Macroeconomic Environment of Business Case Study - 2

Macroeconomic Environment of Business - Case Study Example It has led to domestic imbalances in the middle-income countries and the open economies ending up into large current account deficits and housing bubbles. Unemployment rates in the OECD countries rose rapidly from 5.7% in 2007 to 8.6% in 2009. This was a rise of 10.1 million individuals without employment in the OECD countries. Unemployment in the US was most massive with similar labour market consequences in Spain, Denmark, Turkey and Slovakia. Some of the worst-hit nations were Estonia, Lithuania, Ireland, and Latvia which witnessed dramatic output and labour market contraction (Verick & Islam, 2010, p.20-24). The most common methods of fiscal policies which could be used responding from the global crisis were a combination of government spending along with tax cuts in order to provide a boost to the slogging economies. According to the Keynesian theory, deficit spending could be used by the governments to replace an extent of the demand which was lost due to the recession and prevent further wastage of economies resources due to lack of demand. Governments could have responded by increasing bailouts and injecting money into the financial system in order to allow credit flowing in the economy; cutting down rates of interests in order to encourage investments and borrowing; and finally to allow excess fiscal sending to increase aggregate demand (Verick & Islam, 2010, p.36). This response could be effective in controlling further impacts of the crisis and further economic deterioration and keep workmen in their jobs and help in the creation of new job opportunities for those unemployed. Alth ough this response was likely to control further downturn the effectiveness could vary across economies (The Economic Times, 2008). One of the limitations in using fiscal measures during the recessions is the fact that ideally government finances must increase during periods of growth and reduce when the economy contracts or slows down.     

Heroes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Heroes - Essay Example Martin Luther and Nelson Mandela are some of the world’s best heroes because they changed the world around them in a significant way. A hero can be defined as a person who contributes significantly and positively towards social, political, or economic discourse in a society. Heroes are identified by a strong sense of discipline in all aspects of life as well as a strong stand to their beliefs. One overarching characteristic of a hero is the ability to sacrifice personal comfort, interests, and even life for the sake of the community. Most of the world’s recognized heroes have indeed gone through a lot of painful experiences, jail terms, and even tortured as they sought to fight for the community. For instance, Nelson Mandela was jailed for 27 years as he fought against apartheid in South Africa. Martin Luther is globally recognized for his fight for civil rights for African Americans in U.S. However, Luther chose to use nonviolent means to achieve his objectives of securing equal rights for all people in America. Luther was at the forefront leading protests against workers mistreatment at Memphis Sanitation. The blacks working for Memphis sanitation were poorly paid and their merge salaries delayed and at times not even paid. Luther was able to organize a non violent protest lasting more than two months (â€Å"Martin Luther King,† 2014). On a different light, Luther led a successful non-violent protest against Montgomery bus company for segregating against blacks from sitting in front seats. However, Luther’s epitome moments are perhaps tied to his maiden speech dubbed â€Å"I Have a Dream.† (â€Å"BBC†, 2015). With over 200, 000 followers, Luther unleashed this maiden speech pushing the congress to pass the laws regarding civil rights for the bl acks in America. The swearing in of Barrack Obama as the first Black president in America indeed marked a significant milestone for Martin Luther as a hero in U.S and the rest of the world. However, on the

Resource Based View in Business Management

Resource Based View in Business Management Introduction The resource-based view is defined as a business management tool utilized to know the strategic resources available to firm. The basic principle of the resource based value is that the basis for a competitive advantage of a company lies primarily in the application of the group of valuable resources at the firms disposal. In order to change a short-run competitive advantage into a maintained competitive advantage requires that these resources are heterogeneous in nature and not perfectly mobile. In other words, this will change into valuable resources that either perfectly imitable or substitutable without great effort. If these conditions are remained, the companys group of resources can help the firm sustaining above average returns. The recent dominant view of corporate strategy resource-based theory or resource-based view (RBV) of company is based on the theory of economic rent and the view of the company as a collection of capabilities. This view of strategy has a coherence and integrative role that puts it well ahead of other mechanisms of strategic decision making. The olden strategy models such as Michael Porters five forces model concentrates on the firms external competitive environment. Most of them do not try to look inside the firm. Instead, the resource-based perspective shows the need for a fit among the external market context in which a firm works and its internal capabilities. In contrast to the Input / Output Model (I/O model), the resource-based view is grounded in the perspective that a companys internal environment, in terms of its resources and capabilities, is more crucial to the determination of strategic action compared to the external environment. The