Business Essays – Entrepreneurship Pancake Cereal

Business Essays Entrepreneurship Pancake Cereal Entrepreneurship Pancake Cereal Business Model / Mo’s Pancake and Cereal Bar Introduction Entrepreneurship is a thriving activity in the United States, as well as globally. Increasing numbers of people are deciding to implement their dreams of business ownership. There are between three and five million entrepreneurial business ventures undertaken annually within the United States. Eighty-four percent of those starting a new business venture are first-time entrepreneurs (Zimmerer however, 64% of small businesses fail within six years (Zimmerer and as a result, starting a new business is no longer perceived as particularly risky. In light of this favorable environment for entrepreneurial activity, the success of a new business venture, Mo’s Pancake and Cereal Bar (MPCB), located in the vibrant and historical downtown district of Grapevine, Texas, seems particularly promising. Elements of several relevant disciplines will play a vital role in the success or failure o f this particular venture. By taking advantage of the perspectives of these particular disciplines, it should be possible to integrate their insights in order to create a viable business plan that will result in the ultimate success of Mo’s Pancake and Cereal Bar (Repko, 2005). There are a wide range of disciplines that could contribute to the creation of a successful business plan for MPCB. Some of these disciplines include architecture, business administration, education, history, political science, sociology, and urban planning and development. Three disciplines have been identified as those making the greatest contribution: urban planning and development, architecture and the subfield of interior design, and business with an emphasis on small business management. An understanding of urban planning and development will be necessary to ensure a business plan that is that is in keeping with the overall goals and the long-term development plans of the city of Grapevine. Urban planning and development plays a key role in understanding patterns of growth and its resulting economic implications (McCarthy, 2007). The ownership and management of MPCB must understand the significance of community goals and the importance of these goals on the ultimate success of MPCB. As an organization, MPCB should develop strong ties with city government and take an active part in promoting its development. One way it can do this is by taking part in such activities as Main Street Days , Grapefest , and various holiday festivities held annually in the city of Grapevine.

American Art Education in 1980s through today 2012 Research Paper

American Art Education in 1980s through today 2012 - Research Paper Example In the 1980s, art curriculum for K-12 focused on progressive education and self-expression. American technology education on art was founded, which is based on the cultural industrial education history.This focus addressed the need to develop art talent in children while nurturing their natural abilities. Art teachers taught painting, sculpture, drawing, ceramics, and other forms of art skills. The result of this approach was quite impressive. Many children were able to grasp the skills and produce aesthetic work. Another notable thing with revising of the art education curriculum in the 1980s is that it revitalized art education. Art education looked at history, traditional systems, and broader aspect of art to make art education interesting to pupils and the teachers. The 1980s curriculum stressed on art making while blending it with studies of art history, aesthetics, and criticism. The art education curriculum of the 1980s did stress on visual art education. Many art students sta rt by learning art through visual art. Apparently, the current visual art education curriculum is similar to the curriculum of the 1980s. In the 1990s, art education in the United States had some new development. For instance, in visual art education, researchers of art education argued that everyday realities and personal realities would bring diversity to art education. This argument led to the push for more realistic studies in art over the formal system. Notably, art education in the 1990s has emphasized the need for visual art in all aspect of art education.

