Enterprise Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Enterprise Finance - Essay Example The basic characterization of these sources can be done on two levels; internal and external (Biz/ed 2007). Previously, internal sources were more widely available to businesses, and they depended heavily on this method of financing. However, now external sources are also being greatly availed. Each method has several more characterizations, and each sub-source has its own advantages and disadvantages. The discussion that follows will cite as examples several of these sources for an analysis of the different methods of business finance. Internal Sources: as the name implies, this method of financing depends upon the business itself, and no external help is involved. Economic stability ha to be generated from within the establishment. Bushiness that do not have resources, funds or the means to invest or implore outside means of finance see it as the ideal way of establishing and developing their businesses. It is easier, hassle free and can be done on a more customized level, as the only party involved is the business management itself. However, this method involves a greater time period for the results to surface, and the management has to rely on its components for co-operation and patience if the efforts have top be dealt with successfully. Furthermore, mostly relatively small business make use of this approach of financing, as the greater the establishment, the greater the funds required for the maintenance and development of the business, and these increased funds can seldom be catered for internally. Also, all the loses of incurred during this process of financing would have to be born by the

Education Inquiry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Education Inquiry - Essay Example Blalock states that he wrote the book to confront the perennial problems that all social scientists face and it was his desire to ask two questions. Those two questions are, "Why aren't we doing better, and how can we improve" (Blalock, 1984, p 6). In order to answer those two questions, we as social scientists/researchers must understand the background and environment in which we must toil. There are a number of "very tough intellectual challenges stemming from the complexity of the social world we are attempting to study" (Blalock, 1984, p 6). Blalock points out that we need to understand those intellectual challenges and the interplay of our individual intellectual backgrounds, interests and behaviors with those challenges. The answers to these questions are what we consider as we continue the process of research. James M. Black said that "One of the most important features of the training of research scholars is the acquisition of skills required to conduct sound scientific investigations" (Black, 1976, pg 6). We understand that there are a number of pitfalls and bias that w... ntly will encounter as individuals in attempting research projects and that we will need to understand what and who we are in order to be proficient in our jobs and careers.. If we first work at gaining the skills that we need to answer those questions then our projects will be more readily presentable and understood by those we are attempting to influence. One of the understandings that we must address is the characteristics of scientific research. Black says that "sociology has the following characteristics of science; 1. sociology is empirical, 2. sociology is theoretical, 3. sociology is cumulative, 4. sociology is non-ethical" (Black, 1976, p 5). The book goes on to explain that empirical means that it is based on observation and reasoning, theoretical is the attempt to summarize complex observations in abstract, logically related propositions, cumulative shows how sociological theories build upon one another and that by being non-ethical means that sociologists do not ask whether particular social actions are good or bad, they merely seek to explain them. Social Research/ pg 3 The non-ethical statement could be the most important one of the four. As social scientists, a problem that we will almost always (in ourselves) is the urge to judge social actions, and present them as good or bad. That is not our job when conducting a research project. Our job should be conducted along the lines of maintaining the research process with stringent guidelines. As social scientists we must adhere to those guidelines in order for our presentation(s) of the material to be taken seriously. If we advocate the use of the material in certain ways, whatever ways those are, then we are no longer social scientists but could be considered as social advocates.

Understanding Of Media Audiences

Understanding Of Media Audiences Audiences are a critical subject in studying media. Audience is the term used to describe a large number of unidentifiable people, who usually united by their participation in media use. (Hartley, 2002) Media has a huge power to influence audience thinking and behaviour. There are many approaches to deconstruct the relationship between the audience and the text. The question arise here is, how do human receive text from television, or internet etc.? How do human analyse and affect by the text? In this essay, we will discover two approaches looking into the audiences and how will they related the media or how do we understand media audiences from these approaches. In term of media, Uses and Gratifications (UG) Theory and two-step flow theory are the essential approaches of understanding the audiences. There are many academic studies developed under the UG theory since this idea arises over the past 100 years. On the other hand, two -step flow theory explains that the audiences will be influenced by the media or other opinion leader. Although these two theories has been criticized and negated, they help us to understand the relationship between the media and receiver. In the first part of the essay, we will discover two theory of study the audiences. The first approach is Uses and gratifications theory, this approach focus on the consumer and the audience, rather than the message. It is concern about how people (media audience) made choices and what they did when consuming texts. According to Katz (1959), ask not what the media can do to people, but what the people can do with media. In other words, audience should be an active role to use media for pursues their own needs. Blumler and Katz in The uses of mass communication bring up an idea: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦something of the way in which individuals uses communications, among other resources in their environment, to satisfy their needs and achieve their goals, and to do so by simply asking them. (Blumler Katz, 1974) Blumler and Katz (1974) concluded that different people use the same media for different purposes; therefore, the same media content may satisfy different needs for different individuals. Rosengren (1974) developed the idea of Katz and other scholars and presented the following diagram: mmm Figure 1 (Blumler, 2004 p.271) The diagram put more attention to the society and individual characteristics affect much of people needs. In term of individual characteristics, not just Psychological Set-up, but also added the Social Position, and Life History. Moreover, Rosengren build up `Perceived problem and solutions it explains human psychological process between needs and motives. Those elements not previously emphasized by Blumler and other scholars. In the diagram, basic needs, individual characteristics and society structure are three factors interact and result in people use media for variety of gratifications. Lucas and Sherry (2004) put more simplified model of Rosengrens paradigm.   According to psychologist Maslows hierarchic theory of needs, (1943) basic needs are divided five main cataloguers including physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem and self-actualization.(Maslow, 1943) More detail shows in the following figure: http://levelupliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/hierarchy-of-needs3.png Figure 3 (ICT Learning, 2010) However, in media perspective, according to Katz et.al put `needs into five different categories: cognitive, affective, personal integrative, social integrative and tension release needs. (Iqbal, 2010) In term of individual characteristics and society, we can clearly see these factors including psychological set-up, social position, life history and media structure in figure 1. Audience thinks perceived solutions when he realizes there is a perceived problem and thereby creates motives. After that, audience use the media, make choice to choose different types of media, how much time they going to spends with media etc. Audience also uses with other behavior such as personal contacts or other means of communication. At the end, audience decides to continue use the media while he could obtains gratification or non-gratification. Blumler et.al. concern audiences use media as a sough gratification. They point out UG theory is built up on five assumptions. The first assumption is that the audience is conceived as active (Blumler Katz, 1974) In other words, UG establishes people play the active role to discover their own satisfied information for different reason and in different ways. Secondly, they assume in the mass communication process much initiative in linking need gratification and media choice lies with the audience member. (ibid.) This is an idea that people can allow the media to influence them. `The media competes with other sources of need satisfaction. (ibid.) is the third assumption of UG. This is an idea that mass media is only one of the resources to satisfied people needs. Therefore, mass communication must compete with other non-media resources such as interrelationship communication aim to produce the need. The forth assumption is `many of the goals media use can be derived from data supplie d by the individual audience members themselves. (ibid.) It assumes audience is rational, and can fully understand their choices and motives. Audience also are able to explain them clearly. The last assumption is `value judgments about cultural significance of mass communication should be suspended while audience operations are explored on their own terms. (ibid.) This assumption believes people determinate the value of the media. These five assumptions help us to understanding the relationship between the media and audiences. For the motivation for media use, McQuail, Blumler, and Brown (1972). proposed a model of media-person interactions to classify four different gratifications: diversion, personal relationships, personal identity and surveillance. (Katz, E.) Diversion refers to people escape from reality like everyday problem and the constraints of routine. Secondly, personal relationship is about social interaction, people using the media as a substitute companionship. Thirdly, personal identity is including people referencing, learning and exporting themselves from the text. Lastly, surveillance is means the information could be helps our life such as weather report and news. In 1983, McQuail purposed four typology of common reasons for media use, there are information, personal identity, intergration and social interaction, and entertainment. (Chandler, 1994.) This is similar with media-person interactions in 1972 which have been mentioned above. Nevertheless, this typology had emphasis more on soc ial environment and psychological. With other theory, UG theory received some criticism. Ang, L claims that theory did not emphasis on social context and audience is individualistic. UG ignore the content of media, stressed that is the active audience needs. The research found out that the audience is not selective on the messages delivered to them. The result is a contradiction with the theory of assumption that audience is active to make choice for the use of media. The terms of need, motivations, and expectation have not clearly define while gratification sought and gratification obtained is indistinguishable. Despite this theory challenged by these factors, still has its value of researching by the audiences point of view of media. The second approach to understand the audiences is Two-Step Flow of communication. (P. E. Lazarsfeld, 1944) Lazarseld, Berelson and Gaudet introduced their hypothesis in 1955. Research had been carried out on the decision making on a Presidential election, the result of the research had concluded that information does not flow directly from the text into the audiences mind but is filtered through `opinion leaders then leader influence other audiences (followers). (Katz, 1955.) There is two distance stage of media text transmitted. The figure illustrates the how this theory works: Figure 4 (Katz, 1955) In the diagram above, messages no longer dispatch from the mass media (producers) to the receivers directly. Messages were first transmitted to opinion leader who then interpreted and give the information to other (followers) in face-to-face. (ibid.) This explains why media may have failed to alter audiences attitude or behavior. In other words, the effect of mass media is not universal, must be assessed to other media channels to influence the information or opinions. Unfortunately, this hypothesis has criticized and being questioned, For example, figure 4 shows followers only received message from opinion leader. Obviously, we can receive the information from mass media directly. In additional, some scholars discover that transmitting information in society not only two step flow. It is involved multi step flow. (Inglis, 1990) The transmitted is more complicated than we imagine. Moreover, we might get confuse who is the opinion leader. It is a general assumption that a person who influences other people can be opinion leader because they use media more, and socially active. Baran, S,J. defines opinion leader as a ` people who initially consume media content, interpret it in light of their own values and beliefs, and then pass it on to opinion followers. (Baran, 2002.) In other words, most of the opinion leaders social position or status or by virtue of their grater interest in the topic at hand. (Robinson, 1976) Nonetheless, we cannot be certain who opinion leader is? For instance, A is an opinion leader of fashion; however, A is a follower in music while B is an opinion leader. Therefore, opinion leader is depends on the position, background and issue etc. These theories receive many critics from scholars due to the confusion of the position of the person. In spite of those criticisms, two-step flow receives praises and influence mass media especially advertising. The theory refined the ability to predict the influence of media messages on audience behavior,(Dave, 2009) and the reason why people sometime does not influence by media. In the second part of the essay will be illustrate how those two approaches contribute to our understanding of media audiences. Through the study of uses and gratifications and two-step flow theory, we can understand what audience can do with media, their motivations to use media and how media can be transmitted. Put these knowledge into a mass media and into the society, we can explain some social phenomenon and why audience influences by each other. Uses and gratifications approach is very suitable in explaining why people watch television. To apply this theory into the context of audiences which watch TV, watching TV provide the basic needs, society media structure and individuals characteristics which will sum up to gratifications in Blumeler Theory where by they are information, personal identity, integration and social interaction, and entertainment. TV channels provide information such as news and advertisement. Audiences can easily find themselves on TV programme like quiz show. For example, audiences can compare with the experts, laugh at the contestants mistake. (Chandler, 1994) In term of integration and social interaction, audiences may watch the TV together and so create an interaction or communication. They also recognize and more importantly to interact with the highly stylized images presented by TV programmer, especially those entertainers, talk show hosts. (Levy, 1979) Audiences entertained by TV programme such a s game shows and soap operas. They are able to relax, escape from reality. Despite new means of media counties come out namely internet and telephone, still, television can `survive in the completion because tally audience needs of UG theory. Subsequencetly, we can use UG theory to explain audience use other means of media such as magazine and radio. On the other hand, many companies and advertiser may apply to two step flow approach. They agree that customer might change their view of the product or company because of other users opinion. Evidently, a business would be a success as long as they gained the opinion leader support. This is because opinion leader will promote for the business. For instance, social network such as Facebook reaches nearly 500 million active users in 2010 since Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg launch the website reaches mere 1 million active users in 2004. (Facebook, 2010) In this case, word of the mouth is `I add you on Facebook or `how come you dont have facebook? The initial opinion leader on Facebook is the founder and his university classmates. The aim of communication within the campus, however, communication has power to influence other. When a follower became an opinion leader, number of users will dramatically increase. Although the initial aim of founder is not a business, which shows how two -step flow works. Again, that theory can apply to other media or business, especially in this information explosion era. People can easy to obtain information or review from `opinion leader. And other example of two step flow is the source of Lazarseld et.al study -election campaigns. They concluded that only 5% of the people changed their voting behavior as a result of these media messages. (Katz, 1955.) The voters influence by their interpersonal communication (such as friends, politic tradition) and short-run considerations (such as candidate attractiveness or current social issue). This view of media effects known as limited effects theory. Audience is a giant subject of studying media. Beside these two approaches, we can extend the study of understanding audience. Those audiences have different preference or motivation in using the media. We can construct the audience to different cataloguers. In some study, gender, ages, and social class are the elements to decide the audience to use media. For instance, newspaper readers in different gender, age and social position will choose to buy/read different newspaper. The following table shows the newspaper readership: (Griffiths, 2010) In conclusion, uses and gratification and two-step flow theories are the important theories to study audiences behavior. Through this theory of UG, we can understand what people do with the media, how audience satisfy their need by using media to establish such needs and why people using different kinds of media or communication such as radio and television. In the same way, we can see sometime media not fully influence the audience in the theory of two step flow. This approach also suggests audiences are influenced by or face-to face communication with the opinion leader who is more active in media uses. There are many other approaches which provide knowledge for understanding the audiences behavior. In spite of some criticisms of these two theories which we had discussed in the essay, Uses and gratification theory and Two-step flow hypothesis are significant theoretically.

