Entire Course (Managerial Economics) Essay Example for Free

Entire Course (Managerial Economics) Essay Firm Objectives. Why do some business firms pursue a triple-bottom-line outcome while others focus only on profit maximization? Please, use a real company example to illustrate your points Decision Making Under Uncertainty. To save on gasoline expenses, Edith and Mathew agreed to carpool together for traveling to and from work. Edith preferred to travel on I-20 highway as it was usually the fastest, taking 25 minutes in the absence of traffic delays. Mathew pointed out that traffic jams on the highway can lead to long delays making the trip 45 minutes. He preferred to travel along Shea Boulevard, which was longer (35 minutes), but rarely had traffic jams. Edith agreed that in case of traffic jams, Shea Boulevard was a reasonable alternative. Neither of them knows the state of the highway ahead of time. After driving to work on the I-20 highway for 1 month (20 workdays), they found the highway to be jammed 3 times. Assuming that this month is a good representation of all months ahead, should Edith and Mathew continue to use the highway for traveling to work? How would you conclusion change for the winter months, if bad weather makes it likely for traffic jams on the highway to increase to 6 days per month? How would your conclusion change if Mathew purchased a new smart-phone app that could show the status of the highway traffic prior to their drive each morning, thus reducing the probability of them getting into a jam down to only 1day per month (where on this day, the app showed no traffic jam, but a jam developed in the meantime as they were driving along the highway). Economics of Risk and Uncertainty Applied Problems. Please, complete the following 3 applied problems in a Word or Excel document. Show all your calculations and explain your results. Submit your assignment in the drop box by using the Assignment Submission button. 1. A generous university benefactor has agreed to donate a large amount of money  for student scholarships. The money can be provided in one lump-sum of $10mln, or in parts, where $5.5mln can be provided in year 1, and another $5.5mln can be provided in year 2. Assuming the opportunity interest rate is 6%, what is the present value of the second alternative? Which of the two alternatives should be chosen and why? How would your decision change if the opportunity interest rate was 12%? Please, show all your calculations. 2. Volkswagen is considering opening an Assembly Plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the production of its 2012 Passat, tailored for the US market. The CEO of the company is considering two potential options for the size of the plant: one is a large size with a projected annual production of 150,000 cars, and the other one is a smaller size plant, which is cheaper to build, but can only produce up to 80,000 cars per year. Depending on the expected level of demand for these cars in the US, Volkswagen has to decide which option is more profitable. The discount rate is 6% and for simplicity purposes, the CEO is only evaluating a two-year horizon. The initial factory setup cost, the expected demand scenarios, profit, and probabilities are shows in the below table. Calculate the Net Present Value in each of the two options. Which option should the CEO choose and why? Please, show all your calculations. 3. An angel investor is considering investing in one of two start-up businesses and is evaluating the expected returns along with the risk of each option in order to choose the better alternative. Business 1 is an innovative protein energy drink, which has ENPV of $100,000 with a standard deviation of $40,000. Business 2 is a unique chicken wings dipping sauce with an ENPV of $60,000 and a standard deviation of $25,000. a) Apply the coefficient-of-variation decision criterion to these alternatives to find out which is preferred by the angel investor, assuming that he/she is risk-averse. b) Apply the maximin criterion, assuming that the worst outcome in Business 1 is to lose $5,000, whereas the worst outcome in Business 2 is to make only $5,000 in profit. c) If you were the angel investor, what is your certainty equivalent for these two projects? Are you risk-averse, risk-neutral, or risk-lover? Week 2 Marginal Rate of Substitution. What is the marginal rate of substitution (MRS) and why does it diminish as  the consumer substitutes one product for another? Use examples to illustrate Demand Elasticity. Please, read the article Hainer, R. (2010), provided in the required readings section for this week. The tobacco industry is a prime example to consider when talking about price elasticity of demand. While nicotine use can be addictive for many users, it is not addictive for the so-called social smokers. What can we say about the price elasticity of demand for nicotine products (such as cigarettes, pipes, tobacco) in the group of nicotine addicted users, versus the group of social smokers? Can we say whose demand is likely to be more elastic? Why? Consumer Demand Analysis and Estimation Applied Problems. Please, complete the following 3 applied problems in a Word or Excel document. Show all your calculations and explain your results. Submit your assignment in the drop box by using the Assignment Submission button. 1. Roshima is researching universities where she could study for her MBA degree. She is considering 3 major attributes that she considers important in her choice: ranking, price, and location. The value she places on each attribute, however, differs according to whether she remains full-time employed during her studies or quits her job and focuses on her degree. If she continues to work full time and takes all her courses online, then ranking is the most important attribute, twice as important as price and three times as important as location. If she quits her job and attends school full time, then location becomes three times as important as ranking and twice as important as price. She is considering two universities, respectively, the MBA program at Arizona State University (ASU) and the MBA program at University of Phoenix (UOP), both of which are priced at approximately $25,000. She has rated each attribute on a scale of 1 to 100 for each of the two schools. a. Which of the two options should Roshima pursue of she wants to keep her full-time job? (Calculate the total expected utility from each school option and compare. Graph is not required) b. Which of the two options should she pick if she plans to quit her job and dedicate to her studies? c. Which option should she pursue if the probability of being laid off and unable to find a new job is estimated as  0.6? Show your calculations and explain your reasoning. 