YOY Percentage Change in Key U.S. Economic Indicators

U.S. Economic Performance Measures 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Real GDP Growth (average annual) 3.10% 2.66% 1.91% -0.34% -3.49% 3.03% Personal Consumption Expenditures 3.34% 2.85% 2.30% -0.55% -1.89% 2.03% Gross Private Domestic Investment 5.54% 2.74% -3.24% -10.17% -25.03% 17.93% Net Exports of Goods Services -5.06% -0.93% 11.05% 23.74% 27.49% -17.56% Government Consumption Expenditures 0.33% 1.36% 1.34% 2.60% 1.69% 0.68% Standard CPI (average annual) 3.39% 3.24% 2.85% 3.85% -0.34% 1.64% Unemployment Rate (average annual) 5.10% 4.60% 4.60% 5.80% 9.30% 9.60% 10 Year Treasury Rate (average annual) 4.29% 4.79% 4.63% 3.67% 3.26% 3.21% *Sources:   Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Commerce/BEAAdvertising We will write a custom term paper sample on YOY Percentage Change in Key U.S. Economic Indicators specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The four major macroeconomic themes that stand out and that have affec ted the profitability of the commercial banking industry since 2007 are: The level of real national income (GDP) A country’s gross domestic product, or GDP, is the price tag placed the economic products produced in any given year. It is measured by adding (personal consumption expenditure, gross private domestic investment, net exports of goods and services and government consumption) minus the imports† (Wolfe,2012, par.1). A â€Å"real† Gross Domestic Product considers inflation and the measure of the value of the goods and services using their prices from the previous year. A country’s real national income and rates of interest can be connected to the effect that change in income has on the interest rates (Wolfe par. 3) Real national income decreased from 2007 to 2009. This could have a negative effect on the commercial banking industry in the following ways: Reduced real GDP can result in reduction of the rates of interests on loans. This is because red uction in GDP can mean the economy is in a recession, therefore less investors will be spending their money and hence there is less demand for funds. As a result, the banks are likely to reduce the lending rates therefore reducing its profits. Reduced GDP can also mean that the government will reduce benefits such as subsidies therefore discouraging investments the more.Advertising Looking for term paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The real national income increased from 2009 to 2010. This could have a positive effect on the commercial banking industry in the following way: Increase in real GDP or national income can cause interest rates to rise. This is because the economy is performing well (booming) and therefore more people will be investing. Investors take advantage of the booming economy by establishing monetary, educational and administrative institutions and facilities. In order to finance s uch projects, they will have to obtain funds. Mostly, the funding is in form of loans and mortgages from banks. This demand for loans will force the banks to increase the lending rates resulting in increased profits. Unemployment rate It is the percentage of the workforce that is registered as unemployed. The unemployment rate increased from 2007 to 2010. This could have been caused by recession among other factors. Unemployment reduces the level of investments because investors feel that the market lacks sufficient money to buy their commodities. When investors are discouraged from investing, the demand for funding reduces. In addition, the unemployed persons tend to spend and consume less (Kibilko par. 2). They don’t have a tendency of acquiring loans either. As a result of reduced funding demand or loans, banks will reduce the interest rates consequently reducing their profits. Standard CPI (Consumer Price Index) It is a measure of weighted average of prices of a basket of consumer goods and services. Changes in the standard CPI are used in assessing price changes that are associated with the cost of living. There was increase of standard CPI between 2007 and 2008. This could denote a period of inflation. Inflation is accompanied by falling purchasing power since the cost of living rises when inflation rate increases. Due to inflation, investments are also likely to reduce since the prices of building or investment materials are high.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on YOY Percentage Change in Key U.S. Economic Indicators specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These factors can lead to reduced lending rates by the banks (â€Å"Consumer Price Index:Definition of Consumer Price Index-Cpi† par. 1). As a result, there is reduced profitability in the commercial banking industry. On the other hand, there was fall of the standard CPI in 2009. The drop is an indicator of deflation. De flation means that the cost of living of living is low. This will increase the purchasing power of consumers. The investors are attracted by positive consumption habits and therefore they will want to invest more at this time. In order to obtain funding, investors will end borrowing loans or commodities from the banks. The banks as a result, will increase the lending rates. As a result, the commercial banking industry realizes increase in profits. 10 Year Treasury Rate The Treasury rate refers to the recent rate of interest that investors acquire from debt securities that are issued by the Treasury. The federal government uses various ways of borrowing money from the public. One such method is by issuing 10-year notes which earn interest in every six months (Langsdorf par. 2). 10 Year Treasury Rates reduced between 2007 and 2010 meaning that investors earned less interest from them. Investors get discouraged by investments that yield little income to them. That is why many big inves tors go for the long term instruments such as bonds and notes. Such investors expect high benefits in the long run. If such expectations are not met, it could discourage them. With fewer investments, banks will experience reduction in the level of borrowers. They will result to reducing their lending rates in order encourage borrowers. The repercussions of this are that the profits decline.Advertising Looking for term paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Agreement or disagreement with specific numbers including comments about the Congress, the White House, the international scene, and the Fed up to date Real GDP Growth The real GDP growth is expected to rise from 2.2% in February 2012 to 2.6% in February 2013. I tend to agree with the focus because there arms or bodies in the government that have authority to implement favorable rules that can increase national income. For instance, Congress has power to regulate commerce with foreign nations and among states. Actually, the sixteenth Amendment gives Congress the power to collect a national income tax without apportioning it among the states. Therefore, real national income is likely to increase given these circumstances. Internationally, businesses are stable and this could work out performance The Fed also has the authority to affect economic growth positively. For instance, it can regulate the monetary policies about price control, interest and tax rates in order for them to favo r economic growth. Standard CPI The Standard Consumer Price Index is expected to remain constant at 2.1%. I agree. The level of prices is likely to be the same because the consumer levels are expected to change narrowly. Since the level of income growth is minimal, it is possible that consumer’s expenditure levels will be almost insignificant. Additionally, the level of government spending will be less. With reduced spending patterns, demand for commodities will be minimal and since prices are determined by demand, the prices of commodities are likely to remain constant. Unemployment Rate I disagree that the level of unemployment will reduce from 8.3% in February 2012 to 7.9% in February 2013. This is because the policies being put in place to control the rate of unemployment are either slow in implementation or they are ineffective. For instance, the Congress had to debate on how to extend federal unemployment benefits which were to expire at the end of the 2011. Actually th e law makers were uncertain how long it was going to take and the strings to be attached to an extension. This uncertainty in solving important issues such as unemployment is an indicator that the level of unemployment is not likely to reduce any time soon (Hook and Peterson 22). 10 Year Treasury Rate 10 Year Treasury Rate is expected to rise from 2.2% in February 2012 to 2.9% in 013. I agree. This is a government borrowing instrument that takes an investor up to 10 years to recover. Given that the international markets are stabilizing after recession, many countries are increasing their investments locally and internationally. Additionally, many investors are coming up in order to take advantage of the stable and promising income. They invest intensely on local and international treasury instruments as well as establishment of international markets. As a result of the extensive investments, and the favorable market conditions, the investors are likely to benefit from increased inco me in interest. Fed Actions The Fed conducts monetary policy. It does this through three means: open market operations, changes in reserve requirements and changes in the rates of discounts. Government bonds, securities, price control, and subsidies. Reserve requirements is the money that the banks are expected to maintain for smooth operations. â€Å"Discount rates are benefits obtained from massive buying of commodities such as reduced prices† (â€Å"Cliffnotes: Monetary Policy† par. 1). Fed Actions over the next six months In order to improve economic growth, I expect Fed to increase its open market operations such as purchase of government bonds in order to obtain more funds from the public. When Fed borrows from the public it will increase income capacity. Additionally, it can increase reserve requirements of the banking sector which will increase their lending capacity, and investments. As a result, the economy’s GDP is expected to rise. Fed Chair should t ry to create a stable currency and reduce inflation rate instead of going by the Fed’s main monetary policy which is price control. Since price should be controlled by market forces, Fed should consider using Friedman’s suggestions to stabilize the dollar. For instance, it should use other monetary policies such as the regulation of the monetary base, reduction of inflation and unemployment rates. Fed should also aim at job creation and educating job seekers so as to overcome obstacles that prevent equal employment. It can do this by targeting employment initiatives, educational job training† (Weller par. 2). It should also exercise collective bargaining of wages and benefits in order to reduce the gap between the high and low income earners. Educating people on equality can also reduce this gap in earning. Encouraging of self-employment through creation of youth funds can also help alleviate unemployment rate and poverty levels in the short run. Since the job ma rket is saturated, Fed can allocate funds to the unemployed in order to help them implement creative ideas. This way, the level of income is likely to increase. Fed can also organize trade fairs and seminars in order to help businesses to promote and advertise the local products. This will increase awareness and sale of such products. With time, the level of income will increase. Fed Actions over the next two years In the long term I expect Fed to change its monetary policies. It should change its rules and fundamentals in order to have a wider base of controlling economic growth. Instead of Fed using the price control as its main tool to regulate macroeconomic factors of the economy, it can use other tools such as reduction of unemployment and inflation, reduction in tax levels, subsidies, reduction in trade regulations and lowering of interest and exchange rates. As a result, the level of real GDP is expected to rise. The White House is also encouraging short term borrowings in or der to achieve long term solutions. President Obama advocates of this economic mechanism. Although short term borrowing can lead the country to financial crisis, if used carefully, it can generate income as well as create employment in the long run. Fed should also consider increasing its exports. This involves increase in selling of the country’s goods and services to international buyers. When exports rise above the level of imports, income is likely to increase. On the other hand, the country should reduce its imports by encouraging local production. This will mean that it is spending less in obtaining goods and services. Another strategy is removal of tariffs on imports. If the country removes tariffs on its imports, it is very possible that its neighboring countries will remove tariffs from its exports. This way, the level of income will rise because there will be increased revenue from increased exports. Conclusion Macroeconomics involves external factors that affect th e level of economic growth. These external factors include national income (GDP), unemployment rate, standard CPI and treasury rates. GDP growth is the value of a nation’s products and services. Its determining factors are consumer expenditure, exports, government expenditure, investments and imports. Increase in real GDP determines the interest rates, level of expenditure, and investment in a country therefore affecting borrowing and the level of profitability of the banking industry. On the contrary, decrease in GDP will result to reduced profits. Unemployment rate is another external factor that affects the profitability of the banking industry. It reduces the expenditure levels therefore discouraging investors. Once investors feel that their goods will lack sufficient demand, they resist from taking the risks and therefore shy away from investing. This affects the commercial banking industry since there will be reduced borrowing from the investors. Otherwise, when the rat e of unemployment is low, the level of profits is expected to rise. Standard CPI accounts for the level of prices as determined by consumer demand. When the consumer demand is increasing, it can indicate inflation which subsequently means that the cost of living is high. This is accompanied by reduced borrowing and loss in profits by the banks. When the Standard CPI is reducing, it can be an indication of deflation. Deflation is associated with lower cost of living and improved expenditure patterns. As a result, the banking industry achieves increased borrowing for investment purposes therefore increasing profits. An increase in the 10 Year Treasury Rate means that the investors can reap higher interest incomes from their investments. They will in turn result to borrowing from the banks in order to increase their investments. This results in improved profits by the banking industry. The Fed can initiate several factors in order to increase the level of economic growth. These are sub sidies price controls, regulation of interest, import and export rates, incentives, removal of tariffs, encouragement of local production, increase in exports, decrease in imports, seminars and trade fairs and allocation of youth funds to encourage innovation. With these factors in place, the level of economic growth is very likely to increase. The level of GDP is expected to rise as well as the 10 Year Treasury Rates. On the other hand, the unemployment rate will reduce, as well as the Standard CPI. As a result of increased economic growth, the banking, educational, administrative, manufacturing and other industries in general, are expected to increase their profits. Works Cited Cliffnotes: Monetary Policy. Web. Consumer Price Index: Definition of Consumer Price Index-Cpi. Web. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/consumerpriceindex.asp#axzz1rA0dptHA. Hook, Janet and Kristina Peterson. â€Å"Congress Wrestles with 2012 Unemployment Benefits Extension.† The Wall Street Journa l (2011). Print. Kibilko, John. The Effects of Unemployment. Web. https://www.sapling.com/7762708/effects-unemployment. Langsdorf, Jonathan. Treasury Rate Definition. Web. https://pocketsense.com/treasury-rate-definition-6680672.html. Weller, Christian. Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity: Short-Term Labor Solutions Can Help Persistent Poverty among Minorities in the Long Term. Web. Wolfe, Martin. The Effect of Real Gdp on Interest Rate. Web. https://bizfluent.com/about-6632885-effect-real-gdp-interest-rate.html. This term paper on YOY Percentage Change in Key U.S. Economic Indicators was written and submitted by user K0lten to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Freud’s Theory of Defense Mechanism Essays

