Greed Triggers Fraud And Corruption Essays

Ravenousness Triggers Fraud And Corruption Essays Ravenousness Triggers Fraud And Corruption Essay Ravenousness Triggers Fraud And Corruption Essay Reflection Reason Greed triggers extortion and corruptness which is perhaps the greatest activity we are going up against in our state as its expanding immensely rather than decreasing. The purpose of this study is to quantify the various sorts of misrepresentation and corruptness and in light of the fact that it is such a wide subject we will focus on an actual existence situation which features how avarice plays a tremendous capacity in the imaginative action of extortion and corruptness. Structure/Methodology/assault in profundity meet are directed with a senior measure assessor who has been working for a getting organization for as far back as six mature ages and has permitted me to be bit of the test system that is being led. The ground behind the test is to occur out why they owe such an incredible aggregate of cash for income upgrade however cash had been deducted from their wages since they began working and grounds of being cowardly excused. : Findingss The business of the getting organization is by all accounts taking away cash from his representative s compensation yet non paying the income upgrade organization without the perception of his workers using it for his ain private use. Additional data was discovered that every one of his laborers have nt been enrolled under the segment of work and the organization has been running for a figure of mature ages now and low excusal was drilled in this organization. Creativity/Value The finishing up outcomes of this paper will help us comprehend and mind that there are a wide range of corruptness in the business. Ms Anonyms will manus over the entirety of her installments slips to the test officials to turn out that she has been working and paying for her income improvement over the past mature ages while working and to other than open an example of unreasonable excusal and take it to the Commission for Conciliation Meditation and Arbitration ( CCMA ) . Balance OF REFERENCE PROPBLEM DESCRIPTION Misrepresentation and corruptness play a huge capacity in the structure business which this outcomes in the obstructing of improvement in our state and the state non voyaging frontward. Reason The Aim of the exploration is to pass on the undertaking of misrepresentation and corruptness to going to of the peruser. To watch risks in the business and to gracefully clients with pertinent enemy of corruptness assets. Point To occur out what triggers misrepresentation and corruptness How much is a single ready to lift out low to get what they need and non be gotten How corruptness influences the Construction business How it frustrates improvement. Proposition Part one 1.1 Introduction Insatiability is a basic issue affecting the structure business and state overall as it prompts extortion and corruptness which plays a massive part on the preventing of advancement in our state. Section 2 2.1 Greed The narrow-mindedness of a man of wanting more and non being fulfilled of what they as of now have. 2.2 Fraud A condemnable offense done purposely due to individual inspirations which the individual will determine that could affect someone else. Corruptness Part three 3.1 Case review Ms Anonymous winds up in the focal point of a fake and corruptness situation that she was non insightful off. 3.2 Tax intrusion CONTENT Page PGE NO. Acknwoledgements Reflection Footings of notice Part 1 Presentation Extortion and Corruption are wide and complex issues however their foundations are inserted in a states cultural or social history, Political and monetary turn of events and it incorporates both these submitted by the specialists, managers, workers, bearing staff, people or a gathering of individuals who have met up with one agenda simply and these submitted is spurred by Greed. Ravenousness tips and single into extortion and corruptness which other than triggers the intensity of the head, when an individual beginnings slowing down about the advantages and what one will determine they get down to get down plotting routes in doing these thoughts into world and one time these thoughts become world and the outcome is more prominent than anticipated they begin abusing the situation into their ain preferred position. The structure business part is perceived as moving the most noteworthy peril of corruptness, the pace of corruptness and extortion in the business is expanding immensely rather than decreasing which is decelerating down the financial framework and shockingly it has become a conventional and ordinary wont that is being rehearsed. It is about like a pool which everyone currently needs to jump in and swim in the profound terminal non bearing in head that non everyone can swim. Section 2 History Covetousness Covetousness is that most extreme want to accomplish or gangs more than what one has, for example, stuff riches which is regularly more than what one needs and merits. It other than includes using being well-to-do to infer control over others other than precluding others from claiming riches and influence. It is in a general sense being egotistical, thought of one s self image while simultaneously influencing others negative way. For outline if a building reviewer would acknowledge a result from a contractual worker to O.K. what's more, area that all work done is of acceptable quality and status while that is non valid than that is a demonstration of being insatiable in light of the fact that taking a gander at the situation the solitary individuals determining here are the building investigator and the contractual worker while in the long it will contrarily affect the network in general or the individuals who will be in utilization of the premises that is being fabricated. Misrepresentation In the state we live in misrepresentation is a condemnable demonstration that would disgrace a man or a gathering of individuals and it is other than a common law crime. Extortion is done intentionally which includes contemptibility for individual expansion or mischief to different people. Extortion can be classified into numerous signifiers for delineation theft and peculation. In a case of extortion you would hold for delineation an individual such an Alien ( non having a place in the business ) who knows nil about the structure and its entire foundation holding accreditations measure uping him in bringing endeavors up in an occurrence that he does nt flush how establishment is finished. Corruptness Corruptness in any example is the demonstration of being unscrupulous and abusing power or the individual s place. Corruptness can go on wherever and is ordinarily dedicated by a man or a gathering of individuals, for example, functionaries or private people. Corruptness comes in numerous signifiers, for example, unite, nepotism, cheating, polling form tackle and coercion. A representation of corruptness would be taking care of payoffs to secure multi million rand contracts for suspicious grounds, holding to consistently giving colossal measures of cash to perhaps ideological groups or buy costly endowments, for example, automobiles meriting 1000000s rands so as to procure something consequently. Corruptness and extortion come in with eagerness since they are activities originate from the insufficiency of moralss and sabotage human foundation and human dealingss. Part 3 Contextual analysis Ms Anonymous and Contracting Company. Ms Anonymous has been working for a getting organization for as long as 3 mature ages as a senior measure assessor for this organization. She accomplished more than simply her utilized spot where she other than worked in the common side of the work and whatever other work that required going to she would be lief to help at the end of the day she was a greater amount of an or more to the organization and they had referenced that to all her bits great. The activity began when Ms Anonymous got a note that she expected to travel kind out her income upgrade returns. At the point when she went to visit at the income improvement organization ( SARS ) . S he was educated that she owes a clump of cash and was inquired as to why she has nt been paying for her income upgrade? She was stunned and disclosed to them that she has been paying for her income upgrade ever since she began working for her ongoing organization the previous three mature ages. They advised her to bespeak and RIP5 signifier from her manager what's more to keep up the entirety of her compensation fake go as apt proof of installments for income improvement when expected to investigate her history what's more that her organization was one of the organizations that were picked for reviews in 2012 so they would be a test concerning her undertaking of non paying income upgrade and would take things from at that place. Inspected accounts where thusly on done of the organization and it uncovered that they owe an extraordinary exchange aggregate of cash and that they have non been paying at all. They revealed to Ms Anonymous to pass on all grounds as fitting proof that cash has been deducted from her history for income improvement and they had guaranteed that no data sing with her history would he connected to the owners of the organization and had guaranteed her that she did nil off-base as they had brought in her to scrutinize her about her income upgrade figure. Examinations proceeded as the income upgrade research laborers continued coming into the workplace to make Company Audits and since they had no monetary and bank explanations and what amount is being charged from the laborers it pin pointed that they have been non paying, for example, VAT and PAYE. Thingss began to be little offish at work where they were all terrifying and searching for fingers to show as they were non conscious how and what had driven SARS to come and examine the organization with picking up that SARS had picked them themselves than talk went out the Ms Anonymous had went to SARS. Accordingly on they made bogus pay artificial pass expressing as he was paid more than she was being paid so it will demo as though she was the 1 who was non making good on Tax however so Ms Anonymousness Payslips had demonstrated the entirety of that wrong. A month along these lines Ms Anonymous was called into the Bosses office and was informed that because of financial limitations they will hold permit her movement since they will non have the option to bear the cost of and they will be allowing her multi month

Discuss the view that increased regulation will not necessarily lead Essay - 1

Talk about the view that expanded guideline won't really lead to higher moral measures - Essay Example t would have been so then organizations to keep up the lead of its representatives morally stable would have been contending on number of guidelines than their viability. Consequently, this paper is expected to help the view that expanded guideline doesn't really build the moral gauges. On building up the general contention, this paper will likewise endeavor to create support from variety in bookkeeping and evaluating medications with level of consistence to budgetary guideline and moral norm. At long last, it would recommend approaches to increment moral standard of firms and particularly bookkeeping and reviewing experts. Concerns with respect to the moral lead of the business have increased expanded consideration since late past. Exact to state is notice the point in time when corporate outrages predominantly Enron embarrassment disclosed and brought about gigantic fines, reputational misfortune and even condemned to prison (BBC News, 2002). It end up being the seismic tremor in trust of partners on the legitimacy of data introduced by firms and expanded negativity about the bookkeeping rehearses around the world (Enderle, 2004). This shake accounted the top administration of the firm for the deceitful demonstration basically and the inquiry to be presented to whole system that stayed in-competent to indentify the deluding bookkeeping rehearses were given least or no disciplines (Enderle, 2004). In the referenced case, it was alluring to address the current guideline with center to dispose of the imperfections. This activity apparently was required to have progressively useful outcomes. The job of ev aluators specifically turned into a question mark after this embarrassment. In addition on reception of the remedial measures, the effect of current money related emergencies was likewise expected to have been relieved somewhat; if couldn’t be killed in full (Argandona, 2012).Contrary to this and without taking exercises from Enron case, expanded guidelines were forced on organizations. Expanded guideline gave more alternatives to

South Asia Institute Distinguished Lecturer Series COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - SIPA Admissions Blog

South Asia Institute Distinguished Lecturer Series COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - SIPA Admissions Blog SIPA student have access to many events each week and most of that has to do with the 20 different regional and functional institutes associated with policy analysis.   The South Asia Institute is sponsoring the following event today: South Asia? West Asia? The location and identities of Pakistan A talk by S. Akbar Zaidi (Karachi University) While Pakistans geographical location has not shifted in the last 38 years, there has been a marked shift in terms of its identity and associations. In the past, what is now Pakistan was closer to, and more part of, the larger South Asian or Indian subcontinental identity, but it has now corrected its direction (apna qibla durust kar liya hai). In some ways, the Pakistani identities of the Muslim and the South Asian/Indian are competing identities, often mutually exclusive. A secular India with a Muslim minority would not wish for a stronger Muslim South Asian identity while a Muslim Pakistan may not want to belong to an idea or union, in which it would be marginalised and subservient to a power which it sees as its nemesis. With far greater Islamisation and with petro-dollars playing a critical role in Pakistans political economy, in some ways, it would be fair to say that Pakistan has been excavated out of South Asia and replanted into a wider Islamic Middle East. Dr. S Akbar Zaidi is one of Pakistans best known and most prolific political economists. Apart from his interest in political economy, he also has great interest in development, the social sciences, and increasingly, in history. His forthcoming Political Economy and Development in Pakistan will be his twelfth book. His other books include The New Development Paradigm: Papers on Institutions, NGOs, Gender and Local Government (1999), and Issues in Pakistans Economy (2005). He taught at Karachi University for thirteen years, and was a visiting Professor at Johns Hopkins University (2004-05). He holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge and lives and works in Karachi.