2. The demand function for Einstein Bagels has been estimated as follows: – 40.73Px + 84.17Py + 0.55Ax  where Qx represents thousands of bagels; Px is the price per bagel; Py is the average price per bagel of other brands of bagels; and Ax represents thousands of dollars spent advertising Einstein Bagels. The current values of the independent variables are , , and a. Calculate the price elasticity of demand for Einstein’s Bagels and explain what it means. b. Derive an expression for the (inverse) demand curve for Einsteins’s Bagels. c. If the cost of producing Einstein’s Bagels is constant at $0.10 per bagel, should they reduce price and thereafter, sell more bagels (assume profit maximization is the company’s goal)? d. Should Einstein Bagels spend more on advertising? 3. The consulting firm that you work for has been hired by the US Government to provide an independent analysis of the demand-side effects of a contemplated increase in the tax on gasoline. They provide you with a data set relating to the period 1962-1987, which they say contains valuable historic lessons relating to the impact of volatile pump prices due to the supply restrictions imposed by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulations that required car manufacturers to increase the fuel efficiency of the cars they sold, while at the same time Real Disposable Income (RDI) per capita was rising, the number of passenger cars (NPC) almost doubled, and inflation was pushing up the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Week 3 Relevant Costs. Two partners own together a small landscaping business in North Carolina, called Summer Lawn Care. They have been specializing in summer grass seeding, installation, and maintenance. Recently, the partners acquired special technology and know-how for winter grass installations and maintenance. They also added a tree cutting service as recent storms in the  area had caused demand for this service to soar. One of the partners insists that the name of the business should change to Lawn and Tree Care, so that it better reflects the range of services and, thus, generates more customer interest, and thus contracts. The second partner wants to keep the old name and argues, â€Å"We have already paid for business cards, vehicle paint, signage, and ads in Yellow Pages†. Evaluate the arguments of the two partners. Explain and illustrate their points by identifying the relevant and irrelevant costs for this decision. Contribution Analysis. Explain what is meant by â€Å"contribution analysis†. Carefully define the term and provide examples to illustrate it. Production Cost Analysis and Estimation Applied Problems. Please, complete the following 3 applied problems in a Word or Excel document. Show all your calculations and explain your results. Submit your assignment in the drop box by using the Assignment Submission button. 1. Jennifer Trucking Company operates a large rig transportation business in Texas that transports locally grown vegetables to San Diego, California. The company owns 5 large rigs and hires local drivers paid fixed salaries monthly, regardless of the number of trips or tons of cargo that each driver transports each month. 2. The Palms Dry Cleaning Shop in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, faces a highly seasonal demand for its services, as the snow-birds retirees flock to Florida in mid-fall to enjoy the mild winter weather and then return to their main homes in mid-spring. Given this seasonality, Palms tries to keep the overhead costs as low as possible and therefore, often uses seasonal contracted labor to man its operations. The following table shows the labor costs in each month of operation over the past 12 months as well as the total number of garments that were dry-cleaned in each month. Palms pays fixed wages per hour to each employee, and we can assume that the costs of other variable inputs (such as chemicals, electricity, etc) have remained constant. 3. Over the past 12 months the Four Winds Novelty Company firm has recorded its internet sales (equals monthly output levels) and its monthly total variable costs (TVC) for a particular novelty item as shown in the following table. Sales have grown over this period with  relatively few shocks due to uncontrollable weather, political and sporting events. This online retailer carries no inventories; when it receives a pre-paid on-line order from a customer, it simply buys the product from a supplier and ships it out to the customer. Week 4 Strategic Behavior Oligopolies. An interesting example of strategic behavior comes from a 1997 article about Microsoft’s investment in Apple (New Straits Times, 1997). The article is included in the Required Readings list. Facing tough anti-trust scrutiny from government agencies, Microsoft provided financial support to Apple in order to ensure Apple’s survival and, therefore, to ensure that competitiveness in the industry remains. Moreover, the partnership with Apple provided an additional market for Microsoft’s products – the MS Office and the IE products were to be bundled with the MAC OS as one of the conditions for this financing. Discuss this case in the context of market structure and strategic behavior. What market structure do these firms operate in? Why did Microsoft need to preserve competitiveness in the industry? What was Microsoft afraid of in the event that Apple did not survive? Local Market Power. Bulls Eye department store specializes in the sales of discounted clothing, shoes, household items, etc. similar to the offerings at a regular Walmart or Target. Bulls Eye is the only department store in Show Low and the nearest other discount retailer is Target, located 49 miles away in Eagar. Bulls Eye, therefore, has some market power in its local area. Despite having some market power, Bulls Eye is currently suffering losses. An analyst at Bulls Eye is recommending to the manager to raise prices, so that profitability can be improved. The manager is unsure of this strategy as recent data points to increasing numbers of individuals shopping more and more. What are the pros and cons of raising the prices at Bulls Eye and would that strategy be profitable? Market Structures and Pricing Decisions Applied Problems. A small business which produces plastic vacuum-suction covers for round household dishes has  a monopoly that is protected by a utility patent. The market demand curve for this product is estimated to be: – 25P where Q is the number of plate covers per year and P is in dollars. Cost estimation processes have determined that the firm’s cost function is represented by + 2500Q -0.25*Q2. 