Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Eliminating Creativity Throughout The Classroom - 993 Words

Eliminating Creativity in the Classroom The Industrial Revolution was one of the most significant developments in America History; it was the era in which the country supplanted itself as one of the world’s leaders. It is no surprise than that the education system still reflects that era. That is to say that the education system promotes knowledge in math and reading and not skills. Frederick Taylor calls it scientific management, that practice of educating students in order to succeed in America’s new factory oriented economy. This thought has been echoed in the present day by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, well-known entrepreneur and multi-billionaire, who has said knowledge workers are needed to make America more competitive on the global scene. In a similar way the Bush administration in 2001 launched the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA), which essentially made the function of the American education system based on standardized testing. The overarching idea of the act was to make reading and math the most important subjects in school while testing them continuously. This is a dangerous precedent because students have been turned into test taking robots, incapable of creating new and meaningful ideas. Without creativity students will lose the motivation to learn, or even attend school. Students already lack the will to be in school each day and by focusing solely on teaching toward the test it is easy to estimate this will only get worse. Since the focus is on testingShow MoreRelatedSchool Uniforms Should Be Made Mandatory Throughout Academic Environments1200 Words   |  5 Pagesconnotation. In the academic environment, uniformity can allow for a child’s learning experience to increase tenfold. This does not refer to uniformity of the mind, but rather uniformity of the student’s attire. School uniforms should be made mandatory throughout academic environments due to the benefits they produce, such as reducing competition among students, allowing for a more structured learning environment, as well as creating a safer environment for students. As a young student, the strugglesRead MoreCurriculum Assessments in the Classroom1352 Words   |  5 PagesCurriculum Assessments in the Classroom Introduction I believe that assessments are vital to generating data in order to inform instruction. To this end both formative and summative assessment instruments must be administered on a regular basis to monitor student academic progress. This enables one to judge the students academic progress against content standards and make adjustments throughout the year as needed. By differentiating instruction lessons can be adjusted to meet each studentsRead MoreMcdonaldization of Education1082 Words   |  5 Pagesstudents a fractionalized and fragmented view of the world. The relevance of topics discussed in the classroom are questionable. The material taught is simply that which the teacher views as relevant. There is no factual basis to determine whether what is being taught is important. Instead, educators should aim to provide a wealth of information to students and foster an environment in which creativity and curiosity are encouraged. In reality, however, students are force-fed informat ion that may holdRead More The McDonaldization of Education Essay1068 Words   |  5 Pagesstudents a fractionalized and fragmented view of the world. The relevance of topics discussed in the classroom are questionable. The material taught is simply that which the teacher views as relevant. There is no factual basis to determine whether what is being taught is important. Instead, educators should aim to provide a wealth of information to students and foster an environment in which creativity and curiosity are encouraged. In reality, however, students are force-fed information that may holdRead MoreCreativity Is The Base Of Human Development1837 Words   |  8 PagesCreativity is the base of human development. School’s were first created to help their people to be skillful and mentally capable of withstanding all problems. Times have changed, and the morals of education have altered as well. In today’s world students from the U.S. are taught and pushed to memorize inf ormation instead of being encouraged to learn how to think critically through it. Professors should emphasize more on the importance of ingenuity, than the importance of getting a good grade. AlthoughRead MoreThe Bright Side Of School Uniforms. Education In The United1597 Words   |  7 Pageseducation to propose the policy of school uniforms nationwide, as they believe school uniforms have a very beneficial and positive effect on a student’s learning abilities, behavior, and lifestyle. School uniforms are increasingly becoming more popular throughout the United States, therefore schools across the country are aware of how the uniforms help students make higher grades, how students are more organized and have less visual distractions amongst each other, and how students are educated in a muchRead MoreEssay on Philosophy of Education2121 Words   |  9 Pagesexperiences with knowledge. My view on education and my experience with knowledge was very sheltered until I came to Ball State University. My education was developed through private schooling from kindergarten to my senior year in high school. Throughout those eighteen years I was trained for the moment I am currently situated in today, known as college. Those preparatory schools opened my eyes to not only the act of reproducing presented material, but also the process of analysis and free thoughtRead MoreEssay on Fine Arts Should Remain a Curriculum at Public Schools1417 Words   |  6 Pagesafloat â€Å"[we] make sure administrators understand that music has intrinsic value throughout each student’s lifetime,† requests Dr. John Benham (6). â€Å"From Mozart for babies to tutus for toddlers to family trips to the museum, the children of affluent, aspiring parents generally get exposed to the arts whether or not public schools provide them,† evaluates Fran Smith (1). â€Å"Composing mu sic takes a degree of creativity and organization, a task as critical as the subjects that are deemed important† addsRead MoreEssay about Promoting Creativity: The Importance of Art in Education1954 Words   |  8 PagesAmerica is the country of progress and innovation, in order to achieve this in America prioritizes strict memorization and standardized nationwide test scores over creativity. No Child Left Behind was signed into law in 2002 by President George W. Bush as a re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (Cite?). The law demands that public schools nationwide improve educational standards, specifically among disadvantaged students. To achieve this goal, federal initiated testing startedRead MoreAn Educational Crisis: The Need for Informal Assessment Essay1605 Words   |  7 Pagesswaying the teacher to focus primarily on what is going to be on the test. Teaching to the test minimizes the amount of comprehension that is expected of studentsà ¢â‚¬â€focusing more on memorization and hindering the development of higher order thinking, creativity, and critical thinking skills. While the United States has put emphasis on standardized testing with No Child Left Behind, Finland has taken a very different approach. â€Å"Finland has not adapted, including standardization of curriculum enforced

