Global Communication Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Global Communication Law - Essay Example It is significant to note that the first amendment does not guard statements pronounced to insult, incite people to do an illegal action, or provoke violence. In addition, the U.S law prohibits utterance of words that aim to promote religious, racial or any kind of discrimination that might lead to violence and hostility. It is against the law for a person to behave in a certain manner otherwise in private if the behavior done due to national or race origin of the other party. Such act that aims to insult, intimidate, offend, or injure other people is prohibited by the law. Freedom of expression, speech, and right to privacy may be limited in cases where they pose a risk to public safety, national security, and territorial integrity (Huffman & Trauth, 82). 2. What constitutes â€Å"obscenity† differs in many nation-states when it comes to pornographic and obscene materials. Do you think that moral-religious censorship laws in non-western societies and freedom of expression in western societies can co-exist in the global village of today? Is there something in the foreign culture that can benefit or lead to improvement of our own system? According to the U.S constitution, obscenity is defined in reference to Miller v California case decided in 1973. Therefore, obscenity refers to a situation where the work shows or explains, in a patently offensive manner, sexual conduct defined by law. Further, obscenity involves a situation where the work described lacks serious scientific, political, literary, or artistic value. U.S states treat pornographic materials as obscene because they contain sexually explicit materials that go against societal moral standards. It is rational to understand that â€Å"Half of obscene materials available on the internet comes from outside the U.S and is thus prohibited by law† (Huffman & Trauth, 99). The foreign cultures provide that no sexually explicit materials should be available or accessible to the public because it contradicts

The Evaluate Current Strategic Choice And Implications Management Essay

The Evaluate Current Strategic Choice And Implications Management Essay Strategic Management is a term that is not new, first used in the 1970s it was conceived that a team of strategic planners would come up with strategic ideas to sell to decision makers. It is all about identification and guideline used by the managers in order for the company to have a competitive edge over the competition. Joel Ross Michael Kami(Fred 2011, 35) mentioned that; Without Strategy, an organization is like a ship without a rudder, going round in circles. Its like a tramp; it has no place to go. According to Wheelen and Hunger(2006,3) A set of decisions and actions that are used to charter the performance of a corporation can be defined as Strategic management. The process of this would take into account the scanning of external and internal environmental factors, long term and strategic planning for strategy formulation as well as the implementation and evaluation and control process. Wheelen Hunger(2006,3) strongly focused on the analyzing and evaluating of external opportunities and threats compared to the companys strengths and weaknesses. A SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats) analysis is an ideal tool for strategic managers to plan for both predictable and unfeasible contingencies. In the point of Dess and Miller(1993), the combination of three major interrelated activities; strategic analysis, strategic formulation and strategy implementation can be called strategic management. These activities are a continuous process that helps evaluates and controls the company and the industry it is in, benchmarks the competition and set realistic targets and strategies to meet its existing and potential competition. Lamb(1984) states that strategic management is a continuous process that evaluates and controls the business and industries the company is in; it also assesses the competitors to set goals and strategies then reevaluates them every quarterly or annually to decide on the implementation of the strategy is successful. It then reevaluates the if there is any new factors such as technology, competition, economic market, social, financial and even political environment that can be used to create a new strategy. As a summary, Strategic Management and Planning is the understanding of the process of strategy formulation, implementation and evaluation. For company an organization to gain the edge over its competition regardless of size, scale; each organization needs to have a well planned strategic management in order to strive and compete in the market while optimizing its potential for tomorrows trends of today. Background of company The birth of Singapore Airlines was from Malaysian Air Limited where it first started in 1947, because of political reasons, the company was renamed to Malaysia-Singapore Airlines and finally the company split its shares to Malaysian Airlines System and Singapore Airlines in 1972 on which Singapore Airlines is owned by Singapore state owned investment house; Tamasek Holdings Singapore Airlines was forced to focus on the international market that was subjected to intense competition because there was no domestic route available to after the separation. The difficult start of was one of the factors that drove Singapore Airlines driving spirit to compete and dedication to branding. It started the branding strategy by engaging a French haute-couture designer in 1972 to come up with a special version of the Malay Sarong Kebaya for the airline stewardess uniform and adopting a branding Singapore Girls that provide top quality in-flight hospitality. This feature became one of the most recognized signatures for Singapore Airlines. The marketing strategy was accompany by background lobbying effort to talk country in granting access to its airport and dedication to its human resource management by investing 20million on training facilities. This was paid off at 1973 when the airline was ranked third in the Far East Asian region. The company then are force to conduct cost cutting program to struggle with surge of oil price on 1973~1977. Surviving this, in 1977 the airlines joint operation with British Airway to provide Concord jet service between Singapore and London, the service was terminated in 1980. This however was deem a marketing success as Singapore Airline were make famous around the globe with this achievement. At the same period, new Changi Airport was constructed, leading to a higher service standard being provided by Singapore Airline. This has paid off and Singapore Airlines were the top preference in Asia-Pacific Region in 1981. The airline follows a steady internal growth strategy in the 1980s, expanding its size, renewing fleet and adding route. SIA was privatised on 1985, listing on Singapore stock exchange with Temasek Holding owning a 63% initially and gradually reduced to 54% in 2008. During 1990s, the company follows a more aggressive growth pattern, two subsidiaries were form in 1992, Silk Air to close the gap between its route networks and cater to a lower cost market segment, SIA Engineering is form to increase productivity and pursuit better business opportunity. Globalisation in the 1990s have also prompt the airline to expand overseas, invest in other airline company and forming new subsidiary in other country to provide better support on is airlines. The Asia financial crises at the end of 1990s prompt the airline to review its operation cost again, cutting down on not profitable route. [St James Press, 1999]. Against conventional wisdom, the company have utilized its strong financial resources during financial crisis to make capital investment, spending 300million to renovate cabins of its aircraft. This had benefit the airlines as the price level during the crisis is low and the airlines have more bargaining power over its supplier [Scott, 2008]. Till date, Singapore