No particular topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

No particular topic - Essay Example ersight Service (IOS) was created in 2001 so as to improve not only the practice of governance but also the practice of internal control and risk management (UNESCO, 2015d). Therefore, aside from forming the â€Å"Internal Audit† branch, the IOS is also composed of two (2) other branches such as the â€Å"Investigation† and the â€Å"Evaluation† (UNESCO, 2015d). In general, UNESCO’s â€Å"Internal Audit† aims to improve its main operations by creating a systematic approach in improving the effectiveness of objectives (i.e. governance, internal control, and risk management) (UNESCO, 2015e) whereas the â€Å"Investigation† branch aims to investigate any conflict or any misconduct or violation of laws such as fraud and corruption that arises in different departments (UNESCO, 2015f). The main purpose of creating the â€Å"Evaluation Section† (EVS) is to ensure that the organization will be able to come up with a much better policy development (UNESCO, 2015g). Often times, improvements in evaluation practices can be done by implementing strict accountability and transparency as well as creating new strategies on how to effectively improve the existing evaluation and management practices (UNESCO, 2015g). ‘effectiveness’, ‘impact’, and ‘sustainability’ (Parsons, 2007, p. 8). In relation to the UNESCO evaluation criteria, this essay seeks to evaluate its impact on how to reduce the habit of smoking. As part of going through the main discussion, the key policy drivers behind the anti-smoking policy will be first identified followed by critically evaluating its effectiveness in terms of meeting the goal of reducing people’s smoking habit. Eventually, the effectiveness of the key policy drivers will be criticized not only within the local but also within the national and international level. The concept of policy development is all about being able to create â€Å"evidenced-based recommendations† that can be used as a guide in educating people through health

Tool for Orientation for Four Generations Essay Example for Free

Tool for Orientation for Four Generations Essay In the current clinical setting, it is often common to find that evidence-based practice (EBP) is not being implemented. There are a number of causative factors that can be attributed to this observation. Some analysts have suggested that personal differences may be hindering implementation of EBP. It is therefore important to look into the validity of this factor with special emphasis given to age differences in the clinical setting. The question to be considered is whether or not there is an evidence-based tool available to meet the needs of all four generations of learners. The EBT tool needs to implement clinical references and other reviews as well as a case by case analysis over past and present generations to help form a small basis for future generational use of the EBT tool. In forming continually controlled studies one would be able to obtain current and ongoing evidentiary guideliens in which to more accurately determine the generational differences to determine if there is in fact any influences of with utilizing the use of EBT. Population of Interest In order to foster a productive and feasible atmosphere in clinical practice, it is imperative for members of the organization to appreciate and respect differences among the generations. This means that gender, racial and ethnic backgrounds need to be understood and accepted. The latter categories of diversity have been discussed at length in nursing practice and most people understand them well. On the other hand, the issue of intergenerational differences also can be problematic if nurses do not understand it properly. In order to place this matter in context, it is essential to review the historical background of these different generations. The population of interest includes four distinct generations (Cordinez, 2002). There are basically four generations that may be found within the clinical situation; these are Veterans (born between 1922 and 1945), Baby Boomers (born between 1945 – 1960), Generation X (born between 1960 – 1980), and lastly the Millennial Generation (Born after 1980). All these generations underwent different experiences that subsequently shaped their respective professional and personal values. The performance value of each of these generations differ. For example, it is well known that the Baby Boomers generation was much ado about peace and the different associated behaviors related to drug and alcohol use, thus inhibiting their generation compared to the more productive performance of the later generations. The first generation under consideration is the Veteran generation born during the Great Depression and the Second World War. This generation grew up under tough times but during their adulthood, the country’s economy began flourishing. Because of these matters, The Veteran Generation realized that hard work can be rewarded and that authority ought to be respected. Therefore, it can be said that the values most revered by this generation are authority, loyalty, and respect. The second generation of nurses in the field today is the Baby Boom generation. Members of this group were born during a time of economic prosperity that was still characterized by some traditional values. This generation grew up around two-parent households in which one parent was the breadwinner. However, there were still a number of issues confronting them. They began challenging status quo and did not respect authority. According to Baby Boomers, real heroes are those ones with the courage to change the system. This generation had a lot room for growth within the nursing profession owing to the fact that economic times were relatively good. This generation is not typically conversant with technology. Intervention EBP implementation in most health institutions is a recent development. Since the population of interest is multigenerational, it is imperative to find out whether their generational background could have led to learning differences within the EBT tool. In order to attribute the lack of implementation of EBP to this issue, it is essential to eliminate other causative factors. Problems causing the potential failure to learn may be unique to each generation. It is important to design a nursing orientation program that empowers all generations of learners to implement evidence-based practice. Comparison of interest After examination of the historical backgrounds of these groups, one can now understand the differences between the groups may be influenced by their past. Two of the four generations of nurses have different perspectives on authority, workplace structures, technology, and evidence based practice (Spitzer, 2001). This can be a problem because organizations have changed dramatically over the past few years. Most health institutions now respect team-based approaches requiring individuals from different organizational levels to work together. This challenges traditional organizational structures in which the older generation was highly respected. The current view is to utilize evidence-based practice. Further contradicting the education of the older generation, the advent of technology has flipped organizational relationships. Baby boomers who had grown up with a deep respect for authority now highly depend on younger nurses to explain to them the essentials of computer technology. This has created renewed tensions between the generations. Despite the dramatic change in organizational structures, nurse’s mental attitudes still remain relatively stagnant and this has hampered implementation of evidence-based practice. Some nurses have failed to recognize where behavior patterns originate from and thus misunderstand colleagues from other generations. For instance, Baby Boomers usually think of Generation Xers as being highly unreliable or disloyal. On the other hand, the latter generation regards Baby Boomers tendency to remain with one employer as a failure to cease new opportunities. There are different work relations approaches between the generations. Outcomes Evidence-based practice in most health institutions may not be properly implemented because a substantial number of clinics fail to prepare their nurses through practical training. This means that nurses may be aware of the concept through the literature but do not have the ability to implement it in practice. Implementing this as a required teaching throughout all the health profession will enable nurses to be able to have additional tools available so that they may have more information in which to perform their duties better. In other health institutions, nurses lack infrastructural support from hospital administrations accustomed to conventional methods. Such administrations fail to shift their clinical practice making it difficult for particular nurses to do the same. EBP is failing due to lack of proper orientation in these health institutions. Nurses lack a straight-forward way in which they can carry it out within a certain clinical setting. Consequently, the methods may end up failing. There is little literature to link EBP with diversity issues let alone generational differences (Hicks Hicks, 1999). Conclusion In order for health organizations to flourish, there is a need to acknowledge differences between various generations of nurses. However, when it comes to evidence-based practice, other issues take greater precedence over generation differences. Instead, clinics need to look for ways in which they can boost administrative support, offer proper orientation and training to nurses. Personally, as nurse liaison for new employees, I am empowered to make changes by collecting and making available comprehensive, ongoing, and readily accessible EBP information needed to provide optimal care. At the very least, I can assist in providing staff with an orientation tool which incorporates the EBP process to insure and promote positive outcomes. References Cordinez, J. (2002). Recruitment, retention and management of generation X. Health Care Management Journal, 47, 4, 237-249. Hicks, R. Hicks, K. (1999). Boomers, Xers and other strangers Location: New York: Harper Collins. Raines, C. (2003). Connecting generations. CA: Crisp Publishers. Spitzer, R. (2001). A new world and new generation to come: Seminars for Nurse Managers, 9. 1367. The problem of interest in PICO question format. (5 points) 4/5 Presented a question, but did not identify PICO components. I DON’T KNOW WHAT THESE COMPONENTS ARE AND ALSO DID NOT ADDRESS THE OTHER TWO GENERATIONS COMMENTED ON BY YOUR INSTRUCTOR AS I DID NOT KNOW WHERE YOU WANTED TO GO WITH THAT. 1. A brief description of the patient population/disease, intervention, comparison, and outcome. (10 points) 9/10 Presented thorough description of two generations. What about the remaining two generations? If they are being excluded, tell the reader the rationale for this decision. Also, the outcome you intend to achieve is increased use of EBP. That was not clearly articulated in the outcomes section.

Violence in the American Workplace Essay -- Business Management Essays

Violence in the American Workplace The American workplace has become a battle ground. Each year thousands of worker’s fall victim to workplace violence, or are at least threatened with acts of violence. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA): Workplace violence has emerged as an important safety and health issue in today's workplace. It's most extreme form, homicide, is the second leading cause of fatal occupational injury in the United States. Nearly 1,000 workers are murdered, and 1.5 million are assaulted in the workplace each year. The threat of violence in the workplace is a growing phenomena that affects all levels of the work force from taxi drivers to stock traders. According to information provided by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH): Crime, harassment, and internal violence has created a strikingly visible safety and health problem for the workplace. Recent figures from NIOSH and the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that people at work are increasingly exposed to lethal violence. Homicide accounts for 17% of all deaths in the workplace. It was the leading cause of death for women in the workplace in ..... These figures, now well publicized, create a perception that the workplace is not safe. The picture of the angry worker bent on revenge has become the symbol for the sense of betrayal and loss felt by the American worker in the face of the sweeping changes affecting all levels of the workforce. We must now add to this the frightening picture of gas station attendants, store clerks, and taxi drivers who are dying at work in unacceptably high numbers. Although crime statistics are dropping nationally across the board, violence in the workplace... ...o. 8, Pg. 54 - 57, August 1998, American Hospital Publishing, Inc. Fesseden, Ford, et al. "Rampage Killer’s: A Statistical Portrait". New York Times 9 April 20000, pg. 1, col. 1 National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health Web Page; http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/violcont.htm; Current Intelligence Bulletin 57: Violence in the Workplace. Risk Factors and Prevention Strategies. July1996, n.p. National Crime Center for Victims of Crime Infolink Web Page; http://207.222.132.10/infolink/info54.htm. Infolink: Workplace Violence - Employer Information. March 8, 2000, n.p. Occupational Safety and Health Administration Web Page; http://www.osha.gov/oshinfo/priorities/violence.html. n.d., n.p. Robinson, Janet L. "10 Facts Every Employer Should Know About Workplace Violence", Smart Business Supersite. Internet Search Engine: Google.com, n.d., n.p.

