The Jamestown Settlement Essay Example for Free

The Jamestown Settlement Essay I always consider the settlement of America with reverence and wonder, as the opening of a grand scene and design in providence, for the illumination of the ignorant and the emancipation of the slavish part of mankind all over the earth. -John Adams. Jamestown, Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the New World. The Jamestown Colony is a town in Virginia. It is the oldest, and first, English colony in North America. The London Company, formed in 1606, was a group of ten men, mostly well-to-do merchants, who decided to colonize Virginia (Fishwick, 49). Francis Bacon, a member of the Company, decided the colony was to be a long-term scheme and settlers were to be given twenty years to find their feet (Fishwick, 49). Settlers were selected for their special skills, and included many farmers so the colony could become self-sufficient. The Colonial Council was a group of thirteen settlers who would be directed by a royal council of thirteen in England (Fishwick, 49). One member was selected to be the president, and he would make laws, vote taxes, mint money, and dispense justice in Virginia (Fishwick, 49). The settlers were granted â€Å"all rights and immunities†¦Ã¢â‚¬  of citizens in England, including the right to own land and trial by jury (Fishwick, 50). All taxes on trade with Virginia were used to benefit the colony. The London Company set sail from Blackwell, England, on December 20, 1606 (Fishwick, 50). They had three ships, tools, weapons, ammunition, food, grain, and 105 â€Å"hardy adventurers† (Fishwick, 50). Many settlers were classified as â€Å"gentlemen†, and there were some skilled craftsmen and farmers, and two surgeons (Fishwick, 50). The settlers came to the New World to acquire land, gold, or quick fortunes in trade. They sought a greater measure of liberty, though some were merely restless or driven by the love of adventure, but they all shared a hope for better things in Virginia (Fishwick, 50). The Council’s directions were to search for gold and other precious metals, explore the rivers for a passage to the South Sea (Northwest Passage), and to look for the Lost Colony (Fishwick, 51). The three vessels, the Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery, took the colonists to the New World. The Susan Constant was the largest at 100 tons, and was very roomy. The Godspeed was forty tons, and the Discovery was twenty tons (Fishwick, 51). They would be out at sea for four weeks before reaching the West Indies. Ship food consisted of hard biscuits, saltmeat and fish, and barley gruel (Fishwick, 51). Land was sighted on April 26, 1607. George Percy recorded â€Å"About 4:00 in the morning, we descried the land of Virginia† (Fishwick, 57). Edward Maria Winfield was elected president of the Colony. An advance party as sent out to explore the country and choose a site for settlement. The site was chosen on May 13th. It was a flat peninsula nearly three miles long and located on the north side of the James River. Though it could be defended with ease, the land was low and boggy with sandy soil and malaria mosquitos (Fishwick, 60). Jamestown was founded a year before the French founded Quebec (Appleby, 8). It was funded by a joint-stock company, whose investors saw the colonies as sources of raw materials and markets for English goods. Despite early troubles, the settlers survived with the help of local Native Americans, the Powhatan Confederacy. The colony prospered by growing tobacco. In 1619, the House of Burgesses was formed to make their own laws (Appleby, 8). More than 4,500 settlers immigrated to Virginia in 1622 (Appleby, 8). The expansion of the colony alarmed Native Americans and they attacked Jamestown in 1622. The English court blamed the Virginia Company’s policies for high death rates and revoked its charter (Appleby, 8). Virginia became a royal colony run by a governor appointed by the king. Pocahontas was born in 1596 (â€Å"Pocahontas†, 1). Her birth name was â€Å"Amonute† and â€Å"Pocahontas† was just a nickname, meaning â€Å"playful one† because of her frolicsome and curious nature. She was the daughter of the Powhatan chief, Wahunsenaca. The Powhatan chieftan had a population of about 25,000 (â€Å"Pocahontas†, 1). When the English arrived and settled in Jamestown in 1607, Pocahontas was eleven years old. In the winter of 1607, Captain John Smith of Jamestown was captured by the Powhatan. He was brought in front of the chief and two large stones were placed on the ground with Smith’s head placed on top of them to be smashed. Pocahontas quickly intercepted and put her head on top of his, stopping the execution (â€Å"Pocahontas†, 2). As a result of this, the Powhatan chief told Smith he was a part of the tribe in exchange for â€Å"two great stones and a grindstone† and the chief would treat him as his son (â€Å"Pocahontas†, 2). Chief Powhatan sent gifts of food to the starving English settlers. Pocahontas brought the gifts to Jamestown and became a symbol of peace to the English. The Jamestown National Historic Site is on the western edge of Jamestown Island, Virginia. It is located seven miles from Colonial Williamsburg and is a total of 22.5 acres (â€Å"Jamestown National Historic Site†, 1). Jamestown is important because it was the first English colony in North America. It is also the scene of the first representative legislature on this continent on July 30, 1619 (â€Å"Jamestown National Historic Site†, 1). In 1893, the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Edward E. Barney donated a plot of their land to the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (APVA). In 1934, the rest of the land was acquired by the National Park Service as a part of the Colonial National Historical Park (â€Å"Jamestown Nat. Hist. Site†, 1). The trip from Greensburg, Indiana to Jamestown, Virginia is a relatively long one. It is a total of about 624 miles. By car, the trip takes eleven hours (â€Å"Google Maps†, 1). Jamestown, Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the New World. The Jamestown settlement is rich in our country’s history and is remembered throughout time as the beginning of a new nation.

