Communication Styles Worksheet Essay

You spent the past few days exploring the resources available to students at University of Phoenix, and you want to share what you learned with a friend who is interested in enrolling. Write a 150- to 200-word e-mail to your friend summarizing the resources available to students. Hi,  I would like to continue with our conversation from earlier today on your interests in attending the â€Å"University of Phoenix†. This university has many resources to lend you a hand in reaching your goals. The Center for Writing Excellence has an abundance of information and guides to help you with your punctuations and grammar in your writing. There is also the program Riverpoint Writer. This program is designed to take your information and properly format your document. It will even assist with quotes and references and cite them correctly for you. The University also has the plagiarism checker. The checker will analyze your papers and tell you what your percentage of plagiarism you may have in your paper which allows you to go back and fix your mistakes to avoid plagiarism. The final program I want to introduce to you is WritePoint. Before you submit your papers, you can send your papers to WritePoint and they will proofread and check your papers for you at any time. Giving ideas or suggestions and making changes to improve your paper are some out of many skills that this program has to offer. Once you enroll into the â€Å"University of Phoenix† you have complete access to all of these magnificently helpful programs. I am anxious to hear your thoughts and maybe even your decision on becoming a Phoenix yourself! You asked your facilitator to review your e-mail draft. She liked what you wrote and asked you to write a summary to post in the class forum for the other students to read. Write a 150- to 200-word summary for your class of the resources available to students. Remember to write using an academic tone. The â€Å"University of Phoenix† has numerous resources accessible to students attending and furthering their education. For example, in the University’s online library you can find the Center for Writing Excellence or CWE. For those who want to improve their writing or become better writers then this is the tool for you. The Plagarisism Checker is another program that evaluates your paper to make sure you have not plagiarized and ensures that you turn in a clean and unique paper of your own. WritePoint and RiverPoint are two different types of programs so be sure not to get mixed up. WritePoint is used to assess your paper and gives you ideas, suggestions, or comments to aid in improving your paper. Riverpoint writer, on the other hand, properly formats your papers in the APA format which is the style used at this University. For those who have trouble in the math area, the Center for Mathematics Excellence is your destination. This program is also found in the University’s online library. It has helpful tutorials, step-by-step problems that you can use for practice and videos when you need them. Starting your first math class after months or even years without going through it can be quite scary but luckily for you, this university has a program to help you. The building mathematics confidence is an amazing program that helps you get over that first initial scare of getting back into your mathematics class.

The Nist Definition of Cloud Computing

Special Publication 800-145 (Draft) The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing (Draft) Recommendations of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Peter Mell Timothy Grance NIST Special Publication 800-145 (Draft) The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing (Draft) Recommendations of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Peter Mell Timothy Grance C O M P U T E R S E C U R I T Y Computer Security Division Information Technology Laboratory National Institute of Standards and Technology Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8930 January 2011 U. S. Department of CommerceGary Locke, Secretary National Institute of Standards and Technology Dr. Patrick D. Gallagher, Director Reports on Computer Systems Technology The Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) promotes the U. S. economy and public welfare by providing technical leadership for the nation’s measurement and standards infrastructure. ITL develops tests, test methods , reference data, proof of concept implementations, and technical analysis to advance the development and productive use of information technology.ITL’s responsibilities include the development of technical, physical, administrative, and management standards and guidelines for the cost-effective security and privacy of sensitive unclassified information in Federal computer systems. This Special Publication 800-series reports on ITL’s research, guidance, and outreach efforts in computer security and its collaborative activities with industry, government, and academic organizations.National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 800-145 (Draft) 7 pages (January. 2011) Certain commercial entities, equipment, or materials may be identified in this document in order to describe an experimental procedure or concept adequately. Such identification is not intended to imply recommendation or endorsement by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, n or is it intended to imply that the entities, materials, or equipment are necessarily the best available for the purpose. ii AcknowledgementsThe authors Peter Mell and Timothy Grance of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) would like to thank the many experts in industry and government who contributed their thoughts to the creation and review of this definition. We especially acknowledge Murugiah Souppaya and Lee Badger, also of NIST, whose advice and technical insight assisted this effort. Additional acknowledgements will be added upon the final publication of this guideline. iii 1. 1. 1 Introduction Authority The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) developed this document in furtherance of its statutory responsibilities under the FederalInformation Security Management Act (FISMA) of 2002, Public Law 107-347. NIST is responsible for developing standards and guidelines, including minimum requirements, for providing adequate information security for all agency operations and assets; but such standards and guidelines shall not apply to national security systems. This guideline is consistent with the requirements of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-130, Section 8b(3), â€Å"Securing Agency Information Systems,† as analyzed in A-130, Appendix IV: Analysis of Key Sections. Supplemental information is provided in A-130, Appendix III.This guideline has been prepared for use by Federal agencies. It may be used by nongovernmental organizations on a voluntary basis and is not subject to copyright, though attribution is desired. Nothing in this document should be taken to contradict standards and guidelines made mandatory and binding on Federal agencies by the Secretary of Commerce under statutory authority, nor should these guidelines be interpreted as altering or superseding the existing authorities of the Secretary of Commerce, Director of the OMB, or any other Federal official. 1. 2 Purpose and ScopeTh e purpose of this publication is to provide the NIST definition of cloud computing. NIST intends this informal definition to enhance and inform the public debate on cloud computing. Cloud computing is still an evolving paradigm. Its definition, use cases, underlying technologies, issues, risks, and benefits will be refined and better understood with a spirited debate by the public and private sectors. This definition, its attributes, characteristics, and underlying rationale will evolve over time. 1. 3 Audience The intended audience is people adopting the cloud computing model or providing cloud services. 2. The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e. g. , networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction. This cloud model promotes availability and is composed of five essential characteristics, three service models, and four deployment models. Essential Characteristics: On-demand self-service.A consumer can unilaterally provision computing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, as needed automatically without requiring human interaction with each service’s provider. Broad network access. Capabilities are available over the network and accessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneous thin or thick client platforms (e. g. , mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs). Resource pooling. The provider’s computing resources are pooled to serve multiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according to consumer demand.There is a sense of location independence in that the customer generally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of the provided resources but may be able to specify l ocation at a higher level of abstraction (e. g. , country, state, or datacenter). Examples of resources include storage, processing, memory, network bandwidth, and virtual machines. Rapid elasticity. Capabilities can be rapidly and elastically provisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out, and rapidly released to quickly scale in.To the consumer, the capabilities available for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can be purchased in any quantity at any time. Measured Service. Cloud systems automatically control and optimize resource use by leveraging a metering capability1 at some level of abstraction appropriate to the type of service (e. g. , storage, processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can be monitored, controlled, and reported, providing transparency for both the provider and consumer of the utilized service.Service Models: Cloud Software as a Service (SaaS). The capability provided to the consumer is to use the providerâ₠¬â„¢s applications running on a cloud infrastructure. The applications are accessible from various client devices through a thin client interface such as a web browser (e. g. , web-based email). The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage, or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exception of limited user-specific application configuration settings.Cloud Platform as a Service (PaaS). The capability provided to the consumer is to deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquired applications created using programming languages and tools supported by the provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, or storage, but has control over the deployed applications and possibly application hosting environment configurations. 1 Typically through a pay-per-use business model. Cloud Infr astructure as a Service (IaaS). The capability provided to the consumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and other fundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy and run arbitrary software, which can include operating systems and applications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage, deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networking components (e. g. , host firewalls).Deployment Models: Private cloud. The cloud infrastructure is operated solely for an organization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party and may exist on premise or off premise. Community cloud. The cloud infrastructure is shared by several organizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns (e. g. , mission, security requirements, policy, and compliance considerations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third party and may exist o n premise or off premise.Public cloud. The cloud infrastructure is made available to the general public or a large industry group and is owned by an organization selling cloud services. Hybrid cloud. The cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or more clouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities but are bound together by standardized or proprietary technology that enables data and application portability (e. g. , cloud bursting for load balancing between clouds). 3

A Cover Letter and a Professional Letter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

A Cover Letter and a Professional Letter - Essay Example I am currently studying as a senior at the New York Institute of technology (Architecture department), and will graduate by spring 2008 with a Bachelor's degree in architecture. I am interning with the Rosenbaum design group, which is involved in designing shopping centers, supermarkets and retail projects. As an intern, I am involved in conceptual designing, site evaluation and drafting. I have successfully designed __________________ and supervised the drafting of _____________________________. I have also been involved with the US military and have training and experience in masonry, wood framing and model making. To this end, I have assisted in the completion of ________________________________. I would welcome an opportunity to meet with you, and discuss the position available. Please let me know if you have any questions or if I may provide any additional information that you require. I am enclosing my resume along with this letter. You can reach me by phone at (123) 123-1212 or email me at email@email.com. I am deeply committed to gaining more experience with regard to architecture and my work with the Rosenbaum design group demonstrates this amply. I have been working there in the capacity of an intern, with direct involvement in drafting, conceptual designing and site evaluation. I have also successfully designed _______________ and supervised the drafting of _____________________.

Dealing with Economic Externalities in the Real Estate Industry Essay

Dealing with Economic Externalities in the Real Estate Industry. Letter addressed to a mayor - Essay Example One of the most important externality can be found in the mortgage subsector. In the housing industry, an externality called a positional externality has led to products being very expensive. Positional externalities happen when the individual using the product or the service intend to one-up each other. This is something that has been witnessed in the real estate industry for a long time. As Grant (37) says, externalities affect all categories of land use and this is something that must be considered in a more modern and serious manner. While this kind of an economic externality has affected the industry in a long time, the effects have been felt the most in recent time. In fact, economic externalities in the mortgage subsector were highly associated with the recent economic recession in the United States. Increased availability of mortgage service has led to most people affording to buy their own homes through mortgage financing. While increased home ownership is important and nece ssary for the growth of the economy, it can lead to dire repercussions when done in the wrong way. As the availability of mortgage financing increased and more people were now looking for homes to buy, the costs of homes increased in a very fast rate that exceeded the market growth and inflations rates. This sudden hiking of the cost of owning a home happened so fast that at some time, the market started imploding. At this point, many individuals could who had taken loan could no longer to be able to remit their mortgage repayments and this unfortunately led to foreclosure of their homes. They could also not be able to sell off the homes at a cost high enough to cover the original costs of the homes. In this way, mortgage financing can be seen as having a great external cost to most individuals who would otherwise be able to buy their own homes without having to depend on mortgage financiers. A closer analysis reveals that increasingly availability of rarely controlled mortgages hav e two types of external costs to the economy. First, it makes homes unfairly expensive for would-be home owners. Secondly, it leads to the crunching of the real estate market making it impossible for individual who had bought their homes at exceedingly high costs to be able to recover their costs by selling their homes. Need for control The mortgage subsector has been left uncontrolled and unregulated for a very long time. This has led to the participators in the industry to operate in a way that is less professional and also in a way that has led to many individuals having to lose a lot of money through a mortgage industry that is operated in a racket manner of operation. Most mortgage regulation laws are archaic and are not able to meet the needs of the modern mortgage market. Regulating the industry will be important for protecting the many people who will definitely otherwise be affected by the poorly managed mortgage industry. Regulation in the industry should be geared towards ensuring that mortgage providers are careful and professional in the way they offer this product. Of essence will be to ensure that the mortgage providers do not operate in a way that will negatively affect their customers. The government should come up with a framework to guarantee that the mortgage providers are careful in the way they provide the product in terms of ensuring that they serve customers who are ready and capable to repay the mortgage. This will reduce or eliminate the number of home

