Cathay Pacific Portfolio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Cathay Pacific Portfolio - Essay Example During a research carried out by global Skytrax Research poll carried in population of 4.4 million travelers, it lead to an award to Cathy Pacific for being considered the best airline (Exter & Tamara, 2012). In the following year, it was also awarded with another award for being the best airline Europe and best airline Transpacific for two consecutive years. Cathy Pacific Airlines of UK was founded in 1946 by Roy Farewell a businessperson as well as a pilot and Sydney de Kantzow an adventurous pilot operating Calcutta, Burma and Chungking (Lasok, 1998). Earlier, during the Second World War, the duo was flying to shanghai with a DC-3. Later, the British colonial government demanded that they officially register their company in order to operate Hong Kong. It was on the 24th of September that the two entrepreneurs registered their company by the name Cathy Pacific Airways Corporation. It was though the registration of Cathy Pacific that Roy Farrell import and export Company was formed . The purpose of forming Roy Farrell Import-Export Company was to undertake tax issues; they would also lease aircrafts from the Cathy Pacific Airlines. By the end of one year after its formation, Roy Farrell had possessed a second DC-3 and had ferried over 3000 passengers and an estimated cargo of 15000 kilograms from Australia and Asia. Cathy Pacific’s growth was rapid because in 1947, the airline had acquired an additional five DC-3 and another two smaller aircrafts (Catalina Fling boat), this enabled them to extend their operations to Macao towards the southern China. In 1948, Cathy Pacific had acquired a 45% market share in the airline industry. In 1962 to 1967, the airline’s growth was rapid; this made them enjoy its spectacular growth. The huge profits that they realized brought in the first international services in Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka in Japan. In late 1970s, the airline had expanded its services to other parts of Europe and North America. In mid 1980, t he airline was moving to London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Brisbane, san Francisco, Vancouver, Zurich, and Manchester. In 1990s, Cathy Pacific assembled the youngest fleets in the world. For the last five years, Cathy pacific has improved drastically in terms of carriage per annum. In 2008, it carried 13, 066, 011 passengers and 4046 tons of cargo. In 2009, it carried 37, 683, 812 passengers and 32, 128 tons of cargo. In 2010, it increased to 122, 544, 546 passengers and 111, 234 tons of cargo. This is a clear indication that Cathy Pacific is growing rapidly (Malcolm et al., 2013). This is because it was established long time ago thus making them to secure a larger market share. In addition, its long service has demonstrated its capabilities to carry even more passengers and cargo as time goes by. The future of Cathy Pacific seems exciting. The airline’s expectations are that they should have bought 100 aircraft by the year 2020. They will also introduce a third runway in Hong Ko ng, which is an international airport. Cathy Pacific substantial investment is to build their cargo terminal at the airport. They also plan to nurture catering, ground handling companies, aircraft maintenance and corporate headquarters at UK. Vision The vision of Cathy Pacific airlines is â€Å"To be the leading airline in the world†. this means that they should strive to excel in all they do. Objectives The main objectives of Cathy Pacific as set by the company management include: To ensure that customers are well served and satisfied To

Correctional System Essay Example for Free

Correctional System Essay The goal of any prison is not to punish the offender by removing all hope of a better future from the person but instead focuses on reforming the offender and giving the offender a chance to enter society once again as a reformed individual. This is the reason why jails are often part of the Bureau of Corrections. The prison sentence served is but a part of the whole corrections or reformation process that an offender under goes once he has been found guilty and charged. The next step lies in making sure that the individual remains reformed and is able to ease back into society or even into the life that he or she once had prior to entering the corrections facility. This is the ultimate goal of all correctional institutions all over the world but that is not necessarily the reality. One of the recent issues surrounding the Correctional System involves the institution of fitness programs by Prison Officials. In recognition of the fact there is a need to reduce idleness, promote health and fitness, allow inmates to `burn off steam` through exercise, prison officials have ordered the conduct of a wide range of physical activities. While most of these recreational activities are relatively controversy-free, weightlifting remains to be one such controversial activity that many argue should no longer be allowed. Before arguing that weightlifting should not be allowed in prison, it is important to first lay out the advantages of allowing weightlifting. As a form of exercise, it can be validly argued that weightlifting is important because it not only contributes more to the development of the body but it also helps a person maintain a healthy cardiovascular system. Another advantage is the fact that the strenuous nature of weightlifting often provides the prisoners with the non-violent release