How People Make Economic Decisions Essay - 672 Words

In today’s economy, decision-making skills vary for each household; however, the bottom-line goal for every individual is to get the most for their money. In order to do this, there are 4 principles of individual decision-making: facing trade-offs, evaluating what one is giving up to obtain their goal, thinking at the margin, and responding to incentives. The first principle in individual decision-making is facing a trade-off. In order for individuals to accomplish their goals or to obtain something they desire, there is usually something that must be given up or traded to accomplish that. In Chapter 1 Principles of Economics, efficiency vs. equity is discussed which helps further explain this principle. Society is always desiring to†¦show more content†¦To make the decision of what goals we are going to strive for, it is imperative to consider if the goal is worth the item(s) being given up. Is it worth not being able to do something else? How much money is it going to cost to obtain this goal or item? How much of my personal time is needed to accomplish this goal? These are all questions that must be asked and evaluated prior to making economic decisions. The third principle of individual economic decision-making relates to marginal decision-making. Rational people will think at the marginal level, making small changes or tweaks in their plans to achieve the desired objective. Rational people normally have a certain system or method he/she uses to achieve their objective and they understand that sometimes small changes must be made to accomplish this. The fourth and final principle talks about incentives, how people respond to incentives in decision making. When deciding what an individual wants or what goals to set for him or her, oftentimes having certain incentives will highly influence the decision-making process. When there is a valued opportunity or reward for achieving such a goal, an individual will look at that incentive and decide to what methods he or she will use to reach the ultimate goal. There are several occasions where I need to evaluate the marginal benefits and the marginal costs before I make a decision. For example, deciding what school to send my granddaughter to for high school. IShow MoreRelatedHow People Make Economic Decisions774 Words   |  4 PagesHow People Make Economic Decisions Brittany Hansen June 2011 Mr. Krupka How People Make Economic Decisions From the time a person starts working to pay bills or buy products they are forced into making decisions that will affect their bank account. There are four different principles that play into the decision-making process. While these decisions will affect marginal benefits and costs, there are incentives for the choice as well. The principles of economics relate to the working of theRead MoreHow People Make Economic Decisions677 Words   |  3 PagesHow People Make Economic Decisions Paper ECO/212 How People Make Economic Decisions The economic decision an individual, household, or even a firm makes has a major impact on the economy as a whole. These decisions affect the supply of a good or service, the demand of that good or service and ultimately the price of that good or service. This paper will focus on how individual decision making affects an economy, how understanding the marginal benefits from the marginal cost affects economicRead MoreHow Economic Decisions Are Made716 Words   |  3 PagesHow Economic Decisions Are Made Penelope Carter ECO 212 April 2, 2012 David Smith How Economic Decisions Are Made If 10 people with 10 different occupations are asked to define economics, one would receive 10 different answers because the concept of economics confuses people. â€Å"Economics is the study of the choices consumers, business managers, and government officials make to attain their goals, given their scarce resources,† (Hubbard O’Brien, 2010, p. 4). Oftentimes, people do notRead MoreKey Principles of Economics1453 Words   |  6 Pagesstudy of economics is vital as it provides an understanding of how the world works. It is the study of how people choose to use resources to improve their well-being. According to Samuelson (1948) â€Å"Economics is the study of how societies use scarce resources to produce valuable commodities and distribute them among different people.