Would I Become the Next Snow White? Essay -- Personal Narrative, Autobi

Would I Become the Next Snow White? Â   Ah, to be a Disney Girl! To possess beauty so divine it can melt the hearts of charming princes and gruff miners alike. To be able to use the same gift to tame temperamental beasts, while you attract, through angelic song, otherwise timid forest creatures. To know that, in the end-despite the fact that your wicked stepmother has forced you into a life of servitude and an evil queen is seeking your mutilated heart-yes, in the end, some day your prince will come. Â   The image of the perfect girl according to Walt Disney can be described, with little exception, in this way: she is always pretty, always fair, always model thin, always endowed with a beautiful singing voice and always the victim of some malevolent, often jealous, woman. The Disney Girl also has what one writer says she expected to receive when she became a woman: a life filled with "debonair men so overcome by [her] loveliness they burst into song" (Nirenberg 23). Â   Though originally products of medieval and Victorian literature, these female characters have been adopted into Walt's family and have so often been dipped in his colorful animation and sprinkled with his magical fairy dust that we have forgotten their origin and given them an identity that can only be described as, well, Disney. Â   Let's start with the first Disney Girl, Snow White. Now, Snow epitomizes what "gorgeous" represented in the 1930s. In other words, Disney allows her to be a little fat by today's standards (or is it the design of her dress?). Still, most of us agree with the evil queen's magic mirror that this Disney Girl, with her skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony, is, in... ...art, but with nature's uncontrollable hand, a raving beauty, a Sleeping Beauty, a Cinderella. Or-if you can believe I thought this, with my Black self-a Snow White. Â   No such thing happened, of course, but then, that is my point. Let's enjoy these tales, but let's make sure-for ourselves and especially for our children-that we understand what is happening here. Though the animation is superb and the stories are full of enchantment, wizardry, and the basic good and evil conflict, we should not be misled into believing that Cindy, Snow, Belle, et al. are the epitome of the ideal woman. Those who do this might find themselves often in the same predicament as that of Cinderella after the midnight chimes: sprawled on their butts in the dust, with their dreams dashed to pieces around them Work Cited Nirenberg, Sue. House Beautiful. Aug. 1991: 23+

Human motivation in the professional setting Essay

Consider these two findings of a classical management experiment by David McClelland on developing achievement motivation (1965): 1) Not all management programs automatically lead to improved performance. This was important to know. There is a viewpoint in psychology which states that the positive effects of such courses are largely due to suggestion, or to the â€Å"power of positive thinking†; and according to this view it would not be achievement motivation training as such that produced the effect we secured; any training promoted as convincingly would work as well. Yet the participants in the company course did not do as well, despite the fact that, if anything, it had a more solid company support – all of which argued against this viewpoint. 2) Our experiment showed its effects only in comparison with a course that seemed to slow people down. This strongly suggested that we ought to be trying it in a less achievement-oriented environment if we wanted to find more dramatic effects. To a certain extent we were only â€Å"gilding the lily† in trying to make the executives of this high-pressure firm more achievement-oriented. Citing psychology as basis, let me leave McClelland’s assertions and get to that field of social science. We know that motivation directs behavior towards a particular incentive that produces pleasure or alleviates an unpleasant state. In other words, incentive motivation is characterized by affect, the production of pleasure or displeasure. Early psychologists argued that almost every sensation we have contains some degree of reward or displeasure. This might explain why the new participants in the McClelland experiments fared well and better than those who were originally from the company. The second point of conclusion explains that the original company participants were already used to the environment and the rigors of the experiment provided an additional push to the already rigorous environment. Human Motivation in the Human Setting Page 2 In addition to this, it will be worthwhile to take another answer to the perennial question: How do you install a generator in an employee? A brief review of Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene theory of job attitudes is required before theoretical and practical suggestions can be offered. The findings of those experiments and studies, along with the corroboration from many other investigations using different procedures, suggest that the factors involved in producing job satisfaction (and motivation) are separate and distinct from the factors that lead to job dissatisfaction. Since separate factors need to be considered, depending on whether job satisfaction or job dissatisfaction is being examined, it follows that these two feelings are not opposites of each other. The opposite of job satisfaction is not job dissatisfaction, but rather no job satisfaction; and similarly, the opposite of job dissatisfaction is not job satisfaction, but no job dissatisfaction. Two sets of different needs of man are involved here. One set of needs can be thought as stemming from his animal nature – the built-in drive to avoid pain from the environment, plus all the learned drives which become conditioned to the basic biological needs. For example, hunger, a basic biological drive, makes it necessary to earn money, and then money becomes a specific drive. The other set of needs relates to that unique human characteristic, the ability to achieve and, through achievement, to experience psychological growth. The stimuli for the growth needs are tasks that induce growth; in the industrial setting, they are the job content. Contrariwise, the stimuli inducing pain-avoidance behavior are found in the job environment. To illustrate, a typical response involving achievement that had a negative effect for the employee was, â€Å"I was unhappy because I didn’t do the job successfully. † A typical response in the positive side, on the other hand was, â€Å"I was happy because the company reorganized the section so that I didn’t report any longer to the guy I didn’t go along with. † Human Motivation in the Human Setting Page 3 What then should the manager do? To answer this question, let me get back to the thesis of McClelland (1965). He outlines four major techniques: 1. Goal Setting – McClelland stresses the involvement of considerable goal setting. In an organization, employees get motivated as they come to embrace the same goals set in the organization. Aside from the function of motivation, it also keeps the people intact and together. Goals can then be developed from the general to the specific. 2. Language of achievement – the point here is to develop the â€Å"achievement syndrome. † â€Å"This part,† says McClelland â€Å"deals specifically with having the individual learn to think, talk, act, and perceive others like a person with a high achievement motive†¦In short, the participant learns to use the language of achievement so that it colors his experience in every day life. † 3. Cognitive Supports – In brief, the employee needs to have a logical environment, a good self-image, and a thing that he/she will value for life. These will motivate a person to perform better. 4.and lastly, Group Supports – the people around the person must provide emotional stability and support for the growth of a person. Respect and acceptability is the key for this last facet. Human Motivation in the Human Setting. BIBLIOGRAPHY Baldwin, C. (1966). The Functions of the Executive. Cambridge, Harvard University Press. Maslow, A. H. (1943). â€Å"A Preface to Motivation Theory† Psychosomat. Med. Vol. 5 McClelland, D. C. (1965). â€Å"Achievement Motivation can be Developed† Harvard Business Review. Harvard College.

