China doing business in Venezuela Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

China doing business in Venezuela - Essay Example government has not made an official announcement, America feels threatened as an influence within the region. Currently, America is the largest importer of oil from Venezuela, and China will be taking away from this amount. 2) U.S. consumers may benefit from with deal through an increase in Venezuelan oil production. As of right now, Venezuela produces about 3 billion barrels of oil each day (James 2011). With help from the Chinese loans, oil production is expected to increase to increase massively. This, in turn, will benefit U.S. consumers because the oil price should hopefully come down. With more oil on the market, prices will be driven down. The cost of gas to U.S. consumers should reduce considerably. However, the United States government needs to be careful that there are not any deals going on between the Venezuelan government and their Chinese counterparts. Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez has said, â€Å"We don’t do discounts with anyone†¦We sell at international prices (James 2011). If the U.S. wants to remain competitive in the oil market, then it should hope that this is true. Associated Press. (2011, Nov. 25) Venezuela’s Chavez defends China ties as officials sign deals for $6 billion in loans. The Washington Post. Retrieved from

Argumentative Research Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Argumentative Research Report - Essay Example One of the strong arguments for legalization of drugs stems from the inadmissibility of the continuation of the current state of affairs, when hundreds of thousands of people are arrested every year and kept behind bars for possession of illegal substances for personal usage, and not for sale (Inciardi, 2005, p.133). At the same time, realistically looking at things we have to confess that even under such a harsh regime there has not occurred a significant reduction in drugs use, and there seems to be no perspective for such reduction at all, because for many people drugs offer a much valued ability to escape from the unpleasant aspects of our reality. Thus, the measures of prosecution and compulsory rehabilitation of drugs addicts substitutes one evil for another as they only add to the unhappiness of people who depend on drugs by intensifying in them an atmosphere of psychological tension that may actually contribute to the drug-oriented behavior and addiction (Zimmer and Morgan, 2 001, p. 36). Moreover, the illegal status of drugs is the single greatest boon for the criminal narco-mafia, which has become a proper symbol of evil to be fought with, and which is in fact interested in the prevention of legalization of drugs. Considering the above-mentioned, we may infer on sound grounds that the current state of affairs regarding policies towards drugs abuse are often based on superficial understanding of the essence of the phenomenon they are aimed against, so they often lead to ineffective and even damaging consequences. In fact, experiments with prohibition are definitely well known for the United States, one has just to recollect the 18th Amendment that in 1919 outlawed the production and sale of alcoholic drinks. Needless to remind that criminal activity surged, and health of now illegal drinkers was threatened by illegal alcohol of dubious quality (Haynes and Harding 2004, pp. 262-278). Besides, efforts

Delivery of Customer Service Excellence within UK universities Essay Example for Free

Delivery of Customer Service Excellence within UK universities Essay There has been continuous increase in the number of people pursuing higher education. This has been contributed to by the changing society that requires one to continuously update and keep up with the education standards. As the demand of education increases, there is an increase in demand for higher education in the face of decreasing government funding (White, 2007, p.67). The decrease in government funding in many countries has resulted to self-sponsorship among most of the students. With the students, being self-sponsored there is need for amore market driven stress on focus on the customers’ needs and in this case, the students are the customers. As the number of students with the objective of going to universities increase so does the application of marketing in the field of higher education (Lomas, 2007, p.456). The marketing of university services has necessitated the change in the relationship of the students and the university to have a customer provider relation. The treatment of students as customers has been at an increase due to the increase in number of universities. The increase in number of universities increases competition-necessitating need for customer service among the universities to increase the number of student’s enrollment rate. To establish if the students are customers one has to determine the services provided by universities and the consumers of the products or services provided. According to Martinez (2013, p.56), education provision can be classified as a service, which can be separated into service delivery and service content. Whereby service, content cannot be negotiated with the students but service deliver is negotiable. Simple the content covered in the classrooms is not determined by the students but the way in which this content is delivered can be negotiable. The customers of the service provided by the universities are students. The service delivered in this case refers to the standard way in which education is applied or impacted on the students. The quality of service is determined by the standards applied in an institution, the equipment’s applied, technology, materials, instructor, and the timing in which this education takes place. The two types of service provided by the universities attract different consumers. The service content attracts customers that are external to the institution who include private and public employers and the society. The students are described as the service consumers since they are partners with the institutions and are the main consumers of the services provided by universities. Universities can also be described as service providers since it cannot be classified as service provider since they do not manufacture any of their final products instead they offers good that are not physically visible. Having classified the services provided by universities it could be established that there are several types of consumers of the universities products. The main customers are however, the students who are directly affected by the quality of services provided. Secondly, there are external consumers who are affected by the services provided in a secondary level. Having established students as consumers then universities should strive to always satisfy customer’s needs. In addition, universities should be improved by comparing them with the service provision industry, as an ever-increasing competition forces to do so. Trends in the universities also draw it closer to customer-oriented service industries. Students   want to be involved in the decision making process of the universities more than depending on the market forces, this qualifies   the students to be the customers since the articulation of their opinions increases or decreases the royalty and retention rate of the universities customers. In some countries like UK and Austral, universities senior management and government