The reserch paper on The Euro Crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

The reserch paper on The Euro Crisis - Essay Example This common national currency Euro is utilised by over 300 million people in the world’s most developed economic region, which is considered as a record in the international monetary system. The common currency Euro was established by the European nations with the objectives of acquiring better integration among member nations as well as to enhance the currency value in the global economy (Feenstra & Taylor, 2012). In the year 1999, Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) was also established with the motive of utilising the single national currency i.e. Euro for all the trade activities performed by the European nations. In the starting of 2002, there were 12 countries in Europe Union (EU) which include Germany, Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Finland, Italy, France, Greece, Netherlands, Spain, Luxembourg and Portugal that utilised Euro as their national currency. Later on many countries also joined EU and adopted Euro as a national currency. However, three EU member countries namely Sw eden, United Kingdom and Denmark do not used Euro as their national currency. By the year 2010, there were 27 countries as members of EU. In Euro zone, the main objective of EMU was to establish a common monetary currency for EU members and to coordinate the monetary affairs of the member nations through European Central Bank (ECB). The euro zone has faced financial crisis due to sluggish economic growth as well as high rate of underemployment. Moreover, economic recession of 2008 has also raised many economic problems in the European nations (Arestis & Sawyer, 2012). Considering this aspect, the review will emphasize on the factors accountable for crisis in the European nations. The objective of the review is to recognise the reasons for Euro crisis. Moreover, review will also focus on remedies necessary for minimising the effects of Euro crisis in the European nations and other countries. The review includes other aspects related to the Euro crisis along with economic problems fac ed by the European nations. Background The Euro system of the European countries consists of ECB and 11 central banks of different nations. The Euro system has four major jobs with respect to economic growth and sustainability. The first job is to execute the monetary strategies implemented by Central Council of ECB. The second job is to undertake foreign exchange functions and the third job is to maintain money reserves of euro area nations. The Euro system is responsible for coordinating as well as managing monetary policy of EU. Euro was considered as a single common currency by EU members with the objective of acquiring a stabilised price for a long period of time. Moreover, with common currency it was expected that it would help to expand the market and also would assist in better integration of capital, goods and service. Furthermore, it was anticipated that with the introduction of common currency, Euro would be an important currency relating to foreign exchange markets (Euro pean Central Bank, 2009). Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) EMU was set up with the motive of stabilising the monetary operations as well as for prosperous economic development of the European nations. The vision of EMU is to develop an integrated framework for the financial sectors which enables the banking

Issues of State Intervention in the Market Economy

Issues of State Intervention in the Market Economy Free Market Economy The free market economy is designed to operate with a minimum of state intervention. However, as this paper will show, there are certain issues that can only be addressed by state intervention. These include avoidance of unfair trading, employee and supplier exploitation. In many cases, such as the expansion of the power of supermarkets, economists are of the opinion that the state does not go far enough in protecting the public (Marguand, 1977, p.5). This report shows that, whilst a free market is good for economic growth, there is a need for intervention from the state, however limited, to protect public services and the rights of the individual. Introduction Although many economists and politicians have concluded that the â€Å"free market economy† is the most appropriate form of trade, it seldom is allowed to operate without some measure of state intervention. The purpose of this paper is to study the concept of a â€Å"free market economy† and, at the same time provide an understanding of the reasons for and operation of state intervention. To provide an example of how such intervention manifests itself in practice, its recent impact on the Tesco supermarket chain is explored. The basic premise of a free market economy is one where the distribution of resources is determined solely by market forces, without any state interference (Philip Allan Updates, 2006). The main condition of is that exchange of resources should be undertaken freely, without duress or deceit. In a free market, the price of goods or services is agreed between buyers and sellers, and there is no government restriction imposed upon this process. If the state interferes by influencing price for any purpose, be that to aid the consumer or seller, a free market cannot be said to exist. Proponents of the free market system believe that it can provide its own solution to problems and that state interference is a hindrance to that process (Ian Adams, 1998, p.23). Essentially, the free market operation is based on the laws of supply and