Economics - Economic Policy - Discuss and critically evaluate the Essay - 1

Economics - Economic Policy - Discuss and critically evaluate the rescue and stimulation packages by the UK Government since the start of the credit crunch in 2007 - Essay Example It is in this backdrop, we analyze the factors leading to the crisis and the efficacy of the rescue and stimulation packages introduced by the UK government to improve the situation. According to the Banking Guide it has been an episode of financial instability that was, arguably, the most serious since the 1930s. It states â€Å"The risks of negative equity (where mortgages are greater than the value of the property) became a reality and mortgage defaults hit record highs. Banks have lost the trust which is a pre-requisite to the efficient functioning of credit markets†. The table as given in Appendix I shows the fall in the world’s major equity markets since June 2007, and the cumulative change from 30-6-2007 to 10-10-2008 in the case of ‘FTSE All-share Index’ of the UK is negative by 40.9%. The habit of borrowing by the individuals and corporate bodies ingrained predominantly in the US culture at a staggering level which over the period of time made the financial structure in the country vulnerable. As a lighted  match to a  train of gunpowder, the subprime crisis acted as a trigger for the collapse of the leading banks. The cases of isolated bad debt in the banking system could be a normal phenomenon. However, when it has become impossible to quantify the bad debts in the nation as a whole, the system became victim to the crisis. This unprecedented phenomenon has arrested the flow of capital and liquidity, fundamental to the banking system. It is a vicious circle and the banking system has been clogged up completely due to growing suspicion among the market players. The bank finance locked up in subprime mortgages and housing development projects has paralyzed the system as a whole. The bailout plan was formulated under the Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson, who h ad been the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs earlier.

Effect of Stress on Decision Making Essay -- miscellaneous

Effect of Stress on Decision Making Stress must be present to ensure our very being. One may wonder about the validity of this statement, but it is quite true. Stress plays a vital role in the way we make decisions (Massa et al, 2002, pg 1). â€Å"Problem solving and decision making in demanding real-world situations can be susceptible to acute stress effects which manifest in a variety of ways depending on the type of decision. The negative effects of an overload of acute stress include attentional tunneling, working memory loss, and restrictions in long term memory retrieval, with simple strategies being favoured over more complicated ones. The underlying assumption is that stress can lead to errors, poor performance and bad decisions. However, acute stress does not necessarily always have a detrimental effect on decision making, rather stress may affect the way information is processed. Some of those changes in strategy in response to stress are in fact adaptive. They reduce and select the information being attended to and processed, in response to high time pressure and reduced cognitive capacity† (Flin, 2004, pg 42). Flin has said so much about stress and decision making in this little space. To have a better understanding, we are going to elaborate in this essay and analyze the evidence that there is an effect of stress upon thinking and decision making ability. Stress can be defined in many different ways, but in relation to decision making, stress may be best defined from a scientific view describing the thought process of the brain. When the sensory organs perceive information, they send it to the thalamus of the brain, which deals with sensory perceptions. The information is then transmitted to the cerebral cortex where the process of conscious thinking and decision making takes place. In starting the process of conscious thinking, the cerebral cortex processes large amounts of information and judges what information can be dealt with automatically without our conscious awareness and what information must be consciously assessed. At this point emotions, feelings, character traits, and behavior are not part of the decision making process. Thus, the limbic system, which is directly responsible for these emotions and feelings, is activated by the cerebral cortex. Following the technicality of the stimulus, the stress response begins. The stres... ...uth. Flin, R. (1997). Sitting in the Hot Seat. Leaders and teams for Critical Incident Management. Klein, G. (1998).Sources of Power How People Make Decisions. Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Massa, P., Watkins, C., Partridge, B (2002). Decision Making Under Stress. Available from: http://web.umr.edu/~bpart/eman313/DMUS.htm [accessed 16/05/05] Walker, K., Nayda, I.T., Turner, J. (2003b) Make-Up Your Mind -- Improving Your Decision-Making Skills. Available from: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ [accessed 16/05/04] â€Å"Thinking and Decision Making Under Stress†. Avalaible from: http://library.thinkquest.org/C0123421/thinking.htm [accessed 18/05/04] Shambach, A. (1996) Strategic Leadership Workshop: "Strategic Decision-making in the Information Age," U.S Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania Thompson, Leigh, L. (2001). The Mind and Heart of the Negotiator, Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall. Walker, K., Torres, N.I and Turner, J. (2003a): Make-Up Your Mind: Improving Your Decision-Making Skills: Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville. Available from: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/HE691 [accessed 18/05/04]

