Competition And Market Power Economics Essay

Competition And Market Power Economics Essay For a long period of time, De Beers has been successfully raising consumer demand for diamonds. The company is famous for its monopolistic policies during the last century, when it used its leading position to control the international diamond market. De Beers had a number of methods to ensure its control in the market: thus, it joined some independent manufacturers to its single channel monopoly, it pushed the manufacturers who refused to join the cartel out of the market by overfilling the market with diamonds, it bought and stored the diamonds of other producers in order to regulate the prices (De Beers Company). Pure monopoly means the conditions in the market, when only one company produces and sells a product that has no substitutes. The market access is limited and the company has complete control over prices. Thus, in pure monopoly, the market is dominated by a big enterprise-monopolist fully controlling the prices. Establishment of extremely high prices is restrained by the risks of a fall or a lack of consumer demand. Monopolist assesses demand and sets the price at a level that ensures the greatest return on investment (Larue, Gervais Pouliot, 2008). Monopolies are also public utilities, the services of which are used by any business. The existence of natural monopolies is justified by the fact that they best meet the public interest. In rural areas, such monopolies can be companies supplying agricultural machinery, chemical fertilizer, seed and breeder farms, businesses that provide repair services. The main features of monopoly are as follows (Larue, Gervais Pouliot, 2008): There is only one firm in the market, which affects the prices, adjusting the proposal; There are no identical products in the market; Controlling the market of raw materials in the industry, the company-monopoly excludes the emergence of new producers. Thus, the market of pure monopoly is the market of one seller. Most frequently, these are the governmental organizations, with the state monopoly able to solve various problems through pricing policies: To set a price below the cost for socially important goods to maintain their standard of living; To set a price covering the costs or providing a good income; To set a high price to reduce consumption. Returning to De Beers Company, for the last decade it has been undergoing changes turning into a more reliable company. A number of factors led to the necessity for transformation in the De Beers model (De Beers Company). In 2004 the company was declared guilty according to the 1994 accusation that De Beers had merged with General Electric to control the price of industrial diamonds; the company paid $10 million to the United States Department of Justice. Contemporary diamond industry is noticeably differs from that of the last decade, as it is now a complicated and continuously developing geopolitical notion. Today, apart from De Beers, the most important players in the diamond business are the African producer countries (e.g., Botswana and Namibia), Rio Tinto, Lev Leviev, BHP Billiton, Alrosa, Harry Winston, etc (De Beers Company). 3. Monopolistic Competition Luxury Watch Industry: Go to http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/05/watches/source/1.htm (Retrieved May 17, 2010). This is an interesting article on luxury watches. Click on the slide show in the upper right window (check out the prices!). Are these three firms participating in a monopolistically competitive market? What characteristics of the good make the market monopolistically competitive? Explain. A recent study by the Luxury Institute has determined the watches that are considered by the wealthy consumers to be the best out of the top 17 ultra luxury watch producers: Franck Muller, Vacheron Constantin and Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe and Breguet, though Rolex and Cartier were most famous brands. Nowadays, even not so well-known watchmakers take an equal part in monopolistic competition with the world leaders (Business Week, 2010). The market with monopolistic competition is characterized by the following features (Yomogida, 2010): The presence of multiple buyers and sellers (the market consists of a large number of independent companies and customers), the number of which doesnà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢t exceed the one present in pure competition. Low barriers for the entry into the industry. This does not mean that it is easy to start a monopolistically competitive firm; such difficulties as problems with registration, patents and licenses are still present. To survive in the market in the long run, monopolistically competitive firms need to produce diverse, differentiated products, which differ from that is offered by competing firms. Moreover, products may differ from one another by one or several properties (e.g. chemical composition of watches); Buyers and sellers are perfectly informed about market conditions; Predominantly non-price competition; advertising of products is very important for the development. Companies of this type have a negative slope of the demand curve. In monopolistic competition, the output is set at the level of profit maximization (marginal revenue equals marginal cost). However, when deciding on the establishment of prices for products, a monopolistic competitor acts like a monopolist: the price for the goods is set at the highest possible level, i.e. at the level of the demand curve for products. Just as at the market of perfect competition, in monopolistic competition the firm relies on the value of the average total costs, deciding whether to remain in the industry or leave the market. Thus, if the company continued to suffer losses, it means that the average total production costs exceed the established price per unit, and the firm will leave the market in the long run. It should be noted that, since the monopolistic competitor is dynamic in the decision-making, it cannot effectively allocate resources, which leads to inefficiency of such firms in the long run. It is practically impossible to have a positive profit at the market of monopolistic competition in the long term (Yomogida, 2010). 