WGS205H5 Lecture 6: Lecture 6

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rubyshark70

6 Oct 2011

School

UTM

Department

Women and Gender Studies

Course

WGS205H5

Professor

Pouneh Saeedi

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Document Summary

That is the way home makers have been viewed throughout history. Contributing to the economy in what way: ads are targeting you. If you don"t watch them then who will. Gender specific what you see on tv: a lot of commercials target different genders. Guy has committed a crime that has lead to the death of many people. Relevance to television spectators: producers look at people as if they were dots, they think they are above the common man/woman, only think about making money. The effect of what they are doing on people didn"t matter. No emotion of what happens to people, only care about how much money they will make. The fact that you sit at home and you have to analyze these texts and the way it is, plus your contributing to the economy in certain ways: some people are making money out of it a. Theme that appears in a lot of feminist articles.

Related Questions

Need help revising, and recommendation for a conclusion.

Throughout this paper is my understanding of what I have learned in class chapters 1-4, expressing my understanding and opinions. Economics is the study of how we deal with scarce resources. Microeconomics specially deals with business in the home country exclusively. This type of economics affects small businesses in the home country only. On the other hand, macroeconomics concerns our national welfare concerning trade and international business.

I believe that many things affect our economy on a microeconomics level. Things such as our understanding of our country in reflection to the world are very important. That is why we study ourselves before we study the macroeconomic principle of the world. Understanding ourselves is what microeconomics teaches us. Working from the inside out. The world is a place where there are differences in our wants and what we get. That is what makes items scarce. That is what positive economics is. Positive economics deals with what is and what we have. The other type of economics is called normative statements. This deals with what we should receive instead of what is and deserved to some extent. It's our scarce resources that determine our allocation of resources and how we use our resources and time. This is where opportunity costs come in, giving up something to do something. A successful business or country never ignores opportunity costs. We must ensure that we have a comparative advantage instead of the absolute advantage. Our resources must be used to achieve maximum output. Comparative is met when we have fewer opportunity costs to make some certain products than the other person or entity.

My initial understanding was scarcity was oil potentially running out, but we have so much of it that you can always find more with techniques such as fracking. Now it's obvious to me, one of our most scarce resources is time. You cannot avoid the 8,760 hours in a year. I understand that people have unlimited wants but limited resources. Everything has a cost and we must make a choice as we don't have unlimited farms, factories workers, etc. scarcity forces choices and this ties in with opportunity cost, for every gun made, a theft from the hungry is made. The opportunity cost not being used to feed the poor, but to make guns. And I find it easy to understand no one can have everything choices must be made on benefits. If I'm going to school, imp giving up making cash, as I'm giving up money for an education, I value education more. Scarcity is also related to the invisible hand. As it's an achievement that leads free markets and capitalism through competition for scarce resources.

My understanding of the invisible hand is a person neither intends to promote public interest and does not know how much he is promoting it. Only intending on his own gain. Without being his intention a person can be lead by the invisible hand to do good for society by pursuing one's own self-interest. Going into equity and efficiency the invisible hand does ensure both equity and efficiency. People work in their selfish ways to maximize profit while also contributing to the economy as a whole. It can also be argued that as the invisible hand wants to ensure efficiency, it cannot guarantee efficiency, because it can fail to produce an efficient allocation of resources, which in turn lead to a market failure. It can also be argued that it can't guarantee equity because not everyone gets a fair price. The way I like to remember efficiency is with a real-life example, like a reduction in the number of workers needed to produce a particular good for a particular amount. Equity refers to the ownership interest in an asset, for example, if a person owns a house with a market value of $800,000 and owes $100,000 on the mortgage leaving a $700,000 equity in the home.

It can be predicted that if the price of beef increases - ceteris paribus-the quantity of beef demanded by buys will decrease. In other words, if the price of beef increases, then the quantity of beef increases, then the quantity of beef demanded will decrease because all things have to be equal. In-class lecture thought me all other things remaining the same. Economists use ceteris paribus to determine the effect of a factor when all other factors have been held the same and helps simplify the study and get a more refined data set.

