Time Warner Cable

Large-scale mergers between media companies are becoming more and more commonplace in recent years causing alarm to consumers and industry analysts. The result of these mergers has been a consolidation of market competitors causing media ownership and influence to be controlled by a smaller and less diverse group of firms, the essence of anti-competitiveness. Most recently, Compact announced its intent to acquire Time Warner Cable (ETC) which, if approved, will unite the two biggest companies in the cable television market (Steelers, 2014).The merger would give unprecedented power to the newly merged company which would over 30 percent of the pay television subscribers (Baker, 2014). The fact is that separately, Compact and ETC already have market power in numerous local geographic markets. Compact is the nation's largest provider of pay television with 22 million subscribers (41 percent of all homes and businesses in the geographic areas in which Compact operates). ETC is the second largest cable television company with 1 1. 2 million subscribers.After the merger, approximately one third of all cable television bickerers will be Compact customers sparking concern about the amount of leverage and influence one company should control (Rhombohedra & Camilla, 2014). There are varying opinions about the kind of economic industry cable television market operates in. Many argue that cable television is a â€Å"natural monopoly' (source). Economics professor, Thomas Delivered, explains, natural monopolies occur when production technology, such as relatively high fixed costs, causes long-run average total costs to decline as output expands.In such industries, the theory goes, a single reducer will eventually be able to produce at lower cost than any two other producers, thereby creating a ‘natural' monopoly. Higher prices will result if more than one producer supplies the market. (Delivered, 1996, p. 43) Natural monopolies are created when the initial investment in the framework and infrastructure required to enter the market are so high that it discourages other firms from coming into the market. Installing cable lines is an example of the high cost of starting a business in the television industry and a â€Å"first come, first serve† mentality for natural monopolies.Implementing the cable lines is considered a sunk cost and is one reason why there are such overwhelming difficulties to entry in the cable industry. With natural monopolies, economies of scale are also very significant so that minimum efficient scale is not reached until the firm has become very large in relation to the total size of the market allowing it to recoup its investment. The graph below shows the demand curve of a natural market economy (Economics Online, 2014). When price is allowed to be set by the company (P), it results in higher levels of profit and manipulation of the market.The company's main concern is in the bottom line and maximizing its profits. The chart also shows a potential price (Pl) that would result if there was some regulation; for example, government imposes a price cap and the company operates at a loss. The cable television industry has also been described as a â€Å"patchwork of micro-monopolies† (Honda, 2011, p. 1). Since there are a small number of large companies that compete on the national scale, some argue that the industry cannot be classified as a monopoly or natural monopoly.However, the market structure, permitted and/or encouraged by the government, is set up so that Hess companies do not compete on the local level which results in small scale monopolies and little to no choice for the consumers. A 2011 survey by the Federal Communications Commission concluded that 61. 5 percent of customers had only one choice of cable provider in their neighborhood (Marten, 2012). The theory is that through local government legislation and result in nearly non-existent competition on the local level between c able companies has led to a non-competitive oligopoly (Shafer, 2014).Although the cable industry natural monopoly may have made sense initially, the companies that have been able to benefit from this market structure have exploited the consumer and been able to charge high prices for mediocre products. Many of the government regulations that were initially implemented at the onset on the industry were controversial; firms paid franchise fees enabling them to obtain decisions through offers of building public access studios and regulating the rates of the politicians' Jurisdiction (Shafer, 2014).Notwithstanding the exact classification, there is a general consensus that too few companies in the cable television industry hold too much power. It is evident when comparing the service that the American public receives in terms of cable television and broadband from these companies to other developed nations that we consumers receive far less. Americans pay more for their personal service that in any other industrialized country except Chile, Mexico and Turkey (Crawford, 2014).In the United Kingdom, the government forces the cable companies which dominate the market to