1.
Local government
–
Local government is a form of public administration which, in a majority of contexts, exists as the lowest tier of administration within a given state. Local governments generally act within powers delegated to them by legislation or directives of the level of government. The question of autonomy is a key question of public administration. The institutions of government vary greatly between countries, and even where similar arrangements exist, the terminology often varies. Local government traditionally had limited power in Egypts highly centralized state, under the central government were twenty-six governorates. These were subdivided into districts and villages or towns, at each level, there was a governing structure that combined representative councils and government-appointed executive organs headed by governors, district officers, and mayors, respectively. Governors were appointed by the president, and they, in turn, the coercive backbone of the state apparatus ran downward from the Ministry of Interior through the governors executive organs to the district police station and the village headman. The extension of officials into the countryside permitted the regime to bring development, State penetration did not retreat under Sadat and Mubarak. The earlier effort to mobilize peasants and deliver services disappeared as the party and cooperative withered. The local power of the old families and the headmen revived, the district police station balanced the notables, and the system of local government integrated them into the regime. Sadat took several measures to decentralize power to the provinces and towns, governors acquired more authority under Law Number 43 of 1979, which reduced the administrative and budgetary controls of the central government over the provinces. The elected councils acquired, at least formally, the right to approve or disapprove the local budget, in an effort to reduce local demands on the central treasury, local government was given wider powers to raise local taxes. But local representative councils became vehicles of pressure for government spending, under Mubarak decentralization and local autonomy became more of a reality, and local policies often reflected special local conditions. Thus, officials in Upper Egypt often bowed to the powerful Islamic movement there, in recent years, Mali has undertaken an ambitious decentralization program, which involves the capital district of Bamako, seven regions subdivided into 46 cercles, and 682 rural community districts. The state retains a role in administrative and fiscal matters, and it provides technical support, coordination. Opportunities for direct participation, and increased local responsibility for development have been improved. In August–September 1998, elections were held for urban council members, in May/June 1999, citizens of the communes elected their communal council members for the first time. Female voter turnout was about 70% of the total, and observers considered the process open, eventually, the cercles will be reinstituted with a legal and financial basis of their own
2.
Clinical governance
–
Clinical governance is a systematic approach to maintaining and improving the quality of patient care within a health system. The concept of integrated governance has emerged to refer jointly to the corporate governance, prior to 1999, the principal statutory responsibilities of UK NHS Trust Boards were to ensure proper financial management of the organisation and an acceptable level of patient safety. Trust Boards had no duty to ensure a particular level of quality. Maintaining and improving the quality of care was understood to be the responsibility of the relevant clinical professions, in 1999, Trust Boards assumed a legal responsibility for quality of care that is equal in measure to their other statutory duties. Clinical governance is the mechanism by which responsibility is discharged. Beyond that, the Trust and its various departments are obliged to interpret the principle of clinical governance into locally appropriate structures, processes, roles and responsibilities. In NHS Trusts, the professional development of clinicians has been the responsibility of the Trust. In one form or another, audit has been part of clinical practice for generations. Whilst audit has been a requirement of NHS Trust employees, in primary care clinical audit has only been encouraged, Clinical effectiveness is a measure of the extent to which a particular intervention works. The measure on its own is useful, but decisions are enhanced by considering additional factors, such as whether the intervention is appropriate, a good professional practice has always sought to change in the light of evidence from research. Poor performance and poor practice can too often thrive behind closed doors, processes which are open to public scrutiny, while respecting individual patient and practitioner confidentiality, and which can be justified openly, are an essential part of quality assurance. Open proceedings and discussion about clinical governance issues should be a feature of the framework, any organisation providing high quality care has to show that it is meeting the needs of the population it serves. The system of clinical governance brings all the elements which seek to promote quality of care. Risk management involves consideration of the components, Risks to patients. In addition, patient risks can be minimised by ensuring that systems are regularly reviewed and questioned - for example, by critical event audit, Medical ethical standards are also a key factor in maintaining patient and public safety and well-being. Risks to practitioners, ensuring that clinicians are immunised against infectious diseases, Risks to the organisation, poor quality is a threat to any organisation. Balancing these risk components may be an ideal that is difficult to achieve in practice, if clinical governance is to truly function effectively as a systematic approach to maintaining and improving the quality of patient care within a health system, it requires advocates. It also requires systems and people to be in place to promote, the system has found supporters outside of the UK
3.
Corporate governance
–
Corporate governance broadly refers to the mechanisms, processes and relations by which corporations are controlled and directed. Corporate governance includes the processes through which corporations objectives are set and pursued in the context of the social, regulatory, Governance mechanisms include monitoring the actions, policies, practices, and decisions of corporations, their agents, and affected stakeholders. Corporate governance practices are affected by attempts to align the interests of stakeholders, Corporate scandals of various forms have maintained public and political interest in the regulation of corporate governance. In the U. S. these include Enron and MCI Inc and their demise led to the enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002, a U. S. federal law intended to restore public confidence in corporate governance. Comparable failures in Australia are associated with the passage of the CLERP9 reforms. Similar corporate failures in other countries stimulated increased regulatory interest, internal stakeholders are the board of directors, executives, and other employees. Much of the contemporary interest in governance is concerned with mitigation of the conflicts of interests between stakeholders. The danger arises that, rather than overseeing management on behalf of shareholders and this aspect is particularly present in contemporary public debates and developments in regulatory policy. Ways of mitigating or preventing these conflicts of interests include the processes, customs, policies, laws, an important theme of governance is the nature and extent of corporate accountability. A related discussion at the macro level focuses on the effect of a corporate governance system on economic efficiency and this has resulted in a literature focussed on economic analysis. In this sense, Governance and Corporate Governance are different from management because governance must be EXTERNAL to the object being governed, governing agents do not have personal control over, and are not part of the object that they govern. For example, it is not possible for a CIO to govern the IT function and they are personally accountable for the strategy and management of the function. As such, they “manage” the IT function, they do not “govern” it, at the same time, there may be a number of policies, authorized by the board, that the CIO follows. When the CIO is following these policies, they are performing “governance” activities because the intention of the policy is to serve a governance purpose. Without these policies, procedures and indicators, the board has no way of governing, one source defines corporate governance as the set of conditions that shapes the ex post bargaining over the quasi-rents generated by a firm. The firm itself is modelled as a structure acting through the mechanisms of contract. Here corporate governance may include its relation to corporate finance, the Cadbury and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development reports present general principles around which businesses are expected to operate to assure proper governance. Rights and equitable treatment of shareholders, Organizations should respect the rights of shareholders and they can help shareholders exercise their rights by openly and effectively communicating information and by encouraging shareholders to participate in general meetings
4.
