What Is Disposable Income Definition and Examples

If you have money left over after paying your taxes, congratulations! You have â€Å"disposable income.† But don’t go on a spending spree yet. Just because you have disposable income does not mean you also have â€Å"discretionary income.† Of all the terms in personal finance and budgeting, these are two of the most important. Understanding what disposable income and discretionary income are and how they differ is the key to creating and living comfortably within a manageable budget. Key Takeaways: Discretionary Invome Disposable income is the amount of money you have left over from your total annual income after paying federal, state, and local taxes. Discretionary income is the amount of you have left over after paying all taxes and paying for all necessities of life like housing, healthcare, and clothing. Discretionary income can either be saved or spent on non-essential things like travel and entertainment. Levels of disposable and discretionary income are key indicators of the health of a nation’s economy. Disposable Income Definition Disposable income, also known as disposable personal income (DPI) or net pay, is the amount of money you have left over from your total annual income after paying all direct federal, state, and local taxes. For example, a family with an annual household income of $90,000 that pays $20,000 in taxes has a net disposable income of $70,000 ($90,000 - $20,000). Economists use disposable income to identify nationwide trends in households’ savings and spending habits. The average disposable personal income (DPI) in the United States is about $44,000 per household, according to the international Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The DPI in the U.S is far higher than the average of $31,000 among the 36 nations surveyed by the OECD. It should be noted that indirect taxes, such as sales taxes and value-added taxes (VATs) are not used in calculating disposable income. While they do generally reduce effective spending power, they are extremely difficult for individuals to track. Apart from personal finances, disposable income is also important to the national economy. For example, the United States federal government uses it to measure consumer spending and the all-important Consumer Price Index (CPI)—the average nationwide price of various goods and services. As a key indicator of inflation, deflation or stagflation, the CPI is a critical measure of the health of the nation’s economy. Disposable Income vs. Discretionary Income Just because you have money left after paying taxes, be very careful how fast you spend it. Disposable income must not be confused with discretionary income, and disregarding the difference between the two can make or break your budget. Discretionary income is the amount of money you have left over from your total annual income after paying all taxes and after paying for necessities like rent, mortgage payments, healthcare, food, clothing, and transportation. In other words, discretionary income is disposable income minus the unavoidable costs of living. For example, the same family that had $70,000 in disposable income left after paying $20,000 of taxes on its $90,000 of gross income also had to pay: $20,000 for rent;$10,000 for groceries and healthcare;$5,000 for utilities;$5,000 for clothing; and$5,000 for car loan payments, fuel, fees, and maintenance As a result, the family paid a total of $45,000 on necessities, leaving them with only $25,000 ($70,000 - $45,000) in discretionary income. In general, families or individuals can do two things with discretionary income: save it or spend it. Sometimes called â€Å"mad money,† discretionary income can be spent on all the things you might want, but not really need for anything other than â€Å"keeping up with the Joneses,† perhaps. Discretionary income is typically spent on things like eating out, travel, boats, RVs, investments, and thousands of other things we really could â€Å"live without.† The general rule is that within the same household, disposable income should always be higher than discretionary income because the cost of necessary items has not yet been subtracted from the amount of disposable income. According to the consumer credit reporting agency Experian, the average American family spends about 28% of its total pretax income—more than $12,000 per year—on discretionary items. The Tight Bottom Line   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average American household brought in nearly $75,000 before taxes in 2016 but ended up spending most of it. In fact, after subtracting all the money it pays in taxes, necessary good and services, and discretionary purchases, the average U.S. household spends more than 90% of its income. After subtracting all taxes and other expenditures from its $74,664 annual pretax income, the average American household has $6,863 left over. However, since interest paid on consumer debts such as credit cards and car loans are not subtracted from pretax income, the amount of money the average household has left for savings or discretionary spending is typically far lower than this. So, be careful with the plastic. Sources and Further Reading Disposable Income (2018). Investopedia.comDiscretionary Income (2018). Investopedia.comHousehold Income: 2017. U.S. Census BureauOECD Better Life Index. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and DevelopmentConsumer Spending Data. Experian.comPatoka, Josh. How to Optimize Your Disposable Income and What Should You Do With It? The Finance Genie

Gregor Samsa Essay - 1280 Words

Franz Kafka writes Gregor Samsa in his novel The Metamorphosis to portray specific details of his childhood life. In the early 1900’s the Great Depression occurred which changed the romantic time period into the modernism that focused on grotesque imagery. The Great Depression caused people to appreciate their beautiful world, before it turned into the dark and gloomy atmosphere it was for ten years. Kafka and Gregor’s lives share the similarity that both of their fathers were aggressive, alienating and powerful in their son s lives. In the novel The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, Kafka reflects his life using his main character Gregor Samsa as a representation to display how disconnected his father and his relationship was as a child. In†¦show more content†¦This dark unemployment time portrayed the grotesque imagery, which modernism consists of (Great Depression). The realistic details of how families were separated and how many households have been dissolved highlights how this time period is transformed into modernism. Modernism portrays the idea of â€Å"The world is what we say it is†, and there is no absolute truth. This movement is based on alienation, loss, and despair that also focuses on self-consciousness and irony. Modernism displays realistic details with grotesque imagery (Quema). The elements of the gothic in romanticism are switched into horrid writing, which includes the stream of consciousness writing. Franz Kafka uses modernism in his writing when his main character Gregor Samsa transforms into a human size beetle, but uses irony so that when he wakes up his only concern is getting to work on time and not worrying about what he has transformed into overnight. Gregor Samsa is also alienated from his family and even beat into his room at times, which shows the grotesque imagery that modernism focuses on. Franz Kafka grew up in a situation similar to Gregor Samsa. Franz Kafka has three sisters and was born into a Je wish family. His father was born poor and his mother was born with money. Their family was self assertive and their fathers are both powerful, aggressive, and alienative. Franz Kafka was weak and wanted to be away from his fatherShow MoreRelatedEssay The Sins of Gregor Samsa of Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis2749 Words   |  11 PagesThe Sins of Gregor Samsa of Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis Gregor Samsa’s crimes originate from his intense devotion to his family, and thus in his intense devotion to his work, which in turn makes him intently devout to the conformist society that creates his world. Gregor’s crimes are not of the scope that contains what one may consider normal or standard crimes, and his motivations come from a separate set of values than those that society would consider to be the median. As a result ofRead MoreThe Unselfish Gregor Samsa in The Metamorphosis Essay example1406 Words   |  6 PagesThe Unselfish Gregor Samsa In Franz Kafkas The Metamorphosis, some might argue that Gregor was a terrible person and his metamorphosis was not real, but only an illustration of the terrible person he had become. However, it can much more strongly be argued that he was an extremely unselfish person and his actions were largely taken for granted by his family. Kafka was emphasizing the common practice of selfless actions being unappreciated through his story of Gregor and his family. One wayRead MoreThe Dehumanizing Effect of Alienation and the Restoration of Self Identity in Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis788 Words   |  3 Pagesthe main character Gregor Samsa, who inevitably transforms into a giant cockroach. The alienation by family relations affects him to the extent that he prioritizes his extensive need to be the family’s provider before his own well-being. 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While both works convey the ideas that a human s situation in life is always temporary, lust leads to unfavorable circumstances, and that the stubbornRead MoreAnalysis Of On Dumpster Diving Essay1671 Words   |  7 PagesEnglish 101 Final Essay Q1: Discuss the contemporary issues in every essay A) A contemporary problem raised in â€Å"On Dumpster Diving† by Lars Eighner Is the amount of wealth spent by consumers, and the effect of that. Consumers spend too much money and waste even more when they throw food and clothing away. In the essay he explains the way of life as an scavenger and how to demonstrate how people are able to live by the minimal resources although most consumers continue to buy things they do not needRead MoreThe Kafka s About Gregor And His Metamorphosis997 Words   |  4 PagesThe novella about Gregor and his metamorphosis is story of intolerance, and isolation. This novella by Kafka, taken literally is a very interesting story that is fun for anyone over the age of twelve to read. When looked at metaphorically, this story can be compared to Jews living in Germany. In the following essay, I hope to explain the story of Gregor, and what it could potentially mean. The metamorphosis is really difficult, for both Gregor and his family. Gregor spends all of his time, trappedRead MoreThe Symbolic Nature of Sacrifice and Transformation in Kafka’s The Metamorphosis1096 Words   |  5 Pagesand Resurrection Fantasy,† by Peter Dow Webster illuminate how sacrifice and transformation are a vital part of the deeper meaning of The Metamorphosis. Gregor Samsa is an ordinary young man until he wakes up one day as a giant vermin; metamorphosised into something horrendous and reviled by the world. Through Honig’s and Webster’s critical essays, this transformation, as well as many more, and sacrifice made by all involved are explored in a thorough and definitive way. In â€Å"The Making of an AllegoryRead MoreEssay about The Outsider and The Metamorphosis1430 Words   |  6 PagesEnglish World Literature Essay: The Outsider and The Metamorphosis Comparisons between the relationships that the protagonists had with their parents and how these defined their characters. In the novels, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka and The Outsider by Albert Camus, there are many important relationships that help define the protagonists. The protagonist in The Metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa, and the protagonist from The Outsider, Meursault, both had significant relationships with people

China’s One Child Policy Free Essays

string(82) " counts have been restarted in 1975 they have never been referred to as reliable\." The policy was put onto place In 1979 as â€Å"an aggressive effort to Improve standards of living and the economy through population control† (CNN). The initial policy that was put into place was much stricter than the policy most people are familiar with now. This is because the original plan was meant to be short-term (only a couple of decades), however it’s success of preventing nearly 400 million births made China leaders think twice about terminating the plan altogether and instead revised the policy Into what it is today (CNN). We will write a custom essay sample on China’s One Child Policy or any similar topic only for you Order Now This essay will be breaking down the one child policy by looking Into a variety f different aspects such as; the company that oversees the policy and what rewards or punishments they hand out, the baby boomers effect on the policy and the reason the leaders implemented it, and prior attempts to control the population. As well as the current population standings, the well-known daughter to son ratio problem, how it affected one families plan, and current feelings by the locals towards the policy. The one-child policy Is known by those that abide by It as the â€Å"family planning policy. Understanding the policy In China Is difficult as there are many exceptions and rules. The family planning policy states that married urban couples are only allowed one child. However, exceptions include rural families, ethnic minorities, couples who themselves only have one sibling, and foreigners residing in China. According to Maria Trichina, the NIFOC (The National Population and Family Planning Commission of China), Is a state agency responsible for overseeing population control, reproductive health and family planning across China. The NIFOC was created to help families make decisions about their child, designate rewards to abiding families, and enforce penalties when it is disobeyed. Everyone who falls under the policy in China is personally responsible to practice family planning and use proper contraceptive methods. Those that play by the rules are offered a number of perks such as special financial assistance, longer maternity and honeymoon breaks, â€Å"Certificate of Honor for Single-Child Parents,† loans, along with other rewards. Those that disobey the strict law can be fined up to half of their annual household income or be subject to confiscation of their household items. The â€Å"excess† children themselves may personally be subject to health and education disadvantages. Trichina) All of these penalties and rewards make having a single child very attractive and make most couples not even consider having a second child. The way the policy is set up Is very smart and lucrative, making nearly 97% of the country follow It’s guidelines. Hays) 1979 as the â€Å"baby boomers† of the sass’s and ass’s were beginning to reproduce. The reason for the sudden worry of the population in China came when leaders realized that China was home to a quarter of the world’s population on Just 7 percent of the world’s land (Hester). The population increase during the sass through 1979 introduced a large number of problems in China. With such a rapid increase, came the governmentà ¢â‚¬â„¢s inability to provide for its citizens the way China’s citizens were used to the way that was previously possible. Also, leadership argued that rapid population growth would â€Å"retard achievement of the four modernization (industry, agriculture, science and technology, and defense) by hampering attainment of full employment and by cutting into increases in capital