Global Industries essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Global Industries - Essay Example According to his analysis the funds represent a small fraction of the U.S.-managed fund industry, but despite this their net assets grew by 262% from 1998 to 2005, compared to a 10.8% increase in U.S. high-yield bond funds. There was significant public attention but academic research did not give much attention to the emerging market bond funds. So did the Pension Fund Manager who also did not pay proper attention to this fund. I would have gone deeper in my research as Pension Fund Manager and would take correct and patient decision before shifting from the fund. I would also for a diversified fund investment rather than concentrating on single fund and suffering. Similarly if we study carefully the Lazard's Emerging Market Equity Market Returns annually from 1993 to 2008 we can note of certain emerging markets doing very well. In 1997 Turkey, Hungry and Mexico returned more that 50% from the equity market. In 1998 Korea and Greece returned more than 50%; in 1999 Russia and Turkey returned more than 200% % and Indonesia, India and Korea returned more than 75% from this market. 2000 was a poor market but from 2001 the equity market again started looking up. By 2002 the return was very lucrative: Pakistan returning 150% and Check Republic and Indonesia returning about 40% and above. Minimum five important emerging markets continued yielding sound returns till 2007 The main problem concerns about reading the market trends correctly and selecting the target market with the help of proven experts in the market. Perhaps the Pension Manager could not foresee the correct trends in the market and his decision about investment yielded losses. In 2003 the loss incurred was due to wrong reshuffling of his portfolio to US Treasury Bills for two years and Treasury notes yielding only 1% to 3% return. This is period when many of emerging markets Equity funds in Thailand, China, India, Colombia, Egypt, Argentina, Brazil equities funds achieved fabulous results with more than 70% to 140% returns. Wonderfully his decision to go back to equities again was taken in 2007, which was the marginal year for the financial markets. From 2008 the world financial market collapsed and caused losses to each and every one including the emerging markets. Emerging Market Equity Returns 2008 The new Pension fund manager obviously has a great responsibility to earn minimum 7-8% on the investment and satisfy the employee representative on the board who is risk averse and very much concerned that the pension will have enough funds available for retirees. 1. What is your position on future growth of the US over the next 5 years, 10 years and 20 yearsAmerica's Wall Street has been the financial center of the world for decades. "When Wall Street sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold." In such a financial scenario there is need to examine the American financial market and its future. The current market is already depressed and the depression has been rated by most of experts equal to or more than the depression of the 1930s. 30s depression lasted for about a decade with intermittent recovery for brief period. The recession of 2008 also is likely to extend for a decade at least. US Recession The dollar slumped to a 15 year low against 6 of

Marketing Segmentation Essay Example for Free

Marketing Segmentation Essay 1. Geographical segmentation: The market is divided according to geographic criteria like nation, state, religion, countries etc. Geographic data create accurate profile of specific. For eg: in rainy season sells rainy clothes (like raincoat, umbrella etc) 2. Demographic segmentation: it divide to the market into groups according to variable in age, family, gender, size of family, income of the consumers etc 3. Psychographic segmentation: It is a science which use in better understands all consumers according to their life style, personality, value and social-class. I am doing job in Bajaj Company, after this company has monopolised in almost all field either in the field of manufacturing bikes or bulb, tube light etc. Earlier, the customers were not fond of verities because there were not too many verities in the market and less competitions, but, in present time a huge competition has been taken place that for survive in the market every companies should be update with their products, otherwise rival companies will lead them. If we talk about the bike fashion we see that our youngsters like those bikes which must not be strong in pickup (60 km/h with few minutes) as well as good looking means it looks different from others, besides this, old agers want those bikes which run comfortably that they ride normally, to keep this in their mind all companies like hero Honda release many bikes like Hero stunner, CBZ, Karizma for young generations. While, for old agers they released Slender, Passion, CD dawn etc, in same pattern Yamaha release Yamaha R15 which cost is almost Rs. 15,000 in present time, but give a good look which attract the customers. So, after much research on these companies, Bajaj Company wants to release such bike series which is not only for young as well as senior can use it, so this company manufactured lots of bikes Pulsar and discover series for youngsters which not only good looking but also having that price which every customers can afford and easily buy the products and it also give good mileage than others companies bike, and from the point of view senior, whose ages is 40 years and above, they release Platina with self start facilities which is easy in riding. By all these information I want to describe that Bajaj Company segmented it products in various categories according to customers’ demand that’s why this company is going extremely good and successful in satisfied to consumers. If we talking about bulb, tube lights, this company manufactured the bulbs, CFLs, tube lights which not give perfect light but also take few electricity and go long times. Especially CFLs which cost are high but it work beyond one years and it takes less electricity and give light so much as a 40 watt tube light gives. There are many designs of CFLs has been released in the market which selling is more than bulbs and tube lights. So according to customer’s choice and willing Bajaj Company put down stylish CFLs in the market which attract consumers with its designs but also reduce the electric bill of customers and supplies good light over all houses. So like this the company segmented it electric accessories in various styles, according to customers willing and choice. Marketing Plan Marketing plan is a marketing strategy which involves marketing plans for a firm’s marketing activities. Marketing planning process is process of business planning; in marketing plan all the firm’s keep an eye on all marketing activities as well as competitors and they also come to know the view of the customers about their products like they are satisfied with their products or not, if not, know the reason of disliking and what they want improve in the products etc, because satisfaction of consumers is very important, after all whole marketing processes and successes are depend only upon customers. They are the important part of business. For e. g. if we talking about auto mobile all companies like Hero Honda, Yamaha, Bajaj etc, manufactured ordinary bikes( like Hero Honda released CD 100 later Splendour , Yamaha CX 100 and Bajaj released scooters and later Bajaj Boxer) but, there were some problems and deficiency took place in the bikes like the capacity of the engine was not good that was giving low mileage, pick up was ordinary and ordinary looks etc, after looking and analysing all problems of customers all companies manufactured those bikes which are giving good mileage, capacity of engine is very good and all are stylish as customers wanted. For e. g. :- Bajaj released discover series, pulsar series, Hero Honda released Passion, Passion plus, CBZ, Karizma etc, Yamaha released Yamaha R15 (but it is too costly), TVS manufactured Apache etc. Beside these, all companies also release scooty for college going girls. Because they knew that all ladies can’t ride the bikes that’s why to keep in mind the facilities of girls they produced scooty which is very light with self start facilities, without gears. These products became very popular among the girls, not girls even boy also taking ride of the scooty many times. Like this all companies conduct a SWOT (strengths, weakness, opportunities, threats) means they research on the behaviour, likes, dislikes, what are the deficiencies in the product, what else and what new their customers want in their products and what other companies provided to customers and do better than them.

Edith Wharton Essay -- Literature

Edith Wharton once wrote, â€Å"Life is the saddest thing next to death (Johnson and Zimmerman).† She is also said to have been â€Å"among the first American writers to gain a sense of the world as an evil place (Johnson and Zimmerman).† Edith Newbold Jones was considered to be a â€Å"product of New York City† (Johnson and Zimmerman) and was born on January 24, 1862 (a day she tried to keep secret (â€Å"Edith Wharton Biography† bookrags.com)) in the wealthier side of New York City. It is said that â€Å"her privileged lifestyle lead to many of her finest works (â€Å"Edith Wharton†).† However, even though her last name was Jones, there was a slight suspicion that her tutor growing up was her real father, and Edith believed this (â€Å"Edith Wharton Biography† bookrags.com). The ever-popular term â€Å"Keeping up with the Joneses† is also â€Å"a phrase coined about Edith Wharton’s family (â€Å"Edith Wharton†).† Edith Wharton was born just a few years before the end of the Civil War. When it ended in 1865, many things began to change for everyone, and that was one thing that Wharton’s family strongly disliked—changes (Johnson and Zimmerman). Therefore, in 1866, her family traveled to Europe and visited Italy, Germany, France, and Spain (Johnson and Zimmerman), and this was where â€Å"she spent much of her childhood (Johnson and Zimmerman).† In fact they stayed there for about six years after the war (â€Å"Edith Wharton Biography† Bio.) In 1872, she and her family came back to New York, but they spend their summers away from the city in Newport, Rhode Island. Then in 1873, Walter Pater publishes his â€Å"Studies in the History of the Renaissance (Davis â€Å"Timeline†).† This is an important fact because in her novel The Age of Innocence she writes, â€Å"Newland Archer prided himse... ...053&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w>. Johnson, Doug, and Phoebe Zimmermann. "Edith Wharton, 1862-1937: Wrote Novels of the Young and Innocent in a Dishonest World." voanews.com. Voice of America, 2007. 15 Feb 2012. . Lewis, R.W.B. â€Å"A Writer of Short Stories.† Edith Wharton. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. Naipaul, V. S. "A review of 'Of Age and Innocence'." New Statesman 56.1447 (6 Dec. 1958): 827. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Roger Matuz and Cathy Falk. Vol. 66. Detroit: Gale Research, 1991. Literature Resource Center. 27 Feb. 2012. . Wharton, Edith. The Age of Innocence. New York: The Modern Library, 1948, â€Å"A Note on the Author of The Age of Innocence†- 68.

Investment Analysis-Derivatives: Options and Warrants Essay

This report will encompass brief explanation of common derivatives namely, options and warrants. What are Options? A contract which enables the investor to buy or sell a particular financial instrument is known as an option ( Rao, 2003, p. 676). The underlying financial product in equity option is stocks. These contracts have expiry dates; hence an investor can exercise option before its expiration. The options can be exercised at a specific price which is known as striking price or exercise price (Rao, 2003, p. 676). Essentially options are of two types, call option and put option. Call option:   It is an option which allows the option holder to buy or call a specific number of shares at a specific price, within an already specified time period (Rao, 2003, p. 677). For instance, 3 months ago, an investor purchased a 6-months call-option on 500 shares of Hewlett Packard at the strike price of $40 per share. If the current market price of the stock is $50, the investor has a choice to exercise the option and purchase 500 shares at $40 instead of $50. This implies that an investor would want to buy a call option if he expects the market price to rise above the exercise price (Rao, 2003, p. 677) Put option: It is an option which allows the option holder to sell or put a specific number of shares at a specific price, within an already specified time period (Rao, 2003, p. 678). This is exactly vice versa to call option; therefore an investor would purchase a put option if he expects the market price of the stock to get lower than the exercise price. Risk and Returns associated with options A lot of investors employ options as tools to mitigate their risk in investment, in other words, they insure their investment in stock against any fall in market price (Rao, 2003, p. 679). For e.g. an investor holding a put option has saved himself from even a 100 percent decline in the market price of shares of ABC Company, and he can still sell the stocks at the specified strike price. This practice is also known as hedging, as the name suggests; the investors hedge their risk in the respective investment. However, despite its ability to hedge risks, it should never be neglected that like any other investment it has no guarantee of 100 percent return or security. An investor can risk investing huge sum in the shape of premium price of an option. For e.g. if an investors buys a call option and the price of the stock falls below the exercise price, he gets exposed to potential losses. But it is evident that the losses will be relatively lower than what actual stock holders will bear. Hence it can be verifiably be said that options are great instruments for mitigating risk, provided that an investor is able to predict the future stock price movement with much precision and exercise options at the right time in order to make profit. What are warrants? A warrant is a security issued by a company which grants the warrant holder, a right to purchase a specific number of common shares at a specified price, before the warrant expires (Mathur, 2000, p. 436). Investors exercise their warrants when they buy shares directly (trading between the broker and the investor), or trade over the counter. Warrant holders have no claim on dividends and no voting rights. Warrants also are issued with bonds and preferred stocks.   Moreover, warrants with bonds can be traded separately in the market as well (Mathur, 2000, p. 437). Characteristics of Warrants There are three main characteristics of warrants which are as follows, 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Expiration date: Investors can exercise their option of converting the warrants into shares any time before the warrant expires (Mathur, 2000, p. 437). Generally the life of a warrant is 5-10 years. Hence, during this time, the warrant holder can easily exercise the warrant as per the need and opportunity. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Premium price: The price that warrant holders agree to pay for buying shares in future, is known as exercise or premium price Mathur, 2000, p. 437). This price is generally 10% to 30% above the prevailing market price of the shares. For e.g. if the market price of Microsoft Corporation is $80, then the warrant issued can be set at $96 (20% above the market price). Therefore, if the stock price rises, the warrant holder can either exercise the warrant to buy shares or sell the warrant in market. However, if the current market price of the stock becomes equal to or less than the exercise price, the value of the warrant becomes zero (Mathur, 2000, p. 438). 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Exposure to investor: Warrants are always issued by with provisions which clearly specify the number of shares that can be bought with a single warrant (Mathur, 2000, p. 438).