4. Oligopoly The OPEC Oil Cartel Go to www.opec.org (Retrieved May 17, 2010). What are the organizations stated goals, which countries are members, and when was it founded? Is it normal for them to be successful in keeping oil prices high, or have they faced difficulties in keeping the cartel united in the past? The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is an international intergovernmental organization (also called a cartel), established by oil-producing powers and including 12 countries: Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Qatar, Libya, United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Nigeria, Ecuador and Angola. The aim of OPEC is to coordinate and develop a common policy with regard to oil production among members of the organization, maintaining stable oil prices, providing a stable supply of oil to consumers, and benefit from the investments in the oil industry (OPEC). OPEC members control about 2/3 of world oil reserves. Their share in the world oil makes 40%, or nearly the half of the world oil exports. At different periods of its history, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries controlled from 25% to 60% of oil production in industrial countries (Hansen Lindholt, 2008). At the same time, the cartel represents a very unstable structure, based on collusion in order to establish a monopoly price in the market, which can be unsatisfactory for some members of the cartel; this finally leads to the violation of the cartel agreement. At first glance, the similarity of the cartel and monopoly is obvious. But the cartel very rarely (in contrast to the monopoly), controls the entire market, because the policy has to deal with non-cartelized enterprises. In addition, the cartel members have quite a powerful temptation to cheat their partners, reducing prices or actively promoting their product, which creates the conditions for the capture of the market (Hansen Lindholt, 2008). Failure to fully and consistently use the cartel for the interaction of oligopolistic firms is forcing them to conduct secret economic policy in price changes and in the delineation of the spheres of influence. Such cooperation may manifest itself in the form of price rigidity or leadership in price formation, and through special organizations such as patent pools. The rigidity of prices is the oligopolistic practice, when, even with changes in costs or demand, an organization is not inclined to change prices, believing that if it has to raise the price, others will follow, which will lead to loss of market share. In this way, the cartel stays away from changing prices due to the fear to unleash the war of prices. Leadership in prices means the practice, when the formation of prices for the product is focused on the prices set by the leader often dominant in this industry. This demonstrates the kind of implicit collusion, although its presence is usually not proven (BÃÆ' ¶ckem, 2004). Patent pools represent an agreement on specialization and cooperation of production, and the consortium the union of firms to conduct joint scientific research and joint construction of large investment projects. Both of these organizations perform cartel functions and are the basis for the organization of conspiracy to divide the market. Thus, the oligopoly is characterized by three features: there are two or more competing firms in the industry, so that the industry is not monopolized (OPEC and Russia relation); demand curve has a falling character, so the industry does not have rules of free competition; at least one large organization operates in the industry, any action of which causes a reaction of competitors (OPEC oligopolistic practices), so that there is no monopolistic competition (BÃÆ' ¶ckem, 2004).

Social Conflict in Public Schools

Big American government is widely perceived as the foundation of social order in our country, yet it is, as some would say the single greatest source of disorder. Political power constantly tempts those who control it to enforce conformity with their own preferences of Education, and Religion, As seen in our country and many parts of the world, citizens will evade enforcers if they can but when necessary will fight back. Our public schools can also be looked at through the structural-functional theory In an article by Jim Powell entitled â€Å" Public Schools and Social Conflicts† he discusses the many conflicts in our public schools are primarily the product of our governments deliberate doings. In the early 1840’s for instance, Protestant dominated public schools were made compulsory for the newly landed immigrant Irish and southern European Catholics. Conflict arose when the Catholics resented having to pay taxes for Protestant schools where courtesy of another government bodies mandate Protestant values were to be taught there as well. The Catholics proceeded to establish their own system of â€Å"parochial† schools, however the age old practice of collecting public school taxes still exists no matter where the student chooses to be educated. Religion is another public school related conflict that Jim Powell discusses. Here he discusses the most famous social conflicts of public school history, the issue of whether schools should teach the biblical story of how the world was created. The â€Å"Butler Act† which made it illegal for any public school to teach a theory that denied the biblical story was how the conflict began. After a series of trials, debates, court and governmental interventions, the conflict still exists. Our public schools can also be viewed under he structural-functional theory. The various cogs of our public schools were probably intended to work together coherently to promote solidarity and stability as the