I hate my Macroeconomics instructor
iamnotaparakeet
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13 Jan 2010, 12:02 pm
For my first week assignments, such as the industry selection of the main research paper, I was graded at 68%.
Here are his comments when he degraded my paper:
Quote:
Ben, Make sure you have proper grammar and formatting. Work on APA Formatting make sure you are using a title page, citations and refernces in your work that you are giving credit to the references after each use. Make sure you use economic terms and concepts in your paper. 2/5 APA Formatting 2/5 Economic terms 13/15 Answer your questions and develop your Paper
Perhaps I should work on the Arbitrary Psychotics Association Formatting, but in regards to my grammar and my use of economic concepts and jargon, WHAT?! For reference, here is the paper I wrote:
Quote:
Week 01 Course Paper - Industry Selection
Ben Fournier
January 7th, 2010
ECO 2013
Macroeconomics
Rasmussen College
Of the industries to select from it would probably help me more to select the housing industry, presuming this refers more to the general realm of real estate than to construction. Though in macroeconomics both would be pertinent. My fiancée and I are seeking to buy a house or select a town home to live in after we marry in May, so it would help me to learn as much as possible. Having this as an academic topic will enable me to combine opportunity cost of time, so that I may learn for both college and life virtually simultaneously. So, I will select the housing industry.
What factors affect the supply of housing? This could relate to construction aspect or to the availability of real estate aspect. To construct housing, you need materials , equipment, good weather, workers, architects, licensing, time, money, office bureaucrats, and clients. If you lack one of these, or if an item is too expensive, then the quantity of new housing able to be constructed is decreased or hampered. The cost of materials, such a lumber, requires cutting down trees. If there are fewer trees, their supply is decreased and the demand increases. If the cost of manufacturing equipment increases, then the workers may have to work either unequipped, with shoddy equipment, or other costs may need to be cut or prices to clients increases. If the cost of learning a construction trade increases, then there would be fewer certified workers, and depending on regulation this could either increase or decrease cost of labor. Without an architect to at least review the plans, licensing may be at least more difficult. If the weather is terrible for most of the year, this will decrease the ability to construct new housing. Without money, either capital or revenue, nothing is going to be paid for. Without clients, there is no revenue. Basically, supply is affected by factors of construction.
What factors affect demand? The quantity of available housing firstly. The fewer houses available, the higher the demand. Price range versus income also affects greatly the demand. If everything is too expensive for one's budget, then they may still have a demand for what they wanted, but it is displaced by feasible options rather than ludicrous ones. The price of land affects the cost of real estate. The building currently on a plot of land will eventually not be there, but the land will, in most cases at least (except for the case of tsunamis and the like), remain. If the cost of land is high, then either directly or indirectly the payment for the land is placed upon those who live there. Proximity is also a factor in demand for housing. For an individual, they would usually place higher demand on housing which promotes shorter transit times to their current jobs and other locations where there is frequent travel between. Also, placement of housing near undesirable locations, such as an airport, a neighborhood will high crime rate, or a landfill, will tend to decrease demand for such housing. Essentially, demand is related to factors centered around those who are seeking a home.
Ben Fournier
January 7th, 2010
ECO 2013
Macroeconomics
Rasmussen College
Of the industries to select from it would probably help me more to select the housing industry, presuming this refers more to the general realm of real estate than to construction. Though in macroeconomics both would be pertinent. My fiancée and I are seeking to buy a house or select a town home to live in after we marry in May, so it would help me to learn as much as possible. Having this as an academic topic will enable me to combine opportunity cost of time, so that I may learn for both college and life virtually simultaneously. So, I will select the housing industry.
What factors affect the supply of housing? This could relate to construction aspect or to the availability of real estate aspect. To construct housing, you need materials , equipment, good weather, workers, architects, licensing, time, money, office bureaucrats, and clients. If you lack one of these, or if an item is too expensive, then the quantity of new housing able to be constructed is decreased or hampered. The cost of materials, such a lumber, requires cutting down trees. If there are fewer trees, their supply is decreased and the demand increases. If the cost of manufacturing equipment increases, then the workers may have to work either unequipped, with shoddy equipment, or other costs may need to be cut or prices to clients increases. If the cost of learning a construction trade increases, then there would be fewer certified workers, and depending on regulation this could either increase or decrease cost of labor. Without an architect to at least review the plans, licensing may be at least more difficult. If the weather is terrible for most of the year, this will decrease the ability to construct new housing. Without money, either capital or revenue, nothing is going to be paid for. Without clients, there is no revenue. Basically, supply is affected by factors of construction.