2. Greener Grass Company (GGC) competes with its main rival, Better Lawns and Gardens (BLG), in the supply and installation of in-ground lawn watering systems in the wealthy western suburbs of a major east-coast city.Last year, GGC’s price for the typical lawn system was $1,995 compared with BLG’s price of $2,100. GGC installed 9,130 systems, or about 55% of total sales and BLG installed the rest. (No doubt many additional systems were installed by do-it-yourself homeowners since the parts are readily available at har dware stores.) Week 5 Good Will in Price Bidding. Sometimes, a bidder on a work contract may bid lower than what would maximize his/her profit from the contract and the reason for that is to create goodwill (to increase expected future business from the buyer). How would you value the goodwill that is obtained in this way? New Product Introduction. Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Germany owns the Alka-Seltzer, which was launched in 1931 and was meant for relief of minor aches, pains, inflammation, fever, headache, heartburn, sour stomach, indigestion, and hangovers. The Alka-Seltzer Plus was a spin-off of the original medicine, meant to relieve colds and flu. The company has recently introduced a new and improved Alka-Seltzer Plus, as described in the TV ad: â€Å"The Cold Truth†, (please, watch the ad listed in the Required Readings) Price Quotes and Pricing Decisions Applied Problems. Please, complete the following 3 applied problems in a Word or Excel document. Show all your calculations and explain your results. Submit your assignment in the drop box by using the Assignment Submission button. Maxim Motronics A.G. have been marketing a new product in Europe that has achieved notable market success and it now plans to introduce this product into the United States market. Week 6 Game Theory and Strategic Behavior. Suppose that GE is trying to prevent Maytag from entering the market for high efficiency clothes dryers. Even though high efficiency dryers are more costly to produce, they are also more profitable as they command sufficiently higher prices from consumers. The following payoffs table shows the annual profits for GE and Maytag for the advertising spending and entry decisions that they are facing. Based on this information, can GE successfully prevent Maytag from entering this market by increasing its advertising levels? What is the equilibrium outcome in this game? Sustainable Competitive Advantage. Describe the circumstances under which a firm chooses a low-cost strategy to attain sustainable competitive advantage. What about the situations when a differentiation strategy is chosen? Provide specific real world examples. Focus of the Final Paper Research a specific company of your choice and identify some of the managerial decisions that were made over time and in response to changes in its market or competitive environment. Use the Ashford University Online Library and web-based sources for your research. At least three external scholarly sources must be used. Address all of the following areas: Describe the company and provide a brief history of its operations. Find or use graphs to illustrate its financial performance over the years. Identify any sources of risk or uncertainty in its operations. Do the financial reports indicate risky or uncertain activities or changes to the economic environment that ultimately appear to have affected the company’s financial outcomes? Be specific. Are there any government regulations that have affected this company’s operations domestically or abroad? Explain.

The advance of feminism into the workplace

The advance of feminism into the workplace From the beginning of the first wave of feminism following through to the third wave of feminism women in the workforce has changed substantially overtime. From the beginning roles of women staying at home being housewives and there high expectations from men, to the current times of the working mom. With help from legislation a woman entering the workforce has increased. As women entering the workforce started to evolve so did the laws. It started with women gaining the right to vote which increased the education and job opportunity. As times pass the Equal Pay Act was passed that improved economic status of women. There were some barriers such as the glass ceiling act that effected the advancement of women. The most recent law that has affected the working women is the Lilly Ledbetter fair play act. I choose this topic because I think women have came a long way and have gained a lot more independence to go out and work a job with the barriers that were faced. Beginning in the first wave of feminism and moving forward times have changed. Women went from being house wives to entering the work force. After the 19th amendment was passed giving the women the right to vote, may have been the opening door to end discrimination. Male politicians were enthusiastic about womens right to vote and allowing them to hold public office and service or juries. Following the pass of the amendment there was still many struggles to come to gain equality. The ideal role of women was to get married, have children and stay at home to keep things in order for the family. In another words they were considered a house wife. Betty Friedan who is considered the god mother of equality feminism stated that the statement of being a house wife can create a sense of emptiness, non existence, and nothing less in women (Iannone). She felt that the aspect of a housewife role was what made it impossible for women of adult intelligence to retain a sense of human identity and the firm care of herself (Iannone). While the women stayed home the men were responsible for running the country, being head of corporations and being the main provider to the household. There was fear that working women would compete for the mens job. Women who did work had low paying occupations. Even the females who held the same occupations as men were paid less for doing the same job. Beginning the 19th century there was and increase in the required educational preparation focusing on the study of medicine. In 1890, women constituted about 5 percent of the total doctors in the US. Not only were more women involved in the study of medicine they also focused on the teaching profession. During the first wave, and focusing on the 1920s is when things started to happen with women rights. During the 1920s, 1 in 4 women over the ago of 16 were part of the work force. The number of working women increased by 50.1 percent. As working women continued out in the workforce, they gained little opportunity to advance. They showed there success by demonstrating they were