Environmental governance
–
Governance includes government, business and civil society, and emphasizes whole system management. To capture this diverse range of elements, environmental governance often employs alternative systems of governance and it views natural resources and the environment as global public goods, belonging to the category of goods that are not diminished when they are shared. This means that everyone benefits from for example, an atmosphere, stable climate. Public goods are non-rivalrous—a natural resource enjoyed by one person can still be enjoyed by others—and non-excludable—it is impossible to prevent someone consuming the good, nevertheless, public goods are recognized as beneficial and therefore have value. The notion of a public good thus emerges, with a slight distinction. The non-rivalrous character of such calls for a management approach that restricts public. One approach is to attribute an economic value to the resource, water is possibly the best example of this type of good. As of 2013 environmental governance is far from meeting these imperatives, “Despite a great awareness of environmental questions from developed and developing countries, there is environmental degradation and the appearance of new environmental problems. This situation is caused by the state of global environmental governance. Environmental governance refers to the processes of decision-making involved in the control and management of the environment, International Union for Conservation of Nature, define Environmental Governance as the Multi-level interactions among, but not limited to, three main actors, i. e. There are many definitions and applications of neoliberalism, e. g. in economic, international relations, however, the traditional understanding of neoliberalism is often simplified to the notion of the primacy of market-led economics through the rolling back of the state, deregulation and privatisation. Neoliberalism has evolved particularly over the last 40 years with many leaving their ideological footprint on the neoliberal map. Hayek and Friedman believed in the superiority of the market over state intervention. As long as the market was allowed to act freely, the law would ensure the ‘optimal’ price. There has been a growing interest in the effects of neoliberalism on the politics of the world of environmental governance. Neoliberalism is seen to be more than a homogenous and monolithic ‘thing’ with an end point. Such neoliberal structures further reinforce a process of enclosure and primitive accumulation or “accumulation by dispossession” that serves to privatise increasing areas of nature. The ownership-transfer of resources traditionally not privately owned to free market mechanisms is believed to deliver greater efficiency, all three examples share neoliberal characteristics to “deploy markets as the solution to environmental problems” in which scarce natural resources are commercialized and turned into commodities
5.
Governance in higher education
–
Governance in higher education is the means by which institutions for higher education are formally organized and managed. Simply, university governance is the way in which universities are operated, Governing structures for higher education are highly differentiated throughout the world, but the different models nonetheless share a common heritage. Internationally, tertiary education includes private not-for-profit, private for-profit, the issues are complicated by current debates over collegial and shared forms of governance contrasted to corporate and business forms of institutional governance. The concept of governance in postsecondary education predominantly refers to the structure, organization. In the United States, state institution governing boards often emphasize the concept of governance in recognizing that board members serve a civic role for the institution. Management structures themselves have become increasingly complex due to the complexity of intraorganizational, interorganizational and governmental relationships. Whether college and university education, adult education, technical or vocational education, educational administration presents complex challenges at all levels of private, the nature of the managing relationships characterize whether governance is corporate and business oriented or defined more by a collegial shared form of governance. Governance in this sense is discussed by Kezar and Eckel, who define it at the macro-level of policy decision making, Kezar and Eckel suggest governance is a multi-level concept including several different bodies and processes with different decision-making functions. In this way, governance is defined at difference to the internal management of institutions. External governing relationships depends much on institutions, government policy, generally, institutions are recognized as autonomous actors with varying degrees of interdependence with, and legislated commitments to the external stakeholders, local and national government. The American Association of University Professors was the first organization to formulate a statement on the governance of higher education based on principles of democratic values, refinements to the statement were introduced in subsequent years, culminating in the 1966 Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities. The document does not provide for a “blueprint” for the governance of higher education, nor was the purpose of the statement to provide principles for relations with industry and government. Rather, it aimed to establish a vision for the internal governance of institutions. Student involvement is not addressed in detail, the statement concerns general education policy and internal operations with an overview of the formal structures for organization and management. In process and structure, the meaning with the end result is a philosophy for shared governance in higher education. Lapworth advocates what the author believes is a model of university governance with the aspects of corporate. With debates over the recent trends, university organizations, governing associations, first published in 1987, the National Education Association statement on faculty governance in higher education is a straightforward point of view on their policy in support of shared governance. The policy maintains that faculty involvement in governance is critical, providing research support, the organization states faculty should advise administration in developing curriculum and methods of instruction
6.
Political party
–
A political party is a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government. The party agrees on some proposed policies and programmes, with a view to promoting the good or furthering their supporters interests. While there is some international commonality in the way political parties are recognized, and in how they operate, there are many differences. Many political parties have a core, but some do not. In many democracies, political parties are elected by the electorate to run a government, many countries, such as Germany and India, have several significant political parties, and some nations have one-party systems, such as China and Cuba. The United States is in practice a two-party system, but with smaller parties also participating. Its two most important parties are the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, the first political factions, cohering around a basic, if fluid, set of principles, emerged from the Exclusion Crisis and Glorious Revolution in late 17th century England. The leader of the Whigs was Robert Walpole, who maintained control of the government in the period 1721–1742, as the century wore on, the factions slowly began to adopt more coherent political tendencies as the interests of their power bases began to diverge. The Whig partys initial base of support from the aristocratic families widened to include the emerging industrial interests. A major influence on the Whigs were the political ideas of John Locke. They acted as a united, though unavailing, opposition to Whig corruption and they finally regained power with the accession of George III in 1760 under Lord Bute. Out of this chaos, the first distinctive parties emerged, the first such party was the Rockingham Whigs under the leadership of Charles Watson-Wentworth and the intellectual guidance of the political philosopher Edmund Burke. A coalition including the Rockingham Whigs, led by the Earl of Shelburne, took power in 1782, the new government, led by the radical politician Charles James Fox in coalition with Lord North, was soon brought down and replaced by William Pitt the Younger in 1783. It was now that a genuine two-party system began to emerge, by the time of this split the Whig party was increasingly influenced by the ideas of Adam Smith, founder of classical liberalism. As Wilson and Reill note, Adam Smiths theory melded nicely with the political stance of the Whig Party. The modern Conservative Party was created out of the Pittite Tories of the early 19th century, in the late 1820s disputes over political reform broke up this grouping. A government led by the Duke of Wellington collapsed amidst dire election results, following this disaster Robert Peel set about assembling a new coalition of forces. However, a consensus reached on these issues ended party politics in 1816 for a decade, Party politics revived in 1829 with the split of the Democratic-Republican Party into the Jacksonian Democrats led by Andrew Jackson, and the Whig Party, led by Henry Clay
7.
