Comparison of market structures of US retail and housing industry Term Paper

Comparison of market structures of US retail and housing industry - Term Paper Example Where there are four types of market structure which are monopoly, oligopoly, pure competition and monopolistic competition. there are number of factors which determine the market structure which are number and size of firms in the particular market, degree of similarity with competitor’s product, firm’s control over its product’s prices, barriers to entry and exit in the market, and the amount of competition based on non price factor. USA housing industry is classified sector wise in mining, construction, manufacturing, retail, wholesale, real-state, professional, administrative and other. These sectors are interdependent on each other in terms of performance and growth. The effect of US crises on housing industry was devastating as demand for land development turn down largely, now the circumstances are far better and recovering. Whereas US retail industry vends specialized and customized products and offers wide variety of products to the consumers. The change in consumer preference and taste has brought up many new opportunities and challenges for retail industry. Recent recession in US economy has shrank the purchasing power resulting in low sales and ultimately low revenue. The selected US retail industry for analysis is tobacco industry; it retails cigarettes, loose tobacco, cigars and cigarillos, and chewing tobacco. Cigarettes have the highest market share of more than 90% in tobacco industry, whereas others have very low market share with very growth rate. Whereas construction is the selected sector from housing industries, which is the second largest revenue generating industry among others US housing industries. US tobacco retail industry is dominant by few large players namely Philip Morris, Reynolds American and Lorillard which jointly holds 90% of the total market value which is actually very huge percentage and hindrance for the growth of small companies (Zitzewitz, 2003). Cigarettes segment is the dominant segment therefore market structure of this industry depends on its market size, market growth, competition and number of companies operating. Product differentiation is very low in this market whereas barriers to entry are significantly high, and associated companies face non-price competition. This shows that this industry possess oligopoly market structure. The selected US housing industry is construction and engineering, is the second largest in terms of revenue contribution to housing industry whereas it has the highest employment ratio as this sector is highly dependent on human resource. This industry decline by 13.9% in 2010 with a market value of $563.1 billion where as it is forecasted that this industry will show an increase from 2010 to 2015 by 26.2 % with an increased market value of $712.9 billion (Datamonitor, Aug 2011). This US industry contributes 24.7% in the global construction and engineering industry. Players in the market are dependent upon suppliers and buyers, whereas the larg est segment of US construction and engineering industry is non-residential building (Datamonitor, Aug 2011). The market structure of the US construction and engineering industry is determined by five key drivers, which are supplier power, buying power, degree of rivalry, new entrants and number of substitutes available. Barriers to entry are there in the market but industrial growth, accessibility of suppliers and weak brands in the market largely appreciates new entrants. There are various factors which determine the supplier power in US construction and engineering industry which are, the degree to which input is differentiated, forward integration, importance of quality/cost, number of substit

Research Paper on the film No Country For Old Men Essay

Research Paper on the film No Country For Old Men - Essay Example Using the critical mythological approach in analyzing the film’s content and how the events lead to one another, it is possible to entertain the existence of strong or invincible people despite having the fragile nature of humans, and how differing ideas regarding higher beings, destinies or fate, and the laws of the universe control the thoughts and viewpoints of individuals, which are also universal themes seen in older or classical stories. Evasion of and Facing People, Circumstances, and Death Some of the most compelling stories include parts wherein the main protagonist escapes getting hunted down and killed by adversaries, of having the need to face the enemies, and the possibility of ending up dead. This is an archetypal storyline of heroes and their adventures or quests, which in a way builds the heroic character and nature of the main protagonists (Guerin 153). ... rchetypal predisposition, wherein there is an evasion of circumstances when a hero initially stops to think and plan, to meditate or do retrospective thinking in order to transform and become better (Guerin 166). On the other hand the need to face people, circumstances and death as the consequence of events are shown in Moss’s unexpected death not from Chigurh but from a group of Mexicans shows how he faces death as the circumstance of seeing the results of a drug deal gone wrong and holding on to money he does not rightfully own right from the start, of Chigurh facing divine punishment after getting hit by a car and nearly dying right after scenes imply that he killed Moss’s wife, Carla Jean, and of Sheriff Bell having to face the reality that he has to let go of some things and move on with his life as his retired uncle explains to him(â€Å"No Country†).While not in their entirety seen as an adventure or heroic story, the individual lives of Moss, Chigurh, and Sheriff Bell reflect similarities with the quests of mythical heroes, of which some may succeed such as Chigurh, some may fail such as Moss and his death, and some momentarily put it on hold such as Sheriff Bell’s thoughts on resignation. Invincibility and Weakness Invincibility and weakness are often bound to each other, and usually employed in some, if not most classical works to remind people that despite all perfections within humans there will always be a hint of a weakness to ground them as mere mortals (Guerin 153). The Coen Brothers exploited this archetypal image of invincibility and weakness in developing Chigurh, the main antagonist in No Country for Old Men. Chigurh’s character is the definition of a scary, amoral, and dangerous antagonist that cannot be persuaded to spare lives by any means

