Gay Marriage Argument Essay

Two editorials were posted in the â€Å"New York Daily News† and â€Å"Times of Trenton† pertaining to the subject of legalizing gay marriage. Both articles argue the position against gay marriage and use the same focal point in their articles: the negative effects that legalizing gay marriages will have on children being raised by same sex parents. Also, both articles contain logical fallicies in their argument and use many of the same tactics to argue their point such as scare tactics, statistics, and quotes from people on the other side of the argument. However, the â€Å"Times of Trenton† editorial is able to cover up these fallicies and present their side in a cleaner and more efficient way than the â€Å"New York Daily News† by making the statistics seem more credible, the quotes from the other side of the argument more persuasive, and the overall organization of their logic more rational. Unfortunately, the legalization of same sex marriage is a highly divided and controversial topic that our nation has been debating over since the day American was founded as a country. While the movement persisted throughout the centuries, it was not until the turn of the millennium in the year 2000 that Vermont became the first state to allow civil unions for same sex couples. Since then, milestones have been made in the LGBT community as thirteen states have legalized same sex marriage and eight states recognizing same sex civil unions as of 2013. However, America is taking the matter at a slow pace compared to the thirteen countries that have already completely recognized same sex marriage—Denmark legalizing the practice since the late 1980s. In fact, many states have taken a few steps backwards, such as California passing an amendment to overturn its previous decision to legalize same sex marriage along with 32 states adding amendments to ban same sex unions to their constitutions. However, the most recent polls show majority support for the legal recognition of same sex marriage, with supporters first achieving the majority in 2010. There is a general trend between supporters for same sex marriage with lack of religious fundamentalism, young age, higher education, and residence in the Northeast and West Coast. Also, supporters come from mostly liberal and moderate political ideologies and the female gender. In opposition are mostly the South and Midwest regions, men, and conservative political ideologies. The defenders of opposite sex marriages generally argue against same sex couples raising children as well, generally basing their stance on outdated studies—many of which have been revoked by their own researchers. Both articles used research statistics to support their claim. The â€Å"NY Daily News† quoted a statement from Obama stating that children who grow up without a father are more likely to become destructive citizens of our society. The article poorly executes the utilization of research in two ways: first they use Obama as a figure of false authority and fail to cite the origin of the research, loosening its credibility. Secondly, even if it is credible, the research overall is misinterpreted and a red herring to the argument. The research is only relevant to children who grow up without a father not directly to same gender parents—it could easily be possible that the research pertains to single parent households. The author also sets up a straw man against Obama by stating â€Å"Obama is right. Children are better off with both a mother and a father. † Firstly, it does not state anywhere in the quote given that Obama said children need strictly a mother and father, only that children without both parents present are more likely to end up in a poor situation. Secondly, even if the research was relevant with same gender families, it would only present a stance against children raised by two mothers instead of two fathers. Not only is it a hasty generalization for the author to assume that this single study proves that marriage needs to involve a man and a woman, it is non-sequitur to believe that because children without fathers do not grow up well, that same gender situations where both parents are present will yield the same results. In the other article, the author uses research to support his claim slightly more efficiently—the first research study the author uses is cited and actually is directly relevant to same gender family studies. The study showed that children raised by same sex parents are more likely to be homosexual, abuse drugs, be molested by their parents/adult figure, and participate in risky behavior. The average reader scanning over the article quickly would see the author stated where the research came from and automatically assume that it is credible. However, when the research was further investigated, it was found that not only was the study widely considered by scientists to be inconclusive. Even the author, Mark Regernus, stated in an interview that the study lacked enough foundation to make such a claim. The article then declares there is an increase in people identifying as homosexual since 1994. The author then claims this increase falsifies the theory that people are born homosexual but instead is due to cultural factors encouraging same-sex behavior. The first mistake with this claim is that the author does not provide where this information originates. It is non sequitur to believe that because the culture is becoming more accepting of homosexuality, it increases homosexuality and debunks the theory that people are born homosexual. More or less, this claim is a hasty generalization because the author does not consider possibilities such as culture changing to accept homosexual individuals giving people comfort and security to openly identify as homosexual. Both authors clearly stack bias evidence against homosexual behavior instead of providing or arguing against any of the available evidence that suggests being homosexual has genetic components or children from same sex families do as well as heterosexual parented families. While the lack of arguing against evidence refuting their claims may seemingly strengthen their opinion, the blatant bias makes their argument less convincible to readers because it comes off as close-minded and opinionated rather than open and persuasive, especially to readers that support gay marriage. To strengthen their argument, both articles used quotes from the opposing side to argue their claim. Again, the â€Å"Times of Trenton† article uses this method more strongly than â€Å"New York Daily News†. The â€Å"New York Daily News† claims that the LGBT community supports the author’s thesis that gay marriage is based on a lie. They first quote an author named Masha Gessen, a supporter of gay marriage: â€Å"Fighting for gay marriage generally involves lying about what we are going to do with marriage when we get there—because we lie that the institution of marriage is not going to change. † The author set up a straw man manipulating these words to make it appear that the LGBT community agrees with their thesis. Gessen, however, is not directly stating that gay marriage is based off a lie, but that it is a lie to say that the institution of marriage is not going to change as a result of legalizing gay marriage. Then, the author quotes another gay marriage advocate named Judith Stacey repeatedly throughout the article essentially making evident her support for polygamy and that redefining marriage will hopefully give way to accepting polygamy. It is non sequitur and a hasty generalization to claim that if same sex marriage is legalized, it will instigate the acceptance and legalization of polygamy as well. It is also a red herring fallacy to distract the readers with irrelevant information on polygamy and somehow correlate it with the legalization of same sex marriage. This pulls away the reader from the main issue of gay marriage and the main point the author is trying to make becomes vague to the reader. Furthermore, the credibility of using these people to represent the LGBT community is put into question. The author even states that these people are radical advocates, but the author gives the illusion that since these people support same sex marriage, the LGBT community is guilty by association and therefore shares the same opinions. The author also gives these radical advocates false authority, granting them authorization to speak for the LGBT community as a whole. The â€Å"Times of Trenton† article uses a better source to support their argument: providing an article written by a gay man raising children. He says that Mainwaring can see why people oppose same sex marriage because â€Å"Moms and dads interact differently with their children. To give kids two moms or two days is to withhold†¦someone whom they desperately need and deserve. † This quote is effective because it comes from a gay man who is actually raising children and giving his perspective, instead of radical advocates. It persuades the reader that even if someone who is gay admits there is a problem with same gender families, then maybe it shouldn’t be allowed after all. However, this is using authority instead of evidence. If a gay man claims that children of same gender families are deprived of benefits that come with heterosexual parents, then it must be true because he’s gay and has children. While it is convincing, there is no substantial evidence to support that this is claim is applicable to all same gender families.

