The Road To Cashless Economy Using Technology Finance Essay

The Road To Cashless Economy Using Technology Finance Essay Technology advances almost everyday and affects almost every part of our lives and in every industry. The latest advancement, or idea, is a cashless economy. This would eliminate the need for cash in our economic system. Are Americans ready for this? Can this really work? Americans will definitely need a lot of information before adjusting to this change. The younger generation seems all for it, and is already mostly using debit and credit cards. With so much fraud and counterfeit, could checks and cash soon be a thing of the past? What is a Cashless Economy? A cashless economy is a system where payments are made by electronic means rather then using cash or check to pay for goods or services. In an economy that is cashless, a person would pay with plastic methods like credit cards, debit cards or smart cards. This type of transaction electronically moves money from one account to another rather then using the traditional forms of exchanging printed currency or checks. In the time period of 1999 to 2005, the amount of card-swiping terminals tripled to the number of 6.9 million. (Samuelson, June 2007) This figure compares to the fact that 9.1 billion bills are printed each year in the United States, but 95% of that is to replace old and worn out bills and not to expand the supply of paper currency in circulation. In 1996, checks and cash were the payment method for 80% of transactions in the United States and that figure is now reduced to half. (Samuelson, June 2007). It is predicted that in 2010, cashless options will be used for 70% of transactions. For some situations, cash is no longer an option. American Airlines will no longer take cash for payment in flight for drinks and snacks offered. (Associated, May 2009) Other businesses will not accept checks as a form of payment and will only accept cash or electronic options. These facilities include major chains like Subway, McDonalds and Burger King. The largest retailers, Target and Wal-mart, will accept a check, but it is processed electronically rather then the paper deposits and paper trails of yesterday. Woodfords Model of Cashless Economy There has been much debate over Woodfords model of a cashless economy by many experts in the field of economics. Most experts believe that although some of the ideas brought forth make sense, the model is still incomplete because in real world economics, central banks can affect nominal interest rates. In Woodfords model, he assumes that this does not relate to the real world economy. Woodfords argument is that banks have committed themselves to straightforward objectives to control inflation but price stability creates a basis for economic performance. The basic questions brought about by Woodfords theory are: Should central banks control interest rates? As of now, banks follow a rules-based approach through interest rate targeting which is the preferred policy option. The most relative concepts of Woodfords model are: a pure credit economy, natural rate of interest, cumulative process and rules for monetary policy. In Woodfords model, markets are perfectly competitive, prices adjust continuously to clear markets, and there exist markets in which state-contingent securities of any kind may be traded. In this case, no one would have to hold money and all payments could be handled by transfers or other assets. Basically, all base money would be held in and transferred between bank accounts. In Woodfords cashless economy, he analyzes the need for money to hold according to household demands by holding stocks of assets by which the bank can still profit by generating flows of credit. In this setting, there would need to be perfect competition and complete financial markets making nominal assets that substitute for money. According to the rules of this system, the bank would become the price-taker, not the price-maker. Unfortunately, there is no such th ing as a perfect or complete market, so Woodford allows for central banks the power to vary their price, however, in this scenario it takes away from the purpose of the model in that it is no longer free of monetary friction. Woodfords model of a cashless economy is a concept that may not have an opportunity to be implemented by the central bank system because shortcomings may halt the process of converting to a pure credit economy. Woodford will admit that his model does have its own set of problems. The only way his price setting theory could work is if the environment is in low inflation; it is impossible for the system to work if inflation is accelerating. Experts seem to differ in opinion about a conversion like Woodfords and are not sure if the issues associated are more semantics but the general consensus is that while the model is a step towards a cashless economy; there are many wholes in the system as well. Pros and Cons of a Cashless Economy It almost seemed impossible 20 years ago that the currency that we use for our everyday activities and purchases would be replaced by electronic funds creating a cashless economy. Credit cards use to be the new thing on the market in the 80s but as times have advanced and Americans have embraced the idea, its a thing of the past and part of our economic growth system. The big idea behind the credit cards and direct deposit was to keep money out of the peoples hand and into the banks. Even though cash transitions are not in decline, cashless purchases are steadily increasing and surpassing cash purchases made. It seems to have accomplished its goal because at least one American or household has at least one credit card, if not more. Furthermore, smart cards are squeezing their way into the economy as well. But, with any shift of change especially affecting the economy, there is always a negative and positive side to things. There are many positive ideas about moving toward a cashless economy. The first idea is that in a world without cash, payment is made by using electronic means merely to change the numbers on peoples bank statements. Banks