...a) Why should the concept of need not be the sole determinant of the demand for medical care? Feldstein (2012) stated that if the projected quantity of services required to meet the need of medical care surpass the quantity that people will utilize then physician and hospital will be underutilized. Oppositely, if demand for medical care surpass the projected quantity based solely on a need criteria then surplus demand will occur. Therefore, planning based only on medical care need will be more likely to cause either too few or too many resources (pg. 115). b) How do you see the implications of Supply and Demand theory show up in your company’s strategies? Working in a national testing center in UMUC which provides professional certification examinations, our department receives revenues from proctoring exams. We are required track how many people use our services for testing to justify whether we need to open more testing sessions (more demand) or reduce the number of testing sessions (less demand). Some possible implications are to: (1) hire part time employee(s) to open Saturday and evening sessions. (2) reduce full time employees’ working hours to less than 40 hours per week and compensate full time employee(s) with more health benefits (Culyer & Newhouse, 2000, pg. 661). c) Thinking outside the box, what types of changes could we make that would make health care cheaper? In our society, when someone is sick, we tend to go straight to specialists and ordered the most...
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...Spring 2012 Course Orientation This course is all about what YOU want and need to know about personal, family, and community health with an emphasis on epidemiology of disease, nutritional behavior, communicable disease, disease prevention, mental health, and substance abuse. It's really up to you to decide how much you want to get out of this course in terms of meeting your personal and professional goals. Learning Outcomes By the end of this course, students should be able to: Assess health behavior choices, apply that information to everyday life for the improvement of individual, family, and community well-being. Identify preconceived ideas about knowledge, values, and behavior that affect health and compare with established research and accepted scientific evidence. How to be Successful in this Course Plan to spend at least 9 hours per week on this course. Login and keep up with readings, discussions, and quizzes on a weekly basis. Click on Course Map and get familiar with it. First, introduce yourself in the Discussion Forum. Before you begin with the Module readings, take some time to get to know your classmates. Click on the Discussion and Private Messages link to the left of your screen. Click on Discussion Forum titled: Introductions Post a message to tell us a little bit about yourself such as your major, degree plans, career goals, hobbies/interests, and why you are taking this course. Read your classmates' introductions. See...
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...the application of economic principles and methodologies to decision-making process of business firms operating under conditions of risk and uncertainty. Managerial Economics, thus, uses concepts, models and analytical techniques of economics to study and analyse the operations of businesses and the type of problems managers face. Hence it provides important conceptual insights for gaining a better understanding of business environment and for making of quality business decisions with minimal trial and errors. 2. Objectives: 2.1 To provide participants with a much clearer view of the applicability and relevance of economics to decision making within business firms. 2.2 To develop students’ knowledge of applied economics 2.3 To develop students’ analytical skills to a higher level. 2.4 To enhance students’ insight into the operation of business and the nature of problems managers face. 3. Course coverage * Introduction of students to Managerial Economics and the use of models and other analytical concepts in decision making process. * Introduction to the concept of risk and uncertainty and adjustment of decisions to reflect decision maker’s attitude towards risk. * Behaviour of consumers and demand side of the firm and demand estimation and forecasting. * Strategic decisions that managers have to make – eg pricing strategies, production decisions, product quality and designs, advertising and promotion...
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...ENTRY LEVELS MODULE 1: INTRODUCTION OF MICROECONOMICS Economics is the study of how human coordinate their wants and desires, given the decision making mechanisms, social customs and political realities of the society. This definition of economics rotates mainly on the basic force there is the economic system, that is the individuals within. We cannot appreciate the bigger picture more should we not look closely to the minute details of what constitutes the economy. Therefore we studied microeconomics, the study in where every single person with the capacity to choose is screened closely. It answers the questions of why an individual chooses an option and what causes him to choose that way. Say for example, why a commercial bank manager decides to buy a new townhouse and loan a new car or why someone would decide to go to into business instead of getting employed. In this we cited the basic reasons such as the when to produce, what to produce and whom to produce; questions that is essential in putting up a business. The usual idea is to produce when there is a demand for a certain thing; to produce something that separates itself from the rest of the same product available in the market and is currently wanted by the consumers; and, to look for new ideas of products that might be useful for a specific group of people. Upon setting economics in a microscope, we would now appreciate the trends and tracks of the economy in a greater whole. The individuals will form a group...