accumulation, living standards, and education† (Bonaparte) The rule was implemented in order to return the country AAA higher standard of living, education, and economic reform. Because the long term effects of the policy have not been felt and there are still a number of people in China that were born before the policy, it is uncertain if China’s goals to make a better life for its citizens have been fulfilled. Judging by the number of children born under the one child policy that plan to follow it with their own families, the policy obviously has its perks. But before this law was enforced, a number of other options were attempted. A number of other options were researched and attempted before the law went into effect, many failed efforts to control the population took place. Although the policy seems harsh, the one child policy was not implemented on a whim. In 1971 the Chinese government introduced a birth-limitation campaign called â€Å"longer-later- fewer. † In this plan men and women would have longer periods between the births of their children, wait until they were older to have their first child, and have fewer than the average children. Fewer than average was three children if you were a rural dwelling couple and 2 for those in the Urbana (Bonaparte). Due to the lack of success f that program, the decision was made to limit couples to having Just two children in the year 1977, followed by Just one child in 1979. China will maintain its one-child policy for at least another decade as nearly 200 million Chinese will enter child- bearing age over the next 10 years. Minister Ghana Weighing told the China Daily newspaper, abandoning the policy during this period would cause â€Å"serious problems and add extra pressure on social and economic development. However, the exact details of the continued policy will be less strict and will include exceptions and options such as being able to apply for certificates to allow the birth of a second child. Another revision of the policy has not yet been started, however the grip is a lot less tight and more families are able to have more than one child while still following the rules, and falling under the exceptions. The successes of the policy can be seen in the current population standings ver sus where the country was headed prior to the policy beginning. It is hard to reflect what the exact population goals were and what the current population is as a number of sources contradict each other yet each claim to be en discontinued in China in the late sass and since population counts have been restarted in 1975 they have never been referred to as reliable. You read "China’s One Child Policy" in category "Papers" This shows that the population goal was not set in stone and that the actual population in China is unknown. According to sources, the estimated population in China has been continually growing since 1953 when the death rate began falling significantly and the birthrate increased, creating a 2. 8 percent population growth rate. The increase was initially embraced by the public and the leaders of China saw the population growth as part of the countries strength. A growing population following hundreds of years of war, epidemics, rebellions and the collapse of imperial authority was a welcomed change. (Kane) However, when the reality of the increasing population hit home and the effects of the growing population started effecting communities, the policy began being designed. When it was introduced, it is said the leaders had a goal in mind; in 1979 they hoped the population of China, in the year 2000, would be at approximately 1. Billion. The 2000 census showed the population at 1. 27 billion, however many people argue that this is an underestimate because the census neuters in China is the same committee that is meant to be in charge of population control. Whether the population actually decreased or not is hard to say, but what has been proven is that per woman, the fertility rate has dropped from 2. 9 chil dren, down to 1. 7. (Hester) China’s population, which now stands at about 1. 3 billion, is growing at the rate of 0. 6 percent and is expected to peak around 1. 6 billion by 2050, according to the U. S. State Department. CNN) Following the peak, it is expected to drop off drastically resulting in the population numbers desired by leaders in China. As a whole, the policy has helped prevent approximately 250 million births since 1979. The greatest difference in population has come from those in urban areas, as those in rural settings are less keen on the rule. Although the rule only officially applies to those living in urban areas, couples in rural landscapes are also advised and sometimes pressured to follow the one child policy as well. Even before the rule went into effect, nearly 90% of urban couples had already decided to have only one child. This was in part due to the small living spaces and the hours Chinese workers are expected to put into a Job. Add to that the exhausting tasks of caring for a family and the majority of couples can’t fathom having more than one child. Rural families, on the other hand, need larger families to financially support them as they grow older as they tend to have limited savings and no pensions (Kane). Discouragements of larger families include â€Å"financial levies on each additional child and sanctions which ranged from social pressure to curtailed career prospects for those in government Jobs† (Kane). Specific measures varied across each individual community, but in a tight knit community, the pressure o adhere to the one-child policy is high. Having what they call â€Å"unapproved pregnancies† which are children that are not approved by the family planning authorities, can bring problems to more than Just the defiant family. For example, if a couple was to have an unapproved pregnancy in a community and this birth caused the community to exceed the yearly birth quota, then other families who had previously been approved to have a child, would have to wait until the next year and families in China. Not only do families feel pressure in having children, they also feel pressure in the gender of the child they have. A well-known effect caused by the one child policy in China, is the preference of having a son over a daughter. Before the policy was implemented, the ratio was about 105 males to every 100 females overall in China, but currently the ratio stands at 114 males to every 100 females. The desire to have a son rather than a daughter is due to the tradition that in the parents’ old age, the daughter moves in with the parents of the son to care for them. In the event that a daughter is born instead off son, families abiding by the one child rule, more often peasants, dispose of the infant RL and try again, this time hoping for a son. This practice is called sex selective infanticide. Another well-known reason to dispose of the daughter is so that when the child grows up and tries to start a family, the families’ last name tied with the daughter won’t have a chance to be tarnished by a daughter breaking the one child policy. Beliefs in China are that an infant does not own life until they are six months old; therefore getting rid of the infant daughter is not seen as a crime. The method used, most commonly by the father, is to place the infant in a bucket of cold water that Chinese refer to as â€Å"baby water†. In a study done in 1980, for every 1000 infants being born across China, 53 were being disposed of, but in the rural areas of the country, the ratio was much higher (Kane). In some communities of China, one out of every three daughters born are disposed of. The boy to girl ratio proves to be troubling for China in the future, but as of now, no measures are being taken to prevent this common practice. Families struggle to decide whether to keep the daughter or try again for