The Major Factors to the Romam Empire Falling Essay

For more than two thousand years, Rome was a large, powerful, and dominating empire. The ancient kingdom seemed unstoppable, but in just few centuries later, Roman power fell and was obliterated. No one knows exactly how the empires demise came to be and is still debated today but there are some major factors recognized that caused Rome to fall. The land of barbarians were located beyond the western border of Rome along Rhine and Danube rivers and would slowly become a serious threat to Rome and eventually led to the fall of the empire. At first, they posed no danger as they were only German farmers that were nomadic because of their poor agricultural skills. The barbarians could not develop a political structure either so they were†¦show more content†¦In the end, the emperors and rebels died at the hands of their own associates. To gain more security, large provinces were split into smaller regions to minimize military power to any one official so one administrator doesnt have significantly more power than another. As provinces continue to be broken up, the army for each area became so small they could not even protect the locals from raids and criminals. A successful usurper named Constantine changed the composition of the Roman army and crippled the empires central government by abandoning Rome as a capital, along with other emperors, with slow, ineffective communication between the officials and uncertainty at the court which made it hard to operate the government. He tried to avoid conflict and did nothing to solve the difficult situations. The army was also affected as they relied on the state politicians to provide materials, men, and finances for war but the officials could not with the ongoing problems at the government. Wherever the emperors traveled, the army moved along with them and only protected where the rulers were which left other areas defenseless. The once 5,000 soldiers per legion decreased to prevent the rebels gaining a large ar my which continued to force Romes armed force to hire and rely on barbarians to protect the Rhine and Danube frontiers. By the middle of the fourth

My Expectations Of An Aa Meeting From Movies And Tv Shows

My expectations of an AA meeting come from movies and TV shows. I have always thought that the meetings were long – at least 2 hours. I also expect there to be a small amount of people at the meeting. I think that the majority of the people at the meeting will be men in there 40s or 50s. At the meeting, I expect everyone to be sitting in a circle. I have always thought that the people at AA meetings do not want to be there. The people will say â€Å"Hi I am ______, and I am an alcoholic.† I think that people may or may not share personal information. In addition, I’m not sure what the ratio of recovering/sober alcoholics to the amount of people still addicted to alcohol. I also think that even though the meeting will not be necessarily†¦show more content†¦The site also gave me an option to change the meeting type. There are closed, open, beginner, men only, gay, smoking permitted, wheelchair accessible, young people, women only, etc types of meeting. I chose open meeting. From there, the site gave me over twenty open meeting options that day for the time that I chose. I scrolled down the page until I found three or four options close enough to take public transportation to. I found one meeting right off of the subway called â€Å"Early Night Out.† The building that the meeting is held at is called â€Å"The Washington West Project† located on 1201 Locust St. The meeting took place on the second floor of the building in a small room. The meeting began with the discussion leader reading a passage from a book called Living Sober. The chapter was titled, â€Å"Be good to yourself.† After reading the passage, the discussion leader talked about his sobriety and offered some words of wisdom to the group as a whole. He then opened the floor for each person to say whatever he/she wants about his/her journey to recovery. The meeting then was passed from person to person. This part of the hour-long meeting went on for 45 /50 minutes. Each person began their statement/story with â€Å"I’m __________, and I am an alcoholic.† The others then responded, â€Å"Hey/Hi ___________.† Some people talked about how they are several years sober. Others were obviously very new to the process. Most of the individuals

Government Expenditure and Inflation

