Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Business Plan for Indian Restaurant

Business Plan for Indian Restaurant BUSINESS PLANNING UNIT SIX FOR THE NEW RESTAURANT CALLED ‘THE STAR OF INDIA’, AN INDIAN CUSINE. CONTENTS PAGE (Jump to) SECTION 1 Business name Business activity Type of Ownership Objectives SECTION 2 Market analysis Price list of Potential suppliers Competitors Information on Banks Loans Target Market Competition Analysis SECTION 3 Marketing plan Price list for Items in the ‘The star of India’ Place Promotion SECTION 4 Production process SECTION 5 Resource requirements Financial resources Physical resources SECTION 6 Financial analysis and planning Sources of funds Business Plan for the new restaurant called ‘The Star of India’. SECTION 1 Business name and address: The Star of India 137 Earls Court Road London SW5 Business activity: The new restaurant will sell a wide variety of Indian Cuisine from its secondary retail location which is the Earls court area of London. The different types of foods that will be served in the restaurant will include Samosas, Nan bread, Tandoori, rice, biryani, balti, jalfrezi, karahi, bhuna, vindaloo, madras, noodles, burgers, desserts, beverages, special dishes, and side orders such as aloo and potatoes as appropriate for the different seasons as it unfolds. In addition, the restaurant will provide a free delivery service for orders above  £10 within a 3 mile radius, and will also include a 10% discount for orders above  £15. Suppliers will include retail outlets in the Earls court area that sell Asian foods such as Rajah and TRS products from wholesale suppliers in Earls court, Wembley and Southall, which are established cash and carry wholesale outlets for Indian foods in the London area. Wholesale stores such as Tescos and ASDA will also be visited if necessary. Type of Ownership: In this case the business will be a partnership based business, in which the major stake holder will control 55 percent of the whole business and the remainder will be controlled by 3 other stakeholders (4 stakeholders’ altogether). Objectives: The objective of the business is to provide high quality prepared foods and high quality service to the general public. In addition, we foresee to generate sales in excess of  £100,000 in the first year! SECTION 2 Market Analysis: Primary Data A questionnaire was not deemed appropriate as the area of location does permit an influx of people, in which it can be said with hind sight that it will be worthwhile to press ahead with the opening of the business. Price List: The following is a table of a price list for potential suppliers: Gandhi Oriental Foods Southall Food Suppliers Rajtha Food Suppliers (Wembley) Pounds ( £) Pounds ( £) Pounds ( £) Bag of gold self raising flour 25kg 8.25 7.99 7.99 Case Barson (Gram Flour) 6 bags 2kg 8.45 6.25 7.99 Drum vegetable oil 15 ltr KTC 7.79 5.99 6.99 Tin Mustard Oil 4 ltr 4.45 3.99 4.99 Tin pure ghee 2 kg 6.25 5.99 5.49 Tin chilli powder 18.9 17.99 17.99 Tin haldi (tumeric) powder 14.9 12.99 13.99 Cinnamon 2kg 5.45 4.99 5.25 Packet Tejpatha (Bay leaves) 750 grams 3.45 2.99 Case boiled chick peas (12) 411 grams 2.85 2.99 2.99 Packet Chana Dai 2kg 1.95 1.99 0.99 Jar mint sauce 3kg 2.95 2.99 1.99 Bag Salt 12.5kg 2.95 2.99 1.99 Case cathey container 26.9 25.99 22.99 Case carrier bag large 250 12.49 11.99 11.99 Case Cobra Beer large (12) 650ml 16.5 13.99 13.5 Kingfisher beer (12) 660ml 16.95 14.99 15.99 Basmati Rice (2kg) 12.99 11.99 12.99 Tilda Rice (2kg) 14.99 13.99 13.99 Sureeya Rice (2kg) 11.99 9.99 9.99 Lamb (per kilo) Chops 3.99 3.99 3.99 Liver and Heart 2.17 1.99 2.17 Leg 7.49 6.99 7.5 Shoulder 7.29 6.99 7.25 Back Chops 6.19 5.99 5.7 Chicken (per kilo) Leg Boneless 3.65 2.99 3.45 Wings 2.99 2.99 2.99 Roasters 2.17 2.25 2.2 Leg 1.18 1.25 1.1 Boneless 4.99 3.99 3.99 Sheep (per Kilo) Chop 3.5 2.99 3.25 Neck 2.64 2.49 2.5 Ribs 2.17 1.99 1.99 Leg 4.99 4.99 4.99 Shoulders 4.89 4.99 4.5 Back Chops 4.15 3.99 3.99 Competitors: Names Strengths Weaknesses Lapappardella Ristorante (Italian) Located off earls court road, very busy at weekends. Limited range (mainly pasta) Zizzi (Italian Restaurant) Located on the high street (Earls court road) New and modern European) It is a bit cramped in the sitting area Nandos Restaurant Very popular for its grilled and flamed chicken. Very busy at most times of the day and weekends. A very strong competitor Limited range of food served (mainly chicken) Dragon Palace (Chinese Restaurant) Very competitive in terms of its different types of foods served. It is cramped with limited space for more customers Masala Zone Recently opened and new in the area. It serves mainly Indian foods. It is a powerful competitor as its items are geared towards city life, i.e. city workers etc. It is not as popular yet. It range of items sold to the public is limited. Bibimbub (Oriental