Differentiate between free market economy and mixed economy Essay

Economics Introduction Differentiate between free market economy and mixed economy            Economics is part of business that deals with the production, distribution and consumption of goods or services in the society (Paul, 2008). Economics contains many aspects that helps define different markets, which attribute to the applying of goods and services and also deal with individual needs and some economic issues. Free market economy has free reign on production and distribution of goods or services. In this market, they can take their own decisions on what to purchase and produce. According to Paul (2008) free market economy is also called capitalist economy. Each exchange is done between two people or between two groups represented by agents. Each party undertakes the exchange because they expect to benefit from another. The market economy enforces its own private contacts and ownership. The government only plays a neutral role in its legislation economy and administration. However, the buyers and sellers in this market do not pressurize each other in c ase of obtaining each other’s property rights without the use of force, threat or fraud. Their laws of demand and supply regulate the production of their goods.            This kind of economy is practiced by many countries but is mostly initiated by the United States economy. Their own agents do however, the concerns like maintenance of employment. Mixed economy on the other hand has a combination of communist, market and traditional economics. The mixed economy has both private and owned companies. The government plays the key role in their market (Paul, 2008). They are also limited to free decision since the government and private organizations are the only ones who intervene. The mixed economy is responsible for paying taxes that they get back as s benefit through infrastructure, social programs and government services. However, the government is involved in the planning and even the resources. It is involved in the concerns such as maintenance of employments standards environmental protection and competition. The mixed economy does not define its own policies, laws and limit power by the government. Explanation of joint demand and joint supply            Joint supply is whereby goods are produced or supplied together (Daniel-Kagbare, 2014). The products are produced in a fixed proportion since they cannot be varied. This shows that the quantity of one product can be increased with the expense of the other. An example can be that of a cow. One can breed a cow for either meat or hide. This shows the product can yield two or even more outputs. If the supply of the product increases, the output they produce will definitely also increase. The rise of productions is in response to increase in demand. The joint supply affects demand differently. Decrease in supply depreciates demand while increase in supply increases the demand of goods. However, joint demand on the other hand refers to products or commodities that are complement in production and in use.            The commodities produced are used together to satisfy the needs and wants of consumers. One commodity cannot be used the expense of the other. According Daniel-Kagbare (2014) increase in demand for one commodity increases the demand for the other. The commodities are designed to design to satisfy the same want. An example is sugar, milk and coffee. They work as complements. If there is decline in the supply of sugar in the market, then the demand for milk and coffee is likely to decline. However, price affects joint demands differently. A rise in one commodity leads to fall of price in the other product. A good example is; increase in price of milk decrease the price of sugar and coffee while the decrease of the price leads to increase in the price of sugar and coffee in the market. A clear explanation of relationship between price elasticity of demand and consumer expenditure            Price elasticity of demand is the relative responsiveness of changes in demand to changes price (Banerjee, 2014). There is inverse relationship between price and demand. When the demand increases the price increases and when demand increases the price decreases. It is calculated by dividing change in quantity of demand proportionate to change in price. There two types of elasticity demand that is elastic and inelastic demand. Elastic demand is whereby change in price alters demand. This means rice in price decreases total revenue while fall in price will increase total revenue. The elastic demand occurs when percentage change in quantity demanded when there is percentage change in price. Inelastic demand is whereby increase in price will increase total revenue and decrease in price will result in decrease in revenue. The price elasticity of demand goes hand in hand with consumer expenditure.            According to Banerjee (2014), they are very important to managers since they provide a rough thumb. That is, if the price is inelastic, raising price slightly raises consumer expenditure which attributes to a higher revenue. However, if the price is elastic, lowering of its price slightly alters consumer expenditure by raising it leading to firmness in revenue. According to Barnejee (2014), there is two other price elasticity of demand. That is the income elasticity demand and cross- price elasticity demand. Thee income elasticity demand is whereby impact of change in income level on the demanded quantity keeps the price of a product fixed. Cross- price elasticity is used to measure the effects or influences of change in price of another good on the demand of a particular product. Explanation of difference between positive and negative externalities            Externalists are produced when social costs and benefits differ from private costs and benefits. Negative externality reduces the well-being of others (Besanko et al, 2011). In negative externalist, the third party suffers from loss, which comes because of not having the third party involvement between a buyer and seller. An example of negative externality is an organization burning fuels, realizing poisonous fumes, which in turn result in health problems in the society. In the negative externality, a consumer does not necessarily pay the cost of his or her actions that she or he imposed on people. According to Besanko et al (2011), negative externality occurs or involves common properties. If the social cost is greater than private cost then the negative externality is initiated.            However, positive externality takes place when the private marginal enjoyed from consumption or production of goods or services exceeded by benefits as a whole to the society (Besanko et al, 2011). In this case, the third party apart from the buyer and the seller is included in receiving a benefit because of transaction. An example of positive externality is education and training provided to employees in an organization. This is because, the education and training reduces expenses that an organization needs to encounter or bear in training individuals to make them efficient and productive. Increasing productivity attributes to more efficient use of products such as raw materials in an organization raising the living standards benefiting a greater society. Apart from that, innovation in technologies is also part of positive externality. Having knowledge in technology help, lower production cost, result in better standards that benefit producers and consumers leadin g to better qualification. Explanation of difference between diminishing marginal returns and return to scale            Diminishing marginal return is whereby a firm or organization needs to combine variable input with a fixed input. It is based on the short-run production of a firm. When productivity variable is more used in a short-run production; variable input declines. When productivity of variable input decreases, high cost of productivity rises and also a high supply of price is needed. According to Basenko et al (2011), usage of one input increases the quantity of other inputs such as land and capital that are held fixed. These decrease the input of marginal product. However, rate of technical substitution of labor is equal to the ratio of product of labor to marginal product of capital. This shows capital can be reduced for every increase in every unit in quantity labor and hold output quantity constant.            Return to scale refers to what takes place when all inputs are increased by a certain percentage (Besanko et al, 2011). When all inputs change in the same proportion leads to scale of production. Nevertheless, change in total output due to scale changing results in return scale. When all inputs increase in the same proportion the total product may increase the rate, remain constant rate or diminish the rate. This may occur because the higher efficiency obtaining as a result moving from one level to another; that is from small operation to a large scale operation . Decrease in return may occur if production depreciates as production expands. Also it may occur in a firm or organization expands and it becomes difficult for it to be managed as one single unit. Conclusion            In order for business to expand and economic sector to improve, negative externality need to be taken care of. The government should initiates rules to cut off the behaviors of people or organization after imposing a risk to the society and other organization. A right aspect to take is to punish the organization that pollute environment by taxing them heavily for their consequences. This will help secure other people’s business and even health. The business people should put into consideration aspects like elasticity of demand in other to make sure that the demand or price does not affect the business in a negative way. References Banerjee, S. (2014). Intermediate microeconomics. Routledge Besanko, D., Braeutigam, R. R., & Gibbs, M. (2011). Microeconomics. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley. Daniel-Kagbere, T.E. (2014). A dictionary of economics and commerce. AuthorHouse Paul, J. (2008). Business environment: Text and cases. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing. 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Idea of rebellion against the Martin Luther King Essay

