Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) System

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) System Literature review 2.1 RFID The Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system is a technology for automated  identification. Exploration of RFID technology dates back to 1948 when Harry Stockman published his  research titled Communication by means of the reflected power. Unfortunately technologies such as  integrated circuits, transistors and microprocessors were not yet available and RFID had to wait another  20 years for its first commercial application (Landt 2005). Between 1970 and 1980 several research  laboratories and academic institutions carried out work on RFID implementations for animal tracking,  theft prevention, item labelling and access control systems (Want 2006). Regardless of these  applications, RFID systems remained obscure for many years. The first significant change to this  occurred in the early nineties when companies across the world began to use RFID tags on a large scale  due advancements in their energy efficiency and size reductions (Landt 2005).   Todays systems are usually composed of either passive or active RFID tags and RFID readers.  Active tags contain their own power source and thereby can transmit stronger signals and can be  accessed from further distances. Most commonly they operate on the ultra-high frequency (UHF) band  and can achieve up to 100 metres range depending on the surrounding environment (Weinstein 2005).  There are currently two types of active tags. Transponders, also called semi-active tags, and Beacons.  Transponders stay in standby mode until receiving signal from the reader and then transmit a signal  back. Beacons emit signals and advertise their presence at pre-set intervals. Because of their on board  power source, active tags are expensive, priced from $20 to $70 and vary in size from 2 centimetres  upwards (Williams et al. 2014). Passive tags do not incorporate a power supply and are powered by the  electromagnetic signal received from the reader through the tags antenna. The y operate on low, high  and ultra-high frequency with signals ranging up to 10 metres depending on the tags backscatter power  (Weinstein 2005). The smallest passive tags can be size of a grain of rice and cost 1/10 of the price of  the active tag (Williams et al. 2014).   Silva, Filipe and Pereira (2008) proposes a RFID based student attendance recording system  that comprises of RFID readers operating at the 125 Kilohertz (KHz) frequency with an effective read  range up to 10 15 centimetres and passive RFID tags embedded into plastic cards. The tags store a  binary identifier which is unique to each student. Readers are connected to the local network with RJ45  connector through which they transfer scanned tag id to the server using the Transmission Control  Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). At least one reader is mounted in each of the classrooms and  students need to take their card out and place it near the reader in order to register their attendance.   Nainan, Parekh and Shah (2013) claimed that a similar RFID attendance registration system setup  decreased the time needed to record a students attendance by 98% compared to the manual entry  method. Collected data shows that the RFID system was able to record the attendance of 5 students per  second, however considering the short effective read range we have to conclude that multiple readers  were used during that experiment to achieve such result. Despite advances over the paper based  registers, efficiency of attendance systems based on passive RFID tags is limited by the number of  readers located in the classroom. Analogous systems based on the active RFID technology could  increase ids collection efficiency by scanning multiple tags simultaneously from a further distance  (Yoon, Chung and Less 2008), however such systems would introduce a number of additional  technological and social issues. Bandwidth limitations coerce RFID tags to share a common broadcast  frequency and as a consequence multiple tags responding concurrently to the same reader can cause  packet collisions. Therefore to solve these issues, advanced anti-collision algorithms and methods must  be employed during development process (Bin, Kobayashi and Shimizu 2005). Increased reading range  additionally raises serious privacy concerns as the users location could be tracked without their own  consent (Ferguson, Thornley and Gibb, 2014). 2.2 Biometrics Numerous properties must be satisfied to categorise the biological measurement of a human  physiological or behavioural characteristic as biometrics. The characteristics should be unique, every  person should have it and it needs to be accessible so it can be measured. There are a number of different  studies exploring biometric authentication for attendance registration systems. 2.2.1 Voice recognition Recent experiments by Dey et al. (2014) explore the capabilities of an attendance registration  system based on voice recognition. The main core of the system is a Linux OS server integrated with a  computer telephony interface (CTI) card and pre-installed with interactive voice response (IVR)  software. The server is accessible only from the previously pre-defined phones which are installed in  the classrooms. Using installed phones users have to record a reference voice sample to enrol into the  system. During enrolment users are provided with a unique four digit speaker identification then they  are asked to read for 3 minutes text of their own choice. Enrolled users can register their attendance by  entering the previously received speaker identification number and then answering some simple random  questions generated by the system. The system logs user attendance if the recorded speech matches the  stored reference sample. Initial system evaluation performed o n the group of 120 students indicated  very low efficiency. In order to achieve 94.2% recognition rate, each user needs to produce at least a 50  seconds sample. Authentication time is additionally extended by an average 26 seconds computational  time needed to analyse provided speech sample. Additional limitations come with the maximum number  of 32 concurrent calls that each server can handle. In essence, a long compulsory enrolment process,  the unnecessary burden of remembering a personal speaker identification number and the poor  registration efficiency time make the system a poor candidate for large group registers.   