Construct the Efficient Frontier

Construction a. Estimation The goal is to obtain the raw ingredients – expected returns, standard deviations and correlations. Historical data are used for this purpose. As a rule of thumb, five years of daily data are probably right (one year should be the absolute minimum). Keep in mind the following: 1) make sure to use the adjusted close prices to calculate returns (so that you won’t have large, spurious negative returns due to dividend payments or splits), and 2) calculate log returns (so that you can aggregate daily returns to obtain holding period returns, if ever needed).In Excel, the function for mean and standard deviation are â€Å"= average (range)† and â€Å"stdev(range). † To calculate the correlation matrix, use â€Å"correlation† under â€Å"data analysis. † Please note, in practice, the estimates can be adjusted in view of economic outlooks. This is especially so for expected returns. Sometimes, the realized historical return s are negative or below the risk-free rate. They must be adjusted upward – who would ever buy a stock and expect to receive a return less than the risk-free rate (if the beta is not negative)!? II.Efficient frontier construction Step 1. Variance/covariance matrix, The expected return and variance for the portfolio are: You can think of the variance as the â€Å"weighted average† of all the covariances, ? i? j? ij where the weights are xi and xj. Of course, the variance terms are special cases of the covariances when i=j, and ? ij=1. You can calculate the portfolio variance in the spreadsheet in many different ways. The way I do it is to first calculate the variance/covariance matrix, whose entries are ? i? j? ij and ? i2. To this end, we first construct the tandard deviation (std) matrix and the correlation matrix, as shown in the spreadsheet. Then, first multiple the std matrix to the correlation matrix to obtain (multiply the range of b3.. g8 to the range of b10.. g15). Then, multiple matrix to the std matrix again (multiply the range of b17.. g22 to the range of b3.. g8) to obtain the variance/covariance matrix in b24.. g29. Step 2. Portfolio's return, variance, standard deviation and slope To obtain the portfolio variance, we need to further multiply each entry of the variance/covariance matrix by their corresponding weights, xi and xj.Remember, those n portfolio weights are what we are trying to solve for. So we put them in a column (a34.. a39). To facilitate the calculations, I also place the weights at the top of the matrix. The variance/covariance matrix is simply copied from Step 1. Since we will also need the security returns to calculate the portfolio return, they are placed in j33.. j39. Now, we multiply the weights to each column of the variance/covariance matrix using the function â€Å"=sumproduct. † This â€Å"sumproduct† results in each weight in (a34.. 39) being multiplied to each entry in the variance/covarian ce column, and then all summed up. The variance/covariance terms will have only one weight being multiplied to. So we need to multiply this sum by another weight at the top of the matrix (remember: multiplying the sum by something is equivalent to multiplying each individual item by the same thing). Summing all the items in b40.. g40, we obtain the portfolio’s variance, and taking square root of it, we have its standard deviation, in cell b45. The portfolio’s return in b44 is calculated as the weighted average of individual security returns.The slope of the CML is simply the rise (i. e. , portfolio’s return minus the risk-free rate) over run (i. e. , the portfolio’s std). Step 3. Obtain minimum variance portfolio: minimize STD subject to sum of weight = 1. 0 The minimum variance portfolio is the one that has the lowest variance among all possible portfolios. We use the â€Å"Solver† in Excel to find this portfolio. We would like to vary the weights in a34.. a39 so that the variance (or equivalently, std in cell b45) is minimized. In the â€Å"Solver,† enter b45 as the target, and choose â€Å"min. The range for â€Å"Changing cells† should be a34.. a39. The only constraint is: all the weights sum to one, i. e. , set cell b42 equal to 1. 0. Then simply click on â€Å"solve. † The solutions will be in a34.. a39. Of course, the portfolio’s return and std are simultaneously calculated in cells b44 and b45, and the slope linking the portfolio and the T-bill is in cell b46. Step 4. Obtain market portfolio: maximize Slope subject to sum of weight = 1. 0 Follow the same logic/procedure as in Step 3, except that you want to maximize cell b46. Step 5.Obtain market portfolio with no short selling: maximize Slope subject to sum of weights = 1. 0 and all weight being positive This part is just for completeness: to show you how to construct the market portfolio when short selling is prohibited. Here you also ma ximize cell b46, except that, aside from the weights-summing-to-one constraint, you would add six more constraints: a34 ;gt; 0, a35 ;gt; 0, †¦, a39 ;gt; 0. It turns out that, the weights on Securities 2 and 3 are zero, since they command the most amount of short selling in the unconstrained case (Step 4).However, it is not always true that any security that is being shorted in the unconstrained case will have a weight of zero in the constrained case. Security 5 is a case in point. Step 6. Generating efficient frontier Here, everything is already self-explanatory. Essentially, we need to plot the parabola and the CML. To this end, we first get the functions for each, and then use Excel to generate some points (50 in my example) within the reasonable range of returns and std.

Compare and Contrast. Russia and Japan

Both Japan and Russia experienced a major economic development during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The government played a major role in both countries economic growth due to their support in industrialization and economic succession.Government support in order to build up industrial production systems, such as factories and infrastructure was heavy in both nations and resulted in radical political change, however they ways in which the two countries achieved their development goals differed in some aspects, for example, Russian industry did not require government support in getting raw materials for production like Japanese industries did.During At the time both countries were far behind in the global race to industrialize and desperately desired to catch up. This motivated the two governments to take drastic measures to catch up, but with the exception of a few basic principles they did so in very different ways.Russia, officially referred to as the Soviet Union at the t ime was under the leadership of Joseph Stalin. He industrialized using a tightly regulated system known as The First Five-Year Plan. This plan included many laws, the establishment of production quotas, collective farms, and established heavy government regulation over the economy.It was successful in industrializing Russia at a whirlwind pace with the creation of many factories and huge technological advancements, but at a large cost of the lives and freedom of many Russian peasants. The collective farms failed to produce a food supply sufficient to feed the people resulting in widespread starvation.Japanese emperor Meiji played a large role in the economic development of Japan, as Stalin did in the USSR, but he did so in a very different way. Meiji created state-sponsored factories that were paid for largely with revenue from tax increases imposed on the citizens.However his reforms were broad scope and encompassed many aspects of life. For example, he ended the feudal system in J apan and introduced a modern Westernized system, a very different social change than that of Stalin who pushed his citizens further into poverty.With an increase in industrial production and economic progress, the need for resources also increases, and that was a challenge both countries had to face but dealt with differently according to their needs and the resources they had within their borders. In Japan the demand for resources such as coal and metals needed to fuel production exceeded the resources that could be recovered from its own islands.This lead to a series of imperialistic  military conquests of foreign lands that were brutally colonized in order to export as many raw materials as possible to the industrial factories of Japan. Russia was able to keep the supply of materials flowing into their production lines by obtaining resources from regions within the country.The areas of resources were far from industrial centers so transportation infrastructure had to be built i n order to get the raw materials into factories. The government created projects such as the Trans-Siberian Railroad, with workers sourced from labor camps containing political prisoners and prisoners of war.The life span of these dispensable workers was very short because of the harsh working conditions and poor treatment. In order to feed their industrial production lines the raw materials they needed, both countries went to great lengths to obtain the needed resources, killing countless numbers of civilians in the process.In conclusion the government played a heavy role in economic progress for both nations resulting in huge loses of civilian life, but they spurred on development in different ways. The methods of industrialization each country used set up the stage for how each would interact globally from then on, especially in WWII.

Reflection Memo Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reflection Memo - Personal Statement Example Such a degree of usefulness has left internet usage among children and young people open to various abuses and problematic scenarios. That is because the digital world that comprises the internet remains largely unsupervised by parents and teachers. Thus exposing children to certain dangers on the world wide web that could be avoided with proper guidance from parental and authority figures in the childs life. Using various methods of research and survey that include the qualitative and quantitative research methods, I came across fact based information and numerical data that supported my thesis that although the internet can act as an all around teacher and baby sitter, it also places the innocence of a child in danger because of the predators and bullies that lurk within the system. Children and young adults are not always equipped to handle such situations which can bring about emotional trauma and moral questions from the young users. Therefore the age bracket of these users require My field work and studies have shown that parents and educators are aware of the problems that exist when young people have internet access. As such, they have come up with ways and means to limit the childs exposure to the internet. Parents have done this by limiting the chillds time on the computer and restricting the browsing habits of the child through the use of specific site blocking software which is loaded into the computer. Some parents though, opt to join their children when they browse the internet instead so that they can visually see and personally restict the access of the child. Such a practice also allowed the parent to talk to the child about why certain websites are offensive. Thankfully, most educators and parents whom approached for my data gathering were quite accomodating and helpful thus making my field work and data collection easier and more accurate. In the end, I discovered that the parents and educators have only limited

