Monday, September 30, 2019

A Surrogate Motherhood, Pros and Cons

A Surrogate Motherhood, Pros and Cons A surrogate mother means a woman who agrees to have a child for a couple who are childless because of infertility or not able of having a child due to a number of physical dilemmas. The procedure engages artificial insemination method, whereby the husband’s sperm is transferred and the surrogate mother accepts it. That is why the surrogate mother is still considered as the real mother of the child. However, in case of gestational surrogacy, the wife is fertile but not competent of giving birth due to some medical problems, it is called in-vitro fertilization technology.The wife’s eggs and her husband’s sperm are used and the resulting embryo is transferred into the uterus of the surrogate mother. The concept of surrogate motherhood is becoming very accepted way of infertile couples to have a child of their own. Although it is an act of love, it also involves financial aid. Surrogate mothers are obviously paid for bearing a ch ild inside their wombs. A couple who wants to hire a service of a surrogate mother must also consider the kind of personality of the surrogate mother. We all know that the genes have larger effect on the baby’s personality someday.Another very important ground for the rise in surrogacy is the progression in medical technology. It is more secure and successful unlike other medical technologies available. However there are some authorized and moral issues concerned with surrogacy that needs to be discussed. Legal procedure: The process for becoming a surrogate mother is not easy. There have to be convinced medical tests such as Hysteroscopy, this kind of test is done to make sure if fallopian tubes are clear or not, and physical conditions of the uterus is also take in consideration.Before the fertilization process, the surrogate mother should know her legal rights and before signing a contract, a service and a legal adviser or lawyer is necessary to make sure that the right of the surrogate mother will not be neglected by the couple involved. Ethical issues: Surrogacy perception brings quite a lot of controversies, although things are changing with time. Some of them are: the surrogate mother may decide to take the baby without the concern of the couple involve. Surrogacy could be considered as human trafficking. Percentage of the society that accepts the concept of surrogacy.Sometimes, guilt arise to the surrogate mother and the emotion enclosed in it arise when you least expect it. Especially, if there are papers and money issue involves in the process of surrogacy. In spite of the authorized and moral issues concerning surrogacy, still it is a new hope for childless women and family around the world which they can have through surrogate mothers. Deciding on Surrogacy Surrogacy makes it possible for childless couples to have a child with genes from either one or both of them. This is why couples often choose surrogacy over adoption.Surrogacy is a viabl e option for couples when one is infertile, when the woman may be fertile but unhealthy to bear a child, or for gay couples. One of the disadvantages of surrogacy is the potential emotional and psychological roller-coaster rides couples go through. Furthermore, they also have to deal with trying to convince family members and close friends that this is the right thing to do. The couples may take a while to assess their situation and consider all the factors before they can make their final decision, which can take a toll on their daily lives.Surrogacy is a very controversial subject. Some religious organizations forbid their members from participating in surrogacy, no matter how desperate they are to have a child. Whatever the reason that couples might consider surrogacy, they must carefully weigh the pros and cons before proceeding. There are different factors that people who are considering surrogacy have to go through, from the time to decide whether they would go forward with it , to choosing the surrogate mother, the procedures involved, the fees required and the overall time frame.Each of these factors has its own pros and cons. Why is it that every time someone mentions the topic of surrogacy, giant waves of powerful emotions come washing in from both pro and con surrogacy camps? One of the reasons is that surrogacy is balancing on a very sharp ethical edge when mixing the perceived sacred process of reproduction and having children with work and money. Many people believe that these two domains should not mix. I'm neither pro nor con surrogacy. I'm just interested in exploring the philosophical and emotional dimensions of the ethics of surrogacy.I will now present the pros and cons of surrogacy. I will not comment on them or judge them; I will just list them and then leave the opinion making of the ethics of surrogacy open. Pros Surrogacy allows a woman to give the gift of parenthood to a couple who would otherwise not have been able to experience it, e ither due to infertility or inability to adopt a child. In some cases, the surrogate can also obtain monetary compensation for her services. Cons Surrogacy involves a lengthy and medically invasive process for the surrogate mother.It can also involve guilt on the part of the surrogate mother for giving up her baby; in some cases, this guilt leads to the surrogate changing her mind. Additionally, there are a myriad of legalities involved. Having a surrogate mother Pros †¢No physical pain of child birth. †¢No pregnant belly being in your way all the time. †¢ Still be able to work. Cons †¢No experience of the full pregnancy first hand †¢Constant worry about what the surrogate is doing. As a conclusion I want to give my opinion, surrogacy is a good way for some women to help others that can not have a baby.Before deciding to pursue surrogacy as an option for having a child, it’s wise for couples to spend some time considering both the pros and cons of the issue. Surrogate motherhood enables infertile couples to have children and fulfill their parenthood dream. Many infertile couples turn to surrogate mother rather than to adoption. The reason is because surrogate motherhood is a better form of alternative than adoption, as surrogate motherhood ensures the child is biologically related to the commissioning parents.References The ethics of surrogacy: women's reproductive labor. Journal of medical ethics, 1995; 21: 345-349 http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pmc/articles/PMC1376831/pdf/jmedeth00299-0027. pdf Ethical Problems Surrounding Surrogate Motherhood: http://www. yale. edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2000/7/00. 07. 05. x. html Wisegeek. com: http://www. wisegeekhealth. com/what-are-the-pros-and-cons-of-surrogacy. htm