What factors affect demand? The quantity of available housing firstly. The fewer houses available, the higher the demand. Price range versus income also affects greatly the demand. If everything is too expensive for one's budget, then they may still have a demand for what they wanted, but it is displaced by feasible options rather than ludicrous ones. The price of land affects the cost of real estate. The building currently on a plot of land will eventually not be there, but the land will, in most cases at least (except for the case of tsunamis and the like), remain. If the cost of land is high, then either directly or indirectly the payment for the land is placed upon those who live there. Proximity is also a factor in demand for housing. For an individual, they would usually place higher demand on housing which promotes shorter transit times to their current jobs and other locations where there is frequent travel between. Also, placement of housing near undesirable locations, such as an airport, a neighborhood will high crime rate, or a landfill, will tend to decrease demand for such housing. Essentially, demand is related to factors centered around those who are seeking a home.
I would so like to send this instructor a letter, but I need to do so when I'm not angry at him. Here are three of the drafts I had written so far:
Quote:
In regard to your grading of my paper,
"Ben, Make sure you have proper grammar"
I am certain I have that at the very least.
"and formatting. Work on APA Formatting make sure you are using a title page,"
I have been following an online guide to APA formatting for Word documents.
"citations"
This is not the main paper, but a selection of topic, and as such there were no references to cite.
"and refernces"
Which happens to be spelled with an "e" between the middle "r" and the "n", as such: "references".
"in your work that you are giving credit to the references after each use."
I will, when I have references that need to be cited, as such there were no references to be cited.
"Make sure you use economic terms and concepts in your paper."
... I did, though mostly related to microeconomics which I took last quarter. Apparently supply and demand, opportunity cost do not affect macroeconomics? I thought they did. Perhaps adding extra paragraphs to demonstrate my comprehension of each concept would be better, though superfluous and time consuming considering the nature of the assignments. I know you need to have something to go by to see understanding in your students, though there is still a point were writing more extraneous material than necessary wastes time from learning and removes opportunity cost of time which could be better spent on other classes.
"2/5 APA Formatting 2/5 Economic terms 13/15 Answer your questions and develop your Paper"
Though you are affecting my grade, and certainly that is your right and privelege to do so, this seems rather arbitrary.
APA 2/5 or APA Formatting 2/5? Do you actually claim the Economic term usage is 2/5 or 13/15? Are you claiming that my usage of economic terms is 40% incorrect or that I only used 40% of the economic terms that you were looking to read? Please, would you explain your actual meanings?
Ben
PS: to consider grammar, here are your comments on why you poorly graded my discussion forum interactions,
"Thank you for your discussion board for week 1 on graph analysis. You are being graded on your participation as well as you ability to use economic terms in your discussion board posts. 14/15 Initial Post 2/5 Peer Responses Ben, Work on the content on your discussion board post to your peers. Make sure you have quality content in your posts you are supposed to have one initial post and two peer to peer posts."
First sentence: "Thank you for your discussion board for week 1 on graph analysis."
Since the word "participation", or similar synonym, is missing, would this be to mean that you think I own the discussion board for week 1?
Second sentence: "You are being graded on your participation as well as you ability to use economic terms in your discussion board posts."
Prior to the word "ability" you may have intended to say "your" but you left off the "r", thus forming the word "you" which is not the 2nd person singular possessive.
Third sentence: "14/15 Initial Post 2/5 Peer Responses Ben, Work on the content on your discussion board post to your peers."
Grammatically, this is correct, ... except for either your capitalization of the word "Work" or your use of a comma after my name.
Fourth sentence: "Make sure you have quality content in your posts you are supposed to have one initial post and two peer to peer posts."
This sentence would word better as two sentences, especially since you have two main verbs, "make" and "are" respectively. But you left them undivided, probably because you are too short on time which all your work you have to do. Unfortunately, such an excuse would hardly be accepted by you if a student said they were overwhelmed or had too much to do, correct? How would you grade yourself according to your own standards by which you grade others?
"Ben, Make sure you have proper grammar"
I am certain I have that at the very least.
"and formatting. Work on APA Formatting make sure you are using a title page,"
I have been following an online guide to APA formatting for Word documents.
