An Introduction To Cryptology Computer Science Essay

An Introduction To Cryptology Computer Science Essay Cryptography was used only for military and diplomatic communication until the development of public key cryptography. Secrecy is one of most important requirement for any communication and it becomes more important when the content of communication is for military and diplomatic purpose. Hieroglyphs used by Egyptians are earliest known example of cryptography in 1900 BC. These hieroglyphics were used to write the stories of the life of kings and describe the great acts of his life. Around 500 BC Hebrew scholars used mono alphabetic substitution cipher such as Atbash cipher. Around 400 BC the Spartans also developed a Scytale cipher that used ribbons of parchment for writing any secret message after wrapping it around a cylindrical rod named as Scytale. In second century BC Greek historian Polybius invented Polybius Square a type of substitution ciphers. Around 1st century BC the Roman emperor Julius Ceaser used the substitution cipher named after him as Ceaser Cipher. The Caesar Cipher is a Monoalphabetic type Cipher. Around 9th century AD the Arab Mathematician AbÃ…Â « YÃ…Â «suf YaÊ »qÃ…Â «b ibn Isà ¡Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ¥Ãƒâ€žÃ‚ q al-KindÄ « popularly known as Al-Kindi published the first text book on cryptnalysis of ciphers named Risalah fi Istikhraj al-Muamma (On Deciphering Cryptographic Messages). This book can be stated as the pioneer of the medieval cryptography. In this book Al-Kindi described the frequency analysis technique for deciphering substitution ciphers and some polyalphabetic substitution ciphers. The relative frequency of symbols is used in Frequency analysis to decode the message. Al-Kindi used this technique on Quran to understand the meaning for religious purpose. The field of cryptography had not made any significant development until 15th century when the Italian mathematician Leon Battista Alberti known as The Father of Western Cryptology, developed the concept of polyalphabetic substitution. Although he had not made any practical cipher but by using this concept a practical Poly-Alphabetic substitution cryptographic system was developed by French cryptographer BLAISE DE VIGENERE, which was named after him and called as VIGENERE SQUARE. For a long time this cipher was believed to be secure but around 1854, CHARLES BABBAGE, an English mathematician and engineer, better known as father of Computer Science for his development work of difference engine that become the first mechanical computer, successfully cracked the Vigenere Square Cipher by using the method of statistical analysis. Cryptography was widely used in World War I and II. The most famous incident of World War I is of German foreign Minister Zimmerman Telegram that changed the whole World War I and involved the America in world war which was neutral till that date and Germany was finally defeated. Unlike the past cryptographic algorithms in which the main concentration was on hiding the algorithm or technique the modern ciphers needed the technique or algorithm which can be widely used and whose security should not be compromised if the algorithm is known. To encrypt and decrypt the information, a key is used in modern cryptographic algorithms which convert the message and data in such format which are senseless to the receiver through encryption and then return them to the original form through decryption process. Claude E. Shannon, father of modern cryptography has contributed his work to cryptography in the form of A mathematical theory of cryptography and A Communications Theory of Secrecy Systems which are considered as the foundation of modern cryptography. In seventies the field of cryptography has witnessed two major developments. First was the development of Data Encryption Standard (DES) by IBM, which was accepted as standard after some modification by the NSA in 1977 and it was later replaced by the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) in 2001. The second development which is more important and that changed the whole working process and use of cryptography is the development of Public Key Cryptography. It was started with the publication of the paper titled New Directions in Cryptography, by Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman and similar development made by Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir and Leonard Adleman, who were the first to publicly describe the algorithm in 1977 and it was named after them as RSA algorithm. An Introduction to Cryptology: The word cryptology is a combination of two greek words, kryptos, which means hidden and logos means study. Cryptology is as old as writing itself and it has been primarily for thousands of years it had been used for securing military and diplomatic communications. The field of Cryptology can be further classified into two main fields, namely: Cryptography and Cryptanalysis. On the one hand the cryptographers try to develop a system or algorithm that will be safe and secure for communication while on the other hand the cryptanalysts seek weaknesses in the developed system and try to breach the security of the system. The two works can be considered against each other but the work of cryptanalysts cannot be always negative and they can work for the betterment of the developed system by trying