Monopoly - economics Essay Example for Free

Monopoly economics Essay A monopoly exists when it has total control over a particular market and controls the supply and demand for that particular good or service. An oligopoly is a structure of a market in which only a few companies own or control the industry There are natural monopolies in the economy as well which are necessary to keep the economy progressing. Oligopolies exist because of the control over the supply of a good or service is in the hands of only a select few. They can influence the prices as well as the competition. The first monopolies began over discrepancies over natural resources. Before there was government regulation the resources that were once widely available to the population were controlled by the likes of elite, rich men. These conflicts over natural resources caused the government to regulate the resources by gathering and distributing them to the public. This regulation was put into place to reduce aggression between the company and the customers while balancing the supply and demand through different companies. Natural monopolies, on the other hand, do exist. These natural monopolies are those that have been in place for a long time and cannot be easily replaced. An example of these monopolies is a public utility such as water or electric service. It is much more costly to use multiple companies for a utility is much more costly as a whole than allowing the monopoly to continue. Waterlines and electrical towers that have been built and maintained for years would be difficult to destroy or remove from the land. In an oligopoly market, the companies set the prices and work together to control the markets to block new competitors from entering the market. The way these companies compete is through advertising and campaigns to get the most loyalty from the public. By using one another they can create supply and demand for their product or service. With government regulation these few powers can also be controlled like a monopoly would be. From a laissez faire view, monopolies and oligopolies will self-correct and be naturally eliminated. For instance, Microsoft Corporation controlled the operating system market since releasing in 1985. Microsoft’s operating systems, which once solely dominated the market, now compete with Apple’s MacOS. These two companies competing have now formed an oligopolistic market. In conclusion, it is in the best interest in the government to prevent monopolies from existing. When monopolies exist they decrease the incentive to for other companies to be successful in the market. Keeping the market competitive will drive companies to create new technology and use their inventiveness to improve the economy. Only under certain circumstances should a monopoly exist and that is of a natural monopoly, and when they do they ought to be regulated by the government. Even though the government can set laws and regulations for oligopolies, it still leaves plenty of room for monopolistic activities and uneven market share.

Depression :: Health, Nursing, Long Term Care

Evidence suggests that depression is associated with high levels of morbidity and mortality and adversely affects the quality of life and social functioning (Katona, 1994). Some of these patients do not move about much, and with depression added to this premise, the transition from what these patients were used to, to a completely new environment is usually traumatic. Nursing care providers can ease the trauma felt by these new arrivals by conducting assessments to determine whether these individuals are suffering from depression, so as to remedy this malady as soon as possible. Depression affects approximately 5% of the population at any one time, with depressive symptoms being more common in people over 65, with prevalence estimates ranging from 10 to 15% (Baldwin, 1995). Depression in nursing homes has been recognized as especially problematic states Ames, (1994). Depression is not a normal consequence of aging, and it is known to be under-recognized and under-treated, especially in hospitals, outpatient settings, and nursing homes. (Patry, 2004). Problem Background Older people entering long-term care facilities face major adjustment challenges and are particularly vulnerable to mental health problems (Murphy, 1982; Mikhail, 1992; Manion & Rantz, 1995). Newly admitted residents in long-term care facilities are particularly vulnerable to depression and the early recognition and treatment of depression is therefore crucial around the time of admission to a home. (Bagley et al., 2000). By day 14 of their nursing home stay, thirty-eight percents of the admitted residents sampled in a study conducted by Boyle et al. (2004) were positive for depressive symptoms. Depression then is still a highly significant problem among those admitted to a nursing home. (Boyle, 2004). In contrast, the authors’ stated that depression recognition in the nursing homes has improved. Michigan's Quality Improvement Organization (MPRO) conducted a study of 14 nursing facilities to improve the accuracy of assessments, targeting, and monitoring of care. 69% of participants were female 46% were 76-85 and 37% were 86 or older. Among men, 24% were age 75 or younger 51% were 76-85 and 25% were 86 or older. It was found that out of 818 residents, 313 (38%) had depressive symptoms by day 14. Out of the 313, 213 (68%) were admitted with a diagnosis of depression. (Boyle, et al., 2004). The nursing homes in this study use the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) to assess symptoms of depression; however, its use is highly selective. (Boyle, et al., 2004). The authors stated that additional research in developing strategies to ensure continuity of care to people across treatment settings would be useful.