Fiscal and Monetary Policy- the Response of Global Economic Crisis Especially in Eu Essay

Fiscal and Monetary policy- The response of global economic crisis especially in EU Introduction Monetary and fiscal authorities across the globe have responded quickly and decisively to these extraordinary developments. In particular, against the background of rapidly receding inflationary pressures and risks, the Euro system has taken monetary policy and liquidity management measures that were unprecedented in nature, scope and timing. Since October last year they reduced the interest rate on the main refinancing operations. They also provided unlimited liquidity support to the banking system in the euro area to maintain the flow of credit. Governments in the euro area have reacted swiftly to stabilize the financial system and to counteract the adverse impact of the financial crisis on the real economy. Both monetary and fiscal authorities will need to remain credible and effective, and to fulfill their respective responsibilities. In so doing, they will lay solid foundations for future economic recovery and long-term economic growth and job creation. The crisis has shown how important it is to have an independent central bank firmly committed to the objective of price stability. At the same time, governments must make a strong and credible commitment to a path of fiscal consolidation and thus comply with the Stability and Growth Pact. But they must also resist the temptation to further increase the size of the stimulus measures, as this could erode trust in the sustainability of public finances and undermine the effectiveness of the measures already adopted. Global economic situation The financial markets, which was triggered by a systematic under-pricing of risk, particularly in the US sub-prime mortgage market, has now developed into a fully-fledged financial and economic crisis at global level. While the world economy continues to face a severe and synchronized downturn, recent international business confidence indicators suggest that the pace of the decline in economic activity is slowing down somewhat. Most forecasters expect that the global economy is likely to recover in 2010. The economic prospects remain fraught with uncertainty. Compared with a few months ago, overall risks to global economic growth have become more balanced. A stronger positive confidence effect than expected triggered by the monetary and fiscal policy measures could lead to a more sustained recovery in global demand and in global trade, and a quicker normalization of financial market and credit conditions. If global policy actions fail to strike an appropriate balance between economic stimulus and longer-term sustainability, financial market conditions could turn unfavorable again. Global inflation rates have continued to diminish rapidly. This is mainly due to lower commodity prices, weaker labour market conditions and greater global economic slack. Risks to global inflation seem to be broadly balanced in the short to medium term. Inflation risks depend on how efficiently the authorities withdraw the policy stimulus. Euro activity In global developments, economic activity in the euro area has also contracted sharply since the second half of 2008. The euro area economy has shrunk by about 4% over the past two quarters, the worst decline since the start of Economic and Monetary Union. For the current quarter, there is evidence that the economy has shrunk further, though at a slower pace. The economy is no longer in free fall; we are seeing the first signs of stabilization. Indicators of consumer confidence and business sentiment have continued to improve somewhat. We are also seeing some encouraging signs of normalization in financial markets. The euro area economy is likely to be very weak for the remainder of past year. The real GDP growth are broadly in line with the most recent forecasts from the IMF and the European Commission. Both institutions expect the euro area economy to contract by 4% or more in 2009, followed by a gradual recovery in 2010. The projected gradual recovery reflects the significant macroeconomic stimulus under way and the measures taken to make the financial system function normally both inside and outside the euro area. Euro price development Inflation in the euro area has declined rapidly since it reached its highest level, 4%, last summer. In May, The decline over this period is primarily  due to the marked fall in global commodity prices, and particularly oil prices. Inflation rates are likely to enter negative territory during the summer, but we expect them to turn positive by the end of 2009. This can largely be explained by base effects from energy prices. These effects are of no concern to the ECB, which aims to maintain price stability in the medium term. In other words, its monetary policy strategy aims to ensure that short-term volatility in inflation rates does not lead to volatility in long-term inflation expectations. It is reinforced by the anticipation that prices will decline further in the future. As a consequence, inflation expectations become disanchored and negative, and firms and households may decide to postpone investments and major purchases. Medium-term inflation expectations remain well anchored at levels consistent with price stability, low or negative inflation rates for a short period of time may help to sustain real income and may therefore stimulate spending. But even if inflation rates to turn positive again by the end of this year, the weak economic outlook for the euro area is expected to keep domestic price pressures contained for some time. Monetary and financing conditions Financing conditions in the euro area, external financing costs have been declining since October last year, and particularly sharply since the start of this year. Following policy interest rate cuts, bank lending rates have fallen significantly. This indicates that the pass-through mechanism from policy rates to the real economy has continued to function in recent months, even though there is evidence that banks’ margins have widened. With credit spreads across all rating classes decreasing from their record highs and with stock prices rising, the overall cost of financing for euro area non-financial corporation’s is diminishing. In general, the recent positive signs from financial markets point to a gradual improvement in confidence among investors. Monetary policy The ECB has acted in a timely, decisive and appropriate manner since the start of the financial market. When the escalating financial crisis led to a rapid decline of inflationary pressures. The interest rate on the main refinancing operations now stands at 1.0%, its lowest level since the launch  of the euro. This level is appropriate taking into account all information and analyses. Money market rates have fallen even further to record lows, and the loan interest rates charged by banks have declined. Substantive monetary policy easing is already being felt in the real economy. In addition to lowering the policy interest rate quickly and sharply, we have resorted to highly non-standard liquidity operations in order to provide the financial system with the liquidity that was so urgently needed. Last October, They adopted a ‘fixed-rate full allotment’ procedure in all their open market operations. This gives banks as much central bank liquidity as they want at our key policy interest rate, against an expanded list of eligible collateral. Coupled with the fact that essentially all financially sound euro area credit institutions can participate in the Euro system’s refinancing operations, these measures have significantly eased the banks’ balance sheet constraints, thereby avoiding a sudden stop in the supply of credit and the emergence of a systemic crisis. Policy measures Both monetary and fiscal policy-makers have reacted in a forceful and timely manner, aiming to restore confidence. And indeed, as regards the Euro system’s monetary policy and liquidity management measures. Confidence has returned to financial markets, and business surveys are picking up. Global and domestic demand to increasingly benefit from the significant economic stimulus and the measures taken so far to bring the financial system back to normal functioning. Fiscal policy measures Fiscal authorities in the euro area have demonstrated their willingness and capacity to act rapidly and in a coordinated manner in exceptional circumstances. It is important to distinguish between measures intended to support the banking sector and fiscal policy measures aimed at stimulating demand. Support for the banking sector Government support for the banking sector was necessary; it has safeguarded the stability of the financial system. The price of this success, however, is that governments have incurred substantial fiscal costs and credit risks that are ultimately borne by taxpayers. Following the adoption of a  concerted European action plan on 12 October 2008, euro area governments announced national measures to support the banking sector. These measures consist of government guarantees for interbank lending, recapitalization of financial institutions in difficulty, increase the coverage of retail deposit insurance and asset relief schemes. Overall, euro area governments committed about 23% of euro area GDP to financial sector support measures. For the euro area, the various support measures adopted so far are expected to have only a small direct impact on government deficits, whereas the impact on debt is expected to be about 3% of GDP. Finally, contingent liabilities related to the financial rescue measures are expected to be about 8% of GDP, excluding government guarantees on retail deposits. These figures, however, do not reflect the very different developments taking place across euro area countries. Rising long-term government bond yields may only have a gradual impact on government borrowing costs, as changes in interest rates only affect the cost of newly issued debt and debt at variable interest rates. However, they may signal both a reduced willingness on the part of investors to provide long-term funding as well as difficulty in accessing capital market funds. So far, most euro area countries have enjoyed relatively low interest rates on new government debt issuance, despite facing considerably more difficult market conditions. Looking ahead, as the economy recovers and competition for financing increases, governments may face higher bond yields again. Use of fiscal policy In addition to providing financial support to the banking sector, euro area governments reacted forcefully to counter the negative impact of the financial turmoil on the real economy. Besides the operation of automatic stabilizers, which provide a significant cushion to the euro area economy by way of lower tax revenues and higher spending on unemployment benefits, the discretionary use of fiscal policy helped to mitigate the effects of the global economic downturn. However, fiscal stimulus measures need to remain temporary and be combined with measures that ensure fiscal sustainability over the medium run. This will preserve trust in the sustainability of public finances and support both the recovery and long-term economic growth. While the recent coordinated fiscal loosening has been broadly accepted as a legitimate and necessary step in the short run, given the exceptional economic circumstances, it also entails a significant fiscal burden. The latest available economic point to dramatic developments in euro area public finances. In addition to a rapidly deteriorating general government deficit, which is expected to be above 6% of euro area GDP in 2010, the euro area debt ratio will increase by about 15 percentage points to above 80% of GDP by 2010. These figures are very high, though they compare favorably with other major economic regions that have also provided a substantial fiscal impulse to their economy. The budget deficit in both the United Kingdom and the United States is projected to be about 14% of GDP in 2010. Against this backdrop, euro area countries must reject calls for additional fiscal loosening. In the current environment, any further fiscal stimulus is likely to be counterproductive as it could hamper the economic recovery in two ways. First of all, even higher fiscal deficits could fuel market concerns about a country’s ability to meet its future debt obligations, thus putting upward pressure on interest rates. Second, increasing budget deficits would also raise concerns about a higher tax burden in the future, thus inducing consumers to save rather than spend any additional income. The financial sector support measures, combined with the Euro system’s enhanced credit support measures, were successful in safeguarding the stability of the financial system. Together, these initiatives have the potential to tackle the crisis of confidence at its root also by taking into account the fundamental role of the banking sector in the functioning of the economy. The restructuring of