Cultural-Adaptation Essay Example for Free

Cultural-Adaptation Essay The East African tribe ‘Maasai’ can be found in Kenya and certain parts of Tanzania. Their subsistence strategy has primarily been pastoral for several centuries. The Maasai herd cows, sheep and goats for a livelihood as they depend on the meat and milk for their survival. The Maasai are also semi-nomadic people, making them pastoral nomads (ONeil 2). This helps them move from place to place, in search of better climatic and external conditions suitable for raising their herd animals. They constantly move to areas having greener pastures and adequate water to ensure that their livestock are healthier; it also facilitates grass growing back again in areas that have been grazed by cattle. Their choice of location would also depend upon other factors such as safety from predators such as lions. The Maasai do not construct permanent settlements as they are constantly on the move; they live in temporary dwellings that are simple to construct. The social structure of the Maasai has played a key role in preserving the tribe’s primary subsistence strategy as pastoral for centuries. The age-based social structure is quite fair and consistent as there is no discrimination based on caste or familial segregations. However, there are certain gender-based roles and customs within the tribe. The men are divided into the youths, the warriors also know as ‘moran’, and the elders. On the other hand, the young girls get married to warrior men, bear children and raise them; the women can also become elders after their bear four children. The youths become warriors around the â€Å"age of 13 to 17† and move to a different village, live in unsecure enclosures called ‘manyatta built by their mothers and eventually get married (Martin 7). It is the duty of the warriors to ensure that the tribe is safe and cattle are protected from predators. They are mentally conditioned as well as physically trained from a very young age to perform this duty. The Maasai women specialize in building houses from sticks, mud and cow dung. This helps the tribe to move from place to place easily and sustain their semi-nomadic way of life. The Maasai men also build thorn fences to keep their cattle safe in enclosures. The elders are supposed to impart wisdom and live passive lives, as the responsibilities and duties of the tribe pass over to the next generation of warriors. The authority figure in their social system is a person known as laibon, roughly translated as ’medicine man’; the ‘laibon’ also fills the religious needs of the tribe and practices shamanism for healing. This uniform socio-cultural structure lends stability and contributes to the subsistence of the Maasai way of life, as there is very little room for rebellion within the group. Many aboriginal cultures around the world are going through transition due to modernization and the Maasai are no exception to this rule. Urbanization had led to the Maasai being confined to smaller areas, thus threatening their way of life. To cope with these changes, a small segment of the tribe has recently changed its subsistence strategy to agriculture, fishing and taking menial jobs in urbanized areas. The tourism industry promoted by the government has compelled certain Maasai tribes to diverge away from their self-sufficient lifestyle and act as showpieces for tourists (Akama 717). However, the Maasai still retain certain aspects of their cultural identify such as speaking a language called ‘Maa’ and wearing a red cloth called the ‘shuka’; they also pierce their earlobes and adorn large metal earrings. Despite the influence of the modern world, a large segment of the Maasai tribe is still quite self-sufficient as they produce their own food from cattle and take care of other needs such as shelter and medicine. Works Cited Page Akama, John. Marginalization of the Maasai in Kenya. Annals of Tourism Research, Volume 26, Number 3, July 1999. Martin, Marlene. Society-MASAI. The Center for Social Anthropology and Computing. June 14, 2009, http://lucy. ukc. ac. uk/EthnoAtlas/Hmar/Cult_dir/Culture. 7860 ONeil, Dennis. (2007). Patterns of Subsistence: Pastoralism. Palomar College. June 14, 2009, http://anthro. palomar. edu/subsistence/sub_3. htm

Derivative Markets Essay Example for Free

Derivative Markets Essay Last dozen of years are characterized by rash growth of volumes of national and international markets of derivative finance instruments or derivative markets. By opinion of experts, appearance and development of derivative markets is the most important event of economic life within last twenty five years. In the very name of these instruments – â€Å"derives† lays the fact that they appeared and started to develop on basis of floaters and futures almost for all types of exchange products (starting with oil and gas and ending with soy beans and orange juice), and also for exchange index, percent rates, rate of exchange, etc. Presently new types of derivates appeared: on the basis of sea freight rates (London), cost of microprocessors, permissions for environment pollution (USA), etc. To the first generation of derivates specialists relate futures and stock option plans, which are used at organized markets (exchanges) in form of standardized contracts, and also popular at non-exchange market (market OTC – over-the-counter) (William Falloon pp. 26-28) currency swaps, stock option plans and inter-bank agreements regarding forward rate agreement. From the very beginning the main functions of derivates was to provide distribution of risks among participants of business deal, connected with change of stuff price, rates of exchange, percent rates, stock rates, exchange indexes, etc. Nowadays operations with derivates are still the main way of insurance from different risks and risk management. The first signs at derivative markets became