agencies insist on the need to consider students as the customers. This is evident in Oxford University where the satisfaction of the students is a paramount objective for the institution. This is justified by the fact that the marketing department of the university has students suggestion cites where they collect the needs and wants of the students. This opinion is however, not supported by the academic staff that states that recognition of students as customers decreases the quality of education since the needs of the students are not in all cases right like the expectation in businesses(Lomas, 2007, p.34). Governments all over the world and particularly the UK government have been seen to put in place mechanisms for assessing the quality of the services provided by universities. This assessment is meant to allow the government to identify areas that need improvement. The government also puts in place measures that drive up the quality of education and provide enough information about the universities that will help students determine on what institution is proper or the best among the many provided. Government makes reforms at universities to change the perception of universities into business –like organizations (Lomas, 2007, p.54). According to Pittman (p. 342), the relationship between the student and the universities are special unlike most of the service industries. The recognition of universities as service providers, in one way or another the market forces lead into the treatment of the institutions as businesses. The treatment of universities as businesses has been evident in the running of Cambridge university and other leading universities in the UK that engage in marketing strategies aimed at pleasing the students in the universities. This therefore includes the marketing strategies used by businesses. The business focus is the satisfaction or meeting customer needs and similarly universities should focus on meeting the students’ needs to survive in the market. Students attend universities with different objectives including, pursuit of their person interest, desire to gain qualifications, prepare for academic and research careers and preparation for the world of work. These needs are sufficiently provided by most of the universities however, the students choose the universities that provide these services with a more customer centric culture. The universities are now under pressure to make the students feel as the kings and at the same time not deteriorate their standards of their curriculums or standards. This calls for the universities to differentiate themselves and creating a customer oriented relation with the students to increase the enrollments and retention rate. Customer Relationship Management Theory Customer relationship management is an important aspect of any business. It is the process of obtaining, retaining an increase the market share, or customer base of a business. It includes the management of off-line and in-line relationships with consumers. Customer relationship management requires the running of business in a customer centric approach that considers the customers first. Universities have increased in number necessitating the need of marketing activities that differentiate each university and increase their competitive advantage. The ever-increasing competition levels have brought about changes in the dynamics of the education business particularly in the university level. The customers of universities have continuously been enlightened and choose the best among the universities. This has increased the need and importance of a customer centric culture that strives to understand the customer’s needs. Universities have understood the need to invest in new technologies to allow them to gain advantage in the competition by exploiting their brand value, customer base, and investments in infrastructure in order to increase the number of enrollments, as their direct link to the customer satisfaction and profitability (Martinez, 2013, p.56). Customer relationship management allows the universities to analyze their consumers at different levels to allow the detection of their needs, preferences, potential areas that require improvement and after this, the universities are able to establish or implement the necessary actions to achieve customer satisfaction. Universities engage in every year orientation for the students to display the facilities in the institutions. This is evident in Manchester University, Liverpool and Cambridge that allow the interested students to view the facilities and from their judgment choose a university that best suits their needs. Achievement of customer satisfaction is a core objective to many businesses as it increases the competitive advantage and thus increasing profitability of the organization. The increase in number of universities increases the bargaining power of the consumers who in this case are the students. Today students want to enroll in universities with better services, lower fees, good infrastructure, skilled tutors, and access to various services within an institution. This pressures the universities to look for new ways that are going to satisfy these needs and ways to keep the students and the rest of the customers satisfied before any other institution does (West, Ford, Ibrahim, 2010, pg.89). According to Bay, Darlenen, Daniel, Harold (p. 15), students are the purchasers of the service provides and therefore the customers of some of the campus services and the facilities, which are provided at a price. Students have to pay for the education provided at full price in order to benefit. The service provider determines the standards of the service though the services provided at aimed at satisfying the customers. This is similar with the universities who are expected to determine the needs of the customers but at the same time ensure that they satisfy the customer’s needs. Students can also be seen as clients of the campus facilities such as libraries, administrative services, and computer laboratories. Students could use these services as free of charge but since they are charged this makes the students the clients of the universities. These universities have a responsibility to the students Total Quality Management According to total quality, management customers are the people to whom an organization sells its services or products. This makes the students and in some cases the parents, private and public institution, and the government the customers of the universities. TQM model identifies students as stakeholders in educational decisions. They are however, not the only stakeholders and at times, the needs of the students come second to those of the society. Under the TQM, frame work the students create a market force under which the universities have to adopt to survive in the market (White Naomi, 2007, p. 600). The TQM model states that quality starts and ends with the customer, this is because of the increased competition in the market that has necessitated the focus on the customer to gain a competitive advantage. According to the concept, the satisfaction of internal customers leads to the satisfaction of the external customers and consequently every customer both the external and internal are satisfied. The theory states that several factors including, customer expectation, company operations, and the employees responsible for delivering the services to the customer bring about customer satisfaction. The creation of a customer centric culture