Assignment Blog Links




MARKETING BLOG

My favorite ad!
With the essentials of marketing, the 4 Ps :)

To1:
Chuanyu Chow Sheena Halena Sheryl Amanda Julinda PeiQing Alison Joshua Cheryl Shoot SinYee Francine Ronny Bryan Marcus Bernice Billy Jonathan Grace Shine Janell
To2:
Apple ChengXi Cynthia Eugene Glenn Glory Istianah JuoWi Justine KayYong Mabel Matthew Melissa Prasana Shaun Shawnald SingYee ThyeLeng WeiLing YeeHong ZhiQiang

Someone do remember to link the names to the posts when they're done. Or you link your own stuff here.

EXTERNALITIES BLOG
To1:
Chuan Yu Chow Sheena Halena Sheryl Amanda Julinda Pei Qing Alison Joshua Cheryl Shoot Sin Yee Francine Ronny Bryan Marcus Bernice Billy Jonathan Grace Shine Janell

To2:
Apple Cheng Xi Cynthia Eugene Glenn Glory Istiana Juo Wi Justine Kay Yong Mabel Matthew Melissa Prasana Shaun Shawnald Sing Yee Thye Leng Wei Ling Yee Hong Zhi Qiang

Labels: externality, links, marketing

Externalities: Lifts A Necessity?
Recently there has been mixed feelings about the new housing blocks upgrading scheme introduced by the Singapore government, one of the most popular topics is the upcoming new lifts that stops on every level. However, this is not implemented in every residential area, which is a controversial topic among Singaporeans.

The objectives of these lift upgrades is a part of a broader exercise to help struggling small- and medium-sized contractors get through the worsening recession by offering them a range of projects, each valued at S$50million or less.

This is an externality because it does not only benefit the contractors, but also the people living in the residential blocks, where the lifts are to be upgraded. These positive externalities, also known as external benefits, are applicable to this, for a few reasons.

Residents experiencing mobility difficulties, like the elderly and the less fortunate, can have some relief from constant climbing of steps to reach their homes. Lifts on every level will help elderly to ease the tension from their bodies and reduce the friction between joints. While, on the other hand, help disabled personnel to reduce the risk of injury whie navigating the stairs.

Another reason is the convenience of the lift. For example, a resident requiring medical assistance needs to be rush to the hospital in the shortest time possible, medical personnel would be able to use the lift. This will reduce the time needed to reach the hospitial, as compared to going down the steps of the stairs. The introduction of lifts on every level will shorten the time at least by half.

In addition, if a resident requires moving bulky or heavy items, it would be much easier to transport the items with lifts on every level. This will help reduce the risk of injury while carrying it up and down the stairs.

Before the government decides to introduce this scheme, the lifts are not accessible to every level. It causes inconvenience to the residents as they still need to climb a certain number of steps before actually reaching their houses.

However, there are negative externalities too. For one, during this upgrading of lifts, the construction has cause significant inconvenience for the residents living in the areas, as one of the lifts has to be condone off for upgrading.

The remaining working lift would have to cater to the residents in the block, and they would need to wait longer for the lift during the peak hours and busy periods. If the working lift were to break down, residents living on the higher levels will be the ones affected the most as they have to walk down the stairs.

Adding on to it, the construction will cause much noise and disruption during the upgrading period, and also dust and dirt would travel into the resident’s apartment thus causing the home to be dirty and it will spark off health problems especially the elders and those with asthma. The hygiene in environment is also affected as rats and roaches are a common sight in the vicinity of the construction.

After the lifts are upgraded, the lifts may be abused too. Here are some examples, a child urinating in the lifts due to urgency, graffiti by teenagers, people may hog the lift too as a result of its convenience, and people would not be able to have a chance to use it.

In conclusion, I feel that it is a necessity, as it is for the greater good that we look after the less fortunate and people who need help.

Janell Tan T01

Labels: externality

An example of negative externality is over usage of CFCs - chlorofluorocarbons.