Airlines group of companies provide passenger and cargo air transportation, airport terminal services, aviation engineering services, training of pilots, air charters and tour wholesales and related activities. As of March 2009, the group have 31,834 employee, posted a revenue of SGD 15,996 million. The airlines also operate route on 36 countries with 66 destinations and 726 weekly flights. The performance of Singapore Airlines at the beginning of year 2009 was severely hit by the economic downturn and pre-purchase fuel priced hedge at high level before the financial crisis [SIA annual report 08/09]. Recent health crisis like bird flu, H1N1 had also affected the travel industry which the airline is operating in. Organisational structure SIAs organisation is divided primarily by function and has disadvantages of low responsibility at bottom level staff and compartmentalize on manager. To tackle this, SIA have a flatten organisation chart with few level of hierarchy within the organisation, this allows autonomy and create a more flexible and dynamic business that empower people to make decision and leads to job enrichment. The company also promotes independences and encourage senior staff to train and allow junior staff to made decision. To tackle problem of job compartmentalize, non technical manager are rotated on jobs and allows them to have a broader picture. The management of SIA also stress on importance of maintaining good and healthy work culture inside the organisation. Team works is place on high importance by the company. As the company have established sales office in over 80 countries, it had divided the sales operation by geographical area. To tackle problem on management control, the company had placed the focus point on end results objective allowing site manager to exercise flexibility and made adjustment based on situation. Full authorities had been given to its overseas regional general manager allowing decision to make quickly in respond to local issue and customize business operation to suit local climate [Times 100, undated.]. The company used organic growth strategy and stress on profitability rather than size, this allow slow and steady growth and leader to be groom properly. In general, the organisational structure of SIA is decentralise encourages autonomy allowing quick response to business treat and opportunity which is crucial in the airline industry which are very fast and dynamics. 4.0 Analysis of External Environment 4.1 Political The political environment of Singapore is stable with its dominant political party Peoples Action Party (PAP) controlling the government since the independence. Singapore government has allowed the freedom in corporate governance and has little set restrictions to the industry. Singapore Airlines make 90% of the decision on its own and has only influence the appointment of the director over the company (Sikorski, 1995). Singapore Airlines was allowed to stress on profit in comparison with public or social responsibility and was even backed by the government during its retrenchment practice during the economical crisis. (Sikorski, 1995) With a strong foreign policy that maintains good relationship with 175 countries, Singapore has a particular good relationship with huge economical countries such as France, United Kingdom, and Germany. It also has a mutual free trade agreement between Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, India, United States of America and recently with China in 2008. With Singapore signing the Gulf Cooperation Council-Singapore Free Trade Agreement in December 2008, it embarks to build strong ties with the middle east countries as well. Singapore is a stable base for the operations for SIA comparing itself to other regions in the Asia Pacific that have seen unrest over the recent years. Terrorism alerts affected some countries in the Asia region with India(2008) and Pakistan(2009) hit with the lost of hundreds of life. The tourism industry for Thailand was affected in 2008 during the protest and heavy floods as well as the Tsunami event that happened in Langkawi, Malaysia as well as Thailand that affected the influx of tourist there. There was also the riots in China and the Korean Missile crisis that effect the Singapore Airlines to re-route its flight to other locations. 4.2 Economic Financial Crisis in 2007 affected many countries over the world that brought recessions to most of the affected countries. This slum lasted through 2008 that made the global financial institutions very cautions on its loans of money and many companies had to underwent a cost cutting measure to stay afloat. The IMF predicted the regeneration of the world wide economy by 2009 and it the up market trend has steadily grown from there. The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) also contributed to promote Singapore as a destination for MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions). In SGD 90 Million BOOST (Building on Opportunity to Strengthen Tourism) program was launched in February 2009 and was followed up in October with an announcement for a new Tourism Compass 2020 roadmap to grow tourism 2015, with the goal to set Singapore as the leading city for MICE (STB,12 Oct2009). The growth was further spurred by the building of two integrated resort projects, Marina Bay Sand and Resort World at Sentosa. Singapore has also continued to host the Formula One Night Race and with all this factors surely has a positive impact for the travel and tourism sector for the country. 4.3 Social Cultural Singapores population comprises of more then 75% Chinese, followed by Malay and Indian; the main religion of the country is Buddhism, Islam, Christian, Taoism and Hinduism. Having a rich Asian culture in the country, Singapore is one of the most westernized countries within Asia. With the growing China economy and its open door policy; Singapore has landed a great pool of foreign labor arriving from China. This in return has created a cultural conflict among many Singaporeans. With a highly diversified culture with close to 35% of its population is non citizen residing in the country, (25% of is foreigner and 10% are permanent resident); Singapore can be considered as an immigrant country. Although having high non-citizen to citizen ratio, the country never stops to promote foreign talent and believes that if the immigrant policy were to be stopped, Singapore would face a shortage of quality labor. Having a strong Chinese influence over its working culture that has made it a culture of high in power distance with the lower employees accepting the subordinates positions that seldom questions the managements decisions. The working culture also stresses on good team work and maintaining group harmonies. (Warnstam,2007). This has made Singapore to become a very cooperative employee to employer relationship and its labor union is in good terms with companies throughout. 4.4 Technology The growth in the usage if Internet around the globe has prompted the growth of customized web addresses to be used around the world. This has also given the potential for the usage of Chinese characters to form the web address (Choe,Oct 2009). With the emergence of such technological advancement, the electronic devices has also evolved to become more portable with increased performance and now almost every household in Singapore would have a portable laptop, hand phone and digital cameras loaded with personalized music, games , photo and video. The growth of such technology has prompt an expansion of innovation over the past decade. The development of high speed networks and compression has allowed faster transfer of data and transfer rate, resulting in the availability to have high quality real time video conferencing with people around the globe from the office or even without leaving the house. This has made it a very good substitute for companies to use instead of having to send its employees for business travelling. (Yu, 23 Jun 2009). 