that they need. It can even be argued that weightlifting reduces the incidence of inmate violence. Be that as it may, given the situation and the purpose of corrections, there are more negative effects of allowing weightlifting than positive ones. The first reason is that it is shown that this activity increases testosterone levels and in doing so it increases the aggression levels of inmates. As studies have shown, violent cases occur more often near the weightlifting yard than any where else in the penitentiary. The sad truth of the matter is that instead of these offenders becoming reformed and turning into productive members of society once again, they invariably resort to committing more crime as has been shown in many studies conducted on the violence rates of offenders. As such, weightlifting should not be allowed. Instead, however, there should be other recreational activities that are not solo activities. This is in an effort to increase socialization among members of the correctional facility. The socialization or in this case the re-socialization of the offender is an important step in the corrections process and one that cannot be simply ignored. It must be remembered that the purpose of socialization is to enable the offender to learn society’s ways, in this case to re-learn, and thereby control any antisocial behavior in an effort to come to a better decision with regard to what is right and what is wrong. By ensuring that this important aspect is addressed through an efficient and effective parole program, the corrections institutions may stand a better chance at helping an individual willingly follow society’s norms and become a productive member of that society. This is supported by the Strain Theory of Robert K. Merton which concerns the tendency of an individual member of society to commit and act that is not synchronous with the goals of society thereby creating a â€Å"strain. † In order to address the problem, there must be a better parole method that addresses the psychological needs of the offender and encourages the offender to take steps in order to be able to function as a productive member of society. It simply is not enough to have the prisoners engage in any sort of physical activity that they want. Corrections is not about punishment, it is about reformation and giving hope to those who have none.

Role of Social Media in Online Shopping Advertisements

Role of Social Media in Online Shopping Advertisements A study on perception towards Social media with special references to online shopping Ms. V. PAVITHRA, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR MBA, EASWARI ENGINEERING COLLEGE- CHENNAI Abstract: The rapid rise of social media has captured the attention of marketers and consumers on a global scale, and together with a rapidly changing communications environment marketers now confront new challenges in terms of our understanding of consumer behavior and consumption patterns in the new millennium. Internet and Information technology have made tremendous contribution for business transformation witnessed nowadays all over the world. The growth of this particular media attracts the attention of advertisers as a more productive source to bring in consumers. A clear idea, the consumers have with online advertisement is the control they have over the item, choosing whether to check it out or not. To broaden our understanding and assist in managing marketing communications effectively, this exploratory research investigates the role of social media within the broader advertising and communications mix. The capability of purchasing without leaving your place is of great interest to ma ny consumers. Not only does online shopping offer really good deals, but also brings optimum convenience to the consumers. For the aforesaid purpose, a survey was conducted in Chennai city covering 250 samples. Key words: Online marketing, Social media, Consumer perception, consumption pattern, Advertisers, convenience Introduction: Knowing that, currently, social networks, blogs, forums and sharing sites are the main centers of interest for Internet users, marketers have started to rethink their online communication strategies and adjust to the new trend. Many companies are realizing that having a website and making it visible and easy to find through search engines (SEO) is simply not enough anymore. Nowadays it is vital that their online presence includes a Social Media component on sites like Facebook, Google+, Hi5, MySpace or Twitter. According to the recent research on consumer behaviour  on the Internet users, there are four distinct consumer groups with different intentions and motivations: Exploration Entertainment Shopping Information Types of Internet marketing Internet marketing is broadly divided in to the following types: Display Advertising: the use of web banners or banner ads placed on a third-party website to drive traffic to a companys own website and increase product awareness. Search Engine Marketing (SEM): a form of marketing that seeks to promote websites by increasing their visibility in search engine result pages (SERPs) through the use of either paid placement, contextual advertising, and paid inclusion, or through the use of free search engine optimization techniques. Search Engine Optimization (SEO): the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in search engines via the natural or un-paid (organic or algorithmic) search results. Social Media Marketing: the process of gaining traffic or attention through social media