Alternative to GDP

Topic: â€Å"There is rising criticism of the widespread use of GDP as an indicator of the health of an economy. In fact, some experts are of the opinion that GDP growth is making the society poorer. Critically analyse this opinion in view of the concept of sustainability and also discuss some alternate measures being suggested and their implications to the businesses? † GDP as an economic measure of the economic progress of a country Gross domestic product (GDP) is considered one of the most important factors that determine the economic activity and hence the progress of the development of a country. It is the monetary value of all the final goods and services produced by a country in a specified time. Therefore, it is considered that if the country’s economic production increases, other factors remaining positive, then it positively benefits all the citizens of the country. It is hence used as an indicator for the country’s standard of living[1]. Therefore, greater the GDP, better the health of an economy and hence better the lives of the citizens. Reasons for criticism on the use of GDP as an indicator of economic progress As GDP measures the monetary value of the final goods and services produced, it means that the money spent on the country’s well-being for example, millions spent on manufacturing fancy electronic gadgets, constructing a prison, cutting forests to use wood for production of further goods – are all considered at par while measuring the GDP. There is no emphasis on the quality of the output, the progress of the country in terms of the social state of affairs, human happiness, etc. As these are essential ingredients in determining the health of an economy, the concept of using GDP as a measuring scale of the economic progress of a country if criticised. Disadvantages of GDP GDP is criticised on many aspects – it obscures growing inequality, aids depletion of resources and one of the most prominent criticisms is that it measures expenditure on education at par with expenditure on cigarettes i. e. it does not differentiate whether the spending that aids the GDP percentage is going towards a positive or negative cause. GDP does not measures the economic services that nature provides – for example, prevention of floods and landslides by existence of dense forests – it does not account for health, clean environment, etc. i. e. GDP falls short in taking into account equally important things that exist to make a country liveable by fostering social cohesion, along with just the monetary value of goods and services * GDP takes into account the gove rnment spending, but from where the funding is sourced and where it is utilized is not taken into account. Hence, government borrowing is considered good for a country as far as GDP calculation is concerned * Money transactions that take place unofficially and go unrecorded are not accounted for in the calculation of GDP. Hence it does not help in avoiding taxes or prevention of illegal transactions and spending of such huge amount goes unnoticed * Harmful side effects like, pollution is not accounted for in the GDP. No deductions are made from GDP for their harmful effects but addition to GDP is made by market transactions that aid in removing these harmful effects. Hence the calculation of GDP is not balanced * The GDP takes into account the goods and services produced but not exchanged for money. For example, volunteer work or growing own food and consuming it is not included in the GDP whereas expenditure on buying food from the market is taken into account [2]. Adverse effects of using GDP as a sole measure for economic success As GDP takes into account only some value created in the country and does not take into account several key transactions, GDP often increases at the expense of real growth and progress. The result is that GDP fails miserably as an indicator of economic success on the sustainability scale. The environmental and social aspects are not covered by the GDP. Alternative measures & their business implications There are several alternative indicators of the progress of a country. These measure economic activity, environmental or social activities, well-being or changes in environmental, social or human capital. * Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI): It provides a complete picture of economical and social progress. There are several indicators used to calculate GPI that are broadly classified under three categories – economic, environmental and social. The economic category indicators are similar to gross product measurement. The environment factors measure cost of pollution, cost of change to natural resources, cost of climate change, etc. The social indicator includes the value of education, lost leisure time, cost of crime, etc. This indicator has been adopted by the state of Maryland and is altered to include the impact of income inequality on the economy of the state. This indicator indicated the need to focus on reducing the level of income inequality in order to improve Maryland’s overall economic and social growth. Hence, this indicator has been successfully implemented that includes all the factors of well-being in a society. This leads to modified business