Dove, the Brand to Beat Essay

Dove is a brand under the many products of Unilever. It was in the 1890s when William Hesketh Lever, founder of Lever Bros popularized cleanliness and hygiene with his introduction of the Sunlight Soap in Victorian England. The Sunlight Soap led the advocacy â€Å"to make cleanliness commonplace; to lessen work for women; to foster health and contribute to personal attractiveness, that life ay be more enjoyable and rewarding for the people who use our products†. (www.dove.com) For three centuries, Unilever has proven its success over economic booms, depressions, world wars and the changing lifestyle of its consumers as the world advanced through technology. Dove is the leading skin care product since 1957. It is clinically proven and has been noted to be good for dry sensitive skin which half the women in the world has. And since the 1980s, Dove has launched more supporting products to the soap bar such as moisturizing body wash, deodorants, body lotions, facial cleansers, shampoos and conditioners. All of these products are aimed to solve skin needs comprehensively bringing out the true inner beauty of women. Dove is boasts of its number one in the race of cleansing brands with double-digit growth data. Sales in over 80 countries are over â‚ ¬2.5 billion a year. They estimate that over 1 billion showers are done using Dove products each year in the US alone. The success is due to the brands keeping of its clinically proven promises and understanding of its real market. Studies show that only 12 % of women are very satisfied with their physical attractiveness. 2% of women articulate themselves as beautiful. 68% knows that media almost always sets unrealistic standards of beauty and the 75% hopes that media would better itself in portraying diversity in women’s physical attractiveness that includes size, shape and age. â€Å"Dove is actively trying to address the root of the problem of negative self-image. Dove has founded the Dove Self-Esteem Fund, which funds programs to raise self-esteem in girls and young women. In the US, it’s working through the Unilever Foundation to sponsor a partnership with Girl Scouts, called ‘uniquely ME!’ It also supports the BodyTalk education program for schools in the UK and Canada.† (www.dove.com) The Dove Self-Esteem Fund has come along way since consumers saw that water alone was not enough to clean oneself. American consumers of the new millennium are more demanding than ever and value minded. Dove consumers pay a higher price for Dove due to its after sales value. The target market of Dove are the people who can afford to put a premium for added market values compared to cheaper alternatives such as Ivory. â€Å"According to Soap, Cosmetics, Chemical Specialties, aging baby-boomers were looking for milder, less irritating products. Soaps using vegetable-based fats, with no animal fats or animal testing, were also in demand. Other popular items included loofahs, oatmeal products, and chamomile leaves. In general, customers demanded performance and value in all their soap, shampoo, and detergent products, which were the driving factors behind the soap and detergents industry at the turn of the century.† (Thompsons, 2006) All these added value makes Dove cost more than the average bath product. Value leaders attempt to offer the best product at the cheapest price. These products cannot compare on quality and in the short term, competes for the value of each dollar. Ivory products advertise themselves on the price pitch that does not happen to Dove products. Each Dove product commercial does not mention price. this kind of advertising strategy may increase Ivory income by selling more quantity but soaps such as Dove and Dial remain successful as well by selling more expensive and keeping loyal customers at lesser volumes. â€Å"The bar soap market, which had grown at an average rate of about 4.1 percent annually in the early 1980s, entered the 1990s with a growth rate of about 4.9 percent. Beauty bars comprised the fastest growing segment of the bar soap market, with sales increasing at a rate of about 7 percent per year. Later in the decade, however, bar soap began to lose some ground to shower gels. In 1998, bar soap sales grew only 1.5 percent in value and slipped 4.5 percent in unit terms, while shower gel sales increased dramatically. However, even with their 18.1 sales gain in 1998, the shower gel market, with total sales of $450 million, remained slightly less than a third the size of the bar soap market, which totaled $1.4 billion in value in 1998.† (Thompsons, 2006) Dove has been successful in its campaign to increase and sustain loyal consumers due to its steadfast supporting of its timeless belief in their original product. Compared to the rest of the competition, Dove remained the soap that held on to its ‘added moisture’ selling point. From that, Dove has evolved and widened its strategies in cornering a wider and global market. For one, it’s campaign-promoting self-esteem in women cuts above the rest. The ‘campaign for real beauty’ ad that models larger than average smiling women in white underwear has sent advertisers of other soaps amok. The message of this ad is a statement against the usual advertisers that project the beautiful woman with impossibly physical proportions. This strategy of using controversy for advertising worked so much for Dove. â€Å"The women in these photos appear to love who they are and the way their bodies look. Sue Ontiveros of the Chicago Sun-Times says, â€Å"It’s the joy on their faces that I really like. There’s just so much happiness in their smiles that I feel as if these women are saying ‘this is the real me and I like her.’ Boy, is that rare and just the message I’d like females to get and embrace.† Just because your booty can’t fit into a size four doesn’t mean you’re not sexy. The joy and confidence of the Dove models allows them to look sexy without having to wear seductive facial expressions.† (www.campaignforealbeuty.com) The challenge that lies on the Dove self-esteem campaigns is to make sure that they do not get caught playing two sides. A teener realizes that the big women ad was sporting big tight thighs. Dove was getting the most of this because their thigh-tightening product was being launched. A critic also realized that letting women with underwear pose on camera was still diminishing respect for women even if they were all size large. The most significant challenge that advertisers faced was fueled by the growing global concern of consumers over environmental issues. Consumers demanded that products like Dove have to be manufactured and marketed using ‘earth-friendly’ products and processes without sacrificing quality. Dove’s dishwashing liquid leads their earth-friendly products. Using the dishwashing liquid leaves the hands moisturized, the plates squeaky clean and the rivers unpolluted Another important strategy for Dove products to stay in the lead is using technology to further their market reach. The website of Dove and its dealers are well-made and very user friendly. Buying online is very convenient. Using the internet as part of the marketing efforts, Dove can ensure the existence of its loyal customers who pays more to buy Dove soap. The prices below gathered from the websites show comparisons in prices of different common leading bath soaps. Dove fits in the middle of the price war as it is appreciated by the market as the soap that has more value compared to the usual everyday common soaps such as Dial and Coast but not too expensive like the signature and specialty soaps like Cetaphil or Neutrogena. Price Comparisons Dove   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3.08 Dial   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   0.99 Ivory   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1.89 Cetaphil   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   4.09 Neutrogena   Ã‚  Ã‚   3.95 Coast   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1.20 Table 1. User ratings between Dove competitors Product name Pears Soap Imperial Leather Original Soap Palmolive Original Soap Bar Dove Extra Sensitive Cream Bar Lux Milk & Honey Beauty Soap Oilatum Soap Bar Camay Classic- Toilet Soap Overall user rating:    Recommended by 100% (13 Reviews)    Recommended by 95% (19 Reviews)    Recommended by 50% (6 Reviews)    Recommended by 86% (28 Reviews)    Recommended by 100% (1 Review)    Recommended by 100% (2 Reviews)    Recommended by 33% (3 Reviews) http://www.ciao.co.uk/product_comparison.php?Pid=1%2C10%2C10534%2C15372%2C5015455%2C5231365&IDs%5B%5D=70462&IDs%5B%5D=70445&IDs%5B%5D=70457&IDs%5B%5D=70440&IDs%5B%5D=70450&IDs%5B%5D=5628139&IDs%5B%5D=70438&Compare=Compare   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The table above shows user ratings from the ciao website. Recommendations between Dove competitors are tabulated. Though Dove Extra Sensitive Cream Bar had an 86% recommendation ratings, it had the most number of reviews totaling 28 as compared to Imperial leather Original Soap that seconded the list with 18 reviews, a far ten reviews short of Dove. This short sampling will show that there are more Dove users who connect to the internet as compared to the other products.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Dove moves forward in its goal to build a strategic global ‘master’ brand. Backed by Unilever’s expertise in product branding, Dove with its good quality material for hygiene and beauty preservation will continue to focus on making their brand lead by promoting the value of their brand as against the price of the soap.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"Dove was an instant hit, generating $55 million in sales its first six months, per Information Resources Inc. This year, sales climbed to $79 million for the 52 weeks ended April 22. Dove’s current market share stands at 4.7%, equal that of Procter and Gamble’s Old Spice. P&G’s Secret brands still collectively dominate the $1.6 billion category, but have been losing share to Dove. Total Secret sales were $229 million as of April 22, down 8% from $248 million for the year ended Sept. 10, 2000, per IRI.† (Ward, 2003)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I have personally using Dove for the past ten years and have been more than twice tempted to try other brands. Though I did try out one or two other brands during such time, I always went back to using Dove because of its simplicity, truthfulness and mission to add social value to a common daily commodity. In a world where brand names are easily communicated with visuals only technology knows how far will go, Dove will remain as a trustworthy partner in my personal health care. References: U.S. Department of Commerce. U.S. Industry and Trade Out-look ’99.   Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1999. U.S. Department of Commerce. U.S. Census Bureau. 1997 Economic Census. Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1999. Van Arnum, Patricia. â€Å"Consumer Product Majors Soak in a Renewed Outlook.† Chemical Market Reporter, FR3-5. Ward, John. 2003. Does Market Share Really Apply to Apple? http://www.vectronicsappleworld.com/2003/opinion/0306.html www.ciao.com www.dove.com www.answers.com Dove’s extension into deodorant is a prime example of Unilever’s long-term strategy to build a set of global â€Å"master† brands with new products and heavy marketing support. The launch was backed by more than $30 million in media spending, a level usually reserved for new brands. Dove marketers also wanted to develop a product specifically for women. While a number of existing brands are gender neutral (Ban, Sure) or targeted to men (Brut, Right Guard, Old Spice), not since P&G introduced decades-old Secret has a manufacturer captured the collective attention of the female audience. Preferred language style: English(U.S.) †¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¨Dove Soap (brand I want researched on)†¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¨Think about a product you love, that you use all the time. In this first part of the assignment, your goal is to uncover as much research about the brand and it competitors as possible. †¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¨You`ll want to know the history of the brand, the characteristics of the people who buy/use the brand, and everything else possible about it. But don`t forget to look into the competition. What are they doing right? What are they doing wrong? 5 pages 4 sources History Characteristics of its market Competition status What they are doing right? What they are doing wrong?   

Oskar Shindler essays

Oskar Shindler essays Schindler, Oskar (1908-74), German businessman whose fame rests on his remarkable rescue of more than 1,000 Jews during the Nazi Holocaust. Oskar Schindler was born in the Sudetenland, Czechoslovakia. He moved to Poland in 1930 and made a fortune in Krakw. He saved 1,200 Polish Jews from the Nazi death camps by employing them at a munitions factory he opened using Jewish labor. The factory had been a bankrupt manufacturer of enamelware when Schindler bought it and used it to fill military contracts. In 1944, Schindler moved the factory and all of the workers to Moravia when the Red Army was closing in on Krakw. The story of Schindler's achievement was told in a 1982 book, 'Schindler's Ark', by Thomas Keneally, which was made into the highly successful motion picture 'Schindler's List' by filmmaker Steven Spielberg in 1993. The film won the Academy award for best picture as well as many other awards. Schindler moved to Argentina in 1949 with his wife, Emilie, and his German mistress. He had no financial success after the war. In fact, he started a nutria farm in Argentina that failed and a cement factory in Germany that also went bankrupt. Schindler abandoned both his wife and his mistress and moved back to Germany in 1958. When he became destitute and faced debtor's prison, Schindler called on the Jews that he had saved, and they sent him money. He traveled to Israel in the early 1960s and received such a warm welcome from the survivors and their families that he returned every year. He spent six weeks on each visit, which were paid for by the "Schindlerjuden" (Schindler Jews). Even for the people he saved, it was difficult to conceive why Schindler had risked his life to save the Jews. He had a well-earned reputation for drinking, gambling, and womanizing, and he had a comfortable relationship with the Nazis. Liam Neeson, the actor who played him in the film, believed that Schindler was possessed with...