Question: Discuss about the Government Expenditure and Inflation. Answer: Introduction Inflation refers to the persistent rise in general price levels. Not necessarily the high prices that constitute inflation but the rising ones. A small/sudden rise in prices may not imply inflation but possibly will reflect short-term workings of the market (Kim Lin, 2012). Government spending, on the other hand, refers to expenses that the government incurs for the economy, the society, or for its maintenance. The increase in government spending will be inflationary only when the extra expenditure is more than what the standard functioning of the system can afford through taxation, public loans, or grants (Ruge-Murcia, 2013). The paper will focus on Keynesian and Classical theories to explain how an increase in government spending might give rise to inflation. Keynesian Theory In the Keynesian view, an increase in either of the components of Aggregate Demand (AD) including the growth in government spending, (i.e., AD= G+ I+ C + X M) gives rise to Demand Pull Inflation (DPI). The level of prices at full employment, just like the price of a commodity, is determined by the interaction between Price aggregate demand and aggregate supply. In the figure on the next page, OP1 gives the price level at full employment. An increase in government spending shifts the demand curve outwards to AD2. The resultant rise in price (OP2) provides a mechanism where resources are reallocated from inactive sectors of the economy to more active ones. The only way for the government can have more resources at full employment, is by private entrepreneurs and consumers getting less. Given the inelasticity of supply curve, if the consumers are unwilling to part with their claim on resources voluntarily, the demand curve will shift outwards, and the price will rise further. It is important to note that increase in government spending can cause inflation at levels below full employment of output. It is best illustrated by the diagram below. The aggregate supply curve (AS) rises upwards in the beginning but takes a vertical shape after full employment level (OYf) is reached. Assuming OY1 is the initial level of output, an increase in government expenditure will result to Y1 to Y2 rise in national output. Consequently, the prices will rise to Op2. The price responds to additional demand and rises further to OP2 if the consumers are unwilling to part with their claim (or when government expenditure continues to expand). A price increase reduces the real consumption of wage earners (Hossain, 2014). Workers press for higher wages to compensate the rising cost of living. If their demand is granted, the cost of production rises, prompting producers to raise the prices. A further increase in prices increases the cost of living still further, and employees demand even higher wages. In this way, prices and wages chase each other as inflation gathers momentum. If unchecked, this may easily lead to hyperinflation where prices and salaries chase each other at fast speeds. Monetarists/ Classical View Modern monetarists, among them Milton Friedman, agree with Keynesians that inflation is a result of excess demand for goods and services. The difference between Keynesians and Monetarists view of inflation is that while Keynesians explain inflation as rising out of real sector forces, monetarists explain inflation on account of growing money supply in the economy ("The Demand-Pull Inflation (Explained With Diagram), 2014). Monetarists believe that inflation is everywhere and always a monetary phenomenon brought by a more rapid in money supply than in output (Blaug, 2013). Given a full employment level, monetarists believe that a change in the quantity of money will lead to an equal-proportional change in price. Monetarists believe deficit financing is a cause of inflation. When the budget expenditure exceeds the revenue, the government closes this gap with fiat money. The government may ask the federal bank to print more cash balances, which makes the money supply in the economy exceed the available goods and services, phenomena described as too much money chasing too few goods. When the government tries to finance the expenditure through the printing of cash balances, money supply in the economy increases. The resulting situation is where there is excess money supply with the public over the demand. The households try to restore equilibrium by reducing the money balances through an increase in expenditure of goods and services. Thus, according to modern monetarists, an increase in the supply of real monetary balances increases the aggregate demand for goods and services. If there is no proportionate rise in output, then the excess cash balance leads to excess demand, which causes inflation. Other Ways Government Expenditure can lead to Inflation Government spending may be inflationary when it funnels vast sums of money into cartels such as higher education and skin care. The government by doing this supports directly the monopolistic pricing, which drives the prices higher, irrespective of whether the money supply is contracting or expanding. Cost push inflation may arise when the value of the dollar goes down due to an increase in money supply. A decline in the value of the dollar about other foreign currencies makes the prices of imports rise, and this leads to cost push inflation. Conclusion Its evident that a rise in government expenditure causes inflation out of real sector forces, increase in money supply, and cartel