Bank of Canada and Interest Rates Essay Example for Free

Bank of Canada and Interest Rates Essay The Bank of Canada has indicated that it has concerns over inflation being too low. (Parkinson). However, inflation has been rising and the Canadian economy has strengthened over the last several months. Keeping interest rates too low over a long period of time may have a tendency to over-inflate the economy and create asset bubbles while also creating pockets of greater debt, not dissimilar to those that contributed to the global economic collapse of 2008-2009. Although the Bank of Canada has iterated – and reiterated – its current neutrality with respect to interest rates, economists predict that current conditions may require the bank to move more quickly than it may like to bump the rates in the next several months. (Parkinson). Canada is currently facing a housing bubble like that which occurred in the United States, prior to the massive global downturn of 2008-2009. (Altstedter). Home prices have been steadily increasing along with the size of the debt that homeowners are taking on in order to afford the increase in housing prices. Earlier this year, the Bank’s governor, Stephen Poloz, had forward guidance language that cautioned that interest rate hikes could be in the offing removed from Bank of Canada’s policy statements. (Kawa). Since the removal of the language, inflation has begun to increase and the Canadian Dollar has weakened somewhat. This will contribute to further expansion of the housing bubble in Canada. In order to slow the growth of the housing bubble and prevent or delay its eventual bursting, the Bank of Canada will likely be forced to raise interest rates. Bank of Canada Will Not Alter Interest Rates One of the reasons Bank of Canada’s Governor Stephen Poloz removed forward guidance warning of the potential need to increase interest rates from the Bank’s policy statements was to highlight the neutral stance he and the Bank are embracing with respect to interest rates. (Kawa). Poloz said in a September statement that he feels that the global economy is â€Å"performing largely as expected† and that the housing industry in Canada was â€Å"stronger  than anticipated.† (Isfield). This month, Poloz stated that he feels that the upside and downside inflationary risks are, at this time, balanced and that, as such, there is no need alter interest rates in the foreseeable future assuming the status quo is not disrupted. (Parkinson). The Bank’s current neutral stance on interest rates, has now been reiterated and strengthened, to such an extent that it is possible, to â€Å"ultra-neutral.† (Isfeld). Because of Poloz’s ongoing statements with respect to interest rate neutrality, the bank’s removal of interest rate hike guidance from its policy statements, and the perception that the risks between and inflationary upside and an inflationary downside are perceived by Poloz and the board to be balanced, it is unlikely that interest rates will be changed in the next six to twelve months by the Bank of Canada. Works Cited Altstedter, Ari. â€Å"Housing Bubble Will Force Bank of Canada to Renew Rate Hike Warnings Soon, Pimco Says.† Financial Post. 1 Oct. 2014. Web. http://business.financialpost.com/2014/10/01/housing-bubble-will-force-bank-of-canada-to-renew-rate-hike-warnings-soon-pimco-says/ Isfeld, Gordon. â€Å"Bank of Canada’s Stephen Poloz Turns Ultra-Neutral On Interest Rates.† Financial Post. 3 Sep. 2014. Web. Kawa, Lucas. â€Å"Say Goodbye To Forward Guidance From The Bank Of Canada.† Business In Canada. 14 Oct. 2014. Web. Parkinson, David. â€Å"Bank of Canada Still Fears Low Inflation Despite Balanced Outlook.† The Globe And Mail. 3 Nov. 2014. Web.

Siemens AG Global Development Strategy

Siemens AG Global Development Strategy In order to understand Siemens International RD current situation and thoroughly come up with alternatives and recommendations to solve possible issues that may arise, it is first crucial to analyze the companys strategy and rationale for International RD. There are several factors and reasons that led Siemens to pursue and International RD strategy, opposed to a domestic one. The first one is the obvious labor shortages that would take place was Siemens to perform its research and development in its Munich headquarters. It is quite obvious that centralizing all RD activities in Munich would result in a critical shortage of the ICNs 1500 employees allocated to the headquarters. Secondly, customers in the telecommunications industry usually require extremely customized solutions for their businesses. Thus, it is of the utmost importance that product customization is performed with the quickest response to customer needs possible. Thus, the regional allocation of engineers, technicians, etc., into Regional Development Centers (RDCs) plays a crucial role in the fulfillment of this task. Finally, the global spread of RD units would theoretically provide the company the possibility of taking advantage of exploiting time zone differences, and thus perform an around-the-clock development strategy. However, this concept has proven to be utopian due the interdependence between overseas counterparts consequent of the extremely high coordination needed for the development of this type of leading edge technologies. 1.2. STRUCTURE OF RDCs At the date of the case, Siemens ICN had 6 major overseas RDCs in the following countries: Austria, India, USA, Belgium, Slovenia and Portugal. These centers are related to the Munich headquarters through a HUB-Model, in which RD activities are mostly concentrated in and controlled by the Headquarters, whereas product customization takes place in RDCs. Firstly, the number of person-years and capital invested are two strictly correlated variables in the companys development effort. This is trivial since the amount cash spent in a certain projects is an increasing function of the working years invested by the employees in the development of these projects (salary vs. work). Secondly, labor cost advantage is also a crucial matter in any business. Thus, as can be seen in the table above, the U.S. employees take the first place as most expensive wage earners, whereas the Indian take the place as the cheapest. In this specific case, India presents a great advantage for Siemens ICN or any other technology development company, since there is a good tradeoff between low cost and high expertise in this field. Thirdly, employee turnover is an issue the company sometimes has to deal with. The ambition (and sometimes greed combined with low company loyalty) of employees makes them often