Gross Domestic Product Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Gross Domestic Product - Essay Example The dependent variable used for this study is the Gross domestic product (GDP) of the United Kingdom (UK). GDP is an important measure for any country because it represents the healthiness of its economy. It is calculated by summing the market value of all goods and services produced within this economy. The percent change in GDP is used to measure the growth in the economy during the specified period. GDP is measured in real prices in order to remove the effect of inflation. The data for the GDP for the UK is extracted from the Economic Trend Annual Supplement (ETAS) database. ETAS is released annually from British office of national statistics (ONS). It contains a summary of the United Kingdom (UK) economic accounts. Field number 2.1A is selected from the database which contains the time series of GDP chained volume measures which is referenced by the variable ABMI. These values are seasonally adjusted to represent the period from 1948 to 2005. Annually linked and weighted chain volume measures better highlight changes in GDP than constant price values. This is because take account of year-to-year changes (Aspden & Person 2000). Figure 1 shows little change from year to year in UK GDP. Therefore the percent change from year-to-year is computed and replaces by the real values of annual GDP. The percent change in the British GDP (appendix B) is shown in the following figure: Figure 2: Percent Change in UK GDP from 1948 to 2005 Figure 2 amplifies the changes and highlights that occurred during the period of the study. It shows periods when GDP positively increased or negatively decreased which were not visible in figure 1. From the above graph the following years experienced major increase in the British GDP: 1973 (7.1%), 1964 (5.5%), 1960 (5.3%), 1988 (5%). The following years also experienced the most decrease in GDP values: 1980 (-2.1%), 1981 (-1.5%), 1991 (-1.4%), 1974 (-1.4). 3. Econometric Model: Regression is considered as a special case of econometric modeling (Wang & Jain 2003). Theory suggests that GDP growth is positively related to inflation and negatively related to unemployment and real interest rates (RIT). The following relevances of these three variables are explored in the following sections. 3.1 The relevance of Inflation in predicting GDP: The relationship between inflation and GDP is a very delicate relationship and still causes much controversy in both theory and empirical findings (Hossain & Chowdhury 1996). Mallik & Chowdhury (2001) examined the long-run and short-run dynamics of the relationship between GDP and inflation. They found that inflation and economic growth are positively related on the long run. They also found that inflation is more sensitive to changes in growth rates than that of growth rates to changes in inflation. Thus moderate inflation is good for growth but fast economic growth feeds back into inflation. Thus too much GDP growth would accelerate inflation rates, which would decrease the value of money more than the value gained by GDP and even more taking the economy downhill as verified by Bruno and Easterly (1998). 3.2

Timeline Essay Example for Free

Timeline Essay October 7,1763 The Proclamation of 1763, signed by King George III of England, prohibits any English settlement west of the Appalachian mountains and requires those already settled in those regions to return east in an attempt to ease tensions with Native Americans. April 5,1764 The Sugar Act is passed by the English Parliament to offset the war debt brought on by the French and Indian War and to help pay for the expenses of running the colonies and newly acquired territories. This act doubles the duties to imported sugar, textiles, coffee, and other items. This is more work for the colonies, for a war that they didn’t want to happen. 1764 The English Parliament passes a measure to reorganize the American customs system to better enforce British trade laws, which have often been ignored in the past. In the past, the English Parliament has ignored to pass a measure to reorganize the American customs system to better enforce British trade laws. But now, after the Proclamation of 1763 and the Sugar Act, the colonies are seeing a pattern now. 1764 The Currency Act prohibits the colonists from issuing any legal tender paper money. This act threatens to destabilize the entire colonial economy of both the industrial North and agricultural South, thus uniting the colonists against it. March of 1765, the Stamp Act is passed by the English Parliament imposing the first direct tax on the American colonies, to offset the high costs of the British military organization in America. In the first time, Americans will not pay taxes to their own local legislatures, but directly to England. Also happening; The Quartering Act requires colonists to house British troops and supply them with food. 765 In July, the Sons of Liberty, an underground organization opposed to the Stamp Act. They used violence and intimidation to eventually force all of the British stamp agents to resign, as well to stop many American merchants from ordering British trade goods. 1765 In October, the Stamp Act Congress convenes in New York City, with representatives from nine of the colonies. The Congress prepares a resolution to be sent to King Georg e III and the English Parliament. The petition requests the repeal of the Stamp Act and the Acts of 1764. The petition asserts that only colonial legislatures can tax colonial residents and that taxation without representation violates the colonists basic civil rights. 