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Post-16 option Essay

POST 16 – OPTIONS Post 16 options are given to young people and adults after they finish year 11 from school. Each post-16 option offers you different qualification opportunities and a different mix of teaching methods and assessment. Post 16 options comprises on: STUDY FULLL TIME 6th form or college Take up an Apprenticeship, Traineeship or Supported internship Take a part-time education or training course if you are employed or volunteer for more than 20 hours per week STUDY FULL TIME Schools, colleges and training providers offer a range of subjects and courses in which a student can study full-time. It normally requires to have at least five GCSEs at grades A* to C and at least grade B in any specific subjects one chooses. 6TH FORM COLLEGES A sixth form college is an educational institution in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, where students aged 16 to 19 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A-levels, BTEC and the International Baccalaureate Diploma, or school-level qualifications such as GCSEs. In England and Wales, education is only compulsory until the end of year 11, the school year in which the pupil turns 16 (although this is changing in August 2013 to compulsory education until year 12 and by 2015, education will be compulsory until year 13) In the English and Welsh state educational systems, those wishing to continue may either stay on at a secondary school with an attached sixth form, transfer to a local sixth form college, or go to a more vocational further education college, although, depending on geographical location, there may be little choice as to which of these options can be taken. In the independent sector, sixth forms are an integral part of secondary schools (public s chools), and there is also a number of smaller-scale independent sixth form colleges. Students at Sixth Form College typically study for two years. Some students sit AS examinations at the end of the first year, and A-level examinations at the end of the  second. In addition, in recent years a variety of vocational courses have been added to the curriculum. There are currently over 90 sixth form colleges in operation in England and Wales. Most perform extremely well in national examination league tables. In addition, they offer a broader range of courses at a lower cost per student than most school sixth forms. In a few areas, authorities run sixth form schools which function like sixth form colleges but are completely under the control of the local education authorities. Unlike further education colleges, sixth form colleges rarely accept part-time students or run evening classes[citation needed], although one boarding sixth form college exists. Take up an Traineeship, Apprenticeship or Supported internship Traineeship It makes one get ready for work or for doing an Apprenticeship. They last from six weeks to six months and provide essential work preparation training, literacy and numeracy skills and work experience to get an Apprenticeship or other job. Apprenticeship In an apprentice ship one has to work for an employer and train to do a specific job at the s Apprenticeships at three levels: a, Apprenticeship b, Advanced Apprenticeship c, Higher Apprenticeships Entry requirements for these apprenticeships is one must be 16 or over, living in England and not in full-time education. There are now nearly 200 types of Apprenticeship from engineering to boat building, veterinary nursing to accountancy. Options depend on experience and what is available locally. There is no set time for completing an apprenticeship. Most take between one and four years, depending on the level of learning capabilities. As well as working alongside and learning from experienced staff, there will be off-the-job training, usually on a day-release basis at a local college or specialist training facility. The qualifications will be a study for a work-based qualification at level 2, 3 or 4, a technical certificate relevant to to the subject chosen occupation, such as BTEC or City & Guilds award and Functional Skills qualifications. More studies included for certificates or other qualifications that are required in chosen occupation. Assessment includes a mix of observation by an assessor, the assessment of a  portfolio of evidence and examinations. Supported internship Just for students with learning difficulties or learning disabilities who want to get a job and need extra support to do this. They last for at least six months and are unpaid. Work experience and an employer trains students to do a job role. Students also get to study for qualifications or other courses to get ready to take up a job. Work or volunteer while studying or training part-time It is a combined training or studying for a qualification and work at the same time. It doesn’t have to be a paid job, student can volunteer on a project or with a charity, or get a work-experience placement in a career or job area that interests them. Colleges and training providers offer a wide range of training courses which are part-time including A levels and work-related qualifications like BTECs or NVQs. BTEC’s- are usually studied at school or college they are work based qualifications that are a mix between practical and theory and some work experience. NVQ’s- these can be taken either at school/college, through a placement or in the work place.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

The love song of J. Alfred Prufrock.(T.S.Eliot) Essay

The love song of J. Alfred Prufrock.(T.S.Eliot) - Essay Example Through an irregular rhyme scheme, Eliot presents emotional focus and certain sets of descriptions. â€Å"Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains, Let fall upon its back the soot that falls from chimneys, Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap†. Eliot tells the troubles of Alfred Prufrock through the city life to the ocean images that represent the way he moves from a normal life surrounded by people, to distance himself from humanity. Alfred sees himself as a second-rate individual after emotionally distancing himself from life and other human beings. He is absorbed in an inferiority complex and isolates himself from life. In addition, he is concerned with ageing in Eliot’s assertion, â€Å"With a bald spot in the middle of my hair — (They will say: â€Å"How his hair is growing thin!†)†. The transitions in the poem are mostly emotional rather than reasonable, as evidenced by the irregular reflections of the narrator. Even so, his enable Eliot to present the frustrations of a middle-aged man who cannot voice opinions, and eventually does not say anything. At times, it is hard to determine whether Prufrock is on his way to act, or whether it is visions running through his mind. This is evident in the line, â€Å"pair of ragged claws / Scuttling across the floors of silent seas†; the yellow fog that â€Å"rubs its back upon the window panes†; the evening â€Å"spread out against the sky / Like a patient etherized upon a table.† The stylistic devices and symbolism does not help much in his quest to express himself. His environment does not look friendly at all. Eliot tries to say that there cannot be a meaningful existence in the modern world full of characters who are careless about their surroundings or are too afraid to raise their opinions on matters that affect the society. The poem represents the disappointment and disheartened desires

