Trucking provisions in NAFTA

Trucking provisions in NAFTA What are the potential economic benefits of the trucking provisions in the NAFTA treaty? Who benefits? The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is aimed at reducing the costs incurred by nations in transportation of goods by road. The member states of the treaty are to benefit. The policy is expected to increase efficiency in transportation of goods to member states. The time spent in unloading and reloading of goods from Mexican trucks to American trucks was a great impediment to fast movement of goods. However, with the implementation of the NAFTA, trucks from every nation would be crossing borders and delivering goods direct to their customers. This will result in huge economic benefits to the member nations because time spent at the border to unload and reload goods will be a thing of the past. Increased competition from Mexican companies involved in trucking services would result in lower charges in road transportation. It is also argued that the policy would result in si gnificant savings in cross-boarder trade. This is due to the fact that two-thirds of goods within the NAFTA nation go by roads.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Trucking provisions in NAFTA specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More What do you think motivated the Teamsters to object to the trucking provisions in NAFTA? Are these objections fair? Why did Congress align itself with the Teamsters? Teamsters union represents truck drivers in the United States in America. It strongly opposed the provisions in NAFTA. The union maintained that Mexican drivers had poor driving habits that resulted in many accidents. It also argued that drivers in Mexico routinely violated safety and environmental rules. The union argued that there were no strict punitive measures in Mexico to punish errant drivers. In the United States, the union maintained, drivers are suspended for committing serious traffic offences. It also rejected the truc king provision on grounds that Mexican trucks are older and dirtier than the American trucks. The objections by the union are not fair. The pilot study that was launched by the government yielded very satisfying results from the Mexican trucks. The pilot program showed that Mexican drivers had safer driving records than their American drivers. In addition, the union lobbied the Congress to stop the program immediately. If the union was fair in its objections, then it could not have lobbied the Congress to terminate the pilot program which was yielding good results from the Mexican drivers. The Congress aligned itself with the Teamsters because the opposition members were approached by the union and lobbied to oppose the plan by the government to honor the trucking provision. The Congress proposed and passed a motion detailing 22 new safety standards that would be met by Mexican trucking companies to operate in the United States. Does it make economic sense for the United States to b ear the costs of punitive tariffs as allowed for under NAFTA, as opposed to letting Mexican trucks enter the United States? The punitive tariffs imposed by the Mexican government do not bear economic benefits for the United States. The punitive measures imposed tariffs amounting to 2.4 billion USD. Many goods were affected by the punitive measures. Some of these were wine, almonds, grapes and pears. Exports from California were also affected by the 20 percent tariff imposed by the Mexican government.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The goods from California were jewellery and personal hygiene products. Other United States exports impacted by the punitive measures include tableware from Illinois, and oil seeds from North Dakota. The economic impact is so huge that the U.S Chamber of Commerce has estimated loss of approximately 25,600 jobs. It does not make econ omic sense for the United States to bear the measures imposed by the Mexican government for failing to honor the NAFTA. The resulting economic losses are too huge for the United States export companies.