migrate to other companies where better salary conditions are offered. This results in a very high employee turnover and difficult allocation of workers to medium/long-term projects. Finally, coordination costs between the Headquarters and RDCs are also of the highest relevance. Since we are talking about countries many times geographically separated by dozens of thousands of kilometers, it becomes extremely hard to articulate and coordinate work between the counterparts. However, not only the geographic and time zone distance influence increase these costs, but also the cultural distance between them, since this implies more time and money spent in trying to reduce it through frequent trips, workshops, etc. 1.3. BOCA RATON RDC In Boca Raton, Florida, U.S.A., is located Siemens second largest overseas RDC. This facility is majorly centered in the development of the Electronic Switching System Digital (EWSD), and functions as many of the companys other RDCs: Munich Headquarters provide the project-base for each EWSD release to Boca Raton, which customizes it to the U.S. markets unique industry standards. Moreover, this RDC benefitted from the accumulation of enough knowledge to acquire the increasing independency from the Headquarters to manage more complex system projects the development of the U.S. customer-required Remote Switching Unit (RSU) is a good example of this. However, despite strong bonds and mutual admiration were developed amidst the counterparts during the development of the RSU, still some critical issues concerning working culture arose: the German culture of building road maps to guide the project development (think first, act later) was completely the opposite of what Americans used to do (act first, think later). Despite there is the rationale of keeping up to competitor technological developments and customer need adaptation for the Americans to perform their work in such a way which would denote a certain degree of home-base augmentation there is an obvious lack of home-base exploitation from the company, since the Germans are not effectively embedding their working culture in their American subsidiary. 1.4. INDIA RDC One of the major problems prevailing in Siemenss international RD process is the different working styles and culture clashes between its local and overseas developers. The contrast is most evident in Bangalore RD center where the Indians are working with their senior partners from Germany. While the Germans expect the Indians in Bangalore to show more interest in working with vast machines rather than to pursue entrepreneurial jobs during the process, the Indians hope the Germans could cancel some of their pre-arranged vacations and give them a hand in some critical points of time. Moreover, as with the Germans feeling uncomfortable about discussing wages issues in public, which is often the conversational topic of the Indian employees, the Indians regard it as being impolite to say No or speak up ones mind in a big meeting, which is required by the German seniors to necessitate the decision making process. This fact is dangerous in a sense that the Germans do not really know whether the Indians developers would be able to perform a specific task as they never say No to the Germans request. In the end, the Indians may end up wasting their time and resources as the tasks are beyond their capabilities. More adversely, miscommunication between Munich and Bangalore and between Germans and Indians, in a smaller scale, often occurs due to the Indian personnels avoidance of blunt request for further clarification in the first place. As a result, the Germans always find it necessary to have face-to-face interaction with Indian engineers in order to re-confirm everything is on the right track. Overall, most of the issues mentioned above stem from the difference in personalities of people from different nationalities. If no action is made to alleviate such discrepancy and to seek the most basic understanding ground among cross-cultural employees, Siemens would continue to incur unnecessary management costs. With this remaining cultural and communicational problems, headquarter in Munich played mainly an administration role. As the customers of Siemens ICN are most of the time Germans or least westerner, RDC in India had a position as an RDC for exporting, which means they follow the directions what is given from headquarter. RDC in India had limited chances to communicate with their customer directly. On Munich side, they had to explain, and had to give the specification to Bangalore. However, they couldnt have enough communication for subtle changes from customers or organization matters such as budget cuts, changes of managers in Germany. Should some changes from Germany, the managers in Munich correspond between India and Germany. It increased the possibilities of missing out on some specifications or misunderstanding between customer and RDC. RD center in India had to sometimes postpone their work due to those confusions. Although the actually RD site is in Bangalore, Munich took the role to integrate and test the entire system which is based on the subprojects developed by Indians. They soon faced difficulties to do that job because they didnt actually perform RD but the developers in Bangalore. Furthermore the subprojects are far more independent than they expected. It causes high inefficiency level that the RDC in India should work again and to find the problems for the system. As these RDC and headquarter are thousand kilometers far away to each other, they need additional care for cooperation and communication. As they should work together across Bangalore and Munich for After-service of their products, the remaining inefficiency of headquarter and RDC in India need sufficient attention. In addition to, gradual loss of cost advantages in international labor force was another problem and India was the standout country. Firstly, high turnover rate among Indian programmers caused high costs to Siemens. For instance, Bangalore programmers were even asking salary information of the German workers. Secondly, time to train a new recruit was long while the employment turnover rate was increasing. One reason was that Indian programmers were trained on inexpensive personal computers so that they relied heavily on German guidance for working on large systems. Thirdly, other competitors were emerging as first choice for local labor force in India. Siemens was considered as one of the best employers to work for in Bangalore in the past but other competitors such as Cisco and Lucent showed up and the