Causes for the 2007-08 Financial Crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Causes for the 2007-08 Financial Crisis - Essay Example The property market was a major contribution to the financial crisis. The collapse in prices of mortgaged houses put homebuyers in debts as they had speculatively spent so much money on overvalued property. The financial crisis arose from weak financial policies, which permitted banks among other financial institution make precarious investments as the outline portrays. b. Response: The financial crunch affected investment in the real estate’s industry first in the United States before the effects spiraled to other major global economies thus reducing the volume of activities at major stock markets thus culminating in the crisis. a. Response: With intense speculation on the size and lucrativeness of the industry, numerous investors including financial institutions increased to invest and compete for the market (Starkman, 2014). b. Both commercial and investment banks thus competed for the market. They introduced precarious policies that permitted the banks to invest extensively in the industry without cushioning themselves from the unpredictable nature of the

Develop a Marxist critique of Mills account of individual liberty Essay

Develop a Marxist critique of Mills account of individual liberty - Essay Example Mill introduces his account on individual liberty by describing the form of liberty present in his arguments. The author becomes clear to the reader by specifying the subject of the essay as that which considers both social and civil liberty. This is for the purpose of creating a succinct understanding of individual liberty as described by the author. Mill considers civilization as a struggle that occurs between a person and a society causing the individual to change behavior in an attempt to fit in the society (Mill 5). The author criticizes the public laws and opinions regarding them as determinants of the actions of individuals instead of the person having power over his own thoughts. Mill objects the idea of public laws and opinions, which affects the well-being of the society. He argues that such laws should only apply in cases where the actions of an individual directly affect the society (Mill 6). The argument of the author is that these laws cause an individual to act against his will. The author does not only argue on the laws but also on the morality of individuals. Mill is critical about the notion of public on the behavior of individuals; he does not accept the judgments that the public makes and that discriminates a person due to behavioral aspects. He terms such actions and ideas as coerce claiming that their illegitimacy is undesired. Mill’s notion that persons in the society can improve themselves in the absence of laws brings questions on whether the society can be a better place without these laws. His notion makes him regard various societies as a dwelling on an order of value (Mill 6). He sets an example of barbaric societies acting like children in the absence of necessary guidance of their independence. Mill’s expression of liberty is utilitarian rather than based on natural rights as exemplified in metaphysical opinion by Kant (Marx, Engels 40). The second chapter of Mill’s account

International Trade Theories Absolute Comparative and Competitive Advantage

International Trade Theories Absolute Comparative and Competitive Advantage Absolute advantage theory was first presented by Adam Smith in his book The Wealth of Nations in 1776. Smith provided the first concept of a nations wealth. Adam Smith is a grandfather of economics because he introduced two important concepts that many of the new trade theories are based on these two main concepts, which are specialization and free exchange (Cho et al., 2000). However, many arguments were made and many economists thought there was a problem with the theory of absolute advantage after David Ricardo published the theory of comparative cost (aka comparative advantage) in the early 19th century (Curry, 2000). Even though Smith and his followers introduced many important points for the thoughts of economic, it is too complicated with this simple version of trade theory in todays global economy. In 1990, Michael Porter introduced the diamond model of new competitiveness theory (Cho et al., 2000). These three trade theories are important in order to make a country or busine ss successfully. Therefore, the importance of absolute advantage, comparative advantage, and competitive advantage will be discussed thoroughly. Absolute advantage is the ability to produce a good with fewer resources than other producers (Ayers et al., 2005). According to Joseph A. Schumpeter (1954, 374), seems to have believed that under free trade all goods would be produced where their absolute costs in terms of labor are lowest (Van Marrewijk, 2009). Smith suggests that a country should export those goods and services for which it is more productive than other countries are, and import those goods and services for which other countries have more productive than it is. For instance, assume there are only two countries in the world- France and Japan; there are only two goods