Fear in Lord of the Flies Essay

Human are the most civilized species on this planet. However, what makes people act civilly is constantly questioned. This question is explored in William Golding’s novel, The Lord of the Flies. In the novel, the fragile state of civilization created by the boys is constantly pitted against the destructive force of fear which motivates the boys to desert their civilized upbringing and hunt first and finally become murders. When the boys land onto the island, they know there are no adults or parents around so they know they have to create their own civilization. The boys attempt to create a civilization by each one having a job. Additionally, they elect a leader; establish rules and consequences, use the conch one person at a time, hunt, and keep the fire going in a case ship passes by. Their civilization is fragile because of the age of the boys and the lack of parental maturity. Shortly the boy’s civilization isn’t working because they know that they can get away with things that they can’t get away with at home. For example, â€Å"Here, invisible yet strong, was the taboo of the old life. Round the squatting child was the protection of parents and school and policemen and the law. Roger’s arm was conditioned by a civilization that knew nothing of him and was in ruins† (Golden 62). ————————————————- Despite the beauty of the Island, fear is all around them. The boys think that the â€Å"beast† is an animal on the island when it really is the beast within all of them. Simon finds out the beast is not an animal. The pig tells Simon that if he tells everyone that the pig is within all of them the pig is going to kill him. For example, â€Å"This is ridiculous. You know perfectly well you’ll only meet me down there-so don’t try to escape!† (Golden 143). ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- Jack quickly takes the most brutal job for himself jis explains â€Å"All, the same you need Army-for hunting† (Golding#32). This civilization is fragile because of the age of these little boys and there is no parental control.

AGs Seek Sex Offender Data from MySpace

The article â€Å"AGs Seek Sex Offender Data from MySpace†Ã‚   by Associated Press writer Samuel Spies, discussed recent events where law enforcement officials have taken measures to obtain names of registered sex offenders who are members of   the website MySpace.com.According to the article, attorney generals from eight states which include: Ohio, Mississippi,   North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Idaho, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Georgia have requested that MySpace, which is used for social networking give them information on the number of registered sex offenders using MySpace and where those offenders reside.The attorney generals have also asked MySpace to inform them on the measures they have taken to remove sex offenders from their site and what they have done to caution MySpace members about sex offenders.   Some of the attorney generals feel that Myspace is the biggest networking site, thus MySpace should identify offenders who use their networking site to prey o n children.The article also discussed how MySpace has partnered with Sentinel Tech Holding Corp. to create a database of sex offenders, which has found that a large number of sex offenders are Myspace members.   MySpace has also begun using software that identifies and removes sex offenders from their site.MySpace officials also stated that; MySpace will send any identified sex offender’s information to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, who would then forward the information to law enforcement.   There have been numerous MySpace related crimes committed against children; therefore the attorney general of North Carolina wants to pass legislation, which makes it a felony for sex offenders to register on social networking sites.At the moment it is unknown whether MySpace is going to cooperate with the requests of the attorney generals.  ReferenceSpies, S. (May 14, 2007). AGs Seek Sex Offender Data from MySpace. Retrieved May 21,2007, from http://abcne ws.go.com/US/WireStory?id=3174533&page=1.

Ethical Issues of Deception in Psychological Research Essay

In psychological studies, ethical issues associated with deception have always the major concern area. It is largely been viewed as something which in long will cause effect on participants’ willingness to be a part of any psychological research. The controversy associated with this issue has itself led to many researches to ascertain the positivity and negativity associated with the use of deception in psychological research. The findings of those researches have been contradictory. Some researcher has indicated that use of deception has a very negative impact on participant’s perception of researchers and hence reduces the possibility of its further participation in the ongoing project as well as any other research in future (Tuffin, 2005) While on the other hand there are evidences that deception has positive effect and participants have reported that they actually enjoyed being deceived and showed positive participation in the researches in which they are being deceived and feel more benefited than those without deception. Hence it becomes more evident that deception has basically no effect on participants and neither reduces nor increases their willingness in taking part in any future researches irrespective of those requiring deception or not (Lefkowitz, 2003). The above mentioned two contradictory preferences related to deception actually gives a picture which shows that the people have no clear meaning of deception and it varies from person to person i.e., they have different interceptions of what it actually means. This reinforces the need for further research and hence underscores the requirement for an expanded investigation to figure out the possible effects of deception in a prospective participant and the psychological study. The beginning of this new research could be initiated through a controlled environment when some of the participants and informed about the use of deception while some are not informed. The final objective is to ascertain the actual impact of deception when both researchers as well the participants have better understanding of deception (O’Donohue, 2003). References: O’Donohue, W. (2003) Handbook of Professional Ethics for Psychology. Sage Publication Ltd.,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   London. UK Lefkowitz, J (2003) Ethics and values in industrial-organizational Psychology. Lawrence  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Mahwas, NJ Tuffin, K (2005) Understanding Critical Social Psychology. Sage Publication Ltd., London. UK

Migration 'fuelling rice in Hepatitis B (Exploring the link between Essay

Migration 'fuelling rice in Hepatitis B (Exploring the link between migration and the rise of hepatitis B in the UK..focus on Ea - Essay Example Each region of the world has its own set of endemic diseases, disease-carrying insects and animals, water-borne contamination and chemicals, and issues with access to medical care. For the cause of public health, it must be determined which immigrant groups are high risk, and the magnitude of that risk. Ethnicity, country of origin, and race have all been proven to have at least some effect on the progression and treatment of infectious diseases. Understanding the more concrete links between race and ethnicity to the spread specifically of hepatitis B can give physicians the information they require to treat the unique and specialised needs of each ethnic group (Brant & Boxall, 2009). Background - Hepatitis B Approximately 350 million people worldwide are infected with hepatitis B which is caused by, unsurprisingly, the hepatitis B virus. Hepatitis B is a serious health concern and can greatly reduce the length and quality of a sufferer's life, especially when it is left untreated du e to the unavailability of proper medical care, the ignorance of the person to the presence of the infection, or the stigma attached to the disease causing the sufferer not to seek out what care may be available to them. Many lives are lost worldwide every year due to a lack of treatment and vaccination, especially in developing nations (NIDDK, 2009). It is imperative that we understand the workings of this disease, its progression, and its method of contagion, in order to reduce the spread and the worldwide severity of hepatitis B, especially in the case of immigrants. From a public health standpoint, it is thankful that hepatitis B infection is limited to transfer by bodily fluids, such as blood or semen. These fluids may be transferred at any time when two people are in contact with open wounds or mucous membranes, such during unprotected sexual intercourse, during childbirth if the mother is infected, by providing medical care to an infected person without the proper barriers in place to prevent the spread of microbes, and through the reuse of contaminated needles. However, it cannot be transmitted by touch or by air, limiting the speed at which the disease can spread. Therefore, the risk to the general public from an infected person is low; it is those who live in the infected person's household who are most likely to become infected due to accidental contact with bodily fluids (NIDDK, 2009). Infection with the virus may remain undetected for many years after the initial contact, which is why immigrants who seem otherwise healthy may be able to enter the United Kingdom already infected. The disease passes through four phases over about ten to twenty-five years, and remains in the patient's system permanently after the initial infection and disease remission. The first phase is often symptomless and not discovered unless the person is tested for an unrelated reason, and the fourth phase is a marked decrease in viral load, referred to as a period of remissi on. When the body reaches a high level

Gettysburg (1993), directed by Ron Maxwell Movie Review

Gettysburg (1993), directed by Ron Maxwell - Movie Review Example Raiding each other was also a major contributor to the fighting. None of the troops were willing to surrender hence the retaliation to any form of attack was to fight back. Some of the reasons that they fight about are as simple as shoe supplies. It is witnessed in the movie that Brigadier General John Burford’s cavalry engages with Henry Heth’s troop that had organized a move into Gettysburg to restock their depleted shoe supply (Maxwel, 1993). The other reason for the fighting was to ensure that the union never took any part of Gettysburg; every effort had to be made to ensure that advances of enemy troops towards Gettysburg were seen from a far and dealt with accordingly. The fighting was further for the purpose of taking or conquering new areas such as the â€Å"Devil’s Den†. The army had to fight to ensure they took control of the key grounds that would work to their advantage when it came to war, therefore, fighting was paramount in ensuring all the important area were under the army. Each head of a cavalry had their own role to play. The roles ultimately comprehended one another so that the entire army could be firmly held together under the same strong pillars. Major General JEB Stuart’s cavalry was recognized as the eyes of the army and when it decides to go on a raid without informing the rest of the army, it leaves the entire operation in danger of failing (Maxwel, 1993). Conflict sometimes develops between the confederate generals and the confederate soldiers due to the difference in opinion concerning the way forward during the war. The generals feel that they cannot accommodate whatever the soldiers try to offer are they are driven by the assumption that the soldiers are only meant to listen to orders and execute them rather than having a role to play in the formation of war tactics. There is also struggle between the generals and the soldiers as some of them refuse to take part in their duties,

