Dirty Float Exchange Rate System Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2154 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Cause and effect essay Did you like this example? What is an exchange rate. Are terms like managed float, dirty float, fixed exchange rates, floating exchange rate, pegged exchange rate, crawling peg the same? Which type of exchange rate regime does India follow? What is a currency crisis? In recent times the rupee is becoming weaker against the dollar every day, what are the reasons for the same and what steps is the RBI taking to control the same. So, is the rupee depreciating or devaluing against the dollar? Support your conclusion by giving a dollar rupee graphical trend for the last three months? Exchange rate Meaning When the price of another countrys currency is expressed in one countrys currency Or it can be said that the rate at which another currency can be exchanged for one currency. The exchange rate is that rate  at which another  currency  can be converted into one currency. The  exchange  rate  can be used in order to convert one currency to another currency or for indulging oneself into  speculation  or  trading  in the  foreign exchange market. The factors which influence the exchange rate are  interest rates,  inflation, and the state of politics and the  economy  in each country. The exchange rate is also called  foreign exchange rate  or  currency exchange  rate. The exchange rate between two  currencies  may be defined as the rate at which currencies can be exchanged for one another. It can also be defined as the value of currency of one country in terms of currency of another country. The current exchange rate is also known as spot exchange rate. The  exchange rate that is quoted and traded today but for delivery and payment on a specific future date is known as forward exchange rate. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Dirty Float Exchange Rate System Finance Essay" essay for you Create order Example The amount at which exchange rate will be higher for one euro in terms of one  yen,  the lower the relative value of the yen. Dirty float exchange rate system The dirty float exchange rate is also called managed float. The dirty float or managed float exchange rates are those rates in which the government of country or the central bank of country  occasionally intervenes to change the direction of the value of the currency of the country. In most instances, the intervention  aspect of a  dirty float system is meant to act as a buffer against an external economic shock before  its effects become truly disruptive to the domestic economy.  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Also known as a managed float. Managed float The managed float is a type of float in which a  process  of floating of a  currency takes place  where the  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  exchange rate is controlled by the central bank managed float is also called dirty float Dirty Float Managed float and dirty float are same thing which can be understood by the example below For example, country  X  may find that some hedge fund is speculating that its currency will depreciate substantially, thus the hedge fund is starting to short massive amounts of country Xs  currency.  Because country  X uses a dirty float system, the  government decides to take swift action  and buy back a large amount of  its currency  in order to limit the amount of devaluation caused by the hedge fund. A  dirty float system  isnt considered to be a true floating exchange rate  because, theoretically,  true floating rate systems  dont allow for intervention. Fixed exchange rate system The fixed exchange rate system is also known as pegged exchange rate system. The fixed or pegged exchange rate system may be defined as a countrys exchange rate regime under which  the government  or  central bank  ties the official exchange rate to another countrys currency (or  the price of gold).   The main motto of fixed exchange rate system is to maintain a currency of country value  into a very narrow band. The fixed exchange rate system may also be referred as the rates which are fixed may provide greater certainty to exporters and importers. This also  helps the government to maintain inflation at low rate, which in the long run should keep interest rates down and stimulate increased trade and investment Floating exchange rate system The floating exchange rate may be defined as a countrys exchange rate regime where currency of a country is set by the foreign-exchange market through supply and demand for that particular currency relative to other currencies.  Thus, floating exchange rates are those rates which changes freely and may determine by trading in the forex market.   India follows managed float exchange rate system for the determination of the exchange rate. Currency Crisis The situation arises which makes the  value  of currency  unstable,  makes it difficult for the currency to be used as a reliable  medium of exchange. The effect of a currency crisis can be mitigated by sufficient  reserves in foreign country. A currency crisis can also be termed as  crisis. The currency crisis can also be termed as  balance-of-payments crisis, occurs when currency gets devaluated suddenly due to chronic balance-of-payments deficits which usually ends in a  speculative attack  in the foreign exchange market. The currency crisis happens when the value of a  currency changes quickly, reducing its ability to serve as a  medium of exchange  or a  store of value. The currency crisis is generally associated with a  real economic crisis. Currency crises can be especially destructive to small  open economies  or bigger, but not sufficiently stable ones. Governments often take on the role of fending off such attacks by satisfying the  excess demand  for a given currency using the countrys own currency reserves or its foreign reserves   Graphical representation of downfall of rupee https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/multimedia/dynamic/01123/bl25_rupee_col_eps_1123618f.jpg June 24, 2012:  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Over the past year, the rupee has dropped nearly 26 per cent against the dollar. In just the last three months, the rupee has dropped 12.6 per cent, closing at 57.15 to the dollar last Friday. This is the sharpest fall in any quarter for the rupee. Even during the crisis of 2008, there was not so much depreciation in such a short time. Most companies, especially importers, have found their capacity for tolerance of such volatility stretched. Reasons for downfall of rupee ECONOMIC FACTORS Balance of payment The balance of payment may be defined as systematic record of all economic transaction between residents of country and rest of the world. The exports or selling goods or services from one country to other country and imports or purchases of goods and services from one country to other country.. The country get foreign currency for exports and the country pays foreign currency for imports. The net position of this is the balance of payment. India has a deficit balance of payment because the import payments of India are more than the export receipts. This deficit is compensated by receipts from money sent by NRIs and borrowings.. Hence India is forced buy dollars to pay the deficits. The price goes up with the demand of something. So the rupee fetches lesser dollar rupee and starts falling. INFLATION AND FISCAL DEFICIT The inflationary problems are being faced by the country since last many months. Though the government and Reserve Bank are taking various steps, the inflation is not getting reduced. Due to the deficit, and the inflation the foreign investors are not interested to invest their money and hence the needed continuity in inflow of dollar becomes less and the rupee falls against dollar. FALLING FOREX RESERVES if a country has huge forex reserves, the money for imports can be paid from the reserves. But if the forex reserves are poor the country is forced to buy its forex at a high price. Forex reserves of India had a drastic fall and therefore country is forced to buy dollar requirements. This  causes rupee to fall. SHORT TERM BORROWINGS REPAYMENT The foreign exchange market  evaluates the debt repayments of a country in the immediate short term. India has amounts of repayment shortly due, to the country has poured of dollar reserves  in the recent months to intervene against falling rupee. Hence market has sensed the demand for dollar against rupee. Political and policy factors behind falling Rupee Though the India is politically stable, there are many indirect signals giving hint that the political government is not strong enough. The weak show of Congress, the main ruling party at centre, in most of the elections and by-elections give a suspicion that it may not come back in the next elections. The buckling of the central government under pressure from its minor coalition parties and withdrawing from many policy decisions make the foreign investors suspicious. This sentiment works against the country, and foreign investors are discouraged from investing till a stronger and clearer picture emerges. This affects the strength of rupee and leads to its fall. OTHER FACTORS FOR FALLING OF RUPEE Currencies react to both the fundamentals of demand and supply as well as sentiment. Sentiment is down a spate of bad news on the economic front slowing GDP, rating downgrades, policy drift, high inflation, lack of rate cuts etc., contributed to it.On the fundamentals side, India is a net importer and therefore needs more dollars to pay for oil and gold (its two main imports) as well as other imports. India imported $180 billion more of goods than it exported (last years total imports were $480 billion while exports were $300 billion). This greater demand for dollars is of course reduced partially by capital inflows, borrowings, remittances, software earnings etc. OIL PRICES India imports 83 per cent of its oil requirements (last years bill was $150 billion). The monthly demand (of $12 billion) on this account as well as rising oil prices has usually kept the rupee under pressure. Apart from oil, there are gold imports for which the country paid nearly $60 billion last year. Now, ironically, prices of both oil and gold have been coming down which is expected to have favourable impact on the trade deficit this year. Brent crude prices have dropped to $90 a barrel, a drop of nearly 30 per cent since early 2012. A $1 decline in oil prices should help reduce current account deficit by about $1 billion. The drop in oil prices has allowed markets to project that trade deficit will be down by $25 billion this year. Such inferences should in the normal course have led to an appreciation of the rupee. This is something market experts say will still happen eventually perhaps in six months to one year. But in the short term there is a mood of panic and poor sentiment and dire predictions that the rupee is heading for retirement the euphemism for its value touching 60 to the dollar. There is now a unidirectional and sustained downtrend in the short-term, market experts say. For example experts say that importers are increasing the tenor of their cover the protection they buy against a further decline in the rupee. In simple terms, if importers covered their import bills for 2 months earlier, they are now doing it for three to four months. This, they say is contributing to panic, further volatility and uncertainty. In contrast, exporters, revenue earners such as software industries, are not selling dollars that they earn, waiting for the rupee to depreciate further. HIGH HEDGING COST The cost of hedging through one-year forward contracts has been high. The forward premium was as high as 6.6 per cent a few weeks ago, before falling to 4.83 per cent just before the RBI policy. The disappointment at not getting the expected cut has resulted in forward premiums once again jumping to 5.5 per cent now. Even CII President, Mr Adi Godrej, told  Business line  recently, that the cost of hedging was prohibitively high and he preferred not to hedge. BUNCHING PAYMENTS Experts say that bunching of payments by oil companies (for oil imports) in the spot market has increased demand for dollars in the short term. Normally, oil companies avail of short-term buyer credit of between 3-6 months and stagger their payments. However, with the rupee depreciating so drastically, they prefer to pay their bills immediately rather than buying on credit. This creates a further pressure in an already frayed market. STEPS BY RBI Normally, the Reserve Bank is trying to cool this down by opening a special window for oil companies (so that they dont buy more dollars in the market) for a short period of time. There has been such talk in the market although there is no official word yet. RBI recently indicated that it will sell dollars directly to oil companies in order to ease pressure from the currency. Besides, the central bank has already taken steps to curb speculation in the forex market and tried to increase the inflow of foreign currency. Since early March, rupee has lost about 13 per cent against the dollar driven by a combination of deteriorating global risk sentiment and weak domestic fundamentals. The rupee gained 27 paise to close at 55.37 after RBI intervened on currency breaching the 56-level in early trade.