Security sector governance and reform
–
Security sector reform is a concept that first emerged in the 1990s in Eastern Europe. Though there is no globally accepted definition, SSR generally refers to a process to reform or rebuild a states security sector. It responds to a situation in which a security sector is unable to provide security to the state and its people effectively. In some cases, the security sector can itself be a source of widespread insecurity due to discriminatory, in this respect, an unreformed or misconstructed security sector represents a decisive obstacle to the promotion of sustainable development, democracy and peace. In some contexts, it also addresses non-state armed groups and/or private security, SSR is both an operational as well as a normative concept. As such, SSR can be seen as a branch of an international effort to secure human security. SSR is not limited to a political situation, but rather can be introduced in various contexts. The circumstances under which reform efforts are undertaken can be classified as three very different reform environments, post-conflict, transitional and developed countries, SSR is most commonly introduced in post-conflict settings. However, its application insensitivity to such contexts has raised criticism, post-conflict environments are characterized by mostly destroyed, distrusted or dismissed political institutions and widespread insecurity. SSR in such a situation can be understood as Security Sector Reconstruction, as the monopoly on the use of force and effective. Reform is seen as essential to prevent the recurrence of conflict and to public security. Transitional countries are on a borderline from one system to another. The main aim of SSR in transitional countries is to introduce the principles of governance to the security sector. Reform efforts often focus on creating accountability mechanisms and addressing public mistrust of security sector institutions, the term SSR tends not to be used in relation to developed countries, although reform is often needed and may be occurring at different levels. Reform efforts in developed countries are most often institution-specific and focus on such as efficiency, increased oversight. In many developed countries, the security sector has yet to respond to. SSR is essentially aimed at the efficient, effective and non-discriminatory provision of state, however, the goals of providing state and human security can be conflictual in the context of conflict-torn societies which lack the framework of democratic governance. The experiences of SSR in Afghanistan triggered a debate on the advantages of providing human rather than state security in the process of state-building, the SSR concept links measures aimed at increasing efficiency and effectiveness of security forces to overriding concerns of democratic governance
8.
Soil governance
–
Soil governance refers to the policies, strategies, and the processes of decision-making employed by nation states and local governments regarding the use of soil. Globally, governance of the soil has limited to an agricultural perspective due to increased food insecurity from the most populated regions on earth. In the developing world, soil governance is biased towards promoting sustainable agriculture, governance of the soil differs from soil management. Soil management involves practices and techniques used to increase and maintain fertility, structure. With an aim to make data available to all, the Food and Agriculture Organization. Currently, under the GSP framework, a new global soil information system will be developed, in 2002, the International Union of Soil Sciences proposed December 5 to be World Soil Day to celebrate the importance of soil in our lives. Changes in land use, population growth, and the impacts of change have led to a gradual process of soil degradation. Soil degradation is a process involving the natural and anthropogenic processes that result in the physical loss. The recognition of anthropogenic effects on soil degradation has influenced discourse of urban soil management, the Global Soil Partnership was launched in 2011. The GSPs ultimate goal is to food security and restoration of ecosystem services through conserving, enhancing. The GSP meets in Plenary Assembly form to meet the different demands from each region, the Second Plenary Assembly will be held in July 2014. The vision of the GSP is to improve governance of soil resources to guarantee healthy and productive soils for a food-secure world, the mission of the GSP is capacity building, facilitate and contribute to soil science and technologies for sustainable management of soil resources at all levels. The Intergovernmental Panel of Soils represents all regions of the world and is composed of 27 soil expert representatives, to achieve its vision and mandate, the GSP operates under five pillars of action,1. Promote sustainable management of resources for soil protection, conservation. Encourage investment, technical cooperation, policy, education awareness and extension in soil 3, promote targeted soil research and development focusing on identified gaps and priorities and synergies with related productive, environmental and social development actions 4. Enhance the quantity and quality of data and information, data collection, analysis, validation, reporting, monitoring. The aim of the IYS is to increase awareness and understanding of the importance of soil for food security, the conference organized by the United Nations saw the acceptance of various documents and charters governing the natural environment and sustainable development. In its inception phase, EU environmental policy was a reaction to competition with the markets
9.
Transnational governance
–
When such disparate hierarchies within the EU find common goals, typically within a conterminous geographic area, they seek to achieve them by integrating their various policies and activities. Economic and social are, or at least should be, inseparable concepts, why reach a high economic development if the inhabitants living in the area don’t see any benefits of that improvement. Reach social and economic developments are already a challenging but it’s even more challenging in an area such as the greater region. Some projects were created in order to foster these developments, the operational program Interreg IV A, “grande region” has for main objectives to make the greater region more attractive, encourage innovation, improve the numbers of high quality jobs, etc. Good governance could lead to the adoption of an identity which could lead to mutual support between people, companies or authorities sharing this common identity. Concretely, we observe a high amount of Foreign direct investments coming from Austria in order to develop the situation of Slokia. It has been one of the forces behind industrial restructuring in Hungary. However, it has to be said to huge economic and social disparities could be seen a threat to the process leading to the creation of a common identity. For instance, the migration of workers stays underdeveloped because of Austrian fears, an important brain drain could also appear which will make highly decrease the number of educated people who could have been able to develop and teach regional strategic development plan. Governance Gabriele Tatzberger, Territorial Cohesion and the European Model of Society, The Vienna-Bratislava-Györ Triangle The European Model of Society in Action, edited by Andreas Faludi
10.