practices in order to reduce inequality and improve economic, environmental and social spheres of the state * Human Development Index (HDI): It is used by the UNDP to show how the improvement in economic growth and human development is improving conditions of the human in the various countries. The HDI is defined as process of widening choices available to humans in order to live an educated, long and healthy life and to have access to resources to have a healthy and decent standard of living. It makes use of political freedom, human rights and self-respect to measure the index but as they are difficult to measure, the index uses longevity, knowledgeable and decent standards of livings as indicators in lieu of prosperous and long lives. * Gross National Happiness (GNH): It is frequently used as an alternative measure of progress. It was originally suggested by Bhutan to be used instead of using GDP as an appropriate measure of progress. It measures quality of life or social progress in consistency with Bhutan’s culture and spiritual values rather than focusing more on economic activity. It measures seven types of wellness – economic, environmental, physical, mental, workplace, social and political. Several conferences have also been held on use of GNH and it was primarily used to base the progress of the country on reflections of the country’s Buddhist origins[3](Coztanza, Hart, Posner & Talberth, 2009). Conclusion There are several alternative measures that are suggested to be used to measure the progress and the social well-being of a country. GDP is flawed such that it aids detrimental activities and does not take into account the positive activities of a country. Hence, an alternative that measures not only the market value of final goods and service but which also takes into account the social, economic and environmental factors while calculating the progress of a country is imperative to lead to sustainable development. The current use of GDP leads to more consumption of harmful cigarettes with no emphasis on the environmental degradation from the industrial and business rocesses. Hence, although the economy is progressing in certain spheres of economic activity, it is indeed lagging on sustainable development which requires pollution control, reduced resource usage, better social and income equality. Therefore, alternate measures that take into account all the factors that impact a nation should be developed and the alternative measure that is a composite of all the factors should be used to ensure sustainable develop ment of the economy that reflects progress in daily lives of its citizens. References: 1. http://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/gdp.asp 2. http://zorach.wordpress.com/2010/08/27/why-gdp-gross-domestic-product-is-a-poor-measure-of-wealth-and-prosperity/ 3. (Coztanza, Hart, Posner & Talberth, 2009) – http://www.bu.edu/pardee/files/documents/PP-004-GDP.pdf

Psychological Testing Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Psychological Testing - Term Paper Example In a recent commentary regarding President Obama’s speech in The New York Times, author Trip Gabriel briefly discussed the President’s remarks regarding the â€Å"high stakes† tests and the incited reaction from a couple of bloggers. The President remarks on how much focus is given to these tests at the expense of the curriculum. According to the article, President Obama said, â€Å"Too often, what we’ve been doing is using these tests to punish students or to, in some cases, punish schools.† A blogger for Education Week remarked that the President is going against his own government’s policies on standardized tests that involve having students go through several tests in a school year. However, the Department of Education maintains its stand on the expansion of testing. They claim that these are actually means to ease the pressure on teachers, because instead of year-end tests that normally put the blame on schools if the results are bad, st udents will be tested for their own progress more than once a year (Gabriel, â€Å"Bloggers Challenge President†). The issue here is not merely the number of tests a student has to go through, but the test itself. However, increasing the number of tests in a year increases the issues in these tests as well. Even author Alfie Kohn in his book â€Å"The Case against Standardized Testing: Raising the Scores, Ruining the Schools† explains his opposition to standardized testing. The issues STANDARDIZED TESTS 3 surrounding the tests are abound, yet articles that give adequate information on the tests are lacking. Most of the publicly available articles offer generic information on the tests, but do not really describe the content. Sometimes, the content of the test might surprise the students and their parents (Harlen, 2002, p.141). For example, in another article from The New York Times last March 16 by Jacques Steinberg entitled â€Å"For SAT Test-Takers, Is ‘The Si tuation’ the Right Answer?,† the peculiarity of a test question is discussed. The essay prompt asked the students to provide opinions regarding reality television. The executive director of the SAT test declared that the question is about pop culture and it was just a fair