Should Smoking Be Banned - 895 Words

People smoke all over the world. Smoking has been around for many decades. Controlling the usage of smoking depends on the smoker. Believe it or not, the government has a huge part on this. In some countries, smoking in public or enclosed areas is banned. In the United States, the owner of any public place has the right to put a â€Å"No Smoking Area† sign. Unfortunately even with these regulations, the smoker doesn’t realize how smoking can be harmful to them and their surroundings; people are simply not well educated on how smoking can harm themselves and others. Smoking in public must be banned because it kills. About 42 million adults’ smoke, that’s proximately one out of five adults (American Cancer Society). Researchers said, that smoking more than two boxes have a higher chance of getting cardiovascular disease (Southern Medical Journal). The taxes on smoking products in the United States are taxed mostly the highest rate. This is one of the main re ason the government in the United States has not put any strong regulation of smoking in public. The United States Government believe in money. In their state of thinking, without money there is a bad economy, no jobs, and more debts. While in other countries such as Norway and Italy had successfully banned smoking in public. Ireland was the first country in 2004 to force a laws about this situation (EPHA). I have made my own little survey. I asked around if they think second hand smoking can cause serious damage. Out ofShow MoreRelatedShould Smoking Be Banned?845 Words   |  4 PagesThe smoking population in London stands around 1.2 million and with such a significant percentage of this city with the habit, it is unsurprising the ban has caused such wide controversy. Without hesitation, I add my voice to the chorus of non-smokers who think this ban goes too far. However, I am not saying that smoking is in any way good as I am extremely aware of the gruesome health risks and unatt ractive photos of black lungs and lopsided livers that litter the media. I just ask of you Britain;Read MoreShould Smoking Be Banned?1672 Words   |  7 Pagesthis is not a choice. This creates the problem of second-hand smoke, which is more harmful than people think. What is worse is that people who inhale second-hand smoke are doing so without consent.Therefore smoking in any public place should be banned.Second-hand smoke is just as harmful as smoking and leads to a higher prevalence of cancer and heart disease. Many people smoke for enjoyment. Enjoyment is what an individual experience when they are having a good time. When an individual is enjoyingRead MoreSmoking Should Be Banned1031 Words   |  5 PagesSmoking is an expensive habit. Smokers’ claim that it helps relax them and relieves stress but there are more negative effects of smoking outweigh the positive effects. Smoking is a health hazard not only for smokers but also for non-smokers. Smokers have the right to choose what to do with their own body and wellbeing but they should respect non-smokers choice to not be subjected to the smoke. Many people believe that there are good and bad outcomes from smoking. I believe that smoking should beRead MoreThe Smoking Should Be Banned860 Words   |  4 Pages On August 31, 2008, Maine made the law for no smoking in cars with children under 18. Warnings were given out until 2009 of September 1st; but starting September 2nd of 2009, fines of fifty dollars would be given out if caug ht by police. The making of this aw, is to limit teenagers with their license to stop smoking in cars. Smoking should be banned in motor vehicles in all states if person is/are over 16 of age. For teens, smoking is a distraction just like talking on the phone or texting whileRead MoreShould Smoking Be Banned?1326 Words   |  6 Pagesbreak. Even though people are well equipped with the knowledge of how unhealthy smoking can be and what can it causes to their hearts and lungs, they still choose to smoke. Nowadays smoking becomes a trend like a social media, and especially teenagers, are participating in this as well. Although smoking makes you a person feel relaxed from the stress, it harms the body of the smokers in the long run. We have known that smoking can kill us from past 50-60 years, and according to the World Health OrganizationRead MoreShould Smoking Be Banned?2248 Words   |  9 PagesSmoking was first used for medicinal purposes in the early 1600’s. As time conti nued tobacco began to be smoked through pipes and eventually became rolled in paper and tobacco leaves. After smoking started becoming mainstream, people began to think of this as a social way to fit in rather than thinking of the effects it can cause to their bodies. Although the harmful side effects of smoking are now public knowledge, people still continue to smoke. Smoking can cause health issues, not only to thoseRead MoreShould Smoking Be Banned Public Smoking?1263 Words   |  6 PagesBanning Public Smoking Do people know that cigarettes are responsible for more causalities each year than from HIV, illegitimate drug use, alcohol related incidents, and automobile calamities combined? It is one of the only permissible products that have been long-established to kill when used as intended. Tobacco usage is the main source of avoidable and premature death and disease worldwide according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Medical studies have shown that smoking not onlyRead MoreShould Smoking Be Banned?1457 Words   |  6 Pagesis that more and more people smoke now than they have in the past. Smoking causes damage not only in the lungs, but also in the body, lips, or inside the mouth. Even though smoking does harm your body there are some good things that come from smoking. Like it can lower the risk of obesity, and knee replacement surgery. There are different types of lung cancer one for smoking and the other, nonsmoking. Although people are smoking, not only are adul ts getting lung cancer, but kids and teens are gettingRead MoreShould Cigarette Smoking Be Banned?1376 Words   |  6 PagesThe United States Surgeon General’s report stated that cigarette smoking is the major single cause of cancer death in the United States. This statement is so true today. Smoking a cigarette is an acquired behavior and that makes it the most preventable cause of death in our society. Cigarettes contain nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide, as well as formaldehyde, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, arsenic, and DDT. The main ingredient in cigarettes is tobacco. The nicotine in cigarettes is very addictiveRead MoreShould Cigarette Smoking Be Banned?1365 Words   |  6 PagesShould Cigarette Smoking be banned? The United States Surgeon General’s report stated that cigarette smoking is the major single cause of cancer death in the United States. This statement is so true today. Smoking a cigarette is an acquired behavior and that makes it the most preventable cause of death in our society. Cigarettes contain nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide, as well as formaldehyde, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, arsenic, and DDT. The main ingredient in cigarettes is tobacco. The nicotine