competition to hire talented workers made Siemens to slipped from front-runner status to a middle-ranking. Lastly, wage increasing trend in Bangalore had undermined the cost advantage of this RD center to Siemens. The wage for developers in Bangalore increased roughly 25% every year. Siemens had lack of separate team to handle customers complicated technique request. Hard problems were often had to be referred to major RD centers, by which the personnel would be pulled from the RD team and away from their current projects just to solve the problem lead to delay in product release and inefficiency. In addition, there was a strong threat by internet industry. By the mid-1990s, voice transmission via Internet is faster and cheaper. If the internet companies can improve its reliability and quality for phone making, they would dominate the entire communication industry. Furthermore, Siemens had some difficulties in maintaining quality and workforce motivation at its American RDC as the company had experimented with the use of strongly defined project teams for each release of a product. We did a personal analysis for Siemens comparing with competitors and found out that Siemens was spending too little money for the RD during 1995 to 1999 compare to major competitors and industry average which is TELEPHONE TELEGRAPH APPARATUS. As you can refer to the figure3, Siemens RD intensity was 0.0078 that was not only lower than Nokia and Ericsson but also way below the industry average level which was 0.73. 2. RECOMMENDATIONS 2.1. INCREASE OF AUTONOMY The lack of autonomy granted by Munich to overseas RD centers, in general, and Bangalore center, in particular, largely contributed to the inefficient coordination and worsened the existing culture clash in Siemens. To make corrective actions, Munich should give more empowerment to their international RD centers in regard to such downstream activities as interaction with customers. In specific, by directly talking to customers, the Indian team would have a better understanding of customers specification requirement and expectation as well as an increased sense of belonging to the job they are performing. It is prudent enough if small customers are first assigned to Bangalore center in order to test and evaluate its ability to simultaneously produce and handle with customers. This is also opportunities for Indian developers to accumulate their experience so that they can deal with bigger projects on their own in the future without much of Munichs scrutiny. For instance, Siemens could consider developing RDC in India as their Asian RD center, so that the Indian developers can read the Asian customers needs with their geographical advantages to Asia and at the same time, they can perform their requirements independently from headquarter in Germany. In addition, it is advisable for Munich to integrate and test the system in the place the subsystems are originally generated. For example, German supervisor from Munich should travel to Bangalore to conduct the integration and testing rather than send the sub-products back to and fly Indian developers to Munich. The reason is that in Bangalore, German managers can easily get their needed information from the Indian staffs, who directly participated in the task performance, in case there are any problems during the integration and test process. This practice helps eliminate the need for and cost of long-distance communication, let alone miscommunication which may arise due to language differences. More importantly, by conducting the product integration and testing in Bangalore, the Indian staff would have a feeling that their contribution is worthwhile as they can keep track of their spiritual product until it is completed and delivered to customers flawlessly. As a result, it would not hurt the Indians self-esteem while improving their sense of responsibility and belonging toward the company as they take control of what they produce. Moreover, adoption of Delphi approach in important board meetings among multicultural staffs would preclude their shyness and encourage all people to speak up their minds in an acceptable way to all the cultures. Even though the Delphi approach is time consuming and require everyone to meet face-to-face, it proves as the good solution in short term while Indian heads felt it wrong to reject other peoples ideas in a big meeting. In the long run, so as to bridge the cultural gap, Siemens should take on more approaches. In terms of communication matter, if the managers from Germany are qualified as international experts especially for Indian culture, they could deeply understand Indians communicational way. This can efficiently deliver customers need to Bangalore and also maximize the performance in India. Such an international cross over can also implemented other way around. For instance, Indians who have experience with Germans or least Westerner could understand their supervisors and customers need more exactly. These Indian international experts could bring also the ideas and project status in sense what their western-customers and co-worker need. This autonomy grant to Siemens Bangalore RD unit or, if necessary and proven to be a successful measure, to other units would possibly result, in the long-term, in a change of the companys structure from a HUB Model to a Network Model, in which the global control of RD activities would be split between the companys global competence centers, both at home and host countries, with a bi-directional technological knowledge flow. 2.2. IMPLEMENTATION TO REDUCE CULTURAL DISTANCE In order to improve their cross cultural understanding, here are some recommendations to get them having the idea of how their counterpart functions. Firstly, to have cultural workshops by international experts or even their co-workers from India, so that they can understand and know each others culture better, leads to lower possibility of occurrence of misunderstanding and miscommunication between Indian and German workers. Secondly, Siemens could provide Global sporting activities or family gathering in different countries. By having gathering events, employees can easily develop team spirits and become friends, reduce their cultural distance to each other after all. For instance, Hyundai Motor Company first had difficulties with managing and controlling the multicultural employees within the company because there was huge cultural distance between them. To deal with this problem, for instance, they started a global 33 basketball tournament across their local offices and it increases their profitability by having good relationship with each other (Korean and foreign counterparts) beyond the cultural backgrounds. During the matches, employees could feel that they share the same goal and they can well co-operate each other, regardless of their different nationality. 