resource based view suggest that a companys rare resources and capabilities give the basis for a strategy instead of concentrating on the accumulation of resources necessary to implement the strategy dictated by conditions and constraints in the external environment (I/O model). The business strategy chosen should enable the company to best use its core competencies relative to chances in the external environment. The resource-based view of the firm might be useful to the field of strategic management. The big benefit of this theory was it motivated a dialogue between scholars from a lot of perspectives, which they described as good conversation. From then onwards, the strengths and weaknesses of the resource based view have been vigorously argued in strategic management and other management disciplines. There are lesser discussions regarding the resource based view done in the field of information systems. The resource based view is used in the information system field on a few occasions, yet there is no effort up to date to comprehensive evaluates their weaknesses and strengths. The resource-based view also stands that companies possess resources, a subset which allows them to reach competitive advantage and later on giving them long term superior performance. Many studies of performance from company using the resource based view have found differences within the industries. This recommends that the effects of individual, firm-specific resources on performance can be crucial. Valuable and rare resources and whose benefits can be sorted by the owning (or controlling) company giving it with a temporary competitive advantage. That strength can be maintained over longer time periods to the extent that the company can protect against resource imitation, transfer, or substitution. In other words, empirical studies using the theory have strongly supported the resource-based view. One of the key challenges of resource based view related is to understand the meaning of resource. Many people are interested in the resource based view and utilized a few different concepts to speak about a companys resources. This includes assets, stocks, competencies and skills. Such proliferation of terms is a problem for research utilizing resource based view because it is usually not clear what the researchers mean by key terminology. To make things simple, it is better to clarify the terms in a relevant way. Together, assets and capabilities define the set of resources available to the firm. Assets mean anything intangible or tangible that the firm can utilize for producing and creating in its process to a market. Assets can be taken as a input or output of a process. It can also be tangible and intangible. In other words, capabilities change inputs into outputs of greater worth. Capabilities includes processes and skills. Since years ago, there are big collections of contributions in the areas of strategic management and economics which find to change the term of resource based view or utilize it as a framework to solve empirical questions. Meanwhile, the basic propositions of resource based view have increased explained. In summary, the initial contribution of the RBV of the company to date has been as a concept of competitive advantage. The start is with an assumption which the wanted outcome of managerial effort within the company is sustainable competitive advantage. Achieving such a level enables the company to earn economic rents instead. This also concentrates on how the company achieve and maintain advantages. The resource based view argues that the answer to such question stays in the possession of important resources which have certain characteristics like barriers to duplication and value. A SCA can be achieved if the company effectively uses the resources in its product markets. Resource b ased view focuses the strategic choice, charging the companys management with the crucial tasks of developing, identifying and utilizing important resources to maximize returns. The resource based view will be discussed later in the following paragraphs and also followed by a conclusion. Article 1 Corporate Social Responsibility: A Resource-Based View of the Firm Mehdi Taghian, Deakin University This section reviews the application of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) as an intangible dynamic resource, its application in the formulation of marketing strategies and its association with business performance, using the theoretical framework of resource-based view of the firm (RBV). CSR focuses on what is termed the triple bottom line people, planet, profit (Capaldi, 2005). Supporters of CSR believe that it is compatible with the traditional goals of a business and in fact can enhance a business. These supporters assert that CSR must become an integral part of the wealth creation process. Therefore, if CSR is managed properly, it should enhance business competitiveness and maximize wealth creation value to society. Also, when the economy is facing challenging times like now, there is greater not lesser need to practice CSR. The benefits of CSR will be discussed in detail in subsequent paragraphs. CSR initiatives can be in many forms, depending on the company. Some focus solely on environmental issues but there is a move towards community-based development projects (Tench et al, 2007). These projects perform a variety of functions for people in rural areas such as providing education for children and equipping adults with job skills. Other CSR initiatives occur in the form of providing healthcare and awareness of diseases such as AIDS and malaria. Based on these companies annual reports and other publications, such initiatives seem to be successful (Vernon and Mackenzie, 2008). Therefore, companies are encouraged to embrace CSR to fulfil their roles as good corporate citizens. Even though governments have not enacted legislature compelling businesses