Principle of Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Principle of Management - Essay Example In this essay the researcher analyzes the main problems and issues being faced by Jack Grayson. Jack Grayson was the local general manager of the Bridge Building Company. Jack’s father had founded the company in the 1950's. He had been a civil engineer, and the company had specialized in that type of work, cashing in on the construction of new motorways in the UK in the 1950's and 1960's. Jack is the main character of the case study we have to analyze his style and management techniques employed by him. The main areas that the researcher focused in this essay were: collective bargaining at enterprise level, flexibility in relation to various forms of employment as well as in relation to working time and job functions. The researcher uses Point to Point Analysis to provide some glimpses of Jack ‘s dialogues showing his positive and negative aspects of his character and attitude. To conclude, the researcher sums up that Jack was dragged into a tricky situation by his own f aulty aggressive attitude. Although, Jack had some psychological issues that were mentioned in the essay, he proved that he is intelligent enough to understand his errors and correct them timely. He done so and provided his team an opportunity to sort out their differences and errors, which was a right thing to do. He gave ample time with a blend of warning so that every one gets super active and do the job. The researcher states that Jack proved successful work attitude and avoided an eminent threat to very existence of the branch of the Bridge Building Company.

Net Present Value and Internal Rate of Return Assignment

Net Present Value and Internal Rate of Return - Assignment Example Table 1 shows the cash inflow expected to be generated and the cash outflow expected to be incurred should the proposed expansion be undertaken. During the first year, the company will incur expenses to finance the purchase of the new plant and equipment costing 5,000,000. It is assumed that this amount will be a one time expense fully incurred during the first year. This report also recognized the need to recognize the investment in research and development already incurred by the company. The rationale behind this is to fully and adequately evaluate the profitability of the project. It should be noted that in order to come up with a proper valuation, the company should account for all the revenues and expenses generated by the project. Thus, it is inclusive of all the expenses incurred to bring the project in operation. Research and development cost of 900,000 should be accounted for because without it, the expansion will be impossible to pursue. During 2005, the amount of 1,800,000 to cover additional working capital expenses is also included in the cash outlay required. However, management also expects that after five years, this amount will be freed up and can be readily used by other projects. Thus, Table 1 also shows that during 2005, the company will be needing 1,800,000 while this amount will be available during 2010. In the case of the overhead costs, this report decided to use the 300,000 per annum as estimated by the project development team advisor. This is deemed appropriate as allocating 50% of the wages is just an estimate. It should also be noted that depreciation expense will not be included in the computation of the NPV because cash flow is not directly affected by the account. As taxes and inflation are excluded in the analysis, tax shield from depreciation will not be considered. The computation for NPV is shown in Table 2. Since the company is using 14% as the required rate of return for the expansion, the cash flows are discounted at the same rate. According to the computation in Table 2, the NPV of the expansion using 14% cost of capital is (403.47). Table 2. Discounted Cash Flow and NPV for Expansion (2005-2010, in thousand) 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Total Inflow/ (Outflow) (8500) 2,040 1,940 2,140 2,140 3,940 Present Value Factor (14%) 1.0000 0.8722 0.7695 0.6750 0.5921 0.5194 Present Value (8500) 1789.4 1492.8 1444.5 1267.0 2046.4 NET PRESE NT VALUE (403.47) Internal Rate of Return The internal rate of return is the cost of capital which equates the net present value of all cash flow to zero. The IRR can be computed by calculating the NPV at different interest rates. Utilizing this method, we come up with Figure 1 which shows that IRR is approximately 12%. Figure 1 . NPV at Different Cost of Capital Question 2. Prepare an informal report for the Board of

Class Inequality Essay Example for Free

Class Inequality Essay Social class is one of the oldest and most persistent inequalities in British society. In the past, people were very aware of their social class and their expected roles and responsibilities. People would have worn different clothes, behaved in different ways and had a very different culture from each other and they would have accepted this as a perfectly normal element of behaviour. We are still aware today of some of the cultural differences between the social classes so that rich people and poorer people have different accents, are educated differently and wear different styles of clothes from each other. These cultural differences that separate the classes are known as indicators of class. In the past, many people also believed that people of the highest social classes were better than other people and should be respected because of their social position. This idea is known as deference. People nowadays are less willing to admit that social class is important. Poorer people may imitate the styles and behaviour of wealthy people by buying copies of their expensive clothes in cheaper shops or buying replicas and fakes. However, rich people often copy the street style of the working class people and their fashions. The differences between the classes seem to be blurred to such an extent that many people would not define their social class in the same way that sociologists might. Sociologists mostly believe that despite the way that people reject the idea of social classes, it is still important in our society. We are just less aware of it than people were in the past. It affects our life chances and our life styles, with high earning people enjoying a superior standard of living and better life chances than those from more deprived backgrounds. Subjective class can be measured by attitudes, beliefs and political opinions. This generally consists of the vague notions upper, middle and working class and most people would identify themselves as belonging to one of these groups. This type of description does not explain the full range of  differences between these groups. People may be middle class and have access to huge wealth, whereas others have the education, lifestyle and manners of the middle class but are relatively poor. Equally, people from a working class background who achieve very good professional jobs may well still feel themselves to be working class. In contrast, sociologists are concerned with objective class. This refers to our occupations, education, possessions and our wealth. It can be measured in the data put out by the Office of Population, Censuses and Surveys such as mortality lists. Sociologists have had limited success in attempts to measure social class objectively. There are two generally used scales of social class, though a very wide number have been devised by sociologists in the past. The Registrar Generals Index of Social Class was used by government statisticians till 2001, and is still widely used as a rough indicator of peoples background. It uses occupation as the basis of differentiation. People are placed in a five point scale. This is still used by advertisers and manufacturers who target products to certain markets. There are weaknesses with this class indicator because it does not take into account peoples income or their job security. In addition, women take their class from their male relatives. Most people are in class C or class 3. Since 2001, the class structure has been amended to take into account employment conditions including: job security, promotion opportunity and the ability and opportunity to work on their own and make own decision s about tasks. This new scale is known as the NS SEC. Goldblatt suggested