Biography of Adam Smith, Founding Father of Economics

Biography of Adam Smith, Founding Father of Economics Adam Smith (June 16, 1723–July 17, 1790) was a Scottish philosopher who today is considered to be the father of economics. His seminal work, The Wealth of Nations, published in 1776, influenced generations of politicians, leaders, and thinkers, including Alexander Hamilton, who looked to Smiths theories when, as secretary of the treasury, he fashioned the economic system of the United States. Fast Facts: Adam Smith Known For: Father of economicsBorn: June 16, 1723 in Fife, ScotlandParents: Adam Smith, Margaret DouglasDied: July 17, 1790 in Edinburgh, ScotlandEducation: University of Glasgow, Balliol College, OxfordPublished Works: The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759), The Wealth of Nations (1776)Notable Quote: Every individual†¦ neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it†¦he intends only his own security; and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. Early Years and Education Smith was born in 1723 in Kirkcaldy, Scotland, where his widowed mother raised him. At age 14, as was the usual practice, he entered the University of Glasgow on a scholarship. He later attended Balliol College at Oxford, graduating with extensive knowledge of European literature. He returned home and delivered a series of well-received lectures at Glasgow University, which appointed him first as the chair of logic in 1751 and then chair of moral philosophy in 1752. Founding Father of Economics Smith is often described as the founding father of economics. A great deal of what is now considered standard belief about the theory about markets was developed by Smith. He explained his theories in Theory of Moral Sentiments, published in 1759. In 1776, he published his masterpiece, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, which today is generally called The Wealth of Nations. In Theory of Moral Sentiments, Smith developed the foundation for a general system of morals. It is a very important text in the history of moral and political thought. It provides the ethical, philosophical, psychological, and methodological underpinnings to Smiths later works. ​ In this work, Smith stated that man was self-interested and self-commanded. Individual freedom, according to Smith, is rooted in self-reliance, the ability of an individual to pursue his self-interest while commanding himself based on the principles of natural law. The Wealth of Nations The Wealth of Nations is actually a five-book series and considered to be the first modern work in the field of economics. Using very detailed examples, Smith attempted to reveal the nature and cause of a nations prosperity. Through his examination, he developed a critique of the economic system. Most commonly known are Smiths critique of mercantilism and his concept of the invisible  hand, which guides economic activity. In explaining this theory, Smith stated that wealthy individuals are: ...led by an  invisible hand  to make nearly the same distribution of the necessaries of life, which would have been made, had the earth been divided into equal portions among all its inhabitants, and thus without intending it, without knowing it, advance the interest of the society. What led Smith to this remarkable conclusion was his recognition that wealthy people dont live in a vacuum: they need to pay (and thus feed) the individuals who grow their food, manufacture their household items, and toil as their servants. Simply put, they cant keep all the money for themselves. Smiths arguments are still used and cited today in debates. Not everyone agrees with Smiths ideas. Many see Smith as an advocate of ruthless individualism. Regardless of how Smiths ideas are viewed, The Wealth of Nations is considered to be, and is arguably, the most important book on the subject ever published. Without a doubt, it is the most seminal text in the field of free-market capitalism. Later Years and Death After living in both France and London for a time, Smith returned to Scotland in 1778 when he was appointed the commissioner of customs for Edinburgh. Smith died on July 17, 1790, in Edinburgh and was buried in the Canongate churchyard. Legacy Smiths work had a profound effect on the American  founding fathers  and the nations economic system. Instead of founding the United States on the idea of mercantilism and creating a culture of  high tariffs  to protect local interests, many key leaders, including  James Madison  and Hamilton, espoused the ideas of free trade and limited government intervention. In fact, Hamilton, in his Report on Manufacturers espoused a number of theories first stated by Smith. These theories stressed the need to cultivate the extensive land that was available in America to create a wealth of capital through labor, distrust of inherited titles and nobility, and the establishment of a military to protect the land against foreign intrusions. Sources â€Å"Adam Smith.†Ã‚  Econlib.Brett, Sarah, and Oxford University Press. â€Å"Adam Smith (1723-90).†Ã‚  Oxford University Press | Online Resource Centre.Founders Online. Alexander Hamiltons Final Version of the Report on the Subject of the Manufactures.  National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration.