to embrace CSR, the accounting fraternity has taken the lead by instituting accounting standards and guidelines that compel MNCs to adopt some aspects of CSR. The guidelines are on environmental and sustainable reporting and demonstrate how acting green can be incorporated into a companys accounting system (ODwyer, 2003). Some of the more notable guidelines and standards promoting CSR are AccountAbilitys AA1000 standard, Social Accountability Internationals SA8000 standard, ISO14000 Environmental Management Standard and Global Reporting Initiatives Sustainable Reporting Guidelines. These standards and others have increased the awareness among accountants for the need for good CSR and sustainable reporting. Stakeholder Theory The stakeholder theory considers the impact of expectations of the different stakeholder groups to determine CSR. This is expressed by Drucker in his views on business ethics in that management is ultimately responsible to itself and society at large. These sentiments were re-echoed later by Freeman (1984, cited in Enquist et al, 2006) who said it was not just a matter of social responsibility or business ethics, but ultimately the very survival of the company hinges on it. Stakeholders are groups from whom the organization has voluntarily accepted benefits, and to whom the organization has therefore incurred obligations of fairness (Galbreath, 2009). A firms traditional stakeholders are its shareholders, employees, creditors, customers and the government. However, the scope has been expanded in recent years to include non-governmental organizations and the community as a whole. CSR is utilized as a management tool for managing the information needs of the various powerful stakeholder groups and managers use CSR to manage or influence the most powerful stakeholders in order to gain their support which is vital for survival (Freeman et al, 200, cited in Gyves and OHiggins, 2008). The key issue here is identifying the concerns of the various stakeholder groups which are often different, and how to satisfy them. Hence, the corporation is driven to act in a more ethical manner to avoid antagonizing powerful stakeholders. Scholars have cited five major strategic responses to institutional pressure for CSR, which range from the timid to the hostile. The first strategy is to acquiesce, which is to accept CSR values, norms and rules for the organization. The second approach is to compromise by partially conforming to CSR requirements while modifying it to suit organizational needs. The third strategy is to avoid or resist all CSR initiatives while the fourth method is a more active form of resistance to CSR initiatives through outright defiance. The final approach is by manipulation, which is by attempting to change global CSR standards. As can be expected, the last approach can only be employed by the largest and most powerful corporations. Furthermore, a CSR strategy can be considered as a core intangible dynamic resource within the resource-based view of the firm (RVB). It can provide a general framework for decisions regarding the design and adoption of other organisational resources that collectively characterise their marketing approach and direction. Article 2 The resource-based view of the firm: Ten years after 1991.(Technical) Ten years ago, Jay Barney edited a special forum in this journal on the Resource-Based View of the Firm (Barney, 1991). In his article in the special issue, Barney argued that sustained competitive advantage derives from the resources and capabilities a firm controls that are valuable, rare, imperfectly imitable, and not substitutable. These resources and capabilities can be viewed as bundles of tangible and intangible assets, including a firms management skills, its organizational processes and routines, and the information and knowledge it controls. In the intervening decade, the diffusion of the resource-based view (RBV) in strategic management and related disciplines has been both dramatic and controversial and has involved considerable theoretical development and empirical testing. As such, it seemed timely to organize a new special issue that attempts to assess the past contributions of the RBV as well as presenting forward-looking extensions. Barneys 1991 article was positioned relative to the structure-conduct-performance (SCP) paradigm in economics. Revisiting this article, Barney (2001a) discusses the implications of linking the RBV to the neoclassical microeconomics and evolutionary economics literatures. Situating the RBV in relation to neoclassical microeconomics would have helped address issues concerning whether or not equilibrium analysis can be applied in resource-based analyses, whether the RBV is tautological, and identification of attributes of resources and capabilities that lead them to be inelastic in supply. Positioning the RBV against evolutionary economics would have helped develop arguments concerning how routines and capabilities change over time. Barney points out that all three perspectives have been developed over the last decade and provide a body of related yet distinct resource-based theoretical tools that can be applied in different ways in different contexts. Mahoney (2001) revisits Conners (1991) paper to provide an alternative perspective on the similarities and distinctions between RBV and transaction cost economics (TCE), questioning Conners argument that the fundamental difference is that the former focuses on the deployment and combination of specific inputs while the latter focuses on the avoidance of opportunism. Mahoney argues that to continue to develop the RBV with the assumption of no opportunism ignores key issues. With opportunism, the presence of the firm facilitates superior knowledge transplantation relative to the market because of superior coding, better control of opportunistic behavior due to the authority relationship and superior