MY LAST WEEKEND My last weekend was one of the most enjoyable ones. My weekdays are usually monotonous and hard, so I always long for Saturdays and Sundays. Unfortunately my weekend is too short, that is why I do my best to make it really exciting. Nothing extraordinary happened last Saturday because I was at school till 2 p.m. and then just went home to relax with my family. I helped my mum cook dinner, then all of us watched a nice movie. It was a comedy “Meet the parents”. The film didn’t have any visual effects or computer graphics, but it was sweet and funny. At 7 p.m. I had a long foam bath, it was such a pleasure which I can afford only at weekends. Then I spent a couple of hours reading an amazing book. So I fell asleep with the book in my hands. Sunday was completely different. Of course, I got up later than usual. After breakfast I did some housework while I listened to my favourite music. Then my friend phoned me and invited me and my brother to «The Amusement Park». The weather was nice and I agreed. So we took a bus and went to the park. We had so much fun. We went on a ferris wheel and all kinds of rides: water rides, train rides, swing rides. We screamed loudly. I think all kids love the rides. Although my little brother didn’t quite like them, he got scared and even cried sometimes. After that we all went shopping as I needed to find a birthday present for my mother. And I found a beautiful scarf for her. I hope she will love it. In the evening we were extremely tired but very happy. It was a great weekend. I had a lot of fun. MONEY All values in the economic system are measured in terms of money. Our goods and services are sold for money, and that money is in turn exchanged for other goods and services. Coins are adequate for small transactions, while paper notes are used for general business. There is additionally a wider sense of the word ‘money’, covering anything which is used as a means of exchange, whatever form it may take. Originally, a valuable metal (gold, silver or copper) served as a constant store of value, and even today the American dollar is technically ‘backed’ by the store of gold which the government maintains. Because gold has been universally regarded as a very valuable metal, national currencies were for many years judged in terms of the so-called ‘gold-standard’. Nowadays however national currencies are considered to be as strong as the national economies which support them. Valuable metal has been generally replaced by paper notes. These notes are issued by governments and authorized banks, and are known as ‘legal tender’. Other arrangements such as cheques and money orders are not legal tender. They perform the function of substitute money and are known as ‘instruments of credit’. Credit is offered only when creditors believe that they have a good chance of obtaining legal tender when they present such instruments at a bank or other authorized institution. If a man’s assets are known to be considerable, then his credit will be good. If his assets are in doubt, then it may be difficult for him to obtain large sums of credit or even pay for goods with a cheque. The value of money is basically its value as a medium of exchange, or, as economists put it, its ‘purchasing power’. This purchasing power is dependent on supply and demand. The demand for money is reckonable as the quantity needed to effect business transactions. An increase in business requires an increase in the amount of money coming into general circulation. But the demand for money is related not only to the quantity of business but also to the rapidity with which the business is done. The supply of money, on the other hand, is the actual amount in notes and coins available for business purposes. If too much money is available, its value decreases, and it does not buy as much as it did, say, five years earlier. This condition is known as ‘inflation’. WHY DO YOU NEED A JOB Like any other person in this day and age, having a job is part of the prerequisite of living in this world. After college the only thing that most of us want is to get a good job that will help us in building our lives to what we want it to be. We all want to excel in life and what a better way than contributing to the society. There are many reasons why you need a job, but these are just some of the few I came up with. 1. Financial support. I think this one is obvious to everyone. You can’t support yourself if you do not have money to buy your basic needs or save for your future. When you have money you are able to comfortably plan for your future. People would say money makes the world go round which sums up why we all need money to survive in this world. 2. To feel productive. Most of us have been taught that the only way for us to be respectable people in society is if we contribute positively to its economy. That means we work. The only way we know how to improve our lives is through working for a better life. Nothing is handed to us freely; we have to work for it. 3. To socialize. Human beings are social beings and we love to socialize with people who share similar interests. In your work place your colleagues are the people you spend most of your time with during the day. It is natural to want to have a social life outside your workplace. To have a cup of coffee or go out and watch a movie with friends and family once in a while. 4. To keep busy. Nobody likes a person who sits on the couch all day watching TV. Lazing around all day doing nothing productive is a slow way of killing yourself. Having a job keeps your brain cells active and you have a better reasoning capacity. 