2.4. REDUCTION OF EMPLOYEE TURNOVER RATE Even though India had one of the worlds three largest engineering workforces, companies still engaged in a fight for talent. It was so, because the labor market is a global one, so a lot of companies would recruit software engineers to both work in their Indian units, but also to work elsewhere, as Indian talent was highly regarded in this field. Also, both national and international companies had substantial operations in Bangalore, Indias computational technology center, to benefit from the talent pool and the low cost labor, so companies often adopted aggressive strategies to attract the best and the brightest. Siemens had long established in India and was had a formidable reputation, being regarded as one the best employers to work for by young Indians. However, this was changing with the increasing competition for engineers by companies such as Lucent and Cisco, and as Siemens provide a great experience and learning curve, recruiters would often go after the companys engineers, and would pay a premium to have them switch companies, making the annual turnover rate in India, 35%, the highest in the company. Also, there was culture clash between the Germans and the Indians in Siemens, as Indians showed to be somewhat impatient and looking to move projects more often than what was planned by the German management. Also, Indians preferred leading-edge projects in the fields of mobile telecommunications and internet protocols, rather than what was being assigned to them, which was quality testing and integration tasks, which were more repetitive and less stimulating. The Germans also showed lac k of knowledge with regards to the Indian way of working, because the Indian output was not always reliable, as they kept changing approaches and they would rather fix problems right on the spot and not document them for future knowledge and improvement, and this was against the German mindset. All these issues helped keep the turnover rate high, and Siemens had to look for solutions to this problem. It seems that, to keep engineers happy, and as they were to open to discuss wages everywhere, Siemens would have to offer better wages, at least to their most talented employees. Perhaps the best way to do so, and to keep the incentive of increasing performance whenever possible, would be to keep the base salary where it is and offer performance based bonuses and also, stock options plans. There could be a 2 tier performance based bonus scheme, with both a short term component to it, and a longer term one that would only be awarded if the employee stayed in the company for a certain number of years and kept his/her performance level, to ensure that the motivation was always high and that the proper incentive mechanisms were in place. Regarding the stock options, this would also ensure the long term loyalty to the company and the incentive to adopt both a short and long term approach on a daily basis. These suggestions bring up the need to have measure of performance, as objective as possible. Working hours are not the best measure of productivity as anyone can stay longer and that could promote inefficiency, poor time management and a decrease in output. Criteria such as on time delivery of projects, inexistence of errors, reliability and integration of systems, after sales service and overall customer satisfaction (measured by both formal and informal feedback on all levels of interaction) could provide better ways to reward performance. Also, employees with out-of-the-box thinking, extraordinary contribution to projects, engineers that developed innovative systems and ways to overcome issues and provide a better and more efficient services to the customer, could be rewarded, both financially and non-financially. To boost motivation, and in lign with the previous recommendation, top performers could be given a certain amount of time on a daily or weekly basis to develop side projects for the company on their initiative, in order to feel more stimulated and rea lly adding value to the company and the clients. Also, besides the health, housing and vehicle benefits already in place, there could be an effort to transform the offices into more friendly working environments, in an attempt to adopt some of Googles employee motivation strategies, so that employees feel more motivation, loyalty and corporate citizenship that will ultimately lead to better output and satisfied clients. 3. FURTHER MANAGERIAL ISSUES Despite we hope and expect the recommendations given to have a positive impact in the Siemens International RD operations, there are some issues that may arise from these measures, though. If we think about the increase in autonomy granted to the Indian RDC, for instance, there is a dangerous threat in which the company may incur, is this measure to be taken. It is quite obvious that the more autonomous a person or an entity becomes from an upper body, the more tendency it has to deal with any different situation in its own way, either it is solving organizational problems, negotiating with suppliers or dealing with customers. Thus, due to the cultural differences that are felt between Indians and Germans, this is a situation very likely to happen. Consequently, and without wanting to state this is what would eventually happen for sure, this autonomy grant might result in a deviation from the companys way of operating from the Indians. The final outcome of such a deviation could be catastrophic for Siemens, since it could jeopardize a whole corporate culture and way of doing business, blurring the companys image to stakeholders eyes. Thus, as it was stated before, this process should be gradual and always under headquarters supervision. Finally, another issue that might arise from our recommendations is the loss of labor cost-advantage in India. Even though we are perfectly aware that, in one way or another, wage levels will necessarily increase in India in the next years especially in the technological field, due to the increasing demand for expertise in this area, as well as for the countrys overall economic development it is undeniable that this incentive program would increase Siemens expenditure in workforce and, consequently, mean the loss of the cost-advantage the company had by employing experts in the field at a lower price.