successful issue of currency futures in 1972 at Chicago Mercantile Exchange; the second issue of percentage futures followed in 1975 at Chicago Board of Trade. In the first half of 1980-s rapid growth (Remolona, Eli, M., pp. 28-43) of operations with derivates, followed with appearance of more and more new types of derivates. In 1980 appeared New York Futures Exchange; in 1982 London international Financial Futures and Options; in 1986 – MATIF Marche a terme international de France in Paris; in 1988 Swiss Options and Financial Futures Exchanges, etc. At these and other organized (exchange) markets trade is fulfilled by standard (typical) contracts, which are sold or at exchange auctions (MATIF in France), or with help of automatized information systems (for example, Globex). Final calculations for all deals are made by computational (compensational) palates (George Benston and Shehzad Mian pp. 217-246) The first â€Å"legal† operation of currency swap (exchange of dollar to Swiss francs) was made in August 1981 between American company IBM and International Bank of Reconstruction and Development. Market of percentage swaps appeared in the United States by initiative of company â€Å"Sallie Mae†. The major part of swap operations was executed by leading international banks, which in the beginning were present as mediators between participants of currency swaps. In succeeding years banks became to work as active participants of derivative deals, acting at their own cost and in their own interests.   When in the first half of 1980-s derivative market was developing mainly in the United States, in the second half derivative market started to develop quickly in Europe and Japan. Volume of world market of swap operations increased from 200 milliard dollars in 1985 to 2900 milliard dollars in 1990. Such quick growth was stipulated with legal standardization of contracts, development of information systems and means of communications. According to data of questionnaire which was executed by International Swaps and Derivatives Associations, volume of world derivative market for the beginning of 1993 was 5.4 trillion dollars, including percentage swaps – 3.9 trillion dollars, currency swaps – 860 milliard dollars, cap and floor operations – 577 milliard dollars. By approximate estimation of magazine Swap Monitor, volume of derivative markets was much higher – 7 trillion dollars (at the same date of 1993). In the United States only 6 banks control 90% of derivative markets. In France 80 banks act at the market of currency contracts; at option market – 24 banks. Volume of operations with derivates at exchange and non-exchange markets, which make French credit institutions and which are shown at their balance, in 2.2 times exceeds amount of their balances. By information of International Calculations Bank, already in 1991 volume of OTC market was 4500 milliard dollars. From that time its volume significantly increased. Quick growth of derivative market volume in the beginning of 1990-s is connected with increasing of instability and uncertainty at world financial markets, also influenced by such events as was at Persian Gulf, collapse of USSR, crisis of European system of currency, etc. besides, progress in the field of informational technology, which allowed to process big volumes of information almost immediately and great funds, involved in financial turnover, give grounds to speak about existence of real industry of derivates. As we already spoke about, quick growth of derivative market was accompanied by appearance of new and new their types and kinds; this process developed and continues to develop in legal and non-official market. Financial instruments, which represent different combinations of derivates of the first generation, quickly were added to the first derivate generation (for example, combination of percentage options â€Å"cap/floor†, swaptions – combination of swap and option. In the beginning of 1990-s appeared such exotic instruments as swaps for non-typical indexes, annulated swaps, options for options, etc. One of novelties for Parisian exchange was issue of bons doption, which gives right to the buyer for purchase of actions or debentures by fixed price. During the last four years number of diversities of such warranties increased from 15 to 500, they are in easy access to any investor, even those who doesn’t have big amount of money. Appearance of new types and kinds of derivates is stipulated not only by increasing demands of clients in more perfect means of insurance from risks (Ludger Hentschel and Clifford Smith Jr., pp. 101-126), but also by constant perfection of informational technology and equipment, mechanisms of price formation and models of risk management. At the same time legal standards of regulating operations with derivates were developed and perfected; new forms of standard contracts appeared. Operations with derivates started to be used more frequently not only for insurance from risks and risk management, but for aims of speculation, i.e. receiving profit from them. By opinion of experts, nowadays the following subjects take place at the derivative markets: Industrial companies, which can use operations with derivates to reach such aims as: Decreasing of indebtedness burden at the expense of getting necessary financial means by possible cheap price; Increasing of flexibility in management of financial holdings, not limited by usage of debentures or short-term commercial documents; Perfection of management cash balance and regulation of financial flow, connected with cash inflow and cash spending; Fast receiving of necessary funds by relatively low prices in case unexpected needs in financing take place; Perfection and dynamics of process management by liquid assets of enterprise. Although enterprises, which use all enumerated possibilities of operations with derivates, are