Desire Under The Elms Essay examples -- essays research papers

â€Å"Desire Under the Elms†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In â€Å"Desire Under the Elms†, by Eugene O’Neill, many uses of both biblical and mythological allusions can be seen. These allusions help add depth to the plot of the play by linking the play to other similar, well-known stories. Three of the best allusions are seen in Cabot’s talk about how God is a strong god, his talk about God being in the stones, and his telling Eben that he is blind as a mole.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cabot’s talk about God being a strong god is important to the story. He tells about how hard he had to work to make the farm a good place to live. â€Å"When yew kin make corn sprout out o’ stones, God’s livin’ in yew.† This quote is an allusion to how if you work hard and believe in God you can do whatever you want. The quote is important to the story because it helps develop the character of Cabot and it tells the reader what kind of man Cabot is. It shows that he is strong, tough, and has a strong belief in God.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another important allusion can be seen when in the same part of the story as the previous one. Now, he is talking about how the farm is his and how he worked so hard to make it what it is. He then gives an allusion to the story of Peter building his church on the rock in the Bible. He says â€Å"God’s hard, not easy! God’s in the stones! Build my church on a rock – out o’ stones an’ I’ll be in them! That’s what he meant t’ Peter.† This quote refers to Peter’s story in ...

The Case for Christ

BOOK SUMMARY The Case for Christ Lee Strobel. Pub. Zondervan Publishing House About the Author Lee Strobel, Master of Studies in Law from Yale Law School. Award-winning journalist & investigative reporter for 13 yrs. at the Chicago Tribune. Pg. 303. His life changes when his wife becomes a Christian. He fears he will lose the fun-loving companion and friend he has known for years, but instead he is surprised by subtle changes in her character. This not only intrigues him but prompts him to learn more about Jesus by using the same logical and factual approach he follows while working as an investigative crime reporter. He starts his learning quest as an unconvinced skeptic. His underlying question is, â€Å"Can a case for Christ be made beyond a reasonable doubt†? To answer this, he sets out on a fact-finding mission. For nearly two years, he interviews numerous subject matter experts and biblical scholars to answer his questions with facts and evidence. His skills in investigative reporting help uncover the truth regarding the reliability of the gospels. Introduction: Who is Jesus? This comes down to two answers: This man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. Part 1: Examining the Record Timeframe Skeptics: â€Å"Some scholars say the gospels were written so far after the events that legend developed and distorted what was finally written down, turning Jesus from merely a wise teacher into the mythological Son of God. † Pg. 32 Answers: â€Å"The standard scholarly dating is that Acts was written by Luke in A. D. 61-63, because Paul was still living and under house arrest in Rome. Since Acts is the 2nd of a two-part work, we know the 1st part – the gospel of Luke – must have been written earlier than that. And since Luke incorporates parts of the gospel of Mark, that means Mark is even earlier. So if you allow one year for each writing, you end up with Mark written no later than about A. D. 60, a maximum gap of 30 yrs. after Jesus’ death. Pg. 34 That’s still within the lifetimes of various eyewitnesses of the life of Jesus, including hostile eyewitnesses who would have served as a corrective if false teachings about Jesus were going around. † Pg. 33. Eyewitness testimony is the key here. The two earliest biographies of Alexander the Great were written by Arrian and Plutarch more than 400 years after Alexander’s death in 323 B. C. , yet historians consider them to be trustworthy. So whether the gospels were written 60 yrs. or 30 yrs. after the life of Jesus, the mount of time is negligible by comparison. Pg. 33. Character Test â€Å"The gospel writers had nothing to gain except criticism, ostracism, and martyrdom. The certainly had nothing to win financially. If anything this would have provided pressure to keep quiet, to deny Jesus, to downplay him, even to forget they ever met him—yet, because of their integrity, they proclaimed what they saw. Pg. 48. Eleven apostles were put to grisly deaths, which show deep conviction for what they believed and were preaching regarding Jesus. Pg. 45 Consistency â€Å"The gospels are extremely consistent with each other by ancient standards, which are the only standards by which it’s fair to judge them†. Pg. 45 â€Å"If the gospels were identical or too consistent, this would have raised awareness that the authors had conspired among themselves to coordinate their stories in advance, and that would h ave cast doubt on them†. Pg. 45 The Adverse Witness Test â€Å"Many people had reasons for wanting to discredit this movement and would have done so if they could have simply told history better. Pg. 51. Yet, look what his opponents did say. In later Jewish writings Jesus is called a sorcerer who led Israel astray—which acknowledges that he really did work marvelous wonders, although the writers dispute the source of his power. They never say he did not work the written miracles. If critics could have attacked the movement on the basis that it was full of falsehoods or distortions, they would have. But, that’s exactly what we don’t see†. Pg. 51 Corroborating evidence outside the Bible Josephus, Jewish historian, A. D. 37-100 †¢ Wrote about Jewish wars that have corroborated by other historians and archaeological excavations. Pg. 81 †¢ Writes about James, brother of Jesus, who was called the Christ. Stoned to death in A. D. 62. Pg. 78 †¢ Wrote about Jesus the tribe of his Christian followers that had still to this day not disappeared. Pg. 79 Tacitus, a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire, A. D. 56 –117 †¢ Writes about Christ suffering extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of Pontius Pilatus. Refers to an immense multitude of Christ followers willing to die for their beliefs. Pg. 82 Pliny the Younger, Roman citizen, and provincial governor, A. D. 23-79 †¢ Refers to rapid spread of Christianity among all classes of people, as well as Roman citizens that are sent to Rome for trial. â€Å"They have high ethical standards and if they repeatedly admit they honor Christ as God they are executed†. Thallus, a Greek historian, wrote in A. D. 52 a history of the Mediterranean world since the Trojan War. †¢ Referenced the total darkness at the time of the crucifixion. Pg. 84 Phlegon, a Greek author in A. D. 137 †¢ Reported about the greatest eclipse of the sun when it became night at noon in A. D. 33. Pg. 85 The Mishnah, the 1st part of the Talmud, an important Jewish work compiled in A. D. 200 regarding Judaism's Oral Law †¢ Refers to Jesus as a false messiah who practiced magic and was justly condemned to death. Pg. 86 Key Findings So if we didn’t have any New Testament or other Christian writings, we could conclude from non-Christian historical writings that: 1. Jesus was a Jewish teacher 2. Many believed he performed healings and exorcisms 3. Some believed he was the Messiah 4. He was rejected by Jewish leaders 5. He was crucified under Pontius Pilate in the reign of Tiberius 6. His followers spread beyond Palestine to there were multitudes of them in Rome by A. D. 64 7. All types of people worshiped him as God. Pg. 87. The Scientific Evidence Archaeology found an inscription from the time of Tiberius, from A. D. 14-37 which names Lysanias as tetrarch in Abila near Damascus—just as Luke had written. Pg. 97 John mentions the Pool of Bethesda and details the pool had five porticoes. When archaeologists excavated in this location 40 feet below the ground, they found the pool site and 5 porticoes (walk ways) exactly as John had described. A fragment copy of John 18 was found in Egypt that papyrologists have dated to about A. D. 125. Pg. 99 Part 2: Analyzing Jesus The Identity Evidence of Gospel Writings The cross: Pontius Pilate inscribed INRI, an acronym for â€Å"Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews. Pg. 135 The Psychological Evidence Gary Collins, Dr. in clinical psychology. â€Å"People suffering form psychosis display inappropriate emotions such as anxiety, depression or even anger. Jesus did not display any such emotions nor did he exhibit the misperceptions that plague people suffering from psychosis. Jesus did not show any symptoms of mental illness. Jesus supported what he said by his actions—healing, raising people from the dead and the casting out of demons. Pg. 153 Prophesy Fulfillment Louis Lapides, Jewish convert to Christianity. Grew up thinking Jesus was more derogatory than anything else. After returning from Vietnam War, he experimented with various religions and drugs. Was challenged about his disbelief in Jesus which led him to read the Old Testament prophesies. Was amazed of all the prophesies that Jesus fulfilled: â€Å"Isaiah revealed the manner of the Messiah's birth (of a virgin); Micah pinpointed the place of his birth (Bethlehem); Genesis and Jeremiah specified his ancestry (a descendent of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, from the tribe of Judah, the house of David); The Psalms foretold his betrayal, his accusation by false witnesses, his manner of death (pierced in the hands and feet, although crucifixion hadn't been invented yet), and his resurrection (he would not decay but would ascent on high); and on and on† (p. 179). Lapides goes on to earn a bachelor's degree in theology and a master of divinity of theology. Pg. 173 Part 3: Researching the Resurrection To establish that Jesus rose from the dead, one must first establish that he died on the cross. The Medical Evidence The gospels tell us that Jesus sweat blood. â€Å"And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. † Luke 22:44 Dr. Metherell, M. D. & PH. D. in Engineering. Pg. 193 â€Å"In severe cases of anxiety, the body releases chemicals that break down the capillaries in the sweat glands. As a result, there’s a small amount of bleeding into these glands, and the sweat comes out tinged with a very small amount of blood†. Pg. 195 According to the Dr. , when Jesus was nailed to the cross, his arms would have immediately been stretched about 6 inches in length, and both shoulders would have become dislocated. This fulfilled the Old Testament prophesy in Psalm 22, which foretold the Crucifixion hundreds of years before it took place and says, â€Å"My bones are out of joint. † When Jesus suffocated on the cross, a Roman soldier confirmed it by thrusting a spear into his side, which likely went through his lung and into the heart. When the spear was pulled out, clear fluid and a large volume of blood would have come out. Clear fluid from the lung and large amounts of blood from the heart. This was confirmed in John 19:34 when John reported he saw blood and water come out Jesus’ side when the spear was removed. Pg. 199. The Dr. testified there would be no question that Jesus was dead at this point. Pg. 200. To speed up death, Romans would use a steel shaft to shatter the victim’s lower leg bones. This would prevent the victim from pushing up with his legs to breathe. Jesus’ legs were not broken, because the soldiers already determined that he was dead, and they just used the spear to confirm it. John 19:32-36 This fulfilled another Old Testament prophesy about the Messiah, which is that his bones would remain unbroken. Ps 34:20. Pg. 200 Roman soldiers had every incentive to ensure crucified prisoners were dead when removed from the cross, because they would be put to death if a prisoner escaped. Pg. 201. â€Å"Last of all, if Jesus did not die, and he somehow walked away from the tomb, he would have been in such poor condition and looked so pitiful that his followers would have felt sorry for him and try to nurse him back to health. They would never have been prompted to start a worldwide movement based on the hope that someday they too would have a resurrected body like his†. Pg. 202 The Evidence of the Missing Body Joseph of Arimathea takes to body of Jesus, puts it in a tomb, the tomb is visited by a small group of women followers of Jesus early on the Sunday morning following his crucifixion, and they find that the tomb is empty. They see a vision of angels saying that â€Å"Jesus has risen† (p. 215). Recorded in Acts 13:29-31 and prophesied in Ps. 16:10. Pg. 219. In the earliest Jewish writings, there was nobody claiming the tomb still contained Jesus’ body. The question always was, â€Å"What happened to the body? † The Jews proposed the guards of the tomb fell asleep, while the Christians proclaimed the guards were paid off to keep quiet. Pg. 221 â€Å"The site of Jesus’ tomb was known to Christian and Jew alike. If it were not empty, it would have been impossible for a movement founded on belief in the Resurrection to have come into existence in the same city where this man had been publicly executed and buried†. Pg. 20. The Evidence of Appearances Paul 5 B. C. – 67 A. D. †¢ Wrote in both 1 Cor. 9:1 and in1 Cor. 15:8 where he personally encountered the resurrected Christ. Pg. 228. †¢ Persecuted Christians until his conversion sometime in A. D. 33. †¢ Refers to the fact that Jesus was a descendant of David, that he was the Messiah, that he was betrayed, that he was tried, crucified for our s ins, and buried, and that he rose again on the third day and was seen by many people—including James, the brother of Jesus who hadn’t believed in him prior to his crucifixion. Pg. 8 †¢ â€Å"1 Corinthians 15:8 is part of an early church creed. In this portion of Scripture, the post-resurrection Jesus is said to have appeared to Peter, the twelve, plus more than five hundred people some of whom were still alive at the writing of this epistle†. †¢ People reading this at the time could still check with eye witnesses and question them if they wanted to confirm what it said†. Pg. 229. †¢ â€Å"This creed can be traced back to about A. D. 32 to 38 which means it lends it credence as primitive, unembellished testimony about Jesus appearing to skeptics like Paul and James† Pg. 30. Then they go on to cover the numerous sightings by other eye-witnesses mentioned in the gospels and the book of Acts†. Pg. 234. Were the appearances hallucina tions? Dr. Gary Habermas, PH. D. , considered expert on the resurrection. He refutes the theory that the appearances were hallucinations because a hallucination is an individual experience that happens to one person at a time. Pg. 238 The Circumstantial Evidence J. P. Moreland, PH. D. Professor and author. â€Å"When Jesus was crucified, his followers were discouraged and depressed. They no longer had confidence that Jesus had been sent by God, because they believed anyone crucified was accursed by God. They also had been taught that God would not let his Messiah suffer death. So they dispersed. The Jesus movement was all but stopped in its tracks. † Pg. 246 â€Å"Then, after a short period of time, we see them abandoning their occupations, regathering, and committing themselves to spreading a very specific message—that Jesus Christ was the Messiah of God who died on a cross, returned to life, and was seen alive by them. Pg. 247 â€Å"And when you've got eleven credible people with no ulterior motives, with nothing to gain and a lot to lose, who all agree they observed something with their own eyes–now you've got some difficulty explaining that away† Pg. 247. The Conversion of Skeptics â€Å"The gospels tell us Jesus’ family, including James, was embarrassed by what he was claiming to be. † â€Å"Later the historian Jos ephus tells us that James was stoned to death because of his belief in his brother. Why did James’s life change? Paul tells us: the resurrected Jesus appeared to him. There’s no other explanation. † Pg. 248 Saul executed Christians when he had the chance. â€Å"Suddenly, he doesn’t just ease off Christians but joins their movement. He writes that he saw the risen Christ and heard Christ appoint him to be one of his followers. † Pg. 249 Revolutionizing Jewish Life for followers of Jesus Immediately after Jesus’ death, 10,000 Jews were willing to give up five key practices that had served them sociologically and theologically for many centuries: 1. Jewish people no longer offered sacrifices they had been doing since the time of Abraham and Moses 2. You don’t become an upcoming Jewish member simply by keeping Moses’ laws. 3. Worshipped on Sunday (when Jesus rose) instead of Saturday, a 1500 year tradition. 4. Began to worship Jesus as God (trinity) 5. The Messiah was someone who suffered and died for the sins of the world, whereas Jews had been trained to believe that the Messiah was going to be a political leader who would destroy the Roman armies. † Pg. 251 Conclusion: So let’s revisit the underlying question of this book, â€Å"Who is Jesus†? Lee Strobel concluded the evidence of history and his own experiences was too strong to ignore. He made a personal decision to receive Christ. Later, his five-year-old daughter went up to his wife and said, â€Å"Mommy, I want God to do for me what he’s done for Daddy. † This book has helped strengthen my faith in Christ, by highlighting many intriguing historical facts and evidence that corroborates what is written in the Old and New Testament concerning Jesus. I will end with the book’s last paragraph which cites a quote from C. S. Lewis, an atheist and skeptical Cambridge University professor who was eventually won over by evidence for Jesus. C. S. Lewis is most notably known for his best-selling book series The Chronicles of Narnia. â€Å"I am trying to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: â€Å"I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God. † That is the one thing we must not say. A man ho was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic†¦or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patr onizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. Pg. 271.