2.2.2 Fingerprints According to Akinduyite et al. (2013) fingerprint attendance management systems can be more  reliable and efficient than the voice based equivalent. They have achieved 97.4% recognition accuracy  with an average registration time of 4.29 seconds per student. The system implements fingerprint  scanners connected to a centralised server through the existing Wi-Fi infrastructure. As with the voice  recognition system, an administrator has to capture reference fingerprint data from every user before  the system can be used. Collected fingerprint templates are stored on the server in a Microsoft SQL  Server database and later used to match scanned samples. Almost identical recognition rate of 98.57%  was achieved by Talaviya, Ramteke and Shete (2013) in the similar fingerprint system setup. Analogous  to the RFID based systems, the efficiency is closely related to the total number of the available scanners.   2.2.3 Automated Face recognition All of the prior systems require users to provide a biometric sample manually by using one of  the available scanners located in the environment. Kawaguchi et al. (2005) proposed a considerably  different solution which automates sample collection. They introduced a face recognition method based  on continuous observation. The system requires two cameras streaming live data to the centralized unit  with preinstalled face detection and recognition software. The first camera, called the sensing camera  is installed on the ceiling and points towards the rooms sitting area. The second camera, called the  capturing camera is located in front of the seats to capture students faces. The sensing camera scans  over the room in order to detect seats occupied by the students. Received image data is analysed using  the Active Student Detecting (ASD) method developed by Nishiguchi et al. (2003). Once a student is  detected, the system directs the capturing camera to the found lo cation. The face image collected from  the capturing camera is then processed by the system and the students attendance is recorded if a  matching template is found. Experiments in which the described system was evaluated on a group of  12 students revealed 80% accuracy in engaged seats detection and the same level during face detection.  The whole experiment took 79 minutes in which 8 scanning cycles were performed, resulting in 70%  total accuracy for the attendance registering. Despite advances in automated biometric samples  collection, the described system seems to be inefficient, especially if we consider time required to  collect and analyse samples on such small group of students. Additional issues may arise if there are  any obstructions in the room which can restrict the cameras view or if a low ceiling prevents sensing  camera from covering the entire seating area. 2.2.4 Summary The biometric systems have many advantages over the other authentication technologies. The  biometric characteristics are tightly linked to the owner and can prevent identity theft, are difficult to  duplicate and are very convenient as they are always available. Despite all these advances, all the  biometric systems share serious ethical, social and security implications. It was evidenced by many  researchers that there is a fear of biometric technologies on the whole. The individuals and potential  system users are concerned about privacy, autonomy, bodily integrity, dignity, equity and personal  liberty (Mordini and Tzovaras 2012; Kumar and Zhang 2010). The system administrators have  additional overhead with the security of the collected biometric data. The individual biometric  characteristic cannot be replaced if they get stolen, therefore the legal responsibilities whilst storing this  kind of data are colossal. 2.3 Wi-Fi An interesting and novel attendance registration method was proposed by Choi, Park and Yi  (2015). The authors created a system which incorporates Wi-Fi technology built into smartphone  devices. They had developed two versions of a smartphone application, one for the lecturers and one  for the students. When a class session starts the lecturer has to create a Wi-Fi Access Point (AP) using  his version of the application. The students attend the lecture and scan for the available Wi-Fi Access  Points and if the lecturers AP is discovered and students device stays in its range for specified amount  of time then attendance registration process is triggered. To overcome limitations with the maximum  number of concurrent connections that single AP can handle, the created students version scans only  for the nearby networks but never connects to the found APs. Attendance is registered by submitting a  Message Digests 5 (MD5) hash token that combines a Service Set Identif ier (SSID) of the found AP  and students smartphone Media Access Control (MAC) address. The hash token is uploaded to the  server which verifies submitted data and registers the students attendance in the local store. The system  architecture requires collection of the reference MAC address of all the students for the purpose of the  later validation. The study does not describe what smartphone models were used throughout the  experiment, but it seems that they did not consider privacy features on iOS devices. According to Apple  (2013), since the release of iOS 7.0, the MAC identifier is no longer accessible through third party  applications, moreover after iOS 8.0 release, real device MAC address is hidden from the access points  and swapped with a randomly generated one (Apple 2015 A). Taking into account that over 98% of  iOS devices run on iOS 7.0 and above (Apple 2015 B), only confirms that the proposed system design  should be reviewed again. 2.4 Other 2.4.1 QR Code with face recognition Fadi and Nael (2014) combined biometrics with Quick Response Codes (QR). The proposed  methodology requires lecturers to generate a unique QR code and display it in the class. In order to  register their attendance, students need to download a mobile application, install it on their smartphones  and use it to scan the presented QR code. The scanned code is then submitted to the server via the  existing University Wi-Fi infrastructure. Furthermore the application performs an identity check by  scanning the students facial image which is later used to create matching score by analysing a reference  image stored on the servers. Lecturer can manually validate submitted images to confirm a students  identity if a low matching score raises any concerns. The QR code image could be effortlessly forwarded  to other students outside the classroom, therefore the system also collects a location stamp on the code  submission. The apparent vulnerability of the system lies in the number of technologies that it depends  on. Authors assumed that every student will have a smartphone device with front and back facing  cameras for the facial images and the QR scans and also a Global Positioning System (GPS) module  which will be accessible during the registration stage. Each classroom has to be also equipped with a  large screen to present codes to the students and this may not always be available.  