information. RBV and TCE are viewed as complementary because the former is a theory of firm rents whereas the latter is a theory of the existence of the firm. The set of market frictions that explain sustainable firm-level rents would be sufficient market frictions to explain the existence of the firm. The problem of opportunism, however, has also been closely associated with recent literature on corporate restructuring, to which we return below. Revisiting their managerial rents model, Castanias and Helfat (2001) present an expanded classification of managerial resources and explain how it relates to (1) other classifications of managerial abilities such as those dealing with leadership qualities or functional area experience and (2) the fundamental resource-based characteristics of scarcity, immobility, and inimitability. The implications of this model for firm performance, appropriability of rents from managerial resources, and incentives for managers to generate rents are then analyzed. The authors argue that managerial resources, which cannot be imitated quickly or which may have imperfect substitutes, do not by definition generate rents, especially if effort and motivation are lacking or misdirected. They also suggest that the nature of managerial resources may need to change with the life-cycle of the firm and the industry for rents to be generated. Article 3 Out of the many theories of organizational behavior, one aligns itself well with the human capital view of people within an organization. This theory, called the Resource Based View (RBV), suggests that the method in which resources are applied within a firm can create a competitive advantage (Barney, 1991; Mata, Fuerst, Barney, 1995; Peteraf, 1993; Wernerfert, 1984). The resource based view of firms is based on two main assumptions: resource diversity and resource immobility (Barney, 1991; Mata et al., 1995). According to Mata et al. (1995), these assumptions are defined as: Resource diversity (also called resource heterogeneity) pertains to whether a firm owns a resource or capability that is also owned by numerous other competing firms, then that resource cannot provide a competitive advantage. As an example of resource diversity, consider the following: a firm is trying to decide whether to implement a new IT product. This new product might provide a competitive advantage to the firm if no other competitors have the same functionality. If competing firms have similar functionality, then this new IT product doesnt pass the resource diversity test and therefore doesnt provide a competitive advantage. Resource immobility refers to a resource that is difficult to obtain by competitors because the cost of developing, acquiring or using that resource is too high. As an example of resource immobility, consider the following: a firm is trying to decide whether they should buy an off-the-shelf inventory control system or have one built specifically for their needs. If they buy an off-the-shelf system, they will have no competitive advantage over others in the market because their competition can implement the same system. If they pay for a customized solution that provides specific functionality that only they implement, then they will have a competitive advantage, assuming the same functionality isnt available in other products. These two assumptions can be used to determine whether an organization is able to create a sustainable competitive advantage by providing a framework for determining whether a process or technology provides a real advantage over the marketplace. The resource based view of the firm suggests that an organizations human capital management practices can contribute significantly to sustaining competitive advantage by creating specific knowledge, skills and culture within the firm that are difficult to imitate (Afiouni, 2007; Mata et al., 1995). In other words, by creating resource diversity (increasing knowledge and skills) and/or resource immobility (a culture that people want to work in), sustainable competitive advantage can be created and maintained. In order to create human capital resource diversity and immobility, an organization must have adequate human capital management practices, organizational processes, knowledge management practices and systems, educational opportunity (both formal and informal) and social interaction (i.e., community building) practices in place Conclusion Based on the empirical writings stated above RBV provides us the understanding that certain unique existing resources will result in superior performance and ultimately build a competitive advantage. Sustainability of such advantage will be determined by the ability of competitors to imitate such resources. However, the existing resources of a firm may not be adequate to facilitate the future market requirement due to volatility of the contemporary markets. There is a vital need to modify and develop resources in order to encounter the future market competition. An organisation should exploit existing business opportunities using the present resources while generating and developing a new set of resources to sustain its competitiveness in the future market environments, hence an organisation should be engaged in resource management and resource development. Their writings explain that in order to sustain the competitive advantage, its crucial to develop resources that will strengthen their ability to continue the superior performance. Any industry or market reflects high uncertainty and in order to survive and stay ahead of competition new resources becomes highly necessary. Morgan agrees stating that, need to update resources is a major management task since all business environments reflect highly unpredictable market and environmental conditions. The existing winning edge needed to be developed since various market dynamics may make existing value creating resources obsolete.

