Events Planning and Management free essay sample

What is an EventSpecial or spectacular occasions where people gather together for a purpose whether they be to celebrate, educate, promote or commemorate. They are not the usual and ordinary activities that one engages in as part of his daily life Who is an Event PlannerAn event planner is, quite simply someone who organizes events. He is the person behind the scenes who gets the job done and make sure everything is done and done flawlessly to ensure successful staging of the event. He must be well versed and trained on the communication and organization aspects and requirements of the job. Event planners usually get their start doing, supplying or providing services in one or two particular aspect of an special events such as catering, floral arranging, entertaining and talent agents eg before they decide to plan entire events. Or they may also have started planning and coordinating events for companies they were employed with before deciding to go into the business for themselves Since events may vary in size, scope and complexity, it may require an event planner to do any number of different task but all with the end result of achieving a successful event Categories of EventsSocial Events- more on a local level, attendees are usually related and/or know each other on a more personal level. Care and caution must be taken as the event planner may find himself in the storm of a family event , as emotions often run high on these special occasions. Make sure everyone knows their role and exactly what’s expected of them. List of common social events: weddings, reunions, housewarming/blessings/holiday parties and dinners/birthday parties/bar or bat mitzvahs/baby showers/anniversary parties/bridal showers/stag parties, et al. Corporate Events- the term â€Å"corporate† includes not only companies but also charities and nonprofit organizations. Charities and nonprofit organizations host gala fundraisers, receptions and athletic competitions, among other events, to expand their public support base and raise funds. Companies host trade shows, conventions, company outings, holiday parties and meetings for their employees, staff, board members and stock holders. Some types of corporate events: Annual shareholder meetings, board meetings, client appreciation events, company socials (such as holiday parties, intramurals and sports events, company outings), groundbreaking ceremonies, incentive travel, open houses, new product launch, press briefings, staff training, union events/meetings et al Industry Events Industry events today are sophisticated affairs designed to inform, influence and form consensus on a specific issue or common topic. Industry specific events include: Conventions, association meetings, conferences, industry tradeshows, public exhibitions(bridal fairs, auto shows, home shows), symposiums et al Special Events – The term â€Å"special events† can describe a broad range of affairs which are big, national or local in scope such as major sporting events (palarong pambansa), major public events (EDSA Day celebration), major cultural and religious affairs ( Baguio mayflower festival, dinagyang, ati-atihan, sinulog festival), However special events may also be much smaller, specific and more private in scope. List of special events include the following: Award events, book launching, signing/author reading, CD release parties, charity fund raisers, children’s festival, ethnic celebrations, fashion shows, holiday special events, inauguration ball, music festival, parades, political forums or debates, restaurant openings, sporting event-car races, store grand openings STEPS IN EVENTS PLANNING 1. Client Consultation Whether you have your own event planning business or work full time planning events for one company you will work with clients. As a corporate events planner your internal clients will be other departments (HRD, Marketing, Operations etc). on the other hand if you are doing events planning independently you will be dealing with company representatives or in some cases the company officials themselves. In each case consultation will be of primary importance as these will determine the direction, objective and purpose and vision of the event. At the initial meeting do more listening than talking, pay careful attention to everything the client says, make notes or record the meeting(with clients permission), bring an assistant to make notes for you. When its your turn, ask the client to describe their vision for the event. Then from broad ideas, you will refine the vision as you move through the planning process. Questions such as those below will help the events planner to begin to visualize the event and serve as the foundation for all the work to come. Things to discus with the client: What kind of event do you want What do you hope to accomplish When is the event to be held Who are expected to attend What is the budget At the end of the consultation you should have a clear picture of what your client envisions for their event and be able to form a clear, concise â€Å"mission statement† or objective. Other things to discus: who will be involved in the planning process, who will be the key decision makers, and how information should flow during the planning stage. This is precisely to anticipate and eliminate possible roadblocks as you can before you reach them since as the events planner it is your responsibility to take charge of planning. After the initial meeting and while it is still fresh on the mind of both parties (planner and client) summarize the discussion in writing and send a copy to the client if possible on the same day or soon after. 2. Set Objectives The best and most successful events have a clear purpose or objective. Event planners can avail of the SMART method for setting strategic objectives: Specific- What is the specific result of you event Measurable- Outcome should be measurable accurately Attainable- Given the existing budget and resources and constraint, is the objective attainable Relevant- Do the people involved have the authority, the skill and the resources needed to meet the objective? Is the objective important to the organization or individual? Time- Based- Is there a start and end point to the objective? Setting smart objectives will not only make the planning easier but will help measure the success of the event and create a positive experience for all involved. 3. Choose a Date and a Location At this planning stage, preferred date should be decided upon. Client will often but not always come with a date in mind for the event. If they don’t, it will be your job to help pick a suitable date. But whether you do the setting of the date or not you need to consider the following before choosing the date or accepting the client. Things to consider when choosing a date: Consider your availability Consider other events in the area Consider the season and usual weather in the chosen location Consider your suppliers Consider other related events Consider other holidays Consider your time needs 4. Decide Who to Invite Your client needs to give you an idea of who they want to attend their event before you can begin to formulate a plan to attract the target audience or plan activities. The following data or information are required (depending on the type of event) How many people are to be invited Will spouses or children also attend Demographics of the target audience (eg. Gender, median age, ethnic background, income bracket) Common or shared interest What payback does the client expect Where are the attendees coming from (travel arrangement, customs and traditions) 5. Create Your Theme The most memorable events have a cohesive theme that runs through-out, from initial publicity to printed invitations to decor and right through to the entertainment and final applause. One of the biggest advantages of a strong theme is its usefulness in helping you make decisions throughout the event process. Once a theme has been decided on, print materials such as invitations, banners, place cards, brochures, advertising and websites can be designed. Where to get ideas for a great theme Brainstorm Events Industry Current Events and Trends Adding a Musical Touch 6. Set the Event Agenda After the date, guest list, the theme and setting of the smart objectives , its time to set the agenda for the event. Whether its a simple house blessing or a three day corporate event, its important to layout the entire schedule. Include adequate time for arrival, socializing, speeches, awards/games, food, etc. â€Å"Visualize† the event and run through the entire program from start to finish. Make notes of all you might need such as materials, services, special arrangements, eg. Create a list of vendors and suppliers to contact and task to be done. GETTING ORGANIZED As an event planner, you will need a variety of organizational tools that will help you keep track of all the many details involved in organizing the event and ensuring an orderly and systematic execution of plans aimed towards making the event successful 1. Establish an Event Committee Although it is a given that you will do all the planning and planning of the event yourself, in most cases, you will work with a group of people who are expected to make the event successful Choose a select group of key people to form an Events Committee Assign specific task to each committee member Regular committee meeting Document everything 2. Create a Timeline Schedule Base your timeline on factors such as The size of the event The location The time of year The number of people involved in the planning Develop an outline of specific tasks, deadlines and responsibilities 3. Adding Detail As you start developing your checklist, add as much detail as possible for each item. For example under the â€Å"Assigned tasks for day of event† list the specific task that needs to be assigned such driving to airport pick up, supervising set up, leading briefing sessions with speakers, seating, greeting, supervising set up of luncheon, etc. Once you have develop the checklist, assign target dates to each item, It is a good idea to work backwards from your event date 4. Critical Path ( Assignment of Task) A critical path lists each of the tasks that needs to be accomplished; who is responsible for it and the deadline by which it will be done. It is used as a guide map for the event to assist when delegating responsibilities and show whether you are on track. 5. Budgets Creating a budget is an important ingredient in a successful event. Once you have created a timeline schedule and critical path, you can come up with a list of estimated expenses such as venue rental, food, transportation, accommodations, audio-visual equipment, printed materials and gifts. Get price quotations from your suppliers to find out how much a particular item costs You will also need to include your own fee and corporate clients may want to include any staff time they spend on the event as an expense. When planning a budget, include your potential revenue to offset the cost. For example, is the event a fundraiser? Is it a conference or convention that should aim to cover its own expenses? Attendance fees, sales of related materials, donations, ticket sales and sponsorships can all be good ways to raise revenues. After the event you should compare actual expenses and revenues to your budgeted amounts. This will help you determine if your objectives were met and it may assist in budgeting for future events. PREPARATION TIME FOR VARIOUS EVENTS TIMELINE SCHEDULE EVENT TYPE Recommended Preparation Time Wedding 3-6 months Parties (birthdays/anniversaries/debut) 1-3 months Seminars/Meetings 1-3 months Conference / Convention ~ Domestic ~ International 6months – 1year 1-2years Organized Tours / Field Trips 1-3 months Concerts 6months and above Festivals 6month-1year Exhibitions / Expositions ~ Domestic ~ International 6months-1year 1-2years Sales Bazaar (â€Å"tiange†, night market) 6months Competition / Contests 6months-1year Sport Festivals 6months-1year SAMPLE TIME ALLOCATION (More Than A Year Pre-planning Activity) Activity Period Announcement date location 52weeks before the event First press date 24-36weeks Publication 24th week Mailing of brochures 14-18th week Mailing of 2nd reminder 14th week Mailing of final reminder 8-12th week Mailing of final program 2-6 weeks Sample Budget Groundbreaking Ceremony Estimated Expenses Groundbreaking Site Tent 1,200. 