Goodbye Pork Pie Hat by Charles Mingus disscusion paper Essay

Goodbye Pork Pie Hat by Charles Mingus disscusion paper - Essay Example Berndt (52) further notes that Jazz involves vitality and spontaneity of musical production which involves improvisation. Berndt also holds that Jazz contains â€Å"a manner of phrasing and sonority that mirrors the Jazz musician’ individuality (73). Holding a similar view, Berndt (63) noted that Jazz music originated in the Southern United States among the African-American communities, combining European music and African music. According to Shipton (23) Jazz music started developing in 1880 during the Atlantic slave trade which brought Africans to the U.S. Shipton (34) holds that the Jazz music, therefore, early Jazz had rhythms that reflected the African speech pattern was characterized by the pentatonic scale which led to the blue notes that commonly characterize Jazz. Focusing on Jazz music, this paper provides an in-depth analysis of â€Å"Goodbye Porkpie Hat,† a historic jazz style. The paper will focus on discussing general characteristics of the historic jazz style and the individual stylistic characteristic for which the performer is known. The paper also focuses on one piece that features a notable performance while providing observations from listening to such apiece. The paper concludes with an overview of the aforementioned issues while highlighting the significance of the piece and performer of the Jazz music featured. Before, discussing the aforementioned issues it is important to examine the jazz music featured. Goodbye Porkpie Hat, which was later renamed Theme in memory of Lester Young is music piece or a jazz standard, which was composed by Charles Mingus. The jazz standard recorded in 1959, by his sextet, and released on the album of â€Å"Mingus Ah Um.† He wrote it as in memory of Lester Young, a saxophonist, who passed on before the recording was done and was reputed for wearing a broad-rimmed of pork pie hat. Good-bye porkpie Hat is Mingus widely known musical composition and many jazz fusion and Jazz artists have r ecorded his music. For instance, Mitchell Joni added lyrics to the songs for his album Mingus, which was recorded jointly with Mingus in the months prior to his death. Besides, Kirk Rahsaaan also composed some lyrics to the song, which was included in his album, of The Return of 500lb Man. â€Å"Goodbye porkpie Hat† is a ballad composed for a saxophonist Lester Young, and it is named after young’s reputable signature headwear. The melody is beautiful and haunting plays in Octaves or in unison by tenor saxophonists Booker Ervin and Handy John except for one note, where they play the dissonant interval of either a minor second or ninth (Artist Direct 1). Ideally, the single dissonance resembles wince, and it is perhaps a subtle nod to the pained life of Young. Charles Mingus was an influential Jazz double bassist composer as well as bandleader. His musical compositions had a hot soulful feel of hard bop and credits to black gospel music and free jazz, Third stream and cl assical music (Open Culture 1). Yet he avoided categorization, thus forging his own unique music brand, which fused traditions with the unexplored jazz realms (Open Culture 2). Mingus emphasized on collective improvisations, which is similar to old New Orleans jazz while paying much attention to the interactions of each band member with the group. He recruited band members on not only skills but also their personalities. Besides, Mingus receives credit for the double bass

Her body, her baby, her choice Essay Example for Free

Her body, her baby, her choice Essay Abortion, it’s not a choice that any woman would ever want to have to make, but it’s a decision that she should have the right to make. If it comes down to the possibility of her and her baby losing their lives, she should be able to stop this possibly fatal pregnancy. The body is hers, the baby is hers, and the choice should be hers. If you disagree, make the choice for your own body. Abortion should be legal. What people may not realize is that, legal or not, abortion still happens all around the world. Of the approximately 42 million abortions that do occur worldwide, almost half are performed by unskilled individuals, in environments that do not meet minimum medical standards or both. † (http://www. guttmacher. org/pubs/gpr/12/4/gpr120402. html). Unsafe and illegal abortion is responsible for one in eight maternal deaths and according to an estimate done by the World Health Organization in 2006 ‘back alley’ abortions cause about 68,000 deaths each year where abortion isn’t legal. There is no question that making abortion illegal in places such as the United States, will only make these numbers increase greatly. It’s no secret that raising a child requires mass amounts of money that many women who get pregnant don’t have, especially if they have no partner to help them out. Poor and low income women account for more than half of abortions in the United States. Without the option to get an abortion, there would be many more children suffering because they have to live their life in poverty. Almost half of all children with a single mother live in poverty, these children experience poverty at a rate that is more than four times higher than kids in married-couple families. Although, it is believed that â€Å"abortion legalization may have led to an improvement in the average living conditions of children, probably by reducing the numbers of youngsters who would have lived in single-parent families, lived in poverty, received welfare and died as infants. † (https://www. guttmacher. org/pubs/journals/3402502. html) Many people who are against abortion don’t take into consideration that not all women are able to safely give birth to a child and the risk of death associated with childbirth is about 10 times as high as the risk of death associated with  abortion. For example, teen girls aged around 15-19 years old have bodies that are not yet ready for childbirth. These girls are five times more likely to die, with around 70,000 of them dying annually. Their babies that do survive still have a 60% higher chance of dying than normal babies. With so much uncertainty, why shouldn’t they have the option to prevent themselves and their own parents the pain of losing a child. Many people believe that women are using abortion as a form of birth control. That they believe that they no longer need to be cautious because they can go pop over to the doctors to get an abortion whenever. However, this isn’t the case and, more often than not, women who get abortions were on some sort of birth control. Though, with any birth control there is almost always a chance of it not working properly and you becoming pregnant. Only less than one in ten women getting abortions weren’t on any sort of birth control. Making abortion illegal forces women who may have taken many precautions to not become pregnant to have a child that they don’t want and makes it so that an unwanted child is born into this world. This would not be fair to the woman or the child. Something that many people who oppose to abortion believe is that abortion, spontaneous or induced, raises the risk of breast cancer or any other type of cancer. There have been many, many studies done studies by various people such as the National Registry of Induced Abortions, the Danish Cancer Registry, Harvard researchers, and The California Teachers Study. The large size of most of the studies and the manner in which they were done provide good evidence that induced labor does not affect a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer. In 2003, the U. S. National Cancer Institute had a workshop with more than 100 of the world’s leading experts who study pregnancy and breast cancer risk. They all found that neither induced or spontaneous abortion are linked to an increase in breast cancer risk; the level of scientific evidence for these findings was considered the highest level, ‘well established’. Abortion should be legal because it saves many women’s lives from unsafe abortion, it can save families from lifelong poverty and it may save the lives of women who are unable to safely give birth to children. In a country that is based on freedom; freedom of speech, freedom of religion, individual freedom, why should this situation be any different? A law based off of a religious belief isn’t something that this country stands for, a law that prevents women from making decisions about her own body should not be a law in this country.

Alcoholism and Drinking - Alcoholics Anonymous as an Important Literary

Alcoholics Anonymous as an Important Literary Work Alcoholics Anonymous is one of the great unrecognized literary works of the first half of the twentieth century.   It has been through three editions after its first printing in 1939 and at least fifty-three printings in over ninety countries (xxii).   The wide popularity and circulation of the book certainly affirms this claim.   An examination of the contents of the book will show that it also deserves this title.   It is a rich work because it conveys a basic human condition, though ugly, until that time not often spoken of in public.   If it simply did this and nothing more it would merely be a good book.   But it does more than speak to an ugly condition; it gives a blueprint for change.      The human condition which is spoken about in Alcoholics Anonymous is the dichotomy of the life of the alcoholic.   These alcoholics are not easy to categorize; they are not always a Dr Jekyll by day and Mr Hyde by night.   Bill, who explains his life story in the first chapter, explains how he studied economics, business and law to join speculators on Wall Street.   Up until this point, drinking had interfered in his life, but was not a continuous plague.   Yet, over the course of time he becomes an alcoholic for a variety of reasons, like many individuals described throughout the book.   The alcoholics described are not portrayed as unintelligent, unsuccessful or insignificant.   They are men who have high positions, who are by turns "brilliant, fast-thinking, imaginative and likeable" (139).   The conclusion of a prima facie inspection of these individuals would not include over indulgence of alcohol.   But under the alcoholic influence these attributes worthy of no te slowly atrophy and... ...the book is flexible enough to be implemented in other ways is the indication that it is a book of stature.        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Finally, one cannot easily undermine the experience of those who have read the book and changed.   These are the ones who will agree most wholeheartedly with the assertion that Alcoholics Anonymous is a great unrecognized literary work.   Indeed, these individuals are the evidence of this assertion as well.  Ã‚      Bibliography    Alcoholics Anonymous conveys not a singular story, but stories - ones common to alcoholics.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The story common to alcoholics is one also shared by wives, family members, employers, and so forth.   Thus Alcoholics Anonymous is not just a book for alcoholics but also for those who come into contact with them.   The audience of    "matters medical, psychiatric, social, and religious" (19).     