alternative measures of class including home ownership, access to a car and educational status and he has shown that all of these can be correlated to inequalities in health. One of the most recent attempts to define the class system in a new and radical way was by Will Hutton (18995). Hutton is a critic of the New Right. He argues that social inequality, in the form of low wages, low skill and high unemployment, has resulted in a clearly divided and economically unstable society. Hutton has put forward the 30-30-40 thesis to show the three-way split in contemporary British class relations. He says our society can now be seen to consist of: 30% unemployed, low paid, insecure work; 30% with some job security and quality of life; 40% privileged workers in secure and regular employment. In addition, the nature of work which is a traditional measure of a persons class position is changing so the debates have become complex and theoretical. Certainly, inequality is an important social dynamic, but there is a question mark over whether this is related to social class or whether people even recognise class as significant in their lives. Marxists argue strongly that it is but that people do not recognise it for reasons related to deskilling and proletarianisation; feminists suggest other dynamics influence inequality and post-modernists suggest that the important dynamic is not class but the ability to spend money. 2 What is the link between class and occupation? Traditionally class has been linked to the type of work a person does. The debate as to the nature of class has therefore become more complex as the nature of work has changed. The upper classes are able to live off unearned income such as rents from land or property. There are so few of the upper classes that they are more or less invisible to sociologists. Very little research has been done on these people. Upper class people usually keep themselves to themselves and are not willing to participate in studies. Recent work by Adonis and Pollard (1998) stresses the significance of the upper class in modern British society and they consider that there is an emerging superclass that consist of an elite of extremely high paid managers and professionals. According to Adonis and Pollard, this new superclass is linked financially to the City of London, a male and upper class world that has many links with the traditions and heritage of public school and Oxbridge elites of the past. This superclass emerged from the financial changes of the 1980s and is composed of people who benefited from low taxation and privatisation of industry to become significant in international trading with global companies. They earn multi-million salaries and have large financial bonus packages. Papers tend to refer to them as Fat Cats. The middle classes live off professional work such as law, medicine or the ownership of a business. Generally they earn more and have better working conditions than the working class. Working class people work with their hands as tradesmen or labourers. Work with the hands is known as manual work. We still call professional people who sell knowledge rather than skills, non-manual workers. This is the basic social class division in society between manual and non-manual work. Middle class work requires educational qualifications and skills. Most people who are members of the middle classes will have been to university and gained higher level professional qualifications as well. Generally, middle class professional work is well paid or has good conditions and terms of service. In the past, there would have been quite serious differences in pay between professional workers and manual workers though these differences have been eroded. C Wright Mills (1956) and others have seen the middle classes as divided into two groups. The higher professions have the potential for high earnings and who are self-employed or employed by large corporations. These are people such as judges, accountants, lawyers, dentists, doctors. These people tend to control entry into their occupations. The lower professions are often, though not exclusively, feminised and work in the public sector. They have limited access to high earnings and include teachers, nurses, and social workers. The lower middle classes have become more like the working class according to the Marxist, Braverman (1974) who points out that many of the professions, such as architects, have become vulnerable to redundancies. He also claims that skills are being lost (de-skilling) because mechanisation means that individuals are now being taken over by technology. People are no longer required to undertake tasks that traditionally required talent. Tradesmen have lost their skills to machines, and architects plans can be created by computer programmes. Others, such as teachers or opticians who are unable to control entry into their professions are no longer able to claim high rates of pay as there is always demand for work and people who are willing to  accept low rates in return for employment. Oppenheimer (1973) has also suggested that the middle classes have lost power and authority in work. Working class work may require high levels of skill and effort: however, because it is manual work, it is not generally well paid and often is of relatively low status. In addition, although years of on-the-job training may be involved in such work, people will not have been to university or college. Hairdressing, for example, is one of the worst paid occupations on average. Unskilled work is very low value, low status work and there are few openings for people who have no educational qualifications. Work which once was done by people is now done by one person with a qualification who operates a machine. In the 1930s, digging was done by teams of men with shovels. We would be surprised to see people do work of this kind today. Even much check-out work is now done by machine alone. In the 197Os, it was commonly believed by many commentators that the working class were becoming more middle class as their incomes were higher than previously earned by the working class. This theory was known as the affluent worker thesis or embourgeoisement and was supported by Galbraith. This theory was disproved by Goldthorpe, Lockwood, Bechofer and Platt (1968) who conducted detailed research on car workers in Dagenham. They found that that the workers worked longer hours and had different attitudes to work from middle class management. Fiona Devine (1992) repeated the work and found that redundancy and unemployment were a real concern for working class families. The gap between professional work and working class work was widening. Another debate has opened up in terms of occupation and class in the last thirty years. Unemployment and benefit dependency has become more common in British society. This has led to the development of a significant underclass of people who have never earned their own money. In the early 1970s, the term was used sympathetically by Giddens and other members of the developing New Left (1973) to describe those who faced massive deprivation and social inequality with working conditions and income levels below even those of the working class. At the same time, other social commentators from the New  Right were using the term underclass negatively to describe a class of people who have little self-sufficiency but rely on social security benefits to survive. The term dole scrounger was widely used in the press to describe those who lived on benefit. What is the relationship between work, class and income? There is a common belief that those who earn more money have worked harder for it. In reality, the low paid are often extremely hard working but unable to gain an acceptable income from the work that they do. One of the reasons is to do with the changing nature of the work that is available. The structure of the British economy has undergone radical change since the end of World War 2. There has been a massive move away from employment in primary industries such as agriculture and coal mining. Manufacturing or secondary industry has also experienced a drop in employment. There has been a reduction in traditionally male heavy industry and a growth in light industry and assembly work that can be automated and which employs more females. The real growth sector in the economy has been in service