Predatory pricing of petrol Essay Example for Free

Predatory pricing of petrol Essay Supermarket price wars are putting Britain’s small petrol stations out of business at the rate of one a day. Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons have this year embarked on a war to attract hard-hit consumers and the price of fuel has been central to their campaign. Morrisons is offering loyalty points on its new fuel card while Asda has launched a price comparison app for mobile phones to convince shoppers it has the cheapest fuel. Both Sainsbury’s and Tesco have offered money-off vouchers for petrol customers. The Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMI), a trade association representing the interests of 6 000 small petrol stations, is hoping the OFT inquiry will support its members, who believe that unfair and predatory pricing by the supermarkets and some major oil companies is making it impossible for them to compete. There are now about 8 000 small petrol retailers compared with 21 000 two decades ago and 40 000 in 1966. It predicts that in five years there will be very few independent petrol retailers left. The OFT inquiry comes at a time when the supermarkets have proved particularly effective at building up a huge stake in the petrol market. With the recession dragging on, households are keen to save even one or two pence a litre, particularly those families whose livelihoods depend on the use of a car. Between June 2007 and June 2012 – a period that saw  considerable crude oil price volatility – the price of petrol rose by 38% while diesel rose by 45%. In 2011, supermarkets accounted for 45% of total fuel sales from just 1 316 sites compared with 37.4 % in 2010. The OFT said the fuel market for Britain’s 33 million motorists is worth around  £32 billion a year, and accounts for 5p in every  £1 of household expenditure. But many have also blamed the Government and increases in fuel tax for soaring petrol prices. It takes 60% of the price of every litre of petrol in tax – the highest rate in Europe.