Behavioral Techniques in the Classroom Essay -- Education Teaching

Behavioral Techniques in the Classroom Very often, American parents complain that schools are disorderly and undisciplined. They claim that their child’s behavior has worsened and the child is using vulgar language. Teachers, however, complain that students arrive at school lacking common courtesy and respect for authority. Because of this, instruction time is wasted trying to obtain order (Bennett, et. al., 1999). Student discipline is affected by classroom management. The way in which a teacher manages his/her classroom delineates the type of instruction that will take place in the classroom. A classroom in which the teacher takes total responsibility for guiding students’ actions comprises a different learning environment than one in which students are encouraged to take responsibility for their own actions (Evertson, 2003). Many schools are reluctant to hold students accountable for their own actions. The education establishment warns teachers that they will be placing themselves in a questionable role if they emphasize rules, punish bad behavior, and reward good conduct (Bennett, et. al., 1999). Teachers need to create a learning environment in which students are encouraged to do their best and therefore, motivated to work to their highest potential. Teachers need to also set expectations and maintain the learning environment they have developed. Even in effectively managed c lassrooms, however, problems may occur. Effective teachers handle the problem quickly when inappropriate behavior occurs in order to keep the behavior from continuing and spreading. Most behavior can be handled with unobtrusive techniques, though some misbehavior requires more direct intervention. Whether orderly structures have bee... ... Moore, W.L & Cooper, Harris. (1984). Correlations Between Teacher and Student Backgrounds and Teacher Perceptions of Discipline Problems and Disciplinary Techniques. Retrieved March 19 from Ebsco Host Database. Roe, Betty & Ross, Eleanor. (1998). Effective Disciplinary Techniques. Retrieved March 19, 2004 from http:// academic.wsc.edu/edc/linked_files/student_teach_Handbooks/part6_disciplinary_techniques.doc. Short, R.J., & Short P.M. (1994). An organization perspective on student discipline. Education, 114(4). Retrieved March 17, 2004 from MasterFILE Premier. Slavin, R.E. (2003). Educational Psychology Theory and Practice. Boston: A and B. Wardle, F. (2003). Introduction to Early Childhood Education. Boston: A and B. (2004). Zero tolerance takes student discipline to harsh extremes. USA Today. Retrieved March 17, 2004 from MasterFILE Premier.

Friendship Essay: My Best Friends Funeral -- friendship essay, my best

I never thought that I would ever had to attend to a funeral of a close friend. Aaron Smith was only 18 years old and passed away from a tragic automobile accident. He was always a really happy guy and had the biggest smile there could ever be, his smile would make anyone get cheered up. He was about 5 foot 9 inches, light brown skin, and he had a thick body, and black hair. Aaron would always help out a friend in need, even though he had trouble with his divorced parents he wouldn’t let that get him down. His mother and sisters live in Stockton, California and his father lives in Royal City, Washington so Aaron would always be traveling from California to Washington state. That made it hard on him trying to be with both families, but his favorite place to reside was Royal City because he had all of us as friends we gave him all the love that he needed to be comfortable living without his mom and sisters. So this is were the story begins. I remember November 13, 2006 like it were yesterday I was very excited because we had just moved in to a new house it wasn‘t in Royal city but it was only 30 minutes away. Our new house had three bed rooms, three bathrooms, two living rooms, and the best part of all a big swimming pool with a slide and a diving board! It was one of the most exciting days of my life, even tough we had tons of boxes to un pack it was all good. My bedroom was outside of the actual house it was the guest room but I claimed it as my room it was perfect. That day I was with my boyfriend who was also very close to Aaron, we were watching a scary movie and it was about 8Pm and Ray (my boyfriend) had a really weird feeling like he had to leave back to Royal as soon as possible ... ...ood-bye. We were all just hanging out in the room until it was all over. From Moses Lake Aaron had a last trip he was going to be buried in California we all knew that Aaron would have rather be in Royal City but his mom thought otherwise. To some up this awful story we finally left the funeral house, and everyone left back to Royal City. To all of us it was a nightmare come true to lose a close friend but now that I think about it he is in a better place not having to decide between mom or dad, California or Washington. This funeral was the worst thing that could happen to me, I lost a good friend and I would never get to see him again. When I think about him now days I look at it like if he were in California and that I will see him eventually. I dream about him once in a while and I know he’s dead but in my dream it makes me happy to see him and talk to him.

Gerda Klein Essay -- Gerda Weissman Klein, Jewish Holocaust

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   During the Holocaust, Jewish people were submitted to the vilest and most inhumane conditions the world had ever seen. Their most basic freedoms were taken from them. At first, all they lost were items such as flour, eggs, sugar, and cocoa. Later, they were stripped of their land and businesses and separated according to their ability to be productive slaves to Hitler's Third Reich. Those that were deemed unfit were sent to slaughter houses. Entire families were torn apart, much like what happened to Gerda Weissman Klein's family. Despite watching her mother, father, and brother being taken from her, knowing that she would never see them again, she found the strength to survive three years in German labor camps through her family, friends, and her own strong will for survival. After Poland fell to German forces, all Jewish men of a certain age range were required to register. Klein brother Arthur was the first family member she lost when he was called to duty. e strong, they will need you. (p. 21) Those were Arthur last words to his little sister, and Klein took them very seriously. Even after she found herself separated from her family and imprisoned by the Nazis, Klein drew strength from Arthur plea. Klein parents were a major source of strength for her. They were who she looked to for guidance and support, especially after Germany invaded Poland. After the Nazis were in power and before she went away to labor camps, everything Klein did revolved around her ...