5.0 Evaluate Current Strategic choice and implications 5.1 Analysis of Current Strategic Position 5.1.1 Financial position Singapore Airlines has maintained its profit over the years, the group has maintained its profit even through the 2008 financial crisis. After the growth in 2009 the group assets are worth SGD 22.04 million and debt of SGD 1.077million with an equity debt ratio of 0.08. With a general reserve of SGD 11.264 million the company is poised to be able to sustain its operations in any case of crisis. (SIA, Annual report 2012) 5.1.2 Product position Carrier RPK (Million) SIA 90,128 Cathay Pacific 90,975 Qantas 99,176 Total of   AAPA member 550,014 Table 1 Comparison of RPK Airlines market size can be measure by Revenue Passenger-Kilometer (RPK). Having based in Asia Pacific region, SIA, Cathay Pacific and Qantas all falls into the same category of medium cost, developed airlines. These airlines have similar offering and price level. It can be seen that SIA, Cathay and Qantas have market share of similar size [AAPA, 2009]. The company is ranked number two in Skytrax Best airline award; the airline is in the top five ranking for 10 out of the 12 award Skytrax have. The airline has the Best 1st Class and best in-flight catering award in 2009. The only part the company dont have a ranking is on the airport lounge service [Skytrax, 2009]. 5.1.3 Marketing capability The initial distribution of SIA is mainly by the travel agents or through internet bookings, SIA has come a long way by providing a ticketless system for its passengers that even allows boarding as well even for connecting flights with its partner airlines (SIA,2009). SIA also engages social networking website in Facebook though quite limited in its presence. This is a drawback with the current trend of younger generation who associates more with social networking sites. Another factor that is a slight disadvantages for Singapore Airlines is that the domain www.sia.com and www.sia.com.sg is not owned by Singapore Airlines, but to counteract this, they company has engaged to actively publish itself as the preferred search referee if anyone searches for SIA online. SIA has also made good placement in the search engine for using the key world Singapore airlines and Air Ticket Singapore which prompts SIA at the top of the search list. 5.1.4 Organizational structure The organization is divided by function and the disadvantages of low responsibility for the employees at the bottom as well as the compartmentalization on the managers. To overcome this, SIA has flat organization chart with few hierarchical levels for its organizations, this enables autonomy and create a more flexible but yet dynamic business that empowers its people to make decisions and lead to better job satisfaction. The promotion of independence and encouraging its senior employees to train and give chances to the junior personnel to make decisions are a key factor for SIA. Non technical management personnel are rotated on jobs and this gives them to have a broader perspective for the job. This is further strengthening by the stress on the importance of having a good and healthy work culture for the company. Great importance is stressed on having good team spirit. To overcome sales operation issue, SIA has focused on end results while giving its site managers to exercise flexibility to make necessary changes based on the situations. The full power is given to its overseas regional general manager to ensure fast response time for local issues and a more localized business operation to site the climate. The company focuses on the growth strategy that focuses more on profitability rather than size, thus allowing slow and steady growth with chances for leaders to be groomed properly. In general, the organisational structure of SIA is decentralise encourages autonomy allowing quick response to business treat and opportunity which is crucial in the airline industry which are very fast and dynamics. 5.1.5 Human Resources SIA has a strong emphasis on human resources. The requirements for entry level to the company is only for diploma holders are accepted, these employee would then go through the recruitment process. After the appointment, these cabin crew is trained for 15 weeks, 2 times longer the industrial standards. The SIA employees have a 6 month probation that needs to be reported continuously by their supervisor with a confirmation rate of 75% while 20% will be on extension. These trainings are changed periodically to adjust to show the customers expectations. While on the job, the employees are also required to engage in various voluntary community services, arts and cultural activities. Refresher courses will be available for employees allowing 3 to 4 days per year, this is a form of motivation for the employees to engage in self learning and the employees will be accountable for their own growth and development. Results from these stringent training has been obvious by producing Stewardess that have high esteem, motivated and capable in handling the customers in the companys best interest (Heracleous and Wirtz. 2009). The focus on talent form within the company, the company focuses on development of the human capita given training spending of SGD100million for its employees. The company also offers scholarship programs for recruiting management trainees from the universities. 5.1.6 Condition of facilities and equipment Having one of the newest fleets in the world, with an average age of 6 years, Singapore Airlines is one of the most updated planes compared to the worldwide average of 15 years (Prystay, 28 Aug 2009). By adopting the newest planes and technology this impacts in the reduction of maintenance and petrol cost. Other than that, SIA also went through an upgrading of its plane cabins to provide customers with the most updated entertainment systems and a better seating arrangement. Training equipment for its pilots is also provided from the SGD 1 million flight simulator that is capable of simulating the high altitude scenario. SIA also updated its training center in 1999 to ensure the recruitment is capable to facilitate a better and efficient training environment. Overall the airlines does have a great training faclilities for its personnel as well as their commitment to bringing top quality service with a strong financial background but because of the financial crisis in 2008 and the lack of demand over supply, SIA is laden with excess aircraft that has not been utilized. 5.1.7 Past objective and strategies SIA corporate level uses a diversified strategy whereby it expands its business to airline catering, airport terminal services as well as into aircraft maintenance. These dual strategy in cost leadership and differentiation enables SIA to have excellent cost efficient service through high business efficiency. SIA has secured its high business competence through the execution of five organizational systems. The first is the structured service development and design that allocates dedicated departments for its enhancement of service and thorough testing to ensure that there will be a quality service that will be able to meet the latest customers expectations. Second is the focus on consumer trends over the years, with a specific department that monitors closely to ensure that innovation is tailor to focus on improving and enabling a cost effective and highly productive service innovation. The focus will also be on the companys weak point, adapting the best practices from other successful developments while reducing the cost and risk involved for the innovation. The third set is the focus on a profit conscious culture, with the education of its personnel on the priority of profit and customer satisfaction. SIA also focuses on a reward based system that gives proper recognition to employees based on their performance to encourage team work and productivity while reducing wastage. The fourth is the goal for the organization to achieve success through the diversification and infrastructure of its subsidiaries. These integration allows the focus and control that will