Friday, November 29, 2019

Writing the Structure of an Assignment

Utilize your idea guide or plan Compose your task utilizing your guide or plan to direct you to professional assignment writing services. As you keep in touch with, you may well get new thoughts or consider thoughts in marginally extraordinary ways. This is fine, however, return to your guide or plan to assess whether that thought fits well into the arrangement or the section that you are composing at the time. Consider these academic  assignment writing tips: In which passage does it best fit? How can it connect to the thoughts you have just talked about? Section arranging For each section, consider the first thought that you need to impart in that passage and compose an unmistakable point sentence which tells the reader what you will discuss. A primary view is more than a bit of substance that you found while you were looking into, usually a point that you need to make about the data that you are talking about. Consider how you will talk about that thought (what is the passage design). For instance, would you say you are: posting various thoughts, looking into the perspectives of multiple creators, portraying issues and arrangements, or depicting circumstances and results? Utilize connecting words all through the section. For instance: 1. Rundown parts ought to incorporate words like: also, moreover, next, another case, too, besides, another, right off the bat, furthermore, thirdly, at long last, et cetera. 2. Circumstances and results passages ought to incorporate words like: thus, accordingly, in this way, results included, comes about demonstrated, et cetera. 3. Look into sections ought to incorporate words like: then again, by differentiating, correspondingly, likewise, on the other hand, on the other hand, et cetera. 4. Issue arrangement passages ought to incorporate words like: results included, recognized issues included, different concerns were overwhelmed by, et cetera. Note: A few sections can incorporate two designs, for instance, a rundown of issues and arrangements. While this is beautiful, usually more manifest to combine one method for each section. Connecting sections: Take a gander at your arrangement or outline settle on the key ideas that connection the distinctive areas of your work. Is there a thought that continues repeating in various regions? This could be a subject that you can use to connect ideas between sections. Take a stab at utilizing connecting words (laid out above) to the motion to your reader whether you are discussing similar thoughts, regardless of whether you are looking into, et cetera. The heading that your reasoning is taking in the article ought to be evident to your reader. Connecting words will assist you in making this course self-evident. Diverse parts of the exposition: While different sorts of discussions have distinctive prerequisites for various pieces of the paper, it is most likely worth reasoning about some broad standards for composing presentations, body passages and conclusions. Continuously check the sort of task that you are being requested to create and consider what might be the most suitable approach to structure that composing.

Monday, November 25, 2019

12 Controversial Essay Topics on Abortion Worldwide

12 Controversial Essay Topics on Abortion Worldwide If you are looking for facts on abortion worldwide in order to support your controversial essay, consider the list of items below. These twelve interesting facts cover the entire world and are designed to help you substantiate your claim but not every item is suitable for each essay. Read the list below and see what items you can use: Because it remains a controversial subject across many nations where women do not have equal rights, there is a great push for medical services to allow women the privacy and right to choose even if it is unavailable through their government services. Many websites today provide online consultations to the best of their abilities as well as the medical supplies necessary for medical abortions to women who need it but cannot get it in their country. The sites not only have a large community section for questions and answers, but private chat services for those who want to talk to a doctor, as well as post-abortion counseling services for anyone who is struggling with their decision. There are different types of abortions which are based on how far along the woman is in her pregnancy. The procedure used is the best medical procedure based on how developed the fetus is, and is sanctioned and approved by the World Health Organization. For surgical abortion, a vacuum aspiration is the technique used for any baby with gestation between 12 and 14 weeks. This is strongly recommended and the quality of evidence is moderate with very few chances of failure. For medical abortion, there are two medications issued for any baby within gestation of up to 9 weeks. The first is mifepristone which is taken orally. Then one day after the ingestion of the first medication, misoprostol is taken. For pregnancies which are between 9 and 12 weeks for gestation, it is recommended that mifepristone be administered orally and then misoprostol administered vaginally 36-48 hours later. Before medications or surgical procedures are administered, it is recommended that those who are considering the abortion have a blood test to confirm they are pregnant. In some countries where this is not an option, they might have to rely only on the positive pregnancy test. Half of pregnancies in America are unintended with four out of ten of the unintended pregnancies terminated by way of abortion. 20% of all pregnancies end with abortion. In 2011 alone there were 1.06 million abortions performed in the United States, which is down 13% from 2008. Between 1973 and 2011 there were almost 53 million legal abortions. Every year 1.7% of women between the age of 15 and 44 have an abortion, and half of those have had a previous abortion. Nearly half of women in America will have an unintended pregnancy by the time they reach 45 years of age. One in ten women will have an abortion before they exceed 20 years of age, with one in four having an abortion before they reach 30 years of age, and another three in ten having an abortion before they reach 45 years of age. 18% of women in America who have an abortion are teens. Of that figure, eight percent of them are between 15 and 17, with 11% between 18 and 19, and 0.4% under the age of 15. Women who are in their twenties account for over half of the total abortions, with women between 20 and 24 account for 22% of that figure and women between 25 and 29 accounting for another 24% of that figure. In total, women who have never been married and do not co-habitat with someone account for forty five percent of all abortions in the United States. Thirty seven percent of the women who receive an abortion identify as Protestant with another twenty eight percent identifying as Catholic. Out of the women who have abortions, sixty one percent of them already have at least one child. Out of all the women who have abortions, fifty one percent of them have used contraceptives when they got pregnant, including condoms and hormones. Non-Hispanic white females account for thirty six percent of all abortions in the United States. Non-Hispanic black women account for an additional thirty percent of abortions in the United States. Hispanic woman account for only twenty five percent of all abortions in the United States, with women of other races accounting for the remaining nine percent of all abortions in the United States. When an abortion is taking place, women are given pain management techniques for any form of abortion they have, with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs administered for all women. Additional medication is required for those who undergo surgical abortion, such as antibiotics to reduce the risk of any pelvic infection. Post-abortion women should start back on their contraception if they use it. After uncomplicated surgical abortions women do not have to schedule a follow up. The same is true of medical abortions. If there are complications, then a follow up is necessary. In some cases, the medical abortion is attempted at 13 weeks and is incomplete, in which case an immediate surgical abortion is necessary in order to complete the process. Laws on abortion should protect the health of women and their basic human rights, which includes access to timely and safe abortions. Women who are legally eligible to access safe abortions should be able to as part of the national health policies in each country. By providing for and protecting women, they can meet the abortion needs of all women. Women living with HIV and women who are rape survivors are particularly vulnerable and lack access to the resources they need in many countries around the world whose national health policies forbid abortions of any kind. This increases the health risks and complications for the women and the child, resulting in HIV positive babies, pregnancy complications, and in some cases the death of the child and/or the mother. Statistic facts are very important in this kind of field because they give a better picture of everything. If you are not good at making up titles for your papers, feel free to click on the 20 sample topics on abortion along with the writing guide on controversial essays to make your paper smooth. References: Berlatsky, Noah.  Abortion. Detroit, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2011. Print. Brodie, Janet Farrell.  Contraception And Abortion In Nineteenth-Century America. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1994. Print. Colbert, David.  Eyewitness To America. New York: Pantheon Books, 1997. Print. Critchlow, Donald T.  Intended Consequences. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. Print. Reagan, Leslie J.  Dangerous Pregnancies. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2010. Print. Steele, E. Boyd.  Abortion Laws. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Labor Standards Administration, Womens Bureau, 1970. Print. Williams, Mary E.  Abortion. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007. Print.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Summary and analysis (The seven deadly sins of outsourcing) article Essay

