Analysing The Market Of Milk Economics Essay

Analysing The Market Of Milk Economics Essay 1. a.) Highlights of scientific studies in an advertising campaign that find drinking milk can help reduce weight gain. The campaign will positively affect both the price and the quantity demanded, as a result more consumers will demand for large quantities of milk. High demand will cause a shortage of milk supply, therefore the quantity supplied will be insufficient, and this will result in the increase of the market prices for milk (Doherty, 2007). b.) presence of a mad cow disease epidemic. In this case, the consumers will refrain from milk consumption causing a decrease in the quantity demanded. This will result to surplus milk being produced and consequently lead to a fall in the price of milk. c.) A decrease in the price of milk. A decrease in the price of milk implies that the consumers will have high purchasing power; they will probably buy more of the milk. As it is explained in (Mankiw, 1998). Due to the low prices of milk the producers will be discouraged due to the accompanied expenses of production; as a result there will be a decrease in the quantity supplied. d.) The government decides to implement a price ceiling on milk. Government interventions always have a very significant effect on supply of any commodity. If the Government sets the price of a commodity to a value which is below the market-clearing level, then the quantity that the producers are willing to supply will be less as compared to the quantity that consumers will be willing to purchase. Consequently, the extent of the excess demand that is implied by this kind of response will directly depend on relative elasticitys that exist with respect to the demand and supply. In case both the supply and the demand variables are elastic, then the price ceiling will create a shortage that is larger than when both are inelastic. Other factors such as the willingness of the consumers to more milk and the farmers ability to change the sizes of their herds and to produce less will also determine these elasticitys and influence the governments regulation pattern and hence magnitude of excess demand (Arnold, 2007). As Rosen, (2005). Explains, the governments price will result in the situations of excess demand where some producers will be unable to incur the expenses that are associated the production. In case the government price ceiling impacts negatively to consumers of milk, then those whose demands cannot be met will possibly attempt to purchase the substitutes, therefore increasing the demand for the milk substitutes, a phenomena leads to the rise in the prices of the substitutes. 2. The advantages and disadvantages to price controls Advantages The incentive to minimizing of the cost re-emerges due to the regulatory link that is created between the costs and the ceiling prices. The connection between the profits and rate base is broken. The Price ceilings on the monopoly products can help in the prevention of the predatory pricing on the competitive services. This is necessary when the regulated and the competitive products are placed in different baskets for the purposes of formulation. Disadvantages The farmer is usually the residual claimant of the surplus below the cap; therefore it has the incentive of minimizing costs. This has an implication that it also has the incentive of lowering the service quality, for any decrease in the quality it is equivalent to an increase in the price. The incentive that is associated with the predatory pricing persists in case both the competitive and the regulated services are subjected to a similar X-factor and specifically if the firm exhibits the joint costs. The Implementation of the price caps especially in the context of the informational asymmetries is complicated. Price-cap regulation has no obligation to the publication rates of return, and therefore they have greater discretion, which also entails a greater potential in capturing of the regulatory process of the government. In case when there is lack specific obligation to serving all customers of the monopolized products, then the regulation process may lack the incentive to serve the categories of the customers with the highest costs or those who are less willing to pay. (Colander, 2008). 3. Milk in this case has elastic type of elasticity. This is due to the responsiveness of the consumers to the changes in the prices of milk, which has direct impact on the supply and demand of milk. According to (Harris, 1958) elasticity of supply measures the magnitude of the responsiveness of the quantity that is supplied in relation to the changes in price, since the percentage change in the quantity supplied is induced by a small change in the price. Since the supply is usually increasing with the prices, then the price elasticity of the supply is usually positive. Other elasticitys are calculated for the non-price determinants of supply. For instance, a percentage change in the amount of goods supplied that is caused by a one percent increment in the price of related goods is an input elasticity of supply if the related goods are the inputs in the production process. The significant determinants of elasticity include: The availability of substitutes; Substitutes play the role of replacement thereby reducing the demand for the main product there by making the consumer to be non-responsive to the change of the prices. The percentage of ones budget that is spend on the product; The higher the percentage of the budget that is spend on the product, the more responsive the consumer is and vice versa. Reaction time: The price elasticity supply coefficient is largely determined by how quickly producers can react to the price changes by increasing or decreasing the rate of production and the supply of goods to the market. The Complexity of Production process: Elasticity depends mainly on the complexity that is associated with the production process. Milk production process is relatively simple. This is because the labor is largely unskilled and the production facilities are very cheap. There are no special structures that are needed. Therefore, the price elasticity supply for milk is elastic. Contrary to this, the price elasticity supply for other production process facilities such as the types of milking machine is relatively inelastic. Machine milking of the cows is a simple process which requires very specialized equipments, some partly skilled laborers, and very large suppliers network to reduce storage costs (Carley, 1968) Consumers response time: The more the time that a consumer takes to respond to the price changes the more elastic the supply is. For example, a milk consumer cannot immediately respond to the increase in the prices of dairy cow feeds as compared to the price of milk. Excess capacity: A milk producer who has excess capacity in the production units can quickly respond to the changes in the price of his market with the assumptions that the variable factors are readily available which is advantageous. The Inventories: A milk producer with a constant supply of milk or who has the available storage capacity can quickly respond to the price changes. 4. The total revenue decreases with the increase in the price of milk; this is attributed to the elasticity of the dairy industrys products. The consumers of dairy products, specifically milk in this case are very responsive to the changes in milk prices. Increase in the price of milk means that there will be a shift on the demand curve to the right; this is because the consumers will tend to reduce the rate of milk consumption to curb on the costs. This will cause a decrease on the total revenues due to the low demand for milk. (Tucker, 2008)

