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8
First we must let you know that we ran out of time in this session. We started at 5:30 and ended the session at 8:30. The creative writing aspect was not finished and participants were asked to do it in their workplaces and fax it back to us before Tuesday. That did not happen.
We also have a new study circle member. Samuel Thompson is a porter at Courts B'dos Limited and lives in Rock Dundo, St. James. His hobbies are boogie boarding and playing TV games. He is a member of the Barbados Workers' Union and also plays cricket with one of our many cricket clubs. He hopes to gain knowledge of study circles and TNC's. His message to the other study circles is Unity is Strength.
Primarily participants were more at ease when they recognised that other circle members have similar concerns and aims as they did.
TNC strategy has serious concerns for small territories whose most abundant resources are people.
One analogy was that is was similar to a vine which starts in one's own backyard but can spread easily throughout the entire neighbourhood because it is so difficult to stop.
TNC stratgey results in a shift in the world's way of doing things making small countries very vulnerable and insecure.
Their aim of getting the most for less is cause for concern in light of small countires dependence on investment in their desire to provide for citizens.
Increasing use of technology has resluted in instant communication and instant access anywhere in the world. Countries must now jump on board to keep up or be left out and far behind. The choice is still not an easy one but the decision has to facilitate other factors like job creation and increasing foreign reserves.
Increasing emphasis on enhanced and improved technology retards small countries ability to compete in the wide open arena. Recently in B'dos the FCCA in the USA instructed that our telephone rates were too high and ordered their reduction. Our rates made tech use too costly for companies presently investing or those considering investing.
Foreign investment is likely to go to some countries and not to others according to the infrastructural development and the stability of the place. Caribbean countries also have relativley high literacy rates and a n abundance of the human resource and this has also been factored in from our side.
Political persuasion is covert but ever present. If conditons are not to the liking of investors, threats of pulling out are ever present. Governments are hard pressed to provide jobs for people and TNC's know it.
TNC's benefit from structural adjustment programmes since for the most part privitization is one of the conditions. Selling out result in open markets which ultimately allow TNC's the opportunity to expand. Devaluation of currency also makes it cheaper for the TNC to operate in that location - expenses incurred by company not that great.
Barbados has been under a structural adjustment programme between 1991-1993 but our dollar was not devalued. Public servants were given a pay cut and large numbers of government employees were severed.
TNC's also impact on our lives by influencing our tastes - advertising.
Main characteristics of a TNC -
Links Conserning this summary
Study Circles other summaries
[Session 1]/ [Session 2]/ [Session 3]/ [Session 4]
[Session 5]/ [Session 6]/ [Session 7]/ [Session 8]
Summaries of session 2
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