Something relating to the history of the Holocaust Research Paper

Something relating to the history of the Holocaust - Research Paper Example The contrary will be shown. It will be shown that they had a class system. They had classified the types of citizens as early as 1936. The infrastructure had been created and the fascilities were built before the Germans even entered Dutch soil enabling the Germans to come in and murder over 100 000 people in less than 3 years. Three stages will be examined is this essay. From 1936-1939, when the national decree dictated who was a dutch citizen and the creation of refugee centers. From 1939 to 1940, when Westerbrok was voted into Parliament as a center for the "legal refugees". To conclude with the capitulation of the Netherlands government within 5 days in 1940 and the consequences it had on the Shoah. Please note that in the sources there is much conflicting information due to the age of the survivors and the difference in translations and countries methods of notations.. 1936-139 The Jewish population of Amsterdam represented approximately 10% of the population. The attitude was r ather avant garde, agnostic, assimilated and had benefited greatly from the WWI attitude of being a neutral state.(Hillesum 1999) There was a sense of safty of being Dutch before being Jewish. The general consensus was accepting the census as a natural govermental process. Upon registering in 1936, Jews were told that as citizens they would be protected. (Vanderwerff 2010)The atmosphere as explained by Etty Hillesum, in her Letters of Westerbork, was that she had no desire for organised religion. Life was absurd. God was helpless (12/07/1942) She was born into an agnostic family. Before 1941, she was lost in the different intellectual circles of Amsterdam. She had failed her exam to get into law school. She studied Slavic studies and then went on to tutor. This is an insight into the Jewish population of Amsterdam. The intellectual assimilation would eventually be the demise of the Jews of Amsterdam. The felt themeselves more protected and superior over the German Jews who were ofte n poorer and less educated then the Dutch Jews. They had jobs and lived in proper housing. They were not touched by the refugee housing or economic situation. As in other European nations, they considered themselves citizens of the nation of their birth. In 1936, by Royal Decree it was voted that a national census would require new identity cards in order to define who were Dutch citizens. Religion was required on the last line of the card. (Vanderwerff 2010) In 1939, Refugees were forced to register. Legal Refugee Jews (Stateless) were defined by having been born in a country that no longer existed because of World War I and having been born in Poland. Illegal Refugee Jews were those who came into the Netherlands without any visas. Illegal refugees were sent back to Germany. (Vanderwerff 2010) In World War I, The Netherlands had remained a neutral State. It was common knowledge that the Netherlands was a state that had had an open door policy. Because of the depression, lack of job s and overall anti-semitism, German Jews and Stateless Jews were considered secondary citizen to Dutch citizens. The geo-political economic situation of Europe has changed the map. Dutch citizens were given precedents over refugees in employment and housing. What had been refugee homes all over the country since 1936 had become internment camps in

Managing operations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Managing operations - Essay Example The notion includes the process of delivering the services to the customers with the products. With the changing time the aspects covered are increasing, the process now also includes R&D, value creation, marketing management, sales activities, accounting and finance. Most of the physical assets remain unchanged. These include buildings, land, manufacturing plants, warehouses etc. Planning, operating and controlling are the important constituents of transformation process. The improvement in the system is also an important aim of the model. Outputs consist of products and services and may even be information, such as that provided by a consulting organisation. (Koontz and Weihrich, 1994; p 633, 634) Time network analysis is a logical extension of the famous Gantt chart. Often referred to as the program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) an in its essentials as the Critical Path Method (CPM), this technique of planning and control has wide potential use in many applications. But PERT and its various refinements, like PERT/COST, have considerable potential for use in many aspects of planning and controlling operations. (Koontz and Weihrich, 1994; p.648) A product can be improved and its cost lowered through value engineering, which consists of analysing the operations of the product or service, estimating the value of each operation, and attempting to improve that operation by trying to keep costs low at each step or part. The following specific steps are suggested: Work methods can be improved through work simplification, which is the process of obtaining the participation of workers in simplifying their work. Training sessions are conducted to teach concepts and principles of techniques such as time and motion studies, workflow analyses, and the layout of the work situation. (Koontz and Weihrich, 1994; p.648) A quality control circle, or simply quality circle (QC); is a group of people from the same organisational area who meet regularly

Evaluation of the Pending Merger of American Airlines and US Airways Research Paper

Evaluation of the Pending Merger of American Airlines and US Airways - Research Paper Example The Pending Merger of American Airlines and US Airways U.S. Airways and American Airlines are set to merge so as to form the largest airline across the entire globe. There is a proposal to settle the matter with Justice Department over an antitrust lawsuit on their merger which is projected to cost US$17 billion (Johanson, 2013). Assent of the plan to merge the two airlines is seen as a potential for resolving competition issues while at the same time contribute to creation of the largest global airline. An in-depth evaluation of the planned merger indicates that there are certain things which are pertinent in case a settlement of the matter happens. One of the prospected outcomes from the pending merger of the two airlines is that more slots for airports will be experienced for cheaper carriers in the American airline market. The two airlines will have to separate slots and facilities relative to airline costs to realize improved competitive advantage in airline industry (Feldman, 2 013). This implies that the merger will lead to co-ordination that will see it control at least 80 per cent of American commercial market in airline business network. The merger of the two US airlines will also gain slots for cheaper carriers across the US. ... g for ease bearers at key US airstrips, this settlement guarantees air transport travelers that they will see more rivalry on persistent and interfacing tracks all around the nation. Therefore, there will be increased competition in American airline industry which will then benefit millions of airline customers following improved airline travelling options and reduced travelling costs in the airline industry. Other airline players such as JetBlue and Southwest Airlines will have an opportunity to gain in the airline industry (Portillo, 2013). This is because American and US Airways will leave out some slots as well as facilities in various airports. This will at the same time increase competition in the American airline business market. Settlement of the merger is also deemed to bring disruption in the mutual relationships that have always existed among legacy carriers. Furthermore, it will increase accessibility to major airports which have previously had cases of congestion. There will also be provision for varied choices to the airline consumers while also enhancing airline fares accruing from increased competition in the airline industry on all national flights in the US (Feldman, 2013). Some of the already existing airlines will win big from the Justice Department on divestiture settlement process since they presently operate on leasing out of slots from American Airlines. Other airlines also stand chances to have their shares in the American airline market rising. The pending merger will see the New American airline becoming the largest global carrier. It will actually be the leading carrier in the world with regards to offering more comprehensive networks across the globe (Johanson, 2013). The same will be true with their services in terms of business excellence

Drawing on current academic theory and debate, critically evaluate the Essay

Drawing on current academic theory and debate, critically evaluate the contribution of the Human Resource Management function to the management of employee reward practices - Essay Example Throughout the whole XX century and even earlier both practitioners and scholars attempted to design the theories explaining human behaviour at work and the ways to raise its effectiveness. A good insight into the value of HR related programs is provided by Schuler (1990: 52-54). He emphasizes that the HR function had an opportunity to shift from being an â€Å"employee advocate† (associated with personnel management) to a â€Å"member of the management team†. Schuler’s (1990) view was that this required HR professionals to be concerned with the profits, organizational effectiveness and business survival. In other words, human resource issues should be addressed as business issues. Storey (2001: 18-34) believes that emergence of HRM contributed greatly to an ever-greatest since industrial revolution shift in the principles of management. HRM encouraged both managers and employees to get rid of traditional patterns of interaction, outdated ideas of motivation, stereotypes, assessment and appraisal. Managers ceased to be mere mentors and executioners and turned to be the members of business teams. Introduction of HRM principle has made modern companies more competitive, dynamic and people-friendly that consequently influenced their efficiency and marketability. Therefore, many believe that HRM caused what was later called â€Å"a new managerialism† – a new look on organization, the ways it functions and succeeds and the way its employees work (Storey, 2001, p. 18). At the same time, HRM is not just a set of principles; it is rather an organizational science that helps to implement company’s general strategy in a most effective way. Thus, according to the most conventional definitions HRM is defined as a â€Å"system that is tailored to the demands of the business strategy† (Miles and Snow, 1984, p. 36-37); or â€Å"the pattern of planned activities intended to enable an organization to achieve its goals† (Wright and McMahan, 1992, pp. 343-345).

The Good and Bad of Audi Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Good and Bad of Audi - Case Study Example The founders then moved to Ingolstadt in Bavaria and formed the Auto Union in 1949, with loans from the Bavarian state government and Marshall Plan aid. In 1969 Audi Union merged with the world's largest motorcycle producer, NSU - the company was now known as Audi NSU Auto Union AG. Audi emerged as a separate brand. Then Volkswagen introduced Audi 1970 models to the United States. Nowadays Audi is a global developer and producer of high quality cars with production sites in Germany, Hungary, China, Belgium and India. In 2008, Audi sold a total of 1,003,000 cars, setting up a record for the thirteenth consecutive year. Audi is a premium member of the Volkswagen Group and it is interesting to note that technologies are first introduced into the mass market in Audi vehicles. Thereafter they conveyed to the more value oriented brands such as Volkswagen, Seat and Skoda. Audi is aware of the fact that consumers do not buy cars for rational reasons. Therefore, Audi moved ahead as a serious competitor in the global luxury segment in the early 1990s and now offers a wide variety of premium vehicles, the most famous of which is the Audi TT, launched in 1999. This car was designed for people with passion. There were other Audi models that appealed to the emotions, like the Audi A8, which was launched in 2003. In 2004 Audi launched the S4 convertible with a soft top and a 4.2 litre V8 engine for outstanding performance. The Audi A6 was also launched in 2004 and was extremely competitive in the executive segment. A more recent technology introduced by Audi is that of the Fuel Stratified Injection (FSI) engines and the quick shifting dual-clutch gearbox (DSG). Currently, Audi is launching the most efficient standard sized sedan, the A4 2.0 TDT e with fuel consumption of 4.6 litres per 100 km and a carbon dioxide exhaust emission of 119 grams per hundred kilometers. This sedan features stop/start technology and a brake recovery energy system and comes with low resistance tires. QUALITY PROBLEMS In 2003 and 2004 the Volkswagen group ordered massive recalls involving various brands. One of these cases was a recall of 850,000 vehicles of VW, Audi, Skoda and Seat with 1.8 litre turbo engines, V5, V6 and V8