Personal Selling Essay

Step 1: Prospecting Prospecting, involves the Money, Authority, Desire (M.A.D) approach. Firstly I analysed my prospective clients to ensure that they had the money, authority and desire to purchase the products I was selling. Upon analysis I realised that since my target customers were friends and colleagues who themselves had authority on their purchases I decided to focus on Money and Desire. The prospecting methods I used were direct mail, networking and telephone. I sorted through my contacts on social networking sites such as Facebook, Friendster and MSN and also a list of past and present colleagues to sift for viable prospects. Step 2: Pre-approach At this stage, I did a few things to make my personal selling successful. Firstly I drafted email messages and messages to be sent on social networking sites to my viable contacts to inform them about the promotions and items I was selling. I also ensured to highlight the discounts that they would be receiving by purchasing the items from me. I believed that this would create an image of professionalism as it would portray that as a salesperson, I am well informed about my products. Step 3: Approach I moved on to approach, sending out emails and messages through the social networking sites informing them about my products. I also made use of the Chinese New Year season to target those celebrating to purchase the New Year goodies that I was selling. I also promoted the many vouchers, as thoughtful gifts for Valentines’ day for their loved ones, placing emphasis on the Swensen’s Valentines’ day cake voucher as it was one of the few items on sale that was Halal certified allowing me to widen my target consumers to include my Muslim friends, in the process using the customer benefit approach highlighting the discounts they would be receiving if they purchased the items from me. For potential prospects for products from MSC Studio and Mini Challenger outlets, I provided them with the product information and on-going promotional information which I obtained from posters and Colleagues working in MSC Studio as well as from my personal experience working in Challeng er Mini. Which in this case is the product approach. Step 4: Presentation At the presentation stage, I use 2 methods of presentation, AIDA approach and Need Satisfactory Method. AIDA approach includes, getting Attention, making prospect Interested, convert his Desire to conviction, as well as to take purchase Action. Which in this case, I have done it through sending out PowerPoint slide attachment and also created an album on facebook containing the products I’m selling. I also included the pricing and the discounts that they would be receiving. This grabs the prospects Attention, Interest and Desire to take Action. The need-satisfaction method would be to confirm clients’ needs and to show the product that can offer solution. In this case, I would approach potential prospects and ask them questions on what they are looking for maybe in-terms of Chinese New Year goodies or Valentines’ day gifts and be sure not to make them feel uneasy while doing so. After confirming their needs, recommendations would be made to them based on individu al customer needs. Step 5: Trial close After the presentation stage, I would ask if there are any discomforts in my recommendations. Example, â€Å"Are these what you’re looking for?† and â€Å"how does this sound to u?† For prospects who seemed interested but needed time to think about it, I made follow up calls about a couple of days later to ensure that it would not become a dead sales lead. This eventually made way for a few successful sales. Step 6: Objections There is definitely bound to be objections in the course of personal selling. Some of the objections that I faced from my prospects were: 1. Not interested in the item 2. Not Halal. 3. Too expensive. 4. Already bought. 5. Uncertainty in purchasing Step 7: Meeting Objections When I face objections, I would try to come up with solutions. These are some solutions for the above objections: 1. Try to offer another product that suits their need or interest 2. Offer to hold the sales period open for them till the very last day. 3. Offer cheaper range products which meets their budget. 4. Introduce them to other products which they may not have bought. 