Wine and Clock radios; and there is only one factor of production- Labor. In France, one hour of labor can produce either two bottles of wine or three clock radios. In Japan, one hour of labor can produce either one bottle of wine or five clock radios. Therefore, the absolute advantage to produce wine is France because one hour of labor produces two b ottles in France, but Japan only produces one. The absolute advantage to produce clock radios is Japan because one hour of labor produces five clock radios in Japan while France only produces three. France is more efficient in the production of wine and Japan is more efficient in the production of clock radios. If these two countries are able to trade with one another, they both will be better off (Griffin et al., 2010). Comparative Advantage The theory of absolute advantage makes sense intuitively. Unfortunately, the theory had a problem. What if one country had an absolute advantage in both products? David Ricardo solved this problem by introducing the theory of comparative advantage, which states that a country should specialize and export those goods and services for which it is relatively more productive than other countries are and import those goods and services for which other countries are relatively more productive than it is (Griffin et al., 2010). Therefore, according to this theory, a country must specialize in order to gain from trade. A country has a comparative advantage if it can produce a good at a lower opportunity cost than could other countries. For instance, Michael Jordan selected basketball as his career and economics as his major. He had to make a choice in order to excel at other majors or careers. He chose basketball where he could shine in with his area of relative strength. On the other hand, Doug might take longer to mow yards than other people would take. Even if he cannot do anything well, he can still do some things relatively better than other things. People would still hire him because he would charge them less than the opportunity cost of their own time. In this case, Michael Jordan might hire him because the opportunity cost of his time would be too high. It would be unrelated that whether Michael could do his own lawn faster (Ayers et al., 2005). Even though the comparative advantage is very useful for explaining the reasons of trade and the increases welfare of the trading partners by trade, this theory is still incomplete. There are two problems in this theory. First, the extreme degree of specialization can be predicted by this theory, but in some countries, they not only produce one good but many import-competing products. Second, the trade based on differences in country productivity levels between countries, but it did not explain the existence of these di fferences (Cho et al., 2000). Competitive Advantage The leading theorist of competitive advantage theory is Michael E. Porter. According to Porter, National prosperity is created, not inherited. It grows with natural endowments in a country, as well as its labor pool, its interest rates, or its currencys value. The competitive advantage of nations is the capacity of its industry to innovate and upgrade to form a nations competitiveness. Companies benefit from having home based suppliers aggressively, domestic rivals strongly, and demanding local customers. Geographic cluster or companies concentrations established competitive advantage in different parts of the same industry. According to Porter, nations are most likely to succeed in industries where the national diamond is the most favorable. He believes that success in international trade comes from the four interrelated components, which are factor conditions, demand conditions, related and supporting industries, and firm strategy structure, and rivalry. Porter also concluded that their home environment is the most forward-looking, challenging, and dynamic so that nations succeed in particular industries (Cho et al., 2000). Companies achieve competitive advantage from acts of innovation. They approach innovation in both new technologies and new ways of doing things. Innovation can be represented in a new product design, new production process, or a new marketing strategy. Perceiving an entirely new market opportunity can contribute to create competitive advantage from some innovations. Innovation yields competitive advantage when competitors are slow to respond. For instance, in autos and home electronics industries, Japanese companies focused on smaller and lower capacity models that foreign competitors despised as low profit, low importance, and low attraction (Cho et al., 2000). Conclusion The three traditional trade theories were discussed. They are all useful theories that remain in understanding many of industrial and trade policies nowadays. For example, when a country considers industrial and trade policies, the comparative advantage theory can be a basic guideline. Because todays world is much more complicated than before, those theories are not satisfactory in explaining the international trade in nowadays situation. The main goal of model building is understand the world easily by recognize the most important variable or variables (Cho et al., 2000).