question to ask. People may have differing opinions on this matter. However, it sort of emphasizes the point that the scope of the exam is not widely discussed publicly, since topics such as this causes surprise from parents of test-takers (Steinberg, â€Å"For SAT Test-Takers†). Still, the presence or absence of the information is not the main topic of this paper. The issue on how necessary these tests are is the area that needs more attention. First, even though newspapers frequently quote the scores of the tests, and several experts believe that this is the best measurement for an individual’s progress, it is not the absolute standard for success (Ryan and Weinstein, 2009, p.224). Stu dents have endured more and more tests over time, yet discussion on new educational processes are not happening. The tests only force the institutions to push their students to earn higher grades, but they do not result in providing solutions to the real problems that causes low marks (Harlen, 2002, p.141). Second, Indian University Professor of Education Roger Farr states that â€Å"multiple-choice questions do not allow students to apply what they can do.†

Research paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

Research paper - Essay Example The benefits of online shopping are numerous one of them being one can shop from home and does not need to go to the mall as one will shop online and the product is delivered at the doorstep. Online shopping saves time and resources as one will be able to shop at the comfort of their homes and one can shop whenever they want hence making it convenient (Rajaraman, 2000). Online shopping will provide variety for the buyer to choose from various shops as there are many providers and this gives the buyer the opportunity to compare products and choose the one that best meets their requirements. Online shopping also has hazards or drawbacks that makes people skeptic about using it. There exists a time lag from payment of the products required and delivery, unlike buying from a store where one exchanges money with the product. Online shopping also does not allow the customer the chance to test the product before using it and if it is defective when delivered it may inconvenience the buyer (Rajaraman, 2000). There are high shipping costs for [products and this makes products sell at a higher price than the usual when using online shopping. Online shopping is also faced by security issues as payment methods over the internet through credit cards may not be secure and it may lead to insecure transactions. However with proper implementation of security measures, online shopping provides an easy and convenient means of trading that saves the customer time and offers a wide variety of products to choose from. I chose online shopping—benefits and hazards as it has become a topic of discussion today because globalization has prompted the need for businesses to initiate electronic commerce in order to be competitive in the market. This topic will help me learn how the advantages and drawbacks of electronic commerce hence it could help me when I start my own business. Searching on the internet was easier than on the online library as I only needed to type in

Economics Paper in MLA format including 2 primary source documents Term

Economics in MLA format including 2 primary source documents - Term Paper Example The price where the curves intersect is called the market price and this is where both the consumers and producers are willing to supply a certain quantity. The demand curve is downward sloping due to the fact that as the price reduces, the ability and willingness to purchase on the consumers’ part increases meaning that there is negative relationship between the quantity demanded and price of the product. On the other hand, the opposite can be said for the supply curve. A positive relationship exists between the quantity supplied and price. As the price increases, the producers are more capable and willing to supply the product and hence the upward sloping curve. Consumer surplus is when a consumer is getting to buy a product at a price which is lower than that which the consumer is willing to pay. Therefore all the area between the demand curve and the market price line is classified as consumer surplus. Producer surplus is the excess which the producer earns as a result of the difference in the market price and the quantity the producer is willing to supply at certain prices. Producer surplus is the area below the market price and above supply curve. Business and Labor The mergers process may be beneficial for the industry in the short run specifically for industries which involve huge costs and research and development projects. The greater financial pool available to these companies is required to undertake large research operations and improve new technologies. It also is about the efficiency of the companies that is if they have been able to increase their efficiency through this process and whether they have passed this efficiency to the buyers. The mergers process may increase the efficiency because now at a larger operations base, the company may be able to achieve economies of scale which is the reduction of average production costs as a result of