The Problem of Monopolies

Monopolies develop according to the definite monopoly market structure which is discussed by economists as opposite to the competitive market because only one seller controls the industry.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Problem of Monopolies specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More A company can be described as a pure monopoly when it is a single seller of certain products or services within the market, when it is a price maker, the barriers to entry are high, and there are no close substitutes for products. The development of a monopoly within the industry creates conditions which can characterize the imperfect competition based on the absence of the other sellers. Moreover, the lack of the substitutes is observed, and the company becomes a monopoly within the market (McConnell, Brue, Flynn, 2012). Microsoft is the leading producer of operating systems for personal computers and different types of software in the USA. This leading position is often discussed as an attempt to receive the status of a monopoly within the market in order to gain the high economic profits typical for monopolies oriented to innovations. The recent situation in the market of the computer software is rather controversial. It can be explained basing on the idea that Microsoft tried to gain the market power several years ago. Microsoft took the leading position within the industry in the 1990s when the most successful variants of the Windows operating system for personal computers were worked out. Moreover, the company presented the effective applications software, and the majority of the personal computers’ users began to utilize the Windows operating system. Microsoft Office and Outlook also became popular with the users due to the fact the possible alternatives could not be discussed as the appropriate substitutes for the products and services provided by Microsoft. For instance, the operating system Microso ft Windows 95 was effectively utilized by over than 80% users in the USA because their computers were Intel based (Bittlingmayer Hazlett, 2000). Thus, the situation was discussed by the government as critical because of Microsoft’s possibility to develop into the monopoly with maintaining the control over the market. Microsoft had to change strategies of presenting the products and attracting the buyers after the investigations conducted in 1994 and 1997 in order to address the government’s requirements. The advantages of Microsoft are in the fact the company regularly presents the technologically innovative products which have no substitutes within the market because of their high quality and originality. From this point, Microsoft’s strategy is based on the active usage of the technological development’s results.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Moreover, the company is regulated with references to the effective strategic marketing techniques in order to attract more customers (Bittlingmayer Hazlett, 2000). According to these points, Microsoft supports its leading position and contributes to developing the controversial question of monopolization of the market. Thus, the leading position of Microsoft depends on the high standards and quality of the products. The market occupied by the company is so expanded that there are significant barriers to entry which are the company’s ownership, peculiarities of pricing, and legal aspects. As a result, customers have no access to any relevant alternative products (McConnell, Brue, Flynn, 2012). Today, the activity of Microsoft in developing the operating systems should be discussed with references to such competitors as the producers of iOS for Apple and Linux Operating System. Limiting the possibilities for the competitors’ entries into the market, monopolies contro l the industry and develop monopoly pricing, maximizing the profits. Moreover, these processes are associated with the factor of a downward sloping demand curve which is typical for monopolies. From this point, monopolies are not discussed by economists as the effective way for a company to develop within the industry (Kahn, 1999; Krugman Wells, 2009). Nevertheless, not all the monopolies are bad. For instance, a natural monopoly does not influence the progress of the market negatively because it depends on the system of the fixed costs. Moreover, not all the monopolies are bad because of the definite support provided by the government. That is why, government monopolies can be discussed as good monopolies or legal monopolies. However, the government can regulate and control not many monopolies. The U.S. Postal Service is the legal monopoly developed in the country because the activity of the company is controlled by the government, and the specific functions can be realized only b y the U.S. Postal Service (Krugman Wells, 2009). It is possible to conclude that monopolies challenge the principle of the perfect competition and can be discussed as the negative factor for the industry and market’s development. Nevertheless, such types of monopolies as natural monopolies based on the large economies of scale and constant marginal costs which can be less than average ones and legal monopolies which are characterized by the government’s control should not be discussed as absolutely negative structures because they develop according to the specific principles. Economists agree that the main disadvantages of monopolies are associated with the characteristics of pure monopolies when only one company is a seller within the market with the possibilities to control it and provide the barriers to entry. Furthermore, the monopoly market structure provokes the growth of prices which are often higher than the prices within the competitive markets.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Problem of Monopolies specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More References Bittlingmayer, G., Hazlett, T. W. (2000). DOS Kapital: Has antitrust action against Microsoft created value in the computer industry? Journal of Financial Economics, 55, 329-359. Kahn, A. E. (1999). The economics of regulation: Principles and institutions. USA: The MIT Press. Krugman, P., Wells, R. (2009). Economics. USA: Worth Publishers. McConnell, C. R., Brue, S. L., Flynn, S. M. (2012). Economics. USA: McGraw-Hill. This essay on The Problem of Monopolies was written and submitted by user Charlee Knox 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.