is of great importance to an organization. This creates satisfaction among the consumers and the customers increasing their royalty and increases the retention rate of customers. Focus on customers increases the advertisement of a product by the word of mouth of the satisfied clients reducing the operation cost and increasing the number of consumers. Concentration on consumers is the best tactic or weapon against competitors since the customers are the final determinants in the existence of an organization (George David, 2007, p.970). Universities are businesses that should re-orient the services rendered so to keep the customers satisfied. In the past universities were not treated as businesses since there were countable universities and the number of students were minimal and there were no competition. Currently the market is flooded with universities, which increases the need of the perception of the customer as the king and always right. With the increased number of universities the buyers of universities services are fewer and this increases the need for quality services   which is dependent on the extent that   an university is able to meet and exceed the customers’ requirements (King, 2001, p.190). Total quality, management recognizes the student’s perception of quality change as they progress from one stage to another. This allows the institutions to continuously update their services to meet the customers’ needs and expectations in every level, Needs of the customers in universities consist of the minimum necessary human elements that must be rendered to retain the customers in this case the student. If the students’ needs are not met then they are likely to discontinue their education in one university and continue in another that meets its needs. Universities are defined to be successful if the student enrollment and retention rate is high compared to the rest in the market. Total quality, management programs are also seen to be successful if they facilitate customer retention and enrollment in universities. Needs and want satisfaction in universities is therefore structured towards the basics of performance, providing what the students want and what they are unable to survive without (White Naomi, 2007, p. 600). Ways in Which Expectations Can Be Managed and Service Excellence Achieved Universities can use different mechanisms to improve their service excellence. The first strategy on improving service excellence is the determination of the superior services they offer. The service must identify and target customers segments according to the type of services attributes that they must demand. Universities must identify group or students with similar expectations in terms of what aspects are associated with the excellence in service. The universities should continuously find the proper trade- off between inferior performance for one attribute with superior performance for another (Bay, Darlene, Daniel Harold, 2001, p.16), The customers themselves best understand their needs. Expectations can be managed if the service providers are able to understand the needs of the customers. In universities, the students are the main consumers of the services offered. Universities should identify the students’ needs by encouraging feedback on the services provided. This allows the meeting of their needs and consequently increasing the customer royalty and the enrollment rate. The second strategy is the employee management system that allows ensures that the employees treat the customers are content. Universities should ensure that their employees meet the needs of the customers and have a customer centric culture. In the case of universities the academic personnel should ensure the student’s needs are met and also that the services rendered are of quality (Lomas Laurie, 2007, p.35) The third element is benchmarking the service provided and the services provided by other universities. This allows the universities to identify the areas that need improving and the areas that are outstanding. This allows the universities to merge or close up the gap between them and their competitors. Benchmarking also gives new ideas of products or the services that the competitors are offering. This increases the products offered and the quality of service (West, Ford, Ibrahim, 2010, pg.89). The fourth element is continuous improvement of the services and products offered by institutions. The continuous improvement of services reduces the chances of products becoming obsolete. University students needs keep changing with periods, change in equipment infrastructure, and the time. This necessitates the universities to update their services continuously so at to increase customer satisfaction and maintain customer royalty. The last step is being of conscious of bad service delivery. Looking at the past bad experiences allows and institutions to learn what are being done wrong. Continuous review of past mistakes allow the correction of the poor standard services previously provided and introduction of new services that meet the customers need. The last is the implementation of technology to improve customer satisfaction and in meeting the customer needs. The increased perception of students as customers has increased the enrollment in most universities. This is because of the students feeling that their needs are catered for. This has been evident with the increased enrollments in the oxford university. Conclusion The focus on customers is a core objective for any business. Universities are classified as service delivery business with the students being the major customers. The identification of the customer needs is a relevant and important factor in the satisfaction of customer needs. In universities and higher education institutions students are classified as customers since they are the purchasers of the services provided by the institutions. Universities are obliged to provide quality services to the students. There has been increased number of universities with time, which has increased the competition among the universities to gain competitive advantage. The increased competition has necessitated the need for a customer centric culture to gain more customers. References Bay, D.   Daniel, H. 2001. â€Å"The Student Is Not the Customer-An Alternative Perspective†, Journal of Marketing for Higher Education Vol.11, No. 1, pp.1-19 Biswas, S. 2011. Relationship marketing: concepts, theories and cases. New Dehli, India, PHI Learning. George, D. 2007. â€Å"Market Overreach: The Student As Customer†, The Journal of Socio-Economics, Vol.36, pp.965-977 HErnon, P., Whitman, J. R. 2000. Delivering satisfaction and service quality: a customer-based approach for libraries. Chicago, American Library Association. Hess, E. D. 2011. Growing an entrepreneurial business: concepts and cases. Stanford, California, Stanford Business Books. King, S.P. 2001. â€Å"The Funding of Higher Education in Australia: Overview and Alternatives†, The Australian Economic Review, Vol.34, No.2, pp.190-194 Lomas, L. 2007. â€Å"Are Students Customers? Perceptions of Academic Staff†, Quality in Higher Education, Vol.13, No.1, April, pp.32-43 Martinez, M. 2013. Creating a service culture in higher education administration. West, D. C., Ford, J. B., Ibrahim, E. 2010. Strategic marketing: creating competitive advantage. Oxford, Oxford University Press. White, N, R. 2007. â€Å"The Customer Is Always Right? Student Discourse About Higher Education In Australia†, High Education, Vol.54, pp.593-604.