sites. Email Marketing: involves directly marketing a commercial message to a group of people using electronic mail. Referral Marketing: a method of promoting products or services to new customers through  referrals, usually word of mouth. Affiliate Marketing: a marketing practice in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought about by the affiliates own marketing efforts. Content Marketing: involves creating and freely sharing informative content as a means of converting prospects into customers and customers into repeat buyers. Objectives: To study the various attitude of consumers towards online shopping To find out preferences regarding the attitude on social media. To identify the various issues faced by users in social media towards online shopping To analyze the customer response to online advertisements and their impact on purchasing behavior. Methodology: Secondary Research: I first of all surveyed the available literature related to the problem. The published data from various sources like e-Journals, Internet, Books were studied. Quantitative research: After the collection of secondary data, the questionnaire was designed to collect the primary data. It is analyzed on the basis of suitable table by using – Bar technique and percentage analysis. Chi-Square test is applied to test the goodness of fit to verify the distribution of observed data. HYPOTHESIS 1. Analysis of Internet user’s perception of online advertisements. H0 – The six options (entertainment, in formativeness, irritation, credibility, interactivity and purchase) i.e perception behind the online advertisements is same for all people(each of these options have same influential value on the respondents). H1 The six options (entertainment, in formativeness, irritation, credibility, interactivity and purchase) i.e perception behind the online advertisements is different for all people(each of these options have different influential value on the respondents). 2. Analysis of the relationship between the websites that are most searched for Age of the respondents. H0 – Age of the respondents and the websites that are most clicked at, are independent. H1 Age of the respondents and the websites that are most clicked at, are dependent. ANALYSIS 1. Analysis of the relationship between Internet user’s perception of Internet advertisements and Age of the respondents. Relationship between Internet user’s perception and Age-Observed values Age Entertainment Informativeness Irritation Credibility Interactivity Purchase Total 3 7 5 5 3 2 25 30-40 1 7 6 5 5 2 29 41-50 5 5 5 0 5 6 30 >50 3 3 2 4 3 4 18 Total 12 22 18 14 16 18 100 2. Relationship between Internet user’s perception and Age- Expected values Particulars Entertainment Informativeness Irritation Credibility Interactivity Purchase Total 3 5.5 4.5 3.2 2.4 22 25 30-40 3.48 6.69 3 21 3.5 8.3 29 41-50 3.6 6.5 2.22 2.4 4.5 5.7 30 >50 1.92 3 5 2.1 4.5 6.6 18 Total 12 22 18 14 16 18 100 =(4-1)*(6-1)= 15 At 95% of confidence Table value of Chi Square at n=15 is 24.996 Chi Square value observed here is 10.82125416 which is lesser than table value. This proves the hypothesis H0 is accepted â€Å"Perception behind the online advertisements is same for all people† 3. Analysis of the relationship between Internet usage and the Age of the respondents Age Access E-Mail Downloading Net Surfing Window Shopping 12 6 5 10 30-40 6 8 9 7 41-50 3 5 10 3 >50 5 8 4 4 Total 33 22 22 23 4 . Relationship between age and the website usage-Expected values Age Access E-Mail Downloading Net Surfing Window Shopping Total 3.5 2.5 4.3 5.6 23 30-40 4 5 3 2.6 30 41-50 7 7 3.5 4 27 >50 2 4 3.8 8.6 20 Total 33 22 22 23 100 = (4-1)*(4-1) =9 At 95% of confidence Table value of Chi Square at n=9 is 16.911. Chi Square value observed here is 2.456560586 which is lesser than table value. This proves the hypothesis H0 is accepted â€Å"Age of the respondents and the websites that are most clicked at, are independent†. 5. Important elements for the success of promotional campaigns For most respondents (38%) the element of the greatest importance for the success of promotional campaigns through social networks is the originality, followed by a consistent and well transmitted message (for 25%), interactivity (16%), attractive design (15%) and animation (with only 6% of responses). 6. In which extent the brand, company name and company characteristics influences the Respondents For more than 50% of the Social Media users the brand, the company name and the company Characteristics are also very important for capturing their attention. Findings: According to The Nielsen Company’s study, published at the end of January 2010, global consumers spent, on average, more than five and a half hours on social networking sites like Face book and Twitter in December 2009. The study showed an 82% increase from the same month of 2008 when users spent just over three hours on social networks. In addition, the overall traffic to social networking sites has grown over the last four years. Specifically, two thirds of online visitors spend their time on social networks and blogs, placing them ahead of other online forms of engagement and interaction including games and instant messaging. The purchase of a product as a result of experiencing a form of online advertising through social networks was achieved by only 16% of respondents who said they had purchased clothing or accessories (sunglasses, jewelry), electronics (cell phones, cameras, laptops), IT products (software and hardware) or flight tickets. The research