Bullying, The, And Who Might Be Affected And Why

A national concern in various communities, across the globe and has come to the forefront is the term â€Å"bullying†. It seems that everywhere on the news you see an incidence relating to bullying. There are organizations that are looking into solutions to combat this epidemic problem whether it may be through implementing training programs in schools or through the legal system. Seems like everyone is being bullied nowadays whether it be in schools, workplace, gays, lesbians, children, adult, transgender youth, LGBT community, everyone seems to be affected in some way or another. I am going to try to tackle this issue specifically â€Å"workplace bullying† and who might be affected and why? Workplace bullying by definition is and I quote â€Å"a†¦show more content†¦Bullying also involves repeated acts of attack against one creating an on-going pattern of negative behavior. Bullying can be instigated by your co-workers, supervisors, managers, friends, acquaintances etc. The source of bullying is an external problem. The bully targets how to harm individuals. (workplacebullying.org.) There have been some scientific studies and/or surveys suggest that workplace bullying is a well known epidemic problem in the American Workforce. Studies suggested that from 2007 and 2008 that more than 1,000 adults confirmed that 45 % reported that they have indeed worked for an abusive boss or co-worker. Also, in September of 2007 a poll suggested that 37% American Workers or 54 million employees reported that they have been bullied at work. Bullying affects nearly half or 49 % of full and part time employees in America or an estimated 71.5% million workers. With this in mind, there was a study conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management or (SHRM) and the Ethics Resource Center that a 3rd of HR professionals or 32% have reported observing some form of misconduct regarding workplace bullying. HR also indicated that this violated their company’s ethnic’s standards, policies and procedures etc. (Daniel. T. 1-30) There have been some instances and situations where there are employees have been bullied by their peers rather than their

How Mediation Can Improve Our Awareness - 2182 Words

All We Have is the Here and Now As you read this, are you truly aware of yourself reading? We read the words typed here and there is a voice in our mind that seems to form the words there as if they exist not only on this paper, but in our head as well. But how often is it that we truly think of this voice, and then to take it a step farther, how often are we aware of ourselves hearing that voice? If we believe we are the person that is speaking, who is it that is listening? These are the questions that possess the capability to unlock our potential as conscious beings. So often we go through our days completely unaware of our own selves. Unaware of our intense connection with the world around us, and everyone we meet. It is in the practice of becoming aware of our own selves, thoughts, feelings, and life force itself that we can become happier people. Mediation is the tool we can use to improve our awareness and thus make our lives more meaningful. It has many different benefits that have been explored beyond phi losophical discussion, and many scientists have provided tests and research that shows meditation is able to benefit our brains in numerous ways. To clarify what I mean I will define meditation. It is the process of turning your attention to a single point of reference; it involves focusing on the present moment. (Moore et al 2009) Despite there being countless forms of meditation, it falls into the following general categories: practice of mindfulness,Show MoreRelatedAwareness, Pain And Growth, And Success And Failure1510 Words   |  7 Pagesand growth, and success and failure. I enrolled in this class in the hope that mindfulness and awareness would help me navigate the tough times that I will face throughout my life. It was the hope that literature, practices, and great teachers would help me better develop a stronger sense of awareness in my mind. 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Civils rights and liberties Free Essays

Explain why conceptions civil rights or liberties (choose only one) which are supposed to be granted to all under the constitution, changed so greatly In the second half of the twentieth century. Make sure to discuss the court’s role in this shift. A civil right Is a right or privilege that represents protections by government power or things government must secure on behalf of its citizens. We will write a custom essay sample on Civils rights and liberties or any similar topic only for you Order Now Examples of civil rights are freedom of speech, press, and assembly; the right to vote; freedom from Involuntary servitude; and the right to equality In public places. Discrimination ccurs when the civil rights of an individual are denied or interfered with because of their membership In a particular group or class. Various Jurisdictions have enacted statues to prevent discrimination based on a person’s race, sex, religion, age, previous condition of servitude, physical limitation, national origin, and sexual orientation. In American history, there are so many clvll rights movements in the second half of the twentieth century and Congress enacted numerous civil rights statues. Many of these are still in force today and protect Individuals from discrimination and from the deprivation of their civil rights. If we want to talk about civil rights of America, we cannot skip a famous person, Martin Luther King. He is a great leader of human rights In American history. He makes himself reasonable to help people of Birmingham fighting against racial discrimination. For example, King says, â€Å"l am In Birmingham because injustice Is here. † In 1963, he gathered a lot of people in Washington DC and gave his famous â€Å"l have a dream† speech. He inspired his followers; passions and triggered their eagerness to listen to his solutions to unjust situations. Declared in US Constitution, every American is guaranteed civil rights. I think it was not until 1791, that the Bill of Rights was appended to the constitution, which helped clarify these rights to citizens. The famous Dawood stated that rights were eventually applied against actions of the state governments in a series of cases decide by the Supreme Court. Actually, In previous years, Supreme Court had little say in decisions being made by government. As time went on, the Supreme Court took on more responsibility and started making additional decisions, which In time helped minorities gain their civil rights. In 1954, the landmark trial Brown vs. the Board of Educauon of Topeka Kansas ruled that segregation In public education was unfair. â€Å"We conclude unanimously that in the field of public education the doctrine of Separate but equal’ has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. † Many African-Americans waited to hear this quote from Chief Justice Earl Warren after many years of fighting for better educational opportunities by means of school desegregation. That decision changed American history and culture forever. Till this day, it effects our school systems and without that decision changed, who knows what could have and what could have not happened. n civils rights and liberties By ryanheinl to be granted to all under the constitution, changed so greatly in the second half of A civil right is a right or privilege that represents protections by government involuntary servitude; and the right to equality in public places. Discrimination their membership in a particular group or class . Various Jurisdictions have enacted orientation. In American history, there are so many civil rights movements in the statues. Many of these are still in force today and protect individuals from Martin Luther King. He is a great leader of human rights in American history. He discrimination. For example, King says, â€Å"l am in Birmingham because injustice is here. † In 1963, he gathered a lot of people in Washington D. C and gave his famous â€Å"l decide by the Supreme Court. Actually, in previous years, Supreme Court had little took on more responsibility and started making additional decisions, which in time Board of Education of Topeka Kansas ruled that segregation in public education was of ‘separate but equal’ has no place. How to cite Civils rights and liberties, Papers