The Salience of Moral Character essay

The Salience of Moral Character essay The Salience of Moral Character essay The Salience of Moral Character essayI have found that the article â€Å"The Salience of Moral Character† by Jon Garthoff is informative and interesting to read and analyze. I agree with many ideas presented by the author in the article. In the article â€Å"The Salience of Moral Character†, Jon Garthoff discusses the nature and role of two notions – moral obligation and first personal moral judgment, which refer to morality. I really appreciate the author’s work, his style of writing and language, the structure of the article, and other aspects of his work, which contribute to revealing the significance of the issue discussed by Jon Gathoff. Morality has always been recognized as an important issue to study because moral ideals lie in the basis of human nature. The author of the article suggests that moral rights are understood as â€Å"corresponding to rules of moral salience which occasion explicit judgment whenever a morally competent person in a stat e of nature considers killing someone, invading his person, or taking his things† (Gathoff 20). The major goal of the author is to prove the fact that the rules of moral salience play an important role in human life, as these rules ensure the appropriate action-guidance that is accomplished not by natural moral rules, but by some different type of rights that are suitable for a particular social environment or context.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I agree with Jon Gathoff that the following notions are crucial in understanding morality and moral cognition: â€Å"moral rules†, â€Å"rules of moral salience†, â€Å"maxims of action†, â€Å"moral worth†, â€Å"moral character†, â€Å"conflicting rules† and â€Å"social rules†. The author’s statement â€Å"The Ten Commandments and other prescriptions drawn from canonized religious texts are treated by many as paradigms of moral content, and guiding oneself by this sort of prescription is treated by many as a paradigm of moral judgment† is true (Garthoff 1). People highly value the Bible and try to use its principles to live honestly. I believe that an individual code of conduct depends on both religious and social rules. Moral thinking helps people to act in a proper way, without committing crimes or demonstrating aggression.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Besides, I agree with the author of the article in his evaluation of moral theory. He writes, â€Å"Since rules are commonplace in ordinary moral thinking, a moral theory must illuminate the proper place of rules in moral thought† (Garthoff 1). I believe that morality is based on the established moral rules and principles that should be formulated and observed by all members of our society.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In addition, the author provides much evidence to support his arguments. He uses the writings of the outstanding philosophers, R oss and Kant, whose philosophic thought helps to explain the wrongness of making false promises; committing immoral actions, etc. Moral rules should be produced to direct all domains of human life. Kant’s moral theory has nothing common with Barbara Herman’s rules of moral salience, which allow human beings to be focused on occasion deliberation. I believe that the author’s flow of thought is clear and comprehensive. He gives explanation to some atypical situations, which require atypical decisions. In this case, â€Å"routine action may be inappropriate† (Garthoff 4).In conclusion, I can say that I enjoyed reading this article because it allowed me to ponder over some significant issues our society face today.   The article also allowed me to provide critical reflection upon some important points of the research on morality. Jon Gathoff presented many comprehensive points that could help students to be focused on future research more profoundly.

