...Introduction What is a trade union? The definition of a trade union varies in different countries. A commonly used definition of a trade union is by Webbs (1984), which states that a trade union is “a continuous association of wage earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment”. Trade unions were well-received by the workers during the age of the industrial revolution. During that period of time, workers are in a weaker position as they do not have the power to choose their job, as opposed to their employers choosing their workers (Williams and Adam-Smith 2006). Labours are mainly made up of unskilled or semi-skilled workers. Unskilled workers do not possess any skills thus having the weakest power in employee relations. Semi-skilled workers on the other hand possess some firm-specific skill which gives them some power like in wage settings (Grosfeld and Nivet 1999). Since the goal of the employer is to employ workers at the lowest cost and workers have weak power, they are unable to secure a good wage or benefits. There is also managerial prerogative in which managers have “the right to manage” because they are the “legitimate agent of the employer” and have the possession of certain skills (William and Adam-Smith 2006) resulting in workers having no voice in decision-making. As a result of the difference in power between workers and employers and the lack of voice in decision making, this entices workers to join a trade union. The main...
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...Belgium’s government structure is one of the most complicated systems in the world. Belgium’s government is considered a federal parliament democracy that is ran under a constitutional monarchy. As a constitutional monarchy Belgium is governed by King Albert II. King Albert II holds the title of Head of State. In July of 1993, the constitution was revised allowing Belgium to become more of a federal state. The current Head of the Government in Belgium is the Prime Minister Elio Rupo who has maintained the position since 2011. Also, the legal system in Belgium is a civil law system based upon the French Civil Code and European Union legislative acts. With the implementation of federal state Belgium divided into three levels of government federal, regional and linguistic communities. The federal government is responsible for many aspects of societal issues. The most interesting fact is that there are three regions of government that all have the same amount of authority as Belgium’s central government. Although, the responsibilities of the three regions, within the government are different. The three regional governments of Belgium are Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia. The Flanders region is made up of four Flemish providences Antwerp, Limburg, West Flanders and East Flanders. The Brussels region is made up of 19 municipalities. The region of Wallonia is made of four providences that include Luxemburg, Liege, Namur and Hainaut. The region also consists of a part of Brabant...
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...Belgium Trade Manual: Canada The following document is a report on the current economic, political, cultural, and industry specific (Food) environment in the country of Belgium. This particular manual was specifically compiled for the Sweets Corporation of Toronto, Canada for June of 2011. C o n s u l a t e o f B e l g i u m -‐ T o r o n t o 2 B l o o r S t r e e t W e s t , S u i t e 2 0 0 6 , B o x 8 8 T o r o n t o , O N , M 4 W 3 E 2 Table of Contents Section 1 – Background Information ....................................................................................................... 3 1.1 - Geography ................................................................................................................................................................... 4 1.2 - People .......................................................................................................................
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...November 2010. The system is based on NFC and allows users to pay by tapping their mobile device to a payment terminal. X’s CEO Michael Abbott announced in July 2014 that they would be rebranding the company, and the new name ‘Softcard’ was announced on September 3, 2014.What was Softcard previously known as/why did they rebrand themselves? 6) X investment is an investment strategy in which one investor allows a second investor to control where and how to invest the capital. This is used when one of the parties lacks the ability or confidence to invest for themselves. The strategy will place trust in someone else's ability to gain profits. What is X? 7) Suppose that Austria and Belgium have the unit labor requirements for producing steel and brooms shown in the table below. Then a. Belgium has a comparative advantage in brooms. b. Austria has a comparative advantage...
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...The romans were the first to invade Belgium. Julius Caesar and his armies invaded Belgium in 57 BC and held the Gallia Begicia for 500 years. When the 5th century came around the time when the Roman Empire was collapsing the Germanic Franks took over a part of Belgium and caused Belgium to have a language division where one part spoke German and the other portion spoke Latin. Belgium kept a low profile after they were known for poisoning their chickens and pedophiles. They got sick of it and then kicked out the Christian democrat party that had been in power for 40 years. The country sided with France and Germany against the US-led war in Iraq in 2003. The European Union is a union that has 28 member states that are located in Europe. In 150 the French foreign minister Robert Schuman puts forward a proposal to operate Western Europe’s coal and steel industries. In 10951 the six founding states signed the treaty of Paris, which created the European coal and steel community. In 1973 Denmark, Ireland and the Uk joined the European community. By 2004 14 states were added to the European union. Belgium is one of the founding states of the European union and it is where the head quarters is located. Belgium’s current leader is the prime minister, Charles Michel. He has been the prime minister in Belgium since February of 2011. He is the youngest prime minister in Belgian history. He was born December 21, 1975. Belgium has various religions. They are mostly catholic (58%)...