Financial Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Financial Management - Essay Example The Sainsbury maintains 15 percent share in the company whom as of 2008 employs 150,000 employees. (wikipedia) Circumstances that led to downfall were due to management inefficiencies of strategies. For instance, management believed on the strength of their position in the market cannot be moved. Company made mistakes on decisions that have moved their loyal customers to competitors and erased brand loyalty to the company. These painful experiences which include wrong advertising campaign, brutal treatment of supplies, reluctance to move for quality or value and other indecisions brought down the profitability of the company for the first time. Company is always one step behind competitors (Wikipedia). Using business ratio report, this part of the study will give us n insight on the financial performance of the company against the leading players in the industry sector. This will show the trend, size of the market, growth , competitor analysis with the process of simple benchmarking and will be presented through the League of Tables. 1. Trend. Percentage of sales of Sainsbury on 5 yr period of 0.87 is higher than the industry and sector Table 1. S&P 500 has a higher benchmark but this could not be used as basis as companies in this group are not allied with supermarkets. This also shows the relative strength of Sainsbury in sales performance along with competitors. 2. Company performance. In terms of profitability (Table 7), net profit margin of Sainsbury is higher than the industry and sector both on a yearly and 5 yr average trend. These figures will lead analysts to believe that Sainsbury plc is recovering and performance is leading to growth. This should cause an alarm for both the management and investors and target efforts should be directed for correction in this area. Investors are mostly apprehensive on earnings per share, and one of the reasons for decline or rising of market trading and prices. Table 8 and 9 shows a comparison of

Abu Dhabi Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Abu Dhabi - Essay Example Its economic strength supersedes the world-wide financial crisis that had unfavourable effects in other regions. Its demography is characterized by almost 8-10 million inhabitants and a portentously ethnologically diverse populace. Its populace consists of Americans, Arabians, and Asian nationals. In terms of governance, the emirate has maintained a hereditary form of governance since its inception. Its executive council that largely constitutes of the ruling family members is the main decision-making organ in Abu Dhabi. In the last 10 years, Abu Dhabi has had noteworthy infrastructure and erection of major attractions. This has had substantial changes in the performance of the economy in the last decade. For instance, the occupancy rate in Dubai and Abu Dhabi has increased noticeably and the tourism rate has steadily intensified (Algethami, 2013). Abu Dhabi demonstrates a spot-on characterisation of distinction bearing in mind its enthralling past. The past ten years have been characterized by a massive influx of expatriates because it is considered a tax-haven. All its recent projects are more awesome than the one previously built. Previously, the labour force was based on the oil-based segment and was relatively underdeveloped. The nature of professions available was not diversified and were limited to a specific sector. However, the recent developments by subsidiaries means that more jobs are obtainable and the economy is open (ADCED, 2012). Lesser taxes and attractive infrastructure encourage investments in other sectors that are not oil-related. Abu Dhabi has strict laws that guide the importation of specific goods. Importers should familiarize themselves with these laws. In 2013, the value of imports into Abu Dhabi increased by 42.5 percent (Pantin, 2009, p. 1). This increase was supported by increased shipments of building materials, industrial equipment and machinery (Oxford Business Group, 2010, p. 21). Abu Dhabi’s non-oil exports were worth AED

