Operations and Legacy of the Dell Corporation Essay -- Business, Compu

Portfolio Project – Dell, Inc. Dell, Inc.’s origins date back over 25 years ago when it was founded under the company name PC’s Limited (Edwards, 2007). This once small company got its start when founder Michael Dell began building personal computers for students at the University of Texas. Today, Dell has developed its product line to offer more than computers; they also sell entertainment and office equipment. Dell’s leadership, guided by the corporate code of conduct, has shown a clear commitment to environmental matters and frequently publicizes the ways in which the company has developed new techniques to reduce the company’s energy use and product waste (â€Å"Latest update,† 2010). The main reason for Dell’s success is their ability to manage the financial health of their company. This success is reflected in the firm’s financial statements. There are three main financial statements that should be evaluated to understand the financial status of a firm – the balance sheet, the income statement, and the firm’s statement of cash flows (Keown, Martin, & Petty, 2011). The balance sheet provides a snapshot of the firm’s financial position on a particular date and includes information about the firm’s assets, liabilities, and shareholders’ equity. This particular financial statement is an overview of what the firm owns and what the firm owes (â€Å"Beginners’ guide to financial statements,† 2007). An analysis of Dell’s current balance sheet shows that they have approximately $40 million in assets - of which $29 million are current assets. This means that the firm expects to turn this amount of current assets into cash within the next 12 months (Keown, Martin, & Petty, 2011). Further analysis of Dell’s balance sheet reveals that the fir... ...1087&p=irol-reportsAnnual Keown, A. J., Martin, J. D., & Petty, J. W. (2011). Foundations of finance: The logic and practice of financial management (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Latest update on Dell corporate responsibility progress. (2010, October). Retrieved from http://content.dell.com/us/en/corp/d/corp-comm/cr-newsletter.aspx Loan rates. (n.d.). Omniglot. Retrieved from http://www.omniglot.com/info- articles/chicago/loans-rates.html Ogg, J. C. (2011, January 27). 2011†²s new dividend candidates from giant companies. 24/7 Wall Street. Retrieved from http://247wallst.com/2011/01/27/2011s-new-dividend- -from-giant-companies-amgn-brk-a-dell-ebay-emc-kss-csco-aapl/2/ Peavler, R. (n.d.). Use profitability ratios in financial ratio analysis. About.com. Retrieved from http://bizfinance.about.com/od/financialratios/a/Profitability_Ratios.htm

Essay --

What Are Your Rights Worth To You? George Edward Peele III King &Low Heywood Thomas School National security has been greatly enhanced by the passage of the patriot act. The USA PATRIOT act is an act of congress of Congress that was signed by President Bush in 2001. The title of the act is a ten-letter acronym that stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism. The patriot act was signed into law as a result of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The USA PATRIOT act has had helped America make progress toward becoming the most secure nation in the world. What is the Patriot Act? The USA PATRIOT act was signed into law quickly without much debate back in 2001 right after the September 11th attacks in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania. The Patriot Act touches almost everything from more funding for businesses that are affected by terrorist attacks all the way to funding affected families of terrorist attacks. The main reason the Patriot act was put in place was to prevent future terrorist attacks on U.S. soil and overseas attacks on Americans. With the act the government would try to stop the attacks before they take place to prevent American deaths. The Patriot Act was put in place to protect America, and at the time many agreed with the Act and went along with it. That was at first. That was when many Americans felt threatened for their safety. Now, many have had time to reflect back on the Patriot Act and feel differently (Ball 2004 p. 78-84). The Patriot Act Pros and Cons is a topic that is much like a double-edged sword. On one hand many people feel they would like to be protected and feel that they will give up some ... ...ed to be worried. It simply is not possible to not to have some measure of national security precautions without jeopardizing the security of the populace, especially with new technology that America has now. The Patriot Act does not infringe upon the rights of citizens; it ensures that those who wish to harm this country have limited means to do so. The Patriot Act was passed as a means to allow better protection of citizens given the current state of technology today. The aftermath of the attacks on September 11th demonstrated that this was necessary. The Constitution is not designed to render the nation defenseless against people who have no value for human life, and who will use whatever means necessary to harm others to advance their goals In conclusion the Patriot Act gives the government the tools in which are necessary to keep America and its citizens safe.