Website governance
–
Website governance is an organizations structure of staff and the technical systems, policies and procedures to maintain and manage a website. Website governance applies to both Internet and Intranet sites, a Website Management Team can be defined as an authorizing body of a website responsible for setting and achieving high-level goals for a site. This body includes content owner stakeholders and site production staff, in some organizations, a Chief Web Officer leads the WMT. Responsibilities and authorities of website staff may be grouped by strategic, tactical and operational roles, the tactical staff may be a group serving on a website governance board or steering team representing the main constituencies as defined by the organizations overall business plan. Several models of website governance exist, harrison, the first co-chair of the Federal Web Managers Council, has proposed the 5 “R’s of web governance, Roles, Responsibilities, Relationships, Rules, and Review. In a 2008 report, the United Nations Joint Inspection Unit reviewed the management of websites in United Nations system organizations and these included website governance, strategy, and policies and guidelines, content management systems, and staffing, training, and funding. In 2011 Jacoby introduced the Website Governance Functional Model, in this article he also introduced the concept the website is the organization. In 2012 Jacoby introduced the Website Governance Modeling Tool, designed to help Web managers and their stakeholders conceptualize, how Governance Supports Your Agencys Digital Government Strategy. Managing Chaos, Digital Governance by Design, Web Governance LinkedIn group Usability. gov Howto. gov Web Content channel Website Governance Modeling Tool
11.
Sustainable Governance Indicators
–
The project is designed to create a comprehensive data pool on government-related activities in the countries considered the worlds most developed free-market democracies. In addition, it uses international comparisons to provide evidence-based input for reform-related public discourse taking place in these countries, the SGI are updated every two or three years. Three scholars with established country expertise are involved in the analysis of each OECD state under review, in an attempt to identify and reduce subjective bias, the SGI project selects experts representing both domestic and external views as well as the viewpoints of political scientists and economists. Comparative political scientists with area expertise then integrate the two reports into a single country report, and select information according to certain validity and objectivity criteria. The SGI concept is inspired by the Bertelsmann Foundation’s Transformation Index, since 2002, the BTI has been documenting the progress 128 transformation countries have been making toward democracy and a market economy. By measuring the need for reform along with the effectiveness of existing initiatives, the SGI aims to identify the best policy solutions for promoting democracy and a market economy. The need for reform within a country is analyzed in the Sustainable Governance Indicators in the Status Index, Status Index scores are composite measures, based on numerous quantitative and qualitative assessments. The democracy category counts for half of the score, while the four policy-specific categories collectively provide the remainder. The second dimension of the Status Index corresponds to the OECD states competencies in policy fields that are relevant for future viability. The index examines fields such as Economy and Employment, Social Affairs, Security, and Resources, Management Index scores are composite measures, based on numerous quantitative and qualitative assessments. The Management Index considers, in terms, how capable governments. Thus, Executive Capacity analyzes a governments organizational structures and processes, the main analytical categories used were Steering Capability, Policy Implementation and Institutional Learning. The top rankings of the Status Index are dominated by northern European countries, at the same time, the leading group also includes New Zealand, with its Anglo-Saxon heritage, and continental European Switzerland, two nations with different political and state welfare traditions. The group of mid-range scorers and the group are geographically and culturally just as heterogeneous as the top group. Standard typologies in comparative political science are insufficient to explain the Status Index ranking of the OECD nations, for example, majoritarian democracies do not systematically score better or worse than consensus democracies. Classifying the countries as federalist and centralist states also fails to explain the differences in reform capacity. The top group includes, above all, social welfare states such as the Scandinavian countries. However, liberal welfare states also achieve high scores, with New Zealand, Switzerland and this suggests that the smaller, more open national economies tend to pursue especially sustainable policies
12.
E-governance
–
Through e-governance, government services will be made available to citizens in a convenient, efficient and transparent manner. The three main groups that can be distinguished in governance concepts are government, citizens and businesses/interest groups. In e-governance there are no distinct boundaries, generally four basic models are available – government-to-citizen, government-to-employees, government-to-government and government-to-business. Both terms are treated to be the same, however, there is a difference between the two, the problem in this definition to be congruence definition of e-governance is that there is no provision for governance of ICTs. So, the perspective of the e-governance is the use of the technologies that both help governing and have to be governed, the public–private partnership -based e-governance projects are hugely successful in India. Many countries are looking forward to a corruption-free government, e-government is one-way communication protocol whereas e-governance is two-way communication protocol. The essence of e-governance is to reach the beneficiary and ensure that the services intended to reach the individual has been met with. There should be an auto-response to support the essence of e-governance, E-governance is by the governed, for the governed and of the governed. Establishing the identity of the end beneficiary is a challenge in all citizen-centric services, statistical information published by governments and world bodies does not always reveal the facts. The best form of e-governance cuts down on unwanted interference of too many layers while delivering governmental services and it depends on good infrastructural setup with the support of local processes and parameters for governments to reach their citizens or end beneficiaries. There are several methods of government-to-customer e-governance, two-way communication allows citizens to instant message directly with public administrators, and cast remote electronic votes and instant opinion voting. Transactions such as payment of services, such as city utilities, mundane services such as name or address changes, applying for services or grants, or transferring existing services are more convenient and no longer have to be completed face to face. G2C e-Governance is unbalanced across the globe as not everyone has Internet access and computing skills, but the United States, European Union, the Federal Government of the United States has a broad framework of G2C technology to enhance citizen access to Government information and services. Benefits. Gov is an official US government website that citizens of benefits they are eligible for. As with e-Governance on the level, G2C services vary from state to state. The Digital States Survey ranks states on social measures, digital democracy, e-commerce, taxation, the 2012 report shows Michigan and Utah in the lead and Florida and Idaho with the lowest scores. Municipal governments in the United States also use technology to complete transactions. Much like states, cities are awarded for innovative technology, Government Technologys Best of the Web 2012 named Louissville, KY, Arvada, CO, Raleigh, NC, Riverside, CA, and Austin, TX the top five G2C city portals
13.