Human resource management Essay Example for Free

Human resource management Essay Contemporary organizations are more focused on improving its organizational culture and work arrangement structure to gain competitive advantage in rapidly changing business markets. Change management is a biggest concern for contemporary firms to effectively manage its operations. Basis of success classified on human resource capital involvement in business decision making provide an opportunity to organization to move away from traditional practices of human resource towards employee equity participation in setting and achieving organization goals. Human resource management has undergone many changes in last few decades to improve the functionality of business processes; stabilizing the corporate culture and identifying the opportunity factors which enables organization to grow based on its human resource competency and skills. Traditionally, human resource was concern with only recruiting the employees as per the job demands and requirement. This restricted the HRM only to selective portion of organization processes management. Conversely, in last few decades when information technology has unfold great revolution pertaining to business industries HRM role has been reshaped concerning towards management of organizational culture and goals by involvement of employees. It now is not limited to recruitment and selection of employees but also place emphasis on training and development, managing employee communication, addressing ways to stabilize the organization culture, identifying the factors for growth of organization in changing market conditions, and is also providing solutions to human resource capital management and forming a policy structure to regulate and encourage employee participation in consideration with organization commitment and employee performance related factors management. Strategic operations of HR has enabled the organizations to set higher level of objectives and expand its operations successfully in international markets; devising new structures related to management hierarchy and work arrangement, such as management by objective structure formation as per contemporary need of flexible and rapidly changing business environment. HR roles in technologically integrated business markets has been shifted towards higher concentration work activities for employee management and effective organizational culture establishment; this enabled the organization to focus on employee involvement in business decision and setting of corporate culture consider employees as capital asset to organization. In general terms, HRM is expanding its capacity for organization development by effective utilization of employees’ skills. Persistent to objective of organization strengthening HR roles now require active concentration by management on employee empowerment issues that address decision making, hierarchy, information communication, employee appraisal for compensation and rewards, and employee involvement in goal setting based on equity based approach that also involve workplace diversity and managing cross-cultural business operations. HR practices now address many managing issues of organization for employee and organizational culture management. In order to reduce the cost, many private specialized institutions appeared in the industry that provided an opportunity to organizations for outsourcing HR administration activities, decreasing the overall cost. There are many HR practices which are being outsourced such as recruitment and selection, employee training and development, HR payroll, and HR legal work. Since organizations are diverting its human capital assets management to outsourcing organization therefore, duplication of activities can be avoided. HR outsourcing services helps in considerable cutting in cost while reduction in time for activities management. Integration of technology in HR practices provided extreme time saving measures as e-HR software can now perform many HR management activities such as employee information and data record management, provide payroll solution, helps conduct appraisal on online user interface, proper communication between inter-departments of an organization due to secured network. This helps organizations to move towards shared service centers for its corporate services; many firms have been utilizing shared service centre as a channel to manage its call centre operations by giving access to selective portion in e-HR related to purpose of service being outsourced. Establishment of shared service center is a demanding challenge for organizations as it needs to focus on normalizing the HR practices by addressing HR processes routine in nature. Shared service centre are more customer focused and receptive to contemporary business demand thus enabling firms to lower their operational cost for routine HR activities by involving shared service centre in developing and managing the controlled HR practices. This offers conglomerate advantages to firms due to increased performance and successful accomplishment of organizational goals even at international level operations. Strategically assessing the contemporary HR expose the potential challenges handling ability enabling the organization to diverge its attention on core processes related to human skills deployment at places demanding higher performance. Objective based strategic HR role through amendment in policy structure is giving autonomy to employee in work setting and goal accomplishment strategy formulation; protecting the shared values of organization culture and enabling the higher involvement of employees in business decision. Focus on rewards and compensation packages as factors to enhance employee motivation and organization commitment provides opportunity to attain higher level of employee performance and get positive results irrespective of organizational environment challenges. Globalization has created a dramatic change in the organizational structure and operational flow of business information. Human resource now focus on strategic components of employee performance in various dimension that offer unique advantages to firms in competitive market situations and enable organizations to manage its operations while maintaining discipline in organizational culture. International expansion of business requires addressing various components that form the basis of success in competitive markets for an organization through effectively utilizing human resource skills.

Im Ok Your Ok Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A simple summary of I’m Ok-You’re Ok will not give the needed credit that the book and its author deserve. It is a book that one must read to fully or even partially understand it’s meaning and the author’s viewpoint of transactional analysis. The author, Thomas A. Harris M.D., explains in this book the vast amount of experiences that affect the way we live our life from the moment we are born to the second we die. He explains the different feelings a child experiences from being taken cared of and attended to and vice versa. These feelings are described as â€Å"I’m not ok-you’re not ok, I’m not ok-you’re ok, I’m ok-you’re ok, and I’m ok-you’re not ok.† The author explains how the interactions between a parent and a child help develop each of these feelings and tells how each one is either healthy or unhealthy. The book talks about the way every human has an â€Å"Adult, Parent and a Childâ⠂¬  in them all interacting with each other to perform certain task and make everyday decisions. It was amazing to read how certain verbal and physical actions can pinpoint which of the three we are using to perform whatever tasks we are doing. This book is a great guideline to understanding one’s own interpersonal behavior and understanding how to find and keep the â€Å"I’m ok-you’re ok† attitude in life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Human development has always puzzled me in that I just don’t understand why everybody is completely different. No two people are alike in their ways of thinking, acting, or even dealing with everyday stress. I still don’t understand all of human development but after reading this book I do understand a great deal more about it. I did not realize that the development of a person’s personality starts from the earliest moments of life. It starts to develop when his or her mother or father holds them for the first time and it and it doesn’t stop developing and can always change. As I have grown up, I have realized that many of my actions are just mimics of what my parents did during my childhood. Just every day simple things such as chewing the inside portion of my lip while watching television, which is what my father has always done. The book explained to me that I saw these things being done by my parents and paired them in my mind as wh at an adult does, therefore I do them now because it is ... ...r word usage. I can usually pick out certain words that trigger the thought a child or parent. I have notice the more stable a person is or the more educated a person is the more their parent potential shows out. The longer or more complex their words are the more likely their adult decisions are parental influenced. I even have noticed myself sometime having a strong child influence. I sometime get mad and even whine a little. I recognized my inner child during a card game when I got beaten by a better hand and I stood up and wanted to quit. Usually I don’t notice these things right from the get go but later when I think about I just laugh because I know I looked like a child. I know I will continue to observe people’s actions as well as my own and hopefully I can learn or teach myself how to control my interpersonal feelings.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This book is a great self help book in my mind. I would definitely tell others to read it but not to get discouraged at it because it does take some time reading it to understand its purpose. We all have interpersonal problems but this book is a wonderful guideline in understanding them and controlling them.