CFCs are used in refrigerants, air conditioners, propellants for aerosols, for generating foamed plastics like expanded polystyrene or polyurethane foam, and as solvents for dry cleaning and for general degreasing purposes.All the CFC products are invented to improve standard of living of people and it also benefits people. For example, refrigerants give people the benefit to drink cold water and air conditioner cools people.However, these products cause negative impact to the earth. CFC causes damage to the ozone layer resulting in the depletion of the ozone layer.

THYELENG

Labels: externality

Retail
There are positive externalities in beauty and fashion such as

In beauty and fashion, Singapore is the dream shopping destination for High Net Worth Individuals. With many international lavish brands such as Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Salvatore Ferragamo and Chanel having chosen to invest in Singapore, such individuals with high purchasing power will still remain in motion despite the current economic downturn.

This shows that despite the poor economic outlook, the retail sector has proven profitable in Singapore, in fact, there still remains strong growth especially in the beauty and fashion sector.
We can assume that this growth is due to a mindset shift in 'preference of local consumers towards premium goods' thus the flourishing retail scene. With new shopping malls being built, such as the Illuma and ION Orchard, together with 'international retailers entering the local arena' is evidence of the assurance they have of the Singapore market.


Thanks
Halena Fonseka

The presence of numerous sales promotions and financial cards privileges aid in encouraging consumer expenditure such the uniquely Great Singapore Sale which is a favoroed event among the locals and a somewhat attraction for the tourists. On top of the upcoming establishment of the IR's, the establishment of integrated resorts, spending power of tourists and locals will expose the prospects the local retailing scene holds.

Labels: externality

One of the externalities in Singapore will be the “recent” Formula one race held in the central area of Singapore. It was said that the night race has attracted more than 40,000 foreign visitors and generated 168 million sing dollars.

Why is it an externality?

The sole benefiter of the event should only be the organizers of F1. (Who are selling the tickets) However hotels and other sectors nearby benefitted from the event.

External benefits (Positive externality)

Shopping centres near the F1 race will have an increase of sales due to the increase of crowd in that area. Food courts/restaurants in the shopping centres will earn more as tourist and viewers will have their dinner before going for the event. Several hotel suites offering a view of parts of the track priced from 8000 Singapore dollars a night. Hence there will be an economic surplus for the hotels as they do not get to charge their customers at this rate during usual days. In addition, it was told that alcohol was expected to increase at least 50% in sales during F1 weekend. This is because alcohol(compliment) are being bought by people while viewing the event and hotels are offering champagne and wines to customers who have booked suites for viewing of the F1 race. All these are under external benefits, as hotels benefitted from the event even though they did not pursue the event.

External cost (negative externalities)

Due to this event, road blocks were being set up; public transports were being diverted away from the event venue. As the event was held at the central area of Singapore, people who work there and even people who are just passing by will have to take two busses instead of the usual one as roads were being closed, as a result individuals will have to spend more on transportation so as to reach their destination. Cars need to take more detours; as a result more oil is being spent on going extra miles. Thus this affect resources allocation, money that could be spent on other things were being spend more on transportation for individuals. Because of the blockage of roads near the event venue, many other roads will be conjested as a result, traffic will be slow, and individuals might end up late for work and hence individual has to pay for the cost of being stuck in a traffic jam. The cost may come in the form of money (those who are paid on a hourly basis), energy (the need to wake up earlier so as to get away from the congestion) and many other factors.

Jonathan Lau

Labels: externality

Playing music loudly

Externality is the external benefit or cost to people around the primary consumer arising from an activity, in this case playing music loudly. Is it boon or bane?

Benefit/ Boon

Your neighbor on one side could be your contemporaries and enjoy the same music genres as you; hence they will appreciate and enjoy the music that you play. They would not have to switch on their radio nor tap on any electrical source to get the music. For these people, they are getting what we call a “free lunch”. Another place where loud music may have a positive externality is the park. When you go to the park and play some music to accompany your exercise regime, people in the park who are also exercising would also be able to benefit from it.

Cost/ Bane

Your neighbor on the other side may require some peace and quiet to take an afternoon nap, to revise for an exam, or to watch television etc. Alternatively, they may prefer soothing music such as baroque over heavy metal. Loud music contributes to noise pollution. It affects the serenity of the environment, posing problems to people around its source. In places like the library, patrons are encouraged to preserve silence so as not to disturb others. Getai cannot play loud music after 11 pm. Hearing loud music over a prolonged hearing can result in negative effects such as loss of hearing to the user and others. Some commuters on public transports tend to turn the volume of their mp3 players to the maximum such that it is audible to passengers around them, which can be a nuisance and irritant.