5. Gives you a sense of purpose. You need to find a reason why you wake up early in the morning. What makes you fulfilled and find meaning in life? If having a job gives you a sense of self, good for you. There are many people who hate their jobs. You do not need to limit yourself to what you are doing right now if it’s not working for you. Do what makes you happy. 6. You get to learn. Learning is part of life. There is always something new that we can learn and interacting with people at work helps you to learn how to handle people with different temperaments. As you daily interact with people you get to harness better people skills and build lasting relationships that are important. 7. Gives you experience. You may start with a job you hate but one which later leads you to another better and more satisfying one. Most of us are not satisfied at the jobs we are in right now. However, you are gaining experience every day that you wouldn’t have somewhere else. You get to build a network of contacts and relationships that will come in handy when you want to branch on your own. Having a job that makes you happy to wake up in the morning and fulfilled is not something we all have, but it can be something we aspire to have. You need to realize that any job you hold is a learning lesson to better yourself. So change your attitude and you will start to enjoy your work. THE HISTORY OF MACDONALDS The McDonald Brothers Dick and Mac McDonald moved to California to seek opportunities they felt unavailable in New England. Failing in the movie business, they subsequently proved successful in operating drive-in restaurants. In 1948 they took a risk by streamlining their operations and introducing their Speedee Service System featuring 15 cent hamburgers. The restaurant’s success led the brothers to begin franchising their concept—nine becoming operating restaurants. At the San Bernardino location, Dick and Mac McDonald perfected their Speedee Service System featuring a limited menu including fifteen cent hamburgers, shakes and fries. The brothers sold 14 franchises of which 10 became operating restaurants not including their original location in San Bernardino. Ray Kroc A native Chicagoan, Ray Kroc left high school after his sophomore year to join the World War One Red Cross Ambulance Corps. The war ended before his unit was sent overseas with Ray returning home to earn a living as a musician and later selling paper cups. In 1939, he became the exclusive distributor of the Multimixer (a milkshake mixing machine). He visited the McDonald brothers in 1954 which led to him becoming their franchise agent. In 1955, Kroc opened the first McDonald’s east of the Mississippi river. [Kroc] opened up the first restaurant for McDonald’s System, Inc., a predecessor of McDonald’s Corp. in Des Plaines, Illinois in April, 1955. McDonald’s acquired the rights to the brother’s company in 1961 for $2.7 million. Going Global Ray Kroc’s vision was that there would be 1,000 McDonald’s restaurants solely in the United States. Yet, McDonald’s continued to grow and expand into international markets beginning in 1967 opening in Canada and Puerto Rico. Today, the company has over 36,000 restaurants in over 100 nations. The most recent opening in Kazakhstan in 2016. Visit McDonald's Restaurants Dick and Mac McDonald moved to California to seek opportunities they felt unavailable in New England. Failing in the movie business, they subsequently proved successful in operating drive-in restaurants. In 1948 they took a risk by streamlining their operations and introducing their Speedee Service System featuring 15 cent hamburgers. The restaurant’s success led the brothers to begin franchising their concept—nine becoming operating restaurants. The Red and White The McDonald brothers insisted that their architect design an attention catching building that would highlight their Speedee Service System. Architect Stanley Meson design of the “Red and White” did not disappoint. Feeling that the roof line was a bit too flat Dick McDonald added arches to the building. This building design was first used in 1953 until it was replaced by the Mansard Roof design in the late 1960s. A sign maker incorporated yellow neon into them creating the “Golden Arches”. The oldest McDonald’s Red and White (opened in 1953) still operating today is in Downey, California. Mansard Roof McDonald’s introduced the new Mansard Roof Design in 1969 in Matteson, Illinois. Initially, many franchisees remodeled their existing Red and White buildings to reflect the new design. McDonaldland Parks (Play Places) and the Drive-Thru were added to the restaurant during the 1970s. The Mansard’s exterior underwent several changes during the intervening years. MARKET Read this essay to learn about the meaning of market! There are two aspects of every market: demand and supply. We have discussed both the concepts in the previous units. In this article, we will put the two components together to examine the behaviour of ‘Market’ as a whole. Market is like the nervous system of modern economic life. Producers and consumers carry out their transactions of sale and purchase through the medium of market. In the layman’s language, market refers to a place where goods are purchased and sold. But, in economics, the term ‘market’ has a wider meaning. In economics, market has no reference to a specific place. It is not necessary for buyers and sellers to assemble at a particular place for sale or purchase