Chapter 01 Gitman

Part One Preparing to Invest Part One Includes Chapter 1Investment Environment Chapter 2Markets and Transactions Chapter 3Online Information and Investing Chapter 1 Investment Environment Outline Learning Goals I. Investments and the Investment Process A)Types of Investments 1. Securities or Property 2. Direct or Indirect 3. Debt, Equity, or Derivative Securities 4. Low or High Risk 5. Short or Long Term 6. Domestic or Foreign B)The Structure of the Investment Process 1. Participants in the Investment Process 2. Government 3. Business 4. Individuals 5.Types of Investors Concepts in Review II. Investment Vehicles A)Short Term Vehicles B)Common Stock C)Fixed Income Securities 1. Bonds 2. Preferred Stock 3. Convertible Securities D)Mutual Funds E)Derivative Securities 1. Options 2. Futures F)Other Popular Investment Vehicles Concepts in Review III. Making Investment Plans A)Steps in Investing 1. Meeting Investment Prerequisites 2. Establishing Investment Goals 3. Adopting an Investment Plan 4. Evaluating Investment Vehicles 5. Selecting Suitable Investments 6. Constructing a Diversified Portfolio 7. Managing the PortfolioB)Considering Personal Taxes 1. Basic Sources of Taxation 2. Types of Income a. Ordinary Income b. Capital Gains and Losses 3. Investments and Taxes 4. Tax-advantaged Retirement Vehicles C)Investing Over the Life Cycle D)Investing in Different Economic Environments 1. Stocks and the Business Cycle 2. Bonds and Interest Rates Concepts in Review IV. Meeting Liquidity Needs: Investing in Short-Term Securities A)Role of Short Term Securities 1. Interest on Short Term Securities 2. Risk Characteristics 3. Advantages and Disadvantages of Short Term InvestmentsB)Popular Short Term Investment Vehicles 1. Deposit Accounts 2. Federal Government Issues 3. Nongovernment Issues C)Investment Suitability Concepts in Review Summary Putting Your Investment Know-How to the Test Discussion Questions Problems Case Problems 1. 1Investments or Golf? 1. 2Preparing Caro lyn Bowen’s Investment Plan Excel with Spreadsheets OTIS—Online Trading and Investment Simulator Key Concepts 1. The meaning of the term investment and the implications it has for individual investors. 2. Review the factors used to differentiate between different types of investments. . The importance of and basic steps involved in the investment process. 4. Popular types of investment vehicles, including short term vehicles, common stock, and fixed income securities such as bonds, preferred stock, and convertibles. 5. Derivative securities such as options and futures, and mutual funds. 6. Other popular investment vehicles such as real estate, tangibles and tax advantaged investments. 7. Investment goals including income, major expenditures, retirement, and sheltering income from taxes. The latter includes analysis of tax-advantaged retirement vehicles. . Building a diversified portfolio consistent with investment goals. 9. Sources of taxation, types of taxable income , and the effect of taxes on the investor. 10. Developing an investment program that considers differing economic environments and life cycle stages. 11. The use of short term securities in meeting liquidity needs. 12. The merits and suitability of various popular short term investment vehicles including deposit accounts and money market securities. Overview This chapter provides an overview of the scope and content of the text. 1.The term investment is defined, and the alternative investment opportunities available to investors are classified by types. 2. An examination of the structure of the investment process is presented. This section explains how suppliers and demanders of investment funds are brought together in the marketplace. 3. The key participants in the investment process—government, business, and individuals—are described, as are institutional and individual investors. 4. Returns are defined as rewards for investing. Returns to an investor take two forms —current income and increased value of the investment over time.In this section the instructor need only define return, since there will be another opportunity to develop the concept of return in Chapter 4, however providing information about recent investment returns is always well-received by students. 5. Next, the following investment vehicles available to individual investors are discussed: short term vehicles, common stock, fixed income securities, mutual funds, real estate, tangibles, tax-advantaged investments, and options and futures. The text describes their risk return characteristics in a general way.The instructor may want to expand on the advantages and disadvantages of investing in each, although they will be treated in greater detail in subsequent chapters. It is vital for any investor to establish investment goals that are consistent with his or her overall financial objectives. 6. Once the investment goals have been well specified, the investor can adopt an i nvestment plan consistent with these goals, select suitable investments, build a diversified portfolio and manage it. 7. Personal taxes are discussed in terms of types of income and tax rates. The investment process is affected by current tax laws.Examples of tax shelters, especially tax-advantaged retirement vehicles, and tax planning are provided. 8. Once investment goals are established, it is important to understand how the investment process is affected by different economic environments. The chapter talks about types of investments—stocks, bonds, and tangibles—as they are affected by business cycles, interest rates, and inflation. 9. Liquidity is defined and short term securities that can be used to meet liquidity requirements are described. The discussion includes a look at short term interest rates and the risk characteristics of various short term securities. 0. The next section covers the various types of short term vehicles available to today’s invest or. There is enough detail about everything from passbook accounts to money market funds to commercial paper that the students should get a good grasp of the differences between the vehicles. Producing information on current rates helps bring realism into the classroom and enhances student perception of the lecturer as a knowledgeable instructor. Answers to Concepts in Review 1. An investment is any vehicle into which funds can be placed with the expectation of preserving or increasing value and earning a positive rate of return.An investment can be a security or a property. Individuals invest because an investment has the potential to preserve or increase value and to earn income. It is important to stress that this does not imply that an investment will in fact preserve value or earn income. Bad investments do exist. 2. (a)Securities and property are simply two classes of investments. Securities are investments, commonly evidenced by certificates, that represent a legal claim. Fo r example, a bond represents a legal claim on debt, and a stock represents a proportionate ownership in the firm.An option, on the other hand, represents the legal right to either buy or sell an asset at a predetermined price within a specified time period. Property constitutes investments in either real property (land and buildings) or tangible personal property (Rembrandt paintings, Ming vases, or antique cars). (b)With a direct investment, an individual acquires a direct claim on a security or property. For example, an investment in one share of IBM stock directly provides the stockholder a proportionate ownership in IBM. An indirect investment provides an indirect claim on a security or property.For example, if you bought one share of Fidelity Growth Fund (a mutual fund), you are in effect buying a portion of a portfolio of securities owned by the fund. Thus, you will have a claim on a fraction of an entire portfolio of securities. (c)An investment in debt represents funds loane d in exchange for the receipt of interest income and repayment of the loan at a given future date. The bond, a common debt instrument, pays specified interest over a specified time period, then repays the face value of the loan (Chapters 8 and 9 cover bonds in detail).An equity investment provides an investor an ongoing fractional ownership interest in a firm. The most common example is an investment in a company’s common stock. We will study equity instruments in greater detail in Chapters 5 through 7. Derivative securities are securities derived from debt or equity securities and structured to exhibit characteristics different from the underlying securities. Options are derivative securities that allow an investor to sell or buy another security or asset at a specific price over a given time period. For example, an investor might purchase an option to buy Company X stock for $50 within nine months. d)Short-term investments typically mature within one year while long-term in vestments have longer maturities, like common stock, which has no maturity at all. However, long-term investments can be used to satisfy short-term financial goals. 3. In finance, risk refers to the chance that the return from an investment will differ from its expected value. The broader the range of possible values (dispersion), the greater the risk of the investment. Low risk investments are those considered safe with respect to the return of funds invested and the receipt of a positive rate of return.High risk investments are those which have more uncertain future values and levels of earnings. 4. Foreign investments are investments in the debt, equity, derivative securities of foreign based companies and property in a foreign country. Both direct and indirect foreign investments provide investors more attractive returns or lower-risk investments compared to purely domestic investments. They are useful instruments to diversify a pure domestic portfolio. 5. The investment process brings together suppliers and demanders of funds. This may occur directly (as with property investments).Most often the investment process is aided by a financial institution (such as a bank, savings and loan, savings bank, credit union, insurance company, or pension fund) that channels funds to investments and/or a financial market (either the money market or the capital market) where transactions occur between suppliers and demanders of funds. 6. (a)The various levels of government (federal, state, and local) require more funds for projects and debt repayment than they receive in revenues. Thus, governments are net demanders of funds. Governments also demand funds when the timing of their revenues do not match their expenditure.The term net refers to the fact that, while governments both supply and demand funds in the investment process, on balance they demand more than they supply. (b)Businesses also are net demanders, requiring funds to cover short and long term operating needs . While business firms often supply funds, on balance they also demand more than they supply. (c)Individuals are the net suppliers of funds to the investment process. They put more funds into the investment process than they take out. Individuals play an important role in the investment process—supplying the funds needed to finance economic growth and development. 7.Institutional investors are investment professionals who are paid to manage other people’s money. They are employed by financial institutions like banks and insurance companies, by nonfinancial businesses, and by individuals. Individual investors manage their own personal funds in order to meet their financial goals. Generally, institutional investors tend to be more sophisticated because they handle much larger amounts of money and they tend to have a broader knowledge of the investment process and available investment techniques and vehicles. 8. Short term investment vehicles are those which usually have lives of less than one year.These vehicles may be used to â€Å"warehouse† temporarily idle funds while suitable long term vehicles are evaluated. Due to their safety and convenience, they are popular with those wishing to earn a return on temporarily idle funds or with the very conservative investor who may use these short term vehicles as a primary investment outlet. In addition to their â€Å"warehousing† function, short-term vehicles provide liquidity- they can be converted into cash quickly and with little or no loss in value. This characteristic is very useful when investors need to meet unexpected expenses or take advantage of attractive opportunities. . Common stock is an equity investment that represents a fractional ownership interest in a corporation. The return on a common stock investment derives from two sources: dividends, which are periodic payments made by the firm to its shareholders from current and past earnings, and capital gains, which result from selling the stock at a price above the original purchase price. Because common stock offers a broad range of return-risk combinations, it is one of the most popular investment vehicles. Two sources of potential return are dividends and capital gain. 10. a)Bonds are debt obligations of corporations or governments. A bondholder receives a known interest return, typically semiannually, plus the face value at maturity. Bonds are usually issued in $1,000 denominations, pay semiannual interest, and have twenty to forty year maturities. Bonds offer fixed/certain returns, if held till maturity. (b)Preferred stock is very much like common stock in that it represents an ownership interest in a corporation. But preferred stock pays only a fixed stated dividend, which has precedence over common stock dividends, and does not share in other earnings of the firm. c)A convertible security is a fixed income security, either a bond or preferred stock, that has a conversion feature. Typically, it can be converted into a specified number of shares of common stock. Convertible securities are quasi-derivative securities as their market value would depend on the price of the common stock and the conversion ratio. (d)A mutual fund is a company that invests in a large portfolio of securities; whereas a money market mutual fund is a mutual fund which solely invests in other short-term vehicles.Investors might find mutual funds appealing because a large portfolio may be more consistent with their investment goals in terms of risk and return. As we will see later, a mutual fund offers the investor the benefits of diversification and professional management. Mutual funds do not offer fixed/certain returns. Mutual funds are quasi-derivative securities as their market value would depend on the price of the assets that make up the fund’s portfolio. (e)Options are derivative securities that provides holders the right to buy or sell another security (typically stock) or property at a s pecified price over a given time period.Factors like the time until expiration, the underlying stock price behavior, and supply and demand conditions affect the returns. (f)Futures represent contractual arrangements in which a seller will deliver or a buyer will take delivery of a specified quantity of a commodity at a given price by a certain date. Unlike an option, which gives the investor the right to purchase or sell another security, futures contracts obligate the investor to deliver or take delivery. Factors affecting returns on commodity contracts include changes in government policy, unpredictable weather, trade embargoes, and so on. 1. Before developing and executing an investment program, an investor must ensure the following: (1)Necessities of life such as funds for housing, food, transportation, taxes etc are fully provided for. (2)Investor is adequately insured against the losses resulting from death, illness or disability, property etc. (3)Establish Retirement Goals Th e seven steps in investing are as follows: (1)Meeting Investment Prerequisites: Providing for Necessities of life, adequate protection against losses, and Setting retirement Goals as iscussed above (2)Establishing Investment Goals: Investment goals are the financial objectives that one wishes to achieve by investing. Common investment goals are: †¢Accumulating retirement funds †¢Enhancing current income through interest income and dividends †¢Savings for major expenditure like home, education etc. †¢Sheltering income from taxes (3)Adopting an Investment Plan: A written document describing how funds will be invested is an investment plan. The more specific the investment goal, the easier it will be to establish an investment plan consistent with your goals. 4)Evaluating Investment Vehicles: In this step, the measures of risk and return are used to estimate the perceived worth of an investment vehicle. This process is called valuation. (5)Selecting Suitable Investm ents: This step involves careful selection of investment vehicles that are consistent with established goals and offer acceptable levels of return, risk, and value. (6)Constructing a Diversified Portfolio: Diversification is the concept of forming a portfolio using different investment vehicles to reduce risk and increase return. This concept is central to constructing an effective portfolio. 7)Managing the Portfolio: Portfolio management involves monitoring the portfolio and restructuring it as dictated by the actual behavior of the investments. 12. Investment goals are the financial objectives you wish to achieve by investing in any of a wide range of investment vehicles. Common investment goals are: (a)Enhancing current income means choosing investment vehicles that regularly pay dividends and interest that can provide all or some of the money needed to meet living expenses. This is a common goal of retired persons and sometimes an important part of a normal family budget. b)Savi ng for major expenditures includes money set aside for such things as the down payment on a home, college tuition, and even an expensive vacation. The amount of money needed and the time period over which one can save will determine the amount set aside and, frequently, the investment vehicle employed. (c)The single most important reason for investing is to accumulate retirement funds. The amount that must be set aside is determined by the level of expected expenditures, expected income from social security and other sources, and the amount of interest expected to be earned on savings. d)Sheltering income from taxes involves taking advantage of certain tax provisions that permit reduction of the income reported to the government or direct reductions in taxes. Investments in certain assets, such as real estate, may be attractive due to their tax advantages. 