Friday, September 27, 2019

The various aspects of the functions of management which are Research Paper

The various aspects of the functions of management which are beneficial for managerial decision making - Research Paper Example The researcher states that management is regarded as a social process involving responsibility for effective and economic planning and regulation of operation of an organization in the fulfillment of the tasks and objectives. The functions of management would include allocation of resources, job design and enhancement of product development. It also enables monitoring which is an important aspect of control and design of well laid plans, activities. These functions are very important at each and every level or status. According to George &Terry there are usually four fundamental functions of management which includes planning, organizing, actuating and controlling. According to Henry Fayol to manage is to forecast, plan, organize, command and control. These four functions of function play pivotal role in determining the strategic process and completion of goals and objectives. These functions help in determining and setting goals and objectives and also developing accurate budgeting procedure. In theory the functions of management would be convenient and would not be separable from each other. The various functions of management would be inseparable from each other and affect the performance of each other. Management functions exist for a particular purpose and that includes manufacturing a product or service, responsibility for a mission accomplishment requires central figure and also to coordinate the primary activities. (Chruden & Sherman, 1980). The main objective of the functions of management would be as follows: Strategic High conceptual and low technical High human relations Tactical Moderately conceptual and technical High human relations Operational Low conceptual and high technical High human relations Planning: It is a systematic process in which the management makes managerial decisions about the future activities and the key goals that would be easily pursuable. It deals with designing of future course of action for the accomplishment of predeterm ined tasks. This deals with the understanding of the manager and contexts in which they operate and this activity starts with the commencement of planning process by examining the company’s operation (Drucker, 1972). Organizing: It shares with similar bonds and other management functions. Organizing helps in perfect job design and outlining the job description activities (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin & Cardy, 2005).Organizing is a process of bringing together resources and people to create products and services. Staffing: This function would enable modifications as new management functions necessitate and evolve. The achievement of the organizational goals through effective and efficient deployment of people is regarded as staffing. This includes filling of several organizational posts by hiring the required and qualified personnel. Controlling: It is regarded as the process of evaluation of the performance of the employees against the established goals. It is also regarded as a creat ion of methods appropriate to take corrective actions for the improvement in the overall performance of the organization. Effective control system are applied and implemented at every departments, functional area and individual levels. This helps in

Thursday, September 26, 2019

The benefits and effects of steroids for asthma pateints Assignment

The benefits and effects of steroids for asthma pateints - Assignment Example Low dose of corticosteroids can prevent occurrence of any risks and help to receive more benefits from this treatment. However, this positive effect of inhaled corticosteroids observed in combination with low doses of bronchodilators. Asthma is a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Asthma is one of the pathological diseases that related to changing in the airway resistance. High number of people affected with asthma all over the world and this amount keep growing. Asthma appeared in western countries as a serious public health problem over the last 20 years. Asthma symptoms are different from one person to another and most common on early morning and at night. They emerged as cough, wheezing, breathing difficulties and chest tightness.asthma.There are several risk factors for asthma. There are predisposing, contributory, causal and aggravating factors. Gender and atopy are associated with predisposing factors. House dust, insects, pets and fungus and some occupational factors can induce asthma symptoms. Medicines, food additives and birthing cold air can trigger to asthma disease. These factors related to the aggravating risk factors. There are 5 genes in the human genome linked with asthma phenotypes,s o asthma is a genetic disorder. Further investigations in genetic predisposition can help to find new effective treatment. ( H. Los, 1999). Asthma is widespread all over the world. In low and high developed countries. The most important role in asthma appearance is air pollution. Asthma cases are increasing worldwide, especially in the UK and The USA. According to World Health Organization statistic 235 million people live with asthma all over the world. The figure 1 below show the prevalence of asthma in different countries (Masoli, M, 2004). Nocturnal asthma: Forced vital capacity, volume of air that person can forcefully exhale at 1 second (FEV1) at night is decreased. Among 75% of asthmatics usually has

Article critics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Article critics - Essay Example mization to receive 40 infusion of 500ml chelation solution or a placebo 40 infusion to an oral vitamin and chelation solution or oral placebo (Research Grant, 2012). Researchers found that patients receiving the chelation solution had fewer serious cardiovascular events than the control group 26% vs. 30%, and the trail was conducted in 134 sites in the United States and Canada from 2002-2012. However the article fails to report that there was high drop out in the placebo group than in the chelation. They were getting a placebo and the side effects of it. The Chelation group was significantly different in life outcomes measured with the assessment, as opposed to the Placebo group. According to the cnn analysis, the four percentage point difference between was â€Å"barley statistically significant†. The difference may have been by chance not because chelation actually works or they necessarily have bad side effects. The high dropout contributed to less accuracy in the study. It is less

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Business ethics issues in WorldCom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Business ethics issues in WorldCom - Essay Example It is believed that these unethical issues were primarily not checked upon by anyone because the CEO of the company himself was involved in the fraudulent activities. These unethical issues and different management techniques recommended to improve the corporate governance of WorldCom would be outlined in this essay (Backover 2002; Crawford 2005). There were three major problems with the corporate culture and their style of working. The first one was the way they grew through aggressive acquisition of companies, second was the strategy of senior executive loans and the third and foremost was the way in which they did business which was against the code of corporate governance and had exposed them to threats related to fair and arm’s lengths transactions (Kiron et al 2004; Securities and Exchange Commission 2003) Business Ethics form an important part of the culture of the businesses. They are very important when it comes to the normal functioning of businesses in this world. The company had made almost 65 acquisitions or mergers in only 6 years. Integrating is a lengthy process, time consuming and a very challenging exercise as there may be people who may resist these changes and create problems. The second aspect is to integrate financially by the use of the generally accepted accounting principles. It is believed generally that because of these practices of integration WorldCom was successfully able to hide its practices. The unethical issues in the company arose when the company started to face problems from the decreasing demand of telecommunications. It is then believed that the senior executives of the company were involved in fraudulent activities. (Kiron et al 2004; Worldcom Website 2010; Securities and Exchange Commission 2003) The unethical activities at WorldCom were such that the difference between moral good and bad was forgotten. Leaders are important when it comes to the ethics of a company (Mendonca 2001). But here at WorldCom