Summary and analysis (The seven deadly sins of outsourcing) article - Essay Example Therefore, in order that the mainline industries too gets benefitted to the fullest extent 1. Outsourcing activities that should not be outsourced: It has been suggested that the company must have a clear idea of what to outsource and what to keep with itself. Example has been cited of a car rental company which ended up with more IT costs after outsourcing. The increasing levels of competition in the globalization regime have made companies all the more conscious about the cost benefit ratios. As the profit margins are heading southwards, multinational corporations around the globe have started looking for locations where they could shift some of their non-strategic jobs in order to cut costs. China, India, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Russia, Poland, Mexico, Indonesia, Vietnam etc. are some of the countries where MNCs from USA, UK, Germany and other developed nations have started outsourcing the jobs. Therefore, the recommendations of the article are very much relevant in this scenario. For example, in case of any dispute arising out at the outsourcing destination, the company may not be in a position to take back up measures, which in turn would result in losses on many fronts. Outsourcing certainly touches upon the human capital management issues. The moment company employees come to know about any such move from the management, they start becoming apprehensive about their future with the company. Recognition of ‘conflict’ on issues in the management process is central to the difference between HRM and Industrial Relations policies. There was a time, when western nations used to be big attractions for skilled workforce, but today the eastern nations have become the destination of IT professionals. Outsourcing to such destinations leads to huge cost savings, but there are some risks as well. For example, in recent days media has reported instances when

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Discuss Objectivity in Journalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Discuss Objectivity in Journalism - Essay Example This paper will scrutinize the definition of objectivity, the manner it emerged to be a vital principle of journalism, the way it is currently defined and seem at the approach it might be handled in the future (Boveee, 1999, 45). Regarding to the vocabulary, the expression â€Å"objectivity† denotes concentration on aspects sovereign of the mind, or, a staging of an outside world that is visible or demonstrable, particularly by scientific technique. In the fewer technical planet of journalism, an expert called Philips articulated objectivity was a number of canons centered on ideas of balance, equality, lack of prejudice, accuracy and impartiality. Intended for the news people, objectivity is all concerning reporting the information in a reasonable and unprejudiced manner. It is, in addition, related to expertise in journalism. Gerald Stone denoted it as the capacity of the reporters to distinguish his individual leanings and his aptitude to organize them. Journalists are obli gated to account the reality (Fortner & Fackler, 2011, 78). Yet that might not be clear-cut in a condition of ‘manifold realities’ a condition where no single ‘reality’ is additionally applicable than another. However, to comprehend the multifaceted state of impartiality in present day’s journalism, it is initially essential to perceive its development. The first journalists had extra urgent subjects to tackle than the chase of objectivity. Denouncement was a general law offence since the period of 16th century. In the meantime, the majority of European nations approved printing presses and copiers were issues to prior suppression (Friend & Singer, 2007, 68). Punishments were unsympathetic and untimely journalists like Daniel Defoe underwent the humiliations of jail and denounce for their articulations. However, Harris was put to prison, not since he printed vilifications, but since he wrote the reality, as he perceived it. The initial signs of revol ution emerged with Franklin’s addition of the liberty of the journalists. In spite of Franklin’s individual policy of perspective neutrality, news was typically reported in adherent style until the period of 19th century. This was also enhanced by the emergence of Reuters. As soon as they and additional collection wire services required generating money by promoting information to newspapers of manifold political insights, they resolved they wanted to stick to particulars and left the verdict to the journalists. Journalists themselves started to take on this performance as their individual audiences continued to be more miscellaneous (Miraldi, 1990, 65). The incursion of university graduates in a number of American correspondents commenced to shape new-fangled ideas concerning how to carry out work. Among of these thoughts was that reports required being realistic. By the period of 1920s, newspapers tried to draw cultured middle class persons who read by pressuring the ir commitment to principles of impartiality as what was termed consensually authenticated particulars about the globe. However, consensual corroboration did not extend for long. The increase of period of war half-truths and the post-war growth of civic relations destined that faith in aimed facts commenced to wane. To contradict this, Walter Lippman encountered half-truths at primary hand in World I War period commenced to typify objectivity as a technique. His thoughts received properly.