Freud’s Theory of Defense Mechanism Essays Freud’s Theory of Defense Mechanism Essay Freud’s Theory of Defense Mechanism Essay Psychoanalytic ego psychology is distinguished by the priority that it assigns to the egos management of instinct-derivatives. Ego psychology had its foundations in Freuds writings of the 1920s, but first became a distinctive approach to psychoanalysis in the 1930s. In Inhibitions, Symptoms, and Anxiety, Freud (1926a) listed ten manners by which the ego defends itself against dangerous thoughts: regression, reaction-formation, isolation, undoing, repression, introjection or identification, projection, turning against the self, reversal, and sublimation or displacement of instinctual aims. To this list of defenses, Anna Freud (1966) added identification with the aggressor (pp. 116-120). The list has since continued to grow. For Freud, das Ich, â€Å"the I, † was a metaphor that signified the part of the mind with which a person consciously identifies. In a loose sense, it was Freuds way of discussing the self. More technically, however, he defined the ego as the part of the mind that performs rational thinking, the type of thought that he considered a â€Å"secondary process.† Freuds (1923a, 1940b) concept of the ego did not include the defense mechanisms that Anna Freud (1966) attributed to it. Freud (1926a) explained: Symptom-formation†¦has two assets: one, hidden from view, brings about the alteration in the id in virtue of which the ego is removed from danger; the other, presented openly, shows what has been created in place of the instinctual process that has been affected-namely, the substitutive formation. It would, however, be more correct to ascribe to the defensive process what we have just said about symptom-formation and to use the latter term as synonymous with substitute-formation. (p. 145) : In this formulation, defense consists of (1) unconscious stimulus barriers, such as repression, that enlarge the dynamic unconscious repressed and so remove the ego from danger, and (2) the substitution of a fantasy for the repressed that manifests the repressed in symbolic fashion. The stimulus barriers are ego functions, and they alone are truly defensive. The substitute-formations are not ego functions; they are products of unconscious symbol-formation. Freud (1926a) explained them as pathological symptoms to which the ego makes an accommodation: It is†¦only natural that the ego should try to prevent symptoms from remaining isolated in one way or another, and to incorporate them into its organization†¦. The ego now proceeds to behave as though it recognized that the symptom had come to stay and that the only thing to do was to accept the situation in good part and draw as much advantage from it as possible. It makes an adaptation to the symptom-to this piece of the internal world which is alien to it-just as it normally does to the real external world. (pp. 98-99) Freuds (1926a) notion of defense mechanisms as â€Å"a kind of frontier-station with a mixed garrison† (p. 99) reflects the complexity of their origin. Every so-called defense mechanism combines a stimulus barrier, belonging to the ego, with a fantasy formation, of unconscious origin, to which the ego has adapted. Why does the ego accommodate selected pathological symptoms? Were the unconscious to be constantly producing new symptoms, the ego would be obliged to respond to them all, resulting in unwanted and frequent mood swings. Instituting selected symptoms as permanent structures does not lessen their irrationality. It has the advantage, however, of making the type of irrationality predictable. Because the predictability provides the ego with stability that is necessary for mood regulation, the automatization of selected symptoms may reasonably be regarded as a kind of defense. Unfortunately, Freud failed to distinguish clearly between stimulus barriers and the symptoms that the ego automatizes for its purposes of stability. The oversight led to the widespread neglect of the origin and nature of the automatized symptoms. Anna Freuds The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defense (1966), first published in 1936, expressed an over-simplification that went unchallenged for half a century. Anna Freud (1966, 157) postulated â€Å"the egos primary antagonism to instinct-its dread of the strength of the instincts† (p. 157). She maintained her position throughout her life. â€Å"Many disputed it when I said it, and I still say that the ego as such is hostile rather than friendly and helpful to the instincts, because its against its nature to be friendly† (Sandler with Freud 1985, 494). Anna Freuds concept of defense flowed similarly from her failure to embrace the subtleties of her fathers formulation of psychic structure. Anna Freud wrote: The part played by the ego in the formation of those compromises which we call symptoms consists in the unvarying use of a special method of defense, when confronted with a particular instinctual demand, and the repetition of exactly the same procedure every time that demand recurs in its stereotyped form. (p. 34) In this presentation, defenses belong exclusively to the ego and are not themselves compromise formations. Symptoms and defenses are mutually exclusive; and it is symptoms that are compromise formations-between the instincts and the defenses! Anna Freuds account of defenses agreed with her fathers formulation in so far as stimulus barriers were intended, but it misrepresented the circumstances of such defenses as regression, reaction-formation, undoing, introjection or identification, projection, turning against the self, and reversal. In her fathers view, these defenses were themselves pathological symptoms. Anna Freuds hypothesis of â€Å"the egos primary antagonism to instinct† was able to command the devotion of ego psychologists presumably because Freuds structural concepts of id and ego were understood, for clinical purposes, on the topographic model of the old systems Unconscious and Perception-Consciousness. Anna Freud stated that for many decades she and many other psychoanalysts used both the topographic and the structural models of the mind in alternation, depending on whether, for example, they were momentarily concerned with dreams or defense mechanisms. â€Å"I definitely belong to the people who feel free to fall back on the topographical aspects whenever convenient, and to leave them aside and to speak purely structurally when that is convenient† (Sandler with A. Freud 1985, 31). In similar fashions, Bertram D. Lewin (1952), Jacob A. Arlow and Charles Brenner (1964), and Heinz Kohut (1984) estimated that most of their contemporaries reverted to the topographi c hypothesis when conceptualizing dreams. Bernard Apfelbaum (1966) drew attention to the distinction I have emphasized between Freuds view of the ego as the secondary process and Anna Freuds expansion of the ego to include character defenses: A distinction must be drawn between two conceptions of the ego: what may be called the â€Å"reality ego† versus the â€Å"defence ego.† The â€Å"reality ego† emphasizes the egos temporizing, compromising function-as a busy mediator between the demands of reality and of the drives. The â€Å"defence ego† is a more active principle, having superordinate goals of its own, before which both reality and the drives must yield. (p. 462) Ego psychologys transformation of the ego from a â€Å"reality ego† that performs rational thought, into a â€Å"defense ego† that includes the â€Å"character armor† (Reich 1949) of irrational defenses, depended on equating the ego with the sense of self. This step, taken within American ego psychology, later served as a point of departure for Heinz Kohut (1971, 1977, 1984), whose system of self-psychology may be seen as both a valuable contribution and an inappropriate expansion of defense analysis into a complete program of psychotherapy. Continuing David Rapaports (1960, 1967) project of introducing academic methodology and systematizing within ego psychology, Roy Schafer (1968) took issue with the â€Å"traces of the machine analogy in the prevailing conception of defence mechanisms† (p. 52). There are no machines in the mind. There are only thoughts. The notion of a mechanism is either a fallacy or a metaphor that refers summarily to both â€Å"the instinctual act and the defence against it† (p. 54). Morris Eagle (1984) added that â€Å"the supposition that the intensity of the instincts is threatening to the ego† derives from a reification of the metaphor of psychic energy. It is a purely fictitious notion. â€Å"The idea that instinctual impulses, particularly those of great intensity, are inherently dangerous to the ego derives from an a priori tension-reduction model of human behavior and a conception of the nervous system as naturally and ideally quiescent, and disturbed, in varying degrees, by excitation† (p. 111). Because too much energy will shatter or burn out a machine, reifying the metaphors of psychic energy and psychic structures leads to the idea that the structures of the psychical apparatus are inherently and necessarily threatened by psychic energies. In â€Å"Analysis Terminable and Interminable, † Freud (1937) corrected his daughters formulation without naming her explicitly. He asserted that â€Å"id and ego are originally one† and â€Å"the psychical apparatus is intolerant of unpleasure†-implicitly, of unpleasure alone (pp. 240, 237). He also emphasized that defense mechanisms and symptoms are two ways of discussing the same psychic elements: The mechanisms of defence serve the purpose of keeping off dangers. It cannot be disputed that they are successful in this; and it is doubtful whether the ego could do without them altogether during its development. But it is also certain that they may become dangers themselves†¦these mechanisms are not relinquished after they have assisted the ego during the difficult years of its development. They become regular modes of reaction of his character, which are repeated throughout his life whenever a situation occurs that is similar to the original one. This turns them into infantilisms†¦. The adults ego, with its increased strength, continues to defend itself against dangers which no longer exist in reality; indeed, it finds itself compelled to seek out those situations in reality which can serve as an approximate substitute for the original danger, so as to be able to justify, in relation to them, its maintaining its habitual modes of reaction. Thus we can easily understand how the defensive mechanisms, by bringing about an ever more extensive alienation from the external world and a permanent weakening of the ego, pave the way for, and encourage, the outbreak of neurosis. (pp. 237-38) Freud here took for granted his previous account of the origin of defense mechanisms as amalgams of stimulus barriers and symptoms. Defenses can alienate the secondary process from the external world only because symptoms are among their components. As flights from reality, symptoms are inconsistent with the reality principle of secondary process thought. Anna Freuds misunderstanding of her fathers theory of defense was one of several developments in the 1930s that collectively accomplished a paradigm shift in psychoanalytic theory and technique. Wilhelm Reichs Character Analysis (1948), first published in 1933, emphasized that differences in character types reflected differences among the defense mechanisms that individuals favored. Ernst Kris (1934) introduced the concept of â€Å"ego-directed regression, † or â€Å"regression in the service of the ego, † which permitted unconscious manifestations such as play and creativity to be diagnosed as whole-some, where their classical descriptions as â€Å"regression† had meant that they were pathological. Kriss revalorization of fantasy anticipated Anna Freuds revalorization of defense mechanisms. Her catalog of defenses, first published in 1936, supported the clinical technique of defense analysis, where interpretations are made of the defenses, and efforts to interpr et the unconscious drives are postponed until a later phase of the treatment. Heinz Hartmanns (1939) emphasis on the egos devotion to adaptation completed the basic paradigm of ego psychology. Where classical psychoanalysts thought of the benefits derived from symptoms as â€Å"secondary gains† of illness, ego psychologists construed defenses as positive adaptations and left unremarked their inherently fantastic and irrational nature. The idea of repression is perhaps one of the Freudian concepts that call for psychoanalytic treatment. Freud split the mind into three parts, the conscious, the subconscious and the unconscious. The conscious part of the mind is what is being used to read this paper at the moment. The subconscious contains information that is not in the conscious processing zone but could be very readily retrieved. For example, ones spouse, may not be present in consciousness but could quickly be prompted by just mentioning the name. The most important part in the field of psychoanalysis and in which the id and superego operate is the unconscious. The unconscious is that part of mind where so much information is stored but very hard to retrieve. Freud believed that the unconscious is a reservoir of human experiences forced to obscurity by the ego so that they protect the subject from unbearable pains if and when those experiences are remembered. Freud argued that when the ego fears the inability to balance between the ids sexual and aggressive needs and the proper way to attain it as the superego demands, the result is anxiety. In order to deal with this anxiety Freud proposed that the ego develops defense mechanisms. Defense mechanisms reduce anxiety by reducing or redirecting anxiety in various ways, but always by distorting reality. Before listing the Freudian defense mechanism its prudent to highlight the defense mechanism categories as prescribed by Freud. First, reality anxieties which are fear of objects that can be physically escaped, for example, fear of a snake. Second, neurotic anxiety is a type of anxiety that comes from unconscious worries that the impulses of the ID will overpower the person, leading to impending punishment. Finally, this is fear of moral judgments or fear of violating moral values which result in guilt and shame. The defense mechanism of displacement involves the transfer of feelings or behaviors from a dangerous object to one that is less threatening. A person who is angry with the boss may maintain a discreet silence, then go home and shout at a family member. Or aggressive impulses may be unconsciously diverted from a frightening object to oneself, which may lead to self-inflicted injuries or even to suicide. Anxiety may also be displaced, as when a child who is victimized by abusive parents shies away from people in general. In contrast, the defense mechanism of projection conceals dangerous impulses by unconsciously attributing them to other people or things. For example, projected anger may lead to the belief that you are disliked, hated, or being persecuted by other people. In displacement, you know that you are angry and choose a safer target; in projection, you repress your anger and believe that other people are angry at you. Also, projection always operates unconsciously, whereas some displacements may be conscious. Although projection plays a significant role in the development of paranoid behavior, it is a normal way for very young children to deny their mistakes. Denial is often accompanied by another defense mechanism, fantasy, where unfulfilled needs are gratified in ones imagination. A child may deny weakness not only by playing with reassuring symbols of strength like toy guns or dolls, but also by daydreaming about being a famous general or worthy parent. Virtually everyone daydreams to some extent. As with denial, however, an excessive amount of fantasy prevents the ego from fulfilling its main function perceiving and dealing with reality.