13. Federal income taxes are charged against all income individuals receive from all sources (with the exception of interest rec eived on some bonds issued by state and local governments). (a)Active (ordinary â€Å"earned†) income is the broadest category and includes income from wages, salaries, bonuses, tips, pension income, and alimony.It is made up of income earned on the job as well as most other forms of non-investment income. (b)Portfolio (investment) income is earnings generated from various types of investment holdings. For the most part, it consists of interest, dividends, and capital gains earned on most types of investments. Passive income is a special category that consists of income derived chiefly from real estate, limited partnerships, and other forms of tax shelters. (c)Capital gains are the profits earned on the sale of capital assets—pleasure, or investment.They are measured by the amount by which the proceeds from the sale of the capital asset exceed its original purchase price. Currently capital gains are taxed at the same rate as ordinary income. Capital gains are appealing to investors because they are not taxed until they are actually realized. (d)A capital loss is the amount by which the proceeds from the sale of a capital asset are less than its original purchase price. Up to $3,000 of net losses can be applied against ordinary income in any one year, with the unused portion carried forward to offset future income. e)Due to the opportunities and challenges created by the tax laws, tax planning is an important part of the investment process. Tax planning involves looking at an individual’s current and projected earnings and developing strategies that will defer or minimize the level of his or her taxes. Tax plans involve current income, capital gains, or tax-sheltered investments. For example, one strategy is to take losses as they occur and to delay taking profits. One deducts the losses and delays inclusion of profits in order to minimize current taxable income. f)In general, tax-advantaged retirement plans allow individuals to defer taxes on the contribution and/or portfolio earnings until some future date when retirement withdrawals take place. There are employer-sponsored plans, such as 401(k) accounts and individual-created plans, such as Keogh plans, and individual retirement accounts (IRAs). 14. (a)Young investors, ages 20 to 45, tend to prefer growth-oriented investments that stress capital gains rather than income. These investors have little investable funds, and capital gains are seen as the quickest way to build up investment capital. b)By middle-age, ages 45 to 60, there is a consolidation taking place as family demands and responsibilities change. While growth-oriented securities are still used, investing becomes less speculative. Quality-growth vehicles are employed, and more attention is given to current income. The foundation is being set for retirement. (c)As the investor moves into the retirement years, age 60 on, preservation of capital and current income become the principal concerns. High-quality stocks and bonds and money market instruments are used as the investor’s objective is to live as comfortably as possible from the investment income.During retirement one tries to reap the rewards of a lifetime of saving and investing. 15. The four stages of the economic/market cycle are recovery, expansion, decline, and recession. Recovery is the strengthening of the economy after a recession. Expansion reflects continued strength and optimism about economic growth. Decline involves a slowing-down of the economy after an expansion which may have been moving too fast. Then the cycle moves into recession, the economy contracts and pessimism reigns. Just as things look the worst, the recovery cycle begins again. a)Stocks and equity-related securities (such as mutual funds and convertibles) are highly responsive to the economic cycle. During recovery and expansion stock prices are up. As the decline approaches, stock prices begin to decline as well. Growth-oriented and speculati ve stocks tend to do especially well in an expanding economy. (b)Bonds and other fixed-income securities are sensitive to movements in interest rates. Bond prices also move in the opposite direction of interest rate changes. This means that if interest rates are expected to rise, bond prices would fall, and bonds would not be a good place to hold investment funds.Interest rates generally shift with the economic cycle. Rates rise during normal recovery and fall during economic declines. 16. An asset is liquid if it can be converted to cash (sold) easily and quickly, with little or no loss in value. You would want to hold liquid assets as emergency funds or to accumulate funds for some specific purpose. IBM stock is not considered a liquid investment even though it can be easily sold. As with stocks in general, you can never be sure that, when funds are needed, you can quickly sell the stock without taking a loss. 17.Purchasing power risk for short-term investments occurs when the rat e of return on these investments falls short of the inflation rate. This generally happens to fixed-rate investments such as passbook savings accounts. Most other short-term investments have managed to provide rates of return about equal to the inflation rate when one looks at these short-term rates over long periods of time. Default (nonpayment) risk is very small with most short-term investments. The deposits in banks and other federally-insured savings institutions are protected up to $100,000 per account by agencies of the federal government. U. S.Treasury Bills are perfectly safe and sometimes called a risk-free investment. Commercial paper and repurchase agreements are extremely safe, based upon past experience, even though there have been rare instances of problems. These latter two instruments are also not insured. Money market mutual funds have also had an exceptionally safe history. Of course, the safest money market funds are those which invest solely in government securi ties and are virtually default-risk free. 18. Passbook savings accounts and NOW accounts (a checking account), offered by banks, generally pay a low rate of interest and have no minimum balance.Passbook savings and NOW accounts are primarily used by investors as savings accounts, providing the investor with a highly liquid pool of funds. MMDA’s are bank deposit accounts with limited check-writing privileges. Central asset accounts are comprehensive deposit accounts and combine checking, investing and borrowing activities. MMDAs and asset management accounts are more likely used by investors to earn a competitive short-term return while maintaining liquidity. Each type of account, except for asset management accounts, is insured. All but the passbook account typically require a minimum balance which varies. 19. a)Series EE savings bonds are accrual-type securities, which means that interest is paid when the bond is cashed, on or before maturity, rather than periodically over t he life of the bond. The purchase price of all denominations is 50% of the face value. The interest rate paid is variable. The higher the rate of interest being paid, the shorter the period of time it takes for the bond to accrue from its discounted purchase price to its face value (b)U. S. Treasury bills are short-term (less than one year) debt obligations of the federal government. T-bills are exempt from state and local income taxes, and federal taxes are deferred.They are regarded as the safest, but generally lowest-yielding of all investments, and, the secondary market for T-bills is highly liquid. (c)Certificates of deposits (CDs) are savings vehicles in which funds must remain on deposit for a specified period. Premature withdrawals incur interest penalties. Because of the requirement that they remain on deposit, CDs are less liquid than T-bills, but they are convenient to buy and hold, offer highly competitive returns, and have federal insurance protection. (d)Commercial pap er is unsecured short-term debt issued by corporations with very high credit standings.The secondary market for commercial paper is very limited and yields are comparable to yields on large-denomination CDs. Typically only larger institutions deal directly in this market because the denominations range from $25,000 to the more commonly issued $100,000. Commercial paper is not federally insured. (e)Banker’s acceptances are short-term credit arrangements between business firms and banks. Firms use banker’s acceptances to finance transactions, most often involving firms in foreign countries or firms with unknown credit capacities.Banker’s acceptances typically are denominated in $100,000 units, are low-risk securities, and have active secondary markets. Yields are slightly below CD yields and commercial paper, and above T-bills. (f)Money market mutual funds (MMMF) pool capital of many investors and invest it exclusively in high-yielding, short-term securities, such as T-bills, large CDs, commercial paper, and other similar securities. Because these high-yielding securities are in denominations of $10,000 to $1 million, the MMMF makes them available to individual investors.MMMFs are convenient, offer check writing privileges, and yields are based on the ability of the fund manager to invest in various short-term securities. Although they are not federally insured funds, their default risk is nearly zero because the securities they invest in are very low risk and the fund is relatively diversified. Suggested Answers to Investing in Action Questions Test Your Investment IQ (p. 4) How high is your Investment IQ as measured by the quiz? Answer: The average score was only 37 %, or well less than half. Remember that this is just one of many instruments that could be used to measure Investment IQ.For example, another assessment tool would be essay-oriented explanations of a specified investment’s strengths and weaknesses. Lessons For Investme nt Success (p. 15) (a)Why is it important to start investing now? Answer: One should start investing now in order to take advantage of compounding. A $1,000 amount invested for ten years at 7. 2 percent will double. The same amount invested at the same rate for twenty years will quadruple. Instead of just adding another $1000, you earn an extra $1000 from interest being earned on interest. Furthermore, there will never be an â€Å"ideal time† to invest.Terrorist threats, economic concerns, and alternative uses for the money are always with us. Studies have shown it is more important to invest than to pick the right security. Money not invested is likely to be spent and not provide future benefits. (b)Why is it a good idea to diversify? Answer: Diversifying allows you to spread out the risk that a unique firm or industry event will have a devastating impact on your investment. It is important to diversify across types of assets and nations. Suggested Answers to Discussion Que stions 1. a)Since you fall into the category of a young investor, your key investment goals should be to purchase a house and save for the education of your children. Appropriate investments should focus on the education of your children. (b)You should consider the effects of taxes when investing, especially the tax relative treatment of capital gains and dividends. Your focus should be on maximizing the after-tax return on your investments. (c)Since you have a relatively long investment horizon, it is appropriate to focus on higher-risk investments such as common stocks in your portfolio. . Short-term vehicles play an important part in your investment program. Most importantly they will provide a pool of reserves that can be used for emergencies such as replacing cars, appliances and clothing that wear out over time. Savings or Investment VehicleMinimum BalanceYieldFederal InsuranceMethod and Ease of Withdrawing Funds (a)Passbook savings accountNone0. 5% to $4. 0%, depending on eco nomyYes, up to $100,000 per depositIn person or through teller machines; very easy (b)NOW accountNo legal minimum, but often set at $500 or $1,000At or near passbook ratesYes, up to 100,000 per depositUnlimited check- writing privileges (c)Money market deposit account (MMDA)No legal minimum, but often set at $2,500Slightly above passbook ratesYes, up to $100,000 per depositLimited check- writing privileges (d)Asset management accountTypically $5,000 to $20,000Similar to MMDAsYes, up to $100,000 in banks, varies elsewhereLimited check- writing privileges (e)Series EE savings bondInitial deposit is 50% of face valueAbout two percent above passbook savings accountNo, but Federal government issuePenalty of 3 months interest for early withdrawal (f)U. S. Treasury ill$25Slightly above passbook and NOW accounts No, but Federal government issueSecondary market exists (g)Certificate of depositTailored to investor needsSlightly above asset management accountNo, but as secure as most bank savi ngs and checking accountsPenalty for early withdrawal (h)Money market mutual fundNo legal minimumSlightly below passbook savings accountNo, but has invested in a variety of government and bank issuesMay take a few days to receive check from fund Solutions to Problems 1. (a)Goal$250,000 $31,500 at 8% for 15 yrs. 100,000 Additional requirement$150,000 b)Annual deposit: ? ? $5,524. 50 2. (a)Tax on Allens’ income of $130,000. Looking at the joint tax return rate, we find ? (10% ? $14,000) ? [15% ? ($56,800 – $14,000] ? [25% ? ($114,650 – 56,800] ? [28% (130,000 – 114,650)] ? $1,400 ? [15% ? $42,800] ? [25% ? $57,850] ? [28% ? 15,350] ? $1,400 ? $6,420 ? $14,462. 50 ? $4,298 ? $ 26,580. 50 Tax on Zell’s income of $65,000. Looking at the joint tax return rate, we find ? ($10% ? $14,000) ? [$15% ? ($56,800 – $14,000)] ? [25% ? ($65,000 – $56,800)] ? $1,400 ? [15% ? $42,800] ? [25% ? $8,200] ? $1,400 ? $6,420 ? $2,050 ? 9,870. (b)Allan makes twice as much as Zell. Ratio of Allen’s total tax to income is ($26,580. 50/130,000) ? 20. 45% Ratio of Zell’s total tax to income is ($9,870450/65,000) $ ? 15. 18% Hence higher income earners pay a higher proportional of their income as tax. 3. (a)$50,000. 00/$50. 00 ? 1,000 shares of stock. (b)1,000 shares ? $2. 00 ? $2,000. 00 per year before tax. $2,000. 00 ? 0. 85 ? $1,700. 00 after tax. (c)($1,700. 00 ? 10) ? $50,000. 00 ? $67,000. 00. (d)$50,000. 00 ? 0. 05 ? $2,500. 00 per year before tax. $2,500. 00 ? 0. 67 ? $1,675. 00 after tax. (e)($1,675. 0 ? 10) ? $50,000. 00 ? $66,750. 00. (f)They should purchase the stock. Even though the annual interest from the bonds is more than the dividend income from the stock, after taxes the Pangs will have more money from the dividend income than from the interest income. 4. Cash FlowAmountRateTax (a)Interest$1,00028%$280 (b)Dividends$3,00015%$450 (c)LT Cap Gains$2,00015%$300 (d)ST Cap Gains$2,00028%$560 Solutions to Case Pro blems Case 1. 1? Investments or Golf? This case illustrates the many facets of the investment process; it involves much more than common stock.The authors recognize the value of physical education and emphasize the importance of sports, but a course in investments offers the student a lifetime of financial benefits. Thus, our arguments for selecting the investments course should not be interpreted as a negative statement on physical education, but rather as a positive discussion of the merits of investments. (a)The term investments refers to the process of identifying, evaluating, selecting, and monitoring the placement of funds with a view of preserving or increasing value and/or earning a positive return. Judd has simply identified one investment vehicle stock). He will not know how to evaluate other vehicles, select investments, or monitor them without a course in investments. In addition to looking at his own investments, a course in investing will give Judd a new perspective on the role of investments in the economy. He will learn that as an investor, he is actually supplying funds to government and business which will enable the continued strength and growth of the general economy. (b)Clearly, Judd has ignored short term securities, bonds, options, commodities and financial futures, mutual funds, real estate, tangibles, tax shelters, and limited partnerships.Each one of these vehicles offers another risk reward relationship that may meet certain unique investment requirements that cannot be met by common stock alone. (c)Judd does not have the knowledge needed to carry out the investment process described in question 2. Knowing about common stocks is not the same as understanding investments. There is no reason whatsoever to assume that common stock is the best investment available to Judd. Besides, the investment decision has to be compatible with his goals. Since Judd is just starting his career, in all probability he will not want to choose risky inves tments.Stocks are far riskier than, say, an investment in CDs. There are other considerations too. Does Judd have plans for the future when he will need the money? If so, is it a short term or a long term need? Answers to these questions will help determine whether he should make short term or long term investments. In summary, to gain an understanding of the investment decision and management process, Judd should pass up the golf course in favor of the investments course. Case 1. 2? Preparing Carolyn Bowen’s Investment Plan This case allows students to evaluate a proposed investment plan aimed at achieving certain retirement goals. a)The amount currently available to Carolyn includes $60,000 from the proceeds of the life insurance and $37,500 from her savings account, or a total of $97,500. At 6 percent compounded annually, her money will be worth: If she retires at age 62 (7-year investment): $97,500 1. 504 $146,640 ? $112,500 (house) ? $259,140 If she retires at age 65 ( 10-year investment): $97,500 ? 1. 791 $174,622. 50 ? $127,500 (house) ? $302,122. 50 (The future-value interest factors can be found in Appendix B, Table B. 1. ) (b)Value of Carolyn’s assets at 62 ? value of savings account ? alue of house: $146,640 ? $112,500 ? $259,140 Similarly, value of assets at 65 ? $174,622. 50 ? $127,500 ? $302,122. 50 Carolyn’s annual income at age 62 would be $259,140/12. 659 ? $20,470. 81 Carolyn’s annual income at age 65 would be $302,122. 50/11. 118 ? $27,174. 17 (c) Annual Retirement Income Age 62 RetirementAge 65 Retirement Annual S. S. & Pension Fund Benefits$16,308. 00$20,256. 00 ?Annuity Income20,470. 8127,174. 17 Total Annual Retirement Income$36,778. 81$47,430. 17 (d)Carolyn needs $45,000 per year (before taxes) of retirement income.Without considering the change in her tax status upon retirement, she will not satisfy this goal if she retires at age 62. At age 65 she meets her requirement. The nature of tax legislation and t he reduction in Carolyn’s tax liability upon retirement may make retirement at age 65 viable. (e)Carolyn’s plan is extremely conservative and low risk. The returns from the plan are very secure and probably assured. Carolyn can be confident that the accumulated worth of her investments will be available to her at retirement. Her plan to retire at age 65 meets her retirement -income goal. Carolyn’s plan offers low risk and low return..Through only a slight increase in risk, she might improve her return on investment and have more â€Å"cushion† to allow for inflation and unexpected expenditures. Carolyn could purchase highly rated bond, CDs, and other blue chip security investments. In this manner, her risk aversion would be satisfied, and she would earn a higher return on her investments. This should permit more likely achievement of her retirement-income objectives. Therefore, with very little increase in risk, Carolyn could invest her funds in vehicles that will increase the probability that she will meet or surpass her requirement of an annual retirement income of $45,000.