Peppercorn Dining Restaurant Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Peppercorn Dining Restaurant - Essay Example Entry is the initial step in the process of consulting and consists of first contact with a client before the formal contracting process has begun (Anderson 105).Contract is an agreement about the desired outcome for consultation, the work that will be done to accomplish the outcomes, the role each party will be play in completing the work, and the financial and other business terms of consulting relationship (Jones and Brazzel). Before a project begins contracting begins with meetings which are not restricted to one meeting but it is a continuous. The formal contract has two parts one is professional agreement regarding the time span of relationships, payments and consultation process steps. The other part is psychological and is not documented. The description of the situation by the manager of Peppercorn Drew to the consultants is the initial process of entry of consultants in the project. The eventual agreement between the manager Drew and the consultants to do some operational a udits is the process of entering the contract between the two parties. There has been a formal process of entry and contracting in the case of Peppercorn dining restaurant. 2. ... data collection: Interviews, surveys, information from focus groups etc., are used for the data collection Data collection: Use of appropriate protocols while using the gathering approach selected. Analysis and interpretation for the data collected: Drawing conclusions and defining the issues and needs to the client based upon data collected. Yes I am satisfied with the quality and quantity of data collected by the consultants of Square One Consulting. The data gathering methods used by the consultants are interviews, data collection from focus groups like managers at the restaurant, representatives from parent dining organization for the university, various student, full time and part time employees and observations. The most important step after data collection is announcing of the project which was done by one of the consultant Erica that the university would be constructing new dining facility and the manager Drew would be head of the new unit. The most important step after data collection is data analysis and interpretation 3. How will you analyze the data collected? How will you make sense of the situation at Peppercorn? The data has been collected through interviews, focus groups and observations. In the phase of data analysis the information is summarized so that they can be useful to make change in Peppercorn dining restaurant. The quantitative data collected are required for number crunching. The qualitative data are analyzed and summarized by the themes. From the data analysis the consultants must be able to picture the situation at Peppercorn Dining Restaurant. The consultants should keep in view of the following aspects during data analysis. They are: Investment required: The cost incurring must be acceptable by the client organization. The time

Crjs410 U5DB Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Crjs410 U5DB - Research Paper Example The fact that that most of the terrorists who were linked to the September 11 terror attack were Muslims lead to a non- Muslim community to view Muslims as synonymous to evil and a people who cannot be trusted. The non –Muslim community supported policy changes allowing torture. Security procedures to spy on Muslims were also put in place (Morrow, 2014). Interfaith Summits and campaigns such as† Shoulder to shoulder: Standing with American Muslims† have been launched to fight against anti-Muslim mentality. Leaders have publicly condemned religious intolerance, and there has been prosecution of the perpetrators. Unitas community needs to employ these strategies in order to assure the Muslim community of their security and to promote tolerance (Morrow, 2014). Hate crimes statutes are laws enacted to deter bias-motivated violence. The statue’s goals are to deter prejudice, to condemn racism, religious intolerance and homophobia and to condemn any other criminal conduct (Hrw.org., 2014). The perpetrators of anti-Muslim bigotry believe that their actions have community support. In order to prove wrong this belief, both to the perpetrators and to the community, the Unitas incidence should be prosecuted as a hate crime and not as any other civil wrong (Hrw.org, 2014). Morrow, T. (2014). Campaign to address anti-Muslim sentiments - National Religious Campaigns against Torture. Nrcat.org. Retrieved from

Business Model Generation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business Model Generation - Essay Example One of them includes the platform for socialization by individuals. Most individuals use Facebook to socialize by connecting to new people around the globe, getting new connections and ideas from other online friends. Creation of such platform has enhanced Facebook use. The Facebook platform is also used by most organizations for advertising & product promotion of their products. They use the platform to create awareness of the new product in the market or increase the clientele for the new products already in the market. Customer Relationships This involves the connections between the organization and their clients. It highlights that individuals get involved in Facebook and how the Company wins their spirit to continue holding them (Lillqvist & Salminen, 2015). One way in which individuals join Facebook is through creating a personal account and updating a profile. This process is free, and therefore individuals can easily access it. The Facebook facility is easily available and ac cessible from individuals comfort through their phones; computers and tablets.The services provided by the Company are also very favorable and affordable besides being of variety. The Partnerships These are other sites that work in partnership with the Facebook Company in creating a larger platform for activities. These partnerships help increase the client base and provide opportunities that help connections and ability to share. Individuals can connect through LinkedIn and share ideas through Facebook.

Summary of Aristotle's ethical system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Summary of Aristotle's ethical system - Essay Example Another motivating factor is an honor, but again this emphasizes more on praising others. For this reason, Aristotle concludes that the means of attaining happiness, which is also the main purpose of human existence, is the virtue. In particular, happiness is said to be complete without qualification because it is chosen for itself, and people never choose it for anything else. Virtues, however, are chosen for the sake of happiness. These virtues can be intellectual such as judgment, wisdom and practical wisdom, while others maybe character such as temperance and generosity Virtue involves an individual’s habit and choices. When a person makes the right decisions, they eventually develop a virtuous disposition of habit which allows them to make decisions a lot easier when they encounter the same type of problems. In essence, an individual will no longer have to run through a list of options each and every time they encounter an ethical problem, but will instead apply what they used previously. Another question that arises is how to make the right decisions. According to Aristotle, making the right choices involves the people following virtue: which is a mean between two extremes of excess and defect. This means that when an individual is faced is in a certain situation; they will tend to make a choice that is equidistant from two possible extremes. For instance, when a person is faced with a defect of cowardliness and an excess of rashness, an individual would settle for an average of courage.

Poland Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Poland - Essay Example ech Walesa and the ascendancy of Mikhail Gorbachev to the leadership of the USSR paved the way for the disintegration of the communistic hold on the country. Today, Poland has become a democratic, market-oriented country with membership in many international organizations. It is considered one of the success stories in the transition economies. In the 4th century, the Slav people who originally occupied the area between the Carpathian and the Middle Vistula in Eastern Europe, began drifting eastwards to Russia, southwards into the Balkans, and westwards towards the Order and Elbe Rivers. The pressures of a growing population resulted in the expansion of the areas originally inhabited by the Slavs. A written account of the country appeared only in the 14th century although a historical highlight of the country started when its ruler Mieszko I of the Piast Dynasty personally embraced Latin Christianity and imposed it on his people in 966. In the early medieval state, expeditions for plundering purposes were vital to the country’s existence but the reigns of Mieszko II (1025-34), Boleslaw II (1058-81), and Boleslaw III (1102-38) were marked by internal revolts and foreign invasions. It was believed that the country had no leader between the years of 1034 and 1039 when paganism and Bohemian invasion threatened to pull t he country apart. It was Casimir â€Å"The Restorer† (son of Mieszko) who restored the territorial integrity of the country and established Kraskow as its capital (Lukowski & Zawadzki p 7). Before 1157, not all of Poland accepted Christianity. However, the 12th century witnessed invasions, in the name of the religion, one after another. A deeper Christianity was established in the 12th and 13th centuries when more friars came and monasteries were established. The coming of the new bishops presented a new form of political authority in Poland, limiting the ruler’s monopoly to it. During these times, the rulers tried to attract settlers to augment

How does employee training affect organizational performance in Hilton Dissertation

How does employee training affect organizational performance in Hilton Hotel and President Hotel in Athens - Dissertation Example Education is identified as a key component in ensuring the sustainability of tourism (Chandana Jayawardena). Customer service representation is a skill that is worth billions to companies (Stella Service, 2010). Training all of the aspects of the hospitality industry, such as massage therapy, spa skills, customer service skills and interaction, entertainment abilities such as singing or dancing, cooking, and all of the other essential skills for hospitality industry success is extremely pricey but utterly important to success. In this dissertation, there will be an analysis of how Hilton and President hotel in Athens have been using training for their employees and prospective employees and why, and what the relationship between employee training and organizational performance is. Furthermore, there will be an analysis of the differences of training programmes used by an international hotel chain (Hilton) and an individually owned hotel (President). Finally, we will focus on what the perception of employees is of these training programs. The objectives of this dissertation are firstly the exploring of the concept of training and how it is supposed to affect hotel development. Secondly, the analysis and evaluation of the role of training in the Hilton and President hotel in Athens. Thirdly, the identification of why, how and when hotels in Athens use training programs. Finally, the identification of the differences of individually owned hotels and international hotel chains in their training programs. Research History and Current State of Athens Hospitality Industry The Athens hospitality industry is currently undergoing a resurgence, but hospitality has always been a key part of Greek culture. Xenia, or hospitality, was an important element of Greek culture in an era where every stranger on the road could be an imminent threat and travel was dangerous, lonely and dreadfully important (Lucas, 2007). â€Å"Zeus, the king of the gods, demanded that strangers be t reated graciously. Hosts had a religious duty to welcome strangers, and guests had the responsibility to respect hosts. The tight interconnections and mutual respect in this host-guest relationship are reflected in the fact that the word zenos in ancient Greek can mean both â€Å"host† and â€Å"guest.† The relationship is often symbolized in the Odyssey by the presentation of gifts† (Lucas, 2007). The Odyssey and The Iliad indicate, in general, that â€Å"[t]he higher a society's level of hospitality, the more civilized that society is† (Tiedemann, 2009). Penelope could not simply cast out her suitors: Doing so would be grossly impolite, even though she did not wish to marry. Paris' seizing of Helen from Menelaus was an unbelievable violation of xenia, and would secure Zeus' support for the Greeks against the Trojans. And the nightmarish treatment of the Odyssey by Circe was not least a violation of xenia. Thus, there are millennia-old cultural traditions that predispose Athens to value hospitality and providing the best service to those who visit.

