Antitrust practices Essay Example for Free

Antitrust practices Essay Antitrust practices are practices carried on by businesses that end up destroying perfect competition in the market. Antitrust laws are laws prepared to seek and promote healthy market competition by preventing anti-competitive practices by companies. Some of the illegal practices that constitute to antitrust behavior include corporate mergers, monopolies and price fixing conspiracies (Bailey, 2010). The Clayton Act of 1914 was passed by the U.S Congress. It was an antitrust law that was amended to stop and prevent practices that led to unhealthy competition in the market. The Clayton Act was amended in order to complement an earlier version of the antitrust law referred to as the Sherman antitrust Act of 1980. This was a federal law that sought to prevent practices that were harmful to consumers such as cartels, monopolies and other unfair business practices (California Association of REALTORS, 2005). One of the recent firms to be investigated for antitrust behavior is Google Company that leads the online searching industry. According to Weiss (2014), the firm recently was being investigated by Competition Commission of India (CCI) for claims that it abused its dominance in the online search engine industry by mainly promoting its own services over those of its rivals. This reason is considered to create unhealthy competition in the business as the search engine company dominates its rivals in what is considered almost a monopolistic market. Antitrust behavior brings about both pecuniary and non-pecuniary costs. Since it damages healthy competition in the market, monopolies can result and this has adverse effects to the prices of commodities. The products end up becoming costly and expensive for the customers and, therefore, affecting the society negatively (Bailey, 2010). On the other hand, antitrust behavior leads to the output of products falling below the market competitive le vel and this is mainly witnessed in monopolistic markets. Then again, the antitrust practices can be costly for any company that has engaged in them since if investigations prove that the company is guilty of the said acts then heavy penalties can be imposed on them. Furthermore, this can ruin the reputation of any company and, therefore, ending up losing its customers (Bailey, 2010). Monopolies and oligopolies are not always good for the society. Their presence in any market simply means they have all the power to control the prices of their products and services. This is not favorable to the customers since prices can always go up any time especially when the demand for certain commodities is high. One good example of an oligopoly is the Coca Cola and Pepsi Companies. These are the world’s largest beverage companies and demand for their products is never decreasing. However, these two companies represent a market with few suppliers while the consumers are many. They have all the power to dictate their products’ prices and the consumers have no power whatsoever (Hovenkamp, 2011). On the other hand, some government monopolies can be considered beneficial to the members of the society. Many governments in the current world control the production and supply of electricity and other forms of energy. This is useful because the governments aim at providin g such services to the citizens at affordable prices and across the countries. It is the responsibility of the government to enhance infrastructure development in the country and, therefore, running such sectors of the economy can be beneficial to consumers. In conclusion, it is important to point out that antitrust practices are unwanted behaviors since they destroy healthy competition among businesses. However, the law is strict on companies that engage in these practices and heavy penalties can be imposed on them. Antitrust practices include price fixing, corporate mergers and creation of monopolies (Reeves, 2010). Antitrust practices. (2016, Feb 28). We have essays on the following topics that may be of interest to you