Same Sex Marriage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Same Sex Marriage - Essay Example Efforts to amend various sections of the Constitution in different States gained momentum to incorporate amendments to prohibit the same-sex marriages. States such as Nevada, Alaska, and Nebraska made changes to their constitution to disallow lesbian and gay relationships. This happened in 1990. Massachusetts State was the first state to legalize and recognize the same sex-marriage in 2003. Civil unions came into full force to advocate States to grand the lesbians and gays their most much-needed rights. Out of their efforts, several States have approved homosexuality, namely, New York, Rhode Island, and the District of Columbia. There is a lot of optimism in the gay and lesbian community, going by the past trends, that they will gain victories in many other states in the United States (Confessore and Barbaro A1). In the United States, many groups show their deeper concerns about their fears and speculation over the consequences of this new social order (Ambrosino 84). Some have supported and others bitterly opposed this new practice. Different legal and religious communities such as Christianity, Muslims, and Buddhism have voiced in their varied views on this matter. Catholic and evangelistic churches are in the forefront to oppose the move to legalize same-sex marriage. Division on homosexuality in the Protestant faith is evident, a section of them feels that the same-sex marriages should have freedom to marry, others completely object (Taylor A25). The Muslim community feels this is a violation of religious beliefs. Buddhists have differing stances about same-sex marriage. The liberals have no objections while the conservatisms greatly object the issue. The number of the opponents has out-numbered that of supporters with significant margins. The opponents raise many concerns about the same- sex marriages. To start with, they doubt whether there is any commitment in these relationships. They argue that the marriages are due to break sooner than later. They further point out that gay and lesbians’ couples are quite unhappy which is on contrary to a heterosexual marriages. Social conservatives believe that marriage is a health foundation

DecisionMaking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

DecisionMaking - Essay Example Generally, decision making consists of the following six steps (Glynn, Before taking the final decision, managers need to get an idea about the effectiveness of the course of action or remedy they intend to apply on a particular problem, so a post decision evaluation via feedback can be worth while. In the managerial decision making process, the management accountants play a decisive role although they neither indulge in making nor in implementing the final decision, the management accountant is held responsible for providing the information at each of the six stages mentioned above. Management is not concerned about how and from what procedures an accountant uses in his analysis and evaluation; eventually the main concern of the management is the information regarding the problems and on the basis of this information, management reaches on a decision (Steffan, 2008). Management accountant is responsible to elaborate the management that the data that is been taken is relevant to provide the information. Relevant data are the single most important ingredient in decision making (Drury, 2007). Relevant data usually consist of relevant cost and relevant revenue which must be considered by the accountants while choosing the alternative course of action; make sure only those cost and revenues will be incurred which are relevant to the decision making. BUDGETING: The budget is a quantitative expression of management objectives and a means of

Regression analysis project Statistics Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Regression analysis - Statistics Project Example The best model, therefore, uses c to represent c.vol, in the regression model, which now becomes: The code for this regression is found in the Appendix A section, while the output is found in Appendix B section. The coefficient of logistic regression in this analysis for the c.vol is 0.80404, a highly positive coefficient, giving a probability (pr = 0.01539) that the patient will test positive. The second variable that indicates a positive test is psa, with a coefficient of 0.00226 a low positive coefficient, with a probability of 0.03847. The rest of the variables have negative association with the test for the hypothesis (Long, 1997). This test estimates the cancer diagnosis for someone with 10 psa, 5 c.vol, 40g for weight, age 67, with 2.5 benign, with no seminal vesicle invasion, and with 0.5 cm cap. The test is done through the same model and the results are found in Appendix C section. The coefficient of association is 1.46414, with a probability of 0.160296, hence the patient tests positive with prostate cancer. Where p is the probability that gender or treatment has a significant effect on blood calcium level, C is the coefficient of regression, and v is the most significant variable in determining the probability p. there is no outlier in this dataset. The necessary transformation in this regression process is the binomial transformation using â€Å"mylogit† function. The two variables gender and treatment are both significant in determining the results of the hypothesis test (Hosmer & Lemeshow, 2000). The best model, therefore, combines the two variables in the regression as follows: The code for this regression is found in the Appendix D section, while the output is found in Appendix E section. The coefficient of logistic regression in this analysis is 0.0206, a low positive coefficient, giving a probability (pr = 0.0247) that the Treatment significantly affects the

The Divergence of U.S. and UK Takeover Regulation Essay - 1

The Divergence of U.S. and UK Takeover Regulation - Essay Example who decides the rules of takeover in both countries. Rules of takeover in the UK are the outcome of the self regulation where interests of institutional investors play an important role while on the other hand the US judicial setup holds the responsibility of takeover rules and thus, limiting the influence of shareholders over making of rules. In the UK, shareholders’ perspectives play an important role in deciding about takeover bids and thus, takeover regime is â€Å"privatized†. Easterbook and Fischel proposed limited capability of managers to defend takeovers which did not become part of practice in the US after its dismissal by the Delaware Court and takeover decisions are still based on decisions made by those who manage businesses and they are allow to undertake several types of defense actions such as the â€Å"poison pill† or shareholder rights plan to undermine bidder’s stake. These tactics are prohibited in the UK and without the consent of shar eholders managers cannot maneuver any tactic in defense. However, in the UK managers are allowed to make use of â€Å"embedded defenses† which may involve issuance of dual-class voting stock or several other ways to take action before any bidder takes an offensive position (Armour and Skeel). Takeovers do not always result in higher returns for shareholders therefore it seems more appropriate to leave the decision in case of takeover to shareholders as in the UK. However, it is noted that the number of takeovers in the US has been greater than the UK. There could be several reasons including the veto power of directors who may feel that they are not entitled to sufficient incentives from the shareholders. In the UK, bidder can lodge a protest against managers’ actions to the Takeover Panel comprising of representatives from LSE, BOE, major banks and institutional investors. There is a greater flexibility in dealing of this Panel and limited

Direct Vs. Indirect Taxation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Direct Vs. Indirect Taxation - Research Paper Example In order to assess our argument it would be important for us to know the difference between direct and indirect taxation.   Direct taxes are those taxes that are levied on one’s income. They are calculated annually and a certain percentage is levied on the earnings of a person. Similarly, indirect taxes or not levied on the people’s income. Instead, indirect taxes are paid on the purchase of goods and services. They are paid whenever a purchase is made. They are included in the selling price of a good and service and hence a person cannot escape indirect taxes since he is paying not only the price of the good or service, but also the portion of a tax. Hence it is unavoidable and is paid by everyone irrespective of his earning. (McConnell)We can use the above definitions to classify the federal income tax and federal sales tax into one of the two classes of taxation. This would help us in determining which is more useful in terms of revenue for the government and welfa re of the society. Since we know that federal income tax is levied on people’s income and is calculated annually, we can classify it as a direct tax. This means that it is levied on the person’s income. It is a progressive tax where the rich person pays a higher amount than a person who is earning lesser than that person. On the other hand, federal sales tax is levied on the purchase of goods and services. People pay this type of tax only when they buy or sell something. It is not charged on the person’s income and it is a regressive tax meaning.... Hence it is unavoidable and is paid by everyone irrespective of his earning. (McConnell) We can use the above definitions to classify the federal income tax and federal sales tax into one of the two classes of taxation. This would help us in determining which is more useful in terms of revenue for the government and welfare of the society. Since we know that federal income tax is levied on people’s income and is calculated annually, we can classify it as a direct tax. This means that it is levied on the person’s income. It is a progressive tax where the rich person pays a higher amount than a person who is earning lesser than that person. On the other hand, federal sales tax is levied on the purchase of goods and services. People pay this type of tax only when they buy or sell something. It is not charged on the person’s income and it is a regressive tax meaning that both rich and poor pay equal amount of tax if the selling price of a good is same for their purch ases. In other words, we can differentiate between these two types of taxes by using mathematic equation. Income tax is charged on one’s income. It is a percentage of one’s income. Let’s suppose that the prevalent income tax rate in the United States of America is 20%. The calculation of taxes for the income will be the following: Income Tax = Annual Income * 0.25 Similarly, in case of an indirect tax such as federal sales tax, the calculation for the income tax will be the following: Tax = Selling Price of Commodity * Percentage of the Tax These two equations tell us that federal sales tax has nothing to do with the income of a person. It is calculated just by looking at the value of the purchase that the person is

Constipation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Constipation - Essay Example According to Mitchelle, constipation is an embarrassing topic to talk about though is a common problem that affects people. Constipation makes one feel uncomfortable, sluggish, bloated and heavy. Removal of waste from the body regularly makes one healthy and is vital to living. Constipation diagnosis is based upon the symptom displayed, medical history and physical examination. Mostly, constipation is diagnosed by a doctor or self-diagnosis. However there are situation where the doctor feels that there is a need to carry out some test and special diagnosis for more complicated cases of constipation that is chronic (2). In India, most patients who have constipation are the middle-aged men and have a sense of incomplete bowel movement. Abdominal discomfort is not universal but can be frequent. When a research was carried in India stool frequency was similar irrespective of whether the patient constipated or had a diarrhea. Ninety percent had one or two stools per day and these symptoms were complex and suggested presence of IBS. Study from India have used western criteria have defined constipation, indeterminate was found to be the most common symptoms’ among patients who presented themselves with chronic functional lower GI symptoms, but majority of them had predominant constipation. Studies have shown that women are more prone to constipation as compared to men in most parts of the world but in India, more men are reported to be having constipation than female. These tests were hospital based (Goshal, 1). The nurses should create a healthy care plan so that they can keep the patient with good health. They should mobilize the patient and encourage them to have regular exercise or attend exercise classes. This will help stimulate the patient to have a bowel movement. The information that they got during the NP practice, should be used to educate the patient and help them review the kind of diet component a