Should college students have weekdays party Essay Example for Free

Should college students have weekdays party Essay Majority of the students in the colleges like to party, they like hanging out with their friends in clubs and other places where real entertainment is offered. As Kathleen Bogle (2006) observes in her book Hooking Up many students refer to life in the college as â€Å"being a time to party or a time to let loose† (p51). They believe that life would be very boring if there was no room for partying. Bogle points out that although the college â€Å"administrators would like to believe that student life here is all about academic many students believe that the social aspect of life is equally important too. † (p52) For most of the student’s weekends offer the most ideal time for partying. This is the time when they take a break from a busy week of studying and other activities that go along with the academic life. The weekends off offer the students a time to relax and recuperate after a busy week of reading and writing assignment. Start of the semester also provides a golden time for most of the students as they are not busy with the school work at the middle of the semester the exams have started making outdoor activities for most of them difficult as they will be busy preparing for the assessment and continuous assessment texts. (Bogle, K 2006 51) College life has been described as the time when a person enjoys most as he or she prepares to enter the real life. This is a time when somebody is going through a transition in life, a stage where a person discovers his or her potential. It is the ideal time for making lifetime friends who will offer substantial companion as far as life is concerned. This is the time that most of us are â€Å"not bestowed with heavy responsibilities in life, our main duty is to read and prepare for the life ahead of schooling. †p 67 Socializing comes in hand; parties offer the best opportunity for a college student to know each other well. They are free to mingle with people of their choice; there is minimal interference as far as decision making is concerned. Most students are away from their parents for the first time in their life. To them college life offers the best opportunity to do what they have wanted to do but their parents would not approve of it. They now have all the freedom at their disposal; they can party as they wish without being reprimanded by their parents. (Bogle, K 2006 67) Partying on the weekend presents a challenge to most of the students as it interrupts with their normal learning in the course of the week but on the other hand it presents the student with a chance to relax after a hard day moving from one class to another. Partying on the weekdays should be encouraged to those students who have busy schedules in the course of the week so that they can be offered a chance to take a breather and be fully prepared to face the challenges of the week. â€Å"On the other hand this practice should be discouraged for those students who do not plan their time well. † (p87) Weekend partying should be done with a specific reason. For one it can be done because the students weekends are always occupied with other fruitful activites. For such a student in between the week offers an opportunity to socialize with the other students helping improve interpersonal relationship. Secondly a student might be having a busy scheduled in the course of the week; in such a situation partying can be used as a way of releasing tension offering the student a fresh start in the following day. (Bogle, K 2006 87) To the majority of the students their main objective of enrolling in a college is to graduate with good grades which will enable them secure good places in the job market. The grades attained will determine the future of any student. The performance will greatly depend of the student preparation in the course of schooling. A student who spends his or her time well will most likely have good grades whereas those who squander their time will have a dismal performance. Partying has been mentioned as one of the factors that have led to the poor grades for most of the college students. They dedicate minimal time for their studies while most of the time they are out partying in the clubs or in their friends’ apartments. They value play more than serious work. Though there is a popular adage that says that work with no play makes Jack a dull boy, for these students their studies are secondary as most of the time they are busy planning on their next move. To them weekdays offer the best opportunity for partying as they have plenty of time, they spend their time drinking or going to clubs which offer dancing and other entertainment packages. It has been observed that those students who spend their weekdays in clubs and other entertainment joint tend to perform dismally in class. This is due to the fact that they spend less time in their studies; instead most of their valuable time is spent in places where a student should only frequent occasionally. These students usually fail to cover the work that their courses need therefore failing in their assessments. They miss classes due to hangovers or on deliberate move so that they can be with their friends in parties. Partying usually involves drinking and in most cases alcohol, those who party on weekdays are mostly those students who are addicted to the binge, they can not do with out it. These students are usually in company of their friends who may be new in the college or even old colleguaes. This presents a dangerous chance for those who are not into alcohol taking to be introduced into this bad habit. This means most of the students get introduced in to alcohol by their party friends. Peer pressure takes root where the students indulge in to dangerous habits so that they can fit in a particular group. All this happens on the courtesy of partying especially on the weekdays. Some of the weekday’s revelers have been described as social misfits as they do this as a way of escaping from the reality. They are going through a lot in their lives and partying to them is a way of life through which life‘s ups and downs can be tackled. There other who do this so that they can fit in to a particular group. Most of the students who had lived a sheltered life in their previous levels usually misuse the new found freedom. They join partying groups that exist in colleges and have to do certain things so that they can be accepted in these groups. Hanging out with these groups calls for a lot of sacrifice to some of the students as they have to forego their studies so that they can spend considerable time with their gangs. This calls for weekdays parties as the students neglect their studies. (Goodyear,M and Khohr 1994 324) Too much of anything is dangerous; partying also fits comfortably in this description. Weekday partying indicates that a student puts too much emphasis on leisure at the expense of other activities more so the studies. This is a dangerous trend as it interferes with the studies and at the same time the students makes it a habit which will be extended in to the life beyond college. When such a case happens the person will have a difficulty life as an adult since they will continue spending most of their times partying either in clubs or either organizing such activities with their friends. This leads to depletion of finances putting an individual in to a financial crisis which might be hard to solve. (Lerardo,K 2007 27) Weekday’s party might not be all that bad to some students who can control their time; this offers them a good moment to make friends. This is the opportune time that the college students get to meet their life time partners more so those who travel during the weekends and can get any other moment to party with their college mates. Through partying one gets to know their college mates better, analyzing their characters and how they behave in an environment which is away from the classroom. This is the best setting that one can get to know the true character of the person. Weekday’s offer that close touch as most of the clubs are not fully packed therefore they will have a good moment where they can get to know each other. Dating is most suited on a weekday when students are not hanging out as a group, therefore this time becomes ideal for those students who would like to engage into a serious relationship and at the same time keep the contacts of their friends especially those they hangout with. (Brunell,M 2001 345) The weekdays college party scene is not harmful when it is done responsibly. The acitivity provides an amount of positive reinforcement where the students are presented with an opportunity to share ideas especially the going on of the week. These scene can be used as an extension of class work where students discuss different topics related to what they had covered in class on that particular day. This streghthens students understanding as they will take it as fun and they may be motivated to read widely so that they can always have something to share with their freidns during such gatherings. The weekdays parties which do not involve alcohol and other types of toxic substances should be encouraged as they cement the students relations therefore minimising conflicts in colleges. They should be organized oftenly so that the students can be given a chance to interact with each other while offering each other some useful tips on how to go about life. This situation presents the college students with a chance to make future acquitances,bonds that can last for a life time. These are the type of friendship that go beyond the college education. Later in life people come to value these relationship as one turns to the college friends for help when in a fix. (Sorell,C 2007) Weekdays party for the students who are not responsible enough should be discouraged at all cost. These students do not have the sense of time and to them life is easy and theylive for a moment. This is a very risky trend as it gives rise to irresposible ggraduates who can not be trusted in their jobs and also in the society. It would be a waste of time for most of the students to attend these parties where they are not bound to gain. These students engaged in such parties as a means of passing time or as a way of fitting into a certain group. Their aims are not objective,they have no perspective in life therefore they need guidance as to how they should spend their time in college. Partying for the sake of it especially on weekdays when a student is supposed to be busy with the school work does more harm than good to most of the students especially those who have not taken full responsibility on their studies. (Sorell,C 2007) The party animals as they are referred in most colleges do not differentiate between weekdays and weekends ,to them everyday is a party time. When you compare the perfomance of these students with the rest in the college one will note a difference. Their performance is poor and most likely this will be extended into their final grades in college. What this means is that their whole life will be affected too as they are likely to get low paying jobs due to their poor grades which was as a result of their poor mangement of time. All serious students will tell you that weekdays party are in most cases a waste of the precious time which should be instead dedicated to ones study. On the finances weekdays parties tend to be cheaper as compared to the weekends. This is due to the reason that weekends attract most students and are considerd peak times. Due to the cost invloved one may tend to attend party during weekdays as the cost is fairer as compared to the other times. This is not a cost saving measure as eventually one will discover that they will have spent more money when compared to those students who frequent clubs only once per week and that is on the weekends. The weekdays revelers tend to use more as they may be tempted to go on a daily basis. Therefore this habit not only impacts on their education but on their finaces too. When planned well weekdays parties can be very rewarding to the college students but on the same note they can impact negatively on one studies. Proper utilization of time during college life leads to good performance while poor time management usually results into discouraging grades. The ultimate goal for any student in college is to pass the examination and eventually come out with good grades. When a student spend most of their time engaging in parties especially on weekdays they are on the wrong track and this will be shown by their perfomance. These students may not take things seriously therefore even in their lives after the college they will go on with the same habit leading to problems. Though partying has its own advantages it should be done with caution as it can divert the students attention and goals. Responsible partying calls for the student to know when they should engage in this activity and then plan on how long this should take. Its only through such endevaours that one life in college will be successful. As we have seen weekdays party has its advantages and disadvantages,it for the concerned students to make a proper choice or in other cases an wrong choice. When one plans to party on weekdays at the expense of his or her studies such a person should be prepared to meet the consequence of suchkind of actions. Responsible partying calls for extreme caution as it can be the cause of misery in ones life either financially or through poor grades something which can affect the whole of a students life. Strengthening bonds,a way of relaxing are some of the benefits that can be derived from weekdays partying but this can only be achieved through proper planning otherwise this might not be achieved. Work cited Bogle,K Hooking Up,NYU Press (2006) Brunell,M Girlhood in America, London,ABC CLIO(2001) Goodyear,M and Khohr Managing Effective living, New York,Wiley Publishers Sorell,C America’s Underage College Party Scene ,Rogerian Argument (2007) Retrieved from http://cssorrell. wordpress. com/2007/11/13/rogerian-argument on 6th May 2009 Lerardo,K College Unzipped,Kaplan Publishing Co. (2007)

Stackelberg Leader Follower Models For Strategic Decision Making Engineering Essay