1st Battle of Bull run :: essays research papers

The first major battle of the Civil War was fought in Virginia, near the Manassas, Virginia railway junction, after which the battle is called (or First Bull Run, named after the flowing stream on the battlefield, if of the Union persuasion). The armies in this first battle were not very large by later Civil War standards. The Federal forces under Brigadier General Irvin McDowell were organized into four divisions (five, if one includes Runyan's division), of about 30,000 men. These divisions were commanded by Tyler, Hunter, Heintzelman, (Runyan), and Miles. The Confederate command structure was somewhat more unwieldy, including two "armies", with no division structure and thirteen independent brigades under Bonham, Ewell, Jones, Longstreet, Cocke, Early, Holmes, Kershaw, Evans, Jackson, Bartow, Bee, Smith, and a cavalry brigade under Stuart. The Confederate Army of the Potomac was under the command of Brigadier General Pierre G. T. Beauregard, and the Army of the Shenando ah was commanded by Brigadier General Joseph E. Johnston. These two forces would equal McDowell's strength. Interestingly enough, each commander had planned to initiate an attack on the other side with a feint attack on the enemy's right flank and a massed attack on the opposite flank. Had this been done simultaneously, and both been successful in their purpose, the two armies would have simply pivoted around each other and ended up in each other's rear, able to march unopposed to Washington or Richmond, as the case may be. As it turned out, the general least successful in initiating this movement was the winner. McDowell had planned to use Tyler's division as the diversionary attack at the Stone Bridge, while Davies' brigade did the same at Blackburn's Ford. At the same time, Hunter's and Heintzelman's divisions would cross Bull Run at Sudley Springs and attack from the north. McDowell's green troops involved in the flanking column, reached their jumping off positions two and a half hours behind schedule. Tyler's and Davies' attacks at the Stone Bridge and Blackburn's Ford were already well under way, and the Confederate high command was beginning to sense a ruse because the Union attacks were not pressed very hard. When Beauregard was notified that Federal troops were massing on his left flank, he realized that this must be the main attack so began to shift his own troop dispositions. The Federals had about 18,000 men in the main attack column and it was only thanks to the quick reactions of Colonel "Shank" Evans and his small brigade that Beauregard did not suffer a major disaster.

Developing a Product

The business I am studying is called ‘Rocco's Pizza'. Rocco's Pizza was established in 1980 and is a franchise whose stores are located in Bristol, Southampton, Surrey and Camberley. The store I am studying is Located in Greenford – London. Rocco's Pizza mainly sells low – medium quality pizza. As well as pizza, they sell other appetisers such as garlic bread, chips, chicken wings, ice cream and soft drinks. Rocco's pizza has their own online store (http://www.roccospizza.co.uk) in which customers can place there order and get it delivered, or have it collected in stores. The main product the shop sells is a pizza. Before the pizza is made, the employee has to make the dough which is made from flour mixed into water. The size of the dough depends on the size the customer order. They come is a variety of sizes from 7 inches (small) to 15 inches (extra large). Once the dough is made, they flatten it out into a circular shape and add the basic cheese and tomato sauce. They then add a variety of topping which is decided by the customer such as Pepperoni, Chicken, Mushrooms, Sweetcorn, Bacon etc. They come with a choice of crust: deep pan – a thick crust that goes around the edges of the pizza or no crust. Once the raw pizza is made, it is put into the oven. While it is in the oven, the pizza rises, the cheese melts and the toppings are cooked. After it is cooked, it is immediately put into a box so it is kept freshed and is either delivered to the customer or given to them in store. The shop I am studying is located next to a school. This is a very good location as the students are likely to go out for their lunch and having a fast food restaurant next to a school would mean the student are more likely to go there. However they face competitors with other fast food restaurants nearby such as 2in1 Pizza, Lahore Spice and Harry's Fish Bar. Their competitors are a major concern as they're located closer to the school which make the students more likely to go there them rather than their shop. Form and Function: Form is the appearance of an item – what it looks like. For example the form of a football is a sphere. Aesthetic is the beauty of a product – people buy the product based on its look for example a piece of art. The form the dough of the pizza before it is cooked is a pale colour and has a circular shape once it's flattened out. After the pizza has been baked in the oven, it rises and the colour of the crust turns from a pale colour to a brown colour. The toppings, along with the cheese, on the pizza become cooked and the colours become darker. The form of the box is a cuboid. It is made from cardboard with information on it written from ink. The lid of the box tucks inside so it is easy to open and it leaves minimum opened space so it is kept fresh for longer. It is small and compact so the pizza doesn't move around inside. The