Package Comparison Materials

Packaging Materials Comparison/G. King 1 Packaging Materials Comparison George King #3141824 Date: 24 Mar 2013 Dr. Carmen Mousel American Military University TLMT351 D001 Win 13 Introduction What are advantages and disadvantages within the supply chain for a paper- based shipping container, a wood-based shipping container and a plastic-based shipping container for use as a distribution package (a non-retail shipping package)? Advantages for using paper-based shipping containers are due to the corrugated box being a sustainable, versatile, and lightweight material.The paper-based shipping container can be used for multitudes of products and can be made into a custom-manufactured shipping container for those products. Typically these containers are used for transporting a wide range of goods such as packaged goods, produce, meat products, and etc. Corrugated box usages are good for the environment due to it being both reusable and recyclable. The paper product can be compostable which will be good for the environment since it will not end up in a landfill if properly handled.Since the product is biodegradable it is better for the environment. 1 Disadvantage for using paper-based shipping containers are due to the paper product coming into contact with outside elements such as being susceptible with wet weather conditions such as rain and snow. Stacking for long periods of time are not good since over time they will lose their shape without some sort of pallet or contour structure included into the design. 1 ? Advantages for using a wood-based shipping container is due to the sturdiness of the product for protecting the contents further.Having a wood container available will allow for it to be exposed to harsh climate changes and rough handling. Wood is less likely to fall apart due to outside elements and easier for movement in and around the warehouse. These containers are normally built for heavy products since strength is needed for moving heavy loads. Wood bo xes are also needed when stacking heavy loads. The wooden crates can be easily transported in and around distribution centers once skids are attached to the bottom for forklift accessibility, unlike boxes where a pallet is needed for movement.Modification to wood crates or containers can be easily modified with doors and ramps making it easy to move items in and out. They are also eco friendly for being able to use the wood crates more than once. 2 ? Disadvantage to using wood is that crates can get to extreme temperatures inside; they can get too cold and or too hot depending on location. Controlling temperature is an issue. Also, having free space for stacking and moving wood crates can be hazardous. Wood also begins to wear out if utilized multiple times.Pests are an issue, meaning termites may have a field day when wood is exposed over time. Pathogens are of some concern as food inside containers could be exposed to bacterium E. coli and salmonella. 2 ? Advantages for using plas tic based shipping containers are normally seen with the use of drums. These containers are high in molecular weight and density polyethylene. They can withstand temperatures and are corrosion resistant. They can be used for both food and chemicals. Plastic drums are self supporting and can be used horizontally or vertically.Plastic can be easily molded into the contents of the product for further securing of the product. Handles can be installed for ease of movement. The imagination can run for a long time for molding your requirement. They can store just about anything. Many industries use plastic containers for warehouse operations, because they come in large sizes and they are stackable. Plastic is durable, cost effective, and can last for a long time. 3 ? Disadvantages of using plastic containers are that they hold smells of past transported product; therefore it is expensive to clean plastic.Plastic can also be a health issue. Plastic is not bio degradable and many companies w ill not recycle plastics. When thinking of using plastic for different tasks then it may not be the best option. 4 References 1. Website, http://www. internationalpaper. com/US/EN/Products/Transport/ShippingContainers. html 2. Website, http://www. container-transportation. com/shipping-container-housing. html 3. Website, www. usplastic. com/catalog/item. aspx? itemid=22827&catid=459 4. Website, http://www. ehow. com/info_8562652_advantages-disadvantages-plastic-containers. html

Contract Laws Essay

When it comes the laws of business there are a broad range of categories and topics. A topic that we would find when studying business law is contracts. â€Å"A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more people.† (Rogers, 2012) In the world we live in learning about contract laws is very vital when entering into one. We must be aware that there is more than just on type of contract and there are several steps that both parties must follow before any contract can be legal. There are several types of contracts that individuals can enter. These types are expressed, implied, bilateral, unilateral, simple, formal and quasi contracts. An express contract are â€Å"formed by the express language of the parties—the actual words they use in their agreement—and can be either written or oral.† (Rogers, 2012) This type of contract does not have to be in writing. An expressed contract contains the offer, acceptance and consideration elements of a contract. Express contracts are usually compared to implied contracts. Implied contacts are â€Å"formed not by the express words of the parties, but rather by their actions.