Work Hard, Play Hard, Result = Increased Productivity?

In the workplace, imagine we can work and play at the same time?
If you are bored with your work, go down to the cafe, get yourself a cup of cappucino, sitting down while watching Astro Supersport, or Astro MTV.
Then you saw your friends enjoying a game of pool and snooker laughing away as if there are no worries in the world. SOme are having a go at the board games, Scrabble, Piktionary and chess
Down the corridor, somebody just woke up from their afternoon nap, walking past, greeting you,
"Good afternoon" (Wow, imagine you can sleep during working hours?)
After a 15-minute workout at the company gym, you head back to finish up some work.
Wouldn't it be nice if we can work in this environment?
Will it increase productivity, thus increasing supply?

These are not from some fictional environment, it is happening in Shell Malaysia at Cyberjaya.
“We recognise that work and life are intimately linked,” says Mabal Tan, director of Shell Information Technology International Sdn Bhd. But personal values and commitments versus company schedules and demands can unbalance one’s work life.
At Shell IT’s cheerful purpose-built office in Cyberjaya, sports club members can indulge in football and kickboxing, among other things. For indoor fun, there are games like Pictionary, billiards and table tennis. The gymnasium is well equipped, and has ample space for salsa, yoga and aerobics classes

For more information, read this..
http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2006/4/30/lifefocus/14099864&sec=lifefocus

With the good relations between employers(firms) and employees, there are no worries of bad industrial relations, what happened to labour productivity and supply?

Crude Oil Prices - Rising and Rising

Prices of crude oil in the world market is the always a concern for all of us.

RM1.92/liter is the government subsidised price, and there are fears that it will rise again in the future, despite the promise of the government of not to increase it again this year.

Why is it that the crude oil price increasing?

Think..of the equilibrium price we learnt yesterday.

Among others, it is due to the shortage/deficit of oil/petroleum in the world market.

Next question...why is there a deficit?

Excessive demand for oil/petroleum, that's why? ( it has become an obsession)

Then why is there excessive demand then????

Because of fear due to uncertainties in the major petroleum producing countries, like Iran and Nigeria.

Excerpt from the article from Bloomberg.com,

Crude oil rose to a record $75.15 a barrel.....

(1)The standoff over Iran's nuclear program has intensified, increasing the chances of sanctions against the world's fourth- biggest oil producer.

(2)Rebel attacks in Nigeria have shut about 20 percent of output in Africa's biggest oil producer.

``Any kind of supply disruption will send us up toward $100,'' said Peter Schiff, chief executive officer of Darien, (oh no!!)


The link to the article
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aaCC8zoSffrw&refer=top_world_news

Smuggling of Cigarettes. Why?

What is smuggling actually??

We have heard about it in the news, on tv..and even from people on the street.
Have you ever thought, why do people smuggle?
It definitely had to do to the things we learnt in class before.
In a layman's language, smuggling means getting goods from a foreign without going through the customs in which taxes/duties had to be paid.

That's why prices of cigarettes, alcohol are expensive as part of the price we pay for goes to the government as taxes/duties.

Smuggling means the avoidance of paying taxes/duties but sellers still charge a premium( a little lower compared to market prices) on their prices, giving them a higher profit margin.


There was acase which was busted yesterday at Pontian

PONTIAN: Marine police here nabbed three Indonesians and seized RM120,000 worth of smuggled cigarettes after a 30-minute high speed chase.

Southern Region Marine Police deputy chief Supt Omar Dawam said upon inspection of the longboat, police discovered 1,500 cartons of Marlboro cigarettes and 700 cartons of Gudang Garam Suria cigarettes.
Three Indonesian men were also detained.

“The cigarettes are worth about RM120,000,” said Supt Omar



http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/4/25/nation/14050540&sec=nation

Upward Sloping Demand Curve

Veblen Goods

Price increase, then quantity demanded increase as well?? It is possible
It is argued that the attractiveness of some goods increases as their price increase.

Some people buy expensive things because they are expensive; the ownership of such goods puts them in a rather exclusive class.

For example: Expensive paintings, Vintage cars

When goods are purchased for ostentatious (show off) purposes and as their price rises so does their attractiveness because they provide a means of displaying superior wealth.

A fall in price might cause them to lose some of their appeal and the quantities demanded might fall because they will not be so effective as a means of displaying wealth.

Demand Curve Can be Upward Sloping Also!!

We have learnt in class that the price has an inverse relationship with the quantity demanded. ceteris paribus.

However, there are exceptions to the rule..

In some cases, the quantity demanded sometimes might vary directly with price (unusual demand curves, more quantity will be demanded at a higher price).

When the price increases, quantity demanded will also increase!

The reason for this include:

It's called a Giffen's Paradox

The English economist Giffen came up with this idea

In the 19th century during the Irish Potato famine, people are very very poor.

If the price of basic foodstuffs such as bread, rice, corn, and potatoes increases, quantity demanded will also increase.

The reason is that as price rises, the higher price makes it impossible for consumers to purchase better quality foodstuffs.

They have no choice but to consume these poor quality foodstuff even though the price of these items has increased.

Could you think of other reasons as to why demand curve can be upward sloping?

Tin prices are rising (2)

The increase in the world tin prices is mainly a result of a deficit in the world tin market.
What is deficit?
Deficit is also known as "shortage". We will cover that in the Lecture 4.
Shortage happens when the demand is greater than the supply. Supply may remain constant or the demand is simply increasing faster than the supply.