Idea of rebellion against the Martin Luther King - Essay Example Getting to understand the issues that the clergymen were raising, one is left with more questions than answers. From my point of view, I saw these as more of political fanatics. The point that Luther was raising was clear and straightforward, while the counteraccusations holding no firm ground. I realized that in life, even the very people that one is fighting for could fight you back. The eight Clergymen based in Alabama did not quite understand the motivation behind Luther or they were ignorant, because racial discrimination affected them too. I learnt a lot about the historical perspective of democracy and the hard path of attaining a racially equal society. Such knowledge is very important for the future generations to understand where our country has come from. Question 2 The world is a dangerous place characterized by disasters and destructive activities. Disasters have denied generations’ access to vital information that could have otherwise helped build on the existing knowledge. Humans are both destructive and constructive; humans through wars, and fires and other human activities have done a majority of the destruction of knowledge resources. These activities are either accidental or sometimes intentional while others are part of the global destruction of a given area. In addition, natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, and floods among others have contributed to knowledge loss. Knowledge is lost when libraries are destroyed, important information bearing sites are destroyed or an ongoing research is terminated without trace. Historical information suggests destruction of very many resources as a result of human made activities. Wars are the major contributor of all the destruction of knowledge resources; they sometimes result to other destructors such as fires and looting. The history of library destruction dates back at around 206 AD as a result of a war in China. The result was the destruction of the Epang Palace and S tate Archives, leading to destruction of volumes of resources as well as death of many scholars. Other landmark destructions include the destruction of the Library of the Alexandria, one of the respected and highly used libraries by the early scholars especially because of the many volumes of books and scrolls available. The library was strategic, being one of the early centres of civilization and having a close proximity with Greece, Rome and the Mesopotamia provided an ideal ground for study and knowledge development. The destruction of the library was consecutive leading to the shift of the knowledge base in Egypt to be at the Library of Serapeum that was also later destroyed. These incidences resulted into loss of much knowledge that had been stored therein. Books, periodicals, publications, journals, on going research proposals, tablets, and artistic knowledge bearing pieces of work among others have been destroyed. Destruction of the Nalanda centre in India saw the decline of Buddhism because all the important knowledge was lost. In England, the Glassney College Library was destroyed resulting to loss of some good amount of books. After America gained independence, its Congress Library was destroyed in 1812 after the invasion by the British Army troops who captured the city of Washington and burnt it, in the process many books were destroyed and other materials that were being used by the Congress for their study and research. The Civil War had a great impact on the institutional libraries in the city of Washington where books were burnt, looted and physically destroyed. In addition, the war destroyed the University of Alabama Library. Outside United States, the Public Records Office in Ireland was put into flames, the Japanese troops destroyed various libraries in China, and

International Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

International Human Resource Management - Essay Example The Asian employee was one of a handful of employees from Asia, and was poorly recognised by the White-dominated senior management. In addition, the Asian employee eventually found out that the senior managers had initiated no attempt to gain knowledge of and appreciate diversity in the company, and had implemented several corporate principles and rules, especially those concerning proper clothing at work, that most employees of different ethnic origins thought were intolerable and offensive. Consequently, the working relationships were obviously weak and conflict-ridden. These employees believed that they were victims of racial discrimination. And based on what I have learned from our textbooks, especially from Shaun Tyson’s Essentials of Human Resource Management (2006), I believe that they were actually unfairly discriminated because of their ethnic origin. There are different types of discrimination. Discrimination could be ‘indirect’ or ‘direct’. Indirect discrimination involves processes and rules that discriminate subtly, like clothing rules that implies that some employees belonging to an ethnic minority are not allowed to wear customary clothes at work. On the other hand, direct discrimination is an observable type of discrimination, like not hiring or assigning certain employees to higher positions (Wright & Conley 2011, 14). Workplace bullying and harassment are other examples of direct discrimination. In the UK, everybody should be protected from harassment or racial discrimination. The Race Relations Act safeguards citizens from racial discrimination (Tyson 2006, 425). If anyone experiences any form of racial discrimination at work, s/he should file an official complaint to the employment tribunal. To successfully pursue a complaint under the Race Relations Act, the petitioner has to actually prove that the action of a colleague or an employer led to him/her being unfairly treated due to his/her ethnic origin. It is immaterial whether they planned or deliberately discriminated against the petitioner or not; the matter is the action that resulted in a racial discrimination (Craig 2007, 9). The Race Relations Act includes every feature of employment, as well as terms and condition of employment, removal from office/dismissal, redundancy, compensation packages, training, promotion, selection, and recruitment. However, and it is essential to take note of this, not all occupations are protected by the Act, such as private residential services (Tyson 2006, 425-426). Another major fact about the Act is that it not merely prohibits occurrences of discrimination; it also prohibits employers from allowing such discrimination to continue. In addition, it grants individuals who witness discrimination, but are not victims of it themselves, the power to take action against it (Wright & Conley 2011, 11-12). I, personally, experienced too much difficulty mustering the strength to do something about the racial discrimination I witnessed at work. However, the Act also forbids persecution or discrimination against the person who has pursued a discrimination case. Nevertheless, there are exclusions to the Act. If someone, most likely an employer, sufficiently and reasonably justified the act of hiring a person of a certain racial affiliation, then that will be permitted or considered legal (Wright & Conley 2011, 230). Moreover, there is range for initiating positive effort, where someone can call out for individuals of a certain ethnic origin to