NCAA Sanctions and Paying Players Should This Be Allowed Free Essays

A customer walks into the local Pizza Hut, and sits down. A waiter approaches and asks what kind of pizza they want. The customer gives his order to him, and lays 200 dollars under the menu. We will write a custom essay sample on NCAA Sanctions and Paying Players: Should This Be Allowed or any similar topic only for you Order Now The waiter notices, and takes the money. The customer’s pizza is 10 dollars, and he pays for it by a debit card. When he leaves, he puts 300 dollars under his own plate. The waiter grabs the money, places the money in his pocket, and goes back to working. Now, if two new characters illustrated the names of the waiter and the customer for the football player, and an athletic booster, then everyone would be saying how rude it is, and how corrupt our society is. That is an exact reason why we shouldn’t pay players, and how the sanctions that the NCAA has put down to prevent the main sanction (paying players) from happening. Paying players to play an athletic sport in the NCAA should not be allowed, and that’s because colleges aren’t allowed/shouldn’t pay players and they don’t need to earn money. There are many arguments against paying players The first argument, â€Å"Colleges aren’t allowed/shouldn’t pay players† has many opinionated answers, are biased, or have no clue of what’s going on. In some past research, there have been some points that have been made that they should be paid. Others, for instance, show that they shouldn’t be paid. There’s been that they’re getting free academics, free board, free meal, etc. and there’s also seen that full-ride scholars can’t have a full-time job, so they could use some money. Both, I agree with, but in general, they shouldn’t be paid, but there should be some rule changes. What I’m saying is, is that you notice smaller schools getting hit with the sanctions. For instance, Southern Methodist University, in the 80’s, paid 21 football players over $61,000 to play for them over 3 years. If you notice, there is a rule that you can’t pay players to play NCAA Football. To pay college athletes to play football for you is illegal. They tried to get above the level playing field that the NCAA had set. Their punishment was extremely serious, and called â€Å"The Death Penalty†. â€Å"They lost 55 scholarships, had their 1987 season cancelled, pulled from live television, and banned from postseason play until 1989. And obviously, since they are still in the Conference USA, they haven’t recovered since. â€Å"(Yahoo â€Å"Penalty 4†) The rules are made for a reason, and should always be followed. In another example, The University of Southern California, or known as USC, received a letter of investigation concerning Reggie Bush and his time at USC. He had knowingly received benefits from an outside source. NBC reporter Greg Beachem stated, â€Å"A two-year bowl ban, four years’ probation, loss of scholarships and forfeits of an entire year’s games for improper benefits to Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush dating to the Trojans’ 2004 national championship. † As you can tell, he received benefits from some sort of person who won’t be questioned for who he is, because he doesn’t have a name like Reggie Bush does. There were also had noticed that the rule changes that were mentioned earlier were a major part in fixing the rules for players to make money. For instance, Title IX states that all men and women must have an equal amount of scholarships. That may sound just fine, but the truth is, there is no â€Å"Women’s Football†. So that’s 85 scholarships that have to be evened out to women. If Title IX disregarded football, then that rule would be completely fine. Plus, there are 2 sports that generate revenue for an athletic program. That would be men’s football, and men’s basketball. So it’s up to those teams to pay for the entire athletic department. This also shows how players shouldn’t be paid. If only two different sports make money for an entire team, what are the reasons that they should be paying players, when that team may want to use the money for other additions to the campus? Plus, if you left the rich schools to pay for players to come, then a smaller school like Texas Christian University, or Boise State University, wouldn’t ever earn any big time players. Teams like Texas University, Ohio State University, Michigan University, (other rich D1 schools), would buy out all the players, and leave everyone in the dust. The 2nd argument, that players don’t need to be paid, is also a biased argument. Finding information on this rule is very tough, because all search engines bring up many blogs about people’s opinions and those aren’t credible. I’ve noticed that some people think that rule changes are needed, and some say that the whole rule should be abolished, and all athletes should be paid. With my personal knowledge of secrecy and how people can secretly hide items of interest, some students would possibly work at Pizza Hut, have a boosters guy order a $10 dollar pizza and leave a $500 dollar tip. We all know that that’s not right to do, but some regulations need to be lifted. If you let college athlete’s work within the school, such as in the cafeteria, or the library, the NCAA could possibly monitor the earnings they make. It’s possible that if they worked at a Pizza Hut, or a Taco Bell, they could make sure that the NCAA has some sort of access to see the paycheck they earn and make sure it makes it to the bank account. Depending on how big the college is, depends on how the school will be corrupted more. For example, at Capital University, the cost for a year is $33,210 for a full-time undergraduate year, including room, board, etc. Now, if that is compared to the University of Southern California, their tuition is $56,813 per year, including room, board, etc. (USC 2011 estimations) The difference here is, Capital is a Division III school, and has an extremely lower school population than a school like USC. USC has a population of â€Å"15,600 undergraduates as well as a staggering 15,224 graduate students† (USC College Admission). At Capital, you get a smaller amount of TV Time, if not any, while USC is making a large amount of money and getting TV Time every week. If you have to pay players that play for a college that can’t afford to do it, like Capital University, many small colleges will be taken out of athletics, and will be losing scholarships. To add on, it’s not like these athletes have to spend their built-up savings account to go play football. They get to use all the money they saved up to go earn an education in college, to buy what they want. They may not get any more money to spend, but the rough $30,000 that would be in their bank account should be enough if they’re not paying a penny for the classes they have, the meals, their dorm, and their textbooks. Plus, if they’re at a big-time school, like Ohio State, or Texas University, then they especially wouldn’t have to pay the $35,000 that a semester of college costs. But my point isn’t completely set in stone because colleges shouldn’t pay players, but some rule changes need to be made, as I will talk about later. NCAA rules state that if you’re an athlete, you can’t work. When you read that rule, you think of the â€Å"big-name athletes† like Cam Newton or Terrelle Pryor, that have full- rides to play football. But, there’s always the people who have half-year scholarships, or are considered walk-ons, that also can’t work. To add on, I believe that if you aren’t being paid in that season/year, you should be allowed to work. The full-ride scholars are being paid to play football, and getting a free education, while half-scholarship athletes and walk-on athletes are not allowed to work, and are being forced to pay their education. When you go on to any college website, you will find a link to go to something about financial aid, so it’s not like nobody is out to help. To talk about rules are a different story, and it needs to be addressed. To define what the NCAA calls a Professional Team, â€Å"is if it declares itself to be professional or provides any player more than actual and necessary expenses for participation on the team. † (NCAA Guide 10) The NCAA-made pamphlet answers all questions to the rules that I’ve mentioned. It states rules for students who are in Division I or Division II schools, such as Division 1 student-athletes aren’t allowed to accept a salary, while Division II student-athletes are permitted to do so. Division II teams can enter a contract with a professional team, while Division I teams can’t. Do these rules sound fair? I have to say yes, because Division II teams don’t get any TV Time. If a team has some TV Time, it increases their stock value to play in the NFL. There are also some rules that apply to both Division I and Division II teams. For example, Division I and II teams can’t receive benefits from an agent, or enter an agreement with an agent. The reason that this rule is made is because agents would have the most contact with an athlete, and would be able to obtain money from a boosters guy and the athlete would illegally receive the money. If the rule was changed so that sanctions would be softer on the crime, or players being paid was made legal, the rich schools would become the ultimate powerhouses, and the other schools would become obsolete, like what was discussed earlier. These big schools, like Texas or USC would take over college football and leave teams like TCU or Boise State behind. When you decide to pay players on a two-sport revenue generator, you have to decide who you’re going to pay, how much you’ll pay them, when you’ll pay them, and decide about which players don’t get paid. An offensive lineman may not get paid, and he makes the running back or the quarterback look like he carries the team. Does he deserve to get paid over the quarterback? The final thought that goes with this paper is, if we paid student-athletes, should we pay every sport, and if we do, do we give an equal amount to each player? You find your own opinion on the matter. How to cite NCAA Sanctions and Paying Players: Should This Be Allowed, Essay examples