Eusebius Pamphili Essay

Eusebius Pamphili, also called Eusebius of Caesarea, is one of the key figures ever documented in the field of church history writing/narration. He took into account essential happenings about a specific event and made accounts for people of great importance in the christian realm. Eusebius was exposed to events and he himself was an eyewitness of some martyrdom in several occasions like what happened in the persecution of Christianity in the time of the many Roman emperors. He was famous for his two historical works: â€Å"Chronicle† and â€Å"Church History†. He also wrote several books which served as references by many people like the â€Å"Apology for Origen†, â€Å"Praeparatio de Evangelica† (Preparation for the Gospel), â€Å"Demostratio Evangelica† (Proof of the Gospel), and other scholarly works that possesses historical values in itself. He appended supplements on the work, â€Å"On the Theology of the Church† to preserve the Nicene doctrine of the Logos against Athanasius principles. But perhaps another historical mark for Eusebius was his detailed accounts in the lives of the martyrs of the Palestine, Origen, and others. He also claimed that he witnessed persecutions in Egypt and Tyre. Furthermore, his prominent works in heresy hunting was also successful, an attribute only a few individual have during his time. His works, being focused in several Christian doctrines and teachings, is what makes it valuable for Christians today. This does not necessarily mean all his teachings were of absolute truth, but the fact that his works can be studied either to resolve or abhor the philosophy which depends on the bias and principle of the reader. Claiming that he had opportunities to witness such brutality made to the early Christians, it is therefore valuable to read his accounts for the readers to assess his claims as well as to consider his claims or despise the same. 1 The focal point of his work is to narrate in a very explicit way possible what transpired during that specific event based on Eusebius accounts and other writings. Taking into account what happened during the persecution experienced by Christians during that period by the authorities is also one of the main points of his writing. The so-called â€Å"Martyrs of Christ† were also mentioned in the book including the method of execution applied unto them. Having burned live, fed into wild beasts, and other mutilation process were clearly stated in the book. Moreover, he made a careful manifestation on the essential parts of the book by giving commentaries which had disputable issues involved. He also expressed contrasts in the claims of Eusebius by including accounts from other manuscripts as well, and stating its case in contrary to Eusebius claims. One clear example would be on the issue of the questionable escape by Eusebius from the persecution while the rest of his company suffered. Eusebius claimed that he escaped through the help of his friends from the authority. However, he was accused by others that he denied the faith, the main reason why he escaped from the prison. Another excerpt from the book would be the concern on his teachings regarding the basic Christian doctrine as again being challenged by other Christians. The contents of the book tackle on numerous historical accounts which are very important in studying the church history. Eusebius accounts, as well as others’ writings must be acknowledged by those who ventures into the history of the early Christians. Describing explicitly the tortures experienced by early Christians, the author carried out the gravity of the said affliction. These reasons, the author believed were some of the factors why the book had to be furnished. Critical commentaries were in scripted by the writer of the book. He clearly included both sides of the issues whenever there are conflicting sides arguing for a specific event stated. Credibility of the author depends on where he got the details included in his writing, as well as on how he presented those data he gathered. Since these issues were clearly evident in the writing of this manuscript, one can say that the author’s credibility should not be in question. There are other writers who did a great job expounding the history of the church. They also claimed reliable sources as to where they acquired the details of their writings. They presented their commentaries with objectivity, making them a likely author. These descriptions cited were also integrated in the works of the author mentioned in this entire assessment. Readers of this generation would be having a clear insight on the topics included in the manuscript made by the author. They can either approve or detest some of the details written but this writing would surely provide them a good reference in studying church history. They can also witness the author’s independent view on certain issues in the history of the church. Aside from all of these, this book should also be treated as a supplement on the topic of persecutions of the early Christians and the other details in a particular regime of past Roman emperors. The substance of a manuscript depends on several factors which includes its intrinsic importance and on how appropriate the book is in its field. This work made a great contribution in narrating events which focused on the writings of Eusebius. Stating all the ideas and principles incorporated in this writing, there is no way that this manuscript be given less importance, particularly in the grounds of studying the history of Christianity. From narrating the life of Eusebius, his circumstances, his accounts on the persecution of Christians and other relevant accounts made this book commendable.