Monday, September 23, 2019

Land Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Land Law - Essay Example This essay represents a study of the key elements of the English Land Law. It states that, although in the UK, in theory, the right of ownership is not absolute, in practice the owner of the fee simple is the owner of the land; s/he also has the right to sell the property on or to improve it and has the right to enjoy the land for ever. It may therefore be noted that in terms of elements such as the right to keep other people out, the right to grow mushrooms in the cellar, sing bawdy songs in the bath, paint the front door luminous green or sunbathe in the nude, the owner would not be restricted in any way. While it is possible that the owner may not be able to carry out all of these wishes out of a consideration for neighbors or for reasons of social propriety, from a legal perspective, there is no restriction placed on the owner to refrain from such acts. In the case of tenancies, the property owner is considered to have absolute rights and is free to lease out the property on the basis of terms that are agreed upon between the owner and the lessee. Thus, when the fee simple absolute right is vested upon an owner of a piece of land, the owner practically has the right to do anything with his or her land, subject to the normal restrictions of propriety and consideration for others. It is stated that the only time when the ownership of the crown is exercised is when a person dies. Should the deceased have no one who can inherit his or her assets, then the estate is disposed of according to the laws of intestacy. Over time, the interests of the crown, although existent, have become increasingly ignored from a practical point of view; it is only in theory that the ownership of the crown rests. But upon death and in the absence of a lawful heir, the laws of intestacy operate to restore the ownership of the estate into the hands of the crown. On this basis, it may thus be noted that to have freehold tenure effectively means the right to occupy and use the property as if it is one’s own and the owner is conferred the fee simple estate, which places no restrictions upon the owner at all, other than those required to conform to the rules of propriety, social and legal restrictions exercised in the interest of protecting the rights of all people. 2. There are thr ee items which are under dispute in the sale of the property located at 19, Ham Road. The first is the playhouse at the bottom of the garden which Carolyn is refusing to remove. The other two are items that Carolyn wishes to remove, i.e., a large metal sculpture at the centre of the rookery and a safe bolted into the wall of the garage. In respect to the removal of items from a property, the question of whether or not Carolyn can remove them from the property will depend upon whether they are to be classified as chattels or fixtures because the latter accede to the realty2 and cannot be detached from the property. Chattels on the other hand, do not attach to the property and are not conveyed with the sale. Lord Godard in the case of Billing v Pill3 defined a fixture as â€Å"a house which is built into the land, so that in law it is regarded as part of the land.†4 The purchaser of a freehold property is entitled to all fixtures on the property on the date of exchange of contr acts5, therefore the issue to be determined is whether or not the large metal sculpture and the safe are to be classified as fittings or fixtures. The distinction between fixtures and chattels was laid out in the case of Holland v Hodgson as being primarily dependent upon two factors (a) the degree of annexation of

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Nanotechnology Applications in Medicine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nanotechnology Applications in Medicine - Essay Example Atiyeh states â€Å"silver is a viable treatment option for burns and open wounds† (Atiyeh 139). The technology of nano medicines has blessed the human mankind with some exhilarating aptitudes and possibilities. Nanomedicines have made it possible to transform various techniques that were previously in the stage of imagination and testing to their actual usage in the present era. The technology involving utilization of nanoparticles in medication is at present under augmentation. However, long term prospects of research in this field suggest that the nano-robots can be used to make adjustments at cellular level in the human body. The advantages of nanotechnology in the discipline of medicine could refashion the fate of medicine by apprehending and medicating the human body in any kind of ailments related to various diseases. The bright future of nanotechnology also advocates that those techniques that were imagined a few years before are now making fortunate progress towards r ealism. Application of Nanomedicine in Drug Delivery One remarkable appositeness of nanotechnology in the field of medicine is the employment of nanoparticles to convey medicines, heat, light and various other type of materials to the disease causing cells for example cancer cells. These nanoparticles are manipulated in a way that they are lured towards diseased cells and then directly treat these cells. By this technique injuries to the healthy cells are reduced and disease is encountered much earlier as compared to other techniques. Nanoparticles that are involved in the allocation of chemotherapy drugs to the cancer cells are under the process of advancement. The consummation of Phase 1 Clinical Trial of the directly targeted chemotherapy annihilator drugs are communicated by some organizations like CytImmune and BIND Biosciences (Torchilin, 282). Although the tests are in progress but their approval for the ultimately final administration on cancer sufferers is still imminent. T he utilization of heat along with chemotherapy medicines to the cancerous cell is another alternate form of nanomedicine that is used to treat cancer patients. The remarkable technique involves usage of gold nanorods to which DNA strands are adhered. These DNA fibers serve as platform and grasp collectively together the gold nanorod along with the chemotherapy medicines. When the cancerous cells are irradiated with infrared light, these rods suck up the infrared light and convert it into heat energy. The warm temperature helps to liberate the drug and obliterate the cancer cells. Research is also being executed to develop a nanoparticle that is able to skirmish viruses. The nanoparticle does not itself consist of the ability to devastate viruses but it clement an enzyme that diable the reproductive mechanism of viruses in the patient’s body. Another investigation is being done on nanoparticles that can treat neurological disorders by releasing medicines through the brain barr ier. Increasing immune reactions by combining the vaccine particles to DNA nanoparticles is another practice on which explorations are going on. These special vaccine molecules mark the white blood cells directly and enhance their immune response many folds. Nanomedicine Application in Therapy Techniques The nanoparticles made up of polyethylene glycol-hydrophilic carbon clusters (PEG-HCC) have the ability to absorb free radicals at an elevated speed than the original free radicals