Stackelberg Leader Follower Models For Strategic Decision Making Engineering Essay This paper reviews some Stackelberg Leader-Follower models used for strategic decision making. The simple Stackelberg duopoly is looked at first, and a generalisation of the Stackelberg duopoly problem is given. By studying the models by Murphy et al. (1983) and Smeers and Wolf (1997), the paper reviews Stackelberg model from its classical form to the recent stochastic versions. The paper looks at the mathematical formulation of both a nonlinear mathematical programming model and a nonlinear stochastic programming model. Towards the end of this paper, a simple numeric example is given and practical applications of Stackelberg Leader-Follower models are discussed. Chapter 1: Introduction In economics, an oligopoly is considered to be the most interesting and complex market structure (amongst other structures like monopolies and perfect competition). Most industries in the UK and world- from retailing to fast food, mobile phone networks to professional services- are oligopolistic. Given the current financial climate, it is imperative for firms to be sure that they make decisions accurately, maximising not only their profit, but also their chances of remaining competitive. Many mathematicians and economists have attempted to model the decision making process and profit maximizing strategies of oligopolistic firms. For example, A. A. Cournot was one of the first mathematicians to model the behaviours of monopolies and duopolies in 1838. In Cournots model both firms choose their output simultaneously assuming that the other firm does not alter its output (Gibbons, 1992). Later, in 1934, H. V. Stackelberg proposed a different model where one of the duopoly firms makes its output decision first and the other firm observes this decision and sets its output level (Stackelberg, 1934). The classical Stackelberg model has been extended to model a variety of strategic decision making. For example, Murphy et al. (1983) model the output decision making process in an oligopoly. Later works by Smeers and Wolf (1997) extend this model to include a stochastic element. More interestingly, in a model by He et al. (2009), the Stackelberg theory is used to model the interaction between a manufacturer and a retailer when making decisions about cooperative advertising policies and wholesale prices. The objective of this paper is to review the Stackelberg models from its classic form to the more recent stochastic versions. In chapter 2, the simple Stackelberg duopoly is reviewed and a generalisation of the Stackelberg duopoly problem is given. In chapter 3, more complicated and recent models are reviewed. The mathematical formulation of Murphy et al.s (1983) and Smeers and Wolfs (1997) model is given. At the end of chapter 3, a numerical example is applied to Smeers and Wolfs (1997) model. In chapter 4, practical applications of Stackelberg leader-follower models are discussed. Chapter 4 also looks at the drawbacks of and possible extensions to Stackelberg models. Appendix 1 explains the Oligopoly market structure and economics involved in profit maximisation. Chapter 2: Classical Stackelberg Leader-Follower Model 2.1 Duopoly Behaviour Stackelberg (1934) discussed price formation under oligopoly by looking at the special case of a duopoly. He argued that firms in a duopoly can behave either as dependent on or independent of the rival firms behaviour: Referring to the two firms as firm 1 and firm 2, respectively, firm 1s behaviour can be generalised as follows: Firm 1 views the behaviour of firm 2 as being independent of firm 1s behaviour. Firm 1 would regard firm 2s supply as a given variable and adapts itself to this supply. Thus, the behaviour of firm 1 is dependent on that of firm 2 (Stackelberg, 1934). Firm 1 can view the behaviour of firm 2 as being dependent on firm 1s behaviour. Thus, firm 2 always adapts itself to the formers behaviour (firm 2 views firm 1s behaviour as a given situation) (Stackelberg, 1934). However, according to Stackelberg (1934), there is a difference in the firms actual positions; each of the firms could adapt to either of these two positions, making price formation imperfect. Stackelberg (1934) describes three cases that arise from this situation: Bowler (1924) first described a situation when both firms in the duopoly strive for market dominance. According to Bowler (1924), for this to happen the first firm supplies the quantity it would if it dominated the market with the second firm as a follower. This supply is referred to as the independent supply. By supplying this output level the first firm tries to convince the second firm to view its behaviour as a given variable. However, the second firm also supplies the independent supply since it is also striving for market dominance. This duopoly is referred to as the Bowler duopoly with total supply of the duopoly equalling the sum of two independent supply. According to Stackelberg (1934), the price formation under the Bowler duopoly is unstable because neither of the firms tries to maximise profit under the given circumstance. The second case described by Stackelberg (1934) is a situation where both firms favour being dependent on the other firms behaviour. The first firm would have to match (in a profit maximising manner) its output level to the each output in the second firms feasible set of output. The second firm does the same and both firms are thus followers. This is a Cournot duopoly, first described by A. A Cournot in 1838. According to Stackelberg 1934, the price formation here is unstable because neither of the firms tries to achieve the largest profit under the given circumstance. The third case is a situation where one firm strives for independence and the other favour being dependent. In this case both firms are better off doing what the other firm would like. Both firms adapt their behaviour to maximising profit under the given circumstance. This situation is referred to as the asymmetric duopoly or more commonly as the Stackelberg duopoly. The price formation is more stable in this case because, according to Stackelberg (1934), no one has an interest in modifying the actual price formation. The Stackelberg model is based on the third case of a Stackelberg duopoly. 2.2 The Model In the Stackelberg duopoly the leader (Stackelberg firm) moves first and the follower moves second. As opposed to other models like the Bertrand model and Cournot model where firms make decisions about price or output simultaneously, firms in the Stackelberg duopoly make decisions sequentially. The Stackelberg equilibrium is determined using backwards induction (first determine the follower firms best response to an arbitrary output level by the Stackelberg firm). According to Gibbons (1992), information is an important element of the model. The information in question is the Stackelberg firms level of output (or price, Dastidar (2004) looks at Stackelberg equilibrium in price). The follower firm would know this output once the Stackelberg firm moves first and, as importantly, the Stackelberg firm knows that the follower firm will know the output level and respond to it accordingly. Inspired by the work of Gibbons (1992), Murphy et al. (1983) and Dastidar (2004), a general solution to the Stackelberg game (duopoly) is derived in the parts that follow. 2.2.1 Price function, cost functions, and profit functions Suppose that two firms in a duopoly supply a homogeneous product. Denote the demand function of this market as, where is the total level of output supplied by the duopoly (is the Stackelberg firms output level and is the follower firms output level). The price function can be re-written as. Denote the cost functions (Appendix 1) as for the Stackelberg firm, and for the follower firm. The profit function of the Stackelberg firm is given by: Similarly, the profit function of the follower firm is given by: 2.2.2 Backward induction to derive the best response functions and Stackelberg equilibrium According to Gibbons (1992), the best response for the follower will be one that maximises its profit given the output decision of the Stackelberg firm. The followers profit maximisation problem can be written as: This can be solved by differentiating the objective function and equating the differential to zero (as seen in Appendix 1). Using chain rule to differentiate equation [2] and setting the differential to zero, the following result is obtained: Note that this is a partial differentiation of the profit function since the function depends on the demand function which depends on two variables. Equation [4] gives the followers best response function. For a given the best response quantity satisfies equation [4]. As a result, the Stackelberg firms profit maximisation problem becomes: By differentiating the objective function in equation [5] and equating the differential to zero, the following result which maximises the Stackelberg firms profit is obtained: By solving equation [6] with the follower firms best response profit maximising output, is obtained by the Stackelberg firm given the followers best response. Gibbons (1992) describes as the Stackelberg equilibrium (or the Nash equilibrium of the Stackelberg game). 2.2.3 Example Gibbons (1992) considers a simple duopoly selling homogeneous products. He assumes that both firms are identical and the marginal cost of production is constant at. He also assumes that the market faces a linear downward sloping demand curve. The profit function of the firms is given by: where, with representing the Stackelberg firm and representing the follower firm. Using backward induction, the follower firms best response function is calculated: Solving equation [8]: The Stackelberg firm anticipates that its output will be met by the followers response. Thus the Stackelberg firm maximises profit by setting output to: Solving equation [10]: Substituting this in equation [9]: Equations [11] and [12] give the Stackelberg equilibrium. The total output in this Stackelberg duopoly is. Note: Gibbons (1992) worked out the total output in a Cournot duopoly to be (using this example) which is less than the output in the Stackelberg duopoly; the market price is higher in the Cournot duopoly and lower in the Stackelberg duopoly. Each firm in the Cournot duopoly produces; the follower is worse off in the Stackelberg model than in the Cournot model because it would supply a lower quantity at a lower market price. Clear, there exists a first mover advantage in this case. In general, according to Dastidar (2004), first advantage is possible if firms are identical and if the demand is concave and costs are convex. Gal-or (1985) showed that first mover advantage exists if the firms are identical and have identical downward sloping best response functions. Chapter 3: Recent Stackelberg Leader-Follower Models The classical Stackelberg model has been an inspiration for many economists and mathematicians. Murphy et al. (1983) extend the Stackelberg model to an oligopoly. Later, Smeers and Wolf (1997) extended Murphy et al.s model to a stochastic version where demand is unknown when the Stackelberg firm makes its decision. In a more recent report by DeMiguel and Xu (2009) the Stackelberg problem is extended to an oligopoly with multi-leaders. In this section the models proposed by Murphy et al. (1983) and Smeers and Wolf (1997) are reviewed. 3.1 A Nonlinear Mathematical Programming Version The model proposed by Murphy et al (1983), is a nonlinear mathematical programming version of the Stackelberg model. In their model, they consider the supply side of an oligopoly that supplies homogeneous product. The model is designed to model output decisions in a non-cooperative oligopoly. There are followers in this market who are referred to as Cournot firms (note that from now onwards the follower firms are referred to as Cournot firm as opposed to just follower firms) and leader who is referred to as the Stackelberg firm (as before). The Stackelberg firm considers the reaction of the Cournot firms in its output decision and sets its output level in a profit maximising manner. The Cournot firms, on the other hand, observe the Stackelberg firms decision and maximise their individual profits by setting output under the Cournot assumption of zero conjectural variations (Carlton and Perloff, 2005, define conjectural variation are expectations made by firms in an oligopolistic market about reactions of the other firm). It is assumed that all the firms have complete knowledge about the other firms. 3.1.1 Notations and assumptions For each Cournot firm, let represent the output level. For the Stackelberg firm, let represent the output level (note that is used here instead of, as seen earlier, to distinguish the Stackelberg firm from the Cournot firms). is the total cost function of level of output by Cournot firms and is the total cost function of level of output by the Stackelberg firm. Let represents the inverse market demand curve (that is, is the price at which consumers are willing and able to purchase units of output). In addition to the Cournot assumption and assumption of complete knowledge, Murphy et al. (1983) make the following assumption: and are both convex and twice differentiable. is a strictly decreasing function and twice differentiable which satisfies the following inequality, There exists a quantity (the maximum level of output any firm is willing to supply) such that, For referencing, these set of assumption will be referred to as Assumption A. Assumption 2 implies that the industrys marginal revenue (Appendix 1) decreases as industry supply increases. A proof of this statement can be found in the report by Murphy et al. (1983). Assumption 3 implies that at output levels the marginal cost is greater than the price. 