Monsanto SWOT Essay

Monsanto Company (Monsanto or the company) offers agricultural products to farmers. Its products include seeds, biotechnology trait products, and herbicides. Monsanto has operations in the US, Canada, Europe, South America, Asia, and Africa. It is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri and employs about 26,100 people, of which more than 5,500 people are temporary employees. The company recorded revenues of $11,822 million during the financial year ended August 2011 (FY2011), an increase of 12.8% over FY2010. The operating profit of the company was $2,502 million in FY2011, an increase of 56.1% over FY2010. The net profit was $1,607 million in FY2011, an increase of 46.6% over FY2010. SWOT ANALYSIS Monsanto offers agricultural products to farmers that include seeds, biotechnology trait products, and herbicides. The company has a leading market position in various geographies based on product portfolio of well recognized brand names. However, increasing instances of infringement of intellectual property rights can result in the company’s brand dilution and loss of revenue. Strengths Strengths Leading market position Monsanto is a leading global provider of agricultural products for farmers. The company’s strong brand portfolio allows it to have a commanding position in various countries. Its most popular brands include Roundup, Dekalb, Asgrow, De Ruiter, Deltapine, and Seminis. Roundup is the company’s flagship brand. It is also one of the most popular herbicides in the world. Asgrow, Deltapine, and Dekalb are genetically altered seeds (cotton, corn, soybean, and canola), which tolerate weeds and resist bugs. Seminis and De Ruiter are strong brands in the vegetable seeds business. Monsanto’s offerings of high yielding variety seeds under well recognized brand names makes it a leading player in most of the countries where it operates. Monsanto enjoys easy market penetration in new geographies based on its product portfolio which comprises well recognized brand. The company’s strong brand portfolio enhances its market leadership position. Strong focus on research and development (R&D) Over the years Monsanto has become a leading supplier to farmers for their agricultural needs because of its ability to deliver innovative products suiting their requirements. The company has developed competencies in applying bioengineering to agriculture. Moreover, Monsanto’s traits technologies enable it to develop herbicides and seeds with superior traits such as weed resistant, drought resistant, and improved yield. The company invests a substantial portion of its revenue towards research and development (R&D) per year. In FY2011, the company’s investment in R&D amounted to $1,386 million, an increase of 15% over FY2010. Monsanto has also entered into a number of strategic collaborations to expand its R&D capabilities further. For instance, in March 2011, Monsanto and Sapphire Energy (Sapphire) announced an agreement to enter into a multi-year collaboration that would leverage Sapphire’s algae-based research platform to discover genes that could be applied to agriculture, particularly in the field of yield and stress. In the same month, Monsanto and BASF reached an agreement to collaborate on the advancement of dicamba tolerant cropping systems. Further, BASF has agreed to supply formulated dicamba herbicide products to the company. To further boost its R&D capability, the company has established two new R&D centers, one each in China and the US. The research center in China will initially participate in early-stage of bioinformatics and genomics research, and will serve as a base for collaborations with Chinese scientists. The other research center in Texas, the US will focus on cotton research and will act as the central point for the company’s breeding and testing programs in the High Plains region. Monsanto’s focus on applying bioengineering to agriculture not only gives it a competitive edge but also enables it to revitalize its product portfolio. Moreover, its continuous focus on delivering seeds with new and improved traits helps it to cater to changing consumer preferences by offering value driven products to customers. Wide customer base Monsanto’s business operations have been well diversified be it in the terms of products offered or the geographical reach. The products offered by its seeds and genomics and agricultural productivity segments complement each other well and offer a complete solution to farmers and other customers. In FY2011, Monsanto derived 72.6% of its revenues from the seeds and genomics segment, while the agricultural productivity segment accounted for the remaining 27.6% of the total revenue. Geographically, in FY2011, the US, Europe-Africa, and Brazil accounted for 53.9%, 12.8%, and 10.8% of the company’s revenue, respectively. The remaining areas that contributed to the revenues of Monsanto were Asia-Pacific, Argentina, Canada, and Mexico, among others. Diversified operation dilutes the company’s business risk and helps Monsanto to cater to a wider customer base. It further insulates the company from economic fluctuations in any one region and thereby he lps it to generate balanced earnings. Legal proceedings Monsanto is involved in various legal proceedings. For instance, in January 2011, the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System filed a complaint alleging that Monsanto violated the federal securities laws by making false and misleading statements between January 7, 2009, and May 27, 2010, regarding its earnings guidance for fiscal 2009 and 2010 as well as the anticipated future performance of its Roundup business and the seeds and genomics business.They also claim that these statements artificially inflated the price of the stock and that purchasers of the stock during the relevant period were damaged when the stock price later declined. The company has also faced similar lawsuit in 2007. Further, in May 2011, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Notice of Violation to the company, alleging violations of federal environmental release reporting requirements at Monsanto’s phosphorous manufacturing plant in Soda Springs, Idaho. The EPA has asserted that the alleged violations may subject the company to civil penalties. Misrepresentation of vital information and lack of precautionary measures results in penalties and disrupt the company’s operations. Moreover, distortion of information adversely affects the shareholders confidence and the profitability and credit rating of the company in the long run. Opportunities Growing demand for food products with reduced saturated fat and trans-fat Due to the increased awareness regarding the health issues caused due to the consumption of trans-fat, people in the US and in many European nations have been opting more healthier options. Increased consumption of trans-fat lowers blood levels of HDL (the good cholesterol) and leads to the elevation of LDL (considered the bad cholesterol). This ultimately leads to the hardening of the arteries and different coronary problems. Bowing to public pressure and litigation by various anti-trans-fat organizations, many food companies (Nabisco and Kraft Foods) in the US have taken active steps to remove trans-fat from their offerings. Companies like Taco Bell, KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken), Wendy’s, Arby’s, and McDonalds have also been trying to substitute high trans-fat cooking oils with other healthy alternatives. Keeping this trend in mind, Monsanto has been actively working on the development of seeds that will advance the growth of foods with reduced saturated fat and reduced or no trans-fat. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a response letter to Monsanto’s Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) notification. The FDA’s letter supports the use of oil from Vistive Gold soybeans (seed type manufactured by the company) to have less saturated fat and trans-fat. The new product would help the farmers to benefit from the premium pricing for their harvest once the oil from Vistive Gold soybeans is commercialized. Monsanto has already completed the US regulatory submissions to the US Department of Agriculture and FDA for the sale of Vistive Gol soybean. It has also made numerous regulatory submissions to the appropriate regulatory agencies around the world for the products commercialization. Once the necessary regulatory process is completed, Monsanto will be able commercialize its product. Through leveraging its expertise in developing seeds with novel traits and wide spread distribution network, Monsanto can become a leading supplier of seeds that produce crops with low saturated fat and trans-fat. It will help the company to expand its revenue base and gain a competitive edge over its peer group. Strategic agreements and acquisitions Monsanto has entered into a number of agreements and acquisitions in order to boost its market share and profitability. For instance, Monsanto acquired Divergence, a privately-held St. Louis-based biotechnology research and development company, in February 2011. In March 2011, Monsanto and Sapphire Energy announced an agreement to enter into a multi-year collaboration that would leverage the latter’s algae-based research platform to discover genes that could be applied to agriculture, particularly in the field of yield and stress. In the same month, Monsanto and BASF reached an agreement to collaborate on the advancement of dicamba tolerant cropping systems. Further, BASF has agreed to supply formulated dicamba herbicide products to the company. Further, in June 2011, Monsanto entered into collaboration with Amvac Chemical, a subsidiary of American Vanguard, to broaden its Roundup Ready PLUS weed management platform in the US. In September 2011, Monsanto and GrassRoots Biotechnology agreed to extend their existing three-year research collaboration for an additional two years through January 2014. In November 2011, Monsanto and Evogene announced a one-year extension to their five-year research and development collaboration focused on identifying key plant genes related to yield, environmental stress, and fertilizer utilization in corn, soybean, cotton, and canola. In March 2012, BASF signed a supply agreement with Monsanto for fungicide seed treatments for cotton and soybeans in North America. These strategic agreements and acquisitions will help Monsanto to build a stronger platform for the promotion of its brand image. It will strengthen the company’s market share and boost revenue growth. Strategic collaborations will also enhance Monsanto’s research capabilities and add to its market competitiveness. Growing population, especially in Asia Currently, the world population is more than 7 billion, as of October 2011 and is expected to reach 10.6 billion by 2050. As the population grows the demand for agricultural products is also going to rise. According to MarketLine (a unit of Informa) estimates, the Asia-Pacific agricultural products market (the agricultural product market consists of six segments: cereals; fruit, vegetables, roots, and tubers; oil crops and pulses; sugar crops and sweeteners; spices and stimulants; and nuts) grew by 4% in 2010 to reach a value of $915.4 billion. In 2015, the Asia-Pacific agricultural products market is forecast to have a value of $1,228.4 billion, an increase of 34.2% since 2010. The Indian agricultural products market, which accounted for 13.8% of the Asia-Pacific agricultural products market in 2010, grew by 14.8% in 2010 to reach a value of $126 billion. In 2015, the Indian agricultural products market is forecast to have a value of $217.5 billion, an increase of 72.6% since 2010. Monsanto is a leading player in most of the countries where it operates. Thus, it can leverage its expertise, distribution network, and product portfolio comprising well known brand names to cater to the growing demand for high yielding variety (HYV) seeds. Monsanto’s revenue and profit margins can tremendously increase as the demand for HYV grows, especially in Asia. Threats Infringement of intellectual property rights Protecting its intellectual property rights is very important for Monsanto’s business, particularly in the seeds and genomics segment. The company obtains and protects its intellectual property rights in jurisdictions in which the products are produced or used and in jurisdictions into which the products are imported. However, even if protection is obtained, competitors, farmers, or others in the chain of commerce may raise legal challenges to its rights or illegally infringe on the company’s rights, including through means that may be difficult to prevent or detect. In addition to this, due to the rapid pace of technological change, and the confidentiality of patent applications in some jurisdictions, competitors may be issued patents from applications that were unknown to the company prior to issuance. These patents could reduce the value of the company’s commercial or pipeline products. Therefore, protecting inventions is critical for Monsanto to meet the growing challenge of infringement of intellectual property rights. A failure to do so could mean substantial loss of revenue and market share, and brand dilution. Genetically modified organism (GMO) regulations Monsanto’s revenues could be negatively impacted in view of bans imposed on its genetically modified crops. The degree of public acceptance or perceived public acceptance of its biotechnology products can affect its sales and results of operations by affecting planting approvals, regulatory requirements, and customer purchase decisions. Public concern can affect the timing of the government approvals in different countries. Even if the approvals are granted, public concern can lead to increased regulation or litigation against government regulators concerning prior regulatory approvals. Recently, the European Commissioner approved the cultivation of GMO potatoes in Europe, but the decision has come under stiff criticism and protest from various groups working against the GMO crops. Similar regulatory controls could affect the company’s market position in various countries. As the regulations around the use of GMO crops intensify, Monsanto would face difficulty in expanding its market and growth of its revenue. Seasonal nature of sales of the seeds and genomics segment Monsanto’s business is greatly affected by seasonal changes mainly in the seeds and genomics segment. In FY2011, approximately 72% of the seeds and genomics segment’s sales occurred in the second and third quarters. This segment’s seasonality is primarily affected by the purchasing and growing patterns in North America. The seeds and genomics segment’s contribution to the overall revenue of the company has been steadily growing in the past few years. In FY2011, the segment accounted for 72.6% of the company’s revenue, up from 56% in FY2009. Hence, seasonal disturbances can adversely impact the overall sales of the company. Monsanto Company  © MarketLine Page 9 Copyright of Monsanto Company SWOT Analysis is the property of Datamonitor Plc and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder’s express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.