One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich - Analytical Essay

Russia, has a lowest ever temperature of –44 ºC, and an average of 104 days a year above 0 ºC and a yearly average of 261 days below 0  ºC. It is the second coldest continent in the world only behind Antarctica, it snows on average 111 days of the year. It is dark, gloomy, freezing and miserable in the winter, and in the summer, cold, dark, and gloomy. Camps for political prisoners seemed even colder, especially with no real heating and limited clothes to wear on these wintriness days. The camp which was the bases of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s novel A Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich was initiated by Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union from 1953 until 1956. Stalin, which means â€Å"man of steel†, constructed one of the tightest and toughest communisms in history. He is such a dominant figure in Russian history, even though he will always be remembered to heavily contributing to bringing Russia down. This was no general camp, but a so called â€Å"special† camp for long term prisoners. Shukhov was a political prisoner, in fact not one of these prisoners were common criminals. Stalin had established many camps like this, full of spies, prisoners of war, and those who rebelled against his system of government. The camps were in poor condition, the government spent as little on them as possible, all the repairs and erections of new buildings was all done by it’s inhabitants. The primary theme in this nobel prize winning novel is the endurance of humanity and fight for survival. Survival is a fight every human must take part in, although ones fight is much easier than anothers. The fight for survival is tough in the camp especially under the severe conditions, the cold and the brutality of the guards and camp life. The author has paid special and close attention to the weather, the bitter cold, it is not made an extremity, but the facts. A prisoner had 1 grubby blanket, covering his mattress, which incidentally was made of sawdust, this blanket was supposed to help them keep warm through those winter nights. â€Å"No one ever took his wadded trousers off at night- you’d grow numb with cold unless you wore them under your blanket.† The amount of work the prisoners were required to do was enough to keep them going, but then to have to worry about the cold, and completing the task to the captains expectations, man life for prisoners was tough. Although prisoners maintain the... ...as all over other parts of the camp. The camp has no real source of heating, and if you are lucky a bit of heat may be thrown your way. The work was labor intensive, with all of it one by hand. The days where a lot of work was done, when it was warm, when the team worked together were the good days, they were the easy days where the stolen time didn’t seem so bad. However the days when it was miserable cold and the jobs weren’t completed to satisfaction were the long days, the hard days to survive. Although at the end of each day, there was dinner, a time where each prison had a few scared minutes to himself, and was only concerned for himself. The significance of a piece of bread and a bit of kasha was extraordinary. This novel is living proof of the struggle of survival for prisoners in communist countries. It illustrates problems we all face in our everyday lives, especially cultural and religious conflict. It was published to awaken the world to the horrendous conditions Stalin put these prisoners in, and shows what kind of man he really was. The novel consists of cold hard facts about Stalin’s prisoner camps, and a story of courage and hope despite the conditions and odds.