Bryan WWZ T01

Labels: externality

Improving the economy
There are externalities in the a situation of trying to improve the economy, be it positive or negative. Externalities are known as external effects, often unforeseen or unintended, accompany a process or activity.

Positive:
In this unstable economy right now, many countries, governments and companies are doing their best to improve the economy. The fact that they are trying their best to improve the economy, is a good thing as it will allow many people to have jobs again and will allow more people to be able to live without worries, as to whether they have enough money to spend in the future. This will bring forth a very positive outlook within the many economies of countries all over the world.


Negative:
However, as more companies are trying to improve the economy, they nelected the fact that through their production of goods, it has caused pollution to increase in one way or another. Industries, in the process of producing more materials, have casued more pollution through their wastes and air pollution. This has therefore caused the weather to be affected all over the world, in a way causing global warming to get worse. It can be seen during these few weeks of weather in Singapore, as it has got hotter and more humid as compared to the past few years, causing us to feel uncomfortable.





Joshua Leong T01 (:

Labels: externality

Taking Public Transport
There are positive externalities when we take public transport like the Mass Rapid Transport (MRTs) or buses to school or to work.

Positive:
When we take public transport other cars on the roads will have a lesser chance of having traffic jams and it will allow people who are rushing to school, work or making deliveries be able to reach their destination in time. This will allow them to be more productive as time is money.

When we take public transports we reduce the emission of carbon monoxide into the air. According to SMRT, you can reduce your carbon footprint by 91% with the train, and 67% with the bus. In a year, your carbon footprint is 29kg when you take an SMRT train and 101kg when you take an SMRT bus. If you take a car, your carbon footprint is 308kg. The carbon monoxide that is released can cause carbon monoxide poisoning. Taking public transport will cause less pollution to the earth.

The wear and tear on the roads because of the huge number of vehicles using them will require money and time to be repaired.

Needless to say, with lesser vehicles on the streets, there is a lesser chance of an car accident to occur, which will be beneficial to pedestrians.


Done by: Sng Yee Hong

Labels: externality

Drugs
When one of the members of a family retreats into drug addiction, it becomes impossible for the family to stay healthy as a link in the chain is sorely damaged. The side effects of the drug such as defensiveness, anxious behaviour and mood swings not only affect the user himself, they also make even more difficult for a family to understand or get along with the drug user. Families who are unable to get help or rehabilitation for a member who is addicted to drugs will ultimately be witness to the slow death of that individual. If the addicted family member repeatedly refuses intervention, in some cases the family is forced to outcast this member. Rather than allow the addicted member of the family to constantly put others at a risk, some families make the ultimate decision to cut all ties with the addicted person. This can cause conflicts within the remaining members of the family, as they contemplate feelings of betrayal or anger.


SINYEE TO1

Labels: externality

Externalities: Driving a Lamborghini

Done by:
Justine (T02)

Labels: externality

Externalities
Education as an externality

Externalities are instances whereby a decision is made and people who are not involved in any way of the decision making are affected by it. There are two types of externalities, positive and negative.

A positive eternality, also known as external benefit, is when others benefit due to an activity that we pursue. How is education related here? Well, being in Singapore whereby education determines our future, our economy will benefit as a result from us being more productive, creative and equipped. Our community will also benefit due to us being able to rationale better. This will allow us to make better decisions towards situations like when we are about to commit a crime, we are able to weigh our costs due to the things that we have learnt and this will therefore, refrain us from committing the crime and this benefits our community and others. Therefore due to us pursuing a good education and wanting a better future, the benefit is whereby our company and economy will grow and negative things like crime rates are actually reduced.

A negative externality, also known as a external cost, is when others are harmed as a result of an activity that we pursue. Being in such a competitive society whereby grades mean everything to us. Weaker students may be affected emotionally and mentally when they are unable to keep up to the standards or do not do as well as others. This may result in undesired actions such as giving up on school, skipping class or totally not caring about education. This is one externality that we should prevent as education is very important.