Inflation and Real Rates of Return Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Inflation and Real Rates of Return - Essay Example Real interest rates can be positive as well as negative. A positive real interest rate indicates that the purchasing power of the individual is increasing while a negative interest rate shows that the purchasing power of the individual is decreasing if the individual invests at the nominal rate. From the calculations above, it can be understood that at the current level of inflation, if a person invests in 1-year Certificate of Deposits, he will end up with less purchasing power. It can be analysed in such a way that a higher inflation rate than the nominal interest rate means that the purchasing power is decreasing at a faster rate than the rate of return of the investment. 2. Duration (Bonds) a. Frederick Macaulay developed a method to measure the interest rate risk of a bond and called it Macaulay Duration. He felt that duration is a better â€Å"measure of the bond’s worth than its time to maturity because duration considers both the repayment of capital at maturity and t he size and timing of coupon payments before maturity† (Macaulay Duration). Macaulay Duration is the weighted average term to maturity of the cash flows from a bond. The weight of each cash flow is determined by dividing the present value of the cash flow by the price (Macaulay Duration Definition). Duration measures a bond’s price sensitivity to interest rate changes. ... Calculating V-: I/Y= 9% V- = $92.406 Calculating V+: I/Y= 11% V+ = $87.781 3. Price-Earnings Ratio a. False. The PE ratio is equal to the market price of the share divided by the earnings per share (EPS). If we are using the dividend discount model to estimate the share price, a higher beta would lead to a higher required rate of return. This would decrease the share price and as a result the PE ratio will decrease. b. True. The PE ratio tells us how much an investor is willing to pay for $1 of a company’s earnings. If the net income of a company is good then the investors will be willing to pay more for a dollar earned. The ROE is equal to the net income divided by the average shareholders’ equity. A higher net income means a higher ROE. c. False. If we are using the dividend discount model to estimate the share price, higher dividends will result in a higher share price. Higher share price will increase the PE ratio. When the plowback rate is higher the dividends will be lower. 4. Book Value a. The market to book value signifies how many times a company’s stock is operating per share compare to the company’s book value per share. The organization’s book value reflect historic costs, hence this ratio is significant in indicating the management’s success in adding value for its shareholders in case of the market value being higher than the book value. A high price to book value ratio means that shareholders expect the management of the company to create more value with the given level of assets. b. Common shareholders’ equity = (20,000 x 20) + 5,000,000 + 70,000 Common shareholders’ equity = $5,470,000 Book value per share = Common shareholders’ equity / Number of common shares outstanding Book value per share = 5,470,000 /

Antebellum Period Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Antebellum Period - Essay Example The reform movements during the late antebellum period aimed at securing equality among the citizens of United States. This period marked the beginning of the search for democracy, justice and equality in the United States history. The era of reform during the late antebellum period got marked by significant reform movements. One of the movements got to be the second great awakening which got characterized by massive religious revivals (Brands 292). Religious revivalism oversaw the birth of women’s rights movements, abolition of slavery and the temperance movement. The temperance movement aimed at reducing alcohol consumption as a way of promoting morality within the society (Brands 295). Religious reform became viewed as a way towards order and cultural unity. There was the birth of the abolitionist movement which campaigned for the abolition of slavery in the United States. This movement grew out of the moral persuasion that human bondage was morally wrong. They called for e mancipation of slaves especially in the south. Protests against slavery grew during this period. They faced great resistance from southern slaveholders who viewed abolition of slavery as a loss of free labor (Brands 303). The women’s right movement got formed during the antebellum era. Many women called for equality and political right to vote. They also rejected the doctrine of separate spheres by calling for gender equality. Women aimed to change unfair laws, which provided husbands with the right to control property and children. The women’s rights movement got born in Seneca Falls, New York during a convention that took place for two days (Brands 308). Young America was a movement in the 1840s and 50s. It was a collection of writers, politicians, and entrepreneurs who viewed themselves as the force of young America. This era marked a period when America was experiencing economic growth, technological advancement and expansion of its territories (Brands 314). The yo ung Americans era marked the birth of democracy in the United States although restricted to gender and race or color. The new found democracy got associated with the election of Andrew Jackson as president who won by popular vote. Political democracy got marked by suffrage of all white men (Brands 247). Social democracy took the form of equal citizenship and opportunity for all though, it became limited to race and gender. This era also marked the disappearance of social aristocracy and inherited social ranks. Equality became marked by the abolishment of