prefer this because its a less expensive way to shift value between people. In many circumstances, handling cash can be troublesome, risky and inconvenient. Surprisingly, we have no figures for the number and value of cash transactions, though we have excellent data for non-cash transactions. (Sydney, 2004) Another positive aspect is that when we talk about employers being paid, electronic funds always seem to be the better way and fastest to get paid. Employees are opting to get there paycheck direct deposited in their bank account rather than receiving the traditional paper check which is almost extinct. According to a survey conducted by the Australian Retailers Association in 2001, cash accounts for only about 40% of the value of all payments received by the su rveyed retailers. (Sydney, 2004) Smart cards on the other hand, are convenient for consumers. Checks are still the most popular way people pay their bills but now there are faster and more convenient ways to do it with the internet, smart cards and over the phone. They would eventually replace all other existing cards such as: credit cards, ATM cards, debit cards etc. Another benefit would be the fact that smart cards remember every transition that was made eliminating the need to save receipts for proof of payment. Third, smart cards would mean less cash handling for merchants. Currently it costs businesses and banks about $60 billion each year to handle cash and coin. Consider that cash gets counted at least five times between you, the merchant, and the bank. (Manchester, 1997) Fourth, it would mean less fraud for banks. Smart cards would virtually eliminate the need for banks to set aside money to cover fraud loss. Fifth, it eases the burden of the government. Collecting taxes fr om citizens could become much easier if taxes were collected from the cards. Even though smart cards seem to be the best thing that will hit the economic market, it has disadvantages to the consumer, and merchant. To begin with being that everything will be transferred to the card there is a need to know what is going on behind the scenes. In other words, when we handle cash or pay for purchases with cash we know exactly how much we paid and how much we have left. But, with the smart card, a transaction is non personal and with that comes usage fees. Another area of concern is the idea of consumer privacy. What information is actually kept private and the information that is being stored, what is it being used for? If your smart card is not properly programmed and secured, a merchant could access your health records, driving record or any other information on the card. (Manchester, 1997) Furthermore, will consumers accept the new card or reject them? Will the smart card require an upfront fee to purchase and fees thereafter? Plus, will the card be accepted an ywhere? Just like credit cards and ATMs there will always be malfunction problems and transaction problems that will need to be addressed. And when we talk about purchases and buying things online from merchants, we have to keep in mind that the merchants will have to update their machines to accept the cards and may have to pay a fee for the convenience of using them as well. So while we count up the advantages and disadvantages of the card the consumer, merchants, banks and government need to consider all of the components the smart card has to offer. America seems to be shifting into a microwave market meaning that they want it right now and dont want to wait. Even the childhood game, Monopoly has gone cashless. Sometimes cashless isnt the best thing, following the old sayings that if its not broken dont fix it. Will the smart card be the ultimate downfall or turning point of the economy? The years to come will only tell, but cash is still here to stay for a while. Electronic Methods of Payment One method of electronic payments is the debit card. A debit card is a bank issued plastic card that is directly linked to a bank account. When you use a debit card, money is deducted from your bank account right away. (Ellis, 2009) This card is beneficial because it allows the user to pay immediately and not pay any interest amount on the purchase because they are using money that is available immediately. Benefits of a debit card include the fact the user pays no interest and its convenience. Negative things about a debit card could be the high bank fees at some institutions and the possible increase of being vulnerable to identity theft of a card linked directly to a bank account. Another method of electronic payment is the credit card. Credit cards can be issued by banks, other financial institutions, retailers and oil companies. There are two different kinds of credit cards and those are credit cards and charge cards. Credit cards allow a line of credit and the user to pay a minimum amount each month and charge cards require the user to pay the full amount charged each month. (Columbia, 2006) Benefits of a credit card include the ability to pay immediately and the convenience. The negative effects would be the often times high interest charged for using the credit card. A third method of electronic payment is the smart card. A smart card is a plastic card the size of a credit card that has a microchip loaded with data. (Security, 2009) A smart card can be loaded for many different applications including dialing a connection to a mobile phone, establishing identity, using at parking meters, giving data at hospitals to avoid filling out forms, or purchase online at electronic stores. Smart cards are currently being used primarily in Europe but are expected to become a larger use of electronic payment as technology continues to advance. Summary A cashless economy seems to have many advantages and disadvantages. It creates less risk for the financial institutions, as well as saving them money. The smartcards save time for the consumer and the financials. The debit and credit cards offer many advantages for financial institutions and consumers as well. As research continues and different methods are explored, time will tell if cashless is the best way to go.