† This paper will outline the 10 key principles of economics. These principles are grouped into the three 3 categories of â€Å"How people make decision†, â€Å"How people interact†Re ad MoreClassical Financial Theory : Cognitive Psychology And Economics952 Words   |  4 Pageswhat influences people’s decision making can help solve some of the world’s most complex problems. Research in the financial sector has been dumbfounded by this very question since the advent of the stock market. Classical financial theory assumes investors behave with rational expectations in order to maintain an efficient market. Yet as we know, the idiosyncrasies in human behavior vary and financial markets tend to fluctuate up and down as a result. Recently, economics has begun to adopt the insightsRead MorePersonal Economic Decisions1455 Words   |  6 PagesHead: Personal Economic Decisions Personal Economic Decisions How People Make Economic Decisions People make economic decisions on a daily basis, from choosing to go to the grocery store and cook dinner or going out to eat. While in the general scheme of things this is a relatively small decision to make it still can have impact on the economy. Yet a decision for a family to have a child is more of a major decision and has far more of an impact on the economy then a dinner decision. There are fourRead MoreCognitive Economics : Behavioral Economics1115 Words   |  5 PagesBehavioral economics has also consulted inter-temporal choice. Inter-temporal choice describes to how humans decide about what and how much to do at different times when decide at a time effect the facilities available at another time. Choice under risk or ambiguity relates the dual-system theory. Research suggests that people’s decisions can be affected by the â€Å"type and amount of information† they find. A behavioral equilibrium depends on people take from frequently acts their equilibrium s trategiesRead MoreEcons1089 Words   |  5 PagesMANAGERIAL ECONOMICS Dr. Gong Jie National University of Singapore Why Do We Study Economics ï  ¶ People have to â€Å"Choose† â™ ¦ Resources are scarce. â™ ¦ There is No Such Thing as Free Lunch! ï  ¶ Economics: the science of Rational Choice â™ ¦ Rationality: the basic assumption â™ ¦ Rational Choice: Economic agents use all the information available to make decisions that most efficiently satisfy their needs and achieve stated objectives. â™ ¦ How do people make rational choice? This is the subject of Economics! PaulRead MoreEconomic Decisions Paper685 Words   |  3 PagesHow People Make Economic Decisions Paper Eco/212 September 28, 2010 Making Economic Decisions Economic decisions made by individuals can affect the economy. The principles of individual decision-making include people being rational, economic incentives, and optimal decisions made at the margin. Trading the three economic systems are market economy, centrally planned economy, and mixed economy. Each contains their own attributes on how they contribute to an economy. The current economicRead MoreEconomic Guide to Everyday Life Decisions Essay522 Words   |  3 PagesEconomics guide everyday life decisions As my major is economics, I have leant how economics guide everyday life decision. Economics is the study of how people seek to satisfy their needs and wants by making choice. Because we all have limited resources, we have to make decisions daily. For example, gasoline. Are we going to stop at the first stop on the way home or are we going to check the price first and get gas in the morning. When decisions are made, they are usually based on supply and demand

Emma by Jane Austen She is Loveliness Itself - 833 Words

We all at one point had a crush on someone and realize it too late. We seem to realize it the moment that person is no longer available. On the other hand, you and your friend has a crush on the same person and neither of you known that the other likes him until one of you reveals it by going out with the person. Maybe you were never in one of these situations but I am sure you have seen it or heard about it at some point. It is a very common occurrence therefore it is a story line that catches attention. In the novel, Emma by Jane Austen this storyline is hinted at throughout the story. As the reader, you almost see it coming but are still surprised by it. Jane Austen Jane Austen was born in 1775 in England. She was the second to last of eight kids and the youngest daughter of two. Her family was not poor nor were they very well off. They were more middle class. Growing up Jane went to a boarding school for two years then finished her education at home from her Oxford-educated father and her aristocratic mother. Jane’s love for reading and writing came from being able to read from her father’s collection of five hundred books. There she found out that books could take her anywhere and she wanted to write her own stories. She began writing in her early teens and finished three novels by age twenty-three. Having support from her family, Jane decided to try to publish her novels. She published them anonymous and got good and bad responses. She later rewrote some of herShow MoreRelatedJane Austen’s Novels and the Contemporary Social and Literary Conventions.12979 Words   |  52 Pages2.3 The Gothic Romance. 13 3. Jane Austen and Her Novels in relation to the Contemporary Literature. 15 3.1. Austen’s Criticism about the Contemporary Fiction. 15 3.2. Jane Austen as a Conservative Writer and as a Social Critic. 16 3.3. Austen’s writing in her own perception. 17 4. Pride and Prejudice. 20 4.1. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy – the Reversed Ideals. 20 22 5. Emma 23 5.1. Emma the heroine. 23 5.2. Men of sense and silly wives 26 5.3. Emma as the unusual learning. 28 Conclusions

Science and Technology in Novels Free Essays

