–CONSTRUCTION– Construction Things

Recessed Can

Recessed Can

Recession Impact

A recession is a period for two or more consecutive quarters in which GDP declines, consumer spending decreases, unemployment is on the rise and income decreases. The recession of 2008 -2010 brought all these elements with it and hit the world. We now live in a globalized world. International trade, commerce and communication have opened the doors for everyone to contact and interact with the world. The world is so interconnected that any change in any country is felt in many other countries. Recession is a product of economic interconnectedness and globalization.

This article focuses on the effects of recession on different components of the economy namely retail sales, foreign companies, labor issues, factories.

The effect of current economic conditions on retail sales

Retail sales are the important components of an economy. The retail sales data is a useful economic indicator as it helps in calculating a nation's gross domestic product (GDP). The retail sales index is used to determine the volume of retail sales. The retail sales index measures the amount of goods sold within the retail industry 1.

Retail sales also represent the purchasing power of the general public. Consumer spending is a significant indicator of the strength of the economy because it constitutes for more than two thirds of the national economic output. A change in the retail sales affects inflation and also affects interest rates charged by the central bank.

Retail sales are affected by the changes in the economic conditions. Due to the recession of 2008, retail sales level dropped all around the world for a period of almost two year. Consumer spending, in times of recession, focuses on necessities rather than the big items.

By the end of 2009, sales levels were depressing in the US as retail giants such as Nordstrom, The Gap, Target and Wal-Mart showed negative sales. Only Wal-Mart managed to achieve positive growth rate of 2.4 %. By mid 2010, retail sales had shown some improvements (Sugialam).

Middle-East, South Asia and Africa were no better than the rest of the world. Except for countries like Japan and Saudi Arabia, all the countries faced problems similar to those being faced by western countries.

Unemployment, decline in retail sales and terrorism were three of the major hurdles in the way for Asian and African countries to try to escape the vicious trap of recession (Elliott).

The effect of current economic conditions on employment levels

Recession of 2008-09 led to an increase in the unemployment rate all around the world, The United States was hit hard by recession as well. The unemployment rate rose from 4.1 % in December 2007 to 10.1% in October 2009. The total number of unemployed people reached 212 million which, according to the International Labor Organization, was the highest level ever recorded. In the OECD countries, unemployment rate rose from 5.7 % in 2007 to 8.6 % in 2009. Germany, Poland and the Netherlands happen to be the only European countries where unemployment rates have either decreased a little or remained the same (UN General Assembly).

Some of the major steps taken by the companies in both the Europe and the US were:

1)    Layoff temporary workers

2)    Temporary closures

3)    Cutting back overtime hours

4)    Dismissing core workers

5)     Restricting hiring of employees

The employed labor faced the problems of extra stress and workload as they were forced to work in lieu of their dismissed fellow workers.

Inflation and shortage of money led many workers into the crime world. Suicide rates increased year after year in almost all the countries whether rich or poor (Klock, Kelly and Richards).

Effects of economic crisis on women in the labor market

Female employment is less vulnerable to changes in the economic conditions. During the world wide recession of 2008-10 female unemployment decreased at a very low rate as compared to male unemployment. In the European Union, the presence of females in the labor force increased while male employment was badly hit.

The effect of current economic conditions on foreign companies

Big companies were not spared by the recession of 2008. Many multinationals faced the same problems which were faced by the small firms. Recession brings a decline in revenue as well as profits and also an increase in costs. Big companies, with some potential to fight the economic turmoil initially, fail to maintain efficiency or productivity sooner or later (Economic Reccovering).

When costs have risen there remains no other option for any company, but to lay off employees and cut on costs.

Another effect on these companies is that shortage of money created additional problems. Shareholders had no option but to forego their annual dividends .Due to the stock market crash, the shareholders found themselves worse.

Many of the companies faced an additional problem in the form of the accounts receivables. It's usual for companies to buy and sell on credit basis, but recession forced many of the debtors and creditors to suffer. Many debtors couldn't payback their debts as they had already been hit by the recession. Due to slow inflow of cash many companies found it hard to pay their bills. The immediate solution was to delay payments. This led to lower credit ratings and indicated the financial health of the companies.

Many foreign companies hesitated to invest in the countries where their plants were operating. Companies preferred to send the income back to their home countries or headquarters. The financial structures of most of the countries were badly affected and as a result, potential investors lost confidence in the institutions who would undertake the task of managing their investments (Stangler).

The effect of current economic conditions on factory closures

The recession of 2008-2010 led to bankruptcy of many financial institutions as well as private companies all around the world. Many manufacturers ended up having big inventories which further made contributions to the storage and handling costs borne by entrepreneurs.

The recession badly affected the automobile industry in the US. Many of the giants of the automobile industry filed for bankruptcy including the world renowned General Motors.

Not only were the effects of recession felt in the manufacturing sector but also the tertiary sector of many countries. Banks, building companies and insurance companies were also badly hit. Many of these institutions were either taken over by other companies or filed for bankruptcy.

Individuals were the ones who lost the most. The trend of purchasing on credit proved to be disastrous for Americans especially. Shortage of money, huge debts and accumulated interest led many individuals to abandon their homes, cars and other private properties which were earlier purchased on credit (Denver).

Some companies reduced the quality of their products as; maintenance of quality requires big funds and sustained demand. This move led to a further decline in sales and thus lower profits.

The effect of current economic conditions on factory orders

Recession is not a positive sign for any state. In economics, recession is described and discussed at every step. Recession is accompanied by a fall in the demand for goods and services. The condition of the economy led to a decrease in the demand of goods produced by manufacturers. As a result, manufactures started building inventories and halted production.