A Review of Software Tools for Quantitative Data Analysis

A Review of Software Tools for Quantitative Data Analysis If youre a   sociology student or budding social scientist and have started to work with quantitative (statistical) data, analytic software will be very useful to you. These programs force researchers to organize and clean her data and offer pre-programmed commands that allow everything from very basic to quite advanced forms of statistical analysis. They even offer useful visualizations that will be useful as you seek to interpret your data, and that you may wish to use when presenting it to others. There are many programs on the market, but unfortunately, they are quite expensive to purchase. The good news for students and faculty is that most universities have licenses for at least one program which students and professors can use. In addition, most programs offer a free, pared-down version of the full software package which will often suffice. Heres a review of the three main programs that quantitative social scientists use. Statistical Package forSocial Science (SPSS) SPSS is the most popular quantitative analysis software program used by social scientists. Made and sold by IBM, it is comprehensive, flexible, and can be used with almost any type of data file. However, its especially useful for analyzing large-scale survey data. It can be used to generate tabulated reports, charts, and plots of distributions and trends, as well as generate descriptive statistics such as means, medians, modes and frequencies in addition to more complex statistical analyses like regression models. SPSS provides a user interface that makes it easy and intuitive for all levels of users. With menus and dialogue boxes, you can perform analyses without having to write command syntax, like in other programs. It is also simple and easy to enter and edit data directly into the program. There are a few drawbacks, however, which might not make it the best program for some researchers. For example, there is a limit on the number of cases you can analyze. It is also difficult to account for weights, strata and group effects with SPSS. STATA STATA is an interactive data analysis program that runs on a variety of platforms. It can be used for both simple and complex statistical analyses. STATA uses a point-and-click interface as well as command syntax, which makes it easy to use. STATA also make it simple to generate graphs and plots of data and results. Analysis in STATA is centered around four windows: the command window, review window, result window and variable window. Analysis commands are entered into the command window and the review window records those commands. The variables window lists the variables that are available in the current data set along with the variable labels, and the results appear in the results window. SAS SAS, short for Statistical Analysis System, is also used by many businesses; in addition to statistical analysis, it also allows programmers to perform report writing, graphics, business planning, forecasting, quality improvement, project management and more. SAS is a great program for the intermediate and advanced user because it is very powerful; it can be used with extremely large datasets and can perform complex and advanced analyses. SAS is good for analyses that require you to take into account weights, strata or groups. Unlike SPSS and STATA, SAS is run largely by programming syntax rather than point-and-click menus, so some knowledge of the programming language is required.