Frantz Fanon free essay sample

Frantz Fanon was a deeply involved and diligent philosopher who recognized the separation and relations between the oppressed and the oppressors as well as the fight for freedom. He specifically speaks on Algeria as the colonized, facing the French who were the colonizers. Fanon was writing mainly during the 1940’ s-60 when decolonization was becoming popular. Fanon was greatly involved in the decolonization struggle, and in his book The Wretched of the Earth, Fanon explains and observes the ways in which the colonized shall attempt to declare their rights from the colonizers. Fanon believed that the only way for the colonized to earn their independence, they would have to violently rebel against the colonizers. The famous movie or book series, The Hunger Games, highlights the same struggle Fanon explains between the oppressed and the oppressors. A nation called Panem consists of 12 districts of people and one ruling Capitol. At one point in their history, the oppressed people of Panem rose and violently rebelled against the Capitol; however, the Capitol overcame this challenge and overpowered the districts. Each year, as a reminder of this rebellion and a reminder of the overbearing power the Capitol has, the Capitol holds the Hunger Games. As Fanon may see it, this annual fight to the death between 24 teenagers serves as a reminder for the oppressed or colonized to â€Å"†¦remain in [their] place and not overstep its limits† (Fanon, p. 144), like they had done once before. These 12 districts are already in bad living conditions, in which they are not provided with the means to adequately provide for themselves and their families. Every instance in which they get food from the Capitol, their name is entered into the reaping one more time. Katniss Everdeen is a teen from District 12, who hunts. This is very risky, for if a member of he Capitol catches her, the punishments would be infinite. Katniss is a tribute from District 12 who volunteered herself in the spot of her younger sister, whose name was originally drawn. Katniss and Peeta, the other tribute from District 12 defy Fanon’s philosophy that violence is the necessary action in order to gain independence from the oppressor. An example from The Hunger Games when Katniss challenges the authority of the oppressor is when Rue, another young tribute, dies. In this instance usually the dead tributes are taken up into the hovercraft and forgotten about; however, here, Katniss displays her respect, care, and honor for Rue by singing to her, and once she did die, Katniss covered Rue’s body with flowers to display the respect that the Capitol does not pay. Katniss defies the uniformity of forgetting about the dead, and even in this dangerous situation in which Katniss could have easily been killed had someone found her with Rue, she remained herself and didn’t allow the colonizers to change her behavior, causing her to leave Rue. Similarly, Peeta even says to Katniss during the movie that if he is going to die, he wants to die himself, and he does not want colonizers and the Capitol to change him. Fanon would definitely agree with Katniss and Peeta’s decision to not be brainwashed and changed by the colonizers for he deems it necessary to challenge the oppression and stand up for what they believe. These games are rather disturbing in which these young teenagers are, â€Å"†¦reduced to the status of [animals]† (Fanon, p. 144). All of the tributes are personally trained and then thrown into the arena to fight for their lives. This can be seen as a violation of the UDHR right in that no one shall suffer cruel or degrading treatment, in which the tributes are suffering both. In the end of the movie, Katniss kills the last tribute, Kato, leaving her and Peeta as the dual victors from District 12. Before they begin celebrating, the Capitol diminishes the rule that was previously in place, which allowed for two winners from the same district, and returned to the original rule in which only one tribute shall be crowned victor. Neither Katniss nor Peeta gave in to the controlling and evil plans of the Capitol, which called for either of them to turn on the other, and Katniss unselfishly suggested that they both eat the poisonous Nightlock berries, leaving no victor. Here they both demonstrate great courage and passion, as they are about to eat the berries when the Capitol gives in and allows them both to be victorious. Katniss and Peeta defy that violence is necessary to gain their independence as Fanon suggests. Rather than violently fighting until one of them remains, they understand that if this were to happen the Capitol would have been pleased; however, instead Peeta and Katniss use peace and intellect to first act on what would strongly annoy the Capitol, having no winner, forcing the Capitol to have the final decision, two winners or no winners. Living under the totalitarian rule of the Capitol, participating in these games in which, the most important key to survival is to kill, Katniss and Peeta definitively defied Fanon and provided a strong, symbolic message to all of the districts and the Capitol that change was headed its way. Frantz Fanon and Mohandas Gandhi shared similar goals of gaining national independence; however, their ways of obtaining that independence were tremendously different. Gandhi’s approach for gaining independence for India was taken by a path of patience, while Fanon strived to gain independence for Algeria through violence. Fanon believed that violence was the only way to get the colonizers’ attention. â€Å"†¦Colonialism is not a machine capable of thinking, a body endowed with reason. It is naked violence and only gives in when confronted with greater violence† (Fanon, p. 46). Gandhi, on the other hand believed non-violence was to be used as duty and discipline, and strategy and goal. â€Å"But I believe that nonviolence is infinitely superior to violence†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Gandhi, p. 96) Gandhi â€Å"†¦longs for freedom from the English yoke† (Gandhi, p. 101). Gandhi believed in Satyagraha, which â€Å"does not inflict pain on the adversary,† but is â€Å"a pure soul-force,† that â€Å"burns with the flame of love† (Gandhi, p. 91). I believe that Fanon wants the same things as Gandhi wants, only towards the French. While Gandhi did not hurt anyone, he showed his passion for this independence in the protests he was involved in, and most importantly his march. Gandhi used complete nonviolence and ended up obtaining the independence he was looking for. Fanon seemed to only believe in using violence, stronger than the French were imposing already, in order to overpower the French. His passion was in his anger, not the patience Gandhi portrayed. There is a significant correlation between Fanon’s ideologies and The Universal Declaration of Human Rights that is very recognizable as well. The UDHR was accepted by the United Nations in 1948 and conveys all of the rights of which human beings are entitled to around the world. The UDHR expresses its’ central law in which all men are created equal. Frantz Fanon and The Wretched of the Earth, offers a framework for the abolishment of colonial, or rather white rule. In the UDHR, Article 2 states, â€Å"Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms†¦without distinction of any kinds, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other option, national or social origin, property, birth or other status† (UDHR, p. 32). Fanon would agree with this article; however, his understanding is that, â€Å"†¦what divides this world is first and foremost what species, what race one belongs to† (Fanon, p. 144). Fanon is describing that although Article 2 explains there shall be no discrimination, we live in a world where the division of power, money and other economic resources commonly rev olve around discrimination. Fanon also believes in justified violence, meaning, if under the circumstances, a country or person be mistreated, they should be allowed to fight back with violence. Articles 4 and 5 of the UDHR state that no human shall be held in slavery and no one shall undergo torturous or degrading treatment. Once again, the UDHR has exemplified an ideal society; however, Fanon points out that the oppressors often display, â€Å"†¦racial hatred, slavery, exploitation, and above all, the bloodless genocide† (Fanon, p. 147), just as the French caused to the Algerians. Fanon would ultimately agree that the UDHR is right. It is the ideal life of a human being that the people ignore none of these rights; however, when it is encountered and these rights are ignored, necessary violence is just. In my own opinion, Frantz Fanon offers some worthy ideologies worth focusing on; however, I moreover agree with the way in which Katniss, rather than taking action using violence and simply acting on her passion, displays rebellion, because I feel it had a greater impact to The Capitol, and to the rest of the fellow oppressed as well. The main message I get from all three disciplines is simply to find a voice, whether it is through violence, non-violence, or taking action by rebelling, each discipline causes a striking moment in which the oppressor is challenged. However it may be, the oppressed needs to find their voice and take action for what they truly believe and care for.