quite rare, from now on these operations cannot be ignored by those enterprises, who intend to lead dynamic strategy of management by thief financial resources. Different investment funds, which control investment portfolio, use operations with derivates as flexible means of funds management. Special companies or funds (so-called stockjobbers), which make derivative operations to receive profit, because those operations allow even with small expenses to get big profit, indeed, in condition of favorable circumstances for such stockjobber. In such a way American fund Quantum Fund, which belongs to famous financier George Sores, and which is specialized on currency deals, including derivates as well, since 1969 every year increased its income for 35%; today it exceeds 4 milliard dollars. Totally in the United States there are more than 3 thousand of such funds, which manage approximately by 25 milliard dollars, which are used only for speculative operations. There are 23 similar funds, which are legally registered in France. Individual stockbrokers, which make operations with derivates at their own expense. Activity of those subjects, which in the USA are called â€Å"local† and in France â€Å"negociateurs independants de parquet†, assists in increasing of liquidity financial market. Special companies-organizers of the market, including compensational palates, which control execution of contracts and execute calculations, receiving definite commissions. In such a way in France company MATIF received for each operation of purchase or sale of pressing contract 6.25 francs, what allowed to increase own funds to 800 million francs. In 1993 MATIF worked up 72 million of contracts, whereas at Chicago Mercantile Exchange were sold 179 million of contracts. Banks, working in legal and non-official market, receive the biggest income from derivative operations. Supervision instances controlling bank activities (for example, there is Bank Commission in France) are anxious because of uncontrolled growth of bank derivative operations. Operations with different kinds of options, especially related to such indexes, which change quickly, as shares indexes, prices for non-ferrous metals, raw materials, etc. give the biggest concern. Supervision instances don’t limit usage of derivative operations in order to insure credit and market risks (Sanjiv Ranjan Das pp. 7-23), but at the same time they establish rule of paying capacity, in accordance with which amount of own derivate funds of certain credit enterprise should cover credit (risk of unredeemed credit) and market risks. Other aspects of regulation non-organized markets are not developed enough. In all leading Western countries development of those measures is behind the tempo of growth of OTC market capacity, where calculation (compensational) palates are absent and business deals have long-term character. For organized derivative markets the main problems still are guaranteeing security and control. Compensational palates watch timeliness of final calculations and amount of deposits of their members, which operate at derivative market. These deposits guarantee that they will fulfill their obligations: in case amount of deposit is lower than definite level, it should be filled up immediately. In such a way, at MATIF’s accounts are 20 milliard francs, paid-in by its members as guarantee of calculations. Financiers work to standardize contracts for derivative deals in the international level. In such a way, created in 1985 International Swap and Derivatives Association worked out frame contract for derivative operations, consisting of two parts: in the first part there are obligatory common statements (ways of calculations and their regulation, declarations of the parties, procedures of canceling the contract, etc), and in the second part there are statements, which can be changed by wish of the parties. In June 1993 report of 30 leading specialists for financial operations was published, where they formulated recommendations to banks and other enterprises, which lead operations with derivates or are their final users. By opinion of experts, these enterprises should give acces to that market only for professionals. Many experts point at explosive character of derivative market, because there can appear chain reaction of bankruptcy (domino effect). Non-exchange market is more dangerous in this respect, where the business deals are often concluded â€Å"for the word of honor†. Unexpected collapse of one of the banks can cause chain reaction of bankruptcies of other banks. By words of A. Taylor, president of Royal Bank of Canada, derivates represent bomb of delayed-action, which, once exploded, can completely ruin world financial system. Although derivative deals have a lot of risk and can provoke the crisis, you cannot live without them in the modern financial markets, because they assist in increasing of liquidity and effectiveness of financial markets, decreasing of cost for market transactions (deals). As was written in French magazine â€Å"Expansion†, future experts, probably, will examine derivates as financial novelty, which saved world economical growth from paralysis. Works Cited: George Benston and Shehzad Mian, 1995 Financial Reporting of Derivatives: An Analysis of the Issues, Evaluation of Proposals, and a Suggested Solution, Journal of Financial Engineering, September, pp. 217-246. Sanjiv Ranjan Das, 1995 Credit Risk Derivatives, Journal of Derivatives, Spring, pp. 7-23. William Falloon, 1992 How Appetites are Growing for OTC Equity Derivatives, Futures Magazine, January, pp. 26-28. Ludger Hentschel and Clifford Smith Jr., 1995 Controlling Risks in Derivatives Markets, Journal of Financial Engineering, June, pp. 101-126 Remolona, Eli, M., 1992-3 The Recent Growth of Financial Derivative Markets, Federal Reserve Bank of New York Quarterly Review, Winter, pp. 28-43.