Gain credibility as a writer Essay

Any writer who is looking to build a successful career must gain an authority within the writing/publishing industry. Credibility assures customers that a writer is an established and respected professional. If you are searching for ways to gain credibility as a writer, consider the following steps. The best way to become a credible writer is to be a better writer, and the best way to improve your writing is to write everyday. Use whatever mediums are available to you, the Internet, local newspapers and magazines. A credible writer is someone who knows as much about writing as possible. Understanding the technicalities, writing rules and styles is imperative in this industry. For this reason, you should take writing classes and workshops in various areas of writing, and specifically in your own genre of writing, as well as attend conventions and conferences. Have an established writer provide some additional content for your site. Once you build your own reputation, ask that credible writer if you can submit an article. If you are a skilled writer, you will be invited to write for other blogs. Write for as many as you can and expand your readership. This in turn will build your writing integrity and reputation If you write a blog that is focused on the art of writing, then you will build credibility with every entry. Potential clients will read your work. A blog is better than a resume because it demonstrates your skill of writing. Just make sure that every entry you write is edited. Just like a blog can build your credibility as a great writer, it can damage it with a single typo.

Characteristics of Internet delivery services Essay

What are the characteristics of services that will be most appropriate for internet delivery? Internet service can be provided through telephone lines .Internet connection speed can generally be divided into two categories: dialup and broadband Characteristics of the Internet: The characteristics of the Internet that affect its usefulness in service can be divided broadly into Information and Connectivity. â€Å"The advantages arise from the Internet’s enormous capacity to link participants with information and with each other. The Information and Connectivity of the Internet have unique characteristics: Information: †¢Information on the Internet is multimedia–capable of having coloured images, sound and video. These can be expensive to produce, but increasingly there are open sources of these types of content that are free of charge. Once produced, the price of distribution of the information is nominal compared to that of producing hard-copy books, CDs and films. †¢Information on the Internet can be hyperlinked. This permits both tutors and learners to assemble large bodies of information from a wide variety of sources without actually having to store the information in one place; e.g., on paper or a hard disk. Hyperlinks within information on the Internet enables users to find or cite additional sources of pertinent information. †¢Information on the Internet is searchable. Search engines such as Google enable users to find information on every imaginable topic. †¢Intelligent agents can be programmed to search the Internet for particular information and inform the user of the existence and location of that information. In fact, these agents can harvest pertinent information and deliver it to the user’s desktop. †¢Information on the Internet originates from world-wide sources. Users are no longer limited to the library, gallery, museum or video or record store in their locale. Connectivity: †¢Probably the most powerful characteristic.

Exam Review Guide

Exam 3 Review Guide This guide lists the areas that you should concentrate on when reviewing for Exam 3. To adequately prepare for the test, you should first read the General Tso, Meet Steven Covey article to get comfortable with it. Then, as you review the items listed below, think in terms of how the theories discussed in class relate to the particular scenario described in the article. The exam will consist of multiple essay questions. Please don’t forget to bring a copy of the article with you, so that you will be able to have it available for your reference.You may highlight the article but you cannot write anything on your copy. Be prepared to identify issues, sources of the issues, and formulate/justify your recommendations. Should you have any questions in the course of your preparation, please do not hesitate to e-mail or call me. Good luck! Language, Culture, and Communication †¢ the context of language-based communication †¢ low-context cultures and explic it communication †¢ high-context cultures favor a more diffuse communication style †¢ communication on the Internet †¢ ethnocentrism †¢ stereotypesIntercultural Marketing Communications I †¢ clarifying the brand identity †¢ achieving visibility through identity-building brand exposure †¢ involving the consumer in brand-building experiences Intercultural Marketing Communications II †¢ service essentials †¢ the five lessons pertaining to services Great Leaps, Persistence, and Innovation: The Evolving Story of Hyundai †¢ Hyundai’s three-fold strategy †¢ the three pillars of Hyundai’s philosophy The Art and Science of Managing the New Global Corporation†¢ Napoleon’s words of wisdom †¢ being part of the solution vs. eing part of the problem †¢ the differences between managing a privately held business and managing a publicly held business †¢ the leadership model of the Carlson Industries (i. e . , the various components of the circle) Marketing the Arts: The Secret Weapon †¢ the importance of mission for not-for-profit organizations †¢ the important issue of economic nature and the influence of innovation on achieving productivity gains †¢ the third challenge in running arts organizations †¢ the mantra of running a successful arts organization †¢ the two types of marketing according to Michael Kaiser †¢ the two audiences that art organizations cater to