Invertebrate Zoology, Research Box Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Invertebrate Zoology, Box - Research Paper Example The fluid was centrifuged to separate liquid portion from the cellular constituents, which include the coelomocytes. The foreign bodies introduced to it were the red blood cells of a rabbit. The effect of some heavy metals, which are a part of industrial waste, was to be studied by Canicatti and Grasso. The three heavy metals used were zinc, mercury and cadmium. It was noted that among these metals, only zinc had an effect on immune response system and it varied considerably with the concentration of zinc. Zinc concentration of 1 mm or higher greatly reduced the breakdown activity. This was true both for the liquid part and the cellular part of the coelomic fluid. In contrast to this, lower zinc concentration led to increased lytic activity. At a concentration of 4 mm of zinc, the agglutination of red blood cells was not affected at all by zinc. Only the lytic activity was being affected at this concentration. The cellular portion always dominates in terms of contributing in the immu ne system when compared to the liquid portion. The contribution of liquid portion increased at a concentration of 0.25 mm zinc, but still remains below that of the cellular portion. The immune system is most responsive at 0.5 mm concentration of zinc. The immune response drastically decreases above 0.5 mm of zinc concentration. Table of Contents Summary of Findings 2 Abstract 4 INTRODUCTION 5 BASIS OF HYPOTHESIS 5 RESEARCH 5 METHODOLOGY 5 DATA COLLECTION 6 ORGANISMS COLLECTION 6 DESIGN 7 FUNDING 7 SIGNIFICANCE & CONCLUSION 8 REFERENCES 9 Abstract This paper formulates a hypothesis on how further research regarding the above experiment. Using the same scientific method the paper gives a short brief on how to formulate the project, collect data and organisms along with the design and funding of the project. Furthermore significance of the project along with the initially conclusion has been outlined. Keywords: Hypothesis, design, significance INTRODUCTION The findings of the Canicatti and Grasso (1988) were not conclusive. They left many questions unanswered. It left a big space for further research in this topic. Some of the questions which arise after the findings are: Would the same effects be observed if these tests were conducted on intact animals? Do organic pollutants have a similar effect on immune response system? Among the metals tested, why was zinc the only one which had an effect on the immune response system? Does zinc also have effects on the immune system of other animals? BASIS OF HYPOTHESIS I hypothesize that zinc would have a similar effect on the immune response system of other animals too. My basis of this hypothesis is that the immune system of all animals works in almost similar ways. Foreign bodies entering the territory of the body are attached by cells within the body and broken down, or are encapsulated and destroyed (Shankar & Prasad, 1998). This way their harmful effects are nullified. RESEARCH Before getting involved in the experime ntal procedure, it is important to further research the topic. To get background knowledge of the topic, numerous research articles have to be read related to this topic. From the work already done, it is established that zinc does have an effect on the immune response system of animals (Prasad 2008). Is the effect same for every animal is the question that needs to be answered. METHODOLOGY A research project has to be formulated for this study. The tests can be