00 Chairs600. 00 Banner600. 00 Podium Sign150. 00 Lights150. 00 Flowers600. 00 Shovels200. 00 Subtotal 3, 500. 00 Luncheon Expenses Lunch 12,000. 00 Rental of Civic Center 1,500. 00 Floral centerpieces600. 00 Gifts for dignitaries (6plaques) 2,000. 00 Gifts for guests (60 mini shovels) 1,600. 00 Information kit folders 1,500. 00 Printing of Fact Sheet 650. 00 Podium Sign 150. 00 Subtotal20, 000. 00 Other Expenses Services of Event Planner 10,000. 00 Long distance / Phone300. 00 Printing of Invitations 1,200. 00 Courier charges for invitations500. 00 Delivery of boxes to site500. 00 Photographer800. 00 Sound system 1,500. 00 Event Planner’s transportation600. 00 Rental of van/minibus 2,500. 00 News release 1,000. 00 Subtotal18,900 . 00 TOTAL ESTIMATED EXPENSES42, 400. 00 (taxes not included) Event Planning Budget Form EXPENSES Estimated Actual Site Venue or tent rental______________________ Tables and chairs______________________ Meals and beverages ______________________ Tableware rental______________________ Staging______________________ Audiovisual equipment______________________ Decorations______________________ Flowers______________________ Other: ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ Program Musicians______________________ Speakers______________________ Celebrities______________________ Entertainers______________________ Gifts______________________ Award______________________ Activities (e. g. golf)______________________ Other: ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ Event Planning Budget Form (continued) EXPENSES Estimated Actual Printing and Promotion Printing invitations______________________ Mailing invitations______________________ Banners and signs ______________________ Printing tickets______________________ Event programs______________________ Name tags______________________ Shipping materials to venue______________________ Advertising______________________ Distribution of news release______________________ Media kits______________________ Long distance telephone______________________ Other: ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ Personnel Event Planner______________________ Staff salaries and benefits______________________ Registration______________________ Photographer______________________ Bartenders______________________ Security staff______________________ Set-up and tear down______________________ Other: ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ Event Planning Budget Form (continued) EXPENSES Estimated Actual Travel Airline tickets______________________ Hotel rooms______________________ Ground transportation ______________________ Other: ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ Other Expenses Registration fees______________________ Ticket sales______________________ Sponsorships______________________ Advertising in event program______________________ Other: ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ REVENUE Estimated Actual Registration fees______________________ Ticket sales______________________ Donations______________________ Sponsorships______________________ Advertising in event program ______________________ Other: ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ COSTING OF A BIRTHDAY EVENT Profile: No. of Persons: 50 Time: 7pm-12mn (5hours) Site: Function Rooms 3 – Globe Telecom Plaza AT COST 1. Venue a. Function room rate †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 2,300. 00 b. Electricity for 5hours†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 500. 00 c. Parking for ingress and egress†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 100. 00 d. Move-in (refundable)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 1,500. 00 4,400. 00 2. Decor a. Balloons and Arrangement†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 2,500. 00 (free 50balloons/arched shape/2tower) b. Flowers and Arrangement†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 1,250. 00 (centerpiece for guests tables buffet table)3,750. 00 3. Invitations Giveaways a. Invitations (P25. 00 x 50)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 1,250. 00 b. Angels (70 pcs at P23. 00 each)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 1,610. 00 2,860. 00 4. Tables and Chairs a. Rent for 6rounds tables†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 270. 00 (for 8persons at 45. 00 each table) b. Rent of chairs (5. 00 x 50)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 250. 00 c. Rent of buffet table (100. 00 x 5)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 500. 00 d. Table Napkin (5. 00 x 50)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 250. 00 e. Chair cover with ribbon (15. 00 x 50) †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 750. 00 2,020. 00 5. Audio Equipment a. Rental†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5,000. 00 5,000. 00 6. Food (2 appetizers/ 5 courses / 2desserts/ bottomless drinks-tea/ softdrinks) a. Cost Breakdown 250. 00 rate per person 25. 00 10% service fee 275. 00 x 50 persons†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 13,750. 00 13,750. 00 TOTAL 31,780. 00 YOUR COSTS CHECKLIST TYPE OF COST Details Examples FIXED COST Projection Screens, Video projectors, slide projector/OHP, video players(back-up player), preview monitor, LCD for Power point presentation, laser pointer, lectern monitors Sound Speakers, lectern microphones, tie-microphones, CD player, talkback system, mixer cabling, adaptors, music copyright or creation fees Speaker support Design, image production, print proofs, scriptwriting, speaker training, rehearsals Staging Design lecterns, backdrop, steps, dais, furnishings, graphics, carpeting, seating area, special construction, drop banners, room decorations, floor plan, revised lay-outs. Lighting Design, equipment hire, installation, crew, freight and transportation, rigging and de-rigging costs Crew/Staff Get-in crew, on-site crew, De-rigging crew, transportation per diems (allowance for sustenance) for each member, show caller, script assistant, live video crew, lighting director, sound technician, vision technician Fees and Insurance ‘Procedure’s fee, Project fee, contingency for administration cost, equipment insurance Invitations process Cost of advertising, posters, and follow-up activity, flyers, direct mail costs Function Rooms and Contracts VARIABLE COSTS Banqueting Food and Beverages Accommodation Types of accommodations and, inclusions Travel Types of transportations and inclusions Fees Porterage fees, gratuity fees, parking fees, service charges Decors/Giveaways Flowers, candles, souvenir items Insurance Surety bonds, cash bonds, personal accident insurance, travel insurance CONTIGENCY COSTS Contingency for direct costs Contingency for currency fluctuations Peso-dollar exchange rate TYPE OF COST DESCRIPTION LIKELY PERCENTAGE F I X E D C O S T S Production, staging outside speakers Invitation process, marketing, design Venue Agency fees Signage Security, car parking set-up Cabaret, entertainment Registration costs Utilities (telephone, faxes, e-mail) We weather back-up 35% Production Costs could be as much as 25% of direct costs V A R I A B L E C O S T S Meals, breaks Beverages Accommodation Travel Delegate print Table/room gifts Porterage, car parking per person Late bar drinks Insurance, purchase tax Gratuity Fees 50% CONTINGENCY 10% to cover all contingencies for direct costs Allowance for currency movements (for abroad) 15% TOTAL BUDGET 100% 6. Crisis and Back Up Planning Disasters and crises can range from relatively small (the guest of honor’s plane is delayed due to bad weather) to huge and seemingly insurmountable, like the heavy rains and flooding that tropical storm Ondoy brought in Sept. 2009 . A good event planner will be able to think on his or her feet for the small stuff, and have a solid crisis plan in place for dealing with the biggies. You can’t possibly expect to plan for every type of crisis, but a little advance planning will go along way to ensure that you can handle whatever comes your way. a. Maintenance Emergencies If your event takes place in hotel or convention facility you should discuss emergency plans with the Director of Sales and Maintenance Engineer. They should provide you with a contact at the site who will take care of any emergency or maintenance issues. If your event is being held in a private hall, find out who in their organization is responsible for facility maintenance and ask for someone to be available during your event. In your contact list, keep numbers of 24-hour locksmiths, plumbers and electricians. b. Medical Emergencies When planning a large outdoor festival or sporting event, it is advisable to have first aid personnel on hand for emergencies. Festival-goers may suffer from heat stroke (or hypothermia in a cold location), minor or major cuts, sunburn or food poisoning. It’s a good idea to include in your rental items a tent that can be used to shelter people fro the sun or cold while receiving treatment for minor injuries. Discuss option and get advice from your local ambulance volunteer force or contracted service providers. Be sure to include the local hospital, emergency line and non-emergency police number in your list of contacts. Organizing the Team for the Event Most events are organized through good team (2 or more persons working together) work. It is important that when tasks are allocated within a team the strengths of its members are put to good use. For example, it is no good asking someone to be the secretary who is has little skills in oral communications. The following are the roles that can be adopted in any event: Coordinator Secretary Treasurer Marketing/Promotion **The Number in the Team and their responsibilities will vary according to the scale of the event. It is important that all team members fully understand what their jobs entail and are aware of all the schedules and deadlines that have been agreed. It is much better to have someone in your team who is reliable rather than a â€Å"prima donna† who promises everything and delivers nothing. Planning Contributions to A Team Event Most events are not the result of one person’s work alone. Events are made through the concerted efforts of a group of people or a team who are working for the same general objective ~ to achieve a successful event. Within this team there will be a number of weakness in their areas of work. These skills, strengths and weaknesses should considered carefully when the various jobs within the team are allocated. Each team member will plan their own contribution to the event to be staged. The following details have to be considered: How one’s role in an event can support another’s and can support the objectives of the event How by adopting certain methods the resources available can be used to their maximum benefit What a person should do when something happens and their role does not go to plan Problems that may occur and how they could be handled effectively to try to reduce their impact on the event How staff and customers can be informed promptly and clearly of any changes which may affect them General guidelines for undertaking a