Oligopoly and Game Theory Essay Example

Oligopoly and Game Theory Essay Example Oligopoly and Game Theory Paper Oligopoly and Game Theory Paper ECO 152 December 9, 2013 Photo by Christian Gooden, [emailprotected] dispatch. com St. Louis Christmas Tree Lots: Oligopoly and Game Theory Since Christmas is drawing near, the annual Christmas tree lots are beginning to open. This brings memories of my father cursing in the car every Sunday before mass because half the church lot is taken up by trees. For a few weeks Ted Drew becomes the king of Christmas not the king of custard in St. Louis. Pretend the image I selected is not taken from the St. Louis Post Dispatch but is in fact my family having a wonderful time together at the St. Peters Church Christmas tree lot in Kirkwood. This picture does not exist because our time spent at the Christmas tree lot is usually spent arguing over what tree to choose and ultimately ending in my sister crying because my father says we cannot bring a 30 foot tall tree into our home. The Christmas tree market in St. Louis can be considered an oligopoly because there are relatively few locations which sell Christmas trees in St. Louis. An oligopoly is a market structure in which a small number of independent firms compete, somewhere in between a monopoly and a competitive industry with many firms. In this case let us Just consider the Ted Drewes lot and the St. Peters Church lot as a duopoly to represent the St. Louis Christmas tree market. Christmas tree prices are determined by St. Peters and Ted Drewes in order to maximize profits. The prices are not only determined by demand, but also by the price at which competitors choose to sell. We analyze this price competition by what economists call game theory. Game theory is the study of the decisions of firms in industries where the profits ofa firm depend on its interactions with other firms. In ligopolies, firms are very large compared to the market therefore their interactions are what determine success and profit. Three characteristics of game theory are payoffs, rules and strategies. In the example of the Christmas tree lots, we can use game theory to analyze price competition between Ted Drewes and St. Peters Church. To make the maximum profit, the price Ted Drewe and Father Smith decide to sell the average Christmas tree is dependent on what the competing firm prices are. They will either sell them at an average of $40 or $50 per tree. The action a firm takes to achieve the goal of aximizing profits is an example of business strategy. In fgure 1, the possibilities for each firm are organized into a matrix to determine the payoffs for each firm based on their and the competing firms price decision. Figure 1 Ted Drewes $50 STP earns $10,000 profit St. Peters TD earns $40 $10,000 profit STP earns $5,000 $15,000 profit STP earns $15,000 _$5,OOO profit STP earns $7,500 _$7,500 profit St. Peters Church profits are in blue and Ted Drewes profits are in red. If both St. Peters and Ted Drewes charge an average of $40 per tree, each win earn a profit of 7,500 in total sales. If St. Peters charges a higher price than Ted Drewes at $50 per tree, they will lose customers to price competition and earn $5,000 total profit while Ted Drewes earns $15,000 total profit. If the situation is reversed and Ted Drewes charges a higher price, their total profits will be $5,000 while St. Peters earns $15,000 total profit. If both Ted Drewes and St. Peters charge $50, they with each earn $10,000 total profit. Looking at the matrix it seems that the firms would be better of both charging $50 to earn $10,000 total profit each. Ted Drewe and Father Smith could do this by making an agreement between their firms to charge the same price or otherwise not to compete. This is an example of collusion, which is against the law in the United States. Here we see the characteristic of rules implemented in game theory. Since the firms cannot collude and set their prices they must guess the price which the other firm will choose. If Ted Drewe thinks that Father Smith will charge $40 per tree at St. Peters, he will choose to also sell at $40 per tree because this would earn 7,500 in profit instead of $5,000 if they Ted sold at $50. If Ted Drewe believes Father Smith will sell at $50 per tree, he would still choose to sell at $40 per tree because this would increase total profits from $10,000 to $15,000. This means either way, Ted Drewe will sell at $40 per tree. Father Smith has the same situation as Ted Drewe, so it is expected that he will also sell at $40 per tree. Both Ted Drewes and St. Peters Church will choose to sell at $40 per tree no matter what the other firm does. Either firm selling at $40 per tree is n example of dominant strategy because it is the best choice in any situation. When each firm is maximizing profits no matter what choice the other firm makes it is called a Nash equilibrium. The example of the firms Ted Drewes and St. Louis Church in the St. Louis Christmas tree industry shows how game theory uses payoffs, rules and strategies to analyze oligopoly. photo: Gooden, Christian. Stltoday. com. N. p. , 20 Dec. 2011. Web. 09 Dec. 2013. http:// www. stltoday. com/news/multimedia/live-christmas-tree-fee-on-hold-for-now/ image_30ae5b2e-84de-5313-a8d8-3abc99f6bc6e. html

