Production function & Cobb–Douglas production function

Production Function

A production function relates physical output of a production process to physical inputs or production. The primary purpose of the production function is to address allocative efficiency in the use of factor inputs in production and the resulting distribution of income to those factors, while abstracting away from the technological problems of achieving technical efficiency, as an engineer or professional manager might understand it.

Production in this way is defined as the transformation of input into output.

Product Function is

            Y = f (L, K, S)

Here Y = Yield (production), L = Labor, K =Capital S= Land

Factor inputs are classified into fixed factors and variable factors.

Where as fixed factors are not related to the level and volume of the profit and these factors remains fixed whether the volume of product is more or less or even zero.

And variable factors are factors which are directly related to the volume of output such as labor, fuel, and raw material.

The distinction between fixed and variable factor is restricted to short period only. In the long period, all factors are supposed to be variable.

 Cobb–Douglas production function

The Cobb–Douglas production function is a particular functional form of the production function, widely used to represent the technological relationship between the amounts of two or more inputs, particularly physical capital and labor, and the amount of output that can be produced by those inputs. In its most standard form for production of a single good with two factors, the function is                                           

Where:

Y = total production (the real value of all goods produced in a year)

L = labor input (the total number of person-hours worked in a year)

K = capital input (the real value of all machinery, equipment, and buildings)

A = total factor productivity

α and β are the output elasticities of capital and labor, respectively. These values are constants determined by available technology.

Output elasticity measures the responsiveness of output to a change in levels of either labor or capital used in production, ceteris paribus. For example if α = 0.45, a 1% increase in capital usage would lead to approximately a 0.45% increase in output.

Further, if

α + β = 1,

the production function has constant returns to scale, meaning that doubling the usage of capital K and labor L will also double output Y. If

α + β < 1,

returns to scale are decreasing, and if

α + β > 1,

returns to scale are increasing. Assuming perfect competition and α + β = 1, α and β can be shown to be capital's and labor's shares of output.

PREPARATION PLAN FOR SBI PO EXAM 2014 -TIPS/TRICKS/GUIDANCE FOR ALL SECTIONS

Overview: 

SBI has released the notification for the recruitment of Probationary Officers recently. Since the dates of the exam have already been announced, there is a hurl among the students as to how to prepare for the exam in the easiest and best possible way to score well in the Exam. Normally, we have seen that aspirants are in different state of minds about how to make strategies to prepare for each section in the SBI PO Exam, about the exam pattern and which are the important topics to be prepared first. If you plan well for the exam, we assure that you can crack this exam in your first attempt. But, you have to start your preparation from today itself. First and foremost thing every applicant must do is go through the SBI PO Exam pattern and syllabus 2014, to know the format of the exam. Prepare according to the syllabus and manage your time to cover all the topics.

SBI PO Exam Pattern:

Below is the SBI PO 2014 EXAM PATTERN –

NAME OF THE PAPER & SECTIONS	TIME DURATION	TOTAL MARKS
OBJECTIVE PAPER (Phase I)	Two hours allotted for attempting this particular section.	200 Marks
·         Logical Reasoning ·         Data Analysis & Interpretation ·         English Language ·         General Awareness + Computer Knowledge + Banking Awareness
DESCRIPTIVE PAPER	One Hour allotted to this section.	50 Marks
·         English Language
PHASE II
·         Group Discussion (GD)	Depending on the Authority	20 Marks
·         Personal Interview (PI)	Depending on the Authority	30 Marks

Note:  The candidate has to clear both the objective and descriptive paper separately and score minimum marks in order to qualify for further selection process. For every incorrect answer a certain 1/4th ratio of marks is deducted from the total score of the candidate.