"citations"
This is not the main paper, but a selection of topic, and as such there were no references to cite.
"and refernces"
Which happens to be spelled with an "e" between the middle "r" and the "n", as such: "references".
"in your work that you are giving credit to the references after each use."
I will, when I have references that need to be cited, as such there were no references to be cited.
"Make sure you use economic terms and concepts in your paper."
... I did, though mostly related to microeconomics which I took last quarter. Apparently supply and demand, opportunity cost do not affect macroeconomics? I thought they did. Perhaps adding extra paragraphs to demonstrate my comprehension of each concept would be better, though superfluous and time consuming considering the nature of the assignments. I know you need to have something to go by to see understanding in your students, though there is still a point were writing more extraneous material than necessary wastes time from learning and removes opportunity cost of time which could be better spent on other classes.
"2/5 APA Formatting 2/5 Economic terms 13/15 Answer your questions and develop your Paper"
Though you are affecting my grade, and certainly that is your right and privelege to do so, this seems rather arbitrary.
APA 2/5 or APA Formatting 2/5? Do you actually claim the Economic term usage is 2/5 or 13/15? Are you claiming that my usage of economic terms is 40% incorrect or that I only used 40% of the economic terms that you were looking to read? Please, would you explain your actual meanings?
Ben
PS: to consider grammar, here are your comments on why you poorly graded my discussion forum interactions,
"Thank you for your discussion board for week 1 on graph analysis. You are being graded on your participation as well as you ability to use economic terms in your discussion board posts. 14/15 Initial Post 2/5 Peer Responses Ben, Work on the content on your discussion board post to your peers. Make sure you have quality content in your posts you are supposed to have one initial post and two peer to peer posts."
First sentence: "Thank you for your discussion board for week 1 on graph analysis."
Since the word "participation", or similar synonym, is missing, would this be to mean that you think I own the discussion board for week 1?
Second sentence: "You are being graded on your participation as well as you ability to use economic terms in your discussion board posts."
Prior to the word "ability" you may have intended to say "your" but you left off the "r", thus forming the word "you" which is not the 2nd person singular possessive.
Third sentence: "14/15 Initial Post 2/5 Peer Responses Ben, Work on the content on your discussion board post to your peers."
Grammatically, this is correct, ... except for either your capitalization of the word "Work" or your use of a comma after my name.
Fourth sentence: "Make sure you have quality content in your posts you are supposed to have one initial post and two peer to peer posts."
This sentence would word better as two sentences, especially since you have two main verbs, "make" and "are" respectively. But you left them undivided, probably because you are too short on time which all your work you have to do. Unfortunately, such an excuse would hardly be accepted by you if a student said they were overwhelmed or had too much to do, correct? How would you grade yourself according to your own standards by which you grade others?
Quote:
Dear Instructor,
concerning the Week 01 Course Paper - Industry Selection, your initial comments were to "Make sure you have proper grammar and formatting." As for the APA formatting, perhaps you have a point. But in regard to grammar, what point do you have to make. Even in your comments on my submission practically all of your sentences have grammatical errors and my paper has none. What grammatical errors do you actually perceive in my writing?
Ben
concerning the Week 01 Course Paper - Industry Selection, your initial comments were to "Make sure you have proper grammar and formatting." As for the APA formatting, perhaps you have a point. But in regard to grammar, what point do you have to make. Even in your comments on my submission practically all of your sentences have grammatical errors and my paper has none. What grammatical errors do you actually perceive in my writing?
Ben
Quote:
Hello instructor.
You graded me 17/25 on my industry selection paper, with main criticisms that my formatting was incorrect, that it didn't provide references, and that I didn't utilize the proper economic jargon to express economic concepts. Would you elaborate as to how any of that is true or how I have misunderstood what you wrote?
Ben
You graded me 17/25 on my industry selection paper, with main criticisms that my formatting was incorrect, that it didn't provide references, and that I didn't utilize the proper economic jargon to express economic concepts. Would you elaborate as to how any of that is true or how I have misunderstood what you wrote?
Ben
I really hope that this guy doesn't affect my 4.0 GPA too badly, since this would really stink. [/rant]
13 Jan 2010, 2:33 pm
There are a couple grammatical mistakes in your paper, but they're all trivial things that don't take away from understanding your meaning. I don't know anything about APA formatting (I've been fortunate not to have stupid profs who care about that type of thing)
I'd suggest against going after the instructor's grammar even where it is pretty bad- he controls your grade, and correcting his spelling won't make him raise your grade.