certain legal requirements for different professions ensuring that academically qualified and non academically qualified individuals practiced together ensuring fair competition (Brands 248). Conclusion The era of reform and the democracy of young America can be related. Both trends aimed at social reforms. The era of reform aimed at ensuring moral suasion in society through religious reforms by ensuring individual and public morali ty (Brands 292). Democracy of young America aimed at ensuring equity among all citizens although it limited itself to race and gender. Equal opportunity was to be provided for all white men (Brands 247). Both trends got political. The era of reform instigated the birth of women’s right and the abolitionist movements. Women’s right movement called for equity in rights and laws pertaining to both gender. The abolitionist movement called for an end to slavery (Brands 302). The young Americ

Problems of Comparative Politics and Post Communism

Problems of Comparative Politics and Post Communism Julia Downs There are many interrelated problems in the study of comparative politics. In a world full of regimes, rulers and governments, everything is intermingled and distinguishing individual issues from one another is very convoluted and difficult. However, the scientific method of hypothesizing, testing, then theorizing, is the way that political scientists pull facts and events from the complicated mess of the world’s varying governmental systems. Looking at three different areas of discussion, state building, democracies, and economies, one can see that, through the ‘science’ aspect of studying politics, clear facts can be gleaned and then built on. The first issue that requires hypothesizing, testing, and finally the creation of a theory is the concept of state building. The Bellecist Model of origins of the Modern State shows this process very clearly. First, the question, how do states form, is asked. The hypothesis is that it all begins with certain actors deciding to unify a state, the first step of which is subduing all rivals. To do this, the actors must have resources such as money, humans as citizens or soldiers, and natural resources. This expands into the eventual need for a monopoly on violence, finances and administration in order to control these accrued resources. The hypothesis is made and then the tests begin. This must be done historically, since a state is not an organism that can be observed through a petri dish, and it is seen that the early tribes of Europe followed this path to the modern state that exists today. Based on this, a theory forms: war made the state and the state makes war. This statement is a building block for many other theories, including democracy and economics. The second topic that very clearly uses the scientific method is the question of democracy. Though there are many different definitions for democracy, the underlying agreement between all political scientists is that there is a certain level of political inclusion needed, there must be some form of elections, and the system should be at least semi institutionalized. The question remains, why is it that some countries are strong democracies while others, even those who have tried democracies in the past, remain burdened by dictatorial rule. One attempt to answer this question in the Modernization Theory, which says that every state goes through essentially the same process of government and the only difference is the timeline. This theory has been scrutinized and studied using recent history and the support for the claim is strong. The reason why this is a scientific debate, aside from the obvious hypothesis and theory, is that many political scientists dispute this topic using other hypotheses and tests on history and current events alike. Though it is difficult to tell which events come first, it is the process of proof and disproof which classifies this discipline as a science. The third and final subject is the question of economics. Why are some states in good economic condition while other suffer in horrible trenches of economic recession? In Latin America, for example, the empirical evidence shows that the top five percent hold one fourth of the entire national incomes. Though these countries were settled similarly to the way the United States was settled, and governed similarly to the way the United States was governed, the economies are the complete opposites of each other. Many theories are presented on this matter, one being the fact that the colonizers were completely different in South America than in North America. For instance, education in North America was more inclusive and better from the start, which nurtured a society better suited for inclusive governments and more able to combat authoritarian or coup d’etat attempts. Similarly, the land was divided up evenly from the start in North America, while in South America, the few and luck y wealthy owned most of the land and others only worked for these rich minorities. Also, the United States in particular had much more land to absorb any conflict than did South American countries. While these ideas are disputed among scholars, the fact remains that these are valid historical facts which do apply to modern issues and questions. Looking back at these three topics, it does not seem like any science has been proved, only many detailed theories and many more subsequent detailed theories which attempt to disprove them. However, this is no different than in hard science. For instance, look at Charles Darwin and his revolutionary findings in the Galapagos Islands of the pacific. These were much disputed and caused much conflict in society. The claim that there were no causal links and that his ideas were too intermingled, could have been made about Darwin’s arguments too. The same goes for scientific findings