, ate with sinners, and basically drew outside all the lines of societ al normalcy. Jesus spoke of a kingdom not of this world where we would go to be with the Father. Jesus spoke about loving their neighbor and forgiving them of their wrongdoings. He challenged them to carry His teachings to the world. And this message was for the multitudes of people who believed, and followed. We are the disciples of Christ who are called to take this message now. The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit- In the Old Testament, we see the Spirit connected with deep experiences, through which its power might overcome an individual, it may rest upon an individual, or might be poured out over many people.  [9]  In the New Testament, this spirit is identified with Jesus Christ and is the bringer of justice, mercy, and the complete knowledge of God to the Jews and Gentiles alike. The idea that the spirit will be poured on the many- ie, Male and female, old and young, slave or free, as well as people of other nations, languages and cultures was radical considering the context of the time. The Spirit was granting knowledge to the outcasts. Not only were the wealthy and privileged receiving it, but so were the common folks.  [10]  We are told in scripture, beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God.  [11]  In fact, considerable time and study has been spent in exploration of this topic. The subject of spiritual warfare comes to mind. There are spirits that work daily in our lives. Theses spirits are not for the good of us, rather the opposite. The Holy Spirit is that presence that is carried within us every minute of the day. It is often the guidance that we seek when making a difficult decision. This Holy Spirit lives in contrast to the negative spirits. It is the spirit of both our God and Creator, as well as the spirit of Jesus Christ the Son. And this Holy Spirit will not act always the same way. Our individual needs and context will cause the spirit to respond in Its necessary capacity. Wisdom scripture say that the spirit has filled the world and holds all things together.  [12]  It is through our personal experiences that we see the Holy Spirit at work. It is often masked as the nudging to participate or to not participate in any given activity. It is the feeling or calling of reaching out to those who are in need. We see the holy Spirit at work in the actions of others who show grace and compassion when their situations would not ordinarily warrant it. The Holy Spirit is the third element of the trinity, and is God and Jesus both active within our everyday lives. The Bible is a collection of all that God has said and done, as seen and recorded through the words of persons who were inspired to write by the Holy Spirit. It is a good example of how the Spirit works and speaks in their time and situation. The image of the spirit, in both the Old Testament and the New Testament is that of wind or breath.  [13]  In the Book of John, Jesus promises the spirit as encourager to come after He is returned to God. I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truthà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦he abides in you and he will be in you.  [14]  The Holy Spirit is God living in us. And the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  [15]  The work of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives, just like in the lives of the Old Testament and New Testament people, helps to offer guidance even in our darkest hours. The battle that goes on within- should I or shouldnt I? is the direct activity of the Spirit, working against the evil and sin in our lives. It may be very complex and often difficult to explain, but the fact is that the Holy Spirit is simply our God, the Creator of all things, living inside, present at all times. The Doctrines of Creation and Providence- The doctrine of creation tells us that God is the source and the Creator of all things. God is the Creator of the universe as well as individual human existence. All life comes from God and all life returns to God. We are told in Genesis 1 that God created and saw that everything was good. We have no doubt that God was pleased with creation.  [16]  Creation, however, is not simply a process that was. Creation is a continuous, ongoing process in which God is actively involved- a relationship between God and the world. Throughout Biblical history, we have seen the hand of God at work, primarily in the acts of creation. For example, this is evident in the story of the flood, through the imagery of the olive leaf returned to the hand of Noah by the dove. We saw God establish the covenant afterwards, the creation of Israel, and then the creation of a new community of faith through Jesus Christ. These are just a few examples of the love that God has continued to show for Gods creation. We have to be able to share that creation did not create itself. It is the gift of a God who is love, and through this gift, we are shown the magnificence of God. But why did God create the earth and everything in it? Some have pondered that God was lonely, so God created. We believe that God is complete in Godself. We have already established that God is self-existent and ultimately that Gods existence does not rely on anything but God. with that in mind, it does not make sense, even to or limited understanding of this all-loving God, that God would become lonely and subsequently create. Karl Barth believed that God was radically separate from this world. Barth said that the One who loves in freedom was acting out of no external necessity but freely creating simply because love seeks to share its goodness.  [17]  This loving God that we worship, and often fear, is seeking to share Gods greatness. Through creation, God begins the relationship with humanity, not out of need, but out of love. John Calvin said, Gods providence is not that by which God idly observes from heaven what takes place on earth, but that by which, as keeper of the keys, he governs all events.  [18]  According to Wood, in the Oxford Handbook of Systematic Theology, we are not to believe that we are tied to our situations simply because God has willed it that way. This God who sends pain has also sent the means to alleviate it. The God who sends flood and fire has given is the intelligence to prevent it from happening, or to minimize its harmful effects.  [19]  Providence is Gods divine guidance and care. God the Creator is continues as the sustaining force for creation and the guiding force for human destiny. But why would a loving God allow evil into the world. Placher points out that often, we just dont have answers, but we might look at a few possible reasons. Sometimes good is not possible without evil, humanity abuses its freedom and the result is evil, evil helps refine our souls to be what God would have us to be, or simply that God allows some limited evil to act in the world.  [20]  It is only through Gods grace that humanity experiences free will. Sometimes, our choices through this free will cause us to be in harms way. Gods allowance of evil helps humanity to become the people God would desire us to be. Plainly speaking, we learn from our mistakes and through trials, we turn our hearts toward God. In the end, our relationship to God is strengthened, as is our witness to others. The Doctrine of the Human Creature- The problem with the issue of human being is that we all believe that we have a complete understanding of human being. And because we already know about the human being, we tend to work from that assumption. Our human condition, or human creature, or human existence is based upon our relationship with God. When we have a relationship with and we follow Jesus Christ, we become more fully human.  [21]  We are told that the human creature is not just individual, but collective, as well.  [22]  Our humanness comes with both possibilities and limitations. There is something in the individual, and in that individuals desire for personal success that is adverse to the human creature. We are qualified by the claim that what distinguishes them as specifically human is that God creates them in the image of God.  [23]  The one who is created in the image of God seeks to form and sustain loving and caring relationships with God and other human beings. When the humans desire to achiev e personal success overlaps the desires of another, conflict is created. Often in conflict, healthy relationships are not nurtured. This conflict is called sin. The Doctrine of the Church- The church is the people of God.  [24]  Though there are many divisions, facets, communities, denominations, the church stands as the people, the body of Jesus Christ, who founded the church and charged us with the task to go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  [25]  God will speak where God will and the community will form around where God is. The role of the church is to re-present Christ to the world.  [26]  In a recent lecture, Dr. Rieger alludes to a personal struggle that was similar to the struggle of Luther, Wesley, Barth, and Bonhoffer. That struggle was not about the people not believing, but that the people were being taught wrongly and therefore believed wrongly. Rieger offers that rather than idealizing the church, we begin to analyze the church. To do this, we must look at the four marks of the church to function as a framework for our analysis. First, we look at the unity of the church- One holy, catholic, universal church. But we are not one church. We have both social threats to church unity, as well as theological threats. One threat is segregation. We are primarily segregated. Racially, church is referred to as the most segregated hour in America- from 11am to 12 on Sunday morning.  [27]  Class stratification is not easily overcome, especially in America. If we are really interested in the unity of the church, we have to address the issues that divide us. We are also divided by our differing doctrines. As a United Methodist now and formerly a Baptist for 35 years, I appreciated the joke about a Methodist being a Baptist that can read. There is humor intended in the statement but the sad truth is that Baptists, United Methodists, Catholics, Presbyterians, Church of Christ, and Pentecostals have been divided in their beliefs for ages. In addition to these differences, we also create divisions with the Jewish people. W e believe that the new covenant of Jesus Christ has somehow nullified the covenant of God with Israel in the Old Testament. Instead, we need to look to our similarities, oppose anti