A shortage/deficit is likely to push the price of tin up.

Why is there a shortage in the place?
Which country/countries contribute(s) to the significant increase in the demand for tin?

The answer is China.
Large increase in Chinese demand China is by far the largest market for tin, and accounts for the bulk of the increase in world demand since 2002. In 2003, Chinese consumption had risen to 24% of the world total, followed by that in the USA (14%) and Japan (9%). Chinese tin consumption is expected to total 80kt in 2004, reducing exports still further in the absence of any major new production.

The link
http://www.the-infoshop.com/press/ros24981_en.shtml


Why is it that China demand for tin so high?

Tin prices are rising

We have learnt about tin-mining ( bijih-timah in Malay) in our history books. Klang Valley and Kinta Valley were once known throughout the world as the biggest producers of tin in the world.

Remember Yap Ah Loy, the most famous Chinese Kapitan of Kuala Lumpur? Larut Wars? A bit of history lesson here.
Also, in the Wizard of Oz, the remember Tin Man?

Over the years, the supply of tin has dwindled (decreased) drastically as these resources ran out of supply. Many tin mines have been closed down and some had been turned into a theme park, for example, Mines Wonderland at Serdang. It used to be a tin mine.

Tin is a factor of production (land) as it is a mineral.

However, world tin prices this year are rising, it has gone up by more than 50% since last year.

The Star reported:

Tin prices rose to US$9,290 a tonne, up US$280 from US$9,010 on Tuesday, in tandem with the huge rise on the London Metal Exchange (LME) after an extended weekend.

In the past six months, tin prices have risen more than 50% from US$6,000 in the fourth quarter last year,'' an institutional dealer told StarBiz.

What could be the reason or reasons for the price rise?

Here's the link from the Star
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/4/20/business/14008504&sec=business

Unlimited Wealth = Unlimited Resources???

When we talk about unlimited wealth, we talk about this man. His fortune is a staggering US$45 billion!

Consider that he made this money in the 25 years or so since Microsoft was founded in 1975. If you presume that he has worked 14 hours a day on every business day of the year since then, that means he's been making money at a staggering million dollars per hour, around $300 per second!!!
As I am blogging for 1 minute, Bill Gates has just increased US$18000 in his pocket. How about being him for a day? In one day, he will be earning US$14,000,000!! Crazy..

His wealth is even greater than some countries in the world.
Being the richest man in the world, does he have any constraints?

A list of richest man/woman in the world in the year 2005 is found in the Forbes magazine online.

http://www.forbes.com/2005/03/09/bill05land.html

Thank God It's World Cup Year (TGIWCY)

It's 2006 again!!!
It is the season to savour the greatest show on Earth. An estimated 3 billion people will tune in to watch the football showcase whivh takes place every 4 years. This time the host is Germany.

How will it affect us??

• Sleepy employees
• Low labour productivity during the day
• Higher food and drinks consumption ( Mamak stalls will fl0urish)
• Less traffic congestion
• Less night activities (cos' all the time will be spent in front of the TV)
• Higher sales of certain goods and services
• Lower sales of certain goods and services

Read yesterday's Star Online

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/4/17/nation/13977413&sec=nation

Demand of which goods and services will rise/fall during the period?
Supply of which goods and services will rise/fall during the period?


How can we relate to the change in 'quantity demanded' and change in 'demand'?

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the Richest of Them All???

GDP per capita is normally used as an indication of wealth of countries.
However, it may not be the end-all in comparison as the figures only deals with the value of all final goods and services produced in a given year.

There are other factors that must be taken into account, you can read the article about its shortcomings...I am not going to tell you everything..remember?? You have to explore and relate..

This is the webpage:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(Nominal)_per_capita


Enjoy exploring.
Post your comments..if you wish to.

And there shall be a blog...

WE PRESENT TO YOU AND THE WORLD,

"ECONSTER"

Econster (ĕk'on'ster). noun

A weblog (or ‘blog’), a web-based publication consisting primarily of periodic articles that displays academic articles pertaining to Economics, Business, Finance in chronological order the postings by one or more individuals and usually has links to comments on specific postings.

Creates a link between the students, lecturer and the World Wide Web with regard to learning materials relevant topics covered in the academic syllabus. It aims to allow students and individuals easy access to online articles.

Utilised as an Internet networking tool for students and other individuals in virtual communities.
The Econster site was founded in April 2006 by Wizzerd and is hosted by a blog hosting service, www.blogger.com.

A place to relate
A place to understand
A place to analyse
A place to discuss
A place to explore
...and a place to digest..


di·gest (d-jst, d-)v. di·gest·ed, di·gest·ing, di·gests v. tr.
1.Physiology. To convert (food) into simpler chemical compounds that can be absorbed
and assimilated by the body, as by chemical and muscular action in the alimentary canal.
2.To absorb or assimilate mentally.
3.To organize into a systematic arrangement, usually by summarizing or classifying.
4. To condense or abridge (a written work).
5. To endure or bear patiently.
6.Chemistry. To soften or disintegrate by means of chemical action, heat, or moisture.

Hopefully it relates to the 3rd and 4th, and not 1st, definitely not the 6th!!
Let the blogging begin.