Economists deal with many issues that pertain to assuring that both a countries domestic output is efficient and that there is an effective trade balance. This means that there are a balance and limit on the amount of imports. Also, this means home production must be able to meet export demands. There are many factors that affect the production of goods and their effect on shifting the production possibilities frontier. This involves evaluating every detail including knowing the products and any close substitutes and compliments. It also involves knowing how an action or other external force will affect demand. This is called price elasticity; Substitutes are products that can replace any given product or service. An example of this would be Coke and Pepsi. The presence of substitutes affects price elasticity because if there are other options, then any change to the price or quality of the product will cause a shift of the demand curve. O course, price is a huge reason why the demand for a product decreases or increases yet it doesn't shift the curve because of the price only. This price change will cause a domino effect that will end with the shifting of the demand curve because it will cause an increase or decrease in demand of the substitute good if the price change is either lower or higher respectively. This price change serves as a catalyst that will change people's desire to spend more money on a more expensive product and that will instead choose to buy the substitute good for cheaper or buy more of the desired product. The change in the price of actual products will not shift the demand curve yet the change of the price of substitutes will because it serves to change people's purchasing behavior. On the other hand, compliments serve to boost demand when there is a decrease in price. The use of complementary goods is dependent upon another product. An example of this would be hot dogs and buns. If the price of hotdogs decreases then, conversely, the demand for hot dog buns will increase because of this change in price. In this scenario, the decrease in price will cause a positive shift in the demand curve because of people's desire and willingness to buy more buns. This is an example of a demand shifter. There are a few other demand shifters. The shifters of the demand curve are changes in expectations, disposable income, price of substitute goods and complements, tastes and preferences, and population size and composition. Changes in income affect the demand curve because if income is lower then people tend to save any extra income instead of wasting it. Disposable income is minimized and spending is lower. This also causes people to see a perceived value of things and distinguishing between what is necessary and what is a relative luxury. The lower the income, the higher the saving and avoidance to spend. An example of this would be if someone needs to buy some medication and it is relatively expensive, that doesn't mean that someone won't buy the medication just because it is expensive. It is necessary. Other factors that contribute to spending and demand are having a price ceiling and price floor. Having a price ceiling is a limit on the price of the product this is a government-imposed idea that is meant to protect consumers from unfair pricing and other conditions that may be malicious or obscure. This affects demand because if there is a price ceiling there is a limit on profit on a unit-to-unit basis. The other factor is the price floor. This price floor was created to encourage competition and affect consumers' willingness to pay because sometimes this new price may be higher than the original price. This causes a negative impact on a product that has a less than wanted perceived value. Many factors contribute to economic prosperity and certainly do help assure that information is analyzed and implemented into an economic and business plan.

limejellyfish231

Statement by Philip Lowe, Governor:â¨Monetary Policy Decision

At its meeting today, the Board decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 1.50 per cent.

There has been a broad-based pick-up in the global economy since last year. Labour markets have tightened further in many countries and forecasts for global growth have been revised up. Above-trend growth is expected in a number of advanced economies, although uncertainties remain. In China, growth is being supported by increased spending on infrastructure and property construction, with the high level of debt continuing to present a medium-term risk. The improvement in the global economy has contributed to higher commodity prices, which are providing a significant boost to Australiaâs national income. Australiaâs terms of trade have increased, although some reversal of this is occurring.

Headline inflation rates have moved higher in most countries, partly reflecting the higher commodity prices. Core inflation remains low. Long-term bond yields are higher than last year, although in a historical context they remain low. Interest rates have increased in the United States and there is no longer an expectation of additional monetary easing in other major economies. Financial markets have been functioning effectively.

The Bankâs forecasts for the Australian economy are little changed. Growth is expected to increase gradually over the next couple of years to a little above 3 per cent. The economy is continuing its transition following the end of the mining investment boom, with the drag from the decline in mining investment coming to an end and exports of resources picking up. Growth in consumption is expected to remain moderate and broadly in line with incomes. Non-mining investment remains low as a share of GDP and a stronger pick-up would be welcome.