capable of economic independence. (Womens History in America) As the times progress and we move through the years into the second wave of feminism women entering the work force seems to increase. Since 1960 more women with children have been forced to work . For women with children under the age of 6, 12 percent worked in 1950, 45 percent in 1980 and by 1987 the amount increase to 57 percent. Over half of the mothers with children under the age of three were in the work force by 1987. During this time from 1950-1980 it was envisioned that women will educate themselves, pick a career path, and eliminate there dependencies on men. Women constituted more than 45 percent of employment in the US by 1989,and only a small share of those decisions making jobs. The numbers for women working as managers, officials, and other administrative has increase in 1989 they were out numbered by 1.5 to 1 by men. Women in 1970 were paid about 45 percent less than men for the same job. In 1988 the percentage for pay decreased to 33 percent less. Professional women d id not get the important assignments and promotions given to the male (Womens History in America). Women who are not able to pursue a career or who do not earn enough money to have and adequate standard of living are dependent on the government agencies or their husbands for support. In the glass ceiling during the period from 1985- 1986, one out of every four women earned less than 10,000 per year these earnings are less than adequate wages for single mothers. On average women have a lower income even with a degree or certificate than men who have comparable years of work experience without a high school diploma (as sighted in Rhoodie, 1989). The equal pay act of 1963 is the United States federal law amending the fair labor standards act. This law was aimed to eliminate wage level based on sex. It was signed into law on June 10, 1963 by John F. Kennedy. The law provided that no employers having employees subject to any provision of this section shall discriminate within any establishment where employees are employed, between employees on the basis of sex and paying wages to employees at a rate less than the rate that employees are paid of the opposite sex for equal work on the job (Wikipedia). By passing the equal pay act the congressional intent was the first step towards and adjustment of balance in pay for women. The Equal Pay Act should be a starting point for establishing pay for women. The impact that this law provided according to the bureau of labor statistics, womens salaries have increased from 62 percent of mens earning in 1970 to 80 percent in 2004 (Wikipedia). In 1991 the United States Department of labor used a term called the glass ceiling. The glass ceiling refers to a situation where the advancement of a qualified person within the organization is stopped at a lower level because of some form of discrimination, most commonly sexism or racism. This situation refers to the ceiling as there is a limitation blocking upward advancement and glass as transparent because the limitation is not immediately apparent and is normally an written and unofficial policy. This ceiling tends to affect working women the most. This barrier makes many women feel as they are not worthy enough to have high ranking positions, or that their bosses do not take them seriously or believe that they could be candidates for growth potential within the work place (Wikipedia). As we move forward into the more current times, the amount of women in the work place have increased. Today over 46 percent of the work force is women, over 37 percent of business managerial positions and held by women. The economy cant run with 46 percent of its workforce staying at home. All companies large and small recognize the value that women bring to their companies, and some have proven to run more successfully with working women (Pile). In addition, the average household needs two wages to meet todays financial needs. Women are following right behind the men with there salaries (U.S. Department of labor). In 2004 women earned 80 percent of there males salaries compared to the 63 percent in 1963 (U.S. Department of labor). The economy can not run with 45 percent of its work force staying at home (U.S. Department of labor). All companies, big and small, recognize the value that women bring to their companies, and some have proven to run more successfully (Pile). The existence of anti discrimination laws and the high cost of litigation have paved the way for many women to be promoted, and it is rare to find large established companies without written policies that help promote women to managerial positions. But even with the help of plan and anti- discrimination laws, women still run into a glass ceiling. One example is Deloitte and Touche, an accounting firm with a strategic plan to promote women. The firm found out that, although they had been hiring a workforce composed of 33 percent to 50 percent of women out of college annually, they retained a much lesser percentage a decade later. They found that only 14 percent of their partners were women. In the end they found out that women were not leaving because they were not happy with their jobs, they were leaving because the male managers had been favoring the male subordinates, and this frustrated women who were competing for these top assignments (Sommers). On January 29, 2009, Barack Obama signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. This law is intended for fair pay of individual workers regardless of their gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion or disability. This bill is for the women across the country that still are earning 78 cents to every dollar men earn, and women of a different race even less. This means today that women are still losing thousands of dollars in salary, income and retirement savings over the course of a lifetime. This bill was a simple step to fundamental fairness to American workers. (Obama Signs Lilly Ledbetter Act) Women starting it the first wave had a very rough life starting out. They were confined to the house to raise the children and take care of the men. Women were not allowed to go out and make their own livings. They were to be there for the men and the family. Things starting out like this made it hard for women to enter the work force. Education levels of women were lower than men so therefore there pay was lower and that was something that escalated over time. Fair pay is still something that women face today. With the legislative rights such as the right to vote, equal pay act, and the fair pay act things have came a long way. Women are entering the work force now and making a living.

