Group Exercise

The first one - In order to prevent an epidemic ,a drugs company releases a new drug before it has been thoroughly tested.

Is that a ethical behaviour?Well I think this is a real problem may happened around us .So it is necessary to discuss about it . And Ethical behaviour is characterized by honesty, fairness and equity in interpersonal,professional and academic relationships and in research and scholarly activities. So to consider is that a ethical behaviour we should look at if that Honesty ? Fairness?or Equity ?

As we know the aim of the drugs company is to prevent an epidemic which is good for the society but the problem is the drug is new and it has not been thoroughly tested .That may led to some terrible results.Such as the drug may create more epidemic or after people eat this drug may have some bad effects.Therefore the company should not do that ,it is really not a expression of taking the responsibility of there customers and for the society as well.

So my conclusion is although they have a good purpose for doing that (to sell drugs before a thoroughly test) still it is not the ethical behaviour .Because they would not know what is going to happen after people eat the drug which means that they can not make sure the drug can prevent the epidemic.And they not even know is there any bad effects for people ... But just for their to make a profit they are going to sell the drug to people who believe them.So it is not honesty not fairness at all!

Therefore I say this case is not a ethical behaviour~

Dilemma 6 : The toaster

The case is : Sam 's live-partner has a taste in expensive nik-naks-things like toasters which burn an icon of the day's weather on the toast ,or solar-powered fountains for the garden pond.The toaster is in the cupboard as it always burnt the middle of the toast and under-did the rest,whilst the garden fountain clogged up after a day and sank to the bottom of the pond.

unsolicited ,a catalogue drops through the letterbox from a very fancy -and expensive -postal store ,computer-addressed to the partner.

And the question is SHOULD Sam quietly rid of it before they can be misled -or give it to them when they get home and wait for the next disastrous mistake?

If I was Sam I would rid it quietly because nobody wants their lives are be affected by others people.And to do this is good for his partner as well.It can make him do not waste his money to buy those rubbish stuff.Well I don't know if Sam like those things as well ,maybe he wouldn't!But just one thing I want to say nearly everyone is selfish... So...

But at the last I really do not know why is this relevant with business studies?... Well maybe I didn't understand enough .But that is my own view of this story. = =

The law of diminshing return

law of diminishing returns in economics, law stating that if one factor of production is increased while the others remain constant, the overall returns will relatively decrease after a certain point.

Thus, for example, if more and more laborers are added to harvest a wheat field, at some point each additional laborer will add relatively less output than his predecessor did, simply because he has less and less of the fixed amount of land to work with. The principle, first thought to apply only to agriculture, was later accepted as an economic law underlying all productive enterprise. The point at which the law begins to operate is difficult to ascertain, as it varies with improved production technique and other factors. Anticipated by Anne Robert Jacques Turgot and implied by Thomas Malthus in his Essay on the Principle of Population (1798), the law first came under examination during the discussions in England on free trade and the corn laws. It is also called the law of decreasing returns and the law of variable proportions.

About the price of oil

Oil prices slide on demand fears

Check the oil price Oil prices have fallen by almost $3 on fears that energy demand may not have recovered as much as thought. US crude was down $2.78 at $69.26 a barrel before recovering slightly while in London Brent crude went as low as $2.96 to $68.36 a barrel. A report by the Centre for Global Energy Studies said there was unlikely to be a sustained rise in prices until a global recovery was well established. Market participants were also nervous before this week's G20 meeting. The summit in Pittsburgh is likely to address whether further measures are needed to support the world economy, or whether stimulus plans can be withdrawn. "There will be little or no sustained upward pressure on oil prices until global economic recovery is firmly established and reviving oil demand begins to draw down bulging oil inventories," analysts at the Centre for Global Energy Studies said. "Even next year prices are unlikely to rise much unless clear signals emerge that the world is pulling out of recession in a sustainable fashion." Another report from energy information firm Platts also suggested that energy demand in China, the world's second largest consumer of oil, slowed in August.

The costs and benefits of High Speed Rail

A High speed rail is fit our modern lives .

So the benefits of having a high speed rail are obvious:

1. At the least it can helps to reduce the congestion .So for this reason here more benefits will include :

• less pollution -the number of cars emitting pollutants into the atmosphere will be less
• less waste -the petrol being used when cars are at a standstill and engines are being used inefficiently will be reduced
• And it can save time
• reduce the cost to the NHS of having to treat people with respiratory diseases
• Reduce The wear and tear on the road of the number of vehicles using them

2.More convenient for people who doesn't have a car.And it is much faster for a long distance travel then a bus or tube,etc.

3. Increase the productivity

The costs of having a high speed rail are obvious too:

1. A rail way cost huge land and plenty of time and a big amount workers to build and of course lots of money.

2.And it is produce another pollution called noisy pollution.