Foreign minister Essay Example for Free

Foreign minister Essay According to a former French foreign minister, America’s power lies in its ability to â€Å"inspire dreams and desires† due to its eternal presence in media all around the world. In an interconnected world, there is no doubt that the America more than country has acquired status of an empire, turning the world towards American ways. Some reason American military might and others consider its media the real power, however it’s the American businesses, which have changed the world enormously in the last 100 years. American companies today are doing not just business, but they have made America a world economic power. A slight depreciation in dollar or energy in US, the whole world can feel pinch of the impact. In a global economy, American companies are reaching out to the consumers and exploiting markets, be it China or Latin America or Japan or African countries, they are the force to reckon with. As they arrive in the region, they bring in capital, technology, knowledge and jobs for the local residents. And in addition buy from the local firms contributing to the social activities of the regions. Today America owes the world well- known products and brands, dominating the business models around the globe. Out of 100 famous brands, 62 are American, which is about 62 percent of the well-known brand. American companies contribute to the one third of the world economic output, companies like Coca-Cola, Macdonalds, Apple, IBM, and Microsoft has not only created wealth and jobs at home, but they have also created countless jobs overseas increasing American Influence. American companies deliver their products by basically in two ways: exports and over seas investment. These practices are popular ways of US companies to have their presence in the global business making them connected to many world economies. American firms compete more through foreign direct investment and establish by being on the ground. In simple words, the American firms global engagement is more through manufacturing and selling, such as General Motors manufacturing in Germany, Intel integrating in Ireland, Wal-Mart manufacturing in Jordan, Eastman Kodak competing Fuji in China and capturing sales in Latin America. It is no surprise that during the economic crisis of Mexico in 1995 and Asian crisis in 1997, US companies had the impact, yet not as much as it was anticipated. Even during the crisis American (FDI) was relatively stable due to several inherent superior measures taken by these companies. The US companies are the leading exporters in the world. American companies accounted for the fifty percent of the semiconductor manufacturing in 2005. According to WTO report, the US exports and commercial activities, such as semi-conductors, computers, vehicle spare parts, and pharmaceutical products reached US$1. 01 trillion in 2003. From 1994 to 2003, US FDI (foreign direct investment) reached US$1. 3 trillion, bringing new technologies and managerial skills to developing countries. In fact the US companies are engine of global growth, without them, the world economy can become stagnant.

Market Structures Essay Example for Free

Market Structures Essay According to McConnell and Brue (2004), a monopoly occurs when a single firm is the sole producer of a product for which no close substitutes exist. Since the United States Postal Service (USPS, 2008) has no close substitutes, competition does not exist. The Postal Service’s universal service obligation (USO) is broadly outlined in multiple statutes and encompasses multiple dimensions: geographic scope, range of products, access to services and facilities, delivery frequency, affordable and uniform pricing, service quality, and security of the mail (USPS 2008). When monopolists are not protected by law from competition, the companies may have to keep their prices low in order to keep competition from entering the market. However, USPS is considered a pure monopoly and barriers of entry are in place. USPS is the only federal operating system that sends and delivers mail. USPS has competition in the market with services such as package delivery. Now, the agency has to compete with major companies such as UPS and FedEx. United States Postal Services depends on operation funding from postage and fees. Comparatively, the Postal Service provides a higher level of service and does so at low, affordable prices (USPS, 2008). The University of Phoenix (UOP) is an institution for profit and it operates in a market structure with pure competition. According to McConnell and Brue (2004), â€Å"pure competition involves a very large number of firms producing a standardized product (that is, a product identical to that of other producers, such as corn or cucumbers). New firms can enter or exit the industry very easily,† (University of Phoenix, 2004). There are many universities, colleges, community colleges, and vocational schools for students to choose from. They offer education in the U. S. and overseas. Different educational institutions offer programs that are identical or similar to UOP. However, the tuition is not the same for all schools. UOP does not have a perfect substitute because of the many campus locations and varied degree programs. UOP does not have a significant control over the price of education. It can not change the market price; it can only adjust to it. University of Phoenix participates in Federal Student Aid grant and loan programs with attractive terms. All students seeking federal financial aid benefits must be admitted to a financial aid eligible degree or certificate program in order to determine financial aid eligibility. In order to be eligible for tuition deferment under the Financial Aid Plan, at least 50% of student’s annual tuition must be funded through the federal financial aid benefits and there are extremely strict policies that the UOP must adhere to in order to be eligible for Title IV. University of Phoenix observes the federal regulations regarding student loan requirements, including pricing and non-pricing strategies. The Arizona Student Loan Code of Conduct is designed to create and ensure uniform student loan practices that focus on the best interest of borrowers. In the Arizona Student Loan Code of Conduct, restrictions are defined to manage the relationships among school employees, learning institutions, lender advisory board members, and student loan organizations. In education, universities can freely enter and existing firms can freely leave purely competitive industries. According to McConnell and Brue (2004), â€Å"a few industries more closely approximate pure competition than any other market structure. In particular, we can learn much about markets for agricultural goods, fish products, foreign exchange, basic metals, and stock shares by studying the pure-competition model. Also, pure competition is a meaningful starting point for any discussion of price and output determination. Moreover, the operation of a purely competitive economy provides a standard, or norm, for evaluating the efficiency of the real-world economy,† (University of Phoenix, 2004). Nike is an example of a monopolistic competition. This type of market structure has many sellers. Each firm in this market sells only a small share of the industry’s output. The key to this is product differentiation. While there are many firms selling similar products, it’s the price and quality differentiation that makes the consumer choose one product over another. (Forgang Einolf, 2006) These markets are extremely competitive and each manufacturer tries to appeal to the consumer on a different level of expert service or material. (University of Phoenix, 2004). The Nike swoosh has certainly become a brand mark that consumers are willing to pay a higher price for, however, Nike must also consider the current economy and the value offered for that higher price. Their products must truly be manufactured with superior quality and materials. Nike must walk a fine line with their pricing strategy. Too high a price will cause the consumer to opt for a less expensive brand and too low a price will not offset the superior manufacturing or costs paid to athletes to endorse or assist with design on the product. Therefore, Nike continuously battles between a relative price for the average consumer and making an acceptable profit. Also, Nike must constantly put a new, trendy product on the market. Styles must change frequently and certain quantities of the product must be produced without saturating the market with similar products. The niche Nike has chosen is to eliminate certain styles within a time frame therefore, causing the consumer to upgrade to the newest, latest, styles. The J. C. Penny Company, commonly known as â€Å"Pennies,† is an American department store aligned with the practice of oligopoly. The characteristics of oligopoly have commercial groups entwined in price collusion while refusing to compete on the basis of price. It was noted by McConnell and Brue that commercial groups â€Å"share of the total market is typically determined through product development and advertisement,† (University of Phoenix, 2004). In short, oligopoly happens when a certain market is manipulated by small commercial groups. In most cases, there are two or more commercial groups controlling the market. Pennies is a retail store that carries a wide verity of health and beauty products, fine jewelry, electronics, clothing for infants, teenagers, men and women, and home decor. In most cases, oligopolies would avoid using price cutting methods. Oligopolistic commercial groups are highlighted by the existence of several commercial groups having significant portions of the market. Those commercial groups buy into calculated behavior and they have a hard time existing without each other. Consequently, the actions of one commercial group can be directly affected by the moves of rival groups and the products they produce may virtually be nearly uniform or meaningful. Another example of an oligopoly (overt) is the OPEC cartel. According to Kaplan (1999), an oligopoly is an industry that is dominated by a few firms that display highly coordinated behavior and examples of oligopoly include the auto and oil industries. Concerning the oil industry, the oil cartel OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) is a pure example of an oligopoly. OPEC is the alliance of thirteen countries that have significant influence on the price of international oil and â€Å"creating a balance between oil supply and demand† (Iran, 2008). Generally, oligopolies operate in collusion or employ price leadership. OPEC relies on these secret agreements (collusion) to govern oil in the international market. Additionally, these countries can unify and offer prices â€Å"in response to changes in costs or demands†, making other firms react quickly (Kaplan, 1999). â€Å"It is not uncommon to see several gas stations on the same block with identical prices even though they appear to be in a very competitive environment. If one stations cuts the price per gallon, the others must quickly follow of they will rapidly lose market share as consumers switch to the lower priced station† (Kaplan, 1999). This uniformity still does not have the power to ignore consumer taste. When examining the dynamic history between OPEC and consumers, it is clear that there is a cause-and-effect for OPEC’s decision. For example, OPEC has famously used oil as a leverage tool to importer nations. In 1973, OPEC and a supplementary organization decided to place an embargo on oil and subsequently raised the price of crude oil. However, Western nations transitioned creatively as they found new oil markets in other countries. Thus, the price hike did not have much bearing on the Western nations. The monopolist seeks maximum total profit, not maximum price. The monopolist shuns higher price because they yield a smaller-than-maximum total profit. Some high prices that could be charge would reduce total sales and total revenue too severely to offset any decrease in total cost† (McConnell Brue, 2004). Moreover, OPEC miscalculated production and consumer demand for oil, which resulted in too much oil production in the world market. Thus, prices began to decline due to surplus while OPEC lost much revenue and division because of competing opinions on oil prices and arguments about oil production. Recently, the 9/11 attacks and the Iraqi invasion prompted world oil prices to rise higher than OPEC quotas, which severely impacted the purchase price to Western consumers. Yet, automobile firms began vehicles with alternative fuel options, hybrid models, and decreasing the retail prices of vehicles during the economic recession. Additionally, many consumers have reacted to price hikes by using public transportation, carpooling, purchasing hybrid or alternative fuel vehicles, and/or moving closer to the city. Lastly, Western importer nations are discovering new oil markets separate from OPEC. Still, collusion allows OPEC to â€Å"reach agreements to fix prices, divide up the market, and otherwise restrict competition amongst themselves. By controlling price through collusion, oligopolists may be able to reduce uncertainty, increase profits, and perhaps even prohibit the entry of new rivals† (McConnell Brue, 2004). In respect to today’s global economic condition, a recession can severely disable a cartel’s ability to manipulate output and increase profits. â€Å"Long-lasting recession usually serves as an enemy of collusion because slumping markets increase average total cost. Firms find that they have substantial excess production capacity, sales are down, unit costs are up, and profits are being squeezed. Under such conditions, businesses may feel they can avoid serious profit reductions by cutting price and thus gaining sales at the expense of rivals† (McConnell Brue, 2004). As recently as November 2008, OPEC is considering reducing oil output. â€Å"But if crude prices continue to fall, then an additional OPEC cut may be needed. â€Å"The producer group agreed to cut output from November 1 by 1. million barrels per day (bpd) after oil prices dived from a July record of $147 a barrel to less than that. Venezuela said on Tuesday it will propose another cut of 1 million bpd at the cartel’s next meeting† (Iran, 2008). Thus, â€Å"investor concerns over further declines in crude oil demand under the impact of the global financial crisis have kept pressing recent oil prices lower† (Iran, 2008). With the drop in gas prices, consum ers are able to purchase more gas based on oil price reduction, income, and inelasticity of gas as a resource. In the Market Structures Simulation, Quasar starts as a leader in the industry with its technology. Quasar has the monopoly on the market at the start of the scenario. After the initial surge of manufacturing and selling the products, Quasar realizes it must invest in advertising and upgrades to production to keep the edge. Orion begins to produce a similar product at a lower price. Quasar must understand that stabilizing the price at this time will create an oligopoly market structure and stabilize the industry. As Quasar adjusts its price accordingly, profits stay steady and Quasar is able to invest in its own branding and innovation once again. As time goes on, we see Quasar move to a perfect competition where inventory is reduced, manufacturing processes are improved, and prices are stable. At this point, Quasar needs to maintain its market share by staying on top while continuing to increase the efficiency of its processes to maximize profits.