City Living vs Country Living

Many families and individuals find themselves at some point questioning the advantages of city living versus country living. It is nearly impossible to find a good answer to this question. What is good for one person might not be good for another. Some people enjoy the busy, hyper active metropolitan city where they can use all amenities and have unlimited opportunities for work and leisure. At the same time, other people feel the urge to be closer to Mother Nature, relaxation, beauty, and peace. They take pleasure in living in the calm and peaceful environment of the countryside and spending their free time fishing, hiking, picking berries in the woods, or playing in the creek. In my opinion, the nature of urban and rural life style and the effect it has on people is the most important difference between living in the city and living in the country. I feel fortunate to have grown up in the rural area. I would never trade my memories of playing in the creek, riding four wheelers, or climbing trees all within a short walk from my house. Health, education, and transportation are three major concerns that need to be considered. While city life can bring more opportunities in these cases, country life can provide the best of both worlds. Major health issues are more applicable in urban environments compared to the rural areas. The population, noise, and environmental toxins bring dangerous diseases and also prenatal infections. In a city, pollution surrounds a person whenever they step into the busy streets or on the lawn at a city park and that alone could cause health problems later in life. The environment in the country is by far beyond comparison with the cities, the pollution is scarce. They have fewer factories and less noise in the country where as the cities are filled with cars and factories which are the essential reasons to noise and pollution. Fresh air, rolling green hills, a few pieces of litter here and there is all you’ll really find in the country. No smog lets you see the stars at night and the blue sky during the day. On the positive side, urban areas do have better access to choices in healthcare if they suffer from an illness. They have a number of specialists to choose from in their area. However, stress seems to be present in every waking moment while living in the city. Whether you live next door to a train track or on a busy street, it can be the most expensive component of life in the city and it takes a toll on your body through time whereas rural areas are calm and peaceful most of the time. In the country, education for kids K-12 is a lot better than in the cities. Families with small children tend to like enrolling them in a smaller school because it’s quiet and safe for their children, and the teachers are with the same children every day and for years sometimes. However, sending them to a bigger school can get them into the wrong kind of crowds and not get to know all their teachers because of the big diversity there is. In the country the ratio of students to the teacher is lower than the city whereas parents of children in the city have a number of choices available for the education. Children and can often select from a long list of both public and private school districts in urban living. Public schools are often filled with a lot of students and are packed into small classrooms however that help the sports team, music, and other elective programs out. Where on the downfall of smaller schools, there are less options but children are more able to make the extracurricular activities without a disappointment of not getting on the team. Municipal transportation is readily accessible in the city and in some cases mandatory where as in the country people usually carpool if traveling to work, school, or out to dinner. Public transportation includes busses and subways that are cheap and easy ways of getting around in the city unlike rural places they do not offer the same level of choices. One of the drawbacks in living in a rural area, however, is unlike urban areas; residents do not have the best opportunity to choose from a range of employment options. While they can commute to larger towns, this can be expensive and is not as convenient as working close to work however in the country farmers do have the advantage of working close to their fields of work. If there is any statement to be made about the quality of life of rural living, it is that there is a greater ability to connect with people. Rural communities offer residents the ability to have longer lasting and more personal relationships since they encounter the same people more frequently. There are a number of positive as well as negative factors that contribute to the overall quality of life in urban areas and if there is a statement to be made about urban living, it is about diversity and choice. In urban areas, there are many more choices people can make about a number of aspects of their daily lives. For instance, in urban areas, one is more likely to be able to find many different types of food and this could lead to overall greater health since there could be a greater variety in diets. In the country people have their farms and even their own stores but in the cities people are mostly working for companies operated or even owned by a bigger company. Also, in the country people are more open in exchanging goods and services in return and in the cities it is only the money that makes everything possible. Also rural people generally work outside which gives them physical activities that provide good exercises for the for their bodies whereas city people usually work inside in factories or offices. They have less need of hard work and keep their body idle. This could make the city people prone to disease such as obesity and diabetes which are rarely found in the country residents. A body without disease is the greatest fortune to have and you’ll see country people are more fortunate to have this and to have what they do. Life in the city is challenging and it carries a heavy burden for all the activities and entertainment they have to offer. Many families and individuals find themselves at least at some point questioning the advantages of city living versus country living. Quality of life is one of the issues to consider in any comparison between the two. While this can be made for either location as being the best place to live, it is worthwhile to consider how these two options, city living versus country living, are similar and different. Important factors such as deciding to make general choices, diversity, health, transportation, and employment concerns all influence both sides of the comparison and how each living lifestyle offer great benefits, and how they both equally have an equally number of drawbacks. City living and country living are similar in terms of human interaction but differ most widely when diversity and choice are big issues. It is with proving of the reasons above shown very clearly that the country lifestyle is much better than the city lifestyle. But than again it is a choice made by people based on their personality and their way of life where they would like to settle and