Project Life Cycle in Construction

Project Life Cycle in Construction The project is broken into phases, and then into control points that are relevant to the particular development. This gives management an organized structure to the overall development. Cooperatively, the project phases are known as the project life cycle. These are sequential. Phases and control points are agreed by management. Due to the complex nature of the office block phase will overlap the concurrent phase. This method will also fast track the project. Overlapping phases can save time and cost however the risk of discrepancies is increased due to progression without accurate information being available from the previous phase. The first phase initiates the project by establishing a need for the office spaces. A P.E.S.T analysis is generated to determine the objective. Perth has seen a significant growth in the number of National and Regional headquarters servicing the Mining, Resource and Oil and Gas sectors. It has been reported that a further 250,000 offices are required in Perth by 2014. F, Murphy. (2011). P.E.S.T. Analysis A PEST analysis was created for this project and the following information was recovered. (P)olitical Political is the factors that influence the project. These can be government, economic or even other business. Political factors represent policies such as taxes and environmental. The current rate of GST in Australia is 10%. J, Scully. (2012). this is added on to all purchases. Due to the client being a mining company a 30 per cent mining levy will also be charged, which was introduced in March 2012 for companies who have profits above $75 million. (E)conomic Economic refers to areas unique to economy and directly influenced by economy or comprised by economy, areas such as inflation rate and interest rate. With inflation rate reaching 1.5% in June 2012. P,Flynn. (2012). If the Inflation rate changes it would cause a dramatic impact on the development cost and profit margin. If an increase in the cost of capital and materials/labour rose then the break-even rate from this project would change. The cost of labour and materials could raise enough to deem the project unsuccessful, an increase in the cost of capital would significantly increase the cost of the project. All these areas can greatly influence the development, making them of high importance within the PEST analysis. (S)ocial Perth city is undergoing going a shortage of office space due to the growth in the mining industry. Many companies are expanding and require larger office while on the other hand many businesses are being created. The development has had a large increase in population over the last 10 years. (CSO 2011) this is mostly because of the mining boom, people started to relocate into Perth. 5.2 Organizing and preparing Once it has been proven that the project is viable the design and development phase commences. This involves outlining the build-method and developing detailed schedules and plans for making or implementing the product. Feasibility study and cash flow forecast are generated as part of this section. Feasibility study A company maybe trading successfully but if it does not have money to pay bills and wages then the company fails. Cash flow throughout the refurbishment of the office block will be an on-going requirement. For the business to succeed it needs efficient funds at all times. A profitable organisation can become bankrupt if they do not have enough cash to pay day to day bills. Factors such as expanded too ambitiously, or not receiving payment from debtors can cause this. To prevent from occurring a developers budget will be developed. 5.3 Carrying out project work This phase will implement the project as per the scope of work and design drawings. The Longest sequence of activities in the project will have to be completed on time to insure project is not delayed. A Critical path shows this and makes it possible to control all phases of the project. 5.4 Closing the project: The final phase of the development is closure. This confirms the development has been built to the design specification. There are various testing and procedures to be implemented these include inspections and any remedial work that may result from the inspections. In addition a checklist which includes certifications and approvals is signed off, finally a set of as built drawings are handed over before contractor receives final payment. Commission check list will be given to the contractor and all components will be checked and approved by superintendent before hand over to client. Commissioning of all equipment is undertaken and any faults are amended before all reports are handed over to the client. All Licences, certifications and registrations that are necessary by Australian Workplace Standards, shall be provided prior to the client accepting the project. A Defect liability period (DLP) of six months shall be in place and confirmed by the Australian Workplace standards. Adequate training sessions are held to educate the line managers in each sector. As-constructed or as-removed information must be submitted, prior to the project handover meeting. Executive control points are used in the development, this act like check points allowing progression on executive approval. These reinforce the construction manager on decisions to progress on the project. As the project proceeds through its lifecycle, the clients financial commitment and liabilities increase. At each control point a full management review is undergone this provides assurance that the development can progress to the next phase. It is determined that it costs about 10 times as much to implement a change during construction. This information gives the manager a level of control over the profile and timing of the project. The construction manager can therefore ensure that their project can be customized with minimum delay to the overall project. Equally, these formal approvals supply the project manager with the ability to drive the development to closure. It also provides guidance . The most significant control point in the project is the conclusion of the development phase. This symbolises the projects progression from feasibility to implementation. Feasibility studies provide this information. This information is document into a Project Brief. This gives the client an over view of what to expect. The project life cycle