another, in hopes that it is a boy. Many people were frustrated when the rule was set in place in 1979. Going from the â€Å"longer-later- ewer† rule that did allow more than one child, Just a certain amount of space between each birth (usually 3 years), to having Just one child, ruined a lot of couple’s family plans. Especially those who had already had one child, a girl, and were planning on trying again later for a boy. Most couples had to accept the plan and were â€Å"plagued† with the reality that their one child would be a girl and would likely leave them in their old age. But some couples broke the new rule, and tried for a son. Penalties faced for having another child included losing workforce â€Å"points† and even personal belongings. Some locals surveyed say it was worth it, but others, who had a daughter a second time, are now even more devastated. The only way to gain back those points and reclaim their confiscated items is for the woman to be permanently fixed by a licensed doctor. Almost all couples breaking the rule and having a second child are forced to undergo such procedures. For traditional families, it can be heartbreaking. However, for a number of more modern families, the policy is becoming understood and even accepted. Some say having only one child ensures better care, including better nutrition, dress, education, and more attention. These modern couples embrace the one child rule, understanding that â€Å"the best care can be given to a child when there is only one child to care for† (Ghana). Modern couples understand the policy and some even chose to undergo the procedure after their first child to avoid being punished. These are the government or NIFOC. While there are some that agree and abide, there are still some that will fight it until it is taken out of practice. Those that fight it may not be beneficiaries of some of the positive results the policy has produced. Even some of the only daughters are enjoying benefits that, without the policy, would not have existed. Since the policy implementation over 30 years ago, a number of children born under the one child policy are now adults. Feelings towards the policy are across the board, but the statistics are not. A number of studies done show that children born under the policy, especially girls, tend to have a better life than those with multiple siblings. One obvious reason for that is the family with one child is not scolded by the government with fees, income confiscation and other humiliations. But in the studies there are other reasons that children are better off as an only child. For example, â€Å"many one child families are made of two parents and one gather. With no male heir competing for resources, parents have spent more on their daughters’ education and well-being, a groundbreaking shift after centuries of discrimination† says Jeffery Hays, an expert on the one child policy. In 1978, women made up only 24. 2 percent of the student population at Chinese colleges and universities. By 2009, nearly half of China’s full-time undergraduates were women and 47 percent of graduate students were female, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. (Hays) This is the first time in China’s history that school enrollment between males and females are near equal. So, although the policy might be hard to understand and frowned upon by many, the statistics can’t be denied, having Just one child in China ensures that child a better life. In studying and reading of the family planning policy in China I believe that it is a very difficult rule to dissect. There are obvious reasons that the policy was set into place, and had it not been implemented, the population of China would have far outgrown the resources that country has to offer. I think the biggest issue that comes into play is the tradition of sons moving in with their parents to care for them. This is the largest reason that the surviving birth rate of females is so low and males is so high. It is hard to say to abandon the tradition and have elderly care in a home or find another way, however in China, the act of a tradition so strong between families it makes that idea unrealistic. I do think that something needs to be done that alters the tradition into something that welcomes both males and females into the world before China is overrun by males and the men to women ratio is even worse than it currently is. Overall I think the policy had to happen and it would not be horrible if other entries took this idea into consideration. How to cite China’s One Child Policy, Papers

Cultural Differences Essay Example For Students

Cultural Differences Essay Many students expand their view of the world during their time in college. Such growth often results from encounters between students who have lived different cultural, economic, or academic experiences. With your future growth in mind, describe a potential classmate that you believe you could learn from either within or outside a formal classroom. It is a small world after all. Going to different states, cities, or even just around your local neighborhood, you can find many different people and cultures. American society is filled with culturally diverse people who open us up to a new way of thinking and help us perceive other nations with a less myopic view. As a culturally diverse person like myself, I have always enjoyed learning about others and their background. A plethora of information can overwhelm my mind just by chatting with someone who is diverse culturally, academically, and economically. In the same way I have encountered a similar experience in high school that has changed my understanding of the Chinese heritage. My first interaction with another culture was when I met my close friend, Ying Ching from China, who opened doors to a new part of the world for me. The major difference between us was our religion. Her religion, Buddhism, the predominant religion in China, has teachings based on polytheism. In contrast to my religion, Islam, which is strictly monotheistic. Once I informed her that I go to Jamat Khana my church everyday and she was surprised because she only attends her temple once a week. She then told me her family practiced religion on a daily basis back in China, but because she is from a Communist country that suppresses any sort of religion, she and her family had to endure many hardships. Not only did we try to understand each others religion, but also the languages, food, and customs of our different cultures. Sometimes, just for fun we would translate a word or a phrase in on anothers language. I have invited Ying over for a traditional family dinner and introduced several food items from my country. I even tried to teach her a traditional Pakistani dance called Rasara, which we practiced for hours. Once she brought me one of her traditional pork dish called Yangzhou and I had to explain to her that as a Muslim I can not eat pork. Ill never forget the time she taught me how to use chopsticks. I was so frustrated! The friendship between Ying and I has taught us to not only accept our culture but other cultures as well. College is not only about furthering your education, it is also learning about others and their cultures also, appreciating others as they are. I can envision myself exploring other cultures of the world without leaving the United States. I am cognizant that extremely few students get a chance to experience the world and its cultures first hand. With a culturally diverse campus like yours, meeting someone  of that caliber described in my essay will expose my intellect to new waves of thoughts. It will not only enhance my learning, but it will make me a person who can better adapt in the global environment. I could rest assure that no matter where I go, I will be able to live and work in collaboration and harmony with the member of that society.