to find out the weaknesses in the cryptographic algorithm and fix it. Cryptography: Cryptography is the technique for writing secretly so that the unintended recipients cannot comprehend the original message. It transforms the information into such an unintelligible form so that illegitimate or unintended users cannot devise the original meaning of the message and it looks like a garbage value for them. But the main consideration during the transformation is that the process must be reversible so that the intended user can get the original information after applying the original key and process. This is the traditional use of cryptography but in modern times the scope of cryptography has widened. Cryptanalysis: Cryptanalysis is the field of study that deals with the techniques that verify and assert the security of the protocol or system. The objective of the cryptanalysis techniques is to assess the security claims of the cryptographic algorithm or system. Cryptanalysts try to develop an attack to show that claimed security level is not achieved due to weaknesses in the cryptographic system. It is difficult to define when a cryptosystem is broken. Generally, efficiency of an attack is compared with the efficiency of exhaustive key search attack and if the efficiency of attack is less than it then it is considered an attack on the cryptographic system. Classification of attacks can be made on the basis of the amount of information available to attacker: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Ciphertext-only attack: The attacker has access to the ciphertext only. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Known-plaintext attack: In this case the attacker has access to both the plaintext and the corresponding ciphertext. This attack can be employed when the attacker has limited access to the encrypting device. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Chosen-Plaintext attack: The attacker selects a plaintext and generates corresponding ciphertext using the correct key. This can only be applied if the attacker has access to encryption device and is able to encrypt a message of choice using this device. The goal of such type of attack is to discover the secret key or algorithm for any given encrypted text. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Chosen-Ciphertext attack: The attacker selects a ciphertext and generates corresponding plaintext using the correct key. This can only be possible if the attacker has access to decryption device and is able to decrypt a message of choice using this device. The goal of such type of attack is also to discover the secret key or algorithm for any given encrypted text. The goals of such attacks in general can be classified as secret key recovery, plaintext recovery without recovering the key or the discovery of the encryption/decryption algorithm. Classification of Cryptographic primitives: Unkeyed Cryptography: Unkeyed cryptosystem is that cryptosystem which does not use any key or parameter for application. Examples of such system are one-way functions, cryptographic hash functions, and random bit generators. Public Key or Asymmetric Cryptography: Public Key or Asymmetric Key cryptography is the latest addition to the cryptographic techniques that has changed the basic uses of cryptography. Two different keys are used for encryption and decryption in Public or asymmetric key cryptography. Public key is being used for encryption and it is known to everyone and is freely distributable but the encrypted message can only be decrypted by using the private key corresponding to public key which is known only to the authorized person. Public key cryptography evolved to solve the problems of Secret key cryptography but it is very slow in comparison to secret key cryptography. Public key cryptography cannot be used for high volume encryption. Therefore we use combination of Public and Private Key cryptography for practical applications. Secret Key or Private Key or Symmetric Key Cryptography: In Symmetric Key or Secret Key cryptography, only a single key is used to encrypt and decrypt. It is also called Private Key cryptography. The main problem of the secret key cryptography is the sharing of same key by sender and receiver. In the case of unsecure channels, there is no mean to exchange key securely. The secret key must be shared using any secure channel before communication take place and for such purpose Public Key cryptography is generally used. An overview of Symmetric Algorithms: Symmetric key cryptography is still highly used due to its efficiency and is generally used where high volume of data is encrypted. Symmetric key primitives can be classified into two basic designs; namely Block Cipher and Stream Cipher. Block Ciphers: Block cipher is a symmetric key encryption which divides the input stream of plaintext into fixed size of blocks, generally 64, 128 or 256 bits long and using a fixed transformation (substitutions and permutations) on every block on by one. These transformations are repeated many times to obtain highly nonlinear output bits. The two most popular block ciphers are DES and AES. Modes of operation: A block cipher performs fixed transformations on any block of data and results in same ciphertext for same plaintext, hence can only be considered secure for a single block of data. A mode of operation is actually a way of encryption