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Monopoly and marginal cost Essay Example for Free

Monopoly and marginal cost Essay Practice Questions and Answers from Lesson III-3: Monopoly Practice Questions and Answers from Lesson III-3: Monopoly The following questions practice these skills: ? Explain the sources of market power. ? Apply the quantity and price affects on revenue of any movement along a demand curve. ? Find the profit maximizing quantity and price of a single-price monopolist. ? Compute deadweight loss from a single-price monopolist. ? Compute marginal revenue. ? Define the efficiency of P = MC. ? Find the profit-maximizing quantity and price of a perfect-price-discriminating monopolist. ? Find the profit-maximizing quantity and price of an imperfect-price-discriminating monopolist. Question: Each of the following firms possesses market power. Explain its source. a. Merck, the producer of the patented cholesterol-lowering drug Zetia b. Chiquita, a supplier of bananas and owner of most banana plantations c. The Walt Disney Company, the creators of Mickey Mouse Answer to Question: a. Merck has a patent for Zetia. This is an example of a government-created barrier to entry, which gives Merck market power. b. Chiquita controls most banana plantations. Control over a scarce resource gives Chiquita market power. c. The Walt Disney Company has the copyright over animations featuring Mickey Mouse. This Is another example of a government-created barrier to entry that gives the Walt Disney Company market power. Question: Skyscraper City has a subway system, for which a one-way fare is $1. 50. There is pressure on the mayor to reduce the fee by one-third, to $1. 00. The mayor is dismayed, thinking that this will mean Skyscraper City is losing one-third of its revenue from sales of subway tickets. The mayor’s economic adviser reminds her that she is focusing only on the price effect and ignoring the quantity effect. Explain why the mayor’s estimate of a one-third loss of revenue is likely to be an overestimate. Illustrate with a diagram. Answer to Question: A reduction in fares from $1. 50 to $1. 00 will reduce the revenue on each ticket that is currently sold by one-third; this Is the price effect. But a reduction in price will lead to more tickets being sold at the lower price of $1. 00, which creates additional revenue; this is the quantity effect. The price effect is the loss of revenue on all the currently sold tickets. The quantity effect is the increase in revenue from increased sales as a result of the lower price. Question: Consider an industry with the demand curve (D) and marginal cost curve (MC) shown in the accompanying diagram. There is no fixed cost. If the industry is a single-price monopoly, the monopolist’s marginal revenue curve would be MR. Answer the following questions by naming the appropriate points or areas. Practice Questions and Answers from Lesson III-3: Monopoly a. If the industry is perfectly competitive, what will be the total quantity produced? At what price? b. Which area reflects consumer surplus under perfect competition? c. If the industry is a single-price monopoly, what quantity will the monopolist produce? Which price will it charge? d. Which area reflects the single-price monopolist’s profit? e. Which area reflects consumer surplus under single-price monopoly? f. Which area reflects the deadweight loss to society from single-price monopoly? g. If the monopolist can price-discriminate perfectly, what quantity will the perfectly price-discriminating monopolist produce? Answer to Question: a. In a perfectly competitive industry, each firm maximizes profit by producing the quantity at which price equals marginal cost. That is, all firms together produce a quantity S, corresponding to point R, where the marginal cost curve crosses the demand curve. Price will be equal to marginal cost, E. b. Consumer surplus is the area under the demand curve and above price. In part a, we saw that the perfectly competitive price is E. Consumer surplus in perfect competition is therefore the triangle ARE. c. A single-price monopolist produces the quantity at which marginal cost equals marginal revenue, that is, quantity I. Accordingly, the monopolist charges price B, the highest price it can charge if it wants to sell quantity I. d. The single-price monopolist’s profit per unit is the difference between price and the average total cost. Since there is no fixed cost and the marginal cost is constant (each unit costs the same to produce), the marginal cost is the same as the average total cost. That is, profit per unit is the distance BE. Since the monopolist sells I units, its profit is BE times I, or the rectangle BEHF. e. Consumer surplus is the area under the demand curve and above the price. In part c, we saw that the monopoly price is B. Consumer surplus in monopoly is therefore the triangle AFB. f. Deadweight loss is the surplus that would have been available (either to consumers or producers) under perfect competition but that is lost when there is a single-price monopolist. It is the triangle FRH. g. If a monopolist can price-discriminate perfectly, it will sell the first unit at price A, the second unit at a slightly lower price, and so forth. That is, it will extract from each consumer just that consumer’s willingness to pay, as indicated by the demand curve. It will sell S units, because for the last unit, it can just make a consumer pay a price of E (equal to its marginal cost), and that just covers its marginal cost of producing that last unit. For any further units, it could not make any consumer pay more than its marginal cost, and it therefore stops selling units at quantity S. Practice Questions and Answers from Lesson III-3: Monopoly Question: Bob, Bill, Ben, and Brad Baxter have just made a documentary movie about their basketball team. They are thinking about making the movie available for download on the Internet, and they can act as a single-price monopolist if they choose to. Each time the movie is downloaded, their Internet service provider charges them a fee of $4. The Baxter brothers are arguing about which price to charge customers per download. The accompanying table shows the demand schedule for their film. Price of download Quantity of downloads demanded $10 0 $8 1 $6 3 $4 6 $2 10 $0 15 a. Calculate the total revenue and the marginal revenue per download. b. Bob is proud of the film and wants as many people as possible to download it. Which price