3.And have to build a station for it as well therefor need more labour so cost will be increase (but the benefit from this is the unemployment will be less which is good for our Economy especially when we have a situation during recession)

How can EF increase profit

When we consider about profit that really make me have to think about the formula : profit = total revenue - total cost .So to help EF to increase their profit we should consider as these two sides either increase total revenue or reduce the total cost .

Firstly let's say how to help EF increase their revenue, well there really are plenty of methods for increasing revenue.But in EF's case to expend the size of the business and the schools is quite important. Because EF is known as an international language school ,But actually it is a business on Education .And it is really a successful business cause it already become the No.1 language school all over the world .So which means the brand is famous enough to attract high quantity of demand .And why I said to expand the size of the schools is very important? Cause according my own experience to study in EF(when am in language cause I think the school is overcrowded especially in the summer time and I do not know others but in Oxford it is really too many people ~ )So I suppose that is really reduce our quality of life here therefore if EF wants a good reputation of this point they have to expand the size of school and it is better for get more students as well .So more space more services .
And the other importance is cause EF is dealing with international students so what they hope is the exchange rate can be cheaper ,therefore more students will come to study~ so their revenue will boom! Also the advertisements are quite significant for EF but I think EF's AD are perfect very attractive ~so which is good .And also I believe that is EF could offer more promotion the situation will be better .For example just say 1 more month course get 10% discounts.That is quite encouraging :P or to say if you study a 3 months course then the school will take you to travel to somewhere ,such as France...etc.. While anyway to increase the total revenue they have to attract more students more demand . And also they should try to find more investment as well.
And one thing I have to say it is now there are many competitors exist.EF should has some USP such as some special services or offer more language courses and more choice of languages Chinese, Japanese Spanish etc.But they already have their chain in nearly every countries which is very advance benifit~

OKAY then let us think about how to reduce the cost as well.First they could to reduce the labour cost I mean the better way to employ people for EF is to employ the students who wants to find a part-time job casue the wages will be much cheaper than the full time workers.And secondly redcue waste and they could buy the mass- products by much cheaper price but for a big amount.That is can help to reduce the cost as well.And dont rent the land in a central area otherwise it will be too expensive!

Over all there is just my personal views :P hopes it can help~

NEWS -Growth in UK retail sales stalls

Analysts had been expecting sales to rise
UK retail sales were unchanged in August compared with the previous month, casting doubt on the strength of the recovery in consumer spending.

Sales growth in July was also revised down, from 0.4% to 0.2%, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

Food sales growth was more than offset by falls in clothing and footwear.

To add to the retail gloom, department store John Lewis announced a fall in profits and predicted tough trading conditions in the coming months.

Big falls

Retail sales rose by 1.3% in June, and analysts had been expecting a third straight month of growth to reinforce hopes that the UK was emerging from recession - as hinted by other data.


ANALYSIS

Hugh Pym, BBC chief economics correspondent
The latest news from the High Street suggests that shoppers are not rushing out to celebrate any recovery which may be in the offing.

There has been much talk about the recession ending and growth resuming. If it does, manufacturing will be the engine as exporters benefit from the weaker pound.

The retail sales figures showed no increase in August. The underlying trend - covering the latest three months compared with the previous period - showed only a marginal increase in the growth rate.

Many consumers are using extra cashflow from lower mortage rates to pay off debt.

Yes, the economic recovery may be underway. But you wouldn't necessarily know it from retailers. Growth in the third quarter of this year, if it materialises, may be marginal.

B&Q profits from increase in DIY
French Connection losses double

There were signs of growth in some sectors. August food sales rose by 0.7%, while non-store retailing - which includes internet, telephone and mail order shopping - and repair shops saw sales grow by 1.1%.

But this was not enough to offset bigger falls in other areas.

All non-food sectors, apart from household goods, suffered declines in sales. The worst hit were textile, clothing and footwear shops, where sales dipped 1.3%.

Department store John Lewis added to the downbeat retail outlook when it announced a 20% fall in profits for the first half of the year, and said it expected the coming months to be tough.

"We expect trading conditions for the remainder of 2009 , and into 2010, to continue to be difficult," said chairman Charlie Mayfield.

He forecast a "slow, drawn-out economic recovery."

Reflecting the growth the overall growth in food sales, however, the group did see stronger performance in its supermarket chain Waitrose.

'Cautious spending'

Earlier this month, figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) suggested that like-for-like retail sales - which do not include new stores - fell in August, by 0.1%.

"The official data confirms our own findings that the strong retail sales in June and July were not sustained," said BRC director general Stephen Robertson.

"With unemployment rates at 14-year highs and predicted to increase into next year, most people are still very cautious about spending on expensive items - unless there are sufficient discounts."

Separately, a survey from business group, the CBI, found that orders for UK manufactured goods remained weak.

Of the 555 manufacturers surveyed, 8% said orders were above normal levels, while 56% said they were below normal.

Export orders were particularly low, despite the relative weakness of the pound, the CBI said.