Lord of the Flies Theme and Summary of Chapter 12 Essays

Lord of the Flies Theme and Summary of Chapter 12 Essays Lord of the Flies Theme and Summary of Chapter 12 Paper Lord of the Flies Theme and Summary of Chapter 12 Paper Essay Topic: Lord Of the Flies Analysis Lord of the Flies (Chapter 12): Theme and Summary Summary of Chapter 12 Ralph is currently hiding from the other boys and starts to think about everything that’s happened with Simon, Piggy and the rest of the island when he has an epiphany. He realizes that they have lost their civilization, their innocence and how savage everyone has really become. While he was running, he comes across Simon’s field with the lord of the flies (which now only has the skull on it – shows the time spent on the island). He removes the skull in a fit of rage and takes the spear to use as his weapon. Later that night, Ralph sneaks back to Castle Rock and finds Sam and Eric and is given a warning that the tribe going to hunt him down. They give him food but don’t join him out of their fear. The next morning, Jack tortures the twins about Ralph’s whereabouts and tries to get through the thickets he’s hiding in but Ralph manages to fend them off. Realizing that Jack has set the jungle on fire when he smells the smoke, he leaves his hiding place and fights his way past the tribe members. As the Jack and the others chase him, Ralphs runs through the undergrowth and stops at the beach’s shoreline where he looks up to see a Naval Officer. The officer informs him that his ship stopped at the island after seeing the smoke from the fire. He assumes that the boys are playing around and having fun after hearing that there are no adults on the island until he hears the entire story. He can’t believe that in such a small amount of time these young English boys have changed so much. Overwhelmed by the fact that they are finally rescued, Ralph, Jack and the other boys started crying. Ralph cries with grief, for the loss of his innocence, and for Piggy, someone who was his truest friend. Theme: â€Å"Even if we don’t realize it, time changes us, and the one thing harder to accept is that we can’t change back. † * Loss of innocence : they have seen how cruel humanity can be and the evil that each human holds inside them piggy’s death Loss of civilization: Ralph sees how savage the people whom he saw as friends have become and that tears him apart and fills him with grief he worked together with Jack and now the person who he saw as an ally is the one trying to kill him * Looking back: they all started out as average, civilized, neat English boys who knew of order and now they have changed so much Jack will never be the same and neither will Ralph.

US Terrorism essays

US Terrorism essays The United States has become the target of the most recent terrorist attacks because of its political involvement in the middle east. The United States has had involvement in the middle east ever since before the Gulf War which took place in the early 1990s. Their involvement began in the early 80s when they were called to help out Isreal, an ally which was being harrasses by Palestine. Their presence has been felt there since and the U.S. has acted like International Police. The presence of the United States has been felt in that region of the middle east since the 1980s and has upset certain groups of muslims who do not want them there. The U.S. first became involved in the middle east when it finally recognized the Palestinian Liberation Organization (P.L.O.), an organization which was developed to help the Palestinians try to recover land that they lost when the country of Isreal was created in 1948. The United States foreign policy limited the P.L.O.s success because it made of certain rules that the P.L.O. had to follow before the U.S. finally recognized it as being the representative of all Palestinian Arabs. The P.L.O. had to accept the existence Isreal as a state,withdraw troops from Isreal, and to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries. This did not set well with the P.L.O. They refused to accept Isreal as a state and in return the Americans did not regcognize the P.L.O. as an organization but stil kept troops there to try and keep the peace. This is where the U.S. first seen signs of terrorism. There were bombings, hi-jackings, and shootings directed at civilian targets by palestinians who claimed that their actions were political statements. The P.L.O. failed to condem the use of internations terrorist tactics andeven thought they do have a no tolerance policy ...

China and Foreign Direct Investment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

China and Foreign Direct Investment - Essay Example The greater part of FDI in China has originated from other areas of Asia excluding Japan, Hong Kong which is a self governing region of china has the largest record, however the dominance of Hong Kong is illusory in that much of the FDI is from elsewhere, in fact the stock listed as Hong Kong source FDI in China is just Chinese domestic investment round tripped through Hong Kong. Additional FDI in China listed as Hong Kong in origin is in actuality from a variety of western countries and Taiwan that is sited in China via intermediaries. Unfortunately, published records do not exist to point out exactly how much FDI in China that is supposedly from Hong Kong is in fact attributable to other countries. Foreign Direct Investment in its characteristic structure is described as a company from one country making a physical investment in another country for example building a factory (Allen et al 2005). The definition can also encompass investments made to purchase lasting interests in business ventures operating outside the economy of the shareholder. Over the past decade, the direction of foreign direct investment (FDI) in to and from Taiwan has experienced spectacular changes. Whereas the flow of FDI at best languished, the outflow ascended to extraordinary heights, with 20% of annual growth rate. Seeing that the international competitiveness of labour intensive industries in Taiwan reduced, they have shifted from offshore to cheaper labour cost places (Buckley & Mark 2002). Through this process the mainland especially china, has grown to become the preferred destination for Taiwanese FDI nevertheless considerable flows have also gone to the Americans and to Europe, a detail which h as often been disregarded. Meryll Lynch China (ML China) has been the most striking due to its outsized collection of cheap labour, its export advertising strategy which has shared favourably with Taiwan's returns in export-oriented FDI (Allen et al 2005); and the unique customs, language and family association links connecting ML China and Taiwan. Even though Taiwanese FDI in China was formally made acceptable in 1991; ever since 1978 China's policy of drawing flows of FDI had a substantial impact of ML china. In addition some sources report that even before 1991, Taiwanese capital has been moving indirectly to ML china via Hong Kong (Buckley & Mark 2002) An imperative issues concerning Taiwanese FDI in ML China, on the other hand is long term maintainability. Due to the size ( most are small scale) of several of these venture projects and their repeatedly low value added and fundamental technology, they are not in line with ML China's current main concern of increasing the quality of inflows of FDI. This great share of small scale low technology ventures in ML China powerfully contrast to the sizes of Taiwanese FDI projects in other destinations which on average own considerably higher personified technology and possible valued added (Chow 2002). The China Japan Link The current developments in the economic trends have seen Japan and China emerge as the East Asia newly industrialized economies (NIE's) of the region. Other economic powers in the region include Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Singapore and are united in an alliance called the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

Business Final exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Business Final exam - Essay Example For example with the development of the recent accusations against AB sugar, there is a need to strategize. Strategizing will involve analyzing the eight business environments in which the company operates. Here we analyze the people who are the end users of the product or the people we do business. Their identities, consumption behaviors, habits, needs and even their situation in life. The company AB sugar deals with a complex customer environment that includes other businesses, the government, groups, and even the individual himself (Albrecht, p6). All these people represent AB sugar’s patrons. Analysis of the consumer environment may be demographically in terms of gender, age, and their buying habits. How health conscious are they and what is their attitude towards institutions and companies like AB sugar (Albrecht, p5). Here the issue of the customer also comes up. Whom are we competing? We should aim at identifying their weaknesses, their current and previous behaviors and get to know their motives. Interaction between the potential competitor and the customer you are both aiming to do business with is an issue to look at. What are the products they are bringing into the market (Albrecht, p6)? For example, the players, in this case may be other companies in the same line of business, sugar, and who may be influencing the customer to do less business with you (Albrecht, p6). The economic environment is complex and volatile. In this case, we look mainly at the market itself. What are the latest trends, prices, and even costs? What is the market dynamics generally? AB sugar needs to be up to date with the changes taking place in the market in order to identify changes it may benefit from or those it needs to change for it to benefit (Albrecht, p6-p7). What are the new technologies developed, what are the trends in technology for example in production or marketing or what are

Personal Experience Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Personal Experience - Assignment Example During the winter holidays, I had to seek assistance from friend doctor. Luckily enough, addiction to it had not taken deep root enough. The doctor proposed one month intensive medication care and with regular visiting. Change of lifestyle was also important when one is in the process of quitting. I had to avoid places where people smoked a lot until the day the doctor confirmed to me that I was strong enough to go to such places. Back at home, it was not easy. Parents had to put me under curfew. I was expected to stay at home the extent to which I used to interact with friends reduced. Having no place to go, I spent a lot of time home just watching movies and series. Smoking eats on one’s health, as a result, I was put under heavy diet so as to regain weight. Personally, I embarked on activities like washing dishes and update my blog on the consequences of smoking. The point is I had to do everything to change. Daily activities, like running up and down the stairs really help ed in the process of quitting. I am now back to school and doing well in class. It took me two weeks of intensive medication and daily exercise to stop smoking and three week for the side effects to subdue. Teacher and parents became concerned about the performance and questioned me. However, being cleaver, I would hide everything from them. This didn’t last for long; I had to look for a permanent solution that would enable me quickly stops smoking. A friend advised me to buy Bupropion, a drug believed to help smokers quit smoking.