even further back in history when early scientists claimed the earth was round and revolved around the sun, not flat and the center of the universe. The entire world disagreed with this. The main point is that science is all about different ideas that all try and answer the same question. The state or the conflict? Does democracy cause wealth or does wealth cause democracy? Does the global north oppres s the global south into having poor economies, or does the global south have poor economies because of authoritarian rule? The name of the game is differing ideas about answers and this is why comparative politics is very much a science. Essay 2 Post-communist states have become very familiar to the world in the post-cold war era. The fall of the USSR produced many fledgling democracies left scrambling to catch up with the rest of the world. While there are many changes that must take place within a country fresh, or not so fresh, out of communism, there is one main policy change that should be the top priority of any leader. Economic changes, chiefly in trade, privatization and investment, are the main areas that need improvement in post-communist economies, and can actually be helped along by globalization. The first facet of the economy that post-communist countries need to improve is trade. Liberalization, that is, the opening of markets and lifting of tariffs, is an imperative policy change for these countries. Empirical proof that this is a necessary step toward catching up with the rest of the developed world comes from China’s gradual, but sure, liberalizations in their economies and the subsequent strength of its system. Internal structures mean nothing and will not prosper if there is not an external market of trade that is not controlled completely by the government. Other examples of trade liberalization are seen in the western states in Europe and North America. Different trade agreements litter this part of the hemisphere and it is not coincidental that these are also the world’s healthiest economies. The second aspect of economics that must be instituted is the privatization of formerly publicly held industries. Since communism is all about collectively held means of production, one of the first steps toward a successful communist state is the elimination of anything privately owned. This diminishes the ability to specialize and the will to be excellent in a trade, and thus, decreases the value of goods and workers. To initiate jobs, success, and global competition, governments in post-communist countries need to sell the manufacturing power of big trades, such as auto industry, power (electricity, gas etc.), and banking, back into the private market so they again become competitive. The third policy change post-communist counties need to make is the increase of foreign direct investment. This is more an incremental process than one big change, in that the attractiveness of a country to investors relies on many sides of the economy. First, businesses must be allowed to prosper freely, so that investors can buy stocks and invest in other ways. Second, education must be good enough so that investors see a future in the country’s next generation of business people. Whether this takes the form of primary and secondary education, higher education, or trade school, there must be an increase in reliable education within these changing counties. Third, the state must increase its legitimacy to the external eye. Legitimacy changes go all the way down to diplomatic ties and governing structure. Investors will not participate in an unstable regime. All of this goes to support the fact that a good international perception is very necessary in order to have a good econ omy. It also goes along with the policy change. The traumatized people of these post-communist regimes must be empowered and rebuilt well enough that the world notices. This is where globalization comes into play. More than just off shoring and outsourcing, globalization is the spread of norms and prosperity. Globalization makes this process of altering the economy easier for fledgling countries in three ways. The first, and arguably the most obvious, is jobs. Apple Incorporated’s factories in China provide ways for the impoverished and traumatized worker to find himself again through earning wages and rediscovering the ability and motivation to move up in the company. There are many other international companies that provide the same outlet for development that would not be in place without globalization. Along with international corporations, trade schools reach out to gain new, cheap labor from these burgeoning economies. This makes empowering citizens that will privatize formerly government held industries much easier. The second way globalization helps economic development is through providing the international market for goods produced in the counties. Having the world as a trade partner certainly helps out any post-communist country trying to adjust their economy to keep up with the rest of the world. Third, globalization provides support for these hard economic changes taking place within possibly weak regimes through offering examples and norms to follow. The European Union, for example, is always eager to help a blossoming free market economy. Though there are countless policy changes post-communist regimes must go through to pick themselves back up, the economic policies are the most important and the most challenging. Arranging a complete overhaul of all government held positions and industries is a daunting task for even the most competent economic planner. Similarly, trade liberalization is not something that can be done overnight and making the country attractive for investors is a process that will take years. Though these are all formidable tasks, globalization is present in the world to lend a helping hand.