1765 In December, British General Thomas Gage, commander of all English military forces in America, asks the New York assembly to make colonists comply with the Quartering Act and house and supply his troops. Also in December, the American boycott of English imports spreads, as over 200 Boston merchants join the movement. 1766 In January, the New York assembly refuses to completely comply with Gen. Gages request to enforce the Quartering Act. March of 1766 King George III repealed the Stamp Act; the English Parliament passes the Declaratory Act stating that the British government has total power to legislate any laws governing the American colonies in all cases whatsoever. 1766 In August, violence breaks out in New York between British soldiers and armed colonists, including Sons of Liberty members. The violence erupts as a result of the continuing refusal of New York colonists to comply with the Quartering Act. In December, the New York legislature is suspended by the English Crown after once again voting to refuse to comply with the Act. 1767 In June, The English Parliament passes the Townshend Revenue Acts, imposing a new series of taxes on the colonists to offset the costs of administering and protecting the American colonies. Items taxed include imports such as paper, tea, glass, lead and paints. 1768 In February, Samuel Adams of Massachusetts writes a Circular Letter opposing taxation without representation and calling for the colonists to unite in their actions against the British government. The letter is sent to assemblies throughout the colonies and also instructs them on the methods the Massachusetts general court is using to oppose the Townshend Acts. May of 1768, a British warship armed with 50 cannons sails into Boston harbor after a call for help from custom commissioners who are constantly being harassed by Boston agitators. In June, a customs official is locked up in the cabin of the Liberty, a sloop owned by John Hancock. Imported wine is then unloaded illegally into Boston without payment of duties. Following this incident, customs officials seize Hancocks sloop. After threats of violence from Bostonians, the customs officials escape to an island off Boston, and then request the intervention of British troops. 1768 In July, the governor of Massachusetts dissolves the general court after the legislature defies his order to revoke Adams circular letter. In August, in Boston and New York, merchants agree to boycott most British goods until the Townshend Acts are repealed. In September, at a town meeting in Boston, residents are urged to arm themselves. Later in September, English warships sail into Boston Harbor, then two regiments of English infantry land in Boston and set up permanent residence to keep order. 1769 In March, merchants in Philadelphia join the boycott of British trade goods. In May, a set of resolutions written by George Mason is presented by George Washington to the Virginia House of Burgesses. The Virginia Resolves oppose taxation without representation, the British opposition to the circular letters, and British plans to possibly send American agitators to England for trial. Ten days later, the Royal governor of Virginia dissolves the House of Burgesses. However, its members meet the next day in a Williamsburg tavern and agree to a boycott of British trade goods, luxury items and slaves. 1770 Violence erupts in January between members of the Sons of Liberty in New York and 40 British soldiers over the posting of broadsheets by the British. Several men are seriously wounded. March 5, 1770 The Boston Massacre occurs as a mob harasses British soldiers who then fire their muskets pointblank into the crowd, killing three instantly, mortally wounding two others and injuring six. After the incident, the new Royal Governor of Massachusetts, Thomas Hutchinson, at the insistence of Sam Adams, withdraws British troops out of Boston to nearby harbor islands. The captain of the British soldiers, Thomas Preston, is then arrested along with eight of his men and charged with murder. 1770 In April, the Townshend Acts are repealed by the British. All duties on imports into the colonies are eliminated except for tea. Also, the Quartering Act is not renewed. 1770 In October, trial begins for the British soldiers arrested after the Boston Massacre. Colonial lawyers John Adams and Josiah Quincy successfully defend Captain Preston and six of his men, who are acquitted. Two other soldiers are found guilty of manslaughter, branded, then released. 1772 In June, a British customs schooner, the Gaspee, runs aground off Rhode Island in Narragansett Bay. Colonists from Providence row out to the schooner and attack it, set the British crew ashore, then burn the ship. In September, a 500 pound reward is offered by the English Crown for the capture of those colonists, who would then be sent to England for trial. The announcement that they would be sent to England further upsets many American colonists. 1772 In November, a Boston town meeting assembles, called by Sam Adams. During the meeting, a 21 member committee of correspondence is appointed to communicate with other towns and colonies. A few weeks later, the town meeting endorses three radical proclamations asserting the rights of the colonies to self-rule. 1773 In March, the Virginia House of Burgesses appoints an eleven member committee of correspondence to communicate with the other colonies regarding common complaints against the British. Members of that committee include, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee. Virginia is followed a few months later by New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut and South Carolina. 