3.1.2 Stackelberg-Nash-Cournot (SCN) equilibrium The Stackelberg-Nash-Cournot (SCN) equilibrium is derived at in a similar way to the Stackelberg equilibrium seen in chapter 2. Using backward induction, Murphy et al. (1983) first maximise the Cournot firms profit under the assumption of zero conjectural variation and for a given. For each Cournot firm let the set of output levels be such that, for a given and assuming are fixed, solves the following Cournot problem: According to Murphy et al. (1983), the objective function in equation [15] is a strictly convex profit function over the closed, convex and compact interval. This implies that a unique optimum exists. The functions can be referred to as the joint reaction functions of the Cournot firms. Murphy et al. (1983) define the aggregate reaction curve as: The Stackelberg problem can be written as: If solves, then the set of output levels is the SNC equilibrium with To get this equilibrium, the output levels need to be determined. Murphy et al. (1983) use the Equilibrating program (a family of mathematical programs designed to reconcile the supply-side and demand-side of a market to equilibrium) to determine: Let the Lagrange multiplier associated with the maximisation problem [19] be. Murphy et al.s (1983) approach here is to determine for which the optimal. The following result, obtained from Murphy et al. (1983), defines the optimal solution to problem [19]: Theorem 1: For a fixed, consider Problem suppose that satisfy Assumption A. Denote by the unique optimal solution to and let be the corresponding optimal Lagrange Multiplier associated with problem [19]. (In case since alternative optimal multipliers associated with problem [19] exist, let be the minimum non-negative optimal Lagrange Multiplier.) Then, is a continuous function of for. is a continuous, strictly decreasing function of. Moreover, there exist output levels and such that and . A set of output levels optimal to Problem, where, satisfy the Cournot Problem [15] if and only if, whence, for. (This theorem is taken from Murphy et al. (1983) with a few alterations to the notation) The proof of this result can be found in the report by Murphy et al. (1983). This theorem provides an efficient way of finding for each fixed. For example, one can simple conduct a univariate bisection search to find the unique root of. 3.1.3 Properties of and Murphy et al. (1983) describes the aggregate Cournot reaction curve as follows: is a continuous, strictly decreasing function of. If the right hand derivative of with respect to is denoted as (the rate of increase of with an increase in ), then for each : The proof to these two properties can be found in the report by Murphy et al. (1983). Murphy et al. (1983) state that if solves the Stackelberg problem [17], then the profit made by the Stackelberg firm is greater than or equal to the profit it would have made as a Cournot firm. Suppose that is a Nash-Cournot equilibrium for the firm oligopoly. is the output the Stackelberg firm would supply if it was a Cournot firm. solves: But since solves the Stackelberg problem [17], the following must hold: In fact, is the lower bound of. The proof to this can be found in Murphy et al. (1983) From assumption 3 in Assumption A, it is clear that. Thus, it is clear that is an upper bound. However, according to Murphy et al. (1983) another upper bound exists. In a paper by Sherali et al. (1980) on the Interaction between Oligopolistic firms and Competitive Fringe (a price taking firm in an oligopoly that competes with dominant firms) a different follower-follower model is discussed. In this model, the competitive fringe is content at equilibrium to have adjusted its output to the level for which marginal cost equals price. Murphy et al. (1983) summarise this model as follows: For fixed and suppose is a set of output levels such that for each firm solves: and For the Stackelberg firm, let satisfy: In addition to Assumption A, if is strictly convex, then a unique solution exists and satisfies conditions [23] and [24]. The Equilibrating Program with a fringe becomes: Theorem 1 holds for with and which implies that. In fact, if is strictly convex, is the upper bound of. Collectively, is bounded as follows: 3.1.4 Existence and uniqueness of the Stackelberg-Nash-Cournot equilibrium Murphy et al. (1983) prove the existence and uniqueness of the Stackelberg-Nash-Cournot (SCN) equilibrium. Their approach to the proof is summarised below: Existence For the SNC equilibrium to exist, and for should satisfy Assumption A. Since is bounded and is continuous (as is continuous), the Stackelberg problem [17] involves the maximisation of a continuous objective function over the compact set. This implies that an optimal solution exists. From Theorem 1 it is seen that a unique set of output levels, which simultaneously solves the Cournot problem [15], exists. As a result the SNC equilibrium exists. Uniqueness If is convex, then the equilibrium is unique. Since is convex, the objective function of the Stackelberg problem [17] becomes strictly concave on. This has been proven by Murphy et al. (1983) and the proof can be found in their report. This implies the equilibrium is unique. 3.1.5 Algorithm to solve the Stackelberg problem Murphy et al. (1983) provide an algorithm in their report to solve the Stackelberg problem. This algorithm is summarised as follows: To start with the Stackelberg firm needs the following information about the market and the Cournot firms: Cost functions of the Cournot firms, satisfying Assumption A. The upper bound as per Assumption A. The inverse demand function for the industry, which also satisfies Assumption A. With this information, the Stackelberg firm need to determine the lower bound and split the interval into grid points with, where and (from [26]). A piecewise linear approximation of is made as follows: Here, is an approximation to and from equation [20] it follows that: Note that at each grid point the approximation agrees with. The Stackelberg problem [17], thus, becomes: can be re-written as: Where and Thus problem [30] becomes: The objective function is strictly concave and solvable. Let be the objective function of the Stackelberg problem [17] and the objective function of the piecewise Stackelberg problem [32], then: Suppose is the optimum level of output. First, suppose that is an endpoint of the interval, then. Now suppose that, that is, . Then needs to be evaluated in order to determine. Theorem 1 can be used here. Recall that is a continuous, decreasing function of. To find the point where (part iii of Theorem 1), the following method is suggested by Murphy et al. (1983): Figure : Method for determining Source: Smeers and Wolf (1997) (alterations made to the notation) First determine using the bounds. Next, determine using the bounds. Then determine using the bounds.Next, determine using the bounds and so on. If then evaluate using the bounds. Having evaluated for some grid points, the game can either be terminated with the best of these grid points as an optimal solution or the grid can be redefined at an appropriate region to improve accuracy. Murphy et al. (1983) go on to determine the maximum error from the estimated optimal Stackelberg solution. This is summarised below: Let be the derivative of with respect to , then: Let be the marginal profit made by the Stackelberg firm for supplying units of output, Let be the actual optimal objective function value in the interval with the estimate being . Then the error of this estimate is defined as: satisfies the following: This concludes the review of Murphy et al.s (1983) nonlinear mathematical programing model of the Stackelberg problem in an oligopoly. 3.2 A Stochastic Version Smeers and Wolf (1997) provide an extension to the nonlinear mathematical programming version of the Stackelberg model by Murphy et al. (1983) discussed in subsection 3.1. In the same way as Murphy et al.s (1983) model, the Stackelberg game in this version is played in two stages. In the first stage, the Stackelberg firm makes a decision about its output level. In the second stage, the Cournot firms, having observed the Stackelberg firms decision, react according to the Cournot assumption of zero conjectural variation. However, Smeers and Wolf (1997) add the element of uncertainty to this process. When the Stackelberg firm makes its decision the market demand is uncertain, but demand is known when the Cournot firms make their decision. This makes the Smeers and Wolfs (1997) version of the Stackelberg model stochastic. Smeers and Wolf (1997) assume that this uncertainty can be modelled my demand scenarios. 3.2.1 Notations and Assumption For the costs functions, the same notations are used. is the total cost function of level of output by Cournot firms and is the total cost function of level of output by the Stackelberg firm. The demand function is changed slightly to take into account the uncertainty. is a set of demand scenarios with corresponding probabilities of occurrence As such, is the price at which customers are willing and able to purchase units of output in demand scenario . has a probability of occurrence. The same Assumption set A discussed in subsection 3.1.1 apply here with alterations made to conditions [13] and [14]. Assumption set A can be re-written as: and are both convex and twice differentiable, as before. is a strictly decreasing function and twice differentiable which satisfies the following inequality, There exists a quantity (the maximum level of output any firm is willing to supply in each demand scenario) such that, For referencing, these set of assumption will be referred to as Assumption B. 3.2.2 Stochastic Stackelberg-Nash-Cournot (SSNC) equilibrium Smeers and Wolf (1997) use the same approach seen before to derive the SSNC equilibrium. The Cournot problem [15]can be re-written as follows: For each Cournot firm and each demand scenario, let the set of output levels be such that, for a given and assuming are fixed, solves the following Cournot problem: Note that is the output level of Cournot firm when the demand scenario is . For each, according to Murphy et al. (1983), the objective function in equation [40] is a strictly convex profit function over the closed, convex and compact interval. The functions can be referred to as the joint reaction functions of the Cournot firms for a demand scenario. The aggregate reaction curve becomes: The Stackelberg problem with demand uncertainty can be written as: Note the Stackelberg problem defined problem [42] differs from that defined in [17]. This is because of the element of uncertainty. The Cournot problem [40] is similar to the Cournot problem [15] because the demand is known when the Cournot firms make their decision. In the Stackelberg problem [42] note the element. This is the estimated mean price, that is, the Stackelberg firm considers the reaction of the Cournot firm under each demand scenario and works out the market price in each scenario, and it then multiplies it by the probability of each scenario. The summation of this represents the estimated mean price. If solves the stochastic, then the set of output levels is the SSNC equilibrium for demand scenario. To get this equilibrium, the output levels need to be determined. Smeers and Wolf (1997) use the same approach as Murphy et al. (1983) in doing so. The Equilibrating program is the same as that in [19], with changes made to the Cournot output and demand function: For each demand scenario , Theorem 1 lays out a foundation on how to solve the Equilibrating program in problem [19] and can also be used to solve [44]. Smeers and Wolf (1997) Summarise Theorem 1 as follows: Theorem 2: For each fixed, An optimal solution for the problem satisfies the Cournot problem [40] if and only if the Lagrange multiplier,, associated with the Equilibrating program [44], is equal to zero. This multiplier is a continuous, strictly decreasing function of . Moreover, there exists and such that: (This theorem is taken from Smeers and Wolf (1997), with a few alteration to the notations) The properties of are the same as those discussed in subsection 3.1.3. The existence and uniqueness of the SSNC equilibrium is shown in the same ways as the SNC equilibrium of Murphy et al.s (1983) model discussed in subsection 3.1.4. 3.2.3 Algorithm to solve the Stackelberg problem The Stackelberg problem here is solved in the same way Murphy et al. (1983) proposed (discussed in subsection 3.1.5). In their report, Smeers and Wolf (1997) do not specify the upper and lower bound of, thus, it is assumed that is bounded by.The interval can be split into grid points with, where and . The piecewise linear approximation of in [27] can be re-written as follows: Here, has the same properties as [29]. The Stackelberg problem [42], thus, becomes: Hereafter, the algorithm summarised in subsection 3.1.5 can be used to solve this problem. 3.3 Numerical Example In Murphy et al.s (1983) report a simple example of the Stackelberg model is given. They consider the case of a linear demand curve and quadratic cost functions: It is assumed that the Stackelberg firm and Cournot firms are identical. The Cournot problem [15] becomes as follow, with as the optimal solution: Solving this problem yields: Note the upper bound of is found by setting. The working to get equation [51] is shown in Appendix 2. The aggregate reaction curve can be written as: Using this information, this example is now extended to Smeers and Wolfs (1997) model with numerical values. Note that the functions listed in equations [49], [50], [51] and [52] satisfy Assumptions A B and other properties discussed in previous sections. Suppose and. And suppose demand is unknown when the Stackelberg firm makes its decision. The cost functions of the firms will be as follows: Figure : Different Demand Scenarios The tables below describe the possible demand scenarios, probability of each scenario occurring, the joint reaction curve and aggregate reaction curve for, and: Scenario, Demand, Probability, = Demand falls, = Demand remains unchanged, = Demand Increases, Scenario, Joint reaction curve, Aggregate reaction curve, Using this information, the Stackelberg problem [42] can be solved. First, the estimated price element can be calculated as follows: Substituting this result back into the Stackelberg problem [42] gives: This problem can easily be solved by differentiating the objective function and finding the value of for which the differential is equal to zero. The working to obtain the following optimal solution is shown in Appendix 2. Using this result, the following result is obtained for each demand scenario: Figure : Optimal Output, Price and Profit 1 260.870 98.02 652.96 147.04 2 260.870 134.39 798.42 201.58 3 260.870 170.75 943.87 256.13 Stackelberg firm Profit, Cournot firm Profit, Industry Profit, 1 21,243.87 12,010.81 69,387.12 2 35,573.12 22,574.95 125,872.92 3 49,802.37 36,444.87 195,581.87 The tables in figure 3 state the SSNC equilibriums for each scenario, and the profits made by each firm in this oligopoly and the total industry profit in each scenario. Note that since is strictly convex, the equilibrium obtained for each scenario is unique. Also note that in all three scenarios, the Stackelberg Output and profit is greater than that of the Cournot firms, illustrating the first mover advantage. Chapter 4: Discussion In this section, the practical applications, drawbacks and possible extensions to Stackelberg models are discussed. 4.1 Practical Applications of Stackelberg models Stackelberg models are widely used by firms to aid decision making. Some examples include: Manufacturer-Retailer Supply Chain He et al. (2009) present a stochastic Stackelberg problem to model the interaction between a manufacturer and a retailer. The manufacturer would announce its cooperative advertising policy (percentage of retailers advertising expenses it will cover-participation rate) and the wholesale price. The retailer, in response, chooses its optimal advertising and pricing policies. When the retailers advertising and pricing is an importan

