Povert delibrating impacts on U.S urban communitiesa Essay

Povert delibrating impacts on U.S urban communitiesa - Essay Example For example, The World Bank sets poverty consumption levels as an individual living on less the $2.00 a day, this is a world total. In the U.S., the poverty level is listed in the table below provided by the Federal Register: Even though the U.S has a strong economy in comparison to other countries that does not mean much, as a significant percentage of the population is struggling to survive. The United States has the largest national economy in the world, with a GDP for 2005 of 12.41 trillion dollars. In this mixed economy, corporations and other private firms make the vast majority of microeconomic decisions, and governments prefer to take a minimal role in the domestic economy. Because of this, the U.S. has a small social safety net, and business firms in the U.S. face considerably less regulation than those in many other nations (Facts About the United States, Worldfacts). On the global level, poverty has been estimated that in  2001, 1.1 billion people had consumption levels below $1 a day and 2.7 billion lived on less than $2 a day (Economics of Social Issues, 2006, page, 3). At the same time, the Census Bureau released its latest estimate of the fraction of Americans living below the poverty li ne. It was higher in 2001 (11.7 percent) than in 1973 (11.1 percent). The official measure indicates that a greater portion of families and children live in poverty in America today than three decades ago. Poverty alleviation dominates the global agenda in the 21st century, as is featured in the Millenium Development Goals of the United Nation. The effect of poverty on the society varies across the urban and rural areas as it does across countries. It is estimated that, with urbanization, nearly 40 percent of the world’s population live in cities and by 2020, the growth in urban population will be faster in low-income countries than in high-income ones, leading to an even higher incidence of urban poor

Industrial Economics, Industrial Organization How can game theory help Essay

Industrial Economics, Industrial Organization How can game theory help us to understand firm's interactions Discuss the differe - Essay Example A game theory is composed of a series of elements including: players or partners, rules which imply the possible decisions that one is capable of making given another party’s decisions, and the facts that a player could have knowledge of before moving or making a decision. Other elements include the consequences or outcomes of certain moves and the payoffs of each possible outcome. Payoffs imply the money got from a given decision (Durlauf, 2010). Game theories In arriving at the solutions given the game theories, it is important that industries understand certain tools. These tools include dominated and dominant strategies and the Nash equilibrium. A dominant strategy is a tactic that gives higher payoffs no matter what the opponent does, while a dominated strategy is an approach that is lower than another strategy; this implies that for a dominated strategy, there is a dominant strategy that is in existence over it. On the other hand, in Nash equilibrium, no industry or indi vidual is in preference of a different choice. This means that each player chooses the best strategy given the approaches taken by the other players in the market (Durlauf, 2010). In an effort to understanding how firms and industries react, it is vital that the different types of game theories are understood. Firms’ interactions are mainly guided by certain game theories. There is a myriad of game theories. Simultaneous game is one of the game theories. As the name suggests, the players in the market make decisions independent of the other player’s decisions. This means that no party is aware of the other party’s choices or decisions. This kind of scenario forms what is known as a Cournot model. In such a case, each firm or industry tries to make a forecast of what the other player in the market will be so as to arrive at a reasonable decision itself (Durlauf, 2010). In Cournot models, firms predicts the other industry’s output choice and then based on t he forecasts, each firm goes ahead to choosing a profit maximizing output for itself. In cournot, prices as at Nash equilibrium are above the perfect competitive prices. In this case it is clear that the Cournot game model influence the market price as firms try to control their levels of production. Thus, through Cournot model, it is possible for firms to come up with best reaction functions in their production in cases where the industries have completely no clue on what the other players in the market are up to achieving (Mukherjee, 2004). Sequential game is another game theory whereby an industry or firm makes a decision on price or quantity, when it already has knowledge on what another player or partner has decided on. The kind of strategic interaction depicted in such a scenario gives rise to a Stackleberg’s model. In this model, one industry makes a choice before another. It is frequently used to depict industries in which there is a dominant firm. In the Stacklebergà ¢â‚¬â„¢s model, an industry that is a leader chooses output to maximize profits depending on how a follower will react to its choice. Given the choices by a leader, a follower will try as much as possible to make profits given the quantity the leader produces. A leader makes decisions on its own production considering the

Job posting Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Job posting - Assignment Example The core responsibilities of an administrative assistant include maintaining the workflow in the office and supervising the junior and interns in the office setup. The assistant creates systems and procedures to be implemented in the office. The assistant derives systems and procedures from analyzing office practices, office layout, budgetary requirements, and forms control among other office duties. The administrative assistant also delegates and develops other administrative staff in the office. The assistant provides information on the office such as educational opportunities and opportunities to further their careers. The resolving of administrative problems is also the duty of the assistant; the administrative assistant resolves problems through coordinating reports, data analysis and identifying solutions from the reports. The maintenance of office equipment is also a task of the administrative assistant. The maintenance duties include the calling experts to service the office equipment, keeping an inventory of the equipment periodically and the assessing of new office equipment. The administrative assistant is an employee who knows the workings of the office and has all the answers on matters regarding the office. The Assistant also maintains and improves his or her skills by attending workshops, establishing professional networks and partaking in professional bodies and societies. The education recruitments of an administrative assistant are minimal compared to other jobs. The minimum requirement for this work is GCSE, GED or any other equivalent certification. Proficient computer skills are an added advantage to those pursuing this line of work. Other skills include good telephone skills due to the communicative nature of the work. The job of an administrative assistant operates in an office