enhance the knowledge while reduction of cost at the same time. The management of its subsidiaries is based on a clear expectation that enables the subsidiaries to be subjected to market discipline. The last focus for the company is the development of its personnel through training and development while encouraging the development of a direct self continuous learning system to boost their self esteem. The overall strategies that SIA has adopted has made the company to have a high competence core with the overall ability to achieve a differential offering through exceptional levels of efficiency (Heracleous et al 2009) 6.0 Strategic Potential Justifications Choices for strategy for SIA should be based on the logical elements for the process and have a central role. The company should focus their choices of strategy through based on the internal and external factors while taking into account its core competency to strive for profitability and service excellence of its personnel. Strategic Choices for Singapore Airlines Business Level Strategy Corporate Level Strategy Direction and Method of Development Strategy for competitive advantage Adhere to government regulation and satisfaction Internal training and development Profit measurable success for strategies Diversification in market Creation of value added services to gain competitive advantage 6.1 Business Level Strategy Price Based Strategy This strategy takes into consideration of the product to price to gain a competitive advantage. There are many low cost airlines company as of this moment that is conducting business in the Asia region. This causes the market to be very competitive and Singapore Airlines is one of such company that faces challenges. Low cost airline companies such as Air Asia is one of the competitors that are focusing on the usage of price based strategy to capture a market share in the current market. Justification: Acceptable and feasible pricing strategy: The focus for the price based strategy is important as the current completion from the low cost airlines also focuses on the same routes of travel while providing a lower air fare. One of such routes traveled is from Singapore to Bangkok, from this example, Air Asia is selling its seats for a round trip for a price of $150 while compared to SIA that cost $500. Because of this the company is losing money as customer trends are now slowly switching over the low cost seats. http://htmlimg1.scribdassets.com/4abs74bzsw9yk25/images/16-b0f782e011.jpg 4.2 Corporate Strategy Direction Policy Matrix Used to measure the health of the industry for the Asian regions and the capabilities of Singapore Airlines. Below is the representation of Singapore Airlines in comparative to Air Asia ad MAS in the Asian Region. http://htmlimg1.scribdassets.com/4abs74bzsw9yk25/images/17-978ec5a00e.jpg Source: Johnson G, Scholes K. 2005. P 320 Justification: Acceptability Feasibility of Directional Policy Matrix From the analysis it can be seen that the market positing of Singapore Airlines is aimed towards the middle business class strength that offers a highly attractive market. The bargaining power, threats for substitute and competitive rivalry is high for the Singapore Airlines. In the event of a cost increase for jet fuel to USD 115/barrel, the supplier has the upper hand the the treat of substitute is potentially high for the market. For this the feasibility and acceptance of a directional policy matrix for Singapore Airlines is High. 6.3 Directional and Method of Development TOWS Matrix Through the analysis of the internal and external environment, the generation of a TOWS based matrix. This will enable Singapore Airlines to focus on the strategic options available to cater for any potential changes or adapt strategies to further strengthen its market share while limiting its weakness. http://htmlimg2.scribdassets.com/4abs74bzsw9yk25/images/18-6f7d0e3282.jpg Suing the strength and opportunity for Singapore Airlines, there is potential for market diversification. To overcome the potential treats, SIA can have a merger or acquisition with certain airline companies. Avoidance of weakness for Singapore Airlines can adopt a cost leadership strategy. The airlines can develop their internal factors to avoid the treats and weaknesses. Justification Diversification: The current airline industry for the Asian region is highly competitive. There are many airline operations in the region and one of such competition comes from the low cost airline Air Asia. Air Asia flies twice daily from Malaysia to Guangzhou. Currently Air Asia has 86 routes that offers no frills service and has garnered wide recognition from the china market comparing to Singapore Airlines which has 88 destinations in 38 countries. Singapore Airlines would need to strengthen and diversify its market by planning out more feasible routes to high business locations and take a competitive advantage though expansion of the Asian market. Merger and Acquisition: Singapore Airlines needs to have a strong understanding on its competition and to avoid the treats they possess. With their strong financial background, the potential for merger and acquisition is a great choice for Singapore Airlines. Currently there are two national carriers that are seeking to limit Singapore Airlines to access their home market thus slowing down the growth for the airline. Because of this Singapore airlines joined the Star Alliance to take advantage of its international strategy. This is also boosted by the investment of SIA groups into China and India to ensure strategic alliances with the local organizations for their cargo divisions, airport services, enginnering and catering. Internal Development During the previous years, Singapore Airlines recorded a low asset turnover ration in comparison with its competitors. Because of this, the weaker asset turnover ratio has a potential to show that the companies ineffectiveness to utilize the assets to generate profit and will eventually lead to the decline in the groups growth. Singapore Airlines can adapt to this by using better use of information technology to enhance its services to the customers and gain back better response and efficiency. Singapore Airlines website is now one of the most advance and user friendly in the industry that offers the customers to check their schedules, buy tickets, check in and manage their accounts as well as even choosing the meal for their flights. Because of this value added service, the company is able to further maintain its market share and slowly cover up the losses by creating a portal for customers and potential clients to interact with Singapore Airlines. The efficient use of IT has proven to significantly reduce the cost and enhance service levels for Singapore Airlines. Conclusion Singapore Airlines is the national carrier for Singapore and is one of the industry leaders in Asia. Currently the operations route carries Singapore Airlines to South East Asia, East Asia, Europe, Middle East and the Australia. The analysis for the external factors indicates that Singapore Airlines does face some barriers due to the international economic and political sector. The prices of oil over the years have been very volatile and would play a major impact on the profitability of the airline industry. Other than that with some ups and downs in the economy and the growth of high speed networks through the usage of information technology has played an impact for the overall performance in the airline industry in general with people become less mobile while still being able to work with their counterparts across the globe. The internal factors with the successful branding of Singapore Airlines is one of the drawing factors that is able to sustain its competitive edge as well as w ith strong management background that ensure a quality of service for its customers gives the company its core competencies. For Singapore Airlines to keep evolving towards the new market trends, the company should take into account the internal and external surroundings.