Saving Private Ryan Essay -- Film Movies

Saving Private Ryan In his review of the film â€Å"Saving Private Ryan†, N.Cull claims that the film presents†¦ â€Å"a realistic depiction of the lives and deaths of G.I’s in the European theatre in World War II†. Do you agree with his assessment of the film? Argue your case. N.Cull’s assessment of the film Saving Private Ryan in that it portrays â€Å"a realistic depiction of the lives and deaths of G.I’s in the European theatre in World War II† is an accurate one. Director Stephen Spielberg brings to the audience the â€Å"sheer madness of war† and the â€Å"search for decency† within it. That search ends for a group of soldiers whose mission it is too save Private Ryan. Although the film shows horrific and realistic battle scenes along with historically correct settings and situations with weapons and injuries true to their time, the film’s portrayal of war goes a lot deeper than that. The expressions and feelings of soldiers along with their morals and ideology are depicted unifyingly with the horror of war. The lives and deaths of American soldiers in the immediate part of the invasion of Normandy are illustrated more realistically than ever before. Saving Private Ryan captures the â€Å"harsh reality of war as authentically as possible†. The films historical accuracy of the Omaha beach landing begins with the â€Å"angry sea† and the timing of the attack, taking place at dawn. The film starts with Ryan in old age remembering his fallen comrades and then the story goes back in time to the events from there. A group of armed soldiers aboard a transport vessel look almost discarnate as the boat is tossed around the ocean. The soldiers do not pay attention to the orders they are given. (Perhaps a cause of why there is so much confusion and disorganisa... ...Ryan may not be a complete representation of the invasion of Normandy because of its need to provide a storyline and make a profit at the cinemas. Yet its accurate historical detailing enables N. Culls assessment of the film to be â€Å"a realistic depiction of the lives and deaths of G.I’s in the European theatre in World War II† Bibliography Primary Sources D. Breger. Private Breger in Britain. London, 1944 J. Robert Slaughter. D-Day, 1944. Source analysis. Sir W. Churchill. Words at War. June 15, 1940 Secondary Sources American Historical Review. Vol 103 no 4. October 1998 R. Wolfson. Years of Change 1891-1995. Hudder and Slaughton. London, 1993. S. Spielberg. Saving Private Ryan: The Men. The Mission. The Movie. http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/james.dion/over.html 18/09/2001 T. Edwards. D-Day. Wayland Publishers. London, 1975.

Growing Pluralisation and Fragmentation of Policing Essay

This essay aims to explore Button’s (1996) claim that ‘the growing pluralisation and fragmentation of policing†¦has challenged the public police’s claim that to be the primary policing force’. In order to do so, it will provide a general definition of both the public and private policing bodies within the United Kingdom, followed by a brief look at the history of the public Police, their progression and integration with private agencies. The essay will go on to discuss pluralisation and fragmentation, and how these are reflected within the context of the topic. Finally it will identify how various financial constraints have resulted in cutbacks and forced ‘hybrid’ policing in many areas. It will conclude with a reiteration of the main points, supporting Buttons claim that the public Police are not the primary policing force. Within this essay it is not possible to draw a definitive distinction between public Police and private policing bodies or indeed the perimeters in which each work, it is however important to understand the difference between the Police and ‘policing’ – a social function that Reiner (ibid:722 in Button 1996) describes as: ‘An aspect of social control processes which occurs universally in all social situations in which there is at least the potential for conflict, deviance, or disorder.’ Today the word ‘Police’ is used in many civilised countries to describe an organisation whom uphold the law and order in society (Met Police, 2012). Button (1996) describes the Police as: ‘The body of men and women employed by the state who patrol the streets, deal with crime, and ensure order and who undertake a range of other social type functions’. It could it be reasonably argued that the primary difference between public and private police is legislative powers i.e. public police have powers of arrest for arrestable offences not committed within their view where there are reasonable grounds for suspicion (private police can`t make these kinds of arrests) (Citizens Advice Bureau 2012). Circa 1856 members of public, ordinarily the victims, largely conducted policing activities. Any person suspected of committing a crime would be taken to the ‘Parish Constable’, an unpaid position to uphold order (Victorian crime and punishment, 2006). The Police as we know them today were formed in 1829 following the collapse of the ‘Parish Constable’ system (Met Police, 2012). Home Secretary of the time, Sir Robert Peel, was responsible for passing the first Metropolitan Police act forming the Metropolitan Police force, although this only really came to fruition in 1839 when the new City of London Police took control of all independent police activities (Met Police, 2012). G4S (2012) explain that private Police enterprises started out as a very basic, 4-man bicycle team, providing a guard-protection force. ‘The earliest roots in the UK appeared in 1935 when a former cabinet minister launched ‘Night Watch Services’. Historically, pre World War II, private security was frowned upon, seen as thuggery, sneaks and spies with private interests, however, since the War private security has been accepted as a supplement to the much-overburdened public Police. More recently governments have actively encouraged the commercial private sector support to Police, accepting that the extensive and complex nature of crime requires more than the Police have to offer (Bayley and Shearing, 1996). To fully address Button’s statement, it is necessary to understand the definition of pluralisation and fragmentation, and importantly how this is represented within the context of the statement. It is generally accepted that, in many countries, ‘policing’ is now both authorised and delivered by diverse networks of commercial bodies, voluntary and community groups, individual citizens, national and local governmental regulatory agencies, as well as the public police (Jones and Newburn, 2006). Jones and Newburn (2006:6) continue, suggesting that there has always been an array of policing bodies however the last decade has seen a rapid increase in ‘visible’ policing providers. While Bayley and Shearing (1996) note that: ‘In the past 30 years the state’s monopoly on policing has been broken by the creation of a host of private and community-based agencies that prevent crime, deter criminality, catch law-breakers, investigate offences, and stop conflict. The police and policing have become increasingly distinct.’ It is this fragmentation or use of numerous agencies to uphold law and order within the community that Button refers to as pluralisation. Whilst we can say that policing bodies have been coexistent for some time; in recent years heavy financial constraints placed upon the public Police have forced a much larger, lateral, recruitment of private agencies to assist in back room and specialist Police departments. Newburn and Jones (2002) suggest that this may be due to: ‘Increasing constraints on police expenditure and that, as a consequence, other forms of provision have expanded to fill the gap.’ This largely came to the public eye in 1983 when the Home Office issued a circular (114/83, Manpower, Effectiveness and Efficiency) outlining the need for the Police force to demonstrate value for money in line with other public services (Smith and Henry, 2007:27 in Johnston, 1992). During the 1980’s Conservative administrations offered national police forces, financial incentives to, where possible, employ civilians in positions that did not require police power, training or experience (Jones and Newburn, 2002). This, however, is not a new concept, as explained by Jones, Newburn and Smith ((1994) in Jones and Newburn, 2002), ‘the employment of civilians in the police service has a long history, dating back to the early stages of this century’. Changes forced by financial shortages are highlighted by Houghton (2012), suggesting that due to budget constraints policing bodies have been forced to look at radical options such as privatisation as opposed to more common measures previously used like a minimum rate of change. Chief Superintendent Phil Kay was quoted in the Guardian (2012), as overseeing the joint West Midlands/Surrey â€Å"transformation† programme, designed to deal with the challenging financial conditions the force currently faced. As part of the programme West Midlands and Surrey constabularies intend to out source a variety of policing activities such as investigating crimes, developing cases, managing intelligence, as well as more traditional back-office functions, such as managing forensics, finance and human resources. In 2010/11 the Police Officer training course profile consisted of a 95 day course followed by three further 5 day interventions over the full 2 year probationary period. The total cost of training a police officer under this model was estimated at  £16,694 (the Met, 2011). These figures are in addition to a starting wage in the region of  £28,000 –  £32,000 per annum, housing allowance, contributions to private health care, free eye tests/spectacles and a London based Police Officer could expect to receive an additional  £6,500 per annum (The Met, 2012). In 2009-2010,  £1 from every  £7 of tax paid in England and Wales was used to pay a Police pension (The Telegraph, 2012). It is difficult to determine an accurate figure as to the raw cost of just one Officer per annum. However, when you begin to assess a similar monetary breakdown for a private contractor conducting a policing activity, such as a public space CCTV operator, the costs are poles apart. Individuals can complete a 30 hour course that will impart sufficient specialised knowledge for the user to be deemed competent and ‘possess the legal and technical expertise to operate CCTV systems according to the latest industry standards and the BS standard’, for a cost of approximately  £150 (AAB Training, 2012). Following the introduction of the Private Security Industry Act in 2001, to legally operate CCTV within a public space, operators must hold a current SIA licence, available at a cost of  £220 (SIA, Home Office, 2012). In a recent paper the Home Secretary, Right Honorable Theresa May MP (2010), claimed that: ‘Spending on the police has increased by 24% in real terms since 2000/01 and stands at  £13 billion a year today. Over the past decade the focus on public spending has been on money rather than value for money†¦ Government and police forces have wasted money.’ In the UK, Police are continually trying to ensure that there is a â€Å"visible presence†, a member of the uniformed police, on the streets. However in 1985 Bayley documented that in the United States of America, due to ‘staffing and deployment rules, 10 additional officers must be hired in order to get one extra uniformed police officer on the streets around the clock throughout the year’ (Bayley 1985, as cited in Bayley and Shearing, 1996). They continue to state that the incremental cost of a unit of â€Å"visible presence† on American streets is, therefore, about $500,000 – 10 times a patrol officer’s average annual salary plus benefits (Bayley and Shearing, 1996). More recently in the UK financial constraints on the public Police have resulted in numerous cases of ‘outsourcing’ of back room and support staffing from the private sector. G4S have won several contracts to support the Police including a support services contract with the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Constabularies. Managing Director of G4S Policing Support Services, John Shaw states: ‘Clearly in these times of austerity forces are investigating alternative ways of delivering the support services that underpin effective and efficient police operations and we are confident that by working with G4S the three forces will be able to make considerable savings which they will be able to redirect to frontline policing (G4S, 2012)’. ‘Many UK forces face budget cuts and had considered outsourcing work to save cash and bridge a 126 million pound funding gap.’ (Reuters 2012). As we can see, budgetary constraints have forced the public Police to investigate various options in order to maintain society’s persistent desire to see the Police force ‘policing’, as in on the streets. This need to reassess and outsource has naturally left a ‘grey area’ in the classification between the state, tax funded, public Police force and commercial, private policing bodies. Loader’s (2000) theory, that this shift in approach, ‘Police to policing’, is a transformation. He describes policing bodies that range from Government Police, through to ‘hybrid’ agencies, government provided services including CCTV monitoring etc. etc. (Loader, 2000, as cited in Mazerolle and Ransley, 2005). In 2003, following a Government Green paper, Policing: Building safer communities together (Tim Newburn, 2012), the first key, high profile, ‘hybrid’ style organisation designed as an integral support unit to the Police was formed. Whilst the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) was created and is funded by the central Government it remains operationally independent of the Police. Again a ‘grey area’ emerges as recruitment is often from within the various established Police departments, NCIS, NCS MI5. The emergence of such hybrid policing is one of the largest and least studied changes affecting law enforcement. Largely as a result of privatisation and contracting-out, Britain now has the following semi-private, semi-public bodies: the Atomic Energy Agency Police; the Transport Police; the Customs and Excise Investigation Division; the National Rivers Authority, the Post Office Investigation Department; and so on and on (The Economist, 1997). Whilst many see the ever increasing ‘privatisation’ of the public Police force and their roles, it is important to