Analysis of Country Road's financial performance Assignment

Analysis of Country Road's financial performance - Assignment Example The company net profitability declined in 2012 as compared to the 2009; whereas the gross profitability increased by a mere 0.7% in 2012 as compared to 2009. This signifies the growing inefficiencies and disabilities in the company to control costs and expenses. Step Three The profitability provided a better measure as compared to the profits. This is because the profitability analyses the profits with terms to the growing sales; and therefore, helps in measuring the efficiency of the company in controlling costs and expenses with the increasing sales. (Keiso 1999) Step Four a. Appended figure 3 shows the extended trend analysis on the expenses for the period 2009-2012. b. Depreciation and Amortization expenses have increased the most over the period. The expense has increased by 57% in 2012 as compared to the expense in 2009. The second most increased expense is the occupancy expense which increased by 38.4% over the same period. Step Five a. Appended figure 4 shows the vertical ana lysis performed on the identified items of the income statement. b. Cost of goods sold, employment expense, marketing expenses and other expenses as a percentage of sales have decreased over the period 2009-2012 whereas occupancy expense and depreciation and amortization expense as a percentage of sales have increased over the same period. c. The company has been efficient in controlling certain costs and expenses with the increase in sales. The increase in depreciation and amortization is due to increase in total assets. Step Six Over the period, the sales have increased 22.1 percent showing improved performance by the company. However, the profit margins have declined because of the increasing expenses over the same period. The company has proved to be inefficient in controlling its administrative and selling expenses which have all increased compared to the base year 2009. The company has been holding too much inventory in its warehouses which has increased its management expense s. On the other hand, the company has been prudent in controlling its direct costs which has helped them improve their gross margins. Similarly, this could also happen due to the accumulated inventory which would be priced lower in the inflationary period. Step Seven a. Appended figure 5 shows the trend analysis on several balance sheet item totals from 2009-2012. b. This clearly explains the trend which signifies that the falling ROE is due to the increase in the equity by 26.2 % but with no cumulative effect on the net profits which have been declining during the same time. On the other hand, the assets have increased by 3.3% whereas the earnings before interest and tax have declined over the period; again the reason for the falling ROA. c. ROE measures the return to the equity holders- the owners of the company where as ROA measures the ability of the company in using its resources to make profits for the all stakeholders-owners as well as creditors. (Keiso 1999) d. ROA would be considered a better measure by the investors. It is because is measures the returns to all the stakeholders- the owners as well as lenders. Likewise, it also measures the ability of the company in the usage of the resources. It helps in evaluation the management of the company as well. (Keiso 1999) Step Eight a. Appended figure 6 shows the calculations and the ratios. b. The dividend payout ratio