the increase in production. Coming towards the minimum wage laws, the governments often introduce the policies of minimum wage which acts as a floor to the price of labor employed. When the government enforces the laws of minimum wages, then the market forces are disturbed and equilibrium ceases to exist creating a gap between the demand and supply, which is of labor in this case. The disequilibrium in theory results in a rise in the supply of labor but the demand reduces as the labor is now more costly. However, the magnitude by which this disequilibrium is caused depends upon the circumstances prevailing in each economy and varies from country to country. United States Finance The economy of United States of America was performing very well at the start of the century but then went under deep recession in the year 2008 with the credit crunch and all the financial institutions seem to crumble at the same time. People started to default, and the society and institutions started to face liquidity issues. Soon with this credit crunch, the debts started to rise and the economy sta rted to experience its effects which included the rising unemployment rates and decreasing gross domestic product (GDP) of US economy. Since the financial crisis struck in the year 2008, the US debt has been very high. According to a recent news article, the United States debt is nearly as much as the total value of all its goods and services produced in the US during the financial year. CNBC reports that the total value of the US debt is $14.96 trillion which means that the

Ethics Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethics Case Study - Essay Example In general, the LPN has less training and less education requirements than the RN. In any office, it is the RN who is able to sign prescriptions and administer medication to patients. The LPN is under the supervision of an RN and therefore cannot dispense medication or prescriptions without the okay from the RN. In this situation, Jerry McCall does not know this patient and therefore does not know the dosage that the doctor has given him in the past. Also, the patient could be lying so McCall should look at the individuals chart before doing anything. What Jerry should do in this situation is tell the patient that he will talk to the doctor about it and see what he can do. He cannot take the word of the patient that the doctor has given him Valium in the past. Jerry can tell the patient that the doctor is currently out, but he will page him and ask him about the prescription. It does not matter whether the patient needs medication for high blood pressure because the point is that the LPN must always have a doctor or an RN sign off on their work. If Jerry were to call in the refill and something happens to the patient, he is not protected from a lawsuit because he went beyond his scope of practice if he calls in the medication. The doctor that he works for would be in the most trouble under the doctrine of respondent superior. In terms of ethical and legal issues, Jerry must first think about the oath of "do no harm." If he were to prescribe the Valium, and something should happen to the patient or the medication should have an adverse affect, his boss would be the most liable in the situation. However, Jerry has acted under his own will if he gives the medication and legally, he was not able to dispense this medication on his own, which means he could lose his license to practice. Depending on the state that the individual is practicing in, they may have more legal responsibilities in this case. Ethically, Jerry is bound by whatever training he had and the

Coastal and Marine Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Coastal and Marine Management - Assignment Example From this paper it is clear that  individuals mostly from the coastal communities have a platform to undertake diverse economic activities. They essentially stand to benefit from the large number of people visiting the waterfront at any given time. Some of the economic activities that have been inspired by the presence of the waterfront include marine construction, collection of offshore minerals and precious stones for sale, ship and boat building and repair, marine transportation, selling ornaments and corals to visiting groups. These economic activities have made many youths who were idling in the streets find something of economic significance to do. Consequently, the economic activities have led to the growth of market centers and towns in regions with actively working waterfronts. Furthermore, such activities have promoted the long-term prosperity of coastal communities and their working waterfronts.This essay stresses that in light of strengths, the working waterfront has a steady flow of visitors throughout the year. This makes it a viable economic ground for any business venture. Furthermore, it provides a platform that attracts investors from both the local and foreign market hence is self-sustaining. Its future prospects are high given those visitors at the site keep on growing exponentially.  Given the large numbers of visitors coming in at any given time, there is need for regular maintenance to keep the waterfront working in season and out of season.