How to Read an Italian Menu

How to Read an Italian Menu If you’ve been to northern regions, like Milan, and the south of Italy, like Cosenza, you know that the items on restaurant menus won’t be similar and, depending on where you’ve chosen to eat, may be written in an Italian that isn’t so standard. That’s because each region of Italy, and oftentimes, individual cities, have their own piatti tipici, or traditional dishes. What’s more, sometimes the same thing can be called different things from the north to the south, like how the popularly-known is called schiacciata in Tuscany. Despite the variations you will most definitely encounter, there are some standards that you can learn about in advance when it comes to eating in Italy, and more specifically, being able to read an Italian menu. In this quick guide, we’ll go through the types of restaurants in Italy, how make a reservation, the order of Italian dishes during a meal, how to ask for the bill, and a few other cultural tidbits that may be useful for you. Types of Restaurants in Italy Autogrill - Roadside snack bar Pizza al taglio - Shop that sells slices of pizza cut by how much you want. Tavola calda - Informal restaurant, like a cafeteria as you often order buffet-style. Osteria - Informal restaurant, like a diner. Trattoria - Medium-priced restaurant that’s often family-run. Ristorante - Restaurant. You can learn some vocabulary that’s specific  to the dining experience here. If you want to learn some phrases that will help you find the most authentic restaurants and get the best recommendations, explore our article on Italian phrases thatll allow you to experience authentic Italian food. How to Make a Reservation While it’s not common practice to make reservations at all restaurants in Italy, it is recommended at places that tend to be busier or are the pià ¹ gettonate, the most popular. Youll, of course, have to know some common Italian phrases and how to say the time in Italian for this. To make a reservation for two people at 8:00 PM, use this phrase: Vorrei fare una prenotazione per due, alle otto. Order of Italian Dishes In Italy, dishes are usually served on separate plates in a specific order. In order of appearance on a typical menu there is: Lantipasto, which literally means before the meal and includes hot and cold appetizers, such as crostini  and  bruschetta.Il primo, or first course usually consisting soup.Il secondo, or second course, and is the main course.Il contorno, or side dish, which consists of vegetables such as (eggplant), (spinach), or (mixed salad).Il dolce, or dessert, which includes such favorite sweets as  tiramisà ¹, torta della nonna  (custard shortbread pie), or (custard of egg yolks with wine and brandy). Get the Bill (Or Should You Leave a Tip?) To ask for the bill, say: Il conto, per favore. Unless you ask, it’s not likely that they’ll bring the check to you. When it comes to tipping, by Italian law, gratuity is included in the bill, and extra tipping isnt necessary. Remember that a coperto - a cover charge - is included as well. If the service warrants it, feel free to leave your waiter a little extra. If you want the waiter to keep the change, say: Tenga pure il resto. Extra Tips In Italy, those milky concoctions - cappuccino and caffà ¨ latte - are consumed only at breakfast, so before 11 AM.Al dente means to the tooth, or slightly chewy. It is used to describe pasta and rice. The inside should be somewhat crisp-tender.Italians often say Buon appetito! or Enjoy your meal when the first course is served, and Salute! or To your health when toasting with a drink.Most likely you will have to purchase water. You’ll have a choice between bubbly water - frizzante or con gas - or regular water - liscia or naturale.

Home Schooling is an Ideal Way to Obtain Quality Education

Home Schooling is an Ideal Way to Obtain Quality Education Home Schooling Is the Best Bet for a Quality Education School System Is Too Standardized Anyone who takes an objective look the state of American public education today will agree it’s hindering the future of our country. School systems are faltering, focusing more on standardized testing than educating our youth. Teachers, for the sake of keeping their jobs, â€Å"teach to the test† – and students graduate with a half-baked understanding of the world, sub-par skills, and an incomplete education. Aside from academics, the public school is no place to learn. It has become more like a prison – where violence, crime, and attention-seeking behaviors are too prevalent. But this is the worst possible recipe for a classroom. There is always the option of homeschooling one’s children, which is an ideal way for our youth to obtain a quality education. To begin with, homeschooling is an ideal way to obtain a quality education, especially if the teacher has an extensive education. Any parent or home-schooling teacher should have at least a Master’s degree in Education, along with several years of teaching experience; however, a Ph.D. is best – a true expert with in-depth research, a thorough understanding of, and an insightful perspective on, homeschooling. This way, they will objectively teach the home-schooled students, in turn providing them a strong academic and intellectual foundation. This is much better than the everyday teacher who most of the time just has a Bachelor’s degree; rarely in the public education setting would any student, grades Kindergarten through the 12th grade, get educated by such an expert in the field. Also, homeschooling is an ideal way to obtain a quality education if the parent brings in expert consultants and tutors to teach the children a wide array of topics. A Quality Education Is about Being a Well-Rounded Student There is more to the picture than just time in the classroom – even in the home classroom. In order for a home-schooled student to obtain a quality education, they must also be encouraged, maybe even forced, to attend lectures, seminars, and museums from quite a young age, maybe even 10 or 11 years old. A quality education is about being a well-rounded student who is exposed to different areas of thought from various individuals. These extra-curricular activities are perfect for this. You may like these articles: Relieving Students School-Related Stress Educational Field Trip Safety Issues Combining Academic Knowledge and Practicality The Bright Sides of Academic Intellectuals We Call Nerds Learning from Budget Books Too often in public education, students are held to a rigid course structure, where they learn information on a superficial level. This is detrimental to the student’s education because they are not learning; rather they are remembering information for the â€Å"test.† Homeschooling offers a student a quality education if they get to broaden their intellectual horizons by learning from experts who offer their findings to people. This way, they learn more than just what is on the test – they learn information that will remain with them the rest of their lives. Home-Schooled Children Should not Be Cut off from the Rest of the World Homeschooling is an ideal way to obtain a quality education if the student is not cut off from the rest of the world, including other children their age. A home-schooled student may already be seen, and conditioned to be, a sort of outcast; usually, these kinds of students are less social in the company of other children their age, so they must learn to assimilate in the company of others. Any student can stay at home and be a brainiac, a straight-A student who knows everything. But then they get into the real world and choke, unable to be around others with contrasting experiences, beliefs, and education. To fix this, home-schooled students should be encouraged to be social – even with non-home-schooled students. This will broaden their idea of the world, and from this, they will be well-rounded, well-educated individuals. In conclusion, there are of course many naysayers who feel a home-schooled education is the worst possible thing for a children: they say it isolates them; they get an incomplete, subjective, limited, sub-par education – one that will ultimately, in their lives and professional careers, hinder them from success, happiness, and fulfillment. But this argument is quite weak, and it generalizes all home-schooled educational endeavors. For whatever the reason for homeschooling one’s children, it can work to the children’s advantage in obtaining a high-quality education if it is done right and thoroughly and responsibly. A home-schooled education like this, with the aforementioned characteristics, would certainly change all the stigmas attached to homeschooling. This is, of course, is the perfect scenario, and unfortunately may not be the case with most home-schooled students.

American Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

American Society - Essay Example The study makes an effort to understand these areas that are highly relevant to not only the American society, but to all societies that are plagued by skin color and the racial problems. Approximately 33 million African Americans are living in USA today and most of them are descendents and results of Trans-Atlantic slavery trade. There were no Blacks in America before the obnoxious slave trade. The slaves, naturally a minute minority in those days of flourishing slave trade, were treated inhumanly in the predominantly European white society of the day. In the beginning, Blacks were not considered to be the part of American society. They were not even treated as human beings and were continuously degraded till the American Civil War and its aftermath terminated their slavery status. Still they had to wait for the Civil Rights Bill to gain equality. The white majority that heaped centuries of discrimination, at last accepted them as part of American society. Recently people have migrated from Caribbean, West Indies and various parts of Africa. They are definitely not the descendents of the shameful slave trade and have not been in US for generations; still, being black, they are part of nation's minority and hence, are slightly at a disadvantageous position. "An ethnic minority, on virtue of being a minority, is by definition in a disadvantaged position, which facilitates the characterisation of black people as problems, as being essential inferior and so on" Staples (1973). The equation between Black and White has changed considerably although it took a very long painful length of time. Majority group initially thought that the minority is stupid, illiterate, and superstitious, lacking motivation. They were thought to be fit only to remain slaves and retain their subservient status. They were from the Dark Continent and thus, were barely human. They also were thought to be devoid of any human qualities like cleverness, sadness, sensitivity, feelings, pain and suffering. White community lulled itself into self-forgiving with these convictions. They needed such assumptions to treat a lesser group and remain self-righteous about it. Now after centuries of living together and understanding each other's ways, things have changed and new perceptions have dawned. The minority is coming into higher prominence and this is the evidence that it is, at last, making inroads into the white dominated society. This does not mean that there is no discrimination and its evidence in the American society of today to negate and discourage this fact. Sometimes the minority group see itself in the same way as the majority does and vice versa and both the communities in America have shown this psychology of belief and reaction. Centuries of discriminating Blacks has hardened some of the Whites and in the same way, being discriminated for centuries and having accepted a miserable existence has left hopelessness and easy resignation amongst the Blacks. Minorities had very little cohesive identity in the past. During the days of slavery, they were neither visible, nor were heard. When they started regaining their voices slowly after decades and decades, they were already resigned to their fate. It took many leaders like Dr. King and White Leaders, activists

Anything Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Anything - Essay Example Such is the scenario currently where businesses have concentrated on personal gains at the expense of their customers’ service delivery. The Wall Street Greed tendency has been captured clearly by a scholar named Michael Douglas (Heesun, Page 10-45). Even though Douglas asserts that greed sometimes can benefit businesses whenever they serve their customers, he concurs that the very same greed only benefits a few individuals but only to a certain extent. The general argument by most Wall Street publishers is that if a business’s profits are highly based on the prosperity of its customers then the general assumption is that whatever is good for the customers must be good for the society. Such assertions form the basis of Wall Street Greed currently. Critics further argue that the Wall Street Greed, as exhibited today, is all about Wall Street itself (Heesun, Page 5-35). The interest of Wall Street has been totally separated from the interest of the society at large. Ethics forms the basis of any economic implications for the decisions made by businesses within the economy. There has been a shift in argument in the sense that initially assertions were that for any economic meltdown or any bailout involving larger amounts of the taxpayers’ money does not necessarily lie with the banks but rather it now revolves around the ethics and values embraced by the businesses within the economy. The Wall Street case has clearly shown that there is a major breakdown between the business activities and priorities of most organizations and the ethical values that should be attached to them (Heesun, Page 15-85). There has been a continuous disconnect between ethics and economic freedom. In most cases, individual perception on the available opportunities has significantly influenced the business decisions by most organizations. This has resulted in the individualistic

HR portfolio for the position of Human Resource Executive Dissertation

HR portfolio for the position of Human Resource Executive - Dissertation Example Managing the largest crude oil reserves in the world amounting to 260.1 billion barrels, Saudi Aramco also accounts for the fourth largest gas reserves in the world (Saudi Aramco, 2012). Employees hailing from more than 70 different nations in the world; the organization demonstrates a highly efficient and advanced human resource management structure. The HR department of the company works hard for the development of a workforce which makes effective contributions towards the growth and success of the organization. Additionally the company’s high popularity as a preferred employer reflects the degree of comfort and convenience it provides to the employees working in the organization (Cocks & Laframboise, 1995, p.1-3). HR portfolio for the position of Human Resource Executive is developed in this assignment. This particular position makes contribution towards the organizations in terms of staffing, recruitment, selection, compensation strategies, training and performance management. The position is essentially crucial for aligning HR activities with business requirements of the organization. Decisions taken by the management are communicated to people at this position who are subsequently responsible for implementing them and accomplishing the desired task. Besides the conventional HR activities the position also adapts itself with the external environment of the organization. It has the important role of constantly trying to be innovative and its strategies, and improving and developing the workforce of the organization such that it can cater to the changing needs of the business (Boudreau & Jesuthasan, 2011, â€Å"Your HR Portfolio†). b. Outline the strategic importance of the job to the o rganisation The skills possessed by an organization accounts for one of its major competitive factors. It is the quality of the workforce which reflects through organizational performance and productivity. The competition for talent has prevailed in all organizations, big or small since decades and continues to do so. In this context HR departments have a leading role to play. Acquisition of talents from the industry as per the demands of the organization plays a critical role in ensuring performance output of the workforce as per the desired standards. A mismatch between desired and actual talent can result in reduced performance levels. Thus the role of Hr executives has strategic implications in the organization as they support the attainment of strategic aims and objectives of the firm. HR executives necessarily work towards the achievement of business objectives of the firms. The strategic decision as to whether an employee can be recruited for meeting the firm’s product ivity and performance lies in the hands of HR executives. Training and developmental