sector jobs. Many of these are middle class jobs in management and training; however, more are jobs which offer long hours, low pay and casual part time work in restaurants and pubs. Ivan Turak (2000) points out that the actual number of manual jobs fell by 11% between 1981 and 1991 while non-manual jobs have expanded. Certain sectors of the workforce have been more vulnerable to unemployment, and he points to the older male manual worker as being particularly vulnerable. Paul Gregg (1994) has claimed that one of the main causes of poverty in Britain is unemployment and that the UK had a third more families out of work than other developed countries. Statistics suggest that in a fifth of households, there is no adult in employment and although in the rest of Europe, 80% of single parents work, in Britain the figure is closer to 40% of single parents in work. Figures based on social class alone are difficult to access, as emphasis is placed on other forms of inequality in official data. However, there is a  clear link between a persons social class and the opportunities or life chances that they may experience. As Wilkinson (1996) identified, people at the bottom of the stratification system in the UK have severely reduced life chances: In Britain people in the poorest areas have death rates that are age for age four times as high as people in the richest areas. Among Whitehall civil servants, junior staff were found to have death rates three times as high as the most senior administrators working in the same offices. In 1994, it was established that 2.2 million workers in the UK earned less than 68% of the average gross weekly wage that stood at less than  £6.00 per hour in that year. These low paid workers tended to be female, the young, the disabled, single parents and members of ethnic minorities. Their work was part-time, homework or casual labour and they tended to be found in certain areas, and in smaller firms. After much pressure on government, National Minimum Wage legislation was introduced by the Labour government with effect from April 1999. It is currently set at  £5.73 (2009). Employers organisations had predicted a massive increase in unemployment following the introduction of a minimum wage, but this did not occur. Even so, people still resort to desperate measures to obtain satisfactory income. Evidence presented to the Low Pay Commission by the Greater Manchester Low Pay Unit (2000) described one woman who had taken on three low paid jobs at one time in order to make ends meet. Wadsworth (2007) suggests that around 10% of British households rely on minimum wage income. He also points out that many minimum wage earners take a second job to supplement income. Bryan and Taylor (2006) suggest that those who earn National Minimum Wage (NMW) tend to stay in NMW work jobs when they change employment. In addition, low pay workers spend time out of work. More than 80% of NMW workers are female, and many are over the age of 50. Most of these workers had no qualifications. There is also some evidence that employers can evade minimum wage legislation through a variety of semi-legal tactics and pay their workers less than they are entitled to. Migrants are very vulnerable to this kind of abuse. We are clearly a long way from Tony Blairs claim in 1999 we are all middle class. Where class convergence has been greatest it has been at the margins of the classes with a blurred area between the upper working class and lower middle class. The term embourgeoisement is less discussed than it used to be, but Goldthorpe et als conclusion that the working class has fragmented into a new and traditional working class commands general support to this day. Another factor worth remembering when considering the embourgeoisement debate is what is happening at the other end of the working class. At the bottom of society many see an impoverished underclass of those living on the minimum wage or in receipt of long-term welfare. This impoverished group has seen their living standards deteriorate relative to the rest of society. 3 How does social class affect educational attainment? As the ESRC point out, British sociologists all tend to agree that qualifications are the best predictor of whether a child will gain a high earning middle-class job. However they also point out that there are unequal success rates between social classes at school and unequal entry and success rates in post-compulsory education. Government data reveals significant differences between the educational attainments of the differing social classes. In 2008, 35% of the working class pupils obtained five or more good-grade GCSEs, compared with 63 per cent of children from middle class families. While the proportion of poorer children getting degrees has risen by just 3 per cent, the increase among those from wealthier backgrounds is 26 per cent. The reasons for the development of this pattern are complex. It could be to do with home or schools, or it could be related to cultural or material deprivation. Sociologists, Bynner and Joshi (2002) used longitudinal birth cohort data and discovered that the link between class and educational underattainment is clear and years of government policy have had little impact on this inequality. In 1999, West et al found that there was a 66% correlation between free  school meals and low school attainment. Levacic and Hardman in 1999 also pointed out the relationship between free school meals and poor GCSE grades. OKeefe found that there was a measurable relationship between free school meals and higher levels of truancy. Jefferis (2002) found an unarguable link between class and attainment. She studied nearly 11,000 children born from March 3 to 9, 1958. Maths, reading and other ability tests measured the educational attainment of the children at ages seven, 11 and 16. At the age of 33 their highest educational achievement was recorded. Her research team found the gap in educational attainment between children of higher and lower social classes widened as time went on it was greatest by the age of 33. At university level, social class inequalities still have an effect. Wakeling suggested in 2002 that a lower class degree and rich parents are more likely to lead to a student taking up post-graduate studies than the highest level university degrees and a modest background. Boliver (2006) found that only 35% of candidates from semi/unskilled manual class origins applied to a Russell Group university (one of the top 100 universities in the UK), in contrast to 65% of those from professional backgrounds. Machin and Vignoles (2005) conducted research on links between higher education and family background, focusing particularly on the experiences of two cohorts of individuals born in 1958 and 1970. They claim that links between educational achievement and parental income / social class strengthened during this period. The Social Mobility Commission, reporting in 2009, found that social class accounts for much of the gap in attainment between higher and lower achievers. They reported that the gap widens as children get older. In addition, it was claimed that increased spending on education has favoured the middle classes. In other words division between the social classes is widening. 