Swot Dropbox

Strengths: first one to have the idea of cloud storage with synchronization, accessible where you want from any devices, simple design easy to use, exactly same data everywhere you go principle of synchronization, saved in dropbox. com if your laptop is out of use you have access to your files online, enable multi-users to share files, revision-history button to recover deleted files, 2GB storage for free to attract the consumers, pop up if you connect a usb stick or SD card to your computer â€Å"do you want to synchronize these files with Dropbox, turn loyal customer into salesperson: 250MB for free if referral (1/4 of Dropbox users come this way), no files capacity transfert limitation.Weaknesses: need access to internet to download Dropbox, 2GB limited storage for free (competition eg amazon offers 5GB for free as already mentioned by Janine), you cannot store more than the available place on your device, dealing with paid search advertisement, security problem in 2011.Opportuni ties: engagement on social media, deal with HTC to be default cloud storage on Androids, talking about it with 6 other phone firms then PC and TV, E marketing benefits: control, reach, interactivity.Threats: competitors such as Google or Apple could overtake the leader position in B2C market, competition offers lower prices, if Dropbox does not implement himself better in the enterprise market they could loose market shares of B2C market because it has been proven that home market copies enterprise market, possibility of cloud back up system being attacked by external or internal users ? introduction of a spyware through Dropbox

Free Essays on The Battle With Grendels Mother

The Battle With Grendel’s Mother When Grendel’s mother found Beowulf running around on her ground, she picked him up and took him to a high arched building with a large battleground. She clawed at his mail shirt, but it did not affect him. The mail shirt was too strong for her to penetrate her fierce claw through. They fought and wrestled for quite some time. They wore each other out, she would try to tear him apart, but the mail shirt stayed sturdy and strong. She bit holes in his helmet. When Beowulf realized that his weapons were useless, he threw down his sword and decided to try using his fists instead. He picked her up by the shoulders and knocked her to the floor. That still wasn’t enough to stop the angry beast. She got back up and began to tear at him and seemed to be in a larger rage than before. He was getting weak, but still had too much pride to give up. She threw him down and grabbed a knife. She put her weight on his body. Standing on his back she tried to put an old, rusty, crusted, bloody blade through his back, but the mail shirt once again protected him. It was then Beowulf realized God wanted him to defeat this creature. He got back up and spotted a sword hammered by the giants. It would take a great strength to pick up the sword, but Beowulf did it. He cut through her with the sword, killing the disgusting monster. He walked along, and found Grendel’s body. He decided to take his head back and celebrate his victory. He cut off the head and, heavy as it was, made his way back to his people, and they all celebrated the defeat of the hideous monster.... Free Essays on The Battle With Grendel's Mother Free Essays on The Battle With Grendel's Mother The Battle With Grendel’s Mother When Grendel’s mother found Beowulf running around on her ground, she picked him up and took him to a high arched building with a large battleground. She clawed at his mail shirt, but it did not affect him. The mail shirt was too strong for her to penetrate her fierce claw through. They fought and wrestled for quite some time. They wore each other out, she would try to tear him apart, but the mail shirt stayed sturdy and strong. She bit holes in his helmet. When Beowulf realized that his weapons were useless, he threw down his sword and decided to try using his fists instead. He picked her up by the shoulders and knocked her to the floor. That still wasn’t enough to stop the angry beast. She got back up and began to tear at him and seemed to be in a larger rage than before. He was getting weak, but still had too much pride to give up. She threw him down and grabbed a knife. She put her weight on his body. Standing on his back she tried to put an old, rusty, crusted, bloody blade through his back, but the mail shirt once again protected him. It was then Beowulf realized God wanted him to defeat this creature. He got back up and spotted a sword hammered by the giants. It would take a great strength to pick up the sword, but Beowulf did it. He cut through her with the sword, killing the disgusting monster. He walked along, and found Grendel’s body. He decided to take his head back and celebrate his victory. He cut off the head and, heavy as it was, made his way back to his people, and they all celebrated the defeat of the hideous monster....

Tips for Learning Irregular Verb Conjugations in Spanish

Tips for Learning Irregular Verb Conjugations in Spanish Learning the Spanish conjugation of verbs can seem cumbersome for those of us who are native English speakers. Most forms of English verbs vary little, we often add a -s or -es in the third-person singular and add -ed for the simple past tense. In Spanish, by comparison, verbs undergo many changes. If you can unlock the key to verbs, then you can unlock the key to the language. Regular verbs, meaning verbs with three common endings, -ar, -er and -ir that are conjugated or change the same way according to their ending, can take on 16 different forms due to changes in tense, mood or inflection. Irregular verbs, may seem even more insurmountable. Irregular verbs can have more than 50 different patterns. What follows are some handy tips for handling irregular verbs. Thankfully, there are few patterns that emerge that can help Spanish learners grasp irregular verb changes. Irregular Verbs Are Common Since many irregular verbs are commonly used, it will not take long until the irregular forms come naturally. English provides a good example of this. The English verb, to be, is perhaps the most commonly used verb in English. Its conjugation is irregular, too. Am, is, are are all forms of the verb. In Spanish, the verb to be, has two forms that are both irregular. Lets look at one form, ser, which is the permanent form. The conjugation  is not regular, and like English, the forms must be memorized. An example of ser  translated into the indicative, present tense is soy, meaning am,  eres, meaning are and  es, meaning is.   Irregular Verbs Can Follow Regular Patterns A number of verbs with an e in the stem change to an -ie- form when that syllable is emphasized. Thus calentar becomes calienta, comenzar becomes comienza  and perder becomes pierde. All follow a similar pattern in certain conjugations. In some ways, when you learn one irregular verb you will also learn dozens more. Irregular Verbs Have Many Similarities Many irregular verbs have similarities, most notably, verbs that are irregular in the future tense are irregular in the same way in the conditional form. For example, decir, to tell,  becomes dirà ­a in the first-person conditional and dirà © in the first-person future. Another example of this  is hacer, to do, becomes  harà ­a in the first-person conditional and  harà © in the first-person future. In these examples, for decir, the -ec- in the stem turns into -ir- and for hacer, the -ac- in the stem turns into -ir-. The ending gets dropped and gets conjugated according to the regular ending changes in the conditional and future tense for -ir and -er. Look at Pronunciations Some verbs are irregular only in their spelling. A good example of this is the verb  sacar, meaning to take out,  which  becomes saquà © in the first-person preterite.  If sacar  was conjugated using the regular -ar verb change, it would be sacà ©, which is not a Spanish spelling. It looks and  sounds incorrect in Spanish. This skill will take some  time to acquire since pronunciations will start to look or sound incorrect the more a speaker practices Spanish. Most Used Irregular Verbs Irregular Verb Meaning Ser or Estar To be Haber or Tener To have Hacer To do Decir To say, to tell Sentir To feel Poner To put Seguir To follow Ir To go Ver To see Saber To know Querer To want Dar To give

The Traps of the If-Then-Else Statement in Delphi Code

The Traps of the If-Then-Else Statement in Delphi Code In Delphi, the if statement is used to test for a condition and then execute sections of code based on whether that condition is True or False. A general if-then-else statement looks like this: if condition then true block else false block; Both the true block and the false block can either be a simple statement or a structured statement (surrounded with a begin-end pair). Example of a Nested If-Then-Else Statement Lets consider one example using nested if statements: j : 50; if j 0 then   Ã‚  if j 100 then Caption : Number is 100!else   Ã‚  Caption : Number is NEGATIVE!;v What will be the value of Cation? Answer: Number is NEGATIVE! Did not expect that? Note that the compiler does not take your formatting into account, you could have written the above as: j : 50; if j 0 thenif j 100 then Caption : Number is 100!else Caption : Number is NEGATIVE!;v or even as (all in one line): j : 50; if j 0 then if j 100 then Caption : Number is 100!else Caption : Number is NEGATIVE!;v The ; marks the end of a statement. The compiler will read the above statement as: j : 50; if j 0 then   Ã‚  if j 100 then   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Caption : Number is 100!   Ã‚  else   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Caption : Number is NEGATIVE!; or to be more precise: j : 50; if j 0 thenbegin   Ã‚  if j 100 then   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Caption : Number is 100!   Ã‚  else   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Caption : Number is NEGATIVE!; end; Our ELSE statement will be interpreted as a part of the inner IF statement. The inner statement is a closed statement and doesnt need a BEGIN..ELSE. How to Fix To make sure you know how your nested if statements are treated by the compiler, and to fix the above problem, you can write the initial version as: j : 50; if j 0 then   Ã‚  if j 100 then Caption : Number is 100! elseelse   Ã‚  Caption : Number is NEGATIVE!; Uh! The ugly else ends the nested if line!? Does compile, does work! The best solution is: always use begin-end pairs with nested if statements: j : 50; if j 0 thenbegin   Ã‚  if j 100 then Caption : Number is 100!;endelsebegin   Ã‚  Caption : Number is NEGATIVE!; end Too much begin-end pairs for you? Better safe than sorry. Anyway, Code Templates are designed to add commonly used skeleton structures to your source code and then fill in. Article submitted by Marcus Junglas

Provide an example of one of the forces in Porter's Five Forces Model Assignment

Provide an example of one of the forces in Porter's Five Forces Model - The threat of the entry of new competitors - Assignment Example American Boeing has 70% of the worldwide market share and is a prime manufacturer of engines and aircrafts. Remaining 30% is shared by Airbus. Boeing has established its market and brand name over the years and cannot be threatened by new entrants or competitors that easily. We can analyze that because of the high capital and technology requirement of the business, the entry barriers are quite high. The high entry barriers show that the threat of new entrants and thus for any competitors for Boeing is quite low. Any company to enter the industry and to compete with Boeing has to be financially stronger than Boeing. It has to bring in with it new and highly advanced technology to give fierce competition to the existing and established company. The initial investment or the startup cost in the airline industry is very high. An 800-seat plane that Boeing manufactures requires an investment of more than $10 billion. Competitors require huge costs and budget for research and development a nd production of the differentiated and unique product that Boeing produces. The threat of new competitors for Boeing is quite low it is because barriers of the knowledge and expertise required for the business as well.