Is Warfare in Nature of Man? Essay

War has always been a companion of man and a part of human existence. In the human history only few years have been absolutely peaceful when all peoples of the globe lived in friendship or at least without conflicts. Already the fist weapons, invented by man, could be used as weapons of war. So war can be called an attribute of humans same as mind, or ability to walk on two legs. A question whether war is caused by inborn or social determinants is, perhaps, as old as history. Once more it has been addressed by Margaret Meade in her â€Å"Warfare: An Invention – Not a Biological Necessity†. She argues, that primitive indigenous societies have no idea of warfare and puts in the Eskimos as example. So she believes, that war is a matter of social existence and humans have invented war in the course history just as they invented a wheel. Under Meade, humans have no inborn tendency to war and there are no objective factors for a war to arise. War as she puts it, is a method invented to resolve conflicts, equal to other conflicts resolution methods such as courts and negotiations. This paper is to contest such position and prove, that war is in fact in the nature of man and it is inevitable for man, so it is impossible to speak of war as of invention. It will review some of Meade’s arguments and evaluate them using academic papers, that disagree with Mead’s position. The final thesis of the paper is that WAR IN HUMAN SOCIETIES IS PRECONDITIONED BY BIOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL DETERMINANTS. War her can not be compared to other methods of conflict resolution, because it is not, or at least not only a method to resolve conflicts. War is a phenomena which exists as itself and does not result from necessity to cope with certain misunderstanding. References to some fragments of Mead’s paper shall be used in forming arguments against her theory. First and foremost it is necessary to determine the subject and find out what is war. Meade offers the following definition: â€Å"organized conflict between two groups as groups, in which each group puts an army (even if the army is only fifteen Pygmies) in the field to fight and kill, if possible, some of the members of the army of the other group† . The key word here is â€Å"conflict†. War is usually defined as an organized form of conflicts between groups. Usually such groups are represented by societies or communities, most often by peoples and nations. In his brilliant â€Å"War Before Civilization† professor Lawrence H. Keeley has calculated that 90-95% of peoples communities were once engaged to war in this or that way and many of them fought constantly . Whether war has been invented or not, those numbers suggest, that war is more usual than peace for humans. And all those wars have been caused by conflicts. In this respect war is a result of conflict and it’s embodiment but not the conflict itself. So, in order to find out what war is it is necessary to find out what conflict is and what causes it. For this paper we shall use the following definition: conflict is a discord between needs interests and values of people or between interests, needs and values of a person and the surrounding . War is a conflict between groups, so in this paper we shall speak mostly about conflicts between people, although it is often impossible to clearly distinguish them. At that terms â€Å"war† and â€Å"conflict† should not be confused, because in this paper we accept that war is not a form of conflict. War is not a discord itself, it is a result of discord, which is going to be discussed later. Scholars have proposed a number of theories to explain reasons of conflict resulting in war. They include psychological, evolutionary, sociological, anthropological, rationalist and other ones. Advocates of psychological theories such as E. F. M. Durban and John Bowlby argue that violence is inherited by man. The society oppresses violence as an inacceptable form of behavior. So war is an â€Å"outlet valve† for natural human violence. In order to justify natural violence people use to invent ideologies as causes for war. Some of the â€Å"militarists† even argue that peace does not exist at all and that what seems to be peace is nothing but a preparation to the next war period . Historical theories explain that wars result from certain conditions and are similar to traffic accidents. However, there are no rules to limit them and no system to predict them. However, social scientists criticize those theories stating that in most wars there are leaders who take a final decision about war, so wars can not be recognized purely accidental . However, it can be noticed, that decisions of leaders are taken mostly as a result of certain events and warlike leaders can hardly make people go to