would he choose? How many downloads would be sold? c. Bill wants as much total revenue as possible. Which price would he choose? How many downloads would be sold? d. Ben wants to maximize profit. Which price would he choose? How many downloads would be sold? e. Brad wants to charge the efficient price. Which price would he choose? How many downloads would be sold? Answer to Question: a. The accompanying table calculates total revenue (TR) and marginal revenue (MR). Recall that marginal revenue is the additional revenue per unit of output Price of download Quantity of downloads TR MR demanded $10 0 $0 $8 1 $8 $8 $6 3 $18 $5 $4 6 $24 $2 $2 10 $20 $-1 $0 15 $0 $-4 b. Bob would charge $0. At that price, there would be 15 downloads, the largest quantity they can sell. c. Bill would charge $4. At that price, total revenue is greatest ($24). At that price, there would be 6 downloads. d. Ben would charge $6. At that price, there would be 3 downloads. For any more downloads, marginal revenue would be below marginal cost, and so further downloads would lose the Baxters’ money.e. Brad would charge $4. A price equal to marginal cost is efficient. At that price, there would be 6 downloads. Practice Questions and Answers from Lesson III-3: Monopoly Question: Suppose that De Beers is a single-price monopolist in the market for diamonds. De Beers has five potential customers: Raquel, Jackie, Joan, Mia, and Sophia. Each of these customers will buy at most one diamond—and only if the price is just equal to, or lower than, her willingness to pay. Raquel’s willingness to pay is $400; Jackie’s, $300; Joan’s, $200; Mia’s, $100; and Sophia’s, $0. De Beers’s marginal cost per diamond is $100. This leads to the demand schedule for diamonds shown in the accompanying table. Price of Diamond Quantity of Diamonds Demanded $500 0 $400 1 $300 2 $200 3 $100 4 $0 5 a. Calculate De Beers’s total revenue and its marginal revenue. From your calculation, draw the demand curve and the marginal revenue curve. b. Explain why De Beers faces a downward-sloping demand curve. c. Explain why the marginal revenue from an additional diamond sale is less than the price of the diamond. d. Suppose De Beers currently charges $200 for its diamonds. If it lowers the price to $100, how large is the price effect? How large is the quantity effect? e. Add the marginal cost curve to your diagram from part a and determine which quantity maximizes De Beers’s profit and which price De Beers will charge. Answer to Question: a. Total revenue (TR) and marginal revenue (MR) are given in the accompanying table. Price of Diamond Quantity of Diamonds TR Demanded $500 0 $0 $400 1 $400 $300 2 $600 $200 3 $600 $100 4 $400 $0 5 $0 MR $400 $200 $0 -$200 -$400 The accompanying diagram illustrates De Beers’s demand curve and marginal revenue (MR) curve. b. De Beers is the only producer of diamonds, so its demand curve is the market demand curve. And the market demand curve slopes downward: the lower the price, the more customers will buy diamonds. c. If De Beers lowers the price sufficiently to sell one more diamond, it earns extra revenue equal to the Practice Questions and Answers from Lesson III-3: Monopoly price of that one extra diamond. This is the quantity effect of lowering the price. But there is also a price effect: lowering the price means that De Beers also has to lower the price on all other diamonds, and that lowers its revenue. So the marginal revenue of selling an additional diamond is less than the price at which the additional diamond can be sold. d. If the price is $200, then De Beers sells to Raquel, Jackie, and Joan. If it lowers the price to $100, it will also sell a diamond to Mia. The price effect is that De Beers loses $100 (the amount by which it lowered the price) each from selling to Raquel, Jackie, and Joan. So the price effect lowers De Beers’s revenue by 3 ? $100 = $300. The quantity effect is that De Beers sells one more diamond (to Mia), at $100. So the quantity effect is to raise De Beers’s revenue by $100. e. The marginal cost (MC) curve is constant at $100, as shown in the diagram. Marginal revenue equals marginal cost at a quantity of 2 diamonds. So De Beers will sell 2 diamonds at a price of $300 each. Question: Use the demand schedule for diamonds given in the previous question. The marginal cost of producing diamonds is constant at $100. There is no fixed cost. a. If De Beers charges the monopoly price, how large is the individual consumer surplus that each buyer experiences? Calculate total consumer surplus by summing the individual consumer surpluses. How large is producer surplus? Suppose that upstart Russian and Asian producers enter the market and the market becomes perfectly competitive. b. What is the perfectly competitive price? What quantity will be sold in this perfectly competitive market? c. At the competitive price and quantity, how large is the consumer surplus that each buyer experiences? How large is total consumer surplus? How large is producer surplus? d. Compare your answer to part c to your answer to part a. How large is the deadweight loss associated with monopoly in this case? Answer to Question: a. The monopoly price is $300. At that price Raquel and Jackie buy diamonds. Raquel’s consumer surplus is $400 ? $300 = $100; Jackie’s is $300 ? $300 = $0. So total consumer surplus is $100 + $0 = $100. Producer surplus is $300 ? $100 = $200 for each diamond sold; 2 ? $200 = $400. b. In a perfectly competitive market, P = MC. That is, the perfectly competitive price is $100, and at that price 4 diamonds will be sold—to Raquel, Jackie, Joan, and Mia. c. At the competitive price, Raquel’s consumer surplus is $400 ? $100 = $300; Jackie’s, $300 ? $100 = $200; Joan’s, $200 ? $100 = $100; and Mia’s, $100 ? $100 = $0. So total consumer surplus is $300 + $200 + $100 + $0 = $600. Since the price is equal to marginal cost, there is no producer surplus. d. Under perfect competition, the sum of consumer and producer surplus is $600 + $0 = $600. Under monopoly, the sum of consumer and producer surplus is $100 + $400 = $500. So the loss of surplus to society from monopoly—the deadweight loss—is $600 ? $500 = $100. Question: Use the demand schedule for diamonds given in the previous questions. De Beers is a monopolist, but it can now price-discriminate perfectly among all five of its potential customers. De Beers’s marginal cost is constant at $100. There is no fixed cost. a. If De Beers can price-discriminate perfectly, to which customers will