lease their networks to competitors at cost. This weakening of one of the major barriers to entry in the system has created competition and brought prices down considerably to the UK population (Caddis, 2014). There are many negative consequences for consumers when industries operate in monopolistic or near monopolistic competition. This is especially true when the industry is related to the media and has a great deal of influence on what the public is seeing and hearing.First, the media market will be too reliant on and loyal to large corporate sponsors. The industry will become singularly focused on what it can get from the consumer rather than concern with public interest. Second, a small number of colossal companies will represent the interests of their stockholders, usually America's upper-class. Third, there is a lack of competition in the marketplace which leads to higher prices to the consumer and a lack of innovation in the products offered. These problems are exemplified by both ETC and Compact.In 2012, ETC spent Just 9 percent of its $41 billion revenue on maintaining and upgrading their equipment and networks (Hilt, 2013). Compact spent even less, 3. 7 percent of its $118. 3 billion revenue. There is little reason to believe that two companies spending such a small percentage of their revenue on making improvements to their products and services would change their strategy cost-merger. Consumers are already troubled with the possibility that the merger will be approved. Cable television companies already have critically low satisfaction scores among their clients.ETC and Compact are the two worst offenders in the industry. In 2013, the American Consumer Satisfaction Index gave the two companies the dubious distinction of having the lowest rated television and interne t services in the United States (Ezra, 2014). According to Yogurt's Barehanded, Americans do not want ETC and Compact to merge (Including, 2014). The television cable industry is notoriously retrieved by consumers in general and the announcement of the merger has caused the perception of the two companies to drop even further. The following chart shows how consumers are reacting to the $45 billion deal.In many cases, customers have no recourse other than cutting the cable cord completely if they do not choose Compact or ETC. There are many non-cable media options for the public to patron however, one major section of the population has no choice but to subscribe to cable: sports fans. This is of particular concern to the Dodgers and Lasers fans in Los Angles. Currently, ETC spent billions to obtain eradicating right to both massively lucrative sports franchises (Baker, 2014). This allows ETC to extract steep subscriber fees to its non-cable competition.When the negotiations between the companies stall or are incomplete, ETC blacks out the games to those who do not subscribe to ETC. This is especially problematic for sports fans who do not have the choice to become customers of ETC since the company does not even offer services in their region. Additionally, those customers who cut the cable cord are likely only able to access internet through the same company that was already overcharging for their television service. They will be able to watch Nettling or Hull instead of cable television but will still have to pay Compact in order to do so.It creates a catch-22 in the industry and very little choice for consumers in terms of who they select as their service provider. The merger between Compact and ETC will have a much greater impact than simply in the cable television industry alone. There will be a ripple effect in internet and phone service as well as the other media that these companies own such as NBC Universal and Sportsmen. The merged company's control will be more widespread because of their various endures making it all the more potentially harmful to the consumer.

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla was born on May 8th, 1753 to Cristobal Hidalgo y Costilla and Ana Maria Gallaga near Penjamo, Guanajuato. He was considered a Criollo or Mexican of Spanish descent that had been born in the New World. He was a very intelligent man who knew several languages, read French literature and wrote texts in Aztec. In 1773 Hidalgo y Castillo received his bachelor’s degree in theology from the Colegia San Nicolas in Valltolid. He was ordained in 1778 and became the priest for the village of Dolores, Guanajuato in 1803. Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla was an unusual priest. Contrary to Church doctrine, Hidalgo y Costilla was known to gamble, dance, challenge the papacy of Rome and keep a mistress. He was also known to speak out against the king of Spain. In 1803, when Hidalgo y Costilla was the priest of Dolores, his house was a well known gathering place. It was the equality in the house that drew people, with poor Indians and castes socializing with Spanish and criollos.  Ã‚   Current events and literary topics were frequently debated, but Hidalgo's orientation grew more scientific as time passed. He was not so interested in literary cultural enlightenment, and was more concerned with the development of social consciousness and economic awareness.   (Hamill 82) Hidalgo y Costilla was very interested in developing Dolores’s ability to be economically self sufficient. Colonists were prohibited from producing many different types of commodities and this made its difficult, if not impossible, for the colonists to become self supporting. Two of these were wine and silkworms, both of which Hidalgo y Costilla encouraged. With the French seizure of Spain in 1808, the imposition of Joseph Bonaparte on the throne, and the creation of the Cà ¡diz junta, Mexico exploded into crisis. The instability revealed acute  social divisions within Mexico. The upper classes sought to establish an autonomous government that would represent their interests, and the lower classes struggled against the dominance of the local elites.†Ã‚   (Kirkwood 75) There were many groups and each had their own list of grievances but they did have a few issues in common. One major criticism was Spain’s inability to govern Mexico properly. Another was the social identity change going on with the Mexicans. They were becoming proud of themselves as a people and changing the attitude that anything European was possibly superior. In 1810, the audiencia in Mexico City took power from Francisco Javier de Lizana y Beaumont. The audiencia was not any better at maintaing stability than any of the others and fearful of weak government leadership, semi-secret groups began meeting to discuss the nations future. To avoid detection, they disguised themselves as debate clubs or literary discussion groups. One such group was the Literary and Social Club of Querà ©taro, of which Father Hidalgo y Costilla was a member. â€Å"Noted as a defender of the downtrodden, well read, and with a capacity to forcibly express his ideas, he emerged as an important participant in the literary club in Querà ©taro.† (Kirkwood 79) It was due to these qualities and the encouragement he had shown the people regarding the creation of their own industries that Hidalgo y Costilla had become the leader of a revolution. Tired of the oppression of Spanish rule, he began planning for Mexico to gain its independence. â€Å"By 1810 Hidalgo's main energies were devoted to conspiring for an uprising that he hoped would lead to Mexican independence. The center of the conspiracy was the city of Querà ©taro, some fifty miles southeast of Dolores on the road to Mexico City. His fellow conspirators, also  criollos, planned to organize an insurrection and seize power from the peninsulares and their al lies. Initially, as a ruse, they would declare their fealty to King Ferdinand VII, but their clear final purpose was independence† (Smith 12,13) The government got word of the uprising and start arresting people who were suspected of participating. Hidalgo y Costilla was informed that this was happening and decided to take action. Racing to the church, he used the bells to call all the parishioners to him and proceeded to make a stirring speech against bad government known as the Grito de Dolores (Shout from Dolores). This speech described the situation and feeling in Mexico so aptly that it is considered the beginning moment of Mexico’s independence and made Hidalgo y Costilla a historical icon. Inspired by the Grito de Dolores, an army of 700 followed Hidalgo y Costilla on a march towards Guanajuato, by the time they were nearly there, the army had grown to almost 20,000 men. Despite his stirring speeches and large crowd of followers, Hidalgo y Costilla soon found he was in charge of an unruly mob rather than a trained army. They overtook the granary at Guanajuato and defeated the royalist soldiers but soon after Hidalgo y Costilla’s mob began destroying property, burning and pillaging and killing landowners and their families. â€Å"These excesses redoubled the resolve of the viceroy in Mexico City to put down the rebellion. Hidalgo and his military commanders were excommunicated, and royalist forces were raised to march north and engage Hidalgo's troops   (Smith 13) It was at this point that Hidalgo y Costilla made his biggest military mistake. He did not realize the forces guarding Mexico City were weak and unprepared. If he had marched on Mexico City and taken it, the war for independence would have been over at that point. Instead he and his mob headed to Queretaro, but when they were defeated, they retreated back to Guanajuato. Hidalgo y Costilla and his army tried to escape to the United States when a large, well trained royalist army appeared outside of Guanajuato, but they were captured before they could cross the border. Hidalgo was arrested, charged and found guilt of heresy and treason. He was also excommunicated by an ecclesiastical court. Now he was no longer considered a priest and was a traitor to the Spanish. â€Å"On the morning of July 30, 1811, the day after his degradation from th   priesthood, Hidalgo went before a firing squad in the courtyard of the former Jesuit College which had been his prison since April.