Analysis of US Advertising Industry

Analysis of US Advertising Industry Headlines The US advertising industry records a 7% growth in 2013 which is fuelled by growing level of business formation and increasing penetration of mobile devices among Americans. The main category contributing to industry’s growth is digital advertising accounting for 27% of the market. 2013 is the first year when Americans spend more time using their smartphones than in front of TV, leading advertisers to shift from focusing on mass marketing to one-on-one advertising campaigns on mobile devices. The main consumers of the industry are retail enterprises, financial service providers and motor vehicles industry increasingly investing in mobile advertising campaigns and social networking. Due to the growing smartphones penetration, spending on mobile advertising is expected to exceed desktop advertising over the forecast period and condition industry’s turnover to grow by CAGR of 7% reaching US$188.688 million in 2019. Trends With the market size of US$189,136 million the US was the largest advertising market in the world in 2013. Japan’s expenditure on advertising at the same year was more than three-times smaller, while China stood in the third place. In Europe the biggest markets were Germany and the UK, however, they were left way behind the US with only a tenth of the US expenditure on advertising.[1] Even after events of significant importance such as Olympics and presidential elections in 2012, advertising industry in the US hasn’t slowed down and experienced market growth of 7% in 2013. Fast recovery after profitable year was fuelled by constant formation of business units, tight competition in the market and growing market penetration for mobile devices.[2] B2B purchases accounted for the complete majority of market size, as households were left with less than 1% of the market. The major B2B buyers in 2013 were retail enterprises accounting for a fifth of all business purchases. Retail industry was the largest spender in digital advertising. Retailers are increasingly depending on mobile devices for their advertising. The biggest investments were made into direct-response campaigns and into increasing brand awareness among consumers. [3] The major spenders in advertising were Macy’s, Wal-Mart Stores, Target Corp, and Sears.[4] Other biggest B2B buyers were industries of monetary intermediation (American Express Co., Chase, Bank of America), and sale, maintenance and repair of motor vehicles and retail sale of automotive fuel, accounting for 10% and 7% of the total B2B purchases respectively. Biggest auto marketers were General Motors, Ford Motor, and Toyota Motor.[5] However, the most rapidly growing shares of B2B purchases belonged to computer and related services and business and management consultancies. The main category of advertising industry is digital advertising accounting for 27% of the market. With 7% growth over 2013 it was the fastest growing category in the industry. With growing penetration of mobile technologies digital advertising is slowly shifting from desktop advertising to reaching customers through tablets and smartphones. [6] In 2013 almost half of the adults in the US had smartphones and a third had tablets.[7] At the same year for the first time Americans spent more time a day using digital media than watching TV. In addition, they spent more time per day surfing mobile internet than in front of PC[8]. Television was the second biggest advertising environment in the US in 2013 with 23% of the market. Though television holds a significant share of the market, it is slowly dropping due to the growing popularity of digital videos in online advertising. [9]Outdoor advertising having 21% of the industry leaves press and radio owning 18% and 12% of the market respectively. Print advertising revenues has been dropping by CAGR of 10% since 2008, while the share of online advertising in digital versions of newspapers has been growing. [10] In 2013 foreign advertising services provided for US clients abroad exceeded the ones US companies sold for foreigners by ten times. Most popular services provided for US companies were digital advertising accounting for 24% of all services provided by foreigners and TV and Press advertising accounting for 20% each, while foreigners mostly bought internet, outdoor, and radio advertising services. Industry’s turnover grew by 7% in 2013 and accounted for US$125.541. The total increase was fuelled by the fastest growing internet and outdoor advertising. Outdoor advertising grew mainly due to the constant expansion of digital outdoor advertising through billboards. [11] Advertising costs are divided mainly into B2B costs accounting for 51% of total costs and labour costs accounting for 43%. The largest part of B2B costs are from other business services, real estate activities and advertising. Though number of employees in the industry hasn’t reached the pre-recession level, it grew by less than 4%, while average annual wages increased by less than 1% over 2013. Competitive Landscape Over the review period micro enterprises accounted for 96% of companies in advertising industry. However, in 2013 large and medium companies experienced the highest growth of over 4%. They accounted for less than 1% of the industry and acquired 35% of the industry’s turnover causing the market to be concentrated. At the same time micro and small companies accounted for 26% and 27% of the industry’s turnover. As of 2010 the major advertising enterprises according to their share of total services provided are: Omnicom Group Inc (6%), Interpublic Group of Cos Inc (3%), WPP Group USA Inc (2%), News America Marketing In-Store Services LLC and The Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc with 1% each. In 2013 Omnicom Group has announced about the target merger with the world’s leading communications enterprise Publicis Groupe. This merger was expected to join two forces of advertising, marketing, and communication into one world’s leading advertising group. Its’ worth was expected to reach over US$35billion and exceed that of WPP twice.