4 What is the relationship between social class, criminality and inequality in the UK? Maguire points out that the prison population tends to consist of young,  male, poorly educated people who are likely to have experienced difficult or deprived childhoods and many of whom come from ethnic minority or mixed ethnic backgrounds. In 1992, 40 % of male prisoners had left school before the age of sixteen. People from lower social class backgrounds are significantly more likely to appear in victim and conviction statistics than people from wealthier backgrounds and it is a matter of argument as to whether they commit more crime, or they are more likely to be convicted if they do commit crimes. In the past, much analysis of criminal behaviour worked on the false assumptions that crime statistics were an accurate representation of crime and that conviction rates gave a fair representation of criminal behaviour. Self report studies show that the majority of the population have broken the law and that middle class crimes can often be very serious indeed. For example, Murphy et al (1990) showed that football hooliganism is not limited to the working classes and Pearson (1987) found that drug offences occur in all social classes. White collar crime and corporate offences receive very little attention from the news media in comparison with youth crime such as knife crime. Levi (1993) pointed out that official statistics do not include tax fraud cases as these are rarely prosecuted by the police or followed up by the criminal justice system. Snider points out that capitalist states are unwilling to pass laws that regulate business or challenge the rights of the rich to make money. Karstedt (2004) estimates that middle class crimes such as car tax avoidance, tax fraud and damaging items once worn in order to return them to shops may cost the UK something in the region of  £14 billion each year. Braithwaite, as early as 1979, concluded that working class children and adults commit the types of crime that are targeted by the police and do so at higher rates than middle class people. There is also research evidence to show that some forms of crime are linked to poverty and deprivation. Gang crime is especially prevalent in areas of deprivation where there are fewer opportunities for work. Brodie et al (2000) and Hope and Shaw (1988) found disadvantaged communities to be vulnerable to youth crime. It is estimated that 40% of crime takes place in about 10% of local authority areas. Stratesky (2004) links this phenomenon to the concentration of power and social exclusion in post industrial communities. Willott and Griffin (1999) found that working class men in prison justified their criminal behaviour by claiming that they were supporting their families. Furthermore, because they were effectively excluded from society, they could not then be expected to follow its rules. It could be argued that these accounts are self- serving because the victims of crime are often the very weakest in the community. Living in a poor and deprived community is also to live at risk of being a victim of crimes such as car theft, vandalism, anti-social behaviour, burglary and violence. Hughes et al (2002) suggest that more than half of victims of crime have already previously been victimised. This acts as evidence that some types of crime are more likely to be associated with working class status than others, particularly crimes against property and the person. 5 Are there class inequalities in the experience of health? The over-arching factor affecting health inequality in the UK is social class. Study after study shows that people born in poor families are low birth weight, are more likely to die as babies, grow up with poor health, are vulnerable to disabling disease and impaired development and they die early. Their children will experience poor life chances so health inequality runs in families. Some of these health inequalities are due to patterns of poor life style so that obesity and smoking related illnesses are also diseases of poverty and deprivation. Children born in poverty and deprivation are also vulnerable to high risk behaviour such as drug abuse, binge drinking and sexual transmission of disease. Furthermore, in 2002, the Office for National Statistics said that inequalities of health and life expectancy between social classes were widening. Spicker points out that figures from the UK show that people in lower social classes, including children, are more likely to suffer from infective and parasitic diseases, pneumonia, poisonings or violence. Adults in lower social classes are more likely to suffer from cancer, heart disease and respiratory disease. He also underlines the point that there are inequalities in access to health care according to social class, so that the  poorest people live in areas with fewer doctors, more difficult access to major hospitals and poorer services. Wheeler et al, working on 2001 Census data also found that areas with the highest levels of poor health tend to have the lowest numbers of doctors and other health professionals (other than nurses). They also discovered that areas with high levels of poor health tend also to have high numbers of their population providing informal care for family and friends. There is lower take-up of preventative medicine such as vaccination and routine screen ing for disabling conditions among working class people. This called the inverse care law. Discounting theories that suggest the working class are genetically weaker, then the unavoidable conclusion is that poverty leads to ill health through poor nutrition, housing and environment. This is exacerbated through cultural differences in the diet and fitness of different social classes, and in certain habits like smoking. Tim Spector (2006), an epidemiologist found that social class has an impact on how the body ages, irrespective of diet and bad habits. In a study of 1,500 women, he discovered that there is a link between class and poor health. He claims that the cause is that people from lower social backgrounds are more likely to feel insecure, especially at work, and suffer low self-esteem and a sense of lacking control over their lives. He claims that the stress this causes creates damage at a cellular level that accelerates ageing. Support for this theory can be found in the fact that studies consistently show that people from lower social classes experience higher levels of mental ill-health, with particularly high rates of depression and anxiety. There is additional health risk from many working class jobs. Males in manual jobs are more than twice as likely to get occupational lung cancer. Bladder cancer is also work-related, associated with work in industrial settings. For nearly all conditions the risk of heart disease, cancer, stain injury and stress is higher for those in working class occupations rather than managerial jobs in the same industry. 6 Class change and sociological theory Social class is undoubtedly changing significantly and this has prompted a  number of debates as to the meanings of these changes and the impact that they have on class. Marxists have a problem because Marx suggested that people would develop a class consciousness and overthrow capitalism. Clearly, this has not happened, in fact people are less aware of class as a social dynamic. There are different explanations for this. 7 8 What is proletarianisation? Proletarianisation is a Marxist concept that sees the middle-class as identifying increasingly with working-class identity. Applied research has focused upon using case studies to examine whether non-manual work is becoming increasingly similar to manual work. Neo-Marxists like Erik Wright or Harry Braverman claim that proletarianisation is progressing at a reasonable pace. In contrast, neo-Weberians like David Lockwood and John Goldthorpe have always vigorously argued against it. One reason for this conflict of views is that different meanings of proletarianisation are adopted in order to measure it. Neo-Marxists such as Wright and Braverman argue that routine white-collar workers are no longer middle class. They consequently see such jobs and even some professions, such as nursing and teaching, as particularly prone to proletarianisation. Braverman argues that deskilling in the workplace affects both manual and non-manual work, causing him to argue that routine white-collar workers have joined the mass of unskilled employees. As such they are part of the working class, they are proletarianised. Braverman argues that deskilling and the loss of the social and economic advantages non-manual jobs enjoyed over manual work, are the key factors behind the growth of proletarianisation. In addition, many workers have lost the control and autonomy they enjoyed 20 years or so in the workplace. A good example is the university lecturers Wright cited as example of semi-autonomous workers in a contradictory class location. Many university lecturers are very poorly paid and on short term contracts. Many earn less than primary school teachers. In addition they are subject to performance  scrutiny and time monitoring. Many professionals in education are now subject to clocking in and out like factory workers. It has been argued by some feminists, such as Rosemary Crompton, that women are more prone to proletarianisation than men, in the sense that they experience poorer promotional opportunities. In examining the work of clerks (Crompton and Jones) they found that