Risk Tolerance in Financial Decision Making

Question: Discuss about the Risk Tolerance in Financial Decision Making. Answer: Introduction: This report is based on the Harvey Norman Holdings Limited's 2015 annual report. Harvey Norman is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange as a public company operating in the security exchange market. This report will analyze the company's 2015 book value of debt and the book value of equity. Conversely, Harvey Norman's Interest Rate Risk Management has also been scrutinized as well. Harvey Norman's book value of debt As at 30th June 2015, Harvey Norman's book value of debts stood at $ 1,801,684 million which was an increment from $1,715,025 during the 2014 financial year. The book value of debt comprises of both the current liabilities which stood at $1,283,079 and non-current liabilities which was $ 518,605. Both categories of liabilities were increased between the financial years 2014 and 2015. Harvey Norman's book value of equity As at 30th June 2015, Harvey Norman's book value of equity stood at $2,556,860 which was an increment from $ 2,491,106 during the 2014 financial year. The total value of equity is made up of; a) contributed equity at $ 380, 328; b) Reserves at $ 113, 290; c) retained profit at $ 2,043, 463; and d) Non-controlling interests at 19,779. All these categories of equity, as listed in the company's annual report, had all increment between the 2014 and 2015 financial years. Harvey Norman's Interest Rate Risk Management According to the company's 2015 annual report, Interest Rate Risk Management has defined as "The risk that movements in variable interest rates will affect financial performance by increasing interest expenses or reducing interest income (Campbell, 2014, p. 23)." The company's interest rate risk during the 2015 financial year arose from balance sheet items such as bills payable, cash and cash equivalents, bank overdraft, borrowings, non-trade debts and non-trade debts owed to related parties and directors. Harvey Norman's interest rate risks range between 0.01% and 12% according to respective items named above. The following table shows a summarized interest rate risks according to different balance sheet items: Balance sheet items Interest rate risk Floating Fixed Cash 0.20%-3.60% 0.01%-4.10% Loans 9.00% Receivables 10.00%-12.00% Non-trade debtors loans 4.32%-12.22% 7.00%-12.00% Borrowings 0.47%-5.93% Interest rate swaps 5.21%-5.54% Other loans 3.07%-4.22% Bank overdraft 1.97%-6.68% Bills payable 2.08%-2.72% Finance lease liabilities 9.50% Other financial liabilities 5.21%-5.54% Note: As a consolidated entity, The Company pays its interests at different floating rates to prevent the risk interest rates from increasing. Sensitivity analysis on the companys interest rate risks The Harvey Norman holding uses a sensitivity of 50 basis point decrease and 50 basis point increase based on the fluctuation of the Australian dollar exchange rate both in the short and long run. The interest rate risk analysis shows that in the event that the rates moved, the after tax profit would be affected (other factors remaining constant) (Harvey Mayne, 2016, p. 122). The change in the post-tax profit is caused by lower/ higher interest rates from cash balances and variable rates of debts. Likewise, the movement experienced in the comprehensive income resulted from decrease/ increase in the fair value of cash flow items. The movement of interest rate experienced in 2015 was less sensitive compared to those in 2014 (Harvey Mayne, 2016, p. 123). References list Campbell, J. Y., 2014. The Econometrics of Financial Markets. Princeton University Press: Washington, DC. Guenther, D. A., 2004. Financial Reporting and Analysis. New York: McGraw-Hill. Harvey, N. Mayne, J., 2016. 2015 Annual Report: Harvey Norman Holdings Limited, Kent Street, Sydney NSW: Harvey Norman Holdings Limited. Kaplan, D., 2012. Introduction To Financial Statement Analysis. New Delhi, India: The Kaplan Group. Lucarelli, C., 2011. Risk Tolerance in Financial Decision Making. Washington: Palgrave Macmillan Studies.