Evaluation of Walmart

Cost Leadership Walmart’s main business strategy focuses on building and maintaining cost leadership in the market. The company’s slogan reads, â€Å"Everyday low price†. This highlights its main focus on cost leadership. The strategy entails offering the same market products offered by rival firms at lower costs, but without compromising the quality.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Evaluation of Walmart specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Walmart manages to achieve this objective by relying on a highly efficient supply chain management that only avails products to the consumers at the right time when they need them. This eliminates additional costs that come from holding stock within the company’s premises (Schermerhorn 223). Walmart uses a sophisticated technology to interconnect its operations with those of the suppliers. In essence, information about stock levels within the company is relayed in real time. The sophisticated IT system relays the information to the suppliers immediately every time consumers purchase a commodity from the retailer. This makes it possible for the suppliers to monitor the stock-levels at any given time. Thus, restocking occurs at the opportune time just when the clients need the products and in the exact quantity. The ‘in-time’ logistics in the company has been the main reason behind its cost leadership in the market. The retailer also sells products in smaller quantities to allow its customers to pay less (Schermerhorn 223). Walmart acquires goods packed in large quantities, but it repacks them in much smaller quantities for sale at reduced prices. This sustains its â€Å"Everyday low prices† slogan. The true meaning of the slogan would not be achieved if the firm decided to sell the commodities in the large packaged quantities that it acquires from the supplier. Differentiation Strategy Walmart pursues a differen tiation strategy whose main objective is to offer products and services that are unique in the market. Although the firm is not involved in manufacturing, Walmart stocks products that are specifically packaged in branded material. The company has invested heavily in repackaging materials to enable it achieve the differentiation mission.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Additionally, Walmart offers unique warranties that other rival retailers in the market do not offer (Daft 253). This creates a unique feeling among the consumers, making them believe that the experience is only available in Walmart and not from any other retailer. Acquisition Strategy Walmart has focused its efforts on market acquisition as a way of expanding its market presence. The firm considers acquiring other already existing retailer firms in foreign markets and maintaining their original names to cope w ith the globalization phenomenon and increasing market competition among rival retailers. This is the case in most conservative markets where a foreign trade name may not augur well with the company. Walmart also considers acquiring and merging with other businesses outside the retail industry as a way of expanding its portfolio. This also helps in spreading the company’s risks evenly (Daft 255). Walmart, for instance, acquired Kosmix, which is a social mobile platform. Walmart operates under the ASDA trade name in the United Kingdom after the latter was acquired in 1999 by Walmart. Product Quality Concerns Walmart has instituted a mechanism that focuses on maintaining high product quality. All Walmart stores around the world are required to fulfill the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). This GFSSI procedure calls on all food suppliers to be subjected to the factory audit checks as a way of ensuring that the products meet the desired quality. The retailer has worked togeth er with The Sustainability Consortium (TSC) since 2009 as a means of developing measurement, as well as reporting systems. The target is to enhance product sustainability and eliminate problems attached to product quality. In this arrangement, TSC performs research on metrics and the reporting systems. The research, in turn, helps Walmart to engage suppliers while clearly understanding the products sold.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Evaluation of Walmart specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In recent times, however, there have been rising concerns over poor quality of products sold by Walmart. For instance, the fresh foods sold by the firm have been found to suffer from poor quality. This problem is mainly linked to another challenge being faced by the firm, the challenge of staffing and related issues (Weiss 472). Walmart’s fresh foods have only managed a low market share in comparison to other market pla yers. This could be an indicator of the worsening product quality concerns. Labor Practices Walmart has been involved in accusations with labor union bodies, religious organizations, and community groups over its labor practices and policy. The retailer was taken to court over what its accusers termed as discrimination of its staff along race and gender. Three women employees filed a sex discrimination complaint against the retailer in 2012, accusing Walmart of failing to promote them because they are women. The accusations leveled against the company also mention the fact that female employees generally earn less compared to their male counterparts (Daft 122). Workers in the firm have also accused their employer of failing to observe acceptable labor practices, resulting in poor conditions of work in the various stores owned by the retailer. Business Ethics Walmart considers ethics as the strongest aspect of its success in business. The organizational structure has an established g lobal ethics office whose main mandate is to promote its culture of integrity (Walmart para 1). The office also develops and helps in upholding the policies that relate to ethical behavior concerning all the stakeholders. Ethics education is offered on a routine basis to the employees. In this case, all workers undergoing training in the firm are subjected to consistent integrity lessons. Walmart supports a special award related to business ethics, the Integrity in Action Award, to further emphasize on the need to enhance business ethics (Walmart para 1).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The award is offered in recognition of individuals or associates of the firm who demonstrate a greater level of integrity through their consistent actions. Such recognized associates must also have inspired others to do the right thing while dealing with Walmart in one way or the other. The retailer practices integrity itself when selecting winners for the award by allowing the associates to conduct their own voluntary nominations. The resultant global votes determine the perfect recipient of the award. Walmart also takes consideration of each of the countries where the firm has a presence (Walmart para 3). Market Share The retailer has the biggest market share compared to its competitors in the USA, which is Walmart’s traditional market. Walmart’s heavy presence throughout the country and its business model that makes it stock virtually all kinds of commodities have been critical in sustaining market share leadership. On the global front, Walmart serves up to 94 milli on customers every week through its 5,651 established stores in 26 countries. However, a paltry 5.5% market share was registered in the year 2011 in China where the company is still in its early stages of development. The failure by Walmart to register a strong market share in China is attributable to the conservative nature of the Chinese. Market share growth in India has also been hampered in recent years following decisions by authorities in the country to shift foreign direct investment. The North-American market of Canada has equally posed great challenges to Walmart. The Dollarama Inc. is emerging as the fiercest competitor in the mass retail market in the rich Canadian market. Walmart trails Dollarama with the second best market share of 26%. This percentage of market share is 16 points less the share of Dollarama, which stands at 42% market dominance. Target Corp. is the third with a market share of 23% (Bloomberg News, 2012, para 1). However, Walmart’s subsidiary ASD A in the UK maintains an 18% market share, which is the second biggest in the country. Tesco still maintains the largest market share in the UK retail industry, standing at 30.2% overall (â€Å"Walmart: Update on International Markets† para 5). The African market equally has a strong Walmart presence of more than 300 stores that spread across 12 countries in the continent. Massmart, which is Walmart’s subsidiary in the region with a 51% stake ownership, has the fastest growing market rate, especially in the sub-Saharan region (â€Å"Walmart: Update on International Markets† para 6). The pie chart below depicts Walmart’s market share situation in the traditional US market. Source: Catala para 3 The chart shows that Walmart has a commanding share of more than half the market size. The second strongest competitor, Costco Wholesale Corp., does not even command a third of the market size. Advertising Strategies Walmart is adopting the use of technology in its advertising. In this strategy, the company focuses on developing a mobile app to reach its targeted markets. Shoppers using the app are able to see additional content, such as product information and the recipe. The company’s target is to reach a larger number of existing and potential buyers by exploiting the growing popularity of mobile devices as a result of the advancement in the ICT platform. The mobile app is a more interactive way of advertising because it allows the user to obtain more details about products and services. Walmart has adopted the use of popular social media platforms to create market awareness to further utilize the power of technology in its advertising. For instance, the firm has a Facebook page where a large community of customers and potential buyers meet virtually and discuss issues about their retailer. This increases market awareness because of the strong word of mouth power as customers share their experiences amongst each other. The company a lso uses the opportunity to communicate directly with individual customers while seeking to address some of the unique issues that affect them, thus learning more about the tastes and preferences of their customers. The company’s use of the social media platform in advertising also helps it to maintain its operating costs at a lower level, thus building on its competitive edge more. Evaluation of the Analysis Walmart has a greater potential of expanding in Asia and should be considered as Tech-Shield’s best choice as far as investing is concerned. Its cost leadership focus and strategy will attract more buyers in the region, resulting in higher profits. Most Asian economies are still considered as developing and have a weaker buying power compared to North America and Europe. Walmart will utilize its low price policy to attract more buyers with inferior disposable income and make the firm to benefit from the resultant economies of scale. Tech-Shield will receive a bigg er dividend rate coming from the huge profits amassed. This will be positive for the growth of the company. The low price policy pursued by Walmart has seen the company introduce a new business modality of selling products in smaller quantities. This will further attract customers towards the firm because most of them will find buying products from Walmart to be a more affordable practice. The more customers will appreciate the retailer, the more it will have its chances of making huge profits and increase the potential for Tech-Shield to get better returns. The differentiation strategy by Walmart equally increases the potential of the company to make better profits. Walmart stands a better chance to attract more customers and make higher sales than its rivals because of the increased market competition within the retail industry. Buyers increasingly feel that whatever commodity or service they purchase from Walmart is unique, thus they get attached more to the firm. The attachment increases their level of satisfaction and enhances their loyalty towards the firm. Walmart is poised to maintain high profitability for longer periods given such a positive business environment. The company can, therefore, sustain to pay attractive returns to all its shareholders for long. The acquisition strategy that is pursued by Walmart is another significant consideration that should influence Tech-Shield’s decision to invest in Walmart. Walmart is sure of expanding in the market in many other countries in the world through the acquisition approach. The experience that the company has gathered over the years through its subsequent acquisition of different retailers to gain access into new foreign markets eliminates the possibility of making over ambitious plans to a great assistance. Such successful acquisitions in high potential markets will translate to a larger market for both firms. Walmart will register bigger profit margins because of the expanded market. This will enable Tech-Shield to earn higher returns as one of the shareholders. Walmart’s future prospect is still promising, although its global market share has been threatened in some regional markets. The retailer still enjoys a strong lead in the highly lucrative US market. The US market contributes a significant profit portion to Walmart’s overall corporate profit. Walmart has maintained a strong market share position in other significant European markets, such as the UK. This portrays the company’s strong market position going forward. Going with this trend, it is appropriate to conclude that no other global retailer brand will find it easy to topple Walmart as the global leader in terms of the overall market share. Walmart’s extensive global expansion is unrivaled. This goes further to highlight Walmart’s potential of sustained industry leadership in as far as the overall market share is concerned. To this extent, a decision by Tech-Shield to invest in the company is the most strategic because of definite greater market revenue, which transforms to higher returns. Recommendation I suggest that Tech-Shield should invest in Walmart. Walmart has a positive business profile that reassures a higher return on the part of Tech-Shield. There is no present threat to Walmart’s growing global market, strong market leadership in the highly valuable US market, and the sustainable cost leadership strategy that it has implemented. This implies that the strong market leadership position that Walmart enjoys is set to prevail for long. In turn, a move by Tech-Shield to invest in Walmart will see it earn good returns for a long period. This will eventually improve Tech-Shield’s capital base. Conclusion Walmart offers the best investment alternative for Tech-Shield. The company’s cost leadership strategy gives a greater market growth assurance. The firm is capable of maintaining its operating costs at a low level compared to many of its industry rivals. This is a significant aspect in as far as building a competitive edge in the market is concerned. This will continue attracting more buyers for the company and maintaining the already existing customers. It also gives the company the confidence that profitability will remain high. The strong business ethics that focuses on maintaining integrity amongst the entire firm’s associates also gives hope for a greater business fortune for the firm. Integrity is a critical aspect that attracts customers and enables them to build strong loyalty towards the firm. Walmart will evidently reap maximum profits as it strives to enhance integrity. This will, in turn, trickle down to Tech-Shield as a shareholder. However, it is critical to note that Walmart also faces potential distractions that could derail its future ambitions in case no efforts are made to rectify them. As a shareholder in the firm, Tech-Shield should push for a renewed commitment on the part of Walmart to address the concerns of poor labor practices. Workers are significant players towards the greater performance of a firm, thus Walmart should ensure that it focuses on improving the plight of the workers before concentrating on the external customers. The firm should equally put additional measures in place to ensure quality concerns raised over its products are addressed fully. Works Cited â€Å"Walmart: Update on International Markets.† Guru Focus. 2012. Web. Catala, Raymond. Walmart Market Share Analysis, n.d. Web. Daft, Richard. New Era of Management, Mason, OH: Cengage, 2008. Print. Schermerhorn, John. Management, Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2010. Print. Walmart. Home. 2013. Web. Weiss, Joseph. Business Ethics: A Stakeholder and Issues Management Approach, Mason, OH: Cengage, 2008. Print. This essay on Evaluation of Walmart was written and submitted by user Cayden Nolan to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Interview paper Essay Example

Interview paper Essay Example Interview paper Essay Interview paper Essay Interview Paper Name: Lecturer: Course: Date: Interview Paper I interviewed Miss Catherine Smith, a marketing manager at a local beverage company. She has worked for the company for six years in a managerial position thus accumulating experience in decision-making. Most of the time the company looks up to her to come up with ways of improving the sales of their products that are a crucial factor in profit making. She has responsibilities such as, ensuring customer satisfaction, pricing strategies, research on market trends, coordinating recruitment of staff in her department and advertising and promotion of the company’s products. On a daily basis, she makes managerial decisions that affect the company economically and through other aspects. Being in a competitive business, she has to be careful on the kind of decisions she makes especially because her job is directly linked to the product and the consumers. The interview began with questions about my coursework and the reasons for our discussion. Having explained to her in my request for the interview, I was a bit taken aback by her inquisition of the details. I gave her a detailed summary of what I was undertaking and informed her that the interview was for my coursework. Due to her background in economic studies, she was quick to offer me a few pointers on what to major in and how to approach the job market later. Throughout the interview, she kept pausing to attend to some urgent work but resumed almost immediately. Prior to the interview, I had prepared a series of questions on a number of topics. These questions were in the form of a questionnaire. This was to guide me in the making of my final paper. The main themes were based on how the company’s strategies are affected by the decisions she makes concerning economics. Economic decisions are those that deal with financial aspects of a business and how resources are divided among different functions (Baker, 112). In this case, the decisions being made involve the allocation of resources to her marketing department. I asked about the decisions she makes regularly, what influences them and their consequences. The company’s business strategies include its future prospects, market competition, availability of resources, the business environment and the expectations of their stakeholders. According to Catherine, she makes decisions influenced by current economic status of the company, the need for profit maximization, consumer trends and market structure. Concerning the company’s economic status, she has to evaluate whether the company can be able to withstand certain decisions that require financial assistance. For instance, when she has to run an advertisement campaign, she must confirm with other relevant departments to ascertain the financial position of the company. As much as advertising helps to connect with their consumers, the resources of the company have to be considered in line with its business strategies. At all times, the company should maintain a certain level of resources that help in the running of its daily activities. In such an event, she has to consult prior to running the campaign, which involves the aspect of management planning. This way, the company benefits from her decision and the business strategy remains unaffected. However, the aim is not to affect the business strategies, it is to ensure that the actions taken by management should develop or implement these strategies often done through strategic management. Profit maximization is the main aim of the company’s operations. Almost every action taken seeks to advance the company’s profit to the highest possible level (Lantos, 60). As the marketing manager, she is tasked with this responsibility as she deals with securing a market for their products. This is not to imply that she is the sole determinant of the company’s profit, because hers is not the only department and all of them have to coordinate to achieve the goals of the company. Catherine mentioned that she makes such decisions most of the time, those that intended for maximizing profit. Having to deal with how the company’s products penetrate the market is not an easy job. It involves a lot of work, and she often requires the assistance of other departments. As one of her tasks, she determines the price of their products. This is done after a rigorous research on consumer buying trends, consumer income and the prices set by their competitors. These factors often influence how a commodity’s price is set (Hitt, Robert, 284). The price has to be put in such a way it does not cause losses, or else her decision making will be put in question. All the activities involved with price control such as the research require some money. The manger therefore drafts a budget and delivers it to the finance department for consideration. The amount of money accorded to them helps her to decide on the methods and tools to be used for the research. One business strategy of the company is to remain competitive. The interview revealed that marketing greatly determines competition. For instance, Catherine cited that the prevailing prices in the market help to place the company at a certain level with its competitors. As she makes her decisions, she has to ensure that they are within the goals that these strategies hope to achieve. She explained to me that competition is important in determining whether the company is making profit or not. It also provides knowledge on what advantage if any, the company has over its competitors and how it can be manipulated to increase profit. Additionally, competition helps in the identifying of possible markets. The marketing manager always has to monitor such matters not only as part of her job description but as a participant in fulfilling the vision of the company. Economic decisions in marketing also have an effect on the future of the company. The company like every other organization puts into consideration its direction in terms of whether it is achieving what it intended. She went further to explain to me the company’s expectations, which include establishing itself as one of the leading beverage companies based on quality of products and market share. Therefore, the company constantly evaluates and reviews its progress through various ways such as conducting market surveys. Again, the marketing department is put under spotlight, as it is important in determining the company’s position in the market. The marketing manager has to give an account of how things are as they are, and mostly they are so because of the decisions she ha made. The future prospects of the company entail how much profit they would have made during a certain period (Hirschey, 632). Both the production and marketing teams are liable for this aspect of the company, as in practically. The production team should ensure quality commodities are made while marketers decide on how best to satisfy their customers and still earn extra money. Tough decisions therefore have to be made and consideration put into the consequences of these decisions. The recruitment of staff to the marketing department is done by human resource department after a prompt from the marketing manager. I had asked if it was within her mandate to make such a decision. According to company policy, anyone recruited to her department had to be interviewed by the marketing manager. Although the sourcing for possible candidate was done by the human resource section, the rest was left to her discretion. This is because she knew the kind of skills she required under her department, as it was an important one in the company. This concluded our interview session and we proceeded to discuss why managerial decisions are crucial to any organization’s success. The information I gathered indicated a relation between these decisions and the business strategies of an organization. Most managers are employed to advance certain business strategies hence each decision they make should reflect this (Sekhar, 14). However, these decisions can only be successful if they are of good quality and have been executed effectively. These decisions help in building trust and confidence in both consumers and employees. If consumers are satisfied with a product, they tend to buy it more, which is advantageous to any company. Employees gain confidence in the company they work for if their managers make good decisions that guarantee stability in the future. Conclusively, the interview helped me to understand my coursework better and gain some knowledge of how things work behind the scenes to make an organization successful. Most of the decisions that managers make are not publicized but they reflect in the consumers’ reaction to their company’s products. The interview was definitely an eye opening experience.