How do external definitions of good and bad mothers and fathers impact Essay

How do external definitions of good and bad mothers and fathers impact on the actual experience of parenthood - Essay Example Also, good and bad have been defined by the respective culture and identity of mother and father rests in the context of their society. However, actual experience moves beyond these stereotypes. Kath Woodward (2002) in her book on Understanding Identity brings up the conflict between self identity and the society created images of the self and the ideal. Though identity is a matter of the individual, it is never free of social stigma and external definitions. She redefines ‘identity’ to encapsulate â€Å"the way of thinking about the links between the personal and the social† (2002). This psycho-social definition of identity offers another perspective of the stereotyping of mothers and fathers Vs actual experience of parenting. She discusses on the relative nature of the reality of parenting. The latter might be the identity they create for themselves, but however hard they strive, the identity cannot be free of the social context and definitions. Kath’s sociological definition of identity is not new, but could be traced back to Adam Smith’s Wealth of the Nations. The concept of individualized self is a modern invention, though. Kath, in th e modern context, reinvents the older concept. Kath also analyses the identity of motherhood with respect to the bodies and selves. She says that the first thing a woman could relate to in her role as a mother is her body. This could be symbols and evidence of patriarchal control of female body. However, the child evokes tenderness in her as against the anger toward the male body. This conflict is discussed by Rich. Any role is not subjective and is always relative to the others involved. For example, parent is relative to the child and the vice versa; the role of the teacher is relative to the role of the student. So roles are modified and moulded according to their relative positions and the feedback from the related roles. In addition, it is dependent on the expectations

Sterling Financial Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sterling Financial Study - Essay Example Bill Border's managerial experience has gotten off to a rocky start. Having only three months previous work as an area manager for Sterling was not really enough experience to the thrust in a position without time for adjustment, and with his closest help, Mary Gross-district manager, being 100 kilometers away. Bill has also come into the position at a time when a depressed economy was limiting productivity. Bill is focused on employee performance than job satisfaction, but given the circumstances of the economy's effect, and not researching previous performance levels, he cannot formulate an accurate perception of the work environment. Bill's lack of networking time, communication, and misconceptions on employee performance, led to the firing of a potentially valuable employee, and has led to other, larger problems such as higher anxiety, lack of positive motivating forces, and even less communication than before. The most pressing problem in Bill's situation is the lack of communication on his part. When Bill Border arrived to the position, he held an introductory meeting and individual reviews to discuss employee goals and the firm's expectations. Although the meeting and reviews were good ideas as ways to get acquainted with the staff, Bill's method failed because it was too generalized. Bill offered the employees the opportunity to discuss concerns with him, but he never did anything to address and resolve the issues presented. Harper (2006) stated, "Managers often believe that lack of employee ability and motivation are reaons for declining performance but other factors directly within the manager's influence may, in fact, be the real reaon for the decline (pag. 68). A lack of knowledge regarding his subordinates gave Bill a false perception about the real issues, and effected his decision making skills. Aside from effective communication, it is important for managers to have an accurate perception of the issues at hand. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary (n.d.) defined perception as, "A capacity for comprehension" (perception, n. pag.). Bill lacked this because he did not consider any external forces that were affecting worker productivity, believing they were just not motivated enough. Bill did not see the bigger picture of how the economy was stunting business, or any external problems that were affecting his subordinates. This distorted perception led Bill a decision that would hinder his progress as a manager further when he dismissed Keith Taylor, a 23-year-old management trainee. Keith had been with the Sterling Financial Company for 18 months and was considered by peers to be a well-liked, intelligent employee that gave satisfactory performance. Bill was concerned with Keith's increased absenteeism, but never considered the external factors affecting Keith's attendance. Bill did not communicate these concerns directly to Keith, but made a general and vague reference to the attendance issue during a meeting. Although Keith deserved a reprimand for his act of no call/no show, termination of his employment was unnecessary. When Bill tacked on the announcement of Keith's departure to the end of an office meeting without giving explanation, job stress skyrocketed with employees. His lack of effectively communicating the reasons

Power of Advertising Essay