Mainstream Media Is The Mouthpiece Media Essay

Mainstream Media Is The Mouthpiece Media Essay There is no doubt that mainstream media and social networking websites have ballooned over the past few years to encourage the acceptance of 1Malaysia Concept to citizens. The 1Malaysia Concept was initiated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak on 16 September 2010, as a platform to build upon the unique strength of the diversity of multiracial Malaysia. It is the Prime Ministers fervent belief that the preservation and enhancement of this unity in diversity will remain the countrys best hope for the future. So promoting the realization and greater understanding of the 1Malaysia Concept by Malaysians is extremely important for the mainstream media to cover by reaching citizens. This 1Malaysia program consists of 1Malaysia Shop, 1Malaysia Clinic, 1Malaysia Menu, 1Malaysia Peoples Housing (PR1MA), to help the middle income group to have better access to house ownership and 1Malaysia Peoples Taxi (TR1MA) aimed at improving the countrys public transport services and so on t hat provides many benefits and services that citizens can enjoy and save money. According to The Star Online News (Understanding 1Malaysia, Joshua Foong, 2010), various strategies, programs and activities have been implemented through the ministries various departments and agencies to promote the 1Malaysia Concept. In order to take stock on the effectiveness of the 1Malaysia promotional initiatives, the ministry undertook a random survey on the extent of the peoples public awareness, understanding and acceptance of the 1Malaysia Concept as part of the ministrys KPI (MKPI). According to figures by the ministry, a total of 12,212 respondents participated with 82% from the number saying they were aware of 1Malaysia and while a further 69% understood the concept. The ministry targets on having at least 50% of the total population of 27mil in accepting the 1Malaysia concept this year. A statement released by the ministry said continuous dissemination of key messages on the 1Malaysia Concept will be a pivotal factor towards inculcating better understanding and accepta nce of the concept by Malaysians in time to come. From here, we know that media plays an important role to deliver the government policies or information to citizens. We have employed various channels to spearhead the promotion. They include the electronic media (TV and radio), print media (newspapers, booklets, leaflets and posters), new media (websites, blogs, Facebook), face-to-face communication (talks, briefings, seminars) as well as cultural activities (acting, singing and dance performances), said by Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim. Such dedicated programs and activities all over the country have received positive response, strong support and participation from all sectors of the community, heralding much promise for the future. (Understanding 1Malaysia, Joshua Foong, 2010). Despite the traditional mainstream media, new social media technologies such as facebook and blogs are being used by the government to promote and encourage citizens to accept this information, resulted the 1Malaysia Concept are getting popular. While in (Najib Urges Media to Help Promote Mederation, 2010) our Prime Minister urged the media to play the role as a promoter of moderation to take back the centre and reclaim the agenda for peace and pragmatism. He said the movement of the moderates could marginalize the extremists, and that the media had a significant role to play in this quest. While according to The News Straits Time (1Malaysia concept a great vision,2012), the 1Malaysia Concept is a great vision in promoting unity not only to the Malaysian people but also to the region, United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said today. He said the concept could help in raising tolerance towards the different religions, cultures and traditions as Malaysia is a multi-ethnic, religious and cultural country.    Another article from The Star Online News (Najib: Translate 1Malaysia concept to benefit people, 2012), Najib said the Barisan Nasional government had introduced various 1Malaysia services and products to assist the people, such as 1Malaysia Peoples Aid (BR1M), which was warmly received. 1He said the 1Malaysia Concept should be translated into something tangible and benefits the people and not just remains political rhetoric. He emphasized that more 1Malaysia services and products were needed to help ease the rise in the cost of living. For example, specially-composed 1Malaysia songs and the 1Malaysia advertisement are aired daily via various TV and radio stations run by RTM. In Ai FM radio station, we can hear that the radio station everyday aired the information about 1Malaysia Concept in attempts to encourage citizen to accept the 1Malaysia Concept. For the private networks as well, they are tends to promote this concept and resulted the 1Malaysia Concept have been well-received a nd getting popular. Additionally, according to The Star Online News (Understanding 1Malaysia, Joshua Foong, 2010), showed that, around 18,070 lectures have been conducted by the information department this year in 139 districts involving about 550,000 people. Booklets and leaflets on 1Malaysia have been distributed as well at the state and district levels to be used as handy reference. The ministry has also been working towards disseminating the 1Malaysia concept to all participants undergoing National Service training (PLKN). From the articles above, we can see that various channels or mainstream media are being used by the governments to disseminate the 1Malaysia Concept that brings a lot of benefits to the citizens. Many channels have been covering this policies information to reach different levels of the citizens, and keep emphasize and re-emphasize the idea of 1Malaysia Concept is to harmonize citizens of different races in this country. As we can see that, the ways the mainstream media in order to cover 1Malaysia Concept is very neutral but had successfully shape the citizens mind gained the attention and the acceptance of citizens. More and more citizens can understand the concept for a better tomorrow. However, in today advanced social networking era, we can see that more and more people are using social media sites to get news and share the information, such as Facebook, Youtube, Twitter and so on. Facebook is the top media site in Malaysia and there are 90% of Malaysian uses Facebook as their prime social media network. In order to attract more citizens get to know about 1Malaysia Concept, or even to convenience the citizens to get more information, it is found that there were a homepage of 1Malaysia existing in Facebook that citizens can get the information and share it among their friends around the world. Other than that, the government also created a website of 1Malaysia The Personal Website of Dato Sri Najib Razak that intended to provide a free and open forum to discuss the things that matter deeply to us as a Nation. The website provides a chance to express and explore the many perspectives of citizens. Citizens can download the booklet as well from the website to get mor e detail about what kind of benefits that as a Malaysian can enjoy. In terms of today commercial culture, advertisements exist at anywhere and anytime. People are highly exposed with the advertisement indirectly. The 1Malaysia advertisement can be found in local newspaper, TV or radio advertisement as well as social network, shopping malls, billboards along the road and so on to make the advertisement intangible in order to reach everyone and their target audiences. We can see the logo of 1Malaysia Concept at anywhere especially in government webpage, government office, government clinic and hospital, banners of PROTONS flyer and even can be found in the products of goods which is made from Malaysia. TV and radio are the most effective ways to make the citizens to accept the 1Malaysia Concept because the 1Malaysia Concept. According to mass society theory, media were seen as only one of many disruptive forces, cancerous force within society and have to be purged or totally restructured. Media have the power to reach out and directly influence the min ds of average people. Once the peoples minds are corrupted by media, all sorts of bad, long-term consequences result bringing not only ruin to individual lives but also creating social problems on a vast scale. As it is say that, people are vulnerable to media because they have been cut off and isolated from traditional social institutions that previously protected them from manipulation. But in propaganda theories, media became the focus of attention. One of the common propaganda techniques is intended to make many people respond to the information overload situation pressured by processing the messages as quickly as possible, therefore by making mental short cuts. In addition, propaganda theory also is the no-hold-barred use of communication to propagate specific beliefs and expectations. For example, the slogan of 1Malaysia Concept in recent and past few year which in year For example, the slogan of 1Malaysia Concept in recent and past few year which in year 2009 People First, Performance Now (Rakyat Didahulukan, Pencapaian Diutamakan), in year 2010 Generating Transformation  (Menjana Transformasi), in year 2011 Transformation Successful, People Prosperous (Transformasi Berjaya, Rakyat Sejahtera), and in year 2012 Promises Fulfilled (Janji Diterpati). It is can say that the used of the slogans in 1Malaysia Concept is to make the citizens believe in, seek to g ain the support and acceptance from the citizen as well as other expectations. In other words, the uses of propaganda attempt to change the way of people act and influence their perceptions. The social chaos initiated by media will inevitably be resolved by establishment of a totalitarian social order. In other word, mass media should debase higher forms of culture, bringing about a general decline in civilization. While in modern propaganda theory, the argument of this modern propaganda theory is that powerful elites are so thoroughly control the mass media and their content that they have little trouble imposing their truth on the culture. The theory is facilitated by three factors i.e. an audience, the use of sophisticated polling and survey procedures, and the incorporation of media companies into mega conglomerates. These factors combine to put untold power in the hand of powerful business and governmental elites without the publics awareness whether the information is true or not. In conclusion, in nation all over the world, the media has to adapt to the political system in which they are operating. How much freedom that the media can enjoys is indicative by the political system that they operate in. In a democracy country, media and politics will always have close ties. Mainstream media is the mouthpiece of the government in nation to disseminating the information on government policies, programs and messages to the citizen. But because of the mainstream media is often heavily influenced by the governments and corporate stockholders, the news it reports on is often kept as neutral as possible or typically of general interest, to avoid losing members and the audience, therefore, they avoid reporting on controversial or sensitive topics especially topics about cultures and religions. For this reason, some people speak disparagingly about the mainstream media, arguing that issues of importance often do not reach the general public. No private-owned newspaper or radio and TV stations are allowed to discriminate the government openly and thus no dissident voice is heard. The government decides what kind of information the citizens should know and the government tends to control or regulate the media by laws but allowed a certain degree of freedom, as long as the media operates within the prescribed perimeter, it will not be harassed. Mainstream media is often associated with reliability and integrity, enforced by firm journalistic standards and the presence of supervisors and review boards who are supposed to ensure that the news is accurately reported. However, the mainstream media is also accused by some individuals of being extremely biased. The political leanings of major media companies may come out in the type of coverage it has, for example, and the choice to refrain from publicizing controversial stories may be viewed as a lapse of integrity. Social justice issues often receive scant coverage in the mainstream media, to the frustrati on of people who want to alert people to such issues. Because of this, more and more people are moving forward to look for other sources that allowed them to know the truth, whether the 1Malaysia Concept is really beneficial as a citizens of Malaysia. The internet has held hope for many Malaysians who are seeking wider democratic space, to enhance freedom of expression and democracy in Malaysia.