[12] However, due to the prolonged process that has started affecting companies’ relations with its clients and staff, the merger has been terminated in 2014.[13] In order to improve its digital services Interpublic Group of Cos acquired digital shop Profero in 2013. Combining its one of businesses Lowe and Partner with Profero, IPG is expecting to spread its operations in developing markets. [14] Other, significant IPG’s acquisition strengthening its digital side of the business in 2013 was Interactive Avenues – a digital agency in India. WWP made the record number of over 50 acquisitions in 2013. The company was also a leader in acquisitions in social media sector. Due to the growing consumers’ engagement in social networks, social media networking agencies are expected to be a valid addition to big advertising enterprises as they prove to be more effective than public relation companies.[15] Hand in hand with increasing levels of digital advertising, in 2013 News America Marketing has introduced its in-store near field communication campaigns in retail stores. These campaigns provide customised mobile coupons being sent into customers’ mobile devices whenever they are in the store and near a particular product. This has helped to improve the usage of coupons and increase the sales of particular products. Moreover, brand familiarity is being increased through various value added services such as online recipes, various apps, and games connected with particular products. [16] In 2013 The Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc signed the five-year contracts with San Francisco, Chicago and Denver’s airports to install hundreds of digital screens in airports enabling companies to advertise their products and airports to present important information about flights. Digital screens will enable customers to receive the information to their mobile devices through the touch of the digital screens displayed in airports. [17]In Denver’s airport two digital video towers are planned to be installed to enhance customers’ experience. [18] In 2014 the company is planning on launching first interactive global mobile platform enabling costumers to reach all the content from the advertisers in one place through their smartphones.[19] Prospects Over the period of 2014-2019 the US advertising industry is expected to grow by CAGR of 7% and reach US$188.688 million. It will be mainly fuelled by increasing popularity of digital advertising which is set to produce more sophistication to advertisements, making them target based and unique for different costumer.[20] With almost 90%[21] of the US population using internet and half of the population[22] having access to mobile internet in 2014, internet and outdoor advertising will experience the highest CAGR of 7% over the review period. Though desktop advertising was dominating category in digital marketing in 2013, however, mobile advertising and applications, experiencing a surge in popularity, are expected to exceed desktop advertising over the forecast period. Technologies enabling businesses to observe their customers across all screens will lead to enterprises eventually focusing on multi-screening advertising. [23] The number of acquisitions performed by top advertising enterprises shows that companies will be concentrating on providing holistic solutions for their clients encompassing product and technology innovations, digital and social networking services. Due to the growing amount of collected data about consumers, companies will increasingly specialise in providing customised marketing decision for different consumers. [24] [1] http://www.statista.com/statistics/273736/advertising-expenditure-in-the-worlds-largest-ad-markets/ [2] http://news.magnaglobal.com/magna-global/press-releases/advertising-growth-2013.print [3] http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Retail-Industry-Remains-Largest-Spender-US-Digital-Advertising/1010187 [4] http://gaia.adage.com/images/bin/pdf/MFPweb_spreadsv2.pdf [5] http://gaia.adage.com/images/bin/pdf/MFPweb_spreadsv2.pdf [6] http://adage.com/article/digital/emarketer-desktop-pc-web-advertising-peak-2014/242030/ [7] http://stateofthemedia.org/2013/newspapers-stabilizing-but-still-threatened/ [8] http://gaia.adage.com/images/bin/pdf/MFPweb_spreadsv2.pdf [9] http://www.emarketer.com/Article/TV-Advertising-Keeps-Growing-Mobile-Boosts-Digital-Video-Spend/1009780 [10] http://stateofthemedia.org/2013/newspapers-stabilizing-but-still-threatened/ [11] http://www.oaaa.org/NewsEvents/News/IndustryRevenue/tabid/322/id/3871/Default.aspx [12] http://www.iamwire.com/2013/07/publicis-and-omnigroup-concludes-a-usd-35-1-bn-merger-to-form-the-world-biggest-advertising-group/#_am3tw4oq [13] http://www.firstbiz.com/brands/publicis-omnicoms-35-billion-merger-called-84275.html [14] http://adage.com/article/agency-news/ipg-s-lowe-acquires-global-digital-agency-profero/291209/ [15] http://adage.com/article/global-news/wpp-lead-deal-maker-54-acquisitions-2013/291800/ [16] http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/news-america-marketing-plugs-nfc-for-in-store-mobile-campaigns [17] http://www.thestreet.com/story/11997082/2/clear-channel-outdoor-holdings-inc-reports-results-for-2013-second-quarter.html [18] http://business.flydenver.com/pr/DIAPR_130404e.pdf [19] http://www.mynewsdesk.com/se/clear_channel/pressreleases/clear-channel-launches-connect-the-first-global-out-of-home-mobile-interactive-advertising-platform-976512 [20] http://blogs.hbr.org/2013/11/five-ways-the-advertising-industry-is-about-to-transform/ [21] http://www.internetlivestats.com/internet-users/ [22] http://www.statista.com/statistics/188352/mobile-internet-users-in-the-us-from-2009-to-2014/ [23] http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Retail-Industry-Remains-Largest-Spender-US-Digital-Advertising/1010187 [24] http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-01-01/news/45764599_1_digital-services-business-growth-new-business-models