only a low level of skill was required and that computerisation seemed to accentuate proletarianisation. However, Marshall et al have challenged the idea of proletarianisation. They found both male and female routine white collar workers reported greater levels of autonomy than those in the working class. They found that it was mainly manual workers who felt their work had been deskilled. In contrast, the perceptions of over 90 per cent of male and female non-manual workers were that neither skill levels nor autonomy had significantly diminished. However, they did find that personal service workers such as receptionists, check-out operators and shop assistants lacked a sense of autonomy in a manner similar to the working class. Since this group is composed primarily of female workers, this supports the idea that women are more prone to proletarianisation. Recent research by Clark and Hoffman-Martinot (1998) has highlighted a growing number of casual or routine workers who spend their working day in front of a VDU and/or on the telephone. †¢ Marxists would see such workers, especially those is call centres as working class despite the white-collar working environment. They would see the low morale and general worker discontent as evidence of class consciousness and a sense of collective work-place identity. †¢ A Weberian analysis would identify class in terms of a group sharing a weak market position in the labour force. Weberians might identify any internal competition between workers and factors such as performance-related pay as designed to fragment the workforce. Any attempts at unionisation, they might argue, could reflect the pursuit of sectional interests (party) rather than evidence of class consciousness. 9 How have contemporary models of class developed? As we have seen a range of neo-Marxist and neo- Weberian models of class have developed in the past 50 years or so adapting and interpreting the ideas of Marx and Weber. There is a consensus that the size and make-up of the working-class is shrinking as we move to a post-industrial society, however, there are markedly different interpretations about the meanings and consequences of this change. †¢ Neo-Weberians such as John Goldthorpe and David Lockwood have focused upon occupational categories within a market power context. †¢ Neo-Marxists argue that the critical issue is whether the working-class are falsely conscious. †¢ A third group, the postmodernists have argued that class is dead; having lost its significance as a source of identity. Consumption, they argue, has become the main definer of people in society. What do postmodernists say about class changes?  Postmodernists would question whether class and class identities are meaningful concepts anymore, arguing it makes more sense to speak of a fragmented society with identity increasingly derived from consumption rather than issues associated with production, such as occupation. According to a Postmodern vision, people are seen to acquire their identities as consumers rather than as producers. Status differences (now based on consumption) were seen no longer as sharp and divisive, but loose and cross-cutting. Peoples consumption became home-centred in the post-war period, rather than communal, and their identities as consumers became constructed from images that came into their homes through the rapidly expanding media. The mass popular culture that resulted seemed more real than experiences outside the home and at the workplace. The French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu researched the relationship between consumption and class. He found that consumption patterns varied not only between classes but within them too. He argued that people thus use consumption to both establish and express their social difference. Bourdieu draws from both the work of Marx and Weber in his analysis that consumption and class are interrelated influences on identity. He argues social  divisions are not shaped by economic capital alone but introduces his important concept of cultural capital that he sees as shaping lifestyle including promoting education success, sports and leisure activities. However, he argues that cultural capital has to have symbolic status and be recognized within the society as having high status.

Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown - The Fall of Man into Sin :: Young Goodman Brown YGB

Free Young Goodman Brown Essays: The Fall of Man into Sin After reading this the first time, my first thought was "did this actually take place or did Brown just dream the whole thing?" Hawthorne purposely makes that fact ambiguous. He poses the same type of question in the end of the story. To me, this is appropriate. The story centers on evil being something hidden in this small town. The preacher goes about his praying, the old woman continues catechizing a little girl, etc. all after Brown has "witnessed" the witch meeting in the forest. By not being clear if this was a dream or not, Hawthorne supports the hidden nature that the people have in the story. He covers up the truth just as the village people hid their sinful life that Brown was witness to. This way, the story and the people in the village remain a mystery to the reader just as the truth remains a mystery to Brown. Secondly, I noticed a lot of the re-reading papers on this story dealt with Faith as a character or Faith as a belief. (As Jennifer said, this story is a battle of faith and good and evil) To me, there is no escaping the fact that Faith is a representation of the "good" forces that oppose evil in the story. In the beginning, when Brown first leaves her behind, she tells him "God bless you" and "may you find all well when you return." Faith is about to be deserted for this meeting with evil in the woods. In Biblical terms, if you leave your faith behind, you may not find things the same when you try and come back to it. Brown also tells his evil partner "Faith kept me back awhile." Brown had to talk himself into meeting this person saying that after this one meeting he will follow faith to Heaven. His timid nature and willingness to go to Heaven (faith) delayed him just as much as his wife. After Brown has this meeting, Faith deserted falls into the hands of evil. He welcomes the devi l when he finds his faith missing (sound familiar?) He finds a timid bit of hope when he asks where Faith is during the rituals he witnesses. At the last minute, Brown yells out to Faith to regard Heaven and resist temptation and at that moment the witch meeting dissolves.

Cricket Essay

History of Cricket Early cricket was at some time or another described as â€Å"a club striking a ball†. The ancient games of club-ball, stool-ball, trap-ball, stob-ball†. Cricket can definitely be traced back to Tudor times in early 16th-century England. Written evidence exists of a game known as â€Å"creag† being played by Prince Edward, the son of Edward I (Longshanks), at Newenden, Kent in 1301 and there has been speculation, but no evidence, that this was a form of cricket. Many other words have been suggested as names for the term â€Å"cricket†. In the earliest real reference to the sport in 1598, it is called â€Å"creckett†. Given the strong old trade connections between south-east England and the County of Flanders when the latter belonged to the Duchy of Burgundy, the name may have begun from the Middle Dutch kricke, meaning a stick ; or the Old English cricc or cryce meaning a crutch or staff. In Old French, the word criquet seems to have meant a kind of c lub or stick. In Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary, he derived cricket from â€Å"cryce, Saxon, a stick†. Another possible source is the Middle Dutch word krickstoel, meaning a long low stool used for kneeling in church and which resembled the long low wicket with two stumps used in early cricket. According to Heiner Gillmeister, a European language expert of Bonn University, â€Å"cricket† derives from the Middle Dutch phrase for hockey, met de krik ket sen â€Å"with the stick chase†. Dr. Gillmeister believes that not only the name but the sport is of origin. During the 17th century, numerous references indicate the growth of cricket in the south-east of England. By the end of the century, it had become an organized activity being played for high stakes and it is believed that the first professionals appeared in the years