Construction Law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Construction Law - Assignment Example The feedback from the client is also on the negative side as projects are unpredictable regarding delivery time, budgets always exceeding the initial estimated and quality of work failing to meet industry standards. (Department of Trade and industry, 1998)A lot of time is also lost in trials and litigations thereafter. Another problem is that the industry is highly fragmented with a lot of players thus leading to loss of continuity in working and delay in assessing ones exact scope of work. It is with respect to these ambiguities that a proper study of the English Contract Law needs to be done prior to entering into an agreement. A contract is a set of promises made by one party to another party, the breach of which could enter both the parties into a dispute. The clauses in the contract would then act as a sort of remedy of the performance to be undertaken. Some of the terms relevant to the English Contract Law are (i) The Proof of the Promise: This is achieved by the idea of objective intention. This would in effect be the intentions of the concerned parties that an external observer like a court would decide when this matter is referred to it. A case which illustrates this idea is that of the ‘Smith v. Hughes (1871). This involved the claimant making a sale of oats to the defendant who bought these to feed his horses. Horses require old oats since newly harvested oats can cause digestion problem for the horses. However it later came to light that the oats were not old enough to feed the horses. The defendant subsequently refused to pay any money to the claimant. The critical point in this judgement is for the judge to decide whether the sale of oats by the claimant unreasonable when he was offering to sell old oats and how could one possibly decide whether the oats were old enough to feed horses. (Tilbury Nadine, 2006) (ii) The Form of

Ten questions, Ethical Issues in sports Assignment

Ten questions, Ethical Issues in sports - Assignment Example Researcher Todd Crosset stressed that his data were limited, but also wrote, "To suggest that all of these cases are simply a result of athletes being targeted because of their high profile status denies reality. The best interests of institutions cannot be served until those working within the institutions admit that a problem exists." Clearly, the universities do not make any effort to recognize a problem, and then to punish their star athletes for their horrendous actions. Without a doubt, student athletes with criminal records should not posses free-ride scholarships for various reasons. A student playing for a university is a privilege and not a right. If a student is immature and lacks decision making skills, then clearly the student does not deserve a free-ride scholarship. Furthermore, a student who is disciplined in his behaviors and ethics deserves a free-ride scholarship more than an athlete who does not value a free-ride scholarship. In this competitive business, agents play the race card in order to retain black athletes. With so much propaganda brewing from the media, playing the race card usually yields success for agents. A classic example of â€Å"playing the card† was portrayed in the trial of OJ Simpson, an ex-football athlete accused of murder as Roger Simon writes, October 1995 â€Å""Why was playing the race card necessary in order for O. J. Simpson to go free? The race card was instilled because it was the only way for the defense to deal with the massive physical evidence against him." This is a tough scenario since these statements are not always made by black and white agents. For instance, if a white agent grew up in a poor town and family, they will say this statement. In a lot of cases, background plays a vital role. Some black athletes are born in prestigious families while most come from poor neighborhoods.

An introduction and conclusion for literature review in finance Essay

An introduction and conclusion for literature review in finance (preparing for my dissertation) - Essay Example USA Petrochemical Industry Despite of the rise in the global demand for the petrochemical products, the USA petrochemical industry is facing increasing competition in the petrochemical export market. With supply of the natural gas by using the comprehensive pipe line system to both receive the raw materials as well as to deliver the finished products. So, it is expected that the US petrochemical industry would revive sooner than the other competitors. Furthermore, economic trade group such as NAFTA would contribute further to its growth. Political & Legal Factors The petrochemical industry in USA is governed by several laws and regulations. The hazardous materials transportation act and the pollution prevention act are significant among these. According to the first act, the Department of Transportation gets the authority to control the transportation of such materials including the petrochemicals. Furthermore, the USA government has become increasingly active and concerned about the safety and environmental areas for this petrochemical transportation.