† (Rogers, 2012) With this type of contract the agreement is implied by actions. There are no expressed words within an implied contract. It can be either implied in fact or in law. If a contract will result in inequity or harm it will not be implied. If there is any doubt or discrepancy exists, then the court might not con clude a contractual relationship. If an implication arises that they have jointly assented to a new contract that contains the same requirements as the old agreement. Another type of contract is a bilateral contract. A bilateral contract is a† reciprocal arrangement between two parties under which both parties promise to perform an act in exchange for  the other party’s act† (BusinessDictionary.com). When entering into a bilateral contract there is a joint agreement among the two parties that entails the performance of an act. The promise made by one party constitutes sufficient consideration for the promise made by the other party. It is a common contract because we enter into a bilateral contract everything we make a purchase, order or receive any kind of treatment. Bilateral contracts are compared to unilateral contract. Unilateral contract are agreements that deal with a promise that is made by only one person involved in the contract. This agreement is when there is an exchange for the performance or non-performance of an act by the other party. Only one of the contracting parties can be enforced to comply with contract. This type of contract is one-sided because only the offeror is legally bound in complying with the terms of the contract. The offeree can comply or refrain from performing the act, but he or she cannot be sued if they do not comply. If you accept an offer from a unilateral contract it cannot be achieved by making another agreement only by performance or non-performance of some particular act. An offer can be revoked until the act has been performed or there was no act completed and the date has passed. The following contract is called a simple contract. It is in no way a lawfully recorded or legitimately sealed contract, but breeches are still frequently ruled on by a judge. It â€Å"is any oral or written contract that is not required to follow a specific form, or be signed, witnessed, or sealed.† (Rogers, 2012). They are not necessarily formalized contracts and do not entail court proceedings in order to make them binding. They are simply an agreement that is among the parties involved. They are usually compared to formal contracts. Formal contract are â€Å"a written agreement between two parties that are considered to be legally binding and enforced my law† (Laws.com). They must be in writing, signed and seal by all parties entering into the contract. In order for a formal contract to be valid it must contain three elements, which are the offer, the acceptance and a payment for the services provided or goods delivered. This type of contract eliminates any uncertainty regarding its terms and conditions. It contains a preface section which is utilized to clearly define the essentials terms that are utilized within the contract. This helps in eliminating redundancy in the use of common language. It also insures substantive terms of the contract  that are described and referenced in t he contract. Quasi contracts are the last type of contract discussed in the text. Quasi contracts are not a realistic contract. â€Å"They are a remedy that a court may offer to make things fair.† (Rogers, 2012). This type of contract is implied by law. Courts will imply a fictional contract to require one party to return benefits to the other party where unjust enrichment has occurred. Unjust enrichment doctrine deals with the equality of a quasi contract. It states that no party should profit at the expense of the other without making restitution of a reasonable value. When there is no oral or written agreement, courts depend on this doctrine to provide a legal remedy for a quasi contract. A Quasi contract can be compared to an implied contract. There are two types of implied contracts. These types are Implied-in-fact and Implied-by-law. A quasi contract is considered to be an Implied-by-law. It is different from an implied-in-fact because the courts treat the former as an express written contract because of the actions and words that both parties have expressed. Even though neither party has verbally expressed the acceptance of the contract their actions might be viewed differently. A contracted can be valid and enforceable, but can also be found to be unenforceable and can be voided. In order for a contract to be valid and enforceable it must contain the five elements of a contract to be legally binding. These elements are offer, acceptance, consideration, legality and capacity. The first element of a valid contract is the offer. An offer â€Å"is an invitation for another to enter into a contract† (Rogers, 2012). Offers can be verbal or written, but must at all times be clear terms. They can be bilateral or unilateral terms. They are not legally binding. Offers can be voided is any of the individuals involved cannot or do not comply with their promise. Offers can also be voided, repealed or annulled after parties have accepted the offer, unless there is a clause where it states that revocations are not allowed. The following element is acceptance. An acceptance â€Å"is an acquiescence to enter into a contract under the terms of the offer† (Rogers, 2012). Once an offer is made the parties must agree on the terms. All parties must be willing to enter into the agreement. Acceptances can be implied or  expressed. They can be directed to all parties involved or just one person. There are times when the individual making the offer will invite the person accepting the offer by actually performing the acts that the offeror is bargaining for. This occurs when special tribulations of notification, revoking and confidence in the form of limited performance can occur. Consideration is the next element of a valid contract. A consideration is â€Å"anything of legal value that is asked for and received as the price for entering into a contract† (Rogers, 2012). For a contract to be considered to be legally binding it must be supported by a valuable consideration. For instance, a party is required to do something in exchange for the promise that was made in a benefit of value. It is what each individual in the contact provides to the other as the established value for the other’s promise. For the most part, considerations are usually a payment of money, but are not always. At times they can be a promise to do something such as a type of work in return for something. The fourth element is legality. This is â€Å"an agreement may be considered illegal if it would violate a statute; result in commission of a tort; or violate public policy.