1773 May 10, the Tea Act takes effect. It maintains a threepenny per pound import tax on tea arriving in the colonies, which had already been in effect for six years. It also gives the near bankrupt British East India Company a virtual tea monopoly by allowing it to sell directly to colonial agents, bypassing any middlemen, thus underselling American merchants. The East India Company had successfully lobbied Parliament for such a measure. In September, Parliament authorizes the company to ship half a million pounds of tea to a group of chosen tea agents. 1773 In October, colonists hold a mass meeting in Philadelphia in opposition to the tea tax and the monopoly of the East India Company. A committee then forces British tea agents to resign their positions. In November, a town meeting is held in Boston endorsing the actions taken by Philadelphia colonists. Bostonians then try, but fail, to get their British tea agents to resign. A few weeks later, three ships bearing tea sail into Boston harbor. 1773 November 29/30, two mass meetings occur in Boston over what to do about the tea aboard the three ships now docked in Boston harbor. Colonists decide to send the tea on the ship, Dartmouth, back to England without paying any import duties. The Royal Governor of Massachusetts, Hutchinson, is opposed to this and orders harbor officials not to let the ship sail out of the harbor unless the tea taxes have been paid. December 16, 1773 About 8000 Bostonians gather to hear Sam Adams tell them Royal Governor Hutchinson has repeated his command not to allow the ships out of the harbor until the tea taxes are paid. That night, the Boston Tea Party occurs as colonial activists disguise themselves as Mohawk Indians then board the ships and dump all 342 containers of tea into the harbor. 1774 In March, an angry English Parliament passes the first of a series of Coercive Acts (called Intolerable Acts by Americans) in response to the rebellion in Massachusetts. The Boston Port Bill effectively shuts down all commercial shipping in Boston harbor until Massachusetts pays the taxes owed on the tea dumped in the harbor and also reimburses the East India Company for the loss of the tea. 1774 May 12, Bostonians at a town meeting call for a boycott of British imports in response to the Boston Port Bill. May 13, General Thomas Gage, commander of all British military forces in the colonies, arrives in Boston and replaces Hutchinson as Royal governor, putting Massachusetts under military rule. He is followed by the arrival of four regiments of British troops. 1774 May 17-23, colonists in Providence, New York and Philadelphia begin calling for an intercolonial congress to overcome the Coercive Acts and discuss a common course of action against the British. 1774 May 20, The English Parliament enacts the next series of Coercive Acts, which include the Massachusetts Regulating Act and the Government Act virtually ending any self-rule by the colonists there. Instead, the English Crown and the Royal governor assume political power formerly exercised by colonists. Also enacted; the Administration of Justice Act which protects royal officials in Massachusetts from being sued in colonial courts, and the Quebec Act establishing a centralized government in Canada controlled by the Crown and English Parliament. The Quebec Act greatly upsets American colonists by extending the southern boundary of Canada into territories claimed by Massachusetts, Connecticut and Virginia. 1774 In June, a new version of the 1765 Quartering Act is enacted by the English Parliament requiring all of the American colonies to provide housing for British troops in occupied houses and taverns and in unoccupied buildings. In September, Massachusetts Governor Gage seizes that colonys arsenal of weapons at Charlestown. 1774 September 5 to October 26, the First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia with 56 delegates, representing every colony, except Georgia. Attendants include Patrick Henry, George Washington, Sam Adams and John Hancock. On September 17, the Congress declares its opposition to the Coercive Acts, saying they are not to be obeyed, and also promotes the formation of local militia units. On October 14, a Declaration and Resolves is adopted that opposes the Coercive Acts, the Quebec Act, and other measure taken by the British that undermine self-rule. The rights of the colonists are asserted, including the rights to life, liberty and property. On October 20, the Congress adopts the Continental Association in which delegates agree to a boycott of English imports, effect an embargo of exports to Britain, and discontinue the slave trade. 1775 February 1, in Cambridge, Mass. , a provincial congress is held during which John Hancock and Joseph Warren begin defensive preparations for a state of war. February 9, the English Parliament declares Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion. March 23, in Virginia, Patrick Henry delivers a speech against British rule, stating, Give me liberty or give me death! March 30, the New England Restraining Act is endorsed by King George III, requiring New England colonies to trade exclusively with England and also bans fishing in the North Atlantic. 1775 In April, Massachusetts Governor Gage is ordered to enforce the Coercive Acts and suppress open rebellion among the colonists by all necessary force.