is subdivides the development into manageable project phases, in turn then are then subdivided into an input, process and output format. The following table shows the different components of the project lifecycle Control Points Each Phase is aligned one or more specific objectives for monitoring the project. These phases are all related the principal phase; the names are typically taken from their input into the development. Milestone and hold-points are created these provide focal point for the project team and impose control. These will close control of the interaction between activates to ensure full and proper integration and to minimize conflicts or misunderstandings. The contraction Phase is the most critical and every effort will be made to ensure all milestones are met. Close management is required to ensure delays are addressed. There are five control points that are key to the success of any project. Effective project management: make sure the safety, cost and schedules are implemented in the plan. Management staff is to understand and follow the projects critical path. Critical milestones play a significant part in sustaining an effective development. Cost management: The most effective approach is to develop a cost management function which focuses on all purchases. Budget control and expenditure tracking will be the most important. Supplier performance management: A QA (quality assurance) will reduce risk and improve the overall project. This improves third party performance which improves relationship with stakeholders. Healthy stage gates: develop a holistic capital project program with a control point for evaluating progress and enabling informed decisions about next steps. In addition to minimizing rework on front-end engineering and design, improve cycle time and generating punch lists for handoff maintenance, this discipline makes the project move more effectively. Early involvement is essential Risk assessment and reduction: To ensure the project is completed to a high standard cost controls and quality controls are implemented. This is completed on a day to day basic. Life cycle structure normally follows the following stages: Cost and staff requirements are high at the intervill of the project and slowly decrease as the project draws to a close. Figure 3 illustrates this. Stakeholder influences, risk and uncertainty are greatest at the start of the project. These decrease over the life of the project. Within the context of the generic life cycle structure, a project manager has the option to increase control over certain deliverables if required. More intricate projects may require additional level of control. In such instance, the work carried out to complete the projects objective ay benefit from being formally divided into phase.

Morality and Laws in The Trial and Death of Socrates Essay -- Morals S

Morality and Laws in The Trial and Death of Socrates Upon reading Plato, The Trial and Death of Socrates, Socrates strongly held views on the relationship between morality and laws become apparent to the reader. Equally, Socrates makes clear why laws should be followed and why disobedience to the law is rarely justified. Finally, he makes clear his views regarding civil disobedience. Socrates’ view on morality is that anyone can do wrong. It is said that injuring someone in return for injury to oneself is wrong. He follows this with the connection between morality and the city. You do badly without the cities authorization; you are doing wrong towards the city and the laws. He felt if you are behaving against peoples mind and in this way, behaving against the city. It is a way of destroying the cities laws and so you are hurting citizens by doing so. An example of this is the general understanding that you shouldn’t hurt your father. If you do so than you are disrespecting laws within your city. Of course you will get convicted for this, and it doesn’t change the idea that you acted against the city. Socrates follows by explaining what is taught to each citizen. You are told that you were born with certain laws. Your father and mother brought you to the world in which they live and thus you should respect and obey by their rules. The laws were already there. That means, that your mother and father are as important as the city and you should respect the city as so. Socrates describes the city and its laws more preciously. You don’t have the same rights as your parents. They educated you and thought you the rules in the city that you should follow. They taught you which behavior is right and which is wrong. It is immoral to treat your parents the way they treat you. You don’t have the rights to treat your parents the same way they treat you. That means that parents have a higher position in life than their children. It doesn’t really matter what they did to them. It is not moral to return the same behavior. He follows with the relationship of a person to the city. He says, â€Å"One must obey the commands of one’s city and country, or persuade it as to the nature of justice. It is impious to bring violence to bear against your mother or father, it is much more so to use it against your country.† (Crito 51c) One should not only obey their father and mother... ...iritual things?†(Apology 24c). That shows that one should believe in gods, just because the city does so. Socrates always searches for more knowledge about the city and its laws. We see that Euthyphro and him do not accept everything that is said by the city. On Socrates’ point of view either the disobedience to the law or to the civil disobedience can be justified. To justify it correctly you have to be able to argue and find reasons for every given rule. Not just believe in what others say. My personal opinion is that it is wrong to do be an object of the rules someone told you when you were born. Everyone has the right to argue about the city and laws or with his father or mother. I totally agree that Socrates found it important to research about life’s morality and not just think the same way others do. That is a way of proving the knowledge of men. Ones sitting quiet in the corner usually have more knowledge than others that talk so much about what they know. Many men with a high position in life do not always have the most knowledge. Do not believe in anyone theories without questioning it. It is important to prove that someone has the knowledge of what they speak.