the banking sector is the top policy priority, and progress in this domain is the key to economic recovery. Given the challenges which lie ahead, banks should take appropriate measures to strengthen their capital base and, where necessary, take full advantage of government support and in particular recapitalization measures. Fiscal policy can contribute to macroeconomic stability also through discretionary actions. When assessing the merits of the different measures  taken, we should differentiate between measures such as (1) expenditure increases and (2) tax cuts, and (3) measures like guarantees and loan subsidies to specific sectors of the economy. Moreover, this type of support would be difficult to reverse and might act as a brake on long-term growth. Turning to the effectiveness of fiscal measures to stimulate demand (spending increases and tax cuts), it crucially depends on the behavior of economic agents, and that in turn also affects the size of the fiscal multipliers (the GDP effect of fiscal stimulus measures). The expectation that higher government spending today may lead to higher taxation in the future would induce both households and firms to save rather spend any additional income, thus reducing the size of the fiscal multiplier. Therefore, the public perception of overall fiscal sustainability plays an important role in the impact of the respective national fiscal stimuli. The effectiveness of fiscal stimulus measures also depends on the extent to which private investors respond positively to tax policy, with their investments likely to be more responsive in the case of ‘temporary’ tax breaks, as they provide an incentive to bring forward future investment plans. At the same time, there is a risk that fisc al stimulus measures may crowd out private investment by putting upward pressure on interest rates. Fiscal stimulus measures should be ‘timely, temporary and targeted’. ‘Timely’ means that the measures take effect when they are needed; any delays in assessing the cyclical situation, in taking decisions and implementing the measures may fail to prevent a drop in output. ‘Temporary’ implies that the fiscal impulse should only last as long as the recession in question. ‘Targeted’ relates to the expected size of the multiplier effect. In addition to these ‘TTT’ criteria, the measures should be consistent with other policy objectives such as fiscal sustainability, long-term economic growth and the functioning of the market mechanism. Implications of policy measures The current crisis has increased the role of the government in the economy. Some bank rescue operations have involved outright nationalizations, so governments now have significant exposure to the financial sector. Similarly, the large fiscal stimuli packages adopted by many countries have led to a large increase in the size of the public sector in the economy. At the same time, the turmoil is being interpreted by some as a crisis of the market economy. It has encouraged critics of the market economy to speak out and demand a much larger role in the economy for governments.The financial system clearly needs a fundamental overhaul. Financial institutions have to take a different approach and adopt appropriate incentives. We need to strengthen the regulation of the financial system, and in particular, we must improve the international cooperation between national supervisors of the financial sector. But the policy-makers must not get carried away by recent events; they should act in a measured way, and not throw the baby out with the bathwater. While governments have had no alternative but to support systemically relevant financial institutions, they should, as a rule, keep their assistance to specific sectors or firms to a minimum. And when they do intervene, they should prepare clear and credible exit strategies. No matter how serious the current crisis is, the market economy remains the best way to organize our economic affairs. An exit strategy is a comprehensive programmed to withdraw and neutralize measures taken during the financial crisis, without causing any harm to the economy. If they have no well-defined exit strategy, governments may get bogged down and the positive impact of the measures taken may be undermined. A well thought-out exit strategy is needed to reassure economic agents that a timely restoration of the level playing field in the different sectors of the economy is the ultimate objective. As such, an exit strategy needs to contain clear criteria about the timing of the withdrawal of the financial support and the reversal of the fiscal stimuli. Euro area governments did not lay out clear exit strategies when they announced the stimuli. Some of their measures do not expire automatically or are not explicitly designed to be temporary. The possible difficulties of reversing the fiscal stimulus packages may hinder the return to sound fiscal positions in the short run. Under these circumstances, the peer pressure mechanism, on which the EU fiscal framework is based, may be weakened thus  making more difficult a return to sound fiscal policies. As a matter of fact, countries with high fiscal deficits may be tempted not to put political pressure on their peers. Protracted excessive deficits may undermine the credibility of the EU fiscal framework, thus casting doubts on fiscal sustainability and jeopardizing the Stability and Growth Pact. The current crisis has taught us an important lesson about the importance of preserving the public’s trust in the soundness of public finances. At the current juncture, euro area governments must make credible commitments to return to sound fiscal policies. Doing so in full compliance with the Stability and Growth Pact is the most credible exit strategy. This requires, first, a full reversal of the fiscal stimulus measures taken so far. This is necessary to ensure an efficient allocation of resources by minimizing distortions in the incentives of economic agents and by avoiding a permanent increase in the size of the public sector. Second, governments must live up to their commitment to maintain fiscal discipline. This means that credible fiscal consolidation plans have to be implemented as early as possible, including a consolidation effort of at least 1% of GDP per annum where necessary. Understanding the monetary policy from the crisis The current crisis demonstrates, once again, how important it is for central banks to remain independent of political influence. Even if we are experiencing the worst economic downturn since the 1930s, long-term inflation expectations in the euro area remain solidly anchored in line with the ECB’s definition of price stability. Although central banks may be charged with additional tasks in the aftermath of the crisis, their primary objective must remain the maintenance of price stability. We cannot allow any conflicts of interest to arise. The high-level expert group headed by Jacques de Larosià ¨re, former Governor of the Bank of France and Managing Director of the IMF, has identified a number of weaknesses in the supervisory framework both inside and outside Europe that contributed to the build-up of the current crisis. The important role played by monetary analysis – and in particular the role of asset prices – when assessing the risks to price stability over the  medium term. Price stability is our primary objective, but this does not imply that we only focus on short to medium-term movements in inflation. Any build-up of financial imbalances which could pose risks to price stability in the longer term could be overlooked under a restrictive short-term approach. The ECB’s assessment of risks to price stability is well equipped to detect these types of risk as it is based on a comprehensive economic and monetary analysis – its well-known two-pillar strategy. The first pillar, the economic analysis, is common to most central banks. This analysis basically consists of identifying risks to price stability in the short to medium term by analyzing the interplay between aggregate supply and aggregate demand in the economy. The second pillar, the monetary analysis, plays a more prominent role at the ECB than at other central banks. The ECB pays special attention to monetary developments in recognition of the fact that monetary growth and inflation are closely related in the medium to long term. Analyzing developments in credit, and in particular loans to the private sector, is helpful in extracting the relevant signals from the monetary developments. This analysis also implies a regular monitoring of asset price developments and their implications. This analysis will become even more prominent in the future. Conclusion The fiscal and monetary authorities have responded forcefully and their efforts are slowly starting to bear fruit. The pace of the economic contraction appears to be slowing down, and confidence indicators have improved somewhat. The crisis has highlighted the importance of sound public finances. Governments need to consolidate during good economic times in order to have room for man oeuvre during not-so-good times. With respect to monetary policy, the crisis has demonstrated the importance of having an independent central bank credibly committed to price stability. The fiscal and monetary authorities have an important role in sustaining the economic recovery. Governments must devise and enact credible strategies to exit from the banking sector and to ensure that the discretionary policy measures adopted during the crisis will be reversed. Their full compliance with the Stability and Growth Pact is the best tool to solidly anchor market expectations. Most importantly, we will continue to deliver on what we are expected to deliver, which is to maintain price stability, and to provide an anchor of confidence in difficult times. The current crisis has shown how important it is for countries to consolidate during good economic times and to build a ‘fiscal reservoir’ from which they can draw in periods of ‘drought’. Many euro area countries failed to do so. They suddenly found themselves in this turbulent environment burdened by high fiscal deficits and debt ratios. As regards monetary policy, it is equally important to draw up a strategy for withdrawing in due course the extraordinary measures that have been implemented or announced. The ECB obviously cannot maintain the current degree of support indefinitely. We are providing substantial short-term support to the financial system and the real economy, and thereby ultimately maintaining price stability. In fact, we are prepared to take appropriate actions once the macroeconomic environment improves. We will ensure that the measures taken can be quickly unwound and the liquidity provided absorbed. This includes, for instance, unwinding the increase in the average maturity of our refinancing operations. Being prepared to exit from our non-standard measures – as soon as the macroeconomic conditions justify such a move – helps to maintain price stability over the medium term and to ensure a firm anchoring of longer-term inflation expectations. References Alan Auerbach and Yuriy Gorodnichenko, 2012a, â€Å"Measuring the Output Responses to Fiscal Policy,†American Economic Journal: Economic Policy,  Alan Auerbach and Yuriy Gorodnichenko, 2012b, â€Å"Fiscal Multipliers in Recession and Expansion,† NBER Chapters, in Fiscal Policy after the Financial Crisis, edited by Alberto Alesina and Francesco Giavazzi (University of Chicago Press). Rà ¼diger Bachmann and Eric Sims, 2012, Confidence and the transmission of government spending shocks,† Journal of Monetary Economics Blanchard, O. and R. Perotti (2002). â€Å"An Empirical Characterization of the Dynamic Effects of Changes in Government Spending and Taxes on Output.† Quarterly Journal of Economics 117(4): 1329-1368. Nicoletta Batini, Giovanni Callegari and Giovanni Melina, 2012. â€Å"Successful Austerity in the United States, Europe and Japan,† IMF Working Papers 12/190, International Monetary Fund. Anja Baum and Gerritt Koester, 2011, â€Å"The Impact of Fiscal Policy on Economic Activity Over the Business Cycle – Evidence from a Threshold VAR Analysis† Deutsche Bundesbank’ Anja Baum, Marcos Poplawski-Riberio and Anke Weber, 2012, â€Å"Fiscal Multipliers and the State of the Economy,† IMF Working Paper, International Monetary Fund, December. International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (2008).†Fiscal Policy as a countercyclical tool.† October Ethan Ilzetzki, Enrique Mendoza & Carlos Vegh, 2011. â€Å"How Big (Small?) are Fiscal Multipliers?,† IMF Working Papers (International Monetary Fund.) Forthcoming, Journal of Monetary Economics. Daniel Shoag, 2012, â€Å"The Impact of Government Spending Shocks: Evidence on the Multiplier from State Pension Plan Returns,† Harvard Kennedy School. Antonio Spilimbergo, Steven Symansky, and Martin Schindler, â€Å"Fiscal Multipliers,† Staff Position NoteNo. 2009/11, International Monetary Fund. Perotti, R. (2002). â€Å"Estimating the effects of fiscal policy in OECD countries.† ECB Working Paper.