Monday, November 18, 2019

What advantages does a herfindahl-type index have as a measure of Essay

What advantages does a herfindahl-type index have as a measure of industrial concentration over an n firm concentration ratio - Essay Example There are two main differences of the Herfindahl index with the concentration ratio. The Herfindahl index uses all the firms market shares rather than using any particular number of the largest firms and furthermore, it uses the squares of the values of the market shares to compute the extent of concentration. So,if we assume N firms in the industry, the Herfindahl index looks like: To identify the relative advantages of the Herfindahl type index it is pertinent to note the desirable properties such competitiveness indices should exhibit. First, any competitiveness index should exhibit a decreasing trend with a rising number of firms. This is simply a reflection of the fact that as the number of firms increases the competitiveness rises and hence any index that captures the extent of concentration in the industry should reduce in value (Tirole, 1988). Secondly, any index of concentration should also be non-increasing if not declining with an increase in the extent of symmetry in the market shares of the associated firms (Tirole, 1988). Thus, having perceived the basic features any adequate index of concentration should have, we now proceed to comparatively analyse the two aforementioned measures in the extents they meet up to these requirements. Evidently, the concentration ratio as well as the Herfindahl index both satisfies the first requirement. Both of the indices shall exhibit declining trends as the number of firms start rising since the individual market shares as a percentage of the total market output shall fall. However, the concentration ratio fails to satisfy the second requirement. If there was a redistribution of market shares among the considered firms with some of them gaining higher market shares while that of the others fell so that the total market share of these firms taken together remained the same, the concentration ratio would not change. However, in the Herfindahl index, the squared values of the individual market

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Competition Between The Three Major Supermarkets Economics Essay