Managing at the Edge Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Managing at the Edge - Research Paper Example This is an approach that underestimates the abilities of the employees to carry out tasks and to innovate and improvise as they go. In this kind of companies, each and every decision has to be taken at top level and the employees in the lower levels of hierarchy only have to mechanically obey what they are told. There will a fixed chain of command that will often be lengthy as well (Carney and Getz, 2009, p.23). The decision making will be highly â€Å"procedure-driven† (Carney and Getz, 2009, p.23). Lack of flexibility caused by stringent rules and stunning of the possibilities of creative contribution from employees, are two major drawbacks of 'how' companies. In contrast to this, a 'why' company is one which shares with its employees a single quest, namely, 'why we are doing what we are doing?' (Carney and Getz, 2009, p.16). Naturally, it is a common quest for the company and the employees. The only answer possible for this question is, â€Å" to keep the customers happyâ €  (Carney and Getz, 2009, p.17). Thus the 'why' company wants the employees to keep its customers happy and does not bother much about how it is attained (Carney and Getz, 2009, p.17-18). This is an approach that allows maximum contribution and participation from the employees. It gives freedom to the employees to innovate and improvise and through that, will enhance their motivation and self-esteem. In traditional 'how' companies, the strict control can help achieve good growth and profits (Carney and Getz, 2009, p.43). But this positive aspect will be counter-balanced by the detachment and stress that the employees feel in an environment where there is least freedom (Carney and Getz, 2009, p.43). This will get reflected in their output as well (Carney and Getz, 2009, p.43). References Carney, B.M. And Getz, I. (2009) Freedom, Inc., New York: Crown Business. 2. What are the characteristics of a Level 5 Leader? Level 5 leader is someone who has the capability to lead a company f rom â€Å"good to great†, according to Collins (2001). The term, level 5, is used to indicate â€Å"a five-level hierarchy† (Collins, 2001). Collins (2001) has explained these five levels as given below: Level 1 relates to individual capability, Level 2 to team skills, Level 3 to managerial competence, and Level 4 to leadership as traditionally conceived. Level 5 leaders possess the skills of levels 1 to 4 but also have an "extra dimension": a paradoxical blend of personal humility ("I never stopped trying to become qualified for the job") and professional will ("sell the mills"). People who inhabit the level 5 leadership category are not egocentric and dislike showing off (Collins, 2001). All the same, they have the strength and will power to take bold decisions when the hour needs so (Collins, 2001). It is the goals, the organization and the meaningfulness of the whole exercise that come first for them rather than their personal ego (Collins, 2001). They are highly a mbitious but not in the real sense the word, ambition is commonly used (Collins, 2001). Level 5 leaders are ambitious not towards their own narrow personal career goals but for greatness of the job involved and the organization (Collins, 2001). Level 5 leader will always be only partially satisfied by the results achieved and would constantly seek self-improvement (Collins, 2001). The greatest motivation of such a leader is to leave behind a real

Inaccuracies in the Portraying of the American Revolution by Popular C Movie Review

Inaccuracies in the Portraying of the American Revolution by Popular Culture - Movie Review Example American Revolution dates back some years ago and this was the race to independence in America. The revolution also termed as a revolutionary war broke out due to differences between Britain and the colonial government. The war involved other groups who came in to assist one side, like France and this lengthened the conflict further. The troops from the British government and the colonial government men inspired the war as the fight for independence kicked off. Tensions leading to the outbreak of the war were due to the colonists feeling that they had no equal representation in parliament as the British counterparts.Arguably, the American Revolution comes out in different popular cultures like films and history books, although it has been difficult to portray it in these books and films because it turns to be controversial from the readers. An example of the challenges is that of the Americans who only want to refer their founders on only their positive side but ignore their negative actions during the revolution. This is a challenge because; the films that portray their founders’ negative side are highly criticized, whereas those depicting their positive side are encouraged. The filmmakers never wish to depict the British as an enemy to the Americans. To avoid this, therefore, they escape all the stories showing what happened to the founders in the films.From a different perspective, other films try to show exactly what happened during the revolution. For example, the film â€Å"Drums Along the Mohawk† shows how people were killed and even destruction of crops. These were activities done during the war. Although the film showed little about British, it is rated as one of the best films that tried to portray the American Revolution. However, the accuracy of the film is compromised by the fact that people were killed and crops destroyed but it is not clearly presented, on the contrary, it shows the fight as between settlers and Americans. Unlike th e aforementioned film, â€Å"Revolution† film does not clearly depict the hero in the war even the losers can become heroes. The inaccuracy of the film is that it does not show the battle as Americans fighting for liberty from the British, but it shows it as a civil war between the colonists. American Revolution comes out in another film, â€Å"The Patriots†, though there are inaccuracies about the war. It describes the revolution as a war for the liberation of African Americans. It also shows that the workers in the field were not slaves.   In their work, the filmmakers try to give a detailed report on the happenings during the revolution.