Sustainability
–
In ecology, sustainability is the property of biological systems to remain diverse and productive indefinitely. Long-lived and healthy wetlands and forests are examples of biological systems. In more general terms, sustainability is the endurance of systems, the organizing principle for sustainability is sustainable development, which includes the four interconnected domains, ecology, economics, politics and culture. Sustainability science is the study of development and environmental science. Sustainability can also be defined as a process characterized by the pursuit of a common ideal. An ideal is by definition unattainable in a time and space. However, by persistently and dynamically approaching it, the results in a sustainable system. Healthy ecosystems and environments are necessary to the survival of humans, ways of reducing negative human impact are environmentally-friendly chemical engineering, environmental resources management and environmental protection. Information is gained from green chemistry, earth science, environmental science, Ecological economics studies the fields of academic research that aim to address human economies and natural ecosystems. Moving towards sustainability is also a challenge that entails international and national law, urban planning and transport, local and individual lifestyles. The name sustainability is derived from the Latin sustinere, sustain can mean “maintain, support, or endure”. ”The 2005 World Summit on Social Development identified sustainable development goals, such as economic development, social development and environmental protection. This view has been expressed as an illustration using three overlapping ellipses indicating that the three pillars of sustainability are not mutually exclusive and can be mutually reinforcing, in fact, the three pillars are interdependent, and in the long run none can exist without the others. The three pillars have served as a ground for numerous sustainability standards and certification systems in recent years. Standards which today explicitly refer to the bottom line include Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade. Some sustainability experts and practitioners have illustrated four pillars of sustainability, one such pillar is future generations, which emphasizes the long-term thinking associated with sustainability. There is also an opinion that considers resource use and financial sustainability as two pillars of sustainability. Sustainable development consists of balancing local and global efforts to meet human needs without destroying or degrading the natural environment. The question then becomes how to represent the relationship between those needs and the environment, a study from 2005 pointed out that environmental justice is as important as sustainable development
14.
Business
–
A business is an organizational entity involved in the provision of goods and services to consumers. Businesses may also be social non-profit enterprises or state-owned public enterprises operated by governments with specific social, a business owned by multiple private individuals may form as an incorporated company or jointly organise as a partnership. Countries have different laws that may ascribe different rights to the business entities. The word business can refer to an organization or to an entire market sector or to the sum of all economic activity. Compound forms such as agribusiness represent subsets of the broader meaning. Businesses aim to maximize sales to have their income exceed their expenditures, resulting in a profit, the owner operates the business alone and may hire employees. A sole proprietor has unlimited liability for all obligations incurred by the business, partnership, A partnership is a business owned by two or more people. In most forms of partnerships, each partner has unlimited liability for the debts incurred by the business, the three most prevalent types of for-profit partnerships are, general partnerships, limited partnerships, and limited liability partnerships. Corporation, The owners of a corporation have limited liability and the business has a legal personality from its owners. Corporations can be either government-owned or privately owned and they can organize either for profit or as nonprofit organizations. A privately owned, for-profit corporation is owned by its shareholders, a privately owned, for-profit corporation can be either privately held by a small group of individuals, or publicly held, with publicly traded shares listed on a stock exchange. Cooperative, Often referred to as a co-op, a cooperative is a limited-liability business that can organize as for-profit or not-for-profit, a cooperative differs from a corporation in that it has members, not shareholders, and they share decision-making authority. Cooperatives are typically classified as either consumer cooperatives or worker cooperatives, cooperatives are fundamental to the ideology of economic democracy. In contrast, unincorporated businesses or persons working on their own are not as protected. Franchises, A franchise is a system in which entrepreneurs purchase the rights to open, franchising in the United States is widespread and is a major economic powerhouse. One out of retail businesses in the United States are franchised and 8 million people are employed in a franchised business. Real estate businesses sell, invest, construct and develop properties – including land, residential homes, retailers, wholesalers, and distributors act as middlemen and get goods produced by manufacturers to the intended consumers, they make their profits by marking up their prices. Most stores and catalog companies are distributors or retailers, transportation businesses such as railways, airlines, shipping companies that deliver goods and individuals to their destinations for a fee
15.
Pension fund
–
A pension fund, also known as a superannuation fund in some countries, is any plan, fund, or scheme which provides retirement income. Pension funds typically have large amounts of money to invest and are the investors in listed. They are especially important to the market where large institutional investors dominate. The largest 300 pension funds collectively hold about $6 trillion in assets, the Federal Old-age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund is the worlds largest public pension fund which oversees $2.645 trillion USD in assets. Open pension funds support at least one pension plan with no restriction on membership while closed pension funds support only pension plans that are limited to certain employees, in certain countries the distinction between public or government pension funds and private pension funds may be difficult to assess. In others, the distinction is made sharply in law, with specific requirements for administration. Provident Fund is applicable across for employees across establishments, EPF is the Largest Social Security Organisations in India with Assets well over ₹5 Lakh Crore as of 2014. Indian citizens between the age of 18-55 are eligible to join, the Financial Supervisory Authority - Private Pension is responsible for the supervision and regulation of the private pension system.06. Armed Forces Pension Fund OYAK provides its members with supplementary retirement benefits apart from the retirement fund, T. C. Emekli Sandığı/SSK. OYAK is incorporated as an entity under its own law subject to Turkish civic. OYAK while fulfilling its duties, as set in the Law, also provides its members with social services such as loans, home loans. The initial source of OYAKs funds is a compulsory 10 percent levy on the salary of Turkeys 200,000 serving officers who, together with 25,000 current pensioners. Some other Turkish private pension funds, YAPI ve KREDİ BANKASI A. Ş, mensupları Yardım ve Emekli Sandığı Vakfı AKBANK T. A. Ş. Mensupları Tekaüt Sandığı Vakfı TÜRKİYE GARANTİ BANKASI A. Ş, memur ve Müstahdemleri Emekli ve Yardım Sandığı Vakfı TÜRKİYE ODALAR BORSALAR VE BİRLİK PERSONELİ SİGORTA VE EMEKLİ SANDIĞI VAKFI TÜRKİYE İŞ BANKASI A. Ş. Mensupları Emekli Sandığı Vakfı In the United States pension funds include schemes which result in a deferral of income by employees, the United States has $24.5 trillion in retirement and pension assets as of June 30,2014. The largest 200 pension funds accounted for $4.540 trillion as of September 30,2009
16.
United States
–
Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
17.