The following event is from Chicago's history. Explain in detail an Research Paper

The following event is from Chicago's history. Explain in detail an important effect the Pullman Strike produced in either local - Research Paper Example Gradually with time the demand for the Pullman cars decreased and the owner decided to lower the wages of the railroad employees. It was here that the role of Eugene Debs came into play to save the wrath that the employees had to face (Beik 2005). The workers of the railroad company were members of a renowned labor union known as the American Railway Union. Eugene Debs urged the employees to launch a strike against the company so that their wages could be increased and their demands met. The workers then launched a boycott against the Pullman cars and gained a lot of support by joining hands. Debs launched a peaceful strike urging Pullman and the authorities to take the aggravating conditions of the workers into notice. The Union was supported by a number of railroad employees and the number almost reached the mark of 200,000. The Pullman Car Company had the support of the government because of the capitalistic nature of the government. It was because of this reason that the federal government started intervening in the state affairs and an offensive against the labor union was launched. Debs was not successful enough to make the strike successful as the railroads used the government to cut down the strike. Richard Olney interfered and ordered federal intervention for the strike. Federal troops were given the permission to break up the strike as they believed that the delivery of the U.S mail was being affected by the strike. The strike was finally broken down on July 10, 1894 when Debs along with three members of the organization was arrested. Debs was sentenced for six months in the prison and the strike was called off so that the workers could resume their jobs. Although the strike was unsuccessful it proved to be a great event for the labor unions and federal agencies altogether. It had an effect on the national politics of the United States as it favored socialism over the capitalism that was already prevalent in the state. Capitalism and socialism were bo th affected through the strike. Socialism could not be revived for twenty years after the strike was made unsuccessful by the federal agencies and capitalism was brought down in the next elections. President Grover Cleveland was held responsible for the situation that occurred after the Pullman strike. This essay would further provide an overview of the effect that the Pullman strike had over the national politics of the United States of America (Beik 2005; Salvatore et al 1999). Effect of Pullman Strike The Pullman strike was an unsuccessful venture launched by the labor unions in a time of industrialization. The labor union in those times was not strong enough to fight the capitalist governments and hence they lost to the authoritative powers. The overall effect of the strike was to create a socialist environment in the United States. It brought forward the things that took place against the workers to the attention of people. The Supreme Court also decided against the Pullman Car Company as they violated the charter of companies by providing their workers with the wrong environment and conditions. The strike made the federal government stronger as they were able to launch an offensive against the labor unions. Antitrust laws against the labor

Leadership & Change Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Leadership & Change - Coursework Example An argument against this point of view that I think is important is the fact that in most cases the manager and the leaders who are in the organization’s higher positions are the drivers of change. These are people who can analyze think and develop the behavioral changes that can influence the individuals who bring the resistance to change (Mullins, 2010, pg.31). I believe it is the role the managers to changes in an effective way. They have to develop some individual management skills. They should be sense maker and sense giver. Through effective communication, they can translate the changes. They can also minimize the anxiety of the employees through sharing the information and discussing the needs and the advantages of the change (Rubin, et al.2010, pg.217-9). A leadership style that is democratic can reduce the opposition and assist to in getting an easy acceptance. Whenever empathy is displayed by the leader, those employees who are scared of change will embrace the change process voluntarily. The industries such as advertisement, PR and media require a constant change. And for the globalised competition survival, the other industries have to bring in some change. I would recommend the Lewi’s Change Management model because many people prefer and work within given zones of safety. The model is also is easy to use, and a lot of organizations use this model to implement major changes (Ibarra & Hansen, 2011,pg.69-70). It has three stages; 2. Translation – Immediately change has been initiated, the company goes to the translation period, and this may take some time. Efficient leadership and reassurance is important for this process to succeed. The General Electrics managed some important changes its work culture at the time of transformational leadership tenure. Charles Handy’s framework was utilized to identify the cons of autocratic culture in its organizational

Selling Wine Coolers in China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Selling Wine Coolers in China - Essay Example Thirdly, environmental laws such as pollution, noise, mitigation risks and conformity to the laws should be taken into considerations. Fourthly, anti-monopoly laws and these laws are meant to protect companies from competition in the ever competitive markets. Lastly, corporate income tax laws are also among the regulations that should be taken into considerations when carrying out business activities in China. Marketing Plan Company Description The company is a new entity that will be established by its founder in China. The company will secure additional funding for growth and it aims to create job opportunities for many people. The company will mainly focus on selling wine coolers and it is anticipated demand for brand products will be high since the target market of sport minded consumers and retailers are likely to purchase products on the current offers. The company is interested to expand the product line and offer brand product line in order to sustain competitive advantage in the new business industry. Mission and Goals The mission of the company is to become the leading producer of wine coolers and marketer of high quality products that satisfy the demanding needs of consumers. One of the goals is to increase revenues and expand manufacturing abilities; thus, increase product distribution. Another goal is to enter the geographical areas of China market with a passion of maintaining strong customer and retailer relationships. Target Market The target market of the wine coolers industry is the active consumers and retailers who will also distribute to their consumers. The active consumers will be categorized in varied demographic segmentation, which will take into consideration age, education... The company is a new entity that will be established by its founder in China. The company will secure additional funding for growth and it aims to create job opportunities for many people. The company will mainly focus on selling wine coolers and it is anticipated demand for brand products will be high since the target market of sport minded consumers and retailers are likely to purchase products on the current offers. The company is interested to expand the product line and offer brand product line in order to sustain competitive advantage.   The mission of the company is to become the leading producer of wine coolers and marketer of high quality products that satisfy the demanding needs of consumers. One of the goals is to increase revenues and expand manufacturing abilities; thus, increase product distribution. Another goal is to enter the geographical areas of China market with a passion of maintaining strong customer and retailer relationships.  Target Market The target mark et of the wine coolers industry is the active consumers and retailers who will also distribute to their consumers. The active consumers will be categorized in varied demographic segmentation, which will take into consideration age, education background, income level, religion, culture and many other factors. Perreault, Cannon and McCarthy (22) argue that a defined target market is one of the first and significant marketing strategies for enabling the company to achieve effective business objectives.

Dark Tourism in Prague Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Dark Tourism in Prague - Essay Example ke the basic scenario of a fire in an apartment, it is just normal many people will run towards the scene to either assist, get answers or simply just look. Such is the attention dark tourism has achieved amongst scholars, humanitarians and adventurers all over the world. In Prague, the Church of SS Cyril and Methodius is one such site and has even been ranked Best Dark Tourism site by the country’s Tourism authority. (Hannam & Knox 2010, 28).the site acted has a rich history content regarding the assassination of Reichsprotektor Heydrich. These are not the only centres in Prague. Evidently, the increased demand in dark tourism in Prague has been boosted by the number of the sites this country harbours (Martina 2011, 02). An increase in these centres simply means more place s to visit for the tourists. In a bid to access the rich history in Prague’s dark sites, tourists have flocked the country to have a piece of these fascinating stories. Some of these Dark sides include: The aim of this research is to explore dark Tourism in Prague, view all the effects of this practice of economic, social and political life in Prague. This is because of the vast stories every center holds therefore tourists are bound to learn a lot from their visits. Therefore, the ability of these sites to attract tourists must be outlined to discuss the increase demand for tourists in Prague. I am interested in dark tourism in Prague because I find it quite intriguing that areas associated with death could spur interest in people. Furthermore, I think these places harbor vast historical content that I aim at making

The Government should shouldn't provide free university education for Essay

The Government should shouldn't provide free university education for everyone - Essay Example Education also empowers an individual to become functional in society, to become socially mobile and to be able to contribute to the greater good of society. An ignorant person who knows nothing cannot contribute to society because he or she lacks the knowledge and skills to become productive. Finally, education is a ticket towards success. A degree may not be necessary but a good education is a ticket towards success especially in today’s knowledge base economy. An ignorant person could never succeed today because everything today is based on knowledge and skills. He or she could never find a job or start a business when he or she is ignorant. It also serves the government well when education becomes a right and universal. It will have an educated and highly skilled workforce that could create or work for an industry that could generate revenue for the government. People are also more civilized because they are educated and therefore create a more humane society and ultimately, government contributes to the betterment of human race by making education a right and

Introduction to Computing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Introduction to Computing - Essay Example A wireless network is defined as the type of telecommunication network whose nodes are interconnected without any wires and the remote transmission of information takes place by means of radio waves at the physical level. Wireless networking has helped the consumers get rid of bundles of cables and wires so that they can benefit from countless services of the internet without having stuck at one place because of wiring. Wireless networking has made possible quick and reliable file and internet connection sharing. To begin with wireless networking, the first thing needed is a â€Å"high speed internet connection at the place where you want to use wireless networking† such as digital subscriber line (DSL) or WI-FI (Software Reviews). Other requirements include wireless networking adapter or a PC card adapter, a modem and a network hub. In case of wide-ranging wireless networking, it is always sensible to use an HP Network Assistant â€Å"to validate your wired and wireless network settings† (Hewlett-Packard Development Company). Wireless networks are based on IEEE 802.11 standards which is a set of standards developed by IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) to carry ou t WLAN technology with specifications or protocols like 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n having frequency bandwidth of 2.4, 3.6 and 5 GHz. Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) enable a user to connect to a local area network through wireless networking, like a small network in a house or an office. As compared to conventional wired networks, the user just has to put on the computer system and enable the ‘connect to the network’ option to connect to the network. It is that simple. The user does not have to waste time in adjusting wires, cables and plugs. He can take the system he is working on anywhere he wants inside the house or inside the range of access points. Thus, setting up a WLAN saves time and money wasted on setting up cables. Computers inside WLAN can be

Human Rights Act 1998 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Human Rights Act 1998 - Essay Example In 1998,Parliament enacted the Human Rights Act,which had expressly given effect to Convention rights. Previously, Convention rights under the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms had only indirect application in the UK, when courts voluntarily refer them in their decisions, but domestic courts are not obliged to abide by them. This is because the UK is only bound by the Convention under international law, but not domestically. With the passage of the HRA 1998 however, Convention rights have been domesticated and become part of English law to which courts are obligated to legally defer to in their decisions. Despite the negative reviews that some quarters gave the law, particularly right-leaning groups who think that it impeded the efforts to go after terrorists and politicians who perceived it as fostering the politicisation of the judiciary, the HRA 1998 has a considerable impact on certain aspects of the English legal system. This is particularly true with respect to statutory interpretation and the law on privacy rights. The law has expressly given the judiciary the prerogative to subject legislations to scrutiny to determine if they are consistent with Convention rights, which seems a dilution of the parliamentary sovereignty doctrine. In addition, the HRA 1988 has helped in the development of the common law right to privacy, which was once declared to be absent from the English legal system.... aw, a state can bring an action against another on behalf of its citizen, but a citizen can also bring an action against his own government in the ECHR Court located in Strasbourg. This right was acknowledged by the UK in 1966 (Miles et al 438). Nonetheless, it would take a lot of procedural snags for a UK citizen to hurdle before being allowed to pursue an action at the Strasbourg Court. For one, a UK citizen must exhaust all remedies available to him under domestic laws before a case can be pursued at the ECHR Court. Moreover, an ECHR Court decision favourable to him is not really binding domestically because of sovereignty issues. As a matter of fact the ECHR has limited application domestically and only in the following conditions: to aid the interpretation of domestic laws in cases they are not clear; to guide the judiciary in the exercise of its judicial discretion, and; to establish the extent of common law (Miles et al 438). All of the aforementioned conditions were establish ed in the cases of R v Secretary State for the Home Department, ex parte Brind [1991] AC 696, Attorney General v Guardian Newspaper Ltd [1987] 1 WLR 1248 and Derbyshire County Council v Times Newspapers Ltd [1992] QB 770. In R v Secretary, a group of journalists challenged the Home Secretary’s directive prohibiting the publication of speeches of terrorists. The Court held that the Convention is not part of UK law and can be resorted only when a domestic legislation is ambiguous. On the other hand, in Attorney General v Guardian, which was about the publication of the memoirs of a retired secret service employee, the Court held that the judiciary could look to the ECHR for guidance in the use of its discretionary duty to decide on matters such as duty of confidence. Finally, in the