Free Essays on Highway Bridges

General The following documentation explains the structural design procedures performed. The design was followed in according to AASHTO specifications. Design analysis was implemented from â€Å"Design of Modern Highway Bridges† by Narendra Taly (Chapters 6 and 7). Information gathered for design was obtained from Banner and Associates, Inc. in Brookings, SD and South Dakota Concrete Products. Assistance with design procedures was from Dr. Nadim Wehbe, SDSU Civil and Environmental Engineering Structures professor, and Doug Wessels, Structural Engineer at Banner and Associates, Inc. Expansion The replacement bridge was expanded from the original bridge according to the â€Å"South Dakota Bridge System Code Manual – 1998 Edition† obtained from the SDDOT. The replacement bridge was then extended to span 120 ft. as compared to the original length of 90 ft. All design of the bridge girders and deck is based on the 120 ft expansion. Design Traffic The design truck loading for this bridge is for an HS20-44 and an estimated daily traffic volume of 100 vehicles per day. Bridge Type The design of this structure is for a continuous span, prestressed concrete I-Beam girder bridge with a continuous reinforced concrete deck and a New Jersey barrier. Girder Selection Graphs obtained from South Dakota Concrete Products were the basis for girder spacing and size (See figure B.1). With a 120 ft span length, a 54 M I-Beam girder with 5.25 ft was selected. The width of the bridge is 38 ft from outside edge to outside edge. Therefore, 8 I-Beam girders will be spaced at 5.25 ft on centers along the width of the bridge and an overhang of 7.5 in. on both ends. Deck Design Normal weight concrete is to be used for the decking. The deck thickness was determined to be 8  ¾ in. AASHTO specification for deck thickness is 8 – 8  ¾ in. thick. Due to the amount of anticipated traffic and the weight of vehicles that will be utilizi... Free Essays on Highway Bridges Free Essays on Highway Bridges General The following documentation explains the structural design procedures performed. The design was followed in according to AASHTO specifications. Design analysis was implemented from â€Å"Design of Modern Highway Bridges† by Narendra Taly (Chapters 6 and 7). Information gathered for design was obtained from Banner and Associates, Inc. in Brookings, SD and South Dakota Concrete Products. Assistance with design procedures was from Dr. Nadim Wehbe, SDSU Civil and Environmental Engineering Structures professor, and Doug Wessels, Structural Engineer at Banner and Associates, Inc. Expansion The replacement bridge was expanded from the original bridge according to the â€Å"South Dakota Bridge System Code Manual – 1998 Edition† obtained from the SDDOT. The replacement bridge was then extended to span 120 ft. as compared to the original length of 90 ft. All design of the bridge girders and deck is based on the 120 ft expansion. Design Traffic The design truck loading for this bridge is for an HS20-44 and an estimated daily traffic volume of 100 vehicles per day. Bridge Type The design of this structure is for a continuous span, prestressed concrete I-Beam girder bridge with a continuous reinforced concrete deck and a New Jersey barrier. Girder Selection Graphs obtained from South Dakota Concrete Products were the basis for girder spacing and size (See figure B.1). With a 120 ft span length, a 54 M I-Beam girder with 5.25 ft was selected. The width of the bridge is 38 ft from outside edge to outside edge. Therefore, 8 I-Beam girders will be spaced at 5.25 ft on centers along the width of the bridge and an overhang of 7.5 in. on both ends. Deck Design Normal weight concrete is to be used for the decking. The deck thickness was determined to be 8  ¾ in. AASHTO specification for deck thickness is 8 – 8  ¾ in. thick. Due to the amount of anticipated traffic and the weight of vehicles that will be utilizi...

Human Resources Cross Cultural Differences and Leadership with respect Essay

Human Resources Cross Cultural Differences and Leadership with respect to Motivation - Essay Example The study only endorsed prevailing scholarly position by the remarkable success stories of the case studies. So the present study concludes that training in cultural diversity can be incorporated in the development of global managerial skills. The face of workforce in the globalized setting is divergent. This can be area for conflict or an opportunity for growth. "Society today is a global ambiance where national cultures inevitably mingle together. The world of technological innovation, multinational organizations, international trade, and diplomatic conflict resolution creates a necessity for nations to come into contact with each other, to learn, work, and create together, as well as to exchange ideas and resources (human resources included). Organizations function because of people gathered together around a common goal. However, before an organization is formed, people belong to other settings and perform other roles that precede their organizational roles. Various disciplines differentiate culture based on numerous criteria born by the different scientific worldviews they hold." (Dimitrov 2005, p. 22) One definition of culture states that, "Culture is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the me mbers of one group or category of people from another" (Hofstede, 1997, p. 5). Adler (1997) defined culture as the "complex whole that includes knowledge, beliefs, art, law, morals, customs, capabilities and habits acquired by a man as a member of society" (p.14). This makes it a challenge for the global manager to motivate their employees from different cultural back rounds. Basically, ever since Psychology became an independent branch of enquiry, motivation came under the microscope of scientists and can be viewed as "the willingness to exert high levels of effort to reach goals, conditioned by the efforts' ability to satisfy individual needs." (Dimitrov 2005, p.38). However, the study of motivation in the cultural context is new, early theories form a good beginning. "People are by nature ethnocentric and believe that the way things are done in their culture is the best way" (Mendenhall, Punnett, & Ricks, 1995). Therefore this literature review focuses on the theory of motivation concerning the two topics cross-cultural differences and leadership from an international perspective. Purpose and Scope of the study General perception of the academia in the available literature across the world is in favour of the advantage of assimilation of cultural diversity as tool for the global managers. In order to ascertain the veracity of this position after identifying the key theoretical foundation establishing the efficacy of cultural diversity, an investigation was undertaken of five cases to find out whether cultural diversity really helped them to progress or some other factors were behind their success. The companies examined were IBM, McDonald, IKEA and Reebok. UAE, though not a company, as a unique case of cultural diversity was also studied. In all the case studies the advanatage