Words Ending in -ly Arent Always Adverbs

Words Ending in -ly Arent Always Adverbs Words Ending in -ly Aren’t Always Adverbs Words Ending in -ly Aren’t Always Adverbs By Mark Nichol Ask anyone to name a distinguishing characteristic of an adverb, and the reply might be that such a word ends with -ly. Although that is often true, some adverbs, such as fast, lack the ending. For this reason, they are known as flat adverbs. In addition, many words ending in -ly aren’t adverbs. Many adjectives end in -ly (which means- and is cognate with- â€Å"like†), including some that are also adjectives in their â€Å"flat† form. For example, dead and deadly are both adjectives. Deadly may look like an adverb, but one cannot say that one person stared deadly at another person; a correct treatment would be to employ deadly as an adjective and use the noun form of stared: â€Å"He gave her a deadly stare.† A more prominent error is to use timely as if it were an adverb, as in â€Å"She was instructed to complete the report timely.† But it is an adjective, and should be treated as such, as in â€Å"She was instructed to complete the report in a timely manner.† Some words ending in -ly serve as both adjectives and adverbs, such as friendly, likely, and stately. (Other adjectives that look like adverbs but serve only the former function include costly and worldly.) Others, which do not have root words, include early and ugly (both adjectives and adverbs) and burly and grisly (which are only adjectives). Occasionally, an adjective ending in -ly can be converted into an adverb by changing the ending to -lily, but words like friendlily and uglily are rare in writing and almost unheard of in speech. Many adjectives are merely nouns referring to people and with -ly attached, as in the case of brotherly, neighborly, and scholarly, or pertaining to time (for example, monthly) or direction (for example, northerly). Note that many other nouns also end in -ly, such as assembly (based on the verb assemble) and bully (where the ending is a result of the pronunciation of the source word from another language), and some verbs do, too, such as comply and reply. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Whimsical Words50 Synonyms for "Assistant"If I Was vs. If I Were

Concept of Narrative Essay

Concept of Narrative Essay A narrative essay can be defined as a story written for a certain purpose and point. People have many stories they need to tell and they therefore write narrative essays for particular audiences or for their own satisfaction. In workplaces, narratives essays are not common occurrences but at times individuals might be asked to give a report on conferences they attended or give an account of something that happened. Narrative essays give the writers an opportunity to speak about themselves. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Concept of Narrative Essay specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More People have experiences they wish to share with their friends thus narrative essays provide the necessary tools for telling these stories in understandable ways. Narrative essays usually tell stories about the lives of individuals. They may also talk about memorable people or events that took place in the past (Essayinfo 3). Although it is advisable not to begin narrative essays with I, this may be used to initiate creativity in a narrative essay. It is also a requirement that narrative essays be written in chronological order. However, it does not imply that the rules have to be always followed because narrative essays may be boring when told in this style. Use of descriptive language is an effective way of drawing the attention of the readers into the experiences of the writer. Verbs adverbs and adjectives that make the reader create visual images should be used in narrative essays. The writing of a narrative essay should be conversational for the writers to sound as if they tell the story verbally as opposed to a written one. This is made possible by applying metaphors, anecdotes and other related tales within the narrative. The writer should think of the most comfortable way the story would have been told and write a narrative essay that way. It is always important to start with a draft then transform it into a complete narrative essay. Most narrative tales are told in the 1st person and this applies to a narrative essay. However, if the essay talks about the experiences of other individuals, she or he may be used. Consistency is crucial in the narrative essay thus if it starts in the first person, the whole essay should be written in the first person. The most important thing to note in writing a narrative essay is that its basis is real events. As a result, it follows all the rules of an essay as opposed to a mere story (Essayinfo 4 ).Advertising Looking for essay on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Narrative essays start by explaining the topic and then introduce the characters. A basic premise is included in the introduction which in simple terms shows the lesson learnt from the experience and what makes the story important. From the draft of the essay, an individual writing a narrative essay should pick out the most suitable points that give a detailed explanation of the story. The points should have a close link with the premise of the narrative essay. In the development of the essay, descriptive tests that imply that there is enough information to support the premise should be included. Just like normal essays, the last paragraph in a narrative essay serves to conclude it. In the conclusion, the premise is restated and a summary of the events leading to such a conclusion presented. Descriptive language and a premise in narrative essays usually make the essays interesting to read. Explaining personal experiences or the experiences of others in narrative essays makes it possible for individuals to relate with memorable events in ways that are easy to understand (Essayinfo 5). Essayinfo. Narrative Essay. 2010. Web.

Saying Good Evening in Japanese

Saying Good Evening in Japanese Whether youre visiting Japan or youre simply trying to learn a new language, knowing how to say and write simple greetings is a  great way to start communicating with people in their language. The way to say good evening in Japanese is Konbanwa. Konbanwa shouldnt be confused with  konnichi wa, which is a greeting often during daytime hours.   Greetings for Day and Night Japanese citizens will use the morning greeting ohayou gozaimasu,  most often before about 10:30 a.m. Konnichiwa is used most often after 10:30 a.m., while konbanwa is the appropriate evening greeting. Pronunciation of Konbanwa Listen to the audio file for Konbanwa. Japanese Characters for Konbanwa 㠁“ん㠁 °Ã£â€šâ€œÃ£  ¯Ã£â‚¬â€š Writing Rules There is a rule for writing hiragana wa and ha. When wa is used as a particle, it is written in hiragana as ha. Konbanwa is now a fixed greeting. However, in the old days it was a part of sentence such as Tonight is ~ (Konban wa ~) and wa functioned as a particle. Thats why it is still written in hiragana as ha.