demand. A buyer, by offering to pay a given amount for a product creates the demand. Conversely, a producer, by offering to sell a product or service at a price creates the supply. In a free market, an exchange between a buyer and seller takes place when the amount offered by a buyer matches the price requested by the seller. The optimum price will normally be determined by the level of demand and supply. If the supply is higher than demand, there being not enough buyers, prices will tend to fall as suppliers compete to sell their products and buyers look to reduce the price offered. In such circumstances, suppliers may also choose to reduce their production or even cease business altogether. The suppliers who remain will be those whose product unit cost is at the lowest level, allowing them to retain profitability levels despite price reductions. When the reverse occurs, in that demand exceeds the number of products available (the supply), prices will rise. In this situation, the seller is in command of the market. An excess demand situation may also lead to existing suppliers increasing production levels, and may tempt new producers into the marketplace. However, businesses that achieve rapid growth, even when an excess demand arises, are typified by sellers who maintain lower than market demand prices, such as supermarkets. Often this is achieved by constraining supplier prices. It can be seen therefore, that a free market is very much based on an enterprise system, where entrepreneurs are the most important factors (Marquand, 1977, p.159). Many economists agree that the free market cannot exist without some state intervention. For example, â€Å"Keyness argument [is][1] that the only way to stop the market wreaking havoc is for the state to intervene in the economy.† (Quoted in Peter Morgan, 1999). However, economists often disagree about the extent of such intervention. In an ideal version of a free market economy, the state role would be limited to ensuring freedom of competition remains and to protect the marketplace from incidences of intimidation, conspiracy or deceit. Therefore, if a situation develops where a group of sellers agree to maintain prices at an artificial level, forming a cartel for the purpose of price fixing irrespective of the market demand, the state may intervene. Similarly, the state may intervene if a large corporation endeavours to force suppliers to meet restrictive conditions including price, in order to an unfair competitive edge over other sellers, or attempts to achieve dominant market share by maintaining artificially low prices. Included within this area is the concept of free and unencumbered competition. This presupposes that no one corporation, or group of corporations, should be allowed to dominant their sector in a way that precludes other suppliers from entry (Erik Ringmar, 2005). In order to address these situations, state intervention usually occurs by the introduction of anti-competition laws and regulations, unless a self-regulatory code of ethics and conduct is agreed. To reduce the incidence of fraud by corporations most states, nationally and internationally, have introduced a combined system of codes and laws designed to combat this problem. In the UK, such laws include the consumer protection act, anti-competition laws and corporate governance regulations, supported by the company’s acts. A significant part of the role of these acts also serves to protect consumers from abuse by corporate action. In this respect, the state considers that the consumer needs to have access to accurate information, such as pricing and content of products, which they might otherwise be denied. In recent decades, state intervention has also focused on protecting the rights of the workforce, to stop workers being exploited, unfairly treated or discriminated against by the businesses they work for. To achieve this many acts have been instigated, the latest of which is the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 Another area where governments intervene in the free market scenario is to protect and provide public services. These include the National Health Service. Despite the move to greater privatisation on public services, generally the ordinary member of the public favour these being run by the state (Erik Ringmar, 2005, p.136). To fund their role in the economy, the state imposes taxes upon the enterprises that occupy the market. Although in theory, such taxes should be limited to this purpose, in reality governments also use taxation as another form of intervention. For example, in an effort to address health and environmental issues, such as tobacco and alcohol addition and global warming, additional taxes have been levied on products that cause these addition and the use of which exacerbates environmental problems. Thus, in the UK we have seen the introduction of additional levies on such items as cigarettes, beers, wines and spirits, and fossil fuels and energy usage. Margaret Thatcher, during her terms as Prime Minister, was a strong supporter of the free-market, believing it to be a moral and sound way to develop the economy (Ian Adams, 1998, p.79). In the UK, one of the commercial sectors that have benefited most from the freedom of trade under the â€Å"Thatcher† years was Supermarkets. This ethos has been carried through the Blair years, although some ministers now admit that such freedom is not necessarily the right path (Stephen Byers, 2003). As a result, supermarkets have experienced almost unprecedented growth, creating an imbalance in many market sectors, to the extent that the high street is dominated by four