5. Persuade them by highlighting the benefits of buying the product. Step 8: The close For products from the Cupid ‘N’ You pre-order, during the closing I would have to take down their order, reconfirm it, and collect the money as well as to inform them about the collection date (27 January 2011). I would also thank them for buying from me. As for personal selling done at MSC Studio, I would just thank my customers for buying as the collecting of money and taking of order are suppose to be done by the MSC staff. Step 9: Follow up and Service I intend to contact my customers a few days in advance before the 27th of January, to remind them that the items will be ready for delivery on the 27th of January. I will also be personally delivering the items to my customers. I intend to attach a personalised thank you note with each of my customers to show my appreciation for their support. I would also be offering free gift wrapping for items which have been intended as Valentines’ day gift, upon request from my customer. A satisfied customer is a loyal customer and satisfied customers are known to spread positive word-of-mouth and this would defiantly prove to be essential should I need their continued support in future sales tasks. Question 2 Personal Selling Event For this round of Personal selling project, we were given Cupid ‘N’ You, a Chinese New Year and Valentines’ Day pre-order event to work with by the EMRS, TEP– MSC festive team. The items on sale for this event were from various companies that included Mrs Fields, Awfully Chocolate, Astons, Ritz Apple Strudel and Swensen’s, Fragrance, Horse Brand Bird’s Nest, Taiwan snacks, CNY Pastries Season and Cornery Popcorn. Mrs Fields and Astons offered discounted cash vouchers while Awfully Chocolate Ritz Apple Strudel and Swensen’s were offering discounted product vouchers. Fragrance offered three different varieties of ‘Bak Kwa’ in either 500g or 1kg packages at a discounted price. Horse Brand Bird’s Nest offered different varieties of Bird’s Nest, chicken essence as well as abalone. Taiwan snacks, CNY Pastries and Season offered snacks, cookies, cakes and pastries, well suited as Chinese New Year goodies. Cornery Popcorn, offered two, regular sized popcorn as a set allowing customers to choose from a range of three flavours. Moreover being attached to Challenger Mini for this stopover, I could also only include items from MSC Studio which housed brands such as Faceshop, Sasa, Giordano, Six accessories, Ameba as well as many others and Challenger Mini two year memberships into my overall Personal selling. Question 3 Refer to annex 1 Question 4 Lessons Learnt Lessons that I have learnt in the course of this personal selling process is that One must have sufficient product knowledge before they can do recommendations that suit individual consumer needs and persuade their customers to successfully buy their products. There will always be rejections but I should not let that put me down, instead I should develop a more positive mindset in failures and use that as a stepping stone and improve on my sales techniques in order to achieve my target. I have also learnt to always be aware of a sales opportunity as it may arise at any time. I should also be aware of my competitors offering so that I will be able to highlight the benefits of purchasing from me. Challenges The challenges I encountered for this project was the tight deadlines that had to be met. In addition, with the busy pace of life, sometimes people tend to overlook emails and messages so I had to follow up with every single prospect to verify their interest in the products and try to close the deal which was time consuming. There was also the issue of my customers preferring competitors offering in the case of ‘Bak Kwa’. I â€Å"lost† quite a few customers as they preferred Bee Cheng Hiang ‘Bak Kwa’ comparative to that from Fragrance that I was selling. I had to place great emphasis on the discount being offered, to tempt my prospects. One specific challenge that I encountered was a prospective customer who was aware of this promotion and had expressed interest in it, had to go to Malaysia urgently for a week. I was unable to reach her to close the deal in time. My friend only came back to Singapore on the 21st of January 2011 and contacted me immeiately to order six kilograms of Fragrance ‘Bak Kwa’ from me. I was unable to process this order as the last date to place the order for the festive sales was 20th January 2011. Even though I was unable to close such a huge individual deal, I am glad that this Personal Selling Process has given me a greater exposure to the real working world. Lastly, through this process, I have learnt to be flexible and provide good customer service in order to meet customer’s needs.