Religious Freedom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Religious Freedom - Essay Example Therefore, he firmly establishes the freedoms- freedom of speech, freedom of action, freedom of though and freedom of religion. Personally I believe that there shall be freedom of religion as long as there is peace and social order. Every individual is responsible for their own actions and they shall be held responsible or penalized only if their action has caused disturbance or harm to another being. As long as a person is living a righteous life without causing any trouble to his or her fellow beings, then there seems no valid reason to punish him or her on the basis of their religious belief. It is not true that only individuals from the minority sector commit crimes in a certain country. Even individuals from their own religious sect commit crime. In the Holy Quran there is a quote, it says, â€Å"There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion. The right course has become clear from the wrong. So whoever disbelieves in Taghut and believes in Allah has grasped the m ost trustworthy handhold with no break in it. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing.† (Surat Al-Baqarah, 2:256) According to this verse of the Holy Quran, it clearly says that there shall be freedom of religion. ... Similarly, in the Locke’s quote, he clearly explains that no man is superior to other man to force his opinions on others and compel him to accept his opinion and religion. There exists a relationship between an individual’s mind and reality; and no one can interfere with that relationship. Again in the same chapter of the Holy Quran it is mentioned, â€Å"Say, [O believers], "We have believed in Allah and what has been revealed to us and what has been revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the Descendants and what was given to Moses and Jesus and what was given to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him."† (2:136) This verse clearly states that Muslims believe in all the previous prophets that were blessed to various nations in the history. To be a true Muslim, belief in the messages of the earlier Prophets is equally important. Muslims do believe in Prophet Moses who wa s sent to the Jewish tribe, Prophet Esa (Jesus) and various other Prophets. However, they submit themselves to God and follow the guidance of the Prophet. Therefore the Muslims believe in all books that were revealed to all the Prophets and in all the angels. As it is mentioned in the Holy Quran at another instance, where it says, â€Å"The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and [so have] the believers. All of them have believed in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers, [saying], "We make no distinction between any of His messengers." And they say, "We hear and we obey. [We seek] Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the [final] destination.†Ã¢â‚¬  (2:285)

Stove Pipe stucture v.s Line Manager Research Paper

Stove Pipe stucture v.s Line Manager - Research Paper Example Organizational structure may be defined as the method through which the use of a hierarchy such as groups, business, organizations, or people cooperate to achieve success of one common goal. Business organizational structures differ depending on their objective, scope, and size. However, a good structure should reflect hierarchical duties, division of labor and tasks arranged related directly to a goal. A structure may also be seen as an organizational chart. Organizational structures can be classified differently depending on the nature and size of organization. A structure can be traditional, divisional or matrix. Traditional structures are usually based on the functional divisions and departments. Organizations with traditional structures often follow laid out rules and regulations strictly, they also have a well defined authority structure for all levels of management. The structures include the line structure that has a line of command; line and staff structure that is a combination of the line structure where information comes from the top level to the bottom levels, with staff departments for support and specialization; and functional structure that is a classification of people according to the function they perform in the organization, for example, sales, accounts, human resource or administrative. Divisional structures are specifically based on the divisional differences in the organization. This structure is further divided into product structure whereby the organization of employees and the work to be done is on the basis of the different types of products produced by the organization; market structure that involves grouping employees on the basis of the market the company sells their products and geographic structure that follows a zonal region structure. Matrix structure is a combination of the functional and product structures. It aims to combine the best of both structures to make an organization and its structure more

Merging Companies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Merging Companies - Essay Example It lasted till 1929. 1940 saw the mergers due to tax relief. The next wave came in the wake of booming economy and rising stock prices and lasted as conglomerate merger from 1965 to 1969. The fourth merger wave was of mega merges from 1981 to 1989 due to expanding economy, technical developments and international competitions. The strategic restructuring wave lasted from 1992 to 2000. It was again due to the expanding economy, rising stock prices, technical developments and globalization. An understanding of the market structure and the consumer behavior along with the motives for merger, the issues involved, valuation matters, the human resource angle and other related subjects will dictate the correct path to mergers and acquisitions. Both mergers and acquisitions are synonymous, however they have different implications. An acquisition takes place when one company takes over another company and becomes the new owner. The target company does not exist thereafter. The buyer runs the business, whose stocks continue to be traded. In a merger, two firms often of the same size decide to become one single new company; it is a merger of equals. In a merger the stocks of both the companies are surrendered and a new company stock is issued. A purchase deal will also be called a merger. If a purchase is hostile and the target company does not want to be purchased, it becomes an acquisition. The various types of mergers are given below. Horizontal mergers. Vertical mergers. Conglomerate mergers. Reverse mergers. Accretive mergers. Dilutive mergers. Why Mergers Happen Mergers take place due to variety of reasons. However it is primarily the growth, which dictates further strategy. A company can grow internally, but it is a slow and ineffective method. A faster method is to merge or acquire. The decisions are taken with the object of maximizing the wealth of the firm's shareholders. The motives for mergers are as given below. Growth Synergy Diversification Eliminate competition. Economies of scale. Acquisition of new technology. Improved market reach and industry visibility. Cutting costs Reducing taxes. Empire building. Oligopolies. Monopoly. Valuation Matters A company aiming to take over a target company must determine the worth of the company being acquired. Both sides will have a different prospect of the worth of the company. Target company will value at higher price. Purchasing company will value at lower price. The following seven steps will help in evaluation. Step 1. Analyze historical performance. Step 2. Forecast performance. Step 3. Estimate the cost of capital. Step 4. Estimate the cost of equity financing. Step 5. Arbitrage pricing model. Step 6. Estimating the continuing value. Step 7. Calculating and interpreting results, calculating and testing results and interpretingthe results with in the decision context. Some of the methods that can be used to evaluate the company are as given below. Comparative Ratio. Price/Earning Ratio (P/E Ratio). Enterprise Value to Sales

Sainsbury PLC Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sainsbury PLC - Coursework Example This activity would provide adequate information on the acquisitions and business events, major relationships needed, business trends and also the comprehensive analysis of strength and weakness of companies external and internal environment. The methods chosen for undertaking environmental analysis of Sainsbury are: PESTAL analysis, SWOT analysis and Porters Five Forces. Also the utility of The Willian Finnie Model, Crook, Ketchen and Snow modelis also included. PESTAL Analysis: The word PESTAL is the acronym for a set of factors that influences any business environment. They are listed as Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological, Legal and Environment . The change in political system in region, introduction of new tax laws, regulations and policies like introduction of green policies, changes in the European Union business regulations are the political factors affecting the business environment. The key economic factors that influence the long term strategic planning of Sainsbury are changes in the interest rates, prevailing inflation rates, unemployment and long term growth potential based on national financial policies. The change in demographic profile with respect to the age, socio-cultural preferences, attitudes to various polices and habits, gender priorities in shopping pattern are the major sociological parameters to be incorporated in the analysis. The possible technological changes also need to be understood inorder to assess the environmental influences on the business. This could be change in logistics, change in customers travel pattern, better means of business operations, introduction of cost-saving technology in pro duction and also advances in communication changing the business life cycle time. The physical environment of the business operation is also a vital issue influencing the business growth of Sainsbury. This is related to the waste management issues, pollution control and incorporation various sustainable business operations. One of the major legal issue that influences the business environment of the company is health and safety norms in case of any expansions, mergers or acquisitions. SWOT Analysis The analysis of Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats of Sainsbury and its competitors taking into account both internal and external influences could give better clarity in the strategic planning process (Novicevic et al, 2004). The specific indicators identified in the case of Sainsbury are as follows (Sainsbury , 2006 b & c) Strengths Weakness Opportunities Threats Huge number of loyal customer base. High reputation and ability to retain the business leadership in UK operations Better brand equity Product scalability Relatively more expensive than competitors Limited growth opportunities Increase in the stores across the country. Enhancing the sales across the Internet. Further improvement in service & products High buying powers of Tesco, Wall mart/Asda or Morrisons. Significant number of low priced supermarkets. Porter's Five Forces. They represent five independent parameters that influence any business environment (Porter, 1991). Industry Competitors: The huge competition exist between different supermarket chain operators. Sainsbury has positioned as a high quality supplier of food products. It constantly reinvents its operation to thwart the treats raised by its close competitors