following the Restoration in 1660. A newspaper report survives of â€Å"a great cricket match† with eleven players a side that was played for high stakes in Sussex in 1697 and this is the earliest known reference to a cricket match of such importance. The game went through major development in the 18th century and became the national sport of England. Betting played a major part in that development with rich  patrons forming their own â€Å"select XIs†. Cricket was popular in London as early as 1707 and large crowds flocked to matches on the Artillery Ground in Finsbury. The single wicket form of the sport attracted huge crowds and wagers to match. Bowling became popular around 1760 when bowlers began to pitch the ball instead of rolling or skimming it towards the batsman. This caused a revolution in bat design because, to deal with the bouncing ball, it was necessary to introduce the modern straight bat in place of the old â€Å"hockey stick† shape. The Hambledon Club was founded in the 1760s and, for the next 20 years until the formation of MCC and the opening of Lord’s Old Ground in 1787, Hambledon was both the game’s greatest club and its focal point. MCC quickly became the sport’s premier club and the custodian of the Laws of Cricket. New Laws introduced in the latter part of the 18th century included the three stump wicket and leg before wicket. The 19th century saw underarm bowling replaced by first roundarm and then overarm bowling. Both developments were controversial. Organization of the game at county level led to the creation of the county clubs, starting with Sussex CCC in 1839, which ultimately formed the official County Championship in 1890. Meanwhile, the British Empire had been instrumental in spreading the game overseas and by the middle of the 19th century it had become well established in India, North America, the Caribbean, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In 1844, the first international cricket match took place between the United States and Canada, although neither has ever been ranked as a Test-playing nation. Cricket entered a new era in 1963 when English counties introduced the limited overs variant. As it was sure to produce a result, limited overs cricket was lucrative and the number of matches increased. The first Limited Overs International was played in 1971. The governing International Cricket Council (ICC) saw its potential and staged the first limited overs Cricket World Cup in 1975. In the 21st century, a new limited overs form, Twenty20, has made an immediate impact. Equipment and Changes over Time Ball- A red or white ball with a cork base, wrapped in twine covered with leather. The ball should have a circumference of 23 cm (9.1 inches) unless it is a children’s size. Bat- A wooden bat is used. The wood used is from the Kashmir or English willow tree. The bat cannot be more than 38 inches (96.5 cm) long and 4.25 inches (10.8 cm) wide. Aluminium bats are not allowed. The bat has a long handle and one side has a smooth face. Stumps- 3 wooden poles known as the stumps. Bails- Two crosspieces are known as the bails. Sight screen- A screen placed at the boundary known as the sight screen. This is aligned exactly parallel to the width of the pitch and behind both pairs of wickets. Boundary- A rope demarcating the perimeter of the field known as the boundary. History of the Cricket Bat- (The only known piece of equipment that has changed, has only been the bat.) 1624 – This is the first time that we have any mention of a cricket bat. An inquest was carried out after a fielder was killed. The batsman had tried to prevent him from catching the ball, and had presumably whacked him on the head in the process! Originally bowlers used to bowl the ball underarm. The cricket bat was therefore shaped very much like a hockey stick. 1770’s – The laws were changed to allow â€Å"length bowling†, which was still performed underarm. The cricket bat became roughly parallel with a maximum width of 4.25†³. This is still the same today. They were extremely heavy, with the â€Å"swell† at the bottom. 1820’s – Round arm bowling was allowed, instigating more bounce so the cricket bat became lighter with a higher â€Å"swell†. 1830’s – Until this period all cricket bats were one piece willow. However, because of increased breakages and shock as the ball travelled faster, cricket bat makers started to â€Å"splice† handles into bats. Handles were either solid willow or ash. 1835 – The length of a cricket bat  was restricted to 38†³, which is still the same today. 1840 – The first recorded use of a â€Å"spring† being inserted into the handles of the cricket bat. These were initially whalebone (as used in ladies corsets) and some years later India rubber. 1853 – Thomas Nixon, a Notts cricketer, introduced the use of cane in handle making in cricket bats. 1864 – The laws were altered to allow over- arm bowling so there was a further lightening and more refined shaping of the blade. Handles became intricate constructions and were nearly all made of cane with Indian rubber grips. 1870’s – The shape of today’s cricket bat evolves.

Should School Uniforms Hinder Psychological Development

External expression is not just the perception of you from others; it is more like an inward feeling that outwardly defines oneself. Restriction of expression in adolescence can inhibit one s psychological development. The â€Å"feeling† aspect comes from self evaluation and confidence. A seemingly specific, yet broad subject of expression is school uniforms. School uniforms have been apparent in the world since the year 1222. In recent years, school uniforms have become a hot topic in American education. Though still existing in our great country, adopting school uniforms has not been shown to improve either behavior or academic achievement; it is time to abandon them. The brain is a fascinating and delicate organ. Its is responsible for†¦show more content†¦This shows that expression can help form a person’s psychological composure among other things. Another common argument for school uniforms is the topic of bullying. It is said that school uniforms reduce the acts of bullying; that is simply not true. School uniforms increased the average number of assaults by about 14 [per year] in the most violent schools. and Overall, there is no evidence in bullying literature that supports a reduction in violence due to school uniforms (Shawn Jeffords). Though bullying only really increased in violent neighborhoods, it is still said and constantly shown, with statistics, that uniforms do not decrease the act of bullying. It is a concept of uniforms that seems like it may work but has not. Most just go by what seems right rather than looking at hard facts. Assumptions are made by everyone, no matter the topic. When knowing or claiming a â€Å"fact†, it seems that many will not take further consideration and believe what they are told. The mentality that, if it sounds true, then it must be true, is a mentality that too many people follow on a daily basis. Professor Beverly D. Flaxington said, â€Å"research shows we are wrong better than 50% of the time... we make assumptions because we simply do not have the time to think something through or do anShow MoreRelatedThe Effects of Divorce on Children1135 Words   |  4 Pageschild and their way of life. Not only do they have to move into a different home and place, but also schools and friends will be different and settling into a new community may be difficult for them too. They have to adjust to their new surroundings and possibly not see one of their parents for a while. Following a separation and a divorce, it is advised that the child stay in the same school and environment for at least several months, so that they can get used to the separation first beforeRead MoreTony Fernandes2128 Words   |  9 Pagesamong books. It was in the library that he developed his love for reading and learning. He went to the Boys High School, one of the top high schools in Brooklyn. There, he served as an officer to many academic clubs and became the editor of the Latin Magazine. Besides that, he got his to edit the Principia, that was the school s Physics paper for a year. After graduating high school, Maslow went to the City College of New York. In 1926, he began taking legal studies classes at night in additionRead MoreDesign Psychology in Higher Eucation1942 Words   |  