Attitudes on Science and Technology in Novels Three novels that were written in three completely different times all were able to contribute to different views and attitudes towards science and technology. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. We will write a custom essay sample on Science and Technology in Novels or any similar topic only for you Order Now Hyde, The Time Machine, and Fahrenheit 451 are all accurate portrayals of the effect that science and technology have had on this world even as far back as 1886 when The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was first published. Although each book was written for different purposes and in different times, they all had mainly positive attitudes that were able to portray what the author thought science and technology would be like as the future progressed. In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, it seemed that Robert Louis Stevenson had a positive attitude with a negative twist towards science and technological advances throughout the book. This book is ultimately about a scientific potion that affects a man, Dr. Jekyll. By having a positive attitude with a negative twist, it is meant that it showing advances in science, but it has negative consequences. Although this book was written so long before our time, the emotions towards scientific advances were there. On page 62 of this book in Dr. Jekyll’s statement of the case, he states that â€Å"From an early date, even before the course of my scientific discoveries had begun to suggest the most naked possibility of such a miracle, I had learned to dwell with pleasure, as a beloved daydream, on the thought of the separation of these elements. If each, I told myself, could be house in separate identities, life would be relieved of all that was unbearable. † Dr. Jekyll shows that he â€Å"dwelled† with pleasure, which signifies a neutral type of attitude that the author portrays. The positivity of the science of his potion was that he was able to do something that no one else had. The negativity was the consequences of the evil in Mr. Hyde and the suicide that ended it all. The Time Machine by H. G. Wells had both the aspect of science and technology. H. G. Wells had a very positive attitude, seeing as this book was solely about time traveling and being able to find the scientific needs to build a time machine. A quote on page 43 of this book stated† To sit among all those unknown things before a puzzle like that is hopeless. That way lies monomania. Face this world. Learn its ways, watch it, be careful of too hasty guesses at its meaning. In the end you will find clues to it all. † This quote clearly shows a positive attitude towards science and technology. The time traveler is in an unknown place and therefore, feels hopeless, but he knows that there will be identifiers on how to proceed. The time traveler uses his needs of technology and science, but knows that there is more to the future world of Eloi than just those aspects because they get along very well without everything being scientific and technological. Fahrenheit 451 is set in the twenty-fourth century, which would be in the year 2300. Throughout Fahrenheit 451 there are references to technology and science that seem rather odd to us living in the twenty-first century. If this twenty-fourth century world was compared to the twenty-first century of today, they would be considered antonymous to each other. Firefighters in our time do just as their name says, they fight fires. Watching television does not replace our families and learning about history is crucial to our lives. In Guy Montag’s world, this is all considered defiant. The one similarity between our two worlds is that of technology. The technology is very different than that of ours, but there is technology, and that is one thing that cannot be compared to the past. Ray Bradbury seems to use technology as a scape goat for his characters so that they are not drawn to books and to create an image of what life would be like without books or history. This gears his attitude in a more positive perspective towards technology. His use of â€Å"parlor walls† was a way for his characters to disengage from reality and to do and be whoever they wanted to be. Parlor walls were used as a whole room and basically an interactive television set where you could put yourself in the scene. While reading this book, one might say that Bradbury was trying to show the role that books play in reality thus far and that without them, our lives would only involve technology and less knowledge and social instances. In Fahrenheit 451 on page 63, there is a conversation about the statement that books aren’t real and the role of the parlor walls. This conversation occurs between the main character, Guy Montag, and Professor Faber, who believes in the necessities that books give. â€Å"It becomes and is the truth. Books can be beaten down with reason. But with all my knowledge and skepticism, I have never been able to argue with a one-hundred-piece symphony orchestra, full color, three dimensions, and being in and part of those incredible parlors. As you can see, my parlor is nothing but four plaster walls. † Professor Faber is one of the few that does not engage in using the parlor walls. With most people gaining their knowledge from these parlor wall interactive shows, there is no room to see real truth in what a book is. Faber is also one of the few that has knowledge and admits to this knowledge, noting that he is skeptic of this technological universe that he is living in. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Time Machine, and Fahrenheit 451 all were positive portrayals of author attitudes on science and technology. Although there were some neutral or negative aspects in each novel, the main attitude was positive. The future always seems to have a higher capacity for science and technology and seems to have been viewed as a positive attribute to all three authors. Science and technology continue to have positive impacts on the attitudes of authors when it comes to novels in this time. How to cite Science and Technology in Novels, Essays

Business Problem of Barco-Free-Samples-Myassignmenthlep.com

Questions: 1.Define the Business Problem.2.Formulate a Linear Program for 20 and 40% curtailment of Natural gas usage.3.Discuss the Sensitivity Analysis.4.Provide a discussion of BarCos Options and your recommendations for action. Answers: Introduction In the dynamic business environment of today, allocation of resources must regularly be adjusted, particularly when important events take place. Certain companies have an organised stage-gating procedure for resource allocation. Linear Programming is a technique used to determine the ideal allocation of resources like manpower, machines, materials, etc. by a company. It is applied for determining the perfect product mix of the company to maximise its gains (Paris, 2016). The present study is based on the evaluation of business problem of BarCo Corporation by making use of linear programming model in order to assist them in managing business operations in an effective manner. The study will include descriptive analysis of their business problem and formulation of linear programming of the same. On the basis of the equation, sensitivity analysis for the case will be discussed in order to provide options and recommendations for action for BarCo. Main Body Description of business problem Managerial authority of Texas division of the Bar Co Corporation had acknowledged a notification from Max Energy regarding rapid depletion of supply of natural gas. Further, due to the shortage of Max Energy is supposed to make allocation of gas to its as per the provisions of priority prescribed by the Federal Commission: First priority Residential and commercial heating and cooling. Second priority Commercial and industrial firms which make use of natural gas as a raw material. Third priority Industrial firm which make use of natural gas as a boiler fuel The BarCo is covered under classifications of second and third priority. Therefore, there is a high likelihood that the organisation would be subjected to temporary brownouts and frequent reductions of natural gas supplies. Max Energy is planning to evaluate their pipeline pressures in order to make reductions for maintaining minimum level. Max Energy wants that its clients initiate the curtailment process to mitigate the impact of their industrial activities. However, Max Energy was also authorised for curtailment of supply in an unilateral manner if pipeline pressure fell below minimum levels. The shortage of natural gas was because of the record heat wave of 2010. Electrical generating plants had been functioning at their full capacity for supplying electricity to operate refrigeration and AC units. So BarCos problem is primarily to decide which of its complexes would be least affected by the fact of gas curtailment because its both of the working areas would be inclusive in process of the curtailment region in the event of a brownout. Its main objective is to minimise the impact on the profit/overhead contribution. Besides the ammonia operations, all natural gas acquired was used as fuel. In the ammonia operations, natural gas was employed as a raw material. The CEO of Max Energy is not opening up about the products that should be curtailed. Instead the process of curtailment would be primarily based on the usage pattern of the consumer. Henceforth, the company is required to analyse the impact of 20 and 40% curtailment of the natural gas usage on the profits / overheads. Consequently, by using the comparative approach company should select that alternative which has least effects on the workings of the company and through which they can earn higher profits. Formulation of linear programming problem In this case study, demonstration of an interesting utilisation of linear programming is shown: Let: X1 ammonia X2 ammonium phosphate X3 ammonium nitrate X4 urea X5 hydro?uoric acid X6 chlorine X7 caustic soda X8 vinyl chloride monomer Objective function regarding this case study: Profit maximization: 80X1 + 120X2 + 140X3 + 140X4 + 90X5 + 70X6 + 60X7 + 90X8 Subject to