Monroe Clock Company free essay sample

Jim Monroe, president of Monroe Clock Company, decided to sell a new household timing device. And this complete product would have to be sold through wholesalers and manufacturers’ representatives, which were new to Monroe Clock, so the price will be an important factor. Jim’s controller, Tom, had provided figures showing a full cost of $11. 60 and factory price of $14. 70, and Frank Tyler, his sales manager, had worked out a cost of $6. 30 excluding fixed overhead cost and factory price of $8. 00. So the main issue is about how much the timer is going to cost and how to treat the fixed overhead cost. There are three alternative implications for the price setting as follows: 1). If they decided to choose $8. 00 as factory price, the estimated retail selling price will be $16. 00, which is lower than the similar sears model $19. 98 and less than most of substitutions. And they will pretty soon get lots of volume, but once they get more sales, they fixed overhead will become more and more important. We will write a custom essay sample on Monroe Clock Company or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page For example, the company’s cost on machine maintenance, machine depreciation and plant administration (55%, 40% and 40% respectively) will increase. So if the company keeps long run using $6. 30 as cost excluding fixed overhead, they eventually will make less profit even no profit. 2). If they decided to choose $14. 70 as factory price, which certainly would make more contribution profit than $8. 00 because they had same variable costs. But the problem was that the similar Sears model was selling at $19. 98, and others were not more than a dollar or two away from that. So it would be difficult to attract consumers to buy their expensive new timer unless its exclusive new function was really useful. Other Consideration: Jim hadn’t figured out the value of the product options (a 48-hour or two different 24-hour cycles), which might have a lot more wiring and assembly work involved, and different timers may require more overhead. In addition, there were no other timers in the market, in other words, new timer might need different overhead than before. These all can contribute more overhead cost. 3). If they did as Tom recommended setting $8. 00 as factory price for the short run and then selling some smaller number of units at $14. 70. That may be appropriate for both short run and long run, but how to make consumers accept the $6. 70 ($14. 70-$8. 00) difference for the same product is a problem. Maybe company can use some marketing method or more advertising. * Recommendations: In my opinion, company can’t omit the fixed overhead cost so that making lower product cost. Because long run will make fixed overhead more important and more influenced to profit. So I think Jim should figure out the value of the product options and recompute the overhead rate and set the household timer’s cost including the fixed costs.

Management Strategy Models

Introduction Comprehensive business situation analysis can take many forms. Situation analysis involves the evaluation of the situation and the trends in a particular company’s market. The commonest is the analysis on the basis three C’s. According to Orcullo (2007), his particular situation analysis refers to the study of the major elements of the businesses that crucially affect the direction that any business takes.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Management Strategy Models specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Gotz and Mann (2006) say that customers, costs and competition traditionally form the core of the three C’s analysis. Strauss (2008) says that, nowadays business situation analysis includes collaboration, the company itself and competitive advantage that the company holds over its rivals. According to Bohn (2009), another model that will be used to evaluate Morison’s company is th e SWOT analysis. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that Morrisons is experiencing relative to its competitors will be analyzed to determine the situation and recommend the possible remedies and strategies it should take to avoid losing ground to other supermarket chains. The C’s Business Situation Analysis Customers Like the other leading three stores, Morrisons has focused on the mid low-end segment of the population. The company has pursued a strategy focusing on offering unbeatable customer service and a favorable shopping environment. Again, it regularly competes on special offers and other promotions that aim to convince customers as savings oriented. The strategy has had considerable success evidenced by the number of customers who visit the stores every year. For instance, the store announced that a whooping 10.8 million customers visited the store in the three months leading to November 2009. The figures were way ahead of predictions and further ser ved as a vote of confidence in the customer service polices that is in place. Competition Morrisons supermarket faces competition from many other retails chains in the UK that already control a big share of the market. Waitrose, Sainsbury, ASDA and Tesco provide for the major competition for Morrisons in the UK. Apart from Waitrose, the rest are way ahead of the Morrisons in the market in terms of diversity of goods and services and regional presence.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Company Morrison Supermarkets plc. is classified as the fourth largest super market in the United Kingdom. It is got a sizable market share in the UK that was estimated at 11.8% in 2008. Currently, it is estimated to employ more than 124, 000. However, compared to its competitors, Morrisons was the smallest in terms of the market share segment. It is way behind market leader Tesco with a market s hare of 30.9%, Asda with 16.8% and Sainsbury with 16% (Li 2008). The company majorly deals with groceries and consumer goods that form the core of its revenue sources. Its revenue in the year 2010 is estimated to have hit 14, 528 million pounds. It is made a net profit of 460 million pounds in the year 2009. SWOT Analysis The C’s analysis above brings out many strengths and weaknesses of the Morrison’s retail chain. Similarly, it analyses the opportunities that can be exploited and the threats that are encroaching on its survival in the market (Fine 2009). Any strategy therefore that the new leader is going to carry out must address the elements identified in the SWOT analysis. Strengths It is apparent that Morrisons has a distinct advantage in the Northern part of the UK. Its historical ties with the place and success in courting low and mid low-end customers is one of the strengths that it boasts over its smaller rivals. The acquisition of Safeway’s retail gro up has only served to reinforce that advantage of consolidating Northern UK and other parts of the country. Again, unlike its competitors who have diversified in the products they offer, Morrison is yet to diversify universally beyond groceries and non-food offers. It therefore provides an area of strength that can be exploited by the retail chain to its advantage. The chain also has enormous strength among the upper middle class segment of the population. Morrison too has its â€Å"good quality food† tag that it has cultivated over time and which accords strength that its competitors do not have. Morrisons has a strong balance sheet besides owning majority of its store portfolio which is estimated at 89%. Estimates put its value of property to be 7.5 billion pounds higher than its market capitalization. With only 19% as its debt equity, Morrisons comes out top in the sector.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Management Strategy Models specifically for yo u for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The company therefore is stable as far as asset worth and accumulation is concerned. The above are financial strengths that the company can use to its advantage to increase business Weaknesses The supermarket however seems unsure which direction it should take. Failure to establish presence in the south when all other major chains did so was a case in point where the retail chain’s top management failed to make quick decisions and take risks to increase its market share in the UK. Opportunities Concentration on the low-end market means there still is an opportunity for the supermarket to grow its customer base in the high sections of the population. The fact that its leading competitors have larger market share and make more profits with their low-end client base is reason enough that there is still opportunity in expanding the customer base. Though Morrisons has ventured into the southern part of the UK, there st ill is an opportunity to expand its operations throughout the country to make it a nationwide chain hence access a larger client pool. While Tesco for instance has 2282 stores, Morrisons has 447 stores, giving it a huge opportunity to grow its branches to effectively compete with the leading three stores. All of Morrisons rivals have developed online shopping options for their customers. They have expanded their market reach to accommodate those that rely on the internet for shopping. Morrison’s new CEO has acknowledged the company is looking into the possibility of developing such a system. It is an opportunity that if exploited could see is customer base grow while the market share will be increased. Threats The price war between Morrisons and Tesco placed Morrisons at the receiving end. A Tesco advert in 2007 sought to inform prospective customers how Tesco had over 3000 items priced cheaper than at their rival Morrison. The financial muscle and the greater market share of the competitors will always be a threat to Morison’s position and progress as a market leader in the UK.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Strategy development Given the stiff competition among supermarkets in the UK, it is important that Morrisons develops a strategy aimed at maintaining its competitive advantage. Its strengths as identified in the SWOT analysis will be consolidated while the measure will be put in place to stem the weaknesses. The strategy has to focus on exploiting the existing opportunities to increase the revenues of the company. Porter’s Generic Business Model According to Porter’s generic business opportunities model, innovation, quality enhancement and cost reduction form the core of any business strategy (Rundle and Johnson 2010). Innovation aims to increase the differentiation of products and adds value to them. Kossowski (2007) asserts that differentiation will enhance creativity that will ensure uniqueness of products giving a company’s good s and services an edge over the others. Quality enhancement on the other hand will involve concentration of particular market segm ents and development of highly developed products for those markets. Provision of cost leadership involves reduction of costs while remaining competitive on pricing. Charging lower prices will ensure while maintaining an acceptable profit margin on each unit of goods sold will effectively manage costs leading to profitability. Porter’s generic business opportunities model suits Morrisons as it seeks to increase its market share while raising its revenues. The new Chief Executive Officer needs to focus on new innovations that will bring new customers on board. Their marketing ways have to change so as the message goes beyond the mid low-end customer base that forms its core clientele. Innovation is also critically needed if the company is to increase the variety of goods that it has offering its customers. Pricing has been one of the fronts that the super markets have engaged each other. Morrison’s has a strong financial backing which can easily be turned to price offer s to customers. The new CEO will need to focus on specific market segments like they are doing now with a reduced margin and an intention to win the price war. A price war can easily turn against the company especially if the rivals have a considerable financial muscle like that of Tesco and the other two leading supermarkets. Morrisons has numerous factories where its products are manufactured. Possession of these factories gives them an advantage over their competitors. In the quest to improve sales, the new management should focus on improving the quality of their goods. This will be easier especially because they have control over the production of a majority of goods for their outlets. The leadership of the company should focus in making goods difficult to imitate by competitors and counterfeits. That way they are able to lock in any intended onslaught on their products by the competitors. Diversification beyond food products is necessary if market leaders like Tesco are to be challenged. Considering all leading supermarkets target the low-end segment of the market and regularly engage in price competition with Morrisons, it is important the new CEO carefully reviews the strategy. Caution will need to be applied in order to ensure costs are minimized while profits are maximized. Five forces Model Five forces model is another strategy model that is popular with businesses (Hax 2009).This strategy model suits into Morrisons current needs and the new management can use it to improve its market share while combating the challenges that face the company. According to Shaw-McMinn et al.(2001), the model involves analysis of the market through five fronts which touches on almost every aspect. Threat from new entrants in the market, the industry, bargaining power if suppliers, the bargaining power of buyers and the threat of substitute products constitute the five forces that shape strategy formulation in many companies. There are likely to other new entrants in the UK market. Though they present no considerable threat, it is important that the new management of Morrisons take note of them. New entrants normally enter the market with the intention of capitalizing on the existing player mistakes. Lack of online shopping for Morrisons may be one of the weaknesses that new entrants may be targeting. Considering they will be competing for the same clientele, it is important that Morrisons take steps to consolidate the customer base and ensure loyalty of customers. One way the new CEO can do it is through introduction of the shopper’s card that promises rewards for loyal and consistent customers. The supermarket industry in the UK is vibrant and any innovation player is guaranteed to keep its place. The new management of Morrisons should increase industry presence through offering diverse types of goods. Morrisons has already consolidated its position on the food sector. Its time the new management focused on other fronts that as a result will net new customers hence increase customer base. Keeping competitive advantage should also be top of the agenda. Morrisons would want to keep its superb infrastructure that greatly aides its domination of the groceries market. All goods that Morrisons distributes are obtained from suppliers. Considering it is largely a grocery oriented chain, suppliers come in handy. Suppliers determine the quality of the goods sold by the supermarket. Good relations with suppliers are therefore critical to Morison’s survival in the market. A few years back some industry analysts in the UK felt supermarkets in the UK including Morrisons were being too tough on suppliers. It is understandable because Morrisons has packaged itself a store that offers quality products compare with its rivals. Considering suppliers too have power and they can decide to sell their produce to other willing industry players, it is important the new management develop a relationship that is beneficial to both pa rties. It will be important for the new CEO to avoid the common hostilities that normally characterize supplier-buyer relationships. Buyers or customers are the main backbone of any business that has intentions of surviving in the market. The bargaining power of customers if not checked and carefully dealt with can easily lead to losses. Businesses have to perform a delicate balancing act where they need to make a sale and gain profit and ensure a customer is not lost or the reputation of the company is not damaged. The financial strength that Morrisons has plus an expected jump in profits through sound management will be enough for the new management to offer promotions that can double up as bargaining events. Substitute products offer reprieve to customers when they feel that do not experience maximum utility from the products they are interested in. It is therefore important that Morrison’s stock substitute products that will offer customers a wide variety to choose from i f their original intentions are not met. That calls for diversification of the products on offer in the stores in an effort to go beyond food products as earlier said. Conclusion The models described above do not offer the ultimate solution to Morrisons quest of increasing its market share in the UK. It is important for the management to note that its other leading competitors have overseas operations which gives them a competitive edge over Morrisons. The new CEO should consider taking Morrisons operations abroad in order for the company to increase its revenues and to improve its international market share. References Bohn, A. (2009) The SWOT Analysis. Berlin: GRIN Verlag. Hax, C., A. (2009) The Delta Model: Reinventing Your Business Strategy. New York: Springer. Fine, L. G. (2009) The SWOT Analysis: Using Your Strength to Overcome Weaknesses, Using Opportunities to Overcome Threats. New York: Booksurge Llc. Kossowski, A. (2007) Strategic Management: Porter’s Model of Gener ic Competitive Strategies Theory and analysis. Berlin: GRIN Verlag. Li, E. (2008) Supermarket Chains and Grocery Market in the UK. Web. Mann, C. J. and Gotz, K. (2006) Borderless business: managing the far-flung enterprise. London: Greenhood Publishing group. Orcullo, N. (2007) Fundamentals of Strategic Management’ 2007. Manchester: Rex Bookstore, Inc. Rundle, S. and Johnson. N. C. (2010) Business As Mission: A Comprehensive Guide to Theory and Practice. New York: Inter-Varsity Press. Shaw-McMinn, Peter, G. and Moss, Garry L. (2001) Eyecare business: marketing and strategy. London: Elsevier Health Sciences. Strauss, S. (2008) The small business bible: everything you need to know to succeed in your small business. London: John Wiley and Sons. This essay on Management Strategy Models was written and submitted by user Spencer L. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Strategic Organizational Management in Moog Controls, Philippines