Introduction to computing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Introduction to computing - Essay Example f software programs that run on a much deeper level than these surface uses that are essential to the usability and accessibility of any of these other programs. This type of software is called system software, without which the computer would be a nearly useless collection of plastic, metal and wires. This software governs everything from how the computer stores and interprets data to how it is analyzed and accessed and eventually displayed on the screen for user input. Additionally, how the computer responds to user signals is also managed by system software in operations that are generally never seen or even imagined by the end user. To understand how this works, it is necessary to understand the difference between the shell and the kernel embedded in the operating system as well as the main features of graphic user interfaces as opposed to command line or human/computer interfaces, ending with a look at some of the more common programs such as Unix, Linux and Windows Vista. A shell is the interface program that allows a user to communicate with the computer. Like the shell of a turtle or crustacean, the shell can be viewed as the outermost layer of the computer’s operating system. â€Å"Shells incorporate a programming language to control processes and files, as well as to start and control other programs† (â€Å"Chapter 11†, 1997). There are various ways in which a shell acts to facilitate information transfer between the user and the computer including providing the necessary prompts for user input, translating that input into language that the computer can understand and acting to turn any output from the computer into usable information back out to the user. This process can take place either through information transferred through the use of a keyboard or through the execution of a set of commands contained in a file called a shell script. â€Å"When you log in to the system, the system locates the name of a shell program to execute. Once executed,

A Corporate Entrepreneurship Analysis of Sony Essay

A Corporate Entrepreneurship Analysis of Sony - Essay Example The term can be defined alternatively as the development of internal markets and relatively small and independent units designed to create internal ventures and expand innovative staff services, technologies and methods within an organization (Pinchot, 1985). It has been established that successful companies have one thing in common and that is an entrepreneurial style of management (Katz & Shepherd, 2004). Stevenson and Gumbert (1985) attribute the sustenance of a high level of performance by big companies such as Sony and Hewlett Packard to their entrepreneurial behaviour. Company overview Sony corporation is a Japanese multinational conglomerate that originated in the wake of World War II. The company made history after it built Japan’s first tape recorder and named it the Type-G. In 1958, the company changed its name from Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Company to the present day Sony. The Sony Corporation has diversified its operating scope to cover almost all the ar eas of the entertainment and the telecommunications sectors. Sony Corporation is the parent company of the Sony Group. As the parent company of the group, its main task is to make strategic business plans for the group through research and development, designing, and marketing of products. As pointed out earlier, Sony Corporation has diversified its scope in to most entertainment and telecommunication sectors. The company has done this through its subsidiaries. One such example of the subsidiaries is the Sony Chemical and Information device Corporation which is responsible for manufacturing as well as the engineering and research and development for the mass production of products (Sony Corporation, 2012). According to the fortune 500 2012 list of companies, Sony Corporation is ranked 87th (CNN, 2012). The Sony group not only focuses on electronics, gaming, and entertainment, it also offers financial services. The subsidiary company that is responsible for the financial services bus iness of the Sony group is the Sony Financial Holdings. With its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, the company controls the operations of Sony Life, Sony Assurance, Sony bank, and Sony Bank holdings. This subsidiary is the most profitable of all of Sony’s subsidiaries accounting for about 50% of Sony’s global earnings (Sony Corporation, 2012). The company was enjoying high profit returns up until early 2000’s when it started experiencing financial difficulties. These financial difficulties were due to several reasons. The first reason was the global financial crisis. The crisis made it difficult for the company to procure materials for manufacturing, cope with debt and maintain its work force. Secondly, the company’s milk cow, the play station, started to face steep competition from rivals Microsoft with their X-box gaming model. With the sales of the play station reducing, the company’s profits suffered similarly. The last main cause of the companyâ⠂¬â„¢s decline in profits was due to natural disasters. Japan has been victim to natural disasters, mainly earthquakes. The company’s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, was hit by the devastating earthquake and therefore it became financially challenging for the company to make a comeback. The company however made a comeback in December 2011. Though the market capitalization of the company had dropped by over 50%, its net worth had increased from $17.6 billion in March 2002, to $35.6 billion in December 2011. This comeback can be attributed to the entrepreneurial behaviour of the company in promoting innovation and creativity that has enabled the company to realize and

Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 8

Research - Essay Example The demand of goods and services in the market can be defined as the total goods that people are willing and able to buy at a given price and at a given time (OConnor, Pg. 135). There could be goods and services in the market which the customers are not willing to buy or cannot afford. Such goods and services do not constitute demand. Quantity demanded on the other hand is the exact quantity of goods that are demanded at a given price. The price of the commodities influences demand (i.e.) will influence the quantity demanded. For instance, if the price of goods increases, some people might not be able to afford the commodity and as a result, the quantity demanded will decrease. Similarly, if the price decreases, some people who were not able to afford the commodity previously will now be able to afford and hence the demand will decrease (Krugman & Wells, Pp. 70). There is a law of demand which states; all other factors being held constant, an increase in price of a commodity leads to a decrease in demand. Other than price, there are a number of factors which affect the demand of a commodity. Some of them are; population, taste and preferences, nature of the goods, personal disposable income, price of substitutes as well as customer expectations among others. When the population is high, there will be more people in the market who are available to buy the goods and services. As a result, the demand will increase with an increase in population. A decrease in population on the other hand will decrease the demand. Taste and preference influence demand in that when the people have a great desire of a commodity, they are likely to buy more of it (OConnor, Pg. 137). Desire is a term that may refer to the willingness to buy. It should be noted that one may be willing to buy but they are not able to buy. This does not constitute demand. However, when people are willing to

Legal, security, or privacy issues within electronic commerce Assignment

Legal, security, or privacy issues within electronic commerce - Assignment Example These provisions relate to the issue of software updates. The law is controversial, although it aims at reducing malware and spyware, because it affects firms that produce legitimate software. It became illegal for companies, through their websites, to install software on the users’ computers automatically. This meant that such a process of software installation required explicit consent from the users. However, certain exemptions to the law include JavaScript, HTML, cookies related to the operating system, and bug fixes. In my personal opinion, the law is essential for the users’ online privacy and security. However, I feel that most companies and organizations are not prepared for the law and they may require more time to accept the change. The event influences my perception of the organizations in terms of their limitation in the resources that facilitate the adoption of the law. Firms and individuals have a hard time dealing with the temporal spam in the messages sent, in reaction to the anti-spam

Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 8

Research - Essay Example The demand of goods and services in the market can be defined as the total goods that people are willing and able to buy at a given price and at a given time (OConnor, Pg. 135). There could be goods and services in the market which the customers are not willing to buy or cannot afford. Such goods and services do not constitute demand. Quantity demanded on the other hand is the exact quantity of goods that are demanded at a given price. The price of the commodities influences demand (i.e.) will influence the quantity demanded. For instance, if the price of goods increases, some people might not be able to afford the commodity and as a result, the quantity demanded will decrease. Similarly, if the price decreases, some people who were not able to afford the commodity previously will now be able to afford and hence the demand will decrease (Krugman & Wells, Pp. 70). There is a law of demand which states; all other factors being held constant, an increase in price of a commodity leads to a decrease in demand. Other than price, there are a number of factors which affect the demand of a commodity. Some of them are; population, taste and preferences, nature of the goods, personal disposable income, price of substitutes as well as customer expectations among others. When the population is high, there will be more people in the market who are available to buy the goods and services. As a result, the demand will increase with an increase in population. A decrease in population on the other hand will decrease the demand. Taste and preference influence demand in that when the people have a great desire of a commodity, they are likely to buy more of it (OConnor, Pg. 137). Desire is a term that may refer to the willingness to buy. It should be noted that one may be willing to buy but they are not able to buy. This does not constitute demand. However, when people are willing to

Marketing cases Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Marketing cases - Essay Example The main macro-economic factors that influenced the Target’s performance during that period were the economic and social conditions that existed among the consumers. Due to the economic recession in 2008, there was a high unemployment level and an increased inflation, which had a direct connection with the sales outcome of the company. Along with this, the purchasing power of the consumers began to deteriorate due to the decline in the income of the sizable households. With the company’s products being viewed as expensive ones, it further impacted Target’s revenues. However, Walmart showed a far better growth due to its cheaper prices strategy hindering the Target’s upscale products. The Target’s â€Å"pay less† strategy was a risky one as it has to sustain its high-quality. That is, even while coping up with the changing economic conditions and its consumers’ attitude, it needs to focus on quality. However, it has successfully managed to overcome through the recession crisis and have switched towards a hopeful direction with this new strategy. Despite the high unemployment and increased inflation, Target takes an optimistic view in improving its sales through its new launches such as mini-grocery stores and up-and-up. By focusing on its ‘pay less’ part, Target has certainly pursued a best strategy by retaining the quality of its products even while emphasizing on the discount part. Expanding the advertising campaigns before focusing towards lower prices should have been the alternate strategy for Target during their decline in sales and revenue. As the company was keen on offering one stop shopping with lowered prices and improving the store’s infrastructure, it did not have enough time to analyze the consumers’ tendency towards their products, thereby missed formulating effective advertising strategies. Once they found the