Power of Advertising Essay Advertising is a form of communication intended to influence an audience to buy or take some action upon products, services or ideals. It includes the name of a product or service and how that product or service could benefit the consumer, to persuade a target market to purchase or to consume that particular brand. 1.1 Background of Study 1.1.1 The Importance / Power of Advertising Nowadays, many companies are using advertisement to attract customers and it plays an important role during product or services life stages. It is very difficult for a company to promote their new product or services if they do the promotion without a proper. For example, during introduction stage, the company needs to make sure the advertisement is attractive and able to deliver the new ideas to the customers as well as able to move to the second stage, which is the growth stage. The growth of the products or services highly depends on the advertisement. The last stage is the decline stage. It also needs to do more promotion or advertising in order to keep the customers interest on the products or services. If the company fails to do so, then the sales of the products will go down and the company will suffer losses. From this, we can conclude that how important advertisement is and it is the most influencing tool among other marketing tools. Companies can choose different media of advertisement, such as through advertising in newspaper, magazine, online and so on. It is all depend on the cost that the company is able and willing to pay. In the modern advertising strategies, various appeal such as sexual, shock, emotional, fear, and humors are included. These appeals tend to raise high brand awareness and brand recognition among a large audience. However, when using any of these appeals there is always a person included either someone unknown or in most cases a well known person. According to (McCracken, 1989), a well-known person tends to have a greater effect on the consumer buying behavior. 1.1.2 The Celebrity Involve in Advertising The reason for using celebrities as endorsers is due to their huge potential influence. Compared to other endorser types, famous people achieve a higher degree of attention and recall. They increase awareness of a companys advertising, create positive feelings towards brands and are perceived by consumers as more entertaining. Besides, using a celebrity in advertising is more likely to positively affect consumers brand attitudes and purchase intention. The celebrity endorser is a ubiquitous feature of modern marketing. In fact, to use an endorsement by celebrities is not a new phenomenon (Mehulkumar, 2005). For present purpose, the celebrity endorser is defined as any individual who enjoys public recognition and who uses this recognition on behalf of a consumer good by appearing with it in an advertisement. Besides, celebrities have an ability to transfer their image to a specific product that being advertised. Many companies have realized the importance of celebrity endorsement as a marketing communication tool. By using these advertising tools, a company generates a high awareness among a larger audience as well as an increased market share in short run. Besides, the celebrity endorsement may materially improve financial returns for companies that employ them in their advertising campaigns. The importance of celebrity endorsers, however, does not lie in the fact that they are used by firms who wish to increase revenue, but in how these celebrities add value to a company, brand or product. Celebrities add value through the process of meaning transfer. The meaning transfer model suggests that celebrities develop a persona through the types of roles they play in society as well as how they are portrayed in the media. Collectively, the culturally constituted society then assigns meaning to celebrities (Amos, 2008). When celebrities endorse a product, the meaning developed around a particular celebrity will or at least it is hoped for by advertisers transfer to a company, brand, or product. Thus, when a consumer identifies with a celebrity (identification occurs when a person is willing to accept influence from another person) (Kelman, 2006), he/she purchases the product in the hope of claiming some of these transferred meanings for their own lives. 1.2 Research Problem International brands nowadays need advertising promotion because it helps to improve sales, and the content of advertisements mostly focused on endorser. However the culture of advertisement is differing, an endorsed advertisement should not only consider the types and nationality of endorser, but also the celebrity endorser/product fit. The success of an advertisement depends on the selection of an endorser. The endorser must be correctly chosen in order to deliver the right message to the public. For example Anlene in India, whose target audience is adults over 35 (and chiefly women) is being endorsed by dancer Mallika Sarabhai in another ad that uses Bharatanatyam to focus attention on the product. It is impossible to use the young celebrity to endorse the product because the target market is above 35 years old. Choosing the right endorser will increase customers confident towards the products, and at the same time, the sales will be increased as well. Finding a right endorser is quite a difficult task; they may or may not bring benefit to the company. First, celebrity source credibility is one of the factors; it had been divided into many types of credibility such as attractiveness, trustworthiness, expertise and so on. Some argument has arisen that it is useless if company based of these celebrity source credibility but some support it. In this kind of situation, which type of endorser appeared to be better? So far there is no certain answer for this question. Second problem that will influence the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement advertisement is