† (Hamill 216) Despite the charges and his execution, Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla remains a hero to the people of Mexico. In Dolores, the Casa de Don Miguel Hidalgo, where he lived from 1804 to 1810, is full of furniture and document exhibits from that time. The Museo de la Independencia, or Independence Museum, has been converted from the old prison into a historical arts center. A larger than life bronze statue of Miguel Hidalgo graces the center of the park and all around Dolores are opportunities to purchase Talavera, a type of porcelain introduced by Father Hidalgo. Matamoros, Mexico boasts a main square featuring monuments to Hidalgo and others who lost their lives in the Mexican War of Independence. More tributes and monuments are found throughout Mexico, Texas and surrounding areas. Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla may not have been a war savvy general but his genuine concern for the plight of his people and his encouragement to fight for an independent Mexico has truly made him the â€Å"Father of Mexican Independence.† Works Cited Anderson, Geri. Dolores Hidalgo: Mexico’s Cradle of Independence. 2007. 7 Mar. 2007 Hamill, Hugh M. The Hidalgo Revolt: Prelude to Mexican Independence. Gainesville, FL: University of Florida Press, 1966. Questia. 5 Mar. 2007 . Kirkwood, Burton. The History of Mexico. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2000. Questia. 5 Mar. 2007 . Smith, Clint E. Inevitable Partnership:   Understanding Mexico-U.S. Relations. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2000. Questia. 6 Mar. 2007 .                                             

Creating Activities Based on Learning Theories Essay

Behavioral teaching and learning tends to focus on skills that are acquired by an individual but are likely to be applied at a later stage in life. For instance, an individual may learn computational skills only to apply them when he gets a job. Behavioral theories support a number of approaches to teaching. All of them fall under the category of direct or teacher centered instruction. Operant conditioning on the other hand involves the reinforcement of behavior and mainly it is achieved either through reward or through punishment. The occurrence of a behavior determines whether it should be rewarded or it should be punished. To add to that, the kind of treatment administered after a behavior determines whether it will recur or not The following are some of the activities that are mostly observed in the case of behaviorism, to begin with, there are the tutorials; in this case the learner is informed about new ideas mainly through the lecturer. This mostly happen in classroom settings where the teacher gives the instructions on a particular aspect to be learned and the learner is expected to follow and understand what is being passed across. The second activity is games; this is where the learner takes part in games for instance football, races or other indoor activities that are mainly recreational and at the same time entertaining. The teacher on sets the platform to allow the learner explore the skills in various outdoor or indoor activities involving the full attention and participation of the learner. The other activity involves programmed instructions, integrated learning systems or even the graphically organized activities. In this case the learner will be required to use the ability to see in order to interpret the given information before learning is achieved. CONTRIBUTION OF GORDON SHAW IN EDUCATION Dr. Gordon is credited to have found the non profit educational institute called the MIND institute. This was introduced in the year 1998 as a result of a science research that he conducted at the University of California. Dr. Shaw had one vision of teaching all kids irrespective of their backgrounds. Through his institution, a lot of revolution was realized in the mathematics and music curriculum. His research had great impact in the curriculum offered in arts related subjects. Dr. Shaw argued that music is an element of learning that greatly helps to develop the brain and other mental faculties. Dr. Shaw further insisted that all children have a capacity to excel no matter what their present status are at the moment. He always encouraged the teachers to give al student opportunities to lean and achieve their full potential in the long run. He particularly identified students from disadvantaged backgrounds and pushed for them to be given chances of learning just like the other students. CLASSROOM IMPLICATION OF HIS WORK TO PARENTS AND EDUCATORS Dr. Shaw’s work made it possible for teachers to treat all children equally irrespective of their limitations. Teachers also rose to the occasion to protect the challenged students from the rowdy colleagues. Parents who are challenged either financially of socially were therefore able to educate their children with more ease because of Dr. Shaw’s policies. Parents were also warned against denying their children a chance to pursue education. Parents and teachers had easy time to assist their students because they were made to believe that any child can actually excel. Source Tomasi, M. (2006). Psychology of Education. NY: Oxford publishers.