role in an event Roles and Responsibilities of the Team The Coordinator (Chairperson) Overseas the Event Liaising with other members of the team Ensures that deadlines are met Raises any problems that may be occurring and finding solutions Chairs meetings of the event committee Ensures that everyone has a fair share of time to raise issues. Voice opinions etc. at meeting discuss issues Makes sure that the agenda for the meeting is covered Resolves any disagreements in the team regarding issues concerning the event through voting The Administrator Deals with correspondence, letters and other forms of communications Produces minutes of committee meetings Assist other members of the team with administrator The Financial Controller (Treasurer) Overseas all financial transactions Records financial transactions Holds the cheque book Sets-up a secure system using money available Produces income/expenditure accounts with receipts and others clearly documented Designs procedures for the secure holding of income before, during and after the event Ensures that the event meets the budget set The Publicity Officer Promotes the event Organizes promotional materials (ads, leaf- lets, brochures, flyers, etc) according to the scale of the event Liaising with outside agencies (eg. Local newspaper companies, radio/TV stations, etc. ) Organizes press coverage of the event The Facility Officer Finds and organizes the venue Organizes special tools and equipment needed in the event such as lighting fixtures, sound system etc Arranges for security Arranges for parking Arranges toilet facilities and waste disposal **Though each team member has his own set of res- ponsibilities, it is imperative that he communicate effectively with the others so that problems (should they arise) can be highlighted and dealt with as effectively as possible. After the Team has been organized, the following details will now be covered: Reason/s for holding the event Objectives to be attained Your target beneficiaries/market Period to hold the event Identifying the best site to hold the event The cost of the event including budget allocation The selling price of the event (per person/ per total package cost) The financial goal of the event ~ To raise money To make a profit To cover costs of the event A time-scale of how different tasks to be planned and implemented The need for good team effort, sticking to budgets and using resources available to their best advantages Efficient uses of communications between members Effective publicity Contingency plans Strategy for dealing with customers A good working environment friendly, support, etc Feedback to all contributions on the outcome of the event 3 PHASES OF EVENT MANAGEMENT 1. Pre~Event Phase (Preparation of Materials) Organization of the Team Venue/Site Selection Food Requirements Equipments Tools Preparation of Materials Decors/Artwork Communications Proposal Promotions Schedule of Activities (Program) Costing and Design 2. Actual Event Phase (Implementation Administrative Stage) Production of Materials Needed for the Event Promotions Rehearsal/ Final Briefing Decorations Registration The Output Security Participant’s Evaluation 3. Post Event Phase (Disposal Stage) Egress Evaluation Profitability of the Event Building your Budget Defining the budget is the first major challenge an event organizer faces as eh plans the event. An experienced organizer will know whether the budget is sufficient to do the job to the standard expected. Depending on the event you are organizing, compile a checklist of all costs that will be incurred in making the event happen. Classify costs accordingly: Fixed Costs Variable Costs Contingency Budget CO-PRENEURS OF AN EVENT ORGANIZER 1. Hotels and Other lodging Facilities 2. Travel Agents/Consultants 3. Caterers/ Food Establishment 4. Airline Companies and Other modes of Transportation 5. Artist 6. Audio/ Visuals Consultants 7. Other events specialist (wedding planner/meeting Planner/tour planner) 8. Entertainers/Talents 9. Professionals and consultants, EVALUATING THE EVENT Evaluation of any event is concerned with the feedback from the event – not just from those who organized or staffed the event but from anyone who played a part in it. This could include: Staff Organizers Clients/Visitors Volunteers Sponsors Officials And other co-preneurs of the event planner When an event is planned the purpose of the event is clearly defined. It is against this that the event should be evaluated. Evaluation does not just take place at the end of an event. It is an ongoing process which occurs throughout the event. During the planning stage everything to do with the event is monitored and if any problems appear, adjustments have to be made. It is through this process that the event is finally stage and organized to meet the objectives of the event. **The opportunity to review and evaluate the event is important as a learning exercise. If the event is to be stage again in the future it is an invaluable help as the thing that went well can be repeated and those things that were not too successful can be changed next time. GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR EVENTS BE PREPARED. As the Scout motto says! Good preparation is the foundation for a good event. If the team as a whole are well prepared this will set the tone for the event. BE CLEAR ABOUT YOUR OBJECTIVES. Make sure that the all team fully understand what is to be achieved by the staging of this event. If all team members are will informed, everyone will be working towards the same goal. WORKS AS A TEAM. Any good team builds on the strength of its members and is supportive and helpful to each other. To operate effectively the team should meet on a regular basis and be able to communicate with each other with relative and be able to communicate with each other with relative ease. A good team has a good team leader at its front. This team leader should be a good motivator who can generate enthusiasm and perseverance. REMEMBER CUSTOMER CARE. A smile of welcome costs nothing and will affect the way visitors feel about the event. Remember, even if your stand/ job in the event isn’t very busy do not sir around looking bored and uninterested – this is sure to put potential clients off. Try to be alert, ready for action and enthusiastic at all times. If clients enjoy the event they will come back and tell their friends. BE RECOGNIZABLE. More and more teams in organizations are adopting their own uniforms. These help the visitors as it makes the staff immediately recognizable from the clients. When you stage an event you should consider adopting a uniform for all the staff involved in the event. This does not have to be complicated or expensive . For example, the team may decide to wear black trousers and a white T-shirt. These are items of clothing that most people have in their wardrobes. Plain colored T-shirts are relatively inexpensive to purchase. You may have the name of your event on the front, or local screen printer would do this at a small cost. This creates a good image for the visitors of the event and is something the rest of the team can keep to remind them of the event in the future. KEEP TO SCHEDULES. Reliability, both within the team and within the event itself, sis important. The team should make sure the all deadlines are met if it is at all possible to do so. Punctuality should be important for all team meetings etc. If someone is always late for a meeting it is unsurprising that other team members act on their knowledge and turn up, not at the start time of befo

Why do we say with malice toward none, with charity for all free essay sample

With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nations wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations. In the delivery of Lincolns Second Inaugural, many were inspired by this uplifting and keen speech. It had been a long war, and Lincoln was concerned about the destruction that had taken place. Worn-out from seeing families are torn apart and friendships eradicated, he interpreted his inaugural address. It was March of 1865, and the war, he believed, must come to an end.Lincoln showed his care for his people and country in his second inaugural speech, just like any man who was worrying about his children and family. We will write a custom essay sample on Why do we say with malice toward none, with charity for all? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Having been struggling for four years’ in war, his people, no matter the North and the South, were urging â€Å"a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations† Lincoln’s Second Inaugural address let people feel they are in unity and let them see the hope and future through his strong persuasive appeals. Lincoln opens the address to claim that â€Å"All dreaded it, all sought to avert it† to express the common wishes of both sides. Instead of using the south and the North, Lincoln always uses â€Å"all† to connect his people together. After explaining the causes of the war, Lincoln uses lots of pathos and ethos in the form of parallel sentences and religious allusion to bring his people to the same direction. He emphasized the common wishes of both sides of the war using lots of neither, both, and each in these sentences to express his balanced view on his people and justice attitude toward the war: This pathos describes how Lincoln would care for his people and how he would put the task of helping the people suffering from the war first, serving as a strong pathos since it is not only emotionally affecting his people, but also encouraging and giving them hope. The war destroyed millions of families. Lincoln in the first place gave his attention on healing the people and their families, instead of describing how beautiful the future would be and giving unrealistic assumptions

Were the colonies justified to essays

Were the colonies justified to essays Were the colonies justified to declare independence? In 1763 after the war between the French and Indians and the English started the send more troops into the US and started to make new laws to get more money to Britain from the US. Even though the British had won the war they had a lot of financial trouble. They had now huge debts and they had to repay them somehow. These debts were too large for the English to pay so they thought that they could get all the money out of the colonies. Of course the Americans didnt like this and this is the reason that they declared their independence. The British started many different acts and duties like the Stamp Act which put taxes on almost everything written, the Sugar Act which put taxes on sugar, coffee and wines that were imported to the US in substantial amounts, Quartering act which wasnt a tax but the Americans had to feed the British soldiers sent to America. The British thoughts about there rights to tax the colonies are written by Thomas Whately in his pamphlet considerations The Colonists of course disliked and hated these taxes and started protesting against them. There where many incidents where the colonist attacked the British or the other way around. Maybe some of the most famous are the burning of the Ship Gaspee, the Boston massacre and Boston tea party. The Boston massacre wasnt really a massacre because only 5 people died but it made the colonist furious. This happened in 1770. After the massacre also the Boston tea party happened here. This time the Sons of liberty were behind it. The English very mad at the colonist for the resistance and killing of their soldiers but they didnt understand that the Americans didnt like their new laws and taxes and they continued to ad new ones and wouldnt change the old ones. Of course this furiated the Americans because the taxes were really too high and the only pur ...