The Organizational Structure Of Management Levels Information Technology Essay

The Organizational Structure Of Management Levels Information Technology Essay This chapter contains a discription of the various methods to be used to gather information from the client and customer in other to meet up to the requirement provided when developing the system for the client and others problems assoiciated with the current system. On the completion of this chapter, various requirement will be gathered and analysed and based on these requirement, the system will be developed. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF WELLCARE SHOPPING MALL The mall management is a hierarchal top-to-bottom clear cut system that has clearly defined boundaries. The shopping management follows the standard four-level management levels (Top, Middle, Low and Operational Management Levels). The system is described in full below. TOP LEVEL MANAGEMENT: This level of management, being the pinnacle in every organization is made up of CEO, and Managing Directors Board Meetings are held monthly and the malls monthly profit rankings are discussed among other issues pertaining to the store. At the Board meetings, long range plans for the store are drawn up, and are then broadcast into the store by the Managers then to other departments in the store. MIDDLE LEVEL MANAGEMENT: The Managers of the mall has people under him (he represents the Board of Trustees at the store) who implement the long range plans that the Board has set out to achieve for the store. By breaking up the plans into more realistic year or monthly plans, and dividing the objectives among the departments, the managers also at this level oversees the affairs of the mall. Listed here are the Middle Level Management level personnel at the store: Human Resource Manager, Facilities Manager, Store Manager, Purchase Manager, Sales Manager, Finance Manager, and Front Office Manager. LOW LEVEL MANAGEMENT : For the smooth day-to-day running of the hotel, the managers of each department put in place supervisors, team leaders, group leaders to watch and oversee the actions being carried out daily by the operational level staff. Some of the personnel at this level actually work along with the operational level, but cannot be classified with the operational level because of their level of information and access. OPERATIONAL LEVEL MANAGEMENT: The personnel at this level are the staffs responsible for the day-to-day implementation of the hotels objectives. Sales personnel, cleaners, Store clerks, Drivers, Sales marketer, Security officers, and Store clerks all fall under this category. An organizational chart showing the various levels of management at the mall is shown on the next page. FACT-FINDING TECHNIQUES The listings of fact-finding techniques are as follows: Interviews: Of all the techniques employed this is considered the most effective for obtaining information due to its flexible nature as interviewees are able to give proper clarification where such is required and more detail is easily obtainable using this method. Therefore in order to gain a wholesome grasp on the working of the current system certain staff and customers of the store were selected since the customers are the ones to be affected by the project it was necessary to obtain their opinions. Interviews allow us to study the reactions of the interviewees and judge if their responses are unbiased and knowledgeable. Much relevant information was obtained from the interviews conducted with the staff of the store. However this process was carried out over the internet as arranged by the client. Questionnaires: The purpose of distributing questionnaires is to obtain a broader scope of the operations of a store from the views of both the staff and customers of the store. Due to the fact that the staff of the store are numerous it is cumbersome to attempt to interview all of them but it is necessary to ensure that a good number of staff participate in the exercise. It is also not possible to interview all the customers of the store but it is necessary to obtain a broad base of input from the customer because they are the ones to utilize the software which will be designed. Due to these constraints the only technique available is to fill the stated requirements by distributing questionnaires to the various respondents. Since most of the questions in the questionnaires have a restricted set of answers the information obtained using this method is generally more precise. Observation: The purpose of observing at first hand the shopping operations of the store is to get as much personalized information as possible by discovering what is actually happening as opposed to what is supposed to happen. In conducting interviews and surveys it is possible that respondents might not be entirely forthcoming with the true answers but by observing what is actually going on, direct fact will be gathered from the shopping process. INTERVIEW QUESTIONNAIRE DETAILED RESULT DESCRIPTION OF THE CURRENT SYSTEM HOW THE CURRENT SYSTEM WORKS Based on the facts gathered from our facts finding process, the current manual based shopping system being operated by wellcare shopping mall Abuja can be summarized as follows: There are two main purpose why customers comes into the store that come; the first type of customers are those who want to find information about a product, while the second type of customers are those that want to purchase a product. The current system does have arrangements for both types of customers. MAKING AN ENQUIRY FOR A PRODUCT When customers walks into the store and want to make enquiry about a particular product, the customer then walk up to the shopping attendants to make enquiries. If the enquire is something that can be immediately treated (e.g. the description of a particular product), the shopping clerk can handle on the spot without consulting her subordinates or superiors. If however the customer wants to find out things that exceed the jurisdiction of the clerk, it is mandated for her to refer the customer to the front office manager who then handles the case, and since this also exceeds the boundaries of the shopping system. PURCHASING A PRODUCT Customer who purchase a product in wellcare shopping mall are put through five (3) process that make up the current shopping system. The first process involves customer searching for a products and adding searched products to the shopping basket. These can only be done by searching for products based on product categories in the store. The second process involves the customer paying for the product and specifying the means of payment. Two main modes are encouraged. These means are: payment by cash and payment by cheques. The third process is simply printing out the shopping receipt for the customer. The shopping receipt will contain fields which include Product