Surge Irrigation Essay -- Technology Science Agriculture Essays

Surge Irrigation Surface irrigation is not new technology, but through research and the incorporation of some inventive measures, advances in this area have provided the needed responses to make this type of irrigation increasingly appealing. Not only is water quality a major concern, but current farmers must now monitor water quality and provide adequate crop protection measures to insure a good yield. Water availability is affected by falling water tables, droughts and stressed by the increasing water demand of growing urban populations (Moody 1993). Likewise, local and federal governments create strict water utilization laws, limiting chemical concentrations of particular substances in surface waters throughout the nation. In addition to adhering to the aforementioned tasks, irrigators must correctly apply supplemental water such that the crop’s needs are also met without â€Å"over-application†. The primary goals of any irrigation system are to minimize deep percolation of water and replenish soil water in the root zone along the entire field (Goldhammer 1987). Thus, to achieve effective water management, an irrigator should utilize the least amount of water needed to sustain profitable yield amounts. In addition, the major concerns of managing irrigation water are controlling runoff, decreasing deep percolation, providing sufficient drainage, and limiting energy and the associated labor costs. For a small or medium sized operation with limited resources, labor and maintenance costs are important factors when selecting an irrigation system. A study conducted by Dr. Stephen H. Amosson (1995) compared six alternative irrigation systems (gated pipe, surge flow, side roll, high pressure pivot, low pressur... ...s Department of the Interior. Goldhammer, D.A., M.H. Alemi and R.C. Phene (1987) Surge vs. Continuous-Flow Irrigation. California Agriculture, September-October 1987. Hill, R.W. and G. Stringham (1994) Surge Flow Irrigation: Automatic Surface Irrigation Demonstration for Summer Onion Tour. Cooperative Extension Service & Biological and Irrigation Engineering Department, Utah State University Moody, V. (1993) The Benefits of Surge. Irrigation Journal, March 1993. New, Leon (1995) Opportunities to Maximize the Utilization of Waters by Irrigators. Texas Agricultural Extension Service. Varlev, I., Z. Popova, I. Gospodinov (1998) Furrow Surge Irrigation as a Water Saving Technique. Water and the Environment: Innovation in Irrigation and Drainage, 1st Inter-regional Conference Proceedings, Lisbon, Portugal, September 1998, pp-131-139.

Monopoly, perfect competition and imperfect competition Essay

?Economists assume that there are a number of different buyers and sellers in the marketplace. This means that we have competition in the market, which allows price to change in response to changes in supply and demand. Furthermore, for almost every product there are substitutes, so if one product becomes too expensive, a buyer can choose a cheaper substitute instead. In a market with many buyers and sellers, both the consumer and the supplier have equal ability to influence price. In some industries, there are no substitutes and there is no competition. In a market that has only one or few suppliers of a good or service, the producer(s) can control price, meaning that a consumer does not have choice, cannot maximize his or her total utility and has have very little influence over the price of goods. A monopoly is a market structure in which there is only one producer/seller for a product. In other words, the single business is the industry. Entry into such a market is restricted due to high costs or other impediments, which may be economic, social or political. For instance, a government can create a monopoly over an industry that it wants to control, such as electricity. Another reason for the barriers against entry into a monopolistic industry is that oftentimes, one entity has the exclusive rights to a natural resource. For example, in Saudi Arabia the government has sole control over the oil industry. A monopoly may also form when a company has a copyright or patent that prevents others from entering the market. Pfizer, for instance, had a patent on Viagra. In an oligopoly, there are only a few firms that make up an industry. This select group of firms has control over the price and, like a monopoly, an oligopoly has high barriers to entry. The products that the oligopolistic firms produce are often nearly identical and, therefore, the companies, which are competing for market share, are interdependent as a result of market forces. Assume, for example, that an economy needs only 100 widgets. Company X produces 50 widgets and its competitor, Company Y, produces the other 50. The prices of the two brands will be interdependent and, therefore, similar. So, if Company X starts selling the widgets at a lower price, it will get a greater market share, thereby forcing Company Y to lower its prices as well. There are two extreme forms of market structure: monopoly and, its opposite, perfect competition. Perfect competition is characterized by many buyers and sellers, many products that are similar in nature and, as a result, many substitutes. Perfect competition means there are few, if any, barriers to entry for new companies, and prices are determined by supply and demand. Thus, producers in a perfectly competitive market are subject to the prices determined by the market and do not have any leverage. For example, in a perfectly competitive market, should a single firm decide to increase its selling price of a good, the consumers can just turn to the nearest competitor for a better price, causing any firm that increases its prices to lose market share and profits. Perfect competition is the market in which there is a large number of buyers and sellers. The goods sold in this market are identical. A single price prevails in the market. On the other hand monopoly is a type of imperfect market. The number of sellers is one but the number of buyers is many. A monopolist is a price-maker. In fact monopoly is the opposite of perfect competition. Firm under perfect competition and the firm under monopoly are similar as the aim of both the seller is to maximise profit and to minimise loss. The equilibrium position followed by both the monopoly and perfect competition is MR = MC. Despite there similarities, these two forms of market organization differ from each other in respect of price-cost-output. There are many points of difference which are noted below. (1) Under perfect competition there are a large number of buyers and sellers in the market competing with each other. The price fixed by the industry is accepted by all the firms operating in the market. As against this under monopoly, there is only one single seller but a large number of buyers. The distinction between, firm and industry disappears under this type of market situation. (2) The average revenue curves under competition and monopoly take different shapes. The average revenue (price) curve under perfect competition is a horizontal straight line parallel to OX-axis. The industry demand curve or revenue curve slopes downward from left to right. But under monopoly the firm is itself the industry. There is only one demand curve common both to the monopoly firm and monopoly firm and monopoly industry. The average revenue curve under monopoly slopes downward and its corresponding marginal revenue curve lie below the average revenue curve. Under perfect competition MR Curve is the same as AR Curve. (3) Under perfect competition price equals marginal cost at the equilibrium output, but under monopoly equilibrium price is greater than marginal cost. Under perfect competition marginal revenue is the same as average revenue at all levels of output. Thus at the equilibrium position under perfect competition marginal cost not only equals marginal revenue but also average revenue. On the other hand under monopoly both the AR and MR curve slope downward and MR curve lies below AR curve. Thus average revenue is greater than marginal revenue at all levels of output. Hence at the equilibrium output of the monopolist price stands higher than marginal cost. Under competition price MR=MC. In monopoly equilibrium, price > MC. (4) A competitive firm makes only normal profit in the long run. As against this a monopolist can make super normal profits even in the long run. In perfectly competitive market there is freedom pf entry and exit. Attracted by the supernormal profit earned