Determining Rates of Interest in the Money Market

Determining Rates of Interest in the Money Market Explain in detail how interest rates are determined in the money market. Examine the likely consequences for the macroeconomy of a reduction in the rate of interest and highlight the factors that might limit the effects. This essay is going to demonstrate how the rate of interest is determined in the money market. It will examine the impact that a reduction in the interest rate has on the economy. The framework used will be the interest rate mechanism, where an increase in the money supply will change interest rates and stimulate interest-sensitive expenditures. It will then highlight the factors that can limit and offset the effects of a reduction in the interest rate. The interest rate is defined by Sloman et al. (2012) as the price paid for borrowing money. Two factors that determine the interest rate is the supply of money and the demand for money. The supply of and demand for money in the economy interact together to reach a level of equilibrium. According to Sloman et al. (2012) the money market is a market for short-term debt instruments in which financial institutions are active participants. Figure 1 and 2 illustrates the money market and the demand for money. The demand for money refers to an individual’s desire to hold their wealth in the form of money instead of using it to purchase goods or financial assets. The money demand curve is downward sloping as an increase in the interest rate leads to a decrease in the quantity of money demanded. Money supply is the entire stock of currency and other liquid instruments in the economy. The money supply is set by the central bank (Bank of England) and is exogenous (does not depend on the demand for money). The money supply is fixed and is not influenced by the rate of interest. In figure 1, the x-axis measures the money supply, the y-axis represent the rate of interest and the L curve represents the liquidity preference curve (demand for money). The money supply is represented by the vertical line Ms. The intersection of the money supply and money demand curves reveals the equilibrium rate of interest and is fixed at that point where they equate. According to Keynes the intersection of the curves is purely a monetary phenomenon. John Maynard Keynes (1936) in his book the General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money described the demand for money through liquidity preference framework. According to this theory, the primary reasons for holding money are for transactional, precautionary and speculative demands. The sum of all three demands make up the total demand for money. According to the theory, if interest rates are high individuals demand for money (liquidity preference) is low and when interest rates are low, the demand for holding money increases. In figure 2, the curve L1 is the transaction plus precautionary demand for holding money. L stands for the liquidity preference and by definition; the liquidity preference is the demand for holding assets in the form of money. L is the total demand for money balances and is derived by the horizontal addition of curves L1 (the transactions plus precautionary demand for money) and L2 (the speculative demand for money). The shift from L1 to L2 illustrates a s hift in the liquidity preference (an increase in the demand for holding assets in the form of money). The interest rate mechanism is graphed in a three-stage process. Stage 1 illustrates the money market, where an increase in the money supply from M to M’ (with everything else being equal) leads to a fall in the rate of interest from r1 to r2. At stage 2, the fall in the interest rate leads to an increase in the level of investment from I1 to I2. The increase in the level of investment translates in the third diagram shown in stage 3. Lower interest rates increases investment as it becomes relatively cheaper for firms to invest and businesses to take out loans to finance greater spending and investment. Stage 3 shows how a rise in investment leads to a multiplied rise in the national income from Y1 to Y2. Stage 3 shows the Keynesian withdrawals and injections function where an increase in investment has increased the level of injections J1 to J2. This excess in injections over withdrawals will lead to a rise in the national income from Y1 to Y2. Interestingly, an increase in t he level of income means that consumers will have more disposable income for consumption purposes (Sloman et al. 2012). Consumption is the largest component of aggregate demand and has an effect on other components of aggregate demand such as net exports and investment Griffiths and Wall (2007). Lower interest rates increases the level of consumption by making the opportunity cost of consumption is lower. This encourages greater expenditure as borrowing through credit cards becomes cheaper. Lower interest rates makes saving less attractive by reducing an individual’s incentive to save. This lower incentive to save encourages consumers to spend rather than to hold onto money. It also reduces the income from savings and the interest rate that is due on loans taken out. However, borrowing now becomes more attractive and this stimulates an increase in spending. Lower Interest rates can boost the prices of assets such as shares and houses. Higher house prices means that current home owners must extend their mortgages which further enables them to finance higher consumption. Interestingly, the higher asset prices increases the wealth of households (through the wealth effect) which increases their incentive to spend as confidence will be higher. Higher asset prices means that businesses are also able to finance their investment (purchase of capital) at a lower cost. Lower interest rates also reduces the cost of interest payments on mortgages by reducing the monthly cost of mortgage payments. This increases the disposable income of householders which increases their level of spending. Moreover, lower interest rate can reduce the value of the Pound Sterling. If UK interest rates fall relative to overseas, saving money in UK becomes less attractive as higher returns can be earned in another country. This reduces the demand for the pound sterling and causes the reduction in the value. In figure 6 at stage 2, the fall in the currency is due to a decrease in the demand for the Pound Sterling in the foreign exchange market. The rise in the supply of the domestic currency from S1 to S2 leads to a fall in the demand for the currency from D1 to D2 and this causes a depreciation in the exchange rate from er1 to er2. This fall leads to a rise in the demand for exports as UK exports become relatively cheaper and more attractive overseas. There will also be a fall in demand for imports (as they become more expensive) and thus causing an increase in the national income (which further increases spending). What if other factors can offset the full extent of a reduction in interest rates? There exist time lags in the economy that can limit the impact of rate cuts on the level on interest-sensitive expenditures. In figure 4, the increase in the money supply lead to a multiplied effect and resulted in a rise in the national income. However, the mechanism failed