Strategic Organizational Management in Moog Controls, Philippines Free Online Research Papers Strategic operations management could not be illustrated in a simple form for Moog Controls since it involves the entire organization in its planning, execution and improvements. On the other hand, it can be simply described as paving the way for the organization to reach its future state based on its current status. Strategy involves the senior management team planning for the organization’s competitive advantage, balancing and forecasting the consequences of these strategic decisions and finally looking into the long-term implications of such decisions. (Brown et al. 2005) The strategic areas that are encompassed within operations management include scheduling, quality management, process technology and inventory management. Bill Moog has always known that the work environment played an important role in any company’s success. He has observed the manufacturing environments of other industries and noticed that employees worked better when they were treated with trust and respect. These modest ideas rested the base for what would ultimately become part of Moog’s much-acclaimed work environment and culture. (About Moog 2010) It could safely be said, therefore that the strategy involved in improving Moog Controls Philippines revolves around its human resources, from proper selection, training, developing and maintaining them, keeping them involved in achieving the whole organization’s goals. HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT The human resources function in Moog has evolved from being a business function in the organization – administrative personnel maintenance tasks, to a business partner that catered to learning and development of employees, and finally as a strategic partner whose roles include talent management, performance management, competency management and succession planning. (Bhatia 2008) In the Philippines, a country that currently encourages its labor force to work abroad, selecting and hiring competent employees is difficult, simply because the salaries being offered here are a lot smaller than other countries. (Macaraig 2010 Torio 2010) On the other hand, doing business in the Philippines is relatively easy, considering that the business norms that the Filipinos value are the following: courtesy, social events, grooming and hygiene, dining, religion and superstition, equal opportunities, savings, and word of honor and integrity. (Andres 1997) These are the basis of most multinati onal companies in hiring, training, motivating and retaining their current workforce. Moog’s culture and philosophy revolves around trust – an employee can trust that everyone he works with is competent. Moog Controls operates in teams, creating a democratic environment and job titles are overlooked. Employees are developed, recognized and rewarded for their efforts, making them proud of their output. Moog Controls, Philippines has accepted the concept of Hamel and Prahalad (1994) that the human resources must be linked to the organization’s core competencies, being â€Å"a bundle of skills and technologies rather than a single discrete skill or technology,† – and skills come from human means. Consequently, in 2005, Moog Controls, Philippines has been the recipient of the Personnel Managers Association of the Philippines (PMAP) Outstanding Program of the Year Award in their demonstration of the Filipino worker at his best, and the risk that the company has taken in trusting its employees. (Mosqueda 2005) Performance management A performance management system is a process that involves identifying, measuring, encouraging, evaluating, improving and rewarding employee performance. It is basically an employee appraisal system that (a) improves the employee performance by making them realize and utilize their full potential in carrying out their tasks; (b) provides information to employees and managers in making work-related decisions. (Purposes of Performance Management System 2010) From the feedback mechanisms, development concerns, documentation, diagnoses of organizational problems, diagnoses of organizational problems and employment decisions, the following employee necessities have been realized: Competitive salaries and benefits, work-life balance, educational assistance through academe and trainings in other facilities, attractive retirement benefits, stock investment options, comprehensive health programs, recreational activities, employee exchange programs, and trainings in other facilities (Moog 201 0). PROCESS MANAGEMENT Just In Time (JIT) JIT is fully dependent on an integrated and strategic approach linking customer requirements with supplier capabilities and excellence in internal operations. In Japan, JIT has grown into a total management system from marketing to delivery. It has presented Japanese companies with a sturdy competitive advantage over their Western rival (Harrison 1992). Moog has adopted this lean production, Japanese manufacturing approach developed by the Toyota Motor Company whose main principle is focused on the removal of all waste from the operations environment. The produced amount fills in the exact number required when it is needed. The major forms of waste or contributors or sources of waste that have been identified are: overproduction, waiting, transportation, the process itself, stock on hand, motion, defective and goods (Brown et al. 2005) Consequently, with the use of JIT, Moog Controls has also included the use of the kanban system or the â€Å"card† system of communicating to, from and within operating departments, signalling to trigger an action. (Kanban System 2010) JIT has addressed the challenges of Moog with holding inventory, such as, storage costs, loss or stagnancy of capital, obsoleting of stocks, revolving capital for the organization has increased, and losses to deterioration, theft or damage was minimized greatly. Understanding the risks and the magnitude of accountability when managing the risks involved in the JIT system has further motivated the employees to comply and exceed quality standards that have been put in place. AS 9100 Certification AS 9100 is the quality management standard specifically written for the aerospace industry. It has long been considered by some entities, such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that the ISO 900 series of standards are inadequate in terms of ensuring quality and safety in the â€Å"high risk† aerospace industry. The existing description of AS 9100, Revision B, brings together its standard with ISO 9001: 2000 and has extra necessities regarding Regulatory Compliance and the following aerospace-sector specific requirements such as configuration management, design phase, verification, validation and testing processes, reliability, maintainability and safety, product identification, documentation and control of production process changes, production equipment, tools and numerical control machine programs, and many more. Accordingly, ISO 9001:2000 is completely incorporated within AS9100 in addressing aviation safety concerns. (AS9100 The Standard for Aerospace 2010) The Japanese 5-S Moog Controls Philippines also practices the Japanese 5S method of workplace improvement. This is a housekeeping system of keeping the shared work areas organized to maintain morale and efficiency. The main point of 5S is simply putting everything in its proper storage place lessening the time used in looking for things needed, improving the work flow process instilling ownership amongst employees. (5S: Japanese concept of workplace improvement 2010) The 5S are: Seiri (Separating): This is sorting only the needed materials in the workplace and storing or discarding those that are not important. Seiton (Sorting): This catalogues tools and materials in the workplace, keeping them close to the work station they are needed in, stored in a fashion that removes extra motion. Seiso (Shine): This simply indicates that the workstation and work area should be maintained clean after every job. Seiketsu (Standardizing): This means a consistent, standardized work practice. Each employee knows exa ctly what his tasks or responsibilities are. Shitsuke (Sustaining): Meaning maintaining the optimized standards, and not returning back to the old ways of operating. Six Sigma Six sigma is a statistical problem solving methodology that helps enhance organizational operations. It ensures a quality level of 3.4 defects per million opportunities (DPMO), with a rate of improvement of 70 percent or more. It is data-driven based on the Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control method undertaken to create bottom-line breakthrough change.(Statistical Six Sigma Definition 2010). The DMAIC method of six sigma is a formalized problem solving method used to improve effectiveness of the production processes. The six key principles of six sigma involve: (1) Focus on the customer (2) Identify and understand the value stream process (3) Manage, improve and smoothen the process flow (4) Remove non value-added steps and waste (5) Manage by fact and reduce variation (6) Involve and equip the people involved in the process (7) Undertake improvement activities in a systematic way. The success of Moog’s status as a world-class manufacturer and innovator rests largely on its human resources and the programs included in HR development. As seen on Moog’s website, there are testimonies from individuals posted that emulate Moog’s performance management processes (Our People: Asia Pacific 2010), especially the benefits that they have been recipients of. What is encouraging in this scenario is that Moog as organization also benefits from the skills, knowledge and talents gained by the individual. Processes, innovation and technological advancements have more often than not originated within the organization itself – a result of trusting its employees to â€Å"run† the company as innovation and process improvements have always been within arm’s length. The effect of caring and uplifting employee morale is not only experienced by Moog, but also by other successful companies, such as The Tata Group of India, Allen and Co, GE, and Toyota. The flattened organizational structure that promotes democracy, easy communication and the sharing of knowledge through social networks currently presents a better means of raising accountability in employees, and also finding and solving operational barriers that can lead to optimization of work. (Maqsood Walker 2007) Just like in any organization, any undertaking’s results can be seen through profit. Moog’s overall annual diluted earnings per share has reached an all-time high in 2009 at $2.75 – more than double its amount ten years before at $0.80, under a ten year compound growth rate of 9%. (Moog Annual Report 2009) Although the organization has been affected by the economic crisis, it still brags of $1,849M net sales and $85.1M net earnings. These figures would not have been met if there was a weak support on the HR level, allowing uncontrollable attrition and retrenchments during the financial crisis of 2007 to 2010. The investments the organization has done in developing their manpower and knowledge base has made them resilient in such cases, being affected but not overly alarmed by such crises. The shift in the role of human resource management, from being just administrative business solutions to strategic partners in planning, has been the root of most of Moog’s accomplishments. Strategic decisions, therefore, must take into consideration the welfare of the human resources involved. The shift to honing knowledge workers would create innovations in processes, methods and other operational procedures, enhancing not only that employee’s team performance but also the performance of the organization as a whole. Continuous improvements under the JIT, six sigma and kaizen methods of operations will take place constantly, causing technological advancements, product advancements and process improvements and cost effectiveness that can benefit the organization itself. Process improvements and innovation is not an instant fix to any operational activity; therefore, time, technology, money and skill are required to carry these through. Skill is the most important ingredient in innovation, and skills can only be taken from the human aspect of any industry; thus the accomplishment of any strategic operations management plan or for any quality method would only be realized through human resources. Research Papers on Strategic Organizational Management in Moog Controls, PhilippinesThe Project Managment Office SystemAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfPETSTEL analysis of IndiaDefinition of Export QuotasIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalOpen Architechture a white paperInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesResearch Process Part One