by the existing firms the new competitive firms enter the market to compete away the supernormal profit. Output rises and profit becomes minimum. Thus in the long run a competitive firm earns only normal profit. But under monopoly the firm continues earning supernormal profits even in the long run since there are strong barriers to the entry of new firms in the monopolistic industry. (5) Under monopoly price is higher and output smaller than under perfect competition. Price output equilibrium is graphically shown in the diagram given below. AR = MR curve is the demand curve under perfect competition which is horizontal straight line. The downward sloping AR and MR curve are the average revenue and marginal revenue curves under monopoly. At equilibrium point E (MR = MC) a competitive firm produces ‘OM’ output at OP market price. At point F a monopoly firm attains equilibrium producing OM, output at OP, price. OP competitive price is less than OP, (OP < OP,) and OM competitive output is greater than OM, output (OM > OM,). (6) A monopolist can discriminate prices for his product, a firm working under perfect competition cannot. The monopolist will be increasing his total profit by price discrimination if he find? Elastic ties of demand are different in different markets. As against his a competitive firm cannot change different prices from different buyers since he faces a perfectly elastic demand at the going market price. If he increases a slights rise in price he will lose the sellers and makes loss. Thus a competitive firm can not discriminate prices which a monopolist can do. Monopoly and perfect competition represent two extremes along a continuum of market structures. At the one extreme is perfect competition, representing the ultimate of efficiency achieved by an industry that has extensive competition and no market control. Monopoly, at the other extreme, represents the ultimate of inefficiency brought about by the total lack of competition and extensive market control. Monopoly is a market structure with complete market control. As the only seller in the market, a monopoly controls the supply-side of the market. Perfect competition, in contrast, is a market structure in which each firmhas absolutely no market control. No firm in perfect competition can influence the market price in any way. The best way to compare monopoly and perfect competition is the four characteristics of perfect competition: (1) large number of relatively small firms, (2) identical product, (3) freedom of entry and exit, and (4) perfect knowledge. Number of Firms: Perfect competition is an industry comprised of a large number of small firms, each of which is a price taker with no market control. Monopoly is an industry comprised of a single firm, which is a price maker with total market control. Phil the zucchini grower is one of gadzillions of zucchini growers. Feet-First Pharmaceutical is the only firm that sells Amblathan-Plus, a drug that cures the deadly (but hypothetical) foot ailment known as amblathanitis. Available Substitutes: Every firm in a perfectly competitive industry produces exactly the same product as every other firm. An infinite number of perfect substitutes are available. A monopoly firm produces a unique product that has no close substitutes and is unlike any other product. Gadzillions of firms grow zucchinis, each of which is a perfect substitute for the zucchinis grown by Phil the zucchini grower. There are no substitutes for Amblathan-Plus. Feet-First Pharmaceutical is the only supplier. Resource Mobility: Perfectly competitive firms have complete freedom to enter the industry or exit the industry. There are no barriers. A monopoly firm often achieves monopoly status because the entry of potential competitors is prevented. Anyone can grow zucchinis. All they need is a plot of land and a few seeds. Feet-First Pharmaceutical holds the patents on Amblathan-Plus. No other firm can enter the market. Information: Each firm in a perfectly competitive industry possesses the same information about prices and production techniques as every other firm. A monopoly firm, in contrast, often has information unknown to others. Everyone knows how to grow zucchinis (or can easily find out how). Feet-First Pharmaceutical has a secret formula used in the production of Amblathan-Plus. This information is not available to anyone else. The consequence of these differences include: First, the demand curve for a perfectly competitive firm is perfectly elastic and the demand curve for a monopoly firm is THE market demand, which is negatively-sloped according to the law of demand. A perfectly competitive firm is thus a price taker and a monopoly is a price maker. Phil must sell his zucchinis at the going market price. It he does not like the price, then he does not sell zucchinis. Feet-First Pharmaceutical can adjust the price of Amblathan-Plus, either higher or lower, and so doing it can control the quantity sold. Second, the monopoly firm charges a higher price and produces less output than would be achieved with a perfectly competitive market. In particular, the monopoly price is not equal to marginal cost, which means a monopoly does not efficiently allocate resources. Although Feet-First Pharmaceutical charges several dollars per ounce of Amblathan-Plus, the cost of producing each ounce is substantially less. Phil, in contrast, just about breaks even on each zucchini sold. Third, while an economic profit is NOT guaranteed for any firm, a monopoly is more likely to receive economic profit than a perfectly competitive firm. In fact, a perfectly competitive firm IS guaranteed to earn nothing but a normal profit in the long run. The same cannot be said for monopoly. The price of zucchinis is so close to the cost of production, Phil never earns much profit. If the price is relatively high, other zucchini producers quickly flood the market, eliminating any profit. In contrast, Feet-First Pharmaceutical has been able to maintain a price above production cost for several years, with a handsome profit perpetually paid to the company shareholders year after year. Fourth, the positively-sloped marginal cost curve for each perfectly competitive firm is its supply curve. This ensures that the supply curve for a perfectly competitive market is also positively sloped. The marginal cost curve for a monopoly is NOT, repeat NOT, the firm’s supply curve. There is NO positively-sloped supply curve for a market controlled by a monopoly. A monopoly might produce a larger quantity if the price is higher, in accordance with the law of supply, or it might not. If the price of zucchinis rises, then Phil can afford to grow more. If the price falls, then he is forced to grow less. Marginal cost dictates what Phil can produce and supply. Feet-First Pharmaceutical, in comparison, often sells a larger quantity of Amblathan-Plus as the price falls, because they face decreasing average cost with larger scale production. MONOPOLY, CHARACTERISTICS: The four key characteristics of monopoly are: (1) a single firm selling all output in a market, (2) a unique product, (3) restrictions on entry into and exit out of the industry, and more often than not (4) specialized information aboutproduction techniques unavailable to other potential producers. These four characteristics mean that a monopoly has extensive (boarding on complete) market control. Monopoly controls the selling side of the market. If anyone seeks to acquire the production sold by the monopoly, then they must buy from the monopoly. This means that the demand curve facing the monopoly is the market demand curve. They are one and the same. The characteristics of monopoly are in direct contrast to those of perfect competition. A perfectly competitive industry has a large number of relatively small firms, each producing identical products. Firms can freely move into and out of the industry and share the same information about prices and production techniques. A monopolized industry, however, tends to fall far short of each perfectly competitive characteristic. There is one firm, not a lot of small firms. There is only one firm in the market because there are no close substitutes, let alone identical products produced by other firms. A monopoly often owes its monopoly status to the fact that other potential producers are prevented from entering the market. No freedom of entry here. Neither is there perfect information. A monopoly firm often has specialized information, such as patents or copyrights, that are not available to other potential producers. Single Supplier