Chiquita Brands Inc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Chiquita Brands Inc - Essay Example The company operates in three divisions or segments – Bananas, Salads and Healthy Snacks, and Other Produce. The Bananas segment originates, transports and distributes bananas to retailers, wholesalers and chain stores; it also cultivates and produces its own bananas through its plantations. The Salads and Healthy Snacks segment carries snacks under the Fresh Express labels, aside from distributing fresh vegetables and food ingredients. It distributes fresh vegetables to food retailers, foodservice distributors and restaurants. The Other Produce sources and distributes fresh fruits, other than bananas, in Europe and North America (Chiquita Brands website). Chiquita is the company that succeeded United Fruit Company, then the leader in banana production and transport operations throughout the Caribbean and Latin America, in 1984 and moved its headquarters to Ohio after it was bought by Cincinnati billionaire Carl Lindner Jr. who named himself the CEO. The company adopted the na me Chiquita Brands in 2002 after the company exited from a prepackaged Chapter 11 debt structuring plan and acquiring several fruit processing companies and distributors and expanded outside of banana sales to marketing and distributing other fresh and processed fruits and vegetables (Chiquita Brands website). Chiquita Brands has two main business units: Chiquita Fresh and Chiquita Global Logistics. Chiquita Fresh is responsible for the production, distribution and marketing of fresh fruits and vegetables around the globe, with Chiquita bananas as the signature product symbolizing its commitment for fresh and nutritious food. Chiquita Fresh’s website offers these data about the company: $1.5 Billion in revenues; 23,000 employees; 130 Million boxes of bananas sold annually representing 67% of total mother company’s revenues. Chiquita Fresh also operates 115 banana plantations in Latin America and one farm in Africa that produce half of all bananas sold, the other half c oming from independent producers in Latin America and the Philippines (Chiquita Brands website). Chiquita Global Logistics handles the supply flow of products and information in 19 countries via their network of cargo ships and other supplier facilities. Global Logistics has 11 modern ships and contracts 13 more to complement its Great White Fleet to undertake the delivery of bananas and other produce to Europe and North America. Aside from this, Global Logistics is also involved in commercial cargo operation in the US, Europe and Latin America. The website has the following information about Global Logistics: 430 employees;$160 Million in assets; 40,000 cargo containers moved annually; 2.9 Million nautical miles covered per year (SourceWatch website). In its 2010 annual report, Chiquita Brands cited the following data: 21,000 employees in nearly 70 countries; $3.2 Billion in net sales, generating $57 Million net income. The annual report boasted of a consistently positive operating net income from operation for the last three years from 2008 despite that the period covered the height of the recession. Issues Besetting Chiquita Brands In that annual report, the chief executive officer Fernando Aguirre reported on the progress relating to several issues from past operations that have affected Chiquita Brands in some ways. Violations of EC Competition Laws One of these issues pertained to some reported past violations of European competition laws by former employees of the company.

Who Owns History The Texas Textbook Controversy Essay - 1

Who Owns History The Texas Textbook Controversy - Essay Example The question on how history should be taught was brought to the limelight by the state of Texas. The Texas State Board of Education, in charge of the state’s curriculum, approved several controversial changes to be made to the textbooks in schools. The changes were included in the economic, social studies and history textbooks. These ‘improvements’ made by the education board emphasizes the Christianitys influence in the founding of America (Hutchins et. al. 652). The changes downplay the role of liberals and highlight the influence of conservative groups in American history. These changes, for the Texan board, seem minimal with no consequences on the American history, but the opposite is true. These small changes and tweaks in their curriculum seek to re-write the American history significantly for the students in Texas. Furthermore, the state of Texas is among the country’s biggest purchasers of History textbooks. This means that the changes in the Texan curriculum will slowly reflect in all schools throughout the country. They exclude the influence and existence of Thomas Jefferson, one of the country’s founding fathers. The Texan board excludes his influence on the Declaration of Independence and other vital legislation (Hutchins et. al. 653). Jefferson is not the only culprit of the Texan board; they further scrap off presidential runs of Ralph Nader and Ross Perot in their history books. There is a complete exclusion of the roles of Latinos and other races in America History. The changes implemented in the Texan History textbooks are endless, but it is heavily characterized by the conservative Christian influences. By changing and rewriting history of the state of Texas, the Texan board rewrote the world’s history. These changes made by the Texan board question the legitimacy of history and the appropriate way of teaching the subject. It is a universally accepted

Reverend jeffrey brown cops kids and ministers Essay

Reverend jeffrey brown cops kids and ministers - Essay Example Young people were dying in large numbers, and several very extreme instances had occurred recently which shocked and stunned the local community. Everyone realized that something had to change because the situation was untenable for residents, police and religious communities. Another factor in the context in Boston that was relevant was the fact that much of the violence was located in gangs, who dominated pockets of territory and had little understanding of each other. The big breakthrough that Brown and his team brought to the situation was to tackle all of areas separately, with each minister taking responsibility for one area and yet to achieve unity of purposes through the fact that all ministers were working together on an agreed, ten point plan. The leadership emergence of Brown, Rivers and Hammond can be seen as three different approaches that have potential for success in their own right, but become truly effective when they are put together and allowed to support each other. Jeffrey Brown’s main contribution was to shift the focus for interventions from police policies to the young people on the streets themselves. By walking the streets he was able to build trust in his own area, and he had the initiative to go and seek out other local ministers who were prepared to take the same view, and get out of their comfortable homes to meet with people on the streets. He provided facilities, and the kids came in large