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...Instructor’s Manual to accompany Economics Sixteenth Edition Campbell R. McConnell University of Nebraska Stanley L. Brue Pacific Lutheran University Prepared by Randy Grant Linfield College Instructor’s Manual to accompany ECONOMICS Campbell R. McConnell and Stanley L. Brue Published by McGraw-Hill, an imprint of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. Copyright 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The contents, or parts thereof, may be reproduced in print form solely for classroom use with ECONOMICS provided such reproductions bear copyright notice, but may not be reproduced in any other form or for any other purpose without the prior written consent of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 Text printer code/Cover printer code 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 ISBN 0-07-288477-0 www.mhhe.com The Nature and Method of Economics CHAPTER ONE THE NATURE AND METHOD OF ECONOMICS CHAPTER OVERVIEW This chapter begins with a discussion of the meaning and importance of economics. In this first chapter, however, we will not plunge into problems and issues; instead we consider some important preliminaries. We first look at the economic perspective—how economists think about problems. Next, we state some of the benefits of studying economics. Then, we examine the specific...
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...Berkshire Hathaway The reinsurance business has the defect of being too attractive-looking to new entrants for its own good and will therefore always tend to be the opposite of, say, the old business of gathering and rendering dead horses that always tended to contain few and prosperous participants. —Charles T. Munger, Chairman, Wesco Financial Corp. OUTLINE n n n n n INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES FROM ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS TO INDUSTRY ANALYSIS THE DETERMINANTS OF INDUSTRY PROFIT: DEMAND AND COMPETITION ANALYZING INDUSTRY ATTRACTIVENESS Porter’s Five Forces of Competition Framework Competition from Substitutes Threat of Entry Rivalry Between Established Competitors Bargaining Power of Buyers Bargaining Power of Suppliers APPLYING INDUSTRY ANALYSIS Describing Industry Structure Forecasting Industry Profitability Strategies to Alter Industry Structure 66 INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES 67 n n n n DEFINING INDUSTRIES: WHERE TO DRAW THE BOUNDARIES Industries and Markets Defining Markets: Substitution in Demand and Supply FROM INDUSTRY ATTRACTIVENESS TO COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE: IDENTIFYING KEY SUCCESS FACTORS SUMMARY NOTES INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES In this chapter and the next we explore the external environment of the firm. In Chapter 1 we observed that profound understanding of the competitive environment is a critical ingredient of a successful strategy. We further noted that business strategy is essentially a quest for profit. The primary task for this chapter...
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...Berkshire Hathaway The reinsurance business has the defect of being too attractive-looking to new entrants for its own good and will therefore always tend to be the opposite of, say, the old business of gathering and rendering dead horses that always tended to contain few and prosperous participants. —Charles T. Munger, Chairman, Wesco Financial Corp. OUTLINE n n n n n INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES FROM ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS TO INDUSTRY ANALYSIS THE DETERMINANTS OF INDUSTRY PROFIT: DEMAND AND COMPETITION ANALYZING INDUSTRY ATTRACTIVENESS Porter’s Five Forces of Competition Framework Competition from Substitutes Threat of Entry Rivalry Between Established Competitors Bargaining Power of Buyers Bargaining Power of Suppliers APPLYING INDUSTRY ANALYSIS Describing Industry Structure Forecasting Industry Profitability Strategies to Alter Industry Structure 66 INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES 67 n n n n DEFINING INDUSTRIES: WHERE TO DRAW THE BOUNDARIES Industries and Markets Defining Markets: Substitution in Demand and Supply FROM INDUSTRY ATTRACTIVENESS TO COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE: IDENTIFYING KEY SUCCESS FACTORS SUMMARY NOTES INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES In this chapter and the next we explore the external environment of the firm. In Chapter 1 we observed that profound understanding of the competitive environment is a critical ingredient of a successful strategy. We further noted that business strategy is essentially a quest for profit. The primary task for this chapter...