the constraints Subject to the subsequent check: X1 1,200 X5 560 X2 540 X6 1,200 X3 490 X7 1,280 X4 160 X8 840 Curtailment of 20% Present utilisation of natural gas: 85,680 cu. ft. *103/day 20 percent curtailment: 68,554 cu. ft. * 103 /day Hence, the ninth constraint is: 8X1+ 10X2 +12X3 +12X4+ 7X5 +18X6 v20X7+ 14X8 68,544 Curtailment of 40% For a 40 percent natural gas curtailment, the ninth constraint is: 8X1 + 10X2+ 12X3 +12X4 +7X5+ 18X6 + 20X7+ 14X8 51,408 Sensitivity analysis Obtaining the optimal solution to an LP model is crucial. However, it is not the only information required. There is a huge amount of sensitivity information or in simple terms information regarding what happens on changing the data values (Borgonovo and Plischke, 2016). A sensitivity analysis is a method applied to identify how varied values of an independent variable affect a specific variable under a proposed set of assumptions. In simple terms, it is the study of how the vagueness in the output of a system could be allocated to distinct sources of uncertainty in its input (Nasseri and Ebrahimnejad, 2013). By considering the present case scenario, BarCo has two options at its discretion. As required by Max Energy, the company would have to curtail its natural gas usage in the range of 20 to 40 percent. Sensitivity analysis of above two options is as follows: Curtailment of 20% Curtailment of 20% shows that availability is 0.8 85,680 = 68,554,000 cu. ft. per day. By considering this factor, the constraint of gas will be 8X1+ 10X2+ 12X3+ 12X4+ 7X5+ 18X6+ 20X7+ 14X7 68,544 And consequently profit for business will be: Ammonia Amm. Phosphate Amm. Nitrate Urea Hydro Acid Chlorine Caustic Soda Vinyl Chloride Tons/Day 1,200.0 540.0 490.0 160.0 560.0 1,200.0 423.2 840.0 Profit $80 $120 $140 $140 $90 $70 $60 $90 $487,192.00 Due to the curtailment of natural gas, production of the caustic soda will be reduced from 1,280 tonnes/day to only 423.2 tonnes/day. Curtailment of 40% Curtailment of 20% shows that availability is 0.6 85,680 = 51,408,000 cu. ft. per day. By considering this factor, the constraint of gas will be 8X1+ 10X2+ 12X3+ 12X4+ 7X5+ 18X6+ 20X7+ 14X7 51,408 Ammonia Amm Phosphate Amm Nitrate Urea Hydro Acid Chlorine Caustic Soda Vinyl Chloride Tons/Day 1,200.00 540.00 490.00 160.00 560.00 718.22 0.00 840.00 Profit $80 $120 $140 $140 $90 $70 $60 $90 $428,075.56 Due to the curtailment of nature gas, production of the caustic soda is eliminated completely and the production of the chlorine will be reduced from 1,200 to 718.2 tonnes/day. By considering sensitivity analysis, it can be said curtailment of 20% is comparatively better as it will assist business in earning higher profits with the available resources (Vanderbei, 2015). Discussion regarding options of BarCo and recommendations for action BarCo has two options at its discretion. As required by Max Energy, the company would have to curtail its natural gas usage in the range of 20 to 40 percent. As identified from the sensitivity analysis above, by 20% reduction in natural gas usage the company is able to reduce the production of the caustic soda will be reduced from 1,280 tonnes/day to only 423.2 tonnes/day. The profit, in this case, will be $487,192. On the other hand, if the natural gas usage is curtailed by 40% then BarCo will be eliminating the production of caustic soda entirely and will reduce production of chlorine from 1,200 to 718.2 tonnes/day. However, the profits would come down to $428,075. It is recommended that Barco opts for the 20% curtailment as opting for the other alternative would reduce profit considerably which the company does not intend to do. Hence, a 20% cut in natural gas consumption is feasible. Apart from this, several other recommendations are proposed to the company so that it can earn be tter value from resource allocation in the present scenario (Bellman and Dreyfus, 2015). Firstly, the executives should be mindful of the domination of averages. A singular unit might have lines of geographic or business pockets with starkly varied returns. It is unusual to experience a 15% fall in one area while other is seeing double-digit growth. Indeed, the difference is usually more substantial across granular market sections within the one SBU than across larger SBUs (Dantzig, 2016). Barco has already segmented its business, but now it needs to define the extent of granularity which could be something of an art because the executives cannot argue over trade-offs across innumerable micro-markets. The senior management needs to drill down to the tiniest meaningful segment, where a movement of resources is likely to have a considerable impact on the overall Group. In addition to this, every segment must have a different external market even if natural gas is not fully divisible (Schoenwitz et al., 2017). Secondly, the growing demand for natural gas and the shortage in its supplies highlights the significance of adopting renewable sources of energy. As BarCo uses natural gas as a raw material in some of its processes mainly ammonia operations hence, the gas could not be completely