of goods. The only condition is that they should be in contact with each other through any means of communication, like internet, telephones, letters, etc. Market refers to the whole region where buyers and sellers of a commodity are in contact with each other to effect purchase and sale of the commodity. From the above discussion, the essential constituents of a market can be summarized as: (i) Area: Market is not related to any particular place. It spreads over an area. The area becomes the point of contact between buyers and sellers. (ii) Buyers and sellers: Buyers and sellers should be in contact with each other. However, contact does not necessarily mean physical presence. (iii) Commodity: For the existence of market, there must be a commodity which will be sold and purchased among buyers and sellers. (iv) Competition: The existence of competition among buyers and sellers is also an essential condition for the existence of a market, otherwise different prices may be charged for the same commodity. CORPORATION A corporation is a body formed to conduct any kind of business. This body is a legal entity and is separate from the person or persons who have created it. The formation of this corporation gives it legal rights which are similar to the rights of an actual person. A corporation has directors, shareholders, etc to form the entire corporate system of the company. All of these work together to fulfill the aims and objectives of the business and are protected by corporate law (Fishman, p. 15). LEARN MORE A corporation is separate and has a separate legal identity from the people who have created it. The corporation is in fact, legally independent of these people. If a business fails and the corporation somehow loses money, the shareholders only lose their investment. In other cases the shareholders might also be liable to the loss, however in the case of a ‘no liability’ corporation the shareholders can easily walk off without paying any of the losses however, will not be able to get back their investments. As the business is no longer running and the corporation has closed down, therefore the employees of the corporation are now out of jobs. On the other hand, if the shareholders have some prior agreement to pay some of the dues after the corporation shuts down due to loss, they can pay it off in the end as per their agreement. This rule is known as limited liability and such corporations usually end with ‘Ltd’. Some other variant of Ltd is ‘Plc’ or ‘Inc’ (Fishman, p. 15). It should be noted here that corporations might not be actual persons, but they do have rights and liabilities like actual persons and like human rights, they have corporate laws. However, corporations can also exercise human rights in many cases and behave like real individuals. (Blumberg, n.p). When corporations are formed they have to obtain a certificate of incorporation. Losing their money to insolvency can result in the ‘death’ of corporations. Hence it can be seen that these corporations behave as normal individuals even exercising human rights along with following the corporate rules and regulations. If these corporations exercise human rights, they can also be accused of criminal offenses such as fraud, etc. (Monks & Minow, pp. 8-15). Key features of a corporation are listed below: A corporation is an artificial person who can exercise human rights and especially the corporate laws i.e. a corporation has a legal personality These are owned by shareholders but are not a part of these shareholders and have their existence; these shareholders can have limited liability or no liability at all. The shares are transferrable A corporation is run by centralized management or a board of governance. Fiduciary responsibilities are exercised by managers and directors. This means that these people have to work in the best interest of the shareholders and the corporation. (Crane & Matten, p. 43). Historical context The word corporation is derived from the Latin word ‘corpus’ which is means body of people. This word was being extensively used in medieval Europe when churches and the local government were considered corporations. Apart from Rome, India also used this terminology and proper legal rights were formed for these corporations. (Khanna, n.p) The idea of a corporation at that time was derived from the fact that a corporation can live longer than a human being and hence the existence of a particular entity can be guaranteed for a longer period. The oldest corporation in the world is ‘Stora Kopparberg’. It was a mining community in Sweden and became official in 1347. When colonies were being formed in the colonial period, many corporations were created known as ‘chartered companies’ back then. These companies had to obtain charters to run their business. This was the beginning of corporations as known today. BUSINESS ENTERPRISES A business enterprise is any type of operation that is involved in providing goods or services with the anticipated outcome of earning a profit. Its broad nature allows the term to be applied to any type of company or firm that is geared toward generating revenue by selling products of any type. The terms company, firm, and business enterprise are often used interchangeably. While some think of a business enterprise as being a large corporation or conglomerate, any type of for-profit operation that involves sales to consumers can be rightly referred to using this word. A child who engages in the task of setting up a roadside lemonade stand, and has the goal of earning a