financing. The state of the economy will determine whether the method of financing government expenditure is inflationary or not. The closer the economy is to full employment, the more likely the new spending will lead to inflation. An economy in deep recession, low capacity utilization, and high unemployment of labor will be able to produce more goods and services due to increase in government spending. To that extent, government expenditure will be not inflationary but expansionary, or not as inflationary as it would otherwise be. An increase in government spending financed by bond sales to companies and individuals is a viable option for printing more money. It causes no increase in money supply, bank reserves, or bank deposits. Government expenditure financed by taxation is neither inflationary nor expansionary; as the growth in government spending is counteracted by a reduction in private spending; thus minimal to no change in the aggregate expenditure. References Blaug, M. (2013). The Classical Economists Revisited. History Of Political Economy, 38(2),398-400. https://dx.doi.org/10.1215/00182702-2005-010 Hossain, A. (2014). Monetary policy, inflation, and inflation volatility in Australia. Journal Of Post Keynesian Economics, 36(4), 745-780. https://dx.doi.org/10.2753/pke0160-3477360408 Kim, D. Lin, S. (2012). Inflation and Inflation Volatility Revisited. International Finance,15(3), 327-345. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2362.2013.12001.x. Ruge-Murcia, F. (2013). Government expenditure and the dynamics of high inflation. Journal Of Development Economics, 58(2), 333-358. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0304-3878(98)00117-5 The Demand-Pull Inflation (Explained With Diagram). (2014). YourArticleLibrary.com: TheNext Generation Library. Retrieved 22 September 2016, fromhttps://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/macro-economics/inflation-macro-economics/the-demand-pull-inflation-explained-with-diagram/37994/

Natural Fruit and Beverage Company and Italian Beverage Company

Background The beverage industry in the United Kingdom is well developed. There are firms that have been in this industry for several years. They have taken a large share of the market. Companies such as Natural Fruit and Beverage Company and Italian Beverage Company are well developed in this market.Advertising We will write a custom proposal sample on Natural Fruit and Beverage Company and Italian Beverage Company specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More They have a deeper understanding of the market and therefore can manipulate market conditions to favor them. This makes the market very competitive. However, apart from all these, a clear gap ought to be filled through creative business idea (Ghemawat 1991, p. 47). The consumers of fruit juice are not fully satisfied in most markets in the United Kingdom. Bigger companies produce their products in mass. However, fruit juices may not take this long. For this reason, these kinds of produc ts have remained popular in the UK market. It is upon this realization that the researcher decided to draw a report that would lead to the establishment of the firm that would operate in this market. The business opportunity Fruit juice is a snack that is very popular among the people of UK. From those on trips or tours to those from or to work, as well as school-going children, fruit juice is a common product. It is popular because it is easy to consume and it is refreshing. A product has a ready market. Competition in the market is not very stiff because major beverage firms have not considered this type of product. Once introduced in the market, sales of the product are assured (Ghemawat 1999, p. 89) The product Description Fruit juice, just as the name suggests, is a juice made from fruits. It is very natural, with no additives. The juices are squeezed from their fruits to make the beverage using a special machine called the blender. The juice is then stored in a cool place but not necessarily under refrigeration.Advertising Looking for proposal on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Customers would be served the product in plastic cups with a straw. No such additives as food color or sugar would be added. The product would be free of any industrial product. It is simple and natural. Novel features and benefits for users This product is pure and natural. It is the best product for anyone who feels thirsty. It is even better than water because it is as natural as water but on top of having 75% water content, it is also rich in vitamins and other nutrients. It does not have chemicals found in cola products or such other related drinks (Oster 1994, p. 67). It is of benefit to one’s health. Medics from all over the world recommend it. Achievement to date The project is yet to be enrolled in the market. However, the team has successfully identified the location where the project wo uld be launched. All members have made their contributions. The