The Lord of the Flies is just a simple, happy ending Essay Example for Free

The Lord of the Flies is just a simple, happy ending Essay Adventure story. It is about children, for children and told from their perspective To what extent do you agree with this? Do you think being a savage; killing, hunting and fighting represents a simple adventure story? The first two chapters of this novel may show innocent and young boys on an island where no fear is held, and maybe that is what it is; referring to the original sin. Which is a story from the Bible showing that everyone is born with evil inside them and it seems that the island has brought this out of the boys. You may be thinking, what about Piggy and Simon? The amount of conflict between the boys increased throughout the book. It started between Jack and Piggy, Jack through insults at him such as Shut up yah fatty! and Piggy stated things directed towards Jack in the form of an insult too, You and your blood Jack Merridew! and then Piggy just refers to Jack as him when Jack leaves Ralphs leadership. Adventure books arent supposed to have arguing, all the boys are supposed to get along! During chapter four, Golding shows that its not only Piggy that Jack hates, but Ralph too, splashing and laughing are just about enough to bring them back together again. At the start of the book it seems a happy adventure as all the boys do get along and listen to Ralphs rules but things start to change as Jack realises theres no point in listening to Ralph as he wanted to be leader all along. As Ralph is leader and made rules for the other boys, calling an assembly, this shows the maturity in the book and his adult characteristics. He seemed to handle things well but then knew he could not think as well as Piggy. Jack shows the immaturity on the island as he treats everything as a game. When the boys had been showing a role-play of their hunt and Robert was the pig, Jack had become quite aggressive hurting Roger, but afterwards all he said was, That was a good game. And when he left the others he said, I dont want to play with Ralphs lot anymore. When Jack first entered the island he was a fair skinned boy who attended the choir and was thought of as a leader, so he didnt take it well when Ralph was chosen as leader instead of him. So to make things even he was made leader of the hunters. At first Jack grimaced distastefully at the touch of blood. This then changed and he had a sharpened stick at one endtattered shorts held up by a knife belt. Does this show an innocent choirboy from an adventure story? Simon was Goldings way of expressing nature in the novel and when the boys killed Simon, they did not as they thought kill the beast but they let the beast out and killed hope and peace. Piggy and Simon were the means of civilisation. Piggy was the only one besides Ralph who stood up to Jack and he was the one who always remembered rescue, hope, signal fire and innocence. When the savages took away Piggys glasses they also took away civilisation and soon after that they took away his life. Adventure stories always end with a happy ending so how could Lord of the Flies be an adventure story? Unless Ralph is being hunted down is happy. I suppose in away it is happy because Ralph received what he had wanted from the moment they set foot on the island; rescue. The ending was ironic as all the way through Ralph had wanted his fire and depended on signal and Jack had been the same about hunting. They both got what they wanted as they were rescued by Jack hunting down Ralph with a fire. Putting all my points together I have come to the conclusion that The Lord of the Flies novel is surely an adventure but not the simple, innocent little boy type as it involves hunting, death, fighting and conflict. It shows the break up of society, lack of civilisation, evil and sin. But on the other hand it shows sunlight, fun, games, nature, happiness and laughter. Although the simple adventure part of this novel would show little boys stuck on an island having fun and trying to be rescued and would not add in the death and arguments.