Utilitarianism and Greatest Happiness Principle Essay Example for Free

Utilitarianism and Greatest Happiness Principle Essay Happiness Happiness: In one word, this concept exemplifies the American dream. People go to any means by which to obtain the many varied materials and issues that induce pleasures in each individual, and intrinsically, this emotion remains the ultimate goal, John Stuart Mill, a nineteenth century philosopher, correctly advocated the pursuit of happiness, and maintained the concept that above all other values, pleasure existed as the final destination, Mills hedonistic views correctly and rationally identified a natural human tendency, and his Utilitarian arguments strongly support the theory that above all else, happiness is the most important dream to be fulfilled. Upon researching for this paper, I came across a counter argument, which was based on metaphysics. Immanuel Kant, in Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, defends his strong beliefs in the issue of a good will, and surfaces as MMs chief opponent on the topic of metaphysics, The issue diminishes to a clash between emotions and pleasures ve rses rationality and logic. Yet, what use is logic when the good agent is miserable? Mills stance within Utilitarianism exists as the more favorable of the two beliefs, for happiness exist as the one intrinsically favorable element, not an emotionless mind. The main defender of the Utilitarian system exists within the Greatest happiness Principle. Mill lived as a chief advocate of this concept, which supports the idea that a decision is morally correct as long as it increases and encourages pleasures and happiness. Kant, however, in his endless quest to remain separate from emotions and thrive only on logic, would argue that autonomy should be placed above happiness in a list of intrinsic values. A good will, however, does not comfort an individual in any way if happiness does not accompany this asset, Consider this example of a seemingly happily married couple. The wife in this duo is madly in love with her husband fiercely loyal, and completely happy with her marriage and children. The husband, however, as wrongfully strayed, and had a brief, but damaging affair behind his wifes back. Kant would argue that autonomy reigns over pleasure, and the woman should therefore want to be informed of her husbands adultery, Mill would greatly disagree. By revealing the secret of the past affair, the womans happy world would be instantly shattered. Her pride would diminish, her stability would fall apart, and the children especially would be forced to view a nasty side of their beloved father. In this case, individual control is greatly overshadowed by the need for happiness. The husband is no longer acting unfaithful and the family can easily continue to live in a happy realm, If the secret were to become uncovered, all members of this circumstance unavoidably would become terribly disappointed, Under the Greatest Happiness Principle, the wife should not be informed. Since happiness truly lives as the ultimate in human desires, sparing such immense amounts of pain truly is the logical choice, Mills argument prevails, and all those involved remain happy. Through this example, one can easily see that although autonomy is often a favorable feature, it does not overshadow the importance of happiness. One of the main arguments against Utilitarianism exist in the lack of apparent fairness. An advocate of the Kantian logic principle would argue that Mills belief system does not allow for equal treatment, When considering what is best for an entire society, however, it is necessary for certain individuals to endure suffering. The good of society remains the ultimate goal, and unfortunate pain is therefore inevitable, If young children are being killed in a certain community, the obvious good for this society is discovering and punishing the murderer. Especially when children are involved, people automatically demand prompt justice. The officials of this area have searched immensely for the accused, yet no leads have surfaced, and the community suddenly erupts with anger, they demand that someone be punished, As a Utilitarian, the police chief sees a window of opportunity. A drug dealer has recently been brought in on yet another drug selling offense, and the chief decides to coerce the invalu able member of society into confessing the crime at hand, By doing so, the community instantly reunites in support and a dangerous and deadly revolt is avoided, and a menace to society is right back where he would have been regardless of his confession: behind bars, Kant, however, would argue that logically, the chase for the true offender should continue. He would shun the emotional decision to make the whole society happy by ignoring the rational decisions. But since the community obviously chooses happiness over logic, Kants arguments are irrelevant. In addition, Kant believes in a decision making process completely separate from the natural human emotions, Such a demand is possible only for a character such as Star Treks Dr. Spock, for human emotions are as much a part of every day life as the decision making process itself. Logically speaking, therefore, Mills Utilitarianism arguments maintain the largest dose of validity. Other opponents to the philosophical viewpoint of Utilitarianism state that followers of this belief system often promote an ignorant lifestyle, They maintain that advocates of the Greatest Happiness Principle believe in the theory that ignorance is bliss, Again, such reasoning is quite faulty. Displaying the erroneousness of this statement can be done by examining the issue of AIDS, An opponent of Utilitarianism would say an Infected HIV victim would not want to be aware of his disorder, Such a belief is extremely incorrect. Mill and other Utilitarian are strong advocates of education, for with intelligence, greater levels of achievement and happiness can be obtained. A member of this belief system would rightly argue that being aware of the disorder could increase long-term happiness, for treatments and support from friends and family could greatly aid the victims fight against his or her alhnents, Mills therefore strongly support education systems and believe in making society as a whole as happy as possible. In the case of the AIDS victim, a Utilitarian would also support the notification of the disorder to the victim in order to spare others of contracting the virus, The happiness of the majority would not be increased by an unknowing HIV carrier spreading the disease to other defenseless individuals, Utilitarianism clearly is not a ignorant way to live, and the Kantian philosophy of ignoring the irrational system of emotions cannot refute this standard. Without happiness, the other opportunities and necessities lose nearly all levels of importance. A true Utilitarian supports only those concepts that promote the highest levels of pleasures, and as Mill states, encourages only those actions that promote real happiness, From a Kantian viewpoint, rationality and the possession of a good will remains the most important element, but even someone with the truest and most logical of intentions can easily exist in a realm of pure depression. The one link that exists between these opposite belief systems is the concept that, all decisions should be made outside of ones personality. The key is that Kant said this decisions should be made without any regard for human emotions, A request of this magnitude is a part of a utopian society only, for ignoring ones emotions is an illogical assumption in itself, If your child and wife are both dying, deciding which one to save cannot be made without some emotional influence, Utilitarianism allows for the emotional side of life but requests only that the Greatest Happiness Principle be strictly followed. Any truly decent human being naturally follows such a request every day, Decisions are made based on the greatest level of happiness, That way, the largest majority of people benefit, and the greatest amount of happiness is achieved. Yet as Kant believed, a more morally correct decision lies at the heart of every dilemma. How does one decide who is morally more correct to save in an instance where two cherished loved ones are passing away, and only one individual may be saved? And even more importantly, how does one do so without regard emotions? I personally feel that living strictly by the doctrine of Kantian philosophy is completely impossible. Being a Utilitarian and hedonist, such as Mill, makes more sense to me.