remember that this is not a new concept. Private security agencies have been assisting in law and order in the UK for centuries; many have come to rely on them, seeing them as an integral part of homeland security. The Shadow Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, recently stated that the future of policing should be based upon the principles set out by Sir John Peel, suggesting that ‘Public–private partnerships can be really important for the police, especially on things like new technology, and the police will need new contracts (The Telegraph, 2012)’. On one hand the continued employment of private sector personnel to conduct backroom and technical policing activities fulfills the need of Police Officers to be seen to be ‘policing’ however in doing so it fuels the fire for the pluralisation and ‘hybrid’ policing bodies that are becoming increasingly common throughout the UK. As Button suggests ‘Policing has become pluralized. Police are no longer the primary crime-deterrent presence in society; they have been supplanted by more numerous private providers of security (Bayley and Shearing 1996: 588).’ In conclusion, there are many things that have shaped and changed the way in which the Police force operate and the manner in which they uphold the law. However, the role of the Police Officer has changed dramatically over the years, the UK population has increased exponentially, they have faced severe manning and budgetary cutbacks, coupled with the rapid pace of evolving criminality, all of which have forced the Police to assess what are the core functions that cannot be filled by anyone other than a uniformed, lawful, Police Officer with powers of arrest. As a result out sourcing to experts and or backroom personnel is rapidly becoming the norm. In essence Button’s claim is true, due to financial constraints and social change, the public Police are no longer the primary policing force, more accurately it is a ‘hybrid’ of both the public Police assisted by numerous private and Governmental agencies. References AAB Training, (2012), ‘CCTV Training Courses’, http://www.aabtraining.co.uk/security_training/cctv_training.php, (Accessed 30th October 2012) Button, M. (2002) Private Policing, Cullompton: Willan David H. Bayley; Clifford D. Shearing (1996), ‘The Future of Policing’, Law & Society Review, Vol. 30, No. 3, 585-606 G4S (2012), ‘Electronic monitoring for Scottish Government’, http://www.g4s.uk.com/en-GB/Media%20Centre/News/2012/09/21/Electronic%20monitoring%20for%20Scottish%20Government/, (Accessed 17th October 2012) G4S (2012), ‘History’, http://www.g4s.uk.com/en-GB/Who%20we%20are/History/, (Accessed 17th October 2012) G4S (2012), ‘Police outsourcing statement’, http://www.g4s.uk.com/en-GB/Media%20Centre/News/2012/08/22/Police%20outsourcing%20statement/, (Accessed 17th October 2012) John Houghton, (2012) â€Å"The â€Å"not so new† plans to privatise policing†, Safer Communities, Vol. 11 Iss: 4, 191 – 194 Les Johnston (1992) in David J. Smith and Alistair Henry, (2007), ‘Transformations of Policing’, The Trajectory of Private Policing, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd Loader, (2000), From Police to policing: transformation and pluralisation, in L. Mazerolle and J. Ransley (2005), ‘Third Party Policing: Cambridge’, 19 Reuters (2012), ‘West Midlands police latest to axe outsourcing plans’, http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/11/22/uk-britain-police-outsourcing-idUKBRE8AL0BB20121122, (Accessed 22 November 2012) Security HR (date unknown), ‘Public Police and Private Security’, Impact of Blurred Boundaries on Accountability ‘Gap’, http://www.securityhr.co.uk/Private-Security-and-Public-Police-Blurring-Boundaries.pdf, (Accessed 19th October 2012) SIA, Home Office, (2012), ‘Public Space Surveillance (CCTV)’, http://www.sia.homeoffice.gov.uk/Pages/licensing-cctv.aspx, (Accessed 30th October 2012) The Economist, (1997), ‘Welcome to the new world of private security’, http://www.economist.com/node/86147, (Accessed 30th October 2012) The Guardian (2012), ‘Police Federation vice-chairman says privatisation could destroy service’, http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/mar/03/police-federation-vice-chairman-warn ing, (Accessed 19th October 2012) The Metropolitan Police Force (2011), ‘Directorate of Human Resources’, http://www.met.police.uk/foi/pdfs/disclosure_2011/may/2011040001974.pdf, (Accessed 19th October 2012) The Metropolitan Police Force (2012), ‘New Constable’, http://www.metpolicecareers.co.uk/newconstable/pay_and_benefits.html, (Accessed 29th October 2012) The Telegraph, (2012), ‘Police pensions unaffordable as tax payer contributions near 2Bn’, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/pensions/9110995/Police-pensions-unaffordable-as-taxpayer-contributions-near-2bn.html, (Accessed 29th October 2012) The Telegraph, (2012), ‘We don’t want private companies patrolling the streets’, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/9584002/Yvette-Cooper-We-do-not-want-private-companies-patrolling-the-streets.html, (Accessed 30th October 2012) Theresa May MP, (2010), ‘Home Office’, Policing in the 21st century: Reconnecting Police and the people, http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/consultations/policing-21st-century/policing-21st-full-pdf?view=Binary, (Accessed 30th October 2012) Tim Newburn, (2008), ‘Handbook of policing’, Policing since 1945, Willian, Second edition. 100 Treveor Jones and Tim Newburn, (2006), Plural Policing: A Comparative Study. Routledge, 1 Trevor Jones and Tim Newburn (1994), ‘The Transformation of Policing’, understanding current trends in policing, The Centre for Crime and Justice

Chinese Market Entry Strategies Tentative Guide For MNES - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 12 Words: 3478 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Statistics Essay Did you like this example? Purpose and research methodology The Chinese market is a very wide and attracting one to all sorts of businesses. This was the main factor that drove me to choose the topic of entry strategies to china. In order to do so, I identified the subsequent keywords: entry modes, MNEs (multinational enterprises), investment, FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) and China. I used those keywords to search for relevant articles in peer reviewed journals. The latter were accessed through the databases provided by the Grenoble ecole de management. The databases used are the following: ABI inform global (ProQuest) Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Chinese Market Entry Strategies Tentative Guide For MNES" essay for you Create order Business source complete (Ebsco) Science direct (Elsevier) Emerald management plus (Emerald) Proper filters were applied along my search in order to correctly direct the results. A concrete example to this procedure was to limit the search to a certain period of time: from 1995 till the present. My search resulted finally in 15 articles from which I selected 8 to include in the systematic literature review (SLR). Please check appendix A for a more detailed explanation concerning the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Following the choice of the articles, I