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...Question: How does international political economy impact on your life in Belgium? Introduction International political economy also known as global political economy is an academic discipline within the social sciences that analyzes international relations in combination with political economy. As an interdisciplinary field it draws on many distinct academic schools, most notably political science and economics, but also sociology, history, and cultural studies. International political economy is concerned with the ways in which political forces (states, institutions, individuals, etc.) shape the systems through which economic interactions are expressed, and equally the effect that economic interactions have on political structures and outcomes. International political economy has various categories that help to describe and explain the different political and economic policies that various states, institutions and individuals may choose to be interested in. These categories are liberal, realist and Marxist. In this essay I will be exploring the different categories and the impact they would have on the international political economy of Belgium. History & Summary of Belgium Belgium is a constitutional, popular monarchy and a parliamentary democracy. It is a small, highly developed and densely populated country with approximately 10 million inhabitants at the cross-roads of Western Europe. Belgium is one of the founding members of the European Community, and its capital...
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................................................................................................ p 7 Beer Consumption 2003-2009 (data) ....................................................................................................................... p 8 Beer consumption 2009 (chart) ................................................................................................................................. p 9 Consumption per capita 2003-2009 (data) ............................................................................................................. p 10 Consumption per capita 2009 (chart) ...................................................................................................................... p 11 Beer on/off trade 2003-2009 .................................................................................................................................. p 12 Beer production / consumption per...
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...Why has world trade grown faster than world output? By Mark Dean of the Bank’s International Economic Analysis Division and Maria Sebastia-Barriel of the Bank’s Structural Economic Analysis Division. Between 1980 and 2002, world trade has more than tripled while world output has ‘only’ doubled. The rise in trade relative to output is common across countries and regions, although the relative growth in trade and output varies greatly. This article attempts to explain why the ratio of world trade to output has increased over recent decades. It provides a brief review of the key determinants of trade growth and identifies proxies that will enable us to quantify the relative importance of the different channels. We estimate this across a panel of ten developed countries. This will allow us to understand better the path of world trade and thus the demand for UK exports. Furthermore this approach will help us to distinguish between long-run trends in trade growth and cyclical movements around it. Introduction In the past few decades there has been an increasing integration of the world economy through the increase of international trade. The volume of world trade(1) has increased significantly relative to world output between 1980 and 2002 (see Chart 1). Some of this increase can be accounted for by the fact that traded goods have become cheaper over time relative to those goods that are not traded. However, even in nominal terms the trade to GDP ratio has increased over this...
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...categorizes and group countries in clusters that share similar values and culture aspect to a certain extend, but Belgium position isn’t clear. Sometimes put in the Germanic Cluster with a BelLux subdivision - 1-Sometimes put in the general Germanic cluster - 2- or even in the Latin Europe cluster -3- A look at Belgium’s history is necessary to understand this situation. Indeed, Belgium is at a crossroad between two cultures, the French (Latin)...
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...BALANCE OF TRADE Italy recorded a trade surplus of 1,907 EUR Million in April, 2013 as exports recovered and imports shrank. Total exports rose 4.4% yoy and imports declined 2.6%. The recovery in exports was broadly driven by the rise in shipments of pharmaceuticals products towards Belgium (+30.2%), Mercosur countries (+21.9%) and Asean countries (+19.1%). There was an increase in sales of pharmaceutical products, medicinal chemical and botanical products (+29.2%) and leather goods (+13.4%). Imports from OPEC countries (-34.0%), United States (-16.0%), and Switzerland (-7.9%) registered a sharp decline. With European Union countries, there was a trade surplus of € 441 million, narrowing from a surplus of € 650 million in April 2012. Exports to EU nations were up 3.1% yoy as Italy posted a global trade surplus of 4.626 billion EUR, compared with a deficit of around 4.2 billion EUR in Jan-April 2012.Historically, from 1991 until 2013, Italy Balance of Trade averaged a surplus equivalent to 248.45 EUR Million reaching the best surplus at 6382.91 EUR Million in July, 1996 and the worst deficit at 6389.31 EUR Million in January, 2011. In 2012, Italy was able to re-balance its foreign trade flows because the reduction in imports enabled the country to invert its long term trade deficit into surplus. Main exports included precision machinery (18%); metals and metal products (13%); clothing and footwear (11%) and motor vehicles (10%). Main imports included fuel (17%), motor vehicles...
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...European countries had rather emphasized, until 1880, the pursuit of coastal territories for trade with the population of the continent, missionary activity and exploration (discovery, surveying, journeying, travelling). The Berlin Conference in 1884 - 1885 strengthened and systematized (regulated) the colonial occupation (pursuit) of Africa and other Third World regions. The beginning of the colonial period after the discovery of America at the end of the 15th century, a new phase of globalization and of hardship for Africa. The golden age of colonial imperialism. They conquer (subjugate) China, India and other Asian countries at varying levels (degrees). The United States of America completed (broaden) its control of Latin America thus laying the foundations of the "world economy" with The Western (franchise, yielding, surrendering, compromise, concessions, recognition) conceding at Shanghai in Central China and the occupation (colonization) of Asia and Africa’...