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

The Once And Future King 2 free essay sample

The Once And Future King # 8211 ; Arthur # 8217 ; s Failure Essay, Research Paper # 8220 ; He was merely a adult male who had meant good, who had been spurred along the class of thought by an bizarre sorcerer with a failing for humanity. Justice had been his last attempt-to do nil which was non merely. But it had ended in failure # 8221 ; ( White, OAFK 634 ) . The # 8220 ; he # 8221 ; in this transition refers to King Arthur, the chief character in T.H. White # 8217 ; s The Once and Future King and Book of Merlyn, who failed in his effort to unite England due to the errors made by him and those close to him. Arthur, betrayed by those close to him, non decently educated on the greedy, selfish, and violent bosom of adult male, failed in his effort to make a stable, progressive, and peaceable society. To get down with, those close to Arthur made errors that would take to his eventual ruin. We will write a custom essay sample on The Once And Future King 2 or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Merlyn # 8217 ; s forgetfulness kept him from informing Arthur of his female parent # 8217 ; s name. # 8220 ; # 8230 ; but all of a sudden he remembered it in his sleep-the simplest thing! It was Arthur # 8217 ; s female parent # 8217 ; s name which he had forgotten to advert in the confusion! # 8221 ; ( White, OAFK 310 ) . If Arthur had known the individuality of his female parent he would non hold slept with his ain sister, # 8220 ; # 8230 ; but it seems, in calamity, that artlessness is non adequate # 8221 ; ( White, OAFK 312 ) . This history with his sister created Mordred, who, taught by his female parent that retaliation had to be taken, would be his male parent # 8217 ; s killer. Others near to Arthur betrayed him every bit good. Gwenever # 8217 ; s selfishness and green-eyed monster every bit good as Lancelot # 8217 ; s # 8220 ; evil steak # 8221 ; played an of import function in the King # 8217 ; s ruin. They chose to kip with each other behind the King # 8217 ; s back, cognizing that the find of their matter would destruct his life # 8217 ; s work. If Gwen and Lance could hold merely come to the realisation that they could non kip each other and still be loyal to their King, this calamity would non hold taken topographic point. Possibly Lance put it best when he said # 8220 ; # 8230 ; your friend can barely be your friend if he is besides traveling to be your informer # 8221 ; ( White, OAFK 336 ) . Arthur did non have a proper instruction on the greedy, selfish, and violent bosom of adult male. As the immature Wart turning up in the Forest Sauvage, Arthur # 8220 ; # 8230 ; had been taught by an elderly benevolence, wagging a white face fungus. He had been taught by Merlyn to believe that adult male was perfectible: that he was on the whole more nice that beastly ; that good was deserving seeking: that there was no such thing as original wickedness. He had been forged as a arm for the assistance of adult male, on the premise that work forces were good # 8230 ; ..the whole construction depended on the first premiss ; that adult male was nice # 8221 ; ( White OAFK 628 ) . Because Arthur possessed such a wise and loving coach who showed him the good and nice side of human nature, he himself grew up # 8220 ; # 8230 ; sort, simple, and unsloped # 8221 ; ( White OAFK 387 ) Merlyn taught him through the usage of animate beings that were much more peaceable and serene than worlds could of all time trust to be. Because Arthur possessed such a sort and moral bosom, he could non happen it in his bosom to detest his best friend, his married woman, or anyone for bewraying him, and his forgiving nature and naivete finally led to his ruin. If Merlyn had merely showed him that all work forces possessed a run of immorality in them, Arthur would non hold been so speedy to presume that all work forces were good # 8220 ; # 8230 ; for if there was such a thing as original wickedness, if adult male was on the whole a scoundrel, if the Bible was right in stating that the Black Marias of work forces were fallacious above all things and urgently wicked, so the intent of his life had been a vain one # 8221 ; ( White OAFK 629 ) . In the terminal, Arthur lost his conflict with might and failed to make a stable, peaceable, and progressive society. This was due to several factors including the errors made by those close to him, his naivete and forgiving nature, and the evil and/or ignorance that lurks in the Black Marias of work forces. If he could hold merely known that none were every bit lucky as he had been, refering the lessons he had been taught as a male child. # 8220 ; He, unluckily for himself, had been attractively brought up. His instructor had educated him as the kid is educated in the uterus # 8230 ; and, like the kid in the uterus, he had been protected with love interim. The consequence of such an instruction was that he had grown without any of the utile achievements for living-without maliciousness, amour propre, intuition, inhuman treatment, and common man signifiers of selfishness. Jealousy seemed to him the most ignoble of frailties. He was unhappily unfitted for detesting his best friend or for tormenting his married woman. He had been given excessively much love and trust to be good at these things # 8221 ; ( White, OAFK 389 ) In other words, if Arthur gained exposure to hatred, green-eyed monster, and greed, he would hold known how to revenge against it and manage it. But, being incapable of such feelings and emotions, it enabled people to handle him harshly, cognizing that he could non detest them for it. He underestimated Might, believing that it could be eliminated merely as he felt that the nature of work forces could be perfected. In T.H. White # 8217 ; s OAFK and BOM, Arthur, non give the proper instruction on the violent, selfish, and avaricious Black Marias of work forces, was non able to make a stable, progressive, and peaceable society because he, every bit good as those close to him do errors that finally led to his ruin. Arthur grew up in a loving and sort environment, doing him incapable of hatred, green-eyed monster, and greed. This led him to forgive and love those who betrayed him and treated him severely. His close friends, in return, continued to bewray him for they, non being capable of such decency and kindness as he put out, knew he would love them no affair what they did. The undertaking set before this sort and charitable male monarch was doomed to fail. Merely as the grass-snake told him in the Book of Merlyn, # 8220 ; You will fail because it is in the nature of work forces to murder, in ignorance if non in wrath. But failure physiques success and nature alterations. A good adult male # 8217 ; s illustration ever does teach the ignorant and lesson their fury, small by small through the ages, until the spirit of the Waterss is content: and so, strong bravery to Your Majesty, and a placid bosom # 8221 ; ( White, BOM 128 )