fusion dishes) Quite a wide variety of oriental dishes and cuisine. Very busy at the weekends Its foods are geared towards nutritional and healthy diets Although located on the high street, it is very cramp with limited space for a large number of customers to eat. Lotus Garden (Chinese restaurant) A wide variety of Chinese food As mentioned the sitting area is cramped. Information on Bank Loans: Having carried out an in-depth search for the best rates offered by banks, one came to the conclusion that the rates offered by the Halifax, offered the best rates when it came to obtaining a bank loan. For loans between  £5,000 and  £100,000, there is a variable discounted rate of 0.10% below Bank of Scotland Base Rate. For the remaining term of the loan the rate then changes to 3% above Bank of Scotland Base Rate and remains on variable rate terms for the rest of the loan. For the fixed rate business loan the rates are published on the Halifax website every fortnightly, in which the interest rates are based on LIBOR (London Inter Bank Offered Rate) plus a margin. In addition, security is required on any property or assets that this agreed with the bank. The overall cost of comparison is 11.1% APR. The actual rate available will depend upon the outcome of the initial start-up capital. Secondary Data Most of the information collated with regards to the price of items and competitors were gathered by the stakeholders of the restaurant. The factors that are deemed as possible effects on the demand for the service are: The price of the items sold to customers. The quality of the menu and how it is served to customers. The type of products used to serve the menu items, e.g. fresh farm produce, organic foods, and completeness. The customer service offered to customers will be a deciding factor in how the restaurant is viewed on from its initial opening. The way the competitors mentioned above respond to our presence in the Earls court area will play a part in how our customer base grows. The state of the economy, e.g. rising personal incomes, changes in interest rates and the change in house prices. In addition, because Indian cuisine has been a rising trend in British society over the past 6 years, it is expected that the demand for this growing in-fashion trend will continue to rise for the foreseeable future. Target Market: The majority of existing customers we expect to come into the restaurant will be based within a 4 mile radius of the Earls court area. Typically, they will be single people, couples, tourists and families all wanting to go out and have a good meal. It is expected that they will be middle class and above, who come from very affluent backgrounds. Most of the potential customers expected will be people who earn on average, incomes starting from  £17,000 upwards. Competition Analysis: The potential strengths and weaknesses of competitors have been commented upon in the competition table. In retrospect, it is believed that the prices we will be offering with regard to items on our price list will be set below the average price of our major competitors mentioned i.e., Masala, Zone, Nandos, and Zizzis. This will enable us compete with our competitors head-on and with hind sight we will be able to carve out a growing market share into the future for the business. In addition, the items we are offering has a much wider range than our competitors in which the quality of the products used (fresh farm produce and organic), will set us above the competitors mentioned. Also, the service we ascribe to present to customers will be far reaching than our competitors. I.e. a waiter/waitress will always be on hand to attend to customer questions, taking customers to their table, and always making sure that the customer is satisfied with how they are being treated and offered in the ‘Star of India’ cuisine. SECTION 3 Marketing Plan: The use of the marketing mix will be used to start off the business. They are product, price, place and promotion. Product/Service: The product / service that will be offered to customers as a whole will mainly be organic foods which include fresh farm produce from suppliers, whole sale outlets and also canned items from the suppliers mentioned above. The service will consist of customers coming into the restaurant to have a meal or take away, in which there will be a seating area for smoking and non-smoking. Also, a waiter/waitress will be on hand to serve and assist customers on the wide range of different cuisines available. As stated previously, there will be a free delivery service for orders above  £10 and a 10% discount on orders above  £15. This will change subject to seasonal demand. Price: The use of pricing strategies such as penetration pricing, promotional pricing, and price discrimination will be used to market the items offered by the restaurant. Penetration pricing will