Air Asia Marketing Analysis

Air Asia Marketing Analysis Airlines offer air transport services for passengers or cargo, normally with a recognized operating license. Airlines have leased or owned aircraft with which to supply these services. Airlines may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for common benefit. Airlines differ from those with a single aircraft carrying mail or freight, through full-service international airlines operating hundreds of aircraft. Airlines can be classified as being intercontinental, intra continental, domestic, or international and may be operated as planned services or charters. Many countries have national airlines that are owned and operated by the government. Private airlines are under government regulation for economic, political, and safety issues. For example, governments often interfere to stop airline labor actions in order to guard the free flow of people, communications, and goods between different regions without compromising safety. Some countries have deregulated or start deregulating their Airlines, for example The United States, Australia, and to a smaller extent Brazil, Mexico, the United Kingdom and Japan. Because of deregulation, airlines have been largely free to negotiate their own operating arrangements with different airports, enter and exit routes easily, and to levy airfares and supply flights according to market demand. In a deregulated market, the entry barriers for new airlines are lower, so it creates greater competition and average fares tend to drop 20% or more. The competition, together with pricing freedom, means that new entrants often take market share with highly cheap rates that, to a limited degree, full service airlines must match. This is a main limitation on profitability for established carriers, which tend to have a higher cost base. Consequently profitability in a deregulated market is irregular for most airlines. These factors have caused some key airlines to go out of business, in addition to most of the poorly established new entrants. INTRODUCTION TO AIRASIA The world leading low fare airline in the Asia, Air Asia has been growing rapidly since 2001, to become an award winning and the major low cost carrier in Asia. AirAsia was founded by a government-owned conglomerate DRB-Hicom in 1993. On 2 December 2001, former Time Warner executive Tony Fernandess company Tune Air Sdn Bhd purchased the heavily-indebted airline for the token sum of one ringgit. Fernandes advanced to engineer an outstanding spin, turning a profit in 2002 and introducing new routes from its hub in Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Air Asia believes in the no-frills, hassle-free, low fare business idea and feels that keeping costs low needs high efficiency in every part of the business. Efficiency generates savings which are then passed on to customers so that inexpensive air travel can become a reality. Through its idea of Now Everyone Can Fly, Air Asia has introduced a revolution in air travel with more and more people around the region choosing Air Asia as their preferred choice of transport. The total AirAsia fleet (including Thai AirAsia, AirAsia X and Indonesia AirAsia) consists of the following aircraft as of 14 July 2010 STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENTS AirAsia opened a 2nd hub in 2003 at Senai International Airport in Johor Bahru near Singapore and started its 1st international flight to Bangkok . In January 2004, airasia began its first international service from KL to Phuket in Thailand. In 2006 A new budget terminals, the 1st of its kind in Asia was opened in Kuala Lumpur International Airport. AirAsia is presently the largest customer of the Airbus A320.[4] The company has placed an order of 175 units of the Airbus A320 plane to service its routes and at least 50 of these will be ready by 2013. Tony Fernandes (CEO) announced a five-year plan on 27 December 2006, to further improve its existence in Asia.[5] In the plan, AirAsia will build up and improve its route network by linking all the existing cities in the region and expanding further into Indochina, Indonesia, Southern China (Kun Ming, Xiamen, Shenzen) and India. AirAsia declared a three-year partnership on 5 April 2007, with the British Formula One team ATT Williams. The airline brand is displayed on the helmets of Nico Rosberg and Alexander Wurz, and on the bargeboards and nose of the cars.[6] On 27 September 2008, AirAsia has on its list 106 new routes to be added to its current list of 60 over the next few years [7] SUBSIDIARIES Notes Thai AirAsia Established on 8 December 2003 as joint venture with Shin Corporation Indonesia AirAsia AirAsia acquired the then Non-operational Awair in 2004 with a 49% stake in the airline. Full rebranding to Indonesia AirAsia was completed on 1 December 2005. VietJet AirAsia AirAsia announced On February 2010 that it has purchased a 30% stake in VietJet and changed the name to VietJet AirAsia. AirAsia RetTix AirAsia launched their new event ticketing system called AirAsia RedTix On March 20, 2010, targeting on non-airline flight tickets such as events, sports, and music. Associate Companies AirAsia X: It is a service operated by AirAsia X Sdn. Bhd. as a franchise of AirAsia. It offers long-haul services from Kuala Lumpur to Australia and China using an Airbus A330-300. Tune Hotels: Tune Hotels.com is a hotel chain established by AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes. Presently it has hotels in operation in Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Penang, Sepang and Bali. Tune Money: It is Asias first no-frills online financial services portal. Same as Virgin Money, it includes life, home and motor vehicle insurance as well as prepaid credit cards. PORTERS FIVE FORCES To asses the attractiveness and identifying the sources of competition for Airline industry we use porters five forces model. 1. Threat of new Entrants in Airline Industry The extent of barriers to entry depends on following factors:- Deregulation: Some countries have deregulated or start deregulating their Airlines, for example The United States, Australia, and to a smaller extent Brazil, Mexico, the United Kingdom and Japan. In a deregulated market the entry barriers for new entrants are lower. Capital Requirement: Setting up airline business requires huge investment. The cost of setting up of offices, leasing or buying aircraft, hiring pilots and other staffs incur a high cost. Thus, the threat is low for the industry. Switching costs: In airline industry customers do not need to spend more on switching to another airline. The price would not be extremely significant in differences, which it depends on the accessibility of competitors services and suitability of the flight time that prompts them to switch. So low switching cost attracts new entrants. 2. Rivalry among existing firms Fixed cost: In airline industry fixed cost are high, for example finance cost, lease cost, and staff costs. To cover these fixed costs airline companies have to gain more market share. In doing that, constant price reduction is done by them to compete with others. Thus, the rivalry is strong. Customers easily switch: In airline industry customers priority is to look at price and flight schedule that suits them the best when buying air tickets. The main purpose of using the services is to get to the destination planned. Customers can switch to other airline easily that makes the industry competitive. Similar Products: As discussed earlier, the main purpose of using airline services is to reach the destination. Every airline is providing similar services to customers. So it makes the industry highly competitive. Excess Capacity: presently there has been excess capacity on many routes; as a result, airlines have to participate in price wars in order to attract customers at all costs. 3. Threat of Substitute products No doubt Airline is the fastest way to travel from one destination to another thus there is no Perfect Substitute available. However, taking into consideration Domestic Airlines, there are options available to the customers like by-road and train arrangements but again time consumption and convenience are the reasons which discourage customers to adopt any one of these two options. Price of Air Travel however is a hurdle which let customers to think to take other available options. International Airlines have a very less or no threat regarding other options. 4. Bargaining power of buyers Internet technology resulted in increasing the bargaining power of buyer. Because the buyers are now able to compare the prices more easily and in view of no switching costs, they could choose whichever airline offers a low price. Thus the buyers may be able to influence the airlines to reduce their prices. 5. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Number of suppliers: The suppliers for airlines are fuel suppliers, foods suppliers, merchandise suppliers, and aircraft suppliers. There are few suppliers in the market for aircrafts; the companies are either Airbus or Boeing. So the power of supplier is strong. High switching costs: AirAsia use Airbus models aircraft. In the past it was using Boeing models, which they lease it and later they replaced Boeing models with Airbus. If Airasia change to Boeing again, then the cost will be high, because training cost for staff to go well with the aircraft features must be offered. Other than that, the technology used by Airbus is the most advanced, so Airasia have to rely on the Airbus model. Thus, bargaining power of suppliers is strong. SWOT ANALYSIS The purpose of this analysis is identifying external factors (opportunities and threats) and internal factors (strengths and weakness) that AirAsia needs to consider in achieving its goals and objectives to be low cost carrier in the airline industry. The strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats for AirAsia are as follow: Strengths Single aircraft type: AirAsia operates a single type of aircraft, the airbus model. (It switched from Boeing 737s in 2005) A single aircraft type offers economies in purchasing, pilot training, maintenance and aircraft utilization. Direct Sales: AirAsia engages in direct sales through its web site and call center. As a result it avoids paying commissions to middlemen. A direct sale has reduced AirAsias dependency on outside resources for its revenue. Direct contact with customers provides an opportunity to keep up to date of their expectations and solve their problems on time. Strong management team: This is the strength of AirAsia that it has a very strong management team that consists of industry experts and ex-government officials. For example, Shin Corporation (formerly owned by the family of former Thai Prime Minister- Thaksin Shinawatra) holds a 50% stake in Thai AirAsia. This has facilitated AirAsia to start up and capture significant market share in Thailand. Well established Brand: AirAsias partnership with other service providers such as hotels, hospitals (medical tourism), car rental firms, Citibank (AirAsia Citibank card) has created a very unique picture among travelers. AirAsias local presence in countries such as Indonesia (Indonesia AirAsia) and Thailand (Thai AirAsia) has effectively elevated the brand to become a regional brand. Their links with ATT Williams Formula One team and Manchester United (one of the worlds most famous football teams) have further improved their image to a greater extend beyond just Asia. Weaknesses At start, it may be a good strategy for AirAsia not to have its own maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities. But now with hubs in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia and 97 planes currently owned and over 100 planes to be received in the next few years, AirAsia have to make sure proper and continuous maintenance of the planes which will also help to keep the overall costs low. It is becoming disadvantage not to have its own repair maintenance facilities. Opportunities Increase in oil price: Increase in oil price may become an opportunity for AirAsia, being a low cost carrier; AirAsia has an upper hand because its cost will be still the lowest among others. Thus it has a great opportunity to capture some of the existing customers of full service and other low cost airlines customers. Partnership with other LCC: AirAsia can partnership with other low cost operators such as virgin to tap into their existing strengths or competitive advantages like brand name, landing rights and landing slots. Population: Population of Asian middle class is increasing. It will be 700 million by the end of 2010. This creates an excellent opportunity and huge market for all low cost carriers in this region including AirAsia. New destinations: AirAsia has strong presence in Asian region. Currently they are operating from three countries Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and covering several destinations in China, India, Sri-lanka etc. but still most parts of these countries are under served. So AirAsia can add more destinations. Threats Uncontrollable costs: Certain charges like landing charges, security charges and departure charges are beyond the control of airline operators. This is a threat to all airlines especially low cost airlines that tries to keep their cost as low as possible. New entrants: AirAsias profit margin has attracted many competitors. A good number of the full service airlines have or planning to create a low cost subsidiary to compete with AirAsia and other low cost carriers. For example, Singapore Airlines has created a low cost carrier Tiger Airways. Terrorism: Terrorism is affecting tourism and confidence in the airlines. It might happen in many ways of terrorism either in certain countries or it might happen in the plane itself. If there is terrorism happen in the area where AirAsia operates, it results in stopping their flights to ensure safety of passengers as well as the plane. Negative perceptions: Passengers have some negative perception about low cost carriers. One common perception is that they may compromise safety to keep costs low. AVAILABLE STRATEGIES FOR AIRASIA There are three strategies that Air Asia can follow in order to be a major player in the Low Cost Carrier market. These strategies are Diversification (substantive growth strategy), market penetration and market development (limited growth strategies). Diversification There are kinds of diversification such as horizontal, vertical integration, and conglomeration. Ansoff Matrix source: wikipedia.com In horizontal diversification, the company developed activities that are directly complementary to a companys present activities. AirAsia has done horizontal diversification when entering into Indonesian market by partnering with Awair, which is an Indonesian airline. The partnering with Awair helps AirAsia to understand the condition of local market, so the company will have direction on how to enter and survive in the market by the help of an experienced partner (Awair). AirAsia has done vertical diversification as well, for example it is selling flight tickets without the help of agents through its own website and call centre. Through unrelated diversification (conglomeration), AirAsia might spread risk if suddenly airline industry is having difficulties and have elevated profit opportunity from the new business. But, to establish new business, open up a new company, strong management and financial ability is required to make it successful, but if it is not successful, it might create unbalanced circumstances for Air Asia because of loss of money and resources. Market Penetration In Market Penetration company will not introduce new products. It will go with the same products in the same market. The way to gain more market share with the same product is to attract competitors customers and get more loyal customers by marketing. Market Penetration will not cost as much as Diversification. AirAsia can peruse this strategy by using marketing budget and using the existing marketing department. Market Development Another strategy that AirAsia can pursue is Market Development. Market development is the strategy to sell the same product in new market. For example Air Asia can open up new routes to other places than the existing routes. Opening up more routes is going to be advantages, but it costs more than doing market penetration because more aircrafts and pilots will be needed. AIRASIA RESOURCES EVALUATION In order to implement a strategy AirAsia has to evaluate the resources because if the resources are not enough, the implementation will not be maximized and there will be possibility that the strategy will fail. There are resources to be evaluated before choosing a strategy, such as budgets, human resources, and network analysis. For diversification huge investment is required, because the company might have to build a factory or buy/rent new premises. The company might have to recruit new employees who have knowledge about the new business. Market penetration and market development strategies require less money as compared to diversification strategy. Market penetration and market development strategies only grow existing resources to get more profit or bigger market share, and usually the budget for these strategies are mostly taken from marketing budget. Now a days LCC market is becoming very competitive. Its profit margins attract many new competitors. As I discussed above, a good number of the full service airlines have or planning to create a low cost subsidiary to compete with Air Asia. In this situation AirAsia should not think about diversification. It should only focus on airline business. So strategies like market development and market penetration will be preferred at the moment. POSSIBLE FUTURE STRATEGIES FOR AIRASIA AirAsia have to pursue limited growth strategies such as market penetration and market development in the future. These strategies work a lot for AirAsia in order stay competitive in LCC market. Many new competitors like Tiger Airways directly threatening its market share. So at present AirAsia needs to increase its brand image and get more loyal customers. Air Asia can increase its brand image by promoting low-priced, on time and safe traveling experience campaign. As I discussed above people have negative perception about LCC. People think that LCC may compromise safety to keep cost low. So in promotions AirAsia should try to change these negative perceptions. Advertisements on television are expensive but effective to increase the brand image, so Air Asia may advertise on the television. Ads on Channels like BBC, National Geographic will work a lot. To help reduce the cost, advertisement time may be made shorter and advertisements may not be aired very frequently. The best time for AirAsia Ads is during holidays when people are thinking to go on traveling. There are upcoming sports events like 2011 Cricket World Cup in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and 2012 Olympics in London. By sponsoring these events AirAsia can further improve its image. AirAsia has strong presence in Asian region as compared to other low cost carriers. Currently they are operating from three countries Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia and covering several destinations in China, India, Sri-Lanka etc. but still most parts of these countries are under served. AirAsia alone dont have capacity to cover this whole region. So partnership with some other airlines is required at this stage. Partnership with Virgin Airline will provide great opportunity to expand its business in Asia as well as in other parts of the world. RECOMMENATIONS AirAsia has strong position in Asian market. Now a day Asian low cost carrier market is becoming very competitive. To keep stronger position in the market AirAsia has to adopt combination of market penetration and market development strategies. As we know AirAsia has strong management team, which will surly make these strategies successful. AirAsia has some weaknesses but these do not seem to be very dangerous. Rising fuel prices have made operational costs high for the whole industry. However these high operational costs means companies with fewer profit margins than AirAsia may become unneeded in the future thus, opening up customer bases previously not available to AirAsia. Middle income earners are increasing specially in china and India; there is much talent for AirAsia to expand its routes. AirAsia engages in direct sale through web site and call center. It should be very careful that problems with internet can seriously damage their business. REFERENCES Orders, Deliveries and Operational Asia Pacific. January 2010. http://www.airbus.com/fileadmin/backstage/documents/od/January_2010.xls. Retrieved 9 February 2010. http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/7/9/business/4284964sec=business http://www.airbus.com/en/presscentre/pressreleases/pressreleases_items/09_06_16_a350xwb_airasiax.html http://www.tiags.com.vn:8080/?idx=newsdetailmod=newsact=detailid=92type=2 Leong Hung Yee (27 December 2006). AirAsia embarks on 2nd chapter. The Star. http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/12/27/business/16419327sec=business AirAsia sponsors the Formula One team Williams AirAsia unleashes its X-factor