function of a product is what it does. For example the function of USB flash drive is to store and back up files. The main function of the pizza is to be eaten by customers. It also has to look and smell good so it would attract to the customer. The main reason why people eat is to satisfy their need to eat. Another reason why they eat it is for its taste. The function of the box of the pizza is to keep the box fresh. It also advertises the business i.e. through its logo and it gives instructions on how to reheat the pizza. Another thing the box does is it informs the customers of the business such as contact details. The box has flaps on the inside to support the lid. The dough on the pizza is rough when it's made but once it's rolled out, it has a smooth feel. Flour is put on it so it doesn't stick to the surface when it's being rolled out and can be easily removed after it has been baked. Once it has been baked, it has a softer texture which mainly due to the pizza being raised. The cheese also has a softer texture because it has been melted. The toppings on the pizza and the base turn darker as it has been cooked. Quality of Materials: Rocco's Pizza buys their materials from JJ Food. They buy it from here as they provide a range of different materials such as packaging and ingredients. They chose to buy from their as they're relatively cheap and also provide to other fast food retails such as ‘Ali's Fast Food' and ‘Chicken Ranch'. However, not all of their products are bought from JJ Food. For example, they buy their sweetcorn from retailers such as Tescos as it is more convenient for them Rocco's Pizza uses medium quality materials. They use this as they want to provide their customers with a good service whilst making as much profit as possible at the same time. If they used high quality materials, they would have to charge a higher price for the pizza which may lose customers. If they used low quality materials the customers won't be satisfied and my never go there again. The ingredients involved in making a basic pizza are: flour, cheese, tomato sauce and the extra topping decided by the customer. These again are all medium as they can't afford to purchase high quality materials. The basic ingredients: Flour – This is used to make the base of the pizza. The base is use to hold the rest of the toppings. Pizza- Normally small fast food restaurant would buy their pizza sauce from JJ food or from a supermarket; but according to the questionnaire Rocco's Pizza filled out, they use their own special sauce which they make themselves Cheese- The cheese is poured on top of the pizza and is grated so it can be scattered around the pizza. Selection of topping in which the customers can choose from: The toppings they have are: Pepperoni, Ham, Mushrooms, Onions, Green Peppers, Tomato Beef, Pork, Smoky Bacon, BBQ Sauce, Chicken Chunks, Prawns, Tuna, Anchovies, Pineapple, Jalapenos, sweetcorn, and Mexican Beans. Rocco's Pizza allows their customers to choose from a selection of topping as they don't want them restricted the choices of pizza they provide. Also, because different people like a different combinations of toppings. Customer Service: Customer service is the services the business provides for its customers. Different business offer different services as they have different budgets. For example Tesco can offer more services such as delivery unlike a local retailer. Rocco's Pizza offers these types of services to its customers to enhance their reputation as there a competitors nearby i.e. 2in1 Pizza. They also want their customers to be satisfied so they will want to shop there again Rocco's Pizza's offers a variety of services to its customers. One of these is free delivery however to be eligible for this, the order must be à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½8.99 or more. Delivery is only available around limited areas as it would cost them a lot if they were to deliver to wider areas. Delivery can be done over the phone or at the counter at the customer's convenience. It can even be done online. This is useful as they customer can change what they're purchasing before they've ordered it. If they did this over the phone, they could cause annoyance to the staff. It also allows them to view the menu so they can see any special offers available Delivery is offers so they can get a wider audience. If they didn't offer it, their only customers will be the local people however, since they do offer delivery, customers who don't live so close can order from them at the convenience of their own homes and get it delivered to them for free. Rocco's Pizza allows their customer to pay via debit or credit card. This is convenient for their customers as they don't have to carry around money with them when buying from the shop. They can also control the amount they spend as is they pay with cash; the customers may have some change left over and spend it on other stuff. Paying via credit/debit card can be done in stores through the credit card reader. Rocco's Pizza can't offer return on purchases because it is food. It can only be returned if there is something faulty with the pizza for example if a hair is found in there; however this is a very rare occurrence. If there is something faulty with the pizza such as if the wrong toppings are put on, then they can either offer the customer with a refund or a freshly baked new pizza. Rocco's Pizza gives their customers offers to attract them. They have 4 deals in which they provide to their