results showed that Facebook is the social network where most of the respondents own an user account (27.8% of responses), followed by Hi5 with (21.6%), YouTube with 14.7%, LinkedIn (7 %) and Twitter (6.6%). Conclusion: This study was accomplished to determine the customer perception on social media towards online shopping. Most respondents aged between 26 and 35 and all the respondents who have corporate leadership or decision making positions have a Twitter account, which may confirm the idea that the members of this site are opinion leaders or aspirational models, mature professional people, who have an important point of view to share with others. The research revealed another important finding, namely that users agree to the idea that promoting products or services through social networks can be useful and that advertisements appear in an acceptable number within these platforms. The study also shows that women tend to be more open and tolerant than men in these aspects. Many of the consumers are aware of the various online scams due to which they are very concerned and reluctant while providing their credit card information online. Also the online purchases take a longer time in shipments and deliveries. 65 million Face book members (almost one third of users), have accessed the website from a mobile phone, four times more than the same period in 2008, and in 2010 their number has exceeded 100 million persons. In addition, people who have accessed the site from their mobile phones were almost 50% more active than those not using mobile Internet. I analyze the relationship between Age of the respondents and the websites that are most clicked at, are independent. In a survey of 100 respondents, 33 people used internet for Access E-mail, 23 respondents used internet for window shopping, 22 respondents used internet for downloading, and similarly 22 respondents used net surfing. Finally I concluded that the social media is giving broad platform to consumers for having more choices with comfort shopping. REFERENCES 1. Belch, G., Belch, M., Kerr, G., Powell, I., 2009. Advertising and promotion: an integrated  Marketing communication perspective, McGraw Hill Australia, Sydney, New South Wales. 2. Engel, J.F., Blackwell, R.D. and Miniard, P.W., Consumer Behavior. Chicago: Dryden  Press, 1990. 3. Humphries, J., 2010. Social networking in business – Face book. CXO Europe, January 4,  2010. Retrieved June 14, 2010, from http://www.cxo.eu.com/news/social-networking-inbusiness- facebook/ 4. Kaplan, A., Haenlein, M., 2010. Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media. Business Horizons 53 (1), 59-68. 5. Muniz, A., O’Guinn, T., 2001. Brand community. Journal of Consumer Research 27 (4), 412- 432. 6. Zeng, F., Huang, L., Dou, W., 2009. Social factors in user perceptions and responses to  advertising in online social networking communities. Journal of Interactive Advertising 10  (1), 1-13.

Impeachment Of Andrew :: essays research papers

One man’s bullet would force him into the presidency, and but for one man’s vote he would have been forced out. Like the impeachment of President Clinton, the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson in 1868 also ended in an acquittal.And like President Clinton, Johnson was a Democratic president who faced a Republican-controlled Congress. And while many were hostile to him for his political agenda, it would be an event separate from his policies that would nearly bring him down.Before it would end, a drama would play out in the Senate filled with partisanship, legal hairsplitting, and the swing votes of a handful of Republicans. The Road to Impeachment A â€Å"war† Democrat opposed to secession, in 1864 Johnson was tapped by Republican President Abraham Lincoln as his running mate to balance the Union ticket. He became president following Lincoln’s assassination in April 1865, just days after the Civil War ended. As president, Johnson’s desire to scale back Lincoln’s Reconstruction legislation following the Civil War angered the Radical Republican majority that sought to punish the former rebels of the Confederacy. The stage was set for a partisan fight that would ultimately center around a single act. In February 1868, Johnson fired Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, who was sympathetic to the Radical Republicans and who was overseeing the military’s Reconstruction efforts. A year earlier, Congress had passed the Tenure of Office Act, which prohibited a president from dismissing any officer confirmed by the Senate without first getting its approval. With Stanton’s firing, the call for Johnson’s impeachment began. â€Å"To say that they seized the opportunity was too strong,† says Michael Les Benedict, a history professor at Ohio State University and the author of The Impeachment and Trial of Andrew Johnson. â€Å"The president was in obvious defiance. He was daring them, it seemed, to impeach him. And if they didn’t, it would have given him a green light to basically dismantle the Reconstruction program that Congress had passed.† Political Opportunism? But others today see that impeachment as political opportunism. â€Å"Namely, Johnson was opposed to congressional Reconstruction,† says Hans Louis Trefousse, author of Andrew Johnson: A Biography. â€Å"So Johnson blocked that and, because he did, they [Republicans] eventually decided they should throw him out.† â€Å"A more technical inquiry can hardly be imagined, and as a separate basis for removing a president from office it bordered on the absurd,† wrote U.S.