Competition Between The Three Major Supermarkets Economics Essay For my Extended Essay, I decided to investigate the competition between the three major supermarkets in my local area, and whether they collude or not, prompting my research question: To what extent do the larger supermarkets in my local area collude with each other? By analysing data collected on pricing from the three supermarkets, it was found that two of the three supermarkets at hand colluded tacitly with each other, under and oligopoly market structure. The prices of fifteen identical prices were recorded across a time span of three weeks. The analyses of these prices lead to two conclusions. Firstly, it was found that two supermarkets colluded with each other, but still had non-price competition between them. This was mainly due to the advantage of the two stores acting as a monopoly by charging the same price. This allowed the two supermarkets to make abnormal profit, which in turn they used to create a stronger brand loyalty, and thus, a more inelastic demand curve. Secondly , it was found one of the supermarkets was undercutting the other two supermarkets prices. The main reason for this was that the supermarket could gain greater revenue at the time by undercutting rivals, due to having more customers. These findings show that there was collusion between larger supermarkets in my area, but not between all supermarkets. Finally, the essay could be improved if I included more products in my data collection, as well as collecting the data over a longer time period. 1. INTRODUCTION Tesco, Asda and Sainsburys are the three main supermarkets that constitute weekly shopping for the public in my local area, west Charlton. These three supermarkets are recognised for their vast range in goods and at affordable prices. It is no surprise then that in terms of market share, they each comprise the top three places for having the most market share in the U.K.1 During the last couple of years, though, I have noticed that many of the smaller supermarkets in the same area have begun to close down. Since enrolling in the IB Higher Economics course and studying market structures in particular, Ive developed an interest into how supermarkets compete with each other, or even, how they collude together. Maybe, given their large hold of the market share, the benefits from collusion would be unmatchable compared to other smaller supermarkets, in terms of increased sales revenue. Also, formal collusion, one of two forms of collusion, is illegal as it goes against the Competition Act 1998 (the Act) Chapter 12. Therefore, the research question I have formulated is To what extent do the larger supermarkets in my local area collude with each other? To be able to explore this research question, I will first present a summary of the supermarkets, where the characteristics of them will be described. This will lead on to my next section where I will discuss relevant theoretical market structures and relate economic theories to them. After I have presented these theories, I will hypothesise which market structure is adequate for the supermarkets present, thus creating a sufficient research design where the prices of similar products will be compared. Finally, I will analyse the collected data and prove or disprove my research question, leading to a conclusion of my essay and exploring possible limitations. 2. MARKET SUMMARY In the area I am studying there are three main supermarkets; Asda, Tesco and Sainsburys, situated in West Charlton (appendix 1.1). Each supermarket is similar in size, satisfying the vast needs of the inhabitants in the area. It is worth mentioning that due to the supermarkets being of a substantial size structurally, there must have been large start up costs. Each of the three engages in non-price competition. This includes things such as advertising on T.V, having parking areas and the use of brand names. The offerings of these services are in the attempt to attract more customers. Take for example, Asda, which has parking as well as various sectors to its stores such as electrical and clothing sections as well as groceries. The aim of this is that customers can visit only this store by satisfying all their needs from the vast offers of goods. Furthermore, each supermarket advertises their brand names to gain more customers due to the brand loyalty it has established. This could ma ke their demand curve more inelastic, meaning that an increase in the price of a good would result in the increased revenue exceeding the reduction of quantity sold (appendix 1.2). These three supermarkets also dictate the majority of market share, as I have mentioned. Lastly, it is worth mentioning that Sainsbury ¿Ã‚ ½s and Asda are open for 24 hours from Tuesday to Friday, otherwise it is from 7 in the morning to 11 in the evening. Tesco are open from 7 to 11 everyday, apart from Sunday when they open an hour later and close an hour earlier. I don ¿Ã‚ ½t think that the slightly lesser hours that Tesco is opened during the week will affect my research much, or at all. This is due to the fact that I don ¿Ã‚ ½t believe Tesco make much of their sales between midnight and 7 in the morning. 3. MARKET STRUCTURE THEORIES I will now present the four types of market structure theories and their assumptions. I will not going into great detail on the structure of a monopoly as this is not a possible market structure for the supermarkets, given the fact that there is evidently more than one firm in the area. This is the same for perfect competition, as the goods produced by supermarkets are not identical. Firstly, I will present the market structure of a monopolistic competition. The assumptions of this market structure are3: * The industry is made up by a large number of firms * The firms each act independently of each other, due to each firm being small, relative to the size of the industry * The firms produce differentiated products; consumers can tell one product from another * Firms are free to enter and exit the industry, due to lack of barriers to entry and exit * Firms are able to make abnormal profits in the short run, however due to lack of barriers to entry; this attracts other firms into the industry. This means that in the long run, only normal profits are able to be made Due to the fact that the supermarkets in question are of a substantial size, I believe that the start up cost in itself will be of a great barrier to entry. Also, I don ¿Ã‚ ½t believe the industry I am examining is made up of a large number of firms, as there are only three supermarkets of their type in the local area. Another market structure that the supermarkets could come under is an oligopoly. These are the basic assumption of an Oligopoly:4 * A few firms dominate the industry * There are barriers to entry and/or exit for the industry * The firms are price makers as they have a downward sloping demand curve * The firms are interdependent; the action of one firm can have an effect on another * Abnormal profits can be made both in the short run and long run In addition to these assumptions, firms in an Oligopoly can be either collusive or non-collusive. Non collusive oligopolies face price stability due to the kinked demand curve. This is shown in figure 1. Figure 15 Due to the kinked demand curve, price will be stabilized at price  ¿Ã‚ ½P ¿Ã‚ ½. This happens as the Price elasticity of Demand (PED: The responsiveness of the quantity demanded of a good or service to a change in its price)6 above price  ¿Ã‚ ½P ¿Ã‚ ½ is greater than 1. This means that an increase in price above point  ¿Ã‚ ½P ¿Ã‚ ½ will result in a loss of revenue. Likewise, the PED below price  ¿Ã‚ ½P ¿Ã‚ ½ is less than one, meaning a reduction in price to this level will result in a loss of revenue again. Due to these factors, it is logical that firms do not favour either move, so they are said to be stable at point P. This also results in the output being stable at point  ¿Ã‚ ½Q ¿Ã‚ ½ as a change in marginal cost from MC1 to MC2 would still mean output would stay at  ¿Ã‚ ½Q ¿Ã‚ ½. This is due to firms in this market structure producing at the profit maximising point, where MC=MR.7 Firms in this market structure may also be collusive. This exists when the firms collude to charge the same prices for their products, in effect acting as a monopoly. There are two types of collusion, formal and tacit. Formal collusion exits when firms openly agree on the prices they will charge. In the case of supermarkets in the U.K, it is illegal for this to occur as it is deemed to be going against the interest of the consumer due to it resulting in less output and higher prices. Tacit collusion, however, exists when firms charge the same prices without any formal collusion. The three supermarkets in question may have decided to charge the same prices and not compete with each other, in order to increase revenue. This is represented in figure 2. Figure 28 As shown in figure 2, firms can make abnormal profits between their price and cost, due to the price exceeding the cost to the firm. This form of collusion is very possible as each supermarket is very similar to each other and all produce similar type goods. Firms in an Oligopoly can experience economies of scale. Economies of scale are any decreases in the long-run average costs that occur when a firm changes all of its factors of production, in order to increase its scale of output. There are a number of different economies of scale that can benefit a firm as it increases its scale of output. These can be: 9 * Specialisation- Firms can be more efficient when they specialize in different areas of expertise * Division of labour- This is the breaking down of a longer production process into many smaller activities, making production more efficient by reducing unit costs * Bulk buying- As firms increase in scale they are often able to negotiate discounts with their suppliers, as they are buying more altogether. This reduces the firm ¿Ã‚ ½s cost of input, and thus their unit costs of production * Financial economies- Larger firms are able to get loans at lower interest rates, as they are seen as a lesser risk to lend money to than smaller firms, by the bank The assumptions of a monopoly are as followed:10 * Only one firm producing the product at hand, so the firm is the industry * High barriers to entry and/or exit * Abnormal profits can be made in the long run, due to barriers to entry This market structure is unlikely to be present in my research area as there are clearly more than firm in the same industry. Finally, the basic assumptions of perfect competition are: * The industry is made up by many firms, so total output cannot be affected by one firm * The firms all produce homogeneous (exactly identical) products * No barriers to entry and/or exit * Producers and consumers all have perfect knowledge of the market Again, this market structure is unlikely to feature in my study, mainly due to the fact that there is product differentiation, as well as evident start up costs. 