Internet and Advertisement

Questions: 1. The number of ads pushed to an individual should be limited? 2. Security issues vendors and users should be aware of? 3. Ethical issues in wireless advertising? 4. 10-second commercial in free airtime? Answers: 1. The number of ads pushed to an individual should be limited: Every business should consider few factors while publishing advertisements intended towards their customers. There should be a balance depending on the customer expectations and business needs. Generally, the factors that a business needs to keep in mind are the quality and nature of advertisements and that it should not be offending or disappointing in any way rather it should entice the viewers without the intention of manipulating them. Certain business ethics and regulations are implemented by the government in prohibiting deceptive advertising practices. The negative effects can be numerous. For example, customers can be misled by exaggeration of product values. Often there might be ambiguity and manipulative intentions involved in production of ads (Falciani-White and Tomcik, 2015). It is the responsibility of the business to maintain the legal and federal regulations regarding unethical and misleading advertisements. Moreover, excessive number of ads sent towards a specific in dividual can annoy them or can be the cause of dissatisfaction. 2. Security issues vendors and users should be aware of: Business should always have their focus on preserving the privacy and security of their customers. Online advertising is usually based on storing and recording raw information about viewers and customers and processing the data into valuable information to show them ads which they will find interest in. This leads the stakeholders to implement certain mechanisms to extract personal details from online visitors. Hence, the process should cope with user privacy policies to limit user information tracking and cookie management. Moreover, it has become common in web pages to display sudden pop-up ads which are distracting as well as annoying. These types of ads are often non-ignorable, gets automatically downloaded without consent and the consequences may include system disruption or dysfunction due to virus or malware intrusions (Moustafa, 2015). Since, tracking users private information and browsing habits is a common tool for online advertising to target interested customers, there should be proper security measures such as digital-certificates or ad-blocking or authentication tools deployed to maintain user privacy and safety of confidential information. 3. Ethical issues in wireless advertising: Maintaining ethics is very important when it comes to online or wireless advertising. The choices dealing with advertisements should be made keeping in mind the ethical values and consequences. Truthfulness: The advertisements should be morally responsible. Advertisements should not indulge in unethical practices or entice false expectations. Ethical approach should prohibit any attempt to distort the truth or deceive the customers. Social responsibility: Businesses should refrain from publishing controversial and provocative ads because it is most often unethical or contain offensive contents. Factors should be considered such as respecting the dignity of each individual, following an approach that supports ethical and moral responsibility and does not promote racism or discrimination towards any specific social group. 4. 10-second commercial in free airtime: Whether or not an individual will be listening to a particular advertisement is greatly dependent on the type, nature and quality of the advertisement. Moreover, advertisements with short duration or time span have greater chance to be viewed by the people than ads which have got longer time duration (Moustafa, 2015). Even though the quality of ad greatly determines the number of targeted audience and views, several other factors such as duration and required network bandwidth or speed of download often determines the number of views. Usually, a 10 second commercial has a fair chance to be viewed by significant number of users if free airtime is available. Reference List Falciani-White, N. and Tomcik, L. (2015). Advertise with Confidence: Evaluating Advertising Assessment in Light of Business Best Practices.College Undergraduate Libraries, 22(1), pp.45-60. Moustafa, K. (2015). Internet and Advertisement.Sci Eng Ethics.