Automobile manufacturers had inventories which would have been sufficient for the next few years but a fall in demand and shortage of money led to bankruptcy of those firms. Factories were left idle and the productivity decreased.

Smaller business suffered more than the bigger businesses. The bankruptcy rate for small companies was higher than that for the big companies.

By 2010, the manufacturing sector started experiencing growth (Watkins, Valley and Alley).

Controversy in market competition

Market competition is often claimed to be a good thing if market forces are working, but these things are to be found in books only. The real world is not as perfect as it seems.

1)      The United Sates & Brazil : Bio-fuel controversy

 

The United States and Brazil produce and control more than 70 % of world's ethanol. Since 2007 criticism has been raised on the alliance of the USA and Brazil in trying to make ethanol from corn and other foods. The criticism was raised even by many influential leaders like Fiedel Castro.

The basic argument was that if corn and other food will be used to produce ethanol, then what will the poor eat? Ethanol was being developed in to a fuel for machinery.

Features of free trade:

• Trade of goods without taxes or other trade barriers (e.g., quotas on imports or subsidies for producers).
• Trade in services without taxes or other trade barriers.
• Free access to markets.
• Free access to market information.
• Inability of firms to distort markets through government-imposed monopoly or oligopoly power
• The free movement of labor between and within countries
• The free movement of capital between and within countries

Some claims made by the advocates of Free trade

• Free trade is right
• Increasing commerce makes war less likely
• Free trade reduces poverty
• Free trade enriches cultures
• Free trade enhances national security

 

Labor issues involving strikes, slowdowns and contracts

Labor issues are not new to anyone. Multinational companies take special care of workers, but then also, problems arise. There can be several reasons behind labor issues. It is really not easy to please labor, but multinational companies tend to do so by mean of special bonuses and several other management tactics.

Strikes:

Strikes are disputes of the labor force with the employers which are accompanied by slowdowns, stoppage of work and if situation gets out of hand then it may lead to violence. Strikes can either be illegitimate or legitimate. It depends from situation to situation whether the workers are right or the employer (LIG Reporter).

Trade unions are the organizations of workers which take the responsibility of negotiating with the employers for the workers. Often, these trade unions are involved in calling for strikes.

Slowdowns:

Slowdown is deliberately slowing down of work to cause employer some loss in order to achieve some benefits.

Contracts:

Contract is known as agreement. Contract holds significant and prominent position in business field. In every relationship, contract is involved. From buying to selling, contract is found everywhere in economics. Contracts between employers and the workers are of utmost importance. Any breach of the contract may allow the victim to take the case in to court. When employers fire workers in any emergency and breach the contracts, there is trouble for the employers to face unless they negotiate with the workers.

Strikes and slowdowns happen due to a single reason: to force the employer to negotiate or agree to the demands of the workers.

Business opportunities and environmental issues

For most of the companies today, environment has become a major concern. No longer is environment something to be left to the general public or the government to take care of.

For businesses, it is another opportunity to enhance their business profitability and further increase their goodwill. Businesses involved in environment protection plans and social welfare have experienced cost reductions and good reputation in the society.

The consumers of today are not the like the ones of the past. Today's consumer is well aware of the company he or she is dealing with. Consumers value environment and society and many of the pressure groups active in all the societies have made it easier for the public to protest against any company involved in activities harmful either harmful to the society or the environment.

Today many of the CEOs and managers running big companies give environment great value. Some endeavors undertaken by such companies are made known to the public through advertisements or sponsorships of charity events.

The reason why these companies are involved in environment protection activities is that business and environment have to go hand in hand. In addition to that many governments have started imposing fines and taxes on the businesses which are found involved in activity which may harm either the public or the ecosystem.

Corporate social responsibility is up to the managers of the companies to undertake. Failure to do so may result in long term failure of the business.

 

 

About the Author

 

Works Cited

 

Denver, Colorado. "A Think Tank Sponsored by the National Endowment for Financial Education." Motivating Americans to Develop Constructive Financial Behaviors (2004).

Elliott, Elison. "Elison Elliott." 2011. Global Market. 2011 .

"is UK Overely Optimistic About Economic Reccovering." Your Portal to the world. 2011 .

Klock, Evans C, et al. "Public policy and labour-management initiatives in selected OECD countries." Employment and Training Papers 24 (n.d).

LIG Reporter. "Indian Laws on the Right to Strike." 2008. Law is Greek. 26 January 2011 .

Stangler, Dane. "Anti-Federalists in the Twenty-First Century." 2011. Growthologist. 2011 .

Sugialam, Yohanes. "An Imminent Economic Recovery." 2009. 2010 .

UN General Assembly. "International migration and development." 2010. Globalization and interdependence. 2010 .

Watkins, Thayer, Silicon Valley and Tornado Alley. "A Statistical Review of Current Economic Conditions in the US." December 2010. 26 January 2011 .

 

 

 

 

 

 

Changing a recessed flourescent light to incandescent?

I recently moved into a condo that had in the powder room, as its single light source, a recessed flourescent light. The bulb was a 2 pin Sylvania DULUX D 13 W flourescent. If I want to change to a screw in standard incandescent can I just change the buld recepticle or do I need to change the whole assembly? Is there a special transformer of ballast that is hidden somewhere that I need to worry about? Thanks in advance.

the only way to do this is to replace the fixture. not very hard if you are good with tools. or call an electrician if you need to, the charge should be around 100.00 to 150.00 if you call someone close. there is a ballast that works fluorescent type lamps. you never mentioned if it is a 4", 5" or 6" can. i am betting on a 6" since it is the most widely used. is there an attic above or living space? attic is best for the diy type. but if there is living space i would say to call a licensed electrician. he would know better on which replacement to use. good luck

Air-Sealing Recessed Can Lights - GreenHomes America