war, if they are strongly against fighting. Anthropological theorists, which Margaret Meade stands most close to, argue that war has appeared at some stage of civilization development, so war is culturally learned. Anthropologists reject the presence of links between different forms of violence, so war can not be compared to fighting animals or similar conflicts. War under the result of popular pressure, but it is caused exclusively by violent leaders . However, a question arises once again. If war is not in nature of man, how does war come to the nature of a leader? Sociologists have been interested in war since the early years of sociology, so they have developed their own sociological theories. Eckart Kehr and Hans-Ulrich Wehler pointed that war is a result of internationalized inner tensions inside the society, and the target for aggression is determined by international situation. So the basis for war is economic, political and social situation inside a community. In contrast, Carl von Clausewitz and Leopold von Ranke, who are also said to be advocates of sociological theories, argue, that war results from decision of statesmen, who react to certain situation in this or that way . This argument stands close to anthropological approach. There are several demographic theories about war. Malthusian theories speak that wars are caused by disproportion between growing population and lack of resources for this population. To solve the problem the community starts an expansion which results in war with the neighbors. Youth Bulge theory is more sophisticated. Under it, when a society includes a number of young and physically able young males who can’t find an occupation for themselves inside the community, those young men will fight for fortune outside the community . This phenomenon can be easily found in medieval Europe, where younger sons of the nobility had to leave their father’s estate, which must have been inherited only by the older son. No difference how they called themselves – Vikings, Crusaders or conquistadors, they went to distant lands to make war. Most of them just died, thusly solving the problem of â€Å"younger sons†, and some of them did receive a reward in form of money, new lands and glory. Evolutionary psychology theories see war as a result of evolving psychological features, including fear of being attacked and beliefs that only war can make people happy or ensure their future. This includes fear, that another group of people can be dangerous, that another group can be provoked to conflict, assertion, that other group is immoral or sinful or inherently evil, so it should be punished. Under this theory, the decision to make war can hardly be rational, and is often taken out of fear or hate . The rationalist theories assume, that both sides of conflicts have potential reasons for war which can be understood and logically predicted. Each side strives to obtain the best possible result with minimal losses. In case both parties could reasonably predict the outcome it would be better for them just to accept the results of war without suffering it’s losses. War requires both sides to accept risk. In case the desire to fight a war is stronger than fear of risk, the war is likely to emerge. Entering the war each party needs to evaluate it’s readiness to attack and it’s readiness to be attacked. Under the economic theories war results from economic competition and in peruse for new markets and natural resources. Another possible reason is defense of existing markets and trade roots. And thirdly a war may be caused by the desire of poor countries to benefit from plundering the rich countries . Other schools include Marxist and political science theories, however, their concepts of war remain undeveloped. It should be noted, that a single theory of war can hardly be created. Each particular war is explained by it’s own reasons. Colonial wars are explained by economic theories, and the conquests of Genghis Khan fall under anthropological and demographic theories. An overview has been provided not to choose the best theory, but to find out how each theory supports or contradicts the thesis of Margaret Meade and the thesis of this paper. Meade argues, that since there are peoples, which are unfamiliar with the idea of war itself, even defensive war, it is necessary to speak of war as invention. She states that: â€Å"The CASE FOR warfare is much clearer because there are peoples even today who have no warfare. Of these the Eskimos are perhaps the most conspicuous examples, but the Lepchas of Sikkim described by Geoffrey Gorer in Himalayan Village are as good. Neither of these peoples understands war, not even defensive warfare. The idea of warfare is lacking, and this idea is as essential to really carrying on war as an alphabet or a syllabary is to writing† . Under Meade, war is s ort of response to particular events in peoples tradition. War is a traditional way of settling conflicts in most of the world, and for some people it is not a traditional method, so they just do not know what is war. Meade’s point appears to be vague simply because of lack of actual evidence. She speaks, that some people do not know about war, but the only people she manages to demonstrate as proof are the Eskimos. Perhaps it is not a proof, but an exception that proves the opposite argument. And the argument is, that all peoples fight war, except for