it sell diamonds and at what prices? b. How large is each individual consumer surplus? How large is total consumer surplus? Calculate producer surplus by summing the producer surplus generated by each sale. Practice Questions and Answers from Lesson III-3: Monopoly Answer to Question: a. If De Beers can price-discriminate perfectly, it will charge each customer that customer’s willingness to pay. That is, it will charge Raquel $400, Jackie $300, Joan $200, and Mia $100. De Beers does not want to sell to Sophia since she will only buy at a price of $0, and that would be below De Beers’s marginal cost. b. Since each consumer is charged exactly her willingness to pay, there is no consumer surplus. De Beers’s producer surplus is $400 ? $100 = $300 from selling to Raquel; $300 ? $100 = $200 from selling to Jackie; $200 ? $100 = $100 from selling to Joan; $100 ? $100 = $0 from selling to Mia. So producer surplus is $300 + $200 + $100 + $0 = $600. Question: Download Records decides to release an album by the group Mary and the Little Lamb. It produces the album with no fixed cost, but the total cost of downloading an album to a CD and paying Mary her royalty is $6 per album. Download Records can act as a single-price monopolist. Its marketing division finds that the demand schedule for the album is as shown in the accompanying table. Price of album Quantity of albums demanded $22 0 $20 1,000 $18 2,000 $16 3,000 $14 4,000 $12 5,000 $10 6,000 $8 7,000 a. Calculate the total revenue and the marginal revenue per album. b. The marginal cost of producing each album is constant at $6. To maximize profit, what level of output should Download Records choose, and which price should it charge for each album? c. Mary renegotiates her contract and now needs to be paid a higher royalty per album. So the marginal cost rises to be constant at $14. To maximize profit, what level of output should Download Records now choose, and which price should it charge for each album? Answer to Question: a. Total revenue (TR) and marginal revenue per album (MR) is shown in the following table: Price of album Quantity of albums TR MR demanded $22 0 $0 $20 1,000 $20,000 $20 $18 2,000 $36,000 $16 $16 3,000 $48,000 $12 $14 4,000 $56,000 $8 $12 5,000 $60,000 $4 $10 6,000 $60,000 $0 $8 7,000 $56,000 -$4 b. If the marginal cost of each album is $6, Download Records will maximize profit by producing 4,000 albums, since for each album up to 4,000, marginal revenue is greater than marginal cost. For any further albums, marginal cost would exceed marginal revenue. Producing 4,000 albums, Download Records will charge $14 for each album. c. If the marginal cost of each album is $14, Download Records will maximize profit by producing 2,000 albums, and it will charge $18 per album. Practice Questions and Answers from Lesson III-3: Monopoly Question: The movie theater in Collegetown serves two kinds of customers: students and professors. There are 900 students and 100 professors in Collegetown. Each student’s willingness to pay for a movie ticket is $5. Each professor’s willingness to pay for a movie ticket is $10. Each will buy at most one ticket. The movie theater’s marginal cost per ticket is constant at $3, and there is no fixed cost. a. Suppose the movie theater cannot price-discriminate and needs to charge both students and professors the same price per ticket. If the movie theater charges $5, who will buy tickets and what will the movie theater’s profit be? How large is consumer surplus? b. If the movie theater charges $10, who will buy movie tickets and what will the movie theater’s profit be? How large is consumer surplus? c. Now suppose that, if it chooses to, the movie theater can price-discriminate between students and professors by requiring students to show their student ID. If the movie theater charges students $5 and professors $10, how much profit will the movie theater make? How large is consumer surplus? Answer to Question: a. If the movie theater charges $5 per ticket, both students and professors will buy tickets. The movie theater will sell to 1,000 customers (students and professors), at a price of $5 each. Since the movie theater’s cost per ticket is $3, its profit is $2 per ticket for a total profit of 1,000 ? $2 = $2,000. Students will experience no consumer surplus, but each of the 100 professors will experience consumer surplus of $10 ? $5 = $5 for a total consumer surplus of 100 ? $5 = $500. b. If the movie theater charges $10 per ticket, only professors will buy tickets. The movie theater will sell to 100 customers (professors) at a price of $10 each. Since the movie theater’s cost per ticket is $3, its profit is $7 per ticket for a total profit of 100 ? $7 = $700. Students experience no consumer surplus since they do not buy any tickets. Each of the 100 professors experiences no consumer surplus since the price is equal to their willingness to pay. So consumer surplus is $0. c. If the movie theater charges students a price of $5, it sells 900 tickets at a profit of $5 ? $3 =$2 each for a profit from selling to students of 900 ? $2 =$1,800. Charging professors $10, it sells 100 tickets at a profit of $10 ? $3 =$7 each for a profit from selling to professors of 100 ? $7 =$700. So the theater’s total profit is $1,800 + $700 =$2,500. Since each customer is charged exactly his or her willingness to pay, there is no consumer surplus. Question: A monopolist knows that in order to expand the quantity of output it produces from 8 to 9 units that it must lower the price of its output from $2 to $1. Calculate the quantity effect and the price effect. Use these results to calculate the monopolist’s marginal revenue of producing the 9th unit. The marginal cost of producing the 9th unit is positive. Is it a good idea for the monopolist to produce the 9th unit? Answer to Question: The quantity effect is $1 (the increase in total revenue from selling the 9th unit at $1). The price effect is 8 ? (? $1) =? $8 (the decrease in total revenue from having to lower the price of 8 units by $1 each). So the marginal revenue of producing the 9th unit is $1 ? $8 =? $7. Since marginal revenue is negative, producing the 9th unit is definitely not a good idea: it lowers revenue (since marginal revenue is negative), and it increases the total cost (since marginal cost is positive). So it will definitely lower profit. Instead, the monopolist should produce less output.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Outsourcing: Advantages and disadvantages