Amys bread case study Essay

Case Study Questions 1. Who are the main players (name and position)? The main Player in this is Amy Scherber and she is the manager and owner. Another main character is Toy Kim Dupree and he is Amy’s assistant manager. 2. In what business or businesses and industry or industries is the company operating? Amy’s bread is in the business of selling bread products both wholesale and retail. They sell primarily to high quality restaurants, hotels and food shops. 3. What are the issues and problems facing the company? (Sort them by importance and urgency.) It is hard to make a large profit because Amy pays her employees a higher amount then the other business in her field. She also has to employee about four times as many employees to complete the same job due to the intensiveness provided on each batch of bread. The company is also struggling with the idea of wither to expand or stand pat with their business. 4. What is the primary problem for the company/organization in this case? The primary problem in this case is the idea of expansion. The problem is that they do not know if they should expand or stand pat. If they do expand how are they going to centralize their business. Are they going to do strictly wholesale or wholesale and retail. 5. Why have the problem (s) you cite emerged? Identify the causal chain (the events or circumstances that caused the problem-Some will be Internal Weaknesses, others EXTERNAL Threats). This main problem has occurred because they are currently located in a storefront that is not adequate to provide the needs of all their potential customers. The main weakness here is that they are in a bad location for advancement. In their current location they are completing all of the orders that they possibly can. 6. What are the characteristics of the industry that the company is in and how is the industry changing over time? When Amy’s Bread first open bread baking was a growth industry. The U.S Department of Commerce reported there was a 12 percent increase in the consumption of specialty breads per capita. This industry is also very tough to get into there are a great deal of company’s that already have been working with restaurants for a long time. The other problem with the industry is that because it was a growth period many new bakers were trying to enter it and earn a name for them. So the computation for customers is high in the industry and only growing more competitive. 7. What is the firm’s strategy for differentiation, enabling them to compete within the context of their industry? Amy had a clear goal she wanted to be famous for making a great product and for creating a good place to work. Amy’s product itself was different because she set the highest standards on her quality. They also do not use any machines in the shaping of their bread. Every load of bread was hand crafted and shaped which was why her payroll was so high but it set her breads apart from the average shop. 8. What are possible solutions to the problems you have identified? Possible solutions to her crisis on where to go or wither to move at all are one she could not move and be satisfied where she is. The second option is she could move to a building that she would be able to produce large amounts of wholesale goods at and not concentrate on retail goods. The third option is she could move to an even bigger place where she could sell retail product and still meet her needs for wholesale. 9. What are the advantages and possible disadvantages of your solution(s)? If she stays pat then she will be able to turn a marginal profit and meet the needs of her current customers. The disadvantages would be that she would then miss out on opportunity to sell to all the customers that she has on her waiting list and her retail business would not be any bigger. In second option they would be able to meet all her wholesale needs. The disadvantages would be that she could not sell retail customers any more and she would be paying more for the property. In the third option she would be able to sell both retail and wholesale. She would be in a newly developing retail market with access to foot traffic. She would also be able to meet all her whole sale needs. To top it off she would be able to design the layout of the building to fit her exact needs. The disadvantages of this are that it is very expensive. She would get everything that she is looking for but at a substantially higher price then the other two options. 10. Are there any possible problems with your suggested recommendations? What contingencies need to be accommodated? My recommendation would be to choose the third option. It is the most expensive but Amy has already demonstrated that she has a sharp business minded and is able to build business and promote it. The retail space will help spread the word of how good her bread actually is and word of mouth is the best advertisement they could have. The biggest problem that they could have is if they start to loose customers. A second problem would be if the market begins to shift away from the cravings of bread. Or another problem could be that they simply do not add enough customers to be able to afford the new space. Case Study Analysis Narrative Format Case title: Amy’s Bread Student: Nicholas Mustico Date: 3-18-2013 Course: Management Principles Firm Overview and Introduction to the Case (Use this and all headings in your narrative) In this first section of the narrative, you will provide a brief description of the case subject firm and circumstances for your reader. YOU are the expert. Your analysis is reliant on the fact that you’ve read the case at least three In the case study of Amy’s bread you get a complete overview of the company. It discusses where they started how they started and the experience that the owner Amy Scherber has. Amy Scherber is the centerpiece of the company she is the founder, owner, manager, and lead baker/chef for Amy’s bread. Amy is also the main person in charge of the company’s finances and business discussions. Amy is now facing the problem of wither or not she is going to expand her company. She has been able to entrench her business in the