What Creates a Current Account Balance

The Economics Dictionary defines the balance of the Current Account as follows: The current account balance is the difference between a countrys savings and its investment. [If the current account balance is] positive, it measures the portion of a countrys saving invested abroad; if negative, the portion of domestic investment financed by foreigners savings. The current account balance is defined by the sum of the value of imports of goods and services plus net returns on investments abroad, minus the value of exports of goods and services, where all these elements are measured in the domestic currency. In laymans terms, when a countrys current account balance is positive (also known as running a surplus), the country is a net lender to the rest of the world. When a countrys current account balance is negative (also known as running a deficit), the country is a net borrower from the rest of the world. The U.S. current account balance has been in a deficit position since 1992 (see chart), and that deficit has been growing. Thus the United States and its citizens have been borrowing heavily from other countries such as China. This has alarmed some, though others have argued that it means eventually the Chinese government will be forced to raise the value of its currency, the yuan, which will help alleviate the deficit. For the relationship between currencies and trade, see A Beginners Guide to Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). U.S. Current Account Balance 1991-2004 (in Millions) 1991: 2,8981992: -50,0781993: -84,8061994: -121,6121995: -113,6701996: -124,8941997: -140,9061998: -214,0641999: -300,0602000: -415,9992001: -389,4562002: -475,2112003: -519,6792004: -668,074Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis Current Account References Articles on the Current AccountDefinition of the Current Account

Capitalism And Freedom By Milton Friedmans Pride And...

Brigid Ueland Contemporary Economic Thought ECON – 3000A Dr. Coronado September 14th, 2017 Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman: The Economist’s Pride and Prejudice The opening line of Milton Friedman’s Capitalism and Freedom reads as an opening line in a Jane Austen novel: â€Å"It is widely believed that politics and economics and separate and largely unconnected; that individual freedom is a political problem and material welfare an economic problem†¦Ã¢â‚¬  sounds similar in structure and tone to â€Å"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife† . Even the titles reflect each other, though Friedman’s is lacking in alliteration. Just as in Pride and Prejudice, Friedman’s†¦show more content†¦In actuality, Friedman admits that the market system has many more complications, not the least of which was the introduction of money, but at its center still stands the two principles of a truly voluntary system: â€Å" (a) that enterprises are private, so that the ultimate contracting parties are individuals and (b) that individuals a re effectively free to enter or not to enter into any particular exchange, so that every transaction is strictly voluntary† . These factors are the building blocks of economic freedom, where each individual holds an equal vote in the way the market works. Now having established the basis of economic freedom, Friedman goes on to explain how these principles can help to form political freedom in a nation. The main tool of a capitalist market to impose political freedom in a society is competition. Friedman states that if a few wealthy people are convinced of an idea, enough competition will be introduced to the market to make a difference. In history, this has proved true. Friedman uses the historical examples to make his point, including the 1950s Hollywood writers blacklist. Writers who had been suspected Communists were blacklisted in Hollywood and not hired by production studios. In 1959, however, one such company hired a writer off the blacklist and while the produced his f ilm under a pseudonym, when the