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT TERM PAPER Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10000 words

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT TERM PAPER - Essay Example Although external factors have played a very crucial role in the current situation of GM Europe, still, the internal strengths of the company like recognition, state support, global operations, U.S. leadership and many others are making the company capable to avoid the threats of closure. The report also shows that the current opportunities in European market such as demands of fuel-efficient, small cars and green cars are some of the unexplored opportunities for GM Europe. The internal and external factor analysis shows that company is less responding to threats and opportunities than its average ability however, it is efficiently responding towards its strengths and weaknesses. The SPACE analysis shows that in consideration to the current position of GM Europe, company should adopt conservative strategies such as product development, market penetration. Such strategies will help the company to remain consistent in its revenues and to grow its market shares. During the last year, GM Europe has been planning different strategies however, finally in February 2010; the restructuring plan of the company has been announced. The report critically analyses all different alternatives presented by GM Europe throughout the year. Finally, selling the percentage of Opel Shares, downsizing, bottom cost cutting, development of green and fuel efficient cars have been considered as the most appropriate strategies for GM Europe. This report also shows the three years projections of GM Europe and it has been highlighted that in 2010 revenues of the company will go in negative, however, breakeven profit is expected in 2011 and positive profit is expected in 2012. The market shares of the company will also grow during this period and costs such as manufacturing costs, fuel costs will be reduced because they are the major parts of restructuring plan. Therefore, GM Europe survival is

Business Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Business Communication - Essay Example In addition, it compromises the privacy of vital personal digital footprints. Use of social media communication has adverse effects on various careers and development of professionals globally. This platform encourages a lazy culture in workplaces. Many professionals are no longer innovative and creative as before the introduction of social media. According to Kincel et al., this platform simply allows people to question other for ideas at their comfort without trying to research or engage their minds to come up with alternatives. Consequently, this form of communication has reduced innovation around the world. Currently, professional are using readily available resources online to solve various problems in their workplace. As a result, professional are deprived an opportunity to be innovative and creative thinkers that lead to career development. Moreover, use of social media leads to cyberbullying especially of children by various strangers on the internet (Kincel et al.). Family members especially children are vulnerable and are the primary target for cyber bullies. Anonymous individuals disguise and manipulate or abuse young kids through the internet. As a result, these attacks are always devastating to the victims. They lead to depression and fear among young family members. Thus, victims of the cyber bullying resort to suicide to ease their pain. In addition, some prefer to suffer silently which leads to mental disorder. In order to prevent and eliminate such cases, family members are supposed to be discouraged from the excessive use of social media. Besides, these forms of communication also have adverse effects on personal digital footprints. Uploading of personal digital footprints into the social media platform can be detrimental to the owner. The various sites such as Facebook insists on retaining the copyright of anything uploaded to their site. This results in losing ownership of

Paper #1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Paper #1 - Essay Example As such, at a personal level, epistemology guides individuals in knowing the truth of their natural surrounding and having justified beliefs on senses of the past lives, as well as natural environment and science. An example of this is the fact that human beings have direct experiences in the process of knowledge gaining. Hence, knowledge of description and gaining are important in human life. Personal position on ethics is that it is an effective tool for offering meaning to social moral concepts. Such includes right of action, justice and obligation of an individual member in society. As such, people are able to make moral decisions in both private and public life and can understand what constitutes validation for the wrong-doing and acceptable moral behavior in society. Such is illustrated by the perception of logical positivists when they developed the theory of non-cognitivism or emotivism that focus on the expression of preferences and attitudes of individuals. The consideration of these is the morality of objectivity and subjectivity. A key lesson from Socrates is the need for happiness. Socrates illustrated this by making two points, which are; happiness constitutes the desires of people and happiness is not dependent on external things, but on how such things are used. Hence, a wise person uses the money in the best way to ensure that life is better, but an ignorant individual uses money in a poor way ending up with a worse lifestyle. Happiness is essential since it makes an individual to have a stress free life and enjoy the each and every second spend on planet earth. Plato and Socrates also offer another essential life lesson, which is happiness and virtue are two things that are linked together. As such, an individual cannot enjoy one under forget about the other. Hence, virtue and knowledge pleasure contributes in satisfaction and full-filling a complete human life. Such is