Shaun T02

Labels: externality

Being in a relationship
Externalities are instances whereby a decision is made and people who are not involved in any way of the decision making are affected by it. There are two types of externalities, positive and negative. Positive externality happens whereby people not involved in the decision making, benefit from it while a negative externality is whereby those not directly involved in the decision making are affected by it.

One example of a negative externalities in Singapore, would be that of being in a relationship. In bad times of a relationship, be it when a couple is in a midst of a break-up or the couple had a very bad argument which resulted in a cold war, they would both end up to be in a foul mood.
in other instances, they might even make a decision to just stay away from everyone that cares for them. Why did i classify this as a negative externality?
It would be because, whenever such things happen. It would affect those around them. Friends and family that care for them.

In an event that the couple has had a bad argument and either party is in a foul mood, even if friends tried to show their concern by simply asking how is he/her feeling, she may ignore or even scold his/her concerned friends. In this instance, friends of the involved party may be worried and thus be unable to concentrate on more inportant stuffs, like homework, but instead think and try to figure out what had happened.

In an event that the couple had just broken up. It might result in the involved party being emotionally unstable. When this happen, the involved party might turn to ways and means to express how they are feeling deep down inside. The involved party might result to doing silly things like isolating oneself and even inflicting injuries to onself, thinking that it would make them feel better. When all this happens, it would cause unnecessary worry in his/her friends, family and even school lecturers. When the involved party goes missing in action (MIA), concerned parties may tend to wonder about what had seriously happened and might make assumptions.

But in every situation there will always be the pros and cons, a positive and negative parts of it. Being in a relationship may also be a positive externality. In good times, when both parties of the relationship are happy together, they would tend to be a form of motivation to each other. In a sense that, they will motivate each other to work hard together in life and in school work too. When this happens, parents and teachers can sense the determination of the couple, thus they would be more willing to interact with them.

Being in a relationship can also be a positive externality as, for a couple to stay long together, they would learn many life values and apply it in life. For example, when either party is working in the service line, with values learnt applied to work, customers would have a good impression on him/her.

Thus, being in a relationship may be a negative or a positive externality, cause whenever something bad happens within the relationship, the friends and family of the concerned party would be affected and suffer the unnecessary worry for him/her. And applicable values may be learnt from being in a relationship and applied on life which would in turn give good impression to others. Being in a relationship would be a form of motivation to the involved parties' parents and teachers. (:

done by Bernice Lim-T01

Labels: externality

smoking as an externality.

Externality cost.

Also known as negative externality.

Negative externalities happen when the social cost is higher than the private cost.

Cigarettes- a demerit good.

Even with all the negative health impacts it has on the smoker, his private benefit provides him or her with an image of independence, and even maturity to most smokers would want to have as they are insecure with their immaturity.

Cigarettes are a demerit good as they have a negative externality against the society. When somebody buys a pack of heavily taxed cigarettes, the person smokes and pollutes the air, hence costing the society more than the individual. It also can lead to other things like lung cancer of the passive smokers around him, costing them to pay the price even though cigarettes are already very heavily taxed in our society.

Labels: externality

Video Games


Issue: My dad buys home a new video game.

Positive Externalities:
When my dad buys home a video game, the whole family gets a chance to play and enjoy it. We get to spend quality time together while playing the video game. Also, our family can then save the money and time travelling to the nearest arcade to play that same game. In the way, we save money in not only the arcade but also money on petrol. We also get to play the game as and when to our convenience. This helps save travelling time to the arcade too.

Negative Externalities:
However, when the family is playing the video game; the noise becomes a negatve externality to our neighbours. It might be a source of noise pollution that distracts them from doing their work. Also, addiction to the video game might also occur and this might be a major negative externality that will occur.