Does Quantum Mechanics Force us to give up Determinism? :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Does Quantum Mechanics Force us to give up Determinism? 1. Definition of terms and endeavor 1.1 Unpredictability versus Indeterminacy Consider a pendulum and assume we describe its state s(t) at time t solely by the position of its bob . For simplicity suppose also that time is quantized in multiples of the basic time unit 1. If kept unperturbed, the pendulum’s motion is periodic ; thus any state s(t) will be be achieved infinitely many times. Assume for instance that s(t1)=s(t2). Does this imply s(t1+1)=s(t2+1) ? Clearly, there can be no such implication, since we do not know the velocity of the bob at the two times in question. Therefore, the system as described here is indeterministic. We might, however, imagine a description of the state in terms of more parameters ; with respect to this more extensive characterization the system might turn out to be deterministic. In that case, if we were given the parameters q1,q2, q3,...qn-1 qn,we would be able to predict the state s(q1,q2, q3,...qn-1 qn, t+1) at time t+1 from our knowledge of the state s(q1,q2, q3,...qn-1 qn,t) at time t. 1.2 The difficulty of establishing non-determinism The example illustrates the difference between unpredictability and non-determinism. If insufficiently characterized, the pendulum’s motion is unpredictable. However, this does not preclude the existence of a complete description s(q1,q2, q3,...qn-1 qn,t) of the pendulum’s states that will make the system deterministic. Unfortunately this means that it is very difficult to prove that a system is truly non-deterministic. Proving that a process is deterministic requires the more straightforward (though possibly very difficult) task of specifying the complete set of descriptive parameters for a state together with the rules by which we can obtain one state from the preceding ; proving that a process is non-deterministic, however, requires us to prove that no such complete description and set of rules can be found, whether in practice or in theory. Due to this difficulty, our philosophy of physics professor would be unlikely to ask his students to write an essay discussing whether or not the world behaves deterministically, or, whether or not an accurate deterministic description of the world could be found. What we can discuss, is whether or not, given some theory X, the acceptance of X as a correct description of the world entails that the world described by this theory X behaves deterministically. 1.3 Assumptions made All discussion in this essay is based on the assumption that we take

Ethics and Global Business Essay

Skyscrapers, malls, restaurants, hotels, resorts, city lights, busy highways, and booming businesses—- without a doubt, China has already blossomed from a sleeping nation into an economic giant. From a country that once resisted the global market, it now thrives as one of the leaders in world economy. In fact, China comes in with the second largest Gross Domestic Product last 2008 with a total amount of $7. 8 trillion (Guthrue, 2006, p. 7). This makes this country one of the fastest growing nations in the world. This great stride is the result of Deng Xiaoping’s vision and effort for economic reform. Over the past 30 years, globalization helped tore down the trade barriers which in turn, expanded the People’s Republic’s investment, businesses, and knowledge. The effects of globalization in China are simply staggering. In fact, it is even impossible to imagine that some 25 to 30 years ago; this country is known only for its history of political and economic problems escorted by social turmoil and fragmentation (Guthrue, 2006, p. 7). China’s path towards economic reform began during the late 70’s when its government started to adapt a more pragmatic action to its numerous political as well as socioeconomic dilemmas. This different perspective resulted in the decrease of its socialist ideology in the country’s economic policy. During this time, the government focused its attention in economic productivity by introducing new management methods in its industrial, agricultural, financial, fiscal, as well as labor sector. In 1984, China’s idea of people’s commune was eventually eliminated after its 25-year existence. Private ownership of agricultural and industrial production assets were declared legal, while workers were encouraged to find private employment. Apart from this, small enterprises and businesses in rural areas also came in by the numbers. This resulted in increased competition as well as an increase in trading (Guthrue, 2006, p. 7). These small steps helped this country prepare for its great leap forward. China’s economic growth finally came in when the government decided to fully integrate its economy with the international market. Efforts were then made to make several Chinese regions open for foreign investments. Incentives and favors on taxes, patents, as well as contracts were passed as a way of attracting international investors. Although the government’s efforts to draw foreign investors were on full force, its bureaucratic issues such as political corruption and social fragmentation caused its vision for economic reform to slow down. Inflation eventually surged in which then caused the country to lag behind considerably. By the early 1990s, China regained its momentum as its leader Deng Xiapong suggested various pronouncements geared towards reinventing and renewing the country’s goal for economic reform. This marked China’s growth to become one of the world’s economic