Effective Crisis Communication Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Effective Crisis Communication - Research Paper Example More over, the paper discusses each step of crisis management plan in detail and how to best implement it. Another important factor emphasized in this paper of crisis management, which is often sidelined, is the image of the organization managing the crisis. Restoration of physical, properties and economical losses are possible, whereas restoration of damaged image of the organization is never possible. This paper studies the disaster sustained in Hurricane Irene in 2011 in terms of economic loss and loss of lives. The role of crisis communication that permeates each and every step of crisis management is explored. It is found that action is the best understandable and adorable language of crisis communication, wherein the stakeholders and victims play crucial role in evolving best salvation. Crises are for all and for ever. No community and no organization, public or private are immune from crises. (R. Ulmer et al, 2011). When effective communication modalities are adhered to during crises, the outlook on crises gets completely changed. Crises act as provider of opportunities with the potential to leave the organization stronger in some ways or other than it was before.(p.4). Developing a framework for performance indicators to measure and improve crisis communication preparedness is the need of the hour. Sensing the prodromes is not given its due weight age paving way to havoc via crises. The size and intensity of warning symptoms in many crises are in fact negligibly small. But the nature of those symptoms read the ill-fate to emerge. In an atmosphere of apparently strong administrational activities these tiny warning symptoms usually get submerged or unheard by the top brass. Paucity of frameworks, which ensure diligent monitoring of the performance indicators, is th e current plight in every organization. (Palttala P, 2012). Leveraging the knowledge of human performance technology (Hutchins H.M. et al, 2008) is to be widely established, since

Truman's Doctrine Containing Soviet Expansion Essay

Truman's Doctrine Containing Soviet Expansion - Essay Example The relations between Soviet Union and the United States were driven by an interaction of socio-economic, political and ideological differences which led to the deterioration of relationships between the two superpowers of the world. The alliance between the two countries was purely strategic because there was a remarkable difference between the ideologies followed by the two countries. USA was the flag bearer of Capitalism whereas USSR was the country who gave birth to the communist ideology so a clash of interest always existed between the two nations leading to an eternal distrust (Kegley & Blanton, 2011). During the War, the Nazi forces in France, Italy and lower countries of Europe were defeated by the US and British forces whereas the Russian forces defeated the Nazis in Germany and Eastern Europe. The Soviet army continued to occupy the Eastern European states during the wartime and the US or the other Western powers were not in a position to do anything about it at that time. Communist governments were imposed on the Eastern European countries by USSR and Stalin started controlling these states directly and made no secret of it during the various postwar conferences. Germany was also divided into four zones controlled by USSR, USA, Britain and France. USSR considered Germany as a threat to its Communist state because of the past experiences and did not want to create a strong Germany therefore it continued to weaken Eastern Europe by taking equipment and materials (Sulzberger, 1985). The Soviet leadership was afraid of the rapid improvement in the lifestyle of people in the capitalist nations and feared that the expanding capitalism will pose a threat to the communist ideology. As a counter policy USSR started imposing communist governments in the countries controlled by the USSR after the war and communism took hold of most of the Eastern Europe and a few countries in the Far East. Harry S. Truman became the 33rd President of the United States after th e death of Franklin Roosevelt in 1945. Truman had to face a lot of challenges at the very beginning of his days in the office of the President of US and he managed to devise some very efficient policies to put an end to a number of internal and external crises (McCullough, 2003). Truman’s days in the office were marked by the end of the Second World War and he soon became aware of the expansionist expeditions of the Soviet Union. He considered the expansion of the USSR and the conversion of a considerable number of countries to communism a threat to the global peace, security and freedom. Truman set forth a policy in 1947 which clearly stated that the US will give economic and military aid to the countries which were under a threat of falling into the Soviet sphere. In one of his speeches he stated that US would support Greece and Turkey with economic and military aid to prevent USSR to establish a communist government in these countries. This policy of containing the expansi on of communism in the world was later termed as Truman’s Doctrine (Calvocressi, 2001). Truman clearly stated the objectives of the Doctrine and made it part of the foreign policy of the United States, in fact the various important decisions of future like the Marshall Plan and the creation of the NATO were also based on the principles laid in the Truman’s Doctrine. The purpose of the doctrine was to support free

Impact of the US Credit Crunch on Australian Economy

Impact of the US Credit Crunch on Australian Economy Introduction However, due to the US housing credit crunch and turbulence in financial markets all over the world immediately took into effect and global economic growth slowed towards the end of the year (OBrien et al., 2007). Given this basic premise of the current financial crisis, this literature review will be guided by exploring studies made on how the US-induced credit crunch affected the Australian economy, particularly the housing market. The first stage of this literature review is attributed to describing the current financial crisis, specifically the events that led to its development such as the collapse of the US housing and banking sectors in 2007. Part of discussing the events that took place after the onset of the financial crisis would be to examine the various mechanisms employed by financial institutions and national governments in order to mitigate the direct and indirect consequences of the financial crisis. The second part of this literature review seeks to determine the effects of the financial crisis to the Australian economy, as well as the various policy responses made by both the Reserve Bank of Australia (herein referred to as RBA) and the Australian government. Finally, this literature review will determine whether studies on the current financial crisis were able to provide sufficient attention to the manner by which it affected the housing market, particularly in the case of Australia. The rationale behind these assertions lies on the need to broaden the scope of examining the consequences brought about by the credit crunch in 2007 and the financial crisis in 2008, from being centered in the US to involve other nations as well. It should always be understood that the effect of the subprime meltdown was not limited to US firms exposed to the subprime mortgage market for the reason that globalization made regional financial markets so interconnected that crisis spread across countries at tremendous speed (Moosa, 2008). Hence, it is just apropos to exhaust scholarly works that have managed to realize that at this point in time, economic activities of nations are intertwined and the development of policy solutions should also undergo the same process. Another reason for this literature review would be to identify research gaps that will in turn serve as a motivation for future studies on the effect of the current financial crisis towards nations economies such as the case of Australia. Since the underlying context for this review of related literature is the 2007 credit crunch and the 2008-present global financial crisis, the period covered for the literature surveyed in this paper will be from 2007 to the present. With these things taken into consideration, the focus of this literature review will be the effect of the 2008 financial crisis to the housing market in Australia. From the broad circumstance of the credit crunch and the financial crisis that happened in the US and inevitably transgressed to the rest of the world, this literature review seeks to identify the relationship from a macroeconomic environment of the global financial crisis to a specific case of the housing market in Australia. The justification for this lies on the need to determine whether policy responses used in the US are effective or otherwise in mitigating the direct consequences of the crisis, and vice versa. The credit crunch and the global financial crisis As it had been previously mentioned, this portion of the literature review is allotted to discuss the credit crunch as well as the occurrence of the global financial crisis. Both the credit crunch and the financial crisis are crucial concepts in this review for the reason that it will be impossible to present and examine the effects of the financial crisis to the Australian economy, specifically the housing sector if these concepts are not understood properly. According to the National Institute Economic Review (2008), the 2008 financial crisis is rooted in the US subprime mortgage defaults. Moosa (2009) defines subprime mortgages to encompass all activities involving the granting of loan to borrowers with inferior credit worthiness creating complex financial products. Meanwhile, Honohan (2008) in his study defines a credit crunch as credit related crises suffered by banks and other intermediaries which is often the cause of contraction in lending market especially if these are triggered by exogenous economic shocks. The positive attribute of the definitions provided by these authors lie on the fact that these are lifted from actual events and circumstances, more specifically the 2007 credit crunch and the current financial crisis. Another interesting point with regard to the financial crisis was given by Barrell and Hurst (2008) who stressed that financial crises are episodic and frequent and are difficult to address without major impacts in the prospect for financial growth. Based on this observation by Barrel and Hurst (2008), it becomes evident that it is inevitable under conditions of financial crises that economic growth will not be affected, especially with globalization as the underlying condition. With regard to the direct cause that led to the development of the financial crisis, Ben Bernanke (2008), believe that the period of financial turbulence on the part of the US began in 2006 when there were uncontrollable contractions in the US housing market that were caused by the inability of certain individuals to pay for subprime mortgages. Moreover, this was reinforced by increasing constraints on credit availability, which has dramatically slowed down the economy and has made it less responsive to market changes. Honohan (2008) supports this further in his discussion on the evolution of the 2008 financial crisis by asserting that the origin of the crisis was especially pronounced in the housing market wherein credit losses are so massive that it cannot be replenished anymore. The fall of house prices in the US and other major economies such as the UK directly affected economic growth in other countries. In his study, Honohan (2008) also believes that although the current global financial crisis was triggered by the 2007 credit crunch in the US banking sector brought about by the bursting of the housing bubble, definitions such as those presented by Moosa (2009) and Barrell and Hurst (2008) should not be confined to the US experience. The explanation behind this is that other nations might have responded differently upon the advent of financial crisis. In this case the positive aspects of the study by Honohan (2008) lies on the fact that it was able to present a coherent discussion of the origin of the 2008 financial crisis as something that did not happen overnight. Instead, Honohan (2008) attributes the occurrence of the financial crisis to ineffective risk management and lax monetary and fiscal policies in the US and eventually the rest of the world. Although Honohans (2008) article was focused on the banking aspect of the financial crisis