Digital technologhy plays a key role in education Essay

Digital technologhy plays a key role in education - Essay Example Use of digital technology in education is not a new trend, but is one that has prevailed for centuries. Much of the development in the fields of science and technology can be attributed to the use of digital technology in education. Calculators have been used in educational institutions ranging from primary, through the high school, secondary school, college, and university level for many decades. Modern calculators come with a variety of functions that can help the mathematicians and scientists perform complex calculations. With the advent of computer and particularly the Internet, the whole process of research has been redefined at all levels of academia. Before, learners used to conduct a lot of research to grasp the concepts they needed for research. In their attempt to get hold of the required sources, they would visit several libraries which incurred them not only cost but also consumed a lot of time. Nowadays, there is a sea of information available over the Internet, many of whose sources provide information free of cost. Researchers have the opportunity to select the research papers they need to study in order to conduct the literature review by reading their free abstracts over the Internet first. Use of digital technology in research has enhanced the focus of the researchers and has made the process of research a lot more convenient. Many educationalists see digital technology as something that neatly fits with the interests and values related to the organization and nature of learning.

Marketing Plan of Nike Essay Example for Free

Marketing Plan of Nike Essay The world has a long, rich history of international trade among nations. Most international trade dates from the prevailing age of mercantilism. However, objecting mercantilism is the common idea of trade philosophies proposed by Adam Smith and David Ricardo. Both of them advocated free international trade. The rule of the zero-of-sum game was the core of mercantilism. One country increased the wealth must cause another one decreased from trade. Only one could be beneficial. They thought exports could bring inflows of wealth from and imports could lead outflows of wealth to other countries. It was this thought that each country encouraged exports and restricted imports. 1? The Classical Trade Theory (1) Theory of Adam Smith: Absolute Advantage Adam Smith set himself against the mercantilism. He advocated free trade and proposed the absolute advantage theory. In his theory, each country had its own advantage for producing goods which other country did not possess. It was this that stimulated countries to participate in the international trade by exerting the absolute advantage to obtain more benefits. Adam Smith made two assumptions: First, trade only existed between two countries. Second, each country produced only two products, one product must have absolute advantage, and the other product must have absolute disadvantage. Therefore, each country should concentrate on producing the product with absolute advantage, and then trade the absolute disadvantage product to the other country with the absolute advantage product. After trading, the disengaged, surplus resources and products of each country could be used completely reasonable. Thus, both countries can be beneficial from the trade, not just one. This pulled down the rule of zero-of-sum game and created the rule of n-of-sum game. Adam Smith’s absolute advantage theory successfully promoted the international trade. However, this theory did not deal with the problem that for both two products, one country had absolute advantages and the other country had absolute disadvantages. (2) Theory of David Ricardo: Comparative Advantage Fortunately, another famous economist David Ricardo succeeded and developed Adam Smith’s theory. Just like Adam Smith, David Ricardo also was an opponent of protectionism for national economies. He created his comparative advantage theory. The theory dealt with the problem that could not be dealt using Adam Smith’s theory. The economic motives and causes international trade. According to Ricardos theory, even if a country has no absolute advantage in any product, the disadvantaged country can still be beneficial from specializing in and exporting the product for which it has the lowest opportunity cost of production. Though the two theories were proposed hundreds of years, they still play important influences on international trade. Each trading country can improve productivity and the world economic is promoted. The two theories will contribute to world prosperity in the future. 2? The Modern Trade Theory Comparative advantage based on opportunity cost forms the basis of modern trade theory. The theory shows that after comparing, when the country decides to produce its advantage product, it needs to give up the other product that can come forth during the period. The benefit form the product it gives up is its opportunity cost. Here I take a simple example to illustrate this theory. The land for planting rice or cotton, the output of rice is 500 kilogram or 100 kilogram of cotton. If we choose to plant rice, the 100 kilogram of cotton we give up is our opportunity cost. Today, the practice of trade among nations is growing by leaps and bounds. There is hardly a person on earth who has not been influenced in some way by the growing trade among nations. The theories stimulate trade between developed and developing countries that avoid the autarky. International trade increases trading countries’ wealth and world output. That is because with trade, the resources are allocated rationally, job opportunity increase, products quality and variety increase and so on.