team has drawn a proposal that would be presented to donors. Technology development milestones This product does not require sophisticated technology to be successful. It requires simple tools in order to accomplish its production. Although there are new blenders, which are bigger and more efficient, this has not brought a big shift from what has been in use. However, refrigeration advancements have had positive impacts on it. The product is highly perishable and having storage facilities that lower its temperatures not only make the product more durable but also more refreshing. Intellectual property Although this project may not have much in terms of intellectual property, measures have been put in place to impede anyone from implementing its blue print before it enters the market. The business plan would remain an intellectual property of the firm. Opportunities for further development/expansion This project has the capability of advancing to cover other cities not covered in its first phase. The project would start with the London market. Because of the projected sale, it is planned that after one year, it would be rolled out to the city of Manchester.Advertising We will write a custom proposal sample on Natural Fruit and Beverage Company and Italian Beverage Company specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The market for this product is big and the requirements needed are simple and readily available within the immediate environment. The raw materials used are inexpensive and can be obtained from within the locality (Besanko Dranove 1996, p. 67). To expand production, it may not need much effort. With the market readily available, the project would easily take off in other markets outside the initial one. The Market Market structure The UK market targeted by this project is varied in terms of age, gender, and level of income. The product targets both male and female customers. It also cuts across ages as young, middle aged and the old would find it refreshing. Market trends and drivers The market driver for this product is, among other factors, weather. This market is easily affected by weather (Porter McGahan 2007, p. 41). During hot seasons, the market for this product becomes very large. Many people become attracted to the product because of its refreshing nature. During cold season, sales may drop, as many would prefer other beverages such as tea and coffee. However, health sensitive customers would still come for the product even during this period. The market is learning more on healthy food, a fact that boosts the sales of this product. Market segmentation According to Kanniainen Keuschnigg (2005, p. 74), the easiest way to navigate the market is to segment it according to its similarities and differences. When segmenting the market for this product, demographical characteristics of the targeted market would be giv en emphasis. Although the product is popular across ages, the level of consumption varies according to age. Teenagers and young adults constitute the most attractive segment. In terms of income, middle-income earners constitute the most attractive market segment.Advertising Looking for proposal on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Target markets Key characteristics As stated above, teenagers and young adults constitute the most attractive market segment. Some of the characteristics make the market attractive. One of it is that individuals in this group are spendthrifts. They love leisure and would go for it at all costs within their means. Fruit juice offers them a relaxed feeling when out on a tour or travel. They rarely bargain and most of their payments are always made in cash. These groups like partying. During such parties, it would be easy for the marketing team to secure an order from them to supply the product in such parties. Size and future growth estimates The size of the target market is huge. Within the city of London alone, the number of teenagers and young adults is great. The competition Key competitors Several competitors for this product in London exist. There is a direct and an indirect competition in this market. The indirect competitors are very advanced in this market. The Coca Cola Comp any offers a wide range of products that come as direct substitutes for fruit juice (Amable 2003, p. 56). With brands such as fanta, sprite and cold tea, the company creates a very strong competition in the market. To the health sensitive individuals who want to quench their thirst, this Company comes with its bottled water that is, Dasani. There is also a direct competition from smaller firms offering fruit juices in the same market. Barriers to entry This market operates like a perfect competition market. The government has been keen on encouraging entrepreneurship in the country. Any barrier to new firms wanting to join this industry is eliminated. The only barrier that remains therefore is the market knowledge. There are investors who are keen on entering this market. However, because