customers: 1. Buy any medium pizza and you can get the 2nd, up to the same value, for à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½2.00 2. Buy any Large Pizza and get the 2nd, up to the same value, for à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½3.00 3. Buy a medium Margherita with up to 5 toppings, with Garlic Sticks or Garlic Bread, a portion of Potato Wedges and 2 cans of soft drink for à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½12.49 4. Buy A Large Margherita with up to 5 toppings, with Garlic Sticks or Garlic Bread, Hot Wings or BBQ Wings and a 1.5 litre soft drink for à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½15.99 The waiting time at Rocco's Pizza is average. The delivery time is roughly 30 minutes as they have to make the pizza and deliver it to the customer's house. If there are delays, the customers may get frustrated and may never shop their again. They may even refuse to take it a demand for a refund. If people aren't satisfied with their customer service they're providing for example the waiting time is long, then they could complain to the manager. However it is not always bad as they can take the complaints as feedback and improve from it. Resources: Physical: Like every other business, Rocco's Pizza needs a building in order to start selling. This is put on land. They use a lot of resources in the day-to-day running. One example of a resource they use is an oven. They use this to bake the pizza. They have around three to four of these as it speeds up if there are a few people ordering a pizza at the same time. They also need a kitchen in the building to make the pizza. The kitchen is also used to wash any dishes such as pizza trays and cups. The shop front is separate from the kitchen and is used to serve the customers. Rocco's Pizza has their own delivery vehicle. It is used to deliver pizza to the customers' house. The delivery vehicle has to have enough fuel to last enough deliveries otherwise the customers will get frustrated. Rocco's Pizza use a car over a motorbike as it is less likely to get spoilt. However unlike a car, a motorbike can get through traffic more easily and get to the customers house quicker. The tools required to make pizza: Pizza cutter – This is used to cut the pizza into even slices. It goes from one edge of the pizza to the opposite. The number of times it is done depends on the size of the pizza for example, if it is a 7 inch pizza, it would be cut 2 times making 4 even slices whereas if it was a large 12 inch pizza, it would be cut 6 times making 12 even slices. A separate cutter is used for vegetarian pizzas and non-vegetarian pizzas so no trace of meat gets passed. Oven – This appliance is used to bake the pizza in. The person who operates it, sets the temperature and waits till the pizza has finished baking. The over would have a see-through glass on it so the staff can see whether it's cooked or not. Rocco's Pizza would have around 3 – 4 of these in their shop as they can make more pizzas if there are a few people ordering at the same time. Pizza tray- The pizza tray has 2 purposes. One of these purposes is a mould. The staff can place the pizza base inside the try so they can get the exact size of it. For example, if a customer ordered a small 7 inch pizza, the staff would get the 7 inch tray and place the pizza base on it so they can get a perfect 7 inch pizza. This is useful as they don't have to waste time measuring in out themselves. The other purpose of the pizza tray is to hold everything together whilst it is being baked in the oven. Rolling pin – This is used to flatten out the dough into the pizza base before it is placed on the pizza tray. Human: Human resources and the people used to make an item. The main person who works at Rocco's Pizza is the manager. He is the person in charge of the business and chooses who to employ. He also makes major decision such as what the money is going to be spent on. Rocco's Pizza tries to minimise the amount of employees they have in order to make a bigger profit. There a different types of staffs who work at Rocco's Pizza. One example is the person who works at the shop front operating the till. They take the customer's order, take their money and give them their change and receipt. Another employee who works at Rocco's Pizza is the kitchen staff/chef. This staffs makes the pizza based on the customer's order. The final staff that work there are the delivery people. These people take the order and deliver it to the customer's house The staffs are given training in order to perform their role better. For example the staff that operates at the till will be given training on how to work the till faster making waiting queues shorter. The kitchen staff would be given training on hygiene and the delivery people would be given training on taking different (shorter) routes so they can get to the customers houses quicker. Financial: Financial resources are the fund which is available to the business which is used to run and make a product. According to the questionnaire, Rocco's Pizza needed à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½100,000 to start up. The used two sources of finance – internal and external to gather the money: The internal sources of finance they use, is retained profit. This is the profit made the business in which the owner invested back in. This source of finance is useful for Rocco's Pizza as they don't have to pay back interest on it and they have the cash immediately there however