tough industry of baking breads. This is a business that is very completive and hard to establish yourself in. Now that she has become  establish she has to decide wither she would like to expand to meet consumer’s demands or stay where she is and be happy with what she has accomplished. Internal perspectives (Use this and all headings in your narrative) This section of your narrative is used to explain to your reader the internal, factual information about the case subject organization and the problems you’ve identified. Additionally, in this section you need to describe the causal chain. How did the problem arise? What caused it? The problem in this case would not be a problem if the company had not become as successful as it has. If the company had not become so popular then the small storefront that she had originally solicited would never have become a problem. They did become popular though and now they have to adjust to what they would like to become. No one knows if she had selected a larger site if she would have ever been able to get herself going but if she had then this problem may never have occurred. Her company now is at a point where they cannot satisfy one additional customer due to space constrictions. Amy’s problem is a hard one to decide on but for a company it is a good spot to be in if you have too much potential business. It is always better to have too much opportunity then too little. * External perspectives (Use this and all headings in your narrative) In this section you will describe the characteristics of the industry in which the subject organization operates. Identify any changes over time, which you believe contribute to the problems you’ve identified. Has the Firm’s Strategy for differentiation within their industry caused, Added to or exacerbated the problems you’ve identified? Amy’s bread is in a very complex and difficult industry to work in. She is in a field that has been â€Å"well farmed.† What I mean by that is that there have already been people there doing what she is trying to do. The business she is trying to sell to unless they are newer then her have all already put someone in place to fulfill their need. She then would have to show these businesses that she is that much better then her computation that they have already employed.  Amy’s strategy for differentiation is basically being better then the computation. She is striving to have the highest quality, freshest, and most innovative bread selection. She had made it a point that she will not sacrifice quality for anything else including profit. Amy was lucky, or smart enough to enter the backing industry when it was on the rise. Consumption of grains had just begun to rise when Amy entered the industry. The U.S Department of Commerce reported there was a 12 percent increase in the consumption of specialty breads per capita. This industry is also very tough to get into there are a great deal of company’s that already have been working with restaurants for a long time. The other problem with the industry is that because it was a growth period many new bakers were trying to enter it and earn a name for them. So the computation for customers is high in the industry and only growing more competitive. This main problem has occurred because they are currently located in a storefront that is not adequate to provide the needs of all their potential customers. The main weakness here is that they are in a bad location for advancement. In their current location they are completing all of the orders that they possibly can. Then again this is not a problem that most business would not want. Solutions (Use this and all headings in your narrative) In this section you will provide a proposed solution to the primary problem/ secondary problems you’ve identified. Possible solutions to her crisis on where to go or wither to move at all are one she could not move and be satisfied where she is. The second option is she could move to a building that she would be able to produce large amounts of wholesale goods at and not concentrate on retail goods. The third option is she could move to an even bigger place where she could sell retail product and still meet her needs for wholesale. If she stays pat then she will be able to turn a marginal profit and meet the needs of her current customers. The disadvantages would be that she would then miss out on opportunity to sell to all the customers that she has on her waiting list and her retail business would not be any bigger. In second option they would be able to meet all her wholesale needs. The disadvantages would be that she could not sell retail customers any more and she would be paying more for the  property. In the third option she would be able to sell both retail and wholesale. She would be in a newly developing retail market with access to foot traffic. She would also be able to meet all her whole sale needs. To top it off she would be able to design the layout of the building to fit her exact needs. The disadvantages of this are that it is very expensive. She would get everything that she is looking for but at a substantially higher price then the other two options. My recommendation would be to choose the third option. It is the most expensive but Amy has already demonstrated that she has a sharp business minded and is able to build business and promote it. The retail space will help spread the word of how good her bread actually is and word of mouth is the best advertisement they could have. The biggest problem that they could have is if they start to loose customers. A second problem would be if the market begins to shift away from the cravings of bread. Or another problem could be that they simply do not add enough customers to be able to afford the new space. Case Model Insert a copy of your case model at the end of your narrative. Model the problem and solution by drawing a diagram. Identify the problem, what is causing it, what is making the problem worse (or potentially hiding the problem), and what can be done to mitigate or eliminate it. Use the strategy models to help you think through the steps that must be taken to intervene and solve this problem. Case model