profit from that endeavor, can be said to be operating an enterprise. So too can an individual who opens a small bookshop with the plan of selling books to generate profit. Along with the sale of goods, a business can also be involved in the sale of various types of services. Companies that offer telecommunications services are part of this category. Local businesses that offer outsourcing services, such as accounting or janitorial support, are also considered to be business or commercial enterprises. Courier services also qualify as an enterprise of this type. There is some difference of opinion as to whether an unincorporated entity that functions for the purpose of generating profit is also considered a business enterprise. For example, some would consider an individual who earns a living as an independent contractor, but has not incorporated as a sole proprietorship, to still be a business or commercial enterprise. Others would feel that the matter of incorporation is not relevant, and that as long as the individual is attempting to earn a profit from his or her efforts, the operation can rightly be referred to as an enterprise. In most cases, a business enterprise must be licensed to operate within the local community. This includes any commercial enterprise that establishes a place of business where consumers are free to purchase goods or services, such as a retail store. The enterprise must also usually obtain a business license when the operation includes the presence of sales office in the area, or any other type of operation that is capable of generating revenue. Because the regulations related to operating a business vary somewhat from one jurisdiction to another, it is very important to contact municipal officials and identify what types of compliance are required in order to operate the enterprise in the local area. FORMS OF MONEY Money: role, forms, functions. Money is necessary in most economies. Currency is one of several forms of money. Currency consists of paper bills and metal coins. Savings accounts, stocks, and bonds are forms of near money. Money and near money are used to purchase goods and services. All forms of money and near money help the economy run smoothly. Most people use money every day. Money is any item that is widely accepted as payment for products. In the past, many things served as money - beads, shells, dog's teeth, cattle, stones, tobacco, fishhooks, and even slaves, but gold and silver have been a favorite form of money. Value of money comes from the product for which it can be exchanged. Money fulfills 3 functions: a store of value, a standard of value and a means of exchange. As a means of exchange money is used trade for goods and services but less complex societies use barter. As a store of value people use money to save their wealth for the future. Storing money is easier than storing goods. As a standard of value money is used to compare the worth of one product with that of another. The value of all goods and services the economy produces can be determined by adding up their prices. In this way economists determine GNP. Near money is things that used for some, but not all, for example, credit cards allow a purchaser to borrow money from the seller of the purchased goods. Money is very important in our society. The supply of money Your personal supply of money changes often. Increases and decreases of your supply of money probably affect how much you spend. Similarly, the amount of money in the total economy changes often. Changes in the economy's money supply are more complex than changes in a personal money supply. These fluctuations in the money supply influence not only how much spending occurs but also the general level of business activity. Often the government prints new bills and mints new coins every year to replace those that are worn. It also changes the money supply to meet people's needs. Banking laws in different countries require a bank to put a certain percentage of its deposits in reserve. Banks cannot loan out all of the money people deposit. If many people suddenly withdraw their money all at once, the bank must do more than stop making loans. It will have to start calling for payment of its loans so that it can increase its reserves. The role of central banks and commercial banks. The Bank of England, the Federal Reserve Board in the USA, the Bundesbank in Germany, and the Central Bank of Russia are central banks which function as banks for the government and for other banks. Central banks control the banking of the whole country and work together with the government to supervise the country's economy. The main functions of the central banks are the following: - to issue banknotes and coins (the country's or nation's currency). They are legal tender in the country where they are produced. - to look after the nation's gold reserves. - to make sure that the national currency keeps its value. - to act as bankers for the national government and the other banks in the country. - to keep inflation under control. Inflation occurs when demand for goods exceeds supply. Central banks usually implement monetary policy. Central banks also control the money supply. Central banks supervise the banking system. The central bank can reduce the money supply to commercial banks by changing the reserve requirements. Commercial banks are the public or private banking institutions which people use for their everyday money matters. People may have three basic types of bank account: Current account, Deposit account, Investment account.