Self-Preservation Japan Territorial Ambitions

The need for self-preservation was the motivating force behind Japan’s territorial ambitions. † In my opinion,self-preservation refers to the preservation of Japan’s territories as well as the achievement of self-sufficieny(autarky). Thus, I feel that Sources B,C and D support the statement while Sources A and E do not. Source B supports the hypothesis. It states the two reasons why Japan went to war and is reliable because it is a report of the Japanese government conference held in 1941.Source B states that Japan will â€Å"seek to establish a solid basis for security and preservation of the nation†and â€Å"advance south†. This shows that Japan wanted to protect its territories like China and sought to establish its military so that it could conquer more territories for more natural resources to reduce reliance on other countries . Also, Japan needed to â€Å"establish a solid basis for security† so that it could protect itself from externa l threats. Japan felt that in order to be more powerful, it needed to conquer more territories and preserve its current territories.To Japan, power was the key to self-preservation and thus, in order to satisfy its need for self-preservation, Japan became hungry for power and this ignited Japan’s territorial ambitions. Source B also states that Japan’s main reason for expanding its territories was the â€Å"policy that resulted in the establishment of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere†. Thus, I can infer from Source B that Japan conquered other territories because it wanted to achieve self-sufficiency.From my contextual knowledge,Japan established the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere on the pretext of wanting all the economies in East Asia to prosper together. However, Japan’s main aim was to control the economies and trade and at the same time, the countries’ natural resources. By doing so, Japan was able to gain more natural resour ces for its growing industries and population as well as use the Southeast Asian countries as overseas markets for Japanese goods. Hence,I feel that Source B shows that the motivation behind Japan’s territorial ambitions was its need for self-sufficiency.

An Understanding Of Gender Perception, Gender, And Gender...

On the basis of this we may say that on the one hand, an understanding of gender perception, gender role assignment, and gender subversion can be achieved only within a given socio-cultural context; and on the other hand, only a polyvalent and dynamic approach to the real workings and functioning of these sources can inform us. In order words we need to understand how concepts like monolingualism, multilingualism, Islam, and illiteracy work in real social everyday life. Thus, the question that theories of gender in our part of the world should address is: What are the socio-cultural sources of power and authority in the region that constitute culture and regulate gender perception, gender role assignment, and gender subversion? Among the various sources of power and authority, seven stand out: history, Islam, multilingualism, orality, social organization, economic status, and political system.† II. METHODS Research Setting This research will be conducted with a non-governmental organization serving women victims of gender biased violence, and women who find themselves in a deep state of precariousness as runaway young women and unwed mothers called the Moroccan Women’s Protection Center (MWPC). Founded in May 2003, the MWPC is a small, and independent organization in Southwest Coastal Morocco committed to helping and supporting women victims of moral, socio-economical, psychological and physical violence. Contacts with the MWPC were made with the assistance of Dar SiShow MoreRelatedGender Inequality And Its Impact On Children s Developmental Essay1396 Words   |  6 Pagesoverlook gender inequality because race inequality is prevalent and easily recognizable. Like racial inequality; gender inequality is also a real issue in America. Gender stereotypes are perpetuated throughout our lifetime beginning when we are children. 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