Number, Product Name, quantity, amount paid and method of payment. The customer checks in the next day if the payment mode is cash, or two days after if the payment mode is by cheque. Based on these facts gathered from our facts finding process, the current manual based shopping system being operated by the wellcare shopping mall in Abuja can be somewhat summarized and represented in a process modeling diagram to illustrate or show how the current system works. PROCESS MODELING Description of the current system using Data Flow Diagram (DFD) Below is a Data Flow Diagram that shows the physical information flow within the current system at the context level. The basic organization structure is decentralized control. By referring to the Context Diagram (see Figure 1), we can see the current system is constituted of the main SHOPPING SYSTEM interacting with three entities; Customer, Bank and the Store Information System. Entity Description Customer The customer is every person that comes to the shop regarding shopping and product enquiry. Whether it is to make enquires, or to buy a product, or to pay for a product. Mall Information System This Refers to the front desk and customer services section of the store. Information regarding the store is kept in store information system. Bank When customers opt to pay by cheque, the store sends the cheque details to the bank for verification and the cash is then sent back to the store database. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE GENERAL SYSTEM PROCESSES From the Context Diagrams, we can see that the current shopping system has 3 main entity: Customer Bank Shopping information system and below is an ER (Entity Relation Diagram for the current shopping system). PROBLEMS OF THE CURRENT HOTEL RESERVATION SYSTEM IT IS TIME CONSUMING With the current shopping system a lot of time is required to go through the shopping process even for regular shopping customers. It takes customer time to search for product category by category especially if the customer. IT IS TEDIOUS In the current system is very tedious and stressful for both the sales representatives and customer because of the queues often encountered in trying to pay for a product in the mall. The morale of the front office staff is usually reduced after a full days work as they are likely to feel fatigued. IT IS NOT AUTOMATED The current system requires constant supervision and personnel presence to run effectively. The absence of this (supervision) hinders the system and wades off prospective customers as well as taints the reputation of the store. However, the problem involved here is that more attention is given to the shopping process and other areas are neglected because the staff required to manage them are supervising others. THE CUSTOMER HAS LIMITED OPTIONS Here the customers does not get adequate information regarding different product and other important information, as a result these the store might loose their prospective customers. UNRELIABLE The current system has many flaws in its implementation. Flaws such as over out of stock of products, number of product supplied, poor defined specifications, poor documentation. Most of these are caused by the human factors that implement the system. TAKES UP SPACE Data is usually stored in hard copies( in filing cabinets) thus requiring valuable office space:- Since the current system makes use of office files and filing cabinet to store records of product, suppliers and staff, a lot of space is required to accommodate large volume of these records. DATA INSECURITY With the current system, records and other important information are prone to theft, unauthorized manipulation and lose due to fire. These files can even be easily accessed by unauthorized people. IT IS COST INTENSIVE The current system requires lots of funds to maintain its smooth operation due to the purchase of paper, stationeries, filing cabinets, phone bills, e.t.c LIMITED CONTROL OVER PURCHASED ITEMS The current system makes it difficult/tedious for the customers to have control over purchased product for example returning and asking for refunds for an already purchased product. SOLUTION TO PROBLEMS OF CURRENT SYSTEM RE: IT IS TIME CONSUMING The proposed system aims to achieve a record time of 3-6 minutes for registered customers and 6-10 minutes for new customers depending on the customer shopping items. Also, with the customer account module running, the customer need not submit his details every time, he just supplies his user ID and his details are automatically uploaded. RE: IT IS TEDIOUS Since the number of customers to come to the sales would reduce, front office staff fatigue is less likely to occur, and as a result, the morale towards work of the staff would increase. Also, the customers would not have to go through the burden of queuing to lodge. RE: IT IS NOT AUTOMATED The proposed system would be developed in simple everyday language, thus making it simple for any body that can read and use a computer to book a room online. Also, staff supervision is not required for the receptionists and other front office staff, this is because the customer details are simply uploaded to the computer in the hotel, and can be opened by a simple mouse click. RE: THE CUSTOMER HAS LIMITED OPTIONS The new system would not only have information concerning the new system, it would make it possible for the customers to ask questions online and have their answers mailed to them. Thus making the enquiry process easy and increasing customer satisfaction. RE: UNRELIABLE The new system is computer based and thus the issue of human factor does not come up. The computer works with the principle GIGO (Garbage-In-Garbage-Out) which means the computer only supplies what the user had given before. RE: TAKES UP SPACE Since the new system is computer based, space requirement would be a very trivial issue because files would be stored in your computer hard disk. This means there is no need to have physical storage locations. RE: DATA INSECURITY In the proposed system, data security is very important as access specifiers would be made available at virtually every level of information. RE: IT IS COST INTENSIVE Since the system is computer based, the only form of paperwork needed would be printing sales report at the end of every month, which is normal and nothing compared to the tedious paper work which currently is being used. The computerization thereby means that the hotel would no longer have to budget so much money for provision of stationary anymore. RE: LIMITED CONTROL OVER RESERVATION The proposed system provides the customers the flexibility to control their reservations. Customers can modify their reservation at any point before the check in time. They can even cancel reservations without loosing their money as opposed to the current system where the customer looses 50% if he/she does not lodge.