major chains, Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury and Safeway (now Morrisons) (Joanna Blythman, 2003). Of these, Tesco’s is the largest and accounts for one eight of all consumers shopping and over a third of groceries. Because of increased concerns over supermarket power and competition issues, the government has taken a direct approach in terms of intervention. For example, the monopolies commission was instrumental in stopping further consolidation of supermarket numbers by subjecting the Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury bids for Safeway, the fourth largest, to full inquiries, allowing Morrisons to succeed (Richard Northedge, 2003). For Tesco’s, a number of similar planned expansion projects, to extend its stores numbers through construction or acquisition, have been thwarted by various government methods. However, the supermarket chain responded to these measures by achieving expansion through a different route. Using the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) own two-market view of grocery retailing, namely that one-stop and convenience shopping were separate markets, Tesco has expanded into the latter field, despite concerns expressed by some ministers (Julia Finch, 2005). The corporation has aggressive ly built a six hundred-store presence in this marketplace, with plans to double this in the near future. In 2002, in response to continuing concerns and complaints regarding the supermarket’s treatment of their suppliers, which included Tesco, the Office of Fair Trading, a government-funded body, introduced a supermarket code of practice (Joanne Blythman, 2003). Since then, there have been no further complaints. However, it is widely believed the reason for this is not so much satisfaction with the working of the code, but more the enormous influence supermarkets such as Tesco’s exercise over their supply chain. It is considered that this influence is used to deflect intervention (Joanna Blythman, 2003). In respect of the protection of employees, over the past few decades the UK government, partially driven by European Commission regulations, has intervened by introducing laws including the Protection of Employee (Fixed Term Work) Act 2003, together with numerous other Acts that deal with a wide range of discrimination issues, such as race, disability and age. In addition, to further reduce the possibility of exploitation of workers and to provide them with a reasonable standard of living, a system of setting a minimum wage was introduced. In an effort to enable employees to bring complaints against employers, a tribunal system, together with an independent body, ACAS[2] has been set up to intercede in these issues. In most cases, supermarket chains, such as Tesco, have pre-empted these regulations, by introducing their own human resource strategy to deal with the issues. For example, before the age discrimination act that came into force in 2006, Tesco had previously taken steps to address the problem. Such was their success in this area that they won the â€Å"Personal Today 2004 Age Positive Award† (Tesco Website 2006), which acknowledged the steps they had undertaken to eliminate age discrimination. Although historically it can be seen that the free market system has led to significant economic growth, a side effect was that it also created problems and, in some cases, misery for many people (Erik Ringmar, 2005). To redress the balance required state intervention. It can be seen from the research carried out for this paper that, certainly in an effort to counteract the power of supermarket giant’s such as Tesco, a free market economy needs to have a certain element of state intervention in order to protect suppliers and employees. References Adams, Ian (1998). Ideology and Politics in Britain Today. Manchester University Press. UK. Anon (2006) Price and resource allocation. Philip Allan Updates. Retrieved 14 December 2006 from http://www.philipallan.co.uk/images/532-T2.pdf Blythman, Joanna (2003). Lord of the aisles. The Guardian, UK. 17 May 2003 Byers, Stephen (2003). I was wrong. Free market trade policies hurt the poor. The Guardian, 19 May 2003 UK. Finch, Julia (2005). Calls for an end to Tesco’s bully-boy tactics have grown too loud to ignore. The Guardian, 12 November 2005. Marquand, David (1997). The New Reckoning: Capitalism, States and Citizens. Polity Press, Cambridge. UK. Morgan, Peter (1999). The new Keynesians: staking a hold on the system? International Socialism Journal. Issue 82, March 1999 Northedge, Richard (2003). Morrisons profits will boost Safeway bid. The Scotsman on Sunday. UK. Ringmar, Erik (2005). Surviving Capitalism: How We Learned to Live With the Market and Remained Almost Human. Anthem Press, UK. Statement (2006) Older Staff. Tesco website. Retrieved 13 December 2006 from http://www.tescocorporate.com/page.aspx?pointerid=DE09B90CFDD44BE995DFE562405EAF38 The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006. Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. London. UK. Footnotes [1] Words in brackets added [2] Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (UK)

sheeps :: essays research papers