endorsers nationality. In fact, some international companies believe that it is more suitable to hire well-known international celebrities such as artists and model as endorsers for advertising purpose, for instance: LV and DKNY. However, some brands think that different country or place has different culture; therefore different endorser should be used. For example Nike will choose their local sport stars such as Michael Jordan as endorsers in America but in Asia countries, they will use Asian sport stars like Nakata Hidetoshi. Next is celebrity endorser/product fit. For reference, NBA star Yao Ming first appeared on a China telecommunication company, China Unicoms CDMA mobile phone advertisements as endorser, some doubted that Yao Ming who staying in United States really used the mentioned mobile before? Can his sporty and fresh image help shape a good brand image for CDMA? Of course, China Unicom only takes Yao Mings fame into consideration and did not analyze the fit of Yao Mings endorsement for CDMA mobile phone. In facts, even Michael Jordan, a famous international superstar is not suitable for every brand. The internal link between brand and brand endorser is determined by brand element. The elements of a brand decide which kind of endorser should be invited, if they do not match, there will be greater damage on the brand. Research Statement: How the celebrity endorsement advertisement is effective method of advertising? What is the impact or effect of celebrity endorsement advertisement towards the customers? What are the most important source effects of celebrity endorsement? What is the influence of endorsers nationality celebrity endorsement effectiveness? What effect does the celebrity endorser/product fit have on celebrity endorsement effectiveness? As conclusion, I would like to solve these problems by giving questionnaires to the customers in hypermarket (Malacca) and compile all the answers to make a clear report. Besides, I also would like to find some journals or articles from internet to prove my statement and eliminate my wrong perception. 1.3 Objective of study To identify the most important source effects of celebrity endorsement advertisement. To identify the influence of endorsers nationality on celebrity endorsement advertisement effectiveness. To investigate the effect celebrity endorser/product fit have on celebrity endorsement advertisement effectiveness. To identify the factors that influencing the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement advertisement. This study brings a lot of advantages because nowadays companies like to use celebrities to market their products. Through this study, companies can learn how to choose a right celebrity as an endorser to gain higher degree of attention. They can do some research by reading this study to get the idea on what are the factors that may influence the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement advertisement. The product profitability is mostly depending on the endorser because customers will get attracted by the endorser first. So, choosing the right celebrity as endorser is the important part to marketing their product. Besides, this study also brings some advantages to customer. This study lets us know that celebrity had the ability to transfer their image to a specific product that is being advertised. Celebrities add value through the process of meaning transfer which is celebrities develop a persona through the types of roles they play in society. Customers will purchases the product in hope of claiming some of these transferred meanings for their own lives. But, some companies had done some mistakes such as using the wrong endorser for their product. It may affect the perception of the customers. Through this study, customer may get smart by knowing which products are using the not appropriate celebrity. They will not claim the transferred meaning blindly. From this study, we know that it is very important because by using the right celebrity as endorser is very important. It may reflect the product development. We also can learn the factors such as source credibility, endorsers nationality, celebrity endorser/product fit may affect the effectiveness of advertisement by using celebrity. This study will give us a basic idea and knowledge if we are interested in marketing products. 1.4 Justification This study is made to discover the influences of source effects, nationality of endorsers and celebrity/product fit towards the celebrity endorsement effectiveness. The purpose for this study is to have better understanding towards endorsers nationality and fit in advertising culture. Source effects of endorser are measured according to three main dimensions of source credibility of endorsers proposed by Ohanian(1991). The effectiveness of the advertisement is highly based on the customers focus. We need to have better understanding towards the product target market in order to choose the right endorser. There is some difficulty in doing this study because there is no current research. The latest author found for this issue is around year 2000. The reason for me to choose this topic is because there are many companies like to use celebrities as an endorser for their product. The current issue is that not every endorser is suitable to become an endorser of a product. We are to find out the factors that may affect the effectiveness of advertisement, not merely using any celebrities although some may not be effective. This is an important issue where it directly affects the product being advertised. 