Brave New World Utopia Or Dystopia Philosophy Essay

Brave New World Utopia Or Dystopia Philosophy Essay Brave New World is both, utopia and dystopia. The author Aldous Huxley intended to depict an imagined new world after Ford, an industrial era, where all people would be happy and extremely satisfied or as content as the ideal society would let them be. Yet, to determine utopia and dystopia in Brave New World, we have to look at the new world from our own time and from the time before Ford, seen through the eyes of John the Savage, our predecessor. The world we observe herein reflects a futuristic world, a world that is to come, and a happy world we can imagine with an amount of disbelief. People of our world, the world which is happier than the savages world, still not as happy as the Fords world, will have to consider all the facts that make the new world look happy and brave. The notion of a brave world will inevitably lead to the question of what makes the new world brave. Freedom to do only what pleases us or freedom to identify only with our single-minded community, whose happin ess is controlled, makes us submissive to the rules, intrinsic and learnt rules, for we wish to enjoy our lives despite all odds. The ideas are as brave as the community that fosters them keeps them alive and effective. BNW has the power to control and please its citizens, because they indulge to their hedonistic consumer orientated feelings, blessed by their God Ford. Therefore it is necessary to confront the values and ideas people share at the time before Ford and after Ford. Is the BNW a good or a bad world? How utopian is it and how dystopian is it? Is this world, which Huxley satirically depicted, is it a real utopia or its bad version, an unimaginably and disgustingly surreal dystopia? BNW as utopia This novel is presenting many brave ideas placed in future. The community depicted in the novel, being futuristic, appears as a utopian society. There are a couple of elements that present its utopian side. They are: a highly reproductive, healthy, wealthy and stabile community. These are provided by the government who ensures planning and controlling everything that is in peoples interest. Government takes good care of their citizens. Citizens live and work closely together, they are agreeable on everything and there is no conflict. Reasons control emotions in a society whose member should all feel happy with what they are and what they have. Being a utopian novel, BNW tells a story about being ultimately happy in a world that does not incite emotions or causes pain. Genetically improved people live an undisturbed happy and healthy life in a society that provides for their constant well being. They are very intelligent Alphas and Betas, and less intelligent Gammas, Deltas and Epsilons, but all of them are happy with what they are and how they live. A stable caste system solved by standard Gammas, unvarying Deltas, uniform Epsilons. Millions of identical twins. The principle of mass production at last applied to biology (Huxley, 2002:8). Love in this community is deprived of feelings or its disturbing emotional conditions, or to say love does not exist. It cannot hurt, as it usually hurts. There is no pain or regret. Sex is considered as recreation and there is no immorality in orgies. It is simply a pleasure that people should do often and with all the other beautiful members of the community. All members of the community have whatever they need: drinks, food, sex, soma (drugs). A reproductive goal is painless delivery of new people to the world, controlled properly for the sake of the health, prosperity and stability of the society. Women do not have to deliver babies. They do not have to go through the pain. Everybody loves everybody. It is phenomenal to have so much love anywhere people go. Ford justifies promiscuity with biological animal reasons. People intercourse with everyone and ladies are so fittingly pneumatic, just like Ford vehicles are. Babies are raised in bottles that are to be predestined in detail (Huxley, 2002: 9) through the Bokanovsky process as it is one of the major instruments of social stability!( Huxley, 2002: 7). There, in the bottles, they are prepared for what they are going to be when they come out and grow up in the society where everyone knows their place, they know about things they are predestined for and diseases they will be cured against. People are not afraid of death, because it is a natural course of things. All the aforementioned conveniences provide members of the happy BNW community with their unique identity of a happy nation. They are free members of their community in the way that they are free to extremely enjoy life in the line with the rules of their happy community. They have been taught that understanding of the world since the bottle time, and afterwards through hypnopaedic incantation for the sake of stability, lulled by their thoughtful proverbs like Leninas favorite a gramme is better than a damn. The director of the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre educates that two hundred repetitions of the same or a similar lesson would be wedded indissolubly. What man has joined, nature is powerless to put asunder (Huxley, 2002:17). As for art, people do not make it. Their life is so colorful, stable and happy that no inner state of mind should be expressed more effectively than consuming goods and reaching satisfaction, which pleases human bodily and spiritual needs. Talking about science, there is nothing that should be invented as the society living in wealth, and everyone have their lives at ease. The community is well advanced and further advancements could only misbalance the casts needs, and it is unnecessary because everyone has his own predestined role in the stable society that is already prosperous. How utopian indeed! Huxley observed in foreword of his novel written in 1946 with the time he set in the novel six hundred years in the future, although it seems to him that we are hardly one hundred years far from the horror (KoljeviĆ¡, 2002:137). His opinion leads us to the notion of dystopia, as the author concludes it to be a horrifying reality in which people shall live in one day in the alienated world enriched with technologies. BNW as dystopia By converting into dystopia, the happy society becomes a place ruled under totalitarian conditions in our own eyes. Initially, John the Savage grasps the new word because he thinks it is a world with brave ideas, but later on he recognizes the world to be sinful. Being different entails ones expatriation from the happy society. One has the freedom to choose between thinking differently and being a follower. Huxley questions the world that solved all of its problems where children are made in labsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦grown up in the spirit of three main social paroles: community, identity, stability. These paroles are imprinted in their minds when they were sleeping and once they became adults they would keep repeating them as supreme wisdoms and morality(KovaÄ eviĆ¡, 1984:268). Attempts to distort the unquestioned identity of the community will lead to social isolation. Freedom to think differently dies with dystopia. Island is the perfect place for the different member of the community. Some members are not reliable members of the society, their appearance, skills and performance are not as they are meant to be, some of the members want to conduct scientific researches, and science is found as a disturbing element for the community. Such people who are like Bernard and Helmholtz need to accept the regime or to be expatriated if disobeyed. To cure the disagreement sickness that leads into instability, people better take soma. People are meant to obey as they were learnt to, as their creators predestined them. Creators decant babies as socialized human beings, as Alphas or Epsilons, as future sewage workers or future à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦future World controllers (Huxley, 2002:109). BNW is really a disgusting society, which gives one all hedonistic pleasure he/she can think of, against Bible and morality. No feelings exist there, people are not free to make their own choice, their physical existence is abuse of their blood and flesh without any pain for pains a delusion (Huxley, 2002:108). Women are decent Alpha Leninas, highly respected whores; all people enjoy promiscuity. Svetozar KoljeviĆ¡ cites June Deery that women in the society are seen and regard themselves as meat and, as in our society, meat which must be lean, not fat (KoljeviĆ¡, 2002:136). As sexually immorality caused decay of Rome, so it could have the same implications on BNW. The brave new world is just a technically advanced world, a new world that was foreseen by Ford, the master of mass production. Ford is the God, the master of a technologically perfected world of commodities and consumers, the one who looks down at his consumers, who blindly follow their consumer instincts and beliefs. Identity of the consumers comes with their religion in Ford and massive consumption and comforting with their sins. The followers have no freedom to feel, think over or react to all the immoralities. Unlike utopia, dystopia in BNW is threatening to everything that is normal. In such a stable community, people have to give up on the things they have always known and felt normal. The unsettling feeling about universal happiness appears when people think about giving up on normal values like home, family, freedom and other traditional value. It is not a real happiness. Happiness comes from vices: orgies (Bernard says that Orgy-porgyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦is just a Solidarity Service hymn (Huxley, 2002:122), promiscuity (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦but every one belongs to every one else (Huxley, 2002:18), drugs that makes us love everyone more deeply and if anything should go wrong, theres soma (Huxley, 2002:155). The curse of unquestioned stability is an element that suppresses the element of freedom. It suppresses the emotions about being special or different. People should fear emotions, because they are the sign of weakness and an inappropriate reaction. Life is not valued, as every life can be repl aced by thousands of other lives. Unnaturally, people should take death with ease. Dying is nice as they are taught so. They learn to take dying as a matter of natural course à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.like any other physiological process (Huxley, 2002:109). Even when they die, their body is burnt and the ash is used for pragmatic needs. As for art, it is considered as an expression of feelings or attitudes that must be controlled. One should not express them, as they threaten stability of a totalitarian society. Those should not influence other people, and this resembles Middle Ages state of art, not a futuristic era. Science is a threat to stability, as it brings changes and inventions. Mond lectures the Savage in that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦every discovery in pure science is potentially subversive; even science must sometimes be treated as a possible enemy. Yes, even science. (Huxley, 2002:154). This really sounds dystopian, because the futuristic times anticipate novelties. Science shapes history with its inventions. Summary The paroles of community, identity and stability are axis of the new society Huxley presented through the mirror of utopia and dystopia. Those are two sides of the same coin: the question of how the world will look like with all the technology advancements, enlarged mass production and an increasing hedonistic consumers society. It tackles with peoples perception of the well engineered future and their attitude about how they want the world to be. In modern terms, in touches the notion of influence of social and commercial propaganda merged with the power of large-scale technology and industry creators of the present world order.