It’s Time to Revise Title IX Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive Argumen

It’s Time to Revise Title IX The Preamble to Title IX, which was instigated in 1972, states that â€Å"No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any educational programs or activity receiving federal financial assistance.† This law took action to give females equal opportunities in federally funded programs. Although Title IX’s sole purpose was well intended, it fell short of its main goals because it had negative affects on male activities. In the article â€Å"Title IX: It’s Time to Live Up to the Letter of the Law,† Donna Lopiano argued for equal opportunities in athletics for women. She discussed how Title IX has affected men’s athletics through the Proportionality Law which insists that all schools provide an equal ratio of financial assistance to male and female students. Lopiano’s article contested the amount of athletic scholarship money offered to male and female athletes, and the budget each team received. A topic that Lopiano chose to ignore in her article was that by colleges cutting men’s sports teams to comply with Title IX, they were working against the law that they were trying to fulfill. Lopiano also ignored the fact that females do not have identical interests to males. Although females show a large interest in athletics, there is a greater demand for male athletics. The Proportionality Law for title IX states that financial assistance must be awarded to equal amounts of men and women, proportionate to the enrollment of the school. The law also asserts that colleges should have the same ratio of male to female athletes as the ratio of male and female students. For example, if a college has... ... Equity in Sports. 16 October 2000. 2 November 2003 . Khvalina, Lana. "Original goal of Title IX lost as colleges forced to cut men's athletic programs." Trapezoid Online 9 June 2000. 2 November 2003 . Kopac, Bob. Title IX at XXX. 2 November 2003. . Levey, Curt. "Title IX's Dark Side: Sports Gender Quotas." Good Reasons with Contemporary Arguments. July 12 1999: 626-627. Lopiano, Donna. "Title IX: It's Time to Live Up to the Letter of the Law." Good Reasons with Contemporary Arguments. 2000: 200-203. Preamble to Title IX. "U.S. Department of Labor." Title IX, Education Amendments of 1972. Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management. 31 October 2003 .

Internet Censorship Essay - Censorship and the Internet :: Persuasive Essay, Argumentative

Censorship and the Internet As the First Amendment states, we as Americans are given numerous freedoms. These freedoms become a constitutional right which no one can take away from us. Among these rights are the freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Many people feel that with these two freedoms combined they can post on the Internet whatever they want. However, the First Amendment does have limitations. Contrary to what some people may believe, our freedom of speech is not protected when it comes to indecency. This fact, along with several other reasons, is why cyberpornography should no longer be present on the Internet. My friend was recently doing a report on black holes, so she decided to take her search on the web. What she got as her reply was a black female and her "hole." Although this may sound humorous at first, we must look at the larger picture. Imagine a young child who does this same search and gets the same reply. It is hard enough for a parent to explain the topic of sex to their child. Once they do the parent wants the child to think of this as something special. Not as something which is depicted on the Internet sometimes in extremely distasteful manners. We must think of a way to limit the replies that people get back. I do not agree with censorship over the Internet. As in all media people are allowed to speak freely. This is one of our rights. If we do not agree with what the government is currently doing we can speak out against them, and not be punished. It is important that we maintain some control of this freedom. However, I do not feel that pornography falls under this category. When the topic of taking pornography off of the web comes up people become very angry. These people feel that their rights are being taking away, but in reality this type of "censorship" is already present in today's media. Although, programming on television has changed greatly over the years, there is still a definite limit on what can be placed on the air. If you want to see detailed sex acts you must pay, often very expensive prices for these channels. You also will never see these vivid pictures in newspapers or news magazines. These graphic pictures are limited in this type of media and for good reason.

The Work Of Poet And Philosoher Archibald Lampman :: essays research papers

The Work of Poet and Philosoher Archibald Lampman Poet and philosopher Archibald Lampman (1861-1899) led not a life of his own, but an existance forced upon him by peers and an unfeeling and cold society. Dying far before his time, Lampman led a life of misery. He was supported only by a few close friends and his immortal poetry. This essay is founded around one particular of his works but I feel it necessary to discuss the conditions in which he lived in order to fully understand what he was trying to express and/or symbolize. Lampman really hated his day to day life, he lived only for his friends and his works. Trapped in a city for which he had no love, he often reflected his loathing of it in his numerous works situated in cities. A lover of nature, Lampmans poems often immediately assumed a tone of life, mirth, and a feeling of pleasure and warmth; the others formed a picture of death, hell, and hate all held together by the one problem that is always present, Man. With few close friends like Duncan Campell Scott, and other that were poetically inclinded, Lampman formed a group through-out collage that met frequently to write and discuss. Close friends like that influenced him to write such popular pieces as "Heat" and "A sunset at Les Eboulements" and yet in his darkest moments we get the main topic of this essay "The City of The End of Things". Like most great poets, Lampmans moods and feelings had a direct effect on the nature and topic of his poetry. Lampman chief poetry was done after a great joy in his life, or a great sadness. Sadly, Archibald was not a rich man and lived not a happy life, and most of his poetry reflects that. "The City of The End of Things" was written in a time of great sadness and hate for the world. Published one year after his death many people fail to realize the direct connection to themselves in the poem. Lampmans poetry was divided into two moods, saddness and joy, each primarly involed with nature or cities. Let us discuss the tools used in "The City of The End of Things". Dubed "The Apocalypic City" by Many experts, these mutations of the apocalypic city shows how much Lampmans visions shifted with his moods. He was passionatly committed to social change, but in extreme he identified redemption with paralyzed oblivion (N.G Guthrie) The infernal features of the City are so many inversions of the values that Lampmans saw in natural landscape. Its roaring furnaces, its "ceaseless round"