Capital (economics)
–
In economics, capital goods, real capital, or capital assets are already-produced, durable goods or any non-financial asset that is used in production of goods or services. Adam Smith defines capital as That part of a stock which he expects to afford him revenue. The term stock is derived from the Old English word for stump or tree trunk and it has been used to refer to all the moveable property of a farm since at least 1510. In Middle Ages France contracted leases and loans bearing interest specified payment, how a capital good is maintained or returned to its pre-production state varies with the type of capital involved. In most cases capital is replaced after a period as newer forms of capital make continued use of current capital non profitable. It is also possible that advances make a form of capital practical again. Capital is distinct from land in that capital can be increased by human labor, at any given moment in time, total physical capital may be referred to as the capital stock. Capital is an input in the production function, homes and personal autos are not usually defined as capital but as durable goods because they are not used in a production of saleable goods and services. In Marxist political economy, capital is used to buy something only in order to sell it again to realize a financial profit. In more contemporary schools of economics, this form of capital is referred to as financial capital and is distinguished from capital goods. Classical and neoclassical economics regard capital as one of the factors of production, all other inputs to production are called intangibles in classical economics. This includes organization, entrepreneurship, knowledge, goodwill, or management and this is what makes it a factor of production, The good is not used up immediately in the process of production unlike raw materials or intermediate goods. The good can be produced or increased and these distinctions of convenience have carried over to contemporary economic theory. There was the clarification that capital is a stock. As such, its value can be estimated at a point in time, by contrast, investment, as production to be added to the capital stock, is described as taking place over time, thus a flow. Since at least the 1960s economists have increasingly focused on forms of capital. These terms lead to questions and controversies discussed in those articles. It is in the form of assets, traded in financial markets
18.
Affordable housing
–
Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a median household income as rated by country, State, region, or municipality by a recognized Housing Affordability Index. In the United Kingdom affordable housing includes social rented and intermediate housing, the notion of housing affordability became widespread in the 1980s in Europe and North America. Housing choice is a response to a complex set of economic, social. For example, some households may choose to spend more on housing because they feel they can afford to, the Median Multiple indicator, recommended by the World Bank and the United Nations, rates affordability of housing by dividing the median house price by gross annual median household income). A common measure of affordability is the number of homes that a household with a certain percentage of median income can afford. 50% affordability for the median home indicates a balanced market, determining housing affordability is complex and the commonly used housing-expenditure-to-income-ratio tool has been challenged. In the United States and Canada, a commonly accepted guideline for housing affordability is a housing cost that does not exceed 30% of a gross income. Canada, for example, switched to a 25% rule from a 20% rule in the 1950s, in the 1980s this was replaced by a 30% rule. One of the greatest strengths of the HAI developed by MIT is its ability to capture the Total Cost of Ownership of individuals housing choices, in computing the index the obvious cost of rents and mortgage payments are modified by the hidden costs of those choices. Income is the primary factor—not price and availability, that housing affordability. In a market economy the distribution of income is the key determinant of the quantity and quality of housing obtained, therefore, understanding affordable housing challenges requires understanding trends and disparities in income and wealth. Housing is often the single biggest expenditure of low and middle income families, for low and middle income families, their house is also the greatest source of wealth. The most common approach to measure the affordability of housing has been to consider the percentage of income that a household spends on housing expenditures, another method of studying affordability looks at the regular hourly wage of full-time workers who are paid only the minimum wage. The hope is that workers will be able to afford at least a small apartment in the area where they work. Some countries look at those living in poverty, which is usually defined as making less than 60% of the median household income. In their policy reports, they consider the presence or absence of housing for people making 60% of the median income, Housing affordability can be measured by the changing relationships between house prices and rents, and between house prices and incomes. There has been an increase among policy makers in affordable housing as the price of housing has increased creating a crisis in affordable housing. Since 2000 the world experienced an unprecedented house price boom in terms of magnitude and duration, never before had house prices risen so fast, for so long, in so many countries
19.
United Mine Workers
–
The United Mine Workers of America is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the United States and Canada. Although its main focus has always been on workers and their rights, the UMW of today also advocates for better roads, schools, by 2014, coal mining had largely shifted to open pit mines in Wyoming, and there were only 60,000 active coal miners. The UMW was left with 35,000 members, of whom 20,000 were coal miners, chiefly in underground mines in Kentucky, however it was responsible for pensions and medical benefits for 40,000 retired miners, and for 50,000 spouses and dependents. The UMW was founded in Columbus, Ohio, on January 25,1890, after passage of the National Recovery Act in 1933, organizers spread throughout the United States to organize all coal miners into labor unions. Under the powerful leadership of John L. Lewis, the UMW broke with the American Federation of Labor and set up its own federation, the CIO. Its organizers fanned out to major industries, including automobiles, steel, electrical equipment, rubber, paint and chemical. The UMW grew to 800,000 members and was an element in the New Deal Coalition supporting Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lewis broke with Roosevelt in 1940 and left the CIO, leaving the UMW increasingly isolated in the labor movement. During World War II the UMW was involved in a series of strikes and threatened walkouts that angered public opinion. After the war the UMW concentrated on gaining large increases in wages, medical services and retirement benefits for its shrinking membership. The UMW was founded in Columbus, Ohio, on January 22,1890, at the time coal was one of the most in-demand natural resources, used to heat homes and to power machines in industries. The coal mines were a competitive and dangerous place to work, and with decreasing amounts of pay occurring on a regular basis, miners sought a group to stand up for their rights. American Miners Association The first step in starting the union was the creation of the American Miners Association and this creation put into motion the labor movement in America. The popularity of the group grew immensely, of an estimated 56,000 miners in 1865, John Hinchcliffe claimed 22,000 as members of the AMA. As a result of the union, the mine owners sought to stop the AMA from becoming more powerful. Members of the AMA were fired and blacklisted from employment at other mines, after a short time the AMA began to decline until it ceased to be. Workingmans Benevolent Association Another early labor union that arose in 1868 was the Workingmens Benevolent Association, the main difference between this labor union and many others of the time was that it was an anthracite labor union. The laborers formed the WBA to help improve pay and working conditions, the main reason for the success of this group was the president, John Siney, who sought a way for both the miners benefits to increase while also helping the operators gain a profit
20.