1.5 Methodology This research will be organized into 3 chapters and the outline of each chapter is as follows: Chapter 1 (Introduction)Chapter one is the introduction for this study which tells us about the importance of advertising and the celebrity involve in advertising. A well-known person tends to have a greater influence on the consumer buying behavior but the problem is that not every endorser is suitable to become an endorser of a product. We are to find out the factors that may affect the effectiveness of advertisement, not merely using any celebrities although some may not be effective. This is an important issue where it directly affects the product being advertised. Chapter 2 (Literature Review)Chapter two is the literature review which reviews the past studies that have been done by the researchers related to it. This chapter will explain clearly about the dependent and independent variables. The dependent variable is celebrity endorsement effectiveness while the independent variables are celebrity source credibility, celebrity endorsers nationality and celebrity endorser/product fit. Chapter 3 (Research Mythology)Chapter three is the research methodology which shows the steps taken in conducting the survey such as research, handing out questionnaires, data collection and so on. To ensure the research finding to be more precise and accurate, this study relied on both primary and secondary data. In this study, the descriptive research which is a type of conclusive research that has its major objective or description of something will be used. Definitions: Celebrity: Celebrities are people who enjoy public recognition by a large share of a certain group of people (Christina, 2003). Whereas attributes like attractiveness, extraordinary lifestyle or special skills are just examples and specific common characteristics cannot be observed, it can be said that within a corresponding social group celebrities generally differ from the social norm and enjoy a high degree of public awareness (Wikipedia, 2010). Celebrity Endorsers: McCracken (1989) has defined celebrity endorser as any individual who enjoys public cognition and who uses this cognition on behalf of a consumer by appearing with in an advertisement. Meaning Transfer Model: McCracken (1989) suggested a meaning transfer model that is composed of three subsequent stages. First, the meaning associated with the famous person moves from the endorser to the product or brand. Thus, meanings attributed to the celebrity become associated with the brand in the consumers mind. Finally, in the consumption process, the brands meaning is acquired by the customer. The third stage of the model explicitly shows the importance of the consumers role in the process of endorsing brands with famous persons. Ohanian(1990) established the source credibility model and defined expertise as the extent to which a communicator is perceived to be a source of valid assertions and Trustworthiness as the degree of confidence in the communicators intent to communicate the assertions he considers most valid. Source attractiveness does not refer only to physical attractiveness but also related to three more general concepts: similarity, familiarity, and liking. Negative Celebrity Information Repeated pairings of a brand and celebrity strengthen the associative link consumers establish between brand and celebrity, negative information about the celebrity may negatively impact the endorsed brand (Erdogan, Baker, Tagg, 2001) 1.6 Delimitation of Scope This study contains few current journals or study. The current author had found is around year 2000. So, it is quite hard to find the journals later than year 2005. This researchs scope will focus on shoppers in Malacca who had exposed to advertisements and act as decision maker during shopping. These shoppers were mostly approached at hypermarkets or malls in Malacca.

Quantitative Research Critique

Quantitative Research Critique Cathleen Atkins Grand Canyon University NRS 433V Linda Permoda March 24, 2013 Quantitative Research Critique Title of Article The title of the article being critiqued is â€Å"The impact of workload on hygiene compliance in nursing†, which was published in the British Journal of Nursing (Knoll, Lautenschlaeger, & Borneff-Lipp, 2010). Authors There are three authors for this quantitative research study. Martin Knoll is the HTW of Saarland, Clinical Nursing Research and Evaluation, Saarbruecken, Germany.Christine Lautenschlaeger, Institute of Medical Epidemiology, Biometry and Medical Informatics, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Germany is the second author. And last, Marianne Borneff-Lipp is head of the Institute for Hygiene, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany (Knoll, Lautenschlaeger, & Borneff-Lipp, 2010). Introduction to Study Quantitative research is used when trying to determine the meaning of li fe experiences and situations. This is done by using a systematic and subjective approach to study.The goal of quantitative research is to determine the relationship between one thing, an independent variable, and another, the dependent variable (Burns & Grove, 2011). The purpose of the study was to examine whether external factors such as ward capacity and level of nursing intensity had any effect on compliance of hand hygiene guidelines by the nursing staff (Knoll, Lautenschlaeger, & Borneff-Lipp, 2010). Protection of Human Participants During the six participant observation trials nurses were observed, without their knowledge, to see if they complied with hand hygiene disinfection.When a nurse was observed to have neglected hand hygiene an interview was immediately conducted to understand why previous training on hand hygiene guidelines were ignored. The observations and interviews were conducted with permission from hospital management and the medical director that were in accor dance with the Guidelines of Good Research Practice (Cambridge University, 