Eskimos, and this means, that Eskimos are unusual and they break a common rule. And the common rule is that war is an attribute of man. The described theories summarize different factors, but in total it should be concluded, that war is a response to the situation of conflict. This conflict can be demographic (lack of territory for the population), economic (fighting for markets) or evolutional (hate to others). Of course, there is an anthropological theory, which asserts, that for some reason peoples, which are originally peaceful, suddenly start to support violent leaders, but this theory fails to explain the reasons for such support and origin of violent leaders themselves. All the reasons for war mentioned in the theories reflect usual human reactions to conflicts. When a person has nothing to eat, he or she is likely to steal. When an entire people has nothing to eat, it will fight for food with the neighbors. When a person believes, that his neighbor is an awful criminal, he or she is likely to attack the neighbor in case he approaches, even if he came to say â€Å"hello†. When an entire people believes, that other people is insane, a war between those peoples is likely to emerge. This analogy can be applied to each and every theory. In the light of this it is necessary to specially consider new sorts of war: economic war and terrorist war. Economic wars are ideally explained by economic theories. They are fought for resources and markets. However, they include unfriendly actions and acts of violence. They may have casualties. So they are wars fought in other way. Terroristic wars are even more obvious case. They are fought under instructions of charismatic leaders and with concrete purposes, explained by theories of war. Reasons for the new sorts of war are same as for the old ones. They are results of conflicts. Upon separation of conflict and the resulting war, war becomes characterized as a response to the conflict. When groups of people find no other acceptable way to resolve the conflict, they turn to war. And the more organized the community is, the more organized it’s warfare is. This conflict is violent, because human nature is violent. This means not that violence is necessary for a man, but that violence is available for a man, and man often uses violence. It is just a part of our nature, whether we want it or not. In case it was not true, there would not be no fights of the streets and wars between peoples. But it is true, and non-violence in the society is more unusual, than violence. As soon as it is understood, that war is a VIOLENT METHOD OF RESOLVING CONFLICTS BETWEEN GROUPS OF PEOPLE it becomes obvious, that war is a natural state for a man. It has not been invented, it existed just as long, as man existed. The war took more complex forms, but it remained war. This does not mean, that wars are desirable, surely they are to be avoided at all costs. But even in case all wars are once finished this would not mean, that the war disappears. It will just not be used, but it will continue to exist inside us. Works cited: 1. Margaret Meade, Warfare is only an invention – not a biological necessity. Taken from: http://www. ppu. org. uk/learn/infodocs/st_invention. html (last viewed: October 16, 2007)2. Lawrence H. Keeley. War Before Civilization, Oxford University Press, 1996 3. Ashley Montagu, The Nature of Human Aggression, Oxford University Press, 1976 4. Azar Gat. War in Human Civilization, Oxford University Press, 2006 5. Fuller Gary: The Demographic Backdrop to Ethnic Conflict: A Geographic Overwiew, in: CIA (Ed. ): â€Å"The Challenge of Ethnic Conflict to National and International Order in the 1990s†, Washington 1995 6. Powell Robert. Bargaining Theory and International Conflict. Annual Review of Political Science 5: 1-30, 2002

New York Times Annotated Bibliography Essay

6 September, 2008. â€Å"U. S. Jobless Rate Rises Past 6%, Highest Since ‘03. † Uchitelle, Louis. New York Times. This article informs about the fact that the unemployment rate reached its highest level since 2003; causing workers to worry about the fact that many of them will be jobless and also centers on the high unemployment rate became one of the centers of the presidential debates. This article relates to our course since it suggests how unemployment can affect the economy as a whole and how inflation impacts the job status of a society. The article is also relevant to our course because it also gives the opinion of both McCain and Obama on the unemployment escalation and gives a glimpse of what both candidates would do about it. 9 September, 2008. â€Å"Who Else Can Pile on for a Federal Rescue? † Schwartz, Nelson D. New York Times. This article informs about the federal rescue of the companies Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. The article also informs about the automakers worries and the bailout plans that Washington D. C. has proposed to help automakers out of the same financial crunch. It further opens a debate of whether or not we should allow companies to fail or if we should bail them out as has been proposed by some. This article relates to our course since it suggests that in our market economy we should be realistic enough to realize that at times companies do fail and that economic bail out plans are good as a quick fix but they fall short in the long term. Often we like to think that big business is above the common failings, but as we see from the recent events, big business is no longer an elite thing. It is just what it has always been, businesses that have been built over years with the hard work of the owners. Big business is no different then the small company and in this tough economic times this is spelled out clearly. 