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...California University of Business and Technology School of Management Studies BA 360 Principles of Microeconomics Table of Contents Chapter 1 Ten Principles of Economics 3 Chapter 2 Thinking Like an Economist 7 Chapter 3 Interdependence and the Gains from Trade 10 Chapter 4 The Market Forces of Supply and Demand 13 Chapter 5 Elasticity and Its Application 20 Chapter 6 Supply, Demand, and Government Policies 26 Chapter 7 Consumers, Producers, and Efficiency of Market 31 Chapter 8 Application: The Costs of Taxation 35 Chapter 9 Application: International Trade 39 Chapter 10 Externalities 42 Chapter 11 Public Goods and Common Resources 45 Chapter 12 The Design of the Tax System 47 Chapter 13 The Costs of Production 49 Chapter 14 Firms in Competitive Markets 53 Chapter 15 Monopoly 57 Chapter 16 Monopolistic Competition 61 Chapter 17 Oligopoly 64 Chapter 18 The Markets for the Factors of Production 68 Chapter 19 Earnings and Discrimination 73 Chapter 20 Income Inequality and Poverty 76 Chapter 21 The Theory of Consumer Choice 79 Chapter 22 Frontiers of Microeconomics 82 Chapter 1 Ten Principles of Economics I. Significance * How people make decisions * How people interact * How the economy as a whole works II. Highlights The word economy comes from the Greek word oikonomos, which means "one who manages a household." A household faces many decisions, which...
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...bilingual workforce. SMC is faced with the challenge of remaining competitive in the local labor market where unemployment rate is lower than 2.2%. Over the past two years SMC have experiences many changes such as a shrinking local labor market, rising labor cost, bilingual workforce, accident rate increase of 50%, and SMC’s CEO is terminally ill. Furthermore, demand for SMC’s product continued to increase and the company has experienced unsuccessful labor organizing activities. The plan will address all aspects of what SMC needs to do in the next five years, with the emphasis on five major areas: staffing, employee development and training, compensation and benefits, employee relations, and safety and health. Ongoing issues of technological advances and diversity and demographics are also addressed. Staffing In an ongoing effort to address many of the challenges associated with staffing, the leaders at SMC identified a plan to utilize the “Strategic HRM” competency approach. Utilizing this approach allows the organization to revisit opportunities for improvements. In conjunction with staffing, the needs to address the concerns of the employees were also prevalent in the company’s decisions. Not only was it important to understand the climate of the organization but to allow them to assist in the recruiting efforts for the company. Our long-term goal will include recruiting efforts to replace the CEO...
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...decisions as it is a complicated area of decision making. It is with a view to examining this problem and the ways in which it can be resolved that his chapter is framed. The pressures of today’s market environment place increasing burdens on management. It is important, therefore, that the decision maker has a framework for making pricing decisions. We start by examining the traditional economist’s view of price to illustrate both the shortcomings and potential contributions of this approach as a prelude to discussing more strategic pricing approaches for the decision maker. THE ECONOMIST’S VIEW OF PRICING Traditionally the economist has looked at price and pricing decisions from the perspective of price being determined by the interplay of demand and supply. At a broader level, the economist views pricing decisions as an ‘allocatory’ mechanism, with prices being used as the signal to solve the basic...
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...Significance of the Study In recent decades, public opinion has shifted and has become less supportive of the plight of the poor. The view that poverty is due to individual flaws has become more prevalent. While some recognize societal causes for poverty, many others attribute poverty to lack of motivation, hard work, moral flaws, and other characteristics internal to the individual. Additionally, the literature review will show that the general public’s perception of the poor differs from the demographic profile of those in poverty. Understanding current attitudes and perceptions and how they may influence support for programs and policies that affect the poor is an important first step in addressing the issue. When researchers, advocates, and the media individualize the issue of poverty (Bolstrum, 2002c), the public looks for individual causes and solutions rather than systemic ones. Those in the middle class have distanced themselves from the poor, and because of dominant images of the poor as lazy, unmotivated, and not willing to live up to the American ideal of hard work, there is little attachment to the issue (Lott, 2002). Because of these public perceptions, any stated support for policies affecting those in poverty is tenuous. To change the way that many Americans feel about the poor and to garner support for programs and policies aimed at eliminating poverty, it is necessary to first understand what these beliefs are. From there, advocates and policymakers can address...