Business Essays Literature Customer Retention

Business Essays Literature Customer Retention Literature Customer Retention Introduction In compiling this literature review, the author has deliberately cast a wide net. This has not only included both major and less prestigious journals, but also practitioner magazines and self-help websites. Customer retention is clearly marketing topic of considerable current and practical interest. Whilst some of what has been written is of dubious value, and some isnt actually even about customer retention at all, it is felt that ideas put forward should be allowed to stand on their merits. Insights by practitioners can often provide useful illumination of academic theory, and it is only by bringing them together that the full picture can be appreciated. The Rise of Customer Retention The sole purpose of a business Peter Drucker (1973) once famously claimed was â€Å"to create a customer†. Marketing has traditionally focused on market share and customer acquisition rather than on retaining existing customers and on building long-lasting relationships with them (Kotler, 2003). However, keeping the customer has become regarded as equally, if not more important, since (Badgett et al., 2004) reported that a 5 per cent increase in customer retention generated an increase in customer net present value of between 25 per cent and 95 per cent across a wide range of business environments. Research done by Gupta et al. (2004) found that a 1 per cent increase in customer retention had almost five times more impact on firm value than a 1 per cent change in discount rate or cost of capital. As a result of these researches, the business case for marketers to focus on the management of customer retention became more clearly established. Because of this, there is a growing recognition now that customers, like products, have a life-cycle that companies can attempt to manage and they can be acquired, retained and grown in value over time. Freeland (2003) points out that customers climb a value staircase or value ladder from suspect, prospect and first-time customer, to majority customer and ultimately to partner or advocate status. In response to these changes there has been a new emphasis on defensive marketing, which focuses on holding on to existing customers and getting more custom from them (higher â€Å"share of customer†), in contrast to activities which focus on winning new customers. One of the reasons for the great popularity of customer retention is the recognition that losing a customer means in fact more than a single sale: It means losing the entire stream of purchases that this particular customer would make over a lifetime of patronage (Kotler and Keller,2006). More recently, market share has been gradually losing its importance as marketing’s wisdom of focusing solely on customer acquisition (hoping that this effort will compensate for high levels of defection) is now being seriously questioned and considered as very high risk since ever more players enter an increasingly crowded marketplace (Baker,2000). Todays banks find themselves more and more in a situation in which they have to build professional customer retention management systems. There are two main reasons for doing so; on the one hand, the costs of gaining new customers in highly competitive markets are increasing considerably. On the other hand, the profitability of an individual customer grows permanently with the duration of the business-relationship (Liu Lai, 2004 ; pg 398). Customer retention attempts to win a slightly larger share of the customer’s spend than would otherwise be the case (McAlexander,2006). In spite of this, according to Weinstein (2002, p. 259), most companies spend a majority of their time, energy and resources chasing new business. 80% or more of marketing budgets are often earmarked for getting new business† (Weinstein, 2002, p. 260). This is in line with Payne and Frow’s (1999) finding that only 23 per cent of marketing budgets in UK organizations is spent on customer retention. Aspinall et al. (2001), in contrast, found that 54 per cent of companies reported that customer retention was more important than customer acquisition. Support for retaining customers in the marketing literature (e.g. Ahmad and Buttle, 2002) is extensive. The benefits of retaining customers to the organisation are higher margins and faster growth, derived from the notion that the longer a customer stays with an organisation, generally the higher the profit. The significance of retaining customers is not new to marketing, as Drucker (1963) believed that marketing is as much concerned with retaining as well as acquiring customers. However, as competition has intensified and markets become saturated, an awareness of the benefits of retention has grown, particularly in the retailing of financial services. Benefits of Customer Retention Dawes and Swailes (1999) explain that successful customer retention circumvents the costs of seeking new and potentially risky customers, and allows organizations to focus more accurately on the needs of their existing customers by building relationships (p36). Researchers have also pointed out that customer retention has a significant impact on profitability and positive customer satisfaction and leads to superior financial performance. This is because firms with high customer retention rates tend to have lower costs, maintain more profitable long-term relationships, and enjoy substantial word-of-mouth advertising (p92). Reynolds (2002) suggests that once a company acquires a group of customers, it can retain that group by making them feel special through customer recognition. Reichheld (2006) in his article ‘Learning from Customer Defections’ identified that longer a customer stays with a company, the more they are worth as in the long-term customers buy more, take less of a company’s time, are less sensitive to price, and bring in new customers. If a customer is retained in a business there is certainly a steady flow of revenue to the business, moreover, there are chances to increase the existing revenue by cross selling or up-selling activities. In addition to this, acquiring a new customer can be a much more onerous and expensive task than keeping an existing one. When banks focus on individual customers by establishing a relationship and encouraging satisfaction and loyalty they have more chances to increase and retain their customer base. Relation banking can be seen as a vehicle to increase single-brand loyalty, decrease price sensitivity, induce greater consumer resistance to counter bank offers or counter arguments (from advertising or bank sales-people), dampen the desire to consider alternative banks, encourage word-of-mouth support and endorsement, attract a larger pool of customers, and/or increase the amount of product bought. It can lead to more purchases more often, give the ability to mass customize communication, minimize waste, helps promote trust and attempts to win a slightly larger share of the customer’s spend (Ongena, S., and Smith,2000). Relationship leads to loyalty, and loyal customers are supposed to buy more, pay higher prices and bring in new customers through word-of-mouth support (Morgan et al.,2000). However, some of these â€Å"profitability-arguments† related to relationship banking have been challenged by Reinartz and Kumar (2002), who compared the behaviour, revenue, and profitability of more than 16,000 individual and corporate customers over a four-year period, concluding that they discovered little or no evidence to suggest that customers who buy on a steady basis are necessarily cheaper to serve, less price sensitive, or particularly effective at bringing in new business. They also found that a considerable amount of loyal customers were only marginally profitable, while a large percentage of short-term customers were very profitable. Woolf (1996) argues that greater success comes from a strategy based firmly on understanding customer economics and only secondarily on customer loyalty and building relationships. However, despite their criticism, even critics themselves have suggested that customer loyalty (relationship) is a worthy contributor to the shareholder value of a company(Houston, 1999;pg33), and that â€Å"firms are encouraged to study their position and options in the pursuit of this goal†(Oliver,1999; pg37). The Lifetime Value Concept Customer retention has also given rise to the concept of Customer lifetime value (CLV or LTV) which represents the net present value of profits, coming from the individual customer from a flow of transactions over time. Novo (2006) describes Customer lifetime value (LTV) as the present value of the stream of future profits expected over the customers’ lifetime purchases. Companies can look at their investments in terms of cost per sale, rate of customer retention and also conversion of prospects. LTV is also used as a convenient yardstick of performance, however, it has tended to become a bit too much of a holy grail for corporate, marketing and sales executives, to the extent that entire conferences and seminars are often devoted to helping optimize it (Romano Fjermesta, 2003; pg 233). It is important to retain customers, but not at the cost of other essential marketing activities. Putting customers into key categories helps to clarify analysis and acts as the basis for marketing activities designed to improve customer lifetime value. While the importance of calculating the Customer Lifetime value in deciding the retention strategies cannot be questioned, some writers are of the view that measuring the lifetime value can sometimes be complicated as it involves a lot of analytical forecasting. Knox et al (2003; pg 207) argue that ‘calculating Customer lifetime value is problematic because it involves forecasting what amounts of what products customers will buy in the future years, and what the sales, administration and logistics costs will be. Because profits in future years are progressively less valuable (because of inflation) and less certain, a discount rate has to be applied. The higher the discount rate, the less valuable future profits will be’. Customer Retention and the rise of relationship banking (RM) The objectives of relationship marketing is to identify and establish, maintain and enhance and, when necessary terminate relationships with customers and other stakeholders, at a profit so that the objective of all parties involved are met. This is done by a mutual exchange and fulfillment of promises. Kabiraj et al. (2004) in their study of relationship practices in India noted that the Indian banking sector can only stay competitive by building lifelong partnerships with their customers. Relationship banking techniques can be employed to develop an ongoing dialog with customers, integrated across all contact points. Knox et al. (2003, p. 19) addressed that RM is a strategic approach designed to improve stakeholder value through developing appropriate relationships with key customers and customer segments and involves an enterprise-wide marketing strategy and technology platform. If done correctly, it enables organizations to retain the loyalty of their customers. It is about managing and monitoring customer behavior and has the potential to change a customers relationship with the banking organization and increase revenue (Dyche, 2002, pg.4). In todays economic condition, relationship banking can help to provide a sense of personal service without an actual person (Seybold, 2007). They allow banking organizations to integrate customer interaction channels and provide consistency in their interactions with customers, generate better customer intelligence, customize their offerings and communications to customers, manage customer interactions and relationships more effectively, and manage the customer portfolio by assessing the lifetime value of customers (Ely, 2006). Relationship Marketing/banking is not a new concept, its roots lie in the marketing basics of repeat purchase, customer retention and customer loyalty. Traditionally followed by retailers, the concept is slowly spilling over to the banking and financial services industry. Berger (2005) describes relationship banking as an attempt to advance the sales culture in bank marketing beyond order taking to a more pro-active form of direct selling which includes knowing more about the customer needs and tailoring products and services to suit individual requirements. Its goal is to establish a long term, intimate and relatively open relationship between banks and its customers. Eg Commercial banks and other financial institutions attempt to apply the concept of relationship banking through Personal Banker and Private Banking programs (Stauss Schoeler, 2004; pg 147). In this way, they are able to understand their customer, give personal advice and develop proximity with the customer. Customer retention has been shown to be a primary goal in firms that practice relationship marketing (Coviello et al., 2002). While the precise meaning and measurement of customer retention can vary between industries and firms (Aspinall et al., 2001) there appears to be a general consensus that focusing on customer retention can yield several economic benefits (Buttle, 2004). As customer tenure lengthens, the volumes purchased grow and customer referrals increase. Simultaneously, relationship maintenance costs fall as both customer and supplier learn more about each other. Because fewer customers churn, customer replacement costs fall. Finally, retained customers may pay higher prices than newly acquired customers, and are less likely to receive discounted offers that are often made to acquire new customers. All of these conditions combine to increase the net present value of retained customers. Lindgreen et al. (2000, p. 295), computed that it can be up to ten times more expensive to win a customer than to retain a customer and the cost of bringing a new customer to the same level of profitability as the lost one is up to 16 times more. Although a number of authorities have suggested that relationship marketing represents a paradigm shift (Christopher et al., 1991; Sheth and Parvatiyar, 1995) from a longer established transactional orientation to customer management, Gronroos (2000, p. 23) noted that the relational perspective on marketing is in fact â€Å"older than the transaction perspective in marketing† and is â€Å"probably as old as the history of trade and commerce†. There has been growing interest in relational aspects of customer management. Relationship banking permits businesses to leverage information from their databases to achieve customer retention and to cross-sell new products and services to existing customers which is why they are synonymous to existing customer promotion. It is believed that companies that implement relationship banking practices make better relationships with their customers, achieve loyal customers and a substantial payback, increased revenue and reduced cost (Blery Michalakopoulos, 2006). Relationship banking when successfully deployed can have a dramatic effect on bottom-line performance. There are two main aims of relationship banking. One is to increase revenue by raising purchase levels and/or increasing the range of products. A second aim is more defensive, by building a closer bond between the banking organization and current customer banks hope to maintain their customer base (retention). The whole idea of relationship banking is based on the argument that profits can be increased significantly by achieving either of these two aims. In todays economic climate building relationships can help banks to do more with less by providing a sense of personal service without an actual person. (Roberts, 2004) Relationship banking seeks to identify and talk to individual customers on a massive scale and this torrential flow of live transactional data offers the possibility to transform how banks manage their business. While it is not important to retain customers, it is important to retain the right customers in the business. Overtime, choices must be made as to which customers to acquire, which ones to develop and which ones to retain. It is true that not all customers are worth retaining, since from a long-term perspective not everyone is equally profitable. It is important to know if a currently unprofitable customer would generate a future profit stream, if an investment were made in enhancing the customers’ satisfaction. These problems can be addressed by profiling customers and making investments in those who offer the desirable growth and profit potential. (Subhash C. Jain 2005, p278) Relational Exchange and Customer Loyalty RM forms the bridge between the banking organisation and the customer, by means of reinforcing linkages, responding to customer needs and serving micro-segments (Berry, 2002; Hennig-Thurau, 2000). Freeland (2003) who has observed and contributed to this body of literature, comments: ‘Marketing practice has increasingly turned towards alliances, partnerships and other forms of relationship marketing, whose success requires effective co-operation. Interpretations of RM vary (Brodie et al., 1997), but common themes are that relationships are based on power being distributed equally between partners (Liu Lai, 2004) and that both the buyer and the seller are active in a rich, multi-dimensional exchange. Further elements that mediate successful relationships are trust and commitment (Garbarino and Johnson, 2006) in which trust is conceptualised as a belief that the partner in the exchange will fulfil the perceived obligations of a relationship. Where the focus is on individual customers, loyalty and retention initiatives can be seen as vehicles to increase single-brand loyalty, decrease price sensitivity, induce greater consumer resistance to counter offers or counter arguments (from advertising or sales-people), dampen the desire to consider alternative brands, encourage word-of-mouth support and endorsement, attract a larger pool of customers, and/or increase the amount of product bought( Bolton et al., 2000) Two aims of customer retention programs stand out, one is to increase sales revenues by raising purchase/usage levels, and/or increasing the range of products bought from the supplier. A second aim is more defensive, by building a closer bond between the brand and current customers it is hoped to maintain the current customer base. Loyalty and retention initiatives can lead to more purchases more often, give the ability to mass customize marketing communication, minimize waste and help promote trust. It attempts to win a slightly larger share of the customer’s spend than would otherwise be the case if the additional value of the scheme were not offered (McAlexander,2002). Research will analyze in greater detail the ways in which retention initiatives can transform the bank’s business and help make strategic business decisions, which is the purpose of the research (to evaluate retention as a key marketing strategy). One of the reasons for the great popularity of customer retention is the recognition that losing a customer means in fact more than a single sale: It means losing the entire stream of purchases that this particular customer would make over a lifetime of patronage – also known as the â€Å"customer lifetime value†(Kotler and Armstrong,2001). Role of Employees Within the Retention Process Another area of research would be the employee involvement in the customer retention process. In the Journal of Marketing Management, Buttle (2004) stresses on the importance of the front line employees. He argues that employees have the power to take actions which provide immediate customer satisfaction and thereby reinforce customer retention. This necessitates actively managing interactions between customer and staff and instigating improvements to the external quality of service by increasing the levels of internal service which staffs receive from within the organization from support departments and technology. (p153) Robert Heller (2005; og 117) insists that the most vital statistic for retaining a customer in any business is its employees. He quotes â€Å"that a satisfied worker creates a satisfied customer and higher financial returns: and that, by the same token, disgruntled staff lead to customer dissatisfaction†. A research by staff at Sears, the US retailing giant in 2006, established a convincing and clear correlation between employee attitudes, customer attitudes and financial results. The research showed that for every 5 units of improvement in employee attitudes, there were 1.3 units of gain on the customer impression index. Moreover, the latter added up to a 0.5% increase in sales over what they would otherwise have been.This outlines the obvious linkage between employee attitudes and customer retention. Therefore, if a business wants to retain its customers, along with devising strategies for customer satisfaction, it has to bear in mind that, employee satisfaction is equally important. The reseserch will analyze the role played by employees in Citibank in promoting customer retention. Researchers have argued that both customer facing and back office staff have a role to play in customer retention. The study will examine the ways in which the staff in Citibank performs their role and the effect it has on customer retention. Customer Clubs Some banks make the use of customer clubs as a strategic instrument for creating customer retention. Customer clubs are communities of current customers that are initiated and organized by companies (Diller, 1997; Butscher, 1997; Butscher and MuÈller, 1999). The current customers are approached for a potential membership to enable a steady direct communication and to intensify the relationship during the total time of business relation (Tomzcak and Dittrich, 1999). As an institutionalized form of added-value services, they aim at offering club members a wide range of benefits and increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. The goal of customer club is to improve the general operational profitability by customer retention. A customer club is regarded as a suitable platform to increase the interaction frequency between the bank and the customer (customer interaction effect) by creating contact and feedback opportunities. By doing so, a close contact is built around the client throughout the entire customer life cycle (Coviello et al., 2002; pg 8). A central objective of customer clubs is the augmentation of organizational knowledge about the customer (customer knowledge effect). With each customer contact starting from account opening the organization receives detailed information about the personal situation, interests and demand structures of the account holders. These insights are collected in a global member data base and linked with further customer data, which form the basis for individualized marketing measures (Ganesh et al., 2006; pg 65). However, some argue that it has to be considered that the set up and development of a customer club requires considerable investments. Whereas the cost effects of these investments are obvious and can be calculated rather easily, there is no certainty with respect to the existence and degree of the expected loyalty effects. Also, the customers willingness for a membership depends on the fact whether a distinct advantage is offered to them as customers are only willing to supply data and participate actively in the club membership, if their individual cost-benefit-calculation leads to a positive result (Gupta et al., 2005; pg 7). Therefore the customer club must offer a bundle of exclusive services, which are attractive for the target group from either a financial, material or communicative perspective. Retention measures and process Banking organizations in the vanguard are making several proactive changes in their service capabilities. They are developing diagnostics to understand what their customers need and value. They are examining what they need to do to retain customers and then train their people accordingly and are reinforcing service-oriented behaviours. Banks are exploring how to anticipate and respond successfully to differences in customer requirements between geographies. They are leveraging the intimate product knowledge of technical people and other staff and teaching them about the critical role they play in customer retention. Some financial service organizations are also teaming up sales, service and technical experts much farther upstream in a customer relationship in ways that are cost-effective and value added (Johnston, 2005; pg 211). It is also worth pointing out that the service component of forward thinking banking organizations is no longer relegated to one department containing the lowest-paid people. Major Banks use technology to accomplish menial tasks quickly, allowing everyone in the organization the time to enhance their skills as salespeople, research and development contacts and potential consultants on complex jobs (Morrman et al., 2002; pg 314). Research done by Nyer (2007) showed that everyone who interacts with customers must become an active agent for customer retention. A number of organizational processes can be associated with customer retention, including customer satisfaction measurement process, customer retention planning process, quality assurance process, win-back processes and the complaints-handling process. The notion that companies should engage in planning if they want to achieve desired business outcomes is deeply embedded in modernist management literature. Retention metrics Despite the scarcity of research into customer retention planning, investigators and commentators have begun to report on a number of related questions, such as how to define and measure customer retention, how to segment customers for customer retention efforts, and what strategies to employ to recover at-risk or lost customers. Aspinall et al. (2001) investigated the issue of definition and measurement of customer retention. They found that customer retention was particularly an issue in larger banking organizations but absence of measurable indicators makes it harder to gauge the impact of strategy implementation on customer retention. Buttle (2004) found that banks can employ one or more of several types of retention-related KPIs – raw, sales-adjusted, or profit-adjusted customer retention metrics. Banks that adopt raw customer retention metrics focus on the retention of a given percentage or number of customers, regardless of value. Banks that use sales or profit-adjusted retention metrics will focus their efforts on customers that generate higher levels of sales or profit. Coyles and Gorkey’s (2002) research also notes the significance of focusing on the retention of profitable customers, rather than all customers. They suggest that it may be more important for banks to focus on managing the overall downward migration of customer spending than customer retention in its own right. They note that many more customers change their behaviour than defect, so the former typically account for larger changes in value (Coyles and Gorkey, 2002, p. 80). They report the case of one bank that lost 3 per cent of its total balances when 5 per cent of checking account customers defected in a year, but lost 24 per cent of its total balances when 35 per cent of customers reduced the amounts deposited in their checking accounts. Another question that researchers have attempted to answer concerns the focus of companies’ customer retention efforts (Koch, 1998; Ganesh et al., 2000). Should retention of every customer be the goal, or should retention efforts be focused on subsets or even individuals? A report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (2002) observes that poor management of customer churn is a major value destroyer and that the key to prevention is to predict and avert attrition of the â€Å"right customers†. The â€Å"right customers† are those that contribute most significantly to the achievement of the company’s objectives. The implication of there being â€Å"right† and â€Å"wrong† customers to retain is that companies are advised to segment their customer base for retention efforts in much the same way that they would segment the market for acquisition efforts (Weinstein, 2002). Evans (2002) suggests that the right customers are those with the highest residual lifetime value. Although there has been little investigation of customer retention planning processes, there has been considerable attention paid to assessing the role and effectiveness of retention strategies and tactics directed towards valued, at-risk or lost customers. For example, a number of researchers have examined the contribution of relationship marketing instruments such as loyalty programs and customer clubs to customer retention outcomes (O’Brien and Jones, 1995; Dowling and Uncles, 1997; Stauss et al., 2001; Verhoef, 2003). Others have examined the development of customer attachment to organizations (Moorman et al., 1992; Oliver, 1999; Hofmeyr and Rice, 2000). The research will look into the retention KPIs of Citibank and assess whether the KPIs accurately measure retention. Type of banking relationships Banking relationships can be economic and social. Economic content deals with the economic benefits and costs of participating in the relationship. Customers are only willing to participate actively in a relationship if their individual cost-benefit calculation leads to a positive result (Stauss Seidel, 2005). Social content suggests that although economics may indicate a prosperous relationship, no relationship can be successful in the long-term without a social environment that nurtures communication, honesty, fair play and an awareness of mutual interests and therefore relationships should accommodate opportunities for interactions so that friendships may be developed. Building a customer retention strategy Setting up a strategy around customer retention requires careful planning and should include detailed plans and methods for customer identification and registration, segmentation and reward design. In order to be a source of sustainable competitive advantage, the banking organization developing the strategy must always take into account what its loyal customers value, since loyalty and retention is inextricably linked to the creation of value (Morgan et al, 2000). The strategy should make sure that it directly supports the value proposition. A value proposition is â€Å"the full positioning of a brand , the full mix of benefits upon which it is positioned† and the answer to the customer’s question â€Å"Why should I buy your brand?†(Kotler Armstrong,2001). Moreover, in order to be viable, a retention strategy must build and sustain noticeable differences in its offerings that are difficult to copy, since a lack of differentiation removes any potential of competitive advantage – which is anything but easy in banking., where first movers are quickly imitated (Morgan,2001). It must be considered that the retention strategy do not exist in a vacuum, but should be a coherent element of the bank’s overall strategy and capabilities. The strategy should take into account the nature of the business, its market position, goals, and the competitive landscape. There is still some confusion regarding the nature, scope, role and influence of customer retention initiatives. From a functional perspective, many marketers believe