Digging For a Living :: Digging for Living

Digging For a Living In his poem "Digging," Seamus Heaney describes a unique relationship between a boy and his father. Their relationship closely relates to the one I have with my father. Throughout the poem, the poet's pen is contrasted with the father's spade, using each as a symbol of their vocation and background. Along the same lines, the relationship between my father and myself can be expressed through my keyboard and his pencil. Heaney's poem tells of a boy and his father who have different callings for their career. The father has worked on the family's farm his entire life, digging up potatoes and keeping up the farm. The poet describes his father's digging, as the title infers, with alliteration from the line "Under my window, a clean rasping sound when the spade sinks into gravely ground: My father, digging" (3-5). The poet, on the other hand, would much rather be writing stories or novels than out in the field doing manual labor all day. The father digs physically with his hands while on the contrary, the son digs mentally with his brain. Heaney uses a spade to symbolize the father's ambitions, thus, representing his farm work. He metaphorically describes the son's writing with the passage, "Between my finger and my thumb the squat pen rests" (29-30). My father and I share the same type of relationship that Heaney and his father have in the poem. My father is an architect and designs buildings for a living. He spends most of his day at his drawing table, sketching plans for new buildings. On the other hand, I have a job that involves using computers most of the day. He uses his pencil to get the job done, while I use my keyboard to get the job done. When I was younger, he always wanted me to be an architect with him, but now he accepts the fact that I am not going to be an architect because I have a sufficient job in the computer field. Throughout Heaney's poem, diction highlights certain words and phrases that require extra emphasis. For example, in the line "The coarse boot nestled on the lug, the shaft against the inside knee was levered firmly," the words chosen intensely impact the meaning (10-1). Lug, shaft and levered all intensify the line. Furthermore, most of the words are parts of a gun, which is another metaphor used.

Fundamentals of Microeconomics Essay

Macroeconomics defined as â€Å"the study of the economy as a whole, which includes inflation, unemployment, business cycles, and growth† (Colander, G-5). There are many fundamentals that affect the economy in both a good and bad way. These fundamentals affect the economy, and they also show the growth of the economy. The fundamentals are gross domestic product (GDP), real gross domestic product, nominal gross domestic product, unemployment rate, inflation rate, and interest rate. Defining the fundamentals Gross Domestic Product is â€Å"the total market value of all final goods and services produced in an economy in a one-year period† (Colander, G-3). GDP calculation is very important because it calculates the growth, decline, or stand still have the economy. When the GDP is calculate, it is base on previous numbers not future numbers. For example, the GDP is +2%, which means a growth of 2% for the previous year. Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is â€Å"the market value of final goods and services produced in an economy, stated in the prices of the giver year† (Colander, G-7). Real GDP is an inflation measure of the production of goods and services in the economy. It reflects price changes throughout the year. The real GDP is base more on realistic numbers instead of a guess. The calculation is more accurate concerning the gross domestic product for the previous year. Nominal gross domestic product is calculate at existing prices. Nominal GDP does not reflect inflation and is known as â€Å"current dollar GDP.† Nominal GDP can either be higher or lower than the GDP. When nominal GDP is calculate without reflecting inflation, which can show a higher growth in the economy when it is lower or at a standstill. Unemployment rate is â€Å"the percentage of people in the economy who are willing and able to work but who are not working† (Colander, G-9). The unemployment rate is calculate every month, and it shows the people who are looking for work. This rate does not include individual like the elderly, people working only a few hours a week or people who do not send resumes into different business. The unemployment rate shows that based on the number of people in the United States, a certain percentage is actively looking for work but has not found work. Inflation Rate is the percentage rate of change in price over a certain period usually a year. The inflation rate is calculate using last year price for a particular item to determine how much it will cost. Inflation rate determines the price of many things that include the price of the dollar. When individual calculates the inflation rate, it can help others determine if it is better to buy certain products today or later. Interest Rate is â€Å"the price paid for the use of financial asset† (Colander, G-4). Interest rate is a certain percentage that an individual has to pay on borrowing money or purchasing something. The interest rate is base on the credit score and the item purchase. The rate can go from being a very low number to as high as 