Analysis Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Analysis - Dissertation Example As of January 31, 2012, the 10-K report of the company states that the revenue of the company was calculated in terms of â€Å"282,180,170 shares of Common Stock, $0.01 Par Value outstanding.† Clearly, this is a representation of stiff market performance that is accounts for reasons why the company continues to have a very wide market position. Presently, the company’s strategy for growth is focused on merger with emerging competitors in developing economies. Pepco Holdings Inc. (POM) Reviewers have for long judged Pepco Holdings Inc (POM) as a major competitor for Oklahoma Gas & Electric Company (OGE) mainly because of the closeness in market strategy held by the two companies. It would for instance be seen that both companies focus on have a business strategy that â€Å"remains focused on being a top-performing, regulated transmission and distribution company† (10-K of POM, 2011). In terms of market size and capacity, the company controls a total of 4.60 billio n dollars (Yahoo Finance, 2012). Fortunately for the company, it continues to experience an upload rise in its market stock value. This is represented on almost all major stock markets in the world including the New York Stock Exchange. Such a performance has contributed to the increase in total operating revenue of the company from $ 5,920M in 2010 to $ 7,039M in 2011 (10-K of POM, 2011). Wisconsin Energy Corp. ... With an impressive market capacity of 9.4 billion dollars as of 2012, the company has positioned itself in the market at such a strategic standing that its main focus has been to deal with corporate groups and entities instead of individual customers. With this group related strategy, the company keeps recording a rising trend in its annual revenue with a revenue rise from $ 7,420M in 2010 to $ 9,139M in 2011. South Carolina Electric and Gas Company (SCG) The major area of business dealing where South Carolina Electric and Gas Company (SCG) poses as the strongly competitor of Oklahoma Gas & Electric Company (OGE) is in the area of market margin. This is so said because the two companies have an unusual competition for the same customers in a manner that is not very common with other major competitors. More to this, the company can boost of a very formidable market performance on different stock exchange markets. NASDAQ (2012) for instance quotes the market value of South Carolina Ele ctric and Gas Company (SCG) as $ 6,493,822,800 with a current market yield of 4%. This is clearly a huge market struggle for Oklahoma Gas & Electric Company (OGE) that keeps its market strength along similar margin. According to the 10-K Report of the company for 2011, much of the company’s success is attributed to its current strategy, which focuses on employees as the major pillar for organizational transformation. Value Chain Analysis NI is one of the main comparative firms of OGE in the U.S. Diversified Electricity Generator Industry. The significant parts in the value chain that add value for OGE are marketing and sales, services, firm infrastructure, human resource

Dyslexia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5750 words

Dyslexia - Essay Example To acquire this knowledge, I reviewed literature from the internet and various journals and prepared this article. Dyslexia, also known as developmental reading disorder is the most common childhood learning disability which primarily manifests in school going children. There is no single definition that exists for dyslexia. However, those who know about the condition and have worked with dyslexic children are in a position to easily identify the condition. According to the NINDS (2009), dyslexia is defined as "a brain-based type of learning disability that specifically impairs a persons ability to read." The World Federation of Neurology (cited in British Dyslexics, 2009) defines this condition as "a disorder manifested by difficulties in learning to read, despite conventional instruction, adequate intelligence and socio-cultural opportunity." The British Dyslexics (2009) puts the definition as "Intelligent, bright or even gifted individuals, that for no obvious reason, struggle to learn through the medium of written or spoken language." Other commonly used definitions include "learning difficu lty characterized by problems with written or spoken language such as reading, writing, spelling, speaking, or listening" and "congenital disturbance of brain function causing a variety of learning difficulties, especially relating to reading, writing and spelling" (British Dyslexics, 2009). It is surprising that despite immense research in dyslexia and information available about the condition every where, many teachers and even parents dont accept that a condition called dyslexia can exist. Some teachers also falsely blame dyslexic children as lazy without understanding that the child actually has a problem and needs help. All dyslexic children share some common aspects enabling them to be easily diagnosed. The increased awareness of dyslexia has led to many

Inclusive Science Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Inclusive Science Education - Essay Example 5). People with physical impairments have long encountered barriers to pursuing careers in science. These barriers come in various forms, including historical, institutional, physical, attitudinal, and curricular hindrances. The CLASS Project uses professional development workshops to prepare educators for inclusive classrooms, thereby helping them do away with obstacles for their students. (Bargerhuff, 2004, p-319) The eventual objective of the project is to augment the depiction of individuals with disabilities pursuing careers in or related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Persons having impairments have worked hard for decades to attain reasonable outcomes in all areas of their lives, employment, independent living, and education. Until the passage of the Education of All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) in 1975, many students with disabilities were regularly excluded from public school.

Dyslexia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5750 words

Dyslexia - Essay Example To acquire this knowledge, I reviewed literature from the internet and various journals and prepared this article. Dyslexia, also known as developmental reading disorder is the most common childhood learning disability which primarily manifests in school going children. There is no single definition that exists for dyslexia. However, those who know about the condition and have worked with dyslexic children are in a position to easily identify the condition. According to the NINDS (2009), dyslexia is defined as "a brain-based type of learning disability that specifically impairs a persons ability to read." The World Federation of Neurology (cited in British Dyslexics, 2009) defines this condition as "a disorder manifested by difficulties in learning to read, despite conventional instruction, adequate intelligence and socio-cultural opportunity." The British Dyslexics (2009) puts the definition as "Intelligent, bright or even gifted individuals, that for no obvious reason, struggle to learn through the medium of written or spoken language." Other commonly used definitions include "learning difficu lty characterized by problems with written or spoken language such as reading, writing, spelling, speaking, or listening" and "congenital disturbance of brain function causing a variety of learning difficulties, especially relating to reading, writing and spelling" (British Dyslexics, 2009). It is surprising that despite immense research in dyslexia and information available about the condition every where, many teachers and even parents dont accept that a condition called dyslexia can exist. Some teachers also falsely blame dyslexic children as lazy without understanding that the child actually has a problem and needs help. All dyslexic children share some common aspects enabling them to be easily diagnosed. The increased awareness of dyslexia has led to many

Crime Prevention and Social Complexity of Crime Essay

Crime Prevention and Social Complexity of Crime - Essay Example In other words it can be understood that crime is very much a human act and if we take out the civilization clause from the dictionary of human society and make it equivalent to the savagery, this crime is not exactly something which can be termed inhumane. It's something present in very nature of humans and they technically possess every characteristic of an animal. It is a threat that is comparable to anything that has been faced by the society in past but is actually a very intelligent form of threat that waits for the opportunity to transform its ability into an act of crime under the influence of desire. Hence this phenomenon of crime is basically an action which involves at least two human beings with one being the perpetrator and the other one is the victim. Crime prevention is another part of the solution that has to tackle the social complexity of crime. Though the legal procedures and enforcement agencies are very much present to redress the problem, they have miserably failed to provide something which will have some long term impact. They actually provide security either through prosecution or through prevention. Prosecution leads to arrest and a whole lot of legal procedures including the judgment and imprisonment. Prevention deals with stopping a criminal from committing something heinous. The option of committing a crime is to be closed. Hence the target issue is the creation the hindrance for a criminal through wide spread precautionary measures being implemented through every single home to any of the working place or public place present in the locality. The important point is to shield oneself from being a victim. The crime and its different techniques have to be made understood to each and every person. Right from the begin ning i.e., during childhood, one should be made aware of the prevention procedures and the importance of it has to be made a part of the complete thought process. But still after this much precaution the outcome of these procedures has been found to be very much limited and the crime rate is on its way to rise and rise. The most important thing is to act against the cause that make a criminal rather than reducing the opportunities for him to commit some crime. We have to realize that this criminal has been developed from this society only and the problem is in the social pattern and due to these patterns we have to face certain people who have got out of the normal way of social life and are acting against the group of which it is a very important part. So the new crime prevention should deal with the very cause of creation of a criminal and factors fuelling its growth. Crime Prevention Plan of the new society The humans have reached to the current age of information after getting a number of destruction and wars. Initially, it had to fight adversities of earth and its surroundings and after the formation of some civilization, it

A Theme Analysis Essay Example for Free

A Theme Analysis Essay Poet Robert Lee Frost powerfully depicts a boy’s transition from adolescence to early adulthood in his poem, Birches. The poem begins in the first person point of view, luring the reader to take a close glimpse at nature, specifically birch trees bent from ice-storms and the passage of the years. After a few lines, though, Frost shifts to the second person point of view, stating , for example, â€Å"You may see their trunks arching in the woods† (Frost line17). Here, he directly addresses the reader, making the latter part of the experience of witnessing something simple and majestic like nature. It is clear that the author is making an attempt to immerse that reader’s consciousness in his musings about a part of nature, which is actually a metaphor for something more profound. In the poem, birch trees serve as a metaphor for life itself. Most literary selections discuss the weariness or relentless toiling that adults experience as they journey through life. From the outset, it may seem like the birch tree is used to symbolize a person who is advancing in years and weary from years of toiling and withstanding the elements. Upon reading the rest of the poem, however, the reader gleans that the hardships of life being depicted are that of a young boy who, in grappling with the pains and difficulties he encounters in his childhood, both as part of the natural course of events – or sexual awakening – and as wrought by external factors and events, he gains a semblance of maturity. In the poem, the boy’s sexual awakening is depicted in the line that likens the falling leaves of the birch trees to â€Å"girls on hands and knees that throw their hair†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Frost line19). The other symbolisms, like the boy who climbs the top branches of the tree and makes his way back to the ground, signifies how a youth develops his own distinct identity and molds his character by exploring all that life has to offer, whether they are part of the natural order of things, or challenges inflicted by unfortunate circumstances. The discerning reader is able to sense from the masterfully written poem that the main character – a boy – is entwined between trying to discover intimacy and enjoying isolation. All the pieces of the poem may be tied together after reading it in its entirety. The poet’s musings about how hard life can get, as symbolized by birches all bent but not broken, easily strikes a chord in the heart of a reader who has known the joys of a carefree childhood but is thrust into the challenges and vicissitudes of life. Frost alludes to the possibility that â€Å"some boy’s swinging them† (Frost line3) but immediately detracts, ascertaining that this could not have been the cause on why the trees have become permanently bent. It is midway through the poem, from the author’s own revelation, which states, â€Å"So was I once myself a swinger of birches† (Frost line42) that the reader gathers that the author was recalling his own boyhood. This was not immediately discernible, as the reader may have conjectured that the author may be relating his observation of some other boy or childhood friend. The average reader is also bound to be taken in or entranced more by the imagery depicted by the poem than to ascertaining if the author was talking from experience. In any case, some knowledge about Frost’s life proves that he was, in fact, making references to his own childhood years. Learning about Frost’s family background and upbringing sheds greater light on the many sentiments he expressed in his poem. â€Å"Frost’s parents were poor†¦ Robert was only eleven years old when his father died, leaving the family virtually penniless† (Nikita par. 3). Knowing this, the reader is ale to understand better Frost’s use of birches as a metaphor for life. The reader is able to surmise that Frost has had little time to enjoy his childhood, as life dealt a heavy blow with the death of a parent and foisted a man’s responsibilities on him. In the poem, this is expressed in the line â€Å"One by one he subdued his father’s trees† (Frost 29). Frost expresses his angst and sentiments about finding solace in nature and the countryside in the lines: â€Å"I’d like to get away from earth awhile / And then come back to it and begin over† (Frost lines49-50). This is one of the most stirring lines in the poem which a reader can easily identify with. When the author underscores birch trees as a metaphor for life which has seen ups and downs and now appears to have been weighed down by the onslaught of the years and of external elements, he presents a universal subject matter in a highly creative way. Frost employs literary devices like figures of speech, notably similes, personification to lend visual impact to his key message, successfully bringing to the reader’s consciousness all the important sentiments he wishes to convey. Frost’s brilliant poetic style is also thought-provoking. The reader is led to make inferences or interpretations when Frost, for instance, sprinkles his poem with similes, like â€Å"life is too much like a pathless wood† (Frost line45), or when he expands the idea by using personification in the lines â€Å"When your face burns and tickles with the cobwebs / Broken across it, and one eye is weeping†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Frost lines46-47). Frost’s trademark style of moving â€Å"in a smooth uninterrupted flow from an event or object, through a metaphor, to an idea† (Roberts Jacobs 1103) is indeed impeccable. Overall, Birches is a beautiful poem that offers a soothing balm to world-weary individuals who yearn to go back to their roots, especially if these roots bring them back to places and experiences that in some ways renew the spirit. Nature, a favorite subject matter of Frost, is used to present in full impact how an individual grapples with life’s difficulties that weigh him down at some point, and make him yearn to take a respite. The main character reminisces about his boyhood and carefree romp with nature, but realizes in the end that he must continue to face the responsibilities and the realities of life as any adult should. Work Cited Nikita, Rochelle. The Life and Poetry of Robert Frost. † Associated Content. 25 November 2008. 28 May 2009. http://www. oxfordtoday. ox. ac. uk/2007-08/v20n1/08. shtml. Roberts, E. , and Henry Jacobs. Literature – An Introduction to Reading and Writing. 6th ed. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.. , 2001.