Pearl Harbor Essay -- Discrimination Japanese Japan Essays

Pearl Harbor During the early 1940’s, World War II was upon the United States of America. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. was ready to go to war with The Empire of Japan. During this time, many U.S. citizens grew great hatred toward anyone of Japanese ancestry. People began to become paranoid and treated any Japanese person with great disrespect. All of this started with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. After the attack, many Japanese people were sent to concentration camps. Many of them were either put in jail because of their race, or just because they refused to go to the concentration camps. This also happened in David Guterson’s fiction book, Snow Falling on Cedars. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese citizens were looked upon as traders, taken to concentration camps, and many were accused of crimes that they did not commit. Pearl Harbor is on the island of O’ahu in Hawaii. At approximately 8:00 A.M., on December 7, 1941, the Empire of Japan attacked the United States of America. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto orchestrated this surprise attack. Three hundred and fifty-three Japanese aircraft attacked Pearl Harbor, led by Commander Mitsuo Fuchida. (Pearl Harbor Remembered) Before this, no formal declaration of war had been announced. Nearly 100 U.S. ships were in the harbor the morning of the attack consisting of battleships, destroyers, cruisers, and other support ships. (Pearl Harbor Remembered) Fortunately, over half the U.S. Pacific fleet was out to sea. During the same time, the Japanese also attacked Hickam Field. Eighteen Army Aircraft were destroyed or damaged as they set on the runways. (Pearl Harbor Remembered) These aircraft included bombers, fighter planes, and attack bo... ...es and make fun of them since the US was at war with Japan. Many people were also paranoid of the Japanese and accused them of being spies and even forced them to live in concentration camps. Finally, some Japanese citizens were even accused of crimes only because of their Japanese ancestry. Work Cited Guterson, David. Snow Falling on Cedars. New York: Harcourt Brace & Company,1994. Michalowski, Mark. "Concentration Camps." Online posting. May 1997. America's Concentration Camps. 4/17/01. <http://www.ionaprep.pvt.k12.ny.us/projects/intrnmnt/intrnmnt.htm>. Unknown. "Landmark Race." Online posting. 1944. Korematsu v. US. 4/17/01. <http://lawbooksusa.com/cconlaw/korematsuvus.htm Unknown. "Pearl Harbor." Online posting. March 30, 2001. Pearl Harbor: Remembered. 4/17/01. <http://www.execpc.com/~dschaaf/overview.html>. Pearl Harbor Essay -- Discrimination Japanese Japan Essays Pearl Harbor During the early 1940’s, World War II was upon the United States of America. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. was ready to go to war with The Empire of Japan. During this time, many U.S. citizens grew great hatred toward anyone of Japanese ancestry. People began to become paranoid and treated any Japanese person with great disrespect. All of this started with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. After the attack, many Japanese people were sent to concentration camps. Many of them were either put in jail because of their race, or just because they refused to go to the concentration camps. This also happened in David Guterson’s fiction book, Snow Falling on Cedars. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese citizens were looked upon as traders, taken to concentration camps, and many were accused of crimes that they did not commit. Pearl Harbor is on the island of O’ahu in Hawaii. At approximately 8:00 A.M., on December 7, 1941, the Empire of Japan attacked the United States of America. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto orchestrated this surprise attack. Three hundred and fifty-three Japanese aircraft attacked Pearl Harbor, led by Commander Mitsuo Fuchida. (Pearl Harbor Remembered) Before this, no formal declaration of war had been announced. Nearly 100 U.S. ships were in the harbor the morning of the attack consisting of battleships, destroyers, cruisers, and other support ships. (Pearl Harbor Remembered) Fortunately, over half the U.S. Pacific fleet was out to sea. During the same time, the Japanese also attacked Hickam Field. Eighteen Army Aircraft were destroyed or damaged as they set on the runways. (Pearl Harbor Remembered) These aircraft included bombers, fighter planes, and attack bo... ...es and make fun of them since the US was at war with Japan. Many people were also paranoid of the Japanese and accused them of being spies and even forced them to live in concentration camps. Finally, some Japanese citizens were even accused of crimes only because of their Japanese ancestry. Work Cited Guterson, David. Snow Falling on Cedars. New York: Harcourt Brace & Company,1994. Michalowski, Mark. "Concentration Camps." Online posting. May 1997. America's Concentration Camps. 4/17/01. <http://www.ionaprep.pvt.k12.ny.us/projects/intrnmnt/intrnmnt.htm>. Unknown. "Landmark Race." Online posting. 1944. Korematsu v. US. 4/17/01. <http://lawbooksusa.com/cconlaw/korematsuvus.htm Unknown. "Pearl Harbor." Online posting. March 30, 2001. Pearl Harbor: Remembered. 4/17/01. <http://www.execpc.com/~dschaaf/overview.html>.

Nora Essay -- essays research papers fc

Nora Nora Helmer, Ibsen’s strong-willed heroine is far from being a typical victim of male domination. She is master of the domestic world, dedicated enough to nurse her husband through illness, courageous enough to forge a signature and confident enough to pay back all her debts even in the face of enormous difficulties. But that is not what exactly sets her apart from convention—neither the energy or the initiative she exudes throughout, nor her decision to shatter her notions of marriage and seek independence. Rather, it is the intention or the motivation with which she carries herself throughout the text and more importantly the sub-text of the play that makes her different. Nora, despite her disenchantment and climactic decision, comes across as a less than innocent woman ambivalently portrayed, incredibly adept at manipulation and who does not, in the end, deserve the full sympathy that the thrust of the dominant narrative demands. She walks into a comfortably and tastefully furnished room, as soon as the play begins, with a bunch of parcels and immediately asks for the Christmas Tree to be hidden â€Å"carefully†, pops a few macaroons into her mouth and then cautiously goes to her husband’s door and listens, eventually remarking â€Å"Yes he is in.† The reason for such cautious behaviour seems quite uncertain as her husband’s presence inside the room is immaterial to her secretive actions (that of eating macaroons) as he is clearly out of sight, which makes us conjecture that perhaps such stealth is part of her normal behaviour. When Torvald does appear however, something that becomes very noticeable is the way Nora uses her movement, repetitively, like an application, to alleviate Torvald’s argumentative tone. For example, when her husband vehemently opposes the idea of borrowing, Helmer: †¦ and we will go on the same way for the short time longer that there need be any struggle. Nora: (moving towards the stove) As you please, Torvald. Helemer: (following her) Come, come, my little skylark must not droop her wings. What is this! Is my little skylark out of temper? (Taking out his purse.) Nora, what do you think I have got here? Nora: Money! Nora deliberately moves away from him, making Torvald uneasy of the emptiness, which results in his softening down and taking out the purse. Nora’s mood suddenly changes on seeing the bag. Remarkably, she repeats t... ...g† could never happen which is also why she was so terrified of it. She left blaming Torvald for something he wasn’t aware of, though he readily agreed to change himself for Nora, she left her children who loved playing hide and seek with her and took lodging at Mrs. Linde’s for the night. Ironically, Nora is the one who asked Mrs. Linde, â€Å"Tell me, is it really true that you did not love your husband? Why did you marry him?† Nora therefore proves herself to be ambiguous and very unreliable and even though forfeiting her family and a decision to face the world seems quite a large step for a dependent woman like her, Nora’s motivations remain deceptive as she is forever caught between the world of pretense and reality. Perhaps Nora realizes that, and when she does talk about â€Å"change† at the end of the play, she refers to herself being removed from the mask she is used to wearing. Bibliography Claridge, Laura. â€Å"Tess: A Less than Pure Woman.† Havel, Vaclav. â€Å"Writing for the Stage†, 1986. Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll’s House. trans. Farquharson Sharp. Bantam, 1958 Ingham, Patricia: â€Å"Fallen Woman as Sign† Miller, Arthur: â€Å"On Social Plays†, 1955.

