Chinese Yuan vs. US Dollar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Chinese Yuan vs. US Dollar - Essay Example The use of the two currencies in trade began in 1985 on a bilateral arrangement between the two countries. In 2008, the volume of imports from China hit the $337.8 billion mark. The China government has increased the use of the Yuan in foreign trade over the years leading dynamism in its exchange rates with other world currencies. According to economists, the China government is suspected to devalue the currency in order to increase the competitiveness of their local industries. In addition, the Chinese Yuan is less flexible with respect to the exchange rate against the US dollar and other world currencies. An effort to increase the flexibility of the Chinese Yuan by the government has resulted to the use of the currency internationally. The objective is increasing the use of the currency and achieving its use as a reserve currency in the long term (Derosa 2011). The last five financial years indicate a relatively stable exchange rate between the Chinese Yuan (CNY) and the US dollar (USD). The table below indicates the official exchange rates posted in the two countries’ markets. The record shows how much one US dollar is equivalent to the Chinese Yuan Year USD Chinese Yuan 2009 1 6.8314 2010 1 6.7703 2011 1 6.4615 2012 1 6.3123 2013 1 6.1910 Since 2009 to date, the value of the Chinese Yuan has been increasing. ... changes in the exchange rate can be attributed to the control efforts of the Chinese Yuan flexibility in the exchange market by the Chinese government (Exchange-Rates.org 2013). From 2005 to 2008, the Chinese government allowed the appreciation of the dollar to 21%. However, the global economic crisis prompted China to stop the appreciation and regulate the exchange rate flexibility. From 2008 to 2010, the exchange indicated minimal changes since the rate was maintained at about 6.83 Yuan (Exchange-Rates.org 2013). Amid the then economic conditions, the Chinese government continued with their reforms in the exchange rate thus increasing the currency’s flexibility again. This led to an appreciation of the exchange rate leading to a loss of value by the Yuan against the dollar. The controlled flexibility of the Yuan leads to a slowed appreciation of the dollar against the Yuan. The slight change in the exchange rate of these currencies is caused by the fixed exchange rate regime maintained by China with regard to their currency. The depreciation of the US dollar over the years also contributes to the decrease in the exchange rate between the CNY and the USD. The USD has lost value against the Yuan and other major currencies across the world especially during the global financial crisis. The Chinese Yuan/US dollar exchange rate in 2012 portrayed several movements that ranged between an increase and a decrease in value of the Yuan against the dollar and the loss of value of the dollar against the Yuan. The table below shows the values of the exchange rates between the Yuan and the dollar. The values are on quarterly basis with the USD as the base currency (Wang 2009). Month (2012) USD Yuan January 1 6.6233 April 1 6.3077 August 1 6.3604 December 1 6.2223

Knowledge of management & Information systems Assignment

Knowledge of management & Information systems - Assignment Example Knowledge management can be described as an organisation’s ability to share, create as well as use the collective information about its processes, products as well as human resource for increasing workplace productivity and reducing activities that put the company in backward position. As organisations are seeking advantage in highly competitive markets, they are increasingly looking for an untapped resource which is knowledge of their employees and organisation’s resources (Alavi and Leidner, 2001). Problems regarding knowledge management can creep in various forms. These can be unsuccessful alignment of knowledge management strategies applied within the organisation. It can also be failure in understanding and incorporating knowledge management into the daily activities of individuals. Another major knowledge management issue faced by organisations in the current business environment is focussing knowledge efforts within organisational boundaries only. Wide disparitie s in maintaining up-to-date infrastructure as well as cultural diversity make knowledge management challenging and cumbersome, especially in developing countries. Though TPMT is based in United States, majority of its client base is in Africa. Thus, culture disparity and lack of technology and resources have created contextual issues for the company. Even though the company is able to meet human resource needs, cultural and infrastructural gap create major problems in the business operations. Thus, it can be concluded that cultural. and infrastructural gaps are the major knowledge management business problems faced by TPMT. Global Diversity in culture has reflective implications on the successful plan and implementation of various Knowledge Management projects. Thus, while creating organisational objectives, global organisational contexts such as, innovations and performance, should be taken into consideration (Avgerou, 2002). In the present case study, the company is facing problems such as, lack of commitment among directors as well as part-time workers in African countries. The directors also face difficulties in enhancing relationships among employees, customers and agents. It is evident that the organisation lacks engagement from the employee’s perspective. Thus, establishing better interaction between organisation and its agents will help in building confidence and loyalty towards the company (Yue, et al., 2009). Web 2.0 Overview The term, Web 2.0, is used to describe various websites and their applications which allow users to create, share and update online information as well as other materials created by them. A major key element of this technology is that it helps individuals to create, collaborate, share and communicate. The major difference between Web 2.0 and other websites is