The essence of a monopoly is a market controlled by a single seller. The â€Å"mono† part of monopoly means single. This â€Å"mono† term is also the source of such words as monarch–a single ruler; monochrome–a single color; monk–a solitary religious figure; monocle–an eyeglass for one eye; and monolith–a single large stone. The â€Å"poly† part of monopoly means to sell. So the word itself, monopoly, means a single seller. The single seller, of course, is a direct contrast to perfect competition, which has a large number of sellers. In fact, perfect competition could be renamed multipoly or manypoly, to contrast it with monopoly. The most important aspect of being a single seller is that the monopoly seller IS the market. The market demand for a good IS the demand for the output produced by the monopoly. This makes monopoly a price maker, rather than a price taker. A hypothetical example that can be used to illustrate the features of a monopoly is Feet-First Pharmaceutical. This firm owns the patent to Amblathan-Plus, the only cure for the deadly (but hypothetical) foot ailment known as amblathanitis. As the only producer of Amblathan-Plus, Feet-First Pharmaceutical is a monopoly with extensive market control. The market demand for Amblathan-Plus is THE demand for Amblathan-Plus sold by Feet-First Pharmaceutical. Unique Product To be the only seller of a product, however, a monopoly must have a unique product. Phil the zucchini grower is the only producer of Phil’s zucchinis. The problem for Phil, however, is that gadzillions of other firms sell zucchinis that are indistinguishable from those sold by Phil. Amblathan-Plus, in contrast, is a unique product. There are no close substitutes. Feet-First Pharmaceutical holds the exclusive patent on Amblathan-Plus. No other firm has the legal authority to produced Amblathan-Plus. And even if they had the legal authority, the secret formula for producing Amblathan-Plus is sealed away in an airtight vault deep inside the fortified Feet-First Pharmaceutical headquarters. Of course, other medications exist that might alleviate some of the symptoms of amblathanitis. One ointment temporarily reduces the swelling. Another powder relieves the redness. But nothing else exists to cure amblathanitis completely. A few highly imperfect substitutes exists. But there are no close substitutes for Amblathan-Plus. Feet-First Pharmaceutical has a monopoly because it is the ONLY seller of a UNIQUE product. Barriers to Entry and Exit A monopoly is generally assured of being the ONLY firm in a market because of assorted barriers to entry. Some of the key barriers to entry are: (1) government license or franchise, (2) resource ownership, (3) patents and copyrights, (4) high start-up cost, and (5) decreasingaverage total cost. Feet-First Pharmaceutical has a few these barriers working in its favor. It has, for example, an exclusive patent on Amblathan-Plus. The government has decreed that Feet-First Pharmaceutical, and only Feet-First Pharmaceutical, has the legal authority to produce and sell Amblathan-Plus. Moreover, the secret ingredient used to produce Amblathan-Plus is obtained from a rare, genetically enhanced, eucalyptus tree grown only on a Brazilian plantation owned by Feet-First Pharmaceutical. Even if another firm knew how to produce Amblathan and had the legal authority to do so, they would lack access to this essential ingredient. A monopoly might also face barriers to exiting a market. If government deems that the product provided by the monopoly is essential for well-being of the public, then the monopoly might be prevented from leaving the market. Feet-First Pharmaceutical, for example, cannot simply cease the production of Amblathan-Plus. It is essential to the health and welfare of the public. This barrier to exit is most often applied to public utilities, such as electricity companies, natural gas distribution companies, local telephone companies, and garbage collection companies. These are often deemed essential services that cannot be discontinued without permission from a government regulation authority. Specialized Information Monopoly is commonly characterized by control of information or production technology not available to others. This specialized information often comes in the form of legally-established patents, copyrights, or trademarks. While these create legal barriers to entry they also indicate that information is not perfectly shared by all. The AT&T telephone monopoly of the late 1800s and early 1900s was largely due to the telephone patent. Pharmaceutical companies, like the hypothetical Feet-First Pharmaceutical, regularly monopolize the market for a specific drug by virtue of a patent. In addition, a monopoly firm might know something or have a piece of information that is not available to others. This â€Å"something† may or may not be patented or copyrighted. It could be a secret recipe or formula. Perhaps it is a unique method of production. One example of specialized information is the special, secret formula for producing Amblathan-Plus that is sealed away in an airtight vault deep inside the fortified Feet-First Pharmaceutical headquarters. No one else has this information. Competition is very common and often times very aggressive in a free market place where a large number of buyers and sellers interact with one another. Economic theory describes a number of market competitive structures that takes into account the differences in the number of buyers, sellers, products sold, and prices charged. There are two extreme forms of market competitive conditions; namely, perfectly competitive and imperfectly competitive. The following article provides a clear overview of each type of market competitive structures and provides an explanation of how they are different to one another. What is Perfect Competition? Perfect competition is where the sellers within a market place do not have any distinct advantage over the other sellers since they sell a homogeneous product at similar prices. There are many buyers and sellers, and since the products are very similar in nature there is little competition as the buyer’s needs could be satisfied by the products sold by any seller in the market place. Since there are a large number of sellers each seller will have smaller market share, and it is impossible for one or few sellers to dominate in such a market structure. Perfectly competitive market places also have very low barriers to entry; any seller can enter the market place and start selling the product. Prices are determined by the forces of demand and supply and, therefore, all sellers must conform to a similar price level. Any company that increases the price over competitors will lose market share since the buyer can easily switch to the competitor’s product. What is Imperfect Competition? Imperfect competition as the word suggests is a market structure in which the conditions for perfect competition are not satisfied. This refers to a number of extreme market conditions including monopoly, oligopoly, monopsony, oligopsony and monopolistic competition. Oligopoly refers to a market structure in which a small number of sellers compete with each other and offer a similar product to a large number of buyers. Since the products are so similar in nature, there is intense competition among market players, and high barriers to entry since most new firms may not have the capital, technology to startup. A monopoly is where one firm will control the entire market place, and will hold 100% market share. The firm in a monopoly market will have control over the product, price, features, etc. Such firms usually hold a patented product, proprietary knowledge/technology or holds access to a single important resource. Monospsony is where there are many sellers in the market with just one buyer and oligopsony is where there are a large number of sellers and a small number of buyers. Monopolistic competition is where 2 firms within a market place sell differentiated products that cannot be used as substitutes to each other. Perfect vs Imperfect Competition. Perfect and Imperfectly competitive markets are very different to one another in terms of the different market conditions that need to be satisfied. The main difference is that, in a perfectly competitive market place, the competitive conditions are much less intense, than any other form of imperfect competition. Furthermore, a perfectly competitive market structure is healthier as buyers have enough options to select from and aren’t, therefore, pressured to purchase one / few products and