The Marble Champ

As I began reading the story The Marble Champ by Gary Soto, I realized that the main character, Lupe Medrano, often compares herself to others. As a result, she feels badly about her athletic abilities. She seems to think that she's only good at something in which she can win. Right at the start of the story, Lupe's accomplishments are impressive. But all Lupe seems to notice is that she cannot run as fast as the other girls in school. Another example of Lupe comparing herself to others is when she describes her trouble with team sports. The text clearly says that Lupe was â€Å"no good at sports. † Lupe seems embarrassed that she isn't the star player of the team. Lupe also feels badly that she only recently learned to ride a bike, could only walk in a swimming pool, and rollerblade if her dad held her hand. This shows that Lupe is frustrated that she isn't the best at everything. As Lupe began to think about these things, she had the idea of learning to play marbles. She made the decision to teach herself to play and began feeling hopeful about being good at something which she can compete against others. This reminds me of myself when I am feeling out of practice in something. I compare myself to other people and feel insecure. But when I focus on my positive qualities, I find that I can do a good job. I hope Lupe keeps up her good attitude and feels proud of herself soon.

Vacant Chapter 3 Involved

â€Å"I can't tell you how much I appreciate this, Ethan.† She's wrapped tightly in one of my towels, and I feel a†¦ stirring. I wonder if she understands she's half-naked in front of a stranger. I try not to be obvious in my perusal of her form; her body is small, but her tits are high, round, and a little large for her frame, though no complaints. I briefly wonder what her nipples look like, and lick my lips but catch myself before my ogling turns creepy. â€Å"It's no problem,† I answer hastily, refusing to look further at her. I stop short before making my next statement. No matter how much I tell myself to mind my own business, I can't seem to help dispensing advice. â€Å"You know, you can't live without utilities, Emily.† I wonder where this girl comes from that she thinks living with no water or electricity isn't a problem; my level of concern is now elevated a notch or two. â€Å"I know, but – † she stops herself. â€Å"Yeah, I know.† I have this feeling that there's something off here, and I can't ignore the fact she seems to be without essentials. â€Å"I typically shower in the morning, so if you want to come over at night and shower until you get the utilities turned on, that's cool.† I turn away, wanting to give her privacy to dress because she needs to get dressed; I need her to get dressed. â€Å"So like, what do you do all day?† I can hear the snap of the elastic on her panties against her hip as she finishes putting them on. Shit, these duplex units are too small! Or is my hearing that good? I can't help the thoughts that run through my head. Thinking about her body is a complication I do not need or want. However, chiding myself doesn't stop me from picturing the slight curve of her hips, her shapely thighs, or perfectly muscled backside. â€Å"I go to work,† I snap, feeling guilty. Seconds later, her voice is right behind me. â€Å"Oh yeah? Where do you work?† Her tone is light and her remark impulsive. â€Å"I need to get a job.† I turn so we're face to face and she can see my eyes. Sometimes, emotion seeps out through the eyes. I don't want her to see any vulnerability in mine. Once you're seen as weak, people are quick to take advantage. â€Å"I work down at the grocery store.† She smiles and looks down. She doesn't want me to see her eyes. â€Å"That's really close, so I could walk there. You think they're hiring?† â€Å"Don't know.† I have to keep it uncomplicated. Expanding on my answers will only lead to pulging more than I intend to offer. We stare at each other for a few more seconds before I break the silence. â€Å"Well, I – â€Å" â€Å"Oh gosh, I'm sorry. I've done it again. You must have to get ready for your day. I come barging in here and ruin your routine!† â€Å"It's fine; I just have to take a cold shower before work.† The words are heavy in the air. They aren't meant as they sound as I'm sure she's used all the hot water in the small hot water tank, but after thinking about her showering and changing in my bathroom, perhaps a cold shower for another reason isn't a bad idea. â€Å"Yeah, okay. I'll see you later.† Great†¦ now, she thinks I'm a pervert. I don't see her for two days. . . And for 48 hours, I worry. – Don't get involved. Keep things simple. Take care of yourself! DAMN IT! It's 10 p.m., and I can't stand it anymore. I know something isn't right. No utilities, no furniture, wears the same clothes, and I can hear her. I hear the sobbing every night through the thin-ass sheetrock. â€Å"Emily,† I say in a slightly raised voice. Fucking non-existent walls. â€Å"Yeah?† she sniffles. â€Å"Can I come over?† The pause seems to go on forever before she answers. It's a â€Å"yes† mingled with sobs. Don't get involved. Keep things simple. Take care of yourself! It's too late. . . I sit on the edge of her mattress not knowing what to do. â€Å"Thanks for coming over. Nights†¦they're the hardest.† â€Å"Emily? What's going on? Tell me the truth. I'm not going to rat you out or anything.† I chance a look at her face and the fear is evident. I refuse to focus on her in her thread bare tank and panties. â€Å"You're not renting this place, are you?† I surmise aloud. I think I've known this for some time but just didn't want to admit it. Admitting it makes it real. Making it real means I'm stuck; I can't walk away now, realizing what I know. â€Å"Please! Please don't tell anyone!† She's frantic, on the edge of mania. I scoot closer in hopes of easing her. Not too long after I moved into my first group home, the baseball my father gave me when I was seven, got stolen. It was one of the few personal items I owned. A staff from the group home tried to comfort me when I discovered it was missing by hugging me and patting my hair. I attempt to mimic the same gestures for Emily, because it's the only comfort I know. She clings to me like a lost swimmer gripping a buoy in an endless sea. Finally, she quiets and the knot in my stomach comes back. I know I have to find out what's really going on. I need to press her for more information since it seems I'm intent on helping her. â€Å"Tell me.†

Americans Are from Mars and Europeans Are from Venus Essay

Americans Are from Mars and Europeans Are from Venus - Essay Example In fact, the factors that create the sort of distinctions talked about are varied and different. However, geopolitical differences stand out as one of the most exceptional factors to consider when comparing various continents. This is because various continents have held themselves up with different and highly distinctive geopolitics over the years. It can be seen for instance that when describing a Black American and a typical African, there may be very little biological distinctions to make but the geopolitics of the various continents these two people live on would make a lot of difference in distinguishing one from the other. In this essay, therefore, the difference that exists between Europeans and Americans from a geopolitics point of view is critically analyzed. Background to Geopolitics From a broader perspective, geopolitics is a relational terminology that correlates politics with territory. This is to say that it deals with how group of people in a particular or given plac e go about their politicking based on factors that has to do with their geographic location. In this regard, the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies (2012) notes that â€Å"the term geopolitics reflects the connection between power and interests, strategic decision-making, and geographic space.† Geopolitics, therefore, has to do with systems that consolidate â€Å"interplay of natural resources, strategic dominance and geographic space on one hand, and the various state and non-state actors pursuing individual as well as collective interests on the other† (Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies, 2012). In making their geopolitics stand out, therefore, it is expected that a particular continent or identity of people would take strategic decisions that encompass a reflection of their beliefs and interests in relation to where they find themselves geographically. There is no denying the fact that when mention is made of powerful countries; a lot of attention is given to the political influence of that country in relation to other nations in question. It is for this reason that countries and in some cases a collection of nations (continents) take decisions that give them consolidated and robust political standing in the midst of other nations. Taking such decisions, however, ought to be based on geographic variables that includes geographic location, topography, size, population, climate, technological developments, as well as availability of resources – both natural and artificial (Evans and Newnham, 1998). Major geopolitical differences The major geopolitical differences that exist among different people of the world, particularly between Americans and Europeans, have taken a lot of intellectual and contextual twist over the years. The differences in geopolitics have become common agenda for debate at various platforms of academic practice, as well as global institutional seminars, conferences and meetings. The reason for this turn of e vent is very simple and has been explained by the SPIA Research (2011) that since political theory is constantly in flux and geographical theory is also in flux, there will always be intellectual and contextual challenges that Geopolitics must address. As far as the

Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 3

Strategic Management - Essay Example There are many psycho-social characteristics that are unique in a very diverse organizational environment, such as values, principles, ethical and moral perceptions, or even inherent motivations that will predict whether the employee will act upon or resist the change imperative. Therefore, many organizations will try to develop culture through human resources practices, attempting to strengthen the bonds of socialization so that the organization maintains competitive advantage through human capital development. However, these actions are not always successful, requiring the strategic manager to become more integral in attempting to balance out overt socialization in groups. For example, when groups have a great deal of closure, their social ties become stronger. There is a phenomenon in the organization referred to as groupthink, where members of a group begin to fear questioning the shared beliefs of the group (Dess, et al., 2010). Why does this happen? Social psychology theory rem inds that when people consider an organizational employee or manager as being credible, attractive and trustworthy, they will tend to role model behaviors they observe within in-group members. Groups with very strong social connections look toward other group members as reference groups, those by which individuals measure themselves, their identities and behaviors. Therefore, it would be socially improper for a group member to openly and publicly discount the opinion of group members, leading to unproductive groupthink. This is highly important when studying strategic management and its many complicated responsibilities. In the decentralized organization, as one example, decision-making no longer occurs top-down but moves horizontally in a way that allows employees to be... This essay discusses one of the most fundamental elements of strategic management that is the development of an appropriate culture that is dedicated and motivated to achieve strategic objectives. This essay describes a concept in strategic management known as closure, which is defined as â€Å"the degree to which all members of a social network have ties with other group members†. An interactive strategic manager in the HR process as well as establishing control barriers between excess socialization within the organizational environment would seem to have the most effective outcomes based on sociological and psychological theory. No research materials are available that describe specific, effective methods to prevent overt closure problems and groupthink; therefore, these suggestions could be piloted in a strategic management model to determine whether it has effective balancing results and effective productive outcomes from employee groups. Many of the recommendations or sug gestions for improvements provided in this essay are based on theoretical premises, there is enough research evidence available on human behavior and transformational strategic leadership to justify attempting its inclusion into a relevant organizational model. This can be accomplished through experiential learning in training practices and adding interactivity to the multitude of responsibilities of strategic management. If these steps are piloted, it is likely that social capital will have its balances and provide a better path to strategic goal attainment.