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FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
13 Jan 2010, 2:42 pm
Some sentences in the paper don't have verbs. There is also considerable vague pronoun usage. The paper itself appears very much based on common sense, but you make many statements which could be better served with data to back them up, i.e. references. For example,
Quote:
For an individual, they would usually place higher demand on housing which promotes shorter transit times to their current jobs and other locations where there is frequent travel between. Also, placement of housing near undesirable locations, such as an airport, a neighborhood will [sic] high crime rate, or a landfill, will tend to decrease demand for such housing.
Oh, incidentally it's poor grammar to end sentences with prepositions such as between.
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iamnotaparakeet
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13 Jan 2010, 3:10 pm
Stinkypuppy wrote:
Some sentences in the paper don't have verbs. There is also considerable vague pronoun usage.
Ok, I'll highlight the verbs to see where they are,
Quote:
Of the industries to select from it would probably help me more to select the housing industry, presuming this refers more to the general realm of real estate than to construction. Though in macroeconomics both would be pertinent. My fiancée and I are seeking to buy a house or select a town home to live in after we marry in May, so it would help me to learn as much as possible. Having this as an academic topic will enable me to combine opportunity cost of time, so that I may learn for both college and life virtually simultaneously. So, I will select the housing industry.
What factors affect the supply of housing? This could relate to [the] construction aspect or to the availability of real estate aspect. To construct housing, you need materials , equipment, good weather, workers, architects, licensing, time, money, office bureaucrats, and clients. If you lack one of these, or if an item is too expensive, then the quantity of new housing able to be constructed is decreased or hampered. The cost of materials, such a[s] lumber, requires cutting down trees. If there are fewer trees, their supply is decreased and the demand increases. If the cost of manufacturing equipment increases, then the workers may have to work either unequipped, with shoddy equipment, or other costs may need to be cut or prices to clients increases. If the cost of learning a construction trade increases, then there would be fewer certified workers, and depending on regulation this could either increase or decrease cost of labor. Without an architect to at least review the plans, licensing may be at least more difficult. If the weather is terrible for most of the year, this will decrease the ability to construct new housing. Without money, either capital or revenue, nothing is going to be paid for. Without clients, there is no revenue. Basically, supply is affected by factors of construction.
What factors affect demand? The quantity of available housing firstly. The fewer houses available, the higher the demand. Price range versus income also affects greatly the demand. If everything is too expensive for one's budget, then they may still have a demand for what they wanted, but it is displaced by feasible options rather than ludicrous ones. The price of land affects the cost of real estate. The building currently on a plot of land will eventually not be there, but the land will, in most cases at least (except for the case of tsunamis and the like), remain. If the cost of land is high, then either directly or indirectly the payment for the land is placed upon those who live there. Proximity is also a factor in demand for housing. For an individual, they would usually place higher demand on housing which promotes shorter transit times to their current jobs and other locations where there is frequent travel between [the various locations]. Also, placement of housing near undesirable locations, such as an airport, a neighborhood wi[th] high crime rate, or a landfill, will tend to decrease demand for such housing. Essentially, demand is related to factors centered around those who are seeking a home.
What factors affect the supply of housing? This could relate to [the] construction aspect or to the availability of real estate aspect. To construct housing, you need materials , equipment, good weather, workers, architects, licensing, time, money, office bureaucrats, and clients. If you lack one of these, or if an item is too expensive, then the quantity of new housing able to be constructed is decreased or hampered. The cost of materials, such a[s] lumber, requires cutting down trees. If there are fewer trees, their supply is decreased and the demand increases. If the cost of manufacturing equipment increases, then the workers may have to work either unequipped, with shoddy equipment, or other costs may need to be cut or prices to clients increases. If the cost of learning a construction trade increases, then there would be fewer certified workers, and depending on regulation this could either increase or decrease cost of labor. Without an architect to at least review the plans, licensing may be at least more difficult. If the weather is terrible for most of the year, this will decrease the ability to construct new housing. Without money, either capital or revenue, nothing is going to be paid for. Without clients, there is no revenue. Basically, supply is affected by factors of construction.