Thursday, April 16, 2020

Finding the Best Optional Essay MBA Sample

Finding the Best Optional Essay MBA SampleThere are plenty of optional essay MBA samples that you can choose from. Many of them focus on such topics as the recent economic state of the country, political issues and other major issues that will be covering in your thesis. If you are looking for a way to study and prepare for these types of essays, you should really consider using an optional essay MBA sample.The advantages to using these essays include flexibility. You will not have to abide by the same parameters as an essay that you find in a book. The options available to you will differ greatly, giving you more freedom in terms of the essay's content and structure. These samples will also help you write a good essay.The subject matter of your essays should always be very well-rounded. For example, you will be studying the economic and political situations of the country, and you will be writing on the health of the economy. You will be covering a wide range of subjects, which mean s you need to be able to present yourself as an expert on all of them. This is why you will find the various optional essay MBA samples are good tools to use.Many full-time business students cannot afford to go through this type of option to get a firm grasp on the subject matter of their coursework. By taking advantage of these samples, you can get to know how to speak intelligently about the subject. Instead of just knowing what a particular topic is, you will also be able to answer the question or perhaps make suggestions on the topic. This allows you to write well about a wide range of topics, as long as you have enough research and study experience.The most important thing to remember about these samples is that they provide you with the opportunities to practice, which can be extremely valuable. Many students get discouraged when they feel that they do not know how to write an essay. By using these samples and doing the required practice work, you will be able to hone your ski lls in a very short amount of time.Some topics can also be more difficult than others, so it is important to be prepared to write a specific essay on each one. Even though they are optional, you should try to figure out which types of topics are harder to tackle. Then you will be able to prepare by narrowing down your options to more manageable ones. This will also enable you to have more confidence in your writing.For full-time business students, the use of optional essay MBA samples has many advantages. The knowledge that you can take at any time to help with essay writing will help to eliminate any nervousness or worry that can hamper your efforts. And because you will be working with professionals, who have been in the position you are now, you will find the work to be much easier and less stressful.In summary, there are plenty of topics that can be tackled in your optional essay MBA sample. Make sure that you choose the ones that best fit the subject matter of your course, and then use your experience to write an outstanding essay.

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

German, Japanese and Anglo-Saxon Company Systems free essay sample

A comparison of the German, Japanese and Anglo-Saxon (USA) systems of human resource management. This paper compares and contrasts the German, Japanese and Anglo Saxon (USA) management and culture. Areas that are used for comparison include national and organizational culture, the economy, organizational aims, management styles, employment practices, approaches to promotion and other businesses and institutions. Arguments as to which style is the most successful are also provided. Companies, like countries have identifiable cultures. An organizational culture is the combination of shared values and beliefs of members of organizations and is affected by the cultures of society. There are three main cultures and styles of management including Anglo-Saxon, which incorporates the Unites States and Great Britain, Japanese and German. Each culture has its preferred ways of co-coordinating and controlling. Culture influences a companys behavior, linking different jobs, rules and procedures. Organizational culture can undergo change. Schein (1992) believes that only statements can be made about elements of culture and not culture in its entirety due to the complexity of the issue. We will write a custom essay sample on German, Japanese and Anglo-Saxon Company Systems or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page

