Riffrag Business & Finance Report

Pretty. Tough. Two words pop into my head as I watch a group of ladies enter the GUM, Moscow’s grande Olde shopping mall. It is -14 Celsius outside in Red Square, as they shake the snow off their overcoats.

I am settling in to write this week’s column over endless cups of coffee in the café of Gastronome No1, once a favorite of politburo members.

My thoughts turn to Indonesia, women in particular. It has not been a good decade for women around the world. While more than half the human race continues to live in some form of poverty, two-thirds of the underprivileged are women.

How are Indonesia’s women pharynx, at the turn of a new decade? Who are they today, how influential are they in the consumer economy? As I look at the chart, it strikes me that marriage as an institution is alive and well. Of all the ladies 14 years and older in age, a robust 70 percent are married.

That percentage is steady, growing in recent years. For a young country, that is a Surprisingly high number especially in comparison to Western societies.
n Indonesia, the ladies control the domestic budget. 57 percent of women are the nation’s main grocery buyers. That makes them the boss in 9 out of 10 households, much higher than in India for instance. This is a seemingly obvious fact that is all too often ignored by too many marketers.

From toothpastes to motorcycles, have many of them Overwhelming influence on brand-choice. This power can start Relatively early in life for a woman who Marries young, and can remain till she is the controller of the purse strings in a large extended family. More than two generations live under the roof of most homes, across the country, in the cities, Towns and villages. Not Surprisingly, this phenomenon is holding a pattern as well with cost of living Compelling generations to live together.

The nuclear family is not anywhere near becoming a major force in Indonesian society anytime soon.

Half the fairer sex, 14 years and over are Housewives. At 53 percent today, this number has in fact grown marginally in recent years, a significant comment on where society is heading. In general, women create little pressure on the job market, even while their presence in business and politics becomes increasingly visible. As a unit, the family can only benefit from her presence at home.

Exactly half of all women are mothers of children in the household. Again, in comparison to other societies both in the East and the West, this is a very high number and tracking steadily over time.

Perhaps the most significant changes in the life of Indonesia’s women is the rapid growth in
the numbers who have finished high school. In just five years, the rate of – climb from 21 percent in 2005 to 34 percent in 2009, is dramatic indeed. With many choosing to stay home, a better educated mother augurs well for the nation’s future. This is a development of a wide-ranging impact on society, Influencing healthcare to social behavior, politics to business.

Half the women who are not Housewives have a job, full or part-time. That is 25 percent of all Indonesian women. This number is holding steady, in the face of rapid improvements in the numbers of educated women.

More and more of these working women are riding motorcycles today. That number has grown from 11 percent of all women five years ago to 15 percent today. And climbing. This phenomenon has taken years for motorcycle manufacturers to first discover and then embrace. It is Influencing design and handling, not just colors and names.

But there is one major number measured by Roy Morgan research that is heading in the wrong direction. The percentage of women with active bank accounts has diminished over the years, from 20 percent in 2005 to 14 percent today.

This is yet another major sign that Indonesia not only remains a cash marketplace, it is becoming even more so. This is a setback for the country as a whole, with obvious impact on savings as well as asset development.

For The Overwhelming majority, there is little of either to speak of. Higher banking fees have not helped in developing banking relationships, but it is the everyday squeeze on the shopping budget is creating tension that even as wages go up rupiah.

With a growing population of female students at 13 percent of all women today, many of whom are staying on to finish high school, this negative trend will hopefully be reversed in time.

March 8 is International Women’s Day, a holiday in some countries but very popular here in Russia.

Taking off from a 1908 rebellion by women workers in America demanding better pay and working conditions, it became a movement in 1910 with the first international conference of women.

A day that is perhaps worthy of greater attention than it enjoys in most countries, while The Plight
of women across the world fails to improve.

The government is expected to soon complete the Consulting Services Bill, due to a need for rules in the field of consulting services considered very urgent. Whether in the context of improving the competitiveness of national consultants as well as the fulfillment of quantity and quality of national development.