Analyse and explain different types of equality by referring to the Essay

Analyse and explain different types of equality by referring to the debates on them - Essay Example In connection to the above, it is critical to understand that the issue of absolute equality cannot always be realized in its absolute totality. This follows the differences that are always inherent in the human beings. For instance, the capabilities of individuals are not commensurate. This means that some individuals may be capable of other things whereas their fellow counterparts may not be capable of the same things the others can do. In this respect, the issue of absolute equality can be considerably compromised (Hollander, 2014). In relation to the above, it is of critical significance to acknowledge the fact that when it comes to rewards, the people who may have succeeded in performing certain tasks may get rewarded in proportions that outdo those of the other fellows who may have also vested their efforts in doing the same thing, but have failed to succeed. In this manner, the notion that all of them are rewarded for their vested efforts is a clear representation of practice of equality (Hollander, 2011). This is evident concerning the fact that those who partook the task have all been rewarded. However, the issue of absolute equality may not apply in such a situation. This follows that those who may have succeeded in performing the tasks assigned may get more rewards as compared to the ones who may have failed to execute their best in the same tasks. As such, it is important to note that the latter proves th at equality does not necessarily refer to total or absolute equality. In this respect, it is of crucial significance to understand the real meaning of the term equality. Relevant to the above, it is of critical significance to note that equality may mean the absence of all unnatural, as well as, unjust inequalities (Hands, 2015). Unjust inequalities may always take two different forms. Some of the forms of unjust inequalities may comprise of

