Friday, February 21, 2020

Principles of Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Principles of Economics - Essay Example The recession that began in 2007 was caused by the ‘sharp downturns’ in the housing, stock and labor markets. This resulted to changes in the global economy as well. The recession led to increased inflation, high interest rates, high rates of unemployment, contraction of the economy and reduced consumer confidence. Finally, interest rates was the main contributing factor to the recession as banks offered low interest rates causing the demand for loans and mortgages to increase which contributed to the skyrocketing levels of inflation in the past five years. Strategies that the federal government could implement that would encourage people to spend more money Decisions made by the federal government have a profound impact on peoples spending which in turn affects the employment activities in the economy. The first policy that can be employed by the government is through supporting economically competitive areas. As a result, this increases the income levels in such commun ities thereby increasing their level of spending. This move will lead to a reduction of costs across regions and improve the overall environmental, housing and transportation needs. Examples of such initiatives include the EPA’s Smart Growth Program and the HUD’s Sustainability Office both aimed at improving the living standards of the citizens (Smart Growth America, 2013). The second policy is by putting in place a mechanism that ensures an accountable and safer transportation system to promote efficient trade thereby creating job opportunities. Examples of policies that support this include the Complete Street Act and the Clean, Low-Emission, Affordable, New Transportation Efficiency Act (Smart Growth America, 2013). A Situation in the Past 50 years in which the Government Used Anti-Trust Policies to Stop a Monopoly from Occurring The best example of such a situation is the Microsoft Corporation case that is regarded as the most recent situation where the anti- trust law has been applied accordingly. The law is based on universal ethics consideration and the Microsoft Corporation is said to have violated it as it failed to establish the effects of its outstanding success on its competitors and society in general (Mankiw, 2007). One thing is certain, although the company may have had ethical issues; their innovations have totally changes technology in the world. The justice department strongly believes that the company used monopoly in operating system software to eliminate its rivals and establish dominance in the market. In the long- run this will have detrimental effects on the consumers resulting from fewer choices and less competition. The government points out that Microsoft has undertaken in actions to promote its Windows monopoly which violates the anti- trust laws. The government also maintains that the company has used its market leadership to monopolize the internet browsing software market. In addition to, the company is said to have violated the anti- competitive acts (Mankiw, 2007). The company’s defense is based on the fact that it is simply trying to develop its products and that its activities are and there is no basis of consumer indignation being claimed by the government. In conclusion, Microsoft Corporation has been facing the anti- trust legislation for a couple of years now. It has been observed that this may have led to some sought of restrained trade

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

HR Policy and Guideline implementation to MEGlobal Human Resources Case Study

HR Policy and Guideline implementation to MEGlobal Human Resources - Case Study Example It has also been found in the study that global HR perspectives should be accommodative to people from diverse cultural backgrounds. This is very important since it helps people to identify with the organization. Introduction Managing human resources issues in organizations that are comprised of people from different nations is quite challenging as a result of the fact that the cultures of these people differ. Research has also shown the significance of human resources management especially in the changing global environment in which organisations operate. It can be seen that there ought to be rules in every organization hence the HRM policies in multi-national or international organisations ought to be standardised so as to be in a position to create fair working conditions among people from different cultures belonging to the organization. As such, this paper has been designed to analyse the case study of MEGlobal. The paper starts by describing the case study and this is followed by carrying out a critical analysis of what ought to be done in order to improve the HR policies in the company. Situational analysis MEGlobal is one of the leading producers and marketers of Glycol and it has offices in USA, Canada, Switzerland, China, Hong Kong and Dubai but the main manufacturing location is in western Canada. However, one of the offices has faces the situation that needs to be addressed without offending four of the employees who are labelled as having bad body odor and mouth odor to the point that it has become difficult for other people to conduct business. Being a multi ethnic office, the other problem is that the pantry smells of a variety of ethnic foods when they are microwaved. There is negative talk about these people who apparently are hardworking employees and very good in their respective jobs. In order to address the issue raised in the case study given, it is imperative to take a holistic approach so that there is no person who will feel side-lined. Significance of culture It is imperative to ensure that the organizational policies are designed to include aspects that are concerned with improving the welfare of the people in different ways. The policies should be designed in such a way that they address employee welfare issue solving conflicts as well as motivating the employees to put optimum effort in their operations. The aspect of culture should be given priority in as far as solving this particular case is concerned. According to Werner et al (2003), culture can be simply defined as a way of doing things by an identified group of people. There are two different forms of culture namely: culture of the local people as well as organizational culture. When HRM policies are being designed, these factors need to be taken into consideration. In this particular case, it can be noted that the convergence of different cultures is means that a holistic approach has to be taken when addressing the issue of â€Å"odour† among s ome of the employees. As noted, employees at MEGlobal come from different cultural backgrounds and what may appear to be unusual is common in other cultures. The concept of human resources management should be carefully taken into consideration in as far as dealing with the aspect of culture is concerned. â€Å"HRM is described as a system of philosophies, policies as well as practices that affect the people who work in the organization,† (Jackson et al 2001, p. 119). Since people are the most important asset