A Job Costing System Accumulates Economics Essay

A Job Costing System Accumulates Economics Essay Chapter 14 A job-costing system accumulates and analyzes costs separately for each product or small batches of products. Examples of firms that use job-costing systems include law firms and firms that build custom houses. A process-costing system accumulates and analyzes costs by each process (or a department) rather than by each job. Examples of firms that use process-costing systems include steel mills and paper companies. Direct materials and direct labor are traced, and overhead is allocated. Work in process inventory is the inventory of unfinished products at the start of a period. Cost of goods manufactured is the cost of items finished and transferred from work in process inventory to finished goods inventory. Cost of goods sold is the cost of products sold in a period. It is the cost of items transferred from finished goods inventory to the income statement. A predetermined overhead rate equals expected overhead costs for the period divided by the expected activity level. Fi rms use predetermined overhead rates because actual overhead costs and activity volumes frequently fluctuate. A normal-costing system is a job-costing system that uses a predetermined overhead rate. Underapplied overhead means that the overhead applied to jobs is smaller than the amount actually spent on overhead. Overapplied overhead means that the overhead applied to jobs exceeds the amount spent on overhead. False – if a firm has underapplied overhead, the actual rate must have exceeded the predetermined rate. (1) correct rates are year end, (2) write off to cost of goods sold, and (3) prorate among inventory accounts and cost of goods sold. The adjustment will increase cost of goods sold and, in turn, decrease net income. The proration method allocates the under- or overapplied overhead to WIP inventory, FG inventory, and cost of goods sold in proportion to their unadjusted ending balances. Three accounts will be affected: (1) WIP, (2) FG, and (3) COGS. Income will be hig her under the proration method because some of the adjustment will be to the inventory account. Discussion Questions Job shops and process shops differ considerably in the extent to which we can trace costs to individual units and jobs. A pure job shop makes custom products. Each unit is a separate job and is unique. It is therefore possible to trace many costs directly to each job. However, in process shops, it is not possible to trace most costs to individual units. Rather, we can trace the costs, even for direct materials and direct labor, only at the process or departmental level. Yes. Each patient’s care may be viewed as a job. Many of the costs, including the costs of nurse care, attending physician’s time, medicines and drugs, room occupancy can be directly traced to the patient. Some indirect costs may still have to be allocated. However, such a system also has elements of process costing in that we might use pre-determined rates (e.g., $40 per hour of nursing or $100 per visit by a doctor) to determine costs rather than use actual costs. Business consulting firms are likely to have job-costing like systems. Fast food restaurants like McDonald’s have more of process costing-type environment.