Parental Involvement in Education and its Effects on Student Academic P

Parental Involvement in Education and its Effects on Student Academic Performance Educational standards have recently become a controversial issue especially in secondary schools. One of the controversial issues surrounding educational standards is the lack of parental involvement. Various forms of parental involvement range from parental encouragement to parental partnership with the school. By examining parental involvement in secondary education, one can determine that positive parental involvement will have a profound effect on the students' academic performance. Defining parental involvement, family relationships and self-esteem, and relationships between parents and teachers can improve parental involvement. Defining Parental Involvement When dealing with the educational system and findings way to improve it, one cannot neglect that parental involvement is necessary. The question that arises from this is, what exactly is parental involvement? According to Catherine Hickmann, in "Future of High School Success: Importance of Parental Involvement," the various forms of parental involvement in secondary schools are parent as a communicator, parent as supporter of activities, parent as learner, parent as advocate, parent as decision maker, parent as volunteer/professional, and parent as home activities teacher. In the article, "Relationships between Parent Involvement and Student Achievement," Joyce Flood uses researchers to break down parental involvement into three categories; parent-child relationships at home, parent training or involvement in performance contracts, and parent-school- community partnerships. These categories can be further defined. Parent-child relationships at home allow... ...ties for students and parents to learn together, and offer community education classes to get parents to come to the school. In the article, "Promoting Parental Involvement," there are more ideas to advance the involvement of parents in education which lead children to excel academically. Conclusion This field of research covered parental involvement and its effects on student academic performance. The focus was on family relations at home and parental involvement at school. When researching this topic, a definition for parental involvement had to be established. The research was not time restricted, since the concern was the general effects of parental involvement in student academics. The research consists of several suggestions on parental involvement, rather than focusing on a specific method in which to involve parents in student education.

Organizational Metaphors Essay

The two metaphors that I am about to describe to you are machines and organisms. I am also going to note what each metaphor suggests about how humans and their behavior are perceived in the organization. I will also let you know the similarities and differences in the two metaphors. Also conclude on how the ability to switch between metaphors might enhance effective leadership and organizational behavior. The machines one tends to think of inputs and outputs, standardization, productivity, measurement, and control. The organization tends to want the workers to just perform the mechanics of the job. They want them to not think about what to do, just perform with manpower. They just wanted them to be the energy to propel the organizational machine. The jobs they were required to perform were more simplified so that the workers were cheap and easy to train, supervise, and replace. This helped them to interchange workers as they needed at any given time. The human behavior perceived in this machines metaphor was they were just there to do their job and they had no input in what was being done. This metaphor showed me how an organization can perceive a worker in their job functions. Some organizations make their employees feel that they are just a body there doing the work that needs to be done. The organism metaphor is a living system existing in a wider environment depending on the workers various needs. There is no one best way to design or manage an organization. The flow of information between different parts of the systems and its environment is the key to the organization’s success. It is important to maximize the fit between individual, team and organizational needs. This metaphor represents the organization as an ‘open system’. Organizations are seen as sets of interrelated sub-systems designed to balance the requirements of the environment with internal needs of groups and individuals. This metaphor informed me how a worker can be perceived as an organism in a system. They can learn and adapt to different things in the job functions. As far as the similarities in organisms and machines, they both want their businesses to be profitable. The differences are organisms are more receptive to environmental feedback than machines. Machines tend to be more efficient and do things in an orderly way. Machines can only be replaced or repaired; they cannot develop. In knowing what one’s employees are as far as the metaphors of the organization, you will then be able to adapt to each set of employees in their job functions. If one would know what metaphor they pertain to, one will know how to lead them in the right direction in advancement in their job performance. Let’s say one would have an employee that doesn’t have as much self-esteem as the other employee, you would have to handle them more carefully than with the employee that has more self-esteem. You would just need to motivate and encourage them in a positive way so that they know they can achieve anything that comes up. Organizational metaphors can determine how we think about organizations and affect how we work and make decisions. Morgan (2006) has explored and developed the art of reading organizations and letting us comprehend the conflict and complexity of the organization. If managed in ways that link strategic thinking, active executive search, and careful organizational development, leadership transitions can advance the purposefulness of the organization. Leaders take their roles on boundaries, thus regulating the flow of uncertainty from a fast changing wider environment such that their units have focus and a calmer context within which to do work. We must see that organizations exist in the socioeconomic environment the way fish exist in the ocean, and the way we exist in the physical environment. In knowing the similarities and differences in each metaphor, the manager of the organization will be able to use the organism in the area that it is needed the most and also use the machine in the area where it is needed the most. The organism can adapt to different environments and the machine can perform repetitively the same functions. The metaphors are most valuable in the organization once you train and coach ones employees, you will know which metaphor is best used within the organization.