State Auditing

STATE AUDITING IN THE PHILIPPINES Reported by: MYRLA P. SEDENIO RUTH C. TACUJAN A. OBJECTIVES I. To Discuss the State Audit System 2. To Identify Issues and Limitations of Government Auditing 3. To Discuss the Measurement of Government Performance B. INTRODUCTION The Philippine Constitution emphasizes the importance of accountability in the government. Article XI simply and bluntly begins: â€Å"Public office is a public trust,† before it adds that officials and employees should serve the people with â€Å"responsibility, integrity, loyalty and efficiency.    In the government budget cycle, accountability is laid down by the need for government agencies and departments submit to submit quarterly and monthly income statements; statements of allotment, obligations and balances along with other financial reports and documents for audit – a formal process whereby the authenticity, accuracy and reliability of financial accounts or transactions are checked and approved.The re are several kinds of audit: One is Financial Auditing wherein financial transactions and accounts are checked to ensure the submitting government agency has complied with the rules and regulations, specifically the pre-agreed and government accounting system. Another type is Performance Auditing whereby one is looking at the systems of the agency to assess it has delivered on its institutional purpose and mandate by linking the budgets with results or results-based budgets. An internal audit, as the name suggests, an internal check on agency systems and processes.External Auditing involves an outside audit body being brought in to look at the agency. Pre-auditing refers to auditing by agencies before approval of transactions while post-auditing is auditing by an independent body after. The Philippine government has agencies mandated to ensure accountability and transparency on its overall operations. These agencies are: The Office of the Ombudsman, Sandiganbayan, Presidential Ant i-Graft Commission, the Civil Service Commission and primarily, for the purpose of this paper, the Commission on Audit. C. STATE AUDIT SYSTEMAuditing is the examination of information by a third party other than the preparer or user with the intention of establishing its realibility, and the reporting of the results of this examination with the expectation of increasing the usefulness of the information to the user. Commission on Audit The Commission on Audit (COA) is the constitutional commission mandated to be the supreme audit institution of the government. It has jurisdiction over national government agencies, local government units, government-owned and controlled corporations and non-government organizations receiving benefits and subsidies from the government.The Constitution identified the following functions for the Commission:   1. Examine, audit and settle all accounts pertaining to the revenue and receipts of, and expenditures or uses of funds and property owned or hel d in trust by, or pertaining to, the government; 2. Promulgate accounting and auditing rules and regulations including those for the prevention and disallowance of irregular, unnecessary, excessive, extravagant or unconscionable expenditures, or uses of government funds and properties; 3.Submit annual reports to the President and the Congress on the financial condition and operation of the government; 4. Recommend measures to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government operations; 5. Keep the general accounts of government and preserve the vouchers and supporting papers pertaining thereto; 6. Decide any case brought before it within 60 days; 7. Perform such other duties and functions as may be provided by law. COA, as the other constitutional commissions are mandated, is headed by a Chairman and two Commissioners appointed by the President and the Commission on Appointments of Congress.It also enjoys fiscal autonomy which means its appropriations must be released regularl y and automatically. The Commission also deploys resident auditors in all national government agencies, local government units and government-owned and controlled corporations pursuant to its mandate to review each agency’s financial operations in a risk-based audit approach. The Commission on Audit (COA) has developed and introduced a risk-based audit approach (RBAA) that emphasizes the need for the auditors to focus on high-risk areas that are potential breeding grounds for graft and corruption.Auditing plays an important role in public finance, the Auditing Code of the Philippines was promulgated in 1979 (P. D. 1445). As it proceeds mainly from the basic law, the Code amplifies, elaborates, specifies, and implements Under the declaration of policy in the Auditing Code, it is stated that all resources of the government shall be managed, spent and utilized in accordance with law and regulations and safeguard against loss or wastage through illegal or improper disposition, wi th a view to ensuring efficiency, economy and effectiveness in the operations of government.COA reports In order to perform its audit functions, COA produces different kinds of reports. A study by the Philippine National Budget Monitoring Project identified and explained each of these: 1. Regular Annual Audit Report of each NGA, LGU and GOCC 2. Consolidated Annual Financial Report for NGAs, LGUs and GOCCs 3. Special Audit Reports 4. Circulars and other Issuances The Annual Audit Reports contain the results of the audit conducted on the financial statements submitted by agencies, local government units and government-owned and controlled corporations to COA auditors.The results are shown in the form of audit opinions indicating how the agencies faired with their financial statements at the end of each fiscal year. The types of audit opinions are: Unqualified (U), Qualified (Q), Adverse (A) and Disclaimer (D). An Unqualified Opinion refers to the â€Å"clean opinion† or the age ncy reflected the results of the financial statements fairly, which means its operations and the financial condition in a period of time based on existing government accounting standards, and in compliance with government laws, rules and regulations.A Qualified Opinion means that an agency reflected fairly except for some specific transactions and/or accounts that have been found to be problematic, either improper, questionable or needs further explanations. Adverse opinion means that the financial statements did not fairly present its results of operations and financial condition of the agency, and are not in compliance with prescribed laws and applicable guidelines. Lastly, the Disclaimer opinion means that â€Å"there is no sufficient basis to form any opinion† for an agency does not keep or submit its records of financial accounts and transactions.An audit report has the following parts: Audit Certificate, which shows the audit opinion, the Financial Statements, Major Fin dings and Observations which explains if there are defects in the compliance of accounting and auditing rules and policies, and Recommendations to the entities. In turn, COA checks if these measures were conformed by the entity on the next year’s annual audit report. The Consolidated Annual Financial Reports on the other hand show the financial performance of the public sector in general.Each level has a volume of the consolidated financial report, one each for NGAs, LGUs and GOCCs. These are based on the audit reports of each entity. These reports contain the financial condition and highlights of agencies, local government units and government corporations. These reports also reflect the financial resources of the government, even the off-budget accounts or funds that are not subject to annual appropriations. Interestingly, these reports are the only source where one can be informed about funds that are not sourced out from appropriations.Special Audit Reports are purposely for investigation, in response to a request by interested parties or by a directive from Congress. The Commission has already undergone special audit reports on the country’s outstanding debt and special purpose funds such as the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act and procurement of the Department of Public Works and Highways. GAFMIS The Government Accountancy and Financial Management Information System (GAFMIS) is a financial database which keeps the general accounts of the government.It is spearheaded by the COA so as to implement its mandated function. Thru this, the appropriations are verified and allotment releases to agencies are