Consumers Attitude Toward Apartment in Bangladesh Essay

All the actions have a motivational component that led him towards an action or behavior. A person needs, wants, interests and motives are changing and consumers’ behaviors are directed accordingly. Most of the businesses are on the principle of profit maximization and on the other hand consumers goals are to maximize their utility and satisfaction. As far apartment is concerned developers want their profit maximization and utility and satisfaction from consumers’ point of view. Housing or shelter is a physiological need for every human being. Purpose of the report This report is one of the requirements of our consumer behavior course. Despite this, we tried to evaluate and examine those factors that motivated them to undertake a buying decision and their perception and attitude towards apartment. Objectives of the report Identify and analyze the motivational factors that lead to consumers to buy an apartment, their perception about the apartment and market condition and trend in Real Estate Business. Scope of the report The report is a product of existing practices in the market. We were encouraged to reveal the current participation in the real estate business. In our report we examined the consumer behavior and learning (knowledge & information) towards owning an apartment. For our report we have prepared a questionnaire and asked people living in an apartment and potential buyers as well as people who are willing to rent an apartment. The other side of the coin that is developers is not responsive as far as cost profit and promotions are concerned. They are responsive to reply the questions of segment, target market and potentiality of the industry. Limitation of the report Time was the prime factor that dictates us to lower our sample size. Initially we tried to conduct 25 people (both living in an apartment and potential buyers) and 5 developers but in reality we conducted 15 (both living in an apartment and potential buyers) and three developers. Company’s management was not so much cooperative and provided inadequate information, which had a material, affect. We didn’t find any institution that formally gather information about real estate business and the structure of the industry. We found only BIDC that undertook a research on real estate in 1991. But after searching different newspaper offices we found some secondary information. We didn’t find any journal in our library as far apartment as well as real estate industry is concerned. Consumers were not homogeneous in determining the factors that persuade them to own an apartment. The scatteredness of the consumer poses limitation in comparison between factors influencing and persuading the decision making process. Methodology  At first we tried to gather secondary information and secondary data. But the volume of the secondary information was not adequate as a result we conducted a survey. Regarding the collection of the primary data we have prepared a questionnaire and in some extend we interviewed personally (Depth interview). So we may title our report as a combination of quantitative as well as qualitative research. We attached some news bulletin of real estate that may help to visualize the current position. Our sample is composed of 15 consumers and 5 developers. We covered only Dhaka city and selected area namely Gulshan, Bananni, Dhanmondi and Moghbazar. The variables used in our report are income, price, age, occupation, social status, employment and preferences. We followed finding analysis technique to come to a conclusion, which may or may not support our objectives. Background (inception) of the Industry The concept of apartment is not very old. In Dhaka city, The real estate business, especially apartment projects, started in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In Dhaka City, the Ispahani Group was the pioneer in this sector. In the early 1980s with the inception of Eastern Housing LTD, the business started flourishing. The industry growth rate is about 15%. More than 57 real state developers are now operating in this business and it is a booming sector of the economy. From the traditional perspective, people used to live in own house or as rental basis. After the independence, population of Bangladesh had risen very sharply in an alarming population growth rate. Due to this reason the demand of living facilities of huge population became a crucial and challenging problem to optimize the land, which will allow to accommodate a large number of people in relatively small land, the apartment concept had been created to meet the objective. As far Dhaka city is concerned the apartment can provide shelter for the large number of people. This situation welcomed the apartment business to flourish. However, at first the culture and traditional life style became the constraints to adopt this way of living. As time passed people modify their beliefs, attitude and perception. People became interested about the issue while the demand to own an apartment began to rise. Since the late 1980s to now on construction of apartments are increasing. Recently the competition among developers take an intense form that give more bargaining power of buyer over developers. Our report reveals that people are becoming more sensitive about the developers. They are searching for more information about the price, design, features and facilities of the apartment as well as the educational background of the developer. Many factors influence the consumer behavior and family life cycle.

Burger Machine SWOT Analysis Essay

As said in the paragraph above, Burger Machine’s brand name is its main â€Å"trump card† in the burger stall market nowadays. When Filipinos think of affordable burgers from burger stalls, they would most likely think of Burger Machine. This increases their chances for repeat and impulse buyers, which sets them apart from their competitors. Taste Aside from the company’s strong brand power, the unforgettable taste of its burgers should be considered as one of its strengths. The company prides itself in creating special sauces as well as having its own special coleslaw. This allows the company to separate itself from its competitors and also helps in attracting more customers in the process. Weaknesses: Cleanliness: A stall’s cleanliness is one of the most important determining factors of a company’s business. Stalls should always be kept as clean as possible and it seems that Burger Machine does not exactly adhere to this kind of thinking. Burger machine stalls are usually old and rusty, for the company has not yet changed the way their stalls have been presented and constructed all throughout these years. Location: Location also plays a vital part of in the overall cleanliness of a stall. Burger Machine stalls are usually located in dark, filthy, and dirty streets. This adds up to the overall unsatisfactory cleanliness of the food stall. Management/ Service: Lack of proper stall management should also be considered as one of the weaknesses that are present in the company. Usually, one employee would be given the task of managing a Burger Machine stall. With all the foot traffic that the company can attract in one day, the quality of service that the stall can provide to its customers usually takes a hit, due to the lack of personnel. Opportunities: High Demand for Western food in the Philippines: Filipinos nowadays have adapted a westernized kind of mentality when it comes to eating food. The rise of burgers and other western types of food in the Philippine market are now starting to translate in a higher demand for burgers in the country. Threats Emergence of Jolly Jeep: Jolly Jeeps are ‘mobile’ stalls that are seen mostly around call center agencies and other offices. They basically offer wide variants of food, from rice meals to finger foods. This poses a threat to the company because of the fact that it can serve as an alternative for people with low budgets, who like to have a wide selection of food to choose from. Wide Expansion of Minute Burger: Minute Burger, one of Burger Machine’s biggest competitors now operates in major cities and provinces in the country. Burger Machine prides itself in being the 4th overall in total number of stalls in the Philippine Market today. If competitors such as Minute Burger continue to expand to other regions in the Philippines, it can pose as a threat to Burger machine as well. Competition: Minute Burger: Minute Burger has been the Burger Machine’s greatest rival ever since the 90’s. The company operates in major cities and locations around the Philippines and basically follows the same business concept that Burger Machine has been using all of this time. As of March 2012, the company has more than 130 franchisees, which operates in more than 350 stores nationwide. Minute Burger, just like Burger Machine, sells its products through the use of ‘mobile’ cart. They also have a wide variant of burgers to offer to their market and also other food offerings here and there. Angel’s Burger: The emergence of Angel’s Burger in the burger industry started in the late 2000’s. The company is one of the pioneering brands in starting the â€Å"buy-one-take-one† burger trend, which has been booming as of late. With their prices positioned lower than brands such as Burger Machine, Angel’s Burger focuses on providing its customers a quantity of burgers, instead of its actual quality. Although there is no immediate information, that is available to consumers about the exact number of stalls that the company has, one cannot deny that numerous stalls of this franchise can be seen all around the Metro Manila region and is continuing to expand to other areas in the Philippines. Market Needs: Quick Food Service: We are living in a fast-paced world and everybody seeks for a food source which can provide them with a quick, but substantial meal. Cheap Food Alternatives Prices are going up each year; from gas prices to other necessities. People nowadays are thriftier when it comes to buying food. They often times have daily budgets, in order for them to go about their business without a fuss. Thus, it leads to the market to prefer food stalls, which are heavy in the stomach, but light in the pocket as well. Market Trends: Buy-one-take-one: Like it is said in the aforementioned part of this paper, people nowadays seek to find the most bang-for-the-buck food alternative, and promos just like buy-one-take-one have been a necessity, most especially for lower market segments.

Abraham Lincoln Did Not Free the Slaves

To this very day, many still believe that Abraham Lincoln, with his Emancipation Proclamation, serves as a revolutionary train that guided America in a forward direction to the abolishment of slavery. As dainty and â€Å"happily ever after† as such sounds, sadly this is not the case at all. Though Lincoln and many other Northerners opposed slavery, emancipation of the millions of enslaved blacks wasn’t always well accepted in the racist society of the North or the South. Northern blacks were typically more outspoken about the issues of slavery; however, this led to many being seen as merely stoking the fire that would lead to a civil war and secession of the South. Eventually secession did occur with the election of 1860 and Abraham Lincoln’s anti-slavery platform, but Lincoln didn’t immediately grant manumission of all the slaves. Instead, as years past and war weariness settled in, along with an already occurring self-liberating force by enslaved blacks, Lincoln passed the Emancipation Proclamation. This historical document has been morphed into being accepted as Lincoln’s greatest achievement and the freeing of slaves. When actually analyzing the contents of this document and already occurring self-liberation movements of this time, it is evident that Abraham Lincoln didn’t free the slaves. 1. Self-Liberation Movements a. Motivation i. Declaration from God ii. Civil War 1. Allowed the already self-liberation black movement to grow. 2. Believed that if North Won = End of Slavery 3. Believed that if South Won = Slavery everywhere b. Ran towards Union Lines i. Pilgrim Armies ii. Camped in areas where Union Soldiers occupied 1. â€Å"Freedom Fort† 2. Union-held Fortress Monroe 3. Hundreds left slavery and went here. iii. Left from Virginia and the Carolinas to Richmond iv. Left Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Missouri to the North c. Self-made Emancipation proclamations i. Many slaves made their own. ii. Inspiration from slave songs. d. Became an unavoidable Military and Political Issue i. Many enlisted ii. Worked on Union encampments iii. Served as spies iv. Treated as Contraband v. Abraham Lincoln and other Generals didn’t recognize their freedom in most cases. . Emancipation Proclamation a. Purpose i. Proclamation was created to weaken Confederacy. ii. Lincoln’s goal was to repair the union. iii. Purpose was not to free slaves. b. Contents i. Proclamation freed only slaves in â€Å"Rebellious† States. ii. Lincoln preserved slavery in â€Å"loyal states† and parts of the confederacy in Union control. c. Effectiveness i. No authority over the â€Å"Rebellious† States ii. Slaves in the South were already liberating themselves iii. There wasn’t a way to enforce this Proclamation. d. Lincoln’s Views i. Didn’t believe in a black and white society. i. Was anti-slavery, different from abolitionist. iii. More focused on preserving the Union and halting expansion of slavery. iv. Why did he wait two years if he really wanted to emancipate the slaves? v. Lincoln’s Letter to Horace Greeley â€Å"my paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and it is not either to save or destroy slavery, If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. â€Å"