Christian And Navajo Creation

Christian And Navajo Creation All places, people, cultures and religions have a beginning; something or someone had to create the land, sea, animals and people. The story of creation varies from culture to culture but in some instances you can find similarities between two cultures that were divided by an ocean and thousands of miles. The two creation myths are those of the Christians and the Navajo peoples. These myths have been passed down from generation to generation and never forgotten. The creation myths for these two cultures are the building blocks for their futures. These two cultures werent only divided by an ocean and thousands of miles but by different languages and the time period in which each creation takes place. Despite the difference between these two myths, the similarities that are found are quite remarkable. The creation myths of the Navajo and Christian people contain specific symbolisms that make each unique, from the different characters, to the presence and development of evil and the flo ods that wiped out life or moved life forward, these show that no matter how great the distance there can be similarities and not just differences. Each creation myth will be assessed individually because it is easier to fully understand the relation between the two myths. The Christian creation myth will be addressed first because it is the most well known of the two. In the Christian creation myth there was one God, The Triune God that consists of The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. He was the divine creator in the Christian creation myth that is told in The Book of Genesis. The Lord God of the Christian creation myth has the ability to create anything from nothing. He takes an earth that does not yet have form to it and creates the heavens, the land and all living creatures on it, including man. When God creates the earth it takes him six days to create the world and he rests on the seventh day. He didnt create the earth all at once, he did it in steps. First he created light, then the heavens, then the land and plants, next the sun and moon, then the fish and birds and on the final day he created the animals and man. Th e Lord God, The Divine Creator, is a figure of great power and wisdom that is not always believed to be true later in the bible. If you look past the initial creation of the earth and focus on the sixth day when man was created you will find two characters that started human life on earth. Adam was the first male to be created. He was created from dust and the breathe of god that gave him life and breathe of his own. God created Adam to rule over all the animals and to tend to the Garden of Eden. Adam was also tasked with the job of naming all the birds and animals. God tried to find a helper for Adam so that he didnt have to care for Eden alone, but none of the animals god created was capable of helping Adam. Since God could not find a suitable helper for Adam he put him into a deep sleep and removed one of Adams ribs and used it to create the first woman, Eve. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve could eat whatever plants and fruits they wanted, except the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eating the fruit was forbidden and they both were told that if they ate it, they would die. This is the part of the story where the first instance of evil is introduced. One day when Eve was working in the garden she was approached by a serpent. This serpent was no normal serpent, it was Satan disguised as one of Gods creatures. As the serpent, Satan tricked Eve into eating and sharing with Adam a fruit from the forbidden tree. When Satan is disguised as the snake, he is seen as a trickster who gets his way through tricking and manipulating the helpless. When God found out what Adam and Eve had done he cursed them, as well as the serpent. The serpent was cursed to forever crawl on his belly and eat dust for the rest of his life. Eve was cursed with severe pains when birthing children and that her husband will always rule over her. Whe n God got to Adam he cursed the ground that he will plant his crops and it will produce inedible foods. All of this pain and suffering was all because of a trickster. After Adam and Eve were banished from Eden for eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they made love and Eve got pregnant. The lord had blessed them with their first son and they named him Cain. Eve looks as her son as a blessing and realizes that the lord had given her Cain and also realized that he is the ultimate source of life. Eve also had another son that was named Abel. Cain worked the land and soil and Abel watched and worked the flocks of sheep or other various animals. When these two men went to bring gifts to God, Cain brought gifts of fruit from the soil and Abel brought gifts of fat portions from the younger part of the flock. The lord favored Abels gift over Cains and this made him angry. The Lord God asked Cain why he was so angry and explained to him that if you allow sin to get a grasp on you it will eventually lead to something terrible. After this talk with God, Cain went to find Abel and asked him to go to the field with him. Once there Cain attacked and killed Abel because he was jealous of how God favored Abels offering over his. When he returned from the field God asked Cain where his brother is and he told him that he didnt know where he was. God knew what had happened to Abel and cursed Cain and told him that the ground will never yield crops to him again. Cain left his home and became a wanderer and said that whoever finds him will kill him. God said that that is not so for whom ever kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over. This is because he wants Cain to live as long as he can so that he will always have the burden of knowing that he killed his brother. Cain and his wife lived in the land of Nod which was east of Eden. Cain eventually married a nd his wife had a child named Enoch. Cain built a city here and named it after his son. Enoch eventually has sons who had sons that. Down the lineage one of the family members of Cain had murdered a young man and he was also cursed like Cain. Adam and Eve were blessed again with another child in place of the slain Abel, his name was Seth. Seth also had a son, he called him Enosh. After Enosh was born the people of the land started to call to the lord and pray to him. The conclusive symbolic event that happens in the Christian creation myth is the flood that destroys all living creatures below the heavens. The flood is brought on by God because he was disgusted by how corrupt and violent life on earth had become. God spoke to a man that he felt would bring balance back to earth after the flood; this mans name was Noah. God instructed Noah to build an Ark made from cypress wood to his exact dimensions. After the Ark was built Noah was told to gather two animals of every kind, one male and one female and put them on the ark to save them from the flood. He was also told to bring seven pair of the clean animals onto the ark. The clean animals were to be used for sacrifice once the flood waters had receded. God also instructed him to bring his wife, all three of his sons and his sons wives onto the ark as well. Noah was given seven days to complete all this before the rain started. Once the rain started it would not stop for 40 days and 40 nights. The water from the rain rose so high that they covered the highest mountains on earth. Eventually the rain stopped, but the water did not recede for one hundred and fifty days, the God sent a wind that started lowering the flood waters. As the flood waters receded the ark found a resting place on the Mountains of Ararat. Noah sent a raven to see if it could find dry land and it returned with nothing. Later he sent a dove out to do the same thing and it too returned with nothing. Seven days after the first dove returned, Noah sent out the dove again and this time it returned with an olive branch. In another seven days he would send the dove out again and this time it would not return. This told Noah that the flood waters receded and it was now safe to leave the ark. After Noah, his family and all the living creatures left the ark; God came to Noah and told him and his family to repopulate the earth. After the flood God vowed never to curse the ground again because of humans, he originally cursed the ground because of Adam and Eves betrayal and it led to the death and de struction of all life on earth. From these symbols, its easy to see how they all, in their own way, affected the creation of earth. Of the different themes in this creation myth the one that defines God as the Divine Creator is the most extensive one because he has the ability to create anything from nothing. At the beginning of the creation myth there is only one being, the divine creator, God. His power of creation is never rivaled during the telling of the Christian creation myth. As he creates the earth and all the creatures, man is created in his likeness. When Adam is living in Eden with Eve another meme is introduced; the division of good by evil. This takes place when Eve is tempted by Satan, as the form of a serpent, to eat an apple from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. She does so and also shares some of it with Adam. When this happens, it divides Adam and Eve from God and he curses them and the serpent. Satan, as the serpent, is pleased because he successfully divided God from man. Eating that apple leads to corruption and violence on Earth. This is when God purges the earth with the flood. It seems that, with the creation of land, water, creatures, or man, evil will be present in some form. You have read about different symbols and themes in the Christian creation myth but the form in which it was originally to be important as well. The story was passed down from person to person through speech. It was an oral tradition for quite a while. It was not recorded in written form until God gave it to Moses on Mt. Sinai. The source of the story is in the Old Testament of the Holy Bible in the Book of Genesis. The book of Genesis is one of five books that comprise the bible. It is felt by many scholars that the language in the Christian creation myth was formally recorded. The bible as it is known today in the United States is a translation of the original bible that was recorded thousands of years ago. When the bible was originally translated from Hebrew to English, it is said that they translated it word for word instead of translated phrases or whole sentences or thought for thought. The story that is heard today is the translation of Hebrew text that was passed down from God. The Christians believed this story of creation when it was first written and they still believe in it and all its characters today. The people to which the Christian creation myth came to was the Hebrew people. The role of women in their culture can be seen as being below man all through the bible. Its starts pretty early when God is cursing Eve for eating the apple and he tells her that she will forever be ruled over by man. This lack of respect for women is found in almost every book of the bible in various ways. Women are treated like lesser beings. This is even true in the Christian religion today. Men are considered the ruler of the house and of the church. In the modern church women dont play any major roles. Women cannot be priests, bishops, cardinals or even the pope. I dont think that will ever change due to the strict beliefs and history towards women in the Christian church. The Navajo creation myth compared to the Christian creation myth is a bit more complicated. The story of the Navajo creation begins in a dark world, on a piece of land that is surrounded on four sides by water. Each side represented a direction and color; white for the East, blue for the South, yellow for the West, and black for the North. On this piece of land were the insect people. No actual god is present at this point but someone or something has to be with the insect people because they are expelled from the first world for arguing too much. Unlike the Christian creation myth, no god or creator is visible at the beginning of the Navajo creation myth. After the insect people leave the first world, they go to the second world where they meet the bird people and not long after are asked to leave because they continued to argue. When they emerged into the third world, they meet the grasshopper people and got along with them for awhile. Eventually, however, they were asked to leave this world, too. They left this world and emerged with four grasshopper people; each colored the same color as one of the directions. In this world there were for mountains, each facing a specific direction. The insect people searched for people to the south, east, and west, and they found nothing. Then they traveled north and came across farming community. Its people, the Pueblos, taught the insect people to farm, along with other necessary skills for survival. At this point in the creation story, the first god appears to the insect people, sometime during the first autumn. The gods name was talking god and with him appeared four other gods called: White Body, Blue Body, Yellow Body, and Black body. The Black Body God spoke and told the insect people to be more god-like or human and less like insects. They were also told to do a thorough self-cleanse and the Gods would return in twelve days. The Gods returned in twelve days with the Blue Body and the Black Body gods each carrying holy buckskins and the White Body and Yellow Body gods each carrying an ear of similarly colored corn. One buckskin was laid down facing east and the ears of corn were placed with eagle feathers on the buckskins and then covered with the other buckskin. By the request of the gods, wind blew between the buckskins, one from the east and one from the west. While the winds were blowing, eight mirage people encircled the mirage four times. When the top skin was removed, a man was where the white corn had been placed and a woman was where the yellow corn had been placed. They were known as the first man and first woman, or the holy people. The men and women did not always get along. Much like in the Christian creation myth there seemed to be a divide between the men and the women. The Navajo people had an argument about the true reason that men hunt. This reason is that the sexual power of the women makes them hunt. The men became angry at this notion. The women felt that men and their abilities were not needed and they left the men. They traveled to the other side of the river where they lived for four years. During this time each side had performed unclean sexual acts. The women masturbated and the men would have sex with dead animal parts such as the liver of a slain deer. These unclean acts lead to the creation of monsters that will later devour and plague the people for some time. Once instance where this happened was during a river crossing with a man, woman and their two young daughters. The man and woman got across but realized their daughters did not. This is when the two people and coyote went in to the river to find the girls and they eventually did in the lair of the water monster. The water monster did not resist when the parents came to take their children back. During this time when everyone was distracted, Coyote stole the water monsters two babies and hid them under his robe. One of the symbols that keep repeating throughout the Navajo creation story is the number four, along with multiples of four. This may be because there are four main directions in the world. However, this is not made clear. Eight years after man was created a archetypal trickster appears in the creation myth. The trickster is a coyote, much like the serpent in the Christian myth. The coyote is a trouble maker and, although he is mischievous, he is not an evil being like the serpent was in the Christian myth. Coyote secretly stole the children of the water monster. This act of thievery is actually helpful in the long run. More than anything, he seemed to make bad situations worse and never seemed to be helpful. In the Navajo creation myth, there is a flood as well. However, it differs from the Christian myth because the Navajo gods did not cause the flood in order to destroy all life on earth. The people were noticing that animals were starting to leave and realized the flood was approaching. They carried with them soil from the sacred mountains and, in that soil; they planted four reeds that combined into one with a hole in the east side. All the people climbed the reed as the flood waters came. The climbed up the reed and emerged into the fifth and final world. They soon realized, however, that water was following them through the hole and they used the stolen water monster children to plug the whole. When everyone emerged into the fifth world, an argument broke out between the Navajo people and the Pueblo people. This causes the Navajo and the Pueblo people to move apart from each other at this time. Later in history, they would meet again and teach each other different skills. After this split between Pueblo and Navajo, the first man and the first woman remade the four mountains with help from the gods; using the soil from the mountains in the fourth world. All the symbols found in the Navajo creation story have a specific role or purpose. The theme of the Navajo creation myth is not a story of a divine creator, such as in the Christian myth, but it is a story of emergence through four worlds that each has their own difficulties. The Navajo emergence story is called the Dine Bahane and is one of the most complex stories to be originally presented orally. It is eventually written down, but for many years it was simply passed on from person to person verbally. It was not until much later that the oral rendition was translated and taken to written form. It is said that when Navajo people want to feel reborn or renewed as a culture, they perform a special ceremony. During this ceremony, they reenact the emergence creation myth. This story is just one of many ways that the creation myth is still remembered today. In conclusion, when comparing the Navajo and Christian creation myths, the symbolism that arise between the two is quite similar considering the distance between these two cultures. The research shows similar archetypes, symbols, and how the myth was first presented and passed down to its audience. The two cultures represented within these distinct creation myths lived thousands of miles apart, and yet still had a few striking similarities within their myths. However, although they had their striking similarities, they also had many dramatic differences between the two that clearly distinguishes one creation story from the other. No matter what creation myth you believe to be true, no one knows for certain how humans came to inhabit the earth.