ensured not to exceed the appropriations. From the Department of Budget Management (DBM), copies of Agency Budget Matrices (ABM) and Special Allotment release Orders (SARO) are submitted to GAFMIS and these make up the Registry of Appropriations and Allotments. The GAFMIS is also essential because it assists government agencies with th e Electronic New Government Accounting System (e-NGAS).It is a computerized program of the New Government Accounting System wherein budget transactions, allotments and obligations are recorded and monitored electronically. It also helps in streamlining the New Government Accounting System which provides the new accounting policies in the government. Some of the basic features of the new system are the Accrual accounting and One-fund concept. Accrual accounting recognizes the income when earned and expenses when incurred as oppose to recognizing income when cash is earned and expenses when paid.Internal control and the internal control system Internal control is defined as a process effected by an organization's structure, work and authority flows, people and management information systems which are designed to help it accomplish its goals. It is a means by which an organization's resources are directed, monitored, and measured. It plays an important role in preventing and detecting fraud and protecting the organization's resources. Internal audit is an integral part of internal control. It maintains efficiency and effectiveness in operations.It looks at the reliability of financial transactions in reports by making sure that they are in accordance with rules and regulations. Several provisions in the Philippines have signified the internal control in the government such as Section 123 of the amended Presidential Decree 1445, the Administrative Code 1987 and Government Accounting and Auditing Manual guided by worldwide standards thru the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Organization for Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI). The INTOSAI also formulated standards for the internal control systems in the public sector.It has emphasized that internal control systems shall be in line with the characteristics, values and context of the public organizations. In line with these provisions, the Government has formulated the National Government Internal Control System (NGICS) through the efforts of the DBM and resource and reference panels from various government agencies. It serves as a guide to government agencies in putting up internal control systems. It aims to strengthen accountability, safeguard assets, promote efficiency, economy and effectiveness in the operations and adhere with the policies of the organization. D.Issues and Problems of Government Auditing In her public budgeting and accounting class, the late professor Emilia Boncodin stressed some issues on COAs mandate and the accounting and auditing system of the government as follows: 1. The audit system looks only on the agencies compliance with the accounting standards and laws in the financial reports instead of finding if the agencies have properly allocated their appropriate budgets. 2. Reporting of the GOCC’s entire budget What is reported in the government budget documents regarding the GOCCs are the budgetary support to government c orporations or subsidies only.Yet, COA audits the corporate operating expenses on the entire budget of government corporations. 3. Lax in penalizing because COA is limited to recommendatory functions only Adverse/disclaimer audit opinions and recommendations by COA to government agencies do not have the corresponding penalties or sanctions if they are not acted upon and followed. An example is DPWH’s audit report where it has been given an adverse opinion for the past 18 years. 4. Pre-Audit vs. Post audit Each type of audit has its own problems.Post–audit is disadvantageous because it involves final evaluation of financial transaction – that is after the funds have already been disbursed. Pre-audit however, ironically defeats the overall essential purpose of auditing because financial transactions are assessed beforehand. In the past, COA had been operating on post audit basis since 1995-2009 when COA circular 2009-002 reinstituted the selective pre-auditing due to rising incidents and anomalous disbursements. However, Circular 2009-003 in June 16 2009 suspended some of the provisions in the earlier circular to ensure uniformity and consistency in its implementation.On COA reports The Philippine National Budget Monitoring Project has identified the following limitations that affect the importance of COA reports in ensuring accountability: 1. Timeliness COA’s deadline on the submission of reports is not parallel to the schedule of budget preparation. Audit and financial reports must be submitted by end of September while budget preparation time ends in July when the Congress’ session opens. The timings would thus work best if reversed since the reports should serve as aids in reviewing the agencies’ budgets in time for budget legislation.Given the reality, the value of COA’s reports being used as tools to determine the status of government entities in terms of financial performance and compliance with rules are n ullified. 2. Completeness Audit reports of agencies are not completed on time due to inability of personnel and time constraints. In effect, this puts problems in reviewing the budget and in making the annual financial reports. 3. Availability Although COA’s website is useful in terms of the reports posted, many reports from agencies including those from LGUs and GOCCs are currently missing. 4. Contestability of findingsThere are issues on COA’s findings on its reports. First is that the some of the past findings have not been resolved yet or the so-called â€Å"hereditary balance sheets. † An example is the disallowances that must be deducted by agencies to employees. However, these have not been resolved even if some personnel have already left the service or died. Secondly, there is the inconsistency of audit rules by resident auditors. In some agencies, the rules of past auditors and new auditors differ like deductions that were not present in the past have already been installed at the time the new auditor comes to office.The third issue is the unreasonable application of rules and regulations in auditing. Some expenses are disallowed even if it yields good results. The last issue is the inability of auditors to understand the situation of agencies’ operations. The operations have complexities that emergencies become inevitable and it is hard for them to look at the reasons for the issues in operations. 5. Feasibility of recommendations The COA’s recommendations on reports are not always being followed by agencies and these are already beyond the control of the institution. 6. Conflict of interestCOA auditors are still considered as â€Å"mere mortals† that may experience biases, influences and errors in judgment. There are often claims that some auditors are complicit in bribery and graft. On internal control and the internal control system The NGICS has identified the following limitations of internal control: H uman error, i. e. , errors in judgment such as internal auditor’s biases/conflict of interest, negligence, misunderstanding, fatigue, distraction, collusion, abuse, etc. 1. Shifts in government policies or programs 2. Resource constraints 3. Organizational changes; and 4. Management attitudeE. Measurement of Government Performance Under COA Resolution No. 2002-005 dated May 17, 2002, the Special Audit Office was renamed Management Services to expand its services to include: a. Conduct of Value-For-Money audits and related operations review activities. b. Provide management consultancy services to other government agencies in such areas as: * Organization * Strategy Formulation * Financial Feasibility * Strategic Planning * Other related areas c. Coordinate with all offices of the Commission for the purpose of establishing feedback mechanisms on implemented innovations. d.Formulate recommendations to the Chairman on the adoption of the most appropriate systems for the enhancem ent of operations. e. Perform such other functions as may be assigned. Recently, the Office is assigned to conduct Rate and Levy audits. The functions: Conduct of Value-For-Money (VFM) Audit This audit is concerned with the review of management efficiency with the end in view of eliminating waste and promoting efficient use of public funds and resources and the ascertainment of the agency’s effectiveness by determining whether desired results have been achieved and programs have accomplished their purposes and objectives.Approaches in the conduct of VFM audits Agency-based approach An audit of a particular program, project or activity of a selected agency. Government-wide and Sectoral Performance Audits Government-wide and Sectoral Performance Audits are new approaches adopted by the Commission under COA Resolution No. 98-005 dated March 3, 1998. While these types of audits were introduced in 1998, it was only in 2002 that these approaches were operationalized under the COA-U NDP AusAID Project entitled â€Å"Enhancing the Public Accountability Programme of the Philippine Commission on Audit†.Government-wide audit is the simultaneous examination of a management function or activity in a number of government agencies which is expected to provide: * basic data for comparing practices and operations between and among government agencies in the same sector or with the whole government; * collated data of practices in various government agencies that could show the magnitude or insignificance of deficiencies in the system; * audit criteria which are supported by best practices; * awareness on the part of auditors and the auditees of how their agency compares with other government agencies in terms of objectives, functions, operations, internal and administrative controls, and output; and * opportunities to the audited agency for benchmarking with other government agencies.On the other hand, the Sectoral Audit refers to an audit of programs or activitie s that are delivered by more than one government agency and is expected to provide: * an overall picture of how various segments of a program are implemented and possibly lead to the identification of areas where improvements can be introduced; * audit criteria or benchmark for future audits of government programs by various government agencies; * basis for auditors to realize that program difficulties may not lie with a single agency but possibly with the way the agencies involved in the program work together; * an arena for airing program difficulties by audited agencies; and * opportunity for making changes in the program, if necessary.