4. HYPOTHESIS After reviewing and comparing the discussed market summary and theories, I have hypothesised that the market structure the supermarkets are in are oligopoly. I have reached this hypothesis for the main reasons that: * There are evident barriers to entry such as strong branding of products and start up costs * There are only three supermarkets in the local area, between them sharing almost 64% of the market share.11 In addition to these points, I believe tacit collusion between the three supermarkets would greatly benefit their competition with other smaller supermarkets in the area. It would also avoid unnecessary competition between each other, and perhaps result in gaining more customers. After hypothesising that the three supermarkets are in an oligopoly, and thus capable of collusion, I will now be able to test my research question  ¿Ã‚ ½To what extent do the larger supermarkets in my local area collude with each other? ¿Ã‚ ½ 5. RESEARCH DESIGN For me to test my formulated research question, I will create a methodology. I will compare the prices of 15 different products across the three supermarkets. I will check the prices once every week for three weeks, so I can get a mean price at the end, making the result more reliable. I will make sure the prices of the same products are taken in the same time period, and where possible, use products produced in the U.K. This would avoid export costs affected and invalidating results. If not enough U.K based products can be found, I will make sure that any exported product used will have been exported from all supermarkets. This will maintain a degree of validity in the research. I will also avoid products produced by the supermarkets themselves. This would be because the cost of production may be very different from one supermarket compared to another, thus having a large impact on the final pricing. I will compare independent brands that feature across all three stores. Each superm arket in the area of West Charlton is located within one mile of each other.12 In terms of the data collection, I will go to each supermarket and compare similar, or when possible, identical products and their prices. I will note down their current price at which they sell at. Also, I will go to each supermarket close to their opening times on Saturday, as on this day the stores all open at the same time. The reason for not going later on in the day is because of price reduction on non-durable goods that are set to expire. If I include goods which prices have just been reduced temporarily to get rid of lasting stock, it would not represent the overall pricing of the good in regular situations. Lastly, I will compare the prices using adequate means of analysis; thus deducing whether or not there is enough similar pricing evident to suggest collusion of some sort. 6. DATA COLLECTION ANALYSIS Firstly, I will present my data collected for the prices of 15 products from all three supermarkets, across a span of three weeks, once a week. Table 1 shows my findings of the prices. Table 1 Source: Prices collected by me for all supermarkets To analyse the spread of the data, I will work out the standard deviation for each product, which will indicate the spread of the data. A lower standard deviation would indicate a set of closer, similar prices, likewise a higher standard deviation would imply less chance of collusion evident.13 The standard deviation for each product is represented in Table 2, along with the mean prices for each product over the three weeks. From the standard deviation, we can see they are all overall quite small, indicating the prices are all close to the mean price. This seems to indicate some form of collusion occurring between the supermarkets. However, there are some exceptions. For some goods the standard deviation is relatively high to the other products. Also, in most of these goods, such as soft drinks, crisp packs, pizza, ice cream and cooked chicken, it is Asda who feature the lowest price out of the three, while Tesco and Sainsbury ¿Ã‚ ½s have similar prices to each other. This seems to show that there is possible collusion between Tesco and Sainsbury ¿Ã‚ ½s, while Asda undercuts their prices. The similar pricing between Sainsbury ¿Ã‚ ½s and Tesco suggests a form of collusion, tacit or formal. I inquired to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) about my findings. The OFT are a government based organisation that ensure businesses are  ¿Ã‚ ½fair and competitive. ¿Ã‚ ½14 In a reply they stated:  ¿Ã‚ ½Although similar prices might seem to suggest that companies are getting together to agree them, this is not necessarily the case. For example, one company might have independently decided to price at a level similar to another or both may have independently decided to behave in the same way ¿Ã‚ ½.15 As similar pricing does not necessarily mean formal collusion is taking place, I will assume that the two supermarkets are tacitly colluding, although this area may be needed to be researched into further for a definite result. As well as colluding, I have also noticed that there is evidence of non-price competition between Tesco and Sainsbury ¿Ã‚ ½s. This included things such as the use of advertising, free delivery and other services situated in the store themselves. This has lead to each supermarket gaining brand loyalty, and as a result, creating a more inelastic demand curve for their products. This is possibly another explanation of why these two supermarkets in particular where of a higher price overall, compared to the other supermarket, Asda. For the case of Asda, they have engaged in price war tactics, rather than forming a collusion. In this case, undercutting rivals may be beneficial to them by increasing their sales revenue. This can be represented by  ¿Ã‚ ½game theory ¿Ã‚ ½. Supermarket The table shows that if both supermarkets lower price, they will make less revenue than if they had colluded. However, it is still tempting to undercut the other store as then that would lead to greater revenue. The highlighted box shows the possible situation at the moment, with Asda undercutting the other supermarkets thus increasing revenue. This choice making situation is known as  ¿Ã‚ ½the prisoner ¿Ã‚ ½s dilemma ¿Ã‚ ½. 16 Another explanation for the lower price offered by Asda for goods could be down to lower unit costs caused by a greater storage capacity. The supermarket ¿Ã‚ ½s cost of storage mainly depends on the material used to build them, which is the surface area of the building. The level of output for the supermarket will depend on its storage capacity, so its volume area. As the size of a supermarket increases, the volume to surface area ratio increases. Therefore, the cost per unit overall will be much less than a smaller supermarket, such as Sainsbury ¿Ã‚ ½s and Tesco. Lastly, from analysing my collected data, I have reached the conclusions: * Tesco and Sainsbury ¿Ã‚ ½s collude by charging very similar prices, but still have non-price competition between them. * Asda competes with a price-war tactic, by undercutting the other two supermarkets. 7. CONCLUSION The aim of my research was to investigate the type of competition, if any, between the three major supermarkets in my area, West Charlton. The question  ¿Ã‚ ½To what extent do the larger supermarkets in my local area collude with each other? ¿Ã‚ ½ prompted me to gather the pricing of 15 identical products across the three stores. The prices were taken every Saturday morning one a week for three weeks. I found that two of the three supermarkets had signs of collusion, while the third supermarket engaged in a price-war by undercutting the other two supermarkets. Firstly, Tesco and Sainsbury ¿Ã‚ ½s have similar prices to each other, while having higher prices than Asda. This was mainly due to the two stores acting as a monopoly by colluding and charging similar prices. This meant that each firm could make abnormal profit, which they used to create greater brand loyalty, thus making the demand for their products more inelastic. Lastly, the final supermarket, Asda, engaged in price-war tactics. The main reason for this was due to the idea of gaining more revenue as indicated by  ¿Ã‚ ½the prisoner ¿Ã‚ ½s dilemma ¿Ã‚ ½. In addition to this, Asda had a greater storage capacity, meaning an overall lower cost per unit. Therefore, after collecting data and analysing them, it is found that there was evidence of collusion, but only between two of the supermarkets, not all three studied. There are, though, apparent limitations in my study. Firstly, my area of research was only in one town. If there is found to be some form of collusion between supermarkets here, it doesn ¿Ã‚ ½t necessarily mean it is occurring all over the country with those same supermarkets. Also, the time span of my investigation was three weeks. This may not have been enough time to gather an appropriate amount of results to come to a reliable decision. This could be said the same for the amount of products used in my investigation; 15 products may not have been enough to come to an appropriate result. As well as this, I could not make a judgment whether the collusion between Tesco and Sainsbury ¿Ã‚ ½s was either tacit or collusion. This would have to be investigated further. All of these limitations overlook the aim of my study and thus should be inspected further. 8. BIBLIOGRAPHY/ACKNOWLEDGMENT Anderton, A. (2006). Economics: Fourth Edition. In A. Anderton, Economics: Fourth Edition (pp. 63-64). Causeway Press. Dorton, I. (2007). Economics. In I. Dorton, Economics (pp. 119-123). Oxford University Press. Dorton, I. (2007). Economics. In I. Dorton, Economics (pp. 114-118). Oxford University Press. Dorton, I. (2007). Economics. In I. Dorton, Economics (p. 115). Oxford University Press. Dorton, I. (2007). Economics. In I. Dorton, Economics (pp. 81-82). Oxford University Press. Dorton, I. (2007). Economics. In I. Dorton, Economics (pp. 105-111). Oxford University Press. Garner, E. (2010, June 1). TNS Global. Retrieved June 1, 2010, from TNS Global Website: http://www.tnsglobal.com/news/news-56F59E8A99C8428989E9BE66187D5792.aspx Measure of Spreads. (2007). Retrieved June 3, 2010, from Stats4students: http://www.stats4students.com/Essentials/Measures-Of-Spread/Overview_3.php Office of Fair Trading. (n.d.). Office of Fair Trading. Retrieved June 3, 2010, from http://www.oft.gov.uk/: http://www.oft.gov.uk/ Office of Fair Trading. (2010, May 25). Office of Fair Trading Reply Letter. London, U.K. Prisoners Dilemma. (1997, September 4). Retrieved June 3, 2010, from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/prisoner-dilemma/