Apartheid
–
Apartheid was a system of institutionalised racial segregation and discrimination in South Africa between 1948 and 1991, when it was abolished. The countrys first multiracial elections under a universal franchise were held three years later in 1994, Apartheid as a policy was embraced by the South African government shortly after the ascension of the National Party during the countrys 1948 general elections. Apartheid was also enforced in South West Africa until it gained independence as Namibia in 1990, with the rapid growth and industrialisation of the British Cape Colony in the nineteenth century, racial policies and laws became increasingly rigid. Cape legislation that discriminated specifically against black Africans began appearing shortly before 1900, the policies of the Boer republics were also racially exclusive, for instance, the Transvaal constitution barred nonwhite participation in church and state. Places of residence were determined by racial classification, from 1960 to 1983,3.5 million nonwhite South Africans were removed from their homes, and forced into segregated neighbourhoods, in one of the largest mass removals in modern history. Most of these targeted removals were intended to restrict the population to ten designated tribal homelands, also known as bantustans. The government announced that relocated persons would lose their South African citizenship as they were absorbed into the bantustans, Apartheid sparked significant international and domestic opposition, resulting in some of the most influential global social movements of the twentieth century. It was the target of frequent condemnation in the United Nations, some reforms of the apartheid system were undertaken, including allowing for Indian and coloured political representation in parliament, but these measures failed in appeasing most activist groups. In 1990, prominent ANC leaders such as Nelson Mandela were released from detention, Apartheid legislation was abolished in mid-1991, pending multiracial elections set for April 1994. Apartheid is an Afrikaans word meaning separateness, or the state of being apart and its first recorded use was in 1929. The governors and assemblies that governed the process in the various colonies of South Africa were launched on a different and independent legislative path from the rest of the British Empire. In the days of slavery, slaves required passes to travel away from their masters, in 1797 the Landdrost and Heemraden of Swellendam and Graaff-Reinet extended pass laws beyond slaves and ordained that all Khoikhoi moving about the country for any purpose should carry passes. Ordinance No.49 of 1828 decreed that prospective black immigrants were to be granted passes for the purpose of seeking work. These passes were to be issued for Coloureds and Khoikhoi, but not for other Africans, the United Kingdoms Slavery Abolition Act 1833 abolished slavery throughout the British Empire and overrode the Cape Articles of Capitulation. To comply with the act the South African legislation was expanded to include Ordinance 1 in 1835 and this was followed by Ordinance 3 in 1848, which introduced an indenture system for Xhosa that was little different from slavery. The Glen Grey Act of 1894, instigated by the government of Prime Minister Cecil John Rhodes limited the amount of land Africans could hold, in 1905 the General Pass Regulations Act denied blacks the vote, limited them to fixed areas and inaugurated the infamous Pass System. The Asiatic Registration Act required all Indians to register and carry passes, one of the first pieces of segregating legislation enacted by Jan Smuts United Party government was the Asiatic Land Tenure Bill, which banned land sales to Indians. The United Party government began to move away from the enforcement of segregationist laws during World War II
21.
South Africa
–
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is the southernmost country in Africa. South Africa is the 25th-largest country in the world by land area and it is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World or the Eastern Hemisphere. About 80 percent of South Africans are of Sub-Saharan African ancestry, divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different Bantu languages, the remaining population consists of Africas largest communities of European, Asian, and multiracial ancestry. South Africa is a multiethnic society encompassing a variety of cultures, languages. Its pluralistic makeup is reflected in the recognition of 11 official languages. The country is one of the few in Africa never to have had a coup détat, however, the vast majority of black South Africans were not enfranchised until 1994. During the 20th century, the black majority sought to recover its rights from the dominant white minority, with this struggle playing a role in the countrys recent history. The National Party imposed apartheid in 1948, institutionalising previous racial segregation, since 1994, all ethnic and linguistic groups have held political representation in the countrys democracy, which comprises a parliamentary republic and nine provinces. South Africa is often referred to as the Rainbow Nation to describe the multicultural diversity. The World Bank classifies South Africa as an economy. Its economy is the second-largest in Africa, and the 34th-largest in the world, in terms of purchasing power parity, South Africa has the seventh-highest per capita income in Africa. However, poverty and inequality remain widespread, with about a quarter of the population unemployed, nevertheless, South Africa has been identified as a middle power in international affairs, and maintains significant regional influence. The name South Africa is derived from the geographic location at the southern tip of Africa. Upon formation the country was named the Union of South Africa in English, since 1961 the long form name in English has been the Republic of South Africa. In Dutch the country was named Republiek van Zuid-Afrika, replaced in 1983 by the Afrikaans Republiek van Suid-Afrika, since 1994 the Republic has had an official name in each of its 11 official languages. Mzansi, derived from the Xhosa noun umzantsi meaning south, is a name for South Africa. South Africa contains some of the oldest archaeological and human fossil sites in the world, extensive fossil remains have been recovered from a series of caves in Gauteng Province. The area is a UNESCO World Heritage site and has termed the Cradle of Humankind
22.
Disinvestment
–
Disinvestment refers to the use of a concerted economic boycott to pressure a government, industry, or company towards a change in policy, or in the case of governments, even regime change. The term has also applied to actions targeting Iran, Sudan, Northern Ireland, Myanmar. According to the New York Times, when Ford Motor Company left the coalition, it was “the latest sign of divisions within heavy industry over how to respond to global warming. ”After that, between December,1999 and early March,2000, the GCC was deserted by Daimler-Chrysler, Texaco, the Southern Company and General Motors. The organization closed in 2002, or in their own words, people associated with the campaign were John Passacantando, who served as the executive director of Ozone Action, and Phil Radford, the then field director of the organization. Both men later served as the director of Greenpeace Tobacco industry Arms trade Fossil fuels industry There is a movement to disinvest from coal, oil. We believe organizations that serve the public good should divest from fossil fuels” Talisman Energy - because of its status as the main Western oil company in Sudan in the early 2000s. Eighteen American states have passed laws requiring the divestment of state funds from firms doing business with Iran. Several states and localities did pass legislation ordering the sale of such securities, an array of celebrities, including singer Paul Simon, actively supported the cause. These principles called for doing business in South Africa to adhere to strict standards of non-discrimination in hiring and promotions. One particular target of this campaign was the Canadian oil company, Talisman Energy which eventually left the country, There is currently a growing movement to divest from companies that do business with the Sudanese government responsible for genocide in Darfur. Prompted by the State of Illinois - the first government in the U. S. A. to divest - scores of public, in New York City, Councilman Eric Gioia recently introduced a resolution to divest City pension funds from companies doing business with Sudan. The recent divestment of assets implicated in funding the government of Sudan, in acknowledgment of acts of terrorism, in the United States, this divestment has taken place at the state level. The so-called targeted divestment approach generally permits investment in Sudan, and is radically different from the comprehensive divestment that ended apartheid in South Africa. S. Myanmar has also been the target of disinvestment campaigns Divestment campaigns have also directed against Saudi Arabia due to allegations of gender apartheid. The University of California, Riversides Hillel chapter has a Saudi Divestment petition circulating as of 2007, in 2007, several major international and Canadian oil companies threatened to withdraw investment from the province of Alberta because of a proposed increase in royalty rates. Some hold that divestment campaigns are based on a fundamental misunderstanding of how stock markets work, and I said, Why should we do that. Is it immoral to own that stock, and I said, So then, were supposed to sell it to somebody. We cant divest unless we sell it to somebody, and if we burn the stock, that just helps General Motors, because it reduces the amount of stock outstanding, so that cant be right
23.