How to Conjugate Pratiquer (to Practice) in French

The French verb  pratiquer  is relatively easy to remember because it means to practice. When you want to say we practiced in the past tense or I am practicing in the present tense, the verb needs to be conjugated. A quick lesson will introduce you to the simplest forms of  pratiquer  for you to practice. The Basic Conjugations of  Pratiquer Pratiquer is a regular -er verb and it follows the most common conjugation pattern found in the French language. For students who are experienced in conjugations, this should be a pretty easy lesson. As with all verbs, youll begin by identifying the verb stem (or radical). For  pratiquer, that is  pratiqu-. From there, a variety of endings are added that correspond to both the subject pronoun and the tense of the sentence. This gives us things like  je pratique  for I am practicing and  nous pratiquions  for we practiced. Present Future Imperfect je pratique pratiquerai pratiquais tu pratiques pratiqueras pratiquais il pratique pratiquera pratiquait nous pratiquons pratiquerons pratiquions vous pratiquez pratiquerez pratiquiez ils pratiquent pratiqueront pratiquaient The Present Participle of  Pratiquer Adding -ant  to the radical produces the  present participle  pratiquant. Not only is it a verb, but there are some instances in which it becomes a noun or even an adjective. Pratiquer  in the Compound Past Tense In French, passà © composà © is the compound past tense that uses the past participle pratiquà ©. To form it, begin by conjugating the auxiliary verb avoir  to the present tense and finish the compound with pratiquà ©. The result is phrases such as jai pratiquà ©, meaning I practiced, and nous avons pratiquà © for we practiced. More Simple Conjugations of  Pratiquer There are a few more basic conjugations youll want to know for  pratiquer. Among those are  the subjunctive  and  the conditional.  The former implies uncertainty to the practicing while the latter is for an if...then situation.  The literary tenses of the passà © simple  and  the imperfect subjunctive  are reserved for writing and are good to memorize as well. Subjunctive Conditional Passà © Simple Imperfect Subjunctive je pratique pratiquerais pratiquai pratiquasse tu pratiques pratiquerais pratiquas pratiquasses il pratique pratiquerait pratiqua pratiquà ¢t nous pratiquions pratiquerions pratiquà ¢mes pratiquassions vous pratiquiez pratiqueriez pratiquà ¢tes pratiquassiez ils pratiquent pratiqueraient pratiquà ¨rent pratiquassent The imperative  is used often for assertive statements like Practice! When using it, skip the subject pronoun and leave it at Pratique ! Imperative (tu) pratique (nous) pratiquons (vous) pratiquez