Organisational Behaviour Essay Example for Free

Organisational Behaviour Essay In any organisation, the employers exhibit varied behaviours. Behaviour is a social corporate responsibility (Antal Sobczak, 2004). An organisation should not just demand some kind of behavior but be incorporated in ensuring that this is achieved. The systematic study of how individuals act in an organisation, either individually or as a group is referred to as organisational behaviour (Michael, 2005). There exists many factors that would shape the way people interact in organisations. These seek to predict, control and explain some facts. Despite major criticisms concerning the ethics of controlling the behavior of workers, organisational behaviour has been very instrumental in the development and success of organisations. In the modern world, organisational behaviour is a rapidly growing field. People from different regional and cultural backgrounds have to work together thus making it necessary to moderate the way they interact. These studies have been integrated with other domains for effectiveness, these are: anthropology, ethics and leadership. The leadership domain seeks to give an insight into the role leadership plays in an organisation in the change management process. An individual learns some behaviour from an organisation either directly or indirectly (ICMR, 2007). Theories widely accepted in learning are cognitive, behaviouristic and social learning theories. Learning is attributed to the association between stimulus and response. In behaviouristic theory, the desired behaviour is achieved through the application of theories on behaviour. This theory tends to deal with those skills learnt to be used later excluding those capabilities that are inborn (Behavioural Theory, 2008). People are taught and learn rather than inherit traits. In the context of Waiting Tables for Godot passage, we can analyse some of the traits that are taught rather than the inherent ones. Jean-Pierre Godot, the owner of La Maison taught his staff some of the things he expected them to observe. He taught the workers to work as a team and work excellently for that matter. It is out of this that Diane knew that she had to give her best. How else could she be excellent? In essence, she was putting into practice what was taught to her by Godot; excellence in duty. It is also easy to see that Diane had acquired some other knowledge elsewhere. She had learnt to balance several plates on her arms. Diane could speak French despite living and studying in Australia. It is therefore only wise to conclude Diane should have been taught French. This enabled her to perform well since it is clear from the passage that she was an excellent worker. Customers complemented her for offering efficient service and even gave her tips. Cognitive theory involves learning through mistakes (Domjan, 2003). An individual avoids the path leading to pre-committed mistakes the next time similar activities are undertaken (Jaffee, 2000). In the case passage, when Diane dropped a bowl of bouillabaisse appetiser, her boss yelled at her and even went ahead to deduct $44. 95 form her pay. This taught Diane that carrying many order plates at once was not safe. It also made her realise that Godot was not concerned with the good deeds by the workers but rather by their shortcomings. Slowing down her pace was the immediate lesson that Diane learnt from this experience. From the same mistake, the University of Canberra student realised that with a slower pace, she would make little money to meet her needs. It was only advisable for her to carry on at the same pace but take more caution to avoid any outbursts from her boss. Lastly, the kind of behaviour that is passed on through observation is expounded in social theory. An individual watches some traits that others exhibit and adapts the same. It is very common with children. According to Miller and Dollard (1941), the observer imitates the observed action which is then adapted and rewarded with a positive reinforcement. Diane, a newly employed worker at La Maison observed the cook being scolded by Godot. She immediately learnt that she had no option but to give the best in her capacity if she was to avoid any trouble. By observing the nature of her customers, she learnt to be friendly and even employ some other skills like speaking French when need be. Diane observed that by warmly welcoming customers she had served before, she was able to retain them. She thus employed her courtesy skills to retain customers. Social behavior includes the inherent characteristics. Diane exhibited traits like the art of balancing several plates on her arms. She was also talented in the recommendation of wines that go well with specific meals. This Canberra student had persuasive skills to convince customers to buy lavish desserts by the way she described them. Her memory never failed. She correctly entered her orders and duly delivered them. Moreover, she remembered repeat customers and ushered them back warmly. These are some behavioural traits that are not necessarily taught. They could be inborn. Consequences have been used in many cases to determine the occurrence of behaviour. This is referred to as operant conditioning or instrumental conditioning. Learning occurs only at that point where the learner appreciates the connection that exists between behaviour and its consequences (Wagner, 2005). It is operated in by the environment but maintained by consequences. Reinforcement and punishment could either be positive or negative. The positive aspect is achieved when it is delivered due to some response whereas the negative is withdrawn due to a response. Extinction is another tool of operant conditioning where there exists no change in consequences following some response. In punishment, the behaviour of an individual is weakened following the experience of some negative condition (Operant Conditioning Basics, 1999). It is of significance to note that it is only response that is