I Choose You

What’s holding you back? Who do you really want to be for the rest of your life? What course will you take then? These are the questions that some high school sstudents encounter. At some point in our high school life, we thought deeply on what course to take in college. We spent hundreds of hours thinking about that one decision that could change us forever. This may be the hardest decision a teenager could ever make because their whole life will reflect on that decision. But who really gets to decide regarding these matters?Is it our paren't or our personal decision? Paren'ts choosing their son/daughter’s career for them have been evident for the past years up until now. What happens to our decision then? Nothing. Those long hours of thinking have gone to waste. Although parent's know what is best for their children, their interference with choosing course in college should be stopped because it hinders freedom, wastes effort and holds back happiness. â€Å"Mothers k now best† is a quotation that has been famous for generations. Before children could actually think for themselves, their parent's decide for what is right and just for them.Paren'ts would only give their best bets and try hard to make the right choices for them. It’s a paren't’s obligation to do so for the first few years of their children’s lives. But does the same principle apply in making a decision on what career path to take? Many parent's questioned the ability of the youth to decide for themselves. According to statistics, only 4% of the teenagers belonging to families that didn’t encourage them to even attend college decided to pursue higher education. On the other hand, 41% of the sstudents belonging to families that not only encouraged but also pushed them to take certain courses chose to do so.This statistics has shown that teenagers are incapable of deciding for themselves. Their way of thinking may still be unfit for the situation.. (W illiam 2010). But still, this doesn’t justify the questionable system of having our parent's decide what career we should pursue. This is because first of all, it hinders one’s freedom. According to an essay, people are generally given the right to livelihood. This is because no one could live without it. If this is so, then, as representatives of oneself, one should have freedom to choose whatever career path to take. The youth of today aspires so many things.However, these aspirations only turn to crushed dreams because parent's want them to fulfill their very own crushed dreams. This is usually the case why parent's restrict their children to only take a certain course (Studymode. com 2011). According to another essay, everyone has the right to freedom. This includes the youth in the sense that they are supervised by their parent's until a certain age when they are fully capable of being responsible for one’s decision. They should be free to explore and learn more than what he/she set out to learn in the first place.Controlling the decision of one’s child in only creating boundaries for learning. Time will come when they have to choose their own career and by then they must’ve developed judgmental qualities to help them choose a better option for them. This way, they have the freedom to express and recognize their talents and potentials that would lead them to a better future (EzineMark. com 2009). Second, it could result to a waste of energy, money, effort, but most importantly, time. Time is the only thing in this world that we could never get back once it passes.Taking a course that is only preferred by our parent's could make the most out of our great time as a youth go to waste. According to an article, one good example of course that is mostly taken by sstudents because of their parent's is nursing. They push their children to take up nursing because they hope that their son/daughter would be able to get a high payin g job in countries that has high demands for nurses like the United States (WordPress 2008). According to Shepherd (2009) the nursing course nowadays dramatically decreases it’s number of sstudents per year.According to real life situations, former nursing sstudents shift to other courses like fashion and pharmacy. Sometimes it may also become a sense of insecurity. Some nursing sstudents complain on how some of their other university friends are discussing a case study in criminal law while they’re stuck in something they don’t prefer just because someone won’t allow them to drop it. It is evident that most of the sstudents who dislikes their given courses result into shifting. This way, a lot of energy, time effort and money have gone to waste. Third, the child would be unsatisfied.This is a common situation nowadays. According to a journalist, every paren't wants his or her child to be successful. This is the reason why they choose their childrenâ€⠄¢s career for them. They demand them to take up something that may not be in their field of interest even if the child could only learn in a trial-and error basis (Anamika 2013). According to an article, there are a lot of cases where the paren't and the child would totally disagree with one another regarding what career to pursue. Paren'ts often prioritize the career where the child could succeed economically.This career is usually way different from the interest of the child. Paren'ts do decide for what’s economically and financially best for their children. However, children consider interest and skills as elements of success more than financial or monetary gains. If you push a child in to something that he is not interested in and at the same time may be beyond his capabilities, he might be pressured to take that course. And in the end, it may only result to failure, frustration and depression (SoundVision 2010). There’s nothing wrong with parent's wanting their c hildren to be successful.