Design Process Technical Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Design Process Technical - Research Paper Example Other features comprise of applications that manage the phones music and other apps. This paper focuses on the technical analysis of the smart watch device, specifically the Apple watch. The CEO, Tim Cook introduced Apple watch device at the Apples Sept. 2014 special event keynote. This was done alongside the introduction of the new iPhones, that is, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The product’s user-friendly interface and sleek design ensures it conforms to the companys other widespread Apple consumer products (Johnson, 2015). The Apple Watch was specifically designed to work with the iPhone 5 devices or that of a later version. The watch mandates the presence of the iPhone for it to work well since it has limited functionalities when it is placed far off from the phone. The Apple Watch consists of integrated inventions and technological advancements placed on the software and hardware of the device (Johnson, 2015). The smart watch has a simple user interface (UI) design that enables the end user to easily interact with it using sound, sight and touch. Apart from the anticipated utilities incorporated in this device such as messaging, picking calls, finding directions, keeping appointments and playing music, the device has additional high functionality that facilitates processing payments. Moreover, the smart watch has the ability for monitoring the human heart rate and in other particular cases, it can be programmed to open or unlock electronic doors. It apparently serves the need of keeping time, which it is incredibly accurate at, besides doubling up as an attractive fashion accessory that possesses lots of customizable apps (Johnson, 2015). On the right side of the smart watch device, that is, if an end user is viewing the watch’s face, there exists a knob which the Apple tech team refers to as the Digital Crown. Its main function on the Apple Watch is to function as an input device that lets the end-user perform various

The Role of Hong Kong in International Trade Research Paper - 1

The Role of Hong Kong in International Trade - Research Paper Example   The greatest financial activity in Hong Kong is international trade and its government policies in terms of trade demonstrate its position as a hub for free trade. These policies comprise of minimum constraints and permit the market dynamics to standardize exportation and importation activities. It thus prohibits protective actions such as tariffs and rations as well as subsidizations as a method of circumventing deficits that may be experienced in balances-of-trade. â€Å"Much of the impetus driving the changing patterns of global trade since 1950 can be attributed to the role played by transnational corporations which are sometimes called multinational corporations†. Development of Hong Kong’s import and export industry.The activities associated with the import and export industry can be categorized as imports, domestic exports and re-exports and Hong Kong have embraced a free trade policy while erecting limited barriers to trade. â€Å"Adopting pro-export policy promoting exports through tax breaks, subsidies, and tariffs, and at the same time discouraging imports through taxes, duties, or quotas, is a common practice among emerging markets and developing nations†.There is no imposition of tariffs in Hong Kong in regard to importing and exporting goods, and the licensing requirements are maintained at a minimum. The imposition of licensing only takes place in the event that there is a genuine need for meeting obligations that are undertaken by Hong Kong to its partners in trade.

Life Course Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Life Course Development - Essay Example This essay will mainly focus on biological, psychological and social development ofMr.H. The main purpose of this essay is to test our different possibilities and focusing on self-development and how to balance our life and work. . This essay will show the use different types of data collection techniques observation, interaction and interviewing, that were used to support this case study. Selection of the Participant The client has been selected on the basis of age, physical, social and biological factors. As I was studying a young adult so the participant was perfect for my case study. He also seemed to be in good physical health and in my initial observations he seemed to be having a thriving social life. I wanted to inquire the details behind the individual and thus selected him for the case study. Interviewing and Interaction Processes The first part of the interaction with the client was the informal interactions. These informal interactions took place whenever he came to visit my workplace. These informal interactions were prepared by me well in advance .I wanted to know him well before telling the purpose of my study. Some of the observations made by me during these informal interactions have been included by me in the appendix A. These reports were later shared with the client and he has given his permission to use the data even though the study was conducted without his knowledge. This was done in order to ensure that he does not become conscious and answers to my questions freely and without any prejudice. After informing him about my course objectives, an interview was fixed with him at his workplace. I reached the workplace two hours before the interview. This was done by me to finish the naturalistic observations before the interview. I also arranged a second interview with him at his home to differentiate between his behavior at work place and home. So the interview in the case was preceded by naturalistic observation which allowed me a chance to compare the two. Results of the naturalistic observations are provided in appendix B. The results of the interview have been provided by me in appendix C. Socio demographic Background Mr. is a 21 year young adult. He is currently pursuing Bachelor of Engineering from Edith Cowan University. He is an international student, he lives with her sister. He works at in a supermarket as checkout supervisor. Mr. is an Indian male. His height is 173 cm and weight in kg: 80. Therefore, his BMI is 26.7. The client comes from a middle class family. His family consists of four members and has one sibling. He and his sister, who is 18 years old, live by themselves in Australia. His parents are in India and he communicates with them once a week. His both parents are well settled and are educated. They are with each other since 35 years. The client’s father is a businessman and mother is a house-wife, while his sister just finished the school and starting her tertiary education next year. He is single but has girlfriend from his country. The neighbors are not much interactive as they are busy with their own work and life. Biological Development The Biological growth of the participant is observed to be normal. His birth weight was 3 kg while the gestational age at birth was 38 weeks. During his birth, no complications were

Knowledge Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Knowledge Management - Essay Example nt position in this as they are the real â€Å"knowledge producers† and hence any new knowledge that a company looks for is produced courtesy through these people. Competitive success is basically commanded by the companys capability to harness and indeed develop new forms of knowledge, gained either by observation or by experience attained, which can be called as assets that in turn create the required â€Å"core competencies† of the said organization. (Sims, 2002) While knowledge management might just be a new trend in the organizational circles, it is absolutely a good idea to discuss it in line with the top managers of present times. What this does is that the managers understand that the employees and the organization-related individuals are speaking their language and they are getting the hang of their terminologies as a result of the same. While these competencies within knowledge management do exist in many forms, learning on the part of a particular company plays a pivotal role, which eventually ventures into other resources of knowledge to generate high-class and exceptional showing from the company’s employees. (Dunn, 2001) Making sure that a company has knowledge management easily understood within the domains of the top managers is a very pivotal aspect – one that needs a great deal of tolerance on the part of the middle management which is all this while changing into a knowledge organization nonetheless. It is quite true that there is a host of ways in which new knowledge within a company is facilitated within its ranks. The need here is to classify them with respect to their importance, which include the cultural infrastructure can be changed within a company so as to gather some proportion to the fact of the actual remains that have to be taken care of in the company and in its employees’ minds. It demands idealization and disclosure of everlasting knowledge that is created over a certain period of time. This usually requires basic changes to

Work based experience Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Work based experience - Coursework Example that the former students should be patient and wait for the jobs they were trained but this is not an option because of the student loans among other obligations that the graduates have to fulfill. A Work based program is the best option that a student or a graduate can undertake because it will help transition the student from the school environment to the job market. This program is meant to provide a first-hand experience of the nature of work that the student has been trained for while also benefiting the employer in terms of the new ideas that the student brings to the organization. This paper seeks to research and evaluate the suitable organizations that a student can undertake his or her work based program to help in the transition to the job market. Caution must be exercised when looking for an organization to undertake a work based experience program. Studies have shown that money should not be a factor when choosing an organization to undertake a work based experience program. This is because, positions that seem high paying seem to pale faster compared to positions that pay moderately. As one is seeking for on an opportunity to learn, one should only consider organizations that intend to expand in near future as this will increase their chance in getting employed on a permanent basis after graduating. While its normal for students to find themselves in a position they are to undertake some menial tasking like filling forms or compiling expense reports, students should avoid organization where most of the tasks given involve are menial and instead, they should seek experience elsewhere. Students should also avoid taking any positions just because of the enticing titles. They should take initiative to learn the roles involved in the position (Burnsed 2011); hence, they will understand what is expected of them should they choose to accept the position. Doing so will also help them assess the relevance of the position in relation with skills and the