Tuesday, April 7, 2020

General Electric and Honeywell Merger free essay sample

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) conducted thorough investigations and approved the merger with limited conditions (Platt Majoras, 2001, p. 3). However, the EC disagreed and decided to block the merger mainly because of vertical issues. The main concerns were (1) the strengthening of GE’s dominant position in the engine market through vertical integration of GE and Honeywell in relation to the supply of engine starters and (2) the vertical integration of aircraft purchasing, financing and leasing through GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) which can influence the markets in which Honeywell competes. GE appealed the case to the EU Court of First Instance (CFI). The CFI decided to uphold the commission’s decision to block the merger not because of vertical issues but horizontal ones. However, it is interesting to know why the CFI disagreed with the main reasons that contributed to the EC’s decision to block the merger in the first place. We will write a custom essay sample on General Electric and Honeywell Merger or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Vertical Merger; The theory. (Pro) Vertical integration is a state where two firms are under a single ownership and productions are regulated at every stage. Backward vertical integration is where a firm regulates subsidiary inputs for its own production and forward vertical integration involves supervising retailers selling its products (Lipczynski et al. , 2005, p. 546). The most profound argument used to support a vertical merger is to rid the market of double marginalization. By doing so, both producers and consumers enjoy higher welfare. This can be illustrated below. In a hypothetical situation, if firms A and B (both monopolist) are merged, 1 represents the total profits (producer surplus) where the wholesale price is set as the retail price and quantities of Q1 are sold while consumer surplus is represented as CS1. If firms are separated, A (upstream) sells to B (downstream) at PW. B will decide on the quantity to purchase from A, where MC = MR (PW becomes B’s MC) which is Q2. From there B will set a higher price at PH, in order to maximize profits. Here, 2 and 3 represents B and A’s profits respectively. Notably, the total profit from both firms combined, is lower than 1 resulting in reduced producer surplus because smaller quantities of products are sold. Consumer surplus, CS2, is also lower as consumers have to pay higher than the monopoly price as both firms each add a markup to its own price. Thus, derives the problem of double marginalization. Another incentive to support a vertical merger is the effects of cost savings. Cost savings can be derived from a few factors. To name a few; 1. Technological conditions; an integrated entity may achieve efficiency planning and coordination and better utilization of production runs and capacity. . Assured supply; downstream firms that are dependent on the supply from upstream firms will need to secure supplies (and stabilize cost) by integrating backwards. 3. Avoidance of tax or price controls; an integrated entity will have internal transactions to replace market transactions that are imposed by sales tax or price controls. Cons It seems that vertical mergers help create efficiencies in the market by eliminating double marginalization. The theory still applies when competition is present, though it might bring forth issues at the production or distribution stage (Lipczynski et al. 2005, p. 579). For example, the integrated firm may adopt vertical restraints like foreclosure. It is a practice of denying supply to a downstream firm or purchase from an upstream firm. There has been considerable debate amongst academics whether foreclosure would reduce competition or not. However, Bernheim and Whinston (1998)(cited in Lipczynski et al. , 2005, p. 581) argue that there is no black and white; the effects of foreclosure will vary according to conditions Krattenmaker and Salop (1986) (cited in Lipczynski et al. , 2005, p. 81) derived 3 conditions to ascertain if foreclosure harms competition. 1. Is the ability of excluded rivals to compete reduced? Competitors might face increasing costs when firms deliberately increase the price of supplies or when competitors are forced to bid for remaining inputs. However, this does not mean it will increase competitor’s cost if supplies are available from alternative suppliers. 2. Is the market increased by exclusion? Firms may not necessarily gain market power if it has powerful competitors or if entry is possible. This may harm competitors but not necessarily competition. 3. Is the exclusion profitable? Profit increase from enhanced market power doesn’t necessarily counterbalance the loss in revenue. *coloured sentences represent linkage of theory to the case. Vertical Merger; The case. Honeywell is a leading supplier of engine starters (upstream) where its inputs are necessary for the production of engines that GE (downstream) produces. GE’s CEO, Jack Welch strongly believed the merger would have provided consumers better prices, quality and services. As stated in his biography †I felt we could do so much more with Honeywell’s assets by doing what we’ve done with GE: pushing more aggressively into services, and adding Six Sigma and e-business initiatives to Honeywell’s operations. †(Welch and Byrne, 2001, p262)(cited in Grant and Neven, 2005, p. 621). The merger was estimated to contribute a total of $2. 