The Many Firms Involved In Globalization Business Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 24 Words: 7256 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Business Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? Globalization has made many firms to target India because it is one of the emerging market in the world. To enter Indian market is very challenging because of its diverse culture and political system. This dissertation is mainly concentrated on Problems faced by western firms in Indian Economy. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Many Firms Involved In Globalization Business Essay" essay for you Create order Since there are many problems faced by western firms in Indian market the author`s research will mainly focus on problems like , Indian infrastructure, Indian culture, corruption, Indian legal system and political risk. India is a country with a population of 1.169 Billion according to May 2009 census .India is located in the southern part of India called South-Asia. It is the country with the largest democracy in the world and the highest diverse and complex culture in the whole world. The main metro cities in India are Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. The capital city of India is New Delhi and the financial centre of India is Mumbai. According to Desai,R(1999) India is the seventh largest country in the world. The climate of India is always changing. India receive rain from south west monsoon in the month of June- September. In India the national language is Hindi and there are also other 18 official languages. English is spoken mostly in commerce, ad ministration and higher education (Desai,R.1999). The main religion in India is Hinduism followed by Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism and the main Ethnic group of India are Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian25%, Mangoloid 2% and others. The Fiscal year of India starts from April 1st to March 31st. There are 28 States and 7 Union Territories in India and it is the second largest population in the world. Indian Government provides free and compulsory education till the age of 14. The main industry is Agriculture which contribute to two-third of the population and most of people are living in rural areas than urban areas in India. According to (Desai,R.1999) the India is following parliamentary form of govt based on UK Model. The three wings of Indian government are the executive, legislative and the Judiciary. The Executive consist of the President, the vice president and the council of ministers which is controlled by Prime Ministers and the legislature consist of lok Sab ha and Rajya Sabha (Desai,R.1999). The Judiciary of the country is Supreme court. The main political parties in India are Bahujan Samaj Party, Indian National Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party, Communist Party of india (Marxist), Janata Dal and Samata Party (Desai,R.1999). According to 2007-2008 estimate Indias growth in GDP is 6.7% and it is expected to rise 8-10% in the near future and Per capita income is $4139 according to 2007-2008 estimates. In India agriculture contribute to 17.1% of GDP and industry contribute to 19% of GDP .The major trade partners of India are Russia, USA, Japan, Iraq and European union. Since. india is a very big market, so there are number of problems faced by western firms in indian market. when foreign companies coming to india to do business the problem faced by their home country will be different from the host country. There are number of factors like business etiquette, corruption, infrastructure, culture, government policies and intellectual pro perty rights etc. Background According to 2007-2008 estimate the GDP growth of 6.7% makes India, the fastest growing economies in the world and the second fastest in Asia. Indian economy has the second largest car industry in the world and in terms of Purchasing power it is the fourth largest economy in the world. After NYSE, the largest number of companies listed is Bombay Stock Exchange and that is 6,600 companies. It is one of the country in the world that has its own satellites. According to Tholons Research the main client classification in India are Government, Public, Private and Multi National Companies in India. Due to higher growth in GDP, industries like Insurance, Banking and Telecom are in a good growth but in order to remain competitive globally the clients should have proper skills, reduce time to market and also need to achieve the levels of process of standardisation. According to Central Statistics Organisation (CSO) the GDP for 2009-2010 estimates is considered to grow at 7.2% with the se rvice and industrial sector growing at 8.2% and 8.7%. In India consumer markets are divided into urban and rural markets. According to study by (RMAI) Rural Marketing Association of India the rural market is not affected by the global recession so studies shows that there has been increase in rural market by 15% . But Urban area is affected by global recession by 25% according to paper of CII-Technopak. Since Rural market is not affected by global recession many companies like Godrej and Hindustan Unilever are targeting rural markets to increase sales and also increase their marketing efforts to take the advantage of potential rural consumers. It is also targeted by MNC drug companies in order to sell their products in rural markets. Consumer Behaviour is always changing and challenging as people in different states have different tastes and preferences. In India most of the people in urban areas are using luxury goods. The Major Development in Indian consumerism is the rise o f rural market for different basic goods. The Middle class is given high boost to consumer culture and it is expected to grow in future. Due to increase in number of middle class most of the people are shifting from agriculture to service sector. Another Factor that lead to change in consumer behaviour is the credit culture. Now a days Indians are not worried about paying in card as in the past it was most negligible. The rise in credit culture is due to rise in purchasing power of customer. Today Indians are aware of product, price and quality whenever they purchase any products. In the past price plays an important part in purchasing but now Indian consumers consider value for money than price. The reason for increase in purchase power is the rise of number of middle class Indian consumers in Indian market. Factors Affecting consumer behaviour are geographic locations, occupation, purchasing place and environment of the consumer. Cultural factors affecting consumer Behaviour ar e product (colour, design, shape), social practices and decision making by male person in the family etc. In india to do business the etiquette of indian business should be followed and it is very important for doing business and there are number of business etiquette to be understood while doing business in india. In India due to diverse culture the factors like caste, regionalism, religion and language should be considered when doing business in India. In india we should understand the importance of culture when doing business because it is given more importance than business matters in india. The infrastructure should be considered when doing business and the main problem with indian infrastructure it will take long time to make decision in india and also it is time consuming in india , so it will a problem for foreign investors. The problem of corruption is another obstacle faced by western firms in indian market . since corruption is affected in all levels of business firm i n india means we have to give bribe to each and every person of the government staff to get sanction for starting any business in india. The government policies are very long process so it will take months to get a bill passed from government and there are so many problems that needs to understand by western firms operating in india. The detailed explanation of all business difficulty faced by western firms in indian market are explained in the remaining pages of literature review. Purpose of the Study The purpose of this dissertation is to study about Indian market environment and the problems faced by western firms during their operations in the Indian market. Objective of the Study 1: How the Indian government policies cause a problem to the western firms operating in indian market. 