and how mortgage problems in the US, his discussion of the detrimental effects of the crisis such as the closure and bankruptcy of banks and lending institutions were effective in stressing the importance of coherent monetary policies. On the other hand, the research gap identified in the article presented by Honohan (2008) is that it was highly concentrated on the banking sector in the US, thus, ignoring the direct consequences of the credit crunch and the financial crisis to the housing sector. It should always be taken into account that the financial crisis originated in the housing sector. Hence, potential solutions should first be geared towards addressing the negative consequences brought about by the crisis in the housing sector. Another gap in the study made by Honohan (2008) was that it was not able to present recommendations that will serve as a guide to policy makers as to how to mitigate the direct and indirect consequences of the current financial crisis. In a similar study, Barrell and Davis (2008) observed that the evolution of the 2007-2008 financial crises was brought about by low global interest rates arising in turn from high levels of global liquidity. This can be explained further by the case of the US wherein bank lending to households grew at unprecedented rates leading to the point that people can no longer pay their monthly dues. In addition to this, Barrell and Davis (2008) also indicated that banks are expected to hold increasingly low levels of balance sheet liquid assets, given low interest rates, and they undertook aggressive wholesale liability management to maintain funding levels. Without these initial actions taken to address the earliest manifestation of a credit crunch particularly the collapse of the housing market, countries would not have survived the crisis and will be forced to close down major financial institutions. Again, in order to understand the financial crisis and its effects towards nations and economies, it should be taken into consideration that the asset price bubble in the US in 2007 was perhaps the most noticeable occurrence in the housing sector and this has led to irreversible consequences in the financial sector. Given this event, Barrell and Hurst (2008) supports this by stating that it is the short-term fluctuations in house prices that affected consumption in countries like the US and the UK, therefore fostering slow growth in the rest of the developed world—and eventually, the rest of the world. In their discussion of the present financial crises, as well as the prospects for recession, Barrell and Hurst (2008) stated that the best way to address the negative consequences of the crisis would be through effective monetary policy through interest rates reduction which should be set by the central bank in order to prevent bubbles like the housing bubble in the US from bursting and damaging economies at larger scales. The low global interest rates contributed to rapid credit expansion and rise in asset prices which greatly contributed to the US financial crisis (Barrell Davis, 2008). The benefits provided by the study made by Barrell and Hurst (2008) and the article written by Barrell and Davis (2008) would be that in both instances, the authors were able to recognize the collapse of the housing sector as the root cause of the financial crisis. Hence, in both articles, the authors believe that solutions for the current financial crisis should not neglect making changes in the structure of the housing sector. As for the gaps in the studies presented by Barrell and Davies (2008) and Barrell and Hurst (2008), the authors in both articles failed to establish a strong relationship between the policy recommendations that they have made to counteract the negative effects of the financial crisis from worsening and the need to direct solutions at improving the housing sector to prevent another collapse in the future. Also, like most of the scholarly works reviewed in this paper, the articles presented by Barrell and Davies (2008) and Barrell and Hurst (2008) were both centered on the case of the US and the UK, without taking into account that these cases cannot be used to generalize the responses of other nations to the financial crisis. Perceived solutions to the credit crunch and the financial crisis After presenting the various definitions and understanding of the ongoing financial crisis, it is just apropos to also present the perceived solutions to the credit crunch as well as the financial crisis based on the literature reviewed for this study. According to Harris and Davidson (2009) governments have a huge role in addressing the credit crunches and financial crises through the enforcement of effective fiscal policy. The government holds responsibility to help manage the nations resources in order to foster growth and present more job-creating opportunities. In the same article, Harris and Davidson (2009) also raised that the initial response to the credit crunch was reliant on the role of the government to intervene and take action to prevent the consequences from worsening into a financial crisis and a global recession. The example given in the article was the case of the US, whose immediate response would be Paulsons initial $700 billion bail-out package that was envisioned to foster government spending through state and local governments spending. The research gaps identified in the studies presented above, namely the lack of coherent recommendations to address the financial crisis at the practical level were addressed by Harris and Davidson (2009). The reason for this is that Harris and Davidson (2009) stressed on the need for fiscal policies to counteract the immediate effects of the credit crunch. Although the focus on government intervention can be considered both as a positive and negative aspect of the study for the reason that in order to fully control both the financial and the social effects of a credit crunch, it is not sufficient to simply rely on fiscal policy but have a combination of both monetary and fiscal policy. With these things taken into account, the only identifiable gap in the study by Harris and Davidson (2009) is that it was not able to discuss existing and potential monetary policies that may go hand in hand with fiscal policies in managing the negative consequences of the financial crisis. The research gaps identified in the study by Harris and Davidson (2009) were effectively addressed in the study by Belke (2009) for the reason that it may have proposed the use of fiscal stimulus to counteract the direct effects of the credit crunch and that of the crisis as well but Belke (2009) also explored the option of having a combination of both monetary and fiscal policy in order prevent the credit crunch and the financial crisis from initiating a move towards a global economic meltdown. According to Belke (2009) the generic answer to prevent the generic economy from collapsing is that use of fiscal policy to sustain demand, since monetary policy with its main concentration on interest rates approaching zero is no longer effective. The strength of the study made by Belke (2009) is that it was able to cite concrete situations that will illustrate the effectiveness of using both fiscal and monetary policy. For instance, the case of the European Union (EU) specifically the UK wherein tax cuts are implemented in order to effectively increase demand and to foster higher levels and consumption were cited by Belke (2009) as an example of fiscal policy to boost the economy. With these examples and conditions taken into account, the research gap in the study presented by Belke (2009) lies on the fact that it was not able to fully exhaust the potential options that will aid nations, especially those that are not dependent on credit consumption, to handle the immediate impact of the financial crisis that has been triggered by the credit crunch in the US in 2007. Moreover, even if the most suitable cases to illustrate the proposed solutions would be that of the US and other developed EU countries, it would have been better if Belke (2009) used a comparative method between countries that relied on both fiscal and monetary policy and those that did not. It is only through comparison that Belke (2009) could further justify the assertions and recommendations that she had made in her study. As it had been previously raised in this literature review, Belke (2009) was not able to establish a relationship between fiscal policy, monetary policy and the housing sector. The reason for this would be that the housing sector was the triggered the financial crisis. Thus, it is just apt that immediate solutions be directed toward the housing sector as well. Furthermore, the fact the Belke (2009) also focused on the case of the US and the developed countries in the EU is also considered as a gap in the research for the reason that the effectiveness of both fiscal and monetary policy cannot be generalized in the case of only the US or the UK. The financial crisis and the housing sector This portion of the literature review briefly presents the effect of the financial crisis on the housing sector, where it is believed to have originated. It is already given that the credit crunch and eventually the financial crisis emanated from the housing industry in the US, but this does not mean that research should be confined in the case of the US and other economic superpowers such as the UK. The academic literature available regarding the effect of the financial crisis on the housing market and vice versa was once again confined to the case and experiences of the US. For example, in a speech delivered by Ben Bernanke (2008) he stated that housing markets remain weak, with low demand and the increased number of distressed properties on the market contributing to further declines in house prices and ongoing reductions in new construction. The observation made by Bernanke was reinforced by the arguments raised by Barrell (2008) wherein he pointed out that one of the significant factors that affected the worsening of the credit crunch into a full blown financial crisis would be the inability of the US government to respond to the need to intervene to economic activities. Based on these statements, it can be said that homeowners are affected by the decline in demand for houses because they cannot sell at a loss given that the current market prices for the house are low. In addition to this, homeowners cannot make further investments because their money has been trapped in the real estate property that they hold and their inability to shoulder the dept payments. In another scenario, homeowners who are facing debt for their mortgage are facing high risks of losing their property since they may not have the proper mechanism to generate additional income in order to finance for the payment. This was supported by Miron (2009) when he stated that if government redistributes income by intervening in the mortgage market it will however, it creates the potential for large distortions of private behavior. The financial crisis and the Australian Economy Prior to examining available literature on the effect of the present global financial crisis to the Australian housing sector, it is necessary to present the broader picture by determining the effect of the financial crisis to the overall Australian economy as well as immediate policy responses employed to control its negative consequences. The need to examine the effect of the financial crisis on the economy lies on the fact that the contagious effect of the subprime crisis has hit financial institutions in Europe and Australia, therefore, damaging health of s significant number of financial institutions and reducing the ability of others to run their business properly (Moosa, 2008). Under these conditions, Moosa (2008) presented a study that was driven by the need to clearly identify the effect of a US induced credit crunch and financial crisis towards the Australian economy, particularly in terms of the underlying policy decisions implemented by both the RBA and the government. The bursting of the US housing market bubble in 2007 led to the rapid decline in the house prices and the downgrades of related asset-backed securities as well as the collapse of the banking and lending institutions in the US and most of the EU (Moosa, 2008). The same cannot be said in the case of Australia, where the housing market was not particularly overvalued as in the case of the US, but was nonetheless vulnerable to the harsh effects of the credit crunch. The explanation behind this is that there are still large portions of subprime loans granted to borrowers in Australia, hence there is