Management Information Systems and Its Importance Free Essays

What you think Management of Information Systems is and why it is important in today’s business environment? Management Information Systems (MIS) is the term given to the discipline focused on the integration of computer systems with the aims and objectives on an organization. Modern businesses have been leveraging on MIS to manage, order, organize and manipulate the gigabytes and masses of information generated for various purposes. MIS helps businesses optimize business processes, address information needs of employees and various stakeholders and take informed strategic decisions. We will write a custom essay sample on Management Information Systems and Its Importance or any similar topic only for you Order Now The development and management of information technology tools assists executives and the general workforce in performing any tasks related to the processing of information. MIS and business systems are especially useful in the collation of business data and the production of reports to be used as tools for decision making. With computers being as ubiquitous as they are today, there’s hardly any large business that does not rely extensively on their IT systems (Kenneth C. Laudon).However, there are several specific fields in which MIS has become invaluable like in decision support systems, resource and people management applications, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Supply Chain Management (SCM), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), project management and database retrieval applications. 1) Support Strategy: While computers cannot create business strategies by themselves they can assist management in understanding the effects of their strategies, and help enable effective decision-making. MIS systems can be used to transform data into information useful for decision making.Computers can provide financial statements and performance reports to assist in the planning, monitoring and implementation of strategy. MIS systems provide a valuable function in that they can collate into coherent repo rts unmanageable volumes of data that would otherwise be broadly useless to decision makers. By studying these reports decision-makers can identify patterns and trends that would have remained unseen if the raw data were consulted manually. MIS systems can also use these raw data to run simulations – hypothetical scenarios that answer a range of ‘what if’ questions regarding alterations in strategy.For instance, MIS systems can provide predictions about the effect on sales that an alteration in price would have on a product. These Decision Support Systems (DSS) enable more informed decision making within an enterprise than would be possible without MIS systems (Obrien). The other area which MIs support is data processing. 2) Data Processing: Not only do MIS systems allow for the collation of vast amounts of business data, but they also provide a valuable time saving benefit to the workforce.Where in the past business information had to be manually processed for filing and analysis it can now be entered quickly and easily onto a computer by a data process or, allowing for faster decision making and quicker reflexes for the enterprise as a whole. 3) Management by Objectives: While MIS systems are extremely useful in generating statistical reports and data analysis they can also be of use as a Management by Objectives (MBO) tool. MBO is a management process by which managers and subordinates agree upon a series of objectives for the subordinate to attempt to achieve within a set time frame.Objectives are set using the SMART ratio: that is, objectives should be Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic and Time-Specific. The aim of these objectives is to provide a set of key performance indicators by which an enterprise can judge the performance of an employee or project. The success of any MBO objective depends upon the continuous tracking of progress. In tracking this performance it can be extremely useful to make use of an MIS system. Since all SMART objectives are by definition measurable they can be tracked through the generation of management reports to be analyzed by decision-makers. Advantages of MIS: The field of MIS can deliver a great many benefits to enterprises in every industry. Expert organizations such as the Institute of MIS along with peer reviewed journals such as MIS Quarterly continue to find and report new ways to use MIS to achieve business objectives. Better Planning and Control: MIS has to be designed and managed in such way that it aggregates information, monitors the company’s activities and operations and enhances communication and collaboration among employees (Obrien). This ensures etter planning for all activities and better ways to measure performance, manage resources and facilitate compliance with industry and government regulations. Control helps in forecasting, preparing accurate budgets and providing the tools and vital information to employees, top management and business partners. Core Competencies: Every market leading enterprise will have at least one core competency – that is, a function they perform better than th eir competition. By building an exceptional management information system into the enterprise it is possible to push out ahead of the competition. MIS systems provide the tools necessary to gain a better understanding of the market as well as a better understanding of the enterprise itself. Enhance Supply Chain Management: Improved reporting of business processes leads inevitably to a more streamlined production process. With better information on the production process, comes the ability to improve the management of the supply chain, including everything from the sourcing of materials to the manufacturing and distribution of the finished product. Disadvantages of MIS:Depending on organization deployment, usage and extraneous factors, some disadvantages related to Management Information Systems can come to the fore. Allocation of budgets for MIS upgrades, modifications and other revisions can be quite tricky at times. If budgets are not allocated uniformly or as per immediate requirements, key functionalities might get affected and benefits might not be realized consistently. Integration issues with legacy systems can affect th e quality of output and vital business intelligence reports (Kenneth C. Laudon). Risks Associated With MIS:Risk reflects the potential, the likelihood, or the expectation of events that could adversely affect earnings or capital. Management uses MIS to help in the assessment of risk within an institution. Management decisions based upon ineffective, inaccurate, or incomplete MIS may increase risk in a number of areas such as credit quality, liquidity, market/pricing, interest rate, or foreign currency. A flawed MIS causes operational risks and can adversely affect an organization’s monitoring of its fiduciary, consumer, fair lending, Bank Secrecy Act, or other compliance-related activities.Since management requires information to assess and monitor performance at all levels of the organization, MIS risk can extend to all levels of the operations. Additionally, poorly programmed or non-secure systems in which data can be manipulated and/or systems requiring ongoing repairs can easily disrupt routine work flow and can lead to incorrect decisions or impaired planning (Obrien). Constant Monitoring Issues: Change in management, exits or departures of department managers and other senior executives have a broad effect on the working and monitoring of certain organization practices including MIS systems.Since MIS is a critical component of an organization’s risk management strategy and allied systems, constant monitoring is necessary to ensure its effectiveness (Obrien). Quality of inputs into MIS needs to be monitored; otherwise consistency in the quality of data and information generated gets affected. Managers are not able to direct business, operational and decision-making activities with the requisite flexibility.Bibliography Kenneth C. Laudon, J. P. (n. d. ). Management Information Systems. Obrien, J. A. (n. d. ). Management Information Systems . 2006. How to cite Management Information Systems and Its Importance, Papers