Feedback Stress: Does Auditory Feedback Negatively Affect Performance o

The Stroop Effect In his historic study, Stroop found that reading names of colors interfered with individuals’ ability to name the ink color the word was printed in when the two differed (i.e., the word â€Å"BLUE† written in red ink) (1935). However, the basis of this phenomenon can be traced back to Cattell who found that naming colors and pictures took twice as long to accomplish than reading the word these colors or pictures represented (1886). He concluded that this was due to reading being an automatic process while identifying colors or pictures requires a conscious effort (Cattell, 1886). MacLeod (1991) reflects that it was Cattell’s work which strongly influenced future psychologist including Stroop. In his experiment, Stroop investigated how the reaction time to name colors increased when it conflicted with the automatic process of reading. He broke down his experiment into three parts. In the first, he tested how reading the name of a color printed in a different ink color (i.e., BLUE) differed from reading the name of a color printed in black ink (i.e., BLUE). The difference between the name of the color and the ink color it was printed in caused a slight interference resulting in an increased reaction time of 2.3 seconds (Stroop, 1935). In the second part of his experiment, Stroop (1935) looked at reaction time differences between naming the color of solid blocks (i.e., ââ€"   ââ€"   ââ€"   ââ€"   ââ€"  ) versus naming the color of the ink not the name of the color (i.e., responding â€Å"RED† for BLUE). He found that participants required 74% more time to name the color of the ink when it did not agree with the name of the color (Stroop, 1935). Stroop concluded that it was the interference between the automatic process of reading the na... ...a preliminary feedback intervention theory. Psychological Bulletin, 119(2), 254-284. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.119.2.254 MacLeod, C. M. (1991). Half a century of research on the Stroop Effect: An integrative review. Psychological Bulletin, 109(2), 163-203. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.109.2.163 Richards, A., French, C. C., Johnson, W. Naparstek, J., & Williams, J. (1992). Effects of mood manipulation and anxiety on performance of an emotional Stroop task. British Journal of Psychology, 83(4), 479-491. Shor, R. E. (1975). An auditory analog of the Stroop test. Journal of General Psychology, 93(2), 281-288. Stroop, J. R. (1935). Studies of interference in serial verbal reactions. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 18(6), 643-662. Thorndike, E. L. (1913). Educational psychology, volume ii: The psychology of learning. New York, NY: Teachers College, Columbia University.

The visit summary

The story opens with the town of Guellen (which literally means â€Å"excrement†) preparing for the arrival of famed millionairess Claire Zachanassian. The town is In a state of disrepair, and the residents are suffering considerable hardship and poverty. They hope that Claire, a native of the small town, will provide them with much- needed funds. Alfred Ill, the owner of Guellen's general store and the most popular man In town, was Claire's lover when they were young, and agrees with the Mayor that the task of convincing her to make a donation should fall to him.As the town athers at the railway station to prepare for Claire's arrival, they are met with an unexpected surprise when Claire steps off of an earlier train. She Is grand, grotesque, and fantastic, and Is accompanied by two henchmen, her husband, a butler, and two eunuchs, along with a coffin, a caged black panther, and various pieces of luggage. She begins a flirtatious exchange with Ill, and they promptly revlslt t heir old haunts: Petersen's Barn and Konrad's Village Wood. Ill finds her as delightful as ever, though they are both now in their sixties and significantly overweight.Claire draws Ill's attention to her prosthetic leg and artificial hand. After settling into the Golden Apostle Hotel, Claire joins the rest of the town, who have gathered outside for a homecoming celebration. A band plays, gymnasts perform, and the Mayor gives a speech. Claire takes the opportunity to announce that she will make a donation of one million dollars, half for the town and half to be shared among the families. The townspeople are overjoyed, but their happiness is dampened when Claire's Butler steps forward to reveal her condition. The Butler was once the Lord Chief Justice ofGuellen, and had overseen the paternity suit that Claire had brought against Ill in 1910. In the suit, Ill had produced two false witnesses (who have since been transformed into Claire's eunuchs), and the court had ruled in his favor. Ill went on to marry Matilda, who owned the general store, and Claire moved to Hamburg and became a prostitute. She declares to the townspeople that she has come to Guellen to prove that Justice can, indeed, be bought. Her donation is conditional on Ill's death. When the Mayor refuses, the town cheers in support, but Claire states rather minously, â€Å"I'll wait. Ill feels generally confident about his status in the town. However, as time passes, he begins to feel troubled about their growing discontent, and then increasingly fearful as he begins to notice the proliferation of new yellow shoes on the feet of the townsmen, and the fact that everyone seems to be purchasing especially expensive items on credit. He goes to see the Policeman to demand that he arrest Claire for having threatened his life, but the Policeman tells him that the threat is nonsense. Ill then turns to the Mayor, who echoes similar sentiments.Both figures are armed, because Claire's black panther has escaped f rom his cage and is prowling about the town. This only feeds Ill's fear, since â€Å"my black panther† was Claire's pet name for him In their youth. He runs to see the Priest, but the Priest seems to be turning away from him as well, as he effectively Ignores Ill's fears and Instead draws attention to the magnificent new church bell. Slowly, the standard of living in the town rises, even though the townspeople continue to assure Ill that he is safe. Claire then receives the news that her black panther has beenKlllea, ana sne nas a Tuneral song played In Its memory. In an effort to escape, Ill heads to the railway station, but finds that, strangely, the entire town is gathered there. They ask him where he is going, and he says that he is planning to move to Australia. They wish him well, again assuring him that he has nothing to fear in