Cell Transport Mechanisms and Permeability: Computer Simulation

Simple Diffusion 1. The following refer to Activity 1: Simulating Dialysis (Simple Diffusion). Which solute(s) were able to pass through the 20 MWCO membrane? According to your results, which solute had the highest molecular weight? ______________________________________ Which solute displayed the highest rate of diffusion through the 200 MWCO membrane? __________________________ Using the data from Chart 1, explain the relationship between the rate of diffusion and the size of the solute. Facilitated Diffusion 2. The following refer to Activity 2: Simulating Facilitated Diffusion. Did any of the substances travel against their concentration gradient? Explain why or why not. Using your results from Chart 2, what was the fastest rate of facilitated diffusion recorded? _______________. Describe the conditions that were used to achieve this rate. ___________________________________________________________ Name two ways to increase the rate of glucose transport. _____________________________________________________ Did NaCl affect glucose transport? ____________________________________________________________ __________ Did NaCl require a transport protein for diffusion? Why or why not? ___________________________________________ Cell Transport Mechanisms and Permeability: Computer Simulation E X E R C I S E NAME ____________________________________ LAB TIME/DATE ________________________ version 8 Osmotic Pressure 3. The following refer to Activity 3: Simulating Osmotic Pressure. For NaCl, which MWCO membrane(s) provided for the net movement of water without moveme nt of NaCl? Explain how you determined this. (Hint: Correlate your results to the data in Chart 3. ) ______________________________ For glucose, which MWCO membrane(s) provided for the net movement of glucose without net ovement of water? Explain how you determined this. ____________________________________________________________ ___________ Is osmotic pressure generated if solutes diffuse freely? _______________________________________________________ Explain how the solute concentration affects osmotic pressure. ________________________________________________ Filtration 4. The following refer to Activity 4: Simulating Filtration. Using your results in Chart 4, which MWCO membrane had the greatest filtration rate? ____________________________ Explain the relationship between pore size and filtration rate. ________________________________________________ Which solute did not appear in the filtrate using any of the membranes? _________________________________________ What is your p rediction of the molecular weight of glucose compared to the other solutes in the solution? _______________ What happened when you increased the driving pressure? ____________________________________________________ Explain why fluid flows from the capillaries of the kidneys into the kidney tubules. How do you think a decrease in blood pressure would affect filtration in the kidneys? _____________________________ PEx-18 Review Sheet 5B 5. The following refer to Activity 5: Simulating Active Transport. With 1 mMATP added to the cell interior (left beaker) and the extracellular space (right beaker), was all of the Na moved into the extracellular space? Why or why not? ____________________________________________________________ _ Describe the effect of decreasing the number of sodium-potassium pumps. _______________________________________ Describe how you were able to show that the movement of sodium was due to active transport. ______________________

Introduction to Economics Exercise 1

INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMICS Exercise 1 1. What determines that a resource be scarce? Why is scarcity important in defining Economics as a science Resources are seen as being scarce, when the wants exceed the resources. The fundamental problem of economics relates to the choices made in the face of limited resources and unlimited wants. 2. Read your local newspaper and economic magazines. Explain the difference between Microeconomics and Macroeconomics. From your research, give three examples of microeconomic and macroeconomic issues.Microeconomics relates to the study of households and firms and the interaction between these different economic actors. Macroeconomics, however, relates to the study of the economy as a whole, and in particular problems pertaining to growth, unemployment and inflation. Examples of microeconomic issues: 1. price ceilings/floors 2. positive/negative externalities 3. elasticity Examples of macroeconomic issues: 1. inflation 2. unemployment 3. economic growth (GDP) 3. Regarding the concept of Opportunity Cost, comment how your opportunity cost of going to the movies may be affected when: a.You have a final exam the following day b. The University will be shut down for a month starting today c. The same movie will be shown on TV tomorrow a) increase b) decrease c) increase 4. Explain if the following statements are true or false, Explain your reply d. The opportunity cost of choosing a certain activity is equal to the sum of all the benefits of all the alternatives not chosen. e. Opportunity cost is a subjective measure a) False – the opportunity cost of choosing a certain activity is equal to the cost of the next best alternative forgone. ) True – opportunity cost relates to the individual, in that they must choose how to maximize their own utility/happiness, and opportunity cost can vary from individual to individual. 5. Under what conditions is it possible to expand the Production Possibility Frontier (If it is not possib le, explain your reply) The PPF can expand during periods of technological innovation or the discovery of new resources. Or through the process of trade. 6. a) England 2/6 = 1/3, USA 1/5 b) Wheat = England, Clothes = England c) England = Wheat, USA = Clothes ) England should produce wheat and USA clothes. Using the following table Hours of work needed to produce one unit | England| USA| Wheat| 2| 1| Clothes| 6| 5| | | | a. What is the opportunity cost of producing wheat in England and in the USA b. Which country has an absolute advantage in the production of wheat, and of clothes c. Which country has a comparative advantage in producing wheat and producing clothes d. Which country should specialize in the production of wheat? And of clothes? a. GRAPH b. GRAPH c. GRAPHThe Price is above market equilibrium: If the price exceeds the equilibrium price, a surplus occurs and there will be competition among the sellers and price will come down to the equilibrium point. This way the equilib rium is tried to maintain in each of the cases. d. GRAPH Price is below the market equilibrium: If the price is below the equilibrium a shortage occurs and there will be a competition among the buyers and the price will rise to the equilibrium level. This is also another way to restore the equilibrium though there are changes that are occurring in the market in the prices. . The inferior good demand will decrease when consumer income rises. These goods are affordable and adequately fulfill their purpose, but as more costly substitutes that offer more pleasure become available, the use of the inferior goods diminishes. f. A  complementary good  is a  good  with a negative  cross elasticity of demand. This means the demand for a good will decrease when the price of the complementary good is increased. g. If there is a rumor that price for this good will increase, demand will probably increase too. Consumers want to purchase the product before any increase.All the market will be affect; we will see an increase of demand for main and complementary goods. Shortage will probably appear and price will increase to search equilibrium. Rumor will be reality. 7. Using the following demand and supply table Price| Demand| Supply| 1. 25| 8| 28| 1. 00| 14| 24| 0. 75| 20| 20| 0. 50| 26| 16| 0. 25| 32| 12| a. Graph the demand curve and the supply curve b. Identify the equilibrium price and equilibrium quantity c. Assume a price of 1. 00, Identify if there is shortage or surplus in the market and how the market forces behave to reinstate the equilibrium d.Now assume the price is 0. 50 and repeat the question above e. Now assume this is the market behavior for an inferior good, what would happen if the consumers income would increase from $ 25 to $ 32 a week f. Assume this markets complementary good? s price increases, what would happen in this market g. Assume there is a rumor that the price for this good will increases in the following days. How do expectations affec t this market? What will be the final outcome? For all the questions above you must support your answer with a graph. 8.Price elasticity of demand : (0,1)/(-0,2) = -1,5 The demand is elastic and sensitive to price changes. 9. Price elasticity of demand : ((0,38-0,5)/0,5) = -0,24 -24% ((26000-10000)/10000) = 1,6 160% (-0,24)/(1,6) = -0,15 The demand is elastic and sensitive to price changes. 10. a. Vodka: luxury good or superior good, making a vodka more expensive can increase its perceived value as a luxury good to such an extent that sales can go up, rather than down. b. Table Salt: necessity good, necessity goods are usually produced by a  public utility.We can't live without and won't likely cut back on even when times are tough c. Furniture: normal good, this does not necessarily refer to the quality of the good, but an abnormal good would clearly not be in demand, except for possibly lower socioeconomic groups. d. Perfume: luxury good or superior good, making a perfume more e xpensive can increase its perceived value as a luxury good to such an extent that sales can go up, rather than down. e. Beet: inferior good, we can replace beet by others foodstuffs more expensive, better quality or that give more pleasure like a meat. f.Sugar: necessity good, necessity goods are usually produced by a  public utility. We can't live without and won't likely cut back on even when times are tough. 11. Decision making is based on costs and benefits. That means you make purchases if the marginal benefits are greater than the price. Thus, when you decide to make a purchase, you are likely receiving something worth more to you than what you had to spend to buy it, or else you wouldn’t have bought it. That net benefit, minus the equilibrium price, is consumer surplus. 12. GRAPH b. With a price of 4$, Bert buys 2 bottles.His CS for 2 bottles: (7-4) + (5-4) = 3 + 1 = 4$ c. With a price of 2$, Bert buys 3 bottles. His CS for 3 bottles: (7-2) + (5-2) + (3-2) = 9$ 13. G RAPH A price ceiling occurs when the government puts a legal limit on how high the price of a product can be. In order for a price ceiling to be effective, it must be set below the natural market equilibrium. When a price ceiling is set, a shortage occurs. A price floor is the lowest legal price a commodity can be sold at. Price floors are used by the government to prevent prices from being too low.For a price floor to be effective, it must be set above the equilibrium price. 14. a. 4P – 80 = 100 – 2P 6P = 180 P = 30$ Q = 40 The equilibrium price is 30$ and the equilibrium quantity is 40 bushels b. GRAPH c. (0. 5) x (20) x (40) = 400 $ Consumer surplus (0. 5) x (10) x (40) = 200 $ Producer surplus 400 + 200 = 600 $ Surplus Equilibrium 15. f. The difference between marginal utility and total utility The marginal utility of a good or service is the gain or loss from an increase or decrease in the consumption of that good or service.All goods and services have their own m arginal utility. The total utility is the sum of all marginal utilities for a good or service. Total utility is the aggregate sum of satisfaction or benefit that an individual gains from consuming a given amount of goods or services. The more the person consumes, the larger his or her total utility will be. g. The principle of diminishing marginal utility Diminishing marginal utility is to use or consume a good or service with the most important or efficient utility for us.