Indicators of the labour market remain mixed. The unemployment rate has moved a little higher over recent months, but employment growth has been a little stronger. The various forward-looking indicators still point to continued growth in employment over the period ahead. The unemployment rate is expected to decline gradually over time. Wage growth remains slow and this is likely to remain the case for a while yet.

The outlook continues to be supported by the low level of interest rates. Lenders have announced increases in mortgage rates, particularly those paid by investors and on interest-only loans. The depreciation of the exchange rate since 2013 has also assisted the economy in its transition following the mining investment boom. An appreciating exchange rate would complicate this adjustment.

Inflation picked up to above 2 per cent in the March quarter in line with the Bankâs expectations. In underlying terms, inflation is running at around 1Â¾ per cent, a little higher than last year. A gradual further increase in underlying inflation is expected as the economy strengthens.

Conditions in the housing market continue to vary considerably around the country. Prices have been rising briskly in some markets and declining in others. In the eastern capital cities, a considerable additional supply of apartments is scheduled to come on stream over the next couple of years. Rent increases are the slowest for two decades. Growth in housing debt has outpaced the slow growth in household incomes. The recently announced supervisory measures should help address the risks associated with high and rising levels of indebtedness.

Taking account of the available information, the Board judged that holding the stance of monetary policy unchanged at this meeting would be consistent with sustainable growth in the economy and achieving the inflation target over time.

1)If the FR aims to raise interest rates and shift the AD curve to the left, the FR would conduct open market operations to reduce the money supply.

a. True

b. False

2)In the new equilibrium, it is the new money demand and the new money supply that determines the nominal interest rate. True or False?

3) According to the media release by Phillip Lowe, the FR is expected to implement contractionary monetary policy by raising interest rates. Contractionary monetary policy reduces aggregate income because it:

a.Decreases the exchange rate and hence decreases net exports

b.Decreases planned investment by firms

c.Decreases planned saving by households

d.Decreases interest rates and hence aggregate demand

4 )According to the media release by Phillip Lowe, "The unemployment rate is expected to decline gradually over time." Suppose that Australia has an adult population of 50 million and a participation rate of 60%. The ABS uses the rule that anyone doing 1 hour's paid work or more is counted as employed. On this basis, suppose that it finds Australia has 27 million employed people.

What is Australia's official unemployment rate? Round your answer to a whole number.

5) Refer to Q1.4. Suppose that the ABS now changes the rule for being employed to 10 hours paid work or more, and finds that Australia now has 24 million employed people. What is the new official unemployment rate? Assume that the labour force participation rate and adult population is unchanged. Round your answer to a whole number.

periwinklemink390

Fraud case Studies Case 2 - Pleasant Pasta

Overview

Pleasant Pasta (the Company) was the largest dry pasta producer inNorth America. As a manufacturer and marketer of pasta
products, Pleasant competed for market share with many othercompanies in a low-growth industry. Despite the competitive
nature and maturity of the pasta market, Pleasantâs management teamwas determined to become a high-growth company.
After successfully executing an initial public offering (IPO),Pleasantâs management team developed a short-term strategywhich
would allow the Company to achieve the rapid growth promised to itsnew investors. Specifically, Pleasant decided to focus
on marketing its products under generic brand names owned byseveral leading grocery chains. While the strategy did allow
the Company to initially achieve the sales and earnings growthmanagement desired, it became clear that Pleasant could not
continue to rapidly grow its business solely through genericchannels of distribution. Aware of this, management devised along
term performance plan that outlined aggressive top and bottom linenumbers for fiscal years 2002, 2003, and 2004. The strategic
initiative referred to as âExtraordinary Performanceâ unambiguouslylaid out managementâs primary objective for the next three
years: grow revenue, grow earnings, and grow earnings per share(EPS) at all costs.