The Role of Sports in Popular Culture

The Role of Sports in Popular Culture In 1972, President Richard Nixon signed Title XI of the Education Amendments (1972). This law simple states, â€Å"No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation, in be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. † (United States Department of Justice, Section 1681, 2013).In this assignment, Team B will address the issues of gender equality in sports. First, we will provide a brief history and its current state. Next, we will construct an argument about the influence the issue has on sports, its fans, athletes, and imagined communities. Following this, the team will make recommendations about how to consume and participate in sports responsibly, whether watching or playing. Gender Equality in Sports Gender equality in sports has a long and bittersweet history.This history is riddled with discrimination an d division of female athletes from elementary schools, high schools, collegiate, and the professional level. Nevertheless, there have been major accomplishments by female athletes. For example, in 1932 an American, Helene Madison was the first woman in the Olympics to swim 100 yards under a minute. In 1958, the Italian, Maria-Teresa became the first woman to compete in the European Grand Prix.A Moroccan woman named Nawal El Moutawakel became the first woman to win an Olympic medal in the 400-meter hurdles in the 1984 Olympics. Finally, Tegla Loroupe was the first Kenyan to win a marathon in 1994. Today, gender equality in sports has more to do with equal pay, media coverage, and promoting a female athlete as a part time model. The discrimination still exists because it denies the female athlete’s ability, talent, and skills and focuses on them as a sexy object.Case in point, Danica Patrick the first woman to win an IndyCar Series is often depicted as a swimsuit model rather t han a professional racecar driver. Nevertheless, the history of woman in sports will continue to thrived and achieve major accomplishments. Reference Title XI of the Education Amendments of 1972. (2013). Title XI of the Education Amendments of 1972. Retrieved from http://www. justice. gov/crt/about/cor/coord/ixlegal. php#I. Overview of Title IX: Interplay with Title VI, Section 504, Title VII, and the Fourteenth Amendment

Management by Objectives - 1215 Words

Management by Objectives Motivating employees seems to be a challenge for managers - Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the MBO program and provide at least one example to support your discussion. Goal-Setting Theories have evolved since the 50s and have an impressive documented literature. The Goal-Setting Theory addresses the issues that goal specificity, challenge, and feedback have on performance (Robbins, 2009, p185). Setting goals and motivating employees are always an important issue for a manager, however in certain cases it is difficult to make it operational. A more systematic way to utilize goal setting is with the management by objectives program (MBO), which introduced the system of SMART method of goals that†¦show more content†¦As an example I could refer to the Texas state government, who initiated the management by objectives program in 1978 and ten years later analyzed the results (Lee, 1989, An Analysis of the Implementation and Effectiveness of Management by Objectives (MBO) in Texas State Government). As it was already mentioned beforehand this method has also its advantages and disadvantages, but let’s see which they were in this specific case. On the whole the analysis highlighted that there was a common agreement that the main elements of the MBO program are practiced at managerial levels. Managers pointed out that their units and divisions became goal and result oriented, the work objectives were clearly defined and were put in writing. 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