Gender roles and Marriage Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Gender roles and Marriage - Thesis Example While sex refers to the biological classification into male and female categories, gender indicates social classification of the masculine and feminine attributes. On the other hand identity depends on ones self realization about his or her sexual category. In the paper two stories have been taken up for study – ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ by James Thurber and ‘The Story of an Hour’ by Kate Chopin. In the former work, Mr. Mitty tries to build his masculine identity through his regular daydreams and in the second work, Mrs. Mallard tries to gain freedom from the repressive bond of marriage and a kind of sexual freedom is experienced after she hears the news of her husband’s death. In fact both these characters of opposite gender tries to gain freedom in their own ways. Mr. Walter Mitty attempts to gain freedom from the influence of his dominating wife who apparently always has the last word. The institution of marriage can be repressive ow ing to the influence of gender roles. ‘The Story of An Hour’ by the American writer Kate Chopin talks about the central character Mrs. Mallard’s reaction and mental transformation on hearing the news of her husband’s death and the mix of emotions experienced by the frail woman. Widowhood does cause some sorrow but within minutes it brings forth a new opportunity and light to the journey of life. The transformation in thoughts and a feeling of some kind of freedom gradually replaces the initial feeling of loss. In this case the freedom enjoyed within shows how repressive the marriage could be. This is not really written to criticize the character of Mr. Mallard as a repressive husband but through the reactions of his wife, it mocks this supposedly happy union. The open window, the comfortable chair, ‘delicious breath of rain’ and the tops of the trees that were ‘all aquiver with the new spring life’, all indicate an underlying feeling of regeneration or rebirth and a m ind which is open to the change and the new life that will belong solely to her. The open window through which she stares at the sky represents a glance at life through the eye of freedom. Mrs. Mallard was ‘young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength’; this description has been used as a tool to highlight the change that was taking place within. She was gaining her strength from the expectation of a new life approaching her. These new oncoming years have been portrayed like â€Å"creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air†. (Chopin, 1894) Chopin’s story bears significance to The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Gilman where the wife finally protests against her husband who does not want her to write and always asks her to rest and sleep like a sick woman. Again, there are sexual overtones in the story that cannot be overlooked. The initial ‘stor m of grief’ is almost indicative of a sexual urge or release, which goes hand in hand with the term ‘wild abandonment’. The quivering of the trees is analogous with the thighs that aquiver with sexual anticipation. The term ‘haunted’ signifies that she was craving for it from within and therefore this freedom meant physical or sexual freedom as well (Eggins, 2004, p.39) She also prays that her life may be long. This shows the immense joy experienced. The expression in her eye has also changed from a dull glare to a look of ‘feverish triumph’. As she came down the stairs into the living room, being supported by her sister, Mr.

Technology and being a nurse educator Assignment

Technology and being a nurse educator - Assignment Example The field of nursing education needs a nurse educator that is competent, with unique application of nursing knowledge as well as responds to the knowledge evolution. Nursing education evolves from simple, traditional classroom teaching to complicated, online learning, use of informatics, and virtual simulations ( Bonnel, & Smith, 2010, p. 3). Along with this evolution is the need for nursing educators who can embrace technology and use it appropriately to meet the ever-changing needs of nurses, educators, students, patients, and society. Effects of Technology to a Nurse Educator The integration of technology in the field of nursing education affects nurse educators positively and negatively. The positive effects include the nurse educators’ enhancement of teaching opportunities, improved access to teaching materials saving both time and cost, provides educational options or strategies of teaching (used of printout, electronic sources, classroom interaction etc.), presents educ ational materials more challenging, knowledgeable, and presentable, promotes clinical safety and gain efficiency in teaching and learning, and guides evidenced-based practice. On the other hand, one possible negative effect noted is the difficulty encountered by nursing educators to adapt to technological advancements resulting in poor teaching and learning outcome.