SHEENA LIM. T01. :)

Labels: externality

Externality: Dr Red giving free tickets to "Common Cents".
Externality consists of negative and positive externalities. The positive impact is called external benefit while the negative impact is called external cost. Today I am gonna write about something that happened recently. That is Dr Red gave us free tickets to a play by TheVOICE, "Common Cents". The play talks about how 2 protagonists fall into monetary debts that caused them to want to give up their lives. In the end, they pluck themselves up with the help of their loved ones and became successful people. Those that went to the play did not pay for the tickets but benefitted with values taught by the play. They teach that though in this recession and economic downturn, life still goes on no matter what happen. Thus this is a positive externality.

Labels: externality

what would the world be without externalities?
Externality: Dr Red's absence from school.

"A cost of an activity that falls on people other than those who pursue the activity."
(Frank & Bernanke, 2007)

That's "externality", defined by Frank and Bernanke.

It exists in every part of our lives; there's no escaping it.

Since most of the topics have already been covered by my fellow course mates, I shall touch on a point which just happened recently.

On the 4th of May 2009, a fine sunny Monday, I was having a supposedly arranged group meeting with my members when we received a shocking SMS from our friend.

“Don’t come school.
Red sick.”

The 3 of us, who were already in school, got turned off by this informative SMS. The three of us took great efforts to wake up early in the morning at 8am just to make sure we arrive in school on time for project discussion, and lessons at 11am.

Firstly, if we had known that Dr Red would be absent, we would have arranged to meet on another day instead of Monday as Dr Red’s class is the only one on the Monday schedule. The time and effort wasted to wake up early, reach school early and prepare for group discussion have been wasted. This is a negative externality.

The time and effort spent could be used on doing other things which would be beneficial to us. One example would be using it to get ample sleep. I believe that the 3 of us, and others students who actually went to school, did not have the optimal 8hrs of sleep, just to be on time for the lecture.

Well, that is for the externality (positive or negative) that we all know. Now, let me introduce you to a new concept of controlled and uncontrolled externality, alongside with it being positive or negative.

Other than an externality being negative or positive, it can also fall until controlled or uncontrolled. This is a case of uncontrolled externality. Dr Red’s illness taking place was beyond his control. The level of externality is also not controlled. And in cases such as this, the loss is often much higher than cases of a controlled externality. An example of a controlled externality would be smoking or littering, activities carried out due to decisions.

Activities can be classified into 4 groups, A, B, C, or D.



Externalities are important factors which could affect lives vastly, thus, knowing the concept or positive, negative, controlled, or uncontrolled could mean a lot in everyday life.

the legendary CHANSEEEEE wrote this.

Labels: externality

LITTERING
What are externalities? An externality occurs in economics when a decision (for example, to pollute the environment) causes costs or benefits to individuals or groups other than the person making the decision. There are different externalities that occur in Singapore, be it positive or negative.

One of the negative externalities in Singapore will be littering. Many people in Singapore tend to litter as they are very lazy to walk to the nearest dustbin to throw their litter. This serves as a negative externality as when more and more people are doing this, the government has to employ more cleaners to clean up the area. Let’s just say throwing litter in the school, who will be affected in a negative way? Firstly, it will be the school. The school will have to employ more janitors to pick up trash and to clean up the school. Secondly, due to this, the citizens have to pay taxes to support the operation of the school.
Next, imagine the people who litter in the park, this would ruin the enjoyment of others who are strolling or running in the park. Not only that, this would also incur a cost in the landlords or the property owners as this would adversely affect the nearby property prices. Trash that isn’t taken out promptly will also smell and attract pests. This in turn will have an adverse effect on the citizens. They will have to incur health costs too as they will be affected due to the poor hygiene around the area.
Thus, the government has implemented fines on littering.

However, I am not only going to talk about the common littering that you see while walking along the streets or roads. What I am going to say now will be the littering of chewing gums. Often, many people tend to throw away the wrapper after unwrapping the chewing gum. Due to this, they will just spit out after eating it. Not only that, some may just stick the chewing gum on bus seats, key holes or even underneath the tables. This has caused serious maintenance problem in HDBs, with vandals disposing of gums in mailboxes, inside keyholes, and even on elevator buttons. Chewing gums left on floors, stairways and pavements in public areas increased the cost of cleaning and damaged cleaning equipment. Mr. S Dhanabalan, chairman of Temasek Holdings, has mentioned that the HDB spent $75,000 a year to remove the chewing gums from walls and floors in housing estates. This has indeed caused a headache in the government.
Thus, chewing gum was being banned in Singapore in 1992. On 2004, the law was being revised and Singapore government has allowed sales of chewing gums in pharmacies. However, Singaporeans have to sign their name on a piece of paper before buying them. Although Singapore has taken precautions against the littering of chewing gums and also by importing only a small batch of certain chewing gums, we are still not sure if this negative externality will occur again.