be used to set a low initial price in order to penetrate the market quickly and deeply, so as to attract a large number of customers quickly and win a large market share. With time the high sales volume will result in falling costs, allowing the restaurant to cut its price even further. With promotional pricing, the restaurant will temporarily price its items or products below the list price and sometimes even below cost. This will take several forms. I.e. a few items or products will be priced as loss leaders so as to attract customers into the restaurant in the hope that they will buy items at normal mark-ups. Price discrimination will be used to offer customers different prices for the same items or products offered by the restaurant. For example, if a customer ordered a special dish, it would automatically come with a side order of rice, in which the price is already included in the price of the special dish. However, if they ordered rice separately and the sauce separately, they would have to pay different prices for the two items. Price list for ‘The Star of India’ The Star of India Appetisers Price ( £) Chicken Samosa  £3.20 Veg Samosa  £3.20 Lamb Samosa  £3.20 Papadom  £0.40 Sheek Kebab  £2.40 Shami Kebab  £2.40 Chicken or Lamb Tikka  £2.40 Chicken Chatt  £2.40 Aloo Chatt  £2.40 King Prawn Butterfly  £3.50 Potatoes of the day  £2.75 The Star of India Breads Nan  £1.30 Keema Nan  £1.80 Vegetable Nan  £1.80 Peshwari Nan  £1.80 Garlic Nan  £1.80 Balti Nan  £1.80 Paratha Nan  £1.40 Stuffed Paratha  £1.80 Tandoori Roti  £1.20 Chapati  £0.80 The Star of India Tandoori Delicacies Half Tandoori Chicken  £4.70 Whole Tandoori Chicken  £9.20 Chicken or Lamb Tikka  £4.70 Chicken or Lamb Shaslik  £5.50 Coconut Chicken  £5.50 Tandoori King Prawn  £8.40 Garlic Chicken  £5.50 Tandoori Mixed Grill with nan  £7.95 The Star of India Rice Delicacies Pilau Rice  £1.60 Boiled Rice  £1.50 Mushroom Rice  £1.95 Egg Fried Rice  £1.95 Lebu Rice  £1.95 Garlic Rice  £1.95 Narial Chawal  £1.95 Vegetable Rice  £1.95 Special Fried Rice  £1.95 Keema Rice  £2.25 The Star of India Biryani Delicacies Chicken, Meat or Prawn  £5.50 King Prawn  £8.40 Chicken or Lamb Tikka  £5.75 Tandoori Chicken  £5.75 Vegetable  £4.95 Mushroom  £4.95 The Star of India Special  £6.50 The Star of India Balti Delicacies Chicken, Meat or Prawn  £5.75 King Prawn  £8.40 Vegetable  £4.80 The Star of India Special  £6.95 Chicken or Lamb Tikka  £6.75 Chicken, Meat or Lamb Sagwala, Jalfrezi, Dhansak  £5.95 The Star of India Jalfrezi Delicacies Chicken Jalfrezi  £4.60 Prawn Jalfrezi  £5.70 Lamb Jalfrezi  £4.60 King Prawn Jalfrezi  £7.40 Chicken Tikka Jalfrezi  £5.60 Lamb Tikka Jalfrezi  £5.60 Vegetable Jalfrezi  £4.95 The Star of India Karahi Delicacies Chicken Karahi  £5.20 Prawn Karahi  £5.70 Lamb Karahi  £5.20 King Prawn Bhuna Karahi  £7.40 Chicken Tikka Karahi  £5.60 Lamb Tikka Karahi  £5.60 Vegetable Karahi  £4.95 The Star of India Bhuna Delicacies Chicken Bhuna  £4.40 Prawn Bhuna  £5.40 Lamb Bhuna  £4.40 King Prawn Bhuna  £7.40 Chicken Tikka Bhuna  £5.70 Lamb Tikka Bhuna  £5.70 Vegetable Bhuna  £4.95 The Star of India Vindaloo / Madras Delicacies Chicken / Lamb Curry  £4.10 Chicken / Lamb Madras  £4.50 Chicken / Lamb Vindaloo  £4.50 Prawn Curry / Madras / Vindaloo  £4.80 King Prawn Curry / Madras / Vindaloo  £6.50 Vegetable Curry  £3.95 The Star of India Noodles Malabar Seafood  £5.70 Chicken Madras  £5.20 Konkan Chicken  £5.20 Malabar veg  £5.20 Veg madras  £5.20 The Star of India Burgers Lamb Burger  £5.20 Chicken Burger  £4.80 Veggie Burger  £4.80 The Star of India Special Dishes The Star of India Special  £5.90 The Star of India Khazana  £6.95 Nawabi Chicken  £5.90 Murgh Charga  £5.90 Achari Chicken  £5.90 Chingri Bahar  £7.95 Lamb Nashilee  £5.90 Ghoust Laziz  £5.90 Jerra Chicken Massala  £5.90 Kufta Massala  £5.90 King Prawn Delight  £7.95 Shaslik Massala  £5.90 Garlic Green Chilli Massala  £5.90 Special Tandoori King Prawn Massala  £7.95 Butter Chicken  £5.90 Peshwari Chicken  £5.90 Black Pepper Chicken  £5.90 Black Pepper King Prawn  £7.95 Chicken Tikka Podeena  £5.90 Chicken Tikka Massala  £5.90 Chicken Tikka Pasanda  £5.90 Chicken Tikka Markhani  £5.90 Chicken Rezala  £5.90 The Star of India Desserts Gulab Jamun  £2.10 Falooda  £3.00 Chocolate, Vanilla, and Raspberry Ice Cream  £2.10 The Star of India Beverages Fruit Juices  £1.30 Mango and Coconut Lassi  £1.20 Masala Chai  £1.00 Coke or Diet Coke  £0.65 Mineral Water  £0.65 Place: The business will be located in the Earls Court area of central London. The reasoning b

Monday, January 20, 2020

Motivation in the Workplace Essay -- Business Management Papers