The Human Resource Function Essay Example for Free

The Human Resource Function Essay Heathfield (2007) defines Human Resource Management (HRM) as an organizational function; focusing on recruitment, management, and directing the people who work in the organization. HRM can hence be viewed as an organizational function that deals with the human resource â€Å"people who start and operate an organization, (Ramlall, 2003). Owing to the continuous political, economic, social and psychological changes within our societies, there is an increasing need for organizations to constantly evaluate their internal and external environment in response to the challenges and opportunities in the society; so as to remain competitive and to sustain organizational growth. This article examines the strategic role of Human Resource (HR) and its main practices, describes the outcomes of the respective category of (HR) practices and explains the critical reasons for measuring HRs efforts. The fundamental role of the HR to an organization is to â€Å"create value† (Ramlall, 2003) to the organization. It can hence be inferred that the critical HR’s role is to maximize profitability. Every organization, in pursuit of its strategic goals, must determine how particular HR practices correlate with improved business results and be more accountable for each major HR activity. This entails determination of the value of each HR activity in creating a competitive advantage for the organization. Without this, achievement of the organization’s goals and corporate missions may remain a dream that is never attained. There are many factors influencing change in organizational structure today. These factors include technological advancement, globalization, changes in workforce demographics, the elimination of bureaucracies in organizational structures, and the need to strike a balance between work and family issues. Understanding the potential of an organizations resources and optimizing the output of such resources, given the changes, provides an impetus for HR to become the key source of creating the competitive advantage for the organization. It is the role of the HR to build a competitive organization though strategic management of human resources, management of firm infrastructure, management of employee contributions and management of transformation and change. This can be summarized as â€Å"defining the deliverables of work† (Ulrich, 1997). This entails going beyond the strategic business partner role to becoming a player in the business. Ulrich, (1997) identifies six roles of a player in an organization. The player coach, designs, construct, creates followers, plays the rules and changes the organization. This ensures that the functioning of the organization is directed towards its goals. An effective HR personnel acts as a â€Å"facilitator and a collaborator† (Brewster, 2000). As a facilitator, the HR will function as an agent of change- providing rationale, support, and readiness for planned changes designed to support the business strategies. As a collaborator, the HR provides a link between the senior leaders and all employees to implement business strategies forming the strategic link throughout the organization. This is essential to the organization as it helps to maximize its profits. A research by Brewster, (2000) postulates that less than 10 percent of the 968 firms that participated in the study had a formal estimation procedure to measure HRM. This implies that most companies have little or no assessment of their HR department’s efforts and therefore they cannot give any quantitative measures of HRs value to the organization. Hailey, (1999) stated that the best way for HR to gain credibility in order to make meaningful changes is for practitioners to measure the cost and effectiveness of what they do. As such, the HR should be credible enough to lead the rest of the workers towards giving value to the organization. To achieve a competitive advantage, it is necessary to identify the skills that need to be developed internally for current employees and the fundamental areas of effectively managing an organization. The HR function has the most experience and knowledge in addressing these critical issues. It is therefore necessary for an organization to have an effective human resource that can efficiently achieve these vital objectives. The integration of human resources into the organizational strategy provides the basis for enabling the HR function to support and implement the strategic plan to achieve a competitive advantage, (Wofford, 2002). This strategy provides for the maximization of human capital, reduction of wasted and inefficient labor, and other financial investment, eventually to maximize profitability. An efficient HR increases the likelihood of more efficiently achieving the business outcomes and avoiding chaos, massive layoffs, crises resulting from not having skilled employees to carry out particular tasks and not having the right fit among employees, corporate strategies, and business environments, (Hailey, 1999). HR function plays a pivotal role in determining the business strategy through the assessment of the organizations capabilities to compete successfully through a particular strategy, determining the appropriate rewards system, determining appropriate organizational structures, and developing strategies to increase employee performance. All these work in achieving firm’s objectives and assessing the effectiveness of its strategic plan. Given the definition of strategic planning as how an organization will compete, the question arises as to how an organization would be able to assess the effectiveness of its strategic plan. Indicators of a successfully crafted strategic plan include creating advantages that are sustainable over a long period, (Ramlall, 2003). These include attainment of the organizations goals and objectives, the financial profitability of the organization, organizational positioning to create advantages for the short-term and long-term, and creation of a stronger sense of social responsibility. In essence, this process determines the decisions and actions an organization will undertake to create and sustain competitive advantage. It is evident that any organization that endevours to achieve a competitive advantage over its rivals and move towards its strategic goals is left with no choice but to have an effective human resource. The constant evaluation of the effectiveness of the organization results in the need for the HR professional to frequently champion change. Both knowledge about and the ability to execute successful change strategies make the HR professional exceptionally valued. Knowing how to link change to the strategic needs of the organization will minimize employee dissatisfaction and resistance to change. Only an effective HR can champion these important changes.