Paper :: essays papers

Paper The value of music education in society has been a significant subject since the time of Plato. Plato wrote about music education in his famous work the Republic: †¦Education in music is most sovereign, because more than anything else rhythm and harmony find their way to the inmost soul and take strongest hold upon it, bringing with them and imparting grace, if one is rightly trained, and otherwise the contrary. And further, because omissions and the failure of beauty in things badly made or grown would be most quickly perceived by one who was properly educated in music, and so, feeling distaste rightly, he would praise beautiful things and take delight in them and receive them into his soul to foster its growth and become himself beautiful and good. (Mark, 2002, p.6) Music education is in danger of being lost to the new generations attending school. It is too important to be cast aside, and technology can be used to aid in the fight to save music education. Importance of Education The importance of music education can be seen by examining numerous scholarly articles. The National Association for Music Education (MENC) believes that music education will help children to grow and perform well in society, school, life, and increasing their intellect (MENC, 2002). According to the American Arts Alliance Fact Sheet from October of 1996, music helps in society because it will â€Å"create jobs, increase the local tax base, boost tourism, spur growth in related businesses and improve the overall quality of life for our cities and towns† (MENC, 2002). Music education helps improve test scores in school; the College-Bound Seniors National Report stated that students who took classes in performing music scored 57 points more on the verbal section of the SATs and 41 points more on the math. Music education increases the intellect of students. Instruction in music is better than instruction in computer literacy because it increases the ability for children to learn reasoning skills (MENC, 2002). Another article called â€Å"Music Makes You Smarter† discusses â€Å"an important link between musical training and other cognitive abilities, particularly spatial abilities – the abstract reasoning that is used for understanding relationships between objects such as, for example, when calculating a proportion or playing chess† (Rausher, 1997). Music education is very important because it challenges students to think ahead such as when reading lines of music before playing them (Rausher, 1997).

Profit Maximization and Baumol Model

Managerial Economics August 15, 2007 The key points underpinning the economics of a profit maximizing firm Neoclassical model of the firm states that organization will have the main objective of maximizing its profit within a given period of time. Maximum profit was achieved at the output at which marginal cost is equal marginal revenue. There are several factors which need to be considered when talking about the profit maximizing firm: 1. The assumption of the profit maximizing firm is that there is no segregation between managers and owners of the firm. Owners economically depended on their firms and therefore tried to make the biggest profit from their businesses. The effectiveness of their firm was measured by the profit declared. In the real world the ownership of the firm (especially for the larger firms) is different from the management. Managers become responsible for all day-to-day operations as well as finance objectives. Those can be different for management and for the owners. Managers tend to satisfy their own well being rather then acting on the best interests of the owners. Shareholders would like to see the increasing value of the stock from year to year. The separation of ownership from control lead to less power of shareholders over the manager’s behavior as well as less awareness of how efficient the decisions are made. 2. Profit maximizing firm assumes the horizontal marginal revenue curve and U shape marginal cost curve. This means that the market conditions are always ideal, not very competitive and the revenue cost declines as a result of discounts made to encourage the customers to purchase the products. In reality it is difficult to accurately measure the cost and revenue within organization and therefore difficult to determine the optimal, profit maximizing level. There are a lot of constraints and conditions which need to be evaluated at any given period of time to determine the cost and revenue curves. Rapidly changing conditions will make it difficult and sometimes impossible to make the accurate measurements. 3. Another assumption is that the organization short-term objectives are the same as its long term objectives leading to profit maximization. In reality, as in long term objective may be to maximize the firm stock value and increase the shareholders profit, the short term objective may be to keep investing in a firm to establish a better position for the future. Other constraints like social responsibility of the firm, imperfect or changing market conditions, demand versus supply curves etc. will affect the objectives of the firm. 4. One of the assumptions of the neoclassical model is that the organizations have a perfect knowledge of the operating conditions. It is recognized in the modern firm that they operate under the uncertainty level, which, however can be reduced by increasing the knowledge for market, competition and environment. With these factors the conclusion is that the profit maximization cannot be the sole objective of a firm. The factors need to be taken into consideration to determine the optimum firm strategy and firm objectives. Critical evaluation of Baumol management model. Baumol model is a sales revenue maximization model. Baumol model is the alternative to the profit maximization model. The main idea of Baumol model is that the objective of a firm is the sales revenue-maximization rather then profit maximization. The most important points supporting Baumol model are: – The is recognition of separation between firm ownership and management. Managers have discretion to pursue personal goals to maximize their own utility. Therefore a minimum profit constraint on management is set up by shareholders to address shareholders concerns and interests. – Manager’s more focuses on their own tangible benefits rather then on profit maximization for the company. Salary increases are likely related to the level of sales rather then organization level of profit. – Investors interest in the level of sales and trend of sales rather then level of profit. Growing sales tend to give better picture