Populism DBQ

In the late nineteenth century, around 1880-1900, many farmers were experiencing problems and threats to their way of life. The valid complaints of the farmers dealt with the money supply system in America and the large railroad companies. In 1892, the platform for the Populist Party was laid down. In this platform it is stated that â€Å"the national power to create money is appropriated to enrich bondholders †¦ thereby adding millions to the burdens of the people.†This is discussing the demonetization of silver and the negative effect it has on the common people, such as farmers. Later on in the platform is it also discussed that silver has had widespread acceptance as a coin for a very long time and by demonetizing it to increase the purchasing power of gold, the results are several negative consequences which will eventually lead to â€Å"terrible convulsions, the destruction of civilization, or the establishment of an absolute despotism.†This unhappiness of fa rmers regarding the money system in the United States is also shown in a political cartoon from The Farmers Voice, a Chicago newspaper in the late 1880's or early 1890's. The cartoon entitled â€Å"The Eastern Master and His Western Slaves† depicts farmers as slaves to the wealthy eastern businessmen. It is representing the exploitation of the farmers and shows yet another of their economic struggles; the mortgages they bore on their farms.Further evidence that supports and validates the farmers' complaints about the current economic situation is found in William McKinley's acceptance speech given in Canton, Ohio on August 26, 1896. In his speech, McKinley said that even though free silver â€Å"would not make farming less laborious and more profitable.. † farmers and laborers are the ones who suffer the greatest as a result of the cheap money. â€Å"They are the first to feel its bad effects and the last to recover from them†¦ †. The belief that silver is the solution of the problems for farmers is opposed in J.Laurence Laughlin's â€Å"Causes of Agricultural Unrest† article in the November, 1896 issue of Atlicantic Monthly. Laughlin describes that the increase in supply without an increase of demand led farmers to believe that silver can solve their issues by his saying, â€Å"the sudden enlargement of the supply without any corresponding increase of demand produced that alarming fall in the price of wheat which has been made the farmer's excuse for thinking that silver is the magic panacea for all his ills†¦Ã¢â‚¬ He then goes on to describe that farmers have simply pushed the blame on the scarcity of gold as opposed to realizing the actual cause is their own overproduction of wheat. The effects of the different acts and laws regarding money supply is shown in the United States government data from 1961 depicting the population of the country along side the money in circulation from the year 1865 through 1895. This dat a shows that from 1865 through 1885, the population was increasing, however the amount of money in circulation was decreasing rapidly.This suggests that the effects of the acts and laws regarding money were resulting in the deflation of of the currency. against the railroad companies is credible because during this time period the government showed enormous favoritism towards large businesses even though the railroads were monopolies. Further discontent with monopolies is expressed in A Call to Action: An Interpretation of the Great Uprising. Its Source and Causes by James B.Weaver, a Populist candidate for president in the election of 1892. Weaver described that trusts and monopolies use â€Å"threats, intimidation, bribery, fraud, wreck, and pillage† to â€Å"impoverish the producer, drive him to a single market, reduce the price of every class of labor connected with the trade, throw out of employment large numbers of people †¦ , and finally †¦ they increase the price to the consumer†¦ †.The farmers and laborers of the late nineteenth century faced two main problems; money supply and large businesses such as railroads. These issues resulted in a variety of complaints from the agriculturists, however the grievances did prove to be valid based on the evidence previously presented. The farmers were struggling to survive off of the small profit they received, and they suffered even further when large monopolies and railroad companies took actions that dwindled their profits further.

