Customer markets can be broadly classified into five types. The first is the consumer market, “which consists of individuals and households that buy goods and services for personal consumption”. (Part 2, p.66) Within this category several sub-types exist. Fast-moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs) is one type of consumer market. These are generally high volume, low unit…
Comparing pure competition and oligopolistic competition
Competition is generally a healthy phenomenon. Its presence ensures that prices set for products and services are fair and reasonable. Although factors such as supply-and-demand, market position, brand value, etc influence the price set for a product/service, it is competition that fine tunes the price to existing demand. In its absence, monopolies or cartels could…
Should the word ‘Negro’ be removed from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn?
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain toward late nineteenth century is a vital contribution to the American literary scene. Criticized from various quarters for its overtly racist tone, the book, if anything, stands against racism and slavery. The rest of the essay will argue that there is no need for censoring or…
The five types of customer markets
Customer markets can be broadly classified into five types. The first is the consumer products markets, where products are purchased by individual consumers for themselves and their families. Within this category several sub-types exist. Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) is one type of consumer market. These are generally high volume, low unit value goods that have…
Oil Spills and Their Affects on Our Beaches
It is a well documented fact that oil spills can create lasting damage to the oceans, sometimes leading to irrecoverable losses to marine ecosystems and inhabiting species. In the Exxon Valdez spill that took place two decades back, 258,000 barrels of oil were spilled into Alaska’s Prince William Sound. Although only a fifth of the…
The role of environment on human behaviour and performance
The study of human psychology is a fascinating subject because it deals with universal human concerns and issues. Human behaviour and performance is one focus area within broader psychology. The book titled Discovering Psychology co-edited by Nicola Brace and Jovan Byford deals with this area at length. By perusing the contents of the book and…
The Origin of the Universe
A dominant prevailing theory about the origin of the Universe is the Big Bang model, which was accepted by the scientific community after gathering enough observational evidence and later verifying its predictions. One of the foremost paradoxes thrown open by the Big Bang theory is its idea of the original explosion of all universal matter…
What role does culture play in Western Marxism?
One of the major contributions of the Frankfurt School is the spawning of critical theory, the term first being coined by the Institute for Social Research at the University of Frankfurt. One other leading intellectual of the Frankfurt School (which was founded in 1923), is Max Horkheimer. In his 1937 essay titled ‘Traditional and Critical…
Just In Time (JIT) Variability
Just In Time (JIT) is a production technique, which relies on the philosophy of constant enhancement via problem-solving. Closely allied to Lean Production methods, the aim of JIT production is to offer value to the customer, when it is wanted and with very little waste. Variability in the context of JIT systems is ‘deviation from…
The impact of Social Darwinism in the Age of Imperialism
Social Darwinism is an instance of abuse of Darwinism. The Theory of Evolution through Natural Selection – a seminal work of 19th century British explorer Charles Darwin – is the basis for the later construction called Social Darwinism. But the latter deviates from the original theory in that it co-opts selective aspects of the theory…