2005). Informed consent was obtained by nursing staff when subsequent interviews were undertaken after notice of failure to comply with the guidelines and they did so voluntarily (Knoll, Lautenschlaeger, & Borneff-Lipp, 2010).Benefits of participation were not addressed by the researchers. Data Collection Major variables for this study were identified. The independent variable identified by the researchers is the nursing staff with the dependent variable being data collected from the interviews. Data was collected for this study during a 12 month time period, from June 2007 to May 2008. Data collection was divided into six observation trial periods that included June, September, and November of 2007 and January, March, and May of 2008. Nursing staff from ten departments were observed for research.Those departments included four surgery units, four internal medicine units, and two interdisciplinary intensive c are units. Data was collected by observations and interviews. A researcher observed nurses for hand disinfection, when a nurse failed to do so the researcher introduced themself to the nurse and immediately initiated a narrative interview (Knoll, Lautenschlaeger, & Borneff-Lipp, 2010). Rationale for using the previously described collection methods was so the study could employ the Hawthorne effect. (Stroebe, 2003).The Hawthorne effect exercises influence on the nurse through teaching that is intended to motivate behavioral change (Knoll, Lautenschlaeger, & Borneff-Lipp, 2010). Data Management and Analysis There was no information provided by the researchers about data management. A descriptive design and trend analysis was used to determine problems with current practice of the nurses interviewed. Data analysis was done through categorization of summarized core statement. Seven categories with subsequent causes were developed as well as a structured definition of those categories.T he rigor process was not addressed by the researchers. To minimize the effect of researcher bias the interviews were consistently conducted by the same interviewer in a controlled environment (Knoll, Lautenschlaeger, & Borneff-Lipp, 2010). Findings / Interpretation of Findings The findings from the research are valid and have an accurate reflection of reality. Confidence in the findings is positive because it addressed the purpose of the study. Nursing staff illness, absence, vacation, and difference in full or part time employment were not taken into account and make up the limitations of the study.The study used coherent logic as was evidenced by categorization of data, tables, and section titles. The study findings can be applied to all aspects of nursing practice in all areas. One question that emerged that requires further study is how such an imbalance could arise between the scope of every day nursing duties and the time available to perform them (Knoll, Lautenschlaeger, & Bo rneff-Lipp, 2010). References Burns, N. & Grove, S. K. (2011). Understanding nursing research. Maryland Heights: W.B. Saunders. Cambridge University. (2005). Good research practice. http://tinyurl. com/3yhf8py Knoll, M. , Lautenschlaeger, C. , & Borneff-Lipp, M. (2010). The impact of workload on hygiene compliance in nursing. British Journal of Nursing, 19(16), S18-S22. Retrieved on March 24, 2013 from http://ehis. ebscohost. com. library. gcu. edu:2048/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer? sid=0e6f5b68-9e35-492d-9fae-b57d46b48458%40sessionmgr112&vid=7&hid=6 Stroebe, W. (2003). Sozialpsychologie. 4th Ed. Heidelberg, Berlin.

Active and Passive Indexing

The first index fund began in 1971, with $6 million funded by Samsonite, the luggage-maker. Since then, there have been many arguments of whether an active index fund or a passive index fund offers better long-term results for investors. Index funds are already the fastest growing sector of the mutual fund business. From 1986 to 1996, the amount of money invested in index funds grew from $556 million to $65 Billion. And if anything, individual investors have been slow to embrace passive management. Institutional investors invest a far larger percentage of their assets passively. Many individual investors are simply uneducated and unaware of the arguments and experimental evidence supporting passive management. Institutional investors and academics have known for years (many for decades) that passive investing is extremely difficult to beat and that the majority of active investors will fail in their attempt to outperform the market. Active indexers assert they can outperform the marketplace. Passive (index) portfolios state they can mirror the performance of the indices. Both have their good times and their bad times. Active indexers raise cash in times of increased risk and instability while passive indexers remain fully invested. This can be quite painful during times of large declines in the market. Passive portfolios mirror the gains of the indices during roaring bull markets and eventually outperform the majority of active money managers who must remain diversified and who sometimes take on additional risks in an attempt to produce the performance and safety that they have promised their clients. The evidence has piled up during today's bull market that the average dollar managed by active managers does not keep up with the market index. Finally, indexing is a way to avoid being blind-sided in certain areas of the marketplace. Active management themes can easily find themselves on the wrong side of an investment. There is a perception among investors that a strategy designed to match stock market returns is less risky than a comparable actively managed portfolio. Since the index approach invests in a manner that is most friendly with the market's natural