Leon Sullivan
–
Sullivan died on April 24,2001, of leukemia at a Scottsdale, Arizona, hospital. Born to Charles and Helen Sullivan in Charleston, West Virginia and he was raised in a small house in a dirt alley called Washington Court in one of Charlestons poorest sections. His parents divorced when he was three years old and he grew up an only child, Sullivan has often re-told the event which set a course for the remainder of his life. At the age of twelve, he tried to purchase a Coca-Cola in a drugstore on Capitol Street, the proprietor refused to sell him the drink, saying, Stand on your feet, boy. This incident inspired Sullivans lifetime pursuit of fighting racial prejudice, a foot injury ended his athletic career and forced Sullivan to pay for college by working in a steel mill. Sullivan became a Baptist minister in West Virginia at the age of 18 and he also served as Powells assistant minister at the Abyssinian Baptist Church. During this period, Sullivan met his wife Grace, a woman whom he referred to as Amazing Grace, the couple would eventually have three children, Hope, Julie and Howard. In 1945 Sullivan and Grace moved to South Orange, New Jersey, five years later, Leon and Grace moved to Philadelphia, where Leon took on the role of pastor of Zion Baptist Church, located today at 3600 North Broad Street in the City of Philadelphia. Known there as the Lion of Zion he served from 1950 to 1988, Sullivan took his first active role in the civil rights movement by helping to organize a march on Washington, D. C. in the early 1940s. Sullivan believed jobs were the key to improving African-American lives and starting in 1958 he asked that Philadelphias largest companies interview young blacks. Only two companies responded positively so Sullivan, through his affiliation with other ministers, organized a boycott of businesses which he referred to as Selective Patronage. The slogan was Dont buy where you dont work and the boycott was effective since blacks constituted about 20% of Philadelphias population. Sullivan estimated the boycott produced thousands of jobs for African Americans in a period of four years, the New York Times featured the program with a front-page story, and later, Fortune magazine brought the program to greater public attention on a national scale. By 1962, the effectiveness of Sullivans boycotts came to the attention of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, the exchange led to SCLCs economic arm, Operation Breadbasket, in 1967, headed by Jesse Jackson. Sullivans work was built on the principle of self-help, which people with the tools to help themselves overcome barriers of poverty. African Americans had been excluded from the types of training led to better paying jobs. Sullivan realized that simply making jobs available was not enough and he said, In 1964, Sullivan founded Opportunities Industrialization Centers of America in an abandoned jail house in North Philadelphia. The program took individuals with little hope and few prospects and offered them job training and instruction in life skills, the movement quickly spread around the nation
24.
General Motors
–
With global headquarters at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan, United States, GM manufactures cars and trucks in 35 countries. In 2008,8.35 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under various brands, current auto brands are Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Holden, and Wuling. Former GM automotive brands include McLaughlin, Oakland, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Hummer, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall, the company was founded by William C. Durant on September 16,1908 as a holding company. The company was the largest automobile manufacturer from 1931 through 2007, in addition to brands selling assembled vehicles, GM also has had various automotive-component and non-automotive brands, many of which it divested in the 1980s through 2000s. General Motors produces vehicles in 37 countries under twelve brands, Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, Holden, HSV, Opel, Vauxhall, Wuling, Baojun, Jie Fang, and Ravon. The current company, General Motors Company LLC, was formed in 2009 following the bankruptcy of General Motors Corporation, the new company purchased the majority of the assets of the old GM, including the brand General Motors. In addition to its twelve brands, General Motors also holds a 20% stake in IMM, General Motors employs 212,000 people and does business in more than 140 countries. General Motors is divided into five segments, GM North America, Opel Group, GM International Operations, GM South America. General Motors led global vehicle sales for 77 consecutive years from 1931 through 2007, longer any other automaker. General Motors acts in most countries outside the U. S. via wholly owned subsidiaries, GMs OnStar subsidiary provides vehicle safety, security and information services. In 2009, General Motors shed several brands, closing Saturn, Pontiac, and Hummer, in 2010, the reorganized GM made an initial public offering that was one of the worlds top five largest IPOs to date, and returned to profitability later that year. General Motors Corporation was formed on September 16,1908, in Flint, Michigan, GMs co-founder was Charles Stewart Mott, whose carriage company was merged into Buick prior to GMs creation. Over the years, Mott became the largest single stockholder in GM, and spent his life with his Mott Foundation, GM acquired Oldsmobile later that year. In 1909, Durant brought in Cadillac, Elmore, Oakland, also in 1909, GM acquired the Reliance Motor Truck Company of Owosso, Michigan, and the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company of Pontiac, Michigan, the predecessors of GMC Truck. Durant, along with R. S. McLaughlin, lost control of GM in 1910 to a bankers trust, because of the amount of debt taken on in its acquisitions. The next year, Durant started the Chevrolet Motor Car Company in the U. S. and in Canada in 1915, Durant took back control of the company after one of the most dramatic proxy wars in American business history. Durant then reorganized General Motors Company into General Motors Corporation in 1916, merging Chevrolet with GM, shortly thereafter, he again lost control, this time for good, after the new vehicle market collapsed. These facilities were added to the factories that were exclusive to Cadillac, Buick, Oldsmobile, Oakland