Guellen, but Ill grows increasingly nervous nonetheless. The train arrives, but he decides not to board, believing that someone will stop him anyway. Paralyzed, he collapses in the crowd, crying, â€Å"I'm lost! After some time passes and Claire weds a ew husband in the Guellen Cathedral, the Doctor and the Schoolmaster go to see her and explain that the townspeople have run up considerable debts since her arrival. The Schoolmaster appeals to her sense of humanity and begs her to abandon her desire for vengeance and help the town out of the goodness of her heart. She reveals to them that she already actually owns all of properties in the town, and that she is the reason the businesses have been shut down and caused stagnation and poverty for the citizens.The Doctor and the Schoolmaster are aghast at this revelation. In the meantime, Ill has been pacing the room above the general store, his terror growing as the townspeople buy more and more expensive products on credit. News reporters, having received word of Claire's imminent wedding, are everywhere, and they enter the store to get the scoop on Ill, having heard that he was Claire's lover back in the day. The Schoolmaster, drunk, tries to inform the press about Claire's cruel proposal, but the townspeople stop him. Finally Ill descends the stairs, surprised at the hubbub, but quiet.The reporters clear the room when they hear hat Claire has Just divorced the man she has Just married, and has found a new lover. After the confusion has cleared, the Schoolmaster and Ill have an honest discussion. The Schoolmaster explains that he is certain that Ill will be killed, and admits that he will ultimately Join the ranks of the murderers. Ill calmly states that he has accepted his guilt, and acknowledges that the town's suffering is his fault. The Schoolmaster leaves, and Ill is confronted by the Mayor, who asks whether Ill will accept the town's Judgment at that evening's meeting. Ill says that he will.The Mayor hen suggests that Ill make things easier on everyone and shoot himself, but Ill refuses, insisting that the town must go through the process of act ually Judging and then killing him. Ill goes for a ride in his son's newly-purchased car, accompanied by his wife, Matilda, and his daughter, both of whom are wearing new outfits. As they drive through Konrad's Village Wood, Ill says that he is going to go for a walk through the woods before heading to the town meeting. His family continues on to the movie theater. In the woods, Ill comes across Claire, who is walking with her newest husband.She asks her husband to leave so that she and Ill can speak privately. They reminisce about the past, and make plans for the future. Claire tells Ill that she plans to take his body away in the coffin to a mausoleum in Capri that overlooks the Mediterranean. She also tells Ill that she has never stopped loving him, but that over time her love has grown into something monstrous. The town meeting is flooded with press, and the town publicly announces their acceptance of Claire's donation. They then go through the formality of a vote, which is unan imous, and the Mayor states that they have Ill to thank for their new-found wealth.The press is then ushered out of the auditorium to enjoy refreshments. The doors are locked, and the lights are dimmed. The Priest crosses Ill, and he is killed by the townsmen. Just as a reporter reappears In tne au01torlum, tne Doctor announces tnat II I nas oleo Trom a neart attack. The reporters gather, and declare that Ill has died from Joy. Claire examines the corpse, gives the Mayor his check, and leaves the town with Ill's body in the coffin that she brought with her when she arrived in Guellen. Claire boards the train at the railway station, and the visit comes to an end.

Minimum- Wage Jobs Are A Ticket To Nowhere

I disagree with the statement, and I think that minimum-wage jobs are a good start for first-time employees and a way to keep the prices down for products and services of immediate necessity and some employers might be taking advantage of people who need job but I do not believe this entirely their responsibility. I believe that everyone has to start a minimum –wage job in their teenage years. When we are young we learn habits and behaviors.Minimum-wage jobs teach the habit of first responsibilities – going to work on time, following directions, team work, respect for more experienced coworkers and managers, those jobs teach the dynamics of the work place. Low-wage jobs take the student out of school and place him/her in their new environment where they will spend the rest of their lives. And yes, the jobs are of repetitive nature and sometimes boring but there are more important lessons learned there. My first job was as a sales person of eye glasses at a Christmas fai r.I was hired for one month with no day off to sell glasses during the month of December for a small retailer. I was responsible for the eye glasses to be displayed and clean, and sell them. It was not easy because I had to wake up early, open the shop; and my day finished at 8-9 pm when the store closed. It was a very busy time of the year. It was a very hard one month but there was nothing more satisfying then the first pay check, then I knew I did a good job. There is no embarrassing job if you learn to do it with pride and respect.On the other hand minimum-wage jobs are needed for the economy to keep the prices of products and services of immediate necessity. Let’s just imagine how much more would have to pay for a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk if the cashier was getting higher salary, or how much more the burger menu would cost in the fast food joint next door. At the end of the day there are jobs that require less experience and no college degree, thus less pay. It works the same way as if we go in a department store and we stop by the jewelry department, we’ll see different rings with different prices because they have different values.Regarding the statement that employers are taking advantage of employees, I do not think we have to put the blame on the employers entirely; this is why the government of each state needs to revise the minimum-wage salaries on a regular basis so that they keep up with the changing dynamics of the economy. In today’s fast changing world the job market is somewhat regulated. No employer will pay high salary for basic skills job and vise versa no job requiring exceptional skills and knowledge will be rewarded with minimum wage. In conclusion, low-paid jobs are learning point in our lives and necessity for the economy; we just need to accept it.