Organization sustainability strategy

Introduction The resource based theory has been an important step in strategic management, as it has provided a new point of view to explain firm’s success. According to the focus on resources, a firm’s success is due to joint resources and capabilities which an enterprise owns and which makes it different from its competitors.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Organization sustainability strategy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Resource based theory is approach applied in business management to choose the appropriate company’s resources. It argues that for a company to be successful in any competitive market it has to utilize all its available resources. This theory emphasizes the selecting company’s main resources. These resources should be rare, valuable, non substitutable and inimitable. For company’s performance to grow, it is important to protect its crucial resource (Conn er Prahalad 1996, p. 485). Resource based theory is different from market focused approach in that, for it to fully benefit from growth opportunities it has to venture in new markets. For a company to prosper, it has to frequently evaluate its weakness and strength. To enhance company‘s capabilities, it is essential to strategize on future market opportunities and improve firm’s processes and structure. Resources contribute to organizational success and competitive advantage. Firm’s success is dependent on industry’s location attractiveness and competitive advantage over rivals. Industry attractiveness is the key basis for success. Firms should look for environment that is favorable, and then locate attractive strategic groups and segments in the firms. Firms should moderate pressure from opponents by adjusting their firm structure and influencing competitors’ behavior (Grant 1991, p. 126). Tangible and intangible resources and their contributions to sustainable competitive advantage Firms have their resource based approach encroached in the organization economies literature, where theories of profit and competition focus on the firm’s internal resources as key determinant of success in a competition.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Central understanding of research based view of a firm is the definition of resources, competitive advantage, and sustained competitive advantages (Andrews1971). Anything considered of weakens or strength in a firm is a resource. Tangible resources are tied semi permanently to a firm. It also includes all assets, capabilities, organizational processes, firm attributes, and information. Additionally, tangible resource entails knowledge controlled by a firm. This knowledge enables firm to come up with new strategies and implement them in order to boost firm’s effectiveness and efficiency (Amit Schoemaker 1993, p. 38). There are various types of tangible resources. They include; physical capital resources which consists of the firm plants and equipment, technology and geographic location. Tangible resources also include such things as experience, judgment, and intelligence of the individual manager and workers in a firm. Firm’s capital resources entails planning, firm’s structure, controlling and coordinating systems, and the informal relation among groups within the firm and between the firms and other firms in its environment (Barney 1991, p. 104). Both tangible and non tangible resources are the sources of competitive advantage. Competitive advantage is a situation in which a firm strategizes and comes up with an idea that is not being implemented by any other firm. For competitive advantage to be realized, a firm has to have heterogeneity in resources, and resource immobility. Variance in resources among firms is referred to as firm res ource heterogeneity. The prior assumption, make the difference between traditional strategic theory and resource based theory. Contrarily, firm resources are considered homogenous in environmentally focused strategy approach. This applies to all firms in an industry. Firm resources immobility is a situation in which firms which are competing fail to secure resources from other resource market or firms.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Organization sustainability strategy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In the environmentally focused strategy model, resources are mobile. This means that firms can poses, buy or make resources which are owned by another firm. There a concept distinction between sustained advantage and competitive advantage. Within the resource based theory, a sustained competitive advantage occurs due to incapability of other competing firms to have similar benefits of competitive advantage. In th is case, there is sustaining of competitive advantage until all efforts by competitor to duplicate the advantage have ceased. Therefore, four criteria are involved in providing a sustained competitive advantage: the resource must be unique and able to add positive value to the firm or rare between current and potential competitors, the resource must be imperfectly imitable, and the resource cannot be substituted with another resource by competing firm (Barney 1986, p. 1238). In strategic management, the resource based approach suggests that organization theory and organization behavior may rich source of finding and theories concerning rare, non imitable and non substitutable resources in a firm. The following are the qualities required for a resource to be a source of sustained competitive advantage: it must be rare, add value to the firm, it should inimitable and there must be no adequate substitutes for the resources. Bearing in mind the concept of intangible resources and the en umeration issued it can be clearly deduced that human resources (skills, know-how, talent, and so on) are intangible resources, the importance of which has already been recognized. However, until a few years ago, little attempt has been made to identify and give structure to the nature and role of intangible resources in strategic management. Intangible resources, as tangible ones, may create competitive advantages because they are the basis capabilities. Balance sheet does not show the actual value of intangible resources.