Macbeth’s changing state of mind Essay

With close reference to three key scenes within the play, explore the dramatic devices that Shakespeare employs to reflect Macbeth’s changing state of mind. Macbeth is another one of Shakespeare’s great tragedies, based on Holinshed’s Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland. It tells us about the fall of the ambitious couple, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Macbeth is the tragic hero, a character who has a fatal (tragic) flaw within himself that he cannot change. He is not a bad person to begin with but he does become evil; he is just too ambitious. Macbeth is a story about the murder of a king by Macbeth, and the revenge of a son (Malcolm), three witches who plot against Macbeth, and Macbeth’s rise and fall. At the time Macbeth was written King James the 6th of Scotland also became King James the 1st of England. He moved from Scotland to London, there became a fashion for all things Scottish. King James’s family tree goes back to Banquo therefore Shakespeare made Banquo innocent to not offend the king. King James was extremely interested in witchcraft; he even wrote a book called Daemonology. To the audience in the 16th century witchcraft was a really big issue and more importantly it was so real for them that it forced English parliament to create laws against it. We don’t realise it but people were absolutely terrified of witches and they believed in them just as much as they believed in God. The main power the witches were supposed to have, was telling the future, another was being able to open locks and sail through the roughest seas in a sieve. We see that witches have a big impact and play a big part in the play Macbeth. This is shown as the first people to enter are the three witches and these witches have a big influence on Macbeths changing state of mind as they drive him on to kill Duncan along with Lady Macbeth and Macbeths own ambition. From the outset we see that Macbeth is a very ambitious and loyal soldier as Duncan announces that he has done well in battle fighting the Norwegians. Duncan gives Macbeth the title â€Å"Thane of Cawdor† as reward for his valour; Shakespeare uses irony here as the first thane of Cawdor betrayed Duncan and Duncan later dies at the sword of trusted Macbeth. In Act 1 scene 7 we see Macbeth reveal a whole series of conflicting thoughts and feelings by talking aloud to the audience, this is called a soliloquy; this section is mainly about his true feelings about committing the murder of King Duncan. Here his state of mind has changed from at the start of the play when he was given the title, but know the witches have told him he will become the King his state of mind is insecure about the next step forward by committing the crime. Macbeth recognises that his intentions are crime when he says the word â€Å"assassination† Macbeth declares that King Duncan has been a very good king â€Å"this Duncan Hath borne his faculties so meek hath been so clear in his great office† and that his murder would therefore not be justified in the eyes of heaven. Macbeth realises King Duncan has done an awful lot for him and realises he should be very grateful. â€Å"He’s here in double trust; First as I am his kinsman and his subject† this is one of his main reasons why he doesn’t want to kill Duncan as he says he is a subject to the King so he should be a loyal servant to him. â€Å"Strong both against the deed; then, as his host, who should against his murderer shut the door† Secondly as host he should protect King Duncan from intruders whilst he is in his care. During the soliloquy Shakespeare uses a lot of alliterations to emphasise Macbeths point â€Å"Trumpet- tongued† and â€Å"naked newborn† The first two lines is where Shakespeare uses a euphemism â€Å"it† to refer to the murder, this shows us that he realises what e is doing is wrong, he also uses repetition to add to the flow and pace of the text, this emphasis how quickly Macbeth is thinking and also shows his confusion and his fear of the murder and this is a good dramatic technique. During lines two to five of the soliloquy we see Shakespeare change the structure as he writes it to appear like a thought process as it is broke and there are lots of uses of commas, this structure shows us that his thought process is confused and erratic with lots of pauses. The sentence â€Å"this blow† relates to the murder as Macbeth won’t say it and this shows the audience he is frightened of committing it. In lines six to seven Shakespeare uses yet another of the many dramatic techniques, here we see him use imagery as Macbeth says â€Å"But here, upon this bank and shoal of time, we’d jump the life to come† here Macbeth is saying that eternity is the sea and his time living is in a sandbank In the sea. He’s worried what will happen after he dies. Will he be punished in the after life? He needs to jump to the next life so he can’t be punished. Throughout the soliloquy the audience are realising that Macbeths conscience is and will get on top of him after the Murder. This links back to Act 1 scene 5 where Lady Macbeth realises she will have to take a leading role and will have to urge him on to kill Duncan as she knows Macbeth will not carry out the deed alone. Directly after Macbeth’s soliloquy Lady Macbeth and Macbeth ask each other a short series of questions about Duncan, â€Å"He has almost supped: why have you left the chamber? Hath he asked for me? Know you not he has? The unanswered questions they both pose highlight the tension of the situation; this shows us how edgy Macbeth feels. Lady Macbeth then has a long speech where Shakespeare uses rhetorical questions to tell Macbeth that she is angry with his change of Mind. Here Macbeth’s state of mind has changed from the beginning the play where he was going to kill Duncan but after his soliloquy where he thought more about it and what Duncan has done for him, his mind has completely changed to the opposite. The audience see that his conscience has got the better of him and how easily swayed he is. By the end of Act 1 scene 7 Macbeths mind has changed again due to his wife, this shows the audience just how emotionally insecure he is. His mind has changed because of Lady Macbeth’s comments as she continues to speak to him in a confident and calculating way. Lady Macbeth says â€Å"how tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me: I would, while it was smiling in my face , have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums, And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you Have done this.† This is basically saying that she would have taken her newborn child off her breast and smashed it on its head if Macbeth asks her to do so. This is a very effective use of powerful imagery and is the kind of language that would bring Macbeth to Lady Macbeth’s side. Lady Macbeth has the murder all planned out which shows the audience just how desperate she is to become queen. As we leave Act 1 scene 7 Macbeth is as ready as Lady Macbeth is to kill King Duncan. In Act 2 scene 1 â€Å"is this a dagger I see before me† this hallucination leads him on to kill Duncan. His conscience is getting the better of him. This hallucination is a great dramatic technique as it would be very powerful for the audience to see. Here we see Macbeth is losing his mind a little, and he is still very insecure mentally. At the start of Act 2 scene 2 Shakespeare uses another soliloquy to show Lady Macbeths feelings to the audience, her soliloquy shows her exhilaration and determination as the owl screeching doesn’t frighten her, it is rather taken as a good sign that Duncan will be dead soon. When Macbeth enters Lady Macbeth is overjoyed â€Å"Husband!† as she started to doubt her husband’s capacity to do the deed. In the first few lines there are a lot of questions that Macbeth asks â€Å"I have done the deed. Didst thou not hear a noise?† and â€Å"When?† and â€Å"as I descended?† all these questions make Macbeth seem jumpy. It shows the audience his mind is insecure as they both speak to each other in short jerky sentences which show discomfort. As Act 2 scene 2 carries on we see that Lady Macbeth is still the dominant partner but we know it doesn’t stay this way throughout the play as things change later and the pair’s roles are virtually reversed. Macbeth knows what he has done is evil and is worried by the fact that he couldn’t say Amen â€Å"Listening their fear, I could not say `Amen.'† Macbeth then goes on to say â€Å"sleep no more!† this tells the audience that he is worried everything will change now and that he wont be able to sleep properly again. His behaviour has completely changed from the start of the play where he is considered a â€Å"brave warrior† he is now weak and down and out and this is put across very well by Shakespeare. His state of mind has now changed again after carrying the murder out. Before the murder he was as ready as Lady Macbeth but know his conscience has got on top of him again and we see that he is feeling discomfort. Shakespeare uses more imagery as he says â€Å"great natures second course† this is referring to natures other form (either spending time walking or sleeping) and is the meat of the meal (meaning the second course of a meal) another time in the play where Macbeth reflects on what he has lost or might have lost is in Act 5 scene 3 where he is nervous and slightly concerned but he thinks he is untouchable and is over confident. He is approaching his death here and realises that he is going to die, he can’t do anything, and he says â€Å"hang everyone that talks of fear.† He puts on his armour early, as this is where Macbeth feels safest, where he started his career, we see here that his state of mind has changed again, it has got stronger as his wife’s mind has got weaker, there roles have completely reversed from the beginning of the play. In the same sentence he asks about Lady Macbeth. The doctor says she has got to cure herself, the doctor implies that she needs to go to confession. Here we see him losing his wife and his life and this relates back to Act 2 scene 2. At this point in the play Shakespeare is revealing that Macbeth and Lady Macbeths relationship is very unstable as Lady Macbeth is trying to relieve Macbeth of his guilt. As Macbeth has committed a worse murder as he has killed a king which is called deicide. Act 4 scene 1 opens â€Å"a desolate place near Forres In the middle, a boiling cauldron. Thunder. Enter the three witches† this is a very powerful opening by Shakespeare as it describes the setting of the scene, the â€Å"boiling cauldron† symbolises the burning fires of hell and also that there is trouble brewing,this shows the tension of Macbeths skin. It shows his strange and repulsive thoughts like in the cauldron, and this may be a symbol for Macbeth that this will be where he goes. Also Shakespeare has split the word â€Å"thunder† from â€Å"lightning† this relates to Macbeths and Lady Macbeths relationship being detached and separated. The whole sentence creates an eerie atmosphere. This atmosphere symbolises Macbeths mind at this point as it is mysterious and frightening. The witches refer to Macbeth as â€Å"Something wicked† In conclusion we see that Macbeths mind has changed dramatically throughout the play, at first we see him feeling insecure and after the murder we see him still edgy and jumpy. But when we get further through the play we see his state of mind changes as he feels untouchable but he still feels on edge as in Act 5 scene3 we see him try to comfort himself by repeating the witches’ prophecies as he is told of the approaching armies. At the end of the play we see Macbeth as an evil character, but this isn’t the same at the start, where we see him as more of a hero.