What factors affect demand? The quantity of available housing firstly. The fewer houses available, the higher the demand. Price range versus income also affects greatly the demand. If everything is too expensive for one's budget, then they may still have a demand for what they wanted, but it is displaced by feasible options rather than ludicrous ones. The price of land affects the cost of real estate. The building currently on a plot of land will eventually not be there, but the land will, in most cases at least (except for the case of tsunamis and the like), remain. If the cost of land is high, then either directly or indirectly the payment for the land is placed upon those who live there. Proximity is also a factor in demand for housing. For an individual, they would usually place higher demand on housing which promotes shorter transit times to their current jobs and other locations where there is frequent travel between [the various locations]. Also, placement of housing near undesirable locations, such as an airport, a neighborhood wi[th] high crime rate, or a landfill, will tend to decrease demand for such housing. Essentially, demand is related to factors centered around those who are seeking a home.
The two sentences without verbs would more properly go with the preceding sentence, "What factors affect demand?" For example, "What factors affect demand? the quantity of available housing firstly; the fewer houses available, the higher the demand." Though, even as it was, the sentence directly after the question sentence serves as the object of the verb "affect". The third, you could argue there more properly, has no written verb. It is a mathematical statement of proportionality.
iamnotaparakeet
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13 Jan 2010, 3:12 pm
Orwell wrote:
There are a couple grammatical mistakes in your paper, but they're all trivial things that don't take away from understanding your meaning. I don't know anything about APA formatting (I've been fortunate not to have stupid profs who care about that type of thing)
I'd suggest against going after the instructor's grammar even where it is pretty bad- he controls your grade, and correcting his spelling won't make him raise your grade.
I'd suggest against going after the instructor's grammar even where it is pretty bad- he controls your grade, and correcting his spelling won't make him raise your grade.
I've had a few good instructors like that, it's just when you come across a format Nazi that it really stinks.
13 Jan 2010, 4:20 pm
iamnotaparakeet wrote:
Quote:
What factors affect demand? The quantity of available housing firstly. The fewer houses available, the higher the demand. Price range versus income also affects greatly the demand. If everything is too expensive for one's budget, then they may still have a demand for what they wanted, but it is displaced by feasible options rather than ludicrous ones. The price of land affects the cost of real estate. The building currently on a plot of land will eventually not be there, but the land will, in most cases at least (except for the case of tsunamis and the like), remain. If the cost of land is high, then either directly or indirectly the payment for the land is placed upon those who live there. Proximity is also a factor in demand for housing. For an individual, they would usually place higher demand on housing which promotes shorter transit times to their current jobs and other locations where there is frequent travel between [the various locations]. Also, placement of housing near undesirable locations, such as an airport, a neighborhood wi[th] high crime rate, or a landfill, will tend to decrease demand for such housing. Essentially, demand is related to factors centered around those who are seeking a home.
The two sentences without verbs would more properly go with the preceding sentence, "What factors affect demand?" For example, "What factors affect demand? the quantity of available housing firstly; the fewer houses available, the higher the demand." Though, even as it was, the sentence directly after the question sentence serves as the object of the verb "affect".
This is incorrect. The direct object of the verb affect is demand. The quantity of available housing firstly would not make sense as the direct object of affect. What you are suggesting is that The quantity of available housing firstly is the subject, as you are trying to suggest quantity as one of the factors in the first sentence.
Also, in your revised sentence you have now used a semicolon. The use of the semicolon is not correct either, because the part before the semicolon as well as the part after the semicolon must be able to be stand-alone sentences in non-list constructions. You have two phrases, because both phrases still have no verbs.
Lastly, some of the verbs you bolded are not the main verbs in the sentences, and some of the main verbs remain unbolded.
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iamnotaparakeet
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13 Jan 2010, 4:32 pm
Stinkypuppy wrote:
iamnotaparakeet wrote:
Quote:
What factors affect demand? The quantity of available housing firstly. The fewer houses available, the higher the demand. Price range versus income also affects greatly the demand. If everything is too expensive for one's budget, then they may still have a demand for what they wanted, but it is displaced by feasible options rather than ludicrous ones. The price of land affects the cost of real estate. The building currently on a plot of land will eventually not be there, but the land will, in most cases at least (except for the case of tsunamis and the like), remain. If the cost of land is high, then either directly or indirectly the payment for the land is placed upon those who live there. Proximity is also a factor in demand for housing. For an individual, they would usually place higher demand on housing which promotes shorter transit times to their current jobs and other locations where there is frequent travel between [the various locations]. Also, placement of housing near undesirable locations, such as an airport, a neighborhood wi[th] high crime rate, or a landfill, will tend to decrease demand for such housing. Essentially, demand is related to factors centered around those who are seeking a home.