Wolff’s Analysis of Chopin’s The Awakening Essay -- Chopin Awakening

Wolff’s Analysis of Chopin’s The Awakening In her essay "Un-Utterable Longing: The Discourse of Feminine Sexuality in Kate Chopin's The Awakening", Cynthia Griffin Wolff creates what Ross Murfin describes as "a critical whole that is greater than the sum of its parts." (376) By employing a variety of critical approaches (including feminist, gender, cultural, new historicism, psychoanalytic and deconstruction) Wolff offers the reader a more complete (albeit complex) explanation of Edna Pontellier's behavior and motivations than any single approach could provide. Wolff contends that locating the source of Edna's repression is the key to understanding Chopin's story. Wolff's perspective is feminist in that she focuses primarily on the character of Edna. By analyzing The Awakening in a historical context Wolff is also able to effectively explain not only Edna's motivations, but also those of nineteenth-century women in general. According to Wolff, Edna's repression can be traced to the gender crisis that developed within the Presbyterian church during the nineteenth-century. Unli...

Ubiquitous Man :: science

Ubiquitous Man A glance over the world from the point of view of a Science Fiction Writer who assumes that Time is waved to all directions Motto: The only thing you have really got is what you are and it is on you forever. Mihaela Bufnila ASSUMPTIONS If God had died what would be the use of beautiful language and why would â€Å"beautiful† exist or function anymore deep down the oceans? If I multiply and metamorphose into a cloud of spots under the pressure of magnetic fields, will I be able to enlarge my informational surface? The supreme miracle stands for the way in which an assembly of points realizes it is an assembly of points. The Ubiquitous Man seems to be the man of all times shaped into the body of contemporary Time. If this is not true, then I may be wrong when reporting myself to reality, and I have no other choice but accepting the generalized and the generalizing fiction according to which I don’t even exist and, thus, I cannot witness myself. This means that, as I am only contents, I couldn’t possibly build my exteriority from where to fully spy myself while plunging into the pleasure of the principle of multiple of one. The Ubiquitous Man seems to be caught between the history jaws, on the verge of being smashed by his own sins, by his own fictions, or by the crowds waving like a roaring ocean, or by revolutions and wars or by impersonal administrative acts or by nature hardships – which is not a proper nature anymore. As a universal construction, the Ubiquitous Man doesn’t seem to be built by addition, the idea of a flowing time is seemingly. The time seems rather waved; the ubiquity gives the impression of the wave that†¦ And look! You can see it before our visible horizon, now up, under the consciousness reflector, then vanished down the ocean full of universes, to the sailor’s anxiety. The Ubiquitous Man seems to be the man you feel close to you, resembling you, a sailor through the meaningful or meaningless storms, self-sufficient. Often, the Ubiquitous Man ends up by being ridiculous, tragic or anecdotic. It is like, being upset that his predecessors are not sharing his attempts, he punishes them by exterminating them together with him, and this is his way of perceiving the finite. Frequently, the Ubiquitous Man, a fragmented creature, cannot understand, cannot comprise all, cannot find out the meaning of things and then, he is expelled from the sailing registrar in one movement.

Why Smoking is Bad for You

Did you know that the primary cause of death around the world is smoking? Are you aware that every cigarette you smoke reduces your expected lifespan by eleven minutes? And that 4. 9 million people world wide dies as a result of smoking? Smoking Is a common and popular occurrence and also responsible for approximately ninety percent of lung cancer deaths. Smoking is a bad habit and is also very hazardous to those who don't smoke. So, before you act heedless, stop and think about what smoking will do to you and the people around you. Smoking cigarettes is a commonly pastime in the United States.At almost ever super market or gas station there are ads encouraging you to buy cigarettes. Which the smoke from the cigarettes contains over seven-thousand chemicals, sixty-nine of them are known to cause cancer which eventually lead to your dead. There are kids getting Influenced by these ads. Smoking Is abhorrent because it's not good for you health, not only good for your health but does as much damage to the ones around you, and It also makes drastic changes In your appearance. One of the many reasons why I think smoking is bad for you is obviously because of al the health problems smoking causes.From smoking just one cigarette can lead you on your way to cancer because of the nicotine it contains. Nicotine does not cause cancer, it is an addictive drug. This can eventually make you go from one innocent smoke to multiple smokes, which then leads you to being an addict and from addict to patient with lung cancer. In other words your death sentence and I know you don't want that for yourself. In a way by smoking you encourage cancer. Because you know what cancer can lead to so Instead of wasting your money on a cancer suck you should donate It to find a DOD cause, for Instance finding a cure to cancer association.You may say â€Å"But smoking helps me when I'm stressed out† or â€Å"Smoking makes you look cool† please no disrespect but please keep your tr ap shut. If you're stressed find something besides smoking, find a hobby, go for a run, and make a plastic of your favorite songs that help you stay calm, or eat if that helps you and for smoking being ‘cool' do you think its cool when there are infants who breathe second hand smoke and causes them have weaker lungs than other babies. Do you think it's fair? Or do you think is so ‘cool' hat there is patients painfully dying in hospitals because they decided to smoke and now are suffering the consequences?If you do please think again its not cool or funny It Isn't safe for yourself or others around you. Now please stop Influencing smoking and realize how smoking Is a major Issue because It affects you and your loved ones. When I think of smoking I think of all the different ways people can make a change in this situation instead of encouraging it. Please think before you decide you need another cigarette to release some stress or because others think your cool Just becaus e you smoke something so harmful.

Enterprise Resource Planning Essay

There are twenty KSFs considered in this study. They were chosen from literature review. The KSFs are classified into five stages of ERP implementation life cycle; namely: project preparation, technology selection, project formulation, implementation/development and deployment. To address the study objectives, a survey questionnaire was considered the most appropriate research method. It was sent to 74 companies that have been implementing ERP system for at least one year. The respondents are staff at management level, IT staff and users involved in the development and use of the ERP system. The survey received 248 responses from 740 quesitionnaires that were sent to the companies. To find the priority of KSFs on ERP implementation life cycle, a quantitative analysis is applied to identify the weighting of KSFs toward ERP implementation success. The success of ERP implementation can be measured through five indicators; namely: system quality, information quality, service quality, tactical impact and strategical impact. Based on the weighting of KSFs on each stage of ERP implementation life cycle, it is found that the communication is most critical KSF on project preparation stage (? 0. 664). While the strong ERP product (package selection) is most critical KSF on technology selection stage (? = 0. 554). The change management is most critical KSF on project formulation stage (? = 0. 406), and on implementation/development stage, user training is the most critical KSF (? = 0. 422). This study is expected to improve knowledge in ERP implementation, especially the role of KS F on each stage of ERP implementation life cycle. Keywords: Priority of KSFs, ERP Implementation Success, ERP Implementation Life Cycle, Key Success Factors (KSFs) _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Introduction Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is an integrated information system that is used to support business processes and resource management within an organization. These systems integrate between one business unit with other business units. With the implementation of this system in an organization to support the company’s operations, it is expected to provide optimum benefit for the company. This is especially needed by the various industrial sectors in this era of lobalization. So, the company can compete with competitors or even create a competitive advantage. In addition, ERP selection is also done with various strategic reasons both tangible and intangible. ERP software has grown rapid ly the last 10 years. According to AMR Research, ERP system sales increased dramatically in 2004 reached 23. 6 billion dollars. Market Journal of Enterprise Resource Planning Studies 2 growth rate remained stable in 2005, and the end of 2009 the ERP software sales reached 24. 5 billion dollars (Hestermann, Anderson ; Pang, 2009). One of the largest ERP companies is SAP AG (a German Company). The company controls about 40% of the market and it is the third largest software company in the world. Based on data from SAP AG, about 80% of SAP’s sales occur in Europe and the United States, while the remaining 20% spread in Asia. The main reason of the investment made by companies is due to the ERP system integration business and it promises to improve the company’s competitive position in the market (Luo and Strong, 2004). Some benefits have also been frequently cited in several studies related to the ERP system, such as: data and pplication integration as a substitute for legacy systems, lower cost and faster deployment compared with in-house development, adopting ERP best practices into business company processes (Markus, 2004). However, some other cases show that investments of Information Technology (IT) with substantial funds may not necessarily bring optimal benefits. This is shown by Dantes & Hasibuan (2010) who i llustrate that nearly 60% of ERP implementation in Indonesia in both public and private companies have failed. Even big companies in the world such as: FoxMeyer Drug and Dell Computer have pent quite a lot of funds for implementation of ERP but the benefits obtained are not optimal (Kalakota and Robinson, 2001). It was reported that FoxMeyer like all large companies engaged in pharmaceutical declare themselves bankrupt because of failure in implementing the system. In line with the above data, a survey conducted by Robbins-Giowa in American companies in 2001 found that about 51% of companies in America have failed in the implementation of ERP (IT Cortex, 2003), In China, it is estimated that the ERP implementation success rate is only 10% (Zhang et al. , 2003). Success and failure of ERP system implementation is influenced by several aspects of both internal and external organizations. Various factors are influencing the success of ERP implementation. Many researchers found critical success factors on ERP implementation, but they were not put in practice. Therefore, in this study we examine the KSF and propose a priority of KSFs on ERP implementation life cycle, both technical and non technical issues that influence the ERP implementation success. Theoretical Background The following sub sections discuss ERP implementation life cycle, KSFs on ERP mplementation process, and measurement of ERP implementation success model. Implementation Life Cycle ERP implementation is changing from legacy systems into ERP system. It is more on process change instead of technology change itself. This section will describe the stages on ERP implementation from previous research, in which each model has different stages. In general, ERP implementation process has three main stages: pre-implementation, implementation and post-implementation (Capaldo and Rippa, 2009). However, some researchers considered each stage to be sub-stages according to their perspectives.