still the risk that they may not have reliable credit records. The only difference between the case of the most countries like the US and Australia in terms of the extent to which the financial crisis affected the economy are in terms of policy initiatives and effective regulation. Given this basic premise, Moosa (2008) asserted that one of the reasons why Australia was not subjected to massive losses after the financial crisis in 2008 was due to the fact that the housing sector did not experience massive shocks as in the case of the US, the UK and most countries in the EU. Typically, mortgages in banks and lending institutions was hit hard by the collapse in the subprime housing market in the US, in the case of Australia, the effect was not severe by the bursting of the housing bubble. In his study, Moosa (2008) began by discussing the reason why the subprime crisis in the US took effect in June of 2007. Moosa (2008) identified two critical areas in order to explain this. First would be the lax monetary policy as indicated by the low interest rates; second, reckless lending of banks to dodgy borrowers and excessive securitization. Although Moosa (2008) indicated in his study that the Australian economy is still susceptible to the effects of the subprime crisis brought about by liquidity situations that push investors to stay away from private sector securities, the only difference is that the Australian financial sector had the necessary policies to balance this out. The positive aspect of the study presented by Moosa (2008) is that it was able to showcase the difference between the effect of the current financial crisis in the US and other nations and Australia. Through Moosas (2008) study, it becomes clear that even though financial crises have a common shape, its consequences are not always the same for every nation. The explanation behind this is that each nation has its own set of fiscal and monetary policy. Consequently, nations, such as Australia respond differently to the same conditions set by the global financial crisis. Regarding the research gap in Moosas (2008) study, it had failed to establish the elements that were present in the Australian economy that enabled it to respond differently and optimally to the shock that was brought about by the financial crisis, as well as the credit crunch which preceded it. What could have been done by Moosa (2008) in order to address this gap would be to cite concrete instances in the Australian economy wherein the implementation of effective policies was able to overcome the negative consequences of the financial crisis. Malcolm Edey (2008), Assistant Governor of the RBA, was able to articulate reasons on why the Australian economy was able to withstand the detrimental consequences of the 2008 financial crisis. The arguments raised by Edey (2008) directly address the research gap identified in the article by Moosa (2008). According to Edey (2008), the reason why the Australian economy was able to minimize the losses despite the financial crisis and the looming threat of recession was due to the following reasons. First, subprime loans are essentially loans that do not meet standard criteria for good credit quality. In Australia, a different policy was employed to address non conforming loans. Ellis (2009) supports this by stating that in Australia, citizens pay the interest in their homes mortgage against their tax, so they are encouraged to keep their mortgage balances low. Second, unlike in other countries such as the US, the Australian government was able to develop coherent fiscal and monetary policy that will encourage households and business sectors to be more risk averse by having higher levels of savings and investment. An example of this would be the AUD 42 billion stimulus package that was called the National Building and Job Plan (Edey, 2008). To further support the points raised by Edey (2008) and Ellis (2009), Steven Kennedy (2009) from the Australian Treasury presented three reasons on why the Australian economy was one of the few who managed to overcome the negative consequences brought about by the 2007 credit crunch and the existing global financial crisis. The primary reason identified by Kennedy (2009) was that the Australian government and the RBA had timely policy responses to the occurrence of the financial crisis. Second, being at close proximity with Asian countries, such as China, Australia was able to benefit from the continuous growth rates of these Asian economies. Finally, the Australian banking system has remained in good shape throughout the crisis which meant that it has effectively operated with sound rules and regulations. The benefits offered by the studies made by Ellis (2009) and Kennedy (2009) is that both were able to acknowledge the unique characteristic of the Australian economy, which are deeply rooted in effective policy making and regulatory ability on the part of both the RBA and the government. In addition to this, income growth in Australia was already strong prior to the crisis which means that policy makers have to option to concentrate on weaker sectors of the economy that will experience the consequences of the crisis in a different scale. Again, the research gap in the observations given by Ellis (2009) and Kennedy (2009) is that the practical examples and illustrations on how these policies were translated into actual practice are once again insufficient. Another problematic aspect of these articles is that the authors only presented the positive aspect of effective monetary and fiscal policies, thus, disregarding the fact that these might also manifest flaws that might jeopardize the success of the regulation. Ellis (2009) and Kennedy (2009) in their separate articles mentioned that Australia had an edge over other nations in terms of counteracting the direct effects of the financial crises, but both scholars failed to provide stronger basis to support such assertion. The financial crisis and the housing market in Australia The final section of this literature review is allotted in examining the available studies made with regard to the current state of the housing market in Australia and how it responded towards the occurrence of the financial crisis. With regard to the overall condition of the housing market, Edgerton (2008) presented a detailed discussion of the through the pricing, purchasing and selling trends in major Australian cities namely, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin, and Canbera. The method used by Edgerton (2008) was to analyze trends in housing price increase and/or decrease as well as trends for sales and purchases of houses in these major Australian cities. The findings from the study made by Edgerton (2008) indicate that it is not only the international factors such as the 2007 credit crunch and the existing financial crisis that may affect the overall performance and condition of the housing market. Instead, national factors may also affect the formation and eventually the bursting of housing bubbles. In order to support his claims Edgerton (2008) cited that Australia employ better lending standards compared to other countries, specifically the US. To illustrate this further, in Australia, there are no recourse loans unlike in the US where many mortgages are non-recourse. Non-recourse loans mean that the borrower in financial difficulty to pay their debts has the option of handing their house back to the bank without incurring any liability for any shortfall when the house is sold. It is a different scenario in Australia because borrowers, regardless of whether they give back the house or not (Edgerton, 2008). Hence, unlike in the US and other markets, the borrowers in Australia remain liable for any shortfall. With this, the housing markets as well as banking and lending institutions in Australia are not tasked to shoulder the losses from subprime mortgages. The strength of the study by Edgerton (2008) is that he was able to stress that Australia employs rather different regulatory practices compared to the US, particularly in handling mortgage. From a description of the quick acting policies in the housing, banking and lending sector, the Australian economy, most specifically the housing sector was able to survive and overcome the detrimental elements of the financial crisis. It is also important to point out that Edgerton (2008) is one of the few scholars who gave attention to the importance of the housing market in determining the overall performance of the economy, specifically in the case of Australia. Besides, the housing market can serve as an avenue for added investments and new business opportunities; hence it should not be taken for granted, particularly during times of crises. It was also helpful that the paper presented had visual illustrations such as graphs in order to illustrate further the performance of the economy relative to the financial crisis and its effect on the housing sector. On the other hand, the research gap in the study by Edgerton (2008) is that it was not able to establish the reasons that serve as motivation for the government to implement stricter mechanisms. Impact of the US Credit Crunch on Australian Economy Impact of the US Credit Crunch on Australian Economy Introduction However, due to the US housing credit crunch and turbulence in financial markets all over the world immediately took into effect and global economic growth slowed towards the end of the year (OBrien et al., 2007). Given this basic premise of the current financial crisis, this literature review will be guided by exploring studies made on how the US-induced credit crunch affected the Australian economy, particularly the housing market. The first stage of this literature review is attributed to describing the current financial crisis, specifically the events that led to its development such as the collapse of the US housing and banking sectors in 2007. Part of discussing the events that took place after the onset of the financial crisis would be to examine the various mechanisms employed by financial institutions and national governments in order to mitigate the direct and indirect consequences of the financial crisis. The second part of this literature review seeks to determine the effects of the financial crisis to the Australian economy, as well as the various policy responses made by both the Reserve Bank of Australia (herein referred to as RBA) and the Australian government. Finally, this literature review will determine whether studies on the current financial crisis were able to provide sufficient attention to the manner by which it affected the housing market, particularly in the case of Australia. The rationale behind these assertions lies on the need to broaden the scope of examining the consequences brought about by the credit crunch in 2007 and the financial crisis in 2008, from being centered in the US to involve other nations as well. It should always be understood that the effect of the subprime meltdown was not limited to US firms exposed to the subprime mortgage market for the reason that globalization made regional financial markets so interconnected that crisis spread across countries at tremendous speed (Moosa, 2008). Hence, it is just apropos to exhaust scholarly works that have managed to realize that at this point in time, economic activities of nations are intertwined and the development of policy solutions should also undergo the same process. Another reason for this literature review would be to identify research gaps that will in turn serve as a motivation for future studies on the effect of the current financial crisis towards nations economies such as the case of Australia. Since the underlying context for this review of related literature is the 2007 credit crunch and the 2008-present global financial crisis, the period covered for the literature surveyed in this paper will be from 2007 to the present. With these things taken into consideration, the focus of this literature review will be the effect of the 2008 financial crisis to the housing market in Australia. From the broad circumstance of the credit crunch and the financial crisis that happened in the US and inevitably transgressed to the rest of the world, this literature review seeks to identify the relationship from a macroeconomic environment of the global financial crisis to a specific case of the housing market in Australia. The justification for this lies on the need to determine whether policy responses used in the US are effective or otherwise in mitigating the direct consequences of the crisis, and vice versa. The credit crunch and the global financial crisis As it had been previously mentioned, this