13 September, 2008. â€Å"Off the Charts: The Return of the Misery Index. † Norris, Floyd. New York Times. This article informs about the â€Å"misery index†. The misery index is the sum of the inflation rate and the unemployment rate over the preceding 12 months. The misery rate hasn’t been seen since the Carter administration, but yet in this year both rates have seen to be rising. The article also looks at how the misery index has risen in the past during the past presidencies. This article relates to our course since it suggests unless something is done, we are likely to not see an improvement in either the inflation rate or the unemployment rate. The article also is relevant to the course since it suggests by looking at this index we can have a very good gauge of how our economic atmosphere will fare in the coming months. 15 September, 2008. â€Å"A Video Contest To Illustrate Democracy. † Cohen, Noam. New York Times. This article informs about the International Democracy Day and the video contest that was created in conjunction with this day. The video contest offers students and people around the world the chance to say what democracy means to them. This article relates to our course since it talks about the importance of democracy on the global and business stage. Democracy is not just an American concept but one that transcends our country. The article also talks about the companies that are helping with this contest. The companies include NBC and YouTube. The partnership between these companies act as a hallmark for all of us because they are showing that everyone from all walks of life cars about democracy and through democracy we can work together. 18 September, 2008. â€Å"As Fears Grow, Wall St. Titans See Shares Fall. † White, Ben and Dash, Eric. Contributed reporting by Sorokin, Andrew R. New York Times. This article informs about the failing of Wall Street titans like Morgan Stanely and Goldman Sachs. The fear that other company could face the same fate as these giants has spread through Wall Street in the last few months. It is estimated that globally there are losses in the 100 billions as far as stocks are concerned. This article relates to our course since it suggests that the failure of investment firms such as Morgan Stanley affects not only the market here in the United States but also has an impact on the global market as well. We tend to forget when we think about our own economic bad times, that other countries the world over are also experiencing the same economic crunch. 23 September, 2008. â€Å"With Politics in the Air, a Freedom Free-for-All Comes to Town. † Cotter, Holland. New York Times. This article informs about an art exhibit that was going on at the Park Avenue Armory during the middle of September. This exhibit is a tongue-in-cheek look at the political system and demonstrates the true meaning of democracy: the right for people to express their views, no matter how differently they do it, and to show other people a different side to every subject. The art exhibit used speeches, music and silly hats to give people another side to the political elections. This article relates to our course since it suggests that elections and democracy can be talked about in a completely non-partisan, non-electoral but still intensely political way. People who went to the exhibit also got a first hand look at how the freedoms of our country allow for people to express themselves in the ways that they want to, which is what democracy is all about. 25 September, 2008. â€Å"Criticizing Capitalism From the Pulpit. † Pfanner, Eric. New York Times. This article informs about how even religious leaders have joined the crusade in criticizing America’s rogue style of capitalism. World religious leaders have taken the fall of Wall Street icons and used that as a means for criticizing the cowboy style of economics that America has been globally portrayed to utilize. This article relates to our course since it suggests that even a pulpit is a place where economics and business standards can be discussed from. Religion is as far from economics as one can get yet this article clearly shows that the global economics pictures is something that is on everyone’s mind, no matter where they live or what they do. We tend to forget that all things are connected and this article clearly shows us that everything in life is connected and has a more far reaching affect then we first may think. 1 October, 2008. â€Å"Brother, Can You Spare a Loan? † Tarquino, J. Alex. New York Times. This article informs about the credit crisis that the small business and individuals have faced in the last few months. The article also talks about the speculation of many in the business world that the escalation towards the credit crisis will only get worse and will eventually be the death of the small businessman. The article ends by saying that the saddest day for America will be the day that small business does die in this country. This article relates to our course since it suggests that in these frightening economic times we could see the end of the small business. American was founded on the ideals that anyone could make their dreams come true and if the credit crisis totally obliterates the small business it will be a sad day indeed for America. 