Empirical Project Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Empirical Project - Research Paper Example Methodology The study is based extensively on secondary research. The secondary information is from the gold reserves of gold holding IMF countries from a Book and few websites. Literature Review The gold reserve of a country is that gold held by the central bank or nation depicted as a commodity to redeem which assures for the depositors to pay and note holders. Gold is treated as a liquid money which is mainly used for trading purposes against any currency. The gold reserves as on date are exclusively helps in the settling the international transactions. The central banks by the end of 2004 and investment funds held 19% of all above-ground gold as bank reserve assets. It is predicted that the gold mined by the end of 2009 sum up to 165,000 tonnes. Fixed at US$1000/oz. as price, it exceeded in 2008 and 2009, one tonne of gold has a value of approximately US$32.15 million. The overall gold mined so far would exceed US$5 trillion. IMF gold holdings The International Monetary Fund by J une 2009 held 3,217 tonnes (103.4 million oz.) of gold, which is constant over many years. In 2009, the International Monetary Fund announced that it will disburse 12.5% of the gold holdings, a maximum of 12,965,649 fine troy ounces (403.3 tonnes) based on the recent income model as agreed in April 2008, and further declared the sale of 200 tonnes to India, 10 tonnes to Sri Lanka, and further 10 Metric tonnes of Gold was also given to Bangladesh in September 2010 and 2 tonnes to the Bank of Mauritius. These gold were sold in stages at existing market prices. The IMF reiterates book value of its gold which is far below the market value. This book value was SDR 35 in, or about US$47 per troy ounce in the year 2000. Further the resale value of gold reserve value which faced challenge for various causes. In fact, Canada no idea of revaluing the gold reserves, as it may be pushed to sell the gold on the open market and further decline of gold prices may be the result. Officially reported gold holdings Gold reserves per capita The International Monetary Fund’s data on national assets of various countries is give in the following table. The data are put into use by the World Gold Council to systematically rank and report the gold holding of countries and official organizations. The gold holdings given in the table for each country is not physically stored in the country listed, because the central banks did not allow the audits and reserves independently. World official gold holding for some important countries as of December 2010 Rank Country/Organization Gold (tonnes) Gold's share of national forex reserves (%) - Euro Area 10,792.6 60.7% 1 United States 8,133.5 73.9% 2 Germany 3,401.8 70.3% 3 IMF 2,846.7 - 4 Italy 2,451.8 68.6% 5 France 2,435.4 67.2% 6 Switzerland 1,040.1 16.4% 7 Japan 765.2 3.0% 8 Netherlands 612.5 57.5% 9 India 557.7 8.1% 10 ECB 501.4 27.9% 11 United Kingdom 310.3 16.8% 12 Spain 281.6 38.6% 13 Belgium 227.5 36.8% 14 Singapore 127.4 2.5% 15 BIS 120.0 - 16 Australia 79.9 8.1% - World 30,562.5 - Privately held gold As of October 2009, gold exchange-traded funds held 1,750 tonnes of gold for private and institutional investors. Gold Holdings Corp. a publicly listed gold company estimates that the amount of in-ground verified gold resources currently controlled by publicly traded gold mining companies is roughly 50,000 tonnes. Serial Correlation The correlation between the successive

Film Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Film Analysis - Essay Example Other, preferably due to the desire to achieve their ambitions and goals in life, overlook the advices and warnings they receive in their day-to-day life, causing suffering to themselves and their families – they fail to shine. The film actual meaning is so twisted and open for a number of interpretations. The film heavily employs symmetry to evoke the mind of the audience in an interactive manner. To convey the intended messages, symmetry is heavily employed. Images, events, and characters in the film appear in twins and doubles. Additionally, in both scene-to-scene and person-to- person dialogue is increasingly repeated throughout the film. During the caretaker interview, Stutart Ullman, the manager of Overlook hotel informs Jack Torrance the probability of contacting cabin fever and that his family would be snowbound throughout winter. In addition, Jack Torrance is told of a former caretaker – Charles Grady who contacted cabin fever, went insane, and killed his two d aughters, his wife, and himself. Stutart Ullman to Jack Torrance about Charles Grady â€Å"†¦killed his family with an axe. ... Ullman but opts to overlook the warning and hence failing to shine as he previously thought when he accepted caretaker position to reshape his life (Crewe). We see Jack progressing deep and deep in the wilderness with his Volkswagen, an implication of a dark future ahead of him. The lighting in this scene is dark. The double effect in the film is evident upon Jack’s family arrival at the Overlook hotel when Danny encounters Dick Hallorann, the hotel’s head chef who realizes that Danny is a psychic just like him. Danny Torrance and Dick Hallorann are able to communicate mentally or telepathically. Dick Hallorann communicates with Danny telepathically and gives Danny a chocolate. Hallorann explains to Danny that he would communicate with his grandmother in a similar way. The ability to communicate telepathically is the ‘Shining’ gift possessed by Danny and Dick Hallorann in the film. The representation of most scenes between Danny and Dick in the film uses br ight lighting. This is arguably an implication that Danny is able to learn from Dick the bad things that have happened in the hotel in the past and that he has to rely on the shining talent to survive. Through the shining talent, Dick who is in Florida is able to learn of what is happening in Overlook hotel and comes to rescue Wendy and Jack. Other scenes in the novel duplicate as a result of the mirroring effect. One of the reflections with a moral lesson in the film is that of the encounter of Jack Torrance with a beautiful woman in the hotel room 237. When Danny claims to have encountered a weird woman in room 237, Wendy request Jack to explore the room. In his exploration of room 237, Jack sees a beautiful woman who he starts to kiss. However, Jack pulls back horrified when he sees the mirror

Empirical Project Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Empirical Project - Research Paper Example Methodology The study is based extensively on secondary research. The secondary information is from the gold reserves of gold holding IMF countries from a Book and few websites. Literature Review The gold reserve of a country is that gold held by the central bank or nation depicted as a commodity to redeem which assures for the depositors to pay and note holders. Gold is treated as a liquid money which is mainly used for trading purposes against any currency. The gold reserves as on date are exclusively helps in the settling the international transactions. The central banks by the end of 2004 and investment funds held 19% of all above-ground gold as bank reserve assets. It is predicted that the gold mined by the end of 2009 sum up to 165,000 tonnes. Fixed at US$1000/oz. as price, it exceeded in 2008 and 2009, one tonne of gold has a value of approximately US$32.15 million. The overall gold mined so far would exceed US$5 trillion. IMF gold holdings The International Monetary Fund by J une 2009 held 3,217 tonnes (103.4 million oz.) of gold, which is constant over many years. In 2009, the International Monetary Fund announced that it will disburse 12.5% of the gold holdings, a maximum of 12,965,649 fine troy ounces (403.3 tonnes) based on the recent income model as agreed in April 2008, and further declared the sale of 200 tonnes to India, 10 tonnes to Sri Lanka, and further 10 Metric tonnes of Gold was also given to Bangladesh in September 2010 and 2 tonnes to the Bank of Mauritius. These gold were sold in stages at existing market prices. The IMF reiterates book value of its gold which is far below the market value. This book value was SDR 35 in, or about US$47 per troy ounce in the year 2000. Further the resale value of gold reserve value which faced challenge for various causes. In fact, Canada no idea of revaluing the gold reserves, as it may be pushed to sell the gold on the open market and further decline of gold prices may be the result. Officially reported gold holdings Gold reserves per capita The International Monetary Fund’s data on national assets of various countries is give in the following table. The data are put into use by the World Gold Council to systematically rank and report the gold holding of countries and official organizations. The gold holdings given in the table for each country is not physically stored in the country listed, because the central banks did not allow the audits and reserves independently. World official gold holding for some important countries as of December 2010 Rank Country/Organization Gold (tonnes) Gold's share of national forex reserves (%) - Euro Area 10,792.6 60.7% 1 United States 8,133.5 73.9% 2 Germany 3,401.8 70.3% 3 IMF 2,846.7 - 4 Italy 2,451.8 68.6% 5 France 2,435.4 67.2% 6 Switzerland 1,040.1 16.4% 7 Japan 765.2 3.0% 8 Netherlands 612.5 57.5% 9 India 557.7 8.1% 10 ECB 501.4 27.9% 11 United Kingdom 310.3 16.8% 12 Spain 281.6 38.6% 13 Belgium 227.5 36.8% 14 Singapore 127.4 2.5% 15 BIS 120.0 - 16 Australia 79.9 8.1% - World 30,562.5 - Privately held gold As of October 2009, gold exchange-traded funds held 1,750 tonnes of gold for private and institutional investors. Gold Holdings Corp. a publicly listed gold company estimates that the amount of in-ground verified gold resources currently controlled by publicly traded gold mining companies is roughly 50,000 tonnes. Serial Correlation The correlation between the successive

How graphic design and skateboard graphics coincide and have Essay

How graphic design and skateboard graphics coincide and have influenced the growth in skateboarding since the 70's - Essay Example consisting of roller-skate wheels attached to a two by four; once the push bar of the scooter-like contraption was broken off, skateboarding was born’ (Skateboarding History, 2007). Through the years, skateboarding has been developed extensively especially as of the shape and the size of the skateboards. Moreover, graphics were added on skateboards presenting figures of all types (always in accordance with the cultural and social trends of a specific period). Current paper examines the relation of skateboarding with graphic design. The influence of the latter to the development of the former especially after the period of 1970s is the main issue analyzed in this paper. In order for the above relationship to be clearer, it is necessary to present the history of skateboarding from its appearance (approximately in 1959) until today. At the same time, it would be useful to refer to the development of graphic design throughout the years especially in relation with skateboarding. Th e views of professionals in the specific area have been also considered to be a valuable tool towards the understanding of the role of graphic design in the development of skateboarding since the 70s. The historical development of skateboarding has not been continuous. The period that characterized by a high growth of this activity is 1970s. In fact, it was during that period that the first skatepark appeared while skateboarding was extensively advertised in the television and the cinema. Moreover, new styles of skateboarding were adopted like slalom and freestyle. Regarding the developments in skateboarding that took place in the above period it is noticed that ‘this was the first time skateboarding had stars, some of the first really big names being Tony Alva, Jay Adams and Stacy Peralta; the look of skateboards also changed from being six to seven inches in width to over nine inches, providing better stability on vertical surfaces’ (Scateboarding History, 2007). In the above context,