8 Pagesstudy of how people interact with the built environment around them. With the frequency with which students and educators interact with classroom and general campus spaces, it may be surprising to consider how many people overlook this important psychological phenomenon. I am sure many a student can attest to an experience in a poor environment in which they felt learning barriers were present and that their ability to concentrate and engage was impaired. Often times, a student in a poorly designedRead MoreOrganisational Behavior (OB)2853 Words   |  12 Pageswell-designed structure and coordinating the activities of the system, social entities associated with the external environment. Along with the development of the economy, organisational cultures influence on employ ee behavior is the most used more and more big, in general, organisational culture is refers to the organisation in long-term survival and development for the organisation which is formed by the holdings of members and is said to follow the value of the system. Organisational structure refersRead MoreNucor - the Art of Motivation7646 Words   |  31 PagesINTERNATIONAL BUSINESS SCHOOL UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA CITY CAMPUS, KUALA LUMPUR HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT GROUP ASSIGNMENT Case 3: The Art of Motivation NUCOR LECTURER: ASSOC. PROFESSOR DR ROSMINI OMAR |CHAN LI WUEN |MR 091104 | |rashidah yusof khan Read MoreAreas of Knowledge of Hrm11342 Words   |  46 PagesResources have been developed in the past 10 to 15 years. Various researchers, practitioners and policymakers now acknowledge that Human Resources can be conceptualized from a functional perspective and that appropriate interventions involve the development of alternative measures to cope up. It was also noted that the establishment of a conducive working environment for learning and training have served effectively in lowering the prevalence of underachievement among employees. At present, this philosophicalRead MoreThe Effects of Socio-Economic Status on Students Achievements in Biology13494 Words   |  54 Pagesstudents achievement in biology in few selected public and private schools in Ifako-ijaye Local government area of Lagos A person’s education is closely link to his chances, income, and well being (Battle Lewis 2002).Therefore it is important to have a clear understanding of what benefits or hinders one educational attainment. Education is the best legacy a nation can give to her citizens especially the youth. This is because the development of any nation depends largely on the quality of education ofRead MoreLabour Economics6478 Words   |  26 Pagesevaluation IV. Principle and practice of labour welfare LABOUR ECONOMICS(Page 1) Name : (PL. FILL IN), Enrolment No.( PL. FILL IN) V. Theory and practice of trade union management. Nature of Labour Economics:Labour economics is in the process of development, its definition tends to vary and change according to the nature of the economy and is supposed to indicate the criteria for delimiting its scope and enumerating and classifying the problems. I. The theoretical section II. The institutional sectionRead MoreSSD2 Module 4 Notes Essay28478 Words   |  114 Pageswe are sexually promiscuous, we are excessively violence prone, we dont really care about the locals, and so on. The best way to combat such stereotypes is to consistently show, by your actions, that they are inaccurate. Most important is the development of trust. Never promise something you are not sure you can deliver. Do everything you say you are going to do and follow up with the locals to be sure they know you did it. In a chaotic environment, be the element of consistency, truthfulness, andRead MoreLabour Economics5713 Words   |  23 Pageseco nomics II.Labour laws III.Principles of personnel management and job evaluation IV.Principle and practice of labour welfare V.Theory and practice of trade union management. Nature of Labour Economics:- Labour economics is in the process of development, its definitiontends to vary and change according to the nature of theeconomy and is supposed to indicate the criteria for delimitingits scope and enumerating and classifying the problems.I.The theoretical sectionII.The institutional section A.The

Derivatives as a Financial Instrument - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1891 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Argumentative essay Did you like this example? In finance, a derivative is taken as a financial instrument that possesses value based on the underlying assets expected future price movements. Financial instrument, in other words, is simply an agreement between two parties, while underlying asset is an asset to which a derivative is linked. Underlying assets can be in form of share or currency. Currently, there are many kinds of derivatives, and the most commonly seen types are swaps, futures, and options. Derivatives are seen as a form of alternative investment. A derivative cannot be treated as a stand-alone asset because it has no value itself. Nevertheless, trading of common types of derivatives have been done on market as if they were assets before expiration. Rice futures are among the earliest of these. Their trading on the Dojima Rice Exchange started since the 18th century. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Derivatives as a Financial Instrument" essay for you Create order Categorization of derivatives can be done on the following basis: The link between the underlying asset and the derivative, for example forward, option, or swap. The kind of underlying asset, for instance, equity derivatives, commodity derivatives or credit derivatives. The market in which the derivatives are traded such as exchange-traded or over-the-counter. The pay-off profile of derivatives. Also, there is a distinction between: Vanilla derivatives (simple and more common). Exotic derivatives (more complicated and specialized). How Derivatives Work? To visualize how derivative investment works, it is best to utilize a comprehensible example. Consider a commodity derivative which is linked to rice as its underlying asset. Farmer X who is in a rice plantation industry goes into a derivative contract with an agriculture businessman Y. According to the contract, farmer X agreed to sell rice to businessman Y on a future date concurred by both parties. The selling price based on the agreement is for instance, RM 100 per kg, which is the current market price. After the agreement is set, the execution of contract can be done. When time reaches the fixed future date and rice is ready to be traded, but unfortunately the market price of rice has dropped to RM 50 per kg. All other farmers will suffer from tremendous losses but not farmer X. Businessman Y had agreed to purchase his product at the price of RM 100 per kg which is higher than the current market price of RM 50 per kg. On the other hand, businessman Y will now make losses because he has to buy the product at a price higher than the market price. Consider another scenario that the market price of rice has gone up to RM 150 per kg when the fixed future date comes. Farmer X is now the one who loses money because he agreed to sell his product to business Y at a price lower than the current market price (RM 100 per kg), whereas businessman Y is making higher profit because he is buying rice at a cheaper price. Trading of Derivatives in Malaysia In Malaysia, derivatives tradings are maintained by the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Berhad (BMD). Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Berhad, previously recognized as Malaysia Derivatives Exchange Berhad (MDEX), is a subsidiary of Bursa Malaysia Berhad that offers, runs and maintains a futures and options exchange. BMD runs the most liquid and flourishing crude palm oil futures (FCPO) contract worldwide. In September 2009, Bursa Malaysia Berhad and Chicago Mercantile Exchange started a strategic partnership with the view to extend the accessibility to Malaysias derivatives offerings worldwide. This enables licensing of the settlement prices of the FCPO to place Malaysia as the global price benchmark for the commodity. It also opened the opportunity for distribution of Bursa Malaysias products globally through the Globex electronic trading platform. 