10 percent. Purchasing of Groceries The purchase of groceries affects government, households, and business daily. The government determines the tax placed when household purchase groceries. Every household in the United States purchase groceries to survive. The businesses are affected by grocery purchase through the purchase. The business is affected by the purchases made because it shows what is being purchase more and what is being purchase less. The flow of resources take place in continues circular motion. The groceries are receive by the business from the local food processing plants. The employees at the local business placed the items on the shelves and groceries are ready for sell. The household members purchase the groceries from the business and pay the taxes government placed on the items. This continues to take place daily and will always continue. Massive layoff of employees The flow of resources takes place, and it affects businesses in both good and bad ways. Most business can employee the previous laid-off employees to allow taxes to be paid. When businesses are not able to employ more employees, unemployed do not demand good and services. When employees are layoff, there is no income coming into the household. The household is affected because there is no income, which in return means less good and service that can be purchase. When massive layoffs of employees take place in the economy, it affects government because they are paying unemployment benefits, Medicaid, and giving food stamps and more welfare to those eligible. Decrease in taxes When the government decides to decrease tax, it affects everyone differently. Government is affected in a good way, but it occurs in the long-run supply and demand curve. The government is losing more because taxes are lower but more money is being receive. In the long-run supply and demand, the government receives more money because the household is purchasing more good and services. The household is excite because more money is coming into the household because taxes are lower. The lower the tax, the more income, which mean more good and services are being purchase. Businesses are excite because more goods and services are being purchase. The flow of resources occurs and is affected in the long-run supply and demand curve. References Colander, D.C. (2010). Macroeconomics (8th ed.) Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Dehumanization: Marxism and Modern Era Essay

Dehumanization is the process of stripping away or denying other’s access to basic human qualities or rights. An ideal society would be free of this inequality, however, during the modern era, encouraged by capitalism and free competition, it is difficult to maintain complete equality and fairness. In fact, three books from the reading list, Marx’s Communist Manifesto, Sumner’s essay, What the Social Classes Owe to Each Other, and Primo Levi’s tale of Survival at Auschwitz, truly illustrate how difficult ideas and cultural values of the era make it to eliminate dehumanization. Although, the situations presented in each of the book are very different, they mainly deal with the loss or diminishment of four basic human qualities: the natural value in being human, the uniqueness of the individual, the freedom to act and make decisions, and the equality of status. This paper will analyze not only how these qualities were diminished in each of the cases in the m odern era but also look to see if dehumanization was resisted. Communist Manifesto The Communist Manifesto, written by Karl Marx, attempts to explain the goals of Communism as well as the theories underlying this movement. It argues that class struggle, or the exploitation of one class by another, have been occurring for generations. Marx quotes, â€Å"The history of all hitherto existing society [has been] the history of class struggles† (79). Class relationships are defined by an era’s means of production. However, However, eventually these relationships cease to be compatible with the developing forces of production. At this point, a revolution occurs and a new class emerges as the ruling one. Specifically, the Modern industrial era is characterized by the class conflict between the bourgeoisie and proletariat. The bourgeoisie consisted of employers of laborers or the owners of the means of production. The proletariat represented the wage laborers and they were dehumanized. In fact, the bourgeoisie violated all four of the main human qualities list ed in the introduction. Firs, the fact that there was an economically based class system indicated inequality in status. Second, since the bourgeoisie class employed the proletariat thereby controlling the action and decision of the lower class. Third, the bourgeoisie in he modern era clumped the entire proletariat class together and considered them mere laborers, Fourth, Marx believed that wage laborers working with machinery dehumanized the worker. Human values were diminished since laboring class could be easily replaced by machinery in some instances for more efficiency. Any one of these violations alone can stand as mere inequality; however, when many more of these violations get stacked, inequality becomes a form of dehumanization. Therefore, as production demand increased, the exploitation by the bourgeoisie class of the proletariat class increased. Eventually, this would anger the