thoroughly read the chosen articles and drew a table summarizing the topics and their presence in the different articles. Please check appendix B for the detailed table generated. The table was a very useful tool that allowed me to trace easily the topics and write the relevant information in the following literature review. Literature analysis Introduction Chinaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s growth rate during the past decades is appealing to MNEs to set up operations in the Chinese market. However, the cultural, social, political and economical environment is difficult to handle from the international firmsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ perspective. This point is crucial for international corporations Vis as Vis the choice of their entry mode to that particular market (Luo 2000). Since it opened up to the international market in 1979 and then entered the WTO in December 2001, the FDI rules in the popular republic of china are constantly changing. Multinational enterprises that are willing to invest in china have a lot of conditions and factors to take into consideration when studying their entry strategy. Entry modes and different strategies Equity joint ventures, EJV According to the EJV law, the foreign investorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s share must be at least 25%. Each partner is supposed to supply tangible (cash, material, facilitiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) assets and intangible (intellectual property rightà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) assets. The duration of the EJV according to Sino-foreign agreements is unlimited. Practically set to 50 years and extendable upon the mutual agreement of the multiple parties in the EJV (Luo 2000). According also to Luo and Chen(1995), this mode has many benefits: risk reduction, economies of scale and scope, improved local acceptance. The EJV assures a long-term relation between the foreign firm and the Chinese market. From the Chinese government perspective, EJVs helps the transfer of technology to the domestic partner, and thus this mode is favored from the Chinese authority point of view. The mentioned above authors state that these benefits are challenged by several factors: China is a really hard market, different in every location and extremely changing: the marketplace is dynamically changing and becoming more and more competitive. Also the distribution channels in china are not as developed as in the west, thus making it hard to supply correctly your product in China. Also, the negotiations with the Chinese present several difficulties and become a burden to foreign companies (demanding the state-of-the-art technology when the adequate infrastructure is nonexistent) and the domestic partner often tries to avoid cash funding, presenting land and existing facilities instead (Luo 2000).According to Luo and Chen (1995), EJV are faced by several difficulties: these complexities are relevant especially in the field of operation and management since the outcome of the company depends heavily on intangible variables (personalities, cultures, etc). Establishing a joint venture in china means that you established a legal local entity (Cheung and Leung 2007). This entity will allow you to conduct business. Cheung and Leung (2007) also agreed that for MNCs to have business growth in china, they should have a physical presence in the Chinese market. But the licenses for a joint venture are difficult to obtain; hence even if they are preferred over some entry modes, it is difficult to be eligible for a JV. Wholly foreign-owned enterprise, WFOE Luo (2000) stated that this entry mode offers the foreign investor more flexibility and more expandability potential, avoiding the drawbacks of an uncooperative domestic partner. WFOE are established faster than EJVs since the Chinese authorities are bound to reply to a proposal within 30 days. This type of entry mode is offering little technology advancement for china and is therefore we see that the Chinese authority is always in favor of an EJV over a WFOE. In order to fight it, the Chinese set up several rules and regulations in order to complicate the process, especially in some sectors like the automotive and telecommunication sector. Despite the regulations that are making it the setup of a WFOE in china difficult, the rules can be tailored depending on what the foreign company is offering of value to the Chinese government. Some sectors totally forbid the setup of a WFOE; however the Chinese are opening up more and more and will therefore allow WFOE in some new industries. An other drawback is that the Chinese are reluctant to the idea of foreign companies taking over their country. Adequate decisions like appointing locals in managerial positions are crucial to the success of the setup of the WFOE: Motorola employs only Chinese managers. Moreover, a foreign company will rarely succeed in a foreign environment, especially like in the surroundings of china, and therefore will have to cooperate in a certain way with the locals which will make the situation more viable for the WFOE. (Luo 2000) Puck, Holtbrugge and Mohr (2007) concurred with the same definition concerning the joint ventures and the WFOEs. According to Luo and Chen (1995), a WFOE offers is better seen as a mode that restrict opportunistic behavior and is therefore more controllable than an EJV. The holder of a WFOE has a greater bargaining power over the domestic government. For Luo and Chen, a WFOE is more probable to do better than the EJV concerning financial risk aversion. Contractual joint ventures, CJV Luo (2000) explained what differs between EJV and CJV is that the profits and other responsibilities are assigned to each partner according to what is agreed upon in the contract and not necessarily proportional to the total capital contribution by the partners in the EJV. The CJV is often used in joint exploration projects (oil exploration is an example). Concerning liability, a CJV has the choice between having limited or unlimited liability (Vis a Vis the capital invested in by the partners) versus the EJV that is bound to the limited liability. CJVs with unlimited liability do not require the foreign investor to contribute a minimum of 25% of the total registered capital. For Luo (2000), both CJV and EJV have import tax exemptions on imported equipment used as part of the capital invested in. CJV has a greater flexibility versus EJV regarding managing assets, production and operation. This is a great advantage for foreign investment since it gives the MNEs greater flexibility. A CJV may allocate profits in cash and in operation output (petrol in the case of oil exploration) versus the EJVsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ restriction to cash distribution. It is a great advantage to build-operate-transfer businesses and will keep its advantage in the foreseen future (Luo 2000) For Zhang, Zhang and Liu (2007), joint ventures are the most adequate entry strategy from the perspective that it minimizes the environmental risk and helps acquiring the resources of the domestic associate. But also according to Zhang, Zhang and Liu (2007), this method has its drawbacks from