Motivation in the Workplace There are people out there in the workforce that believe they are obligated to do their best at their job simply because that is what is expected from all of us as humans. On the other hand, there are those out there that want to only do as much as they can get away with doing. No matter which one of these employees you are or are working with companies and employer's need to understand the concept of motivation. Motivation comes in many forms such as money, benefits, or simple recognition within. Motivation also leads to higher productivity and profit and that is what we are all looking for in business. The key to unlocking peak performance from your work force is the concept of human motivation. In addition, the key to motivation revolves around one fundamental principle: "What's in it for me?" (WIIFM). We have all been socialized to believe that only "selfish" people consider "What's in store for me." When in reality all people are motivated first by self-interest. The word selfish is used as a negative label for someone's perceived behavior. Understanding the concept of self-interest is perhaps the only way we will understand our need to achieve. Self-interest or feeling good about your self is a fundamental ingredient of motivation. When you work an extra hour, not on the clock, you are doing it for one real reason. It makes you feel good to either get the job done well or to help someone else. In the end you might get some sort of recognition in the company but usually you will not stay an hour extra today to get a gold star in two weeks from now. Dr. Gerald Kushel, has stated in his book "Reaching the Peak Performance Zone"; there are several variables involved in motivation. Among them are... ...hatever the motivational techniques used, they should be customized to coincide with the corporate culture unique to the organization. They also need to be meaningful to the employees and used in ways that the purpose of the reward is obvious. There are all kinds of employees out there with different work ethics and a small amount of thought into the motivational techniques used by an organization can go a long way to getting those unique individuals working together in a more productive and profitable way. Bibliography Works Cited 1. Eye, David E.,1,001 Ways to Inspire 1999 New York Publishing 2. Newman, Dr. Fred, Let's Develop 1994 Castillo International, Inc. 3. Sherman, Arthur W., Managing Human Resources 1998 (11th ed.) South-Western Publishing 4. Traynor, William J., Opportunities in Human Resource Management Careers 1997 VGM Career Horizons

Sunday, January 12, 2020

Executive Summary Social Networking Essay

Introduction We are at a time when customer satisfaction is at an all time low, yet it is becoming a more and more difficult to talk to a human for customer service. Many businesses have lost the personal and trust-filled relationship that is so desired by their clients. In order to maintain and grow a loyal customer base, a company can now achieve those real human connections by means of social networking. Individuals from all areas of the company are readily available to meet the diverse needs of its customers, future employees and each other. Social Networking is at the top of today’s technology and is being utilized by many companies. Our business purpose is to share business ideas and opportunities. This has become an effective tool to meet prospective leads, clients, efficient employees and business partners. [i] Social networking is an easy and cost effective way to make profitable business connections with people that you never knew existed. Recommendation ââ€" ª An advantage of Social Networking is to create new ways to communicate and share information about our company. Communication is a key to success in any business, and social networking is the best way to facilitate these successful interactions. ââ€" ª Social Networking ensures that our company is making new and successful connections. We are able to promote our company’s services on a more personal level.[ii] Both our customers and own employees can build a more trusting relationship through the ease of communication of a social network. Analysis Social Networking has always been an effective source of communication. It has become necessary to change they way we pursue our clients and employees. We want to manage more efficiently, hire the most qualified employees and locate potential clients. Our business has to be aware of not only what we communicate, but how we communicate. Society has changed they way we interact with one another. It use to be highly encouraged, by employers, to meet a potential client or future employee while playing golf, having lunch or maybe even dinner. You would provide your sales pitch, hand them a business card and follow back within the next few days to see if they were interested in your business or if you were interested in theirs. This was an approach to maintain a personal relationship and show your future client or future employee how available and interested you are. Social Networking has grown and