using a block cipher securely for data more than one block. The Block ciphers are used in one of the five modes to operate for breaking the linearity. A cryptographic mode usually consists of basic cipher, some sort of feedback, and some simple operations. Electronic Code Book (ECB) Mode Cipher block Chaining (CBC) Mode Cipher Feedback (CFB) Mode Output Feedback (OFB) Mode The counter (CTR) Mode Stream Ciphers: Symmetric Cryptographic systems encrypt plaintext messages unit by unit, and unlike block ciphers, which encrypt block of plaintext using fixed transformation, Stream Ciphers encrypt individual units or character of plaintext using a time-varying transformation. It takes the secret key and initialization vector (IV) as input and generates a pseudo random sequence of digits called keystream using pseudo random generator, usually part of Stream Ciphers. ciphertext digits are generated by XORing the keystream digits with the plaintext digits. The stream ciphers are classified into two parts as synchronous and asynchronous stream ciphers on the basis of application of internal state in further encryption of digits. Stream ciphers have played an important role in cryptography and still being used due to its efficiency and especially, in hardware implementations where hardware resources are restricted. Stream ciphers are the main topic of research in this thesis and it will be discussed more comprehensively in later chapters. For a general description of stream ciphers, see chapter 2. Scope of Cryptology: Today the cryptology is not just limited to data encryption and decryption as mentioned above, it has a wide range of usages. The field of cryptology is an emerging field in which continuous expansions and modifications are taking place. The field of cryptography was evolved for military usage but it has now expanded and is highly used in civilian applications also. Cryptography is the study of mathematical techniques, algorithms and protocols that can provide four basic services for information security, namely privacy, authentication, data integrity and non-repudiation. Privacy or confidentiality: The basic goal of cryptography is to keep the information secret from unauthorized persons. Cryptography is the most common mean to provide confidentiality or privacy to the information. Data Integrity: Data integrity means that system must be able to detect the unauthorized manipulation of the data. Data manipulation refers to insertion, deletion or substitution of data. Authentication: Authentication service provides the ability to correctly identify the parties in the communication and origin of the data. Non-Repudiation: Non-repudiation service prevents an entity from denying any activity done by itself or existence of a communication at any later stage in case of any dispute. Stream Cipher Standardization: Major effort towards standardization of cryptographic primitives was started by European Commission research project funded from 2000-2003 in form of NESSIE (New European Schemes for Signatures, Integrity and Encryption). In March 2000 NESSIE urged the public for submissions of cryptographic primitives, and against this call 42 primitives were submitted in February 2003. The submissions were selected in different categories for standardization. Various cryptographic primitives were standardized except Stream Ciphers and none of the six submitted stream ciphers were considered as upto standard. During this period another organization, the International Standards Organizations ISO/IEC 18033 also initiated a similar project for standardization and selected two stream ciphers: SNOW 2.0 and MUGI. Other than these two efforts a Cryptography Research and Evaluation Committee was set up by the Japanese Government which started a project CRYPTREC in 2001 to evaluate and recommend the cryptogr aphic primitives in different category for use. In the stream cipher category, three ciphers were recommended that are MUGI, MULTI-S01 and RC4 (128-bit keys only). But, Later on these ciphers were also found to be susceptible to the cryptanalytic attacks This failure on the side of cryptographic primitives in stream cipher category prompted Adi Shamir in 2004 RSA Data Security Conference to question, whether there is a need for Stream Ciphers or not. He also defined two areas were Stream Ciphers can still be useful where exceptionally high throughput is required in software and exceptionally low resource consumption is required in hardware. To explore the Stream Cipher condition and to develop a state of art stream cipher which can secure and fulfill the above mentioned requirements, ECRYPT launched the eSTREAM project in 2004. eSTREAM made a call for submission in two categories; hardware based and software based stream ciphers. In response to this call 34 ciphers were submitted in both the categories. In different phases of this project, cipher profiles were declared. The final profile issued in January 2012, seven ciphers were selected. The selected ciphers are HC-128, Rabbit, Salsa20/12 and SOSEMANUK in profile 1 (Software based Ciphers) and Grain v1, MICKEY 2.0 and Trivium in profile 2 (Harware based cipher). Even after these standardization efforts, many weaknesses were found in these ciphers. This state of Stream Ciphers has led me to involve in the research of the Stream Cipher and work towards a secure and efficient Stream Cipher.