“Actually, this bill longer have started from 2007, instead beginning of 2009 the draft has been entered into the Commission XI DPR-RI. But somehow the discussion suddenly stopped, “said Chairman of the National Association of Indonesian Consultants (INKINDO) Jabar, Firdaus Achmad Doddy.

According to Doddy, who was elected as Chairman INKINDO Jabar 2010-2014 for the service, the AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Area) for consultancy services was started in 2010 this. This means a need for regulatory consulting services are not negotiable.

Explained, on one side of the law could become a kind of consultant nontarif barriers or filters for protecting the national interests of the invasion of foreign consultants. It was also giving space to the national consultants, in order to remain able to develop themselves and more to host their own country.

“Actually we are more harmed by large projects financed from foreign loans. Because they usually require foreign consultants, whose quality is not better than consultants Indonesia. The result of financing projects are usually very high, but it becomes a debt burden of the nation, “he said.

Things like that can be minimized by Doddy with the Act, at least not by requiring the involvement of national consultants as possible. Thus, wasteful use of the national debt could also be reduced

After economic crisis part 2 of a few months ago make  world crash struck several large companies that have been influential in the world perokonomian located advanced countries, such as American, countries in Europe, Russia and some countries of the world come dibelahan affected receive the effects. However, the impact of the Asian region itself feels very small, we see China, Singapore and Indonesia can even show that in a crisis of their country can show a fairly high perkembanganekonomi.

World’s largest economic power began to shift to Asia. One obvious indicator is the spread of companies with largest market capitalization that changed the world significantly in the last decade.

According to research conducted in The Wall Street Journal recently, during 1999-2009 have been major changes in the list of top 25 companies that showed a shift in world power. Ten years ago (1999), recorded 7 of the world’s top 10 corporations are companies based in the United States (U.S.). However, now (2009) only four U.S. companies that survive in the list of companies with largest market capitalization is itu.Keempat corporation Exxon Mobil (USD322, 8 billion), Microsoft (USD262, 8 billion), Wal-Mart Stores (USD201 billion) , and Google (USD188, 4 billion).

Energy company Exxon Mobil to be number one this year displacing the software giant Microsoft that debuted in 1999. What is surprising is the inclusion of three companies of China in the top ten. Bank of China with a capitalization value of USD267 billion, USD216 billion Petro China and China Construction Bank USD191, 6miliar. All three companies Bamboo Curtain country has never entered the list of world’s 25 largest companies in 1999. Besides China and the United States, Brazil, Australia, and England were each placed a single company in the top ten in 2009. What caused the change was shocking?

One is the collapse of the largest U.S. investment firm Lehman Brothers which then led world economic crisis in 2008. Another factor, according to Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business School professor the U.S., is growing very fast internet that can move the trade and gave birth to rich people who destroy baru.Kelompok this traditional industry. Global players from emerging nations growing economy strengthens its position in the list of world’s top businesses. While Wall Street is still busy cleaning themselves after the crisis hit government reverse finansial.Adapun reduce their dependence on the global padaekonomi.

In that situation, growing companies that instant, too competitive, and make the world more just one step sempit.Salah result fatal.Para company executives could terjerumusdari position as hero becomes a loser in one week alone. “Depression and joy (fall and get up ) seem greater and broader impact, “said Rosabeth Moss Kanter. Euphoria internetyang predicted the world would change the color really ini.Menurut decades of research, it did happen though not in accordance with the expected path.

Two icons of the U.S. Internet-based industry, Time Warner Inc. and America Online Inc., merger with a value of USD156 billion and a sign of the birth of a new era that trend could media.Namun dammed by a combination of traditional media and baruyang done very quickly by their owners. As a result, revenues were actually two companies agreed to shrink and split this year.

Tergusurnya U.S. domination of the world list of major companies are also triggered by globalization factors. For example retail companies large and small U.S. such as General Electric Co. (GE) now harusmelihatpenyuplai, markets, and their global competitors.