Sample Questions Essay Example for Free

Sample Questions Essay Price is below the minimum of average variable cost. b. Fixed costs exceed variable costs. c. Average fixed costs are rising. d. Marginal cost is above average variable cost. 4 In the long run, a profit-maximizing firm will choose to exit a market when a. Fixed costs exceed sunk costs. b. Average fixed cost is rising. c. Revenue from production is less than total costs. d. marginal cost exceeds marginal revenue at the current level of production. 5 When firms have an incentive to exit a competitive market, their exit will a. Drive down market prices. b. Drive down profits of existing firms in the market. . Decrease the quantity of goods supplied in the market. d. All of the above are correct. 6 In a perfectly competitive market, the process of entry or exit ends when a. Firms are operating with excess capacity. b. Firms are making zero economic profit. c. Firms experience decreasing marginal revenue. d. Price is equal to marginal cost. 7 Equilibrium quantities in markets characterized by oligopoly is a. Lower than in monopoly markets and higher than in perfectly competitive markets. b. Lower than in monopoly markets and lower than in perfectly competitive markets. Higher than in monopoly markets and higher than in perfectly competitive markets. d. Higher than in monopoly markets and lower than in perfectly competitive markets. 8 In economics the central problem is: a. b. c. d. e. Allocation. Consumption. Scarcity. Money. Production. c. 9 Indicate below what is NOT a factor of production. a. Land. b. A bank loan. c. Labor. d. Capital. 10 Macroeconomics deals with: a. The behavior of firms. b. Economic aggregates. c. The activities of individual units. d. The behavior of the electronics industry. 11 Microeconomics is not concerned with the behavior of: a. Aggregate demand. . Consumers. c. Industries. d. Firms. 12 The study of inflation is part of: a. Normative economics. b. Macroeconomics. c. Microeconomics. d. Descriptive economics. 13 Aggregate supplies is the total amount: a. Produced by the government. b. Of products produced by a given industry. c. Of labor supplied by all households. d. Of goods and services produced in an economy. 14 The total demand for goods and services in an economy is known as: a. National demand. b. Economy-wide demand. c. Gross national product. d. Aggregate demand. 15 If marginal benefit is greater than marginal cost, a rational choice involves: a. More of the activity. b. Less of the activity. c. No more of the activity. d. More or less, depending on the benefits of other activities. 16 A student chooses to study because the marginal benefit is greater than the ________ cost. a. average b. total c. marginal d. expected 17 Periods of less than full employment correspond to: a. b. c. d. Points outside the production possibility curve. Points inside the production possibility curve. Points on the production possibility curve. Either points inside or outside the production possibility curve. 18 The circular flow of goods and incomes shows the relationship between: a. Income and money. b. Wages and salaries. c. Goods and services. d. Firms and households. 19 In a free market system, the amount of goods and services that any one household gets depends upon its: a. Income. b. Wage and interest income. c. Wealth. d. Income and wealth. 20 In a planned or command economy, all the economic decisions are taken by the: a. Consumers. b. Workers. c. Government. d. Voters. Answers for Multiple Choice Questions 1 (c) 2 (a) 3 (a) 6 (b) 7 (d) 8 (c) 11(a) 12(b) 13(d) 16(c) 17(b) 18(d) 4 (c) 9 (b) 14(d) 19(d) 5 (c) 10 (b) 15(a) 20(c) Chapter-2 PRINCIPLES OF MANAGERIAL ECONOMICS Multiple Choice Questions 1 The word that comes from the Greek word for â€Å"one who manages a household is a. Market. b. Consumer. c. Producer. d. Economy. 2 Economics deals primarily with the concept of a. Scarcity. b. Poverty. c. Change. d. Power. 3 Which of the following is NOT included in the decisions that every society must make? a. what goods will be produced b. who will produce goods c. what determines consumer preferences d. who will consume the goods 4 In a market economy, characterized by Capitalism, there is full interference by the State in the economic activities of consumers and producers. a)True (b) False 5 In a market system of economy, there is no harmony between individual interests and interests of the community. (a)True (b) False 6 Efficiency is the relation between returns and cost. (a)True (b) False 7 The subject matter of macro –economic includes the theory of income and employment at an individual level. (a)True (b) False 8 Rational decision results in†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦for the employees. a. Division of work. b. Centralization. c. Discipline. d. Motivation 9 A Theory Y approach is more suitable where a job offers: a. a high degree of intrinsic satisfaction. b. The ability to exercise initiative. c. An element of problem solving. d. All of the above. 10 Breech identifies four main elements of management. They are planning, control, coordination and: a. The division of work. b. Centralization. c. Discipline. d. Motivation. 11 Many well-known business economists participate in public debates. (a)True (b) False 12 Marginal Utility is the utility derived from the additional unit of a commodity consumed. (a)True (b) False 13 Compared to the static model, the fishing effort in a dynamic model is likely to be a. Larger. b. Smaller. c. Similar. . Larger or smaller. 14 Land, labor, and money are the three categories of economic resources. (a)True (b) False 15 Which of the following is not an interest rate derivative used for interest rate management? Interest rate guarantee a. Floor b. Swap c. Cap d. All of the above are interest rate derivatives 16 An agreement which guarantees an investor a minimum return on a principal amount is called a: a. Cap b. Executive stock option c. Stock option d. Floor 17 Which of the factors listed below is not a reason for decision making in organizations being a complex process? a. Modern information systems enable people to evaluate a range of possible outcomes b. Factors in the current context of the organization affect the decision c. Several stakeholders will have an interest in the decision d. People have to make decisions in a historical context 18 The overall process of decision making in, for example, staff selection includes which of these stages? a. Deciding which candidate to appoint b. Identifying the need for a new member of staff c. Agreeing the job specification d. All of the above 19 A manager who is helping a customer return some shoes they purchased last week is dealing with what type of decision? . Uncertainty b. Non-programmed decision c. Bounded rationality d. Programmed decision 20 Decision making situations can be categorized along a scale which ranges from: a. Uncertainty to certainty to risk b. Certainty to uncertainty to risk c. Certainty to risk to uncertainty d. Certainty to risk to uncertainty to ambiguity Answers for Multiple Choic e Questions 1 (d) 2 (a) 3 (c) 6 (a) 7 (b) 8 (d) 11(a) 12(a) 13(a) 16(d) 17(a) 18(d) 4 (b) 9 (d) 14(b) 19(d) 5 (b) 10 (d) 15(d) 20(d) Chapter-3 CONCEPT OF DEMAND Multiple Choice Questions 1 The quantity demanded of Pepsi has decreased. The best explanation for this is that: a. The price of Pepsi increased. b. Pepsi consumers had an increase in income. c. Pepsis advertising is not as effective as in the past. d. The price of Coca Cola has increased. 2 Demand curves are derived while holding constant: a. Income, tastes, and the price of other goods. b. Tastes and the price of other goods. c. Income and tastes. d. Income, tastes, and the price of the good. 3 When the decrease in the price of one good causes the demand for another good to decrease, the goods are: a. Normal b. Inferior c. Substitutes d. Complements 4 Suppose the demand for good Z goes up when the price of good Y goes down. We can say that goods Z and Y are: a. Substitutes. b. Complements. c. Unrelated goods. d. Perfect substitutes. 5 If the demand for coffee decreases as income decreases, coffee is: a. An inferior good. b. A normal good. c. A complementary good. d. A substitute good. 6 Which of the following will NOT cause a shift in the demand curve for compact discs? a. A change in the price of pre-recorded cassette tapes. b. A change in income. c. A change in the price of compact discs. d. A change in wealth. When excess demand occurs in an unregulated market, there is a tendency for: a. Quantity supplied to decrease. b. Quantity demanded to increase. c. Price to rise. d. Price to fall. 8 Market equilibrium exists when _____________ at the prevailing price. a. b. c. d. quantity demanded is less than quantity supplied quantity supplied is greater than quantity demanded quantity demanded equals quantity supplied qu antity demanded is greater than quantity supplied 9 A movement along the demand curve to the left may be caused by: a. A decrease in supply. b. A rise in the price of inputs. c. A fall in the number of substitute goods. d. A rise in income. 10 The quantity demanded of a product rises whenever (a) The product’s price falls. (b) Incomes increase. (c) Population increases. (d) The prices of substitute goods rise. (e) Consumer tastes and preferences change. 11 The equilibrium quantity must fall when (a) There is a decrease in demand. (b) There is a decrease in supply. (c) There is an increase in price. (d) There is an increase in demand and supply. (e) There is a decrease in demand and supply 12 The demand curve will shift to the left for most consumer goods when (a) Incomes decrease. b) The prices of substitutes fall. (c) The prices of complements increase (d) All of the above. 13 Producer goods, also called intermediate goods, in economics, goods manufactured and used in further manufacturing, processing, or resale. (a)True (b) False 14 Consumer goods are alternately called final goods, and the second term makes more sense in understanding the concept. (a)True (b) False 15 GDP stands for a. Gross Domestic Product b. Gross Deistic Product c. Gross dynamic product d. All of these 16 GNP stands for a. Gross national product b. Gross natural product c. Both (a)and (b) d. None of these 17 When the demand for a product is tied to the purchase of some parent product, its demand is called induced or derived. (a)True (b) False 18 An industry is the aggregate of firms (a)True (b) False 19 The law of demand implies that: a. As prices fall, quantity demanded increases. b. As prices rise, quantity demanded increases. c. As prices fall, demand increases. d. As prices rise, demand decreases. 20 When the market operates without interference, price increases will distribute what is available to those who are willing and able to pay the most. This process is known as: a. Price rationing. . Price fixing. c. Quantity adjustment. d. Quantity setting Answers for Self Assessment Questions 1 (a) 2 (d) 3 (c) 6 (c) 7 (c) 8 (c) 11(d) 12(d) 13(a) 16(a) 17(a) 18(a) 4 (b) 9 (a) 14(a) 19(a) 5 (b) 10 (a) 15(a) 20(a) Chapter-4 DETERMINATION OF DEMAND 1 The demand for a product or a service depends on a host of factors. (a)True (b) False 2 Demand curves may also be shifted by cha nges in expectations. (a)True (b) False 3 Quantity demand is a specific quantity that buyers are willing and able to buy at a specific demand price. (a)True (b) False 4 If the price of a complement increases, all else equal, a. Quantity demanded will increase. b. Quantity supplied will increase. c. Demand will increase. d. Demand will decrease. 5 Which of the following would lead to an INCREASE in the demand for golf balls? a. An decrease in the price of golf balls. b. An increase in the price of golf clubs. c. A decrease in the cost of producing golf balls. d. An increase in average household income when golf balls are a normal good. 6 If input prices increase, all else equal, a. Quantity supplied will decrease. b. Supply will increase. c. Supply will decrease. d. Demand will decrease. 