FDA Approval Procedure Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

FDA Approval Procedure - Assignment Example From this paper it is clear that pre-clinical studies must showcase that the medication will not induce chromosomal damage when consumed in potentially effective doses. The results are filed to the FDA together with the IND (Investigational New Drug) application. Apart from the pre-clinical studies report, the IND application contains the information on pharmacologic properties, the proposal for clinical investigations, and clarification of safety measures for prospective volunteers.This essay discusses that after a drug has survived all the trials, an NDA (New Drug Application) is forwarded to the FDA. According to the 1992 Prescription Drug User Fee Act, standard applications are to be reviewed within the 12-month timeframe. Results on priority applications are usually released within six months. Sometimes, FDA may request to provide minor corrections or labeling adjustments. As soon as the product receives the FDA approval, it is allowed for sail. In case of rejection, the FDA pre sents the reasoning together with a list of recommendations. Certain approvals are given under the condition that further research must be conducted shortly after the initial marketing. For instance, the manufacturer may be requested to assess risks in patients with specific illnesses or to examine the long-term effects.  To conclude, drug approval is a lengthy and costly process that is strictly regulated by the FDA.

In What Ways Can Film Be Seen as a Specific Art Form Essay

In What Ways Can Film Be Seen as a Specific Art Form - Essay Example The world is transformed first through the eyes of the director since he is the one visualizing, creating and re-creating a world for the public. Art centers on two ideas: beauty and life. Likewise, cinematic art focuses on aesthetics (the depiction of a portrait to appeal to the senses) and incorporates life images and themes. Through cinema, the author of the film production has the liberty to be unconventional and he can still adhere to the real by embracing a realist approach. improvisation, individual interpretation, reality, illusion, and entertainment of the senses. According to (Gazetas, 2008, 18), â€Å"the  art  of the  cinema  is the  art  of the mind insofar as movies are capable of transforming reality into an object of imagination that completely isolates the viewer from the real world.† Cinema has the ability to transform real objects into imaginative ones and to manipulate lighting, space, and color to explore different themes in-depth. Artists are bestowed with enviable liberties which renders them and their work very flexible. In other words, although the artist aims to give a true-to-life translation of an art piece (an episode in a character’s life), he is free to twist, distort and imagine facts in the real to simulate his own world and orchestrate the course of events. Chris Columbus, through J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, represents a transformed world which evokes a wonderland of childhood bliss and even  utopia. Set in a child’s paradise Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, one sees through the lens of fantasy, an idealized childhood, illusion, and nostalgia. The possibilities are unlimited, unrestricted from the boundaries of reality. On this stage, the artist makes modifications to the real. Fantasy is the art of infusing the supernatural within the mundane. Columbus as film director fully exploits the power of fantasy in the film, recreating a world in w hich the wizards and witches have constant encounters with the spiritual world. As a result, one sees the intermingling of both imagination and reality in film and in the real world. They do not inhabit separate spheres anymore.