Canadian economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Canadian economics - Essay Example During the first half of 2003, a rapidly appreciating currency cut deeply into net exports in most Canadian traded goods industries. The auto industry was among the hardest-hit sectors. Automotive products have traditionally generated an important trade surplus for Canada, offsetting continuing large trade deficits in most other high-value and high technology manufacturing products. Already, however, the appreciating dollar has reduced Canada's automotive trade surplus by 50 percent (compared to the first half of 2002). Short-run impacts of a higher dollar include both reduced real shipments and shrinkage in the domestic value of Canadian exports (most automotive exports are priced in U.S. dollar terms). Even more important longer-run impacts could include the relocation of new investment to alternative jurisdictions, as Canada's relative cost competitiveness is eroded. If the exchange rate stays at current levels or higher on a longer-run basis, Canada could feasibly become a net im porter of automotive products within 5 years. On average, hourly labor productivity in Canada's manufacturing sector is approximately 15 percent lower than in U.S. industry. Given the current differential in nominal hourly compensation costs between the two countries (hourly total compensation costs in Canadian manufacturing average just over $25 Cdn., whereas total hourly compensation costs in U.S. manufacturing are about $21.50 U.S.), this creates a nominal unit labor cost disadvantage (measured in national currencies) that must be offset by the exchange rate between the two currencies. When the Canadian dollar trades at approximately 72 cents U.S., average manufacturing unit labor costs in the two countries are equalized. If the dollar is above that level, therefore, Canadian manufacturing (on average) faces a unit cost disadvantage that will spark the long-run outward migration of investment and employment (the opposite of what occurred in the late 1990s when the Canadian dollar traded for less than 72 cents U.S.). The Rising Canadian Dollar and its Impact on the Canadian Auto Industry, Testimony of Jim Stanford Economist, Canadian Auto Workers Before the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Senate of Canada, October 8, 2003 http://www.caw.ca/visual&printlibrary/speeches&briefs/briefs/senatetestimonyonthedollar.pdf Is Canada now at risk of catching the Dutch disease What is the evidence When it gains ground against the U.S. dollar, for example, Canadian exporters lose ground because their products become more expensive for U.S. buyers. It's simply harder to compete. Since 2002, Statistics Canada says 189,000 manufacturing jobs have disappeared in Canada. The agency places the blame squarely on the soaring loonie. But some economists say the difficulties of adjusting to a higher loonie will help exporters in the long run, because they've had to take measures to improve efficiency. The days of relying on a cheap loonie to help them sell in the U.S. are long gone. Cheaper U.S. dollars also provide Canadian companies with an opportunity to invest in U.S.-made tools that make them more competitive. Much of the software and machinery Canadian companies

The causality of hume and kant Essay Example for Free

The causality of hume and kant Essay Hume believed that mind is a collection of mental perceptions; therefore man cannot have free will. It was this particular pervasive skepticism which Hume has discussed in his book, â€Å"A Treatise of Human Nature†. Hume challenged Kant to investigate the explanation of causality, in the matter of the importance of cause and effect concept. In Hume’s perspective, human can see sequences of events but can never see the necessity that determinism requires. For him ideas are mere copies of impressions; and there is no possibility that human being can create any original ideas; unless they are derived from the senses. Hume felt that it is impossible to bring up impression that a person never felt or experienced before. Thus it is wrong for us to say that one event caused another event or that events are interrelated. The reason that human beings believe in cause and effect is due to the brought up which based on the conjunction of the events or reality. Through â€Å"Critique of Pure Reason†, Kant divined the understanding of knowledge into two; a priori and a posteriori. Knowledge can be independent from experience and all sense impressions (a priori), and can also need to have experience of impressions (a posteriori). Hume’s believed that habit makes human see causality and from constant conjunction of causes and effects, human beings learn to see it as a ‘necessary connection’. Kant agrees that causality is just ‘there’, but it is an a priori concept of understanding the knowledge. The concept of causality is accustomed, and experience derives from such pure concepts, and these concepts and intuitions shape human’s world yet tell nothing about things in them. The concept of causality cannot be performed in an empirical way. Kant declared the transcendental aesthetic is the first stage of mind’s experience. He stated that all sense experience is synthesized through the concepts of time and space. Space stands for itself and does not represent anything in it; however it is perceived in a subjective condition. Human subjectively perceive time as in the reality of time. Kant did not see space and time as world’s properties, but as a general concept given to the human mind. The next step of mind activity is the transcendental analytic, applies categories to the mind, which without the categories human would not be able to think at all. They are; quantity (unity, plurality, totality), quality (reality, negation, limitation), relation (substance and accidents, cause and effect, reciprocity between active and passive), modality (possible-impossible, existence-nonexistence, necessity-contingency). The transcendental dialectic comes last. He mentions that it is mind’s process in understanding matters that lie beyond human’s experiences such as God or super natural elements. The reason is that mind requires detailed information about an object which exists in sensory world; such information about non-material object puts mind at a limitation of understand only the physical world which it can only perceive. Kant mentions that God cannot be proved empirically. Instead faith or belief is necessary to keep the society running (the existence of good or bad, the life after death). For Hume the religion or belief were nothing more than superstitions. Reference: Barry Stroud, Hume. Routledge, 1977. Diane Morgan, Kant Trouble: The Obscurities of the Enlightened . Routledge , 2000.