Internet Security IT Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Internet Security IT - Research Paper Example In fact antisocial elements are creating new viruses every day and it is difficult to prevent such attacks. A proper antivirus software can prevent many of the virus attacks. However, such antivirus programs should be updated quite regularly to prevent attacks from newer viruses. â€Å"A basic and key way of staying secure is to make sure you rapidly deploy software updates, such as operating system and browser updates. Make sure too that patches, particularly security patches, are installed as soon as available† (How to deal with Internet security threats) â€Å"If you have ever used an installation program to install system or service software (as nearly every company has), and you have not removed unnecessary services and installed all security patches, then your computer system is vulnerable to hacker attack† (The Top 10 Most Critical Internet Security Threats - (2000-2001 Archive). While installing third party programs, spywares and malwares can also be get install ed in the computer. Many people have the habit of installing free software even if it may not be useful. Majority of the free software available for download contains malware and spyware to monitor the internet activities of the user and also to steal the username and passwords. It is better to avoid installation of free software from unauthorized or non-credible sources. Moreover, under no circumstances, credit card numbers or bank account numbers should be given to the internet sites which have least protection. Before giving such private details, it should be ensured that those sites have enough security certificates and start with https instead of http. While using usernames and passwords for opening sensitive internet accounts, easy to guess type of words or names should be avoided. Under no circumstances, a hacker should not be able to guess a username or password correctly. Pass words should contain alphabets as well as characters and numbers so that hackers may struggle to i dentify it. â€Å"For operating systems, default installations always include extraneous services and corresponding open ports. Attackers break into systems via these ports† (The Top 10 Most Critical Internet Security Threats - (2000-2001 Archive). So, while installing essential software, care should be taken to avoid unwanted services so that the number of open ports can be minimized. â€Å"The top Web-based attacks in 2009 targeted Internet Explorer and PDF readers. Users tend to trust PDF files because they don't think of them as executing anything; however, embedded code in the PDF can carry malware†(Mushthaler and Mushthaler). The above information clearly suggests that even software from trusted and reputed vendors may contain malicious things. Firewalls should be strengthened in order to block the attacks of malicious things such as viruses, spyware etc. All the information entering and leaving the computer should pass through a properly created firewall so that any malpractices can be detected. â€Å"Firewall is combined with other security functions, including (in many cases) web application firewalling (WAF), sometimes also known as deep packet inspection (DPI)† (How To Deal With Internet Security Threats) Trojan software is considered to be the most harmful in terms of E-Commerce security due to its ability to secretly connect and send confidential information. These programs are developed for the specific purpose of communicating without the

The causes of world war I Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The causes of world war I - Research Paper Example World War 1 was by caused the diplomatic clashes that occurred between some of the great powers from countries such as Italy, the Austro Hungarian Empire, Germany and the British Empire. These countries clashed over some European and colonial issues causing high tension. The diplomatic clashes might have resulted in a change to power balance in Europe. One source of dispute was over the Balkans territory. This tension was caused by the competition between Austria Hungary, Serbia and Russia over the territory. There are many events that are thought to have triggered the war, which include national politics, assassination, economics and cultures, complex webs of alliances and counterbalances, which were developed with some of the European powers in the year 1870. There are some domestic political factors that may have resulted to the war. They include such factors as German domestic politics. This involved politics between parties such as Social Democratic Party, which had a significant impact on the elections that took place in Germany in the year 1912. The government in Germany was dominated Prussian Junkers; they were the Prussian landowning gentry, who controlled Prussia. This led to increased fear as a result of the rise of left wing parties. It is with such fear that Fritz Fischer thought an external war would distract the population resulting to support for the government.1 Germany might have been ambivalent about the war with the worry that if the Germans lost the war, Germany woul d have faced disastrous consequences, which include a drop of the economy and a shortage of raw materials. Another domestic factor that might have contributed to the war was French domestic politics. The loss of the Alsace-Lorraine resulted to increased anger among the French. France being compelled to pay large reparation to Germany in the year 1870 was seen as a source of humiliation in

Internet Security IT Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Internet Security IT - Research Paper Example In fact antisocial elements are creating new viruses every day and it is difficult to prevent such attacks. A proper antivirus software can prevent many of the virus attacks. However, such antivirus programs should be updated quite regularly to prevent attacks from newer viruses. â€Å"A basic and key way of staying secure is to make sure you rapidly deploy software updates, such as operating system and browser updates. Make sure too that patches, particularly security patches, are installed as soon as available† (How to deal with Internet security threats) â€Å"If you have ever used an installation program to install system or service software (as nearly every company has), and you have not removed unnecessary services and installed all security patches, then your computer system is vulnerable to hacker attack† (The Top 10 Most Critical Internet Security Threats - (2000-2001 Archive). While installing third party programs, spywares and malwares can also be get install ed in the computer. Many people have the habit of installing free software even if it may not be useful. Majority of the free software available for download contains malware and spyware to monitor the internet activities of the user and also to steal the username and passwords. It is better to avoid installation of free software from unauthorized or non-credible sources. Moreover, under no circumstances, credit card numbers or bank account numbers should be given to the internet sites which have least protection. Before giving such private details, it should be ensured that those sites have enough security certificates and start with https instead of http. While using usernames and passwords for opening sensitive internet accounts, easy to guess type of words or names should be avoided. Under no circumstances, a hacker should not be able to guess a username or password correctly. Pass words should contain alphabets as well as characters and numbers so that hackers may struggle to i dentify it. â€Å"For operating systems, default installations always include extraneous services and corresponding open ports. Attackers break into systems via these ports† (The Top 10 Most Critical Internet Security Threats - (2000-2001 Archive). So, while installing essential software, care should be taken to avoid unwanted services so that the number of open ports can be minimized. â€Å"The top Web-based attacks in 2009 targeted Internet Explorer and PDF readers. Users tend to trust PDF files because they don't think of them as executing anything; however, embedded code in the PDF can carry malware†(Mushthaler and Mushthaler). The above information clearly suggests that even software from trusted and reputed vendors may contain malicious things. Firewalls should be strengthened in order to block the attacks of malicious things such as viruses, spyware etc. All the information entering and leaving the computer should pass through a properly created firewall so that any malpractices can be detected. â€Å"Firewall is combined with other security functions, including (in many cases) web application firewalling (WAF), sometimes also known as deep packet inspection (DPI)† (How To Deal With Internet Security Threats) Trojan software is considered to be the most harmful in terms of E-Commerce security due to its ability to secretly connect and send confidential information. These programs are developed for the specific purpose of communicating without the

Turkey-country analysis Essay Example for Free

Turkey-country analysis Essay Turkey is a dynamic promising market due to its geographical and strategic importance. Further more, it has a complex of developed infrastructure and an internationally competitive work force. Its geographical closeness to the emerging energy generating states in the Caspian and Central Asia are other reasons that further elevate its stature economically. Turkey is trying to align its economic policy with the commercial policy measures of European Union and creating free trade zones, signing new Free Trade accords with prospective countries. In addition to implementing Common Customs Tariff, Turkey is further putting into practice the preferential trade regime especially with third world countries i.e. Islamic and Balkans. In order to fulfill the EU measures and to look after its commercial concerns, it is executing this Free Trade accords on priority basis. Until now Turkey concluded 19 preferential trade agreements but only 9 of these preferential agreements are in force: EFTA, Israel, Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina Palestine and Tunisia. This preferential trade regime was first put into practice by signing a Free Trade Agreement between Turkey and the EFTA States that was implemented in April 1992. After this Turkey reinforced its policy of preferential trade with European countries of non-EFTA members and signed FTAs with Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Poland Hungary, Estonia, Slovenia and Czech Republic. After their membership of European Union, these accords came to an end. So in this context, Turkey Located new preferential states and entered into accord with Israel, Romania and Bulgaria entered into force in May 1997, February 1998 and January 1999 respectively. Turkey has also created free trade zones. Turkish Free Zones are tax free zones. In order to lure the trade and investment, all the commercial and trade activities in these zones are tax-exempted. Furthermore, Free Zones earnings and revenues can be shifted to any country, without any official restraint or any prior permission and are not subject to any kind of taxes, duties and fees. Currencies used in the zone are convertible foreign currencies accepted by the Central Bank. Turkey is trying to integrate with international markets and enhancing the cooperation with trading partners worldwide. Despite various complexities and impediments, Turkey has almost achieved all goals in its global integration process started in 1980s. The stable liberalization of the economy and assimilation with the global economy begun by former President Ãâ€"zal has sustained itself without disruptions. Although it was full of vicissitudes but Turkeys trade sector manifest a mounting proportion of GDP, and foreign funds are a prime source of investment. [1] Despite economic catastrophe of mid-1994 such as the devaluation of the currency, bank failures, stock market crash, Turkey has been labeled a chief emerging market by the main international financial institutes. Turkey recognized its interest in closer multilateral cooperation with Islamic countries, particularly with rich Middle Eastern states and Turkeys augmented its presence in Middle Eastern markets and supplied supplementary sources of foreign direct investment and commercial financing. References Foreign Economic Relations Board ofTurkey. http://www.deik.org/ [1] For further details check Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey (DEIK) website that is established with prime purpose is to pave the way for Turkey’s economic, commercial, industrial and financial relations with foreign.