25% of the equity stake in BMD is currently owned by CME, while the remaining 75% interest is owned by Bursa Malaysia Berhad. Three Major Types of Derivatives in Malaysia Commodity Derivatives In commodity derivatives, as the name indicates, the underlying is a commodity such as gold, wheat, machinery and so on. Initially, commodity derivatives were intended to provide protection to farmers so that to reduce the risk of under or over-production of crops. Being a financial instrument for traders who traded in the underlying commodity previously, commodity derivatives are currently a risk management tool. They are now traded in the market most often by traders who do not need for the commodity itself. In other words, they never actually possess the commodities, but they keep trading them in the market. The available products under this group are as follows: Crude Palm Oil Futures (FCPO) USD Crude Palm Oil Futures (FUPO) Crude Palm Kernel Oil Futures (FPKO) Equity Derivatives An equity derivative is a category of derivatives whose value is at least partially derived from one or more underlying equity securities. Options and futures are the most common equity derivatives so far. Nevertheless, there are many other types of equity derivatives that are aggressively traded. Equity derivatives available in Malaysia are: FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Futures (FKLI) FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Options (OKLI) Single Stock Futures (SSFs) Financial Derivatives A financial instrument whose characteristics and value depend upon the characteristics and value of an underlying asset. This category consists of interest rate derivative and government securities futures. Currently, there are three products being categorized by BMD under this group, namely: 3 Month Kuala Lumpur Interbank Offered Rate Futures (FKB3) 3-Year Malaysian Government Securities Futures (FMG3) 5-Year Malaysian Government Securities Futures (FMG5) Risk and Return To understand risk management of using derivative contracts, the expected return/risk relation must first be figured out. Referring to the following figure, the expected return is represented by the vertical axis while the horizontal axis represents risk. Derivatives risk management actually deals with going along the line by entering particular derivative contract positions. Consider a farmer who is planting wheat. The point C on the figure might represent, for instance, the farmers current unhedged, expected return/risk profile. The coordinates of point C may be determined by assessment of the mean and the variance of the wheat price distribution. The farmers decision about what to do depends on his risk preferences. If desired, the farmer can engage in a lower-risk strategy by committing to deliver part of his anticipated crop of wheat at a price that is fixed today. This short forward commitment would bring his return/risk profile toward the risk-free rate of return, to point B for example, and would be referred to as hedging. Hedging is a technique that attempts to reduce risk and derivative can be used as a form of insurance in hedging. On the other hand, if the farmer is confident that wheat prices are going to rise because of poor weather during the rainy season and thus the low yield, he may not hedge. He should keep his risk profile at point C, or he may attempt to profit from his directional view regarding wheat price movements and buy forward to increase his risk profile from C to point D for instance. There are different types of risk to be managed and it should be made clear that risk management is however synonymous with return/risk management. In equilibrium, one cannot be moved without moving the other. Figure: Expected return/risk tradeoff (Adopted from Derivatives: Markets, Valuation, and Risk Management, by Robert E. Whaley) Advantages and Drawbacks Advantages 1. Lower risk than other trades When trading in derivatives, it is not the underlying asset or the company to be bought in, although in futures trading, there is an agreement stating that the purchase of the product is to be done in the future. Losing money in derivatives trading is still possible but the risk is much lesser than other investments. Furthermore, if a trader does not want to invest as much as required to purchase stock, the trader can involve in derivatives trading for a much lower initial investment. Derivatives can act as balance to a traders total portfolio, spreading the risk to a variety of investments instead of only a few. 2. Derivatives can be used as short-term investment If a trader is looking for an investment that is able to pay off in a comparatively shorter time frame, he or she should consider derivatives. Some stocks and bonds are invested on a long-term basis, whereas derivatives can pay off within days, weeks, or several months. Due to the shorter turnaround time, derivatives can be a proper way to break into market and also a suitable way to blend short-term and long-term investments. If a trader has a portfolio comprising of long-term investments like stocks and bonds, derivatives may be a good choice to put the money to work at once. To make derivatives work, detailed research and consideration is essential. Traders in a fast-paced world have the option to see results in derivatives trading that are unavailable through other means mush sooner. 3. High variety and flexible Derivatives traders get more involvement and have better handle on what and where their money is working. Some derivatives trading options were made available around the clock globally. This is a factor that draws investors to derivatives investment. Involving in the global economy is fascinating for some people and it creates international options that may not be found through the traditional stock market. Drawbacks 1. Possible huge losses Usage of derivatives may result in tremendous losses because of leverage and borrowing. Derivatives enable traders to make big return from small underlying assets price movements. Nevertheless, traders might make huge losses if the assets price movement does not favor them significantly. For instance, Barings Bank lost equivalence of $1.2 billion from equity derivatives investment in the year 1995. 2. Counter-party risk Counter-party risk is the risk to each party of a contract that the counter-party will not live up toÂÂ  its contractual obligations. Counter-party risk as a risk to both parties and should beÂÂ  consideredÂÂ  when evaluating aÂÂ  contract. Consider two independent parties, Joe and Mike for instance. Because Joe is a counter-party to Mike and at the same time Mike is a counterparty to Joe so both of them are exposed to this risk. There is a risk that either one of the two parties will not fulfill as agreed in the contract. 3. Huge notional value Derivatives basically have a huge notional value. Therefore, there is a risk that usage of them could lead to losses that wouldnt be compensated by the trader. Possibly, this could result in a chain reaction that further leads to economic crisis. The previous statement is made based on well-known investor Warren Buffetts opinion in Berkshire Hathaways annual report (2002). He addressed them as financial weapons of mass destruction. Derivatives control a gradually growing notional amount of assets. Distortions in the real capital and equities markets might follow the phenomena. What was initially intended to transfer risk becomes a leading indicator because traders now look to the derivatives market when making decisions in trading. 4. Leverage of an economys debt Derivatives seriously leverage the debt in an economy, making it ever harder for the underlying real economy to service its debt obligations, thereby limiting real economic activity, which can cause a recession or even depression. Performances of Derivatives in Malaysia Product Year 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 FKLI 951.3 1304.8 1141.7 1082.9 1361.7 OKLI N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A FCPO 1529 2472 2842 2272 2677 FKB3 96.28 96.38 96.36 97.79 97.33 FMG5 107.98 110.84 108.8 110.75 109.94 FMG3 105.65 107.04 105.85 107.96 107.06 FMGA 113.02 118.8 112.68 114.52 113.23 FPKO ÂÂ  N/A 2781 3492 2329 3459 SSFs ÂÂ  N/A 11.31 5.87 6.71 7.56 Table: Annual average nearest month contract prices of each BMD product. Chart: The graph of average nearest month contract price against years