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...Evaluation of R&D relief and Patent Box scheme in the UK and Belgium | Content 1. Introduction 1 2. UK’s Research and development relief 1 2.1 definition and schemes 1 2.1.1 Small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) scheme 1 2.1.2 Large company schemes 2 2.2 Qualifications 2 2.3 Consultation and appraisement 3 2.3.1 Equity 3 2.3.2 Externalities 3 2.3.3 Further evaluation 4 3. UK’s Patent Box scheme 4 3.1 Definition and Objective 4 3.2 When and how to claim 5 3.3 Qualification 5 3.3.1 Patent Box 6 3.3.2 Qualified Income 6 3.4 Consultation and appraisement 6 3.4.1 Equity 6 3.4.2 Efficiency 7 3.4.3 Further-Evaluation 7 4. Belgium’s Research and Development relief 8 4.1 Nature of incentives 8 4.1.1 Super deduction 8 4.1.2 Notional Interest Deduction (NID) 8 4.1.3 Income tax withholding incentives 8 4.1.4 Incentives for staff 9 4.2 Compare and contrast with UK R&D relief 9 4.2.1 Tax Deduction 9 4.2.2 Notional interest deduction 10 4.2.3 Wage Tax Exemption (WTE) 10 5. Belgium’s Patent Box scheme 11 5.1 Definition and Objective 11 5.2 Compare and Contrast with UK Patent Box scheme 11 5.2.1 Effective Tax Rate 13 5.2.2 Qualified IP rights 13 6. Conclusion 14 7. Bibliography 15 1. Introduction Under the impact of globalization and revolutions in knowledge and technology fields, innovation, which...
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...Assess the impact of Napoleon on Europe The Napoleonic Empire came into existence following the coronation of Napoleon Bonaparte as Emperor of France at Notre Dame in 1804. The frontiers of the ancien regime had been expanded up to and beyond France’s natural borders, with the momentum of expansion following in direct correlation with the pace of France’s military conquests under the leadership of Bonaparte himself. The ‘Great Empire’ is often referred to as a single entity embracing French controlled Europe, but territories were in fact separated depending on the levels of French control. Territory ruled directly from Paris was known as the pays reunis which compromised of France’s natural frontiers (borders of the Rhine, Alps and Pyrenees) as well as annexed territories of Piedmont, Parma, Papal States and Holland after 1810. It was also divided into the pays conquis, which were nominally independent satellite states and formed a zone protecting the borders of the French Empire from attacks from countries such as Britain. These were ruled by Frenchmen who were usually close to Napoleon as a family member or as a close friend, such as Jerome Bonaparte who was King of Westphalia and Joachim Murat who was King of Naples. When discussing impact, the effects of Napoleon and his policies on factors such as economies, religion and nationalism in satellite states that composed the Napoleonic Empire will be taken into account, whether positive or negative on the states. Napoleon...
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...Strategies 18 3.0 APPENDIX 25 1.0 MARKETING OBJECTIVES Marketing objectives for KawanKu KG Pastry in Belgium is to supply the pastry frozen food to the selected supply chain supermarkets such as Colruyt and Carrefour. Why KawanKu chooses both supermarkets? It is because they are being the famous lower price supermarkets in Belgium which have been the most visited places from the people there to buy their things. For the first year, KawanKu will target to market at the Brussels only, for the next year after there are a lot of demands from people in Belgium about the products, KawanKu will expand the business of selling the products to the other district and other attractive locations in Belgium. In Brussels, Belgium, there are five branches of Colruyt supermarkets and three branches of Carrefour supermarkets. KawanKu chooses Brussels because it does not want to take a risk in exporting to the many locations if there are not many profits will get from the sales, so for the first year, it will target the supermarkets in Brussels to test the market acceptance about the KG Pastry frozen food products. The market acceptance is important and can contribute to the lot of profits from the large volume of sales if all the marketing strategies are succeed in selling the products. PROFIT AND LOSS STATEMENT FOR EXPORTING KAWANKU KG PASTRY FROZEN FOOD PRODUCTS TO BELGIUM Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Sales 1,000,000 1,020,000 1,050,000 * Cost of goods sold 80...
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...the control of Africa trade and regulated European colonization during the New Imperialism period. The New Imperialism period coincided with Germany’s sudden emergence as an imperial power. At the request of Portugal, German Chancellor Otto von Bismark called together all the major western powers of the world. Bismark was glad for the opportunity to expand Germany’s influence over Africa and desired to force Germany’s rivals to struggle with one another for territory. This conference was the undoing of Africa as it eliminated most of the existing forms of African autonomy and self-governance while at the same time heightened the colonial activity by European powers. At the time of the conference 80% of Africa remained under the Native Traditional and local control. The outcome of the conference was the General Act of the Berlin Conference which is also known as the formalization of the Scramble for Africa. This General Act addressed six issues: 1. Freedom of trade in the basin of the Congo 2. Slave Trade 3. Neutrality of the territories in the basin of the Congo 4. Navigation of the Congo 5. Navigation of the Niger 6. Rules for future occupation on the coast of the African continent. http://africanhistory.about.com/od/eracolonialism/l/bl-BerlinAct1885.htm The conference officially opened in Berlin on November 15, 1884 with fourteen countries being represented by ambassadors. The represented countries included: Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany...
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