2: How western firm should deal with Different cultures of Indian states when doing business in the Indian market . 3: Obstacles faced by western firms in indian Infrastructure. Chapter II Literature Review Literature Review The literature review is the most important part of this project. In order to understand problems faced by western firms in Indian market it is essential to analyse and know about India in a basic manner. India In General -Introduction According to Kumar, R and Sethi, A. (2005) India has the biggest number of post offices, the largest railway network in the world, the second highest number of technically trained manpower and the highest number of students completing from universities every year. The famous diplomat and author Pavan Varma.(2004) describes India as a difficult country to define and characterize ,especially today when they are transition, emerging from shadows of history into the glare of a globalizing world. The task is dealt with obstacles and India is too large and too diverse to allow for convenient cover all labels. In India according to Hindu belief the significant events, functions, meetings and shoppings should be avoided during specific time of each day called Rahukala. Rahukala is connected with the mythical planet Rahu (the seizer) and it is believed that it occurs due to the course of eclipses. In India people who are born in rahukala are not expected to rest in peace, will earn only less money and will not engage much in social well being. According to a leaders global market research firm synovate is said the cricket is the most favourite game to watch on Television that is 93% and also the most watched live video on television that is 74% ,So most western firms who wish to do business in India are using cricket and bollywood actors to promote their products in Indian market. It is said that Indians are most passionate about three things like food, films and cricket(kumar,,R and Sethi,A.R.2005) Causes of Difficulty In Doing Business In India For Western Firms Business Etiquette Business etiquette are the rules governing business in different countries and it is different in different countries. For example rules governing in UK is different from India. It refers to standards and values that is suitable to the people and which is socially acceptable. Rules of Business Etiquette in India The importance of business etiquette include trust, reliability and courtesy which increases the goodwill of firm, increases opportunities in business and helps in developing new business relationship. In india business etiquette depend on culture as different states have different culture so that what is good in one society will be bad for another society. So inorder to have a good business relationship the understanding of culture is very essential and for this the business etiquette will be different by company rules, regulations, region and business speciality. So understanding of business etiquette is very important while doing business in india. There are number of business etiquette when doing business in India. In business meeting always address the Indian businessmen with titles like Professor, Mr, Mrs or Doctor and if no title is given address them using Sir or Madam. In India when doing business do not offer to have alcohol or smoke as most of the Indians are vegetari ans. Indian meeting usually starts with a handshake. Indian mostly use Namaste and by using Namaste in business meeting is a symbol of understanding Indian business etiquette. Business cards should be placed at first meeting when conducting business in India .It should be received and given with right hand and make sure it is given properly otherwise it is shown as disrespect in Indian meetings. It is better that one side of card should be translated in Hindi to show respect to Indian culture in business meetings. When doing business in India, the meetings should be arranged well in advance. The meeting should be well written and should be conformed by phone. Avoid meeting during the month from October to March as it is too hot climate and also during public holidays like Gandhi Jayanti, Deepavali, Idul-ul-fitr Independence Day, republic day etc. (https://www.kwintessential.co.uk/etiquette/doing-business-india.html) When doing business in India Hierarchy plays an important role i n Indian business etiquette whereas in western firms hierarchy is given only less importance. For example in companies the manual work will be done by peon and no one in the office will do manual work to move a desk to other place as this shows that hierarchy plays a significant role in Indian business. In India when doing business Indians always like to keep long term relationship with business partners and Indians conduct business with only those who know them well and trust. So In order to gain trust of Indian business partners western firms needs to build a good relationship with good Indian business partners who know the Indian business conditions and market well in order to succeed in Indian market. (https://www.kwintessential.co.uk/etiquette/doing-business-india.html) When operating business in India, do not shake hands with female staff out of respect and in western firms it is just opposite. When entering business room in India we should greet the senior most person firs t and all important decision are taken by senior most person in India. Punctuality is considered even though 10 minutes late will not matter in India when conducting business meetings. Since Family matters take importance over business last minute cancellation is possible when conducting business meetings. (https://www.kwintessential.co.uk/etiquette/doing-business-india.html) When doing negotiation it usually take long time and also it is very slow and should not be angry and be patient to control it. Dont be aggressive and arrogant when making business negotiation in India. Indian business take decision not only based on PowerPoint presentation, statistical data but also based on emotions, feelings and faith and should avoid high pressure tactics. If Indian business men say I will try or we ll see means they are not interested in business terms. When Indian business successful end negotiation they will end with the offer of dinner and dont neglect it as this may show disrespec t to Indian business culture.( (https://www.kwintessential.co.uk/etiquette/doing-business-india.html) Corruption In India According to Lasserre,2003 corruption can be defined as `the abuse of public office for private gains. It damages the public properties like infrastructure on which the business growth functions causing inaccurate and expensive services(Doh, et al, 2003).Mrs Indira Gandhi told that Corruption is not Unique to India ,it is a global phenomena in an attempt to reduce corruption in politics during her Government rule. According to Pavan Varma Corruption has grown endemically because it is not considered wrong, so long as it yields the desired result. In order to run business smoothly in India many industrialists and businessmen are giving money to politicians to run business effectively. India was most corrupted during licence-permit regime period and it is substantially reduce during the liberalization of Indian economy in 1991whereas in western firms the co rruption is very less. The main reason for corruption is the politicians and business man and lack of fund by government are the factors for the corruption in india. According to UNDP 1998 corruption have most destructive effects in developing countries as it is main obstacles in economic growth and democracy. The studies shows that in spite of recent measures to reduce corruption and improve service delivery there has been wide difference between perception and actual experience about corruption in public services and states like Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have high level of corruption while Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Delhi and Punjab have a medium level of corruption in case of using public service by BPL households( TII-CMS India Corruption Study 2007). The Table below the rank of 11 public services in BPL House hold in india. Table 1: Services Ranked In India Services Rank Police 1 Land Record/Registration 2 Housing 3 Water Supply 4 NREGS* 5 Forest 6 Electricity 7 Hospital 8 PDS* 9 Banking 10 School Education ( up to 12thclass) 11 PDS* Public Distribution System. NREGS* National Rural employment Guarantee Scheme. Source-TII-CMS India Corruption Study 2007. (https://cmsindia.org/highlights.pdf) From the above the table we see that school education is least corrupted and most corrupted is police . From this we can see that basic services are less corrupted than need based services. For starting a business in India need based are very important in India ,since need based are more corrupted it will be difficult for foreign investors to start a business in India. According to Doh et al some scholars said that corruption in india is both pervasive and arbitrary. The studies shows that one third of Below Poverty Line (BPL) household are giving bribes to avail of more than 11 public services in India (TII-CMS Study India Corruption Study 2007). According to The Council of Europe Criminal Law Convention(1999) proposed to harmonize the national law on corruption and also have the right to criminalize both national and domestic bribery and also various forms of corruption. The table below shows the estimates of bribes of 11 public services in BPL Household Table 2 .Estimate