Brief Description On The Milk Scandal Commerce Essay

Brief Description On The Milk Scandal Commerce Essay The toxic milk scandal became public in August 2008 with the disclosure that the baby formula produced by Sanlu was contaminated with melamine, which caused kidney failure among the babies who consumed it. However, until the Chinese Health Ministry confirmed on Sep 12, 2008, that the milk powder produced by Sanlu was contaminated by melamine, neither the government nor the company took any actions to warn the public. Later, government inspections reported that the products of 21 other dairy firms were also contaminated with melamine. Even as the milk scandal unfolded, many countries like Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, Australia, and Indonesia rushed to ban Chinese dairy products. Foreign companies which sold China made products or products which used Chinese ingredients had to recall their products. overview of food industry business ethics Significance of business ethics Nowadays, the issue of business ethics comes to peoples mind more frequently especially in the food industry since food are the essential items for human and it will affect our health directly. In 2004, the use of hair in the production of soya sauce was exposed and made headlines in the press. Moreover, there is many more news about China how they use very cheap material like industrial acid and oil to mix into their food products in order to minimize the introduction costs. As a developing country, business in China is developing very rapidly. It is now playing a more decisive role in social life and almost all people would be involved in business activities. As a result, unethical business behavior would have negative influence towards society. Hence, society is now more concerned with the issue of business ethics. Since the Chinese foods are now exported all over the world, ethical practice of Chinese enterprise issues are the key factors to be success. General perception on business ethics in food industry There is much news recently that related to food safety in world wide. Therefore, consumers have three types of ethical concerns toward food industry. Methods of Production and Distribution The production of food raises a number of issues that need to be considered. The packaged food industry essentially consists of manufacturing using farm produce. Clearly hygiene, quality control, health and safety considerations are of great importance. The following are among the issues that should be considered as per my knowledge: 1. Animal welfare in the meat products industry. 2. Use of child or bonded labour, or employment of illegal immigrants. 3. The International Labor Organization (ILO) standards provide useful benchmarks in this area. 4. Improper use of the pesticides, antibiotics, and other chemicals. 5. Misuse of water resources and the consequent impact on local farmers 6. Good quality control of the food supply 7. Ensure the material supply and healthy to human 8. Use environmental friendly packaging as much as possible for the packaging 9. Inform the actual gradients of the food contented 10. Inform the public immediately once unhealthy food was produced and distribute to market According to our observation toward Chinese business, their objective of the business is only generating profits as much as possible. The ethical senses are not significance within the society. Reason behinds the widespread sufferings of the infants According to the case content, there is several factors lead to this hazard. On Sanlu In fact, Sanlu acknowledged the problem far beyond the serious ha affects hazard explored in 2008. From the case content, there were several customer complained the problem to Sanlu about the ill effect of taking the milk by infants. However, Sanlu chose not to launch this news to alarm general public due to they do not wanted to affect its sales and image. In addition, they were not willing to import the sophisticated milk test machine from overseas. On Government First, we believed that Chinese government has too much confidence on the self governance by the enterprise especially on Sanlu these big companies. One of the regulations implemented was the inspection-free policy. A company would not be required to undergo inspection for a period of 3 years if it can meet the following three requirements: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Product with stable quality à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ High market share à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ passed the inspection for more than 3 consecutive times However, past performance did not reflect that there will be not problems in future. Since, the demand of Chinese milk increased significantly and the milk supply source has been polluted, the problem got serious in 2008. If Chinese government inspected the quality of Sanlu continuously, the situation will be under controlled. Moreover, the respond of the milk incident was too slow to control the situation. The Shijiazhang government and the Communist Party of China did not report about the said issue to the provincial and state level authorities till 9 Sep, 2008. At that time, about 53000 infants were already affected. On the steadily growth market and growth strategy of Sanlu Since there is high demand in milk industry and there is not strict control over the milk supply, more and more farmer and agent joined the supply market for making money. The situation got worse after the Mengniu and Yili enter into the Hebei market because the supply of milk was tight in this fast growth market. Since the milk demand from Sanlu and other company increased steadily, the market collection station cannot get enough milk for production. Since it is a profitable market to sell milk to these producers, many middlemen aroused and sell the milk to Sanlu directly. They were not ethical enough since they had diluted the milk to increase the supply volume for more profit and they added this melamine into the milk which was harmful to infants. Since not quality inspection from milk station, this toxic milk was finally gone into the market and lead to the milk scandal finally. Sanlu also needed to responsible on this issue since its growth strategy in market share made they ign ore the quality control by milk station and make this incident. Finally, the covered error of the milk scandal did not made the problem dismissed. Reversely, it generated a serious problem not only about the image destroyed of Sanlu its own but also the image of Chinese milk products, hundred thousand of farmer made not income and needed to kill all of their cows as well as thousands of infant were suffered from Kidney stone. If proper action has been done, the situation will be better. Sanlu and Government actions toward the milk scandal On September 17, 2008, the Chinese Health Minister, announced that melamine contaminated milk had led to more than 6,200 children falling ill in the country and over 150 children suffered acute kidney failure. Six days later it was announced that four children had died and the number of children falling ill had increased to 54,000. On Sanlus production and management actions On September 12, 2008, the Hebei provincial government ordered Sanlu to stop production after preliminary investigation confirmed that melamine contaminated baby formula was the reason for kidney stones among children. The company was also ordered to stop sales of all brands of its baby formula, recall its products, and destroy all the products that were unsold and recalled. Also Sanlu set up a fund of 800,000,000 yuan, which 700,000,000 yuan was estimated to be the compensation amount that the compensation amount that the company needed to pay to its customer such as refund, hospital expenses and compensation on sick or death of the infants. On September 15, 2008, Sanlu had issued a public apology of its role in the milk scandal. Zhang Zhenling (Zhenling), Vice President of Sanlu, read out a letter of apology at a news conference in Shijiazhuang, The serious safety accident of the Sanlu formula milk powder for infants has caused severe harm to many sickened babies and their families. We feel really sad about this. Sanlu Group expresses its most sincere apology to you. We solemnly declare we will recall all the infant milk powder produced prior to August 6. And for those produced after that date, we will also make a recall if consumers have doubts and worries.15 Later, Sanlu also sacked Wenhua. On Government actions The Health Ministry informed the World Health Organization, Hong Kong, and Macaus health departments, the New Zealand Embassy in China, and the press about the melamine contamination in baby formula. The Ministry also announced that a free medical checkup would be given to affected children. It sent medical specialists to hospitals across China to help treat the affected children. Started from September 2008, the Chinese government started a nationwide inspection of baby milk powder. It announced that liquid milk products including packaged milk and yoghurt would be checked for melamine contamination. On September 16, 2008, GAQSIQ announced an inspection of all Chinese baby milk powder makers and found traces of melamine in 69 batches of baby formula produced by 22 companies including brands like Mengniu,12 Yili,13 and Bright Dairy.14 After the inspection, these dairy firms were ordered to stop new production and sale of dairy products. As the milk scandal escalated, steps were also taken against some government officials. While some of them were sacked, some of them resigned owning moral responsibility. On September 17, 2008, Ji Chuntang, Vice-Secretary of the Shijiazhuang Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Mayor of Shijiazhuang, was removed from his job. Earlier, four officials including the Vice Mayor in charge of agricultural production, the Director of Shijiazhuang Municipal Animal Husbandry and Fishery Bureau, the Director of Shijiazhuang Municipal Food and Drug Administration, and the Director of Shijiazhuang Municipal Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision were dismissed. On September 22, 2008, Li Changjiang, the Director of GAQSIQ, resigned. On September 26, 2008, four executives of Sanlu including Wenhua were arrested for producing and selling sub-standard products. Milk dealers and suppliers were also arrested for selling contaminated milk to dairy companies. Jiabao, the then Premier of the State Council of the Peoples Republic of China, said, The government will put more efforts into food security, taking the incident as a warning. What we are trying to do is to ensure no such event happens in future, by punishing those responsible leaders as well as enterprises. None of those companies lacking professional ethics or social morals will be let off.16 In an effort to restore confidence among domestic and international consumers, the Chinese government introduced a new set of quality control standards which included strict limits for melamine in dairy products. In the case of infant formula, the limit was set at one milligram of melamine per kilogram and the limit for liquid milk at 2.5 milligrams per kilogram. On October 09, 2008, in an effort to stimulate the dairy industry of China, the Chinese government announced an emergency rescue plan for the affected dairy farmers. The government planned to give 300 million Yuan in subsidy. In addition, the interest rate for loans granted to dairy producers to buy raw milk was also reduced by 3 percent for the period between October and December in 2008. Some local governments in China had also promised to give a subsidy to the dairy farmers. For example, the Hebei province had allocated 316 million Yuan (US$46.4 million) as subsidies to dairy farmers. The dairy companies in China had to recall several thousand tons of melamine contaminated milk products. Sanlu was ordered to recall its products immediately after the Hebei provincial government found melamine contamination in its baby formula. After GAQSIQ had found melamine contamination in the products of 22 Chinese dairy companies, they were also asked to recall their products. On October 15, 2008, GAQSIQ ordered recall of all dairy products made before September 14, 2008. According to a notice issued by the agency, All supermarkets, shops, and all city, town, and village-level vendors will urgently remove and seal up all milk powder and liquid milk made before September, pending further testing. On December 27, 2008, it was announced by the Chinas Dairy Industry Association that the affected children and their families would get compensation from the 22 companies found guilty of producing and selling contaminated milk powder. According to the statement issued by the Association, The enterprises offered to shoulder the compensation liability. By doing so, they hope to earn understanding and forgiveness of the families of the sickened children. The money for compensation is in place now and will soon be handed to the people who have custody of the sickened children through various channels. If the babies suffer from relative after-effects, all medical fees will be covered by the fund. In a letter sent to the victims and their families by these 22 companies, the compensation amount was specifically mentioned for sick children, for those who were suffering from kidney failure, and for families whose kids had died because of the tainted milk powder. It was also mentioned in the l etter that dairy producers would set up a fund to pay the medical costs of the children who were ill, until they reached the age of 18. On January 22, 2009, two people were sentenced to death for their involvement in the Chinese milk scandal. Wenhua was given a life imprisonment and three other executives were given imprisonment from five to fifteen years In my personal opinion, the government failed to supervise product quality responsible. The effectiveness of the regulatory environment in China is slow in disclosure the hazard as well as makes prompt action to stop it. According to some research in the internet, there were many government departments to monitor food safety in China. As there was no single agency to look after all product safety regulations and enforcement in the country and there was no clear hierarchy of agencies, the duties of different departments often overlapped. Recommendations to Sanlu to recover its goodwill as well as Chinese milk industry toward global Investors who had already invested in the Chinese dairy industry were worried about regaining consumers confidence. In this respect it means consumers are now thinking twice before purchasing such products, so the key challenge now is to regain the consumers trust. As you can recall the case from Hong Kong, Vitasoy milk and Lemon tea also suffer from big hazard of the pollution in production line and made the milk turns sour in around ten years old. We believed as a well known organization with market leadership role, they can recover their goodwill step by step like Vita Corporation in order to gain the customer confidence again as below. However, the situation in Hong Kong is much easier to turnover since the government and the legislation control is much strict and clear to follow. If Sanlu would like to gain back the image, both Sanlu and Government needed to do something to ensure the quality of their products is healthy and safe to customer usage. We believe that ethical business environment is the key issue to recover the confidence from general public on the Chinese milk production On Government Regulations To avoid similar incident happen again, implementing of new issues and regulations are necessary. For example, AQSIQ should have regular and sudden inspection on the quality of products. The food industry inspection should be in random and strictly follow the international standard norm. Laws and ethics Nonetheless, only depends on laws, it is not sufficient to ensure the problem would not exist in future. It is more difficult to depend on enterprise to follow the law in PRC such the corruption and education level is not high. There are many acts that are legal but unethical. And there are also many people use money to change illegal to legal by cover the problem or override the checking from government. As in the milk scandal, the use of small amount of melamine was legal because it is not harmful to adult; there was no regulation on it. It is clear that laws cannot fully control human behavior; as law is only norm to control people behave. However, for business ethics, the standard is much higher than that of laws. It is because as a highly ethical company, their goals are not only profit but also care of the public as well as their customer. Ethics is not concerned only with peoples behavior. It is a standard for our core values. As an individual or a company, in addition to bein g legal, being ethical is the key which shows that their values are of higher standard rather than meeting the minimum requirement only. As a ethical corporation, Sanlu should use the concept that customers babies are their babies, they will not give some harmful materials or potential harmful ingredient towards their own babies. They should care the health of all babies although add melamine and dilute milk can be acceptable to increase production. Education on general public Peoples behavior is actually influenced by norm, attitude and values from the society and most likely are from their own family. Changes in norm, attitude and values are very important for improving business ethics. We believed that it is the value of Chinese enterprise was too famous on profit and do not know clearly what ethical standard they needed. Hence, on top of implementation of measures and regulations, education on both top management and employees would be the most fundamental way to do so. For example, government can improve more foreign consultant and special to teach ethic and made speech in university to raise the concern of general public and know they can do it profitability like coca cola, nestle as well as PG etc. On Sanlu itself Ethic knowledge training Unethical issues cannot be done by only one level. If the ethical standards are enough in the company, they will carry out a mutual inspection on other actions toward ethic enterprise. For example, before employees go to their working positions, the company should provide ethics training, covering ethical issues and addressing the rules, compliance requirement and the corporate values to their employees. Let employees realize the importance of business ethics for the company as well as their own. During training, discussions on cases of ethical dilemma and analysis with employees are valuable in developing employees awareness of business ethics and ethical competency. Furthermore, the company should communicate information about the reporting mechanisms with all employees. When there is any unethical behavior, employees can report to the company immediately. This would be the most efficient way to discover any problems and take prompt actions to solve them. Quality control process and crisis management Since Sanlus image was totally damaged in this incident, we recommend that Sanlu can import the modern of art testing machine for strict quality control and the production chain should be more transparent toward general public. They can set up a additional inspection team which contains outsiders from other milk industrys expert and also foreign country representative to investigate the production channel, sourcing as well as the healthy and safety level on its our products. Therefore, the general public may slowly regain its confidence on Sanlus milk products. Also, the management team should have a knowledge sharing about the investors New Zealand industry on how they manufacture the milk and ensure the required process and ethical norm can be implemented in Sanlu to regain the image from global market. Once the incident happened again, Sanlu should know how to reduce the negative effect toward customer like stop production immediately, message general public timely and recall all affected products from retailer and dealers in order to show their sophisticated experience in crisis management. Like Vita group, we believe that the market will accept their products again. In conclusion, we believe that the critical factor on this incident and regain image of Sanlu in the case is all about ethics. We believed that the technology and expertise in China are enough to produce healthy and safety products. However, their action has been affected by the norm to earn as much money as possible in short period of time by legal but no ethical actions. In order to reduce the negative image toward Chinese product such as foods, drinks, electronic and toy. Chinese government should pay more effort on improve the ethical standard by education and control of the government officials. If they cannot to do so, the short-term goal of Chinese enterprise toward profits without concern on general public would affect the development of the economy of whole Chinese market.