† (Rogers, 2012). In contract law, legality of purpose is required of every enforceable contract. Agreement of a social nature are presumed not to be legally binding, but with evidence can be rebutted in court. Also, any domestic agreements such as agreements created by a parent and a child are generally unenforceable on the basis of the system of law. The last element is capacity. Capacity is â€Å"the mental competency of an individual and also with special rules for people who are under legal age† (Rogers, 2012). In other words, it deals with the competence of all parties. In order for an individual to enter into a contract they must be capable to do so. All parties entering the contract have to be over the legal age, mentally capable and cannot be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. If a contract is made with an individual that is under the age of 18 or 21, depending on the jurisdiction, the contract is voidable, but is legal and enforceable until or unless the individual revokes it. In the  eyes of the law, individuals under the age of 18 or 21 are deemed to be immature and naà ¯ve to enter into a contract. The individual may avoid the legal duty to perform the terms of the agreement without being liable of breach of contract. All parties must also be mentally capable of entering into a contract. If a party does not understand the nature and/or consequences of the contract when it is formed the contract can be voided. An individual that lacks the legal capacity can be declared incompetent in a court and can be appointed a legal guardian. If someone is to enter into a contract with someone who is not mentally capable the contract will be voided and there will not be any legal effects because neither party may be legally compelled to comply with the terms. Lastly, no one entering in to a contract can be intoxicated. All parties must be sober at the time of entering a contract in order for the contract to be deemed enforceable. When someone is under the influence they are not capable of knowing what they are doing and why. They might also not comprehend the terms of the contract which makes it unenforceable. A contact can appear to be legally binding because it may contain all the elements of a contract, but there are defenses to a contract that can also make a contract unenforceable and voidable. There are two types of defense to a contract, which are lack of genuine assent and lack of proper form. Genuine assent or â€Å"meeting on the minds† is a criteria utilized to determine validity of acceptance of an offer for a contract. This occurs when the acceptance of a contract is secured through improper or illegal means such as fraud, mistake, duress and undue influence. The first type of genuine assent that will be discussed is fraud. Fraud is the premeditated falsification of an essential matter of the contract. When there is an existence of fraud in a contractual proceeding it makes the contract unenforceable and can be voided by the party upon whom the deception was perpetrated. According to our text, there are two types of fraud, which are fraud in the execution and fraud in the inducement. Fraud in the execution merely occurs when one of the individuals who entered in to the contract isn’t aware that they are entering in to one. The second fraud is when both parties are aware they are entering into the contract, but one of the  parties is deceived when entering into it. The following type that can make a contract unenforceable and invalid is a mistake. A mistake is also known as a mutual mistake. When there is a mistake this means that both parties made a mistake to something that is vital to the contract. Just because one party can make a mistake doesn’t necessarily mean that the contract is voidable. In order for it to be considered as unenforceable it must have a significant effect on the exchange or bargaining development. The following factor is duress. Duress is when one party forces the other party to sign a contract. The force can be either physical or emotional pressure. When there is use of duress the contract is voidable by the party that was under duress during signing. Duress can be defined by three categories, which are actual or threatened violence to an individual, threats to an individual’s property and/or economic duress. Economic duress is the more difficult to prove because you have to establish the boundaries of acceptance behavior of this kind of pressure. Duress is sometimes compared to undue influence, but there are different. As mentioned above, duress deals with someone being pressured into signing the contract, whereas undue influence is when a party is manipulated in to signing the contract. If one party has put inequitable and inappropriate pressure on the other in the discussions leading to the signing of the contract, common law will allow duress and undue influence to allow for the terms of the contract to be set aside. Common laws are laws â€Å"made by the decisions of judges in individual cases. â€Å" (Rogers, 2012). Undue influence is easy to recognize because it can involve the parties having a fiduciary relationship or one of the members involved depends on another due to their age, illness, infirmity, etc. A fiduciary relationship is a relationship where one individual has a responsibility to act for the other’s benefit. When undue influence occurs the individual who is suppose to be helping the other person out is taking advantage of that person. Lastly, the second type of defense to a contract as listed above is lacks proper form. This is generally when it lacks writing. There are certain types of contracts that are required to be in writing, but at times we aren’t aware. If these types of contracts are not in writing then they  cannot be enforced. It is important to learn about contract laws. They are the foundation of our society. Since we enter into contracts on a daily bases we should be aware of these laws. Contracts can be complicated and having knowledge of the different types and what makes them enforceable or voided can really be helpful. If there were no laws on contract then the agreements we make could become impractical and unworkable. References Lewinsohn, J. L. (1914). Contract Distinguished From Quasi Contract. California Law Review, 2(3), 171. Rogers, S. (2012). Essentials of Business Law. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Smith, C. A. (2012). Contracts. http://www.west.net/~smith/contracts.htm Information regarding elements of a contract and remedies for breach. Undefined. (n.d.). Bilateral Contract. In BusinessDictionary.com. Retrieved May 2, 2014, from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/bilateral-contract.html. Undefined. (n.d.). Know the types of Formal Contract. In Laws.com. Retrieved May 2, 2014, from http://contract-law.laws.com/types-of-contracts/types-of-formal-contract.