to highlight how a rise in income will also lead to a rise in the transactional demand of money (L1). In this circumstance, at stage 1, L1 would shift to the right and thus lead to a smaller fall in the interest rate than illustrated. Thus, the level of investment at stage 2 and the national income at stage 3 will not rise as much as shown as well. The overall effect of the money supply on national income will depend on the size of each stage. Their relative sizes depend on the shapes of the liquidity preference and investment curves (as in figure 6 and 7). A bigger change in the interest rate will be caused if the liquidity prefer ence is less elastic. The more interest-elastic the investment curve is, the bigger the change in investment. If the marginal propensity to withdraw is lower and therefore the curve is flatter, this will cause a bigger multiplied change in the national income than illustrated (Sloman et al. 2012). Keynesian economists stress how volatile stages 1 and 2 are in the interest rate mechanism. What if increasing the money supply leads to no interest rate reductions? What if investment is inelastic and cannot be influenced by changes in rates. Figure 6 illustrates an elastic liquidity preference curve. The less elastic the liquidity preference is, the bigger the change that will be caused in the interest rate. Due to its gently sloping curve, a rise in the money supply from M to M’ will lead to an only small fall in the interest rate. This will them limit the impact that the interest rate has on consumption, saving decisions and any other interest-sensitive expenditures. According to Keynesians, the demand for money (L) can be very elastic in response to changes in the interest rates and the liquidity preference curve can become relatively flat. The full effect of a rate cut can be limited greatly by the nature of the demand curve. At r2, if individuals perceive and expect no further rate cuts, any increase in the money (from M’ to M’’) will have no impact on r. The liquidity trap is where Keynes believed this additional money will be lost in. within this theory, interest rates have a floor where an increase in the money supply has no further impact. The financial crisis 2008-09 was a predicament where policy makers feared that increases in the money supply will lead to idle balances lost in the liquidity trap. The central bank used an unconventional monetary policy known as quantitative easing, where they deliberately increased the base rate via the purchase of bonds and other securities in exchange for money. This process of credit creation was used to increase bond prices and thus reduce the interest rate and stimulate growth. Arguably, increases in the money supply will have some impact on the rate of interest as we have seen in the financial crisis where deliberate increases in the money supply lead to further increases in the i nterest rate and thus spending as well (Sloman et al. 2012). Figure 8 illustrates the effect on interest rates of an unstable liquidity preference curve. This figure further explains how the liquidity preference curve fluctuates due to factors such as expectations in the inflation rate and direction of the interest rate (to name a few). Therefore, due to its instability it is difficult to predict the effect on interest rates of a change in the money supply. Another factor that can influence the investment schedule are changes in investor confidence. An increase in investor confidence can shift the investment curve to the right and at any given interest rates, firms will want to invest more. A decrease in their confidence would shift the curve to the left. If investors believe that the economy is going to get out of recession, their confidence and level of investment will increase. If firms believe that inflation will rise and that the central bank will soon increase the interest rate, confidence and investment in the economy will be low (Sloman et al 2012). In Figure 7, a bigger change in investment will be caused if the investment curve is more interest-elastic. In the liquidity preference framework, investment demand is unresponsive to interest rate changes and that a large change in the interest rate is detrimental to affect investment. Evidence to confirm this was illustrated through the impact of investor confidence. This consensus on the behaviour of investment can be argued in that the focus should be more on how volatile and erratic investment is in response to confidence than its responsiveness to the interest rate. For example, in figure 9, the impact of a fall in interest rates is limited by business confidence. Initially, the reduction in the interest rate has increased investment. However, if the fall in interest rates is accompanied by an increase in business confidence by investors, the investment curve will shift from l1 to l2. On the other hand, if the fall in the interest rate is accompanied by a decrease in confidence then the investment curve will decrease and fall shift from l1 to l3. This impact is contrary to what was illustrated when the investment curve was believed to be inelastic. Therefore, expansionary monetary policy is likely to be more effective if firms have confidence in its effectiveness (Sloman et al. 2012). In the liquidity preference framework, the assumption is that an increase in the money supply leads to lower interest rates if everything else remains equal. However, in reality an increase in the money supply might impact other factors in the economy that could increase the interest rate instead of decreasing it. Two factors to highlight are the income effect and the price-level effect. The income effect describes how an increase in the money supply has an expansionary influence on the economy and this in effect raises the national income and wealth. The liquidity preference theory predicts that an increase in the national income and wealth will increase the interest rate and offset the original impact of an increase in the money supply. Another effect that can limit the impact of a reduction in interest rates is the price-level effect. In this effect, an increase in the money supply increases the overall price level which also increases the interest rate. In conclusion, economics is a social science where theories are constantly examined and redrafted. In the interest rate mechanism theory, an increase in the money supply will lower interest rates and stimulate interest-sensitive expenditures. This stimulation will have a multiplied effect on the level consumption, business investment, mortgage payments and asset prices. However, the impact of a reduction in the interest rate on the economy is quite a complex subject to address. Many determinants must be factored in for the full impact to be noticeable. Even if the overall effect of a reduction in the interest rate is quite strong, it is highly unpredictable to measure and estimate the magnitude of it. Investment is influenced by confidence and on elasticity to the interest rate. This changes the original impact of a rate cut. The nature liquidity preference curve can be highly unstable and not be impacted by any changes in the interest rate. There also other factors like the price-le vel, expectations and income that can impact and offset the intended purpose of an increase in the money supply. All the factors highlighted in this essay can limit and offset the impact of a reduction in interest rates on interest-sensitive expenditures and the growth of the economy. REFERENCES Keynes, J.M. (1936), The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform Griffiths, A. and Wall, S. (2007) Applied economics, 11th ed. Harlow: Addison Wesley Longman. Sloman, J., Wride, A. and Garratt, D. (2012) Economics, 8th ed. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. BIBLIOGRAPHY http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetarypolicy/Pages/overview.aspx http://www.macrobasics.com/chapters/chapter8/lesson83/ http://harbert.auburn.edu/~thommsn/FINC-3700/ME7-WebChapters/WebApp04_4.pdf http://www.stlouisfed.org/publications/re/articles/?id=2505 http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Documents/quarterlybulletin/qb120104.pdf https://www.creditwritedowns.com/2010/10/on-liquidity-traps-and-quantitative-easing.html