Female Poets and the Dark Side of Life Essay -- Rossetti Poetry Poems

Female Poets and the Dark Side of Life During the mid-nineteenth century many female poets including Christina Rossetti seemed to lean upon the dark side of life presenting very dark and shadowed emotions within their poetry. Yet this is not to say that they were depressed but in many ways in can be inferred that these dark themes may have been influenced by the era in which they were living. Many historians have suggested that the second half of the nineteenth century was culturally, a rather strange period. The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was started in 1848 by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Everett Millais and William Holman Hunt, as a reaction against what they saw as the stale, formula-driven art produced by the Royal Academy at the time. They aimed to go back to a more genuine art, exemplified as they saw it by the work of the Nazarenes, and rooted in realism and truth to nature. The Pre-Raphaelites, being young, talented, and having many ideas of their own, felt stifled by the rigidity of the Royal Academy's idea of what tasteful, beautiful art should be. ...

john w booth Essay -- essays research papers

A History of John Wilkes Booth   The name of John Wilkes Booth conjures up a picture of America's most infamous assassin, the killer of perhaps the greatest president of the United States. However, J. Wilkes Booth (as he was known professionally) led a very prominent life as an actor in the years preceding the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. This period of his life is often forgotten or overlooked. The Booth family name in the nineteenth century was strongly identified with the American theater scene; there was no greater name among American actors at this time. Junius Brutus Booth, Sr. came to the United States from England in 1821 and established the Booth name upon the American stage. He left his legacy to be carried by his sons Edwin, John Wilkes, and Junius Brutus, Jr. All of the Booth children but one, were born out of wedlock. John Wilkes Booth was born on May 10, 1838 in a log house. The family home was on property near Bel Air, Maryland, twenty-five miles south of the Mason-Dixon line. Elder brother Edwin supervised his younger brother's upbringing. Later Edwin and older sister Asia would write about their eccentric brother's behavior. Francis Wilson, who wrote a biography of Booth in 1929, stated that Booth opened his stage career in 1855 at the Charles Street Theatre in Baltimore and began performing on a regular basis two years later. Once Booth embarked upon his acting career, he wanted the comparisons between himself and his late father to cease. It was a common practice of theater companies to retain actors who would complement a touring, star figure. Booth eventually became one the these star figures, with stock companies for one and two week engagements. Often a different play was performed each night, requiring Booth to stay up studying his new role until dawn, when he would rise and make his way to the theater for rehearsal. Booth began his stock theater appearances in 1857 in Weatley's Arch Street Theatre in Philadelphia (the center for theater in this country at the time). According to one biographer, Booth studied intently in Philadelphia, but author Gordon Samples writes that Booth's lack of confidence did not help his theatrical career. William S. Fredericks, the acting and stage manager at the Arch Street Theatre, said the new actor did not show promise as a great actor. This negative opinion was also held by other Philadelp... ... putting together an operation, purportedly with Dr. Mudd and others, to capture the President and transport him to Richmond. By capturing Lincoln they expected to force the federal government to return Confederate prisoners of war who were confined in Union prisons and then return them to fight Union forces. After nearly five months of intense planning, the attempt to capture the president took place on March 17, 1865. Mr. Lincoln, however, disappointed the would-be captors by changing his plans. Instead of visiting a hospital outside of Washington, President Lincoln attended a luncheon at the National Hotel. This was the hotel Booth used as his temporary home while in Washington, DC. Two weeks later, the long Union siege of the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia ended. The Union Army marched in and Confederate forces under General Lee moved west. One week later, on April 9, 1865 General Lee was forced by General Grant to surrender. These Confederate failures, along with the failure of Booth's capture plot, apparently gave Booth the incentive to carry out his final fatal plan. Five days after General Lee's surrender, Booth assassinated Mr. Lincoln inside Ford's Theatre.

Comparing the Women in Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young M

Characterization of Women in Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and Ulysses    Joyce's depiction of women is characterized by a high degree of literary self-consciousness, perhaps even more so than in the rest of his work. The self-consciousness emerges as an awareness of both genre and linguistic expectations. contrasting highly self-conscious, isolated literary men (or men with literary aspirations) with women who follow more romantic models, even stereotypes. In Dubliners, Joyce utilizes a clichà ©d story of doomed love ending in death-physical or spiritual-in "A Painful Case" and "The Dead." The former holds far more to these conventions and can be read as a precursor to the more sophisticated techniques in the latter, which draws the reader's attention to the clichà © only to redirect it. Nevertheless, it is Joyce's handiwork here, his subversion of genre, that takes the main stage, and the women in the stories do fade into the background. In A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, he again literalizes a stereotype, the Madonna/whore binary , showing women as nuns, long-suffering wives, or prostitutes. But this division also serves to highlight one of Stephen Dedalus's primary battles, between Ireland and exile, family and freedom, which results in a call to writing away from domestic responsibility. Ulysses, and especially "Penelope," seems to escape these because it is precisely against genre-there was no preexisting "in-bed monologue" genre-but it is the most conscious and critical of feminine linguistic construction. "Female" words (through letters to Bloom) are the constant aural background in Bloom's mind, but he fixates on them precisely because of their "bad writing" (4.414), a... ...him as Molly thinks about him in the present and, most importantly, well after Joyce wrote about him, in the eternal lines of "Penelope."    Works Cited and Consulted Bidwell, Bruce and Linda Heffer. The Joycean Way: A Topographic Guide to Dubliners and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Johns Hopkins: Baltimore, 1981. Gifford, Don. Joyce Annotated: Notes for Dubliners and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. University of California: Berkeley, 1982. Joyce, James. Dubliners. Penguin Books: New York, 1975. Peake, C.H. James Joyce: The Citizen and the Artist. Stanford University: Stanford, 1977. Tindall, William York. A Reader's Guide to James Joyce. Noonday Press: New York, 1959. Walzl, Florence L. "Dubliners." A Companion Study to James Joyce. Ed. Zack Bowen and James F. Carens. Greenwood Press: London, 1984   

Effective communication within my time at BP Essay

While on my internship I wanted to show effective communication. This involved me communicating with my team, working well within my team and giving many presentations to them. At the end of my internship I got feedback from my manager who explained how I was able to show effective communication within my time at BP. Goal – To improve my communication. 1. Introduce and talk to people who I don’t know. 2. Share ideas with colleagues. 3. Ask for help when needed. Feedback – Being able to communicate effectively was an important part of her’ role, as she was dealing with numerous personnel for whom English was not their first language. In her first week she was tasked with composing an email to send to all the regionally based team members. She proved straight away that her written communications skills were good, although she was naturally looking for reassurance of her emails were as required. By the end of the internship, both her written and verbal communication could only be described as â€Å"excellent†. Goal – To improve my ability to ask questions 1. List down any questions that come to mind during work or home. 2. Do some research on the questions before hand and find an answer. 3. If I cannot find an answer I will ask a college or supervisor. Feedback – When she did have any questions she was happy to ask, and did so in a polite and concise manner. If she needed help on tasks or wanted extra elaboration on certain topics she was able to do so. Goal – To improve team working with new people 1. Introduce myself to the new people in my team. 2. Think of questions and ideas to contribute to the team. 3. Contribute my ideas to them and ask questions. 4. Use the information gained and adapt it to my work. Feedback – She fitted into the team from day one, she is reliable, punctual and always polite and courteous. Her attitude to work was excellent, she was always willing to give something ago, with minimal instruction. Goal – To improve my presentation skills 1. Plan a presentation and practice it. 2. Ask for feedback from colleagues. 3. Take the feedback into consideration and improve the presentation. 4. Invite colleagues, managers to listen to the presentation. The first time I met her, she highlighted that she wanted to improve her presentation skills during her time with us. So, on her first day I asked her to help me present the safety moment in our team meeting; and she did a great job! Over the next few weeks she had other opportunities to both help compile presentation material, and also present to others on her own. By the end on the internship when it was time to present to a room full of peers, parents and work colleagues, she was a professional! In conclusion, it’s always very important to show effective communication skills in the workplace as they are vital for teamwork and overall success. These skills were skills that I wanted to improve greatly as I know they will be beneficial in the future. The majority of the feedback from my line manager was very positive and I will take into account the comments for improvement.

