China and Japan in East Asian economic development Term Paper

China and Japan in East Asian economic development - Term Paper Example In 1960, the GDP of ASEAN + 3 was approximately 40% of US GDP, with Japan contributing more than 80% of total East Asian GDP, followed by China (Mainland only), with not quite 8%. In 2000, the GDP of ASEAN + 3 was approximately 75% of US GDP, with Japan contributing more than 60% of total GDP, followed by China (Mainland only), which contributed somewhat more than 15%. Japan also leads in GDP per capita among East Asian economies, with almost US$50,000 in 2000 (at market exchange rates), followed by Singapore at US$30,000. In contrast, Mainland China’s GDP per capita was less than US$900 in 2000 (Lau, 2003, p.4) Even though politically and socially two entirely different countries, (China is a communist country whereas Japan is a democratic country), China and Japan play a pivotal role in controlling Asian economy in general and East Asian economy in particular. Even though India, South Korea etc are some other prominent economies in Asia, no other country seems to be as effec tive as China or Japan as far as the influence in Asian economy is concerned. Both China and Japan adopt different methods and philosophies for attaining economic growth. â€Å"Japan is all about the way of doing things. China is all about finding a way to do things† (The difference between China and Japan, 2007). It is often said that Japan gives more priority to quality whereas China gives more priority to quantity because of the superior quality of Japanese products and the bulk quantities of products produced by China. In other words, China tries to reap more profits with the help of bulk production and cheaper prices whereas Japan tries to grow with the help of superior products of higher prices. In the consumer world, Japan stands as a sign of quality whereas China stands as a sign of quantity. It should be noted that some of the reputed brands in global market have its origin in Japan. For example, Sony, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Honda, etc are some of the popular Japanese b rands not only in Asia, but also all over the world. At the same time Chinese products are popular for cheaper prices rather than superior quality. It is difficult for Japanese or American companies to compete with Chinese products in global markets as far as prices are concerned. In short, Japan and China play a vital role in controlling East Asian economy. This paper analyses the role of Japan and China is East Asian economic development. Role of Japan and China in East Asian economic development Japan achieved an average annual rate of growth of real GDP in excess of 10 percent during the decade of 1960-1970 (in fact, between 1955 and 1975). However, due to the two oil shocks, the average annual rates of growth in the two subsequent decades declined significantly to less than 5%. And since 1990 the average annual rate of growth has been below 2%. Despite the considerable slowdown in the Japanese economy during the past decade, China was able to achieve an average annual rate of g rowth of almost 10% over the past two decades, a performance comparable to that of Japan between 1955 and 1972) (Lau, 2003, p.7) Japan was the leading player in Asia until couple of decades before. They were instrumental in shaping the economies of many other Asian countries. They provided lavish grants and financial aids to many of the other Asian counties like South Korea, India, Vietnam, Philippines etc. In India a huge drinking water supply project is still functioning. Moreover, in the 1970’s Japan provided a Yen loan to South Koreas first subway project which helped South Korea immensely in increasing its transportation facilities. â€Å"In the subway network system project, new model subway trains, manufactured under a joint venture between Korean and foreign companies, were introduced. In the course of the joint venture, the Korean manufacturer of the subway trains learned new technology†(East Asia’s economic developm

Critical thinking case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Critical thinking case study - Essay Example 1. Assumes that the new product would help in restoring the old glorious status of AcuScan in the market. 2. Pat assumes that in order to thwart competition, the product must be announced and deployed within eight months 3. Assumes Secur-A Corporation is looking into this new retail opportunity and will come up with "some kind" of retail application in few months time. 4. Assumes that if others disagree with her that means they are not committed to the project and are trying to hamper the progress of the new product. 5. Assumes that producing a new product by August will not be difficult since AcuScan already has iScanner that can help in building the new product faster. 6. Predicts little investment on the part of staff's time and energy, which was one of the concerns, cited by Kelly. 7. Pat is looking for bringing out a new product in the market even if its not high quality for she feels that it's better to be first in the market than being high on quality. 8. Assumed customers would love the new product and actually felt they would be thrilled no matter what the product was. 9. Assumed I was "nit-picking" when tried to gather information. 10. Assumed project could be lent to outside contractors so that it would be finished on time. 11. Sees herself as a leader and a visionary and thus she must communicate her "dream" to everyone else. Chris Martinas - Vice President of Product Development 1. Agrees with Pat on some of her assumptions. a. Secure-A Corporation may come out with a product soon. b. Like Pat, Chris also sees minimal investment of existing staff's time since new product is a modified version of the existing old product. c. Must enter the market fast since speed is the main concern and not quality. d. This new product will help the company attain... 1. Kelly Thomas is of the view that Pat Lambert should not be assigned leadership since she doubts Pat's ability to lead. Kelly assumes that Pat doesn't possess the qualities required to lead "Operation Optimize" since Pat has irrelevant previous experience in a cereal industry. 2. Since Pat was unable to comprehend the term "QC," Kelly assumes Pat has no knowledge of quality control and the difficulties associated with the same. Thus she feels it would be impossible to produce a new product under her guidance. Cliff O'Connor: Cliff believes that a new product would "recapture our position as a market leader with our technology." Cliff further argues that AcuScan needs Pat's creativity. He views "Operation Optimize" as not something too different from the old product iScanner. Pat Lambert: Argues that iScanner should be modified and should be launched in a non-vertical market and sees this as the only viable solution for long-term growth. Pat argues that Kelly initially said it was easier to build on the existing product and create a new product from an old one. Finally, Pat also needs additional funding to hire an outside contractor for the completion of this product on time. After analyzing the situation