they lack appropriate knowledge about the market, they prefer to stay away. Though not meant to be a barrier, some investors consider the registration process and charges concerning the same as a b arrier. Our competitive advantage Our firm has a competitive advantage in the market (Porter 1990, p. 66). The product has been proven free of any industrial product. Furthermore, various physicians have recommended due to its health sensitivity policy. To those offering similar products, the product packaging and pricing would be the cutting edge for our product. The product would be sold at a slightly lower price. Our customer care service would be responsive to the needs of customer. Communication would also be enhance to increase this satisfaction. Commercialization Plan Business objectives The project is guided by well-laid objectives. The main objective is to turn the project into a powerhouse in the beverage industry in the UK. In so doing, we hope to be one of the major employers in the kingdom. Overall Business Strategy The project plans to employ an outward in approach in conducting its activities once the project becomes operational. Strategic goals would be laid after ta king into consideration what the market wants (Casper Matraves 2003, p. 1871). Key commercialization milestones The planners of this project have conducted market analysis and have successfully understood market requirements. For the commercialization process, the team has identified a suitable location where it would take place. All relevant stakeholders have been informed. Marketing strategy When introducing the product in the market, the team has planned to offer the product to the market at break-even prices for the first one week. This low price is meant to draw customers to the firm and create a name. After the first week, normal pricing, which would be market friendly, would be adopted. The business would also employ other customer attraction strategies. Production and operations The members will carry out production and general operation. The members would run the project during the initial years. As the firm grows, it is planned that relevant skills would be employed to ma nage production and operations of the firm. Risk analysis In every business venture, there are always some risks that would be faced in the market. One such risk is customer indifference. Because it is a new business unit, some customers may fail to identify it. Market competition in itself is a risk. Management The current members and their roles This project was started by a group of ten high school graduates from different schools within the city of London (Hollingsworth 2000, p. 597). They were motivated by the need to have an income-generating project that would help them be self-reliant. They elected project coordinator, who also doubled as the chairperson of the entire team. He was the team’s representative to the outside world. To help him lead this team, a secretary and a treasurer were also elected. All members have the duty to ensure that activities of the group are operational. All the activities of the firm were to be conducted by members without hiring any indiv idual. Future management needs As the project grows, the current members would consider hiring some external skills, especially in the management. Because the current team has no technical expertise on issues of strategic management, it plans to hire a few graduates in the field of management as the business grows (Porter 1980, p. 56). There would also be the need to hire a few college graduates in food and beverages. They would be bringing their knowledge into the firm so that the firm would be in a position to not only respond to the changing needs of the market but also meet the regulatory procedures put in place by the concerned bodies. Financial projections At the inception level, the major source of finance is expected to be the contributions from the members in form of subscription fees. However, the project is expected to be self-supportive within the fourth month of operation. Further details about the financial projection are given in the appendix below. Key revenue assump tions There are some revenue assumptions that have been made in coming up with the plan for this project. The first assumption that was made was that the project would be self-supporting within its first four months of operations. It is assumed that within this period, the project shall have overcome the initial challenges and would be in a position to break-even within the period (Hall Soskice 2001, p. 35). It is assumed that after the fifth month, the firm would start registering positive returns in its revenues. It was also assumed that the project proposal would be considered for initial funding by the concerned donors. Key expenditure assumptions The team assumed that the expenditure of the project would be within its budget constrain. It is believed that the initial purchase, which would involve purchase of the machines and other