extinguished, punished or reinforced. Positive reinforcement exists where a pleasant stimulus that enhances a certain behaviour is a result of a response. In Waiting Tables for Godot, customers kept complementing Dianes service as a consequence of her excellent service. They would also give tips to this University student. Godot on the other hand always yelled at her workers. The La Maison owner would even use French to express his dissatisfaction. In a way, this made sure things get done the right way. It is seen that even Diane becomes more careful when handling his order plates to avert losses like the one experienced before. Godot explained to new workers what he expected from them; excellent job. This, if taken from Dianes reaction, shows that workers gave their best because of this initiative. On the other hand, negative reinforcement is a situation where a behaviour is a result of stopping a negative condition, usually considered unpleasant. For example, when Godot scolds his cook and chef, they get things moving. When he yells out his anger at Diane for dropping bouillabaisse appetiser on the carpet, Diane reconsiders how careful she is with her job. She therefore averts the negative consequences where she has to break her employers property and even have her pay deducted for compensation. It is also clear that Diane finds some work to do during her vacation than just stay at home to avoid rice and spaghetti meals when she resumes back to Canberra University the following semester. Positive punishment would refer to a situation where a response occurs as a result of an aversive stimulus. This includes the introduction of loud noise or shock. Jean-Pierre Godon knew how to employ this tool. He would yell at his workers if only to get things moving faster. Regularly, he would speak in French if only to drive the point home. At one particular time, when Diane dropped the bouillabaisse appetiser, she was scolded and part of her salary deducted to cater for the losses her employer had incurred. This produced positive change as she became more careful in whatever she handled in La Maison thereafter. When Dianes pay was slashed, she opted to observe extra caution. Not only was her pay deducted but she also lost a considerable amount of tips because of the slow down in her service. This served to improve the way she handled her order plates. This condition where a favorable outcome is withdrawn following an unpleasant behaviour is known as negative punishment (Wagner, 2005). Both the negative and the positive punishment result to decreased behaviour. There are conditions that result when a behaviour that had been reinforced previously ceases to be effective. This is extinction. In the case passage, Diane is portrayed as a very efficient worker who would go extra lengths to accomplish her duties. For instance, she would balance several plates on her arms which made her avoid many trips to the kitchen. She would also carry out her duties so well that Godot, her boss, never crossed paths with her. However, on the day she messed herself by dropping appetiser of bouillabaisse on the carpet, all these things ceased to be meaningful. Her expertise in balancing several plates in her arms was no longer a positive attribute. It had cost her $44. 95 of her pay. It was therefore not worth going on with this but rather resort to carrying just a few plates at a time. Although she did not break any item in La Maison henceforth, Godot was still irritated with this University student. Godot was not satisfied with her wait staff effort. No matter how hard they tried to fulfil their bosss demands, Godot would still hurry them up with insults in French. Their effort was therefore extinct. Dianes life was surely affected by these learning tools in one way or another. Positive reinforcements made her achieve her targets. When customers would complement her, she would feel that she was doing the right thing. This motivated her to offer the best that she could. Customers would tip her, t times to a high of $23 a day which implied to Diane that she would not take rice and spaghetti in the next semester at the University of Canberra. She would also get more customers into Godots business place because of her good communication and interpersonal skills. Nonetheless, some negative reinforcement aspects caused her humiliation. When Godot finds her on the wrong and scolds her, she is forced to do away with quite a portion of her pay as compensation for the losses the boss incurs. She is prompted to reduce her service speed to avert similar happenings. When Godot imposes a fine to Diane for her actions, he knows that this will assist this lady avoid carelessness in the future. She is forced to serve lesser customers which implies reduced tips for her. This is positive punishment since it is meant to give positive results. It is out of this that this student becomes cautious with her work. Though this impacted negatively on her goals, losses in the organization was prevented. From the unpleasant behaviour of Godot in the context of Diane, this worker changes and becomes even a better employee as she does not break items anymore but becomes more cautious. There are various ways that an employer would incorporate in their management to yield the desired results. Godots idea was to pay per hour and allow the workers have tips from customers. It would thus ensure that at no one particular hour would the workers desire to do nothing. They would always seek to be busy each unfolding hour. This simply meant that Godot would have an all time operational business. This translates to more work and more profits for him. He would also not have to pay for any wasted hours during the day than if he was to pay, say per month. It will also mean that he could employ new employees every hour and avert the problem of absenteeism. Tips on the hand encouraged the workers to serve more customers in anticipation for more tips. This similarly translates to more work and consequently profits for Godot.