A Report to Malaysia Exchange Controls during the Asian Crisis Essay

A Report to Malaysia Exchange Controls during the Asian Crisis - Essay Example Hence it should learn lessons form this experience which would be used in formulation of future financial strategies. The present report discusses all these aspects in detail. In 1997-98 there was a severe financial crisis experienced by the countries of South East Asia famously known as tiger economies (Stephen Haggard, 2000). Malaysia also faced this crisis severely. The reasons for this crisis were many as felt by the researchers (Wing Thye Woo, 2000). The main causes are uncontrolled foreign investment in the country, allowing capital fight from Malaysia to other countries, magnifying the currency situation in international level and inefficient monitory policy. Reacting to the crisis in the initial weeks the Malaysian government has taken initiatives to regulate foreign exchange as the devaluation of Ringgit has been very fast. However its measures could not bring much equilibrium to the financial condition of Malaysia and hence it needs to be analyzed so that the loop holes can be identified and one can be accurate in formulating any exchange control measures in future. Keeping this in view the present report has been prepared with the objectives of finding out the reasons for the financial crisis, what happened and what was the extent of damage, measures to control the crisis, short comings and future strategies which are described as follows. In early 1997, the Malaysian stock market index began a downward spiral together with stock markets of several ASEAN countries like Thailand and Indonesia. On 14 July 1997, Bank Negara of Malaysia gave up the defence of the Malaysian ringgit after jacking up the short rate to 50% and spending US$10 billions on unsuccessful monetary operations. There were huge amounts of foreign capital has entered Malaysia in previous years (prior to 1997-98) which was uncontrolled in nature by the Malaysian government. This capital was mainly of short term in nature and was also highly conditional. The

Movie Critique on Gothika Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Critique on Gothika - Movie Review Example Movie Critique on Gothika She is paid a lot of money and to her, the patients are just crazy. She is doing her usually routine of a morning swim and working her normal case load but one day she travels down the highway and meets a woman in flames. She almost runs over this woman but has stopped the car to see what happened to her. The woman in flames is in turmoil. The next thing that the psychiatrist knew is that she is in a psych ward prison cell for the murder of her husband. The story revolves around trying to discover who murders this girl on the road and clearing her name. She is in a frantic battle with the psychiatric prison facility staff to clear her name. The psychiatrist clears both her and one of her main patients when she discovers that the patient was actually raped by one of the guards who is responsible in murdering the girl in flames and the many other girls at the ward. The guard and the psychiatrist's husband had been raping women for a long time in the facility. The story presented in thi s movie had so many twists and turns and interwoven pieces that it made for a great story while being a horror film. The characters in the story were portrayed wisely delivering an outstanding performance. Halle Berry is a remarkable actress in most movies she is in and she won an oscar in some of her film Monster's Ball so it is no surprise that she is capable of a brilliant performance. Halle Berry played the psychiatrist and she is incredibly rich and famous. It is important to recognize that if she was not famous, she would have still delivered a great performance because we see the flawless acting with an elegant flow. She is unlike any other actress because she draws her audience in effortlessly. She is incredibly beautiful but somehow conveys such an ordinary character position. Robert Downey Jr is also in the film and his role is more subdued but it still delivers quite an impact because it is Robert Downey Jr. When he is forced to go against Halle, we see a performance that is quite honest and genuine in its delivery. The prison guard has a poor performance only in the reason that I found he had an annoying persona and did not play evil enough like other people play evil. He is far from being an Anthony Hopkins type character from The Silence of the Lambs. Penelope Cruz plays crazy and beautiful extremely well and holds her own and goes beyond that in this film. Her acting ability is outstanding and her delivery of portraying most characters is quite powerful. The cinematography has quite an impact because the woman in flames is so tortured and is also quite good at acting. The flames and the blood scenes are quite remarkable in terms of how esthetically pleasing and horryifying they are all at the same time. The thunder storm on Halle's way home and the swim scene is incredible as well because we all like a good thunderstorm in a movie. The editing had quite an impact and I felt that the scenes that were in the movie delivered such an awesome film an d nothing was left out. We see the many great qualities in this film with the editing job because there was nothing in it that needed to be added or left out. All the scenes belonged and brought the film to a position of greatness that we have to pay tribute to the editor for doing such a good job. The sound was good but not much more impressive as compared to any other film. We see the woman in flames screaming and the scenes where Halle has fits and outbursts in her reflection of memories