eliminated from here. Though there is always an option of looking for alternatives, still the need for natural gas, in this case, cannot be entirely overruled (Fahimnia, Sarkis, and Davarzani, 2015). However, rest of the uses of the company also fall into the category of using natural gas as a boiler fuel. In this case, the organisation can contemplate using renewable sources of energy for better long-term outcomes and impact. This way BarCo will not have to depend on natural gas for all its operations as it will be compensating it will be renewable energy sources. Besides this, the firm will be in a position to better prioritise and allocate natural gas among its other important operations (Schoenwitz et al ., 2013). Thirdly, BarCo must concentrate on value creation. At times, investments exercise a direct impact on the business and the NPV of all future cash flows related to them could be quantified (Kolman and Beck, 2014). Evaluating which segment requires and deserves more natural gas and attention demands the correct metrics. Hence, the organisation should develop and use the right metrics for evaluating this. An example of the most common metrics is ROI or return on investment i.e. to say which activity would pay off the investment made in it by allocating the portion of natural gas (Wisner et al., 2014). Fourthly, any exercise of natural gas allocation should be based on hard data so that decisions are underpinned by logic and facts. Biases should not crop up while taking the decision of resource allocation (Du and Pardalos, 2013). This can be done by persuading the prioritisation of opportunities on the basis of their ROI or value creation; commitment toward a minimum yearly reallocation; and re-anchoring which eliminates the optimistic projections of management about quick improvements. This could be carried out by developing a framework underpinned by external forecasts and presuming that there would be no increase in natural gas supplies; executives can then discuss if it is still worth allocating natural gas to (Acar et al., 2017). Conclusion It can be concluded that optimal resource allocation is a mouthful, however with a simple meaning i.e. shifting resources, talent, money and attention of the management to areas which will deliver the maximum value to the company. The speed of global change is rising, rendering it more challenging to tell how Max Energy will address its natural gas crunch. Hence, BarCo should try becoming more self-reliant in terms of using renewable sources of energy wherever possible thereby leaving natural gas for the most important operations. In addition to this, it has been identified through linear programming and sensitivity analysis that BarCo must opt for a 20% curtailment in its usage of natural gas because this will reduce the production of caustic soda and will not reduce the profits by a huge margin. Eventually, even with the sincerest intentions, allocation of resources (natural gas in this case) can fall prey to internal power dynamics and organisational inertia. It is recommended tha t the senior executives exercise proper discretion and rule out biases while taking decision pertaining to allocation of resources. References Acar, M.F., Zaim, S., Isik, M. and Calisir, F., 2017. Relationships among ERP, supply chain orientation and operational performance: An analysis of structural equation modelling.Benchmarking: An International Journal,24(5). Bellman, R.E. and Dreyfus, S.E., 2015.Applied dynamic programming. Princeton University press. Borgonovo, E. and Plischke, E., 2016. Sensitivity analysis: a review of recent advances.European Journal of Operational Research,248(3), pp.869-887. Dantzig, G., 2016.Linear programming and extensions. Princeton University press. Du, D.Z. and Pardalos, P.M. eds., 2013.Handbook of combinatorial optimisation: supplement(Vol. 1). Springer Science Business Media. Fahimnia, B., Sarkis, J. and Davarzani, H., 2015. Green supply chain management: A review and bibliometric analysis.International Journal of Production Economics,162, pp.101-114. Kolman, B. and Beck, R.E., 2014.Elementary linear programming with applications. Elsevier. Nasseri, S.H. and Ebrahimnejad, A., 2013. Sensitivity analysis on linear programming problems with trapezoidal fuzzy variables. InOptimizing, Innovating, and Capitalising on Information Systems for Operations(pp. 64-82). IGI Global. Paris, Q., 2016.An economic interpretation of linear programming. Springer. Schwitz, M., Gosling, J., Naim, M. and Potter, A., 2013. HOW TO BUILD WHAT BUYERS WANTUNVEILING CUSTOMER PREFERENCES FOR PREFABRICATED HOMES. Schoenwitz, M., Potter, A., Gosling, J. and Naim, M., 2017. Product, process and customer preference alignment in prefabricated house building. International Journal of Production Economics,183, pp.79-90. Solow, D., 2014.Linear Programming: An introduction to finite improvement algorithms. Courier Corporation. Vanderbei, R.J., 2015.Linear programming. Springer. Wisner, J.D., Tan, K.C. and Leong, G.K., 2014.Principles of supply chain management: A balanced approach. Cengage Learning.