The Management of Stress Essay -- Game Plan, Unhealthy Diet

Everybody has at least one thing in common. Can you guess what it is? If you guessed, heartbreak, you’re right, but that’s not the answer I’m looking for. The correct answer is stress. Everyone has stress in his or her life at one point or another. It’s one of many inevitable parts of life. Whether it’s busting out a research paper for Psychology at the last minute, expecting your first child to be born, to making sure you’re up in time to catch the Saturday morning cartoons, it’s clearly evident that everyone goes through stress. The real question is, how is stress handled in our society? A person is defined by how they handle the stressors in their lives and how they overcome stressful moments. This paper will explore the aspects of stress management; hoping to help others in their times of stress. To fully understand stress management, one must understand the natural stress response. When a person encounters a perceived threat, the hypothalamus, a tiny region located at the base of the brain, sets off an alarm in their body. Through a combination of both nerve and hormonal signals, the system prompts their adrenal glands, located at the top of the kidneys, to release a surge of hormones which include adrenaline and cortisol. The adrenaline causes an increase in the heart rate, thus causing an increase in the blood pressure and energy supplies of the individual. Cortisol, which is the primary stress hormone, creates an increase in sugars which are known as glucose in the bloodstream. This enhances the brain’s use of glucose and decreases the availability of substances that help repair tissues. This alarm system also communicates with regions of the brain that control moods, motivation, and fear. Once the perceived threat has p... ...uestion? Works Cited America’s #1 Health Problem. (n.d.). Retrieved from The American Institute of Stress website: http://www.stress.org/americas-1-health-problem/ Borchard, T. (2010). 18 Ways to Manage Stress. Psych Central. Retrieved on December 1, 2013, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2010/06/23/18-ways-to-manage-stress/ Chronic stress puts your health at risk. (n.d.). Retrieved from Mayo Clinic website: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress/SR00001 Heissman, K. (2012). Stress Management Practices: What Works and What Doesn’t. Psych Central. Retrieved on December 1, 2013, from http://psychcentral.com/lib/stress-management-practices-what-works-and-what-doesnt/00011942 Stress Management: How to Reduce, Prevent, and Cope with Stress. (n.d.). Retrieved from Helpguide.org website:http://www.helpguide.org/mental/stress_management_relief_coping.htm

The Nature of Douglasss Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass Es