5 billion in cost savings annually (Rimmer, 2001). Post merger, GE would have been able to integrate the production of engine starters and engines with efficient planning and coordination to create potential cost savings. The result of the merger could have eliminated double marginalization to a certain extend where the company could provide special discounts to consumers (Anwar, 2005, p. 611). These factors contribute in creating a more efficient market for both producers and consumers. However, the EC disapproved the merger because they were primarily concerned with two vertical foreclosure issues regarding Honeywell’s engine starters and GE’s leasing company GECAS. 1. Honeywell engine starters. GE, Pratt amp; Whitney (Pamp;W) and Rolls-Royce (RR) were the only independent suppliers of large commercial aircraft engines which required engine starters as a necessary component to manufacture engines. There are only two main manufacturers producing engine starters in the market, namely Honeywell and Hamilton Sundstrand (HS), holding more than 90% market share as can be seen in the table above (COMP/M. 2220, 2001, p. 84). However, HS is not considered as a competitor of Honeywell in this ma rket because it only supplies starters to Pratt amp; Whitney (Pamp;W) and not sold elsewhere in the market. Therefore, making Honeywell the dominant supplier of engine starters. The EC argued that the monopoly effect Honeywell has over competing engine manufacturers could have been an incentive to create a disadvantage for GE’s rivals particularly to RR (Vives and Staffiero, 2008, p. 8). The EC postulated that GE-Honeywell could disrupt or delay supplies and raise prices to reduce competitors’ ability to compete. The commission stated that HS would not have the incentive to supply engine starters to RR in consideration of the profits made by the group they belonged to. The parties’ responded that other starter competitors are able to supply starters to RR if they would behave as such. However, the EC argued this would not be a feasible alternative. Proposing RR to produce its own engine starters is also out of the question as barriers to entry are extremely high. Furthermore, market entry for new engine starter suppliers is difficult because of high switching costs for both engine manufacturers and aircraft operators. In this situation, RR is left at a disadvantage in competing for future engine contracts with GE, particularly in financing terms. In aircraft engine development, huge amounts of long-term investments are required. RR’s market capitalization of USD 5 billion (as of June 2001) is a far cry from GE’s USD 485 billion. With this limitation, RR is unable to provide similar funding to airframe manufacturers to secure exclusivity of its products (COMP/M. 2220, 2001, p. 52). It seems that RR cannot impose competitive constraints on GE without risking harm to its own aircraft engine activities. Thus, the argument escalated that the merger would have resulted in further foreclosure of competitors the engine market and the strengthening of GE’s already dominant position (COMP/M. 220, 2001, p. 102). Consequently, GE would have a monopoly effect on the market at the expense of consumers paying a higher price. However, Platt Majoras (2001, p. 5) argued that EU did not provide any evidence to support their claim that RR and Pamp;W no longer had the power to constrain GE’s behavior. On the contrary, these competitors were enjoying growing revenues and profits while heavily investing in the development of new engines. In addition, RR publicly announced its install based would expand twice as much in the next five years due to market share gain. The CFI also acknowledged that GE-Honeywell could potentially disrupt supplies of engine starters to competitors as a small increase in the market share for large commercial aircraft engines can make up for the loss in profits from the starters. Nevertheless, the CFI stated that the EC failed to take into account in their assessment, â€Å"the effect of Article 82 of the Treaty: the disruption of supply of engine starters of the merged entity would be a clear abuse of dominant position. † (Vives and Staffiero, 2008, p. 9). Thus it is not likely to occur or be sustained for long. With that, the CFI struck down the EC’s argument on these grounds. . G. E. Capital Aviation Services (GECAS). GECAS is GE’s subsidiary unit that provides various financing services to airlines including leasing planes, which GECAS purchased itself (Caffarra and Pflanz, 2002, p. 4). The role of GECAS was the main reason the Commission made the final decision to block the merger (Grant and Neven, 2005, p. 612). Being a subsidiary of GE, GECAS adopts a GE procurement policy in selecting its purchases whenever available. Based on this, the Commission’s theory revolves around this policy. The EC believed that GE would