The two sentences without verbs would more properly go with the preceding sentence, "What factors affect demand?" For example, "What factors affect demand? the quantity of available housing firstly; the fewer houses available, the higher the demand." Though, even as it was, the sentence directly after the question sentence serves as the object of the verb "affect".
This is incorrect. The direct object of the verb affect is demand. The quantity of available housing firstly would not make sense as the direct object of affect. What you are suggesting is that The quantity of available housing firstly is the subject, as you are trying to suggest quantity as one of the factors in the first sentence.
Also, in your revised sentence you have now used a semicolon. The use of the semicolon is not correct either, because the part before the semicolon as well as the part after the semicolon must be able to be stand-alone sentences in non-list constructions. You have two phrases, because both phrases still have no verbs.
Lastly, some of the verbs you bolded are not the main verbs in the sentences...
I'm tired anyway, so I'm saying it wrong. Yes, I was going to highlight only the main verbs but I decided to highlight most of the verbs in the clauses as well. What is the percentage of grammatical error in my paper compared to the percentage of grammatical error in my instructor's comments? At the very least I have a much lower percentage of both grammatical and spelling errors. If you wish to have more of his writing to sample, then I can pull his myriad of discussion forum posts for you to criticize as well.
iamnotaparakeet
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iamnotaparakeet
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13 Jan 2010, 4:36 pm
Comment 1:
Quote:
Ben, Make sure you have proper grammar and formatting. Work on APA Formatting make sure you are using a title page, citations and refernces in your work that you are giving credit to the references after each use. Make sure you use economic terms and concepts in your paper. 2/5 APA Formatting 2/5 Economic terms 13/15 Answer your questions and develop your Paper
Comment 2:
Quote:
Thank you for your discussion board for week 1 on graph analysis. You are being graded on your participation as well as you ability to use economic terms in your discussion board posts. 14/15 Initial Post 2/5 Peer Responses Ben, Work on the content on your discussion board post to your peers. Make sure you have quality content in your posts you are supposed to have one initial post and two peer to peer posts.
13 Jan 2010, 4:41 pm
iamnotaparakeet wrote:
I'm tired anyway, so I'm saying it wrong. Yes, I was going to highlight only the main verbs but I decided to highlight most of the verbs in the clauses as well. What is the percentage of grammatical error in my paper compared to the percentage of grammatical error in my instructor's comments? At the very least I have a much lower percentage of both grammatical and spelling errors. If you wish to have more of his writing to sample, then I can pull his myriad of discussion forum posts for you to criticize as well.
While I'm sure I could very well nitpick through your instructor's grammatical and spelling errors, I highly doubt that to do so would improve your grade on this assignment, or on any future assignments.
iamnotaparakeet wrote:
Also, you seem to constantly edit after you post. Would you please write a complete post prior to posting?
No, because in the event that I have extra thoughts to add, and nobody else has posted yet after me, then I should be free to edit my own post.
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iamnotaparakeet
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13 Jan 2010, 4:44 pm
For another example of writing which was graded better, also in economics, here:
Quote:
Week 9 Written Assignment about Monopoly Break Up
Ben Fournier
December 8th, 2009
ECO 2023
Principles of Microeconomics
Rasmussen College
Pareto optimality states a change is efficient as long as at least one person is better off and no people are worse off as a result of that change. This has been the notion behind the break-up of many monopolies. Advocates believe consumers are better off if monopolies are separated into smaller, competing companies. Write a one page response that answers the following questions:
• Do you think consumers are really better off as a result of monopoly break-ups?
• Are monopolies really that bad for society?
• Do you feel that companies that operated as monopolies are better off as a result of the break-ups?
• How is these questions relate to Pareto optimality?
1. Do you think consumers are really better off as a result of monopoly break-ups? Yes, because consumers have more choices that can be made, such as "how much do I wish to spend?" and "which company do I prefer to support?" as compared to "it's time to buy this again... "
2. Are monopolies really that bad for society? Though it can depend on who the leadership is, under the assumption of profit maximization the answer is always, "yes they are horrid for society." Because, when they control a market for a good or service, then they can set whatever prices they feel like, and thus milk the system until it runs dry or just extort enough for stability of revenue. Either way, monopolies generally are not good for society.