Brannigan Case Analysis Essay

  Strengths: Brannigan Foods’ Soup Division has the largest soup market share in the United States at 39.8%. They are willing to change and have the capital to do so.   Weaknesses: The soup industry as a whole has been on a consistent decline over the last several years. Brannigan’s has wasted money acquiring small businesses that have done little to nothing for profits. They have also been developing different types of soup in which only 1 out of 100 is actually well received by consumers.   Opportunities: They have the potential to be the leaders in healthy canned soups that are offered in a variety of trendy flavors. Brannigan Foods is already a well –established brand with many loyal followers who can regain their brand identity through less marketing than a newer or smaller business.   Threats: Frozen and deli soup industries are trending and causing the market shares of shelved soups to plummet. Any quick and easy meal option from fast food to macaroni and cheese are threats to this industry and to Brannigan’s The problem presented in this case is that Mr. Bert Clark needs to make a formal budget and action plan for the CEO to address the three year downturn in profitability, market share and sales. Consumers aren’t purchasing as much soup as they have in the past. With so much variety, not only within soups, but among all food options, it’s hard to make consumers choose only your brand every time. Price plays a large role in buyer decisions when it comes to items that they plan to store in their cupboard. If the price isn’t low enough, they can just switch brands or wait until later to purchase their stock items. Brannigan’s has been steadily increasing their price to ebb the effects of the lower sales amounts. Brannigan’s hasn’t done anything to increase the value of their soups in the minds of consumers; they have only raised the price. The true problem is that customers aren’t finding enough value in Brannigan Foods Soups to rationalize spending more on them than they had before. I propose that they have a contest to develop new flavors of soups, with the winner receiving a combination price of money and a year’s supply of Brannigan Foods Soups. Buying up smaller brands of soups doesn’t sound feasible seeing as how it hasn’t worked at any time before for this company. Another option is to seasonalize the soups to allow for new flavor varieties to be introduced in spurts. Heartier (potato, noodle and cream) soups are desired in the winter, where as a gazpacho is in a higher demand in the summer. Allow consumers to take surveys to receive coupons for your products and ask them what they want in a soup. The contest concept can do wonders for creating a buzz about your product and is the best alternative. Even more importantly, you are gaining insight into exactly what the consumers want. This nation has been so overly advertised to that people tend to ignore ads all together. What they don’t ignore is the chance to win something with no risk. Lay’s â€Å"Do Us a Flavor† contest has been a great success over traditional marketing strategies. Why you ask? â€Å"The answer is simple: consumers don’t trust traditional marketing strategies anymore, and businesses are getting creative, using consumer-generated marketing—directly involving the customer in the marketing and development of products—to succeed† (Jones, 2013). Works Cited Jones, Alex. â€Å"Potato Chips and the Role of the Consumer in Marketing and Product Development.† FRESHMR. Market Strategies International, 17 May 2013. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.

Organisation law---contracts and shares Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Organisation law---contracts and shares - Essay Example Advise Bob. The legal text that regulates the various activities of companies across Australia is the Corporations Act 2001; the case law is also applicable on issues, which are not particularly regulated by the Australian law –especially the above legislative text –, or those which have been already examined and evaluated by the Courts. At the first level, a company is a separate legal entity, which means that it has the responsibility of the actions developed in its name (Salomon v Salomon & Co [1897], Ander Transport Pty Ltd v Brambles Ltd (2004); the individuals that participate in a company need to follow the rules set by the company law – the principles of common law may also be applicable; furthermore, the members of a company have to follow the rules included in the company’s constitution – which is considered as a contract between the company and its members (CA s140(1)). The company – as a legal entity – can enter contracts with individuals or other companies; however, the company is an artificial person and cannot enter a contract by itself; it is represented by individuals, board of directors or agents (Lennard’s Carrying Co v Asiatic Petroleum [1915], Royal British Bank v Turquand (1856)); the contracts of companies with third parties (outsiders) are regulated i n the section 129 of Corporations Act 2001. Because of its nature as a separate legal entity, a company can be held liable for the damages that have been caused to outsiders because of the violation of the terms of contracts signed between them and the particular company; however, the members and the officers of the firm may be hold liable for the amount paid as compensation or losses to outsiders – in the context described above – referring especially to the case that the damages to outsiders resulted by the unfair conduct of the company’s affairs. In regard to the rights and the obligations

Collective Bargaining Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Collective Bargaining - Assignment Example Just like many cities in the United States of America Seattle was seeking to have the minimum wage for their worker increased to fifteen dollars per hour. Once the minimum wage is raised, then the local government would have an easier time supporting families that are not so stable as a result of their income. One might feel that such an increment would negatively affect the business owners but on the contrary the businesses would register higher profits due to increased productivity of their products. This is because once the employees’ salaries are increased then they would have been motivated and hence work more efficiently (White, 2014). Fast food workers and those in their support staged strikes outside their places of work and into the roads to protests what they felt was a violation of their rights since they worked but felt that their salaries did not match their work and the standard of living in Seattle. According to White (2014), another reason as to why there was a strike in Seattle was because people were losing their jobs yet a report indicated that the state had witnessed an increase in its income. The report that was published indicated that Seattle had gained over five thousand industry jobs yet over five hundred people had lost their jobs. In Seattle’s magazine it was stated that most of the restaurants had started closing don but one would argue that statement because a many restaurants had closed down in the past for different reasons. Both sides had their various opinions on the subject matter.

Criminal Justice Policy Processes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Criminal Justice Policy Processes - Essay Example This article aims to highlight various criminal justice policy processes and the significance of implementing justice as its significant part. Important ideas throughout the article revolve around the contribution of the various stakeholders such as special interest groups and individual policy makers within the court jurisdiction. Introduction The criminal justice system is composed of three major stages: first, the creation of laws; second, adjudication implemented by the courts; and third, corrections. Corrections take place in confinement facilities such as jails, probation and parole units as well as in prisons. In a functional system of criminal justice, these distinct organizations work in tandem with regard to the legal provisions guiding the process and under the tradition of keeping the sanctity of law within a population. The implementation of criminal justice begins with policing: the first contact a suspected criminal has with the system is normally the law enforcement a gencies. Police probe a suspected offense and initiate an arrest. The suspect is then taken to court where all incriminating evidence is tabled to enable the judges to make an informed decision on whether or not the suspect is culpable of the criminal accusations leveled against him or her. The court may acquit the individual or rule that he/she is to be taken to correction facility in case he or she is guilty. Participants in the Criminal Justice System The police act as the first department of the criminal justice system, which apprehends and investigates suspects for their suspected criminal actions. If needed, law enforcement agencies are authorized to use any means of legal force to implement order in society. The second department, courts play the role of a place where criminal suspects are proven guilty or otherwise – the venue of administration of justice. In light of the criminal justice, numerous individuals play pivotal roles in any courtroom. These important peopl e are called the courtroom work group. The team is comprised of both specialized staff and non-professional persons. These encompass the jury, prosecutor, and the defense lawyer. The jury is made up of judges or magistrates. For one to qualify for the post, he or she should be proficient in the law. An arbitrator is normally elected or nominated to impartially oversee the trial process and recommend a final verdict to conclude a case (Max, 2010). The Process of Criminal Justice McDonnell (2011) indicates that the criminal justice is a compound process, encompassing an array of stages opening with a criminal inquiry and up to the discharge of an individual who has completed his or her jail term. Throughout the process, regulations and drawing conclusion are the major tenets of this process. In view of this, these structures must come from somewhere. Such areas include the legal statutes containing Bill of Rights, the state code, court verdicts, federal policies of criminal processes, the state regulations of criminal process, jurisdiction and agency traditions. For instance, in the United States, the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure dictate the course of all criminal trials in the country’s courts. Stages in the administration of criminal justice First: Probe of an offense by the law enforcers. The need for investigation into a criminal activity involves the gathering of proof to corner a

Banking Crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Banking Crisis - Essay Example The crisis is thus perceived to have occurred as the result of exposure to Market Risks due to such risk transfer mechanisms (Banks normally are never exposed to market risks because they reply on internal systems in managing the credits) that caused many loopholes in the Credit Risk Management in management of lending to Sub-Prime customers. These customers are individuals or companies who do not have clean credit history or regular source of income. The Banks & Financial Institutions preferred to lend loans to Sub-Prime customers to avail the benefits of higher interest rates at a perceived calculated exposure of the investment capital to higher risks. To facilitate this in a secured and manageable manner, the banks & financial institutions used the mechanism of "Securitization" that essentially is the mechanism of distributing the risk of the lending to the investors outside the Banking system through a process. The process of "Securitization" resulted in the boom of Credit Deriva tive Market and was used extensively in the US Sub-Prime Mortgage Market by increasing the number of risky products but still reduce the liabilities on their balance sheets (thus shielding the same from external auditors). The money was shown to be flowing through so called "conduits" from investors to the borrowers through the SPV and SIV system. As described by experts the primary drawbacks that occurred in this process are poor valuations of assets acquired against the credit instruments thus resulting in uncertain asset valuation & high credit risk exposure that couldn't detect the imperfections in the Credit Markets. Even the external rating agencies got trapped in this mirage and couldn't predict the Sub-Prime crisis because the Securitization Process was extremely complex and the dependency was upon scattered and unreliable data outside the core banking system. Moreover, the Bank's risk assessment didn't demonstrate due diligence in screening the sub-prime borrowers and infor ming the investors about the associated risks in the so called securitized products. The overall system expanded uncontrollably and the competition became very stringent resulting in loans getting sanctioned at the flash of light and there was no time for adequate risk management. The actual risks ware completely covered under hyped data and analytics about the new credit instruments which, frankly no one understood correctly - not even the external auditors and the statutory & governance

Voicing difference Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Voicing difference - Essay Example If the differences in gender were to be overcome, the whole process of how people think would have to be changed. If this were possible, then down the years, the word "gender" would no even be in usage! It is now vital here that we try to look at how this misconception was shaped in the minds of people in the first place. The disparity in gender generally starts with this accepted norm of delegating various roles according to sex. Even though it has been stated earlier that sex and gender are different, they are very much co-related. There are a set of rules accorded to women and likewise different ones for men. Women are usually seen as the care-givers while men, as the bread-winners. This process starts as soon as a person is born. Right from childhood a boy is expected to be inclined towards "manly" things that require exertion of strength that is derived from masculinity. On the contrary girls are supposed to be drawn towards activities and interests like cooking and dolls. If this distinction was somehow crossed, the wrong-doer would surely be chastised or at the very least warned like David is in "Go,Carolina", when he is told, "You don't want to be doing that, that's a girl thing."1.Therefore gender represses a person's natural reflexes. It makes one do something not because one wants to but b ecause one has to. Gender

Immanual Kant Ethical Contribution Essay Example for Free

Immanual Kant Ethical Contribution Essay Born in Konigsberg, East Prussia in 1724, Immanuel Kant began school at the early age of eight years. He studied at the Collegium Fridiricianum, a Latin school that focused on classicism. Later he attended the University of Konigsberg and his major studies were physics, mathematics and philosophy. After receiving his doctorate, Kant became a teacher at the University and focused on philosophy. He was well known for his unorthodox approaches to religion and religious text that many students admired. However his radical teachings caught the eye of King Frederich William II, who barred him from any further writings. Kant obeyed the king until after the king’s death, Kant continued to write and publish his views on religion. He is famous for his deontic philosophical approach which believed actions were morally right or wrong, without the regard to consequences. Kant argued being moral was also being rational. Kant wrote the book Critique of Pure Reason in 1781 in which he investigated the limits of human knowledge and the ability to reason. Kant argued that we act morally because that is what reason demands and he analyzed the nature of reason and what it means to be rational. In 1797 Kant furthered his writings in the Metaphysics of Ethics, where he writes that reason is the fundamental authority for morality. The European Graduate School dictates â€Å"Metaphysics describes a science concerned with this inquiry, a solution to unsolvable problems set by pure reason itself, namely the concepts of God, freedom and Immortality. † Kant believed that our sense of duty, approved by reason and rationality, is considered moral. Kant believed that consequences were not important, but the processes in which people think when they make their choices. Kant argued only one thing was inherently good, and that was good will. Good will is also doing the right thing, doing one’s duty and respecting moral law. (LaFave 2006) This good will is found only in humans, not material, gives us human’s dignity and is our power of rational moral choice. (Garrett 2006) According to Kant, when we respect moral law we are doing something because it makes us feel good and we are doing it out of duty, not inclinations. Kant argues we know what the moral law is by using Categorical Imperative. The Categorical Imperative states â€Å"Act only on those maxims (or rules of action) that you could, at the same time, will to be universal law. † (Garrett 2006) Three tests must pass to for an act to be considered moral, 1) it must be amenable to being made consistently universal, 2) it must respect rational beings as ends in themselves; and 3) it must stem from and respect the autonomy of rational beings. (DeGeorge p. 64) Immanuel Kant unknowingly created what is now called Kantian philosophy with his works and studies. Not only did he have a major impact on literature and the fine arts, his biggest contribution was to modern philosophy. Kant died in 1804. Works Cited DeGeorge, Richard. Business Ethics. 7th Ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2010. Print. Garret, Jan. â€Å"Kant’s Duty Ethics. † Wku. edu. Western Kentucky University, 2 October 2006. Web. 12 June 2012. â€Å"Immanuel Kant – Biography. † Eds. edu, European Graduate School, n. d. Web. 12 June 2012. LaFave, Sandra, â€Å"Kant’s Ethics. † Instruct. westvalley. edu. West Valley College, 16 August 2006. Web. 12 June 2012.