The Nature of Douglass's Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass wrote his autobiography the Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass to tell his story and to help the abolitionist's cause. It provides a window into his world, which is that of a former slave and of a prominent speaker. Douglass was born a slave in Maryland in 1818; his exact birthday is unknown. Unlike most slaves he had a mistress, Sophia Auld, who taught him his letters when he was about 10 and that basis of knowledge allowed him to 'steal literacy' over the years. Douglass was hired out to a slave breaker named Edward Covey in order to make him more subservient. In 1834 Frederick Douglass and Edward Covey had a battle which changed the course of Douglass?s life, and shaped him into a man who speaks and acts out against injustice. After Fredrick Douglass stood up to Covey he became free in sprit, if not in body, and vowed to allow no one to control his mind again. He escaped slavery and went to New York in 1839. His career as a speaker started in 1841 and in 1845 he published the Narrative. Although, those are some of the basic facts about his life but they do little to describe the man that he was, and what his first work says about himself and what he believed. The Narrative was written after he had spent a few years as a speaker going around telling his life?s story to abolitionist and therefore was in part rehearsed and also meant to be used as propaganda in the fight for equality. The book also serves as a historical source because it documents his voyage though slavery and the movement to end it. It is important when reading his autobiography to keep both views in mind. Many people have analyzed this complex work, Donald B. Gibson wrote about Douglass?s dual focus in his writing about how he had a public and social focus and a personal focus and private. The public and social focus was to correct the moral and political ills that slavery brought. While the personal and private focused on Douglass?s own thoughts, feelings, reactions, and emotions. The social focus was what presented the first twenty-one years of Douglass?s life in a way that allowed it to serve as a weapon for abolitionism. William Lloyd Garrison and Wendell Phillips recognized the public perspective, both of which wrote prefatory material to the Narrative. I... ...hen reading Frederick Douglass?s Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass it is important to take in to account the time period in which it was written, who the author was and their background, and the purpose that the work was written for. Douglass was a slave and an abolitionist who wrote about his life for two reasons, to give the facts and to convince people that slavery was wrong. The way he wrote both parts are intertwined so that they compliment and support each other it exist as a work of abolitionist propaganda and as an historical source. Bibliography Andrews, William L., To Tell a Free Story: The First Century of Afro-American Autobiography, 1760-1865. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1986. Douglass, Fredrick, Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass: An American Slave, ed. David Blight. New York: St. Martins, 1993. Gibson, Donald B., Reconciling Public and Private in Frederick Douglass? Narrative, Rutgers University. Polsky, Milton. The American Slave Narrative: Dramatic Resource Material for the Classroom. Hunter College of CUNY. Stewart, James Brewer, Holy Warriors The Abolitionists and American Slavery. New York: Hill and Wang, 1976.

Financial Theories Overview Essay

costs of capital to a firm would remain the same no matter what combination of financing sources the firm actually chose† (Miller, 2001, p. 185). The dividend proposition overcomes objection to leverage proof. | 3. Agency Cost Theory I Michael Jensen and William Meckling define agency costs as the costs associated with cooperative effort by human beings, which arises when the principal hires an agent to carry out duties Oensen, 2005). Conflicts of interest between management and shareholders are inevitable and can cause a potential loss in value of public corporations (Chew, 2001). For example, shareholders may want management to increase shareholder value, but management may grow the business to increase personal power and wealth (Chew, 2001). | Enron’s company was worth $30 billion and senior managers’ tried to defend a $40 billion of excess valuation. Ultimately Enron executives destroyed the company â€Å"by trying to fool the markets through accounting manipulations, hiding debt through off-balance sheet partnerships, and over hyped new ventures such as their broadband futures effort† Oensen, 2005, pp. 10-11). John Roth, former chief executive officer (CEO) of Nortel, wrote off most cquisitions, when stock price crashed and closed down activities, which resulted in the destruction of not only the corporate value but also the social value of the company Oensen, 2005). Finance scholars found a reduction in conflict of interest between management and shareholders because of: (1) product market competition and a market for executive labor