of Bribe Services Total Bribe paid in the year (Rs. in millions) Basic Services: PDS* 450 Hospital 870 School Education (up to 12thclass) 120 Electricity 1,050 Water Supply 240 Need based NREGS* 70 Land Record/Registration 1240 Forest 240 Housing 1570 Banking 830 Police 2,150 Total for 11 Pubic Service covered in the survey 8,830 PDS* Public Distribution System. NREGS* National Rural employment Guarantee Scheme. Source- TII-CMS India Corruption Study 2007. (https://cmsindia.org/highlights.pdf) From the above table the we can see that the most important factors for building up a business are police, electricity, land record/registration and Housing which are most corrupted in this table so from this table we can see that it is corruption that will be a major problem for western firms for setting up business in India. Indian Infrastructure Infrastructure assets are the network and physical structure that is used to provide significant services to a society. It is considered as a tangible assets to set up a business , can be regarded as the backbone of the economy. It is broadly accepted that indias infrastructure is filled with weak transport networks, airports, ports that do not meet up with current demand. In this competitive global market it is important to understand that good infrastructure can increase competitiveness both internationally and nationally and also for achieving stable development objectives. In order to achieve good economic growth in the long run it is essential to have a good social infrastructure and education system. Without proper power and latest transport facilities it will not possible to develop economic growth in the long term. According to TII-CMS Study 2005 there is outdated infrastructure in India that means service have improved but infrastructure does not cope up with service growth. For example According to this survey water delivery is most outdated in most Indian states and most of the pipes are always damaged. The infrastructure such as road, telecommunication and electric power ,sanitation are the infrastructural problems faced by western firms when operating in Indian market. Indias commerce and industry minister said that without proper infrastructure we cant continue to grow further that we had now. For example Daniel Vasella the chief exective of pharmaceutical giant Novartis (NVS) said that if you want to build a road in china a small number of people is needed to make a decision but if you want to build a road in india it will take 10 years of discussion before the decision (https://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_12/b4026001.htm ) Reasons for Poor infrastructure In India the reason for poor infrastructure is that modern concepts like just in time production will not work because of lack of modern infrastructure facilities like road, rail, water and supply and due to the problems like crossing the border between different states of India which result the western firms to fear in investing in Indian market(Heymann et al (2007). The slow growth in infrastructure gap is the main reason for the slow economic structure in India. In India both urban and rural infrastructure are worse than expected due to lack of infrastructure facilities . According to UN estimates three of ten largest cities are situated in India and all ten cities in the world are expected to grow by 20% by 2015. According to world bank 2007 no city in India has water 24 hours a day , seven day a week and the metro cities like Bangalore , madras and Hyderabad the quality of water is getting worse. India infrastructure rank on 67th position in the global competitiveness repor t 2007 in comparison with china 52th , Russia 65th and brazil 75th position. (https://www.eastwestcenter.org/fileadmin/stored/pdfs//econwp096.pdf) There are many obstacles for Indian infrastructure and some of them are politics, lack of fund, regulatory framework and so on. In politics the barrier means the political stability of the government that is government interference and breaches of contractual obligations neglect the foreign investors to invest in Indian infrastructure. Lack of fund means the politicians are not using public service and they are using for personal purpose which result the government in shortage of funds to invest in infrastructure facilities. The 12th finance commission recommended that India need an additional grant of INR 150 bn for the four year production from 2006/07 to 2009/2010 in order to build good roads and bridges(Global Insight 2007). In order to increase investment in infrastructure India need a co-operation of public -private partnershi p in order to improve the infrastructure facilities in India. The foreign investors are not willing to invest in Indian infrastructure due to regulatory framework in India. (https://www.scribd.com/doc/927005/450-Bn-Reason-to-Invest-in-Indias-Infrastructure) India have developed many infrastructure plans to improve infrastructure facilities like National Highway Development Programme(NHDP) and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) but does not have an overall infrastructural plan which resulted in delays and so many problems. According to Government of india ( 2006) suggest that India will concentrate on three factors in order to improve infrastructure facilities in India. First one is to improve the broadband service via internet. Second one is to modernise telecom equipment production and third one is to develop network to expand telecommunication service in rural India. In order to increase investment in infrastructure the western investors should be motivated.( https://w ww.scribd.com/doc/927005/450-Bn-Reason-to-Invest-in-Indias-Infrastructure) In concluding remark it is now India understood the importance of foreign investment and the significance of infrastructural facilities in order to increase the FDI flow in India. While investing in India there are three significant risks that needs to be considered when doing business in India. First one is that the issues like rules of the government and distribution should be analysed when making provision of infrastructure . The second reason is that India is a homogeneous country rather than single sub continent. For example that states like Gujarat, Delhi and Maharashtra will a good place for the infrastructure growth in India. Third one is that in India different infrastructure classes have different characteristics so each class have different risk so it should be analysed properly. In order to have a good infrastructure Government needs to shake off it rule of bureaucracy , political system and sh ould decrease corruption. (https://www.dbresearch.de/PROD/DBR_INTERNET_DE-PROD/PROD0000000000218232.pdf) The Culture factors when doing business in India. The scholar and business author describes culture as the The collective programming of mind and explains that it lies between human nature on one side and individual personality on the other (Hofstede 1991). According to Harris P. R and Moran R.T (1987) defines culture as A distinctly human capacity for adapting to circumstances and transmitting this coping skill and knowledge to subsequent generations. Culture is a shared value and is derived from social environment and not from family genetic . Culture is a group development and culture is different in different countries. According to Trompenaars (1993) culture is a collective way in which a group of people interpret and understand the world. The indian culture is totally different from western culture and the importance of culture is very essential when doing business in india as india is have large number of diverse culture in different states , so it is must for western firms to analyse each state culture to do business in india. According to Zaidman (2001) he said that in order to succeed in India, is to understand the tradition and way of communicating with others which form the basis of Indian society. It is said that religion is the way of life and should be respected to maintain a good business relationship in India ( Gorill 2007). According to Hoecklin,L (1995) warns that cultural differences if not properly handled can lead to costly misunderstanding, business failure and management frustration. According to J.B.P.sinha et al (2002) Indians maintain collectivistic behaviour when they are talking to family members and they behave individualistic manner when are dealing with non family members. Indians use both individualistic and collectivistic according to different situations. Indians use individualistic behaviour to gain collectivistic aim and use collectivistic behaviour to gain individualistic aim.(Kumar and Sethi,2005) So it will be difficult for western manager to cope up with In dian manager behaviour in business. An example of KFC about how culture become a problem when doing business in india. The failure of KFC to cope up with Indian culture. Even though it opened its main stores in metropolitan cities like Delhi and Banglore it faced many obstacles from many competitors and also from small business. The main reason for that they did not direct control with local partners for help and support rather than direct control. Then they advertise using western ideas which is not used by Indian as Indians are mostly dont accept foreign culture . So in order to succeed in Indian we should analyse the Indian market condition first and also understand the political climate of India market to remain competitive in India.