Achieve the âExtraordinaryâ targets
Shortly after the start of fiscal year 2002, it became obvious thatPleasant Pasta was having difficulty meeting the aggressive
âExtraordinaryâ targets set by management. Due primarily to theincreasing popularity of low-carbohydrate diets like theAtkins
diet, consumer demand for pasta had dropped, rather dramatically.Plummeting demand coupled with a historically low industry
growth rate created a difficult environment for the Company tooperate in. Dissatisfied with performance, the CEO assembled
a task force to focus on âclosing the gapâ between theâExtraordinaryâ targets and actual results. In these meetings,the
CEO boldly stressed that their task would only be accomplished whenreported results met analystsâ expectations. As a direct
consequence, task force members were committed to the fullexecution of strategic profit initiatives to enable theCompany
to meet its âExtraordinaryâ targets. Without a doubt, the tone atthe top set by the CEO in these meetings had an impact on
task force members because most considered the use of improperaccounting practices to be part of the plan to achieve the
âExtraordinaryâ initiatives.

Close the Gap
To start, the task force focused on the âtrade promotionâ expenseaccount to help close the gap between actual and targeted
profit. For example, the Company had recently acquired severalother large pasta brands. A routine aspect of promoting such
brands involved product discounts, promotions, advertising, andvolume rebates that together made up âtrade promotionâ
expenses. Based on a detailed financial analysis, it was clear thatthese types of expenses were consistently greater than the
amount âaccruedâ for in the budget, which reduced actual profits.To remedy this, the task force decided that Pleasant Pastawas
justified in including a portion of promotional expenses into thebrand acquisition costs, thereby capitalizing a portion of thecosts
that had previously been expensed. These unsupported journalentries reduced the trade promotion expenses by greater than
50%, boosting the Companyâs actual profits.
The second phase of the task forceâs strategic profit initiativefocused on reducing manufacturing expenses. Since its IPO,the
Company had grown at a tremendous rate and taken on a number ofsignificant capital projects to expand production lines.
Under GAAP, the Company should have separated out internal laborcosts from ordinary operating expenses, capitalizing only the
labor related to the capital projects. However, the task forcedetermined that it would be best to reduce operating expensesby
capitalizing all budgeted internal labor and manufacturingoverruns. To further contain rising expenses, the task forcerefused to
write off âobsoleteâ assets, which had the effect of reducingreported depreciation expense.
As the pasta market continued to shrink, the task force realizedthat its efforts to suppress the Companyâs expenses weresimply
not enough. Determined to meet the CEOâs objectives, the task forcebegan to concentrate on ways to increase Pastaâs reported
sales revenue. Reduced demand for pasta had driven many customerorders well below the contractually agreed upon minimum
purchase volume. As such, numerous customers were contractuallyrequired to pay the Company a higher price on purchases Â© 2014KPMGLLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership and the U.S. memberfirm of the KPMG network of
independent member firms affiliated with KPMG InternationalCooperative (âKPMG Internationalâ), a Swiss entity. All
rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. The KPMG name, logo andâcutting through complexityâ are registered trademarks
or trademarks of KPMG International. NDPPS 309511 Case 2 PleasantPasta until contractual volume numbers were met. Under GAAP, thepremiums paid on each order should have been recognized as
revenue immediately. However, at the direction of the task force,the Company not only recognized the revenue associated with
the actual price increases, but also their projected priceincreases in order to boost reported earnings. Further, the taskforce
authorized significant promotional discounts that resulted inseveral material sales in the final days of each period. Unwillingto fall
short of the âExtraordinaryâ targets, the task force evenimproperly recognized revenue before shipping the product in manyend
of year transactions.
Overall, the task forceâs efforts to improperly reduce costs andinflate revenues resulted in an overstatement of EPS by 23%in
2002, 41% in 2003, and 59% in 2004. Additionally, over thefraudulent years, Pleasant Pastaâs pretax income wasimproperly
inflated by greater than 66%, which helped to fuel a significantstock price increase for the company.

Fraud Discovery
In 2008, Pleasant Pasta publicly admitted that the Companyâs 2002,2003, and 2004 consolidated financial statements were
materially misstated due to fraud. In its admission and subsequentrestatement, the Company attributed the fraud to an
inadequate system of internal controls as well as managementâsfailure to maintain an appropriate tone at the top. Thediscovery
was made through a combination of an internal whistle-blower,significant management turnover, and ultimately an SEC
investigation.

i would like a summry for the case .

burgundytermite294

WGS205H5 Lecture 6: Lecture 6

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