Monopolistic Competition

INTRODUCTION Pure monopoly and perfect competition are two extreme cases of market structure. In reality, there are markets having large number of producers competing with each other in order to sell their product in the market. Thus, there is monopoly on the one hand and perfect competition, on the other hand. Such a mixture of monopoly and perfect competition is called monopolistic competition. It is a case of imperfect competition. The model of monopolistic competition describes a common  market structure  in which firms have many competitors, but each one sells a slightly different product. Monopolistic competition as a market structure was first identified in the 1930s by American economist  Edward Chamberlin, and English economist  Joan Robinson. Many small businesses operate under conditions of monopolistic competition, including independently owned and operated high-street stores and restaurants. In the case of restaurants, each one offers something different and possesses an element of uniqueness, but all are essentially competing for the same customers. The aim of the given work is the study of monopolistic competition. The paper consists of introduction, body, conclusion and bibliography. In the introduction the aim of the work is defined and the structure of the paper is described. The body gives the definition of monopolistic competition, studies it main characteristics and comments on the main advantages and disadvantages of monopolistic competition. Conclusion sums up the results of the study. Bibliography comprises the list of references used when carrying out the work. MONOPOLISTIC COMPETITION Monopolistic competition  is a type of  imperfect competition  such that competing producers sell products that are  differentiated  from one another as good but not perfect  substitutes, such as from branding, quality, or location. In monopolistic competition, a firm takes the prices charged by its rivals as given and ignores the impact of its own prices on the prices of other firms. In a monopolistically competitive market, firms can behave like  monopolies  in the  short run, including by using market power to generate profit. In the  long run, however, other firms enter the market and the benefits of differentiation decrease with competition; the market becomes more like a  perfectly competitive  one where firms cannot gain economic profit. In practice, however, if consumer rationality/innovativeness is low and heuristics are preferred,  monopolistic competition  can fall into  natural monopoly, even in the complete absence of government intervention. In the presence of coercive government, monopolistic competition will fall into  government-granted monopoly. Unlike perfect competition, the firm maintains spare capacity. Models of monopolistic competition are often used to model industries. Examples of industries with market structures similar to monopolistic competition include  restaurants,  cereal,  clothing,  shoes, and service industries in large cities. The â€Å"founding father† of the theory of monopolistic competition is  Edward Hastings Chamberlin, who wrote a pioneering book on the subject  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Theory of Monopolistic Competition†Ã‚  (1933). Joan Robinson  published a book  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Economics of Imperfect Competition†Ã‚  with a comparable theme of distinguishing perfect from imperfect competition. Monopolistically competitive markets have the following characteristics: * There are many producers and many consumers in the market, and no business has total control over the market price. * Consumers perceive that there are non-price differences among the competitors' products. There are few  barriers to entry  and exit. * Producers have a degree of control over price. The long-run characteristics of a monopolistically competitive market are almost the same as a perfectly competitive market. Two differences between the two are that monopolistic competition produces heterogeneous products and that monopolistic competition involves a great deal of non-price competition, which is based on subtle product differentiation. A firm making profits in the short run will nonetheless only  break even  in the long run because demand will decrease and average total cost will increase. This means in the long run, a monopolistically competitive firm will make zero  economic profit. This illustrates the amount of influence the firm has over the market; because of brand loyalty, it can raise its prices without losing all of its customers. This means that an individual firm's demand curve is downward sloping, in contrast to perfect competition, which has a  perfectly elastic  demand schedule. Monopolistically competitive markets exhibit the following characteristics: 1. Each firm makes independent decisions about price and output, based on its product, its market, and its  costs of production. . Knowledge is widely spread between participants, but it is unlikely to be perfect. For example, diners can review all the menus available from restaurants in a town, before they make their choice. Once inside the restaurant, they can view the menu again, before ordering. However, they cannot fully appreciate the restaurant or the meal until after they have dined. 3. The   entrepreneur  has a more significant role than in firms that are perfectly competitive because of the increased risks associated with decision making. 4. There is freedom to enter or leave the market, as there are no major  barriers to entry  or exit. 5. A central feature of monopolistic competition is that products are differentiated. There are four main types of differentiation: a. Physical product differentiation, where firms use size, design, colour, shape, performance, and features to make their products different. For example, consumer electronics can easily be physically differentiated. b. Marketing differentiation, where firms try to differentiate their product by distinctive packaging and other promotional techniques. For example, breakfast cereals can easily be differentiated through packaging. c. Human capital differentiation, where the firm creates differences through the skill of its employees, the level of training received, distinctive uniforms, and so on. d. Differentiation through distribution, including distribution via mail order or through internet shopping, such as Amazon. com, which differentiates itself from traditional bookstores by selling online. 6. Firms are  price makers  and are faced with a downward sloping  demand curve. Because each firm makes a unique product, it can charge a higher or lower price than its rivals. The firm can set its own price and does not have to ‘take' it from the industry as a whole, though the industry price may be a guideline, or becomes a constraint. This also means that the demand curve will slope downwards. 7. Firms  operating under monopolistic competition usually  have to engage in advertising. Firms are often in fierce competition with other (local) firms offering a similar product or service, and may need to advertise on a local basis, to let customers know their differences. Common methods of advertising for these firms are through local press and radio, local cinema, posters, leaflets and special promotions. 8. Monopolistically competitive firms are assumed to be  profit maximisers  because firms tend to be small with entrepreneurs actively involved in managing the business. 9. There are usually a large numbers of independent firms competing in the market. Product differentiation Monopolistic competition firms sell products that have real or perceived non-price differences. However, the differences are not so great as to eliminate other goods as substitutes. Technically, the cross price elasticity of demand between goods in such a market is positive. In fact, the XED would be high. Monopolistic competition goods are best described as close but imperfect substitutes. The goods perform the same basic functions but have differences in qualities such as type, style, quality, reputation, appearance, and location that tend to distinguish them from each other. For example, the basic function of motor vehicles is basically the same – to move people and objects from point A to B in reasonable comfort and safety. Yet there are many different types of motor vehicles such as motor scooters, motor cycles, trucks, cars and SUVs and many variations even within these categories. There are many firms in each monopolistic competition product group and many firms on the side lines prepared to enter the market. A product group is a â€Å"collection of similar products†. The fact that there are â€Å"many firms† gives each MC firm the freedom to set prices without engaging in strategic decision making regarding the prices of other firms and each firm's actions have a negligible impact on the market. For example, a firm could cut prices and increase sales without fear that its actions will prompt retaliatory responses from competitors. How many firms will an MC market structure support at market equilibrium? The answer depends on factors such as fixed costs, economies of scale and the degree of product differentiation. For example, the higher the fixed costs, the fewer firms the market will support. Also the greater the degree of product differentiation – the more the firm can separate itself from the pack – the fewer firms there will be at market equilibrium. In the long run there is free entry and exit. There are numerous firms waiting to enter the market each with its own â€Å"unique† product or in pursuit of positive profits and any firm unable to cover its costs can leave the market without incurring liquidation costs. This assumption implies that there are low start up costs, no sunk costs and no exit costs. The cost of entering and exit is very low. Each monopolistic competition firm independently sets the terms of exchange for its product. The firm gives no consideration to what effect its decision may have on competitors. The theory is that any action will have such a negligible effect on the overall market demand that an MC firm can act without fear of prompting heightened competition. In other words each firm feels free to set prices as if it were a monopoly rather than an oligopoly. Monopolistic competition firms have some degree of market power. Market power means that the firm has control over the terms and conditions of exchange. An MC firm can raise it prices without losing all its customers. The firm can also lower prices without triggering a potentially ruinous price war with competitors. The source of an MC firm's market power is not barriers to entry since they are low. Rather, an MC firm has market power because it has relatively few competitors, those competitors do not engage in strategic decision making and the firms sells differentiated product. Market power also means that an MC firm faces a downward sloping demand curve. The demand curve is highly elastic although not â€Å"flat†. There are two sources of inefficiency in the MC market structure. First, at its optimum output the firm charges a price that exceeds marginal costs, the MC firm maximizes profits where MR = MC. Since the MC firm's demand curve is downward sloping this means that the firm will be charging a price that exceeds marginal costs. The monopoly power possessed by an MC firm means that at its profit maximizing level of production there will be a net loss of consumer (and producer) surplus. The second source of inefficiency is the fact that MC firms operate with excess capacity. That is, the MC firm's profit maximizing output is less than the output associated with minimum average cost. Both a PC and MC firm will operate at a point where demand or price equals average cost. For a PC firm this equilibrium condition occurs where the perfectly elastic demand curve equals minimum average cost. A MC firm’s demand curve is not flat but is downward sloping. Thus in the long run the demand curve will be tangent to the long run average cost curve at a point to the left of its minimum. The result is excess capacity. While monopolistically competitive firms are inefficient, it is usually the case that the costs of regulating prices for every product that is sold in monopolistic competition far exceed the benefits of such regulation. The government would have to regulate all firms that sold heterogeneous products—an impossible proposition in a  market economy. A monopolistically competitive firm might be said to be marginally inefficient because the firm produces at an output where average total cost is not a