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- An American citizen was kidnapped along with the three Romanian journalists abducted Monday in Iraq, the U.S. State Department said Wednesday. Citing privacy laws, a State Department spokeswoman in Washington said she could not release more information, but called for the "immediate and safe recovery of all hostages in Iraq." The Romanians and an unidentified man appeared in a video that aired on the Arabic-language network Al-Jazeera Wednesday. It has not been confirmed whether the unidentified man is the American hostage. The four were shown sitting on a floor as two men -- their faces covered by traditional headscarves -- stood to the side, pointing guns at them. The three Romanians -- Marie Jeanne Ion, Sorin Dumitru Miscoci, and Eduard Ovidiu Ohanesian -- work for Prima TV. They were abducted Monday night. (Full story) Prima TV confirmed the three were in the hostage video. It did not know who the fourth individual was. The hostages appeared calm in the video. At one point, Ion looked into the camera and said in English, "We have been kidnapped." She then said there had been reports their hostage-takers "asked for something in exchange for our freedom. This is not true." In Romania, the Foreign Ministry and the main intelligence service have set up a team to investigate the abduction, and President Traian Basescu has expressed concern. Ion's sister pleaded for her safe return. "I implore you to do everything you can to bring my sister back home," Ana Maria Ion said in an interview on Romanian television. "She has no guilt. Our family is waiting for Marie Jeanne to be here, also all the others." The three were last heard from by the station around 7:45 p.m. Monday during a telephone conversation that was broadcast while they were apparently being abducted, an executive said. A cell phone text message also was sent that said: "Please call the embassy urgently," a reference to Romania's Baghdad embassy. The Romanian ambassador to Iraq has collected the personal effects of the team, which had been in Iraq for three days and had been planning to stay for only five days, a Western source said. Seven civilians die in attacks Insurgents targeting U.S. forces killed seven civilians Wednesday, police said, during attacks in the northern city of Mosul and the Iraqi capital. A woman and child were among six killed in Mosul when insurgents fired on a U.S. military patrol in the northeastern part of the city, police said.

Buss1 Key Terms

BUSS 2 Key Term Definitions  ©T Ockenden Finance: Budget – A budget is regarded as a goal or a â€Å"yardstick†; it’s something a business uses in order to work to, for example: a firm may have budgeted fixed costs of ? 5000, they aim to either meet this budget or fall below it to operate to the desired level. Variance – Variance applies to budgets, and it is the difference between the forecasted or budgeted figure, and the actual figure that comes out at the end of a certain review period.Cash flow forecast – A cash flow forecast is a document that records the expected inflows and outflows of a business. Overdraft – Short term borrowing from a bank, a business will only take out as much money as it needs in order to cover its daily cash shortfall, because overdrafts are high interest short term finance options and can be required to pay back within 24 hours. Factoring – Fully named debt factoring, is the process by which the debt fa ctor company buys a percentage of the debt owed to one company by another company or customer (often around 80%).This means although the company owed to will lose 20% of the money, it means that 80% can be with them immediately rather than having to chase for it. Sale and leaseback – This is where a company will sell an asset off in order to generate short term finance, but they will buy back the asset on a lease basis as in the will pay for it as and when they need it. Net profit margin – Simply a profit margin is the gap between the prices the unit is sold for and how much it costs to produce it. Net profit margin is worked out by doing net profit over sales turnover x100.Return on capital – Profit as a percentage of the capital invested in a project. Profitability – Profitability measures profit against another variable in the business, for example you’ve got net profit margin which is profit in relation to costs, or ROC, which is profit in rela tion to the capital invested. Marketing: Niche marketing – Niche marketing is where a business is tailoring a product or service to a very specific customer or market (think cooking dinner for the queen), requires much research in to their needs and wants and other factors in order to get it right.Mass marketing – Mass marketing is almost completely the opposite, it involves creating a product or service with mass appeal and promoting it to all types of consumers (bread and other commodities). Business to business marketing – This is a term to describe the transactions that take place between one company and another, in this sense the customer is seen as another business. Consumer marketing – When a company sells its products and services to the individual consumer, it is referred to in marketing-speak as B2C, or business-to-consumer.Marketing mix – This refers to the 4 main ingredients in the marketing cake, product, price, place and promotion. Al though is BUSS 2 they ask you specific stuff on each section. USP – One feature that makes a product or service different from all its rivals, for example the apple operating system on iphone. Product differentiation – The extent to which your product or brand is differentiated is the amount to which customers feel your product or brand is different from others in the same market.Product life cycle – This is sort of like the â€Å"this is your life† book for a product, it comprises of stages; Introduction, growth, maturity, saturation and decline. Represented as a graph in most cases. Product portfolio – Product portfolio analysis looks at the existing position of a company’s products. The best way is Boston matrix