of company potential and therefore attract refinancing. – Rising level of sales recognizes organization’s success and therefore leads to good human relations within the organization. – Direct relation between market share and the level of sales means that the organization is raising its position on the market if its sales level increases. In other words the market share of the firm goes up. In Baumol model there is an assumption is that the organization using the Baumol model is operating in an oligopolistic market with no true competition. Baumol thinks that it will take longer for the large organizations, which most likely to be competitors, to arrive to the decision making and decision implementation point due to the competition within the oligopolistic market. However it is also said that within the market there is collision between organizations just to maintain an agreed position where everyone can have their share of the market. This is certainly an assumption which cannot be applied to every kind of markets. There are two models of sales revenue-maximization which both work under above assumption: the static model and the dynamic model. Static model is a single period model for organization assuming that no competition with other companies exist. In static model a minimum profit constraint is imposed by shareholders regardless of the sales and other conditions of the organization to protect their interests. The excess of maximum profit level over the minimum profit level constraint is the measure of managerial discretion. There is also an assumption of the U-shaped cost and ? -shape for revenue curves. By looking at the Baumol’s static sales revenue-maximization model chart we can see that the quantity produced by the sales revenue maximizer will be the quantity which satisfies the minimum profit constraint and yet allows the greatest level of sales (quantity) to be achieved. The sales revenue maximizer will earn a lower profit, but produce a greater quantity then the profit maximizer. Therefore the sales revenue maximizer will better capture the market share then the profit maimiser. However in the static model Baumol does not analyze the relationship between price, advertising, total cost and quantity of the produced output. When talking about advertising cost Baumol suggests that the advertising expenditures are constantly grow as a straight line and that the sales revenue increases as increases the advertisement cost. In the real world advertisements are made from time to time depending on the organization’s marketing studies. Sales revenue also depends on many factors like market conditions, managerial talent and knowledge, firm pricing strategy, quantity produced, total operating cost etc. In Baumol model we see no attempts to take these factors into consideration. In its dynamic model where the idea is that over the lifetime organization will continue to gain the sales revenue and reinvest the profit into the future organization growth. At a certain point of growth, however, the growth potential will decrease and the level of sales will go down. Even though Baumol raised a point of uncertainty, he failed to place the time within his model and therefore limited the options of explaining the firm behavior. Baumol model shows that the sales revenue maximizer will produce more output then the profit maximizer. The profit level is also more stable in the Baumol model then in traditional profit-maximizing model. The sales maximizing firm will also have a lower price then the profit maximizing firm. Low cost airline example. Let’s take an example of the low-cost airline to outline the points of Baumol model. At a glance it may seem that a logical step to maximize the airline profit in order to reinvest more money into the new flights and expand the company. But it may not be profitable for an airline in a long run as the customers may loose the loyalty to an â€Å"always low price† airline because of their quality of service or inconveniencies caused during travel. Actions like flying from the lower cost airports away from the major hubs; reducing the number of flight attendants per flight; introducing a cheaper meals or no meals at all, offering meals at a separate price; cut on entertainments on board; overbooking of the flights to make sure the flight is always full; buy cheaper older aircrafts, improve maintenance procedures to reduce the cost would lead to short term profit maximization. On a long run the airline may start loosing customers due to the poor services and inconvenience caused. For example, flying from a low cost airport may result in additional cost for the passengers trying to reach that airport or having a connecting flights from other airports. Significant number of luggage lost would also lead to loosing the customers. Overbooking the flights may cause many passengers not being able to fly at the desired time and therefore loose the loyalty for the airline. Cutting cost on airline maintenance may jeopardize safety procedures and result in catastrophe. American Airlines Flight 191, a McDonnell-Douglas DC-10 aircraft crashed on May 25,1979 after taking off from Chicago airport. Investigation showed that it was a result of an improved maintenance procedure imposed by American Airline and saving then over $200 000 a year. For a low cost airline it is vital to fulfill the flight capacity and sell as much tickets as possible because the flights the cost of flying would remain the same whether the plain is flying full or not. This means that the main objective of the low-cost airline is to maximize their level of tickets sold. The actions like: – reducing inefficiency across the board of the airline, putting innovative and creative business concepts, promoting the teamwork, empowering the employees to encourage their personal involvement in day-to-day customer service improvement – monitoring the airline market, dynamically determined ticket price per seat, studying customers needs – introducing new routs to popular destinations, organizing convenient connecting flights – have faster connectivity time, faster turnarounds point-to-point flights rather then flying through major hubs, using less congested airports – internet booking, e-tickets – no pre-assigned seat numbers etc. maybe more appropriate for helping to have a low cost operation yet with the high quality standards. The price of the ticket should be determined dynamically (hopefully by specialized software) based on customers demand and supply on a particular route at a particular time. Ideally the ticket price should be the highest with maximum filling of flight capacity. For example, early booking price may be lower and raised towards filling the flight capacity. Therefore sales maximizing model fits better for the low cost airlines and gives them more chances to succeed in the market. References: Mark Cook, Corri Farguharson (1998) â€Å"Business Economics†, Pearson Education Limited Patrick McNutt (2007) â€Å"Study Guide Unit 1. Management Objectives and Stakeholder Value†, Business & Management Education Limited, UK