Global Financial Crisis Essay Example for Free

Global Financial Crisis Essay The global financial crisis started to demonstrate its effects in the mid of 2007 and continued in 2008. Around the world a large number of the financial institutions collapsed, stocks fell and the entire world was under stress. The crisis unraveled in the USA, UK and then spread around the world. This meltdown of the financial systems will affect the lives of almost everyone around the globe. The genesis of the financial crisis was the collapse of the US sub-prime mortgages. Many people defaulted on their repayments of these loans. Basically, a sub-prime mortgage is a type of a loan made to borrowers who do not have a good credit history and are unable to qualify for the high interest rates in the market. It has a diversified product range from mortgages to car loans to credit cards. These loans started out in 2001 when the interest rates were historically lowest in US. At that time, the demand for the real estate was on high because of these low interest rates. The builders kept on investing in the construction of the houses even though the demand for property saw a decline after a while. Due to this huge boom, the property became so over valued that it saw the worse decline in prices in 2006 (University of Iowa, 2008). This made most of the investors and leaders became unwilling to refinance the sub-prime loans and were strict in their policies. This raised the interest payments which some of the investors were unable to afford. Hence more and more people stared defaulting. Around 3. 6 million home owners lost their homes due to the mortgage defaults. There have been around $100 billion worth of Sub-prime mortgage leans defaults from the low-credit worth people. At the same time, the world saw the world stock prices falling in most of the places which made large number hedge funds insignificant. This collapse in demand for the securities which were backing the sub-prime mortgages forced 90 of the firms into declaring bankruptcy (Acharya, 2007). These crises in the sub-prime mortgage and the declining world stock prices led to the global financial crisis in July 2007. Investors had also over indulged themselves in the sophisticated financial instruments such as the derivatives thinking they were reducing the risk associated with the assets. As people started earning money through it, they started taking more risk and hence earning more money. The real problem arose when the market turned towards speculative in nature. This means that with each loss the investor went with more risk to cover up the earlier losses and earn a higher profit. The financial instrument that the bank expected to will reduce its risk created the greatest problems for it. This is how the derivatives became a problem in the current world and one of the causes of the destruction of the banks around the globe (Shah, 2009). This shattered the confidence of the investors. People now did not want to buy the assets or securities but they wanted their money back. Therefore, this created a crisis situation for the investor confidence around the globe. The western economies were also affected by the process of securitization. It is a process by which the financial assets are backed by the real assets through the use of instruments such as the derivatives. The sub-prime mortgages were risky and under rated when compared in isolation but as soon as these loans were gathered together with other debts to diversify risk, they become more attractive and over-rated. Soon when the stocks fell in the international market, most of the securities lost their value. This caused a large deficiency in the capital of the banks and therefore, they were forced to tighten their credit policies around the world. For example: Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy on September 15, 2008. It was the largest bankruptcy filed in the US history because it held a major share of the assets in the US. Its share value had fallen to less than $1. The bank had given out excess amount of the sub-prime mortgage loans which were backed by securities but it had no way to pay back the depositors. It had started facing severe problems when the credit policy was tightened across the world. Sine they were refused to be bailed out, they had filed for bankruptcy with the US government. This had a direct effect on almost all the banks in the US and abroad that were holding the assets of the Lehman Brothers and hence this caused a ripple effect globally. The whole world was affected with the sub-prime mortgage defaults because the world is a global village now and all the businesses in it are inter-related with each other. The credit housing market had indirectly affected all the other markets around the globe. The lenders developed strict policies for the credit facilities and hence decreasing the consumer spending. Demand for the goods and services decreases, profits declines and hence less investment and production. This leads to the layoffs, less household income and therefore less consumer spending. Due to the financial crisis, it is estimated that approximately 80 million people could be forced to live in poverty. The developing economies will be experiencing slow growth rates due to the decline in the export demand. This is due to the diminishing demand of the goods and services globally (Hodgson, 2007). The world GDP is expected to grow at a rate of 0. 5% which is slowest since World War II. The global financial crisis that unraveled in 2007 did expose some serious flaws in the regulations internationally as well as domestically and the global financial system. The major cause of the global financial meltdown is the weak regulatory mechanisms, inadequate transparency, insufficient competition and poorly designed incentive structures. The banking system in the US is the most unregulated sector of the financial institutions. It could create and sell many diversified products making them look secure and attractive. When the loans were being given out, there was very little risk analysis being done and that also with the imprecise and inaccurate data and models. The strict regulation of the sub-prime mortgage and low interest loans would have reduced the chances of the financial meltdown. In the US there is no notion of a central bank that controls the other financial institutions such as the insurance companies, mortgage banks and banks. The US federal government preferred self regulation of the financial institutions under the rule of Chairman Alan Greenspan. This provided for the relaxed and simple environment where different institutions came together to produce and flood the market with sophisticated and diversified products and made them look very attractive and safe. The investors invested in these banks as they did not have the right information about the negative consequences which were never released. This type of policy does result in growth but at the same time it also results in mismanagement and less control. Most of the firms present in the world were resistant to bring any change in themselves which would otherwise have brought strong competition in the market. The people have now called for better regulation and reforms for the financial sector both internationally and domestically. They want the developing nations to have some voice in the formation of these policies and shaping up the global economy. The simple and well designed policies will be easy to implement. They will protect the financial institutions in the short run and bring innovation and diversification in the products in the long run. The most important is that the banking sector in the USA needs to be regulated heavily by a central bank. They should be regulated in a way that they have the minimum required amount of deposits. The Bank of England deputy governor Sir John Gieve suggests that the capital and the liquidity requirements for the bank should be increased and made stricter along with the tough restraints on the building up of the risk. At the same time, the loans should be made difficult to get in good times. These banks need to provide the investors with the adequate information when they are making their decisions. The rating agencies in USA as well as around the world must have stricter reforms and should be heavily regulated so that they properly rate the assets using appropriate models and data. It is also suggestive that there should be a single international rating agency that will rate the assets worldwide. The IMF and the World Bank reforms will play an important role in the future. They need to go about a structural change in their policies because their â€Å"one fit all solution† was a disaster for the developing economies. They had earlier realized that the financial crisis in the developed world will sweep into the developing world and harm it further. Even then they were unable to find a clear solution. Therefore, they need to change their policies and must include the say of the poorer nation while making the new policies. The international bodies and the banks need to be more transparent in their operations and the enforcement of policies so that there no further objections rose to it (Shah, 2009). References Shiller, R. J. (2008) The Sub-prime Solution, Princeton University Press.Fraser, D. , Gup, B. , and J. Kolari (2007) Commercial Banking: The management of risk, John Wiley Sons, Australia. Heffernan, S. (2005) Modern Banking, John Wiley Sons, Chichester, England. Koch, T. and S. Scott MacDonald (2003) Bank Management, Thomson South Western, OH45040, USA. Laeven, L. and F. Valencia (2008) Systemic Banking Crises: A New Database, International Monetary Fund, Washington. Rose, P. (2002) Commercial Bank Management, McGraw Hill Irwin, Boston. Faber, Marc. Gloom Doom economist: credit crunch will spread. CNBC 19 May. 2008. Nazar, Yousuf, â€Å"The fall of US financial capitalism. † Dawn 22 September. 2008. Acharya, M. (2007) Credit crunch – the big picture, The Star, http://www. thestar. com/article/247510 [retrieved on Mar 05, 2009] CNBC, (2007) Gloom Doom Economist: Credit Crunch Will Spread, http://www. cnbc. com/id/24703745 [retrieved on Mar 05, 2009] Credit Crunch, (2007) Crunch Time for Credit? An Inquiry into the State of the Credit System in the United States and Great Britain, http://www. creditcrunch. co. uk/home/article. php? story=20070905083913327 [retrieved on Mar 05, 2009] HM Government, http://www. realhelpnow. gov. uk/credit-crunch-causes-why. php [retrieved on Mar 05, 2009] Hodgson, A. (2007) Global credit crunch: turbulences and outlook, Euro monitor international, http://www. euromonitor. com/Global_credit_crunch_turbulences_and_outlook [retrieved on Mar 05, 2009] Nazar, Y. (2008) The fall of US financial capitalism, Dawn, http://www. dawn. com/2008/09/22/ebr1. htm [retrieved on Mar 05, 2009] Gieve, J (2008) Speech, John Gieve: the credit crunch and the UK economy, http://www. bis. org/review/r080924e. pdf [retrieved on Mar 05, 2009]