we need to be aware of the way we connect and communicate. Communication is no longer just reaching a client or future employee. It is reaching millions of business connections that you never knew existed, through technology. Technology has allowed us to create social sites that can be used for networking your business, via the internet. I use to think social sites such as Myspace.com, Facebook.com, and LinkedIn.com were sites for younger people to socialize with their friends. After researching these sites, I found that these sites support much more than socializing amongst friends. It has become one of the most effective ways for businesses to communicate and build relationships with other business people and potential employees. Social networking has provided businesses with the following: business development or sales, raising business capital, professional development, getting job assistance with others in your company, recruiting board members, management of employees and social or personal reasons.[iii] Social Networking can add value to a company externally as well as internally. It can be a very powerful tool and when utilized properly we can learn from others as well as ourselves. There are many companies that have taken the idea of these social sites and utilized them internally. They are using social networking as marketing tool for growing their business. Social Networking is now essential professional competency for employees at all levels. Professionals need to know how to gain visibility and credibility in their target markets and how to build and maintain relationships for long-term growth. They need to develop strategic networking skills and practices to excel. It is the most important tool for intelligence gathering. In a business setting, such as conferences, meetings, and outings, people need to find the latest information on resources, trends and best practices. It is a critical strategy for business development. Employees can create a network of profiles and connect with one another. Enabling connections among employees, the company could easily establish virtual teams, bring new employees up to speed, improve collaboration and increase retention among people who hadn’t felt a strong sense of belonging.[iv] Social Networking is a method for personal retention because it creates feelings of inclusion and helps people from diverse backgrounds feel listened to and valued. Building up a network of diverse people is very helpful for any business. Contacts with different clusters or groups would help your possibility of greater opportunities. A closed group of contacts will not allow you this kind of exposure. Networking can help you with your contact list. This would then help you to expand your sales and social base. [v] It remains the primary technique that people use to find jobs, change careers or land on their feet after a layoff, merger, or reorganization.[vi] Through the company’s social network you can create a word-of-mouth marketing stream that reaches people you would never be able to reach on your own or other means. Experts can provide feedback or validation regarding your current ideas or help to create new ones. You can create an advisory board of business people that are regularly available to you and committed to the growth and success of your business. People are given the opportunity to brainstorm which allows you to get outside of the normal way of thinking and create new and innovative ways to grow your business. People in your social network can connect you with potential employees.[vii] Companies are communicating and connecting using external sites as a tool to check up on employees who are working for them or are a potential candidate. We want to make sure we are ahead of the game, the who’s who if you will. Potential employees seem to be younger and younger. They are not all exploiting the typical Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com to post their resumes or look for jobs anymore. They are developing personal sites with LinkedIn.com and Facebook.com, which are allowing a more personal view of a potential employee or client. More than one in five employers searches social networking sites to screen candidates. There are many areas of concern that can be researched on networking sites including: information about drug and alcohol use, inappropriate photos, poor communication skills, bad-mouthing of former employers or fellow employees, inaccurate qualifications, unprofessional screen names, notes showing links to criminal behavior, and confidential information about past employers. This is a very effective way to help determine whether a candidate should be hired. You want an employee that can show a professional image, solid references and are a well-rounded candidate in terms of their skills, accomplishments and overall fit for the company.