3 October, 2008. â€Å"As Economy Weakens, Federal Reserve Officials Consider Lowering Rates. † Andrews, Edmund L. New York Times. This article informs about the Federal Reserve’s feelings on the Bush administrations economic bailout plan. According to the Fed, even if the bail out is approved it is too little to late and will do hardly nothing to stop the economic slow down from happening. The reason, in the Fed’s eyes, is that financial institutions are fearful of lending out cash and making bad investments. This article relates to our course since it suggests that the economic slow down affects everyone in our economic atmosphere. It also allows people to see how the Federal Reserve is interpreting what is happening so that the average citizen can gauge what they should do in this economic turmoil. 4 October, 2008. â€Å"End of an Era on Wall Street: Goodbye to All That. † Arango, Tim and Creswell, Julie. New York Times. This article informs about theft of a bronze bust of a saloon owner on Hanover Street. The saloon was a frequent favorite of Wall Street execs and the theft happened just as Wall Street was swept up in the financial whirlwind of economic troubles. This article isn’t about a theft of a statue, but more indicative of the times that we are living in when someone would take a well loved art piece, bound with tradition, to perhaps make a quick buck. This article relates to our course since it suggests that the traditions and ideals of Wall Street are slowly falling by the wayside as the economic crunch gets tighter. Wall Street has always been steeped in economic traction, but the theft of this well loved art piece shows that even tradition can be trampled in the hopes of making some money to pay your bills. 12 October, 2008. â€Å"Finance Students Keep Their Job Hopes Alive. † Leland, John. Contributed Reporting by Fairbanks, Amanda M. ; Koppel, Niko; and Zezima, Katie. New York Times. This article informs about the current job outlook for those who are thinking of making finance a possible career. The article talks about how for many business majors law school seems a viable option now more then ever. Others look at the current economic situation as just something they shouldn’t worry about since they have already figured that they will change jobs five or six times in their careers. This article relates to our course since as people who have made business our major (or for those who this is a first class and they haven’t made up their minds on this as a major) it is important to take a look at the job outlook that we will have to look forward to in the coming years. 14 October, 2008. â€Å"Commodity Prices Tumble. † Krauss, Clifford. New York Times. This article informs about how the global financial panic and economic slowdown has lead an end to the commodity bull market that we have seen in the last seven years. This ending of the commodity market has sent prices on the raw ingredients (such as oil) of the world economy tumbling to an all time low. This article relates to our course since it suggests that we don’t just have economic worries here in the United States, but that other countries are also worried about the current state of the economic situation. The United States is part of a broader wide sweeping world economy and the economic slowdown is not just affecting things here at home but also globally. This article clearly gives the reader a better idea of how the United States fits into the broader global economy. In our own economic hard times we tend forget that we are not alone, but are facing the same issues that other countries are. 19 October, 2008. â€Å"The Guys From ‘Government Sachs’. † Creswell, Julie and White, Ben. New York Times. This article informs about how Treasury secretary Paulson used his former firm of Goldman Sachs as a means to investigate what was happening on Wall Street prior to the financial difficulties. It also raises eyebrows and speculates about the amount of participation Goldman Sachs is being perceived to have in the Treasury Department. This article relates to our course since it speculates on corporate interference in a governmental department. In the world economics, such speculation is something that we have to watch carefully so that the economic system is not stained in anyway. When companies interfere with the running of government departments, it makes all actions that have sprung out of that suspect. By bringing Goldman Sachs into the Treasury, Paulson has created a suspicious circumstance that we all should learn from. That above all else is what should be learned from this article. 22 October, 2008. â€Å"China, an Engine of Growth, Faces a Global Slump. † Yardley, Jim and Bradsher, Keith. New York Times. This article informs about the slump in economic level of China. Always seen as the world’s workshop, the threat of global recession has many wondering if the prevailing Communist Party has the wherewithal to stop the further economic decline of China. The article makes a nice point in saying that China is the world economy gauge for how the economic slowdown will eventually affect everyone. This article relates to our course since it informs on how one country is dealing with the long reaching effects of the global financial slowdown. It is interesting to see how one country is going to deal with this global issue because then other countries have a blueprint by which to also take action. 