required tools, as well as the raw materials to start the project, would take up about forty percent of the total amount that would be available for the project. The project would use the remaining percentage to ensure that daily production needs are catered for (Gompers Lerner 2004, p. 57). The amount that would be obtained from the daily operations would be ploughed back to the project. Sources of finance The sources of finance for this project are divided into three categories. The first category would be funding from the members of the project. From the subscriptions and annual payments, the project would have some amount to further the project. The project hopes to obtain further funding from donors who would consider the project viable and worth investing. Their funding may come in form of grants or loans that would be refunded later (Peteraf 1993, p. 182). The last source of funds would be the proceeds from the business. This is expected to be the main source of finance for the organization in the end. Exit for investors Investors in this project would exit at their own pleasures. However, here are well laid procedures for such members to leave, especially when they need a refund. All the members are assigned a value of shares according to their contributions. This value would increase or decrease, depending on the growth of the firm. When leaving, the member would sell his or her shares to other members. If no member would be willing to buy the value, then the business fraternity would buy it and appropriately refund the leaving partner. Cash Flow Forecast Projected Cash Flow 2013 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter Cash Flows from Operating Activity Cash receipts from customers 15,300,000 16,500,000 17,400,000 18,300,000 Cash paid for raw materials -600,000 -620,000 -640,000 -700,000 Cash paid for Direct Labor -2,000,000 -23,000,000 -2,350,000 -2,370,000 Cash paid for Selling, Gen, Adm. Exp. -3,200,000 -3,400,000 -3,400,000 -3,600,000 Net Cash Flow from Operating Activities 9,500,000 -10,520,000 11,010,000 11,630,000 Cash flow Flows from Investing Activity Equities issued 3,200,000 0 0 0 Bonds Issued 4,000,000 Equities purchased -1,000,000 0 0 0 Net Cash Flow from Investing Activities 6,200,000 0 0 0 Cash Flow from Financing Activity Interest payments -300,000 -300,000 -300,000 -300,000 Dividends receipts 150,000 160,000 160,000 170,000 Dividends payment -250,000 -270,000 -280,000 -280,000 Net Cash Flow from Financing Activities -400,000 -410,000 -420,000 -410,000 Net Increase in Cash 15,300,000 10,930,000 10,590,000 11,220,000 Beginning of Year Cash Balance 9,200,000 24,500,000 13,570,000 24,160,000 End Year Cash Balance 24,500,000 13,570,000 24,160,000 35,380,000 2014 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter 18,900,000 19,800,000 20,700,000 21,600,000 -710,000 -730,000 -760,000 -810,000 -2,400,000 -2,500,000 -3,670,000 -3,700,000 -3,500,000 -3,700,000 -4,200,000 -4,400,000 12,290,000 12,870,000 12,070,000 12,690,000 0 0 0 0 0 -4,000,0 00 0 0 0 -4,000,000 0 0 0 -300,000 -300,000 -300,000 -300,000 200,000 600,000 660,000 750,000 -300,000 (350,00) -350,000 -400,000 -400,000 300,000 10,000 50,000 7,890,000 13,170,000 12,080,000 12,740,000 35,380,000 43,270,000 56,440,000 68,520,000 43,270,000 56,440,000 68,520,000 81,260,000 List of References Amable, B 2003, The Diversity of Modern Capitalism, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Besanko, D Dranove, D 1996, Economics of Strategy, John Willey Sons, Nueva York. Casper, S Matraves, C 2003, â€Å"Institutional Frameworks and Innovation in the German and UK Pharmaceutical Industry†, Research Policy, Vol. 32, no. 1, pp 1865–1879. Ghemawat, P 1991, Commitment, The Dynamic of Strategy, Free Press, New York. Ghemawat, P 1999, Games Businesses Play: Cases and Models, MIT Press, Cambridge. Gompers, P Lerner, J 2004, The Venture Capital Cycle, MIT Press, Cambridge. Hall, PA Soskice, W 2001, Varieties of Capi talism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Hollingsworth, RJ 2000, â€Å"Doing Institutional Analysis: Implications for the Study of Innovations†, Review of International Political Economy, Vol. 7, no. 1, pp 595–644. Kanniainen, V Keuschnigg, C 2005, Venture Capital, Entrepreneurship, and Public Policy, MIT Press, Cambridge. Oster, SM 1994, Modern Competitive Analysis, Oxford University Press, Nueva Peteraf, MA 1993, â€Å"The Cornerstone of Competitive Advantage: A Resource-Based View†, Strategic Management Journal, Issue.14, no.1, pp 179-191. Porter, ME 1980, Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors, The Free Press, London. Porter, ME 1990, The Competitive Advantage of Nations, London, MacMillan Press. Porter, ME McGahan, MA 2007, â€Å"An Interview with Michael Porter†, The Academy of Management Executive, Issue 16, no. 1, pp 2-44. This proposal on Natural Fruit and Beverage Company and Italian Beverage Company was written and submitted by user TrueBel1evers to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.