portion of the literature review is allotted to discuss the credit crunch as well as the occurrence of the global financial crisis. Both the credit crunch and the financial crisis are crucial concepts in this review for the reason that it will be impossible to present and examine the effects of the financial crisis to the Australian economy, specifically the housing sector if these concepts are not understood properly. According to the National Institute Economic Review (2008), the 2008 financial crisis is rooted in the US subprime mortgage defaults. Moosa (2009) defines subprime mortgages to encompass all activities involving the granting of loan to borrowers with inferior credit worthiness creating complex financial products. Meanwhile, Honohan (2008) in his study defines a credit crunch as credit related crises suffered by banks and other intermediaries which is often the cause of contraction in lending market especially if these are triggered by exogenous economic shocks. The positive attribute of the definitions provided by these authors lie on the fact that these are lifted from actual events and circumstances, more specifically the 2007 credit crunch and the current financial crisis. Another interesting point with regard to the financial crisis was given by Barrell and Hurst (2008) who stressed that financial crises are episodic and frequent and are difficult to address without major impacts in the prospect for financial growth. Based on this observation by Barrel and Hurst (2008), it becomes evident that it is inevitable under conditions of financial crises that economic growth will not be affected, especially with globalization as the underlying condition. With regard to the direct cause that led to the development of the financial crisis, Ben Bernanke (2008), believe that the period of financial turbulence on the part of the US began in 2006 when there were uncontrollable contractions in the US housing market that were caused by the inability of certain individuals to pay for subprime mortgages. Moreover, this was reinforced by increasing constraints on credit availability, which has dramatically slowed down the economy and has made it less responsive to market changes. Honohan (2008) supports this further in his discussion on the evolution of the 2008 financial crisis by asserting that the origin of the crisis was especially pronounced in the housing market wherein credit losses are so massive that it cannot be replenished anymore. The fall of house prices in the US and other major economies such as the UK directly affected economic growth in other countries. In his study, Honohan (2008) also believes that although the current global financial crisis was triggered by the 2007 credit crunch in the US banking sector brought about by the bursting of the housing bubble, definitions such as those presented by Moosa (2009) and Barrell and Hurst (2008) should not be confined to the US experience. The explanation behind this is that other nations might have responded differently upon the advent of financial crisis. In this case the positive aspects of the study by Honohan (2008) lies on the fact that it was able to present a coherent discussion of the origin of the 2008 financial crisis as something that did not happen overnight. Instead, Honohan (2008) attributes the occurrence of the financial crisis to ineffective risk management and lax monetary and fiscal policies in the US and eventually the rest of the world. Although Honohans (2008) article was focused on the banking aspect of the financial crisis and how mortgage problems in the US, his discussion of the detrimental effects of the crisis such as the closure and bankruptcy of banks and lending institutions were effective in stressing the importance of coherent monetary policies. On the other hand, the research gap identified in the article presented by Honohan (2008) is that it was highly concentrated on the banking sector in the US, thus, ignoring the direct consequences of the credit crunch and the financial crisis to the housing sector. It should always be taken into account that the financial crisis originated in the housing sector. Hence, potential solutions should first be geared towards addressing the negative consequences brought about by the crisis in the housing sector. Another gap in the study made by Honohan (2008) was that it was not able to present recommendations that will serve as a guide to policy makers as to how to mitigate the direct and indirect consequences of the current financial crisis. In a similar study, Barrell and Davis (2008) observed that the evolution of the 2007-2008 financial crises was brought about by low global interest rates arising in turn from high levels of global liquidity. This can be explained further by the case of the US wherein bank lending to households grew at unprecedented rates leading to the point that people can no longer pay their monthly dues. In addition to this, Barrell and Davis (2008) also indicated that banks are expected to hold increasingly low levels of balance sheet liquid assets, given low interest rates, and they undertook aggressive wholesale liability management to maintain funding levels. Without these initial actions taken to address the earliest manifestation of a credit crunch particularly the collapse of the housing market, countries would not have survived the crisis and will be forced to close down major financial institutions. Again, in order to understand the financial crisis and its effects towards nations and economies, it should be taken into consideration that the asset price bubble in the US in 2007 was perhaps the most noticeable occurrence in the housing sector and this has led to irreversible consequences in the financial sector. Given this event, Barrell and Hurst (2008) supports this by stating that it is the short-term fluctuations in house prices that affected consumption in countries like the US and the UK, therefore fostering slow growth in the rest of the developed world—and eventually, the rest of the world. In their discussion of the present financial crises, as well as the prospects for recession, Barrell and Hurst (2008) stated that the best way to address the negative consequences of the crisis would be through effective monetary policy through interest rates reduction which should be set by the central bank in order to prevent bubbles like the housing bubble in the US from bursting and damaging economies at larger scales. The low global interest rates contributed to rapid credit expansion and rise in asset prices which greatly contributed to the US financial crisis (Barrell Davis, 2008). The benefits provided by the study made by Barrell and Hurst (2008) and the article written by Barrell and Davis (2008) would be that in both instances, the authors were able to recognize the collapse of the housing sector as the root cause of the financial crisis. Hence, in both articles, the authors believe that solutions for the current financial crisis should not neglect making changes in the structure of the housing sector. As for the gaps in the studies presented by Barrell and Davies (2008) and Barrell and Hurst (2008), the authors in both articles failed to establish a strong relationship between the policy recommendations that they have made to counteract the negative effects of the financial crisis from worsening and the need to direct solutions at improving the housing sector to prevent another collapse in the future. Also, like most of the scholarly works reviewed in this paper, the articles presented by Barrell and Davies (2008) and Barrell and Hurst (2008) were both centered on the case of the US and the UK, without taking into account that these cases cannot be used to generalize the responses of other nations to the financial crisis. Perceived solutions to the credit crunch and the financial crisis After presenting the various definitions and understanding of the ongoing financial crisis, it is just apropos to also present the perceived solutions to the credit crunch as well as the financial crisis based on the literature reviewed for this study. According to Harris and Davidson (2009) governments have a huge role in addressing the credit crunches and financial crises through the enforcement of effective fiscal policy. The government holds responsibility to help manage the nations resources in order to foster growth and present more job-creating opportunities. In the same article, Harris and Davidson (2009) also raised that the initial response to the credit crunch was reliant on the role of the government to intervene and take action to prevent the consequences from worsening into a financial crisis and a global recession. The example given in the article was the case of the US, whose immediate response would be Paulsons initial $700 billion bail-out package that was envisioned to foster government spending through state and local governments spending. The research gaps identified in the studies presented above, namely the lack of coherent recommendations to address the financial crisis at the practical level were addressed by Harris and Davidson (2009). The reason for this is that Harris and Davidson (2009) stressed on the need for fiscal policies to counteract the immediate effects of the credit crunch. Although the focus on government intervention can be considered both as a positive and negative aspect of the study for the reason that in order to fully control both the financial and the social effects of a credit crunch, it is not sufficient to simply rely on fiscal policy but have a combination of both monetary and fiscal policy. With these things taken into account, the only identifiable gap in the study by Harris and Davidson (2009) is that it was not able to discuss existing and potential monetary policies that may go hand in hand with fiscal policies in managing the negative consequences of the financial crisis. The research gaps identified in the study by Harris and Davidson (2009) were effectively addressed in the study by Belke (2009) for the reason that it may have proposed the use of fiscal stimulus to counteract the direct effects of the credit crunch and that of the crisis as well but Belke (2009) also explored the option of having a combination of both monetary and fiscal policy in order prevent the credit crunch and the financial crisis from initiating a move towards a global economic meltdown. According to Belke (2009) the generic answer to prevent the generic economy from collapsing is that use of fiscal policy to sustain demand, since monetary policy with its main concentration on interest rates approaching zero is no longer effective. The strength of the study made by Belke (2009) is that it was able to cite concrete situations that will illustrate the effectiveness of using both fiscal and monetary policy. For instance, the case of the European Union (EU) specifically the UK wherein tax cuts are implemented in order to effectively increase demand and to foster higher levels and consumption were cited by Belke (2009) as an example of fiscal policy to boost the economy. With these examples and conditions taken into account, the research gap in the study presented by Belke (2009) lies on the fact that it was not able to fully exhaust the potential options that will aid nations, especially those that are not dependent on credit consumption, to handle the immediate impact of the financial crisis that has been triggered by the credit crunch in the US in 2007. Moreover, even if the most suitable cases to illustrate the proposed solutions would be that of the US and other developed EU countries, it would have been better if Belke (2009) used a comparative method between countries that relied on both fiscal and monetary policy and those that did not. It is only through comparison that Belke (2009) could further justify the assertions and recommendations that she had made in her study. As it had been previously raised in this literature review, Belke (2009) was not able to establish a relationship between fiscal policy, monetary policy and the housing sector. The reason for this would be that the housing sector was the triggered the financial crisis. Thus, it is just apt that immediate solutions be directed toward the housing sector as well. Furthermore, the fact the Belke (2009) also focused on the case of the US and the developed countries in the EU is also considered as a gap in the research for the reason that the effectiveness of both fiscal and monetary policy cannot be generalized in the case of only the US or the UK. The financial crisis and the housing sector This portion of the literature review briefly presents the effect of the financial crisis on the housing