3. Do you feel that companies that operated as monopolies are better off as a result of the break-ups? I do not feel that they are better off financially as a result. They are better off in terms of public relations, but before the separation they had it made.
4. How is these questions relate to Pareto optimality? How do they? In terms of how customers are effected, a company to have a monopoly on a good is terrible. For it to dissipate, is good. For a company it is better to be a monopoly than to be in competition, so the shift from having a monopoly is bad for it. However, if a company is not considered a member of society, then the disintegration of a monopoly is good for society in general, and thus fits Pareto optimality. However, the members of the company are members of society and they are effected in terms of loss of excessive income (for the upper management) and possibly loss of job (for the peons), so they are affected negatively by the company's loss of monopoly and this does not fit Pareto optimality conditions.
Ben Fournier
December 8th, 2009
ECO 2023
Principles of Microeconomics
Rasmussen College
Pareto optimality states a change is efficient as long as at least one person is better off and no people are worse off as a result of that change. This has been the notion behind the break-up of many monopolies. Advocates believe consumers are better off if monopolies are separated into smaller, competing companies. Write a one page response that answers the following questions:
• Do you think consumers are really better off as a result of monopoly break-ups?
• Are monopolies really that bad for society?
• Do you feel that companies that operated as monopolies are better off as a result of the break-ups?
• How is these questions relate to Pareto optimality?
1. Do you think consumers are really better off as a result of monopoly break-ups? Yes, because consumers have more choices that can be made, such as "how much do I wish to spend?" and "which company do I prefer to support?" as compared to "it's time to buy this again... "
2. Are monopolies really that bad for society? Though it can depend on who the leadership is, under the assumption of profit maximization the answer is always, "yes they are horrid for society." Because, when they control a market for a good or service, then they can set whatever prices they feel like, and thus milk the system until it runs dry or just extort enough for stability of revenue. Either way, monopolies generally are not good for society.
3. Do you feel that companies that operated as monopolies are better off as a result of the break-ups? I do not feel that they are better off financially as a result. They are better off in terms of public relations, but before the separation they had it made.
4. How is these questions relate to Pareto optimality? How do they? In terms of how customers are effected, a company to have a monopoly on a good is terrible. For it to dissipate, is good. For a company it is better to be a monopoly than to be in competition, so the shift from having a monopoly is bad for it. However, if a company is not considered a member of society, then the disintegration of a monopoly is good for society in general, and thus fits Pareto optimality. However, the members of the company are members of society and they are effected in terms of loss of excessive income (for the upper management) and possibly loss of job (for the peons), so they are affected negatively by the company's loss of monopoly and this does not fit Pareto optimality conditions.
Edit: here is another paper of the same subject,
Quote:
Week 6 Written Assignment: Dorm move
Ben Fournier
November 16th, 2009
ECO2023, Microeconomics
Rasmussen College
In this example, it seems that the highest output per person is when there are only two people working at moving the stuff to the dorm. However, since McDonald's often had a very minimal staffing, I can say that even though such a maneuver does force people to work harder per time, such effort wears them out as well.
The solitary person working alone seems to work less efficiently alone or the second person to help is more efficient than the first.
The maximum output per person coincides with the maximum average output here.
Also, even though the average and marginal output seem to be decreasing third person onward, total output still increases with additional workers. In the case of paid employees, then you would want the most efficient set of workers so as to maximizes the all important bottom line. However, in the case of voluntary workers, then the more the better, because then total output increases even if the work is more relaxed.
You can probably tell that I agree with the saying, "many hands make light work."
Ben Fournier
November 16th, 2009
ECO2023, Microeconomics
Rasmussen College
Code:
Q T A M
0 0 0 0
1 20 20 20
2 46 23 26
3 66 22 20
4 80 20 14
5 85 17 5
0 0 0 0
1 20 20 20
2 46 23 26
3 66 22 20
4 80 20 14
5 85 17 5
In this example, it seems that the highest output per person is when there are only two people working at moving the stuff to the dorm. However, since McDonald's often had a very minimal staffing, I can say that even though such a maneuver does force people to work harder per time, such effort wears them out as well.