Outsourcing: Advantages and disadvantages Outsourcing, advantages and disadvantages Write a 2-3 page paper about outsourcing from the perspective of a multinational firm (Yes, this may be a hypothetical firm), be sure to answer the following questions: 1. What are the advantages of outsourcing? 2. What are the disadvantages of outsourcing? As defined by Chase et al. (2004, 372), outsourcing is an act of moving some of a firms internal activities and decision responsibilities to outside providers. Others define outsourcing as the procurement of the organizations products or services from external sources. Most definitions of outsourcing describe it as referring to allocating or reallocating business activities from an internal source to an external source. The two basic organizations that are involved in the outsourcing agreement are the client firm (the firm that outsources their internal business activities) and the outsource provider (the firm which provides outsourcing services to the client firm). The client firm outsources business activities such as services, manufacturing activities, tasks and jobs. Outsourcing in an international context refers to the outsourcing activity between nations or between boundaries of two or more countries. It includes global outsourcing which involves many international, external firms. Although outsourcing is a new concept, it has been practiced before and was referred to as subcontracting production activities. Outsourcing in an international context has been known as a major driving force in the business world. The Internet has allowed firms all over the world to provide services which were not possible before due to geographical limits. The Internet, together with the WorldWideWeb (WWW) has provided the connectivity that is necessary for the rapid growth of the outsourcing in an international context. Together with the growth of the Internet and WWW is the growth of international business. The passage of international trade agreements such as the 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) and other international trade zones that have been established throughout the globe, governments preparing and allowing the greatest expansion of international business, inexpensive computer and communication technology, have been major contributing factors in the enormous growth of international business. Is international outsourcing desirable or undesirable? There have been many views about outsourcing by multinational firms and a big debate is ongoing across the globe and people are affected by it. Business enterprises greatly support outsourcing but employee unions and politicians oppose it. There are many advantages and benefits that outsourcing can give to the home countrys business undertakings as well as to the country wherefrom the services are being provided. Enjoying cost leadership is one of the ways to enjoy sustainable advantage in this very competitive business world. The best way to achieve this is to outsource jobs. Another advantage of outsourcing is to have greater control over the quality of the goods because they can demand from the many suppliers the excellent products/services at lower cost. The client firm has the advantage of deferred payment thereby creating more opportunities to spend their funds wisely and make it more profitable. Outsourcing can also drive down wage and production costs. Another advantage of outsourcing to the client firm is that they dont need to buy raw materials, and stock them and other semi-finished products in the warehouse thereby saving on space, interest payments, godown charges, pilferage, and wastage. There is also a reduction of the number of people that are employed since the production is done in another place outside of the company. This situation also lowers the headache of union problems. The end result is that the client firm can focus on their core business matters and customer relationship management. Aside from bringing cost savings and an increase in profits to the client firm, outsourcing also brings benefits to the host country in terms of macro-economics. In Information Technology and other accounting tasks that are being outsourced, management of client firm will experience less capital expenses since they dont have to buy hardware and software, less management problems due to having the outsourcing company handle the staff providing the services. In terms of disadvantages of outsourcing, the main argument is the loss of jobs in the country of the client firm as the activities performed in the home country or organizations have been transferred to another location/s. Also, the culture clash that happens between the manufacturing client firm with those doing the outsourcing jobs results in each ones rejection of each ones culture. Another disadvantage is the decline in the labor rate and also, trade unionism gets a jolt due to outsourcing. The state has to pay allowances to the unemployed and all of these disadvantages create problems in society and to the industry side, quality may suffer in pursuit of cost reduction. Another disadvantage is that the client firm will have less managerial control so it will be harder to manage the outsourcing service provider than own employees. The client firm will also tend to depend on the outsourcing provider and if the provider goes out of business for whatever reason, then there is a need to go through a quick transition for another service provider, or find other means so that the business activities will not be disrupted and will go on as effective as it should be. Not all outsourcing can give benefits of cost reduction. Sometimes it can be costly too on the part of the client firm. Other matters related to confidentiality and security issues such as outsourcing processes related to payroll and other confidential information will be known by the outsourcing provider. It might be noteworthy to consider one comment of a business leader that in order to be successful in business, it is better to cut the wastage than to cut costs. Westerners have also expressed their dissatisfaction and unhappiness of the pronunciation and diction of the call centre agents in India and to add to this, there have been instances of leakage and improper use of customers data. Whether the multinational firm will outsource or not, there is nothing conclusive. The firm must perform a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis before deciding on outsourcing. Also, with outsourcing, the days of patriotism and cultural nationalism are gone but what replaces is the satisfaction of the firms own benefit of maximum profitability. References: http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=OYZ_-EiBCJkCpg=PA5lpg=PA5dq=outsourcing+of+an+international+firmsource=blots=HoR0S6CD22sig=cgd7SEV0V3Biegi0RiNSyXnsHnQhl=enei=RvGRSoKzFdOIkQXx_ti7Cgsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=3#v=onepageq=f=false http://www.ls-marketing.com/business/tips/advantages_and_disadvantages_of_outsourcing/ http://www.ictstandards.com/Advantages_And_Disadvantages_Of_Outsourcing.htm