Five Axioms of Urban Economics

Five Axioms of Urban Economics Economics is a science of scarcity and it is bound by rules and principles like other sciences. Arthur O’Sullivan’s five axioms of urban economics are the guiding principles for urban economic theory. In this essay, the author will define and discuss O’Sullivan’s five axioms of urban economics, and then explain the existence of cities utilizing the five axioms of urban economics. The Five Axioms of Urban Economics The first axiom of Urban Economics is stated as prices adjust to achieve locational equilibrium. What this axiom means is that prices change based on the desirability of the area until individuals no longer desire to leave their current occupied area of residence. Locational equilibrium is what keeps Dallas residents living in Dallas. South Dallas and Oak Cliff may be rough areas to live in, but property values are cheaper because of the perceived value of present characteristics of these areas. Down Town, Dallas is an expensive area in which to live, but wages are higher. Fewer people want to live Oak Cliff or South Dallas when compared to Downtown, so homes are priced lower in Oak Cliff or South Dallas than in Downtown. Prices for housing, land, and wages are always adjusting to make urban areas equally appealing. People will not place the same values on all cities equally, but with a multitude of cities and variance in individual circumstances, cities can reach equilibrium. The second axiom of Urban Economics is self-reinforcing effects generate extreme outcomes. This axiom means that if one type of person or group moves into an area, then that area will become more attractive to the same types of people or groups. Think about places around the Dallas area. Are there areas known for rich people the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area? What about trailer parks or areas specifically known for high poverty in North Texas are there any that come to mind? Is there any certain street where you might find a surplus of car dealerships, gas stations, or restaurants? These are all examples that could be considered extreme outcomes. These outcomes happen because of self-reinforcing effects, or changes that lead to similar changes. When a trailer park locates in a city, for example, the area right around that park becomes an excellent spot for a new trailer park, and this creates even more appeal for a third park, and so on. Soon the area has additional stores and services targeted at people living in trailer parks, adding to the appeal for future expansion. The same outcome is true for any group of people where there is a higher concentration or that group, such as African Americans concentrated in South Dallas. The third axiom is externalities cause inefficiency. An externality is a cost or benefit that is passed on to someone outside of a transaction. There are two types of externalities, positive and negative. A negative externality, or external cost, is an economic activity that imposes a negative effect on an unrelated third party (Urban Economics, 8E). A positive externality, or external benefit, is the positive effect an activity imposes on an unrelated third party (Urban Economics, 8E). For example, if a widget business expanded into a widget factory, then a negative externality of this expansion would be the increase in pollution that a factory would produce. Positive externalities of the expansion would be the improved effect in production of widgets through research and that the laborers’ work became easier and less dangerous. Both positive and negative externalities can occur on either the production or the consumption side (Urban Economics, 8E). Externalities cause ineffi ciency because they incentivize people to do too much or too little of something. The fourth axiom of Urban Economics is that production is subject to economies of scale. The higher the volume of production of a firm, the lower the production cost. If the firm makes only one widget it will incur the total cost of buying the needed supplies, research and development of making a widget, and time cost of producing the widget. The cost would be very high. If a widget factory made millions of widgets, it may receive cost reduction for buying supplies in bulk, and through higher production of widgets the production process could be streamlined and cut costs. By principle of scale of economy, the cost of making the millionth widget will be less than the cost of producing the first widget. The fifth and final axiom of Urban Economics is that competition generates zero economic profit (Urban Economics, 8E). Where there are profits, there are people interested in getting their share (Urban Economics, 8E). This axiom of urban economics says that in real life businesses try to maximize profits by trying to mimic ideal economic model conditions. Firms analyze where to derive profits and wherever profits are found, new businesses with lower prices drive down the prices and the profits for the industry. The result is efficient for consumers, who can buy what they want at optimal prices. Take our hypothetical scenario: you have complete working knowledge of the production of widgets, the market is profitable, and the starting capital was given to you. Therefore, you open your own widget making business. For most people, the answer is easy. Assuming all widgets are created equal, to be competitive in the market, you charge you lower price than your competitors charge. In the wi dget industry where price makes the difference, a competitor might respond by lowering their price as well. You would have no choice but to lower your prices again to remain competitive. Eventually, firms in the widget market will lower price levels to the point where there is no more profit and firms are only covering costs of production. Competition would have created a situation where there is no economic profit and no room for new firms to enter into the marketplace. Why Cities Exist According to the Axioms of Urban Economics Since modern society seems to focus on cities, it may seem strange to the modern Americans that cities actually are very young and a new idea in terms of history. Cities are where we work and live, cities host our governments, and cities are where firms choose to be to do their business. Urban Economics by Arthur OSullivan States cities exist because human technology has created systems of production and exchange that seem to defy the natural order†¦The transformation of a rural society into an urban one occurred because technological advances increased the agricultural surplus, increased the productivity of urban workers, and increased the efficiency of transportation and exchange (Urban Economics, 8E). Recently in history, society has shifted from an agricultural focus to a focus on industrialization. Obviously, we all could not live in cities or there would be no one to raise crops and ranch livestock. According to the first axiom of urbanization, a locational equilibrium has been established by making land cheaper in the country to offset the lower wages of farming and ranching so not everyone will move into the cities. Thus, land and housing would be more expensive the closer you come to the heart of a city to offset the high wages available in the urban setting. According to the second axiom of self-reinforcing effects generating extreme outcomes, industrial firms that produce industrial goods will centralize themselves in the city, and farms and ranches that produce agricultural goods will develop side by side in the countryside. The fifth axiom states that firms will develop near like firms and will do so until there is zero economic profit. This situation means that industrial firms will develop in the city and agricultural firms will develop in the countryside until there is no more profit to be made. The fourth axiom of the scaling effect would allow for specialization in both the countryside and the city. This would set up a comparative advanta ge economy between the countryside and the city where the city can trade their industrial goods for the agricultural goods of the countryside. Cities were born from efficiency, hard work, and ingenuity. Without inventions like the cotton gin or the tractor, Americans might still find themselves living on the farm today. Instead, only 5 percent of the population grows food that feeds the entire country with more to spare; and the rest of us work to produce something worthy of trading for that food or for some other good or service (Urban Economics, 8E). Therefore, cities exist because it is beneficial to produce what you specialize in and use trading firms to lower costs and trade with other cities and areas that may specialize in goods and services desired or needed. Second Essay Starts Marginal costs and benefits are utilized as a form of measurement of costs and benefits at a specific level of production and consumption.Everyday individuals, groups, and institutions make decisions based on our marginal evaluations of the alternatives. They do this by asking questions: â€Å"What will it cost to produce one more unit†, and â€Å"What benefit will be received by acquiring one more unit†? In this essay, the author will define and discuss marginal costs and benefits and their effect on market efficiency in the presence or absence of externalities. What Are Marginal Costs and Marginal Benefits? Marginal benefit is the gain you receive for doing anything one more time (Urban Economics, 8E). Marginal benefit is typically measured in terms of revenue or what price level the free market places on the next unit you produce (Urban Economics, 8E). Imagine you are the proud owner of a widget making shop, and you could sell an unlimited number of widgets for 10 dollars, then your marginal benefit for each additional widget you produced would be 10 dollars. Realistically though, there is a limit on the amount of any item you can sell at a given price. If your market is saturated, to sell another widget you may have to lower your price to 8 dollars. Therefore, your marginal benefit for the next widget you produce will be only 8 dollars. Consumers experience marginal benefits as well, but the value of these benefits are not generally measured by the measurement of revenue. If a customer, values a widget from your store at value laden 20 dollars, based on its perceived value and consumer satisfaction from a purchase of a widget from your shop, then they will buy one. However, once they have one, they will only consider buying a second widget at 20 dollars. If they buy a second widget from your shop, it is based solely on the value-laden perception that the widget’s benefit is worth the 20 dollars. If the consumers do not perceive that the widget has 20 dollars benefit or use, they will not purchase another widget at the 20-dollar price level. Therefore, if your shop wants the consumer to buy widgets, the owner must either lower the price or offer some other promotional benefit. Consumers marginal benefit is also referred to as marginal utility(Urban Economics, 8E). According to the law of diminishing marginal u tility, â€Å"as a person increases consumption of a product, while keeping consumption of other products constant, there is a decline in the marginal utility that person derives from consuming each additional unit of that product† (Urban Economics, 8E). As the marginal benefit for widgets declines among your customer base, so does the price they are willing to pay which in turn affects your marginal benefit as a widget producer. â€Å"Marginal cost is the total cost you incur to produce one more unit† (Urban Economics, 8E). Following the example from the previous paragraph, it is the cost to make one more widget. Since, marginal costs are measured by total cost divided by change in output, marginal cost declines as change in output increases (Urban Economics, 8E). The overhead costs of production gets spread out over the increased change units produced. At some point, though, marginal cost reaches full capacity, and if you want to increase production, you will have to buy more widget machines, hire more employees, keep longer hours, and eventually build another site of production. These changes will increase the total cost for making widgets, so your marginal cost will increase. Now marginal cost is going up while marginal revenue is declining, for reasons already discussed. This situation means you are making less profit for each widget. Market Efficiency without Externalities If there is competition in the market but no significant, the free market result is efficient and benefits both the producer and the buyer (Urban Economics, 8E). It may or may not be fair since it depends on the existing distribution of market ownership (Urban Economics, 8E). This efficiency is achieved because the maximized quantity of output produced by a perfectly competitive firm results in the equality between price and marginal cost (Urban Economics, 8E). The most optimized efficient market without externalities is Perfect completion market. Perfect competition Market is an idealized market structure that achieves an efficient allocation of resources. In the short and long run, this involves the equality between price and marginal cost (Urban Economics, 8E). Market Efficiency with Externalities An externality exists when a third party who is not directly involved in the buying or selling of the goods or service incurs a cost or benefit (Urban Economics, 8E). In other words, an externality arises when a third party to a transaction experiences addition costs which can be either negative or positive due to transactions between buyers and sellers(Urban Economics, 8E). Negative externalities occur when the consumption or production of a good causes a harmful effect to a third party (Urban Economics, 8E). For example, the pollution produced with a sports car, or traffic jams due large number of car owners. If a good has a negative externality, then the cost to society is greater than the cost consumer is paying for it (Urban Economics, 8E). A positive externality exists when the private benefit enjoyed from the production or consumption of goods and services are exceeded by the benefits as a whole to the society. In this scenario, a third party other than the buyer and seller will receive a benefit because of consuming the good (Urban Economics, 8E). An example of positive externalities is the increased value of the neighborhood when you refurbish the outside of your house. Externalities are not usually fully reflected in prices. Externalities are regarded as a form of market failure. The costs and benefits related to externalities are not typically included as part of the decision making process when making market decisions. Negative externalities because too many goods and services are being made available to the market and being consumed at ill efficient amounts (Urban Economics, 8E). Positive externalities cause too little of a good or services to be made available to the market which cause inefficacies in consumption of goods and services by consumers (Urban Economics, 8E). the price for the good and the quantity produced are lower than the market could bear. When positive externalities occur in a free market, consumers pay a lower price for goods and services and consume lesser quantity of those goods and services to socially efficient levels (Urban Economics, 8E). When negative externalities happen in a free market, producers do not pay the additional external costs that exist so the costs are passed on to society (Urban Economics, 8E). Thus, producers have lower marginal costs so more of the products and services are bought than the efficient amount (Urban Economics, 8E). In order to get consumers to consume more of goods and services that have been affected by a positive externality, a government subsidy can be given to the public (Urban Economics, 8E). The subsidy will increase the marginal benefit they receive when they consume the good. All those who receive the external benefits from the consumer goods (Urban Economics, 8E) can pay for the subsidy. The subsidy will increase the marginal benefit they receive when they consume the good and all those who receive benefits from the positive externalities (Urban Economics, 8E) can pay for the subsidy. Negative externalities result in a lower free-market output. In order to make the market produce the optimal amount, we must impose a government regulations or taxes. This is called internalizing the externality, and forces those involved to pay for the negative externalities (Urban Economics, 8E). In conclusion, through this essay the author has learned many things about regulated and unregulated markets. Both have their costs and benefits, and society should be very prudent when entering to the market place because not all the cost is seen.