Essay --

Drew Rivera English 4 Ms. R. Crow December 11th, 2013 NSA spying, what is it and how can we stop it? The National Security Agency was created in 1952 through a top secret memorandum signed by President Truman. At the time of its creation, the NSA was secretive, with only a few members of Congress knowing about it. Existence of the agency had been a deep secret until it was unveiled in a Senate investigation called the â€Å"Church Committee† in 1975 (2nd Source Title: Timeline of NSA Domestic Spying). The Committee uncovered illegal domestic spying by the NSA, and recommended it make reforms, this was one of the earliest incidents / scandals for the NSA. Prior to that, in 1973 the Supreme Court ruled that warrants are required and that the NSA are to provide the names of all US citizens and residents it wished to monitor. After 9/11, President Bush ordered the NSA to eavesdrop without court approved warrants technically breaking breaking previously set â€Å"rules† on domestic spying. Leaked reports from whistleblower and former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, claims the NSA reviews millions of phone records collected by Verizon (source title: NSA said to be spying on millions of Verizon users.), does this sound legal to you? The NSA collects and keeps record of calls made in the U.S., this includes the phone number of the telephone that is receiving and making the call, and the duration of the call. This is known as â€Å"metadata† it doesn’t include a recording of the call. This information was discovered through a leaked secret court order, that states Verizon is to turn over all information meeting this criteria every day. Phone Companies including AT&T and Sprint, are also said to be giving up records to the NSA on a daily basis. All of... ...vering information about the programs. In that sense, the supposed â€Å"Congressional oversight† seems more like an illusion of accountability. The NSA claims its mission for domestic spying is â€Å"simple† that they are here to : collect, process, and store U.S. citizen data for the good of our nation. They NSA further elaborates that they cope with the overload of information we have in our country and use it to their strategic advantage. This in turn, helps them find new ways to detect, report, and respond to all domestic threats. â€Å"We work through you. For you. For our Nation.†(Source:http://nsa.gov1.info), this means they are trying to justify that spying on civilians is being done for the good of our nation. Though they claim this is for the sake of our nation, does this violate any previously set laws that are in the constitution or amendments in the Bill Of Rights?

Design Argument for the existence of God Essay

The Design Argument can be split into two sides: design qua purpose and design qua regularity. The key idea of design qua purpose comes from William Paley. He used analogy as the basis for his argument, noting how the complex design of a watch allows all the parts to work together perfectly to achieve its purpose. He then noted the complexity, order and purpose of the universe, stating that â€Å"every manifestation on design, which existed in the watch, exists in the works of nature.† Therefore if a watch’s intricacy stands as evidence that it has been designed, by analogy the universe must also have a designer and, as the designer is required to be supremely powerful, the designer must be God. Aquinas also presented an argument to support design qua purpose. Similarly to Paley, he argued that all natural occurrences show evidence of design. He claimed that this suggested there is a being which directs all things, and as humans have knowledge this being must also be knowledgeable. Therefore there is an intelligent being that directs everything towards its purpose, and Aquinas stated that this being must be God. Unlike Paley, Aquinas explained that God is a designer at work who continues to direct us towards our purpose as well as regulating the universe (e.g. the planets and the seasons). He also attempted to explain how free-will plays a part in design, claiming that we are programmed to reproduce but free-will allows us to choose who we reproduce with. Through these points he also demonstrated a key aspect of the design qua regularity side of the Teleological Argument. Another aspect of the argument is the anthropic principle, which was first introduced by F.R. Tennant. The significant difference of this principle to Paley and Aquinas’ ideas is that it doesn’t reject the scientific principles for existence, as Tennant said that the conditions for the development of human life were intrinsic to the Big Bang. The strong principle says that the reason and purpose of the universe is to support human life, supported by the way the conditions on earth are perfect in order for us to survive.  For example, the atmosphere is 21% Oxygen which is near enough the exact amount that humans need. Consequently a greater being created the universe to support us, and the only being powerful enough to do so is God. On the other hand, the weak anthropic principle doesn’t accept that life was inevitable from the beginning and instead suggests that it just happened to have occurred. Richard Swinburne developed this by suggesting that the creation of the universe came down to probabilities rather than chance. He recognised that the universe could have easily been chaotic, but the fact that it isn’t suggests some element of design. Tennant described this as the world being â€Å"compatible with a single throw of a dice†, and said that â€Å"common sense is not foolish in suspecting the dice is loaded.† This explains how Swinburne and Tennant believed that it took an incredibly small singularity to create the cosmic explosion which created the universe, but the order and purpose is so beyond chance that there must have been a greater being behind it. This therefore shows how the anthropic principle is used to prove the existence of God. This principle has been supported by many other philosophers, including Fred Hoyle and Anthony Flew. Comment on the claim that this argument totally fails to prove the existence of God Charles Darwin used the idea of ‘Natural Selection’ to challenge the Design Argument. This is a theory that claims that the strongest and most adapted species survive and therefore species develop and evolve naturally through time. Darwin argued that the illusion of design is actually a result of natural and random process caused by Natural Selection, and not by God as the designer. Steve Jones described this process as â€Å"a series of successful mistakes†, which again doubts the involvement of God in the design of species. Nevertheless, Christians could object to this disproving that the Design Argument proves the existence of God as the anthropic principle suggests that Natural Selection and Evolution are caused by God, as they are too unlikely to have occurred by chance. As a result, one would argue that Darwin’s theory doesn’t hold up under its counter argument because Natural Selection can still occur with God being the designer of the universe. Freud also questions the Design Argument’s success at proving the existence of God in his book ‘The Future of an Illusion’. In it, he describes religious faith as an illusion based on wishful thinking, arguing that religion exists because people fear living in a chaotic and unordered world. Therefore we project order on to the universe out of fear and so our minds are predisposed to see order. Freud uses this idea to dispute that the order and regularity of the universe is a result of design, thus questioning the existence of God overall. One would say that Freud’s argument supports the claim that the Design Argument fails to prove God’s existence as it suggests that the universe is in fact not ordered perfectly as we perceive, and so God’s work as a designer is an illusion arisen from fear of chaos. Additionally, the Epicurean Hypothesis disputes that the designer of the universe could be the God of classic theism by exploring the idea of evil and suffering. Epicuris says that if God is willing to prevent evil but isn’t able to then he can’t be omnipotent, and if he’s able but not willing then he can’t be benevolent. From this argument, he concluded that either God isn’t the God of classic theism or God isn’t the designer of the universe at all. On the other hand, Christians could counter this by arguing that evil and suffering is a test from God as an opportunity to prove our faith to him. Therefore based on this, evil and suffering doesn’t disprove that God is the ultimate designer. However, the argument still stands as if God was omniscient he wouldn’t need to test people as he would know whether or not they were faithful. Also permitting evil and suffering would still make him malevolent. Consequently  one would say that the Epicurean Hypothesis still supports that the Design Argument fails to prove the existence of God. Overall, despite the Design Argument’s in depth ideas such as the anthropic principle and design qua purpose and regularity, there are stronger scholarly arguments to support the claim that the Design Argument fails to prove the existence of God. Although the use of Darwin’s theory of Natural Selection can be cancelled out by its counter, Freud’s idea of illusion both successfully argues that the apparent design is created out of fear of chaos and not the result of a supremely powerful source, and the Epicurean Hypothesis argues that the God of classic theism can’t exist under the premise of evil and suffering. Therefore these ideas effectively support that the Design Argument doesn’t prove that God exists.