Chanakya On Military Mobilization History Essay

Chanakya On Military Mobilization History Essay Ancient India produced many philosophers and strategists, whose works contribute immensely to understand the great civilization and its religions even today. Of all the great thinkers and strategists who left their mark in Indian history, Chanakya is perhaps the most important, because it was his strategy that led to the realization of the idea of a unified India. It was his student Chandra Gupta Maurya who followed his strategy to unify India in 321 BC. Unlike many other contemporary Indian thinkers who focused on religion and thought of heavenly realms, Chanakya had his feet firmly planted on the ground and thought about the ways to make a country rich and powerful. His book on statecraft, Arthashastra, is one of the first books by any Indian author to highlight the importance of the military in the smooth functioning of the state. In other words, he was a realist who understood the power a strong standing military in sending out a clear signal to other countries and its contribut ion to bolstering national pride. It was his emphasis on military, diplomacy and covert operations and his ruthless practicality that earned him his nickname, Kautilya, the shrewd one who employed all means possible to keep the national pride intact. Although there are a lot of controversies about the identity of Chanakya, a master strategist and kingmaker, it is beyond the scope of this article. The article will only deal with his views-or what is now regarded as his view by many scholars-on military mobilization. Chanakya comes out as one of the first strategists who not only wrote on how to mobilize the military, but also how to organize it. As someone who grew up witnessing wars among the various kingdoms and republics that existed in India then, and also having witnessed Alexander’s invasion of India, he clearly saw the need for a strong unified India that would be peaceful and deal with others on its own terms. And he clearly realized that to turn his dream of a strong India, a strong military was a must. Without a strong military to back the ruler in conducting his domestic and foreign policy, he realized, the country would perish. Thus, in his book he highlights the importance of military, how to organize and mobilize it when needed. His chapters on military reads like chapters from any modern book on military science. It is hard to imagine that more than 2,000 years ago, he thought of sending a medical unit to campaigns to take care of the wounded. In Arthashastra, he clearly highlights the need to divide the military in units and battalions, with their respective flags and commanders. He also writes on the chain of command and how to maintain it. And like any modern book on military science, also mentions the importance of covert operations and psychological warfare to subdue the enemy. More than that, he clearly writes the criteria for choosing the commanders of each unit. For example, the one who heads the infantry has to have battle experie nce, know about the weapons necessary for his troops. Similarly, the one heading the cavalry should be able to choose the best horses for his unit, and know how all things about the horses. Similarly the officers heading the chariot and elephant units too should have knowledge and experience in choosing the right equipments and animals for their units.

Component-based development Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Component-based development - Term Paper Example I have had an interest in computer science ever since I was young and this interest has never faded to-date. So far I have successfully completed by Bachelor and Master Degree in Computer Science, with a bias in software engineering, earning first class honors in each case. I have also managed to successfully complete several projects including conducting an analysis of a new social network, website design and designing of software using UML 2.0. Having had practical experience in various work environments, I feel that I need to acquire more knowledge so as to gain the capacity to solve some of the complex problems that different organizations face with respect to software design and engineering. It is for this very reason that I decided to undertake a PhD related to computer science. I am most interested in Component-Based Software (CBD) engineering. My interest in CBD follows my appreciation of the fact that software is getting more and more complex, and the need for safety, reliab ility and scalability is true in the marketplace. With CBD, I am confident that I will be able to solve complex software issues for an organization at affordably and therefore to the organization’s advantage.

Effective team Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Effective team - Essay Example communication between members, the team has clear objectives and goals it wants to accomplish; there is positive and open criticism in the team and members feel free to air their concerns during team meetings. Other attributes include there is active participation of members, the team is self-conscious, and finally, the team moves forward when all members are satisfied about a given issue. In effective teams have such attributes as minimal or no communication at all, serious personal differences between the team members, the team has no clear set objectives or goals it want to accomplish, negative criticism, which limits members’ participation, in active members during team meetings, etc. When new members join a team, it is imperative that formal introductions are made before the agenda of the meeting is discussed to enable the new members feel at easy and part of the team. When discussions break-down in a team, it is the duty of the team leader and members collectively to help iron out the differences without taking any sides. Therefore, team leaders and members have a responsibility of ensuring that there is good communication and trust between team members, and as leader, you are enthusiastic, fearless, and charismatic (Cranmer, 2011). However, as a leader you must ensure that demeaning behavior like laziness, complacency, power coalitions, and strong silos are not tolerated in the group if you want to build a strong and effective team. Ultimately, I am a strong team builder, with charismatic attributes, good communication, and interpersonal skills. However, I must state that I like making fun and teasing others, missing some group meetings attributes, which have sometimes landed me in problems with my team members. Therefore, during my end of semester course project, I will ensure that I will maintain the highest discipline, be punctual in all my team

Answer the questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Answer the questions - Essay Example Chapter 4 (bearing the name, â€Å"Holocaust: the Genocide of the Jews†), Chapter 5 (named â€Å"Holocaust: the Gypsies†) and Chapter 6 (with the name, â€Å"Holocaust: The Genocide of Disabled Peoples†) focuses on the recent pattern of genocides across the globe and examines the trend of transformation regarding the nature of the practice from the twentieth to twenty-first century. Here, the author is found to establish initially the meaning of genocide as it appeared before the world through the extermination of almost 5 to 6 millions of Jews by the Nazis. The next chapter focuses on the historical perspectives and parameters on which it flourished. The undermining of the brutal murder of one-quarter and one-half million of Sinti and Roma in the recent histographic representation of the Nazi genocide is found in the next chapter. The last chapter focuses on more gruesome and horrifying killing of the chronically mentally ill patients or patients severely injure d or disabled after World War II by the medical establishment of Germany who were acting both with and without the knowledge of the government by the Nazis. These patients were termed by their doctors as â€Å"useless eaters† and were brutally slaughtered. The points put forwarded by Totten and his historical analysis for the reason of these genocides and compelling suggestion to stop the brutal act as well are not only convincing but are accepted by any reader easily as they are all culminated systematically and backed by

The Situation at the Credit Analysis Department of the Bank Case Study - 15

The Situation at the Credit Analysis Department of the Bank - Case Study Example While pursuing her post-graduate studies, Emily worked as a manager in a branch of a convenience store near her school. It is the only work experience she has but the Bank believed that she is very qualified to be the head of their Credit Analysis Department because of her educational background. Emily shared the same sentiment with the bank manager. Her subordinates, however, think otherwise. Arthur Craig, the supervisor of the department who worked with the same unit for two years now was disappointed about the bank’s decision to hire someone from outside instead of promoting someone from within the department. Arthur thought all the while that he will be the one appointed. All the other employees in the department were sympathetic to Arthur and believed that he was more qualified than Emily. This is the situation that Emily has to deal with starting from her first day of office. As days went by, Arthur and the other department employees refused to cooperate with Emily. They did not welcome the changes that Emily introduced in the department. Her subordinates feel that she does not have the necessary experience to lead them. Arthur and the other employees vowed to make life difficult for her. Questions for Discussion: 1. Do you think that the Bank was justified in hiring Emily as the Manager of the Credit Analysis Department? Why? 2.What steps should Emily take to gain the trust of her subordinates and prove to them that she is worthy of the position? 3.How should the Bank handle the situation at the Credit Analysis Department? 4. Are Arthur and the other employees of the Credit Analysis Department being reasonable in dealing with Emily? Why?

Opera in the U.S. by American composers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Opera in the U.S. by American composers - Essay Example Opera in the U.S. by American composers Answering the question that many people have not been able to answer since the 1960’s, Opera in the United States of America supports performance and creation of new works by American composers especially those from the northern side. OPERA America’s online education core, which is the learning centre, features information, which not only focuses on frequent operas but also houses an inventory that has proven to grow of composers from north America as well as their operas for use by opera lovers, artists and administrators. Therefore, Opera finds synopses, biographies of librettists and composers, historical essays and other research as well as other multimedia excerpts. Jazz composers for example, which happens to be the genre subject in this paper, started way back in the 1960’s and up to date the composers still rely on Opera for research work. In the Opera, there is the voice workshop and the composers’ series, w hich is a competitive biannual fellowship, offered to composers especially those of jazz and composer/librettist teams (Gilbert& Chase, 26). The notion behind fallacies as outlined by major philosophers asserts that in order to be a rational thinkers and composers, then one should avoid the illogicality in fallacies and carry out an examination to gauge one’s level of thinking. While composing, development for Rational Persons involves Viewing Development in Stages; the composer tries to explain the basic concepts that would help in becoming a rational jazz composer. Librettists like mark Campbell places in the mind of the audience stages of evaluation through which one can become a more rational thinker. While at Opera and in stage one, composers assert that it is of primary importance to accept that since humans are always working towards being more rational thinkers, we should accept that shortcoming characteristic of humans and work towards better realization of relevant thinking. The second stage helps composers realize that unless they accept to being irrelevant thinkers, only then can they proceed to being rational thinkers. Stage 3 asserts that composers first question the belief of their reasoning before actually bringing it out to other people. When a composer gets to this stage, then he or she can be referred to as ‘beginning thinkers’. In the fourth stage, a composer is able to have a clearly defined outline of his or her thinking formula. One is able to have an organized line of thought even in arguments. According to Opera, There are 4 different kinds of fallacies. I. Non sequitur is the form of thinking where the composition may be right or wrong, but the premise from which the conclusion is born does not have clear outlay. II. Faulty analogy asserts some level of irrelevance during composition. For instance, if B has content, same as V and V has same composition as Q; simply assuming that therefore B and Q have same properti es without founded conclusive finding is irrelevant and illogical. III. Hasty generalization: in this form of fallacy, a composer simply draws conclusion based only insufficient evidence. If in a list of 12 people, 10 have passed in an exam, simply assuming that the remaining two also have passed in an exam holds no ground for a sufficient conclusion. IV. Equivocation simply implies the