Cuzco Enterprises/ business plan :: essays research papers

CUZCO ENTERPRISES CORP CUZCO CASUAL WEAR # 2 2357 w Diversy Ave Chicago IL 60639 (773) 255-1393 Fax (773) 448-6779 Www.faustocuzco.com/ecuador.html Executive Summary By focusing on its heritage and the strength and experience CUZCO CASUAL WEAR # 2 will continue to enhance their quality, uniqueness, and valuable customer service. o This business plan leads the way. It renews our vision and strategic focus on the quality and value we put in our products and the market segment originally targeted. Our vision has been broadened by the success we have found in the marketplace, to the extent of adding new products and current plans on additional items and services. It has given us a step-by-step plan to meet and exceed our goals for increased sales, gross margin, and profitability. o This plan includes this summary, and chapters on the company, products and services, market focus, action plans and forecasts, management team, and financial plan. Objectives 1. Increase sales to more than $100,000 over the next three years. 2. Move gross margin to above 55% over the current merchandise line and maintain that level. 3. Add new products such tailoring service, a leather jacket section, and sport wear section. 4. Improve inventory turnover, reduce the cost of goods sold while maintaining the high quality of our products 5. To provide jobs to the Hispanic community that are rewarding and fulfilling. Business Description Mission: I am Fausto Cuzco Entrepreneur owner of Cuzco Enterprises Corp. We are here to provide you with high quality merchandise products, fast service and the most important goal in our enterprising is your " satisfaction" Industry back ground Cuzco Enterprises Corp was created in February 2002 by a 29 year old novice young man named Fausto Cuzco. Under this parent name, he opened his first store in a small mall in south side Chicago, CUZCO CASUAL WEAR #1. Currently my friend Patricia and I own this store. Sales have been growing steadily with the cost of goods sold consistently decreasing. But to make significant headway in this area, we need to expand our business into new territories. Goals and potential of the new venture Constantly striving to supply what the consumer is asking for, we continually review what is available in the marketplace, and what isn't. Improving on what is available and providing new products and services to the areas of need will assure our success in a market driven by consumer demand. Cuzco Enterprises/ business plan :: essays research papers CUZCO ENTERPRISES CORP CUZCO CASUAL WEAR # 2 2357 w Diversy Ave Chicago IL 60639 (773) 255-1393 Fax (773) 448-6779 Www.faustocuzco.com/ecuador.html Executive Summary By focusing on its heritage and the strength and experience CUZCO CASUAL WEAR # 2 will continue to enhance their quality, uniqueness, and valuable customer service. o This business plan leads the way. It renews our vision and strategic focus on the quality and value we put in our products and the market segment originally targeted. Our vision has been broadened by the success we have found in the marketplace, to the extent of adding new products and current plans on additional items and services. It has given us a step-by-step plan to meet and exceed our goals for increased sales, gross margin, and profitability. o This plan includes this summary, and chapters on the company, products and services, market focus, action plans and forecasts, management team, and financial plan. Objectives 1. Increase sales to more than $100,000 over the next three years. 2. Move gross margin to above 55% over the current merchandise line and maintain that level. 3. Add new products such tailoring service, a leather jacket section, and sport wear section. 4. Improve inventory turnover, reduce the cost of goods sold while maintaining the high quality of our products 5. To provide jobs to the Hispanic community that are rewarding and fulfilling. Business Description Mission: I am Fausto Cuzco Entrepreneur owner of Cuzco Enterprises Corp. We are here to provide you with high quality merchandise products, fast service and the most important goal in our enterprising is your " satisfaction" Industry back ground Cuzco Enterprises Corp was created in February 2002 by a 29 year old novice young man named Fausto Cuzco. Under this parent name, he opened his first store in a small mall in south side Chicago, CUZCO CASUAL WEAR #1. Currently my friend Patricia and I own this store. Sales have been growing steadily with the cost of goods sold consistently decreasing. But to make significant headway in this area, we need to expand our business into new territories. Goals and potential of the new venture Constantly striving to supply what the consumer is asking for, we continually review what is available in the marketplace, and what isn't. Improving on what is available and providing new products and services to the areas of need will assure our success in a market driven by consumer demand.