Comparing the Republic to the Modern Society Essay

The relevance of The Republic to our modern society In Plato’s The Republic, Plato illustrates what his ideal city would look like. He describes the educational systems, ideal legislators and the purposes of democracy. The republic influenced many people to understand the purpose for democracy, and it led to new philosophical schools of thought. Although this work was written hundreds of years ago, it still affects our modern world today. One of the most important things that Plato stresses is the importance of education. Without education of the masses, democracy would cease to exist. When Plato was forming his ideal society, he stressed the importance of education for several reasons. Most importantly, educating citizens led to a peaceful, well-run republic. For Plato, education was not about information intake and data storage. Rather, education was drawing out the knowledge that was already in the student. He said that â€Å"the power and capacity of learning exists in the soul already† He gives an allegory of prisoners in a cave, who have never seen light before. They become free, come out of the cave and see the light. They understand that the shadows are just reflections of real things; they are not the real things themselves. They ascend up to a mountain and see the world for what it really is. Plato uses this story to illustrate what education does for the human soul. We are all born in a dark cave, chained to a wall and cannot see the light. We still around all day looking at shadows, which appear to be so real to us. Education breaks the chains of ignorance. We can ascend to the top of the mountain and look out onto the beautiful world. According to Plato, after the prisoners’ ascend all the way to the top of the mountain, â€Å"they must be made to descend again among the prisoners’ in the den and partake in labors and honors, whether worth having or not. † Plato notes that once a person is educated and has received knowledge and truth, they should go back and teach those who do not know. This still relevant today because we need to not be so focused on how high we climb up the ladder, but we need to be concerned with how we help others achieve their goals. This allegory is also used to describe justice. The prisoners’ in the cave do not know what real justice looks like. The people on the mountain tops must come down and give understanding to those who are lacking it. Plato goes on to describe the type of leader that would be perfect to run the ideal city. The type of leader that Plato describes is someone who is â€Å"wisest about the affairs of the state, and by whom the state is best administered and who at the same time have other honors and a better life then that of politics. â€Å" The ideal leader in Plato’s time is not much different from the ideal leader in our time period. We still want someone who knows and understands the problems of the state or country, who will be a good leader, and will be able to put the welfare of his people before his own. These characteristics are still what many people look for in a dependable leader. Plato describes that a good leader should not be caught up in their own wealth, they should care about their people. This is a very foundational idea that is still important in America today. We desire to have a leader who will be humble and care for us, instead of one that has a hidden agenda. According to Plato, economic self-interest and political power must be kept separate and not be allowed to work in combination to the disadvantage of the state. In mapping out his utopian society, Plato stresses the importance of democracy. In a short piece called democracy considered, Plato talks about how oligarchies decay into democracies and democracies decay into tyranny. Tyranny is formed from pursing one’s pleasures and appetites. Plato claims that â€Å"a man who is deranged and not right in his mind will fancy that he is able to rule, not only over men, but also over gods â€Å"He describes here that a man can not be a leader if he is deranged and thinks that he is the center of the universe. Plato then shows how democracy and tyranny differ. In describing the differences, Glacon says â€Å"They are the opposite extremes for one is the very best and the other is the very worst. † The republic shows many similarities to today’s society. We still have many of the same ideals in education and in government. This piece of work was criticized at the time it was written by is now honored and very influential. It was one of the first writings that began western thinking and formed many new beliefs that influenced the renaissance.