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Corporate Governance Essay examples -- Business Management Essays

Corporate Governance Corporate Governance is the relationship between the shareholders, directors, and management of a company, as defined by the corporate character, bylaws, formal policies and rule laws. The corporate governance system was designed to help oversee the decisions and best interest of the shareholders. The system should works accordingly: The shareholders elect directors, who in turn hire management to make the daily executive decisions on the owner’s behalf. The company’s board of director’s position is to oversee management and ensure that the shareholders interest is being served. Corporate governance focus is with promoting enterprise, to improve efficiency, and to address disputes of interest which can force upon burdens on the business. Ensuring that the clearness, and truth in a company’s business can make contribution to improving the enterprise standards and public governance. What created corporate governance is still a question of debate? It is a developing order control system, and one in which little has been rearranged from the outlook of developing and transition economies. From the corporation’s outlook, the developing system’s general agreement is that the purpose of corporate governance is to increase the firm’s value, subject to meeting the corporation’s financial and other legal obligation. They believe that the extensive meaning stresses the need for boards of directors to balance the interest of capital providers with those of stakeholders in order to achieve long term maintained commercial success. While on the other hand, the public believe the purpose of corporate governance is to nature the spirit of the company while ensuring accountability for the exercise of power and special privileges by the firm. The role of the public policy is to provide firms with the incentives and discipline to minimize the difference between private and social returns, and to protect the interest of stakeholders. Corporate governance has become an issue of worldwide importance. Corporations have a role to play in promoting economic development and social progress therefore they must have the best members on the board to assure good standards. Board members and directors should possess certain characteristics that will allow them to make good decisions for the firm. The appropriate characteristics should be possessed by each c... ...lling away from the company. This new Nasdaq rule is suppose to make investors and the public aware of what is happening with the company weather its conflict of interest or other corporate abuse. They also believe it will give investors more confidence in the companies that they invest their money in. The new rule should prevent a bad company from showing dishonest behavior. Many agree that there will not really be a change for companies that are doing business correctly already. All it really will do is show the public who the bad companies are and see them as they are put to justice. The bottom line to the whole scenario is â€Å"all honest people are honest people and crooks are crooks†. It has been said that this new rule will only make the bad people work harder to be bad and continue wrongful doings to learn new ways to bet the corporate governance system. Face it the bottom line is if you want something done right you have to do it yourself, but how could one person have some many obligations to meet for a company when they will face problems also. Hopefully along with the new Nasdaq rule and obedience board directors corporate governance will become better with in time.

Monday, November 11, 2019

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Government Hospital and Free Health Care