minimum. A monopolistically competitive market might be said to be a marginally inefficient market structure because marginal cost is less than price in the long run. Another concern of critics of monopolistic competition is that it fosters  advertising  and the creation of  brand names. Critics argue that advertising induces customers into spending more on products because of the name associated with them rather than because of rational factors. Defenders of advertising dispute this, arguing that brand names can represent a guarantee of quality and that advertising helps reduce the cost to consumers of weighing the tradeoffs of numerous competing brands. There are unique information and information processing costs associated with selecting a brand in a monopolistically competitive environment. In a monopoly market, the consumer is faced with a single brand, making information gathering relatively inexpensive. In a perfectly competitive industry, the consumer is faced with many brands, but because the brands are virtually identical information gathering is also relatively inexpensive. In a monopolistically competitive market, the consumer must collect and process information on a large number of different brands to be able to select the best of them. In many cases, the cost of gathering information necessary to selecting the best brand can exceed the benefit of consuming the best brand instead of a randomly selected brand. Evidence suggests that consumers use information obtained from advertising not only to assess the single brand advertised, but also to infer the possible existence of brands that the consumer has, heretofore, not observed, as well as to infer consumer satisfaction with brands similar to the advertised brand The advantages of monopolistic competition Monopolistic competition can bring the following advantages: 1. There are no significant  barriers to entry; therefore markets are relatively  contestable. 2. Differentiation creates diversity, choice and utility. For example, a typical high street in any town will have a number of different restaurants from which to choose. 3. The market is more efficient than monopoly but less efficient than perfect competition – less allocatively and less productively efficient. However, they may be dynamically efficient, innovative in terms of new production processes or new products. For example, retailers often constantly have to develop new ways to attract and retain local custom. The disadvantages of monopolistic competition There are several potential disadvantages associated with monopolistic competition, including: 1. Some differentiation does not create utility but generates unnecessary waste, such as excess packaging. Advertising may also be considered wasteful, though most is informative rather than persuasive. 2. As the diagram illustrates, assuming profit maximisation, there is allocative inefficiency in both the long and short run. This is  because price is above marginal cost in both cases. In the long run the firm is less allocatively inefficient, but it is still inefficient. . There is a tendency for excess capacity because firms can never fully exploit their fixed factors because mass production is difficult. This means they are  productively inefficient  in both the long and short run. However, this is may be outweighed by the advantages of diversity and choice. As an economic model of competition, monopolistic competition is more realistic than perfect competition – many famil iar and commonplace markets have many of the characteristics of this model. Conclusion Our study gives us an opportunity to come to the following conclusion. Monopolistic competition is a  market structure  in which several or many  sellers  each produce similar, but  slightly  differentiated  products. Each producer  can set its  price  and quantity without affecting the marketplace as a whole. Monopolistic competition differs from perfect competition in that production does not take place at the lowest possible cost. Because of this, firms are left with excess production capacity. It is a type of competition within an industry where: * All firms produce similar yet not perfectly substitutable products. All firms are able to enter the industry if the profits are attractive. * All firms are profit maximizers. * All firms have some market power, which means none are price takers. Monopolistic competition has certain features, one of which is that there are large number of sellers producing differentiated products. So, competition among them is very keen. Since number of sellers is large, each seller produces a very smal l part of market supply. So no seller is in a position to control price of product. Every firm is limited in its size. Product differentiation is one of the most important features of monopolistic competition. In perfect competition, products are homogeneous in nature. On the contrary, here, every producer tries to keep his product dissimilar than his rival's product in order to maintain his separate identity. This boosts up the competition in market. So, every firm acquires some monopoly power. The feature of freedom of entry and exit leads to stiff competition in market. Free entry into the market enables new firms to come with close substitutes. Free entry or exit maintains normal profit in the market for a longer span of time. Selling cost is another unique feature of monopolistic competition. In such type of market, due to product differentiation, every firm has to incur some additional expenditure in the form of selling cost. This cost includes sales promotion expenses, advertisement expenses, salaries of marketing staff, etc. And the last feature of monopolistic competition is that a firm is facing downward sloping demand curve i. e. elastic demand curve. It means one can sell more at lower price and vice versa. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Ayers R. and Collinge R. , Microeconomics, Pearson, 2003 2. J. Gans, S. King, N. Gregory Mankiw, Principles of Economics, Thomson Learning, 2003 3. Hirschey, M, Managerial Economics Rev. Ed, Dryden, 2000 4. http://www. britannica. com/EBchecked/topic/390037/monopolistic-competition 5. http://www. investopedia. com/terms/m/monopolisticmarket. asp 6. http://kalyan-city. blogspot. com/2010/11/monopolistic-competition-meaning. html Monopolistic Competition INTRODUCTION Pure monopoly and perfect competition are two extreme cases of market structure. In reality, there are markets having large number of producers competing with each other in order to sell their product in the market. Thus, there is monopoly on the one hand and perfect competition, on the other hand. Such a mixture of monopoly and perfect competition is called monopolistic competition. It is a case of imperfect competition. The model of monopolistic competition describes a common  market structure  in which firms have many competitors, but each one sells a slightly different product. Monopolistic competition as a market structure was first identified in the 1930s by American economist  Edward Chamberlin, and English economist  Joan Robinson. Many small businesses operate under conditions of monopolistic competition, including independently owned and operated high-street stores and restaurants. In the case of restaurants, each one offers something different and possesses an element of uniqueness, but all are essentially competing for the same customers. The aim of the given work is the study of monopolistic competition. The paper consists of introduction, body, conclusion and bibliography. In the introduction the aim of the work is defined and the structure of the paper is described. The body gives the definition of monopolistic competition, studies it main characteristics and comments on the main advantages and disadvantages of monopolistic competition. Conclusion sums up the results of the study. Bibliography comprises the list of references used when carrying out the work. MONOPOLISTIC COMPETITION Monopolistic competition  is a type of  imperfect competition  such that competing producers sell products that are  differentiated  from one another as good but not perfect  substitutes, such as from branding, quality, or location. In monopolistic competition, a firm takes the prices charged by its rivals as given and ignores the impact of its own prices on the prices of other firms. In a monopolistically competitive market, firms can behave like  monopolies  in the  short run, including by using market power to generate profit. In the  long run, however, other firms enter the market and the benefits of differentiation decrease with competition; the market becomes more like a  perfectly competitive  one where firms cannot gain economic profit. In practice, however, if consumer rationality/innovativeness is low and heuristics are preferred,  monopolistic competition  can fall into  natural monopoly, even in the complete absence of government intervention. In the presence of coercive government, monopolistic competition will fall into  government-granted monopoly. Unlike perfect competition, the firm maintains spare capacity. Models of monopolistic competition are often used to model industries. Examples of industries with market structures similar to monopolistic competition include  restaurants,  cereal,  clothing,  shoes, and service industries in large cities. The â€Å"founding father† of the theory of monopolistic competition is  Edward Hastings Chamberlin, who wrote a pioneering book on the subject  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Theory of Monopolistic Competition†Ã‚  (1933). Joan Robinson  published a book  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Economics of Imperfect Competition†Ã‚  with a comparable theme of distinguishing perfect from imperfect competition. Monopolistically competitive markets have the following characteristics: * There are many producers and many consumers in the market, and no business has total control over the market price. * Consumers perceive that there are non-price differences among the competitors' products. There are few  barriers to entry  and exit. * Producers have a degree of control over price. The long-run characteristics of a monopolistically competitive market are almost the same as a perfectly competitive market. Two differences between the two are that monopolistic competition produces heterogeneous products and that monopolistic competition involves a great deal of non-price competition, which is based on subtle product differentiation. A firm making profits in the short run will nonetheless only  break even  in the long run because demand will decrease and average total cost will increase. This means in the long run, a monopolistically competitive firm will make zero  economic profit. This illustrates the amount of influence the firm has over the market; because of brand loyalty, it can raise its prices without losing all of its customers. This means that an individual firm's demand curve is downward sloping, in contrast to perfect competition, which has a  perfectly elastic  demand schedule. Monopolistically competitive markets exhibit the following characteristics: 1. Each firm makes independent decisions about price and output, based on its product, its market, and its  costs of production. . Knowledge is widely spread between participants, but it is unlikely to be perfect. For example, diners can review all the menus available from restaurants in a town, before they make their choice. Once inside the restaurant, they can view the menu again, before ordering. However, they cannot fully appreciate the restaurant or the meal until after they have dined. 3. The   entrepreneur  has a more significant role than in firms that are perfectly competitive because of the increased risks associated with decision making. 4. There is freedom to enter or leave the market, as there are no major  barriers to entry  or exit. 5. A central feature of monopolistic competition is that products are differentiated. There are four main types of differentiation: a. Physical product differentiation, where firms use size, design, colour, shape, performance, and features to make their products different. For example, consumer electronics can easily be physically differentiated. b. Marketing differentiation, where firms try to differentiate their product by distinctive packaging and other promotional techniques. For example, breakfast cereals can easily be differentiated through packaging. c. Human capital differentiation, where the firm creates differences through the skill of its employees, the level of training received, distinctive uniforms, and so on. d. Differentiation through distribution, including distribution via mail order or through internet shopping, such as Amazon. com, which differentiates itself from traditional bookstores by selling online. 