Adidas Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Adidas - Case Study Example The paper will then focus on the SWOT analysis and highlight the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that face the company. In addition, the paper will go further to evaluate the implications of the SWOT analysis on the current marketing position, current business strategy and changes that should be implemented in order for Adidas to attain competitive edge in the global market. The paper will highlight how the company can use its strengths to exploit the market opportunities and turn the threats and weaknesses in to strengths. Finally, the paper will make recommendations on necessary changes to the current business strategy in order to ensure higher profitability.Introduction Adidas Group (Adidas) is a leading player in the global sporting industry and engages in the design, development, and marketing of sporting apparel, accessories and footwear (Blakey, 2011). Adidas mainly targets five sporting fields that are basketball, football, training, running and outdoor. The history of Adidas can be traced back to 1925 when founder, Adolf ‘Adi’ Dassler created Adidas after identifying the need of high performance athletic shoes. The gold medals of 1928 in Amsterdam and subsequent medals in Berlin in 1936 by Jesse Owens were the initial milestones that created the impetus to engage in more production of sporting shoes. Adidas 3-stripes shoe of 1949 attained the company a global recognition while German national football victory against Hungarian in 1954 World Cup finals made Adidas a household name across the world (Blakey, 2011). In 1970, Adidas conquered the football market through its Telstar official ball in FIFA World Cup since the ball enabled a higher visibility on the Black and White televisions. In 1971, Rockport Company was established in order to sell advanced technologies and materials in the casual footwear in the US market. However, the death of Adi Dassler in 1978 did not affect the company since his son, Horst and mother Kath e continued with the vision of the founder in making Adidas a modern sporting apparel and shoes provider. Continued innovation saw the development of the micropacer that provided athletics with performance statistics (Blakey, 2011). Adidas sold it stock to the public in 1995 and continued with its efforts of producing stylish and quality sporting apparel and shoes for the sporting industry. In 1996, Adidas equipped over 6,000 athletics from over 30 countries and experienced more than 50 percent increase in apparel sales. In 1997, the company acquired Salomon Group including TaylorMade, Bonfire and Mavic brands and renamed the company Adidas-Salomon AG. In 2004, the company partnered with Stella McCartney and later initiated plans of selling certain business segments like

Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 5

Questions - Essay Example Some families, who are immigrants, move several times throughout the year as their parents follow migrant worker travel schedules and these schools are not prepared for students in these circumstances; often failing to provide adequate opportunity for the student to meet passing criteria. Many complete high schools are undocumented citizens with few choices but to resume work in labor similar to their parents. Providing a path to education and employment, was the goals of the Dream Act that was placed before congress in 2011, failing to get the Senate vote. This act had provisions for higher education and citizenship status and college availability for those immigrants who have been in the United States throughout school with no citizenship. Lack of citizenship greatly increases college tuition, which is another factor that works against promoting higher education of immigrants. Cultural lag creates a social problem within society as one portion of society becomes further advanced or in a more beneficial position and other portions do not, such as the case in immigration. Less educated workers in an ethnic group, often receiving public government benefits and unable to find work contribute to society as a whole. Deblassie, A. (1996). Education Of Hispanic Youth: A Cultural Lag - Research and Read Books, Journals, Articles at Questia Online Library. Questia - The Online Library of Books and Journals. Retrieved from http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst?docId=5000343563 Immigration and Public Education. (2011). The United Church of Christ | No Matter Who You Are Or Where You Are On Lifes Journey, Youre Welcome Here. Retrieved from

Financial Decision Making Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Financial Decision Making - Coursework Example The price earnings ratio measures the relationship between stock dividend payout and a stock’s market price in order to compare a stock’s performance against any other stock. One can also use earnings per share in order to determine how a company compares to another in terms of current dividend paid. This two key investment ratios can only be used with company’s that are publicly traded and issue stocks Additionally there is a wealth of investment advice and current company profiles and analysis available on the internet, which make the task of choosing an investment much easier for the private investor. For a company that is not publicly traded, an individual must use other forms of financial analysis in order to determine what the best investment option is and how much the required rate of return needs to be in order to justify the risks associated with a specific company. We have been presented with three individual companies as possible investment alternative s none of the companies are publicly traded. The three possible investment choices are: 1) Acme Consulting-Although the initial investment of the company is low at $50,000,the company will be a start up venture so the risks related to the investment are always highest with a new company. Acme will be a management consulting firm with a high level of expertise and experience specializing in marketing and distribution of high technology products and solutions in the international market. The initial operating focus for the company will be the European and Latin American markets and the American market for foreign clients. Acme will provide high value services at the highest costs the market will bear the company will be targeting primarily large manufacturers of high technology products such as IBM, Apple and HP as potential clientele. 