Ghost Multicasting :: essays research papers

Ghost Multicasting allows one computer, the Ghost Server, to download a Ghost image from the Server and then redirects the image to other workstations, the Ghost Clients, through the use of TCP/IP settings over the network. The main advantage of Ghost Multicasting is that the downloading time is extremely shortened as only one PC is downloading the image off the Server which dramatically reduces the risk of heavy network traffic. The only disadvantage is that the PC chosen to be the Ghost Server has to have enough free hard drive space to store the image which will then be redistributed. The Two Methods Of Ghost Multicasting. Manually Specified Ghost Multicast – Using this method you have to manually assign unique IP addresses for the Client PCs by using and configuring the wattcp.cfg file located on each Clients’ boot disk. Automatically Specified Ghost Multicast – This second method is by using Windows NT to automatically assign IP addresses to the Client PCs by the use of the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, or DHCP, included in Windows NT ver. 4.00. Manually Specified Ghost Multicasting: Setting Up Ghost Server Disk 1. Prepare a boot disk that includes and loads the necessary network drivers and maps the disk images directory from the network. 2. Copy over the DOS Ghost Server program (dosghsrv.exe) to the same disk and add it to the autoexec.bat file. 3. Copy over the wattcp.cfg file to the disk and change the IP Address, Subnet Mask and Gateway according to network. (A special IP Address should be allocated for the Server PC) Setting Up Client Disks 1. Prepare boot disks in the same order for the server boot disk but copy over ghost.exe instead of dosghsrv.exe. 2. Edit the wattcp.cfg and add in a unique IP Address for each boot disk. (Usually IP Addresses would have been set up earlier for the specific use of identifying ghost client PCs) Ghosting Client PCs 1. Load up the PC which will act as the Ghost Server with the Server Boot Disk and load dosghsrv.exe from the DOS command prompt. 2. Type in a Session Name and select the Image File from the disk images directory on the network. 3. Start up Client PCs with the unique Boot Disks and load ghost.exe. From the Ghost Server, you should see the IP Addresses of the Clients appear in the window as each Client PC loads the Ghost program. 4. Once every Client PCs’ IP Address can be seen in the Ghost Server window, you are able to select them all by clicking on Accept Clients.

Airport Observation Essay -- Descriptive Essay, Description

The heart begins racing the moment the car pulls into the airport parking lot. The smell of jet fuel, automobile exhaust, and hot tarmac combine to assault the senses with images of exotic escapes and the kind of freedom that can only come from airports. I feel the thrum of the engines at takeoff and the vibration of the plane during the flight in my skin. I see people listening to MP3s and playing video games. I hear the couple behind me chatting about the weather in Florida and the possibility of rain. I recognize the smell of fading perfume that women are wearing. Chanel, Windsong and White Diamonds clash with the smell of popcorn and Quizno sandwiches. The whir of wheels on marble and concrete mixed with the mechanical, yet pleasant, voice on the public address system calling for someone to go to the nearest courtesy phone, or announcing that flight 896 is now boarding at gate 11. Underneath the functional surface is an undercurrent of excitement, anticipation, impatience, and boredom. I hear snippets of conversation from people passing me on their way to the next gate...

Free Affirmative Action Essays - Quotas are Outdated :: affirmative action argumentative persuasive

Affirmative Action Quotas are Outdated Affirmative action legislation has helped in the fight for equality for minorities and women in the American society; however, time has come for new legislation to replace or abolish affirmative action as we know it. In affirmative action's beginning, the government needed laws to help aid the blending of minorities and women in American economics and culture. In a world economy that grows more competitive with every passing day, our quota system is a dead weight to the American businesses that are trying to survive. Not only is advancement based on race and gender but also it is costly and time consuming. American's attitude toward minorities and women is "so steep a decline that it almost certainly reflects some change from the blatantly racist and nearly universal hostile white prejudices of the recent past" (Feagin & Feagin, 1978, pp. 6-7). If America's economy is to continue to survive it will most definitely have to hire on merit alone, and not be bothered by trivial laws that are outda ted. The origination of Affirmative Action is from the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VI and VII. Title VI states "no person in the United States shall, on the grounds of race, color, or natural origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under programs or activities receiving financial assistance." Title VII states that "[i]t shall be unlawful for an employer to: fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment , because of such individuals race, color, religion, sex, or natural origin"(Civil Rights Act Title VII). These laws can be justified by our constitutional principle that all men are created equal, and should remain a part of our laws and thought process. However, penalizing a business or school because they haven't hired or accepted the number of minorities required by law is injustice. According to Roberts (1995), a Gallup Poll taken in July of 1995 shows that Americans agree that quotas are no longer useful. Our fellow " Americans reject employment quotas by a margin of 63% to 35%," and in the

Abdul Basit