Management innovation in the South African dairy industry Essay

The case focuses on management innovation in the South African dairy industry, describing how an innovative new yoghurt product, Danimal, was created specifically for the market at the base of the pyramid. It explains how management of the product line embodied the various innovation opportunities and challenges presented. The concept was initially introduced in order to assess the feasibility of profitably servicing this market. However, the project was not simply about introducing a cheap brand to poor people but was more about creating brand awareness in the market at the base of the pyramid. It was an investment for the future. The new product took into consideration the nutritional shortcomings in the diet of children in this market and also allowed for the lack of available infrastructure – electricity and refrigeration. The case illustrates the importance of a product being affordable, relevant and available for this market. Innovation went further than product design and also took into account the necessity of a lean distribution channel. This took the form of micro-distributers, referred to as Danimamas, who comprised township residents, unemployed or part-time employed individuals. The case offers insights into the complexity of doing business in developing countries. The company admits that it has not been a sustainable business model in terms of current profitability but the value that has been gained from social marketing and long-term brand development has been great. The case concludes with the challenge of how to ensure that the project continues on its upward trajectory. The objectives of the case are to encourage students to have a better understanding of the strategies required to successfully impact on low-income markets in developing countries, the different metrics that one could consider when assessing the impact of interventions on the base of the pyramid market, and the importance of harnessing opportunities and overcoming the challenges of management innovation. Questions to answer: How does the Danimal project shed light on and challenge the principals suggested to manage the base of the pyramid? How would you measure the success of the Danimal project? How does the approach taken by Maria Pretorius in managing the Danimal product line factor in management innovation opportunities and challenges?