The Applications Of Arrow Debreu Model Economics Essay

The Applications Of Arrow Debreu Model Economics Essay According to Elroy Dimson and Massoud Mussavian (1999), Arrow-Debreu model was developed as a model of general equilibrium that has been fundamental to economics and finance. Compared to earlier models, the Arrow-Debreu model basically generalized the notion of a commodity, differentiating commodities by time and place of delivery. For example, apples in Malaysia in July and apples in Singapore in June are considered as different commodities. Kenneth J. Arrow (1951) and Gerard Debreu (1951) work together to produce the first rigorous proof of the existence of a market clearing equilibrium, given certain restrictive assumptions. This field of research has had a profound impact not only on economic science, but also on financial markets, institutions and businesses all over the world. It often used as a general reference for other microeconomic models. As Ramu Gopalan (2008) stated, the pioneering work of Arrow and Debreu has had an enduring effect on the study of financial aspects of the economy in a general equilibrium framework. One of their key contributions is to introduce time and uncertainty into general equilibrium models. The Arrow-Debreu model was established since 1950s, many researchers had extended this model to both economics and financial economics. Although this model is criticized by various eminent economists, the dedication of this model in the history is indestructible. In this assignment, we are going to discuss the applications of Arrow-Debreu model majoring in the financial economics. The purpose of this assignment is to find out and understand more about the contributions of this model to financial theory. The applications of Arrow-Debreu model will be listed out and discussed further. Journals will be shown and summarized out in order to support our discussion. Finally, the last section in this assignment is the conclusion. 2.0 Background studies In this assignment, the applications of Arrow-Debreu model in financial economics will be discussed. But before that we have to know what the Arrow-Debreu model is. 2.1 Arrow-Debreu Model Arrow-Debreu model, also referred as Arrow-Debreu-McKenzie model (ADM model), is the fundamental model used in the General (Economic) Equilibrium Theory. It is named after its originator who are Kenneth J. Arrow (b. 1921) and Gerard Debreu (1921-2004) on Existence of an Equilibrium for a Competitive Economy as well as Lionel W. McKenzie (b. 1919). As what stated in the Farlex Financial Dictionary (2009), it says that this model is one of the most general models of competitive economy and is a crucial part of general equilibrium theory, as it can be used to prove the existence of general equilibrium (or Walrasian equilibrium) of an economy. Once we can prove the existence of such an equilibrium, it is possible to show that it is unique under certain conditions, but not in general. Furthermore, Arrow went on to extend the model to deal with the issues relating to uncertainty, stability of the equilibrium, and whether a competitive equilibrium is efficient. 2.2 Applications of Arrow-Debreu Model Arrow-Debreu model leads to a huge impact on economics and financial economics. First of all, it solves the long-standing problem of proving the existence of equilibrium in a Walrasian (competitive) system. This model analyzes the exact situations of those markets that are very competitive. In economics, Arrow-Debreu model suggests that a set of prices such as aggregate supplies will equal to aggregate demands for every commodity under certain assumptions made about the economic conditions (i.e. perfect competition and demand independence). Formulated in a purely mathematical form, the Arrow-Debreu model can be easily modified into spatial or intertemporal models with proper definition of the commodities based on the commoditys location or time of delivery. When commodities are specified to be conditional on various states of the world, the Arrow-Debreu model can easily combine expectation and uncertainty into the analysis. Besides, theoretical extensions and applications have been made to analyze financial and monetary markets and international trade, as well as other subjects. With a general equilibrium structure, the model is applicable in evaluating the overall impact on resource allocation of policy changes in areas such as taxation, tariff, and price control. Moreover, it applies to all general equilibrium models that are heavily dependent upon accurate mathematical proofs. In the field of financial economics, Arrow Debreu represents a certain kind of securities product which named as Arrow-Debreu security. This distinguished concept is a good teaching tool to understand the pricing and hedging issues in derivatives analysis. On the other hand, the Arrow-Debreu Model is also used in areas like financial engineering. But it has turned out to be very limited, especially in the multi-period or continuous markets. The model has been subject to the criticism that many of the assumptions it makes do not fit the workings of the real economy. However, the truth is that the Arrow-Debreu Model is very important for the derivative industry and helps the industry to grow at a rapid pace. 3.0 Literature Review In previous section, we have mentioned some applications of the Arrow-Debreu model both in the field of economics and financial economics. Now, the applications of this model majoring in financial economics will be discussed further. The functions of Arrow-Debreu model can be divided into six categories, asset pricing model, equity risk premium, corporate finance, Modigliani and Miller Theorem, Arrow-Debreu security and others. 3.1 Asset-pricing model From the studies, most of the Arrow-Debreu models applications are commonly used in shaping the asset-pricing model. Arrow-Debreu model was acted as an origin which gives the insight that consumption in different future states could simply view as different consumption goods according to Elroy and Massoud (1999). This result is proved and can be seen through various researchers journals. It is undeniable that the Arrow-Debreu model plays an important role in constructing the asset-pricing model. The evidences are given in following paragraphs. Based on the journal of Asset Pricing at Millennium written by John Y. Campbell (2000), he stated that theoretical and empirical developments in asset-pricing has taken place within a well establish paradigm for the last twenty years. While the well establish paradigm that he mentioned here is referred to the Arrow-Debreu model. Same as Franklin Allen (2001), he indicated that asset-pricing models are typically special cases of neoclassical Arrow-Debreu model. In the traditional Arrow-Debreu model of resource allocation, firms and households interact through markets and financial intermediaries play no role. On the other hand, the key element of the analysis in the modern version is the stochastic discount factor, which incorporates the Arrow-Debreu state prices and allows the assets to be priced. He also commented that this approach and the focus on the risk-return trade-off have allowed a rich interplay between the empirical and theoretical work. The equity premium puzzle is given as an example of special cases within the Arrow-Debreu framework in order to support his statement. Moreover, Elroy and Massoud (1999) narrated the historical development of asset pricing and derivative valuation on Three Centuries of Asst Pricing. He pointed out the success of conceptual framework that setting up the theory of asset pricing is down to Arrow (1953)s hard work. Dissatisfied with the current Arrow-Debreu framework, Arrow built up a series of contingent claims that follow the resolution of uncertainty to explain how one can achieve markets that are almost complete. Varian (1985) analyzed the impact of divergence of opinion on asset prices in an Arrow-Debreu economy. By considering the Arrow-Debreu model with agents who have different subjective probabilities, he compares and concludes the differences of opinion in an Arrow-Debreu contingent claim context. Based on his journal Divergence of Opinion in Complete Markets: A Note, three results were established. He concluded that in practice, increased dispersion of beliefs will generally be associated with the reduced asset prices in a given Arrow-Debreu equilibrium. Also, he uses this model to show that other things equal, if risk aversion does not decrease too rapidly, then assets with more dispersed opinion will have lower prices or vice versa. P. Bossaerts and C. Plott (2004) had done six financial markets experiments of testing two of the most basic propositions of modern asset pricing theory. The Arrow-Debreu model and the Sharpe-Lintner-Mossin Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), these two theoretical models are used to be the framework of their experiments. In the end of their experiments, they discovered a swift convergence towards equilibrium prices of Arrow-Debreu model or the CAPM. This discovery is significant because they use the subjects that lacked of information to intentionally set the asset prices. Sometimes, the equilibrium is not found to be robust which clearly shows a result of deviations of subjective beliefs from objective probabilities. However, they still find the evidences that prove this does not destroy the tendency for markets to equilibrate as predicted by the theory. 3.2 Equity Risk Premium Next, the Arrow-Debreu model is applied to explain the equity risk premium. In an attempt to explain the equity risk premium, Rajnish Mehra and Edward C. Prescott (1985) developed an Arrow-Debreu asset pricing model. They found that historically the average return on equity has far exceeded the average return on short-term debt and Treasury bills. Thus, they try to use the Arrow-Debreu model to interpret this situation. In the end of the journal The Equity Premium: A Puzzle, they concluded that only those equilibrium model with friction (i.e. non-Arrow-Debreu models) will be the one that successfully explain both high equity risk premium and low risk-free returns. However, Rietz (1988) overthrew the conclusion of Mehra and Prescott (1985) in The Equity Risk Premium: A Puzzle. He mentioned that the reason for them to reject the Arrow-Debreu model is their specifications which cannot explain the high equity risk premium and low risk free returns that characterize the U.S. economy. Hence, he re-specified their model to include a low-probability, depression from a high return of compensation for the extreme losses during the market crashes, captured those possible effects from the market crashes and finally successfully proved that these crashes allow it to explain both high equity risk premium and low risk free returns without abounding the Arrow-Debreu paradigm as well as not altering their models attractive features. In the journal The Equity Risk Premium: A Solution, he explained further that it does so with reasonable degrees of time preference and risk aversion provided the crashes are apparently severe and not too unimaginable. 3.3 Corporate Finance According to Jean Tirole (2006), he specified that a substantial and important body of empirical work has provided a clearer picture of patterns of corporate financing and governance, and of their impact for firm behaviour and macroeconomic activity. One of them is the Arrow-Debreu model. During 1970s, the dominant Arrow-Debreu model of frictionless markets (presumed perfectly competitive and complete, unhampered by taxes, transaction costs, as well as informational irregularity) can prove to be a powerful tool for analyzing the pricing of claims in financial markets, but little about the firms financial choices and about their governance. Besides, in the complete market paradigm of Arrow (1951) and Debreu (1951), the financial claims returns depend on some choices such as investments, are assumed to be contractible and therefore are not affected by moral hazard. In Jean (2006)s opinion, financial markets were not plagued by problems of asymmetric information because investors agree on the distribution of a claims returns. Viewed through the Arrow-Debreu lens, he identified that the key issues for financial economists are the allocation of risk among investors and the pricing of redundant claims by arbitrage. Michael J. Brennan (1995) also clarified that the abstract simplicity of the Arrow-Debreu model yields few insights for corporate finance beyond the value additivity principle that was used to refute the conventional wisdom that conglomerate mergers will add value to the company through the corporate diversification. 3.4 Modigliani and Miller Theorem (M-M Theorem) Another application of Arrow-Debreu model is related to M-M theorem which devised by Franco Modigliani and Merton Miller (1958). This theorem explains that a firms financial structure is irrelevant under certain conditions, Arrow-Debreu environment. The value of a financial claim or a firm which equal to the sum of the values of the claims it issues is thus equal to the value of the random return of this claim or the firm computed at the Arrow-Debreu prices (the prices of state-contingent securities). Therefore, Arrow-Debreu model is used as a fundamental of economy in formulating M-M theorem. 3.5 Arrow-Debreu Security (State Contingent Claim) Mostly, Arrow-Debreu security will be the answer of the applications of this model majoring in financial economics if we searching it through the internet. Based on the journal A re-examination of the Modigliani-Miller theorem written by Joseph E. Stiglitz (1969), in a section entitled Arrow-Debreu securities, he not only showed the M-M theorem in a complete markets setting but also mentioned about the Arrow-Debreu model under uncertainty in which individual can buy or sell the promises to pay if a given state of the world occurs. This shows a direct relationship between the Arrow-Debreu model and the Arrow-Debreu security. Through the calculation, he observed that if he takes literally the Arrow-Debreu definition of a state of nature, there is undoubtedly will be more states of nature than firms and most of these states are similar with each other. An example, variation in the return on stocks can be explained by the business cycle, is given to support his statement. Robert E. Lucas (1984) analyzed the unified theories of money and finance on Money in the Theory of Finance. He examined and commented that financial and monetary theory have different objective, however, the desirable theoretical unity may be, one can identify strong forces that will continue to pull apart these two bodies of theory. He mentioned that the theory of finance is conducted almost entirely within the Arrow-Debreu contingent claim framework such as the three pillars of modern financial theory which have been reformulated in contingent claim terms. Besides, he wrote that the applications of the Arrow-Debreu contingent claim formulation of a competitive equilibrium for an economy operating through time is subjected to stochastic shocks. In the end, he concluded that the power in applications of the contingent claim point of view is obviously evident in finance, will be as usefully applied to monetary theory. One more thing that he suggested is the source of this power which is the ability of this framework to permit the reduction of the study of asset demands to the study of demands for the more fundamental attributes to which assets are claims. 