PLease ask korean for the ppt softcopies

PLease ask korean for the ppt softcopies

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Patent: A patent may be granted for an invention of “any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof.” A patent establishes a property right that allows the holder to exclude others from using the invention; that is, a patent grants a monopoly to the inventor. Patents are also granted for designs and for plants as well as for business methods. The principal type of patent is a utility patent, which has a duration of 20 years beginning with the filing of the patent application with the Patent and Trademark Office.
Copyright: Works of original expression may receive a copyright allowing the recipient to restrict use, reproduction, and distribution of the work. A copyright can be claimed even without a filing with the government. The issue of what may be copyrighted has required both legislation and court interpretation.
Trade secrets: A trade secret is almost anything that is unique and of value or potential value to a company. This includes process information, operating methods, programs, and business plans. To receive protection the information must be adequately protected by the company on a continual basis. Trade secret protection can be perpetual, and the secrets do not have to be registered. Remedies for violations of trade secrets include injunctions and compensatory damages. Trade secret law has been used to prohibit employees who move from one company to another to take along information from their former employer.
Trademarks: A trademark provides social and private value. The social value results from reducing search costs for consumers by allowing branding of products. Branding can also support a reputation for quality, uniformity, or service. Remedies for infringement can take the form of injunctions and compensatory damages. The requirement for a trademark is distinctiveness.

Courts use two basic types of remedies in the event of breach: damages and specific performance. Damages can be compensatory for the harm caused or punitive. Compensation for foreseeable damages depends on the baseline used by the courts. One baseline is to leave the plaintiff as well off as she expected to be if the contract terms had been fulfilled. These expectations damages can differ from the amount required to allow the plaintiff to contract with someone else for the provision of the product or service. Consequential damages are based on the opportunity cost of the next best alternative. Another rule for awarding damages is to put the promisee in the same position she had been in prior to signing the contract. This rule corresponds to reliance damages, since it compensates the promisee only for reliance expenditures made as a result of the contract. In some cases the courts may simply require the defendant to return the item provided by the promisee.

Court awards of damages take place ex post, and anticipation of those awards provides ex ante incentives to fulfill promises, while leaving the flexibility to breach contracts when it is efficient to do so. The parties to a contract may also write into the contract contingencies in the event of breach. This liquidated damages approach is ex ante and is based on the principle that more complete contracts can be more efficient. Liquidated damages are limited to compensation for harm and are not intended as penalties for particular actions. In cases in which it is difficult to determine the actual damages incurred as a consequence of a breach, the courts may provide relief in the form of specific performance. This generally involves an order directing the promisor to take the action called for in the contract.

Many contracts contain mandatory arbitration clauses that require disputes to be resolved outside the courts. The purpose of these clauses is intended to avoid the legal and administrative costs associated with a court case.

Assignment for Bus Env

Case Method

The effects of an ageing populations

ST

There is no doubt that the world’s population is ageing. In 2000 there were 69 million people in the world over the age of 80 years and this is the fastest growing segment of the population (see Table 5.9). By 2050 it is estimated that this figure will have risen to 379 million, which represents 4 per cent of the world’s population. In 2000 many countries already had higher percentages of over 80s’ including Sweden (5.1 per cent), Norway and Britain (both 4 per cent). In Japan (the fastest ageing country in the 1990s) it is predicted that by 2015 over 25 per cent of the population will be over 65 years of age. Table 5.9 shows that in all parts of the world the fastest growing segments are the older ones, for the more developed countries reductions in the size of the 0 to 59 age groups are predicted. The predictions are made on the assumption that present trends in life expectancy and fertility rates will continue

Why is the world population ageing?

There are two main causes – increased life expectancy and lower fertility rates. Figure 5.1 shows the fertility rates and Figure 5.2 shows the life expectancy for the same groups of the world’s population between 1950 and 2050. Fertility rates have fallen dramatically in all parts of the world between 1950 and 2000 and this trend is expected to continue into the future. Conversely life expectancy has risen in all parts of the world and is also expected to continue to do so. Putting these two trends together means that the average age of the world population is increasing There are of course wide differences between countries but the general picture is one of convergence.

What are the implications of the ageing population for business?

Production

Demand patterns vary a great deal with age and if the grey population is increasing in size businesses will have to respond to the changing demands. If the American experience is repeated in the rest of the world the grey population will spend more on education and leisure services. Many retirees take the opportunity to return to education to pursue their interests.

Table 5.10 shows the weekly expenditure on selected products in the UK in 2002. It can be seen that the older age groups spend less on beer and cider, cigarettes and visiting the cinema or theatre but more on holidays in the UK and medical insurance than the younger age groups. As businesses respond to these changes there will be a shift of resources towards the service sector and this will bring about further change in industrial structure.

Marketing

Demographic change has long been recognised as an important part of the marketing

environment and one that needs continual monitoring. This is especially the case in the USA where the trends now evident in Europe started earlier and where the older population is large, affluent and with a great deal of market power. Older consumers have been dubbed ‘woofs’ by marketeers – well off older folk – and are accepted as an important part of the market. Those currently in their 40s have been dubbed the ‘third agers’. As they reach

the 50–75 year age group they will have more free time, have better health, more money and higher expectations than their predecessors. The third agers in the USA have much higher demand than their predecessors for education and leisure services – they make heavy use of sports centres, cinemas and evening classes.