liquidity, it produces the least disturbance. The passive investor also has diversified his risk. Specific negative things can happen to individual companies or groups. As a passive investor, one is not exposed to any of these things. However, it does not mean you have a risk-free investment. The downside to passive index investors is that they â€Å"fuel the fire† of a market that appreciates well beyond its true value. Index mutual funds must put new money to work†¦ they can not hold cash†¦ and their investors all buy the exact same stocks. When stocks go down, index funds, being fully invested, will receive the ultimate effect of the decline. Combined with this loss is the fact that they will also have to sell shares to cover shareholder redemptions. These funds will get hit harder than many active portfolios with a cash cushion. Most active managers of investment portfolios raise cash as they perceive higher valuations, excessive instability, and extreme risks, therefore; reducing the display to loss during declining markets. Another downside to passive indexing is the impact they have on market instability. This gives the patient active money manager a welcome opportunity to take advantage of stock selection at very attractive prices and, to some extent, time the market in making their decisions of when to buy and when to sell. Index investing is a tricky business that can roil markets. Actively indexed funds have gone upward over the last decade. This has occurred despite the fact that investors have poured huge amounts of money into active funds over this period. The costs of investing in index funds have trended downward as they have become more popular with investors. The costs of active index funds just might decrease in the future, thereby narrowing the cost gap with passive index funds. But all evidence to date has shown just the opposite trend – the costs of active funds continue to go up and the costs of index funds continue to go down. Actively indexed funds typically generate relatively large amounts of taxes while passive index funds generate relatively small amounts. Some of the resulting gap in performance caused by taxes would seemingly be narrowed if the federal government were to lower tax rates. Congress did this at the end of July 1997 when it reduced the maximum long term capital gains tax rate from 28% on investments held more than one year to 20% on investments held 18 months or longer. The tax bill provides that in the year 2001 this rate will be reduced to 18% for investments held five years or longer. Finally, active money managers serve the specific needs of their clients. They manage portfolios based exactly on the investor's objectives and tolerance for risk. They make decisions based on a stated time frame and they are capable of changing the goals and direction of a portfolio on a moment's notice. They are the investor's personal link to the market and the protector of their capital. The value of these services is immeasurable to most investors. One thing that really does not influence the investor as much as it should is the lack of appreciation with respect to the tax consequences of passive index management. The capital gains, created during the year by a fully active index manager, is reported to the IRS, and the investor ends up being taxed. For a taxed investor, the buy-and-hold is a winning strategy. Turnover is the enemy of the investor who pays taxes. Conversely, most investors would be more than happy to pay taxes on the returns produced by active money managers during periods of declining markets. Not many investors prefer losses to earning some gains and interest, even with the tax man waiting. The effect of so many investors buying index funds is that they tend to guard the money market. An investor could actually, in a cost-effective manner, buy and sell the market. The asset funding of active managers, combined with the efficiency of the passive manager, allows one to implement strategies that provide an optimal mix of securities to match a particular scenario, objective, or risk aversion. From time to time, it is possible that the major assets can get out of balance. Investors can run up prices where the lawfulness market is overvalued. When this reaches a untrustworthy level, more self-corrective measures are needed. This is where the expertise of the active manager becomes useful. As an investor, you are always trading off what Jeremy Bentham, the British economist, referred to as the â€Å"pain-pleasure calculus. † Good returns produce pleasure. Bad returns produce pain. An active money manager is always balancing off the pleasure vs. e potential pain. The active manager tends to determine what that balance is and if it finds that the market is deployed otherwise, it works in balancing the portfolio. Tactical asset funding combined with a passively managed portfolio has been called the â€Å"holy grail† of investing by Jonathan Burton, of Dow Jones' Asset Management magazine. During declining markets, index funds take the full force of the market's loss. Managers of these funds are forced to sell stocks in order to meet the demand for redemptions as their investors got out of the market. During markets of very little movement, investors quickly drain of insufficient or no returns on their investment. Finally, a philosophy of capital preservation causes the active manager to raise cash, providing a cushion for portfolios during times of extreme risk. Active or passive? Both have their advantages and their risks, but the two are found to be the best long-term plans for both performance and safety. Index (passive) funds are likely to beat active funds, yet the Morningstar data show that 92% of all the money is U. S. stock funds is in active funds.