proletariat class enough to start a revolution and overthrow the bourgeoisie. Marx wrote, â€Å"[The bourgeoisie] is unfit to rule because it is incompetent to assure an existence to its slave within his slavery, because it cannot help letting him sink into such a state, that it has to feed him, instead of being fed by him. Society can no longer live under this bourgeoisie, in other words, its existence is no longer compatible with society† (93). This uprising would be the Proletariat’s form of resistance against dehumanization. However, unlike previous revolution, where powers simply shifted from one class to another, Marx predicts that class will be eliminated altogether and a truly equal and fair state would emerge. Readers can’t help but feel skeptical while reading Marx’s theory due to the â€Å"dictators† present in current day communist countries. However, it is important to know that these current day communist countries only got influenced by Marx’s ideal but did no fully carry out his theoretical society. What the Social Classes Owe to Each Other William Graham Sumner was influenced by Social Darwinists and argued in his writing that helping the poor would only interfere with laws of nature and slow down evolutionary progression. In fact, Sumner argued that a â€Å"poor† or a â€Å"weak† person were merely lazy and they did not exist. Therefore Sumner wrote, â€Å"A maudlin impulse to prolong the lives of the unfit stands in the way of this beneficent purging of the social organism† (45). He would further defend about not giving by writing, â€Å"we all owe to each other good-will, mutual respect, and mutual guarantees of liberty and security. Beyond this nothing can be affirmed as a duty of one group to another in a free state† (49). In addition, he believed that if was unfair how â€Å"if the rich, comfortable, prosperous, virtuous, respectable, educated, and healthy cannot make everybody else as well off as themselves, they are to be brought down to the same misery as others† (62). In another words, Sumner did not think it was fair how the rich were expected to help the poor, and if not was possibly penalized. Unlike the Marx’s Manifesto, the opposing classes are not clearly defined. However, it is still assumed from Sumner’s writing that Sumner values some life over another. For example, when he writes, â€Å"society is constantly excreting its unhealthy, imbecile, slow, vacillating, faithless members to leave room for the deserving† (45). With this remark, and many others similar to it, Sumner dehumanizes people who did not succeed. While, a positive message is being sent by Sumner in a way by encouraging citizens to work hard, Sumner is inconsiderate of those who like the proletariats, have no control over their life due to greedy overbearing employers. The only option that Sumner gives to resist the dehumanization is to keep working hard and do not accept defeat. Survival at Auschwitz Many have heard the accounts of the holocaust before in history class or in other books on the subject; however Levi truly does an excellent job giving the readers detailed glimpse into what it really is like to go from being a free human being, then being stripped down to nothing. His intention for the book was not â€Å"to formulate new accusations [but] rather to furnish documentation for a quiet study of certain aspects of the human mind† (9). This book demonstrates dehumanization at its worst. It was established in the introduction that often times Men and women were treated like animals while getting dehumanized. Yet, the people at Auschwitz were actually getting treated worse than livestock. This is because with livestock at least they were somewhat cared for before they were killed, and even if they weren’t they were killed to serve a higher purpose. On the other hand, the prisoners at the concentration camps were starved, killed, and then deserted. Unlike the other two books, this book contains so much elements of dehumanization that no amount of pages would be enough to capture it all; however, it is important to draw from this book also how people have truly used every inch of their will power to try and maintain their self-value. How did the prisoners resist the urge to admit defeat and continue resist dehumanization? How did they when even â€Å"ordinary moral world† (86) like â€Å"good,† and â€Å"evil begin to get mixed up and the differences between these opposites became unclear? Levi present a man in his story, who may have been physically reduced but who is an insane man and â€Å"a survivor, the most adaptable, the human type most suited to this way of living† (97). Portrayed by this insane man, Elias is a strong message that morals and self-value can adapt and survive even in the most extreme situation. Conclusion Based on the scenarios presented by the three books, and personal understanding of dehumanization, I believe it cannot be absent in modern era society. The degree to which dehumanization can occur is extremely varied, and while we can hope and wait for it to merely pass by, it is better to act. Try to resist dehumanization as much as can, as Levi’s character Elias demonstrated, with strong will power and determination, there are so much we can achieve. Perhaps, while we may not be able to eliminate several factors of unfairness or inequality, we can still treat people with respect and at least eliminate dehumanization.