7 Which of the following would decrease the supply of wheat? . A decrease in the price of pesticides. b. An increase in the demand for wheat. c. A rise in the price of wheat. d. An increase in the price of corn. 8 When Sonoma Vineyards increases the price of its Chardonnay from $15 per bottle to $20 per bottle, the result is a decrease in†¦ a. The quantity of this wine demanded. b. The quantity of this wine supplied. c. The demand for this wine. d. The supply of this wine. 9 Which of the following will cause a change in quantity supplied? a. Technological change. b. A change in input prices. c. A change in the market price of the good. d. A change in the number of firms in the market. 0 In which of the following cases will the effect on equilibrium output be indeterminate (i. e. , depend on the magnitudes of the shifts in supply and demand)? a. Demand decreases and supply decreases. b. Demand remains constant and supply increases. c. Demand decreases and supply increases. d. Demand increases and supply increases. 11 An increase in the number of firms selling pizza will cause, ceteris paribus, (a) an increase in supply. (b) an increase in demand. (c) a decrease in quantity demanded. (d) a decrease in the quantity supplied. 12 A change in demand is a change in the ENTIRE demand relation. a)True (b) False 13 The demand for a given product will rise if: a. Incomes rise for a normal good or fall for an inferior good b. The price of a complement falls c. The price of a substitute rises d. All of these 14 Two explanations for the law of demand are (a) Price and quantity effects. (b) Substitution and income effects. (c) Opportunity cost and substitution effects. (d) Substitutes and inferior goods. (e) None of the above. 15 An increase in demand, ceteris paribus, will usually cause (a) A decrease in quantity demanded. (b) an increase in quantity supplied. (c) an increase in supply. d) a higher quantity and a lower price. 16. The quantity demanded of a product rises whenever (a) the product’s price falls. (b) incomes increase. (c) population increases. (d) the prices of substitute goods rise 17 The demand curve is downward-sloping because at a higher price for a good (ceteris paribus) (a) people buy fewer substitutes. (b) people buy more complements. (c) people search for substitutes. (d) income rises. (e) substitutes become complements. 18 The supply curve is upward-sloping be cause at higher prices for a good (a) consumers search out more substitutes. (b) consumer income increases. c) demand is lower. (d) None of the above. 19 If the factors held constant along a supply or demand curve change, (a) the equilibrium may change. (b) the demand and supply equilibrium may be disrupted. (c) the supply or demand curve may shift. (d) All of the above. 20 If the price of crackers goes up when the price of cheese goes down, crackers and cheese are (a) inferior goods. (b) substitutes. (c) both substitutes and complements. (d) complements Answers for Self Assessment Questions 1 (a) 2 (a) 3 (a) 6 (c) 7 (d) 8 (a) 11(a) 12(a) 13(d) 16(a) 17(c) 18(d) 4 (d) 9 (c) 14(b) 19(a) 5 (d) 10 (c) 15(b) 20(d) Chapter-5 PRICE ELASTICITY OF DEMAND 1 If the price elasticity of demand for a good is . 75, the demand for the good can be described as: a. normal b. elastic c. inferior d. inelastic. 2. When the price of a product is increased 10 percent, the quantity demanded decreases 15 percent. In this range of prices, demand for this product is: a. elastic b. inelastic c. cross-elastic. d. unitary elastic. 3. If the price elasticity of demand for a product is equal to 0. 5, then a 10 percent decrease in price will: a. increase quantity demanded by 5 percent. b. increase quantity demanded by 0. percent. c. decrease quantity demanded by 5 percent. d. decrease quantity demanded by 0. 5 percent. 4 If an increase in the supply of a product results in a decrease in the price, but no change in the actual quantity of the product exchanged, then: a. the price elasticity of supply is zero. b. the price elasticity of supply is infinite. c. the price elasticity of demand is unitary. d. the price elasticit y of demand is zero. 5. If 100 units of product K are sold at a unit price of $10 and 75 units of product K are sold at a unit price of $15, one can conclude that in this price range: a. emand for product K is elastic. b. demand for product K is inelastic. c. demand for product K has shifted to the right. d. consumers are sensitive to price changes of product K. 6 Total revenue falls as the price of a good increases if price ela sticity of demand is: a. elastic. b. inelastic c. unitary elastic d. perfectly elastic. 7 The demand for Cheerios cereal is more price-elastic than the demand for cereals as a whole. This is best explained by the fact that: a. Cheerios are a luxury. b. cereals are a necessity. c. there are more substitutes for Cheerios than for cereals as a whole. d. onsumption of cereals as a whole is greater than consumption of Cheerios. 8 What is the most likely effect of the development of television, videocassette players, and rental movies on the movie theater industry ? a. b. c. d. decreased costs of producing movies increased demand for movie theater tickets movie theater tickets become an inferior good increased price elasticity of demand for movie theater tickets 9 The price elasticity of demand will increase with the length of the period to which the demand curve pertains because: a. consumers incomes will increase. b. the demand curve will shift outward. . all prices will increase over time. d. consumers will be better able to find substitutes. 10. A state government wants to increase the taxes on cigarettes to increase tax revenue. (a)True (b) False 11 This tax would only be effective in raising new tax revenues if the price elasticity of demand is: a. unity b. elastic c. inelastic d. perfectly elastic. 12. Sony is considering a 10 percent price reduction on its color television sets. If the demand for sets in this price range is inelastic: A) revenues from color sets will remain constant. B) revenues derived from color sets will decrease. C) revenues derived from color sets will increase. D) the number of television sets sold will decrease 13 Elasticity of demand for a commodity with respect to change in its price. (a)True (b) False 14 An elasticity alternative in which infinitesimally small changes in price cause infinitely large changes in quantity. (a)True (b) False 15 Three factors that affect the numerical value of the price elasticity of demand are the a. b. c. d. availability of substitutes time period of analysis proportion of budget All of these 16 The price elasticity of demand is one of four common elasticity’s used in the analysis of the market. a)True (b) False 17 Cross elasticity of demand is: a. negative for complementary goods b. unitary for inferior goods. c. negative for substitute goods d. positive for inferior goods. 18. A positive cross elasticity of demand coefficient indicates that: a. a product is an inferior good. b. a product is a normal good. c. two products are substitute goods. d. t wo products are complementary goods. 19 A market without legal prices is in equilibrium when: a. quantity demanded equals price. b. the demand curve remains constant. c. quantity demanded equals quantity supplied. d. uantity demanded is greater than quantity supplied. 20 A relatively small change, say 1% on an INR 100,000 house, can make a BIG difference in the buyer’s decision to buy. (a)True (b) False Answers for Self Assessment Questions 1 (d) 2 (a) 3 (a) 4 (d) 5 (a) 6 (a) 7 (c) 8 (d) 9 (d) 10 (a) 11(d) 12(c) 13(a) 14(a) 15(d) 16(a) 17(a) 18(c) 19(c) 20(a) Chapter-6 TYPES OF ELASTICITIES OF DEMAND 1 If it is observed that, in a particular market, price has risen and quantity exchanged has increased, it is likely that: a. supply has increased. b. supply has decreased. c. demand has increased. d. emand has decreased. 2 The quantity of a good demanded rises from 1000 to 1500 units when the price falls from $1. 50 to $1. 00 per unit. The price elasticity of demand for this pro duct is approximately: a. 1. 0 b. 16 c. 2. 5 d. 4. 0 3 If the elasticity of demand for a commodity is estimated to be 1. 5, then a decrease in price from $2. 10 to $1. 90 would be expected to increase daily sales by: a. 50% b. 1. 5% c. 5% d. 15% 4 A long-run demand curve, as compared to a short-run demand curve for the same commodity, is generally: a. more elastic b. less elastic c. of the same elasticity d. none of the above. The price elasticity of demand is 5. 0 if a 10 percent increase in the price results in a a. 2%decrease in quantity demanded. b. 5%decrease in quantity demanded. c. 10% decrease in quantity demanded d. 50% decrease in quantity demanded. 6 Demand for a good will likely be more elastic, a. The higher the level of income. b. The larger the proportion of monthly income spent on it. c. The fewer the good substitutes available. d. The higher the price of complementary goods. 7 Demand will be more elastic, a. The higher the income. b. The lower the price. c. The shor ter the passage of time after a permanent price increase. . The more substitutes available for the good. 8 The price elasticity of demand measures the sensitivity of demand to price changes. (a)True (b) False 9 If a good has no close substitutes and is regarded as a necessity by many consumers, then demand for the good will be quite elastic. (a)True (b) False 10 Cross elasticity of demand is the ratio of the percentage change in demand for a good to the percentage change in price for another. (a)True (b) False 11 A 50 percent increase in price that results in a 90 percent decrease in the quantity demanded indicates that demand is elastic in this price range. a)True (b)False 12 Demands for most goods tend to become more elastic with the passage of time. (a)True (b) False 13 If two goods are substitutes, then an increase in the price of one good will leads to an increase in the demand for the other good. (a)True (b) False 14 If two goods are complements, then a decrease in the price o f one good will results in a decrease in the demand of the other good. (a)True (b) False 15 The price elasticity of demand is the same as the slope of the demand curve. (a)True (b) False 16 If demand is price elastic, then: a. a rise in price will raise total revenue. b. a fall in price will raise total revenue. . a fall in price will lower the quantity demanded. d. a rise in price wont have any effect on total revenues. 17 Complementary goods have: a. The same elasticity’s of demand. b. very low price elasticity of demand. c. negative cross price elasticity of demand with respect to each other. d. positive income elasticity of demand. 18 The price elasticity of demand generally tends to be: a. smaller in the long run than in the short run. b. smaller in the short run than in the long run. c. larger in the short run than in the long run. d. unrelated to the length of time. 19 If the price elasticity of supply of doodads is 0. 0 and the price increases by 3 percent, then the q uantity supplied of doodads will rise by a. 0. 60 percent. b. 0. 20 percent c. 1. 8 percent d. 18 percent. 20 If the cross-price elasticity between two commodities is 1. 5, a. The two goods are luxury goods. b. The two goods are complements. c. The two goods are substitutes. d. The two goods are normal goods. Answers for Self Assessment Questions 1 (c) 2 (a) 3 (d) 6 (b) 7 (d) 8 (a) 11(a) 12(a) 13(a) 16(b) 17(c) 18(b) 4 (a) 9 (b) 14(b) 19(c) 5 (d) 10 (a) 15(b) 20(c) Chapter-7 SUPPLY ANALYSIS 1 The cost of factor inputs like land, labor, and capital has a major influence on supply. a)True (b) False 2 Which of the following factors will make the demand for a product more elastic? (Assume the product has a straight-line, downward sloping demand. ) a. The product has no close substitutes. b. A very small proportion of income is spent on the good. c. A long time period has elapsed since the product’s price changed. d. A lower price 3 For a given normal supply curve, the amount of a tax paid by the buyer will be larger a. the more elastic the demand. b. the more inelastic the demand. c. the income elasticity is equal to zero d. when the price is high. With a perfectly elastic demand and a normal supply (upward-slopping) a. consumers will bear the entire tax burden. b. consumers will not bear any tax burden. c. consumers and producer will split the tax burden in half. d. producers will not bear any tax burden. 