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...Fall 2012 CHAPTER 1: THE CHALLENGE OF ECONOMICS 1 CHAPTER 1: THE CHALLENGE OF ECONOMICS Definitions and Questions All economic questions and problems arise because human wants exceed the resources available to satisfy them. Scarcity: - The condition that arises because the available resources are insufficient to satisfy wants. o Our resources are limited but our wants are unlimited. - Scarcity: Lack of enough resources to satisfy all desired uses of those resources The Central Problem of Scarcity Our materialistic wants and desires continue to grow. - Newest camera phone - Larger television - Bigger house - Exotic vacation Why can’t we have everything we want? - Our wants exceed our resources. Economics and Opportunity Cost Economics – the study of how best to allocate scare resources among competing users. Opportunity cost – The value or price of the most desired goods and services that are foregone in order to obtain something else. - The next best alternative that you give up. Factors of Production Resource inputs used to produce goods and services. The four resources: - Labor, land, capital and entrepreneurship Resources are factors of production. Economic resources – all natural human and manufactured resources that can be used in the production of goods and services. Land – arable land, forests, minerals, energy (oil deposits and coal), water, air, wild plants, animals, birds and fish. Labor – all the physical and intellectual talents that can...
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... Disclaimer: This document represents part of the author’s study programme while at the Institute of Social Studies. The views stated therein are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Institute. Research papers are not made available for circulation outside of the Institute. Inquiries: Postal address: Institute of Social Studies P.O. Box 29776 2502 LT The Hague The Netherlands Location: Kortenaerkade 12 2518 AX The Hague The Netherlands Telephone: +31 70 426 0460 Fax: +31 70 426 0799 Acknowledgements I give my sincere gratitude to Jehovah God for his love and care throughout my life and the fifteen months I have been here. With much honour I sincerely thank my Supervisor, Prof M.Grimm, truth be told it was a blessing to have a supervisor like him, I am short of words to describe him, I would simply say he has been tremendously wonderful. Always there for me and giving me feedback in less than I expect, all I can say is that, ‘thank you very much’. I am equally humbled and grateful to my reader Dr Bridget O’Laughlin for her guidance and wonderful suggestions which largely contributed to the progress of this paper. Thank you To the NZP+ women, I feel indebted to you for your wonderful...
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...Administration Of Sikkim Manipal University, INDIA Sikkim-Manipal University of Health, Medical and Technological Sciences Distance Education Wing Syndicate House Manipal -576119 STUDENT’S DECLARATION I here by declare that the project report entitled A comprehensive study of marketing mix for the success and sustainability of canine de-wormer tablets market in Sri Lanka Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Business Administration To Sikkim-Manipal University, India, is my original work and not submitted for the award of any other degree, diploma, fellowship, or any other similar title or prizes Place : Colombo Nirmana Lasith Jayatunge Date : July 20, 2008 Reg. No: 540686708 EXAMINER’S CERTIFICATION The project report of Nirmana Lasith Jayatunge Titled A comprehensive study of marketing mix for the success and sustainability of canine de-wormer tablets market in Sri Lanka Is approved and is acceptable in quality and form UNIVERSITY STUDY CENTER CERTIFICATION This is to certify that the project report entitled A comprehensive study of marketing mix for the success and sustainability of canine de-wormer tablets market in Sri Lanka Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Business Administration of Sikkim-Manipal university of Health, Medical and technological sciences Nirmana Lasith...
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...i ii 1-7 8-17 18-21 21-23 25-26 26-27 27-31 31-33 33-39 39-42 42-44 45-47 47-51 52-53 53-55 55-56 57-59 3 1.1 Introduction The definition of gender is the state or fact of being male or female (typically used with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones). Often gender and sex are used interchangeably, but gender is socially constructed and sex is biologically determined. The word gender has been used since the 14th century but this did not become common until the mid of 20th century. In human societies sex differences are experienced as gender differences. Concepts of gender are cultural interpretations of sex differences. Gender is related to sex differences. Gender depends on how society views relationship of male to man and female to woman. Every culture has prevailing images of what men and women are ―supposed‖ to be like. The concept of an ideal woman exists in every culture and in every society. The sexual division of labour according to Friedrich Engels, (―The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State 1845)‖, showed how changes in the material conditions of people affect the organisation of their family relations. The man took control over the land and later put forcible claims on individual women as their personal...
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