structural-functional theory would suggest. The compulsory mandate of schooling for every child was probably intended to keep the majority of the new population educated thus increasing their productivity in a very young country. Many sociologist like Karl Marx would see this as an opportunity to not only live with the interpreted word but to constantly enact changes to conform with the needs of the current population thus maintaining the desired solidarity and stability . This type of sociologist would suggest that one only had to pay school taxes if the child used the public school system. In our day and age it would seem fair to the children who are home schooled or for that matter senior citizens and families with no children using the public school system, so the burden lay only on the benefit users. Infact it is the main point of discussion whenever a school budget or election comes up in many a town. On the issue of religion, this type of sociologist one that values preserving the desired solidarity and stability would suggest that issues of the religious nature not be discussed at all and that religious students should have a silent moment of prayer should the need arise, thus lending value to the now popular â€Å"separation of church and state†. There are many manifest functions of the public school system that can be The public system is a solid, affordable and consistent source of education for the vast majority of the population and being government funded has its regulations and systems in place. Freedoms that Americans have gotten used to are valued as well. Lack of regulation can have it’s own set of problems as was exemplified in the current â€Å"Financial meltdown†. Latent functions could also be seen in the public school system as is evident in the fact that public colleges function as a â€Å"marriage market†. Here young people of similar socio-economic backgrounds meet and perhaps form lifelong relationships. As was evident in the case of the recent Royal wedding where in Kate Middleton, the daughter of a wealthy businessman was enrolled in a prestigious university thus enhancing her ability to possibly meet a partner of similar stature who in this instance happened to be Prince William. Many a relationships have begun this way and although very rarely acknowledged is a unrecognized and unintended consequence of the public school experience. The public school system does affect American cultural values namely :Equal opportunity along with Individual achievement and Personal success. The public school system does for the most part offer equal opportunity to everyone who wishes to pursue this or her individual dreams. With all the checks in the system it gets next to impossible for any given public education system to waiver making allowances when deemed fit and holding firm when necessary. Individual achievement and personal success are cultural values very connected to the value of equal opportunity. In America, more so than in many other parts of the world is truly the â€Å"Land of Opportunity† . The sky is the limit if one has the desire and dares to dream. With the theoretical perspective in mind it is imperative that American cultural values will change as time progresses. There are constant changes that the public school arena is exposed to: The changing mix of certain ethnic populations in a given environment has given rise to a need for educators with English as a Second language backgrounds. Another area where cultural values will change are in the Special Education arena where with the growing classifications and need to integrate young Special Ed students educators will have to make adjustments to the way the whole population is taught so as to promote solidarity and stability as the structural-functional theory would suggest.

Explore the Ways in Which John Steinbeck Presents He Character of Lennie in ‘of Mice and Men’

In this essay I am going to be writing about one of the main characters in John Steinbeck’s novella ‘Of Mice and Men’. The story portrays the travels and arising problems of two migrant workers who share an uncommon friendship for the time and environment in which the novella is set. Lennie Small is the character I will be exploring and I will start off by giving a detailed explanation of his physical appearance and behaviour. Second I will look at his and the other main character George’s relationship which will then be followed by Lennie’s relationships with other characters throughout the book. I will then go on to look at the foreshadowing in which Steinbeck displays in the story and finally I will conclude the story of its final climax. Steinbeck uses many different descriptions of Lennie Small in the novella. Often compared to animals, one of the first descriptions of him is him being compared to a bear. ‘He was dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws’, is a line which portrays an image of how physically large Lennie is while also suggesting the extent of his strength. Lennie is also described to be ‘shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes’ which compares easily to a small innocent child who doesn’t understand his surroundings. The imagery created in this scene begins to imply that Lennie, even though a grown man, does not have a mind of his own, almost childlike, while always having someone to direct him through life. Despite his age, Lennie acts and speaks with immaturity due a mental disability. ‘Slowly like a terrier, who doesn’t want to bring a ball back to his master’ is a line Steinbeck wrote to emphasise Lennie’s immature personality. By comparing him to a terrier he becomes viewed as irrational with a very instinctive side to him. Steinbeck uses the word ‘master’ which signifies how Lennie, unable to make sensible decisions, needs a master or more so a carer. It stresses his naivety and also his loyalty to George. Furthermore in this novella Lennie doesn’t intentionally mean to do harm but that does not mean he is completely harmless. This is