giants. The following years saw how this country quest to improvement not only its economy but also administrative system. By 2003, the government proposed several policies and amendments to address its ever changing economic system. Legislators also placed in a new emphasis on balancing the income distribution in both urban and rural areas, reducing unemployment rate, improving equity, while at the same time protecting its natural resources. In 2005, the government approved a five-year economic program which is geared towards creating a â€Å"harmonious society†. This program ultimately calls for a 45 percent growth in its Gross Domestic Product as well as a 20 percent decrease in its energy consumption by the year 2010. Apart from this, the program also underlined the importance of an improved education, social security, as well as medical care system (Guthrue, 2006, p. 7). From the 70’s up to the present, China’s efforts to development their economy allowed them rank as the second largest GDP in terms of Purchasing Power Parity and the third largest when it comes to Industrial Output (Guthrue, 2006, p. 7). Indeed, globalization allowed this country to create important developments as well rapid progress. However, the country’s growth in economic dominance does not only create benefits, but it also creates threats to the country’s culture, tradition, and way of life. Although globalization brings many benefits and advances, it also brings with it several consequences that must be properly addressed. In the paper Urban Development in Global Periphery, Sanjoy Chakravorty (2003) explained that globalization has two varied elements. This includes economic globalization which refers to the â€Å"integration of markets† and ideological globalization which refers to the â€Å"political idea that underlie the spread of market, trade, and democracy† (Chakravorty, 2003, p. 357). While economic globalization can be effectively used to improve and development a country’s economic status; ideological globalization on the other hand, can have a relative detriment to the county’s culture and way of life. One of the staggering consequences of globalizations in China is the threat of losing its identity. Chakravorty (2003), explains that globalization is a homogenizing process (Chakravorty, 2003, p. 361). This creates not only an economic but also a cultural mark that leads a country to adapt the values, taste, and even identity of the dominating global economy. Some scholars even refer to this as the â€Å"Mcdonaldization† or the â€Å"Cocacolonization† of a nation’s cultural identity and value. Although patronizing foreign products can help the economy, there is also this underlying threat that such products may cause the people to forget their own and ultimately adopt the values that the foreign products brings. In the case of China, a country that was once known for its rich culture, the Great Wall, fascinating dynasties, and many more, may become replaced by foreign logos of McDonald’s, KFC, and Coca-Cola. Inequality is also an important issue that must be considered along with globalization. As technology and foreign businesses continue to spread, it is also very likely that the gap between the rich and poor will become wider. Although globalization played an important role in decreasing poverty, this same thing may also create a bigger gap between the haves and have-nots. This is because the income gaps between skilled workers and non-skilled workers will continue to grow despairingly large. This is especially true for China. The income inequality becomes much more prominent due to the huge gain enjoyed by its upper crust (Seeking Alpha, 2007). Human right is another globalization issue that must be carefully considered. Although globalization has exacerbated poverty in many parts of China, it is still important to take note that most of the laborers in this country receive below the minimum wage. The pressures of globalization can lead to labor exploitation especially in rural regions. In this situation, the women and the children are always the first victims. Most women become laborers in a sweatshop setting while receiving a low salary. Children on the other hand are forced to work in factories. The human issues regarding globalization become even worst as the laborers are often subjected in sweat shop settings. Oftentimes, the workers are exposed to an environment which is hazardous to their health. Most of the workers also lack the basic health and accident benefits. Indeed, globalization has delivered the world its promises of economic development and growth. However, it is also essential to remember and consider the ugly side of this phenomenon. Inequality, human rights, and even the threat of losing national and ethic identity are just some of the many consequences of globalization. Although resolving these issues all at once may be a far cry, it can still be addressed through effective and good governance. Education and awareness regarding the consequences of globalization must also be implemented and disseminated. References Chakravorty, Sanjoy (2003). Urban development in the global periphery: The consequences of economic and ideological Globalization. The Annals of Regional Science 37, p. 357-367 Guthrie, Douglas (2006). China and globalization: the social, economic and political transformation of Chinese society. CRC pres, p 1-398. Seeking Alpha (2007). Why Globalization Is Boosting Inequality in Developing Nations. Retrieved May 30, 2009, from http://seekingalpha. com/article/36616-why-globalization-is-boosting-inequality-in-developing-nations.