live. City Living vs Country Living Many families and individuals find themselves at some point questioning the advantages of city living versus country living. It is nearly impossible to find a good answer to this question. What is good for one person might not be good for another. Some people enjoy the busy, hyper active metropolitan city where they can use all amenities and have unlimited opportunities for work and leisure. At the same time, other people feel the urge to be closer to Mother Nature, relaxation, beauty, and peace. They take pleasure in living in the calm and peaceful environment of the countryside and spending their free time fishing, hiking, picking berries in the woods, or playing in the creek. In my opinion, the nature of urban and rural life style and the effect it has on people is the most important difference between living in the city and living in the country. I feel fortunate to have grown up in the rural area. I would never trade my memories of playing in the creek, riding four wheelers, or climbing trees all within a short walk from my house. Health, education, and transportation are three major concerns that need to be considered. While city life can bring more opportunities in these cases, country life can provide the best of both worlds. Major health issues are more applicable in urban environments compared to the rural areas. The population, noise, and environmental toxins bring dangerous diseases and also prenatal infections. In a city, pollution surrounds a person whenever they step into the busy streets or on the lawn at a city park and that alone could cause health problems later in life. The environment in the country is by far beyond comparison with the cities, the pollution is scarce. They have fewer factories and less noise in the country where as the cities are filled with cars and factories which are the essential reasons to noise and pollution. Fresh air, rolling green hills, a few pieces of litter here and there is all you’ll really find in the country. No smog lets you see the stars at night and the blue sky during the day. On the positive side, urban areas do have better access to choices in healthcare if they suffer from an illness. They have a number of specialists to choose from in their area. However, stress seems to be present in every waking moment while living in the city. Whether you live next door to a train track or on a busy street, it can be the most expensive component of life in the city and it takes a toll on your body through time whereas rural areas are calm and peaceful most of the time. In the country, education for kids K-12 is a lot better than in the cities. Families with small children tend to like enrolling them in a smaller school because it’s quiet and safe for their children, and the teachers are with the same children every day and for years sometimes. However, sending them to a bigger school can get them into the wrong kind of crowds and not get to know all their teachers because of the big diversity there is. In the country the ratio of students to the teacher is lower than the city whereas parents of children in the city have a number of choices available for the education. Children and can often select from a long list of both public and private school districts in urban living. Public schools are often filled with a lot of students and are packed into small classrooms however that help the sports team, music, and other elective programs out. Where on the downfall of smaller schools, there are less options but children are more able to make the extracurricular activities without a disappointment of not getting on the team. Municipal transportation is readily accessible in the city and in some cases mandatory where as in the country people usually carpool if traveling to work, school, or out to dinner. Public transportation includes busses and subways that are cheap and easy ways of getting around in the city unlike rural places they do not offer the same level of choices. One of the drawbacks in living in a rural area, however, is unlike urban areas; residents do not have the best opportunity to choose from a range of employment options. While they can commute to larger towns, this can be expensive and is not as convenient as working close to work however in the country farmers do have the advantage of working close to their fields of work. If there is any statement to be made about the quality of life of rural living, it is that there is a greater ability to connect with people. Rural communities offer residents the ability to have longer lasting and more personal relationships since they encounter the same people more frequently. There are a number of positive as well as negative factors that contribute to the overall quality of life in urban areas and if there is a statement to be made about urban living, it is about diversity and choice. In urban areas, there are many more choices people can make about a number of aspects of their daily lives. For instance, in urban areas, one is more likely to be able to find many different types of food and this could lead to overall greater health since there could be a greater variety in diets. In the country people have their farms and even their own stores but in the cities people are mostly working for companies operated or even owned by a bigger company. Also, in the country people are more open in exchanging goods and services in return and in the cities it is only the money that makes everything possible. Also rural people generally work outside which gives them physical activities that provide good exercises for the for their bodies whereas city people usually work inside in factories or offices. They have less need of hard work and keep their body idle. This could make the city people prone to disease such as obesity and diabetes which are rarely found in the country residents. A body without disease is the greatest fortune to have and you’ll see country people are more fortunate to have this and to have what they do. Life in the city is challenging and it carries a heavy burden for all the activities and entertainment they have to offer. Many families and individuals find themselves at least at some point questioning the advantages of city living versus country living. Quality of life is one of the issues to consider in any comparison between the two. While this can be made for either location as being the best place to live, it is worthwhile to consider how these two options, city living versus country living, are similar and different. Important factors such as deciding to make general choices, diversity, health, transportation, and employment concerns all influence both sides of the comparison and how each living lifestyle offer great benefits, and how they both equally have an equally number of drawbacks. City living and country living are similar in terms of human interaction but differ most widely when diversity and choice are big issues. It is with proving of the reasons above shown very clearly that the country lifestyle is much better than the city lifestyle. But than again it is a choice made by people based on their personality and their way of life where they would like to settle and live.