the perspective of that the foreign investor takes the risk of having opportunistic behavior from the domestic partner. Shapiro, Tang and Ma (2007)à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s article talks about three main categories of FDI in china. They defined EJVs, CJVs and WFOEs the same way that Luo (2000) did.Teng (2004) argued that joint ventures have been the way of entering the Chinese market. However he states that wholly owned subsidiaries are becoming more and more appealing because of the fact that the foreigners are in more control that the Chinese compared to a joint venture. Umbrella companies Luo (2000) explained that the proliferation of MNCsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ operation in china has led to the necessity of a sort of simplifying structure. The MNCs opted for what is called an umbrella enterprise or also known as investment company or holding company. The advantage of such structure over the traditional structures is that the holding is able to combine all existing investments (sales, procurement, manufacturing and maintenance) under one umbrella; it also eases the establishment of new investments. This model is mostly effective for multi-disciplinary companies that are using several entry modes adequate to each division. For Luo (2000), the model eases profitsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ transfer among the different business units of the same company for strategic purposes and also transfer of the profits outside the host country. The holding model helps the foreign investor centralizing the management of his various businesses and this helps in removing several operating barriers. The facilities for the strategic business units (SBU) provided by this model can be used without special approval from the Ministry of foreign trade and economic cooperation provided that the investment company hold at least 25% of the SBUà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s equity capital. However this model does not entitle the company to do whatever business it wants. And to establish such holding, foreign companies should have at least two foreign-invested enterprises (FIE). In order to benefit from the holding model, companies are subject to various criteria and conditions according to Luo (2000): minimum total asset value of US$400 million in the year prior to its application established one or more FIEs in which it has contributed at least US$10 million in registered capital A minimum of 10 FIEs in China established whose activity is based on manufacturing or infrastructure construction and that contributed at least US$30million in registered capital. The Chinese tax authority treats the holding company and its several FIEs as independent companies. Acquisitions According to Luo (2000), it is a relatively easy method, consisting of acquiring local or foreign businesses. This method has its advantages in entering sectors that were exclusive to the government. China acknowledged its lack of technological advance, satisfactory capital and management expertise. The acquisition of companies in the mentioned sectors by foreigners is seen as a complementary activity to what the Chinese are doing for their development. This policy is a long-term plan. Luo (2000) argues that this strategy is considered advantageous for the foreign investors since these acquired domestic companies have a great profitability potential with the right management and proper technology usage. The profitability of such companies if existent or will be existent has the tendency to come faster than in an EJV or WFOE; the reason for that is fairly simple: the companies have an already built capacity and are not startups. Such companies are mostly attractive when their market i s a niche market. Proper information concerning the company and its liabilities should be well researched and investigated in because the ownership procedure can be an obstacle. The Chinese corporate law does not let a minority shareholder to have a say in the management of the company. Attention should be taken in all cases since the Chineseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s culture of state is very strong and privatization by foreigners may be clear on paper but the practicality of this transfer is not well under control (Luo 2000). Zhang, Zhang and Liu (2007) stated that the acquisitions of domestic firms are the fastest way to set foot in the domestic market, but is burdened by several factors including cultural clash and overpayments due to reluctance of the authorities regarding this entry strategy of foreign firms into the Chinese market since it means that the foreigners fully own the firm. For Teng (2004), the acquisitions have numerous appealing benefits: fast entry strategy that allows the foreigners to acquire the already existing resources of the firm and it means that the foreigners do not start from scratch. These benefits are challenged by the potentially very high cost of the operation of merger or acquisition. Exporting Exporting is a way of reaching the Chinese market with minimal cost regarding the exit strategy in case of the occurrence of some problem. (David, Yigang and Kevin 1997). According to Teng (2004), exporting is an entry strategy that allows the MNE to operate in the domestic market without having the trouble of a setting the business in china: it is fast, has a limited entry cost and risk and allows the total control of the foreigners concerning the operations they wish and can undertake in the Chinese market. Representative offices According to Luo (2000), if a certain foreign investor is risk-averse, depending on his business, he can choose the strategy of opening representative offices. This entry mode helps getting acquainted with the domestic market, building the firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s connections and reputation. Several conditions bound this type of entry strategy: its activities are fairly limited to non-commercial, product promotion, market research and negotiations on behalf of the headquarters of the company abroad. For Luo (2000), with these limitations come advantages such as flexibility, non bounding commitments with domestic partners and openness towards multiple sectors that are not as easily available when using different entry modes. Since the structure is moderately simple compared to other strategies, it is easier to close the office if a reason to do that occurred. Several disadvantages should be taken into account: startup cost might be difficult to preserve. It is a relatively small office whose business is quite big, and with little resources is hard to sustain, especially that the office cannot issue invoices to his domestic customers. Quick review on some other options Branch offices: the action of opening branches in several regions of the country (Luo 2000). Build-operate-transfer (BOT): useful in the utilities sector, to do a certain project and then move on (Luo 2000). Franchising and licensing: to profit from a large market without committing large funds, giving the subsidiary in the host country a package of resources and rights to exercise the business (Luo 2000). Greenfield investments are also a way to enter