(Marita Von Oldenborgh ,1996). In Indian Culture hierarchy plays an important role and also considered as the major part of the Indian civilization. According to J.B.P.Sinha ( 2005) hierarchical orders denote that whole cosmos and everything w ithin it animate as well as inanimate- are arranged in a hierarchical order of being superior to same and inferior to others. Due to Hierarchical order decision are made by top manager and decision process is very slow . Communication style of Indians are indirect as most Indians are unwilling to say `no`.(Kumar,R.,2007). A Danish manager commented that Indians will tell one thing ,think other and do third thing, ,which is not what Dane would do and this comments shows that Indians will behave differently in different situation(M.L.Hughes,2002). Indians behave in a context sensitive manner and there are three aspects for this like desh (place), kal(time ) and patra (person) (Sinha and kanungo,1997). Due to context behaviour there are number implications for this like it will result in unpredictability and it will loose the trust of the partners, it will create hindrance in communication and it will make a good idea less important( Kumar and Sethi 2005). Since Indians follow h ierarchical order they always depend on superiors for help which is considered a negative for western managers. So Indians believe in nurturant leadership that means Indian employees are more personal than organizational. A good example of this leadership is the case of Tata steel. Russi Mody The former managing director and chairman of the company give the following advice Given the choice between result oriented, rules oriented or people oriented, choose the last one and rest will fall in line automatically( Sinha and Mohanty, 2004).The dependent relationship should be studied by the western managers when doing business in India. .Indians are relatively good in building strategy but they are weak in implementing strategy( Kumar and Sethi 2005). It is essential for the western managers to understand both behaviour and thinking pattern to become successful in doing business in Indian market. Table showing Difference Between Eastern and Western Culture Many scholars argue that there is difference between eastern culture and western .The basic difference between two cultures on societal basis are shown in the below table. TABLE 3: Cultural Solution to Universal Problems SOCIETAL ELEMENTS EASTERN ORIENTATION WESTERN ORIENTATION Human Nature Inherently good and evil Inherently good and evil Activity Being: passive-harmony Doing: aggressive-conflict Nature of Time Polychronic: diffused-phases Monochronic: linear-segmented Time Orientation Traditionalist: past-present Modernist: present-future Law Rule by man: deference to paternalism and reliance on trust Rule by law: deference to rationality and reliance on legal contracts Truth Indirect-Oblique: sometimes best to tell Direct-Honest: always best to tell Human Relationships Collectivistic: meet group needs and group obligations Individualistic: meet individual needs and rights of individual Sources: Adler (1997); Smith(1995); Chen (1995); Xing(1995); Trompenaars(1993); Evans, Hau Sculli(1989); Kelley,Whatley, Worthley Lie(1986). (https://wwwdocs.fce.unsw.edu.au/orgmanagement/WorkingPapers/wp130.pdf) The table above clearly shows difference between western and eastern orientation on societable basis and this table helps to understand the eastern and western culture clearly. But In order to understand more detail about western and indian cultures hofstede theory should be applied. For that two different cultures should be taken. To do this United states is taken as western culture with help of hofstede theory to understand the difference between United states and indian culture. According to Hofstede G.H .(1980) culture is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one human group from another. India have high power distance, low to medium uncertainty avoidance, low individualistic and medium masculinity and united states have low to medium power distance, low to medium uncertainty avoidance, high individualism and high masculinity. The Figure 1 shows the comparison of two cultures like united states and India to show the difference between w estern and Indian culture. The Figure 2 shows the worlds average for hofstede five dimensions of culture and the average score of all countries rated according to hofstede theory. (https://www.geert-hofstede.com/hofstede_dimensions.php?culture1=95culture2=42) (https://www.geert-hofstede.com/hofstede_india.shtml) Main Source: www.geert-hofstede.com Power Distance: United states have low power distance of 40 compared to world average 55. Low power distance is a good sign of equality between societal levels including organizations, government and families. Lower Power distance will result in less centralization and managers are more practical and systemic when doing business.(Hofstede.G.1984). In India the power distance is very high that is 77 compared to world average 56.5 that means there is high inequality of power distance . High power distance cause corruption in the society and also result in downfall of government. In business it will result in higher centralization and managers are not practical and systematic .(Hofstede.G.1984). According to Hofstede cultural dimension United states and Indian culture have very big difference in power distance it might a problem for western firms to do business in India . So western managers will face difficulties in managing organisation and Indian business people. Individualism v/s collectivism: United states have the highest individualist dimension of 91 that is above the average of 43. Due to this united states is more self reliant and individualist attitude. High individualistic managers are creative and always try to be innovate new ideas and importance is given to individual goals and achievement.(Hofstede.G,1984). In India the individualistic rank is 48 with the world average of 40. It means the most of the Indian people are collectivistic. Due to this managers are not creative and innovate in making ideas and they rely on group decision and importance is given to organisational goals. Since the greater distance between India and united states culture exists it will be difficult to manage human resource management in India for western firms operating in India. Masculinity V/s Femininity According to Hofstede masculine culture are more rigid in manner than feminine culture. The united states have masculinity rate of 62 which is above world average of 50 that means there is great difference between gender roles. It means male controls an important part of the society. India have masculinity rate of 56 with world average of 51. It means it is almost same as United states. Since both countries have high masculinity than world average it shows that there is no much gap between male and female role in both countries. Uncertainty Avoidance In this United states have uncertainty avoidance of 46 compared to world average of 64 that means USA have low Uncertainty avoidance with world average. According to Adler 1986 high job mobility are common in low uncertainty avoidance like USA. As India have uncertainty Avoidance of 40 compared to world average of 65. Due to this it is more open to unethical ideas and situations. Even though there is only little gap between two countries it might be problem for western firms. Long term orientation v/s Short term orientation The United States have the lowest Long Term Orientation dimension that is 29 with world average of 55. The low Long Term Orientation dimension will result in meeting its obligations and shows appreciation for culture traditions. India have a Long term Orientation dimension of 61 compared with world average that is 48. It means Indians believe in long term goals than short term goals. So this might be problem for western firms operating in India. The difference between the united states and Indian culture shows the difference between two cultures and also shows what are cultural problems faced by western firms when doing business in India. To conclude there are large number of cultural values to be considered when doing business in India. In order to achieve business objective in India western firms need to consider the factors like to have a good relations with Indian colleagues, should be able to communicate in a good manner and should reach the right person to complete t he task effectively and should co-operate with Indian managers to plan and execute the strategy effectively in India (A.E.Fantini). The factors like leadership styles, decision making process and attitude towards words needs to be considered and also there are cultural norms for joint venture relationship, relationship with government authority and outsourcing partners. So western firms need to understand all these cultural challenges when doing business in India otherwise it will be difficult to western firms to do business in India.(Kumar, R.2007). Effects of Changing government Policies on Foreign businesses India is a country with a high degree of nationalism and unstable democracy which causes many problems for western firms in Indian market. The problems are nationalism, bureaucratic in fighting and corruption.(Kumar, R and Sethi,A.R, 1995). When operating business in india the rules governing indian government should be followed ,which is completely different from international law. One of the best example of nationalism is the case of Pepsi and coke. The non-government organisation claim that pesticide exceed the limit proposed by EU norms. Then the Indian government banned the product but when actual test is taken by central government due to pressure from Pepsi and coke company it shows that the pesticide didnt exceed the level proposed by EU norms. This case shows that how easily nationalism affected in India so it should be analysed properly.