buy custom The Great Depression by D Shannon essay

buy custom The Great Depression by D Shannon essay Steinbeck was a non-fiction writer who wrote and expressed his opinion about the world and society he lived. He was a keen observer of the everyday life activities, and as a writer he criticized a number of business trends during his time, and wrote on a number of social, economic and political occurrences, which affected the lives of the people. His many writings touched on the great depression of 1929, that caused Americans a lot of pain. The great depression originated in the U.S., and then spread to the industrialized western world. He wrote about the great depression with attention to the conditions that led to it, those who were to blame and the many ugly consequences that it brought. He also wrote about the capitalistic approach of doing business in a way that highlighted its weaknesses and how it created social inequalities that made workers and immigrants miserable. His opinion has a bearing on the American economy and helps in understanding the great recession which the con temporary world is grappling with (Steinbeck, 1996). According to Steinbeck, the great depression was as a result of several factors relating to capitalism and the inequality which persisted in the American society. He believed that the great depression occurred at a time when America was emerging as the most powerful nation on earth, and a period when the belief that America was exceptional was taking root. The business people believed that they could achieve anything, and this made them become too extravagant, wasteful and greedy. They perfected inequality, which made the rich capitalists richer but the poor people poorer. The rich capitalists believed in making a fortune from the market, they invested and the market boomed at the expense of the poor. The capitalism permitted the owner of capital to reap from their investments, while paying workers peanut wages determined by the investors. This resulted into exploitation of the poor who could no longer afford to purchase goods, and eventually led to the sudden decline in production a nd severe unemployment. It had serious social consequences which could only be compared to the civil war which America was emerging from at the time (Steinbeck, 1938). How the Great Depression Began According to Steinbeck Rose, (1941), the great depression was caused by the greed of the capitalists who continued to accumulate profits and wealth, but failed to increase the wages of workers. The majority in the society were unable to buy goods that were produced in firms. This caused decline in consumer demand as a result of the decline in spending ability by the majority in the society. As demand for all types of goods fell drastically, firms also began to decrease their production rate because manufactures realized that their stocks were just accumulating. The firms began to reduce the number of employees, thus rendered many people jobless and consequently worsened the already low demand for goods (Shannon, 1960). The loss of wealth and the fear of spending made consumers to stop buying any produce, people felt poorer causing consumer and firm spending to fall considerably. The atmosphere of uncertainty made businesses to become unstable. The stock market also crashed because of government policies that aimed at limiting the speculation of the market. The initial boom in the housing market also led to oversupply of houses. This was a period when majority of people had put their investment in homes and other consumer durables, since people wanted to have two cars in every home garage. Investors lost confidence in the stock market and decided to sell their shares at the same time, making the shares to be sold at the lowest prices, despite the fact that they had been purchased at high prices and at times through bank loans. The sudden decline led to the great crash of 1929 (Shannon, 1960). This made consumer demand for all categories of goods to fall drastically. Businesses also became unstable due lack of market for the goods which they had produced in large-scale. The uncertainty about the future made consumers and businesses to stop purchasing any durable consumer goods, making all firms to lose market while their res ources were tied in stock (Steinbeck, 1938). Banking panic also arose when many depositors began to fear that banks could collapse with their money. They demanded their saving in cash and banks could not manage to pay all in cash since they kept only a fraction of reverses and could not sell their assets to pay the depositors, considering that there were no more deposits into the banks. This made many banks to close down, and many became bankrupt overnight. The heavy debts that farmers owed banks were another factor that led to the depression, because farmers had borrowed heavily to purchase farm machinery and to improve their land for increased production. The degeneration in farm produce prices made it impossible for them to repay their loans, prompting banks to repossess the farms to recover their money and to throw them out of their homes (Steinbeck, 1996). The Great Recession It began from the United States in 2007 and spread to the whole world leading to global financial crisis. The economic institutions underestimated the risks in the financial institutions which went unchecked. The collapse of some major institutions made investors to develop fear. Those who owed mortgages became unable to service them as a result of loss of employment and ended up losing their homes, which were repossessed by the lending institutions. The unemployment threatened to move many people to poverty. It was caused partly by poor government policies, the food and oil crisis due to price upsurge and low growth-rate in many countries. The poorly integrated low-income countries also add to the widening gap between the rich and the poor. Inflation and