Responsibilities And Strategies Of HSBC

Responsibilities And Strategies Of HSBC This report mainly focuses on an organizations stakeholders, market conditions and how firms adapt to different business circumstances. An organization needs to identify mission statement, values and key objectives and how these things influence of stakeholders. Environment of business is important to organization. The company should understand their responsibilities and strategies. They should identify the competitive strategies implemented to gain competitive advantage over competitors. An organization should identify the, what respects are perfect competition and what respect are unlike perfect competition. Introduction History HSBC, in 1882, appointed Delmege Reid and Co. the predecessor of the present Delmege Forsyth and Co. Ltd. as its agency in Colombo. In 1884 the islands economy suffered a severe setback when coffee plantations throughout the country were almost totally destroyed by disease. As a result of this and the folding up of the once great Orient Bank, HSBC saw an opening for a corporate bank like itself. In the early 1920s the bank purchased and began construction on land adjoining the Bank of Madras. HSBC moved into its new home at 24, Sir Baron Jayatilaka Mawatha (which it occupies even today), an impressive landmark in Colombos architectural and business landscape. Through the good times and the bad that followed, HSBC supported Sri Lankan businesses. The Chetty Crisis which began in 1927 was so termed because many Chattier business people were forced to default their loans. While the impression was that foreign banks discriminated against Sri Lankans and did not advance monies freely to local businesses, 50 per cent of HSBCs lending during this time was to Indians and Sri Lankans. With the stationing of the British Air Force in parts of Sri Lanka during the Second World War, HSBC became a hub of activity. During this time and until 1956, the Government of Ceylon kept a very substantial revenue account with HSBC. Today, HSBC has become one of the most profitable banks in the country. Technological Innovations As an innovative bank, HSBC has led the Sri Lankan banking industry into the electronic age with the installation of the nations first online automated teller machine (ATM). HSBC was also the first bank to computerize its operations and to establish an Internet Payment Portal. Furthermore, the introduction of phone banking, personal internet banking and the Groups global electronic banking platforms, such as Hexagon and HSBC net, has greatly enhanced the service they deliver to their customers. Listed below are many firsts from HSBC; Installation of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in Sri Lanka in 1986 Computerized banking operations in Sri Lanka Electronic DC Advising, a quick and easy way for customers to receive their export Documentary Credit and amendments via e-mail or fax. Introduction of electronic banking via Hexagon in 1994 Introduction of self-service banking through Day and Night Automated Banking Centers in 2004 Launch of state-of-the-art banking, internet based electronic banking platform; HSBC net in 2005 Introduction of Security Tokens for added online protection in 2005 Easy Pay machines to facilitate cash and cheque deposits in 2006 Introduction of toll free telephone banking in 2007 1.1 Mission Statement We live the brand values to passionately deliver world-class customer experiences through a dynamic, motivated and professional team, which demonstrates mutual respect whilst providing innovative solutions and continuously outperforming the market to the most sought-after financial service provider admired by all. 1.1.1Values and key objectives To exceed customer expectations in service quality. To be a pioneer in the implementation of technologies those create distinction for its customers, employees and shareholders. To keep its reliability at the utmost level with the contribution of its strong capital structure and liquid assets. To make a positive contribution to the community. To respect meritocracy during hiring processes, improving knowledge and skills of its employees, creating the mostly preferred work environment. Through its core business principles, HSBC functions to accomplish it objectives. HSBC.com lists these as outstanding customer service; effective and efficient operations; strong capital and liquidity; prudent lending policy; and strict expense discipline. HSBC also stresses that commitment by employees helps to create long-term customer relationships, a keystone of the banks profitability model. HSBC.com states this is accomplished through attention to integrity, ethics and managerial oversight. The HSBC Group is committed to five Core Business Principles: †¢ Outstanding customer service †¢ Effective and efficient operations †¢ Strong capital and liquidity †¢ Conservative lending policy †¢ Strict expense discipline HSBCs commitment to its values has allowed the company to accomplish many of its goals for expansion and profitability, as well as commitment to local investment and excellent customer service. HSBC is designed to be both global and local. Bankers Almanac ranked HSBC as the 14th largest bank in the world, in terms of assets, in 2009. In addition, HSBC is carrying its objectives forward into the Information Age: Global Finance Magazine rated HSBC as one of the worlds best Internet banks for 2009 (Anonymous, 2010) 1.1.2 Products 1.2.0 Stakeholders Analysis Stakeholder analysis is needed for the company to identify its most important stakeholder and understand about group around the organization. It will also tell the company which group has the greatest impact to the company. HSBC Sri Lanka has stakeholders such as Customers, shareholders and employees. All stakeholders are very important to the HSBC. Stakeholders of the organization and their Objectives Stakeholder Objectives Managers/Directors To retain control. To direct major decision making. Employees Good working environment. Motivation and satisfaction. To secure their jobs. Customers To receive good customer service. To obtain good value for money from the goods and services. Shareholders To receive dividends. To share the profitability of the business. To share the share price. Suppliers To continue to sell profitably to the business. To be paid fully for goods supplied. Competitors To compete by all lawful means. To differentiate products from other businesses. Government/Legal Institutions To receive tax revenue from profitable firms. To assist the business in accordance with the local and national policy. 1.2.1 Extent to which HSBC achieves the objectives of its stakeholders. HSBC is a fair trading company and is very concerned about the interests of the stakeholders. The objectives and the targets of the company are set in order to satisfy the stakeholders. HSBC listens to the opinions and expectations of the stakeholders including government, shareholders, and customers into business decision making processes. For example, in 2001, based on concerns around marketing to children and existing science on the age when children identify and understand advertising motives, they prevented from advertising to children under eight years of age where they are the majority of the audience. Cadbury plc has given higher concern to the following stakeholders. Strategies or Ways Implemented to achieve Responsibilities and Stakeholder Objectives An organization is responsible to its stakeholders and is responsible to achieve their objectives. Organizational responsibilities and stakeholder objectives is a combined relationship. Achieving the objectives will make the company successful in fulfilling their responsibilities. Responsibilities of Organizations Employees Customers Shareholders Equality To be safe Right to choose Safety To keep informed Right to access information Employees HSBC recruit the best people not considering of age, gender, disability or ethnicity. They aim to attract employees who will be committed to a long-term career with the Group, offering a competitive reward package and career development opportunities within a strong organization with values. HSBC encourages employees to take part in local volunteering programs. HSBC key community investment initiatives incorporate opportunities for employees to get involved by giving their time and sharing their expertise. HSBC annual Global People Survey acts as a measurement for employee engagement and satisfaction. With a 91% response rate in 2009, their employees take the survey seriously. In 2009, 77% of employees said they felt confident that HSBC is moving in the right direction and 83% said that they were proud to work for HSBC. Shareholders Shareholders are the people who invested money in the company. HSBC is a public limited company and can issue shares in the stock exchange. HSBC engage with their shareholders on an ongoing basis, holding regular meetings with fund managers. In 2009 HSBC ran a program of over 900 meetings with institutional investors, including those with a special interest in the Sustainable and Responsible Investment (SRI) sector. Customer HSBC aims to offer customers around the world a consistently high quality service and experience using the benefits of their scale, geograp0hic reach and strong brand. HSBC aim is always to treat their customers fairly and with respect and they manage their deposits responsibly. Their lending criteria are strict, taking into consideration their customers views they carry out market surveys and communicate directly with their customers on a regular basis. When customers have difficulties making loan or mortgage repayments, they try to do their best to help them. Sometimes this means restructuring or refinancing their debts, and offering counseling on an individual basis. When access to credit became restricted for commercial customers in 2008. HSBC created a new US$ 5billion global working capital fund for small and medium-sized businesses. This was over and above what HSBC would normally expect to lend. 1.4 Competitive strategies implemented to gain competitive advantage over competitors. Technology First to introduce ATM in Sri Lanka Self service paying machine Internet Banking Telephone Banking Customer Convenience Innovation Global research teams/new systems- cost effective Strong global presence Best practices shared and implemented in other areas Products Global presence Products unique- global features/accepted world wide 1.5 Role of the Competition Commission and regulatory bodies. Competition Commission The Competition Commission is a public body which rule on competition issues referred to it by the secretary of state and the Director General. The Competition Commission replaces the MMC, which was dissolved by the Competition Act 1998 and whose functions were transferred to the CC. The Director General may require the CC to investigate and report on whether the actions of a telecommunications operator licensed under the T Act operate, or may be expected to operate, against the public interest and, if so, whether this could be remedied or prevented by modifications of the conditions of its license. The CC would also be responsible for considering any competition concerns arising from mergers and acquisitions of or by winners of WT Act Licenses, if the Secretary of state, acting on the advice of the Director General of Fair Trading refers that merger or acquisition to the CC for investigation. Regulatory Bodies The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) The Department of Trade Industry is the Government Department responsible for the development of telecommunication policy and the promotion of the telecommunications industry. The Communication and Information Industries directorate of the Department of Trade and Industry deals with national and international policy and regulatory issues, including those affecting the mobile telecommunications market. The department of trade and Industry is responsible for licensing operators to run telecommunication system under the T Act. The Rediocommications Agency (RA) The Rediocommunications Agency is an Executive Agency of the Department of Trade and Industry with responsibility for management of the radio spectrum throughout the UK. The main functions of the Radio communications Agency are formulating policy on the planning and management of the radio spectrum within the UK, co-ordination of UK views and participation in international negotiations on the use of radio, authorizing use of radio by licensing or exemption, formulating technical and operating standards for radio, enforference. The RA is responsible for issuing licenses to use the radio spectrum under the wireless Telegraphy Acts and for monitoring compliance with those licenses and taking enforcement action where necessary. The Office of Telecommunications(OFTEL) The Office of Telecommunications was established by the T Act to support the Director General of Telecommunications in the performance of his duties. The Director General and the Secretary of state have a joint duty to exercise their respective functions under the T Act to secure the provision of telecommunication services throughout the UK and, subject to this, to promote the interests of telecommunications users in respect of the prices charged for, the quality and variety of telecommunication services provided and telecommunication apparatus supplied and to maintain and promote effective competition in the telecommunications market. The Director General has a duty to give the Secretary of state advice and information with respect to licensing of telecommunication systems, at the request of the Secretary of State or where the Director General considers it expedient. OFTEL performs the function of the UKs regulatory authority in telecommunications, monitors compliance with licenses issued under the T Act and takes enforcement action where necessary. The Director General has extensive powers under the T Act, particularly when enforcing or modifying license conditions. If a condition is breached, he can require the license holder to comply by making an order. This is enforceable by third parties or the Director General through civil action. He can also make determinations for example to set out the terms for interconnection between networks where the two operators cannot agree between themselves. The Director General can also require operators or other parties to supply the information needed in order to come to a decision. Task 2 (P3) 2.0 Competition The effort of two or more parties acting independently to secure the business of a third party by offering the most favorable terms. There are two main methods in which firms compete. Price Competition. Non-price Competition. 