Economic impact of genetically modified foods Essay

Genetic engineering has resulted to the production of genetically modified foods. It entails altering the genetic make up of plants using a set of technologies. Genes are combined from different organisms through recombinant DNA technology. Genetic engineering results to enhanced food tastes and quality. It reduces the time for maturation and can be used to increase nutrients and yields of crops. Again the crops produced are stress tolerant and they are resistant to disease and pests and herbicides. Genes are taken from one species and inserted into another to produce quality products. Genetically modified foods were first established in the 1990s with most products being Soya, cottonseed and wheat. The process could involve taking DNA from favorable organisms and inserting in a plant or crop. Biotechnology can be used to solve difficult crop production challenges where the farmers using it do not have to worry about the quality of their products. The technique is environmentally friendly and hence poses no threat to the surrounding. It does not involve emission of pollutants to the atmosphere. Farmers using biotechnology in their crop production increase their incomes and acquire economic, environmental and social benefits. (Giannakas K & Yiannanaka, 90) Although some people fear consuming genetically modified crops extensive research has been done on them to ensure that they pose no health risk to consumers. They are similar to those produced using traditional methods of breeding. Prominent scientists have also cleared the concerns that GM would be a risk to the environment. To them GM is a safe way of improving agriculture. International organizations also support this viewpoint for instance Food and Agriculture Organization (F. A. O) of the United Nations and the European Commission. Therefore people should not fear consuming GM foods as they are safe. Land is a fixed resource which can only be modified by increasing its utility. Measures ought to be taken to ensure that idle land is put to effective use. However care should be taken to ensure that harmful effects do not occur to the environment. For instance cutting trees to plant GM crops would have negative effects on the climate. Trees control the levels of carbon dioxide and consequently global warming. Population on the other hand grows at higher rates and concerns that food shortages would arise, led to the introduction of biotechnology. Through genetic modification of crops the problems of land shortages or water resources can be well contained. Smaller areas of land can be used to produce large outputs. Genetically modified foods can help farmers produce more food products which is healthy and with fewer resources. Continued research by bio-technicians is done to ensure production meets the consumer’s specific demands. It can establish plants that are drought resistant and hence can survive hostile conditions. Genetically Modified crops can increase the incomes of countries tremendously. Developing countries can adopt GM technology as it will increase the GDP Gross Domestic Product. This income can be used to improve the infrastructure facilities in the less developed countries and this would see them embrace economic growth and development. Investment in improving the transportation network would improve the basis for other industries which can now easily transport their raw materials and finished goods to appropriate destinations. (Carpenter J & Gianessi L, 67) Trade will be promoted by using GM products. Most developing countries do not have a diversified economy and they over rely on agriculture. Agriculture is a critical industry which is affected by climatic changes, pesticides and other factors like invasion by animals. With Genetic Modification one is guaranteed of quality products. Developing countries use their agricultural products to earn foreign exchange through external trading processes like exports. Problems faced by farmers are rejection of their products by foreign consumers on the basis of poor quality. GM products are enhanced to ensure that they are of high quality and consequently will not be rejected. GM products require less use of pesticides as they are not very prone to such use. This further reduces the cost of production on farmers who will not have to buy pesticides. A reduction of costs is an economic gain to farmers. Such costs would reduce the profits that farmers could have got. Extensive use of Genetically Modified soyabeans increases their contribution to reduce pesticide application. Farmers can decrease the need for tillage which can cause reduction in soil erosion and thus reduce the water treatment costs that consumers incur annually. (Giannakas K & Yiannanaka, 85) GM crop production has led to the growth of the food industry to very high levels. The demand can be categorized into consumer levels, retailing level and food processors. Using Genetically Modified products is a safe way of enhancing people’s way of life substantially by improving their health care and their environment. It supplements the traditional cross breeding methods and hence is not a new venture. It is just a modification. Poverty in developing countries can be eliminated with the use of GM. Since most of Less Developed countries have not embraced technological advancement in the agricultural industry they rely on natural processes in their production. Natural processes pose a great threat as fluctuations are bound to occur affecting the quality and quantity of products produced. GM would see such farmers at better positions to handle the impact of natural calamities of crop production in terms of quantity and quality. Hunger would be a thing of the past if GM was completely embraced. With increased crop yields the poverty levels of people in developing countries would be eliminated. They would trade the surplus both internally and externally to earn incomes which they can use to raise their living standards. With abundant food production health related problems can be solved and this further reduces the costs that would have been incurred seeking health facilities. Use of GM would ensure that there is a sustainable