low wages that could not contai the cost of goods for the majority of people made many goods unaffordable. In the developing countries, the tendency to prefer casual workers and the informal economies led to the inequality and econo mic insecurity (Steinbeck, 1996). The great recession in the United States was caused by poor government policies which failed to cushion the public from the financial institutions that lack transparency in their dealings. The trend of borrowing beyond their means by individuals and households is also a major cause of recession, which led to defaulting of the mortgages. The defaulters ended up losing their property and homes which were repossessed by the lending institutions. This move left many families vulnerable financially. Currently, intra-global financial system which is controlled by a few major financial players has made it impossible to curb the effects caused by problems in one part of the globe (Steinbeck, 1996). The world has become more connected, making the ripple effects to spread across the globe. The financial and the housing market, which did poor risk analysis and poor credit rating systems was the cause of financial problems to families and individuals, since the lent money to individuals and hous ehold that could not afford to serve them as a result of their quest for profit maximization. The money they lend to such households was quickly spent in consumer goods that did not add value financially. The upsurge of oil and food prices world-wide was another factor that made the economy to become unstable (Steinbeck, 1989). When the cost of energy and food increased suddenly, people were still forced to spend almost all their money. This left people with nothing as savings and to meet other needs. The individuals and households were therefore plunged into economic insecurity and uncertainty. This also reduced their purchasing power which also affected the businesses that depended on such people as customers. Such businesses also resorted to reducing their labor in order to cut their cost of doing business. This led to reduced income for many families that consequently defaulted payment of their credit facilities, and eventually lost their homes and assets to creditors. General Sentiments Generally the great depression and the great recession are world economic conditions which could have been avoided if governments and financial institutions acted more responsibly. The major feeling shared by all in the modern world is that capitalism and unregulated financial sector will not make the world better economically, going by the past records. The current global trend in which a section of the society is too rich and extravagant and consumes the best of everything at the expense of the majority in society will always make the world economy to collapse from these conditions. The world economic systems if not corrected will lead to a more serious crisis which may have dire consequences since the world population is on the increase (Steinbeck, 1989). According to (Steinbeck, 1938) money is acceptable as a medium of exchange and serves the society by providing a number of solutions to many problems, but there is need for equality so that the current condition in which only the wealthy get the best of everything such as land and technology amongst others is unhealthy. All sections of the society should be empowered to have the means to afford all types of goods. This will keep the demand of good and services high at all times and it will keep firms in operation, hence increasing employment opportunities. As a result, market for the industrial goods will rise and growth in economy. This would lead to a stronger economy in which majority participate actively in the entire United States Economy (Steinbeck Rose, 1941). The financial institutions should balance their primary goal of profit making with the ethical approaches that seek to protect the social needs of the society. The lack of transparency in the financial sectors gives inve stors a false impression about the condition of the market. The government should therefore be watchful on behalf of the public to regulate the financial sector. The investment opportunities offered by corporations and other decisions should be based on sound financial information. The lending institutions should also consider the suitability of the customers. This will eliminate the defaulting rate on the credit facilities, which lead to repossession of property by the lenders. The market for farmers produce should be guaranteed so that they do not incur losses that would lead them into crisis. Government should as well protect the interest of farmers (Steinbeck, 1948). Individuals and households should be advised to avoid the lifestyle they cannot afford in order to avoid such financial crisis. The illusion and false self-perception, which makes individuals unable to adjust to the life in the countryside is another cause of financial instability. The people in the Forgotten Valley are portrayed by Steinbeck to have decided to live away from the complex city life, but at the same time want to live as if in the city, while they lack the means to have the standards of living that they desire (Steinbeck Rose, 1941).This unrealistic desire is the main source of problems in the society. This is seen when a group of inhabitants of the valley who had taken refuge from the complex urban life are unable to adapt to the simple life as a result of self-deception and illusions. They are dreamers with fantasies and cannot appreciate reality. This has been a common feature for many individuals and household who live beyond their means and end up in debt (Steinbec k Rose, 1941). Capitalism in the world has caused great injustices to laborers and immigrant who are searching for a better life. Banks have been described by Steinbeck as monsters that none is happy with their activities, including their employees.. This