The Scientific Theory Of Science And Technology - 1449 Words

Science and technology is important to society and is often used in our everyday lives. We often have no idea how science and technology really affect us. We work and live in a world driven by technology and science. Science is crucial because it has helped form the world that we live in today. Charles Robert Darwin was an English geologist and naturalist, best known for his significant addition to the science of evolution. He had a theory that all species have inherited traits over time from common ancestors, and in a partnership with Alfred Russel Wallace introduced his scientific theory that this pattern of evolution resulted from an action that he called natural selection, in which the struggle for existence has a similar effect to the†¦show more content†¦The purpose of the trip was to take a five-year survey trip around the world Commanded by Captain Robert FitzRoy. The voyage would prove the opportunity of a lifetime for the Charles Robert Darwin. The HMS Beagle set out on its voyage far and wide with Darwin on board on December 27, 1813. Over the course of the excursion, Darwin recovered an assortment of characteristic examples, including fossils, birds, and plants. Through extreme research, he had an exceptional opportunity to watch the standards of topography, zoology, and natural science nearly. South America, The Galapagos Archipelago, and The Pacific Island were of sure enthusiasm to Darwin. Charles Darwin started to review his discoveries in the Diary of Examines, distributed as a component of Chief FitzRoy s bigger report and later altered into the Zoology of the Voyage of the Beagle, once Darwin came back to Britain in 1836. The voyage enormously affected Darwin s perspective of common history. He started to grow a significant hypothesis about the start of living creatures that was inverse to the famous perspective of different naturalists at once. 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