Business Strategies Between Regionalisation And Globalisation Commerce Essay

Business Strategies Between Regionalisation And Globalisation Commerce Essay The global market is a tough nut to crack. A company or an organisation must be competitive enough in order to penetrate this market. Todays competition for business supremacy has always been a battle. Its a battle on who will be the best, a battle that the end winner will be determine by the organisations ability to compete against other competitors. Competition is like a bottle neck road, who ever goes in first always have the advantage against the other. Because the domestic and international market undergoes a never ending phase, an organisation must be capable to adapt to these constant changes. A companys capacity to change should be given consideration. Discrepancy between an organisation capacity and the demands of its customers results in an inefficiency, either in under-utilised company resources or unfulfilled customers. Maybe, most of the organisations today want to initiate a management system and strategy that could maintain the organisations capability, strength and co mpetitiveness. And this is important for the management teams and the organisations per se that they would always be open minded for changes that they might encounter in order to cope and adapt to the latest development that are happening within and outside their environment. Businesses are continuously evolving just to maintain progress and being competitive. However, being competitive in international business arena should conform to the concepts in international trade such as globalisation and regionalisation. Globalisation and regionalisation are concepts known in international trade and businesses. These concepts are always attached in describing transactions done in international business arena. Basically, this paper, will be assessing the paper of Proff (2002) entitled Business unit strategies between regionalisation and globalisation. In his paper, Proff, (2002) argued that Regionalisation do not actually opposed the concept of Globalisation. Regionalisation does not create or build blocks towards globalisations. From the results of his assessment using the so-called cluster analysis, he justified that Regionalisation especially to those outside the triad-markets was actually creating a path towards grasping the idea of Globalisation- an open regionalisation. Assessment From the presentation of Proff (2002), he identifies that globalisation has lowered trade barriers in different economies making it easier for investments to flow across markets. Through benefiting from involvement in other economies the flow of capital from one economy to another intensified. Access to raw materials and resources, cost savings from lowering labour and operating costs, and expansion to other markets prove the benefit for investors when engaging in foreign investments. Basically, globalisation and trade reform are credited with improved income growth and poverty reduction in much of developing world. Empirical evidence points to the growth-inducing effects of open economies, where long term growth is like the rising tide, lifting all the boats, including those of the poor. Reality, however, is often more complicated. As described in the paper of Proff (2002), many organisations especially to those outside the triad-market have not reaped the perceived benefit of globa lisation but instead considering the advantage of regionalisation. Apparently, regionalisation via membership to trade organisations as shown in the paper of Proff (2002) and market integration has also made international trade appealing. As describe, the concept of regionalisation establishes long-term interests with expectations of high returns on investment. Furthermore, national governments who lost control of the traditional means of promoting local competitiveness by lowering trade barriers and exchange rate policies have allowed competitiveness to diminish in importance. Basically, governments turned to consider international trade as a means of improving their economies which was actually seen and based from the perspective of investors and recipient firms and economies. Actually, regionalisation can be characterized process on the regional stage with the assistance of governments. These regional consideration shows to be the express result of governmental exploits initiating regional trade administrations and making deeper assimilation of detach economies on the regional height. Regionalisation is a fresh occurrence. As described by Proff (2002) in his paper, regionalisation conforms to the intensification of investment and intra-regional trade, each suggest a procedure of deeper behind-the-border industrial incorporation. Within this course of regionalising economies liberalisation is seen as a power that assists in guiding the people and economies resources into actions where they are most expected to stand out. In basic assumptions, regionalisation materialises as a power that alleviates the outcomes of globalisation by pooling governmental policies and also pays off for the loss of national policy sovereignty. But as justified in the paper of Pr off (2002), regionalisation does not actually alleviate the outcomes of globalisation but instead it guides the organisation to grasp globalisation process. This creates regionalisation as a training ground or an arena for an organisation to learn the context of globalisation even though the organisation was outside the triad-market. Basically, the notion of region as an arena for the development of learning organisation is a complex concept. Relatively few cases of actual development are thoroughly researched, and most of the research done on the learning region in general does not focus on work organisation. What can be seen, however, from the cases that have been made subject to research, is that although one may talk about regions they are much smaller than the configurations generally associated with this notion. There is a need either for a multi-level notion of region or for another concept that can cover units that can function as a context for the development of learning organisation. So far, the concept of learning region may be the best option since it indicates that not any region falls under the concept but only regions that fulfil certain requirements. Another possibility is territory, but this concept may be seen as somewhat too geographical. On the other hand, it may not be a need for a sharply featured concept. The units that seem best able to promote learning organisation may be seen as end points on a scale where most real situations will occur in between; they will have some element of learning region but not all and will show variations in their ability to promote learning organisation. At the moment, the notion of learning region functions first and foremost through its ability to draw attention to the need for a democratic order with the ability to generate trust as the core condition for learning organisation. It is even possible to turn back to some of the historical cases and reinterpret them in the light of this point. As justified in the paper of Proff (2002), the notion of regionalisation was actually a good training ground or learning arena for considering the idea of globalisation. The internationally most well known example of systematic efforts to promote learning oriented forms in a large industrial corporation may be the Swedish automobile producer Volvo, a development that occurred during the two decades when Gyllenhammar was chief executive (Graehl, S., Fiumlchtner, Rentz, 2002). With its many plants and numerous managerial hierarchies and expert groups, its co-operation with unions and employees and its broad use of research and consultants, Volvo fulfilled many of the characteristics of a learning region (Graehl, S., Fiumlchtner, Rentz, 2002). In line with the single company, however, the efforts to spearhead this kind of development came to an end with the retirement of Gyllenhammar. In most cases management driven change lasts for much shorter periods of time. With placing the learn ing region in focus the intention is, consequently, not only to introduce a new reference point for organisation development in addition to the individual enterprise or for that matter units within each enterprise, such as groups or departments but also to point at the shortcomings of some of the established ones. Basically, Graehl, S., Fiumlchtner, Rentz, (2002) argued that the kind of drift towards regionalisation indicated above can be se seen as an example of a tendency that has acquired major proportions on the international scene: in some form or other regionalisation occurs in major parts of the world today. Against this background it is important to emphasise that this kind of process occurs for many different reasons and that the reasons underlying the above examples are only some of those that are operative within this area. It is also important to emphasise that far from all processes towards regionalisation have anything to do with work organisation. Furthermore, the reasons are not new in the sense that they have been emerging only in recent years. When the movement towards learning oriented forms of work organisation started with field experiments and other cases, a process of bottom-up learning was introduced and the challenges posed by such a process are dominating the agenda today as in the period immediately after the first experimental changes. What differs is first and foremost the view on how bottom-up learning can take place. For a long time the idea that single cases could be abstracted from their contexts and provide a basis directly for learning processes involving many organisations was maintained. Actually, what happens today is first and foremost a break with these perspectives to instead build the learning processes bottom-up without shortcuts. What this implies varies, between countries and even regions. New demands are placed on all the actors involved and how well they are met today and will be met in the future differs as well. One of the challenges is to handle the notion of learning region as an evolutionary phenomenon, often emerging from a smaller group of actors, growing through network formations and eventually including political-administrative actors. From this platform the growth can continue into formations where several units join each other to form broader regions. Fixed boundaries and given administrative dividing lines will block this kind of development. Learning regions will have to be defined according to the learning process and this has in itself fluid boundaries. From this assessment, it is evident that business operations across national borders are becoming the trend in the current era. And this trend continuously grows because of globalisation and regionalisation. In response to this globalisation and regionalisation issues, multinational corporations tend operate in other countries to have excellent advantage. According to Amponsah (2001), globalisation or regionalisation whether it is in or out the triad-market but the eagerness of a certain business organisation to operate across borders was there it always involves two dimension i.e. change in economic operations of various countries, and change in the participants of global economic operations. Conclusion In the development of globalisation and regionalisation are closely related and often interact. Of course, one could argue that the marketin other words, effective competitionshould be the sole determinant of providers attitudes toward customers, in particular the services to be supplied and to whom and in what quantity. Then, a situation would develop where only competition authorities intervene, because the sectoral regulator would have disappeared from the scene. From the previous discussion, regionalisation in accordance to organisations competitiveness continues to be regarded as a major element of economic reforms in most countries. In the majority of developing countries, it is an important component of the structural adjustment package sponsored by multilateral institutions. It has become geographically more widespread and has increasingly involved the telecommunications, energy and water sectors. Foreign investment linked to liberalisation has also become more prominent in d eveloping countries. However, while regionalisation can bring about benefits under certain conditions, transfer of ownership is by no means a sufficient condition for improved performance of firms and setting off economic growth. In other words, if regionalisation with respect to competitiveness is to benefit the organisations, the challenges facing these organisations have to be properly identified so as to inform policy makers and the necessary actions have to be taken to overcome them. In addition, the governments must regularly inform the public about the goals of competitiveness and regionalisation and explain how achieving these goals benefit their citizens and nations. Governments must also carefully analyse the political impediments to investment liberalisation and must develop plans to eliminate them. Introducing more market competition and effective state regulation may be crucial in ensuring that economic performance improves. In addition, a wider range of institutional issues, including improving political, legal, management and financial capacity within organisations will affect the impact of regionalisation on performance when regionalisation occurs in organisations outside the triad-market. With respect to globalisation, liberalisation and openness should be promoted which will in turn promote market discipline, competition, better corporate governance and public accountability. Disciplined and prudential regulations should be introduced in the financial sector where incomplete liberalisation has taken place. This can help prevent the continuation of state directed credit to funds, which often lead to misallocation of resources. In conclusion, the development of globalisation or even regionalisation faces several obstacles challenges which all have to be tamed by countries governments before substantial benefits can be realised. It is worth noting that competition law can improve economic performance but performance improvement heavily relies also on other structural reforms like liberalisation and regulation and the ability of developing countries to overcome the numerous challenges that they face during the investment liberalisation process. From here, the different strategies in different markets especially to those considering the international market helped the organisation have an initial feel of the different markets. The different strategies also helped the organisation have a better understanding of how the market works. The different markets help in introducing to the organisation the cultures and characteristics of the markets thus it became educated with how to adjust in the different setting. Lastly, the different strategies helped in making sure that the organisation encounters lesser problems while starting up a new market. By using different strategies with proper consideration towards globalisation and regionalisation, the organisation has not committed anything that will give it more problems.