is because they have in many occasions chased people from their homes after failing to service the high interest. Capitalism is therefore, the source of the economic crisis in every situation. The great recession was also the making of capitalist who took advantage of the public, by concealing information so that they sell their shares to unsuspecting investors at high market prices. After getting the capital they needed, they began to withdraw their shares following the insecurity of their institutions (Steinbeck, 1996). The capitalist even use their riches to manipulate the justice system in order to get away with their corporate scandals. They are the people who make the laborers to lose their purchasing power because of the exploitation, and when the majority is unable to purchase goods, firms begin to lay off employees from employment, causing the depression within an economy. The unfair wages and the mistreatment by the capitalists is the direct cause of the global economic problem. The inequality has reached the highest level in which a few rich individuals have assets that control nations and they manipulate every condition to suit what they desire for their own interests. The big financial institutions are the one causing the financial instability problems to suit what they want. The same approach is used by firms that create systems of taking from their workers whatever they are paid as wages. They decide to sell a number of items at the work place to the employees at exorbitant prices. This makes the workers to remain poor and to have no alternative, but to stick with the employer for their continued survival (Steinbeck, 1889). The owners of capital also uses the police to crush any resistance that workers may organize as a way of demanding rectification of the injustices to the employees. The government is often seen as distant in any situation and they leave the workers to solve their problems with the capitalist, while it is obvious that the two parties do not have equal bargaining powers. The police are motivated by the need to serve the owners of capital who pay them to thwart any protests by the poor workers. This makes the conditions of the workers even worse. The capitalists also use intimidation strategy as a way of instilling fear on workers so that no one can attempt to change the working conditions, and this serves the owners of capital while leaving the workers poorer and heavily dependent on the capitalists (Steinbeck, 1914). Decisions are therefore imposed on workers and their feelings are not considered. All these approaches create economic conditions which favor the rich only. The global ec onomic problems of recession and depression are therefore, caused by the capitalists who control the economy. However, such economic problems affect the poor more and leave them with social economic and psychological problems amongst others (Steinbeck Rose, 1941). The Effects on Society The great depression and the great recession caused human suffering in many ways. During the great depression, many families became unstable and social problems occurred. Many people deliberately lost their lives because they could not withstand their losses. Many families were broken down through divorce and social support was lacking for many vulnerable members of the American society. The standards of living also dropped drastically and many people suddenly became poor, because they had lost their investments and life savings. The psychological suffering made some to become sick and many people died as a result (Steinbeck, 1989). The great depression also affected several enterprises and people who lost their homes, life savings and jobs. It was caused by low wages to workers, who could not afford most of the goods that were being manufactured from the industries. This led to accumulation of finished goods in the firms, and eventually forced the firms to stop production. Many jobs were lost as a result, leading to deeper financial crisis in households. On the other hand, farmers produced more, but the profits were too small because of poor prices, some produce were even wasted as a result of lack of consumers. The banks which had lent money decided to repossess the farms from the farmers because they were not able to serve the loans. As a result, all categories of people in society were affected, with farmers hurt most. Many lives were distressed; the ambition of the immigrants and their hopes to rebuild their lives in America was shattered, with the spread financial panic around the world. This was blamed on poor government policies to cushion the producers. Productivity and prices fell drastically, with the number of economic activities falling sharply. The financial market and the stock market also collapsed, loses became huge for manufacturing firms and corporations and serious unemployment hit American economy. The banks repossessed peoples assets that were on loan to recover their money. These assets were also valued at the low prices since none had the ability to purchase them and the banks could not recover all their money (Steinbeck, 1996). Steinbeck was a non-fiction writer who wrote more on a number of social, economic and political occurrences that affected the lives of the American people. He wrote about the great depression that led to loss of jobs, property and even lives of the Americans. His writings are still applicable in explaining the economic conditions that have made the capitalistic economy of the United States to currently experience financial crisis. It is clear that the causes of the great depression are still related to those that caused the great recession, which is still experienced today. Despite the government intervention, a lot still remains to be seen by the public. There is need for government to protect the interests of all socio-economic classes to stabilize the economy. Buy custom The Great Depression by D Shannon essay