2.1 Competitive Advantage and Competitive Strategies A competitive advantage is an advantage above competitors gained by offering consumers larger price, each by income of lower prices or by providing larger benefits and service that justifies higher prices. There are two types of competitive advantages found by Michael porter. Cost Advantage Competitive Advantage Similar Product Lower cost Differentiation Advantage Higher Price For unique Product 2.2 Strategies to Gain Competitive Advantage Gaining a competitive advantage can provide a business with a distinct advantage over its competitors. There are two basic approaches to gaining a competitive advantage. These are cost leadership and differentiation. These are the strategies that I feel, should be implemented to gain the competitive advantage. Porters five forces Resources based view Generic Strategy Porters Five Forces The model of porters five forces is used to analyze the value of an industry structure. It identifies five primary competitive forces and enables organizations to adapt the business to take advantage of the opportunities and overcome threats and gain a competitive advantage. (12-manage, 2010) These five forces should be analyzed by the company and develop its market on the forces which are weak. For example if the producer is a low cost producer it will choose powerful buyers and sell them only products that are not vulnerable from substitutes. Also a company is able to achieve a competitive advantage by altering theses forces. For example HSBC can put barriers to new entrants by using unique and capital intensive resources that competitors cannot easily copy and also use resources such as patents and trademarks. Competitive Rivalry Threats of New entry Buyer power Threats of Subsitiution Supplier power Competitive Rivelry Strenght of Competition. Similar size competitors. Financial capability of competition. Growth of the Industry. Treat of new entry Economic of scale. Government Policy. Capital Requirement. Treat of Substitution Number of similar products. Substitut availability of the market. Buyer Power Financial strenght og buyer. Number of competitors. Purchasing volume. Supplier Power Number of suppliers. Number of substitute. By using this model the company can see the position of it self in the market. This analysis can be used to adopt a suitable strategy to gain the competitive advantage. Resource-Based View This strategy emphasizes that in order to gain a competitive advantage; a firm should possess two main features. That is firms should have superior resources and capabilities exceeding its competitors. If not the competitors can easily copy what the firm was doing and the company would lose all the benefits. (QuickMBA, 2007) Generic Strategies Michael porter has found three generic strategies into which business operations can be categorized. They are cost leadership, differentiation and focus. Porter emphasizes that high profits or competitive advantage is a result of two features. He states that firm strengths will fall into one of the two headings which are differentiation and cost advantage and the extent these strengths are applied will result in the generic strategies. (QuickMBA, 2007) Generic Strategy Framework Advantage Cost leadership Differentiation Strategy Strategy Broad Narrow Target Low cost Differentiation (Quick MBA, 2007) Cost Leadership Strategy This generic strategy calls for being the low cost producer in an industry for a given level of quality. By producing the products cheaply than the competitors at a given level of quality the firm can sustain a competitive advantage on cost. This would be very advantageous as when an industry matures and prices decline, firms that can produce cheaply will remain profitable for a longer period. (QuickMBA, 2007) Each generic strategy has its risks, including low cost strategy. Differentiation Strategy This strategy calls for the development of goods that offers unique attributes that are valued by customers and that customers perceive to be better than or different from products of the competition. This strategy is producing products which contain unique features and attributes that consumer prefer to have and which are better and can be distinguished from the competitors products. The value added by uniqueness of the product may allow the firm to charge a finest price for it. (QuickMBA, 2007) Focus Strategy This strategy is concentrates on a narrow market or a segment. The firm can target the cost leadership and differentiation strategy on a particular market segment, this will create a focus cost strategy or a focus differentiation strategy. (QuickMBA, 2007) The advantage of a focus strategy is that the firm is able to meet the needs of customers effectively than if a broad market and for that reason customer loyalty increases. 3.0 Market Structures Market structure is the organizational and other characteristics of a market. We focus on those characteristics which affect the nature of competition and pricing but it is important not to place too much emphasis simply on the market share of the existing firms in an industry. Market structures allow us to analyze how much competition there is among firms making a particular product in an industry. There are four main types of market structures with different characteristics in each of them. Perfect Competition Monopoly Monopolistic Oligopoly Perfect competition Perfect competition is a market structure in which an individual firm cannot affect the price of the product it produces. Each firm in the industry is very small relative to the market as a whole, all the firms sell a homogeneous product and firms are free to enter and exit the industry. Competition policy has the objectives of increasing competition in the economy, or of encouraging firms that are not competitive to behave as if they were, in its role as consumer advocate, the competition authority is often responsible for implementing policy directed at outlawing unethical behavior by business. Perfect competitive market has seven distinguishing characteristics. Large number of buyers and sellers A homogeneous product Perfect knowledge Perfect mobility Freedom of entry and exit Absence of non-price competition The firm is a price taker Example of a perfect competitive market In the Maharagama Market there are many characteristics of a perfectly competitive market. All type of vegetables, fruits and other small goods are sold in this market. There are many customers coming to this market to buy goods for cheaper price. In the Maharagama market, many stalls that have the same prices for many vegetables and fruits of the same quality. It is not because they have fixed the prices together before trading. In this type of market consumers will compare the prices of different stalls and purchase from the cheaper stalls for a given quality. In perfect competitive market has no barrier to enter to the market. Monopoly Competition Monopoly is a single seller supplying the entire output of an industry. The demand curve that it faces is the entire industry demand curve for the good or services it sells. The monopolist sells unique products, and extremely high barriers to entry protect it from competition. A natural monopoly arises because of the existences of economies of scale in which the LRAC curve falls indefinitely as production increases. Without government restrictions, economies of scale allow a single firm to produce at a lower cost than any firm producing a smaller output. Smaller firms leave the industry, new firms fear competing with the monopolist, and the result is that a monopoly emerges naturally. Major elements One seller One product Price-maker Barriers to entry Minimal advertising expenditure Example of Monopoly Competition In Sri Lanka monopoly (sole) producer is government. The electricity and water is provided from the government. There are high barriers to entry in to the market. Barriers such as, Limited resources. Cost of production. Patent Therefore any others cannot enter this market. The government sets the price and there are no other producers to manipulate this. They have full control over the market, they are price makers. Monopolistic Competition A market structure in which several or many sellers each produce similar, but slightly differentiated products. Each producer can set its price and quantity without affecting the marketplace as a whole. Monopolistic competition has characteristics of both competition and monopoly. Similar to competition, it has many firms, and free exit and entry. Example of Monopolistic Competition Consider the Soap industry as an example. There are few large producers of soap in Sri Lanka such as Sunlight, Rani, Zinal, Lifebuoy, and Lux etc. There is competition as in perfect competition but products are not the same. These companies have monopoly in the production of its particular product for the reason that no other firm can produce soap carrying the same name. Oligopoly An oligopoly is a market condition in which the production of identical or similar products is concentrated in a few large firms. Oligopolies have characteristics similar to a monopoly. Example of Oligopoly Consider the cell phones industry as an example. The Cell Phones industry is dominated by a few large firms such as Apple, Nokia, LG, Samsung, and Motorola etc. In the Gas production of Sri Lanka there are only two large known producers that is the Shell Gas Company and the Laugfs Gas Company. These two companies have the highest share of the market and there is a low level of competition. Less Market Control More Many Number of competitors One Perfect Competition Monopolistic Oligopoly Monopoly Market Continuum This is Market Continuum. This diagram shows how the structure of the market changes according to the level of the market control and the number of competitors. 4.0 Market forces Forces of demand and supply representing the aggregate influence of self-interested buyers and sellers on price and quantity of the goods and services offered in a market. In general, excess-demand causes prices and quantity of supply to rise, and excess supply causes them to fall. Supply Increase Price increase Demand Increase Demand falls Price falls Supply falls Demand and Supply Demand is the amount of a particular economic good or service that a consumer or group of consumers will want to purchase at a given price. The demand curve is usually downward sloping, since consumers will want to buy more as price decreases. Demand for a good or service is determined by many different factors other than price, such as the price of substitute goods and complementary goods. In extreme cases, demand may be completely unrelated to price, or nearly infinite at a given price. Along with supply, demand is one of the two key determinants of the market price. Supply is the availability of a product or a service in a market. The law of supply states when prices increase the firms would want to supply more. This is because they want to increase their revenues. Movement along the Curve Changes in price will result in a movement along the curve with the fact that other factors remain unchanged due to the changes in quantity demanded or supply. A fall in the price will result in an extension of demand, quantity demanded will increase. Contraction of Demand is where an increase in price causes demand to fall. For an example an increase in the price of Donuts, while other factors remain unchanged will cause an increase in the quantity supplied. Sellers will move from one point to another point in the same curve. When price increased from P1 to P2, quantity supplied will Price Supply P(2) B P(1) A QS(1) QS(2) Quantity Shift of the Curve The curve shifts to the right or left as a result of changes in any other non-price determinants due to a change in supply or price. The demand curve shifts to the right as a result of an increase in demand while price remains unchanged. The curve shifts to the left as a result of a decrease in demand with price remaining unchanged. For an example demand for cool drinks might fall in the winter season therefore demand decreases due to a non price determinant which causes a shift in the demand curve to left from D to D1 while the price remains unchanged. D D1 P QD QD1 Non- Price Determinants for Demand Changes in consumer incomes. Changes in tastes for consumer goods. Changes in expectations of future prices. Changes in price of Substitutes. Non- Price Determinants for Supply Changes in production technology. Changes in cost of resources. Changes in number of sellers in the market. Changes in expectation of future prices. 4.1 Influences on Firms of Market Forces Demand and Supply influences to a great extent on price. When demand increases suppliers will supply more and as a result the suppliers will increase the prices in order to obtain higher revenue, however when price keeps increasing demand will start falling. Market forces helps firms to determine the market price where the quantity demanded equals to the quantity supplied. This is known as the equilibrium price. Supply and Demand model The point where the supply curve and demand curve meets is the equilibrium price. If the suppliers sell below the equilibrium price then buyers will demand above the supply which creates a shortage in supply. The opposite could also happen where the suppliers sell at a price higher than the equilibrium price which will lead to a surplus of goods. For an example demand and supply of Rice in Sri Lanka. Rice producers created a shortage in the supply of rice with the purpose of increasing the prices. This was an illegal practice this shortage in supply of rice, lead to an increase in demand to a great extent as this was also an essential product. It affected consumers a lot and the consumers were prepared to buy rice at any level of price. This shows that demand and supply can have both negative and positive influences on firms. Changes in quantity demanded a