Old habits die hard Essay

When I heard that one of the quotes for today’s essay was â€Å"old habits die hard † some of Mick Jagger’s lyrics came to mind â€Å"I’m not an addict ,it’s just a habit†. It takes a long time to develop a bad habit and as much or longer to stay away from it . We start developing bad habits at an early age because of inexperience .We reinforce those habits day by day and step by step in our everyday life by repetition. Old habits die hard because us as people allow ourselves to get into bad habits sometimes socially and sometimes unintentionally. One of the bad habits that people in general have is nail biting . I see people biting their nails all the time .I would love to say that I am not one of those people but I would be lying .If I am waiting on line at a store for a long time ,I start to get frustrated and I bite my nails. Another reason I fall into the habit of biting my nails is nervousness. Once I was waiting for a job interview , I noticed that my nails where getting shorter and shorter without my intention. In general as people we are programmed from young age to do things .We do not realize that some of those things can be bad until they have happened repetitiously. I have worked on ways to stop biting my nails ,and it is working for now .I noticed that I can break this old habit by painting my nails with a base coat nail polish that taste very bad if I bite my nails . In this essay I would like to bring to the reader’s attention two bad habits that influence our health such smoking ,drinking. When someone smokes he/she is inhaling approximately 7000 chemicals inside their lungs , 250 of which are poisonous and 70 carcinogenic. These chemicals are not only damaging the lungs, but also traveling through the body and causing several diseases . Smoking increases the chance of COPD, Coronary heart disease, stroke and lung cancer (www.about.com).Alchol is very present in today’s society .Having class of wine once in a while is acceptable and healthy some might say ,but too many glasses can affect your judgment and direct you to bad decision making . Alcohol abuse can lead to alcoholism ,or alcohol addiction ,to a point which a person becomes physically and  psychologically dependent to it so much that people cannot function without it .Alcohol abuse can lead to disruptive behavior such as driving under the influence and domestic violence . Both smoking and drinking are addictive but also habits that could be broken . Gambling is also a habit that is very hard to overcome .It is a compulsion and the end result can be very devastating for the gambler and also for their family. Gambling can have a big impact on someone’s economical state . For example a gambler can lose all their saving in one night .They borrow money to play more hoping to win back what they lost. The person who is the gambler is not the only person that suffer from this situation ,their families are too. Often times the family has to deal with threading phone calls from creditors and bill collectors. Most of the time relationships and marriages fail do to gambling .When disgusting about gambling it is important to realize the affect it can have on people economically ,socially ,physically and psychologically. Gambling can lead to loss of job ,depression ,anti-social personality disorder, and direction towards alcohol and drug use. Gambling is one of the worst habits to break but it can be accomplished with determination and support by the their families. I would like to conclude this essay with another verse in the from Mick Jaggers’ lyrics † You walk through my walls like a ghost â€Å".It is true that we all have bad habits ,for some it is easy to stay from them because of the way their lifestyle is .But for other’s bad habits are always on the back of their mind as they struggle to stay away from the ghost on their wall.