Berjaya Corporation Berhad Essay

1.0 Introduction A business that seeks to operate honestly, considers people and the environment when making business decisions, and tries to make a positive contribution to the local community and to wider society Berjaya Corporation Berhad is an investment holding company and is engaged in the provision of management services. Berjaya Corporation group of companies is founded by Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun when he acquired a major controlling stake Berjaya Industrial Berhad in the year of 1984. It is originally known as Berjaya Kawat Berhad and now known as Reka Pacifiic Berhad. In October 1988, Berjaya Group became the holding company of Reka Pacific Berhad. The principal activities of the subsidiaries consist of Consumer Marketing, Direct Selling & Retail; Financial Services; Hotels, Resorts, Vacation Timeshare & Recreation Development; Property Investment and Development; Gaming & Lottery Management; Development of Sanitary Landfill, Environvental Services and clean Technology Investment; Food & Beverage; and Investment Holding (appendix 1). Hence, due to their strategies structure, it has made them successful until today. At Berjaya Corporation group of companies, they believe that being a social responsible company can bring a balance between profitability and communities they operate. Due to their business, Berjaya companies almost in touch with society daily needs. Therefore, Berjaya always encourage their staff to take part in the Group’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities. Over the years, Berjaya Corporation had planned many charity projects, fund-raising events and donations as a social commitment towards the society. 2.0 Current Practices 2.1 Community To curb the escalation of strays in Malaysia, Berjaya Corporation Berhad organized a charity concert and conducted by Berjaya Youth to raise funds  for the approximately RM115,000 for the sterilization of 1,000 rescued animals. Besides that, Berjaya Youth had collaborated with Paws Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) to launch its Mobile Animal Clinic at Berjaya Times Square (appendix 2). Better Malaysia Foundation, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Vincent Tan ‘s personal foundation, had donated the mobile animal clinic that worth RM220,000 to create awareness on the importance of spaying and neutering of animals to curb the escalation of strays in Malaysia. The mobile animal clinic features a well-equipped examination room that can administer vaccination and perform sterilization on animals safely. Besides that, Berjaya Corporation has partnered with PAWS Animal Welfare Society to build a cattery building that can provide space for 300 cats. This cattery is to improve the living conditions of homeless cat till they get adopted. With this cattery, Berjaya Corporation want to create awareness for people to adopt a cat instead of buying. This is a good news for PAWS as PAWS is shortage of space and limited funds to take care those abandoned cats and dogs (appendix 3). Disabilities are always one of the groups that need community to give support. On 14 June 2014, Berjaya Corporation Berhad donated RM200, 000 to the Life Prostheses Centre (â€Å"LFL†) located in the Bandar Utama Buddhist Society’s building in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. The centre is the first and only prostheses workshop in Malaysia that provide free prosthetic limbs to poor and less fortunate Malaysia (appendix 4). However, the cost of making a limbs is not cheap, each cost estimated between RM3, 000 to RM5, 000. With the contribution of RM200,000 , it will enable the centre to get 40 to 70 prosthetic limbs depending on the type and level of amputation. Next, Berjaya Cares Foundation contributed 10 units of dialysis machines worth RM450,000 to the National Kidney Foundation of Malaysia (appendix 5). Since the establishment of this foundation, Berjaya Corporation have never failed to support them, Berjaya Corporation Berhad has raised funds for National Kidney Foundation through annual Kenny Roasters Chicken Run event  for 2 years and through donation boxes placed in 7-Eleven outlets. Last year, they get to set up a one-stop information hub for all matters related to kidney and kidney care. 2.2 Employees Employees of Berjaya Corporation had their priority in the company. Berjaya Corporation always give their employees good quality in their workplace to make sure their employees can focus in their career development. Besides that, employees are constantly encouraged to participate in training and development programmes which relevant to their job field, so they can improve their productivity and develop skill sets. Moreover, Berjaya Cares Foundation regularly organizes talk about health, safety awareness and other topics such as personal development to their staff (appendix 6), while the Sports Toto Fitness Centre with full completed gymnasium equipment and facilities is set up to encourage their staff to exercise regularly and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Besides that, Berjaya Cares Foundation had set up a Staff Welfare Fund to manage and supplement financial aid to their employees and their family member whenever they need help in illness, natural disaster and death. This is a very good benefit to become their staff. 2.3 Environment A group of 17 Sports Toto volunteers went to Kuala Selangor Nature Park to plant mangrove trees. Mangrove trees are very good in carbon absorption and act as natural flood retention â€Å"sponge† to hold heavy rainfall which can prevent flood. Next, Mangrove trees help to hold sediments along riverbanks to safeguard coastline erosion and reduce pollution to coral reefs and marine life and also provide breeding and nursery grounds. They had planted 100 mangrove saplings (appendix 7). Other than Sports Toto, Berjaya Hotel & Resorts conducted a project of three  day Tioman Island Clean-Up Day with over 100 participants including staff, media and children from Sekolah Kebangsaan Tekek, Tioman. This activity can educate people about the importance of coral reefs to the ecosystems. There are a total of 121 reef-destroying Crown of Thorns were removed during the dive clean-up (appendix 8). They also clean up the beach with given handheld plastic bags. The result of cleaning up the beach is 15 bags of discarded plastic litters, paper wastes, beverage cans and bottles that weighing over 300kg. 2.4 Sports Toto In Malaysia, gambling is illegal as Malaysia is a Muslim country and majority of the population is Muslim. However, Berjaya Corporation Berhad insists of starting up the gambling business to the country and it is known as Sports Toto. Sports Toto Malaysia was incorporated by Malaysia Government in 1969. Then it is privatized in 1985. Today, Sports Toto is owned subsidiary of Berjaya Sports Toto Berhad and listed on the main market of Bursa Malaysia. Sports Toto is a zero sum game that accumulates the money and distributes to the winners and at the same time, gain profit from it. When people are winning the game, there will always a lot of losers. There are losers more than winners. 2.5 Conflict of the Board As we know, the current chairman and Chief Executive Officer (â€Å"CEO†) of Berjaya Corporation is Dato’ Robin Tan Yeong Ching, the eldest son of Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun. Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun was the previous chairman and CEO of Berjaya Corporation and now he is the major shareholder of Berjaya Corporation. Dato’ Robin Tan Yeong Ching was later appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (â€Å"CEO†) of the Company on 1 January 2011 and subsequently as the Chairman/CEO of the Company on 23 February 2012. CEO and Chairman shouldn’t be the same person because this will be conflict. 3.0 Rank about the company 3.1 Employees Employee is the most concern for Berjaya Corporate Berhad because employees are company’s best asset. As Boudreau and Ramstad (2007) present: â€Å"Whether it is called â€Å"people,† â€Å"labor,†Ã¢â‚¬Å"intellectual capital,† â€Å"human capital,† â€Å"human resources,† â€Å"talent,† or some other term, there source that lies within employees and how they are organized is increasingly recognized as critical to strategic success and competitive advantage. Without employees, Berjaya Corporate could not be success like today. Berjaya Corporation Berhad is the Top 30 Best Companies to work in Malaysia and today Berjaya Corporation Berhad has a total of 17,000 employees strength. Berjaya Corporation has various industries such as food and beverage, automotive, hotel and resorts and more. Hence, employee takes an important role in the company as they are backbone of the company and they are the one who services the customers. Therefore, company need to treat their employee nicely as the way you treat your employees is the way they will treat your customers (Branson, 2014). According to the Maslow Hierarchy Needs (Abraham Maslow, 1943), there are five categories of human needs such as basic needs, safety needs, belonging needs, esteem and self-actualization needs. These five needs separated to high and low categories. However, company should try to fulfill the low needs for their employee. Although is not a company’s responsible to fulfill all the employees needs, employees will become loyalty to the company once the company can fulfill their needs. Employees who The hierarchy of needs theory is relevant to this study as the theory is applicable to organizational orientation and employee motivation (Greenberg & Baron, 2003). First of all, employees work to fulfill their basic needs in their life. They will only work for company when there are reasonable salary amount for them. Thus, Berjaya Corporation will give their employee bonus, incentive and even lucky draw during Berjaya Founder’s Day. Next, safety needs is a very important need towards the employees especially  for some job that will take risk. Berjaya Corporation had always conduct healthy talk or body check to their employees, so they know how to take care their body. Other than that, belonging needs is very important to an employee. Employee who feels they belong to the company, they usually will put a great deal of effort into their daily tasks. 3.2 Community Community is the second concern of Berjaya Corporation, they have planned many charity events and donations towards the community. Every year, they will have an event called as Berjaya Founder’s Day. Berjaya Founder’s Day is an annual affair dedicated to give back to society. This day, they will rise up a fund from the efforts of staff and sponsor form banker, suppliers and friends of Berjaya. The first Berjaya Founder’s Day was conducted on 26 February 2011 and get RM6.6 million donations for 30 beneficiaries. Next, the second Berjaya Founder’s Day get a total amount of RM11.6 million for 61 charitable organizations. The third Berjaya Founder’s Day on 23 February 2013 contributed RM20.2 million to 74 charitable organizations, while the latest Berjaya Founder’s Day on 22 February 2014 has collected RM25.6 million to 90 charitable organizations. From above, we can see that every year of the amount and number of charitable organization are increasing. This shows that nowadays society a lot of people need help from a big company like Berjaya Corporation come out to support them. These charitable organizations include those that support community, education, heath causes, international humanitarian aid, local performing arts as well as environmental awareness and animal causes. According to instrumental theories from Garriga and Mele’s (2004), Berjaya Corporation is focusing on achieving economic objectives through social activities. Through social activities, this can maximize shareholders’ value and is a strategy for competitive advantage. Times have changed. There are more than 8,000 companies around the world use corporation social responsibility in their business. Because corporate social responsible is a way for companies to benefit them while also  benefitting the society. It is a win-win situation. According to a data released by Net Impact, the nonprofit that aims to help businesses promote sustainability, 65% of MBAs surveyed say they want to make a social or environmental difference through their jobs (Knowledge@Wharton, 2014). When a big company can give back to the community, it will be the most inspiring parts of corporate life. It shows that the company takes care of the society and it is an ethical company. This helps company to get good reputation from the society. 3.3 Environment Environment is the third concern of Berjaya Corporation. Berjaya Corporation is a diversified company that will initially influence the environment from their projects. When they are starting up a factory in a rural area, Berjaya Corporation will have to go through the process of deforestation. Cutting off the trees will definitely given a negative impact to the environment such as landslide due to the destroyed on the existing mechanical root structure in the area. However, as an ethical business, Berjaya Corporation will take up the responsibility to improve the environment by organizing an awareness event. For instance, mangrove trees planting for environmental conservation were held on 19 April 2011 with the group of Toto Sports volunteer in Kuala Selangor. Total of 100 mangrove trees are planted. The resource of our planet is limited and unsustainability is stated in the theory of Environmental Ethics (Paul W. Taylor, 1986). Moreover, Berjaya Corporation has also incorporated â€Å"Go Green† program in their business to avoid wastage and spread the awareness towards their customer. For example, use green products for take away food and beverage such as Starbucks Reusable Tumbler and Kenny Rogers Roasters I-Care Box. This shows how Berjaya Corporation cares about the environment. In addition, Berjaya Corporation chooses to cooperate with local suppliers to use less paper work and also give business to them. In addition, Berjaya Corporation ships their products by sea rather than airfeirght. 3.4 Sports Toto Sports Toto is a subsidiaries company of Berjaya Corporation. Sports Toto is very popular among Malaysian and it is the largest number of forecast operator in Malaysia as it has more than 670 outlets in Malaysia. Over the years, Sports Toto has been made many corporate social responsible such as charity, community sports, education and cultural promotion. It is a responsible corporate citizen but also a unhealthy games for Malaysia especially Malaysia is a Muslim country. It is unfair when only the Chinese and Indian can buy Toto tickets while the Malay is not allow to purchase. Malaysian called it â€Å"buy a hope† when they place their bets. Therefore, everyday there are a lot of Malaysian spend money on buying toto tickets. Some of them even use their money like water to purchase to try to win the grand prize. But Sports Toto is the only one that â€Å"winning big†. However, people with little money are always attracted to buy because it gives them the feeling of winning and the amount of the prizes is too great for them. In summary, gaming industry is harmful for individuals and society. However, it is the greatest happiness for the greatest number, stated by the utilitarianism theory of Jeremy Bentham (1987) . Jeremy Bentham said that it does not matter on the action but the result. If the result happens to be good and not harmful to others, it is consider as ethical. Therefore, the Sports TOTO game do helps on certain people on their financial issue. Sports TOTO creates hope for people to continue survive without financial difficulties. 3.5 Conflict of the Board In Berjaya Corporation, the CEO and Chairman seat is taken by the same person who is Dato’ Robin Tan. It is unethical to do so because it shows no fairness towards the employee. This is egoism ethical because they only hand over the position towards to their family instead outsiders. Chairman and CEO have different roles in the company, if this two roles combined together will creates an inherent conflict of interest. The Chairman of the Board of a company is the chief representative of the shareholders. The CEO of the company is the leader of the managers. The job of the chairman is to look after the shareholders. His main job is to fire the incompetent managers that are not qualified or control ones that overreach. Chairman should also look for workers that are potential enough to help company earn profit. While the CEO’s job is to manage, report to the board that set the policies and priorities based on the shareholders’ wished and needs such as higher income, high reward policy or bonus. Besides that, he should look out for the interests, salary or extra allowance of managers. If chairman was the same person, he will basically reporting to himself. This shows that Chairman and CEO had two different and conflicting roles. Where this might bring conflict of interest arises. 4.0 Recommendation Berjaya Corporation Berhad should encourage more green activities instead of replanting the trees or cleaning the beach. They should conduct green activities in all of his company and Subsidiaries Company together as this will be effective towards the society. They can also gather different ideas and save up unnecessary costs. It can also bring a good image to their employees or other company will follow their steps. Besides that, Sports Toto should stop convince consumers that buying toto tickets is a good habit through advertisement, this may lead people to spend a lot of money on toto tickets and end up becoming poor. Next, Berjaya Corporation should allow every employees to attend the health talk, not only the small amount because this may causes employee feel unfair and do not feel they belong to the company. Lastly, Berjaya Corporation should get two people to in charge position of CEO and also chairman as this two positions will have conflict if taken by the same person. 5.0 Conclusion Berjaya Corporation Berhad is very good in their CSR which makes them different from other company. CSR can also bring benefits in terms of risk management to company such as cost savings, access to capital, customer relationships, human resource management, and innovation capacity. CSR can also make company outstanding compare to company that did not do CSR. According to the European Commission, company with more responsible business can foster more growth. Hence, CSR is very important for a company especially public listed company like Berjaya Corporation. However, Berjaya Corporation not to only focus on CSR but also take care of their primary stakeholders such as shareholder and customer by fulfill their needs and wants. 6.0 Reference Bentham, J. (1987). An introduction to the principles of morals and legislation. In J. S. Mill and J. Bentham, Utilitarianism and Other Essays,Harmandsworth: Penguin. Berjaya.com, (2014). Berjaya Corporation Berhad. [online] Available at: http://www.berjaya.com/corporate-profile.html [Accessed 29 Nov. 2014]. BOUDREAU, J. W. – RAMSTAD, P. M.: Beyond HR. Boston. Harvard Business School Press, 2007. ISBN 978-1-4221-0415-6 Branson, R. (2014). The way you treat your employees†¦ – Virgin.com. [online] Virgin.com. Available at: http://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/the-way-you-treat-your-employees [Accessed 28 Nov. 2014]. Fisher, J. (2004) Social Responsibility and Ethics: Clarifying the Concepts, Journal of Business Ethics 52: 391-400. Greenberg, J., and Baron, R. A.( 2003). Behavior in Organizations: Understanding and Managing the Human Side of Work.Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Knowledge@Wharton, (2014). From Fringe to Mainstream: Companies Integrate CSR Initiatives into Everyday Business – Knowledge@Wharton. [online] Available at: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/from-fringe-to-mainstream-companies-integrate-csr-initiatives-into-everyday-business/ [Accessed 27 Nov. 2014]. Maslow, A. H. (1954). Motivation and Personality: NY: Harper Taylor, Paul W. (2010). â€Å"Egalitarian Biocentrism†. In Keller, David R. Environmental Ethics: The Big Questions. John Wiley & Sons. 7.0 Appendix Appendix 1: Berjaya Corporate Structure Appendix 2: Animal Mobile Clinic Appendix 3: New home for homeless cat Appendix 4: Free prosthetic limbs to poor Appendix 5: Donate 10 units of dialysis machines to the National Kidney Foundation of Malaysia Appendix 6: Health talk to employees Appendix 7: Sports Toto volunteers plant mangrove trees Appendix 8: Tioman Island Clean-Up Day