[viii] Closing Social Networking is a smart and strategic way to keep our company connected and communicating both internally and externally. Remember the old saying, â€Å"It is not always what you know, but who you know† and social networking has been an effective tool that has allowed us to broaden our personal relationships with our customers, future employees and each other. Social Networking through technology will allow us to grow with endless possibilities. ———————– [i] Raj, N. A. (2008). For Entrepreneurs: Social Marketing Optimization. Retrieved November 1,2008, for Gaebler Ventures Website:http://www.gaebler.com/Importance-of-Business-Networking-for-Entrepreneurs.htm [ii] Raj, N. A. (2008). For Entrepreneurs: Social Marketing Optimization. Retrieved November 1,2008, for Gaebler Ventures Website:http://www.gaebler.com/Importance-of-Business-Networking-for-Entrepreneurs.htm [iii] Darling, D. (2003). The Networking Survival Guide Get the Success You Want by Tapping into the People You Know. New York, New York: McGraw-Hill. [iv] Brandel, Mary (2008). The new employee connection: Social networking behind the firewall. Retrieved October 25, 2008, for Computerworld Networking & Internet Website:http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=knowledge_center&articleId=9114560&taxonomyId=1&intsrc=kc_top [v] Sridhar, B.N (2008). The Importance of Networking in Business. Retrieved October 25, 2008, for Ezine@rticles Website: http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Importance-of-Networking-in-Business&id=1525118 [vi] Baber, A. & Waymon, L. (2007). Make Your Contacts Count Networking Know-How for Business and Career Success. New York, New York: Amacom. [vii] Fisher, D. (2001). Professional Networking for Dummies. Indianapolis, Indiana: Wiley Publishing, Inc. [viii]Havenstein, H. (2008). One in five employers uses social networks in hiring process. Retrieved October 26, 2008, for Computerworld Networking & Internet Website:http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=knowledge_center&articleId=9114560&taxonomyId=1&intsrc=kc_top

Friday, January 3, 2020

Econometrics Research Topic Ideas

One of the most difficult things about being an undergraduate student  in economics is that most schools require that students write an econometrics paper at some point in their studies. Econometrics is essentially the application of statistical and mathematical theories and perhaps some computer science to economic data. The objective is to develop empirical evidence for economics hypotheses and to predict future trends by testing economics models through statistical trials. Econometrics assists economists in analyzing large sets of data to unveil meaningful relationships among them. For instance, an econometrics scholar might attempt to find statistical evidence for answers to real-world economics questions like, does increased education spending lead to higher economic growth? with the help of econometrics methods. The Difficulty Behind Econometrics Projects While certainly important to the subject of economics, many students (and particularly those who do not particularly enjoy statistics)  find econometrics a necessary evil in their education. So when the moment arrives to find an econometrics research topic for a university term paper or project, they are at a loss. In my time as an economics professor, I have seen students  spend 90% of their time simply trying to come up with an econometrics research topic and then searching for the necessary data. But these steps need not be such a challenge. Econometrics Research Topic Ideas When it comes to your next econometrics  project, I have you covered. Ive come up with a few ideas for suitable undergraduate econometrics term papers and projects. All the data you will need to get started on your project is included, though you may choose to supplement with additional data. The data is available for download in Microsoft Excel format, but it can easily be converted to whatever format your course requires you to use. Here are two econometrics research topic ideas to consider. Within these links are paper topic prompts, research resources, important questions to consider, and data sets to work with. Okuns Law Use your econometrics term paper to test Okuns Law in the United States. Okuns Law is named for American economist Arthur Melvin Okun, who was the first to propose the existence of the relationship back in 1962. The relationship described by Okuns Law is between that of a countrys unemployment rate and that countrys production or gross national product (GNP). Spending on Imports and Disposable Income Use your econometrics term paper as an opportunity to answer questions about American spending behaviors. As incomes rise, how do households spend their new wealth and disposable income? Do they spend it on imported goods or domestic goods?