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Government and Privat Hospital and Free Health Care – Essay Every government provides services for their citizens. One of the key areas governments focus their attention on is public health care. Citizens have the benefit of receiving free health care services whenever they need it. Yet, everything that is provided for free has its drawbacks. There are disadvantages as well as advantages associated with free health care services provided by governments for their citizens. Firstly, with the anticipation of free health services, there is a high likelihood of poor quality of services. According to the Ministry of Health’s Strategic Plan 2011-2015, Fiji has one of the lowest total health expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) when compared to other Pacific Island countries. As a result of a lack of finances, it can be expected that health services and products may not be of high quality. Moreover, cheaper and less effective medication may be given in place of quality and effective drugs. It should not be expected that citizens have the best quality of health services due to the limited budget and expenditure of the ministry. Another disadvantage of free health care is the shortage of doctors and nurses. The Minister of Health (Fiji), Dr Neil Sharma said that doctor shortages were a common occurrence in every part of the world and Fiji was no exception (Malo 2011, p. 5). For instance, at Rakiraki Hospital one doctor looks after over ten thousand people and only three doctors cater for the twenty-nine thousand population of Tavua (Malo 2011, p. 5). From this information it can be seen that the doctor to patient ratio is very low. Thirdly, free health care services leads to overcrowding in hospitals. With the availability of free medical services, citizens have the opportunity to make the most use of the services provided to them and this in turn leads to overcrowding. It is an all too common site to see long queues and frustrated patients at the outpatient section of major hospitals (Fiji Times Online 2008). Many people wait for hours before they are seen as the hospitals are just not large enough to cater for them all. With the large population of Fiji, it is not surprising that overcrowding occurs in hospitals. However, free health care services have many advantages as well. Governments spend a lot of time, money and resources in providing health care services and it is only after carefully examining the benefits that these services are provided. The advantages that will be considered include benefit to all classes of people, the continual improvement of healthcare services and the reduction and control of disease outbreaks. Equally important to consider are the advantages of free health services. Free health services benefit all classes of people especially the poor and needy who cannot afford expensive treatments offered at private hospitals and those citizens who do not have health insurance. In Fiji, the healthcare system is mainly financed through general taxation (Ministry of Health Strategic Plan 2011-2015, p. 11). The revenue collected from taxation is based on income levels and the ability of the individual to pay. Consequently, the poor families benefit greatly from this service as they get the most out of it. In addition, another advantage to consider is that the government continually improves its services. Citizens benefit greatly from the improved health services governments provide. According to the Minister of Health, Dr Neil Sharma, the ministry’s foremost objective is to strengthen primary healthcare services in the country. The Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr Salanieta Saketa added that one major target for the ministry is to improve the delivery of primary healthcare services (Ministry of Health Annual Corporate Plan 2011, pp. 3-4). The Fiji government also spends a substantial amount on educating and training health professions (Panda 2003, p. 37). These are only a few of the many ways the government is improving the healthcare system. Finally, free health services help to reduce and control disease outbreaks. Those individuals who are carriers of infectious diseases are treated and cared for. For example, the Ministry of Health has sections dealing with HIV and AIDS, adolescent and reproductive health, oral health and non-communicable diseases to name a few. Information is also provided on these diseases and prevention. These services are very beneficial to the itizens and the nation as a whole as it stops the risk of spreading the illness to the entire population. Free health services are indeed beneficial for the entire population. In conclusion, free health services provided by governments have its disadvantages and advantages. Although there are disadvantages to this service, in some ways, the advantages do outweigh the disadvantages. Governments do recognise the need for poor and needy families’ access to healthcare services and also know that in order to cater for their citizens needs, they must continually improve their health services. Governments also recognise the need to control or if possible eliminate the outbreak of infectious diseases in order to protect the entire population. The government has done a great job in providing the citizens with healthcare services and this can be improved by allocating more finances to the health sector. With these in play, it is safe to say that the free health care services governments provide have great advantages for their citizens.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Eating Less for a Longer Life essays

Eating Less for a Longer Life essays Within the article, "Eating Less May Extend Human Life," there are three main studies discussed. Those studies have a population of rodents, rhesus monkeys, and male humans respectively. The three groups the study specifics, are all slightly different in both population and scientific characteristics. Though each study is different they all reflect similarities of findings and suggest that further research will yield promising results. In the rodent tests, the article suggests that there have been several tests conducted on both mice and rats with predictable results, include a test and a control group. The test group consists of a population of rodents with a reduced dietary intake of about 30 percent. In addition to this those rodents within the test group also share three biomarkers, thought to be as a result of the reduced caloric intake, lower body temperature, lower blood sugar and high levels of the hormone DHEAS. The control group of this particular study is a group of rodents with both normal caloric intake and lower life span. The results for the Rhesus monkey study are still preliminary, the test started 15 years ago must reflect the normal lifespan of the Rhesus monkey, about 25 years in order to contend scientific results. "Statistically, at least half of the monkeys will have to complete their normal lifespan before the data is considered significant, said Roth" (AP 2003, pp. 3). Regardless of this fact indicators suggest that the control group is consistently living shorter lives on a normal caloric diet and lacking the three biomarkers present in the super aged rodent population. The human test also preliminary is also slightly different than the other two studies. The human male study, occurring in Baltimore, MD, does not include a test group being denied caloric intake. Instead the studies test group includes a group of men who consistently possess the three biomarkers found in both the test rodent and monkey p...

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Presidential Cabinet and Its Purpose