sector, where it is believed to have originated. It is already given that the credit crunch and eventually the financial crisis emanated from the housing industry in the US, but this does not mean that research should be confined in the case of the US and other economic superpowers such as the UK. The academic literature available regarding the effect of the financial crisis on the housing market and vice versa was once again confined to the case and experiences of the US. For example, in a speech delivered by Ben Bernanke (2008) he stated that housing markets remain weak, with low demand and the increased number of distressed properties on the market contributing to further declines in house prices and ongoing reductions in new construction. The observation made by Bernanke was reinforced by the arguments raised by Barrell (2008) wherein he pointed out that one of the significant factors that affected the worsening of the credit crunch into a full blown financial crisis would be the inability of the US government to respond to the need to intervene to economic activities. Based on these statements, it can be said that homeowners are affected by the decline in demand for houses because they cannot sell at a loss given that the current market prices for the house are low. In addition to this, homeowners cannot make further investments because their money has been trapped in the real estate property that they hold and their inability to shoulder the dept payments. In another scenario, homeowners who are facing debt for their mortgage are facing high risks of losing their property since they may not have the proper mechanism to generate additional income in order to finance for the payment. This was supported by Miron (2009) when he stated that if government redistributes income by intervening in the mortgage market it will however, it creates the potential for large distortions of private behavior. The financial crisis and the Australian Economy Prior to examining available literature on the effect of the present global financial crisis to the Australian housing sector, it is necessary to present the broader picture by determining the effect of the financial crisis to the overall Australian economy as well as immediate policy responses employed to control its negative consequences. The need to examine the effect of the financial crisis on the economy lies on the fact that the contagious effect of the subprime crisis has hit financial institutions in Europe and Australia, therefore, damaging health of s significant number of financial institutions and reducing the ability of others to run their business properly (Moosa, 2008). Under these conditions, Moosa (2008) presented a study that was driven by the need to clearly identify the effect of a US induced credit crunch and financial crisis towards the Australian economy, particularly in terms of the underlying policy decisions implemented by both the RBA and the government. The bursting of the US housing market bubble in 2007 led to the rapid decline in the house prices and the downgrades of related asset-backed securities as well as the collapse of the banking and lending institutions in the US and most of the EU (Moosa, 2008). The same cannot be said in the case of Australia, where the housing market was not particularly overvalued as in the case of the US, but was nonetheless vulnerable to the harsh effects of the credit crunch. The explanation behind this is that there are still large portions of subprime loans granted to borrowers in Australia, hence there is still the risk that they may not have reliable credit records. The only difference between the case of the most countries like the US and Australia in terms of the extent to which the financial crisis affected the economy are in terms of policy initiatives and effective regulation. Given this basic premise, Moosa (2008) asserted that one of the reasons why Australia was not subjected to massive losses after the financial crisis in 2008 was due to the fact that the housing sector did not experience massive shocks as in the case of the US, the UK and most countries in the EU. Typically, mortgages in banks and lending institutions was hit hard by the collapse in the subprime housing market in the US, in the case of Australia, the effect was not severe by the bursting of the housing bubble. In his study, Moosa (2008) began by discussing the reason why the subprime crisis in the US took effect in June of 2007. Moosa (2008) identified two critical areas in order to explain this. First would be the lax monetary policy as indicated by the low interest rates; second, reckless lending of banks to dodgy borrowers and excessive securitization. Although Moosa (2008) indicated in his study that the Australian economy is still susceptible to the effects of the subprime crisis brought about by liquidity situations that push investors to stay away from private sector securities, the only difference is that the Australian financial sector had the necessary policies to balance this out. The positive aspect of the study presented by Moosa (2008) is that it was able to showcase the difference between the effect of the current financial crisis in the US and other nations and Australia. Through Moosas (2008) study, it becomes clear that even though financial crises have a common shape, its consequences are not always the same for every nation. The explanation behind this is that each nation has its own set of fiscal and monetary policy. Consequently, nations, such as Australia respond differently to the same conditions set by the global financial crisis. Regarding the research gap in Moosas (2008) study, it had failed to establish the elements that were present in the Australian economy that enabled it to respond differently and optimally to the shock that was brought about by the financial crisis, as well as the credit crunch which preceded it. What could have been done by Moosa (2008) in order to address this gap would be to cite concrete instances in the Australian economy wherein the implementation of effective policies was able to overcome the negative consequences of the financial crisis. Malcolm Edey (2008), Assistant Governor of the RBA, was able to articulate reasons on why the Australian economy was able to withstand the detrimental consequences of the 2008 financial crisis. The arguments raised by Edey (2008) directly address the research gap identified in the article by Moosa (2008). According to Edey (2008), the reason why the Australian economy was able to minimize the losses despite the financial crisis and the looming threat of recession was due to the following reasons. First, subprime loans are essentially loans that do not meet standard criteria for good credit quality. In Australia, a different policy was employed to address non conforming loans. Ellis (2009) supports this by stating that in Australia, citizens pay the interest in their homes mortgage against their tax, so they are encouraged to keep their mortgage balances low. Second, unlike in other countries such as the US, the Australian government was able to develop coherent fiscal and monetary policy that will encourage households and business sectors to be more risk averse by having higher levels of savings and investment. An example of this would be the AUD 42 billion stimulus package that was called the National Building and Job Plan (Edey, 2008). To further support the points raised by Edey (2008) and Ellis (2009), Steven Kennedy (2009) from the Australian Treasury presented three reasons on why the Australian economy was one of the few who managed to overcome the negative consequences brought about by the 2007 credit crunch and the existing global financial crisis. The primary reason identified by Kennedy (2009) was that the Australian government and the RBA had timely policy responses to the occurrence of the financial crisis. Second, being at close proximity with Asian countries, such as China, Australia was able to benefit from the continuous growth rates of these Asian economies. Finally, the Australian banking system has remained in good shape throughout the crisis which meant that it has effectively operated with sound rules and regulations. The benefits offered by the studies made by Ellis (2009) and Kennedy (2009) is that both were able to acknowledge the unique characteristic of the Australian economy, which are deeply rooted in effective policy making and regulatory ability on the part of both the RBA and the government. In addition to this, income growth in Australia was already strong prior to the crisis which means that policy makers have to option to concentrate on weaker sectors of the economy that will experience the consequences of the crisis in a different scale. Again, the research gap in the observations given by Ellis (2009) and Kennedy (2009) is that the practical examples and illustrations on how these policies were translated into actual practice are once again insufficient. Another problematic aspect of these articles is that the authors only presented the positive aspect of effective monetary and fiscal policies, thus, disregarding the fact that these might also manifest flaws that might jeopardize the success of the regulation. Ellis (2009) and Kennedy (2009) in their separate articles mentioned that Australia had an edge over other nations in terms of counteracting the direct effects of the financial crises, but both scholars failed to provide stronger basis to support such assertion. The financial crisis and the housing market in Australia The final section of this literature review is allotted in examining the available studies made with regard to the current state of the housing market in Australia and how it responded towards the occurrence of the financial crisis. With regard to the overall condition of the housing market, Edgerton (2008) presented a detailed discussion of the through the pricing, purchasing and selling trends in major Australian cities namely, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin, and Canbera. The method used by Edgerton (2008) was to analyze trends in housing price increase and/or decrease as well as trends for sales and purchases of houses in these major Australian cities. The findings from the study made by Edgerton (2008) indicate that it is not only the international factors such as the 2007 credit crunch and the existing financial crisis that may affect the overall performance and condition of the housing market. Instead, national factors may also affect the formation and eventually the bursting of housing bubbles. In order to support his claims Edgerton (2008) cited that Australia employ better lending standards compared to other countries, specifically the US. To illustrate this further, in Australia, there are no recourse loans unlike in the US where many mortgages are non-recourse. Non-recourse loans mean that the borrower in financial difficulty to pay their debts has the option of handing their house back to the bank without incurring any liability for any shortfall when the house is sold. It is a different scenario in Australia because borrowers, regardless of whether they give back the house or not (Edgerton, 2008). Hence, unlike in the US and other markets, the borrowers in Australia remain liable for any shortfall. With this, the housing markets as well as banking and lending institutions in Australia are not tasked to shoulder the losses from subprime mortgages. The strength of the study by Edgerton (2008) is that he was able to stress that Australia employs rather different regulatory practices compared to the US, particularly in handling mortgage. From a description of the quick acting policies in the housing, banking and lending sector, the Australian economy, most specifically the housing sector was able to survive and overcome the detrimental elements of the financial crisis. It is also important to point out that Edgerton (2008) is one of the few scholars who gave attention to the importance of the housing market in determining the overall performance of the economy, specifically in the case of Australia. Besides, the housing market can serve as an avenue for added investments and new business opportunities; hence it should not be taken for granted, particularly during times of crises. It was also helpful that the paper presented had visual illustrations such as graphs in order to illustrate further the performance of the economy relative to the financial crisis and its effect on the housing sector. On the other hand, the research gap in the study by Edgerton (2008) is that it was not able to establish the reasons that serve as motivation for the government to implement stricter mechanisms.