My Friend’s Most Important Decision Essay

Firstly, I would like to introduce my friend Jenny, who was born in China and now she is 25 years old. In 2011, she left her great job and came to the United States to pursue her master degree. Jenny decided to study in the United States and in particular at JWU because she wanted to study professional knowledge of management and have a master degree, she believe the U.S is the origin of the MBA program and JWU is famous for its hotel management program. First and foremost, after graduation, Jenny worked at the Beijing Branch of Education Service Center for about three years. She has great expectations for her career and she wants to get a high position but it’s difficult for her. She said,† You can see my academic background, I never studied any business knowledge, if I want to get high promotion, to study professional knowledge of management and have a master degree is important for me.† Thus, she wanted to get an MBA to get more knowledge of management and improve all kinds of abilities and help herself with her career objective. Another reason why she decided to study in the U.S. is because she believe that the United States is the origin of the MBA program. The United States’ MBA program pays more attention to practical skills and ability development, like communication, leadership, control, decision making, influence and entrepreneurship. She thinks studying in America can advance her career and make her more competitive in her field. She said to me, â€Å"American’s Hospitality management program is very strong†. Because in America , many universities are famous for this program, like: Cornell University, University of Houston, Pennsylvania State University, and the U.S. also has some famous hotel, like: Hilton Grand Vacations, New York Hotel and so on. Thus, she believes America is a good place for her to study this major. Most of all, Johnson & Wales university is famous for its hotel management program. She has a friend who is currently studying hotel management at JWU, and her friend told her some advantages about this university, especially teaching resources on management is quite good. After that, she searched a lot of information on the internet, and found that JWU was suitable for her. She said,† this university is career-oriented school, especially pay attention to students’ practical skill development, like communication, decision making, entrepreneurship and leadership ability†. Many students who graduate from JWU can get into big companies like Hilton Hotel, so she believes studying at JWU can make her more competitive in the future. For these reasons and more, Jenny decided that in order to make herself more marketable that she needed to leave her job in China and move to the United States in order to learn professional knowledge and extend her education. Therefore, Jenny, my best friend, chose to study in the United States in an MBA program and in particular at JWU with a concentration in Hospitality.

Critical Reflection of the Brands Hp and Glassons

Critical Reflection of the Brands HP and Glassons Brand consumption plays a big part in everyday lives. We all think consciously about the products we buy such as food, clothing and electronics and the certain brands they come in. The purpose of this reflection is to demonstrate how brands affect individual and communities’ perception when buying products and how the brands HP and Glassons play an important part of my life and how they reflect me. Brand community culture play very important roles when people purchase products. People tend to buy brands that they know they can trust and brands that they know won’t disappoint them. Brand communities such as Holden car users versus Ford car users bring together an awareness to other†¦show more content†¦This brand HP is a brand that I can trust which influences me to rave the good points of it to other people when they too are choosing which brand laptop or computer to buy. My attitude towards this brand is a positive one and I am gladly happy to pass on my values and perceptions of the brand onto to others. The brand HP hasn’t affected my personality as such but it has had an impact on the way I perceive other computers and how I judge them. I would definitely be classed as a loyal user to this brand as I have also brought other HP products and I would definitely be a repeat user. Glassons plays an important part in my life when choosing clothes to buy. I like to express myself through the clothing I wear and Glassons definitely has clothing that I can express my personality through. Glassons symbolises me and the values I try to express through my clothing options. When choosing what type of clothes to buy Glassons would be certainly the first shop I would go to. The brand is very well-known amongst both adults and teenagers and caters for all types of styles and body shapes. I value the brand very positively and when I see a top or dress that would suit a friend, I recommended them to check it out. My personality can be voiced through this brand and it shows by the different types of clothing they offer. My style that I tend to go for can be seen everywhere in this shop. Glassons