Michael D. Brown and Emergency Management Essay - 5077 Words

Introduction 2 What is FEMA? 2 Three Major Divisions of FEMA 3 Three Activities of FEMA 5 Impact of Hurricane Katrina 6 1. Economic effects 6 2. Social effects 7 3. Environmental effects 7 Criticisms 8 The Strength of FEMA 11 1. Reduce the redundancies: 11 2. Disaster assistance 11 3. Various programs 12 The Weakness of FEMA 12 1. Vague role definition 12 2. Staffing problems 13 3. Problem with motivation 14 4. Absorption into DHS 14 5. Problematic strategies 16 6. Poor communication 16 7. Public relation 17 The Proposed Change 18 1. Competent leadership 18 2. Conflict management 19 3. Communication 19 4. Structural change 20 5. Monitor employee attitudes 20 6. Continuous improvement 21 Conclusion 22 References†¦show more content†¦The response programs not only make sure the coordination does well but also assure effective and efficient of immediate emergent assistance to individuals and communities. ÂÆ'ÃÅ" Recovery Division: The capability of Recovery Division is to measure and ensure the affection of individuals or communities in all size disaster and the Recovery Division will give help and supports properly in time. Thereby, the most effective and efficient recovery can be accomplished. It has Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, the Federal Coordinating Officer Program, emergency and disaster declaration processing to complete the recovery work. Three Activities of FEMA ÂÆ'ÃÅ" Preparedness, Training, and Exercises: This activity supplies policy guidance, financial and technical assistance, training, and exercise support required to establish or enhance all-hazard, risk-based emergency management capabilities of Federal, State, and local governments. In addition, this activity emphasizes that FMEA should to maintain a family protection program with private sector. The volunteer organizations encourage and assist families and neighborhoods to take actions to increase their emergency preparedness capabilities. ÂÆ'ÃÅ" Fire Prevention and Training activity: This activity has programs designed to prepare Federal, State, andShow MoreRelatedThe Wrath of Mother Nature: Disaster Management of Hurricane Katrina1341 Words   |  6 Pagesagency that was put at fault for this lack of responsiveness was the Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA for short. FEMA is an agency that is set up to act as relief for any society that has undergone a disaster (National Geographic). FEMA was primarily criticized for its delayed reaction to the disaster and how unprepared the agency was to come in and pick up the pieces of New Orleans. The head of FEMA Michael D. Brown deliberately told fire and rescue teams from other counties not to respondRead MoreExecution and Results in a Crisis Situation1365 Words   |  6 Pagesincluding President George W. Bush, Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff, and FEMA Director Michael D. Brown. Briefly evaluate each of these leaders on their overall effectiveness at Managing Execution and Driving for Results. Manage Execution is the way for a manager to designate, cooperate, monitor, and keep up the assignment (Quinn, 2007). Drive for results is the way to achieve the goal with others and through others (Quinn, 2007). Mr. Brown is the one who has to organize and cooperate with HomelandRead MoreNational Response Plan Howard L. Hayes Saint Leo University1323 Words   |  6 PagesNational Response Plan Howard L. Hayes Saint Leo University Abstract Why is it necessary for our country to have an effective emergency plan in place? Why does it matter how the country responds to emergencies when every part of our country, including cities and states, face emergency situations on a daily basis all over? Some are bad to worse, and some horrific to deadly. Well, this paper explains the importance of the National Response Plan and why it is necessary for our country to have it inRead MoreNational Response Pl An Effective Emergency Plan1321 Words   |  6 Pages National Response Plan Howard L. Hayes Saint Leo University Abstract Why is it necessary for our country to have an effective emergency plan in place? Why does it matter how the country responds to emergencies when every part of our country, including cities and states, face emergency situations on a daily basis all over? Some are bad to worse, and some horrific to deadly. Well, this paper explains the importance of the National Response Plan and why it is necessary for our countryRead MorePublic Policy Influences Government Stakeholders: Government Stakeholders Influences Public Policy1250 Words   |  5 Pagesin the best interest of people through their direct interactions with respect to public interest and public policy. When government responsibilities at the (local, state or federal) or NGO levels fail to act timely to citizens who are in need of emergency services in catastrophic situations, trust in government and NGO become the battle cry for change to public policy due to government unresponsiveness and carelessness. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to discuss and analyze two points; FirstlyRead MoreDisaster Preparedness Policies At The United States2048 Words   |  9 Pagesthan an emergency. A Disaster disrupts essential services such as housing, transportation, communications, sanitation, water, and health care; and that requires the response of people outside the community affected (Gebbie). In a world that anything can happen, you have to be prepared for everything. Over decades, the United States has created disaster preparedness policies to help plan strategies before and after a disaster. The biggest disaster relief agency is FEMA (Federal Emergency ManagementRead MoreThe 9th Ward: The African American’s Struggle in The Wake of a Natural Disaster2061 Words   |  9 PagesInside the Superdome, there were â€Å"primarily black faces whose plight, broadcast worldwide, dramatically exposed the racial dimension of poverty in America.† By September 1st, 2005, conditions in the Superdome were declared unsafe by the Federal Emergency management Agency or FEMA for short. By this time there were a reported 20,000 people inhabiting the Superdome (LA Times). According to Paul Harris, the survivors of the Superdome had to live in conditions that included â€Å"backed-up toilets, children sleepingRead MoreHurricane Devastation Of New Orleans962 Words   |  4 PagesFederal system and local responses pursuing the disaster, which risen the damage that had been made. There was a strain on the rescue operation due to many people who did not get the warnings of evacuati on. George W. Bush, Michael D. Brown, the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the New Orleans Department Superintendent Eddie Compass were all forced to resign. For not ordering mandatory evacuations at an earlier time Louisiana Government Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray NaginRead MoreHazardous Waste and Superfund Sites1143 Words   |  5 PagesSuperfund has paid the bill entirely with taxpayer money (EPA, 2010). With every new ecological disaster, the strain on Superfund becomes more significant. Since Congress has not reinstated fees on industry, any new disaster clean-up is paid for with emergency funding which inevitably comes out of the pockets of the public and adds to the already enormous deficit (Lester Rabe, 2008). Superfund Proponents Superfunds proponents state that the EPA must have the authority, and resources to clean up hazardousRead MoreBusiness Continuity Plan as a Part of Risk Management18773 Words   |  76 PagesCONTENTS STRESZCZENIE .........................................................4 ABSTRACT ..................................................................6 INTRODUCTION ........................................................7 CHAPTER 1 RISK MANAGEMENT ............................................................8 1.1 The Definition of Risk ............................................................... 8 1.2 Risk in Business Activity......................................................... 10