here; a firm can place their product in any of the four boxes and from there, decide if a new product needs to be launched or increased promotion is needed or even an introduction to a new market.Boston matrix – The Boston matrix shows the market share of each of the firm’s products and the rate of growth of the markets each product is in; helps in the decision making process of new products or more promotion/new market e. t. c. Promotional mix – The combination of promotional methods used by a business when marketing its products. PR – This is an attempt to affect a consumer’s opinion of a product without actually spending on media advertising, it can involve getting journalists to mention the product in regular publications such as newspapers and T. V magazines.Branding – Branding is the overall image that is tagged to everything a company does, it’s the thought consumers have when they see the company logo, for example, when people see the M&S sign, they automatically think high quality. Merchandising – This requires employees to visit shops where the company’s product is sold to ensure that the brand’s display looks eye-catching and ti dy. An example is the dump bin displays you sometimes see at the end of shopping aisles when a new product is launched. Sales promotions – These range from little competitions you see on the actual product packaging to offers run by the shop itself such as BOGOF’s.Direct selling – This is where potential customers are approached directly. This used to be door to door sales type people, but increasingly more know it involves the use of tele sales. Advertising – Advertising is a form of promotion; there are various methods firms use, such as: T. V adverts, radio ads, billboards around town, leaflets given out in the street e. t. c. It’s the way firms get the knowledge that their product is around out there. Pricing strategies – A pricing strategy is a company’s plan for setting its prices for products over the medium to long term. Short term offers are known as tactics.Tactics can however make strategies or help them. Price skimming â⠂¬â€œ Skimming involves pricing a new product quite highly, it is used when the product is innovative (Apple), as the product is new there is no competition. Price penetration – This involves pricing a new product at a fairly low price in order to achieve high sales volume. It’s used when launching a product into a market where there are similar products; the price is set lower to gain market share. Price leader – This is where the price is set above the market level. This is possible when the company has strong branding or there is little threat from competitors.Price taker – This is when the price is set at the market level or at a discount to the market. This usually happens in highly saturated and competitive markets or in a market where one company dominates. Pricing tactics – Whichever strategy has been chosen, there are tactics that also need to be considered. They can be part of normal pricing or used as an element in the firm’s prom otional tactics. Loss leaders – Prices are set purposefully low – so low that the firm may make a loss on the product; the idea is that purchasing these products will encourage the customer to buy complimentary products to generate profit.Usually common in supermarket environments. Psychological pricing – Prices are set at a level that seems as if it I lower to the customer i. e. 9. 99 as opposed to 10. 50. Price elasticity – A measurement of the extent to which a product’s demand changes when its price is changed. Distribution channel – Distribution channels are the ways in which products get to consumers in the right place for them to purchase them. Oligopoly – A market in which a few large companies have dominant share, for example: the UK chocolate market a 70% share split between Cadbury, Nestle and Mars.Competitive markets – Could be described as a market where there is intense rivalry between producers of a similar good or service. Competitiveness – Measures a firm’s ability to compete (compares its consumer offer to the offers made by rivals). People: Organisational structure – Organisational structure is the formal and ordered way the management of a business is organised. When displayed in the familiar diagram format, it shows the departments or functions within the business and who is answerable to whom.Levels of hierarchy – These show the number of different supervisory and management levels between the bottom of the diagram and the top of the hierarchy. Span of control – This term describes the number of people directly under the supervision of a manager. Chain of command – This is to do with communication, and shows the reporting system from the top of the hierarchy to the bottom (the route info takes through the business). Delegation – Handing power down the hierarchy to junior managers or workers. Labour productivity – Purely and simp ly, the output per person (Output over no. Of staff).One of the ways to measure workforce effectiveness. Labour turnover – The rate at which people leave their jobs and need to be replaced. The other way to measure workforce effectiveness. Recruitment – Recruitment is the process of filling job vacancies when they arise within a firm. Selection – the process of choosing from a field of applicants from a job Selection techniques – The processes used by a company to choose the most appropriate person for a job, examples are interviews and trial runs. Internal recruitment – Where a job vacancy is filled by using someone who already works within the company.Sometimes seen as promotion. External recruitment – Where a job