Demography is also important to marketers in the segmentation of markets and there are numerous examples of where age is the segregating factor. In recognition of the different needs and wants of the different age groups in the holiday market there is the 18–30 holiday company which caters for young people while Saga Holidays cater for the over 50s. Interestingly given the comments already made, Saga Holidays is now offering the kind of holidays often associated with younger travellers – like elephant riding in Nepal for example.

HRM

A greying population has implications for HR strategies within organisations, especially

in those industries which have traditionally employed young people. There will be fewer young people entering the labour market for two reasons: first there are fewer of them and second a higher percentage is now staying on at school. Other sources of labour will need to be found to meet the demand. At the same time people are continuing to retire early; in the USA only a half of men between the ages of 60 and 65 are still working and in some European countries the percentage is much lower. Policies implemented in the 1980s and 1990s by organisations downsizing have created a ‘retire early’ culture among many, and some pension rules which penalise individuals who wish to work beyond retirement age have

worked to exacerbate this. The combination of fewer younger people coming into the workforce and more people leaving early means that employers in many countries

are facing a contracting market.

One possibility is the increased participation of older people in the labour force. This means that ageist HRM practices will have to change. Employers often view older workers as more expensive, less flexible and lacking in the required skills, but statistics show that the over-40s age group receives less training than other groups. Many studies in this area have shown that age makes no difference to the ability to acquire new skills with training. It is often the case that older workers are more reliable, are more experienced and have less absenteeism than younger workers. Many employers all around the world are recognising this and are implementing policies which positively encourage older workers.

The employment of older people will call for changes in recruitment practices. The retention of labour will become more important for organisations and therefore training and development will take on greater significance. Work will need to be made more attractive, with more part-time or temporary contracts. This might also overcome the cost implication of having older employees who are higher up incremental pay scales.

From 2006 age discrimination will be banned in the EU under an EU directive

but market forces are already making some companies adopt a different approach

to older workers.

Financial

There are financial implications of an ageing population. The Potential Support

Ratio (PSR) shows the number of persons aged 15 to 64 years per one person of 65

years and over. It gives an indication of the dependency burden of an ageing population

on the working population. This fell from 12:1 to 9:1 between 1950 and

2002 and is forecast to fall further to 4:1 by the year 2050 (see Table 5.11). Again Table 5.11 shows a similar pattern all over the world – there will be an increasing financial burden on people of working age as a result of ageing populations. Within the overall figures there are marked differences. In Japan for instance, the ratio is forecast to fall from 4:1 in 2002 to 1:1 in 2050. In the USA, where immigration is generally higher (and therefore ageing is less pronounced), the ratio is forecast to fall from 5:1 to 3:1.

This means that a higher proportion of the population will depend upon a smaller proportion of the population for support – in terms of resources for health care and the payment of pensions. Many countries are looking at their pension provisions to try to reduce the cost of dependency. In the UK for example there has been a shift in the burden of pension provision from the state to individuals and many companies have ended their ‘final salary’ pension schemes. Nevertheless, it is still estimated that to meet the demand for pensions of the ageing population by 2030 the UK needs a 5 per cent annual growth rate in GDP. This is much higher than growth rates have been. In the past in the UK, state pensions have been paid out of current taxation but this is likely to change so that state pensions will be funded from investments. It is also possible that the retirement age will be increased to reduce the cost of dependency.

In addition to the cost of pensions, an increase in the average age of a population has implications for health care and the cost of health care. Although this case study makes the point that the greying population is fitter and healthier than ever before, there are of course implications for the demand for health care. For example, the percentage of 65-year-olds in the UK with Alzheimer's disease is 5 per cent, and this rises to 20 per cent in the over-80s. Therefore there is a need for greater provision for health care, whether this is done by the state or by individuals. As well as these major changes the ageing populations will mean changes in:

_

·         popular culture, which for some time has been dominated by youth_

·         crime rates – as most crime is carried out by younger people, crime rates should

fall

·         family relationships, with falling birth rates and longer life expectancy the ‘beanpole’

family structure will become the norm.

It is clear from this discussion that the ageing population being experienced by much of the world has big implications for business in many diverse areas.

Task:

Referring to the case on "The effects of an ageing population", Ian Worthington and Chris Britton, The Business Environment, 5th edition , Prentice Hall, pp 138-143  (Source: Ian Worthington and Chris Britton, 2006), answer the following questions.

Prepare a report of about 1,500 words (plus / minus 150 words) on the following:

1.      Think of some examples of goods and services for which demand will rise as a

consequence of an ageing population. How should marketers address this new

buyer segment? (30 marks)   

2.      What types of policy can organisations use to:

(a)    encourage the older worker to stay in employment for longer? (30 marks)  

(b)   recruit older workers into the workplace? (30 marks)