Analysis of Priceline

Priceline Inc. is an online travel booking site that helps customers worldwide purchase airfare, hotels, rental cars, and much more. The three categories I chose to analyze are business model and strategies, business finances, and expansion of the company through acquisitions. For Priceline to have success, I believe the business model and how the company builds its model is extremely important. Next, it is crucial that we look at the finances of the company to ensure it is profitable. The finances of the company are tied to the various acquisitions Priceline has acquired in the past few years. By looking at the companies Priceline has acquired, I strongly recommend investing in Priceline based off of the record earnings posted by the company. Not only is Priceline profitable, the corporation also has an unique business strategy to make money. When assigned this paper, I began to use databases and Factiva to search for information about Priceline. I used the information found from da tabases and used them as research to support my report. I then researched Priceline’s marketing techniques as well as stock prices in order to elaborate on the company’s finances. Finally, I learned about the companies Priceline has acquired over the years to expand its market presence. To figure out the formatting and structure of this paper, I used other people’s reports as guidance.IntroductionPriceline’s business model includes value proposition of connecting vendors and customers. It consists of a revenue model where there are transaction fees and spread earned by the company between vendor and customer price. Launched in 1998, Priceline Inc. does not directly supply travel services, but rather they bring buyers and sellers together to complete a transaction. Priceline saves consumers money by trading travel flexibility of brands and product features for sellers’ lower prices. Business Model and StrategiesEver since the development of the inte rnet, dot-com companies have been booming left and right. One of those companies founded during the dot-com boom was Priceline Inc., an online travel booking site that revolutionized the way consumers purchased air tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, and much more. Priceline Inc. developed and innovated a new system of â€Å"Name your own  price† for customers to finalize their travels. They were able to turn excess inventory otherwise not sold by the airlines to consumers while at the same time price discriminate in order to maximize profits. In the airline industry, it is estimated that only 65% of the seats on a plane are occupied on a daily basis.Airlines definitely were looking a way to vend the rest of the inventory. However, they could not advertise these excess seats with special discount because in doing so, it would destroy its retail fare structure. Priceline was the solution to this as they are able to help shield airlines branding in two different ways. First, w hen consumers try to name your own price on Priceline, they must choose travels between two cities. In this case, the airlines’ branding and product configurations are protected as customers have no idea which airline they will be selecting. Only after a bid is accepted will they learn their exact flight information and itinerary. Secondly, Priceline protects those who are considered free riders. These are people who would receive the benefit of a discount but they are already willing to pay for an air ticket at a higher price (Eisenmann 47-48). Name Your Price GuaranteeFigure 1.1Source: (Priceline.com) Revenue Generation: Priceline is able to effectively generate revenue one of two ways. First, it calculates a spread between the lowest prices offered by the Airline partner and the highest prices a customer is willing to pay. In this scenario, neither party the airline partner nor the customer have the option of knowing the asking price or the bid price. A customer has no ide a what unpublished rate the airline is offering. Only Priceline would have this secret information. On the other hand, the airline does not get to see how much the consumers bid on the air ticket. For example, if a customer bids $300 on a ticket from LAX to JFK and the lowest unpublished rate for any given airline is $200, then the spread would be $100, which Priceline retains as its earnings. As seen from this model, profiting from the spread is highly successful given the economies of scale from customers (Eisenmann 47-48). Adaptive Marketing and Cross Subsidy:Furthermore, Priceline also offers consumers to bump up their bids by participating in â€Å"adaptive marketing† and â€Å"cross-subsidy† promotional programs. For instance, Priceline could add $50 to an existing $100 bid to make it more likely that a ticket will be sold if one signs up for a credit card. If that is the case, the credit card company may pay Priceline $75 for every referral that signs up for the card. In this case, Priceline would simply pocket the difference. If the asking price for the ticket was already under $100, then Priceline would keep all of the money coming from credit card sponsorship (Eisenmann 48).Business Finances Early Stages of Priceline: At the beginning of year 2000, Priceline had a market share of 3% of all airline tickets sold in the U.S. Attracting over 3.8 million unique visitors, Priceline sold tickets for all eight domestic airlines as well as 20 international carriers. One year after its establishment in 1998, Priceline’s revenue was $482 Million in 1999 and $1 Billion in 2000 (Eisenmann 48).However, the dot-com bubble would halt Priceline’s success only temporarily. 1999 was a tough year for Priceline as it stated a $1.1 Billion loss on its financial statement. Stock prices plunged from $974 to $7 a share. According to Walker, â€Å"there was a credibility issue† within the organization and investors did not completely trust t he dot-com industry. Priceline’s financials would improve slowly. In 2002, Priceline reported a net loss of $19 Million. When CEO Jeff Boyd took over the company in 2002, Priceline stocks had suffered one of the worst drops in its brief history. But soon enough, Priceline was able to make a turnaround when it introduced William Shatner as the negotiator character out of the blue to help consumers save money. Instantaneously, people remembered the advertisements put up by Priceline and associated with Shatner, a former Star-Trek star’s self-parody. William ShatnerFigure 1.2Source: (Thepenaltyflagblog.com) From Loss to Profit: Priceline started making a profit in 2003, but it wasn’t until 2004 and 2005 when Boyd bought two European hotel reservation sites—the U.K.'s Active Hotels and Amsterdam-based Booking.com that Priceline hit a turning point. â€Å"Priceline's earnings growth and stock market success since then have been attributable largely to those t wo acquisitions—Booking.com in particular. It would be tough to argue that there's been a better acquisition in Internet history,† says Thomas White, an analyst at Macquarie Securities. â€Å"It's why the stock has been such a home run,† says White.Thomas White and Barclays' DiClemente would agree that investors lack the knowledge that most of the revenue come from overseas. Since Europeans have many more vacation days as Americans, it is not surprising that more revenue is inflowing from Europe. Jeff Boyd, the CEO of Priceline, was smart about targeting such a market in Europe. â€Å"Moreover, the growth of discount airlines in Europe such as EasyJet and Ryanair have increased the popularity of â€Å"city breaks†Ã¢â‚¬â€the European equivalent of a weekend getaway,† states Birger. Earnings Report in 2012:In 2012, Priceline continued to post better than expected earnings reports. In the third quarter of 2012, Priceline reported third quarter revenue s of $1.71 Billion, up 17.4% from a year ago in 2011. Also, Priceline beat the estimate of $1.65 Billion projected revenue determined previously by analysts. Non-GAAP profits stood at $12.40 a share, ahead of the estimate of $11.81 a share. Gross bookings came in at $7.8 billion, elevated 25.2% from a year ago. For quarter four in 2012, Eric Savitz of Forbes magazine states â€Å"Priceline projected revenues to be up 21-28% or 22%-29% in local currency; revenues are expected to improve 15%-22%, with non-GAAP profits of $6.12 to $6.57 a share. Consensus has been for $6.34 a share.†Continuous Growth: In the mean time, CEO Jeff Boyd continues to have high hopes for Priceline. â€Å"Globally our hotel business grew room nights by 36% over the same period last year, compared to 39% growth in the second quarter,† he said. â€Å"Our rental car business grew rental car days by 35% over last year, an acceleration from 29% in the second quarter, led by improving results at Pric eline.com and continued strong growth from Rentalcars.com. While we remain concerned about economic weakness across Europe, Asia and the U.S., the [company] intends to focus on solidifying its position as the world's largest and most profitable online hotel reservation service by continuing to add hotels and other accommodations and better servicing our customers through constant innovation in our mobile and desktop sites.†As promised by Boyd, Priceline continued to show tremendous growth. On November 1st, 2012, Priceline stock was up $12.22 in regular session trading and jumped another $52 a share in after-hours trading to close at $638.95 (Savitz). Since then, Priceline sustains its momentum by reporting record earnings in the preceding quarters. Today, stock price for Priceline is even higher than few years ago. It currently trades at over $1,000 a share and constantly out competes against their rivals Expedia and Orbitz (Birger).10 Year Graph of Priceline (PCLN) Figure 1.3 Source: (Yahoo Finance) Acquisitions and Expansions Booking.com: Priceline is on track to make a very good move because it is believed that the online travel reservation market still has room for expansion in Europe. Priceline typically takes 15% of every transaction done on Booking.com; in return, the hotels have a much better chance to market and advertise to potential customers. After Priceline’s acquisition of Booking.com in July 2005 for $135 Million, its profits skyrocketed from $10 million in 2003 to $1.1 billion in 2011. No other acquisition has proven to be that successful in the 2000’s (O'Neill). Agoda and TraveljigSaw:In addition, Priceline is increasing its brand in Asia via its Agoda brand and it is growing its rental cars division as well, aided by a 2010 acquisition of global car-rental site TravelJigsaw. Ever since these acquisitions of smaller travel companies, Priceline is able to expand its market cap while its stock prices surged over 500% in the fo llowing five years (Birger). Kayak:In 2012, Priceline Inc. continues its acquisition practice with the purchase of Kayak for $1.8 Billion. Shareholders of Kayak received $40 per share. Kayak is successful in that it raised $91 Million in the July 2012 IPO through selling of 3.5 Million shares at $26 apiece. It has processed 302 million queries across its web. Kayak and Priceline are â€Å"two of the largest online-travel companies and it makes sense that these two companies would want to work together, of course, because they do have different strengths and different objectives,† said Dan Marcec, an analyst at Emarketer. With the acquisition of Kayak, Jeff Boyd states that â€Å"Priceline’s intention is for Kayak to be operated independently under the leadership of existing management, as with our other hands, with a primary focus on building value for its customers and advertising partners† (Levy).Conclusion Priceline Inc. operates as one of the biggest travel booking sites in the world. Its global presence in Europe and Asia as well in the Americas cannot be ignored. Priceline Inc. should be a company that is to be heavily invested in because of its revenue and profit posted by the corporation. Its record breaking earnings in the billions should easily attract the eyes of a savvy investor. Priceline will continue to post earnings through the way it does business by matching consumers with vendors and earning the difference in prices. With its continuous acquisitions of smaller booking sites, Priceline is set on par to be the dominant and primary go to website when it comes to travel bookings. Without a doubt, its stock prices will continue to soar as it expands its presence in Asia.