The odyssey

The odyssey Which film does a more effective job in adapting Homers The Odyssey: Ridley Scotts Gladiator or Barry Levinsons The Natural. I believe that both films do an effective job of adapting Homers epic poem. However, in my opinion, The Natural does a better job of this. The Natural achieves a more effective level than Scotts film in adapting The Odyssey because Levinsons cinematic adventure has more similarities in the characters, plot structure, and resolution. The characters in Levinsons motion picture are very similar to the characters in The Odyssey. Roy Hobbes, the main character of the movie, compares very well with Odysseus, the main character in Homers epic poem. Odysseus is a great Trojan War hero and Roy Hobbes is a great baseball player, which is similar to being a war hero because Hobbes is a hero to his baseball team in their war for the pennant. Both characters leave their home to achieve glory: Odysseus in the Trojan War and Hobbes in baseball. Odysseus leaves Ithaca, which is a small island, and Hobbes leaves his small farm. Both places are small and not vey well known. Odysseus and Hobbes both leave a woman at home with a child to take care of. However, Odysseus never met his child and Hobbes was unaware that he left his hometown girlfriend when she was pregnant with his son. Another similarity is that both of these protagonists are flawed. Odysseus dishonored the god, arguably because he has too much pride, which is hubris . Moreover, Hobbes also had too much pride. Having too much pride causes each character to go off course, literally and figuratively. Odysseus is blown of course traveling from one crazy island to the next. Whereas, Roy Hobbes gets shot, which causes him to quit baseball for a long time and travel from one job to the next. The two heroes even have similar enemies, for example Hobbes has Gus Sands who nearly kills him, and Odysseus has the Cyclops who nearly kills him; also both enemies only have one eye. Another similarity is the weapon of choice for both individuals; Odysseus has his bow, which is used to defeat the suitors after his wife, and Hobbes has Wonderboy, which is his baseball bat used to defeat opposing baseball teams. In Gladiator there is not one specific weapon that Maximus uses. Lastly, eventually both heroes return home and are humbled. Odysseus returns home to Ithaca, but as a beggar. And Hobbes returns to the farm to take care of his united family. The plot structure of the movie is also very similar to Homers epic poem. Each story begins in a small place that is not very well known. The Natural begins on a farm and The Odyssey begins on a small island called Ithaca. Another similarity is that both of the main characters leave their home to become well known. However, even though they were both great, both protagonists have too much pride, which ends up causing both of them to go off course of their goal. However, Maximus in Gladiator did not have too much pride, but he was still sent off course. Odysseuss goal was to return home, but because he did not honor the gods, the gods would not allow him to achieve his goal very easily. Hobbess goal was to set baseball records, but because of his pride he was literally shot down on his way to the top. Then both characters must put forth much more time and effort than originally planned to achieve their goal. Eventually Hobbes changes his goal to being with his family when he realizes that he left his hometown girlfriend home pregnant with his son; just like Odysseus left his new born son with his wife when he left home. In the end, both heroes wind up home and happy. The resolutions of both protagonists are also very similar. Both eventually learn their lesson. Odysseus realizes that it is wrong to think that he is greater than or equal to the gods and not all the glory should go to him. Hobbes realizes that baseball is not just about break individual records, but the game is about the glory of the team. These are similar because the baseball team is equivalent to the team of Odysseus and the gods in the Trojan War. So the victory is not solely for the glory of the individual. In conclusion, The Natural does a more effective job of adapting to The Odyssey then Gladiator does. The Natural is an effective adaptation of The Odyssey because of its similarities in characters, plot structure, and resolution. There are many striking connections between Roy Hobbes and Odysseus. Also, the plot structure and resolution of The Natural is almost identical to that of Homers epic poem The Odyssey.

Employment :: GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

Empluyment Many years ago, it wasn’t hard at all to keep employees loyal and happy in their work. That was because the man of the house was mainly the sole provider for a wife and two to three kids. All they basically wanted was security and to be a happy family. It’s not so easy in today’s modern world where an employee has so many more options. I will discuss how we manage to keep employees loyal and satisfied in their jobs at our company. The role of the manager is very wide, expansive and covers several different areas all at once. Our managers act as something similar to a press secretary in that they escort visitors and play tour manager of course, they also handle all the human relations tasks such as hiring, firing and motivating the employees under their charge. So far as relational roles they also act as liaison due to the fact that much of the information they use they acquire from the employees. Our manager’s act in several other roles with the information they receive. As a monitor in that they attempt to predict what to expect of competitors. Secondly, as a disseminator because much information has to be relayed to employees either by the manager or through some sort of media. Thirdly, with visitors they tend to act as spokesperson, also. Managers have to make many decisions in our organization because we try to avoid micromanagement, Due to the avoidance of that micromanagement the manager tends to act as entrepreneur sometimes because they are making decisions that will affect the organization as a whole. Secondly, they act as police somewhat in that they need to settle disputes between employees. They handle the acquisition of supplies, also, whether it is personnel, physical supplies or monetary resources. Lastly, our managers also need to act as negotiators because they may need to sacrifice something important out of their own team to gain an important piece of equipment from another team. The organization plays a very large role in motivation and morale employees need to know that when they come to work everyday they won’t have several different tasks thrown at them throughout the day. This reflects totally as to how the individual reacts towards the organization. We combat this â€Å" Hey, you!† effect in our organization with a couple of methods.

Teaching Philosophy Statement :: Education Teachers Essays

Teaching Philosophy Statement Children by nature are human sponges. They absorb information on many different levels, intellectually, emotionally, physically, etc. Their lives are mapped out by experiences, what they learn, and where they learn it. School is the first opportunity for children to learn, to experience, and to see where their lives are headed. All children have the right to an education. One that focuses on their individual needs and an education that will make them learn and feel good about themselves. School should always be challenging. Children need to understand that they are responsible for who they are and who they become. They need to be taught that school is the beginning step to success. The more you learn and absorb the more power and opportunities you will have later in life. Between knowledge and self-esteem (that should be taught in schools), kids should be able to walk away from high school with the knowledge that they have developed and a head full of ideas on where to go from there. People as a society need to raise the bar on our educational standards. The teaching styles that were seen as exceptional in the 1950’s should not be seen as exceptional today. Kids need to be taught that they can reach for the stars and beyond. Everyone is special and with work can have the same opportunities as anyone else. Education is a tool that provides many aspects of learning into a nicely gift-wrapped package. Education teaches skills that help children move from grade to grade but also from childhood into adulthood with acute readiness. Education is important not only for the knowledge that is obtained, but also for the value it holds in today’s society. Jobs are not as obtainable as they once were without some form of higher education. Education is also important because it brings people together. Families are able to communicate with more ease. Nations are able to trade and help in times of need. Learning is education and the education of learning starts in the classroom. In my classroom I hope to accomplish all the textbook materials for the grade I am teaching so that my students may advance to the next grade level with ease. I also hope to accomplish new fun ways of teaching my students self-discipline and self-esteem. Teaching children at such a young age is crucial. I believe that early education teachers help to pave a student’s road through school and life.

Inorganic Ions Include Those of Sodium, Phosphorus and Hydrogen. Describe How These and Other Inorganic Ions Are Used in Living Organisms.

Inorganic ions include those of sodium, phosphorus and hydrogen. Describe how these and other inorganic ions are used in living organisms. Inorganic ions in animals and plants are necessary for vital cellular activity. In body tissue they can also be called electrolytes, which are essential for electrical activity needed to support muscle contractions and neuron activation. Ions also effect how pH changes in the blood and other bodily functions. Ions are also incorporated into the structure of biological molecules. Resting potentials require ions as they play a vital role in the process. In the surface membrane of a cell there are protein carriers. These actively pump Na+ ions out of the cytoplasm to the outside of the cell. At the same time, K+ ions are pumped from the outside in. This active pumping of Na+ and K+ ions requires ATP because the ions are being moved against their concentration gradients. K+ and Na+ ions diffuse back down their concentration gradient but K+ diffuses back out of the cell faster than Na+ can diffuse back in. Which means that there is a net movement of positive ions out of the cell making the inside of the cell negatively charged, relative to the outside. This charge is the resting potential of the cell and is about -70mV. Ions are also used in action potentials. When a receptor is stimulated, it will create a positive environment inside the cell. This is caused by a change in the concentrations of Na+ and K+ ions in the cell and happens when there is a change in permeability to Na+ and K+ in the cell surface membrane at the area of stimulation, which causes Na+ channels in that area to open, Na+ therefore floods into the cytoplasm down the concentration gradient. As this happens the membrane depolarizes. If this depolarisation reaches a certain level, called the threshold level then an action potential has been generated and an impulse will be fired. If it does not reach this level, nothing will happen. Once +40mV is reached the Na+ channels close and K+ channels open. K+ floods out of the cytoplasm so that the overall charge inside goes back down. This stage is called repolarisation. The K+ channels then close, the sodium-potassium pump restarts, restoring the normal distribution of ions either side of the cell surface membrane and thus restoring the resting potential. In response to this the Na+ channels in that area would open up, allowing Na+ ions to flood into the cell and thus reducing the resting potential of the cells. If the resting potential of the cell drops to the threshold level, then an action potential has been generated and an impulse will be fired. In photosynthesis H+ ions are vital in the production of the energy source that is ATP, which is used in several metabolic processes, such as respiration. The photolysis of water produces H+ ions, electrons and O2. The excited electrons lose energy as they move along the electron transport chain, this energy is used to transport the H+ ions (protons) in to the thylakoid, which causes a higher concentration of H+ than there is in the stroma, thus causing a proton gradient across the membrane. The H+ then proceed to move down the concentration gradient into the stroma via the enzyme ATP synthase. The energy from this process is called chemiosmosis and combines ADP with inorganic phosphate (Pi) to form ATP. Light energy is then absorbed by photosystem I (PS I) which excites the electrons to a higher energy level. These electrons are transferred to NADP with H+ ions from the stroma to form reduced NADP. The whole of this process is called non-cyclic photophosphorylation and is part of the ligh-dependent reaction. Reduced NADP is used with ATP to make GALP in the light independent stage of photosynthesis. GALP is either used to replenish ribulose bisphosfphate, a key ingredient for respiration, or make a hexose sugar such as glucose, lipids or amino acids. By means of conclusion, inorganic ions are vital for life on planet Earth. Without ions such as nitrate ions, DNA would not be exist and thus nor would existence.