Tesco V Walmart

BA. Honours Business Management BUSINESS MATTERS Business Issues: Tesco v Walmart TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1. Introduction 3 2. Business Issues in the Retail Sector 3 3. Financial Health 5 3. 1 Tesco 5 3. 2 Walmart 7 4. Cultural Style & Leadership 9 4. 1 Tesco 9 4. 2 Walmart 10 4. 3 Ethical & Environmental Issues 12 5. Conclusions 12 6. References 13 7. Bibliography 14 1. Introduction In 2009 the grocery market in the United Kingdom was worth 146. 3 billion pounds, an increase of 4. 8% on the previous year [see Figure 1].Groceries account for fifty-two pence of every pound in retail spending [Newbold, 2010, online]. Figure 1: UK Grocery Market Performance 1998 – 2009 Source: IGD Research 2009 This report looks at contemporary business issues in the grocery sector and then compares the financial health, leadership, cultural style, ethical initiatives and environmental values of two of the biggest business names in the industry – Tesco and Walmart. 2. Business Issue sin the Retail Sector At the expense of small, specialist shops, supermarkets increasingly manage the supply chain from farm to shelf.Technological improvements in stock control and checkout scanning, for example, have lowered costs and attracted customers. Loyalty card schemes provide these superstores with an insight into consumer preferences, enabling them to better match products with customers. To increase efficiency and maintain competitiveness, supermarket chains have consolidated, resulting in a fewer number of giant companies. Consequently, manufacturers have become increasingly dependent on a small number of market outlets, giving these retailers tremendous leverage to negotiate lower prices.There is also severe competition with discounters such as Lidl. To better manage household budgets during the present credit crunch more British shoppers are shopping at these discount stores. Competition from these discounters has led the big chains to develop new strategies. For exam ple, Tesco has recently launched its new Discount range, in an effort to combat the rise of these popular, super-cheap supermarkets. Shoppers are not just attracted by low prices. The super centre or hypermarket approach means that one-stop shopping has become a reality for shoppers.Shopping at one of these large stores, possibly two to three times a week, has become a recreational event not a chore. With most shopping now done in malls or online, the traditional high street, with its parking charges, and traffic problems has suffered. There is no much talk about the dead heart of the city. To counter this trend, convenience stores [under 3000 sq feet and â€Å"opened all hours†] are increasing dramatically on the high street [see Figure 2]. With an increasing range of products and improved layouts, convenience multiples such as Spar represent the fastest growing part of the grocery market, with sales increasing by 12. %. They currently comprise 20. 5% of the total United Kin gdom food and grocery market [Tesco, 2009, online]. Figure 2: UK Convenience Stores, 2009 Source: IGD Research 2009 The large multiples have responded strongly in this market sector (e. g. Tesco Express) and have taken over some existing chains and petrol station forecourts. 3. Financial Health of Tesco & Walmart 3. 1 Tesco Tesco is the United Kingdom’s premier supermarket chain. It employs 440000 staff and operates in thirteen countries [Tesco, 2009, online]. Presently, it has a commanding, and increasing, 30. % share of the non-convenience UK grocery market [Figure 3].Figure 3: UK Supermarket Share In the financial year 2008-9, despite the economic downturn, Tesco had record profits of more than ? 3 billion, 10% more than the previous year. Total revenue rose to ? 59. 4bn, taking sales to more than ? 1billion a week for the first time. Consequently, shares in Tesco rose by 5. 5% [I. S. , 2010, online]. Figure 4: Tesco’s Profit & Loss Account 2005-2009| Year E nded 28 February| 2009| 2008| 2007| 2006| 2005| ? millions| Turnover| 59377. 0| 47298. 0| 42641. 0| 39454. | 33866. 0| Operating Profit| 3206. 0| 2791. 0| 2673. 0| 2280. 0| 1952. 0| Net Interest| -362. 0| -63. 0| -126. 0| -127. 0| -132. 0| Profit Before Tax| 2954. 0| 2803. 0| 2653. 0| 2235. 0| 1894. 0| Profit After Tax| 2166. 0| 2130. 0| 1881. 0| 1586. 0| 1353. 0| * * Source: www. redmayne. co. uk Figure 5: Tesco’s Balance Sheet 2005-2009| Year Ended 28 February| 2009| 2008| 2007| 2006| 2005| ? millions| Intangible Assets| 4027. 0| 2336. 0| 2045. 0| 1525. 0| 1408. 0| Tangible Assets| 23152. 0| 19787. 0| 16976. 0| 15882. 0| 14521. 0| Fixed Investments| 321. 0| 309. | 322. 0| 480. 0| 423. 0|Total Fixed Assets| 32008. 0| 23864. 0| 20231. 0| 18644. 0| 16931. 0| Stocks| 2669. 0| 2430. 0| 1931. 0| 1464. 0| 1309. 0| Cash at Bank and in Hand| 3509. 0| 1788. 0| 1042. 0| 1325. 0| 1146. 0| Total Assets| 46053. 0| 30164. 0| 24807. 0| 22563. 0| 20155. 0| Total Liabilities| 33058. 0| 18262 . 0| 14236. 0| 13119. 0| 11501. 0| Net Assets| 12995. 0| 11902. 0| 10571. 0| 9444. 0| 8654. 0| Net Current Assets| n/a| n/a| n/a| n/a| n/a| Called Up Share Capital| 395. 0| 393. 0| 397. 0| 395. 0| 389. 0| Share Premium Account| 4638. 0| 4511. 0| 4376. | 3988. 0| 3704. 0| Other Reserves| 40. 0| 40. 0| 40. 0| 40. 0| 40. 0| Profit and Loss Account| 7865. 0| 6871. 0| 5693. 0| 4957. 0| 4470. 0| Shareholders Funds| 12938. 0| 11815. 0| 10506. 0| 9380. 0| 8603. 0| Source: www. redmayne. co. uk A balance sheet lists all a business' assets and liabilities, giving a â€Å"snapshot† of the its overall money value at a given time. The Tesco balance sheet [Figure 5] indicates that it is very healthy financially. It shows that net assets [total assets – total liabilities] have increased tremendously from ? 8654 million to ? 12,995 million.The profit and loss account [net profit, or loss, made] has almost doubled in the five years shown from ? 4470 million to ? 7865 million. Figure 6: Key Figures for Tesco 2005-2009| Year Ended 28 February| 2009| 2008| 2007| 2006| 2005| Earnings Per Share Growth (%)| 6| 22| 10| 16| n/a| Total Dividend (p)| 11. 96| 10. 90| 9. 64| 8. 63| 7. 56| Operating Margin (%)| 6| 6| 6| 6| 6| ROCE (%)| 13| 17| 19| 20| 18| Dividend Yield| 3. 60| 2. 70| 2. 20| 2. 60| 2. 50| Price / Earnings Ratio| 11. 40| 14. 60| 19. 90| 16. 50| 17. 60| Dividend Per Share Growth (%)| 10| 13| 12| 14| 11| Source: www. redmayne. o. uk Return on capital employed (ROCE) is a key measure of an industry's financial health and performance [Atrill and Melaney, 2004]. It is calculated as the earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) divided by the difference between total assets and current liabilities.It shows whether an organisation is obtaining a decent profit for the amount of capital it owns. The higher the ratio, the better the company is. Tesco’ ROCE is down slightly but a return of 13% is still much better than any bank account interest rate and shows a ve ry effective investment of capital employed [Figure 6]. . 2 Walmart The USA based Walmart superstore chain is the biggest company in the world. Almost fifty years on since Sam Walton opened his first store, 90% of the US population is within fifteen miles of a Walmart [Luce, 2005]. With over 1. 3 million employees and sales at a quarter of a trillion, it is the biggest retailing success in history. With the goal of low prices, the average customer saves 15% shopping at Wal-Mart [Walmart, 2010, online]. Despite stiff competition, Wal-Mart's annual income from 1996 to 2006 increased steadily, as shown below in Figure 7.Figure 7: Walmart’s 10 Year Income For the fiscal year ending January 31, 2009, Wal-Mart brought in $405. 6 billion of total revenue [sales]. The income that the firm made after subtracting costs and expenses from the total revenue [net income] was $13. 6 billion [Foley, 2009, online]. Figure 8: Walmart’s Annual Report 2008-2009| | 01/01/2010| 01/01/2009| Revenue| $m| 405,607| 408,214| Pre-tax Profit| $m| 20,898| 22,579| EPS| $m| 3. 39| 3. 70| Dividend| $m| 0. 95| 1. 09| ROCE| 21. 00% Source: www. walmart. com| | | | |Even higher than Tesco, Walmart’s ROCE index of 21%, is indication of its great financial success. Walmart’s share price was hit by the recent economic recession but, as Figure 9 shows, has started to rise again. Figure 9: Walmart’s Share Price 2007-2010 Source: www. walmart. com In 1999 Asda was acquired by Walmart and in 2006 the company expanded even further internationally. They opened 537 new international stores, employing over 50,000 new employees. International revenues soared by 17. 4% to $7. 87bn, helped by store openings in markets such as Canada and Scotland [I. G. D. 2010, online]. Walmart’s market share continues to rise in the United States, but also in the United Kingdom and Mexico. In the midst of a global depression it is obvious that everyday low prices are a big consumer d raw. 4. Cultural Style ;amp; Leadership 4. 1 TESCO As a performance-driven organization, Tesco’s mission statement is â€Å"to create value for customers to earn their lifetime loyalty. † They are determined to strike up a close relationship with its customers. Consequently, Tesco endeavors to provide better, more innovative products and services than any of its competitors.It believes if you treat customers well and operate efficiently then shareholders’ will inevitably benefit by growth in sales, profits and returns [Enfield, 2009, online]. The customer/staff focus of Tesco is reflected in the far-sighted leadership of Terry Leahy, Chief Executive Officer. Representing a new era, Leahy adapted a more participative style of leadership, where employees are given a voice in the decision-making process. Terry Leahy, Tesco CEO The organizational structure is now simple and flat with fewer levels in the management hierarchy.There are fewer formal rules, more decentr alization and shared decision making throughout the organisation. Leadership roles are delegated to best informed and capable individuals in the organization to ensure that the company operates effectively. As values and beliefs develop, so does commitment to the organization and this is much more productive than a formal hierarchy (Miner 2002). The organic structure suits the pressure to be innovative – given its flexibility it can respond to environmental variations quickly (Salaman 2001, p. 106). 4. 2 WALMARTMuch of Wal-Mart's success is due to a strong and all-encompassing, corporate culture, originally developed by Sam Walton. At the core of this culture is a relentless push for the lowest prices. This penny-pinching is achieved using state of the art technology and by its â€Å"plus one† policy, which demands that suppliers lower their prices or increase the quality on every item every year. In â€Å"The Wal-Mart Effect,† Charles Fishman shows how the pric e of a four-pack of General Electric light bulbs decreased from $2. 19 to 88 cents within five years [Fishman, 2006].Because of this culture, Wal-Mart no-frills headquarters are in Bentonville, Arkansas, not an expensive city like New York. Executives start work before 6. 30 am, never use limousines, always fly economy-class and often share hotel rooms with colleagues. The company offers basic wages and health care plans. It demands that hourly workers do overtime without pay. Store managers regularly work 70 hours per week. They are expected to pinch pennies wherever they can, even on things like the heating and cooling of the stores.In the winter stores are kept at 70 degrees Fahrenheit and in the summer, they stay at 73 [Seth and Randall, 1999]. In almost fifty years of operation, Wal-Mart has managed to keep these cultural components, as well as its enterprising spirit. Leadership Walmart’s present chairman, S. Robson Walton [son of the founder] is reported to have said i t is the job of leaders to â€Å"listen to customers, listen to customers, listen to customers† [Fishman, 2006, p32]. Choosing to be a humble-servant type of leader, Mr Walton has established a spirit of customer service throughout the whole company. S. Robson Walton,Walmart Chairman Like Tesco, Walmart believes that delegation and limited supervision increases efficiency. Additionally, if leaders trust workers then they will develop quality decision-making skills. Fewer managerial, supervisory jobs also reflect Walmart’s culture of saving money wherever possible. 4. 3 Ethical & Environmental Issues In response to increasing consumer awareness of environmental and ethical issues, the supermarket chains have adopted a range of initiatives. In 2008 Walmart introduced new Fair Trade certified coffee products which provide plantation workers with better wages and working conditions.Similarly, to benefit farmers growing Fair Trade cotton in Africa and India, Tesco was t he first supermarket to bring in Fair Trade cotton knitwear and is presently doubling its range of Fair Trade cotton school uniforms [Wiener, 2009]. Also, to support local producers, much of Tesco’s meat and vegetables come from farmers within the region. With environmental issues becoming mainstream, Tesco has recently promised to attach a carbon label to all its goods and install sophisticated new refrigeration techniques to reduce its consumption of climate changing hydro-fluorocarbons.Wal-Mart now claims it will power its US stores entirely using renewable energy [Walmart, 2010, online]. The introduction of clear labelling regarding fat and calorie content of products has allowed supermarkets to take advantage of the increased consumer awareness of health issues. In the case of a health scare [e. g. BSE], their sophisticated communications networks make product traceability very easy. 5. CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, the retail market has been completely transformed in recen t years by the large supermarkets.Whether your preferred criteria for financial success is square footage of retail space, sales, net profit or dividend growth, both Tesco and Walmart have reached heights that few others in the retail industry can hope to match. To counter the image that they destroy the environment and are enemies of society, both Tesco and Walmart have adopted a range of environmental, social and ethical programs. The so called â€Å"Walmark effect† may yet be seen as a force for the good.