Childhood and Adolescent Depression and the Risks of Suicide Essay

Introduction Problem and its Background   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the most common reasons for referral of children and adolescents to mental health professionals is suspected depression. There are continues debate as to whether childhood and adolescent depression are a reflection of normal variation in mood. It is reasonable for the primary care physician to view childhood depression as a constellation of factors that forms a syndrome. This constellation consists of a persistent mood disorder and dysfunctional behavior that intrudes and distorts the child’s day-to-day activities (Gottlieb & Williams, 1991 p.1). A firm denial gave way into a general and strong conviction about significance of depressive syndromes in childhood and adolescents, and of the implications throughout the life course. The realization of the problem occurrence made it possible for the therapeutic interventions and prevention programs to be developed and set up for depressive children, and to have these programs sponsored and evaluated on a scientific perspective. Various factors have facilitated the progression of this study concerning the recognition of childhood depression. Society is approached with enormous cost of untreated childhood depression later on in life (Corveleyn etal, 2005 p.165).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The concept of a depressive syndrome that is distinct from the broad class of childhood onset emotional disorders has been linked to incidence of suicidal rates worldwide. The condition of such incidence is becoming evidently alarming as the number of suicidal rate continue.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The treatment of such depressive states range from pharmacologic drugs up to psychological modifications and therapies, such as behavioral, peer and group focused groups, etc. With the serious nature of childhood / adolescent depression, it is crucial that treatments with known efficacy and more than transitory effects be provided promptly and skillfully (Maj & Sartorius, 2002 p.292). Scope and Limitations   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The treatment procedures and the condition of health care management for the case of childhood and adolescent depression are the primary subjects of the study. The concept on treatment procedure involves the pharmacologic, medical and psychological interventions that are absolutely necessary in the health care management of such condition. The study shall cover the discussion of depressive condition of the childhood and adolescent age group. Diagnostic procedures and issues shall be tackled in this research in order to portray possible conflicts and difficulties that occur in diagnosing the condition. The neurobiology of the depressive state shall be elaborated utilizing psychophysiology of the disorder, and linked to probable external physiological occurrences. Lastly, since the study focuses on therapy and medication as treatment modalities, the following methods and means of treatment shall be involved in the study. The following shall be the objectives of the over-all study. To be able to define, discuss and elaborate the conditions involved in the occurrence of depression in adolescent and childhood stages To be able to provide and tackle the treatment procedure as the center scope of study, accompanied by the issues, physiology and specific drugs involved in depression health care management. Discussion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cases of despondency and depression in children and adolescents were reported as early as the seventeenth century. Prior to the 1970s, however, little attention was paid to depression in youth (Hersen & Hasselt, 2001 p.243). The study on depression had been more inclined to adulthood depression and not on childhood and adolescence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Depression among children and adolescents is relatively common, enduring, and recurrent disorder that has an adverse impact on a youngster’s psychosocial development and in some cases is associated with self-destructive and life-threatening behaviors. Depressive disorders during childhood and adolescence may be more virulent and of longer duration than depressive disorders in adults. Depressive disorders during childhood are a risk factor for the development of additional psychological disturbances and for the development of depressive disorders later in life. The number of youths who are experiencing depressive disorders is increasing at the same time that the age of onset is decreasing (Mash & Barkley, 2006 p.336).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Depression can be conceptualized both as a dimension and as a category. Epidemiological studies suggest that juvenile depression is a continuum that is associated with problems at most levels of severity. According to Oregon Adolescent Depression Project, the level of psychosocial impairment increased as a direct function of the number of depressive symptoms. Moreover, in line with studies of adults, much of the morbidity associated with depression occurred in the â€Å"milder† but more numerous cases of minor depression. Such results suggest that even mild forms of adolescent depression are a risk factor for depression in early adulthood (Rutter & Taylor, 2002 p.463).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In recent years, increased attention has been given to evidence-based psychosocial and pharmacological interventions for depressed youth. The need to highlight what we know about treatment is underscored by the fact that most depressed youth do not receive treatment. However, as knowledge about treatments for youth depression has increased, the rate of treatment appears to have developed. Although depression among youth is treated more often, it is not clear that standard practice is effective at alleviating depressive symptoms or preventing recurrence. Moreover, there is a bias toward the utilization of pharmacologic drugs and extremely brief psychosocial interventions (Gotlib & Hammen, 2002 p.441). Diagnostic Issues involved in Depression   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition, text revision groups mood disorders into two categories: depressive disorders and bipolar disorders. Both types of disorders are characterized by depressive episodes. For a diagnosis of depressive disorder, the child must be experiencing a mood disturbance for a period of at least 2 weeks, and the symptoms must be present more often than not. At least four of the following symptoms must be present during the same period (Mash & Barkley, 2006 p.337): Significant, unintentional weight gain or loss Insomnia or hypersomnia Psychomotor retardation or agitation fatigue or loss or energy feelings of worthlessness or extreme guilt Diminished concentration pr ability to make decisions Recurring thoughts of death, suicidality, or suicide attempts In depressed preadolescents and adolescents, a lack of perceived personal competence was associated with depression; however, in adolescents, the more abstract concept of contingencies is also related to depression (Mash & Barkley, 2006 p.338). Confusion sometimes arises in the childhood depression field, as it does with adult depression, because of different usages of the term â€Å"depression† and associated differences in methods of assessment. Moreover, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which is the primary reference of psychiatric diagnosis, frequently changes. One example is in studies of childhood and adolescent depression, the term is variously used to identify depressed mood, a constellation of mood and other symptoms forming a syndrome, or a set of symptoms meeting official diagnostic criteria for depressive disorder. The usage of such term connotes various meaning, such as depression as a symptoms (lonely, fear impulses, guilt, etc.) and depression as a syndrome (comprises clusters of various signs and symptoms) (Mash & Barkley, 2003 p.336). Neurobiology of Childhood & Adolescent Depression   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Biologic studies in children are difficult to implement since they often require several blood draws, subjects remaining still more long periods of time, and the overall cooperation of the children and adolescents. Three types of investigation have provided information on possible developmental differences in the neurobiology of depression. The first is the study of Cortisol secretion, measured by investigations such as the dexamethasone suppression test (Rapoport, 2000 p.230).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Studies of neurotransmitters in depressed adults have focused on norepinephrine, serotonin, and acetylcholine. Serotonin regulation studied in adults with depression reported that in response to L-5hyroxytrytophan in 37 pre-pubertal depressed children secreted less Cortisol and more prolactin than age-matched and gender-matched normal controls, suggesting a deregulation of central serotonergic systems in childhood depression.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Abnormalities of the hypothalamic pituitary-thyroid axis and the hypothalamic pituitary-growth hormone axis have been reported in depression in adults. However, Cortisol hypersecretion, as measured by repeated samples over a 24-hour period or by nocturnal sampling, has not been identified in depressed children and adolescents although adolescent showed a Cortisol elevation at the approximate time of sleep onset (Coffey, 2006 p.266).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The second type of developmentally informative investigation is the study of sleep. Polysomnographic studies of depressed children and adolescent have tended to demonstrate abnormalities of sleep, including shortened rapid eye movement (REM) latency and reduced slow wave sleep. These generally positive results of polysomnographic studies with children have shown few differences (Rapoport, 2000 p.231).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The third type of developmentally informative investigation is the study of growth hormone. A variety of pharmacological challenge agents that stimulate release of growth hormone have been studied in depressed adolescents and children. Interestingly, the results with adolescents have been negative in terms of slow blunted growth hormone response to provocative stimuli. However, some studies have reported high levels of growth hormone in adolescents with major depression. Moreover, pubertal children both during depressive episode and after recovery have demonstrated blunted growth hormone response to provocative stimuli (Rapoport, 2000 p.231). Psychopharmacology: Antidepressants (SSRIs)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Special considerations arise in treating children and adolescents with antidepressants. Empirical data on antidepressants in young patients are quite limited. Psychiatrists, faced with depriving children of potentially effective medication or prescribing medication or prescribing medications â€Å"Off Label,† need information on which to base treatment decisions, and efforts are underway to promote research in this area. Clinically significant differences in pharmacokinetics and possibly pharmacodynamics between adults and younger patients can also complicate treatment. Moreover, younger patients may also be more sensitive to adverse effects of medications (Preskorn, 2004 p.356).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The antidepressant drugs are a heterogeneous group of compounds that, in adults, have bee found to be effective in the treatment of major depressive disorder. This particular pharmacologic intervention is also utilized in adolescent and children with major depression; although, there have been no studies that validate the appropriateness of such medications. The following are considered as the major treatment of adolescent depression, specifically Tricyclic Antidepressants and (SSRI) Selective-serotonin reuptake inhibitors (Rossenberg & Ryan, 1998 p.28).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) have long been the first-line antidepressants used by most clinicians for adults because of their established efficacy, safety, and ease of administration, but they have been less successful in the treatment of child and adolescent conditions. The mechanism by which TCAs are effective in the treatment of adult depression and other disorders has not been clearly established. There is, however, evidence that these agents affect monoamine neurotransmitter systems in the central; nervous system, such as serotonin and norepinephrine (Rossenberg & Ryan, 1998 p.28-29). The TCAs inhibit the reuptake of norepinephrine and serotonin, potentiating their action. It has been suggested that antidepressants work by increasing noradrenergic and/or serotonergic transmission, compensating for a presumed deficiency. Controlled studies failed to demonstrate that TCAs are superior to placebo in the treatment of childhood and adolescent depression (Rossenberg & Ryan, 1998 p.28-29).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Since serotonin is also implicated in the etiology and maintenance of affective disorders, particularly depression; hence, the use selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRIs) is possible. SSRIs prevent the re-uptake of serotonin, which poses significant therapeutic value although has been shown to be less effective in therapeutic trials in children (Mash & Barkley, 2006 p.384). The SSRIs are now first-line agents for treating child and adolescent depression. The newer antidepressants, such as bupropion and mirtazapine, do not have an adequate empirical base with children; however, they are sometimes used as second-line treatments for those youths who do not respond to SSRIs. Thus far, none of the SSRIs has produced irreversible damage in children and adolescents. However, as the SSRIs gained wide use with depressed adolescents, concerns emerged about the safety of this class of medications. Reports suggested that they were responsible for increased suicidal ideation and behavior among youths (Mash & Barkley, 2006 p.384). In 2003, the British Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency   (MHRA) concluded that most of the SSRIs do not show benefits exceeding their risks of suicidal ideation, and thus should not be prescribed in the child and adolescent population (Mash & Barkley, 2006 p.384).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If the adolescent fails to respond to any SSRI, then switching to a different class of antidepressant is recommended. At present, no data support the use of one agent over another. Therefore, whether the clinician chooses a TCA, nefazodone, or venlafaxine should be based on clinical experience. Other factors to consider for a given adolescent are medication side effects, medical conditions, previous medication trials, comorbid psychiatric conditions, and familial history of a positive response to particular antidepressants (Esman, 1999 p.222). Other classes of antidepressants are fluoxetine, setraline, paroxetine, fluvoxamine, venlafaxine, bupropion, trazodone, and nefazadone. As major depression has a high recurrence rate, it is recommended that pharmacologic treatment continue for a minimum of six months achieving resolution of symptoms. Medication discontinuation should be accomplished gradually, with a slow, stepwise reduction in dosage over a two- or three-month period. The health care providers should carefully monitor the adolescent for withdrawal syndromes and reemergence of depressive symptoms (Esman, 1999 p.222). Relationship to Suicide Rates   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Suicidal thoughts and attempts are among the diagnostic criteria for major depression. Suicidal ideation is quite common, and has been reported in more than 60% of depressed preschoolers, preadolescents, and adolescents. Actual suicidal attempts also may occur, at rates that appear to be higher among depressed adolescents than among depressed adults (Mash & Barkley, 2003 p.336).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Studies have shown consistently high rates of comorbid psychiatric disorders in depressed children and adolescents. The comorbidity rate in children and adolescents with depression has been reported to be 80% to 95%. The most common comorbid disorders in adolescents with depression are anxiety disorders, with rates ranging from 40% to 50%. Moreover, substance abuse frequently co-occurs with depression. Adolescents with major depression are at risk for impairment in school performance and interpersonal relationships, which may interfere with achievement of appropriate developmental tasks. Suicidal behavior is a common sequela. A 10-yar follow-up of depressed child and adolescent outpatients found that 4.4% committed suicide. Mood disorder, prior to suicide attempt, and substance abuse are major risk factors for adolescent suicide (Esman, 1999 p.216).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Depressed and suicidal children and adolescents are often not identified. Identification of children and adolescents who express suicidal ideation or suicidal acts is crucial since such symptoms are recurrent and strong predictors of youth suicide. Other risk factors for youth suicide behavior have been described including family, other environmental and biological factors. Notably, family history of suicidal behavior increases risk for youth suicide (Rapoport, 2000 p.231). Reference Coffey, E. C. (2006). Pediatric Neuropsychiatry. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Corveleyn etal, J. (2005). The Theory and Treatment of Depression: Towards a Dynamic Interactionism Model. Routledge. Esman, A. H. (1999). Adolescent Psychiatry: Developmental and Clinical Studies. Routledge. Gotlib, I., & Hammen, C. L. (2002). Handbook of Depression. Guilford Press. Gottlieb, M. I., & Williams, J. (1991). Developmental-behavioral Disorders: Selected Topics. Springer. Hersen, M., & Hasselt, V. B. (2001). Advanced Abnormal Psychology. Springer. Maj, M., & Sartorius, N. (2002). Depressive Disorders. John Wiley and Sons. Mash, E. J., & Barkley, R. A. (2006). Child Psychopathology. Guilford Press. Mash, E. J., & Barkley, R. A. (2006). Treatment of Childhood Disorders. Guilford Press. Preskorn, S. (2004). Antidepressants: Past, Present, and Future. Springer. Rapoport, J. L. (2000). Childhood Onset of â€Å"Adult† Psychopathology: Clinical and Research Advances. American Psychiatric Pub., Inc. Rossenber, D., & Ryan, N. (1998). Pocket Guide for the Textbook of Pharmacotherapy for Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Disorders. Psychology Press. Rutter, M., & Taylor, E. A. (2002). Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Blackwell Publishing.