vacancy is filled by using someone who comes from outside the company. Assessment centre – These allow for more detailed analysis of person’s suitability for a role by subjecting them to realistic simulations, often over a number of days. Types of selection test – A number of selection techniques exist, including: Interviews, testing and profiling (aptitude tests) and assessment centres. Person specification – A document that details the qualifications, skills and other personal qualities required in order to carry out the advertised job.It describes the ideal person Job description – Not the same as a person spec, a document that outlines the duties and responsibilities associated with an advertised vacancy. It describes the job On the job training – Where employees acquire or develop the skills they need without leaving their usual work place (shadowing of higher level employees). Off the job training – Where employees leave their usual workplace in order to receive instruction on how to perform their job role well (College or university) Job enrichment – Herzberg: â€Å"giving people the opportunity to use their ability†.Job enlargement †“ General term for anything that increases the scope of a job. (Job rotation, job loading and job enrichment). Empowerment – A management practice of sharing information, rewards, and power with employees so that they can take initiative and make decisions to solve problems and improve service and performance. Team-working – Individuals work in groups rather than being given highly specialised, individual jobs. Operations Management: Operational targets – Operational targets or objectives are the specific, detailed production targets set by a company to ensure that its overall company goals are achieved.Unit costs – The cost of one unit of output is a raw measure of the efficiency of a firm’s operations (total cost over total output = unit cost). Quality – Quality or specifically quality management, means providing what the customer wants at the right time, with the right level of quality and consistency and therefore yielding high custome r satisfaction. Capacity utilisation – Actual output as a proportion of maximum capacity (out of 100%). Non-standard orders – Sometimes a company will be approached by customers with special orders at a different price to their regular selling price.A customer with special requirements may require changes to the product or a modified design, but they may be willing to pay a much higher price. Overtime – Paying staff extra to work longer hours than their contracts state. Temporary staff – Employees on fixed-term contacts of employment, either for a determined amount of time or until a specific task has been completed. Part-time staff – Staff who are contacted to work for anything less than what is considered the basic full-time hours of the business.Rationalisation – Reorganising in order to increase efficiency. This often implies cutting capacity to increase the percentage utilisation. Sub-contracting – Where another business is used to perform or supply certain aspects of a firm’s operations (outsourcing). Quality control – Quality control is the traditional way to manage quality, and is based on inspection after a certain batch number of units. Quality assurance – Quality is a system that assures customers that detailed systems are in place to govern quality at every stage of production.TQM (total quality management) – This was introduced by an American business man W. Edwards Deming in early 1980s. TQM is not a management tool, it is a philosophy. It is a way of looking at quality issues at every aspect of the business (think kaizen stuff). Quality standards – Companies can apply for quality standards certification to show the rest of their market and others that they are serious about the quality of what they do. ISO 9000 certification covers customer service in firms where the skill is relevant.Customer service – Describes the range of actions taken by a business wh en interacting with customers. Effective CS will meet or exceed the expectation that customers have of the business. Suppliers – A person or business that serves as a source for goods and services. For example, Sysco Corporation is a major supplier to the food service industry. Robotics – Robotics are the automated systems used on many of today’s modern mass production lines (car manufacturers). They are programmed to do the same thing over and over, so repetitive tasks can be completed with 100% efficiency.Automation – Typically refers to automated stock control systems, they are based on laser scanning or bar-coded info. This ensures the computer knows the exact quantity of each product that has come into the stockroom. Equally when something is sold the number is subtracted from the original stock room total. Communication technology – This covers aspects all over the business, we’ve got communication with customers; two main ways compani es can electronically communicate with customers: 1 is a website and 2 is a database management system that holds information on all of a firm’s customers.Also you’ve got communication with suppliers, with things such as electronic data interchange, this links up data sources between branches of a business this can be useful to find out instantly how much stock is in a store on the other side of the country. Design technology – Computer Aided Design (CAD) has been around for over 20 years but is now much more affordable and very useful. CAD can show 3D versions of a drawing to see what it would look like if it was a 3D model. Productivity – Output per person (a measure of efficiency).