5 Which of the following leads to the producers paying all of a tax? a. The supply is perfectly elastic. b. The supply is perfectly inelastic. c. The demand is unit elastic. d. The demand is perfectly inelastic. 6 The incidence (split) of sales tax is determined by the a. level of government which imposes the tax. b. federal government in all cases. c. greed of the seller. d. rice elasticity of supply and demand. 7 The market supply curve is the horizontal sum of the individual supply curve. (a)True (b) False 8 Supply determinants are five ceteris paribus factors that are held constant when a supply curve is constructed. (a)True (b) False 9 Supply is the willingness and ability of producers to make a specific quantity of output available to consumers at a particular price over a given period of time. (a)True (b) False 10 Individuals supply factors of production to firms. (a)True (b) False 11 The supply curve for tomatoes is not thus more elastic in the short run than in the momentary period. (a)True (b)False 2 Macroeconomic studies are based on empirical evidence. (a)True (b)False 13 Demand curve slopes upwards from left to right. (a) True (b)False 14 In the market, anyone who agrees to pay the requisite price of a product would be excluded from their consumption. (a) True (b)False 15 Aglets are the metal or plastic tips on shoelaces that make it easier to lace your shoes. The demand for aglets is probably a. perfectly elastic. b. inelastic. c. elastic but not perfectly elastic. d. unit elastic. 16 The cross elasticity of demand mea sures the responsiveness of the quantity demanded of a particular good to changes in the prices of a. Its complements but not its substitutes. b. its substitutes but not its complements. c. its substitutes and its complements d. neither its substitutes nor its complements. 17 If goods are complements, definitely their a. income elasticity’s are negative b. income elasticity’s are positive. c. cross elasticity’s are positive. d. cross elasticity’s are negative. 18 If a rise in the price of good 1 decreases the quantity of good 2 demanded, a. the cross elasticity of demand is negative b. good 1 is an inferior good. c. good 2 is an inferior good d. the cross elasticity of demand is positive. 9 The price elasticity of demand generally tends to be: a. smaller in the long run than in the short run. b. smaller in the short run than in the long run. c. larger in the short run than in the long run. d. unrelated to the length of time. 20 The demand for your services becomes more elastic. (a)True (b)False Answers for Self Assessment Questions 1 (a) 2 (c) 3 (b) 6 (d) 7 (a) 8 (a) 11(b) 12(a) 13(b) 16(c) 17(d) 18(a) 4 (b) 9 (a) 14(b) 19(b) 5 (b) 10 (a) 15(b) 20(a) Chapter-8 PRODUCTION DECISION 1 Which of the following functions is not a core function of an organisation? a. The product/service development function b. The operations function c. The accounting and finance function d. The marketing (including sales) function 2 Most operations produce a mixture of both products and services. Which of the following businesses is closest to producing â€Å"pure† services? a. IT company b. A Restaurant c. Counsellor/therapist d. Steel company 3 Operations can be classified according to their volume and variety of production as well as the degree of variation and visibility. Which of the following operations would be classified as high volume, low variety? a. A family doctor b. A carpenter c. A front office bank d. A fast food restaurant 4 Which of the following activities is not a direct responsibility of operations management? a. Designing the operation’s products, services and processes b. Planning and controlling the operation c. Developing an operations strategy for the operation d. Determining the exact mix of products and services that customers will want 5 Operations can be classified according to the degree of variation in demand and visibility of the operation as well as their volume and variety of production. Which of the following operations would be classified as high variation and high visibility? a. A front office bank b. A family doctor c. A fast food restaurant d. A carpenter 6 The production function incorporates the technically efficient method of †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. a. production. b. process c. function d. All of these 7 A fixed input is one whose quantity cannot be varied during the time under consideration. (a)True (b)False 8 Economists find it convenient to distinguish between the †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. and the long run. a. short run b. large run c. big run d. None of these 9 The law of variable proportions states that as the quantity of one factor is increased, keeping the other factors fixed, the marginal product of that factor will eventually decline. a)True (b)False 10 MRP stands for a. Marginal Revenue Product b. Marginal Revenue process c. Both (a) and (b) d. None of these 11 The book value of old equipment is not a relevant cost in a decision. (a)True (b)False 12. One of the dangers of allocating common fixed costs to a product line is that such allocations can make the line appear less profitable than it really is. (a)True (b)False 13. A differential cost is a variable cost. (a)True (b)False 14. All future costs are relevant in decision making. (a)True (b)False 15. Variable costs are always relevant costs. (a)True (b)False 6 Only the variable costs identified with a product are relevant in a decision concerning whether to eliminate the product. (a)True (b)False 17 Managers should pay little attention to bottleneck operations because they have limited capacity for producing output. (a)True (b)False 18 A cost that does not affect a decision is called an a. opportunity cost b. incremental cost c. avoidable cost d. irrelevant cost 19. Costs that change between alternatives are called a. fixed costs. b. opportunity costs. c. crelevant costs. d. sunk costs. 20. A cost incurred in the past that cannot be changed by any future action is a(n) a. pportunity cost b. sunk cost c. relevant cost d. avoidable cost Answers for Self Assessment Questions 1 (c) 2 ( c) 3 (d) 6 (a) 7 (a) 8 (a) 11(a) 12(a) 13(b) 16(b) 17(b) 18(d) 4 (d) 9 (a) 14(b) 19(c) 5 (b) 10 (a) 15(b) 20(b) Chapter-9 ISOQUANT AND PRODUCTION FUNCTION 1 Economists typically assume that the owners of firms wish to a. produce efficiently. b. maximize sales revenues. c. maximize profits. d. All of these. 2 Efficient production occurs if a firm a. cannot produce its current level of output with fewer inputs. b. given the quantity of inputs, cannot produce more output. c. maximizes profit. d. All of the above. Limited liability is a benefit to a. sole proprietorships. b. partnerships. c. corporations. d. all of the above. 4 Which of the following statements best describes a production function? a. the maximum profit generated from given levels of inputs b. the maximum level of output generated from given levels of inputs c. all levels of output that can be generated from given levels of inputs d. all levels of inputs that could produce a given level of output 5 With respect to produ ction, the short run is best defined as a time period a. lasting about six months. b. lasting about two years. c. in which all inputs are fixed. d. n which at least one input is fixed. 6 In the long run, all factors of production are a. variable. b. fixed. c. materials. d. rented. 7 The short-run production functions for Albert’s Pretzels. The marginal productivity of labor equals the average productivity of labor a. for all levels of labor. b. at none of the levels of labor. c. only for the first worker. d. only for the fifth worker. 8 the short-run production function for Albert’s Pretzels. The law of diminishing marginal productivity a. appears with the second worker. b. has not yet appeared for any of the levels of labor. c. first appears with the fifth worker. d. s refuted by this evidence. 9 If the average productivity of labor equals the marginal productivity of labor, then a. the average productivity of labor is at a maximum. b. the marginal productivity of lab or is at a maximum. c. Both A and B above. d. Neither A nor B above. 10 Average productivity will fall as long as a. marginal productivity is falling. b. it exceeds marginal productivity. c. it is less than marginal productivity. d. the number of workers is increasing. 11 Factors of production are a) inputs and outputs. b) outputs only c) inputs only d) the minimum set of inputs that can produce a certain fixed quantity of output. 2 The set of all pairs (z1, z2) of inputs that yield the output y is the y-is quant. (a)True (b)False 13 L-shaped isoquants imply that production requires that the inputs are perfect substitutes. a. are imperfect substitutes. b. cannot be used together. c. must be used together in a certain proportion. d. None of these 14 Isoquants that are downward-sloping straight lines imply that the inputs a. are perfect substitutes. b. are imperfect substitutes. c. cannot be used together. d. must be used together in a certain proportion. 15 Isoquants that are downwar d-sloping straight lines exhibit a. n increasing marginal rate of technical substitution. b. a decreasing marginal rate of technical substitution. c. a constant marginal rate of technical substitution. d. a marginal rate of technical substitution that cannot be determined. 16 The profit maximization firm will choose the least cost combination of factors to produce at any given level of output. (a)True (b) False 17 The production function is useful in deciding on the additional value of employing a variable input in the production process. (a)True (b) False 18 The additional use of an input factor should be stopped when its marginal revenue productivity just equals its price. a)True (b) False 19 The least cost combination of-factors or producer’s equilibrium is now explained with the help of †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. curves and iso costs. a. iso product b. iso process c. Both(a) and (b) d. None of these 20 MRTS stands for†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. a. Marginal rate of technical stru cture b. Marginal rate of technical substitution c. Both(a) and (b) d. None of these Answers for Self Assessment Questions 1 (d) 2 (d) 3 (c) 6 (a) 7 (c) 8 (a) 11(c) 12(a) 13(c) 16(a) 17(a) 18(a) 4 (b) 9 (a) 14(a) 19(a) 5 (d) 10 (b) 15(c) 20(b) Chapter-10 THEORY OF COST 1 The cost of capital is critically important in finance. a)True (b)False An implicit cost is a. the cost of giving up an alternative b. the cost of a chosen alternative c. calculated by subtracting the monetary cost. d. none of the above 3 The historical cost of an asset refers to the actual cost incurred at the time the asset was acquired. (a)True (b) False 4 An Explicit cost is a business expense accounted cost that can be easily identified such as wage, rent and materials. (a)True (b) False 5 Private is the cost that has to be paid by an individual who is directly involved in the production or consumption of a particular good. a)True (b) False 6 Social cost or external cost is not the cost burden carried by indivi duals who are not directly involved in the production or consumption of that particular good (a)True (b) False 7 Average cost is the sum total of Average variable it and average fixed cost. (a)True (b) False 8 Cost-output relationship facilitates many managerial relationships such as: a. Formulating the standards of operations. b. Formulating the rational policy on plant size. c. Formulating a policy of profit prediction. d. All of these 9 Cost in the short-run can be classified into†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦and variable cost. a. fixed cost b. sset c. both (a) and (b) d. None of these 10 Total fixed costs remained fixed irrespective of increase or decrease in production of activity. (a)True (b) False 11 Marginal costs is the change in total cost resulting from unit change in†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. a. output b. input c. both(a) and (b) d. None of these 12 The †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. implies that the cost of production continues to be low till the firm reaches the optimum scale (Marginal cost = Av erage cost). a. V-shape b. Q-shape c. U-shape d. All of these 13 Scale economies and returns to scale generally produce a U-shaped long-run average cost curve, such as the one displayed to the right. a) True (b) False 14 __________ is concerned with the branch of economics relating the behavior of principals and their agents. a. Financial management b. Profit maximization c. Agency theory d. Social responsibility 15 A concept that implies that the firm should consider issues such as protecting the consumer, paying fair wages, maintaining fair hiring practices, supporting education, and considering environmental issues. a. Financial management b. Profit maximization c. Agency theory d. Social responsibility 16 Which of the following is not normally a responsibility of the treasurer of the modern corporation but rather the controller? . Budgets and forecasts b. Asset management c. Investment management d. Financing management 17 The __________ decision involves determining the appropr iate make-up of the righthand side of the balance sheet. a. asset management b. financing c. investment d. capital budgeting 18 A long-run is also expressed as a series of short-runs. (a)True (b)False 19 Which of the following are used in calculating opportunity costs? a. monetary costs b. the cost of time c. preference d. all of the above 20 An explicit cost is a. the cost of giving up an alternative b. the cost of a chosen alternative c. alculated by subtracting the monetary cost of an alternative by the time invested d. none of the above Answers for Self Assessment Questions 1 (a) 2 (a) 3 (a) 6 (b) 7 (a) 8 (d) 11(a) 12(c) 13(a) 16(a) 17(b) 18(a) 4 (a) 9 (a) 14(c) 19(d) 5 (a) 10 (a) 15(d) 20(b) Chapter-11 MARKET STRUCTURE, AND PRICING 1 Which of the following cannot be classed as a market structure? a. Oligopoly. b. Perfect competition. c. Communism. d. Monopolistic competition. 