The solitary person working alone seems to work less efficiently alone or the second person to help is more efficient than the first.
The maximum output per person coincides with the maximum average output here.
Also, even though the average and marginal output seem to be decreasing third person onward, total output still increases with additional workers. In the case of paid employees, then you would want the most efficient set of workers so as to maximizes the all important bottom line. However, in the case of voluntary workers, then the more the better, because then total output increases even if the work is more relaxed.
You can probably tell that I agree with the saying, "many hands make light work."
Last edited by iamnotaparakeet on 13 Jan 2010, 4:55 pm, edited 2 times in total.
iamnotaparakeet
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13 Jan 2010, 4:47 pm
Stinkypuppy wrote:
iamnotaparakeet wrote:
I'm tired anyway, so I'm saying it wrong. Yes, I was going to highlight only the main verbs but I decided to highlight most of the verbs in the clauses as well. What is the percentage of grammatical error in my paper compared to the percentage of grammatical error in my instructor's comments? At the very least I have a much lower percentage of both grammatical and spelling errors. If you wish to have more of his writing to sample, then I can pull his myriad of discussion forum posts for you to criticize as well.
While I'm sure I could very well nitpick through your instructor's grammatical and spelling errors, I highly doubt that to do so would improve your grade on this assignment, or on any future assignments.
iamnotaparakeet wrote:
Also, you seem to constantly edit after you post. Would you please write a complete post prior to posting?
No, because in the event that I have extra thoughts to add, and nobody else has posted yet after me, then I should be free to edit my own post.
You, and everyone else, are free to do whatever you like. However, this does not make it less annoying, whether the pronoun "it" refers to unsolicited nitpicking or constant editing of and adding additions to your posts.
13 Jan 2010, 5:05 pm
The "unsolicited nitpicking", as you call it, is intended to make you aware that there may actually be some validity in your instructor's comments. Please note that the "nitpicking" didn't start that way. I gave a few general comments, but gave more specific, clarifying ones when you started to question my comments.
Perhaps it would be best not to take constructive criticism, whether it be from me or from your instructor, so personally, to the extent that you try to make yourself feel better by putting down your instructor or me. Suggesting that you make proportionally fewer errors than your instructor will not make you a good writer. It is not helpful to anybody to compare yourself to others like that. Instead, compare yourself to how you were before.
At any rate, I do hope that you are able to settle things with your professor, so that your grade won't suffer by the end of term! 
_________________
Won't you help a poor little puppy?
iamnotaparakeet
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Age: 38
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13 Jan 2010, 5:23 pm
Sorry, I am currently just upset and am sickened to get such a low grade. I have been having to rush through studying recently due to multiple family issues, and having an instructor of this type is not helping. There is some validity to my instructor's comments, but I doubt he actually would be able to nitpick as well as you have or even know the terms (especially given his own writing as a means of comparison.) He would be more the type to notice that I started off the paper relating the selection to myself. In terms of grammar, with the presumption that he actually read my paper in its entirety, the grammar this type of instructor would notice is that I wrote "will" where I intended to write "with". Oh well, a GPA of 4.0 probably doesn't sound believable to employers anyway, and now it will be lost.
13 Jan 2010, 9:18 pm
Have you brought your paper to the writing center at your college?
I am a good writer, but I've found that I could greatly benefit from having someone else look over my papers prior to turning them in. When you write something yourself, you often read it how it SHOULD be read, and you may overlook certain mistakes. Some instructors are very picky about even simple typos...they will tell you that you're in college and papers should be mistake free. The writing center staff members will also catch sentences that could be worded better, or should be formatted differently (like your lists).
Also, make sure you are conforming to your instructor's requests about formatting. If somewhere in your syllabus, it says "All papers should be double-spaced with one-inch margins on all sides, and should include a dedicated cover page blah blah blah," you'll probably pay dearly for any mistakes.
It might also be worth your while, if you misunderstood the assignment (i.e. you thought it was to present your topic, but it was actually supposed to be a rough draft), to speak to the instructor about re-doing the paper to re-coup some of the lost points.
Remember though, when it comes down to it, this person controls your grade. Being rude, condescending, aggressive, or disrespectful will NOT help your case either here or in future circumstances.
Good luck!
iamnotaparakeet
Veteran
Joined: 31 Jul 2007
Age: 38
Gender: Male
Posts: 25,091
Location: 0.5 Galactic radius
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