Productivity Measurement at National, International and Firm Level

Productivity Measurement at International, National and organization level. PRODUCTIVITY MEASUREMENT Productivity measurement is the quantification of both the output and input resources of a productive system. The goal of productivity measurement is productivity improvement, which involves a combination of increased effectiveness and a better use of available resources. While productivity can be given the sort of short hand definition as the ratio between output and input USE OF PRODUCTIVITY MEASURES Productivity is a required tool in evaluating and monitoring the performance of an organization, especially a business organization.When directed at specific issues and problems, productivity measures can be very powerful. In essence, productivity measures are the yardsticks of effective resource use. Managers are concerned with productivity as it relates to making improvements in their firm. Proper use of productivity measures can give the manager an indication of how to improve produc tivity: either increase the numerator of the measure, decrease the denominator, or both. Managers are also concerned with how productivity measures relate to competitiveness.If two firms have the same level of output, but one requires less input this is due to a higher level of productivity, that firm will be able to charge a lower price and increase its market share or charge the same price as the competitor and enjoy a larger profit margin. Within a time period, productivity measures can be used to compare the firm's performance against industry-wide data, compare its performance with similar firms and competitors, compare performance among different departments within the firm, or compare the performance of the firm or individual departments within the firm with the measures obtained at an earlier time.Productivity measures can also be used to evaluate the performance of an entire industry or the productivity of a country as a whole. These are aggregate measures determined by com bining productivity measures of various companies, industries, or segments of the economy. NATIONAL LEVEL MEASUREMENT Since productivity is one of the basic variables governing economic production activity some mention of national productivity concerns would be appropriate. As a matter of fact, productivity may be the most important variable governing economic production activity.It is the fundamental controllable factor in wealth production. Since other economic variables depend on it, increasing productivity tends to have a beneficial multiplying effect on other economic variables. Improving productivity is of national importance because, for a society to increase its standard of living, it must first increase productivity. Overall productivity for individual countries is calculated by dividing output, as measured by GDP or GNP, by the country's total population.Thus, productivity is measured as the dollar value per capita outputs. An increase in this measure of productivity means that each person in the country, on average, produced more goods and services. Also if productivity increases, then profits increase. The resulting profits can then be used to pay for wage increases (inherent in inflation) without having to raise prices. In this way, productivity gains actually help curb inflation. It has been estimated that technology was responsible for at least half of the growth in productivity.It would appear, then, that if the country wants to continue to increase productivity, technology may be the key. ORGANIZATION LEVEL PRODUCTIVITY MEASUREMENT For an individual firm or industry, measures of gross output, combined with labour, capital and intermediate inputs, correspond directly to a specific model of a production function with â€Å"neutral† or â€Å"output-augmenting† technical change. When multifactor productivity[MFP] measures are based on such a gross-output concept, MFP growth approximates the rate of neutral, disembodied technical chan ge.Alternatively, MFP measures could be based on a value-added concept where value added is considered a firm’s output and only primary inputs are taken as a firm’s input. Value- added based productivity measures reflect an industry’s capacity to contribute to economy- wide income and final demand. In this sense, they are valid complements to gross-output based measures. At the aggregate level of the economy, gross-output and value-added based measures converge when gross-output measures are defined as sectoral output.Sectoral output is a measure of production corrected for deliveries within a given sector. From this perspective also, gross-output and value-added based measures are complements. A useful strategy in the development of productivity measures is to start with aggregate value-added based productivity measures: the necessary data tends to be relatively easily available and the choice between gross output and value added makes less difference than at t he detailed industry level.INTERNATIONAL LEVEL PRODUCTIVITY MEASUREMENT NEED Interlinked monetary systems Technology/ service transfer Domestic and regional competitions Valuable tool for evaluation Problems of Productivity Measurements at International Level In exchange rate measurements (often prices of similar goods not compared). All industrial level data not available. Social, Political, cultural factors not included. Data for developing countries is lacking.