Drug safety assessment

Drug safety assessment INTRODUCTION Pre-clinical studies or pre-clinical trials are very important stage of research in drug development process. Pre-clinical trials are also known as non-clinical safety assessment. The main purpose of carrying out these studies is to ensure that the test compound is safe before testing in humans (clinical trials), characterise toxicity and target organs, to fulfil regulatory requirements and to protect employees in manufacturing. In other words, quality, safety and efficacy of a test compound are determined during pre-clinical studies. Animals such as rodents (mice, rat) and non-rodent (monkey, dog) are used in pre-clinical trials before administration to humans (clinical trial phase) so as to separate efficacy from toxicity in human volunteers. The international conferences on harmonisation (ICH) for drug development are regulatory authorities which provide instructions for development and registration of new chemical entities (NCE) likewise instructions for carrying out assessment i n animals. The concept of the 3Rs (Reduction, Refinement and Replacement) is widely employed by ICH for pharmaceutical industries to comply. This concept is employed so as to reduce the numbers of animals and also to avoid prolonged testing period. Anti-arthritis drug are used to treat arthritis (inflammation of joints). Important pre-clinical tests required include general toxicology, safety pharmacology, reproductive toxicology, carcinogenicity studies and genetic toxicology . PRE-CLINICAL TESTS Test for Carcinogenicity Carcinogenicity The carcinogenicity study evaluates the carcinogenic potential of the compound. During pre-clinical studies, animals are used firstly so as to determine the potential risk of the anti-arthritis drug in humans. In order to evaluate carcinogenicity, two types of studies are conducted which are the short-term study and the long-term study. The short-term study involves using the four transgenic models. The four transgenic models used are inactivated tumour suppressor gene (p53+/- model), activated oncogene (Tg.Ac model and rasH2) and inactivated DNA repair gene (XPA-1-model). The genetic alterations of the four transgenic models are made in relation to carcinogenesis processes. The long-term study involves the use of mice or rats of both sexes and is usually a two years study. The correlation between rats to humans is about 70% and is more sensitive making them the major specie of animal used for the long-term carcinogenicity studies. Spragne-daweley has high chances of survival and as a result, these strains of rats are required for the 2years bioassay. Treated animals are divided into three groups each containing about 50-100 animals per sex. In rats, the treated groups are observed for 24months while 18months in mice. Large numbers of animal are used for this study because continuous dosing of the drug could induce tumour and also to achieve a strong statistical result. Furthermore, non-genotoxic carcinogens can cause some rodent strains to be susceptible to tumour induction and in order to distinguish rodent specific processes related to human, understanding carcinogenesis mechanisms based on the specificity of tissues is very vital. Genotoxicity Test Genotoxicity test is carried out so as to determine whether the anti-arthritis drug can cause genetic damage. The genotoxicity test required include; mouse lymphoma assay (MLA) otherwise known as in vitro mammalian cell clastogenecity, the Bruce Ames test (Ames test) and mouse micronuclei assay. These tests detects whether the anti-arthritis can cause alterations in chromosome and damage to DNA leading to genetic mutation and ultimately results in malignant tumour (cancerous cell).The Ames test is commonly used for the genotoxicity test and it detects whether the drug is genotoxic. This occurs by causing back mutation in bacteria colonies and it takes up to about 48hours . Gene mutation, clastogenecity of a genotoxic compound and chromosomal aberrations are determined via the mouse lymphoma assay (MLA) or in vitro mammalian cell clastogenecity. The MLA requires between 2-3weeks and can either give a negative result to the Ames test or not detected at all. An additional test used in g enotoxicity testing is the mouse micronuclei assay which is an in vivo study. This is required because regulatory authorities (ICH) requires both in vitro and in vivo test. The process of ADME of the anti-arthritis drug is used to detect genotoxicity via the mouse micronuclei assay. After performing all the three tests discussed and the anti-arthritis drug remains positive to all, then the drug is probably carcinogenic to humans. Test for Organ Toxicity and Biochemical Dysregulation Safety Pharmacology Safety pharmacology of the anti-arthritis drug is required to detect target organ toxicity such as cardiovascular, central nervous, respiratory, renal and gastrointestinal system. Rodents (such as mice and rats) and non-rodents (such as guinea pigs and dogs) are required or used for safety pharmacology test. Rats or mice are required for CNS and respiratory studies while dog is required for cardiovascular studies. The pharmacological activity of the anti-arthritis drug is determined by carrying out the ligand binding assay which makes in vitro studies preferable to in vivo studies. In safety pharmacology studies, the animals are divided into four groups, three treated group and one control group. The maximum number of rats required per group is fifteen and four dogs group. The duration of dosage in safety pharmacology studies is usually one month . The ICH (S7A) perspective on cardiovascular safety pharmacology required core battery studies and follow up studies. Some of the core bat tery studies include heart rate, electrocardiogram and blood pressure must be evaluated. In vitro and in vivo evaluations, conductance abnormalities including methods for assessing repolarisation must be put into consideration . Some of the follow up studies include vascular resistance, cardiac output, the effects of exogenous and/or endogenous compound on the cardiovascular responses and so on . General Toxicity studies General toxicology test is required for dose determination for No observed effect level (NOEL). The acute toxicity test is also known single dose toxicity and is required to assess biochemical dysregulation and also to determine the levels at which the anti-arthritis drug could cause an adverse reaction. The animals used for general toxicity test are rats and dogs and are usually dosed between 14-28days. Change in organ weight, histopathology, mortality rate, clinical pathology and necropsy are the parameters required to assess toxicity.General toxicology must be done before one month of reproductive studies. Reproductive Toxicity Studies The aim of reproductive toxicity studies is to reveal any effect of the anti-arthritis drug on mammalian reproduction. Rats and rabbits are the most commonly used and widely accepted animal. Rabbits are used because semen is easily collected. The ICH study design for reproductive toxicity studies include fertility and early embryonic development to implantation (rabbits dosed from day 6-18, rats dosed from day 6-15), organogenesis otherwise known as embryo-foetal development and pre and post-natal development (treatment last for 15gestation days and 21lactation days).The study design for fertility and early embryonic development studies requires four groups of 20males and 20females animal. Also, the study design for embryo-foetal development generally have four groups of 20rats or 20rabbits and ICH require evaluation of 16 to 20litters to provide a degree of consistency between studies [8; 9; 12; 13; 14]. Information derived from acute and repeated dose toxicity studies of at least o ne month are required before reproductive toxicology. Conclusion Pre-clinical studies must be carried out before clinical trials so as to protect human volunteers. All the studies described above determine how competent the anti-arthritis drug is before proceeding to clinical trials. All the regulations provided by ICH are widely used most especially the concept of 3Rs. Safety, quality and efficacy are the main objectives for carrying out preclinical studies. Some of the test required during preclinical studies includes carcinogenicity test which involves the short term and long term studies, genotoxicity test, reproductive test, safety pharmacology, renal toxicity test, cardiovascular toxicity test, general toxicity test and neurotoxicity test (functional observation battery test). REFERENCES ICH harmonised tripartite guideline, Dose selection for carcinogenicity studies of pharmaceuticals S1C(R2). Available at: http://www.ema.europa.eu/pdfs/human/ich/038395en.pdf ICH harmonised tripartite guideline, Guidance on specific aspects of regulatory genotoxicity tests for pharmaceuticals S2A Available at: http://www.bcg-usa.com/regulatory/docs/ich/ICHS2A.pdf ICH harmonised tripartite guideline, Safety pharmacology studies for human pharmaceuticals S7A. Available at: http://www.tga.gov.au/docs/pdf/euguide/ich/053900en.pdf G.B. Jena et al., 2001, Genotoxicity testing, a regulatory requirement for drug discovery and development: impact of ICH guidelines, Indian Journal of Pharmacology. David J. Tweats 1998, Impact of ICH guidelines on genotoxicity testing, PSTT Vol 1, No. 5. ICH harmonised tripartite guideline, Guideline on the need for carcinogenicity studies of pharmaceuticals S1A. Available at: http://www.bcg-usa.com/regulatory/docs/ich/ICHS1A.pdf Guideline for industry, The need for long-term rodent carcinogenicity studies of pharmaceuticals. Availableat: http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/Guidances/ucm074911.pdf ICH M3; Timing of pre-clinical studies in relation to clinical trials (see safety topics). Available at: http://www.ich.org/cache/compo/276-254-1.html Preclinical toxicology: Points to consider in programme design. Available at: http://www.pacificbiolabs.com/preclinical James L. Stevens, (2006). Future of toxicology mechanisms of toxicity and drug safety: where do we go from here? Chem. Res. Toxicol., 19, 1393-1401. Yasuo Ohno, (2002). ICH Guidelines-Implementation of the 3Rs: Incorporating Best Scientific Practices into the regulatory Process. Regulatory Testing and Animal Welfare. ILAR Journal V43 Supplement 2002. Lecture notes by Dr Jean-Pierre Valentin, Director Safety Pharmacology, Safety Assessment UK, AstraZeneca. Lecture notes by Dr Lorna M. Burns, Sequani limited, Ledbury, Herefordshire Lecture notes by Dr M. Kelly.

The Glass Ceiling - Does It Still Exist? Essay -- Equality Work Minori

The Glass Ceiling - Does It Still Exist? There are many questions that come to mind when looking at the structure of any organizations. Within the social organization, employees face many challenges such as sexual harassment, violence, rape, depression, and discrimination. These issues in their respective organizations are a hindrance to their success and can cause their personal and career development to suffer. But the key factor that will be focused regarding discrimination is women's struggles advancing in their careers often called the glass ceiling effect. In this research, the term "glass ceiling " will be defined, answer the question "Who is affected by such barrier and why", what acts helped pave the way, and determine any recommendations to solve the problem. Glass ceiling is defined as the invisible barrier that keeps women from advancing to high level positions. In the Microsoft Encarta World Encyclopedia, the term glass ceiling is a "barrier to career advancement: an unofficial but real impediment to somebody's advancement into upper-level management positions because of dissemination based on the person's gender, age, race, ethnicity, or sexual preference." In other words, "Glass ceiling" is a negative barrier of attitudes and prejudices preventing women and minorities to move up in their corporate ladder. It holds many to stay at their lower level positions and not given a chance to show their abilities and improve themselves. Another definition given to this invisible barrier is it "describes cases in which women begin their careers on an equal footing with men, and either lose ground gradually over time, or continue to progress on par with their male counterpart until, at some point, their progress is bloc... ...uarterly. Vol. 46 (December 1997): 148-154 Gerber, Robin D. " Tech Rage Pierces the Glass Ceiling". Online Available: http://www.academy.umd.edu/AboutUs/news/articles/4-24-00.htm Hardy, Lawrence. "Why Teachers Leave." The American School Board Journal. Vol. 186 (June 1999): 12-17 Hernandez, Thomas J. and Morales, Nestor E. "Career, Culture, and Compromise: Career Development Experiences of Latinas Working in Higher Education." The Career Development Quarterly. Vol. 48 (September 1999): 45-58 Morgan, Laurie A. "Glass Ceiling Effect or Cohort Effect? A longitudinal Study of the Gender Earnings Gap for Engineers, 1982 to 1989." American Sociological Review. Vol 63 (August 1998): 479-493 Nelson, Anne V. " It's Lonely at the Top". Women.com Buzz: Equal Pay in the Fortune 500? Not yet. Online. Available. http://www.women.com/news/buzz/d1112wagegap.html