shown when Steinbeck writes ‘I wasn’t doing nothing bad with it, George.. jus’ stroking it. in the scene where George is demanding the dead mouse from Lennie. By writing this Steinbeck has suggested that the innocent Lennie is and both a victim and villain throughout his life. No matter how harmless he is within his mind, his strength betrays his personality leaving his child like mind, and brute strength a threatening combination. Steinbeck’s first description of George and Lennie’s relationship demonstrates the fact tha t George is very much like a father figure to Lennie. He is constantly mimicking George and following obediently which is described when ‘they had walked in single file down the path, and even in the open one stayed one behind the other’. This quote emphasises the dominance in the relationship and how Lennie is always following behind George because he wants to show him respect. Also Lennie imitates George with the upmost precision, ‘Then (George) replaced his hat, pushed himself back from the river, drew up his knees and embraced them. Lennie who had been watching imitated George exactly’ highlights this as it shows just how much Lennie looks up to George as if he is also a hero as well as a father figure in which he wants to make proud. It produces the thought that maybe all Lennie wants is for George to be proud of him and is symbolic to the fact Lennie looks up to George as a role model. In the opening dialogue between George and Lennie the nature of their relationship is easily distinguishable when George says ‘Lennie! Lennie for Gods sake, don’t drink too much.. ou gonna be sick like you was last night’ because it conveys how much George actually cares for and worries for Lennie without making it sound too affectionate. He speaks down to Lennie in a patronizing manner which also symbolises the authority in the relationship. In this novella one of the key things about Lennie and George is the dream they both wish to achieve. Due to Lennie’s childlike mind set and George’ s fatherly role in Lennie’s life the dream becomes somewhat a bedtime story for Lennie. On several occasions ‘Lennie pleads â€Å"Come on George. Tell me. Please, George. Like you did before. † ‘ which further emphasises how much of a child he is due to the fact it makes him calm, happy and almost settled as if he were an infant going to bed. It could also portray the subconscious worries Lennie has so he feels the need to be reassured about their dream. Lennie’s relationships with other characters vary and progress throughout the novella. When Slim, the jerkline skinner, is first introduced to Lennie and George he is taken aback by the oddness of their relationship with each other. He immediately see’s Lennie’s lack of mentality and later on states to George ‘it seems kinda funny, a cuckoo like him and a smart guy like you travelling together’ which is the first opinion Slim reveals towards Lennie. At first he only sees the childlike Lennie but after the situation explained he understands and views Lennie in a completely different light. ‘He’s a nice fella, guy don’t need no sense to be a nice fella’ is a line which Steinbeck wrote to show clearly how Slim respects and likes Lennie as it emphasises that he doesn’t just see the absence of intelligence but the nice guy hidden underneath the childish exterior. Even though Slim doesn’t really get to know Lennie in this novella, his friendship with George allows him to understand Lennie and the position the two are in. Slim appreciates that Lennie is not a cruel person when he says ‘He ain’t mean, I can see Lennie ain’t a bit mean’ which further emphasises the intelligence Slim possess to see behind the original interpretation of Lennie as a man and shows how his feelings towards him have developed into somewhat respect. Another relationship that Lennie has is one with the stable buck, Crooks. Steinbeck enforces this unspoken friendship between the two because both are isolated from the rest of the ranch workers, Lennie because of his size and childish behaviour and Crooks because of him being black and being segregated from the rest of the workers. Although Lennie is portrayed as the weakest mentally, he doesn’t understand the unwritten code of racial segregation which brings out the intelligent side to him which is proven in the way he acts towards Crooks. When Crooks questions him about why he has entered the barn Lennie replies with ‘Nothing- I seen your light. I thought I could jus’ come an’ set’ which shows how innocent Lennie is and in a way how lonely he is as he goes to investigate the possibility that he could converse with someone. It could also show that Lennie sees crooks as an equal unlike the other men on the ranch who merely see his colour. In this novella Steinbeck uses foreshadowing a great deal throughout the whole story. It appears everywhere, hinting on what will happen to different characters and the way the story will develop. It is used to show that Lennie will be getting in trouble with Curley’s wife, her death and also his death and the exact way in which he dies. The moment Curley’s wife is introduced an ill feeling overcomes the atmosphere signifying that Lennie will in fact be getting into some sort of mess involving her. George says at the very beginning ‘I seen ‘em poison before, but I never seen no piece of jail bait like her before. You leave her be’ is a quote from the novella which directly foreshadows Curley’s wifes death because by having George tell him to leave her alone, it’s obviously going to go the opposite way and something will end up bringing the pair together. Another thing that adds to the foreshadowing of her death is Lennie’s tendency to ‘get carried away’ with touching soft, silky and pretty things. Throughout the novella the victims of Lennie’s harmless ‘petting’ gradually get bigger, starting off with the girls dress in Weed, the mouse, progressing on to Curley’s hand and the puppy and finally ending with Curley’s herself. The skirt, mouse, puppy