2) Interstate Travel Center- Is also a start-up company which will consist of a will be full service truck stop and service center to be located in Tex as. The initial start up costs for the project will be 2.75 million in order to buy the land and build the 6,000square foot facility which will include a restaurant, convenience store, gas/ diesel islands and service facilities and amenities. The required capital investment will be $250,000 from an investor/s and a 2.5 million loan. 3) Silvera and Sons- This is a successful well establish business dedicated to the distribution and exportation of premium Brazilian Arabica Coffee beans. Its main customers are premium American specialty roasters and wholesale to the local Brazilian market. For the last six years demand for the company’s products has exceeded capacity, so the company has had to refuse a lot of larger shipments, therefore losing a lot of potential sales and customers. The company wants to expand their production capacity in order to fulfill the additional demand. The company is confident that they will be able to sell all additional production of their premium Ara bica beans. Since the investment will be used to fulfill the demand for their products, and it is a successful profitable company, it seems that the safest investment for an individual would be to invest in Silvera and Sons. Although it was not required in this assignment to calculate the discount rate for each company, I took the initiative in my research of learning how to calculate the discount rate. In order to calculate the required rate of return or discount rate one must determine what the risk free interest rate is, the average market return, market risk premium

Current issues application and practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Current issues application and practice - Essay Example Agriculture is very important in the economy of a country especially among developing countries like the Philippines. It provides food for the nation’s inhabitants. It supplies the raw materials needed by the other sectors of the economy such as the manufacturing, trading and services sectors. Agricultural products are an important source of exports for the country. It also generates employment especially among those living in the rural areas. Approximately 30 million hectares or 40 percent of the total land area of the country is classified as farm lands. The country is composed of 7,107 islands with a total coastline of about 18,000 kilometers and which boast of bountiful fishing areas. Farming and fishing are major sources of livelihood for most people in the rural areas. The food crops produced by the farm lands are used for local consumption while some crops are exported. One then wonders why inspire of the rich natural resources of the country it has remained to be a Thi rd World country. The answer is simple. There is not enough government support being given to the industry. Without the necessary government initiatives to improve the agricultural sector, one cannot expect the industry to grow. The people who rely on agriculture are not given the opportunity to raise their income; thus, pushing the economy downwards. To determine the impact of agriculture in the Philippine economy, recent developments in the industry must be examined. In 2010, despite having vast agricultural lands and an ideal geographical location, the agriculture and fishery sector contributed only17 percent to the gross domestic product of the Philippines, a .34 percent decline from the previous year (Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS), 2011). Compared to last year’s level, the gross value of agricultural output rose by 15.97 percent to P706.4 billion at current prices. The BAS also reported that of the country’s total labor force of 38.89 million, about 11.9 6 million persons or 33 percent were employed in the agriculture sector. During the first half of 2010, the daily nominal wages of workers in palay farms in Philippine pesos was P227.23 while those in corn farms earned P175.25. In terms of support services, government expenditures in agriculture amounted to P89.22 billion or six percent of the national expenditures, which represents an increase of 9.58 percent from last year. In the case of irrigation, only 49 percent of the total potential irrigable area is irrigated. The production performance of the agricultural sector in 2010 showed that output of palay and corn dropped by 3.04 percent and 9.34 percent, respectively. Coconut production registered a loss of one percent in the same way as sugarcane also recorded a loss of 21.82 percent. On the contrary, production output for mango, tobacco, onion, cabbage and eggplant grew by more than three percent (BAS, 2011). While agricultural products did not show remarkable improvements, the livestock production went the opposite direction (BAS, 2011). Carabao production increased by 5.05 percent, cattle at 2.71 percent, hog at 1.11 percent and goat at 1.38 percent. Likewise, production of dairy products grew by 11.14 percent. Chicken meat production increased by 4.01 percent and chicken eggs grew by 5.12 percent. Among the major livestock products only duck meat and duck egg production declined by 8.24 percent and 7.44 percent, respect