weiling T02

Labels: externality

EXTERNALITIES
Externalities refers to everything that occurs outside of the price. There are two types of externalities; positive and negative. a negative externality is a cost of an activity that falls on people other than those who pursue the activity. where else a positive one is benefits of an activity recieved by people other then those who pursue the activity.

my example of externality is my brother's drumming. his in a band and practices at home almost everyday for hours. whenever he plays it rather inconvienent for the family. for example the tv volume has to be turned up louder then usual so that we are able to hear it. he would also lock the door and keeps the house phone inside the room with him, when the phone rings he wouldnt answer cause he cant hear it, this has cause us to miss some rather important phone calls. my brother's drumming is a negative externaltity because whenever he plays we have to pay the price!

chuan yu

Labels: externality

Externality: Renewal of Books
When one borrows a book from the National Library, the loan is only for 3 weeks. To extend the loan by another 3 weeks, one has to pay a rate of $0.50 per book for the renewal of deadline for that particular book. However, if you’re just late in returning the book for a day or 2, the fine for each day would be $0.15 per book.

However, recently the National Library Board has made a change to this practice of borrowing and renewal of books. Now, one can renew their books for free for another 3 weeks, thus enabling the borrower to hold on to the book for a total of 6 weeks. This new change of rules has made borrowing books from the library difficult as the each library has an average of 2 copies of the same title, and since the implementation of this rule, each book loaned out from the library has an average of 4 weeks loan.

Thus, the current renewal practice is a both a positive and a negative externality.

It is a negative externality because the borrower would get to have the book for another 3 weeks without paying or making any form of compensation to the library or the other readers for holding onto the book for a total of 6 weeks. Other readers who may be waiting for the book would then have to wait for another 3 weeks because the borrower has extended his loan.

It is also a positive externality in the way that all borrowers/readers can extend their loans/deadlines of the books for another 3 weeks for free, thus allowing them to loan the book for a total of 6 weeks.

~Francine Wee

Labels: externality

Throwing litter as an externalities

One example of externalities is the act of littering in public places. Many people litter out of their convenience. This is a form of externalities as there are people who benefitted from this course of action as well as people who have to pay the price for this action

For people who are unable to find a job, the act of littering in public places serves as a positive externality to them as the government would have to hire people to clean up the places. However, there is still a limited number of people whom the government would hire as cleaners to clean up public areas. This is due to the law of diminishing returns as there might not be that much litter for too many cleaners to clean up. If the government hires too many cleaners, then the marginal cost to hire one more cleaner would be higher than the marginal benefit (which is the amount of litter they clear).

For other people, the act of littering in public places serves as a negative externality. This is because the litter thrown will dirty public places, causing it to be unhygienic resulting in the breeding of virus and germs leading to other people getting ill. This will impose a cost on these people who did not throw the litter as they will have to visit a doctor to get their illness cured. Another negative externality is the effect on the tourism industry. Tourist might not want to visit Singapore because they might not feel comfortable with the polluted environment. Although the people working in the tourism industry might not have littered, however their business may still be affected.

The government also imposes fines in order to deter people from littering.

Kay Yong T02

Labels: externality

Cheryl - 10 January
Shumin - 15 January
Chuan Yu - 3 February
Jonathan - 24 February
Grace - 2 March
Alison - 31 March
Adeline - 20 April
Halena - 23 April
Julinda - 9 May
Sheryl - 29 May
Billy - 31 May
Amanda - 4 October
Bernice - 22 July
Francine - 30 July
Bryan - 31 July
Matthew - 31 July
Joshua - 15 August
Janell - 21 August
Sin Yee - 6 September
Ronny - 14 September
Shine - 15 October
Marcus - 5th November
Pei Qing - 10 December
Sheena - 27 December