have had an anticompetitive impact on aircraft engine and systems market through GECAS. The EC argued that GECAS had the ability and incentive to constraint competition in aircraft systems market (in which Honeywell competes) by shifting aircraft preferences of downstream consumers (Emch, 2004, p 235). However, this argument was heavily dependent on unconventional assessments using â€Å"Archimedean leveraging† theory exhibited by complainants (Caffarra and Pflanz, 2002, p. 4). The commission argued that post merger; the â€Å"GE-only† policy would be extended to Honeywell products, securing its SFE products on new platforms. GECAS would then exert influence in promoting Honeywell’s SFE products, reducing revenues of competitors and denying them returns for future investment and innovation (COMP/M. 2220, 2001, p. 84). Therefore, leading to the foreclosure of competitors and Honeywell gaining a dominant position in the avionics and non-avionics market. While the EC claims GECAS to be the largest purchaser of new aircrafts and having the largest single fleet of aircrafts in service, they failed to mention GECAS’s low market share in the niche competitive market. Additionally, the EC states that GECAS market share was about 10%, while Nalebuff (2003) rebutted that it was approximately 7% over the past 5 years (Grant and Neven, 2005, p. 614). Evidence was provided that although GECAS was â€Å"GE-only†, other leasing competitors continued to support RR and Pamp;W. There was also evidence that customers purchased relevant products based on merit as the commission discovered itself when it stated â€Å"although packages of avionics and non-avionics have existed, they nevertheless are rare† (Patterson et al. , 2001, p. 19). Platt Majoras (2001, p. 1) argued that the EC claims were not credible. The DoJ investigated that GE’s rivals were flourishing and were in the position to maintain their competitive advantages even if GE had a higher market share. She continued to argue that Boeing and Airbus (that did not disapprove the merger) were capable of implementing policies to protect their own interests. The CFI recognizes that G ECAS did promote GE’s dominance, but acknowledged that there was insufficient evidence that GE-Honeywell had the incentive to impose â€Å"GE-only† policy to Honeywell products (Vives and Staffiero, 2008, p. ). It is worth to note that there is no aircraft that contains all Honeywell components (Nalebuff, 2003 ; Grant and Neven, 2005, p. 617). Enforcing this policy was not feasible if it jeopardizes profits from engines. Vives and Steffiero (2008) argued that the EC lacked a detailed analysis in the different markets for avionics and non-avionics products and therefore the claim that the practice of â€Å"GE-only† would have lead to GE’s dominance was questionable. Conclusion Notably, the EC and DoJ may have different concerns when assessing merger cases. Also, the EC and DoJ adopted different methodology in assessing this case. The DoJ team comprises of professional staffs, 50 PhD economists and section chiefs who reviewed all their work twice. The Commission on the other hand, relied on economic models provided by complaints’ of the merger (Grant and Neven, 2005, p. 628) In the first argument, the EC suggested that Honeywell could potentially refuse to supply starters to RR. The facts that EC presented did address Krattenmaker and Salop’s conditions for competitive harm to occur and made their argument very convincing. However, the CFI dismissed the argument as they failed to account for the treaty. The fact that mergers are judged based on the future, it would have been difficult to detect possible foreclosure. Secondly, the EC based its assessment of the case on the â€Å"Archimedean leveraging† theory submitted by complainants instead of using conventional methods. It is questionable whether the theory could present biased arguments in favor of the competitors. That aside, Nalebuff, GE’s economist presented evidence that the EC exaggerated the market share and the impact GECAS had over Honeywell’s market. In addition, the CFI also concluded that there was insufficient evidence of GE-Honeywell having the incentive to behave the way the EC had asserted. In conclusion, the arguments presented by the EC were rather speculative (Weitbrecht and Flanagan, 2007, p. 299) and provided insufficient prove that the merger would have affected rivals and consumers negatively. The EC might have also overlooked significant efficiencies the merger might have brought. It also appears that the nonconventional approach the EC adopted may have resulted in inequitable appraisal of the case. Taking into account all the counter arguments and evidence presented against the EC and the efficiencies that Welsh publically announced, it seems that the merger could have benefitted the market in terms of positive overall welfare without the expense of GE and Honeywell rivals. Therefore, this case should not have been blocked mainly because of vertical issues. The DoJ’s original decision to allow the merger with conditions addressing horizontal issues should be deemed reasonable. Reference: Anwar, S. T. , 2005. 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