Preparation Plan for each section: 

SBI PO Preparation plan is quite detailed, elaborate and descriptive and it has in total of four subjects which as follows:

·         Reasoning

·         Data Interpretation

·         English Language

·         General Awareness + Computer + Marketing

Tips for cracking each section are:

Reasoning –>

Reasoning is a test of observing our mental and problem solving ability. Reasoning is not like numerical skill where you learn some formula and solve question by applying that formula. Understand the question before solving it. Don’t take much time for single question .You have to be very careful while answering these questions. Practice similar questions from previous model papers or previous year’s exam papers are the key to do well in this section. The most important questions from this section are on the topics such as Seating Arrangements, Syllogism, Coding-Decoding, Statement and Conclusions, Directions, Blood Relations, Analogy, Classification, Series problems, Missing Characters, Odd Man out, Ranking Test, Data sufficiency, Assumptions and Directions. Non-Verbal is the toughest of all.

Which questions you have to attempt first –

It’s better to attempt first those questions on which you are very confident and you can attempt in a minimum time.Please do not start with Seating Arrangement/ Puzzle type’s questions because once you stuck in these questions, you will lose your valuable time.

Data Interpretation –>

This section contains the basic mathematical questions. Before exercising such questions, it is better to go through the basic mathematical formulae and learn some short cuts to solve the questions in lesser time. In this section, the questions act as Calculation Instruments. This section is extremely scoring and the right understanding of the problem can help the aspirants to sail through this section. The most important questions from this section are on the topics such as Number Systems, Fractions, Ratio and Proportion, Time & Work, Percentage, Profit & Loss, Problems on Ages, Simple Interest & Compound Interest, Average, Time & Distance, Mensuration, Partnership and Data Interpretation.

Data Analysis and Interpretation contains Pie charts, Bar Diagrams and graphs. It is one of the time consuming concept.So it’s better to do at leastfivequestions of this type a day to speed up your calculations.

Don’t try guesses in this section,Speed up your calculation and Learn Square up to 30 and multiplication tables up to 20 are some key points to score well in this section.

General English –>

SBI PO English exam is tough when you compare with other competitive exams and this is the section where many aspirants are not able to score minimum cut off marks. As you all read English books, chat with your friends in English and of course watch English movies. But you cannot get score good marks in English section. Most of the students face difficulty in this section. This is a test principally to determine candidate’s ability to remember main ideas and significant details. The most important questions from this section are on the topics such as Grammar, Comprehension, Error Correction, Vocabulary and Synonyms & Antonyms.

 Apart from this study material, few tips on my side:

·         Read English newspapers daily.

·         Improve your vocabulary by knowing 10 new words everyday along with its Synonyms and Antonyms.

·         Watch good English news channels.

·         Can refer the book ‘Wren n Martin’.

General Awareness + Computer + Marketing –>

This is the most important section of SBI PO Exam. This section acquires more importance because this is the only section which can be attempted quickly and at the same time, very high marks can be scored in this section. The most important questions from this section are on the topics such as Banking Knowledge, Current Affairs, Oscar Awards, Organizations and Headquarters, Important Days, Famous Persons and their Roles, Award Winners, Books and Authors Games and Cups and Abbreviations. The most important questions for Computer Knowledge are on the topics such as Computer History, Computers-Generations, Internet, Founders and Inventors, MS Office (MS Word, MS Excel, MS PPT, and MS Outlook), Operating System, Computer Hardware & Software and Abbreviations for Computer terms, Storage Devices,Computer organization & Microprocessor, Latest changes in Technology, Data Base Management Systems and Computer Networks.

Apart from this study material, few tips from MY side:

·         Listen and read National news on daily basis.

·         Go through the General Awareness books such as Competition Master, Competition Success Review or Pratiyogita Darpan on monthly basis.

·         Study the last budget passed by the Central Government.

·         Aware of all changes around the world 6-7 months before the date of the Exam.

·         Daily interaction with computer will give you guys an additional advantage while attempting the questions of Professional Knowledge Section.

Some Key Points to crack this Exam:

·         Keep Practicing – Practice as much as you can do for sections such as Data Interpretation and Reasoning as it will take time to solve questions of these sections. You have to be quick in solving mathematical calculations.