Fahrenheit 451 and There Will Come Soft Rains Essay

A majority amount of stories may have a similar trait to another piece of writing. A large amount of stories have been compared in ways such as theme, settings, characters, irony, and close evidence of foreshadowing. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and â€Å"There Will Come Soft Rains,† by Ray Bradbury are an example of similar stories by sharing some of the same qualities. These two readings can be said to be identical in some ways by containing a common idea of negative effects of war and the value of the natural world but can be contrasted by being consisted of two different kinds of main characters. Fahrenheit 451 shows these aspects throughout the novel. In Fahrenheit 451 Mrs. Phelps says, Anyway, Pete and I always said, no tears nothing like that. It’s our third and we’re independent. Be independent, we always said. He said, if I get killed off, you just go right and don’t cry, but get married again, and don’t think of me. (Bradbury 95) This shows negative effects of war by saying that Mrs. Phelps shouldn’t cry if her husband is killed and needs to get married again and be independent like her and her husband always said. This can be compared to all the wives who lose their husbands in war and become widows. In Fahrenheit it shows the value of the natural world. This is shown when Faber says, â€Å"NO, no, it’s not books at all you’re looking for! Take it where you can find it, in old phonograph records, old motion pictures, and in old friends; look for it in nature and look for it in yourself† ( Bradbury 128). This shows that Faber values that natural and thinks everyone should look at it the way he does. Nature should be valued and many people take advantage of it in Faber’s opinion and even do it in today’s world. Fahrenheit’s main character is Montag and is demonstrated With his symbolic helmet numbered 451 on his solid head, and his eyes all orange flame with- the thought of what came next, he flickered the igniter and the house jumped up in gorging fire that burned the evening sky red and yellow and black. (Bradbury 3) Montag is the main character who is the firefighter who ignites homes if they contain any books. This seems very odd because in today’s society Fireman are supposed to stop fires and save lives not start them. These three points of comparison and contrast are also shown in Bradbury’s other story, â€Å"There Will Come Soft Rains.† The short story, â€Å"There Will Come Soft Rains† is similar to Fahrenheit 451 but readers can also see different aspects in both readings. â€Å"This house was the one home left standing. At night the ruined city gave off a radioactive glow which could be seen for miles† (Bradbury 615). Radioactive means that there was some type of nuclear weapon that destroyed the city. So the one home that was left became independent after everything was destroyed. Nature will live on even if man is gone and nothing is living on earth (Bradbury 615-617). This is shown by nature taking over this city after all men depart. All of the plants and trees are still living by themselves with no help from and will continue to grow on their own. â€Å"The house tried to save itself. Doors sprang tightly shut, but the windows were broken by the heat and the wind blew and sucked upon the fire† (Bradbury 618). The house was the main character because it was the only thing left in the city and was very significant. The house tried to save itself by fighting the fire and trying to stop it from burning it down just like our firefighters do today. Negative effects of war, value of the natural world, and main characters are all compared and contrasted in Fahrenheit 451 and â€Å"There Will Come Soft Rains.† Montag and the house were both the main characters from the different stories and could be said to be very different in many ways. Mrs. Phelps and her husband in Fahrenheit and the house in soft rains were both independent t and showed the trait of negative effects of war. The value of the natural world was shown in both stories by being mentioned many times and that people should real appreciate what it does for us and not take advantage of it. In the society of today, Americans dying and wives losing their husbands to violence in war is very visible and is a negative effect just as it is in both pieces of reading. In different eyes of readers these stories can be said to be similar and different in multiple ways.