Introduction McShane and Von Glinow state that â€Å"the best organizational structure depends on the organization’s external environment, size, technology, and strategy† (409). To identify the best organizational structure for Protege Engineering, I will first determine what ‘Organizational Structure’ means. In a second step I will analyze its elements and carve out the important components for the considered organization. Finally I will provide a conclusion and recommendation.Organizational Structures In general, organizational structure is related to the way that an organization organizes employees and jobs, so that its work can be performed and its goals can be met. McShane and Von Glinow define ‘Organizational Structure’ in more detail; they state that organizational structure â€Å"refers to the division of labor as well as the patterns of coordination, communication, workflow, and formal power that direct organizational activities† (386).To understand what this means we will have a look at each component. The division of labor is related to the â€Å"subdivision of work into separate jobs assigned to different people† (McShane and Von Glinow 386). The patterns of coordination refer to the coordinating of work activities between the employees where they divide work among themselves. This process requires coordinating mechanism to ensure the workflow, which means that everyone works in concert (McShane and Von Glinow 386).The primary means of coordination are informal communication which involves â€Å"sharing information on mutual tasks and forming common mental models to synchronize work activities†, Formal hierarchy which refers to the â€Å"assigning legitimate power to individuals, who then use this power to direct work processes and allocate resources†, and Standardization which involves the â€Å"creating routine patterns of behavior or output† (McShane and Von Glinow 387).We can admit that informal communication is necessary in no routine and ambiguous situations because employees can exchange large volume of information through face-to-face communication and other media-rich channels. Therefore informal communication is important for Protege Engineering because their work involve new and novel situations when developing specific solutions for each client. Even if informal communication is difficult in large firms it can be possible when keeping each production site small (McShane and Von Glinow 388).Now, that we identified what organizational structure means, and that informal communication is necessary for Protege Engineering, we need some more information of how structures differ from each other. McShane and Von Glinow state that â€Å"every company is configured in terms of four basic elements of organizational structure†; namely: span of control, centralization, formalization, and departmentalization (390). Further on, I will explain these four elements and carve out what this means for Protege Engineering.The span of control â€Å"refers to the number of people directly reporting to the next level hierarchy† (McShane and Von Glinow 390). Today’s research found out that a wider span of control (many employee directly reporting to the management) is more appropriate especially for companies with staff members that coordinate their work mainly through standardized skills and do not require close supervision – like the highly skilled employees of Protege Engineering (McShane and Von Glinow 390-391).However, McShane and Von Glinow also state that a wider span of control is possible when employees have routine jobs and a narrow span of control when people perform novel jobs. This statement is based on the need for frequent direction and supervision. Another influence on the span of control is the degree of interdependence among employees. Employees that perform highly interdependent work with one anoth er need a narrow span of control because they tend to have more conflicts with one another.I assume that the employees working for Protege Engineering do not require close supervision because they are highly educated – have university degrees in these fields and a few have doctorates; therefore, a wider span of control allows the employees to work in self-directed teams that coordinate mainly through informal communication and formal hierarchy plays a minor role (McShane and Von Glinow 390-391). Centralization â€Å"occurs when formal decision authority is held by a small group of people† (McShane and Von Glinow 393).Companies often decentralize when they become larger and their environment more complex; however, â€Å"different degrees of decentralization can occur simultaneously in different party of the organization†. In my opinion, the power of decision-making should be decentralized in the considered company because the mentioned projects demand highly spec ialized knowledge, which cannot be provided by the head of the organization. Formalization â€Å"is the degree to which organizations standardize behavior through rules, procedures, formal training, and related mechanism† (McShane and Von Glinow 393).Usually larger organizations tend to have more formalization because â€Å"direct supervision and informal communication among employees do not operate easily when larger numbers of people are involved†. Notwithstanding that Protege Engineering employs about 600 individuals, I assume that a high degree of formalization is not appropriate because their jobs cannot be standardized, every project is customized to the client and has therefore novel and new components.Another evidence against formalization is, that formalization tends to â€Å"reduce organizational flexibility, organizational learning, creativity and job satisfaction†, which the employees of Protege Engineering definitely need (McShane and Von Glinow 409 ). Regarding the first three elements of organizational structure we can admit that Protege Engineering should have an organic structure because organizations with â€Å"organic structures operate with a wide span of control, decentralized decision making, and little formalization† (McShane and Von Glinow 395).This structure works well in dynamic environments because they are very flexible to change, more compatible with organizational learning, high performance workplaces, and â€Å"quality management because they emphasize information sharing and an empowered workforce rather than hierarchy and status† (McShane and Von Glinow 395). Departmentalization â€Å"specifies how employees and their activities are grouped together† like presented in an organizational chart of the organization (McShane and Von Glinow 395).A functional structure organizes organizational members around specific knowledge or other resources, which enhances specialization and direct supervi sion; however, functional structure weakens the focus on the client or product (McShane and Von Glinow 396-397). A functional structure would not support Protege Engineering because the success of this company highly depends on especially developed products for its clients; therefore, this organization should focus on the satisfaction of its clients rather than focusing on organizing employees around specific resources.A divisional structure organizes groups of employees around geographic areas, clients or products in very flat team-based structures with low formalization. This structure seems to be very appropriate for Protege Engineering because it focuses employee’s attention on products or clients and self-directed teams with low formalization. However, there are some disadvantages that need to be considered, like duplicating resources and creating silos of knowledge. Conclusion and Recommendation