agricultural system. Its use in cotton production for instance in India where the greatest challenge to cotton production is insect and pest invasion can be beneficial. Implementation of GM cotton production increased the production rates to unprecedented rates. The prior losses caused by reduced quantity due to insects and pests became a thing of the past. The GM product is more resistant to the pest and can cause a reduction of pesticides by higher levels while increasing the yields to approximately 80%. This translates to savings on insecticides. Other factors held constant of prices of GM cotton were relatively the same with those of non GM then there would be increased revenues earned. Sustainable agriculture is the key to food security. Population levels are projected to the distribution of resources among nations affect the way the market forces operate. Unequal distribution of resources precipitates variations of needs between the rich and the poor. Since the poor lack resources to advance in technology so that they can shift from agricultural production to industry. Adoption of the genetically modified crops would increase the production of crop yields. Food shortages in the developing countries affect the developed countries who feel the responsibility of assisting them through donations. Bio-technological aspects are driven by the need to solve issues that are critical in the society. Development of a GM rice project would work to help reduce the rates of blindness caused by deficiencies in vitamin A. Again crops that provide other important nutrients like iron can be GM controlled. Provision of foods with effective nutrients can help improve the health standards of people. With a decrease in the demand for pesticides the firms that produce them would face stiff competition which would see their prices reduced. This will be a negative impact to pesticide producing companies. They may be forced to lay off some of their employees and at extreme situations they may close down. GM food has great potential to provide health to humans especially in developing countries. For instance use of GM banana to prevent the some diseases like hepatitis B virus. Invention of genetically modified crops that can be used for medicinal purposes would be a positive advancement. Adjusting the crop to enable it accommodate important chemicals would reduce the costs of offering medical care. Quality and better products are produced using GM and these products can survive under a wide range of climate. This would ensure more production of such goods which can be used for consumption as well as for exports and local markets. GM products are more attractive to consumers since they have been modified to suit different needs. More preference would mean higher sales when goods are placed in the markets and consequently more incomes. (Carter A. nd Guillaume G, 20) Growing GM crops without use of spray chemicals makes the crop easier for farmers to grow at reduced costs. The indirect costs would be reduced for instance the cost of labour used in spraying the pesticides as well as the environmental hazards created. Other benefits of using GM are that it is possible to enhance the quality of crops by emphasizing on the positive ones while removing the undesirable qualities. Using genetic technology is faster than using conventional breeding. Water use is also effectively reduced when pesticides are not used. GM reduces the work that would have been done if it was considered. (Carpenter J & Gianessi L, 70) Genetic engineering instills fear in people but such fears are uncalled for as they are based on prejudice and exaggerations. It has seen many people rise from poverty to grace. GM cultivation is among the most economically viable form of farming. It has led to the reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases which are responsible for global warming. This is due to the fact that the pesticides use is minimal. Production of fertilizers emits hazardous gases like nitric acid which cause the greenhouse effects. Farmers using GM crops in developing countries can afford to educate their children as well as provide for their families. Educating children especially in the developing countries is a step to breaking the vicious cycle of poverty. This is because with the investment in education overeliance in agriculture would be reduced. With GM, crops can be made to grow at shorter periods with increased desirable qualities. Drought resistant crops can be use to alleviate the famine problems in developing countries. With shorter spans of maturity crops can be used for commercial purposes earning farmers incomes. GM products can be enhanced to stay fresh for longer to allow for effective transportation. This can be done to flowers and fruits which are quite perishable. The costs of preservation can be reduced as it would not be required with the same intensity it could have been, had GM production not been considered. Again, wastage is reduced when ‘fresh’ periods are prolonged. Production of GM products can be cheaper due to the fact that they can be made firm hence consist lesser amount of water and require less amount of water when harvesting and consequently less energy in processing them to other products. For instance, tomato puree in Britain. Less energy in production caused lesser costs to the producers who charged lower prices to consumers. GM Soya helps save costs of using herbicides as weeds are controlled. (Falck-Zepeda et al, 2) Critics raise concerns that since pollen grains of GM can easily be carried to other plants through insects or wind, eventually all crops will be genetically modified. To them this will be a disastrous effect. Countries which could have greatly gained from GM, have not embraced the idea. Some, especially from the developing countries, were quick to note that GM did not help their farmers. Contamination is therefore bound to occur where GM soyabean pollen grains may be contaminated with GM maize pollens. Concerns are however raised that the profits are the main reasons for advocating for GM. Companies that engage in expensive and extensive research do so with their own vested interests of earning more income. It is argued that the motive behind their implementation is to make money and the argument placed before that GM was to help solve the food shortages. Extensive research ought to be carried out to establish the actual impact of GM so that consumers are well aware of the products they consume. Crop losses that are incurred when pests invade crops are minimized using GM because it ensures reduced insects and pests. This translates to higher revenues