28 October, 2008. â€Å"Denmark Is Rethinking It’s Spurning of the Euro. † Dougherty, Carter. New York Times. This article informs about looking closely at one country and the effect that the global financial situation has on it. Denmark, a country formerly against the euro, now is rethinking things because of the ice cold credit situations of the banks of Denmark. As it stands now a bare majority of Danes do back the adoption of the Euro. This article relates to our course since it suggests that countries that were previously opposed to a financial idea may now have to rethink their opposition as the global economy faces this slowdown. Every country has to figure out ways in which they are going to deal with the global financial crunch. It also relates to this class because it shows us how as a global economy we are all in the same boat. 29 October, 2008. â€Å"Paterson Sees a Budget Gap $47 Billion. † Hakim, Danny and Peters, Jeremy W. New York Times. This article informs about the deficit that the state of New York is facing and the loss of job in the 100,000 in the private sector. The article also suggests the ways in which the state plans on fixing the deficit. Deficits are something that we as a society have to watch carefully especially in these economically unstable times. This article relates to our course since it suggests that everyone, from the state level to the private sector, is affected by the financial crunch that is being seen globally as well as here at home. We tend to forget when we look at big businesses that the private sector is just as affected and this article gives us a glimpse into this fact. We all tend to forget that big business is run by people and people do make mistakes. 31 October, 2008. â€Å"Economy Shrinks With Consumers Leading the Way. † Goodman, Peter S. ; contributing reporting by Norris, Floyd and Zeleny, Jeff. New York Times. This article informs about how the drop in the economy is a bad precursor to the coming holiday seasons. Consumers who are being laid off and having their hours cut have less to spend this holiday season and this is being reflected in the economy more then ever. This especially hits home as we think about the upcoming holiday season, a time when consumer spending is at a high point. This article relates to our course since it shows how the economy is really a circular relationship. The consumer has to work to make money, but no job or less working hours leads to zero money to be spent. This article is important because everything in the world of business and life are interconnected and this article is a very good example of that idea. 4 November, 2008. â€Å"Wall Street’s Extreme Sport: In Modeling Risk, the Human Factor Was Left Out. † Lohr, Steve. New York Times. This article informs about how the risk models that have been used on Wall Street for years have failed due to not being applied, managed, or even understood. Technology that has been made use of on Wall Street has gotten ahead of our ability to act responsible. Often, we forget that technology is only as good as the people that run it, and as such has the capacity for many risks. This article relates to our course since it suggests that risk factors that are associated with the economic downturn come from every sector and that they have a more far reaching concern then we first thought. Risk factors are important to look at since by seeing where the risks have been in a situation, we can hopefully in the future prevent the same economic situation from happening again. 8 November, 2008. â€Å"Colleges Rich and Poor Strain to Respond in Tough Times. † Lewin, Tamar. New York Times. This article informs about how colleges are more then ever struggling to meet the financial needs of students. In the past, the majority of college students were able to fund their education through scholarships that the colleges and universities offered. In this tough economic time, that no longer looks like it will be an option. Students will have to rely more on grants (which may be just as limited), loans and paying out of pocket. This article relates to our course since it hits close to home about how the financial crisis that we are seeing everywhere even affects those of us in college. Previously, being in college meant all you had to do was study hard for finals. Now, though, even college students are feeling the economic burden. 9 November, 2008. â€Å"Remember That Capitalism is More Then a Spectator Sport. † Blinder, Alan S. New York Times. This article informs about the daunting tasks that are ahead for president elect Obama. Among these tasks are to restore a sense of fairness in and faith to our economic system. This article relates to our course since it gives a nice overview of how President-elect Obama needs to go about restoring the faith of he American people in the tattered economic system that has failed us time and again. In watching the elections, President-elect Obama made a lot of nice speeches about what he plans to do, and this article gives us a first glimpse of rather he will be successful or not. I think it is also a nice all inclusive article that sums up the ideals that we have been studying in this course.