sellers are able to enter/exit as they please, which is opposite to most market conditions within an imperfectly competitive market place. Summary †¢ There are two extreme forms of market competitive conditions; namely, perfectly competitive and imperfectly competitive. †¢ Perfect competition is where the sellers within a market place do not have any distinct advantage over the other sellers since they sell a homogeneous product at similar prices. †¢ Imperfect competition as the word suggests is a market structure in which the conditions for perfect competition are not satisfied. This refers to a number of extreme market conditions including monopoly, oligopoly, monopsony, oligopsony and monopolistic competition. Perfect and monopolistic competitions are both forms of market situations that describe the levels of competition within a market structure. Perfect competition and monopolistic competition are different to each other in that they describe completely different market scenarios that involve differences in prices, levels of competition, number of market players and types of goods sold. The article gives a clear outline of what each type of competition means to market players and consumers and shows their distinct differences. What is Perfect Competition? A market with perfect competition is where there are a very large number of buyers and sellers who are buying and selling an identical product. Since the product is identical in all its features, the price charged by all sellers is a uniform price. Economic theory describes market players in a perfect competition market as not being large enough by themselves to be able to become a market leader or to set prices. Since the products sold and prices set are identical, there are no barriers to entry or exit within such a market place. The existence of such perfect markets are quite rare in the real world, and the perfectly competitive marketplace is a formation of economic theory to help better understand other forms of market competition such as monopolistic and oligopolistic. What is Monopolistic Competition? A monopolistic market is one where there are a large number of buyers but a very few number of sellers. The players in these types of markets sell goods which are different to each other and, therefore, are able to charge different prices depending on the value of the product that is offered to the market. In a monopolistic competition situation, since there are only a few number of sellers, one larger seller controls the market, and therefore, has control over prices, quality and product features. However, such a monopoly is said to last only within the short run, as such market power tends to disappear in the long run as new firms enter the market creating a need for cheaper products. What is the difference between Perfect Competition and Monopolistic Competition? Perfect and monopolistic competition marketplaces have similar objectives of trading which is maximizing profitability and avoid making losses. However, the market dynamics between these two forms of markets are quite distinct. Monopolistic competition describes an imperfect market structure quite opposite to perfect competition. Perfect competition explains an economic theory of a marketplace which does not happen to exist in reality. Summary: Perfect Competition vs Monopolistic Competition Perfect and monopolistic competitions are both forms of market situations that describe the levels of competition within a market structure. A market with perfect competition is where there are a very large number of buyers and sellers who are buying and selling an identical product. A monopolistic market is one where there are a large number of buyers but a very few number of sellers. The players in these types of markets sell goods which are different to each other, and therefore, are able to charge different prices. Monopolistic competition describes an imperfect market structure quite opposite to perfect competition. Perfect competition explains an economic theory of a marketplace which does not happen to exist in reality.

Human beings Essay

As human beings, we sometimes wonder why some things are the way they are. These questions come as a result of us being curious about what is around us. Man has to be aware of himself and his immediate environment. Generally, one of the basic characteristic of human beings is self-awareness and self-discovery. Man finds himself doing some things and wonders why he is doing such things the way he/she is doing them. Thus, in order for man to function properly in his society, he must understand some things about himself in order to unlock the mystery behind his behavioral pattern. This becomes important because self-discovery is the only way to understand one’s place or position in the universe. Personally, I have sought to know how my life fits into my environment. For one, I believe that things don’t just happen and that man is not just created to fill an empty space. This has made me embark on a quest to understand what the world actually is and how I fit into this mysterious world. I am a proponent of the purposeful universe and I believe, as opposed to the idea of Charles Darwin, that the world is essentially created to fulfill a purpose and that it is part of a â€Å"master plan†. Therefore whatever happens in this life, as I believe, is to fulfill a purpose and come from intent. The question here is who is the purposed the world and who is the master planner? In her book titled, â€Å"The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos†, Brian Swimme maintained that the world is not a series of puzzle but an amazing mystery that shows the presence of God in each passing phase. This essentially deviates from the theory of evolution. For Brian, we as humans are at the center of the universe and our discovery of this fact will determine make us appreciate the world we live in the more. He believes that not only is the universe a work of the divine, it is also supported by the will of the divine. Therefore, we will be making a categorical mistake by conceiving that things or occurrences in the world are merely a product of chance. From my point of view, I think that Brian Swimme has a point. This is because some things can not be explained from the point of Darwinism. For instance, as a child, I have always wondered which came first between the chicken and the egg. If eggs hatches into chickens and chickens lay eggs, then which one will we say came first? Although science can be credited for a lot of things that they have sought real explanations to, there are some things that transcend scientific explanation. This is accounted for in the thought of Huston Smith. In his book titled â€Å"Why Religion Matters; The Fate of the Human Spirit in an Age of Disbelief†, he claims that scientism has taken over all spheres of our lives and we will be committing a mistake if we believe that its explanations are the only valid explanations. I believe that the world is a masterpiece and it is sustained by the master planner – the silent onlooker who sees and sustains the universe with his power and in his might. Furthermore, I believe that since the world is created for a specific purpose, then man as an integral part of this universe is also created for a purpose, which is to be the representative of the divine here on earth. Consequently, this should make us pursue some values that will facilitate the purpose of the divine in this world. I believe that the divine has given man the power to make choices but that power should be tailored towards the achievement of the divine purpose. Liberty, as I believe, is not the right to do what we â€Å"want† but we are at liberty so that we can do what we â€Å"have to do†. As a result of these, I live with the consciousness of the fact that I have to fulfill my purpose. Personally, I believe that we as humans should value the equality of humanity and should treat each man as Immanuel Kant said; we should treat each man as an end in themselves and never as a means to an end. I believe that we should strive for whatever will be considered virtuous by the divine. As human beings, we must seek to value each other by being truthful and faithful to one another. This, for me, is the greatest form of respect that we can give one another. Reference: Huston Smith, â€Å"Why Religion Matters; The Fate of the Human Spirit in an Age of Disbelief† Harper Collins 2001 ISBN 0-06-067102-5, 14. 95 Brain Swimme â€Å"The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos†, Orbis, 1996 (1999, ISBN 1570752818)