a market according to Zhang, Zhang and Liu (2007) and this mode consists of investing in virgin lands from scratch. It also means that the foreigners are the exclusive owners of the firm and that is why the Chinese authorities are reluctant vis a vis this foreign strategy. Conclusions and results The authors mostly agreed regarding their results and conclusions. Before 1997, joint ventures were the predominant entry strategy used by MNEs to enter the Chinese market. After 1997, MNEs preferred to establish WFOEs: it is explained by the fact that the Chinese authorities changed their regulations concerning numerous sectors and hence facilitated the creation of WFOEs that are more beneficial to the foreign investors. (Puck, Holtbrugge and Mohr 2007) According to the table below, provided by Zhang, Zhang and Liu (2007), we can see that the entry strategy of companies in china has changed from joint ventures to WFOEs also known as FIE. This conclusion is concurring with what the other authors are saying about the current situation of market entry in china. The entry mode choice depends on a choice affected by the tradeoff between the amount of risk affordable versus the return expected proportionally to that risk, and mostly firms tend to minimize the risk. The authors also point that that the entry mode should be dynamic and not static to one strategy (Zhang, Zhang and Liu 2007). It is the strategy of using sequential FDI, i.e. the strategy changes dynamically in response to what is more adequate to the firm. This approach agrees to what Cheung and Leung (2007) said. WOFEsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ share in FDI rose to 35% in 2000. CJVsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ share decreased until 1995 and EJVsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ share is more stable but declining a bit declining: it had 43% of FDI in 2000 (Shapiro, Tang and Ma 2007). Companies at first try to open a representative office, to test the waters of the market and then attempt a joint venture for a better exploitation of the Chinese market (Cheung and Leung 2007) According to Luo and Chen (1995), the mo de of entrance is correlated to the strategy of the firm. If the foreign investors are aiming to reduce the risk and are opting for an optimal asset management, a WFOE is more adequate to their goals than a JV. However if their goal is pursuing local market share, a JV is more conventional. For David, Yigang and Kevin (1997), on a statistical approach, examining 2998 foreign operations in the Chinese market they found that 35% of the companies relied on exporting for their entry mode, 20.8% on licensing, 41.5% on joint ventures and 2.7% on wholly owned subsidiaries. Teng (2004), is agreeing with Luo and Chen (1995): JVs are better if the foreigners are in need of the local resources. However if they are aiming a better control of the firm, they ought to opt WFOEs. He also adds that the fastest solutions are exporting and acquisitions. The latter is more costly and in more need of commitment than exporting. Appendices Appendix A: References Included articles Luo, Y, (2000), Entering China today: what choices do we have?, Journal of global marketing, vol. 14. 1/2, 2000, pp.57-82. Puck, J. Holtbrugge, D. Mohr, A, (2007), Beyond entry mode choice: explaining the conversion of joint ventures into wholly owned subsidiaries in the peoples republic of China, Journal of international business studies, vol. 40. , pp.388-404. Zhang, Y. Zhang, Z. Liu, Z, (2007), Choice of entry modes in sequential FDI in an emerging economy, Management Decision, vol. 45. 4, pp.749-772 Luo, Y. Chen, M., (1995), Financial performance comparison between international joint ventures and wholly foreign-owned enterprises in Chinaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?, the international executive, vol. 37. 6, pp.599-613 David, K. Yigang, P. Kevin, Y, (1997), How MNCs choose entry modes and form alliances: the China experience., journal of international business studies, vol. 28. 4, pp.445-474 Cheung, F. Leung, W. , 1st Initial, (2007), International expansion of transnational advertising agencies in China: An assessment of the stages theory approach., international business review, vol. 16. , pp.251-268 Shapiro, D. Tang, Y. Ma, C, (2007), Mode of Entry and the Regional Distribution of Foreign Direct Investment in China, journal of Chinese economic and business studies, vol. 5. 3, pp.261-277 Teng, B, (2004), The WTO and Entry Modes in China, international business review, vol. 46. 4, pp.381-400. Note that the article are numbered for the sole purpose of the comparison table in appendix B Excluded articles and reasons of exclusion Zou, P. Wong, A., (2008), Breaking into Chinaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s design and construction market, journal of technology management in China, vol. 3. 3, pp.279-291. Reason: this article is focused on a certain industry and do not bring relevant value to the studied topic. Claver, H. Quer, D., (2005), choice of market entry mode in China: the influence of firm-specific factors., journal of general management, vol. 30. 3, pp.51-70. Reason: this article was addressing the issue of characteristics of firms and was not stressing on the entry strategy Ling, F. Ibbs, W. Cuervo, J, (2005), Entry and business strategies used by international architectural, engineering and construction firms in China, construction management and economics, vol. 23. , pp.509-520. Reason: this article is focused on a certain industry and do not bring relevant value to the studied topic. Beamish, P. Jiang, R., (2002), Investing Profitably in China: is it Getting Harder?, long range planning, vol. 35. , pp.135-151. Reason: this article discusses profitability and not entry strategies. Gaba, V. Pan, Y. Ungson, G, (2002), Timing of Entry in International Market: an Empirical Study of U.S. fortune 500 firms in China, journal of international business studies, vol. 33. 1, pp.39-55. Reason: this article discusses too specific firms and is not tackling the entry modes in a deep manner Burgers, W. Padgett, D., (2009), understanding environmental risk of IJVs in china, management international review, vol. 49. 3, pp.337-358. Reason: this article is tackling only one entry mode which is joint venture. It does not help the purpose of this SLR. Bontempi, M. Prodi, G., (2009), Entry strategies into China: The choice between Joint Ventures and Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprises An application to the Italian manufacturing sector., International Review of Economics and Finance, vol. 18. , pp.11-19. Reason: this article is focused on a certain industry and do not bring relevant value to the studied topic Appendix B: comparative table of included articles This table represents the article included and the topic discussed in the article, i.e. every topic that is ticked means that it is discussed in the respective article Article Topic 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 EJV X X X X X X X X CJV X X X X X X X WFOE X X X X X X X Umbrella X Acquisition X X X X Exportation X Other* X X X X *other can include: branching, representative offices, Greenfield investment, BOT, franchising, licensing, etc.