2 Income and population are two variables that can be used in ______ segmentation: a. psychographic b. demographic c. lifestyle d. behavioural 3 Strong exchange rates can: a. help stimate consumer purchasing power. b. help predict change in lifestyle across Europe. c. predict the evolution of sales for particular brands. d. drive imports to become cheaper. 4 BERI stands for: a. Business Economic Risk Index. b. Business Economic Rating International. c. Business Education Rating Indicator. d. Business Environment Risk Index. 5 The size and liquidity requirements are based on the minimum invest ability requirements for the MSCI Global Standard Indices. (a) True (b) False 6 Oligopoly is a market structure in which a small number of firms account for the whole industry’s output. (a) True (b) False The number of firms and product differentiation are extremely crucial in determining the nature of competition in a market. (a) True (b) False 8 type of market structure represented by the constant returns to scale (CRS) technology includes a. Monopolistic competition b. Oligopoly c. Duo poly d. Perfect competition 9 In industries in which there are scale economies, the variety of goods that a country can produce is constrained by a. the fixed cost b. the size of the labor force c. the marginal cost d. the size of the market 10 A monopoly firm engaged in international trade but enjoying a protected home market will a. quate marginal costs with foreign marginal revenues. b. equate marginal costs with marginal revenues in both domestic and foreign markets c. equate average costs in local and foreign markets d. none of the above 11 Minimum efficient scale of production in relation to the overall industry output and market requirement sometimes play a major role in shaping the market structure. (a)True (b) False 12 Price and output decisions of firms that want to maximize profits always depend on costs. (a) True (b) False 13 Which of the following is NOT a financial objective of pricing? a. Corporate growth. b. Return on investment. c. Profit maximization. d. None of these 14 Which of the following is NOT a marketing objective? a. Cash flow. b. Positioning. c. Volume sales. d. None of these 15 Setting a price below that of the competition is called: a. Skimming. b. Penetration pricing. c. Competitive pricing. d. None of these 16 Which of the following is NOT a reason for cutting prices? a. Capacity utilisation. b. Increasing profit margins. c. Market defence. d. None of these 17 Which of the following is NOT a reason for increasing prices? a. Cost pressures. b. Price comparison. c. Curbing demand. d. None of these 18 The costs that depend on output in the short run are: a. both total variable costs and total costs. b. total costs only. c. total fixed cost only. d. total variable costs only 19 A firm will shut down in the short run if: a. fixed costs exceed revenues. b. total costs exceed revenues. c. it is suffering a loss. d. variable costs exceed revenues. 20 In the long run, every cost is variable cost. In this period, all costs ever incurred by the firm must be recovered. (a)True (b) False Answers for Self Assessment Questions 1 (c) 2 (b) 3 (d) 6 (a) 7 (a) 8 (d) 11(a) 12(a) 13(a) 16(b) 17(b) 18(a) (d) 9 (d) 14(a) 19(d) 5 (a) 10 (b) 15(b) 20(a) Chapter-12 PERFECT COMPETITION 1. A perfectly competitive firm will maximize profit at the quantity at which the firms marginal revenue equals a. price b. average revenue c. total cost d. marginal cost 2 Which of the following is not a valid option for a perfectly competitive firm? a. Increasing its output. b. Decreasing its output. c. Increasing its price. d. Increasing its resources. 3 In the long run, a perfectly competitive firm will achieve all but which of the following: a. Economic profit b. Allocative Efficiency c. Productive Efficiency d. Normal profit 4 If the price a firm receives for its product is equal to the marginal cost of producing that product, the firm is: a. Always earning an economic profit b. Always productively efficient. c. Always allocatively efficient. d. Always experiencing an economic loss. 5 A firm that is producing at the lowest possible average cost is always: a. Earning an economic profit. b. Productively efficient. c. Dominating the other firms in the market. d. Not producing enough output. 6 Which of the following is the best example of a perfectly competitive market? a. diamonds b. athletic shoes c. soft drinks d. arming 7 Perfect competition is an industry with a. a few firms producing identical goods. b. many firms producing goods that differ somewhat. c. a few firms producing goods that differ somewhat in quality. d. many firms producing identical goods. 8 In a perfectly competitive industry, there are a. many buyers and many sellers. b. many sellers, but there might be only one or two bu yers. c. many buyers, but there might be only one or two sellers. d. one firm that sets the price for the others to follow. 9 In perfect competition, the product of a single firm a. is sold to different customers at different prices. b. as many perfect complements produced by other firms. c. has many perfect substitutes produced by other firms. d. is sold under many differing brand names. 10 In perfect competition, restrictions on entry into an industry a. do not exist. b. apply to labor but not to capital. c. apply to both capital and labor. d. apply to capital but not to labor. 11 Price for a firm under monopolistic competition is ______. a. equal to marginal revenue b. greater than marginal revenue c. less than marginal revenue d. greater than total revenue 12 In the long run, monopolistically competitive firms tend to experience ______. a. high economic profits b. ero economic profits c. negative economic profits d. substantial economic losses 13 Marginal revenue for a monopolis t is ______ a. equal to price b. greater than price c. less than price d. equal to average revenue 14 Perfect competitions describes a market structure whose assumptions are extremely strong and highly unlikely to exist in most real-time and real-world markets. (a)True (b) False 15 Monopolistic competition is a market structure characterized by a large number of relatively small firms. (a)True (b) False 16 A monopolist can sell more of his output only at a lower price and can reduce the sale at a high price. a)True (b) False 17 A monopoly is a market structure in which there is not only one producer/seller for a product. (a)True (b) False 18 A perfectly competitive firm produces the profit-maximizing quantity of output that equates marginal revenue and marginal cost. (a)True (b) False 19 A perfectly competitive firm faces †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. production alternatives based on a comparison of price, average total cost, and average variable cost. a. four short-run b. three short-run c. five short-run d. All of these 20 A perfectly competitive firm’s marginal cost curve that lies above the †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. of the average variable cost curve is its supply curve. . minimum b. maximum c. both(a) and (b) d. None of these Answers for Self Assessment Questions 1 (d) 2 (c) 3 (a) 6 (d) 7 (d) 8 (a) 11(a) 12(b) 13(a) 16(b) 17(b) 18(a) 4 (c) 9 (c) 14(a) 19(b) 5 (b) 10 (a) 15(a) 20(a) Chapter-13 OLIGOPOLY AND PRICING STRATEGIES 1 A price- and quantity-fixing agreement is known as: a. game theory. b. price leadership. c. collusion. d. price concentration. 2 A group of firms that gets together to make price and output decisions is called: a. a cartel. b. price leadership. c. an oligopoly. d. a concentrated industry 3 Products produced by oligopolistic ? rms are: a. Homogeneous. b. Heterogeneous. . Differentiated. d. Heterogeneous or differentiated. 3 Oligopoly is the only market structure characterized by: a. Interdependence in pricing and output decisions. b. Differentiated products. c. Barriers to entry. d. Pro? t-maximizing behavior. 4 Oligopoly is characterized by all of the following except: a. A few large ? rms. b. Differentiated product. c. Difficult entry into the industry. d. Price competition 5 A major threat to longer term profits exists when barriers to entry into an industry are high. (a)True (b) False 6 Under kinked demand theory the prices of oligopolists are predicted to be rather rigid or sticky. a)True (b) False 7 In contestable markets, large oligopolistic firms end up behaving like: a. a monopoly. b. monopolistically competitive firms. c. a cartel. d. perfectly competitive firms 8 Which of the following types of oligopoly competition would you expect to result in the highest market output, other things equal? a. b. c. d. Stackelberg. Bertrand. Cornet. Collusion 9 The demand curve has a kink at the price which is equal to full cost price. (a) True (b) False 10. An pro? t maximizing, oligopolistic firms produces at an ou tput level where: a. P = ATC. b. MR = MC. c. MR = ATC. d. AVC gt; MR. e. P = MR 11 Cartels are most likely to arise in which of the following market structures? a. Perfect competition. b. Monopolistic Competition. c. Oligopoly. d. Monopoly. 12 A cartel is a formal collusive organization of the oligopoly firms in an industry. (a) True (b) False 13 Needs such as training the group, setting standards and maintaining discipline, and appointing sub-leaders may be called: a. team functions. b. work functions. c. individual functions. d. task functions. 14 The Hall and flitch model of the kinked demand curve is based on an empirical survey of a sample of 38 well managed arms in England. a) True (b) False 15 The model uses the analytical tools of reaction functions of the duopolists derived on the basis of is not profit curves. (a) True (b) False 16 The important models of non-collusive oligopoly are: (a) Cournot model, (b) Kinked Oligopoly demand curve models. (a) True (b) False 17 Which of the following is not an operations strategy? a. response b. low-cost lea dership c. differentiation d. technology 18 Which of the following is not one of the leadership styles identified in House’s pathgoal theory? a. Participative. b. Employee-centered. c. Directive. d. Achievement-oriented. 9 The petroleum industry is an example of a. monopolistic competition. b. pure oligopoly. c. duopoly. d. differentiated oligopoly. 