Tweeter analysis Essays

Tweeter analysis Essays Tweeter analysis Paper Tweeter analysis Paper The other points to be discussed will be the strategy of Tweeter going forward to tackle the price competition due to rivals like, Lecher, Circuit City and the WIZ. Problem Identification Tweeter was in a market that was highly competitive and it faced many challenges to sustain itself ranging from price wars to unexpected value perception by the customers, uncertainty about Its APP policy to threats from new entrants. But the major problems can be listed as follows, Difference In the value perception of the customer and that being offered by Tweeter Despite of having competitive prices, why is large amount being returned through Automatic price protection (APP) Evaluate the impact of APP strategy on Bryn Mar Threat from new entrants like Wiz into the New England market Analysis First we will carry out a SOOT analysis for Tweeter In the current market conditions. Secondly, we will see the impact of APP on the buying behavior of the customers. We will analyze the data provided in the various case exhibits and provide recommendations for Tweeter?s future strategy. SOOT Analysis Tweeter started its venture with medium to high-end audio and video equipment ND components. The customers perceived It as a high quality retailer with knowledgeable sales people who offered high level of customer service. But the competitors?w strategy was to capture the customers through low pricing strategy. Tweeter was forced to compete on price and even introduce entry-level brands and lower end models of existing brands. It was unable to cash upon this strategy since the customers failed to recognize the competitive price offerings on its products. Looking at Exhibit 14, 54% of the respondents did not know whether the prices offered by Tweeter are higher or lower compared to other big chains Like Lecher Ana Cult CLC TTY. Moreover, AT ten respondents won 010 not Know auto ten A policy also were unaware of the relative prices. Also, 40. 6% customers are not aware of the concept of APP and 37. 9% of the customers do not know that Tweeter has a policy related to APP. So we can say that the value offered by Tweeter was not exactly as perceived by the customers since their promotion strategies did not work as there was always a competitor whose highest price was lower than Tweeter?was lowest offered price. The probability of customers knowing about the introduction of low end products by Tweeter was less considering they did not focus on promotion. Under the Automatic Price Protection policy, Tweeter monitored newspapers on a daily basis for advertisements of competitors present within 25 miles of its vicinity. If an item purchased at Tweeter in the past 30 days was advertised for a lower price, then they automatically mailed a refund check to the consumer for 100% of the difference in the amounts. There were some constraints applied as the items insider are of value above 50$ and the difference is more than 2$. The advantages of APP on Buying Behavior can be ?C Eliminates the need for extensive, price?based search for the customer ?C Break the ?Kiewit for a sale?0 buying mentality ?C Create positive word-of- mouth ?C Good technique for customer conversion and retention The disadvantages of APP on Buying Behavior can be ?C APP is relative complex, difficult to communicate via media ?C Purchase decision of customers is based on prices at face value. So they would prefer a impetigo giving sale or discount instead of APP Looking at the income statement in exhibit 7, since the implementation of APP the gross revenues have increased by 88. 5% from 1993 to 1996 while the net income has increased from -661 k$ in 1993 to kick$ in 1996. Hence, we can see that the top line improvement has not been translated to the bottom line. Looking at exhibit 12, we can observe that APP policy was highly ineffective during the festive months, since it was a custom for the competitors to reduce their prices aiming to maximize their sales and profits. Due to the overlapping products with Tweeter, they had to incur increased payback during these months. Tweeter was losing out a lot on its pricing strategy for cost leadership and current profit minimization by concentrating on the low end product market, whereas it specialized in the medium to high-end market and the customers perceived it to be a high quality retailer offering good customer service. In fact, Tweeter customers perceived that they were paying a premium price for receiving the best customer service in the region. Tweeter acquired Bryn Mar stereo and died as its first venture outside of New England. Bryn Mar was a high-end consumer electronics chain similar to Tweeter and it had also adopted APP policy. But due to low awareness of the policy in the new area, Bryn Mar failed to see an appreciable increase in sales despite adoption of APP policy. Tweeter can handle this issue by concentrating more on promotion of the APP policy and its assured benefits. Considering the channels of distribution, from exhibit 4 1 1, we can observe that the product mix offered by Tweeter at their specialty stores and boutiques for consumer electronic categories Is well In sync Witt ten stores parterre Day ten customers to Duty those products, as 59-64% of market share is captured by the specialty stores. Hence, during expansion in other states outside New England, they should target for opening similar type of stores. From exhibit 8, we can observe that the customer base seeking Quality/Service that forms 10% of the total market prefers Tweeter that is 70% of Tweeter?was market. It has only 20% market share in the price biter segment and it can focus to increase the share in this segment, as these customers focus on absolute best deal looking at verbal factors of price, service and quality. Tweeter can surely cater to these customers. Recommendations Do not target low end products The major mistake that Tweeter committed was introduction of low end products. The competitors of low end products were superstores and mass merchants that mainly concentrated on providing low competitive prices while compromising on customer service and salesperson knowledge. Being a specialty store, Tweeter?was PODS included giving the customer a better shopping experience through excellent customer service and salesperson knowledge. Hence, venturing into APP for low end products mostly resulted in loss. No differentiation on the basis of prices through sales or discounts The customer psychology was to accept prices at face value. They got more attracted by initial savings rather than a money refund at a later stage. Hence though the savings might be same their tendency is to choose a product on sale to a complex offering like APP. Thus, there is no incentive to provide sales or discounts on low end products. This supplements the previous point for Tweeter to back out from sale of low end products. Do not target entry level customers Entry-level customers laid great emphasis on price and not on product quality and customer service. Since Tweeter?was unique offerings did not include low end products, the probability of them choosing Tweeter was minimum. Promotion towards BIB segment The high end products can be catered to customers who value these as a long-term investment like educational institutions, music bands, etc. That form a part of BIB segment. These customers will be willing to pay a premium for high quality. Hence, Tweeter should focus more on this segment.

Terbium Facts - Tb Facts

Terbium Facts - Tb Facts Get Tb facts or terbium facts and figures. Learn about the properties of this important element: TerbiumBasic Facts Atomic Number: 65 Symbol: Tb Atomic Weight: 158.92534 Discovery: Carl Mosander 1843 (Sweden) Electron Configuration: [Xe] 4f9 6s2 Element Classification: Rare Earth (Lanthanide) Word Origin: Named after Ytterby, a village in Sweden. Terbium Physical Data Density (g/cc): 8.229 Melting Point (K): 1629 Boiling Point (K): 3296 Appearance: soft, ductile, silvery-gray, rare-earth metal Atomic Radius (pm): 180 Atomic Volume (cc/mol): 19.2 Covalent Radius (pm): 159 Ionic Radius: 84 (4e) 92.3 (3e) Specific Heat (20Â °C J/g mol): 0.183 Evaporation Heat (kJ/mol): 389 Pauling Negativity Number: 1.2 First Ionizing Energy (kJ/mol): 569 Oxidation States: 4, 3 Lattice Structure: Hexagonal Lattice Constant (Ã…): 3.600 Lattice C/A Ratio: 1.581 References: Los Alamos National Laboratory (2001), Crescent Chemical Company (2001), Langes Handbook of Chemistry (1952), CRC Handbook of Chemistry Physics (18th Ed.) Return to the Periodic Table

Financial Decision Making Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Financial Decision Making - Coursework Example The price earnings ratio measures the relationship between stock dividend payout and a stock’s market price in order to compare a stock’s performance against any other stock. One can also use earnings per share in order to determine how a company compares to another in terms of current dividend paid. This two key investment ratios can only be used with company’s that are publicly traded and issue stocks Additionally there is a wealth of investment advice and current company profiles and analysis available on the internet, which make the task of choosing an investment much easier for the private investor. For a company that is not publicly traded, an individual must use other forms of financial analysis in order to determine what the best investment option is and how much the required rate of return needs to be in order to justify the risks associated with a specific company. We have been presented with three individual companies as possible investment alternative s none of the companies are publicly traded. The three possible investment choices are: 1) Acme Consulting-Although the initial investment of the company is low at $50,000,the company will be a start up venture so the risks related to the investment are always highest with a new company. Acme will be a management consulting firm with a high level of expertise and experience specializing in marketing and distribution of high technology products and solutions in the international market. The initial operating focus for the company will be the European and Latin American markets and the American market for foreign clients. Acme will provide high value services at the highest costs the market will bear the company will be targeting primarily large manufacturers of high technology products such as IBM, Apple and HP as potential clientele. 2) Interstate Travel Center- Is also a start-up company which will consist of a will be full service truck stop and service center to be located in Tex as. The initial start up costs for the project will be 2.75 million in order to buy the land and build the 6,000square foot facility which will include a restaurant, convenience store, gas/ diesel islands and service facilities and amenities. The required capital investment will be $250,000 from an investor/s and a 2.5 million loan. 3) Silvera and Sons- This is a successful well establish business dedicated to the distribution and exportation of premium Brazilian Arabica Coffee beans. Its main customers are premium American specialty roasters and wholesale to the local Brazilian market. For the last six years demand for the company’s products has exceeded capacity, so the company has had to refuse a lot of larger shipments, therefore losing a lot of potential sales and customers. The company wants to expand their production capacity in order to fulfill the additional demand. The company is confident that they will be able to sell all additional production of their premium Ara bica beans. Since the investment will be used to fulfill the demand for their products, and it is a successful profitable company, it seems that the safest investment for an individual would be to invest in Silvera and Sons. Although it was not required in this assignment to calculate the discount rate for each company, I took the initiative in my research of learning how to calculate the discount rate. In order to calculate the required rate of return or discount rate one must determine what the risk free interest rate is, the average market return, market risk premium