acquired, as there are less financial losses. Consumers are attracted to such products, as they are not linked with exposure to chemicals from pesticides. Some people shy away from crops exposed to pesticides for health reasons and they would have an option if GM crops were embraced. Another advantage of GM is that it is herbicide tolerant. Naturally it may be harder or difficult to remove weeds through tilling in some farms precipitating the need to use herbicides to control the weeds. Tilling is a time consumingactivity as well as expensive. When spraying such herbicides, care must be taken, as it would affect the entire group. All crops might be destroyed or they could be negatively affected when spraying the herbicides. GM products are not affected by the herbicides and hence their production will be better placed. They are also resistant to some disease causing organisms like fungi, bacteria and viruses. Ensuring that the plants are disease resistant will ensure the plants survival. (Falck-Zepeda et al, 2) Genetically Modified products can be made cold tolerant so that genes from a cold water fish can be used to produce crops that are more tolerant to cold temperatures. With the rise in population and fixed land for cultivation, there is need to utilize the drought stricken areas to increase their utility. GM crops are more drought resistant so that crop production is increased and it will be a step forward in ensuring that food security was attained. Land that was formerly inhabitable due to salinity or drought can be reclaimed. ( IFT, 45) The malnutrition problem in third world countries that is responsible for childhood deaths can be reduced with utilization of GM products that are enriched with appropriate vitamins. Since people in developing countries rely on the staple foods, which are mostly starch, they lack the necessary nutrients to fight malnutrition. Malnourished children are not able to successfully pursue their education and are therefore a problem to the whole country. If the developing countries suffering from this problem can embrace the Genetically Modified rice or other products that have such nutrients, their economy would grow eventually. ‘A healthy nation is wealthy nation. ’ Sicknesses associated with lack of appropriate nutrients require finances for treatment and such costs can be reduced. (Domingo L, 1749) Other concerns raised against GM production are fears that the cost of the GM products may rise uncontrollably especially if the genetic engineering firms who have invested a lot in research were to be given patent rights. They could only exist to perpetuate inequalities between the rich who could easily afford them and the poor who lack the means to attain them. Governments of respective countries ought to be keen in establishing the regulations governing the effects and approval of new GM varieties in their countries. However the tests done to verify the impacts of GM crops are run by governments but they are conducted by the GM companies themselves. The results could therefore be interfered with to give false information depending on vested interests. Gene modification is a complex activity that could cause allergies to people as they entail induction of proteins and new genes. Again the genes may be incompatible resulting to absurd effects and this raises concerns that the toxic effects could arise with the interruption of the native genetic structure. GM crops are resistant to antibiotics and there are worries that this would eventually be transferred to human beings thus affecting their health. Since GM crops are pest resistant they may lead to the extinction of some species. Chemical based farming affects wildlife especially in the farms. Birds and insects that influence the natural arable processes in the farm could have their existence affected if weeds are completely eliminated. Critics of GM foods argue that genetic engineering is not the solution to the food related problems especially in developing countries. Most people are not malnourished because of food shortages but because of its inaccessibility. Unequal distribution of resources is the main reason why some people cannot afford necessities like food. Governments of respective countries should handle the inequality issue in their country.

Peat Market Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends And Forecast, 2013 2019 Essays

Peat Market Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends And Forecast, 2013 2019 Essays Peat Market Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends And Forecast, 2013 2019 Essay Peat Market Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends And Forecast, 2013 2019 Essay Peat Market Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends And Forecast, 2013 2019 Peat, also known as turf, is an accumulation of organic matter or decayed vegetation that is found in natural areas such as mires or peatlands. Soils that contain significant amount of peat are referred to as a histosol. It is generally formed in wetland temperatures, where flooding slows down the rates of decomposition by obstructing the flow of oxygen from the atmosphere. Peat is harvested as a vital source of fuel in different regions of the world. Different types of peat materials such as sapric, hemic and fibric are majorly consumed in agriculture, freshwater aquaria, water filtration, and generating electricity. Visit Complete Report Here: marketresearchreports.biz/analysis-details/peat-market-global-industry-analysis-size-share-growth-trends-and-forecast-2013-2019 The global market for peat has been witnessing noticeable growing owing to its reputation as a renew able source of energy, where the extraction rate has exceeded its slow re-growth rate in industrialized countries. Due to this, peat has been gaining significant importance in the fuel industry following which the UNFCCC, and other organizations affiliated with the UN have classified peat as important source of fuel. Growing demand for electricity generation on account of growing population has been one of the major factors driving the peat market. Growing industries of alcoholic beverages, water treatment and horticulture are also anticipated to contribute to the growth of the market. However, owing to its classification as a â€Å"slow renewable fuel† by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and many other manufacturers, peat industry is expected to experience a slowdown in the next few years. Increasing popularity for bio-fuels and focus on development of bio-based peat products are expected to provide new opportunities for the growth of the market. North Am erica and