Presidential Cabinet and Its Purpose A presidential cabinet is a group of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the federal government. Members of the presidential cabinet are nominated by the commander in chief and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.  White House records describe the role of presidential cabinet members as being to advise the president on any subject he may require relating to the duties of each members respective office. There are 23 members of the presidential cabinet, including the vice president of the United States. How the First Cabinet Was Created Authority for the creation of a presidential cabinet is granted in  Article II Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution. The Constitution  gives the president the authority to seek external advisors. It states that the president can require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices. Congress, in turn, determines the number and scope of executive Departments. Who Can Serve on the Presidential Cabinet? A member of the presidential cabinet cannot be a member of Congress or a sitting governor. Article I Section 6 of the U.S. Constitution  states   ... No person holding any office under the United States, shall be a member of either house during his continuance in office. Sitting governors, U.S. senators and members of the House of Representatives must resign before being sworn in as a member of the presidential cabinet. How Members Are Chosen The president nominates cabinet officers. The nominees are then presented to the U.S. Senate for confirmation or rejection on a simple majority vote. If approved, the presidential cabinet nominees are sworn in and begin their duties. Who Gets to Sit on the Presidential Cabinet? With the exception of the vice president and attorney general, all cabinet heads are called secretary. The modern cabinet includes the vice president and the heads of 15 executive departments. In addition, seven other individuals have cabinet rank. Those seven others with cabinet rank are the: White House chief of staffEnvironmental Protection Agency administratorOffice of Management Budget directorU.S. Trade Representative ambassadorU.S. Mission to the United Nations ambassadorCouncil of Economic Advisers chairmanSmall Business Administration administrator The secretary of State is the highest-ranking member of the presidential cabinet. The secretary of State is also fourth in the line of succession to the presidency behind the vice president, the speaker of the House and Senate president pro tempore. Cabinet officers serve as the heads of the following executive agencies of the government: AgricultureCommerceDefenseEducationEnergyInteriorJusticeLaborHealth and Human ServicesHomeland SecurityHousing and Urban DevelopmentStateTransportationTreasuryVeterans Affairs History of The Cabinet The presidential cabinet dates to the first American president, George Washington. He appointed a Cabinet of four people: Secretary of State  Thomas Jefferson; Secretary of the Treasury  Alexander Hamilton; Secretary of War  Henry Knox; and Attorney General Edmund Randolph. Those four cabinet positions remain the most important to the president to this day. Line of Succession The presidential cabinet is an important part of the presidential line of succession, the process that determines who will serve as president upon the incapacity, death, resignation, or removal from office of a sitting president or a president-elect. The presidential line of succession is spelled out in the Presidential Succession Act of 1947. Because of this, it is common practice not to have the entire cabinet in one location at the same time, even for ceremonial occasions such as  the State of the Union Address. Typically, one member of the presidential cabinet serves as the designated survivor, and they are held at a secure, undisclosed location, ready to take over if the president, vice president and the rest of the cabinet are killed. Here is the  line of succession to the presidency: Vice PresidentSpeaker of the House of RepresentativesPresident Pro Tempore of the SenateSecretary of StateSecretary of the TreasurySecretary of DefenseAttorney GeneralSecretary of the InteriorSecretary of AgricultureSecretary of CommerceSecretary of LaborSecretary of Health and Human ServicesSecretary of Housing and Urban DevelopmentSecretary of TransportationSecretary of EnergySecretary of EducationSecretary of Veterans AffairsSecretary of Homeland Security

Monday, November 4, 2019

Wanderer in a Waste Land Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Wanderer in a Waste Land - Essay Example Indeed, his reference to the fire represents certain unnecessary desires for human beings. In particular, Eliot suggests in â€Å"The Fire Sermon† that these desires cause intense destruction to their respective immediate environments. Ideally, human beings should be free from such desires as numerous seductions (Thesing & Wrede). However, this is not what happens in the contemporary world, as Eliot would wish. The fire burns up a moral civilization and replaces it with one that is sinful in a symbolic manner. Consequently, the desires, which Eliot dislikes, cause uncountable evils hence the need to avoid them. There is a noteworthy divergence in the use of fire in this film called â€Å"The Way Back†. This is because fire does not refer to any human sins in this film. However, it is a positive phenomenon for the wanderer who experiences several hardships. For example, the wanderer needs the fire to warm himself on his way to India. The wanderer cannot survive without the fire given that the place he has to go through has extremely cold weather. In addition, the nights get cold hence necessitating the presence of the fire to the wanderer. Moreover, the wanderer must have fire to cook all the foods because there are no alternative cooking methods in the desert. The fire also plays other significant roles in the wilderness, for example, providing light (Weir). Eliot uses the phenomenon of water to introduce a feeling of realizing ones sins. For example, in this section of the poem he reveals characters who finally understand their sins. In addition, these characters wish to cleanse their respective souls because they now hate sin. Consequently, this significant realization occurs through water. Indeed, there is an admirable change in the characters that change from their respective sinful manners. Consequently, the film uses water to indicate an element of survival for the wanderers

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Concepts of Caring Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Concepts of Caring - Essay Example The staff must look at the use of their body language as well. According to (Justice, 2006) the staff must watch how they use body language and more importantly the way the voice is used. â€Å"These are known as linguistic, non-linguistic and paralinguistic communication skills. The staff must watch their tone, pitch, and loudness. The staff must also watch their body posture, proximity and facial expressions. All of these features are very necessary to make sure that the staff comprehends what is going on in the case.† The staff must show that you know what you are doing right from the start or you will not make any progress with the patient. In your immediate observation of the patient the staff will notice that she is highly anxious. The other subjective signs could be that she could be holding the abdominal area. Emma could also be crying or yelling out. The staff has to build a rapport and gain trust with the patient in order to gain the basic information you need to gai n a diagnosis. The staff will need to feel confident in their decisions, for example if you would decide to call her parents about her location and her problem. The staff will have to decide about the issue of confidentiality and informed consent. Remember In the medical profession or any profession ‘Do No Harm’. Emma will need to be handled with care body, mind and soul. She needs to be told what to do to bring understanding of her physical and emotional health even if she doesn’t want to hear it. Psychological Theories In working with Emma the staff can use Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and go through the steps of the hierarchy for Emma’s case and it could look like this: 1. Physiological needs- To be able to address her complaints of abdominal pain and the health of her baby. 2. Safety needs- To keep her and her baby safe from hurting her due to her anxious feelings. 3. Belongingness and Love needs- She has a friend, but is not sure on who she want s to trust with what is happening to her. 4. Esteem needs- She may feel bad about herself for becoming pregnant, running away from home and what is happening to her at this moment. 5. Self-Actualization- The nurses can try to teach and tell her that it is not her fault that her parents separated, if that has happened. The nurse can also try to teach her that running away is not the answer to any problem. The nurse must try to talk to her about the abdominal pain she is feeling could mean. When she starts to calm down she will realize that it is just not her but her baby who needs her to care for herself. (Myers, 2004) In trying to help Emma the nurses will need to show empathy to her and maybe they can share with her some of what they may have gone through as a teenager. The staff can share some of the good and the bad choices that they may have made. The staff nurses may get Emma to talk about herself just enough to make her comfortable, so you can begin your assessment for example , about her family history. Let her know that she counts in this life and her baby’s life. This idea follows the Humanistic theory set by Maslow and Rogers. When continuing your physical assessment of Emma you can begin to notice things like how she communicates whether verbally or nonverbally. When she first entered the hospital she is very