the money could be used for other reason such for the owners own personal use. One external sources of finance they use, is a loan. This is when they borrow money from the bank and pay it back with regular instalment with interest added on. The advantage of using this is that they can borrow how much they need whenever they want but they must pay back interest and it could take some time to get the loan approved. The finance used by Rocco's Pizza is used for many purposes. The main reasons they use it is to buy the materials from JJ Food. They buy it in bulks as they get it at a discounted price. This is good for Rocco's Pizza as they get it cheaper and it is good for JJ Foods as they're getting a large order. Another way in which they use the finance is to pay the employee's wages. This is their major expenditure so they have to only get the right number of employees as they're not a very large business. Rocco's Pizza Also uses the finance available to expand on their business. For example they can buy more hi-tech equipment like a better oven. They can also use it to expand on the building itself as it is relatively small. Rocco's Pizza has the tough challenge of paying bills. They have to pay bills for water, electricity, heating, lighting and the worse of them all, business tax. They have to try and minimise any wasted resources in order to reduce bills. A way in which they could do this is by turning of the lights and radiators when they're not in use. A computer is an important financial resource to Rocco's Pizza. It is important to them as it is used to draw up financial data such as cash flow forecasts, budgets, profit & loss accounts and balance sheets. They can use this data to see how well their business if doings convince bank manager to take out a loan should they require one. Materials: The material resources are the equipments needed to make an item. For hygienic reasons, the staffs at Rocco's Pizza have to wear equipment while they are making the pizza. An example of an equipment wear is hairnets. This goes over the head and is used to prevent any hair pieces from falling on to the pizza. They also wear rubber gloves when preparing the pizza to stop and dirt or bacteria from spreading. This is used as a precaution when though the employees wash their hand before they are making pizza. Rocco's pizza has a computer located in their store which has many purposes. One of which is to order stock from JJ Food. They use the computer to select the amount of quantity they want and to enter their shipping and contact details. Another reason they use a computer is to design and print out their leaflets. They would use a software like Microsoft Word as it has a variety of features such as word art and a wide selection of fonts. They also have a till which is used to calculate the customer's order and is also used to print out their receipts. The till also contains change in which the cashier has to give to the customer if they don't have any change.

Chart and Reflection Essay

The â€Å"Somebody-Wanted-But-So† chart is an excellent way to summarize important information from history. In it, you identify a person or group of people; their goal, need, or want; what conflict of interest stood in the way; and the outcome. This strategy works great because history depends on the needs, wants, and actions of humans. Part 1 – Complete the following chart using information from the lesson. One example appears for you. Somebody †¦ Wanted †¦ But †¦ So †¦ President Abraham Lincoln the nation to heal as quickly as possible from the Civil War and planned to reunify the nation quickly he was assassinated in 1865 only days after Robert E. Lee’s surrender plans for Reconstruction were taken over by Vice President Andrew Johnson, who became president after Lincoln’s death President Andrew Johnson To continue the Reconstruction Congress kept over-riding his request Radical Republicans started the Radical Reconstruction. Radical Republicans Southerners to be punished for re-unifying with the Union. President Hayes took office and removed the federal troops from the south Federal protection for African American voters and pro-republicans, including freedmen, was over. Southern Democrats To have federal troops removed from the south and to have a southern Democrat named in the cabinet. Hayes accepted this request and removed the federal troops while also naming a southern democrat in his office. The reconstruction policy came to an end after the federal troops were removed from the south. Part 2 – Answer the following questions in a complete paragraph of your own words. What was the  main issue relating to Reconstruction that divided Republicans at the end of the Civil War? If you had been a member of Congress at the time, what type of plan for Reconstruction would you have supported and why? There were many different opinions which had divided Republicans at the end of the Civil War. One of these opinions was about the punishment that confederate leaders should receive. Whether the confederate leaders should be punished as traitors or just pay for damages was the main topic of interest. I probably would have supported Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson’s plan for Reconstruction. They sought a perfect unification of America which was the ideal way to end things. It wasn’t their fault that the plan didn’t work either, if it wasn’t for Lincolns assassination and the Radical Republicans taking the policy from Johnson, all would have been well.