·         Get the detailed information about the syllabus – There will be two papers, first is Objective type test and second is Descriptive type test. You need to have a look at the sections and their topics of both these papers so that you can start your preparation well

·         Focus on each section – The selection process is based on the score of your exam in each section. Keep in mind that you have to clear the cut off marks of each of the sections.

·         Get an idea of questions from previous year’s papers – Practice from previous year’s question papers will give a clear idea about the difficulty level of questions and pattern of question paper.

·         Last time Revisions – After you have finished your course, go for one more reading. This will help you in memorizing the facts properly. It will be better if you prepare short notes as well. This helps in revision at a later stage when time is less.

If you have any doubts related to the preparation of SBI PO Exam 2014, you can comment your queries below and stay with us for the upcoming posts on SBI PO Exam.

NATIONAL GAMES OF VARIOUS COUNTRIES

Alfred Nobel

Alfred Nobel

19^th Century inventor of “Nobel’s safety Powder’

Introduction:                 

Noble found that when in an absorbent  inert substance like keiselguhr  also known as Diamaceous earth, Niroglycerin was incorporated, it became safer and more convenient to handle and this mixture he patented in 1867 as ‘Dynamite”.

Family and Education:

Alfred Nobel was born on 21^st October 1833 at Stockholm. His father’s name is Immanuel Nobel and mother Andriette Ahlsell Nobel.  His father was a engineer and inventor and moved the family to Finland and Russia during Alfred’s youth. Though noble lagged in formal secondary and tertiary level education. He gained proficiency in six languages namely Swedish, French, Russian, English, German, Italian. He worked for a varieties of laboratories and chemical engineering facilities. Noble became particularly very interested in creating practical uses for Nitroglycerine. Noble found that when in an absorbent inert substance like Kieselguhr wlso known as Diamaceous earth, Nitroglycerin was incorporated it became safer and more convenient to handle and this mixture he patented in 1867 as ‘Dynamite’.

Professional Journey:

Alfred Noble, In Redhill, Surrey at England, demonstrated his explosive for the first time at a Quary. He named the highly powerful substance “Noble’s safety powder to improve the image of his business and establish his name. Nobel later on combined Nitroglycerin with various nitrocellulose compounds, similar to collodion, but settled on a more efficient recipe combining another nitrate explosive, and obtained a transparent, jelly-like substance, which was a more powerful explosive than dynamite “Gelignite” or blasting gelatin, as it was named, was patented in 1876; and was followed by a host of similar combinations, modified by the addition of potassium nitrate and various other substances. Gelignite was more stable, transportable and conveniently formed to fit into bored holes like those used in drilling and mining, than the previously used compounds and was adopted as the standard technology for the mining in the Age of Engineering bringing Nobel a great amount of financial success, though at a significant cost to his health. An off-shoot of this research resulted in Nobel’s invention of ballisite, the precursor of many modern smokeless powder explosives and still used as  rocket propellant.

Renowned work of AlfredNobel:

Alfred bagan experimenting with Nitroglycerine creating his first explosions in early summer in 1862. In only a year, Alfred received a Swedish patent for his persussion detonator- the “Nobel lighter”. In 1867, Alfred invented a new and safer – to – handle explosive Dynamite. In 1888, when Alfred’s brother died, a French news paper mistakenly ran an obituary for Alfred which called him the “Merchant of death”. Not wanting to go down in history with such a horrible Eaipath, Noble created a mill that soon shocked his relative and established the now famous Nobel Prizes. On 27^th November, 1895 at the Swedish- Norwegian club in paris, Nobel signed his last will and testament and set aside the bulk of his estate to establish the Nobel prizes to be awarded annually without discrimination of nationality. Many of the companies founded by Nobel have developed into industrial enterprises that still play a prominent role in the world economy. For example,  Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), Great Britain societe centraule de Dynamite, France and  Dyno Industries in Norway.  Towards the end of his life, he acquired the company AB Bofors in Karlskoga, where Bjorkborn Manor became his Swedish home.