The effect of talent management on business success in Nigeria’s telecoms sector

Summary Talent management is a key challenge for organisations in the current economic climate and, in particular, when it comes to a dynamic industry within an emerging market. With this in mind, the research proposed here looks at the role of talent management in gaining business success, with specific reference to Etisalat, a growing telecoms company within the Nigerian economy. Introduction In emerging economies, such as Nigeria, there is a need to consider the strategy for growth within organisations, both national and multinational. This raises several questions, in terms of business strategy and specifically requires the consideration of whether or not talent management should be the central theme for this discussion. As part of this research the key themes will be to look at talent management in the context of how this aligns with busienss success and then beyond that how it works within the emerging economies. . Motivation for the Research Determining the level of importance of talent management and the way in which it is best incorporated into the wider business strategy is of key importance to Etisalat and the technological industry, in general, but also potentially has an impact on the other industries looking to enter an emerging market and aiming to develop and utilise home grown talent, as well as identifying how talent can be encouraged to join and develop the region. This is a dynamic region and is currently in an appropriate stage for research to be undertaken as to how to develop this, in the future. Rationale for the Research Countries, such as Nigeria, are under an ongoing pressure to provide a region of growth for both their own national companies and for multinational organisations looking to make the most of developing regions that may offer a strategic advantage, in the long ru. (Newman, 2001). This research offers value to the current organisation and any other company looking to going into the region. Where such development is likely, the research here will provide strong guidelines which can be used for the future. Scope and Limitation of the Research This research will look specifically at the issue of talent management within a large telecoms company in Nigeria which is, in itself, a limitation on the research, as the telecoms industry is dynamic and constantly changing. Therefore, although this provides a good area of research currently, it needs to be borne in mind that this is likely to change over time and also when moving from industry to industry. Furthermore, different countries will have slightly different dynamics, which will need to be taken into consideration when looking at research areas for the future. Research Questions / Hypotheses and Objectives The overall research hypotheses aim to prove, or indeed disprove, the link between early adoption of talent management within the organisation and ultimate business success. It is suggested, at the outset, that there is a direct link between the ability of an organisation to expand successfully and the concerted approach to talent management that is taken by the management team, at the outset. The objective is to identify whether this is indeed a substantial link and, if so, what specific management practices are effective and which are not. Literature Review The concept of talent management has been well documented across a variety of different jurisdictions, including the UK. Talent management is referred by the CIPD (2010) as being â€Å"initiatives and strategies†¦ to harness the unique talents of individual employees and convert their talent potential into optimum organisation performance†. Although there are multiple different definitions in relation to talent management, this is seen as being one of the leading definitions. Back in 2001, the concept of talent management was established by McKinse and Company 2001, who created the concept of â€Å"the war on talent†, which was then taken on by the CIPD, with the likes of the 2012 CIPD documentation, where talent was considered to be the qualities â€Å"of those individuals who can make a difference to organisational performance either through their immediate contribution or, in the longer-term, by demonstrating the highest levels of potential†. Bearing these principles in mind, the literature can then go to consider the role that this approach would take within the emerging market of Nigeria and with particular reference to the telecoms industry. For example, Etisalat created a strategy plan that would span 2011 – 2016 called â€Å"Engage†, with the aim of inspiring staff and encouraging greater emphasis being placed on management and its ability to engage with the staff during a period of dynamic expansion (Etisalat, 2014). When looking specifically at the area of the telecoms industry, it is seen that Etisalat is one of the more pro-active talent management companies, with its own Academy providing learning and development opportunities for staff members in its central head office, in Dubai. As well as creating learning opportunities, there are is also an argument that the company has gained success by looking at the greater brand loyalty from the staff, with the wider perception of what is meant by talent management and how this can link with the emerging markets and companies, such as Etisala (Etisalat, 2014). Gap in LiteratureA seeming gap in the literature which is to be dealt with as part of this research is that of understanding the role of traditional talent management will have on an emerging market and, in particular, the telecoms industry. Specific consideration needs to be given to the notion that there is likely to be an issue with the mobility of staff and the willingness of individuals to move either to or from the area, in order to sustain employment. Research MethodologyResearch designThe proposed research method is deductive in nature, involving multiple different observations which ultimately provide an overall theory. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to undertake both primary and secondary research, to gather a rounded understanding of both theory and then its practical application.Data SourcesFor the literature review, the information will be primarily gathered from journals and reports surrounding the area of talent management, as well as from direct information from Etisalat. It is anticipated that this information will be gathered from free sources, as well as subscribed online journals such as Emerald Insight. Primary research will look at the opinions of HR staff, as well as those subject to â€Å"talent management† within the workplace.Data Collection / Analysis TechniquesA total of 100 individuals will be contacted through the use of questionnaires, to determine the use of talent management and the perc eptions of talent management within the workplace. Of these 100 questionnaires, a further 10 one-to-one interviews will be undertaken, to supplement and further the understanding gained as part of the wider questionnaires. This is based on availability and time constraints, as well as the desire to obtain a balanced view, overall.Sampling TechniquesThe selected individuals will be a mixture of HR professionals and staff members who are targeted as part of the talent management process. This split is thought to be approximately 80 / 20 and will allow both sides of the action to be considered alongside each other and research then undertaken into whether or not the perceptions of the staff differ from the perceptions of the managers implementing these agendas.Practical ConsiderationsEthical considerationsA potential difficulty emerges with the primary research, in that it is asking employees about their perceptions of talent management within the organisation. This is because some ind ividuals may be concerned that expressing honest opinions could have a negative impact on their own career progression. For this reason, as well as commercial confidentiality reasons, the data collected will be entirely anonymised and pass-worded, so that the answers cannot be directly linked to the individuals in question.Suggested Research TopicsThe overall topic is the link between talent management and business success; however, there will be several sub areas of research that will also be considered as part of this; for example, how can various initiatives impact on the role of talent management, the role of talent management from the point of view of recruitment, performance management and promotion. Consideration will also be given to the mobility of individuals within the emerging world and the political aspects that may be relevant. Project Plan The research will take place over one academic year and 10 months of total work. This is broken down as follows: Month 1Background research and delineation of questions and areas of research Month 2Literature review and setting out the questionnaires for the primary research Month 3Literature review and sending out of primary research Month 4Collation of primary research and analysis Month 5Collation of primary research and analysis Month 6Review of literature based on findings of primary research Month 7Review of literature based on findings of primary research, conclusions and summary Month 8Conclusions and summary Month 9Writing of report Month 10Review and preparation of presentation This is a reasonably flexible time frame, with recognition that there will need to be a consolidation time period at the end, to revisit key areas. Bibliography – suggested initial bibliography (to be added to during the research) Bersin & Associates. (2012). New research finds UK talent acquisition spending rose six per cent in 2011. London: Bersin & Associates. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. (2006). Talent management: understanding the dimensions. London: CIPD. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. (2010). The talent perspective: what does it feel like to be talent-managedCIPD, London. Available: http://www.cipd.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/95D2D604 -36C6-450A-996A-01F45F0B17C5/0/5262_Talent_Perspective.pdf (Accessed 18/09/12) Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. (2012). Talent management: an overview, CIPD, London. Available: http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/talent-management-overview.aspx (Accessed 3/10/12) Cheese, P. (2008). The talent powered organisation: strategies for globalisation, talent management and high performance. Cornwall: MPG Books ltd. Etisalat (2014) Etisalat Strategu. Available at: thttp://www.etisalat.com/en/ir/corporateinfo/etisalat-strategy.jsp McKinsey & Company. (2001). The war on talent, McKinsey & Company Inc, USA. Available: http:// autoassembly.mckinsey.com/html/downloads/articles/War_For_Talent.pdf Newman, E. (2012). What is the definition of CRMInside Talent Management Technology, Available at:

Oil Prices and Problems With Businesses and the Whole Economy Free Essay Example, 2000 words

It must be highlighted that the oil industry is an oligopolistic industry, which is dominated by oil-rich nations. A maximum number of economies are directly dependent on oil imports from producing and exporting nations to fulfil their domestic oil demand by residential, commercial and industrial consumers. The oil is then used for energy production, in automobiles, in industries, in the transportation of goods through rail, road, air and sea and for other purposes. High oil prices result in an increase in energy costs that in turn increases the entire manufacturing industry and supply chain because the costs of goods increase. In other words, this leads to inflation that then compels the employers to increase wages and salaries of employees who now demand high wages for their services. In addition, the costs of other inputs, transportation, related supporting industries also increase that further aggravates the situation and result in aggregate higher prices of the final product to the end user. In short, the real incomes and purchasing power of consumers reduce that in turn decrease the demand for final products and number of transactions. We will write a custom essay sample on Oil Prices and Problems With Businesses and the Whole Economy or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now So, businesses are doubly affected by this vicious cycle that turns violent for emerging economies that depend on oil energy compared to developed nations that use alternative energy resources. The government then has to announce subsidies, tax incentives and rebates that add to its financial burden. Also, the overall shrinkage or contraction in economy reduces its tax revenue from businesses and consumers respectively. Economic recession refers to the meltdown of the economy that in turn results in contraction, shrinkage or negative growth. The global economic meltdown started in the United States when the US property market crashed due to the failure of the sub-prime mortgage scheme. This then resulted in financial crises, credit crunch, bankruptcies and debacle of many US small and large financial institutions, especially the downfall of Lehman Brothers, which were dependent on interest income from property mortgage schemes. The banks then involv ed in retrenchments, layoffs and dismissals.