and Curley’s wife all link in with the need to touch ‘soft things’ and the same reaction even happen in each. Once they begin to panic or squirm Lennie reacts in a childlike way and doesn’t know what to do so he simply doesn’t let his hold of that object go. Excluding Curley’s hand which was purely down to animal and childish instinct, all the other incidents could connect to the idea that in Lennie’s naive mind, ‘soft and pretty’ things relate to the dream that he and George have and once the victims begin to struggle it instantly alerts Lennie that the dream is escaping him and he holds on in fear of letting go and loosing it. The foreshadowing of Lennie’s death occurs at different points throughout the novella. The shooting of candy’s dog being the main one. When Carlson is trying to persuade Candy into letting him shoot the dog he says ‘He ain’t no good to you, Candy. An’ he ain’t no good to himself. Wh’n’t you shoot him, Candy? ’ which is exactly how Lennie is viewed as a partner of George. Both the dog and Lennie are connected as they both in some way weigh down their ‘owner’ and aren’t really useful to them. Another thing which foreshadows his death is George’s constant reminders of how his life would be easier without him. ‘God you’re a lot of trouble, I could get along so easy and so nice if I didn’t have you on my tail. I could live so easy and maybe have a girl’ is a line which Steinbeck wrote to foreshadow what might happen in the end of the story as it is how George feels inside which he frequently tells Lennie at different points in the story. Lennie’s death, placed right at the end of the story, is no big surprise when it actually occurs. Beforehand Lennie and George are merely talking. Lennie is confused as to why George isn’t shouting at him and this particular bit shows how much George secretly does care for Lennie and wishes that this didn’t happen. ‘No Lennie, I ain’t mad. I never been mad an’ I ain’t now. That’s the thing I want ya to know. ’ is a line from George which symbolises that no matter what bad things Lennie has ever done, George only wants the best for him, even if that means killing him. Steinbeck uses the phrase ‘never been mad’ to show that George is feeling guilty about his reactions towards Lennies mistakes in the past and trying to make it right. Despite the fact he has already made the decision to end Lennie’s life George still finds it difficult to do so which is portrayed when Steinbeck wrote that ‘George raised the gun and his hand shook, and he dropped his hand to the ground again’. This quote lays emphasis on how challenging it is for George to follow through with his task. No matter how much of a dead weight Lennie is to him, they have still been together for a long while which adds to the fact George finds it so hard to kill him. The thing that played the most part in the decision George made to kill Lennie was Candy’s words, ‘I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn’t ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog. ’ because George understands that the death of Lennie is inevitable and is going to happen one way or another whether it be now or in the next town when he does something else wrong. Georges decision is reassured by Slim right at the end of the novella when he says ‘You hadda George, I swear you hadda’ because he understands the situation George is in and is trying to assure him that he made the right decision in killing Lennie. In conclusion, Lennie Small is a very complex character. The description of his character is very precise and so is his personality. Throughout this novella it is obvious that Lennie’s character is the one that undergoes the least amount of development. His childlike mentality and mind set prohibit any possible expansion of his character however Lennie's protection from George, devotion to him, and dreams of the farm make him the character that he is. His portrayal of innocence during the course of the novella is a key reason why readers feel so much sympathy for him, and is the main way in which he is represented all throughout Of Mice and Men.

Half Slave And Half Free By Bruce Levine - 2094 Words

One of the most, if not the most, controversial and heated debates following the United States independence was regarding the institution of slavery. In the introduction to his book Half Slave and Half Free, Bruce Levine quotes Carl Schurzs’ observation as the â€Å"slave question not being a mere occasional quarrel between two sections of the country divided by a geographic line, but a great struggle between two antagonistic systems of social organization (p.15)†. The Nouthern states that allowed slavery benefited from the agricultural labor that those slaves provided. The Northern states that prohibited slavery did so for moral and pragmatic reasons; they felt it was morally wrong to deny another human any form of rights, and did not like the economic advantage it gave to the Southern states. With the use of slavery largely concentrated in the South, the movement against it came from the North and was led by abolitionists; those who were committed to bringing an end t o the practice. In this course we have defined â€Å"Practice† as the conduct of policy, such as opinion, election, parties and law-making (Lecture). We define Policy as the goals of politics, those being sovereignty, defense, and a collective well-being (Lecture). The following analytical essay will examine antislavery sentiment and practices in the Northern states and the reaction of Southern states. Additionally how the pressures from both sides influenced the Policy of the United States following independence thenShow MoreRelatedHalf Slave And Half Free Essay1277 Words   |  6 Pages19 November 2015 Half Slave and Half Free Essay In the book, â€Å"Half Slave and Half Free† by Bruce Levine, Levine discusses the complex issues that arose during the Antebellum Era in America that fueled the eruption of the Civil War. 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