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This document does not show the value of employees’ knowledge, know-how, talent, innovative capacity, and the like. Intangible resources may generate competitive advantages if they are strategic that is, if they comply with joint conditions (Penrose 1959). Considering human resources’ own capabilities, skills, and potential which are crucial for a firm’s success, then these resources may be: scarce if these capacities are not suitable in the labor market; valuable because they make it possible to offer products or services highly valued by customers; difficult to imitate because a person’s job depends not only on his knowledge, but also on his satisfaction, motivation, intuition, and personality; non replaceable because it is very difficult to get the same results from different resources; or a part of the obtained rents are appropriated by the enterprise because its workers do not accurately know their value. A problem now arises from the condition regar ding acquisition. Intangible resources may be attracted to an enterprise which offers higher compensation, higher responsibility, career development programs, and the like. For this reason, some companies are adopting measures that make it more difficult for crucial workers to leave or measures that create a greater feeling of being a part of the firm. Consider that intangible resources are able to be strategic resources. Intangible resources may generate functional and cultural capabilities due to experience, abilities, values, integration in the company, and so forth. These capabilities are sources for a competitive advantage. So, the resource based theory suggests that intangible resources may create or sustain a competitive advantage through competency development (Witcher Chau 2008, p. 72). Nature and roles of intangible resources Intangibles resources are strategic firm’s resources whose main objective is to facilitate a firm in making sustainable values which are not affordable to most of firms (rarity). They are sources of long-term benefits which cannot be possessed by other firms. They cannot be imitated by competitors or substituted by other resources. They are immobile; this means that intangible resources cannot be replicated, traded or transferred by competitors. They are non financial, non physical, and cannot be represented in financial statement. Additionally, they have a finite life. These make them intangible in nature. For intangible resources to be represented in financial statement, they need to be connected to firm’s services and products identifiable from other resources. Additionally, it should be a distinguishable outcome of precedent business (McGowan Porter 2003, p. 82). Prior to discussing the potential of intangible resources for constituting a sustained competitive advantage, it is important to clarify conception of intangible resources. Intangible resources are tools of human capital under the firm’s contr ol in a direct employment relation. Intangible resource practices, on the other hand, are the organizational activities oriented towards running a team of human capital and making sure that the capital is employed towards the fulfillment of organization goal. Application of resource based theory focuses directly on skills of human being in organization. It also seeks to genotypically classify organization based on competencies. In this model, these competencies are found in the knowledge, skills, and abilities of organizational members. Mutually these approaches identify the significance of the individual member of organization as the important resource, rather than the practices or procedures used by firm (Aryee1994, p. 74). Intangible resources and sustainability resource based approach points to intangible resources as the key controller of performance sustainability variance a cross firms. Intangible resources refer indistinctly to all concepts excluding resources that are evide ntly tangible for instance financial or physical assets. Intangible resources are typically hard to codify and tacit. Mostly, they trade in imperfect factor markets and exhibit complementarities. This has made it very difficult for firms to develop, acquire, replicate and accumulate intangible resources. Additionally, this has made it difficult for them to be understood or copied by other firms. This makes them valuable and prone to be the basis of a sustainable competitive advantage for a firm. Resource based approach prediction about the role of intangibles resources in sustaining superior firm performance can be made formal by assuming that the higher the intangible resources a firm possess, the larger the sustainability of its competitive advantage. However, stating the prediction in such a way does not lead to a very power fullest of the underlying theory. For instance, assumption like that could be right due to size effects linked to industry with the prior argument making int angibles resources so crucial under resource based approach. Therefore, in formation regarding significance of intangible resource in the aggregate may not capture the gist of resource based approach (Peteraf 1993, p.186). Rather, resource based approach arguments seem to suggest assessment on significance of intangibles resources relative to tangibles resources and the degree of intangibility of a firm’s resources. For instance, from a resource based perspective, the tact of the firm’s knowledge base, the complexity of a firm’s activities and the complementarities among them, or the firm’s dependence on imperfect factor markets, and a recall characteristics that can be expected to translate into a greater degree of intangibility of the firm’s resource endowment. The challenge in imitating, substituting or trading intangible resources endowment arises from such characteristics and is in turn responsible for the greater sustainability expected under resource based approach. There are specific vehicle through which the characteristics of intangible resources reflects into sustainability of firm’s competitive advantages. Because of because of lower tradability and higher stickiness of tangible resources they are subjected to commitment source, which are defined as the tendency of strategies to persist overtime. Commitment in turn is the general explanation for organizations sustained differences in performance (Conner Prahalad1996, p. 479). If intangibles resources help sustain performance differences across firms by enhancing the sustainability of competitive advantage, then competitive advantages must either stay constant or also persist in time. Radical innovation destroys the usefulness of firms existing capabilities or architectural knowledge. Core rigidities are the innovation inhibiting downside of core capabilities. Resources management is developing and implementing new practices which motivate employees, increa se their abilities, develop new capabilities, and increase their liabilities Meaning and the nature of dynamic capabilities and how they contribute to sustainable competitive advantage Dynamic capabilities are defined as the ability of a firm to reconfigure, build, and integrate external and