Suryadev free essay sample

The ATM machine provides limited banking facility to withdraw and deposit cash 24 ours a day and 7 days a week. Another feature of ATM is that it is auto driven and no clerk or bank teller is required to be posted there with the machine. The ATM Card consists of a plastic material visiting card size card with a strip of magnetic material or in latest card designs it will contain a chip fabricate on it too along with the magnetic strip on the card. The ATM card also contains a Outvote C.V. (Card Verification Value Code) code for security reasons.A Personal Identification number (PIN) is required to be entered to avail the service. The PIN code is supplied to the customer when they first receive the card and the customer is required to store it safely to avoid possible misuse of the card. (Cornelia Robot. 1969). In case of ATM machine usages certain extra security measures are adopted like entering the PIN code. We will write a custom essay sample on Suryadev or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The PIN code is NOT written on card and is uniquely allotted to the card customer and customer can change it at will. In case credit card is stolen the theft card cannot be used for transactions as PIN is only known to the actual user of the card. This feature is like a password to enter a secured area. This means that not only availability of credit card is necessary for ATM transactions but the secret PIN code is also mandatory and in case of absence of either no transaction process can be completed. There are four major ATM states 1. START: Enter customer ID 2. PIN: Enter PIN 3. ACCOUNT: select account 4. TRANSACT: select transaction Repeat Problem 1. For a telephone switching system that routes calls through a switching network based on the telephone number requested by the caller. Solution: On a telephone switching system, each extension is unique ID and calls are routed to he extension as per the ID already allotted to the extension. For example if 202 is allotted to a line lying in room no 50 reserved for Assistant Manager then all calls dialing 202 extension would be routed to the Jumper / extension lying with ID 202 lying in room No. 50.Each calling end and called end thus connected to each other for communication purposes regardless of other connections. The communication if occurs over the internet then it is encrypted for security purposes before it leaves the caller and before it is received at the receiving end. Problem 1. 4 For each of the following assets, assign a low, moderate, or high impact level for the loss of confidentiality, availability, and integrity, respectively. Justify your answers. An organization managing public information on its Web server.A law enforcement organization managing extremely sensitive investigative information. A financial organization managing routine administrative information (not privacy- related information). Solutions: An organization managing public information on its Web server. Solution: The security of the private information lying on the web server is of great importance. The impact of loss or theft or breach of confidential information is high. Because the security flaw would affect countless users and this would affect the customers at large.A law enforcement organization managing extremely sensitive investigative information. Solution: Similarly law enforcement organizations hold extremely sensitive investigation information that if revealed or hacked would be of grave consequences for the country as whole. It could put the security at risk and could create heavy loss. Thus protecting the information by using encryption techniques like hash and others is tutee vital to be used in the case of law enforcement agencies. A financial organization managing routine administrative information (not privacy- related information).Solution: In todays world the private data of any organization is important to compete rivals in business. The keep the administrative information secret is important to ensure integrity of the proper functionality of the organization. The administrative information might contain vital information leading to ways to explore the private and confidential financial information of clients hence security, safety and integrity of he administrative information of the financial organization is of high importance and cannot be put aside.An information system used for large acquisitions in a contracting organization contains both sensitive, pre-solicitation phase contract information and routine administrative information. Assess the impact for the two data sets separately and the information system as a whole. Solution: Routine administrative information is of medium importance as the only protection required to secure the information is for rivals and other information is of not much SE by the invaders. Furthermore sensitive information and pre-solicitation phase contact information is important to be secured as the business future plan would affect and rivals can steal information to make loss to the organization. Power plant contains a SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system controlling the distribution of electric power for a large military installation. The SCADA system contains both real-time sensor data and routine administrative information. Assess the impact for the two data sets separately and the information yester as a whole.