In simple words, Quota is a breakdown. It is an official limit to the amount of something. In other words, it can be the quota assigned to an individual, group or entity. For example, in the field of business and commerce, a “share of business” of a seller is the minimum level of sales-oriented activities, such as making telephone calls, which the person should perform during a certain period.
Role in production
From monitoring workers’ productivity to achieving production targets, quotas play an important role in production. However, the quotas have been criticized because only they take into account only the numbers and exclude the quality of the work or the way used to make those numbers. W. Edwards Deming, who was a well-known supporter of statistical quality control, criticized the quotas in his fourteen points on quality management. He recommended eliminating numerical quotas for the workforce and numerical goals for management. Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) often agree on oil production quotas for individual member countries. This helps control the global supply of crude oil and therefore its global price. Each year the US government sets aggregate production quotas (APQs) for controlled substances such as ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. Manufacturers and importers of these substances apply to receive governmental quotas. This quota system guarantees the availability of these substances for scientific, industrial and use purposes, but limits their availability for non-essential public consumption.
Importance in business
In international trade, a “quota” means that a government imposes a limit on the amount of goods or services that can be imported or exported from that country over a given period of time. “Quotas” and “tariffs” are the tools generally used by governments in managing imports in the country. The quotas are generally more effective than the tariffs in the limitation of the exchanges, because the foreign country (exporter) cannot compensate the effects of the quotas by providing a higher export subsidy or by depreciating the currency with respect to the currency of the importing country. Import quotas used to play a significant role in global trade. However, since the 1995 renegotiation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT),
Population quotas in military conscription
The United States first used national conscription during the civil war. The Confederation created a law in 1862 which requires young people between the ages of 18 and 35 to join the military. However, slave overseers, government officials, and clerics were excluded. The Union soon followed and authorized its draft in a state where the state could not meet its quota with the volunteers. After the emancipation proclamation came into effect, US states enlisted former slaves to meet their enlistment quotas. This law also allowed the men selected in the project to provide substitutes or pay money for switching. In Chile, military service is voluntary but if the necessary quotas for the army are not respected, the government can recruit recruits. In Thailand, each selection station has a recruitment quota. First a call is made for the volunteers. If the number of volunteers is lower than the quota for the station, the remaining men are enrolled for conscript. Producers and importers of these substances apply to receive governmental quotas. This quota system guarantees the availability of these substances for scientific, industrial and use purposes, but limits their availability for non-essential public consumption. Producers and importers of these substances apply to receive governmental quotas. This quota system guarantees the availability of these substances for scientific, industrial and use purposes, but limits their availability for non-essential public consumption. Producers and importers of these substances apply to receive governmental quotas. This quota system guarantees the availability of these substances for scientific, industrial and use purposes, but limits their availability for non-essential public consumption.
Quotas in affirmative action
Quotas are also used to extend affirmative action. In India there is an elaborate system of quotas for public works, admission to government-funded colleges and some elected assemblies. These quotas are covered by members of disadvantaged groups. For women in India, there is a one-third share of all seats in elected local authorities. In Sweden, on the other hand, the courts have stated that ethnic quotas in universities are discriminatory and therefore illegal. Affirmative action in the United States is not based on the quota system. Instead, it focuses on issues such as education, employment and some special considerations specific to some excluded groups. President Nixon wrote in his memoirs: “We will not impose quotas,