6. Firms are  price makers  and are faced with a downward sloping  demand curve. Because each firm makes a unique product, it can charge a higher or lower price than its rivals. The firm can set its own price and does not have to ‘take' it from the industry as a whole, though the industry price may be a guideline, or becomes a constraint. This also means that the demand curve will slope downwards. 7. Firms  operating under monopolistic competition usually  have to engage in advertising. Firms are often in fierce competition with other (local) firms offering a similar product or service, and may need to advertise on a local basis, to let customers know their differences. Common methods of advertising for these firms are through local press and radio, local cinema, posters, leaflets and special promotions. 8. Monopolistically competitive firms are assumed to be  profit maximisers  because firms tend to be small with entrepreneurs actively involved in managing the business. 9. There are usually a large numbers of independent firms competing in the market. Product differentiation Monopolistic competition firms sell products that have real or perceived non-price differences. However, the differences are not so great as to eliminate other goods as substitutes. Technically, the cross price elasticity of demand between goods in such a market is positive. In fact, the XED would be high. Monopolistic competition goods are best described as close but imperfect substitutes. The goods perform the same basic functions but have differences in qualities such as type, style, quality, reputation, appearance, and location that tend to distinguish them from each other. For example, the basic function of motor vehicles is basically the same – to move people and objects from point A to B in reasonable comfort and safety. Yet there are many different types of motor vehicles such as motor scooters, motor cycles, trucks, cars and SUVs and many variations even within these categories. There are many firms in each monopolistic competition product group and many firms on the side lines prepared to enter the market. A product group is a â€Å"collection of similar products†. The fact that there are â€Å"many firms† gives each MC firm the freedom to set prices without engaging in strategic decision making regarding the prices of other firms and each firm's actions have a negligible impact on the market. For example, a firm could cut prices and increase sales without fear that its actions will prompt retaliatory responses from competitors. How many firms will an MC market structure support at market equilibrium? The answer depends on factors such as fixed costs, economies of scale and the degree of product differentiation. For example, the higher the fixed costs, the fewer firms the market will support. Also the greater the degree of product differentiation – the more the firm can separate itself from the pack – the fewer firms there will be at market equilibrium. In the long run there is free entry and exit. There are numerous firms waiting to enter the market each with its own â€Å"unique† product or in pursuit of positive profits and any firm unable to cover its costs can leave the market without incurring liquidation costs. This assumption implies that there are low start up costs, no sunk costs and no exit costs. The cost of entering and exit is very low. Each monopolistic competition firm independently sets the terms of exchange for its product. The firm gives no consideration to what effect its decision may have on competitors. The theory is that any action will have such a negligible effect on the overall market demand that an MC firm can act without fear of prompting heightened competition. In other words each firm feels free to set prices as if it were a monopoly rather than an oligopoly. Monopolistic competition firms have some degree of market power. Market power means that the firm has control over the terms and conditions of exchange. An MC firm can raise it prices without losing all its customers. The firm can also lower prices without triggering a potentially ruinous price war with competitors. The source of an MC firm's market power is not barriers to entry since they are low. Rather, an MC firm has market power because it has relatively few competitors, those competitors do not engage in strategic decision making and the firms sells differentiated product. Market power also means that an MC firm faces a downward sloping demand curve. The demand curve is highly elastic although not â€Å"flat†. There are two sources of inefficiency in the MC market structure. First, at its optimum output the firm charges a price that exceeds marginal costs, the MC firm maximizes profits where MR = MC. Since the MC firm's demand curve is downward sloping this means that the firm will be charging a price that exceeds marginal costs. The monopoly power possessed by an MC firm means that at its profit maximizing level of production there will be a net loss of consumer (and producer) surplus. The second source of inefficiency is the fact that MC firms operate with excess capacity. That is, the MC firm's profit maximizing output is less than the output associated with minimum average cost. Both a PC and MC firm will operate at a point where demand or price equals average cost. For a PC firm this equilibrium condition occurs where the perfectly elastic demand curve equals minimum average cost. A MC firm’s demand curve is not flat but is downward sloping. Thus in the long run the demand curve will be tangent to the long run average cost curve at a point to the left of its minimum. The result is excess capacity. While monopolistically competitive firms are inefficient, it is usually the case that the costs of regulating prices for every product that is sold in monopolistic competition far exceed the benefits of such regulation. The government would have to regulate all firms that sold heterogeneous products—an impossible proposition in a  market economy. A monopolistically competitive firm might be said to be marginally inefficient because the firm produces at an output where average total cost is not a minimum. A monopolistically competitive market might be said to be a marginally inefficient market structure because marginal cost is less than price in the long run. Another concern of critics of monopolistic competition is that it fosters  advertising  and the creation of  brand names. Critics argue that advertising induces customers into spending more on products because of the name associated with them rather than because of rational factors. Defenders of advertising dispute this, arguing that brand names can represent a guarantee of quality and that advertising helps reduce the cost to consumers of weighing the tradeoffs of numerous competing brands. There are unique information and information processing costs associated with selecting a brand in a monopolistically competitive environment. In a monopoly market, the consumer is faced with a single brand, making information gathering relatively inexpensive. In a perfectly competitive industry, the consumer is faced with many brands, but because the brands are virtually identical information gathering is also relatively inexpensive. In a monopolistically competitive market, the consumer must collect and process information on a large number of different brands to be able to select the best of them. In many cases, the cost of gathering information necessary to selecting the best brand can exceed the benefit of consuming the best brand instead of a randomly selected brand. Evidence suggests that consumers use information obtained from advertising not only to assess the single brand advertised, but also to infer the possible existence of brands that the consumer has, heretofore, not observed, as well as to infer consumer satisfaction with brands similar to the advertised brand The advantages of monopolistic competition Monopolistic competition can bring the following advantages: 1. There are no significant  barriers to entry; therefore markets are relatively  contestable. 2. Differentiation creates diversity, choice and utility. For example, a typical high street in any town will have a number of different restaurants from which to choose. 3. The market is more efficient than monopoly but less efficient than perfect competition – less allocatively and less productively efficient. However, they may be dynamically efficient, innovative in terms of new production processes or new products. For example, retailers often constantly have to develop new ways to attract and retain local custom. The disadvantages of monopolistic competition There are several potential disadvantages associated with monopolistic competition, including: 1. Some differentiation does not create utility but generates unnecessary waste, such as excess packaging. Advertising may also be considered wasteful, though most is informative rather than persuasive. 2. As the diagram illustrates, assuming profit maximisation, there is allocative inefficiency in both the long and short run. This is  because price is above marginal cost in both cases. In the long run the firm is less allocatively inefficient, but it is still inefficient. . There is a tendency for excess capacity because firms can never fully exploit their fixed factors because mass production is difficult. This means they are  productively inefficient  in both the long and short run. However, this is may be outweighed by the advantages of diversity and choice. As an economic model of competition, monopolistic competition is more realistic than perfect competition – many famil iar and commonplace markets have many of the characteristics of this model. Conclusion Our study gives us an opportunity to come to the following conclusion. Monopolistic competition is a  market structure  in which several or many  sellers  each produce similar, but  slightly  differentiated  products. Each producer  can set its  price  and quantity without affecting the marketplace as a whole. Monopolistic competition differs from perfect competition in that production does not take place at the lowest possible cost. Because of this, firms are left with excess production capacity. It is a type of competition within an industry where: * All firms produce similar yet not perfectly substitutable products. All firms are able to enter the industry if the profits are attractive. * All firms are profit maximizers. * All firms have some market power, which means none are price takers. Monopolistic competition has certain features, one of which is that there are large number of sellers producing differentiated products. So, competition among them is very keen. Since number of sellers is large, each seller produces a very smal l part of market supply. So no seller is in a position to control price of product. Every firm is limited in its size. Product differentiation is one of the most important features of monopolistic competition. In perfect competition, products are homogeneous in nature. On the contrary, here, every producer tries to keep his product dissimilar than his rival's product in order to maintain his separate identity. This boosts up the competition in market. So, every firm acquires some monopoly power. The feature of freedom of entry and exit leads to stiff competition in market. Free entry into the market enables new firms to come with close substitutes. Free entry or exit maintains normal profit in the market for a longer span of time. Selling cost is another unique feature of monopolistic competition. In such type of market, due to product differentiation, every firm has to incur some additional expenditure in the form of selling cost. This cost includes sales promotion expenses, advertisement expenses, salaries of marketing staff, etc. And the last feature of monopolistic competition is that a firm is facing downward sloping demand curve i. e. elastic demand curve. It means one can sell more at lower price and vice versa. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Ayers R. and Collinge R. , Microeconomics, Pearson, 2003 2. J. Gans, S. King, N. Gregory Mankiw, Principles of Economics, Thomson Learning, 2003 3. Hirschey, M, Managerial Economics Rev. Ed, Dryden, 2000 4. http://www. britannica. com/EBchecked/topic/390037/monopolistic-competition 5. http://www. investopedia. com/terms/m/monopolisticmarket. asp 6. http://kalyan-city. blogspot. com/2010/11/monopolistic-competition-meaning. html