In the introduction I stated that the best organizational structure depends on the organization’s external environment, size, technology, and strategy.We found out that Protege Engineering should have an organic organizational structure because a wide span of control, decentralized decision-making, and little formalization will organizes employees and jobs so that Protege Engineering work can best be performed and its goals can best be met. Furthermore, McShane and Von Glinow give the advice that â€Å"corporate leader should formulate and implement strategies that shape both characteristics of the contingencies as well as the organization’s resulting structure† (409). This advice is very valuable because the structure of an organization should follow its strategy and not vice versa. . Many organizations think that they integrate organizational cultures when merging or acquiring other companies. Explain what does integrating organizational cultures means? Under what conditions is this strategy most likely to succeed? Case 6: Merging Or ganizational Cultures Introduction Every organization has its own culture. According to McShane and Von Glinow organizational culture stands for â€Å"the values and assumptions shared within an organization† (416). When companies are merging with, or acquiring, other companies the likelihood is very high that the organizational cultures differ from each other.To avoid that the new company ends up with two different cultures, there need to be any kind of integrating organizational cultures. First I will explain what integrating organizational cultures means and second I will present the conditions under which this strategy is most likely to succeed. Finally, I will provide a conclusion and recommendation. Merging Organizational Culture The necessity of merging organizational cultures becomes clear when regarding that failures to coordinate activity, based on cultural conflict, contribute to the widespread failure of corporate mergers (Weber and Camerer 412).Differences in cul ture in an organization lead to consistent decreased performance for both employees after the merger, and there is an evidence of conflict from the differences in culture, which could be a possible source for the high turnover rate following mergers (Weber and Camerer 412). McShane and Von Glinow also state that â€Å"most mergers and acquisitions fail in terms of subsequent performance of the merged organization† and that this happens because leaders fail â€Å"to conduct due-diligence of the corporate cultures† (426).At this point, we can admit that some forms of integration may allow companies with different cultures to merge successfully. One strategy in avoiding cultural collisions is to conduct a bicultural audit. A bicultural audit is â€Å"a process of diagnosing cultural relations between companies and determining the extent to which cultural clashes will likely occur† (McShane and Von Glinow 427). The bicultural audit identifies cultural differences an d determines those that possibly result in conflict. In addition, it also identifies values that provide a common ground on which cultural foundations can be built.Finally, it identifies strategies and prepares action plans to bring the two merging cultures together (McShane and Von Glinow 427). In some cases the bicultural audit may identify that the two cultures are too different to merge effectively; however, the companies can still form a workable union, if appropriate merger strategies are applied (McShane and Von Glinow 427). Like the following illustration shows, McShane and von Glinow provide four main strategies to merge different corporate cultures successfully. Figure 4: Strategies for MergingDifferent Organizational Cultures Source: McShane and Von Glinow 428. The first strategy is Assimilation, which â€Å"occurs when employees at the acquired company willingly embrace the cultural values of the acquiring organization† (McShane and Von Glinow 427). This strategy is most likely to succeed when the employees of the acquired company are looking for improvement because they have a weak, dysfunctional culture and the acquiring company has a strong culture, which is aligned with the external environment (McShane and Von Glinow 427).The second strategy is Deculturation, which means that the acquiring company is â€Å"imposing their culture and business practices on the acquired organization† (McShane and von Glinow 428). However, this strategy rarely works because employees usually resist organizational change, especially regarding personal and cultural values. Sometimes deculturation may be necessary; for example, when the culture of the acquired company does not work effectively (McShane and von Glinow 428). The third strategy – and the strategy which the given case is asking for – is the Integration Strategy.This strategy is a combination of â€Å"the two or more cultures into a new composite culture that preserves the bes t features of the previous cultures† (McShane and Von Glinow 428). That sounds like a good compromise, but the integration strategy is â€Å"slow and potentially risky because there are many forces preserving the existing cultures† (McShane and Von Glinow 428). McShane and Von Glinow also state that â€Å"mergers typically suffer when organizations with significantly divergent corporate cultures merge into a single entity with a high degree of integration† (McShane and Von Glinow 427).This strategy works best when both sides can benefit from an integration strategy; for example, when the existing cultures of both companies are not optimal and could use some improvements. The negative aspects of the integration strategy – for example being very time-consuming – result from the employees being resistant to changes, or ambiguous rules which are also a source of conflict and often occur during mergers and acquisitions (McShane and Von Glinow 335).Howeve r, the integration strategy, which is the most effective combination of all existing cultures, is most likely to succeed when the â€Å"existing cultures can be improved† and members of the organization â€Å"are motivated to adopt a new set of dominant values† (McShane and Von Glinow 428). The fourth strategy is separation, which â€Å"occurs when the merging companies agree to remain distinct entities with minimal exchange of culture or organizational practices† (McShane and Von Glinow 428).This strategy is most suitable when the merging organizations operate in different industries or countries because cultures differ between industries and countries (McShane and Von Glinow 428). Conclusion and Recommendation The integration process of merging companies is a combination of the existing cultures into a new culture that maintains the best features of the previous cultures, and it is most likely to succeed when existing cultures already need improvement so that employees are motivated to accept change.This strategy is particularly challenging when the members of the organization are satisfied with their previous culture because they will be resistant to change. Another very important factor for the success of mergers is the level of commitments made by the employees. Therefore, employees should be brought into the process as early as possible (Badrtalei and Bates 314).