20 The kinked demand curve model assumes that a. firms match price increases, but not price cuts. b. demand is more elastic for price cuts than for price increases. c. changes in marginal cost can never lead to changes in market price. d. None of the above is correct. Answers for Self Assessment Questions 1 (c) 2 (a) 3 (d) 6 (b) 7 (a) 8 (b) 11(b) 12(c) 13(a) 16(a) 17(d) 18(b) 4 (a) 9 (b) 14(a) 19(b) 5 (d) 10 (a) 15(b) 20(d) Chapter-14 PROFIT ANALYSIS 1. A variable cost is a cost that a. varies per unit at every level of activity b. occurs at various times during the year c. varies in total in proportion to changes in the level of activity d. may not be incurred, depending on managements discretion 2. A cost which remains constant per unit at various levels of activity is a a. variable cost b. fixed cost c. mixed cost d. manufacturing cost 3. A fixed cost is a cost which a. varies in total with changes in the level of activity b. remains constant per unit with changes in the level of activity c. varies inversely in total with changes in the level of activity d. emains constant in total with changes in the level of activity 4. Cost behavior analysis is a study of how a firms costs a. relate to competitors costs b. relate to general price level changes c. respond to changes in activity levels within the company d. respond to changes in the gross national product 5. Cost behavior analysis applies to a. retailers b. wholesalers c. manufa cturers d. all entities 6. The relevant range of activity refers to the a. geographical areas where the company plans to operate b. activity level where all costs are curvilinear c. levels of activity over which the company expects to operate d. evel of activity where all costs are constant 7. Which of the following is not a plausible explanation of why variable costs often behave in a curvilinear fashion? a. Labor specialization b. Overtime wages c. Total variable costs are constant within the relevant range d. Availability of quantity discounts 8. Firms operating constantly at 100% capacity a. are common b. are the exception rather than the rule c. have no fixed costs d. have no variable costs 9. Which one of the following is a name for the range over which a company expects to operate? a. Mixed range b. Fixed range c. Variable range d. Relevant range 10 The graph of variable costs that behave in a curvilinear fashion will a. approximate a straight line within the relevant range b. be sharply kinked on both sides of the relevant range c. be downward sloping d. be a stair-step pattern 11. A mixed cost contains a. a variable cost element and a fixed cost element b. both selling and administrative costs c. both retailing and manufacturing costs d. both operating and non-operating costs 12. The variable costing method is also known as the direct costing method indirect costing approach absorption costing method period costing approach 13. The costing approach that charges all manufacturing costs to the product is referred to as a. variable costing b. contribution margin costing c. direct costing d. absorption costing 14. Variable costing is acceptable for a. financial statement purposes b. profit tax purposes c. internal use by management only d. profit tax purposes and for internal use by management 15. CVP analysis does not consider a. level of activity b. fixed cost per unit c. variable cost per unit d. sales mix 16. Which of the following is not an underlying assumption of CVP analysis? a. Changes in activity are the only factors that affect costs b. Cost classifications are reasonably accurate c. Beginning inventory is larger than ending inventory d. Sales mix is constant 17. Which of the following would not be an acceptable way to express contribution margin? a. Sales minus variable costs b. Sales minus unit costs a. b. c. d. c. d. Unit selling price minus unit variable costs Contribution margin per unit divided by unit selling price a. b. c. d. 18. The level of activity at which total revenues equal total costs is the variable point fixed point semi-variable point break-even point 19. The break-even point is where a. otal sales equals total variable costs b. contribution margin equals total fixed costs c. total variable costs equal total fixed costs d. total sales equals total fixed costs 20. Gross profit also includes rent that arises from the entrepreneur’s own land used in his production of output. a. True b. False Answers for Self Assessment Questions 1. (c) 2. (a) 3. (d) 4. (c) 7. (c) 8. (b) 9. (d) 10. (a) 11. (a) 14. (c) 15. (b) 16. (b) 17. (b) 18. (d) 5. (d) 12. (a) 19. (b) 6. (c) 13. (d) 20. (a) Chapter-15 1. There are †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. methods which can be used to appraise any investment project: (a) 1 (b) 2 (c) 3 (d) 4 2. National income is the total of the value of the goods and the services which are produced in an economy. (a) True (b) False 3. Which two of the following are likely to raise the equilibrium value of National Income? (a) Rise in savings. (b) Rise in imports. (c) Rise in government spending. (d) Rise in exports. 4. Which two of the following are excluded when measuring National Income? (a) Value added in the output method. (b) Value of intermediate inputs in the output method. (c) Consumer spending in the expenditure method. (d) Transfer payments in the income method. 5. The return on an investment comes in the form of a stream of earnings in the future. (a) True (b) False 6. Cost-benefit analysis is a process for evaluating the merits of a particular project or course of action in a systematic and rigorous way. (a) True ` (b) False 7. ‘Real’ investment is not (a) the amount that shareholders are willing to provide for shares in a company (b) the cost of development of a new product (c) expenditure on public relations, staff training or research and development (d) expenditure on non-current assets such as plant, machinery, land and buildings 8. Which of the following statements about IRR and NPV is not correct? (a) NPV always gives the correct investment decision. (b) IRR gives an unreliable answer with non-conventional projects. (c) IRR can accommodate changes in the cost of capital. (d) IRR is a useful relative measure if comparing projects of differing sizes. 9. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the total market value of all final goods and services currently produced within the domestic territory of a country in a year. (a) True (b) False 10. Which of the following will not be a relevant factor when using the payback method of capital investment appraisal? a) The timing of the first cash inflow (b) The total cash flows generated by the asset (c) The cash flows generated by the asset up to the payback period (d) The cost of the asset 11. Why the payback method is often considered inferior to discounted cash flow in capital investment appraisal? (a) I is more difficult to calculate (b) It does not calculate how long it will take to recoup the money invested (c) It does not take account of the time value of money (d) It only takes into account the future income of a project 12. Gross National Product is the total market value of all final goods and services produced in a year. (a) True (b) False 13. In 2005†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. was the least significant liability of U. S. nonfinancial businesses in terms of total value. (a) bonds and mortgages (b) bank loans (c) inventories (d) trade debt 14. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. are examples of financial intermediaries. (a) Commercial banks (b) Insurance companies (c) Investment companies (d) All of the above 15. Financial assets †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. a) directly contribute to the countrys productive capacity (b) indirectly contribute to the countrys productive capacity (c) contribute to the countrys productive capacity both directly and indirectly (d) do not contribute to the countrys productive capacity either directly or indirectly 16. The means by which individuals hold their claims on real assets in a welldevelopedeconomy are (a) investment assets. (b) depository assets. (c) derivative assets (d) financia l assets 17. Capital budgeting is the process of evaluating and selecting long-term investments that are consistent with the goal of the firm. a) True (b) False 18. Although derivatives can be used as speculative instruments, businesses most often use them to (a) attract customers. (b) appease stockholders. (c) offset debt. (d) hedge 19. The investment in fixed assets increases the fixed cost of the firm which must be recovered from the benefit of the same project. (a)True (b) False 20. National Income is defined as the sum total of all the goods and services produced in a country, in a particular period of time. (a) True (b) False Answer 1. (c) 2. (a) 3. (c) 4. (b) 5. (a) 6. (a) 7. (a) 8. (c) 9. (a) 10. (b) 11. (c) 12. (a) 13. (b) 14. (d) 15. b) 16. (d) 17. (a) 18. (d) 19. (a) 20. (a) Chapter-16 1. In period of inflation, phantom or paper profits may be reports as a result of using the: (a) FIFO costing assumption (b) Perpetual inventory method (c) LIDO costing assumption (d) Perio dic inventory method 2. Inflation is: (a) an increase in the overall price level. (b) an increase in the overall level of economic activity. (c) a decrease in the overall level of economic activity. (d) a decrease in the overall price level. 3. Aggregate supply is the total amount: (a) produced by the government. (b) of goods and services produced in an economy. c) of labour supplied by all households. (d) of products produced by a given industry. 4. The value of a dollar does not stay constant when there is inflation. (a) True (b) False 5. The inflation rate in India was recorded at 7. 23% in†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ (a) April of 2009 (b) April of 2010 (c) April of 2011 (d) April of 2012 6. The function of money that helps assess the opportunity cost of an activity is moneys use as a (a) medium of exchange. (b) store of value. (c) unit of account. (d) store of debt. 7. An official measure of money in the United States is M1, which consists of the sum of (a) currency plus travelers checks. b) currency plus checkable deposits. (c) currency plus travelers checks plus checkable deposits. (d) currency plus travelers checks plus time deposits. 8. Implies no trade-off between unemployment and inflation. (a) GDP deflator (b) Shoe leather’ costs (c) Long-run Phillips curve (d) ‘Menu’ costs 9. The inflation rate is used to calculate the real interest rate, as well as real increases in wages. (a) True (b) False 10†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ the quantity of money in the United States. (a) The State Department controls (b) The Department of Treasury controls (c) The Federal Reserve System controls (d) Commercial banks control 11. There are broadly †¦.. ways of controlling inflation in an economy. (a) 2 (b) 3 (c) 4 (d) 5 12. The balance of payments of a country is said to be in equilibrium when the demand for foreign exchange in exactly equivalent to the supply of it. (a) True (b) False 13. A general decline in prices is often caused by a reduction in the supply of†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. (a) money or debit (b) money or credit (c) money (d) None of these 14. The opportunity cost of holding money is the (a) inflation rate minus the nominal interest rate. (b) nominal interest rate. (c) real interest rate. (d) unemployment rate. 15. If the Fed is worried about inflation and wants to raise the interest rate, it (a) increases the demand for money. (b) increases the supply of money. (c) decreases the demand for money. (d) decreases the supply of money. 16. The circular flow of goods and incomes shows the relationship between: (a) income and money. (b) goods and services. (c) firms and households. (d) wages and salaries. 17. Fiscal measures to control inflation include taxation, government expenditure and public borrowings. (a) True (b) False 18. Hyperinflation (a) occurs in the United States during each business cycle. b) occurs only in theory, never in reality. (c) has never occurred in the United States. (d) happens in all countries at some time during their business cycle. 19. Hyperinflation refers to a situation where the prices rise at an alarming high rate. (a) True (b) False 20. The inflation rate is used to calculate the real interest rate, as well as real increases in wages. (a)True (b) False Answer 1. (b) 2. (a) 3. (b) 4. (a) 11. (a) 12. (a) 13. (b) 14. (c) 5. (d) 6. (c) 15. (d) 16. (c) 7. (c) 8. (c) 17. (a) 18. (c) 9. (a) 10. (c) 19. (a) 20. (a)