Market-based or Government Control Issues Surrounding Obama Care Research Paper

Market-based or Government Control Issues Surrounding Obama Care - Research Paper Example It concluded that ObamaCare has its flaws, but it can be improved during its implementation by enhancing consumer access to healthcare information and by helping people make the most optimal choices for their conditions. It also suggested financing from wider sources, so that costs can be decreased in the long run. Market-based or government control? Issues surrounding Obama Care Health care continues to be a primary concern in the United States, because of multiple issues of access to and availability of efficient and quality health care. More than 47 million Americans are uninsured, life expectancy continues to increase because of advances in medical technology, while healthcare costs spiral out of control (Sultz& Young, 2008, p.xvii). Furthermore, Republicans and Democrats cannot agree on the goals and budgeting for the American healthcare system. Their ideological differences also impede the passing of a â€Å"politically moderate† healthcare bill. After a protracted polit ical battle, in March 2010, Congress approved President Barack Obama's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), a comprehensive state effort that aims to resolve various healthcare issues. PPACA aims to somewhat nationalize the healthcare system and to enhance healthcare resources and options. Critics labeled PPACA as â€Å"ObamaCare† to differentiate it from other alternative solutions to America's diverse healthcare problems (Shi & Singh, 2007, p.ix). This paper seeks to explore the issues surrounding PPACA. It conducted a review of literature, where many authors agreed that PPACA is a flawed response to America’s market-driven healthcare system (Atlas, 2010; Shi & Singh, 2007), while Herzlinger (2004) and Rooney and Perrin (2008) have different ideas of what the American healthcare system should look like. They agreed, however, that a good healthcare bill should promote patient autonomy. A number of authors argued against PPACA, because they assert that i t is a socialist intervention that does not fit the market-run socio-economic model of modern society and it is a costly and unconstitutional infringement on individual choices and corporate. This paper will now explain the drawbacks of ObamaCare, and one of the main complaints is that ObamaCare is fundamentally socialist and does not fit into the market-run socio-economic model of modern society. A socialist model revolves around authoritarianism. Williamson (2010) criticized the socialist leanings of the Obama administration in his book, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Socialism. He (2011) described PPACA as â€Å"socialist,† because it is based on a â€Å"central planning model,† with socialist features of â€Å"income-redistribution, economic leveling, the co-opting and nationalization of private enterprises and the elevation of an elite planning class† (p.237). He did not believe that a socialist model can resolve the underlying issues of high medical an d insurance costs in the nation, and for him, it will only replicate the 1970s British healthcare issues of poor implementation and poor results. In Health Care USA, Sultz and Young (2008) analyzed the complex American healthcare system. They highlighted the characteristics of American healthcare that evade an effective socialization process. First, the healthcare system is too large to be managed by the state alone: â€Å"The U.S. health care system is the world's eight largest economy, second to

FUTURE CHALLENGES FOR VODAFONE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

FUTURE CHALLENGES FOR VODAFONE - Essay Example Vodafone will have to deal with increased completion in the near future as more telecommunication companies come up. To understand how this will affect the company in the next ten to fifteen years, it is important o look at the issues that have emerged in the last ten years. As William (2009) says, since the globalization of mobile networks ten years ago, it has become explicit that that every year that passes by the telecommunication industry is changing. Those companies that entered in to the industry in early 1990s no longer have the monopoly that they used to have in the past. In the earlier years, licensing for telecommunication companies was very expensive and prohibitive for new and small entrants. However, this has changed and it is now easier for such companies to come up with a way to enter the market with minimum cost. This has increased the risk for bigger and older firms such as Vodafone and they are at risk of being drowned by the new entrants. In this regard, the main issue that Vodafone will be facing in the near future (by the year 2020) is the problem of increased competition. This will be more so in the developing countries such as China and many African countries (McKenna, 2011). Vodafone has a number of networks in threes developing countries and these networks are becoming a major aspect of the Vodafone business and network. As these networks continue to be attacked by smaller newer networks, the firms will have a crisis by the time it reaches 2020. A good example is in Kenya where Vodafone owns forty percent of the largest telecommunication network called Safaricom. While this Safaricom has been the largest and the most profitable network in the east African region, it has become very clear that the network is losing its mighty and power to newer and upcoming network. The network was launched in Kenya in the year 2003 and by the year 2006, it had managed to scoop over 80% of the telecommunication market share. It also had a very fast grow ing network subscription over the last ten years. However, this has been seen to change over the last three years. Subscriber loyalty has decreased and now more subscribers are more willing to go to newer networks. This was not so in the past as more subscribers were loyal to the Safaricom network. The same is happening everywhere in places like China where the local telecommunication companies have grown very fast and are taking over the industry (Westen, 2009). As this continues, it will become very difficult for Vodafone to maintain its strategic leadership and this will become a very major issue for the firm. The other thing that has affected the firm is the reduction of licensing fees for telecommunication companies. Many governments have realized that licensing many firms is a benefit to the economy as it increases completion and reduces monopoly in the telecommunication industry. As a result, the hefty licensing amounts that were charged to telecommunication companies in the earlier days are no longer there. In this regard, it has been easier for new and smaller telecommunication companies to enter the market and thus bringing more competition for the older and bigger firms like Vodafone (McGreggor, 2010). Vodafone seems to be the most affected because it seems to not have prepared for such an eventuality. As Vodafone grapples with these issues in the short term, there are other problems looming in the long term. With the expectation that there will be a technological singularity by the end 2035, it is expected that the way people communicate will change over time. Personal computers are changing the way people co