(Kumar,R 2007). According to N. Assaine et al(2003), said that in terms of bureaucracy Canadian businesses told that the length of the time, paper work and uncertainty in business transaction were difficult and once signing the contract there is no guarantee for market access. Change in state Government also lead to cancellation of projects and it took years to know the status of the project .So according to Canadian businesses they considered the government rules as one of the greatest barrier in doing business in India. Another major hurdles for western firm to invest in India is corruption. Due to corruption it increase the cost of doing business in India and also have a negative impact on FDI (J.E . Campos, 1998). Indian legal System There are number of business laws and legislation to be followed when doing business in India. Indian legal system follow English common law that accepts international court of justice jurisdiction with reservations and with limited judicial review of legislative act(world fact bank 2003). The Indian constitution was formed in 1950. The constitution of India assures equal rights to all parties and prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender, caste, religion ,race and allows worldwide franchise which makes the India the largest electorate in the world. (https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001context=lps_lsapr) The main parts of Indian constitution law are constitution, statutes (legislation) , customary law and case law. Supreme court is the highest body in the whole judicial system. Each state have high courts and there are many subordinate courts under this .The judges of the supreme court are appointed by president of India. Since the govt p olicies are delayed due to backlogs and postponement of meetings and also due to the lengthy process of Indian legal system most of the companies are solving business disputes through arbitration process. In order to have world wide practice for arbitrary process Indian government have modified and had entered into arbitration service agreement with international organisation like USA and Europe. (Desai,R . 1995). The features of Indian independent judiciary are the power to punish for the contempt, the modus operandi adopted in appointments and the fixed tenure of the judges. It is said that independent judiciary is the backbone of Indian economy and it is independent and example of Indian economy are imitated by the world. (www.aislsnet.org/meetings/ enriching/singh.pdf) Table Showing the barrier Of Government policies In India For western firms Table 4: Indicators of barriers to entrepreneurship in selected regions: Indicator: Administrative burden on: India Latin America OECD* Emerging markets Euro area USA Start up in general: 3.82 2.14 2.61 1.89 1.02 For corporation 4.25 1.85 2.82 2.06 2.06 For sole proprietor firms 4.75 3.17 2.73 2.10 2.10 Source: OECD 2007 OECD*- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (https://www.eastwestcenter.org/fileadmin/stored/pdfs//econwp096.pdf) According to this table we can see that India have high administrative burden than Latin America, OECD emerging markets, Euro area and USA. This table shows that India have a high burden on administration to start up a business and a corporation and sole proprietor firms for western firms when doing business in India. According OECD study India is twice restrictive as OECD emerging markets average due to high economic regulation and administrative burden. Due to bureaucratic regulation in India the German based industrialist says that it took six months to set up a liaison office in India. Almost all foreign companies complaint of procedural delays, higher taxes and less suitable labour law. Due to strict Indian labour law India rank at 96th position in case of Government rules according to Global Competitiveness report 2007-2008. Intellectual Property Rights: It refers to creation of mind that is invention, industrial design for articles, literacy and artistic work, incom es and symbols used in business. (https://www.uhy.com/media/PDFs/doing_business_guides/Doing%20Business%20in%20India.pdf) India has well established intellectual property rights in accordance with TRIPS agreement of the WTO. Indias intellectual property is established in statutory, administrative and judicial levels. Police officers can take action against infringement of Intellectual property rights. The intellectual property includes patent rights, copyrights, trademarks and design act. (https://www.indianembassy.org/intellectual-property-rights.php) Even though it has a good intellectual property rights but according to foreign investors intellectual property rights is weak . An example of this is the case of Novartis shows that the patent right in international pharmaceutical and chemical firms is weak. The Indian controller of patents and designs rejected the Novartis patent Glivec for three reasons like the product is a substitute of a known substance, priority and expectation of earlier use (Sukumar, 2006). But Novartis argued it is accepted in the countries like Russia, china and Taiwan and he told India have violated the of article 14 of Indian constitution.( https://www.eastwestcenter.org/fileadmin/stored/pdfs//econwp096.pdf ) The weak intellectual property in india destroys the livelihood of modern artists and welfare of consumers and workers. India have weak copyright and enforcement system and due to the piracy of copyrighted works like movies, books, softwares are easily widespread. In India since intellectual property are weak it will not encourage prosperity and creativity. In order to prevent the companies like BSA -business software alliance and NASSC- national association of software and service company are teaching customers about bad effects of piracy in India and also development in enforcement is need to prevent pirated goods. Since Intellectual property rights is weak it will difficult for western firms to do business in India. (https://asianforum.jp/topics/2006/pdf/Hudson_III.pdf). International business risks International risks are the risks that a foreign firm face difficulty in doing business in host country than home country and it is completely different from home country. There are number of factors needs to analysed when doing business in host country . Some of the factors when doing business are explained in the following paragraphs. The strategic risk is one factor that affect the ability of firm to make a strategic decision and also have strong consequences on the competitiveness of the firm so this should be analysed when doing business internationally. The political risk like political instability and nationalism factors should be taken when doing business internationally as different countries have different political system. For example the case of Pepsi in india like they were forced to withraw from india due to nationalism like indian government want to protect their own soft drink company.(Lee.K and Carter,S, 2005) The country risk like culture , government pol icies ,economic policies and political conditions should be analysed when doing business internationally as this will affect the business adversely. The legal environment is different in different countries and actually there are three types of law like common law , civil law and Islamic law and this law are developed based ion countrys culture, traditions and religion. The countries often restrict foreign companies to enter new country by imposing tax, trade barriers inorder to protect their own products and companies. (Deresky,H, 2008). The technological factors like outdated technology, lack of security in e- commerce and cost of creating new technology are the problems when doing business in international area and also environment risk like air, water and air pollution which the reputation of the company and economic risks change in exchange rates, foreign investment and monetary policies should be analysed when doing business internationally. In order to avoid risk in int ernational business the firms who are willing to do business in foreign country should conduct risk assessment of each country and need to analyse the risks like corruption, intellectual property rights, ownership barriers etc before entering into a new country.( https://ezinearticles.com/?Risks-in-International-Businessid=1331702). Conclusion India is very huge market with a lot of opportunities in it for the foreign companies. Most of the foreign companies are targeting Indian Market because they have understood the potential in it. Entering a market would be easy but sustaining in the market is the toughest part. There a quiet a lot of companies entering Indian market some are successful some are not one of the main reason is because they do not understand the market well. Some of the main factors these companies should consider while entering market are factors like culture, corruption, government policy, infrastructure and intellectual property rights. Once these foreign companies accept the way India is and should be ready to do business by understanding the problems and the way India is they this business can make the most out of it. Foreign companies should understand Indian culture and the behaviour of the Indian consumers to be success full in India.