3.6 Others Apart from those above categories, Arrow-Debreu Models can be used for other purpose. For instance, it acts as a fundamental to explain the pattern of trade, to formulate the fixed price equilibrium or to find out whether the financial markets are arrangements for risk-sharing. Furthermore, it is extended further to analyze the restrictions and developed further that include a sequential market model with the financial markets. One of the section in the journal Differences of opinion in financial markets written by Hal R. Varian (1989), an Arrow-Debreu contingent consumption model of the sort studied by Milgrom and Stokey (1982) was examined. Through the mathematical calculation and the analysis of the consequences for assets market equilibrium based on the Arrow-Debreu model, it ends with a similar result, prices are determined by information, but the pattern of trade is determined by differences in opinion. In order to establish the important difference for trade is the opinion, he analyzed some of its consequences for assets market equilibrium. At last, he stressed that the volume of trade in an Arrow-Debreu model is due primarily to the differences of opinion. Next is the Claus Weddepohl (1983). He discussed and addressed the development of the theory of general equilibrium during the last twenty-five years. Considering and analyzing the Arrow-Debreu model with futures markets, he showed the result that this model gives rise to temporary equilibrium models. He stated that the fixed price equilibrium models are formulated through the study of these models and the study of the stability of price adjustments. The simple fixed price equilibrium model as defined by Barro and Grossman (1971) and Malinvaud (1977) is what he emphasized in the journal Developments in the Theory of General Equilibrium. Ouattara (1994) applied the Arrow-Debreu model to the small villages in the McCarthy Island Division South (MID-South) of The Gambia to find out whether financial markets are arrangements for risk-sharing. The main objective of risk-sharing is to verify that observed consumption patterns are consistent with patterns predicted by insurance models. The Arrow-Debreu full insurance model focuses on consumption smoothing across different states of nature at each particular point in time through state-contingent contracts. In the end of his research, the results supported the hypothesis that state-contingent loans are accepted in rural Gambia and there is full risk-sharing among participants in the financial markets. Peter H. Friesen (1979) extended the Arrow-Debreu model to financial markets which include the sequential market model. It is done by dropping the contingent contracts from the Arrow Debreu model, leaving only a sequence of spot markets for commodities. This leads to an inefficient market structure but efficient for sequence of stock markets and option markets. The purpose of the journal The Arrow-Debreu Model Extended to Financial Markets is to develop further the Arrow-Debreu model. The method that he used is through the extension of Arrow (an equilibrium in one model was constructed from that of another). For example, financial securities, Arrow certificates can be constructed from options on common stock and the advantage in the general equilibrium theory of financial markets, are the proofs of using Arrows method. On the other hand, the sequential market model for which equilibrium are constructed from the Arrow-Debreu equilibrium derived in Debreu (1951). From the fact that Arrow-Debreu equilibrium exist, it follows by construction that equilibrium for this model exists. It also follows that the equilibrium is efficient. Peter (1979) stressed that such models are used both to study financial markets and to explore the effects of a gradual resolution of uncertainty. Lastly, he concluded that it not only shows the close relationship between these two models but also reminds us that the potential value of finite-horizon Arrow-Debreu models for the study of sequential economies. Investors in financial markets face several restrictions apart from wealth constraints. So, we have the right to understand the restrictions in a general competitive equilibrium. Based on the journal Contributions to Intertemporal Models in Financial Economics written by Ramu Gopala (2008), the Arrow-Debreu model was extended further for the usage of analyzing those restrictions. He indicated that the traditional Arrow-Debreu model can be extended to a more realistic setting. Following Angeloni and Cornet (2006), this extension of the Arrow-Debreu model in the multi-period setting with restricted participation is established. Arrow-Debreu model was used to elaborate, to compare, to extend and to emerge for shaping those important finance theories. 4.0 Supporting Theories In this section, the theories that are related to Arrow-Debreu model will be further discussed. Apart from that, in order to let us have a more complete picture about this model, the theories that we displayed previously will also be stated and explained, as well as deliberated further. 4.1 General Equilibrium Theory General equilibrium theory is the core of economic theory. Before the Arrow-Debreu model is established, this theory has been proposed by L. Walras (1874). As reported by Arrow and Debreu (1954), he was the one who first formulated the state of economic system at any point of time as the solution of a system of simultaneous equations representing the demand for goods by consumers, the supply of goods by producers, and the equilibrium condition that supply equal demand on every market. In other words, Walras (1874) is the pioneer who first attempts to model the price for a whole economy. Walras uses mathematics to construct a complete structure of general equilibrium theory. This research has lead to results in contribution to neoclassical economics. However, the mathematics that he used to set up the foundation of this theory was unstable due to the existence of general equilibrium does not solved in a satisfactory manner. Hence, theoretically, if he cannot prove this existence, then this theoretical system will become meaningless. General equilibrium theory is therefore developed and improved by Vilfredo Pareto (1897), John R. Hicks (1939), John Von Neumann (1937), Paul A. Samuelson (1941), Kenneth J. Arrow (1954), Gerard Debreu (1954), Lionel W. McKenzie (1954) and others, which becomes an integral part of economics. 4.2 Fundamental Theorems of Welfare Economics Before the Arrow and Debreu began their famous collaboration, both of them had proved the same theorem which is the Fundamental Theorems of Welfare Economics or First and Second Welfare Theorems. There are two fundamental theorems of welfare economics. The first theorem states that every general equilibrium involves a Pareto efficient allocation of resources under the three assumptions. The three assumptions are if there are no externalities, all agents are price-taker, and prices for each good are known to each agent. While the Pareto efficient named after Vilfredo Pareto (1897), is a type of efficiency that results if one person cannot be made better off without making someone else worse off. The First Welfare Theorem is viewed by many economists as the formalization of Smiths Invisible Hand. As Makowski and Ostroy (1995) stated, it provided a set of sufficient conditions for a price system to efficiently coordinate the economic activity. Besides, this theorem supports the case for non-intervention in ideal conditions. For instance, the outcome is said to be Pareto efficient if we let the markets to do the work. The Second Welfare Theorem says that if preferences are well-behaved (especially convex) then every Pareto efficient allocation can be supported by a general equilibrium set of prices, given a suitable reallocation of the endowment. Referring to Varian (1985), this theorem effectively said that if you think an equilibrium is unfair, just move the endowment of the economy and a different general equilibrium will be obtained. Due to the convexity, the second theorem is stronger than the first theorem. The difference between these two theorems is the second theorem requires existence of general equilibrium from all endowment points, whereas the first theorem required only that if a general equilibrium existed it was efficient. According to Michael A. S. Guth (1994), Arrow (1951) provided a rigorous proof of the connection between competitive equilibrium and Pareto optimal. Gerard Debreu (1951) introduced convex analysis methods into welfare theory and independently proved the same theorems. As a result, these theorems have an important relation to Arrow-Debreu model; the existence of solutions to a competitive equilibrium is finally solved. 4. 3 Theories in relation to the Restriction of General Competitive Equilibrium Previously, the Arrow-Debreu model was used to analyze the restrictions. In order to understand those restrictions in the general competitive equilibrium framework, tracing back those following theories is necessary for us to know how the Arrow-Debreu model was used to be compared and proved other economic theory. 4.3.1 Radner Equilibrium Roy Radner said that the Arrow-Debreu model is not originally put forward for the case of uncertainty, but a powerful device introduced by Arrow (1953), and further elaborated by Debreu (1953), enabled the theory to be reinterpreted to cover the case of uncertainty about the availability of resources and about consumption and production possibilities. Hence, he extends the Arrow-Debreu equilibrium and forms an economic concept-Radner Equilibrium. Radner (1972) is the first who considers the general equilibrium with incomplete markets. He shows that unlike the Arrow-Debreu models, the possibility of trading commodity futures for every contingency is sufficient to enable income transfers across all spots. In addition, the assumption that he made, short-sales of these contracts are limited for every agent, is a driving force in his proof of the existence of a general financial equilibrium. This can be seen as the first attempt to incorporate this idea in their asset market participation. 4.3.2 Concept of Constrained Pareto Optimality Radner Equilibrium, however, is imperfect. Oliver D. Hart (1975) uses some disturbing but perceptive counter-examples to display some of the weaknesses of Radners concept of equilibrium. He showed that existence of such an equilibrium cannot be proved under the standard Arrow-Debreu assumptions. He specified that when the asset returns are price dependent, the market sub-space may not be continuous in the spot prices which may lead to discontinuous demand functions. This reason causes a failure of the existence of Radner equilibrium. In other words, an equilibrium may not be Pareto efficient in the case of incomplete markets which shapes the concept of Constrained Pareto Optimality. 4.4 Limitations of Arrow-Debreu Model Although the Arrow-Debreu model has many influences on either economics or finance, however, there are the limitations. There are three limitations of Arrow-Debreu model. In this model, it excludes the trade in shares of firms because the stock certificate is not an Arrow-Debreu commodity. When the descriptions are so precise that further refinements cannot yield imaginable allocations which increase the satisfaction of the agents in the economy, then the commodities are called Arrow-Debreu commodity. Trading in shares of firms cannot be classified as Arrow-Debreu commodity due to its possession entitles the owner to additional commodity which he need not obtain through exchange. Bankruptcy is not allowed in Arrow-Debreu equilibrium. All agents must meet their budget constraints. In a game theoretic formulation of equilibrium, it is achieved by enforcing an infinite bankruptcy penalty. Since every Arrow-Debreu equilibrium is Pareto efficient, there would be no benefit in reducing the bankruptcy penalty to the point where someone might choose to go bankrupt. Money does not appear in this model. Although the reasons for the existence of money in real life are already taken care of in the Arrow-Debreu model, money does not affect the allocations of commodities. Therefore, there is no point in making the role of money explicit in the Arrow-Debreu model. 5.0 Conclusion In fact, Arrow-Debreu model is not simultaneously created by K.J. Arrow and Gerard Debreu. Debreu is the one who extends further the Arrows pure exchange model in several important ways. Their contribution in formulating Arrow-Debreu model has laid a foundation for economic theory. The application of Arrow-Debreu model emphasizes more on the general competitive equilibrium framework of the economics. From the studies, we notice that most of its application majoring in the financial economics is act as a fundamental theory or economy in shaping the asset pricing model. Other functions like analyzing the market structure, risk and etc, also show that the usefulness of this model. Besides, it is applicable in evaluating the impact of all uncertainties with a general equilibrium structure. The analyzers use a series of mathematical equation to prove their statements. The pioneering contributions of Arrow and Debreu have forever changed the way economic theorists formulate uncertainty models.   After more than forty years of analysis and extensions, their general equilibrium framework and approach continues to be the starting point for new theories on the operation of competitive markets under uncertainty. As a conclusion, it is undeniable that the Arrow-Debreu model had turn on a new leaf in the history of economics. It is the modern concept of general equilibrium in economics which indirectly set up several important theories. Nothing is perfect in this world. Of course, Arrow-Debreu model as well. Some assumptions have to be made. Criticism also may happen. However, those brilliant economists or researchers still can use this model to formulate their own theory and then ends up with a perfect ultimate theory in both economics and finance. Lastly, mistakes, problems, and weaknesses should be pointed out, corrected and improved so that Arrow-Debreu model can be applied and developed effectively.