internal competences to deal with dynamic environments. It refers to firm’s capacity to attain innovative and new types of competitive advantage provided that market position and path dependencies are availed. Capabilities, includes assets, skills and gathered knowledge put in practice via organizational processes that facilitate firms to synchronize activities and make use of their resources (Coyne1986, p. 58). Empirical indicators for sustainable competitive advantage are that, it must be imitable, rare and valuable. A capability is considered valuable or effectiveness. Resource based approach expresses value in terms of economic rents, which can be defined as returns to a factor in exc ess of its opportunity costs which presents two types of economic rents. In order to be a source for competitive advantage, the capability must also be rare that is not possessed by many other competitors. The same reasoning is also valid for bundles of resources if they are all needed in order to implement a strategy. Exactly how rare the capability or resources must be in order to form the basis for a competitive advantage is difficult to say. In general, a capability should be considered rare as long as the number of owners of the capability is lower than the number needed for perfect competitive dynamics in an industry (Barton1992, p.120). Having a valuable and rare capability provides a company with dynamic competitors. However, in order to avoid replication by competitors, the capability at hand must also be imperfectly imitable that is too difficult or too costly for other companies to obtain. To sustain such imitable position, resource based approach acknowledges the importa nce for the existence of capabilities. Thus, a particular history can explain the possession of a certain capability as well as the difficulties for other companies with another history to acquire it. Except for history dependency, imitation may be difficult because the link between particular capabilities sustainable competitive advantage is unclear that is causally ambiguous (Stalk Shulman1992, p.58). An additional reason for being imperfectly imitable is when the capability is a complex social phenomenon, in which personal relationships, reputation between customers or a specific company culture plays an important role. A part from having a valuable, rare and imperfectly imitable capability, it is also necessary to have proper organizational processes that can successfully exploit it. Understanding mechanisms through which competitive advantage can be persistent for long period. This requires strategy design in to maximally exploit effects of firm’s unique characteristics (Eisenhardt Martin 2000, p. 1114). These processes are often named complementary processes and include features such as formal reporting structure, explicit management control systems, and compensation policies. In recent years, as markets and industry settings have been changing faster, the question of how to create, expand and modify operational capabilities has become increasingly important. Dynamic capabilities may perhaps be best approached on a somewhat metaphorical level as the many, and often relatively open-ended definitions indicate advantage and do not replace the operational capabilities. Expressed differently, dynamic capabilities contribute to the sustainability of the competitive advantage, but on their own they cannot be a source for competitive advantage. Dynamic capabilities are organizational processes. For example, things are done in the firm, or what might be referred to as its routines, or patterns of current play three roles: integration and coordination of a ctivities both internal and external to the company, facilitation of learning on an individual as well as on an organizational level, and reconfiguration its resources or capabilities. Dynamic capabilities are concerned with the integration of resources (Teece Shuen1997, p. 517). For instance, strategic decision making can be regarded as a dynamic capability when managers pool different types of expertise into a strategy for the firm. Dynamic capabilities can also be about reconfiguration of resources within firms. Also, replication can be such a dynamic capability. Another type of dynamic capability is based on knowledge creation routines. For example, how managers and others build new thinking and knowledge into the company (Yip 2004, p. 20). Conclusion During strategizing firms mainly consider capabilities and resources available. These two identities are the key aspect in which firms base their work frame. Additionally they determine firm profits and efficiency. The main focus of resource based theory to strategy formulation is undertaking the relationships between resources, capabilities, competitive advantage, and profitability. In particular, an understanding of mechanisms through which competitive advantage can be persistent for long period. Ever since the industrial revolution, the human resource function has suffered important changes which can be summarized by the existence of two tendencies. The hard tendency, whose key idea is the minimization of a firm’s costs, included labor costs. The soft tendency, which considers resources as a key element to be optimized, in consequence, gives importance to the employee’s motivation and satisfaction. Tangible and intangible resources are the sources of competitive advantage. Competitive advantage is a situation in which a firm strategizes and comes up with an idea that is not being implemented by any other firm. For competitive advantage to be realized, a firm has to have heterogeneity in reso urces, and resource immobility. Variance in resources among firms is referred to as firm resource heterogeneity. The resource based theory has made it possible to mark the significance of resources for a firm since it facilitates in making competitive advantages. Consequently, resources management is developing and implementing new practices which motivate employees, increase their abilities, develop new capabilities, and increase their liabilities. References Amit, R Schoemaker, P 1993, ‘Strategic assets and organizational rent,’ Strategic Management Journal, vol.14, pp. 33-46. Andrews, K 1971, The concept of corporate strategy, Homewood, IL: Dow Jones-Irwin. Aryee, S 1994, ‘The social organization of careers as a source of sustained competitive advantage,†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ International Journal of Human Resource Management, vol. 5, pp. 67-88. Barney, B 1986, ‘Strategic factor markets’, Management Science, vol.32, pp.1231-1241. Barney, B 1991, ‘F irm resources and sustained competitive advantage’, Journal of Management, vol.17 no.1, pp.99-120. Barton, D 1992, ‘Core capabilities and core rigidities’, Strategic Management Journal, vol.13, pp.111-125. Conner, R Prahalad, K 1996, ‘A resource based theory of the firm: knowledge versus opportunism,’ Organization Science, vol. 7, 477–501. Coyne, K 1986, ‘Sustainable competitive advantage: what it is and what it isn’t,’ Business Horizons, pp. 54-61. Eisenhardt, K Martin, (2000), ‘Dynamic capabilities: what are they?’ Strategic Management Journal, vol. 21, pp.1105-1121. Grant, R. 1991, ‘The Resource based theory of competitive advantage: Implications for strategy formulation,’ California Management Review, vol. 33, no.3, pp. 114-135. McGowan, M Porter, E 2003, ‘The emergence and sustainability of abnormal profits,’ Strategic Organization, vol. 1, 79–108. Penrose, T 1959, The T heory of the growth of the firm, New York, NY John Wiley. Peteraf, A 1993, ‘The corner stones of competitive advantage: are source based view’, Strategic Management Journal, vol.14 no.10, pp.179-191. Stalk, G. Shulman, L1992, ‘Competing on capabilities: the new rules of corporate strategy’, Harvard Business Review, pp.57-69. Teece, D Shuen, A 1997, ‘Dynamic capabilities and strategic management’, Strategic Management Journal, vol.18, pp. 509-533. Witcher, B Chau, V 2008, ‘Strategic and performance management balanced Score cards at EDF energy and Tesco’, Strategic Change, vol. 4, pp. 56-123. 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DMX essays

DMX essays The song Slippin by artist DMX uses tone, theme and imagery. DMXs purpose for writing this song was to convey the theme how life in the streets is, and how you can over come life with drugs if you give it all you got. The song begins with the speaker talking about problems he is having with his mom, and thats when he decides to run away from home. Then it moves on to when he is on the streets by himself, and that is when his problems begin to worsen. In the first stanza, the speaker starts talking about the problem he is having with his mom. He then decides to leave his house. When he leaves his house he thinks its going to be easy to live alone in the streets and that is when he uses imagery and says Im gonna be that seed that doesnt need much to succeed . He then finds out that life in the streets is not so easy and thats when he says, Im ready for the world, or at least I thought I was... In this stanza he also uses tone when he says, DAMN, was it my fault something I did....? Here he is asking himself if it was his fault that his father had left him at age 7 and why did his father leave. In the chorus the speaker uses the phrase ....Im Slippin , Im fallin, I cant get up, which means that the speaker is loosing every hope that will help him survive through all the problems he has. The speaker also uses theme in the chorus when he says, See, to live is to suffer, but to survive, well, thats to find meaning in the suffering. He uses theme here because he is saying that to him life is nothing but suffering and if you survive the suffering, its just to find meaning in it. In the middle of the song the speaker talks about how he hit rock bottom. He says that in three years he started showing signs of stress, that he did ...

Stroke Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Stroke - Research Paper Example This is without any other signs that could have perpetuated the condition other than vascular origins. The condition can be aggravated by factors such as unhealthy diet, psychosocial stress, depression, cardiac causes such as fibrillation of the arteries, high cholesterol, reduced physical activity, excessive alcohol intake and high waist-to-hip ratio. Despite knowledge of factors that aggravate stroke or trigger it, the actual cause remains unknown, although there are possible causes that lead to its occurrence. In case of the ischemic stroke, is known to be caused by the occlusion of blood vessels in the cerebral cortex, which then takes responsibility of most of the strokes that occur (Catangui & julia 2012). The other form of stroke is the hemorrhagic stroke, which results from bleeding in the cranium and causes minor strokes. Manifestations Ischemic stroke is often accompanied by reduced mental functionality and cognitive impairment. Studies have shown that stroke can bear sympt oms such as dementia and, therefore, patients suffering from dementia have an increased risk of suffering from stroke (de Moraes, 2003). Clinical studies have revealed that influences of temperature have a bearing on the occurrence of ischemic strokes. This is based on the fact that low temperatures have a profound on the properties of blood such as viscosity and the ability of blood to clot (Hong et al, 2003). Moreover, stroke affects different people based on demographic variables such as sex, age, height and weight. In some patients, symptoms of stroke involve migraines; moreover, neurologic deficits are characteristic of strokes with minimal capability to resume later productivity. The positive side of this condition is that not all patients who have suffered from stroke require constant care. In addition, lifestyle issues are known to increase the risk of suffering a strokes both first occurrence and recurrence. For example, use of tobacco increases the chance of getting stroke by a significant margin as compared to those who do not smoke. As for nutritional and dietary intake, arteriosclerosis is reduced in order bringing down the risk factor of having an ischemic stroke. This is also the case for salt intake and blood pressure, which is a known aggravator of ischemic stroke. Diagnostic tests In diagnosing and conducting tests on patients suffering from ischemic stroke, there are a number of effective tests and diagnosis. Tests conducted on these patients are used to determine the different categories and subtypes of ischemic stroke. Clinics make use of magnetic resonance imaging and computer tomography to create a basis of risk factor profiles (Adams et al, 1993). Blood tests for stroke patients involve a complete blood count (CBC) where the number of blood cells in the blood is determined (Bogousslavsky & Regli, 1987). This method is also use to determine other conditions and, therefore, other tests are run concurrently to rule them out. The most impor tant test is the coagulation test used to determine the coagulation rate of the patients and determine the risk level. Through this test, medical practitioners are able to prescribe preventive measures and even start medication for the patient. This test is used together with thrombolysis to ensure that circulation of blood to the brain is sufficient. The other clinical test that is used to investigate the blood supply to the brain is through the use of MRI and CT