The Future Prospects Of Cloud Computing

The Future Prospects Of Cloud Computing Cloud computing involves delivering hosted services over the Internet. These services are divided into three types: Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). The name was inspired by the cloud symbol thats often used to represent the Internet in flow charts and diagrams. Cloud computing is used to describe both a platform and type of application. A cloud computing platform provisions, configures, reconfigures, and deprovisions servers as needed. Servers in the cloud can be physical or virtual machines. Cloud computing also describes applications that are accessible through the Internet. Anyone with a suitable Internet connection and a standard browser can access a cloud application. Characteristics of Cloud Figure 1: Cloud Structure Dynamic computing infrastructure Cloud computing demands a dynamic computing infrastructure. The foundation for the dynamic structure is a scalable, standardized, and secure physical infrastructure. There should be redundant levels to ensure high levels of availability, but mostly to extend as usage growth demands it, without requiring architectural rework. It must also be virtualized. These services require easy provisioning and de-provisioning via software automation. IT service-centric approach Cloud computing is IT service-centric. This is in contrast to system- or server- centric models. In most of the cases, users of the cloud would prefer to easily access a dedicated instance of an application or service. Service Centric approach enables user adoption and business agility, reducing costs or driving revenue. Self-service based usage model This model must provide an easy to use user interface that enables users to manage the service delivery lifecycle. The advantage of self service from the users perspective is empowerment and independence that yields significant business agility. One benefit often overlooked from the service providers perspective is that the more self service that can be delegated to users, the less administrative involvement is necessary. This saves both time and money. Minimally or self-managed platform In order for a service provider to efficiently provide a cloud for its clients, they must leverage a technology platform that is self managed. A provisioning engine for deploying services, recovering resources for high levels of reuse, mechanisms for scheduling and reserving resource capacity, and capabilities for configuring, managing, and reporting to ensure resources can be allocated, tools for controlling access to resources and policies. 2.5. Consumption-based billing Cloud computing is usage-driven and consumers pay for only the resources they use and therefore are charged or billed on a consumption-based model. Cloud computing must provide mechanisms to capture usage information that enables integration with billing systems. The value from a users perspective is the ability for them to pay only for the resources they use, helping them keep their costs down. From providers perspective, it allows them to track usage for charge back and billing purposes. Types of Clouds Figure 2: Cloud Types Public cloud Public cloud also referred to as external cloud describes cloud computing in the conventional sense. Here the resources are dynamically provisioned over the Internet, through web applications or web services, from an off-site third-party provider who shares resources and bills on a utility computing basis. Community cloud A community cloud can be established where many organizations have similar type of requirements and seek to share the infrastructure so as to realize some of the benefits of cloud computing. This option is comparatively expensive but offers a higher level of privacy, security and/or policy compliance. Example of community cloud includes Googles Gov Cloud. Hybrid cloud A hybrid cloud consisting of multiple internal and/or external providers is most common for enterprises. By combining numerous cloud services, users are able to ease and facilitate the transition to public cloud services. Another perspective on deploying a web application in the cloud is using Hybrid Hosting, where the hosting is a mix between Cloud Hosting for the web server, and Managed dedicated server for the database server. Private cloud For private cloud, implementing the cloud is controlled completely by the enterprise. They are hence also referred to as internal clouds. Private clouds are implemented in the companys data center and managed by internal resources. A private cloud maintains all corporate data in resources under the control of the legal umbrella of the organization. Architecture of Cloud Computing The architecture of cloud computing is rooted in hardware and software infrastructures that enable scaling and virtualization. Many data centers deploy these capabilities today. Figure 3: Cloud Architecture Virtualized Infrastructure Virtualization ensures that applications or business services are not directly dependent on the underlying hardware infrastructure such as storage, servers, or networks. This allows business services to move dynamically in a very efficient manner, based upon predefined policies. Virtualized Applications This component helps the application to decouple itself from the underlying operating system, storage, hardware, and network to enable flexibility in deployment. Virtualized Application servers can take advantage of grid computing along with SOA and ensures scalability to meet the business requirements. Development tools Development tools can facilitate clouds distributed computing capabilities. These tools not only facilitate service orchestration but also enable business processes to be developed that can leverage the parallel processing capabilities. The development tools must support dynamic provisioning. Enterprise Management Enterprise management provides the top-down, end-to-end management of the virtualized infrastructure. The enterprise management layer handles the full lifecycle of virtualized resources. Security and Identity Management Clouds must make use of a security infrastructure and unified identity to enable flexible provisioning. As clouds provision resources external to the enterprises legal boundaries, it becomes absolutely necessary to implement an Information Asset Management system to provide the requisite controls to meet compliance requirements. Current Benefits of Cloud Computing Decoupling and separation of business from infrastructure Elastic nature of the infrastructure to rapidly allocate and de-allocate massively scalable resources on a demand basis Reduced costs due to operational efficiencies Cloud makes it possible to launch Web 2.0 applications scale up applications as much as needed when needed supports traditional Javaà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ and Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP (LAMP) stack-based applications as well as new architectures such as MapReduce and the Google File System, which provide a means to scale applications across thousands of servers instantly Business Problem The main issues related to cloud computing in current situation revolves around: How does cloud computing alter the business model of ITeS? What are the economic and technical aspects of cloud implementation? How cloud computing will affect business? What are the potential drivers and barriers in cloud computing? Cloud computing can help users avoid capital expenditure (CapEx) on hardware, software, and services when they pay a provider only for what they use. Consumption is billed similar to a utility (like electricity) or subscription (like a newspaper) basis with little or no upfront cost. Another advantage of this time sharing style approach is low barrier to entry, shared infrastructure and costs, low management overhead, and immediate access to a broad range of applications. Users can generally terminate the contract at any time and the services are often covered by SLAs with financial penalties. Other factors impacting the scale of any cost savings include the efficiency of a companys data center as compared to the cloud vendors, the companys existing operating costs, and the type of functionality being hosted in the cloud. Existing Scenario The Existing Cloud Computing Adoption Model The existing cloud computing adoption by enterprise is modelled on Capability Maturity Model (CMM). The Cloud Computing Adoption Model proposes five steps: Level 1: Virtualization as the Cloud adoption employs application virtualization technology for shared server infrastructure and seamless portability. Level 2: Cloud Experimentation since Virtualization occurs internally or externally, based on Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) to compute capacity and as a result of the reference architecture. Level 3: Cloud Foundations occurring due to procedures, policies, Governance, controls, and best practices begin to form around the deployment and development of cloud applications. These efforts always focus on non-mission critical, internal applications. Level 4: Cloud Advancement. Government foundations allow organizations to scale up the volume of cloud applications through broad-based deployments in the cloud. Level 5: Cloud Actualization as the Applications are distributed based on proximity to user, cloud capacity, cost. This Model outlines the readiness criteria, expected returns, risk factors, strategic goals, key investment requirements for graduating to the next step. Cloud Computing Alters ITeS Business Models The conventional value chain for IT services, extending from design, development, maintenance and support of IT infrastructures to the maintenance of the application and ITC landscape, is changing as a result of cloud computing concepts. The existing ITeS Business model as shown below is altered due to the impact of cloud computing and is explained below: Figure 4: ITeS Business Model Infrastructure Core Capabilities: The core capabilities required to deliver cloud services to the customers can be classified into 3 segments. These are: Service management and provisioning: This segment consists of Operations management, Service Provisioning, SLA management, Utilization Monitoring, Backup, Data Management. Security and Data Privacy: This segment consists of Authentication and Authorization, Data Network Security, Data Privacy, Auditing and Accounting Data Center Facilities: Under this part comes the Routers/Firewalls, LAN/WAN, Internet Access, Hosting Centers. Partners: If companies want SAAS to live up to its potential in a community-focused business model-centralizing communication, collaboration and business synchronicity across multiple, diverse companies-they need to augment technology implementation with a fresh approach to partner management. Key Processes: Cloud Services currently offers various services like Test and Development, Internet application Hosting, Disaster Recovery, File Storage, On-demand Storage, utility Computing, SaaS Applications, Log processing, Batch Computing, Jobs, Application Development. Offering Value Proposition: There are certain compelling benefits that the customers receive from Cloud Computing. These are: Reduce Cost: Reduction in total cost of ownership by optimally using the hardware and Software licenses Agility: The infrastructure can be provisioned quickly Global Scale: Massively scalable engines allow building highly scalable services for consumers Customers Customer Segments: The main target segment for the cloud services are the big enterprises, medium enterprises, small enterprises, independent software vendors, developers, etc. Customer Requirements: The main things that the customers require from cloud service providers are easy to use console, reliability, security, flexibility, low cost, green IT, etc. Finances Cost Structure: Cloud computing builds on established trends for driving the cost out of the delivery of services while increasing the speed and agility with which services are deployed. The cost of these environments is minimal because they can coexist on the same servers as production environments because they use few resources. Revenue: Cloud computing enables a shift in IT provision from direct purchase and payment for services to provision of services which are free at point of use and where revenue is derived from advertising. The largest component of the overall cloud services market is cloud-based advertising. Profit: Thus with reduction of cost in a great extent and a shift of revenue model to the advertisements, the profit for the Cloud Services is expected to be quite bright. The maturity model structure helps to classify and compare Cloud computing offerings Figure 5: Cloud Computing Maturity Model For Software as a Service (SaaS), there are business models based on pure SaaS solutions, with independent architectures. The Internet browser plays a key part and becomes part of the SaaS applications and acts as the user interface. A SaaS provider manages an application in their proprietary data center and makes it available to multiple users over the Web. Oracle CRM On Demand, Salesforce.com, and Netsuite are some of the well known SaaS examples For Platform as a Service (PaaS), the largest variant involves extensive middleware components. This platform comprises of infrastructure software, and typically includes a database, middleware and development tools. Creation of full-service platform solutions means that independent software vendors (ISVs) and IT departments of system integrators can develop and deliver applications online using third-party infrastructure services. For example, Google AppEngine is a PaaS offering where developers write in Python or Java. EngineYard is Ruby on Rails. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) business model comprises three different types: public, private and hybrid cloud models. It is the evolution of conventional hosting that doesnt need any commitment and at the same time ensures the users to the provision of resources on demand. Amazon Web Services Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) and Secure Storage Service (S3) are examples of IaaS offerings Economic Aspects of Cloud Implementation Due to recessionary impact as the demand for cost optimisation rises high, cloud computing is emerging as an option for large and small players, seemingly to the benefit of consulting companies in that domain. Cloud computing offers virtualized resources as a service over the internet, incorporating infrastructure, software and platform as services, without a user having to bear large costs by way of acquiring expensive assets in any of the three. It reduces capex into opex and enables computing at a fraction of the investment required to buy all the hardware and software. Technical Aspects of Cloud Implementation The three most important technical aspects of the cloud three items of the Cloud: 1) infinite computing resources 2) elimination of an up-front commitment and 3) pay for use of computing resources on a short-term basis as needed. The other important aspects are discusses below Server Compute Capacity The most important reason for leveraging cloud capabilities is to quickly gain access to hundreds or thousands of computers for compute capacity as and when required. Use of the cloud can be up to 90% faster than using servers in data centers. It is ideal for seasonal business load and traffic spikes. Storage Capacity There is so much structured and unstructured data on Enterprise storage servers that managing it requires a major cost. As building compute capacity in the Enterprise has become expensive, so has the building of storage capacity. The use of cloud computing for storage capacity can be ideal, especially for spikes in usage. Network Access Cloud computing services are generally accessed and delivered through and over the web. Compared to a traditional model, the use of a public network rather than a private network is a big change. The inherent routing delivery advantages of TCP-IP that gets messages to their destination even when multiple paths are down can be applied through cloud computing. Multiple Locations A cloud provider with multiple locations for delivery, fail-over and back-up. The technical capabilities enables load to be easily transferred from one location to another. Easy to use Cloud computing can be used as programming and technical conventions are similar enough to those of conventional computing, and leading cloud computing platforms have open APIs. How Cloud Computing will Change business New generation of products and services Cloud computing allows innovative companies offer products that are significantly less costly due to reduced capex and new business models Lightweight form of real-time partnerships and outsourcing with IT suppliers Cloud computing will provide agility and control that traditional outsourcing providers cannot match for the most part. Awareness and leverage of the greater Internet applications and Web 2.0 in particular A reconciliation of traditional SOA with the cloud and other emerging IT models Web-Oriented Architecture fits very well with cloud technologies which are heavily Web-based and its a natural way of building SOA at every level of the organization. Rise of new industry leaders and IT vendors Well-funded new cloud startups will bring new technologies, new sensibility (radical openness and transparency, and Web-focus) thats often needed with cloud computing More self-service IT from the business-side SaaS will require increasingly less and less involvement from the IT department. More tolerance for innovation and experimentation With lesser and lesser economic and technological barriers creating new ways to improve the business, cloud computing will enable prototyping and market validation of new approaches much faster Drivers Barriers of Cloud Computing Customer Perspective: Drivers economics Faster, simpler, cheaper to use cloud apps No upfront capital required for servers and storage No ongoing operational expenses for running datacenter Applications can be accessed from anywhere, anytime Customer Perspective: Barriers Data Security Many customers dont wish to trust their data to the cloud Data must be locally retained for regulatory reasons Latency The cloud can be many milliseconds away Not suitable for real-time applications Application Availability Cannot switch from existing legacy applications Equivalent cloud applications do not exist Vendor Perspective: Drivers economics Easier for application vendors to reach new customers Lowest cost way of delivering and supporting applications Ability to use commodity server and storage hardware Ability to drive down data center operational cots Vendor Perspective: Barriers Service Level Agreements What if something goes wrong? What is the true cost of providing SLAs? Business Models SaaS/PaaS models are challenging Much lower upfront revenue Customer Lock-in Customers want open/standard APIs Need to continuously add value Risks Security Issues in Cloud Computing Currently many companies are considering moving applications to the cloud but still there is doubt about the security of third party services. There are following risks security issues involved with cloud computing: No ownership of Hardware Companies who want to audit the providers and do their own testing need to consider the fact that they dont own the hardware. Conducting a penetration test requires the permission of the cloud-service provider .Otherwise; the client is illegally hacking into the providers systems. While some SLAs such as Amazons specify that testing of their software running on the providers systems can be done but getting explicit permission is key. Need of Strong policies and user education Cloud computing provides companies numerous benefits, to allow access to data from anywhere and removing maintenance headaches from the IT staff, but the phishing attacks that hit workers at home could threaten the company. Thus there is need for training the employees for the proper use of benefits especially to non technical users Risk related to machine instances There is always a risk during the use of virtual machine from a provider; companies should never trust the system. Companies should create their own images for internal use, and protect themselves legally from potentially malicious third-party developers. Privileged user access Sensitive data processing brings with it an inherent risk, because outsourcing services bypass the physical, logical and personnel controls IT shops exert over in-house programs. So it is advisable to fetch as much information as you can about the people who manage your data. Regulatory compliance Customers are finally responsible for the integrity and security of own data, even if it is held by a service provider. Traditional service providers are subjected to external audits and security certifications. Cloud computing providers who do not undergo this scrutiny are indicating that clients can only use them for the most trivial functions. Risk related to Data location Data can be located at any location and one might not even know where it will be stored like the name of the country also. So it may not be clear, whether the provider is obeying the local privacy requirements. Risks with Encryption Schemes Data in the cloud is in a shared environment along with data from other customers. Encryption is effective but isnt panacea. It is important to find out what can be done to segregate data at rest .The cloud provider should provide proof that encryption standards were designed and validated by experienced specialists. Recovery Risk On the one hand user does not know the location of data while on the other hand he doesnt know what will happen to his data and service in case of a disaster. Any absence of disaster recovery or offering that does not replicate the data across multiple sites is potentially vulnerable to a complete failure. Recommendations Future Prospects Lower costs of market entry Application deployment, faster payback on development costs, and superior return on investment will drive cloud-based platform adoption for both entrepreneurial and enterprise developers. Internal Clouds Most IT organizations will opt for internal clouds. These are cloudy environments that are implemented within a companys own data centers. The case for this perspective is that before IT orgs reach out to external cloud providers, theyll want to get better use out of the equipment they already have. Providers that Understand their target audience Ride the new wave of Virtualization solutions Migrations, business process automations, BPM,consultancies Chose to be an IaaS Appropriate visibility, analytics, OS, storage, DR, compute power, security, on demand billing, Fully integrated Platform as a Service IaaS, ERP, Databases, XML files, flat files, web services, API availability, DNS Niche specialists -Mobile or VoIP platforms