How Does the Framed Narrative Have an Effect in Ethan Frome? Essay

In the prologue, Wharton sets the frame for the main story. The prologue (and epilogue) take place some twenty years after the events of the main story and are written in the first person. The anonymous Narrator describes his first impressions of Ethan Frome and about how he pieced together the story of Ethan Frome from personal observation and from fragments of the story told to him by townspeople. The prologue not only introduces The Narrator, but also describes Starkfield and the winter setting, inhabitants of Starkfield, and provokes curiosity about the tragedy experienced by Ethan Frome. Frome is a badly crippled but striking older man whom the Narrator has seen at the post office in Starkfield. Harmon Gow, a former stagecoach driver who knows the histories of all the Starkfield families, responds to the Narrator’s questions about Frome by telling him that Frome was disfigured in a â€Å"smash-up,† an accident that occurred 24 years ago. But Gow provides few details. The framed narrative told in the first-person by the Narrator builds suspense around Ethan Frome and the events leading to the â€Å"smash-up† that disfigured him. By telling the story through the device of the frame, the Narrator is trying to learn a story that has already happened; Wharton gives Ethan’s story a sense of inevitability. By introducing his story as a flashback, the Narrator makes very clear the fact that what we are about to read is not a factual record of the occurrences leading up to Ethan’s accident, but his own impressions of what those occurrences may have been. According to The Narrator, Ethan has the remains of a once powerful and sensitive man, whom is now bound and frustrated by the crippling effects of a sledding accident. Even though Ethan is only fifty-two years old, he looks as though he is â€Å"dead and in hell.† Wharton builds suspense when she reveals that the Narrator is also intrigued by the look of incredible suffering and despair that he sees in an unguarded moment on Ethan’s face; Wharton provokes curiosity about the tragedy that has robbed Ethan of his life. Wharton provides minimal information about Ethan. Harmon Gow shares the sad history of the deaths of Ethan’s parents and of Zeena’s sicknesses, and he adds the comment that â€Å"most of the smart ones get away,† implying that Ethan was smart, but unfortunately was unable to leave Starkfield. The themes of silence and isolation are introduced by the author. The Narrator is impressed with Ethan’s solitude and apparent withdrawal into a protective shell. Ethan gives the postman a â€Å"silent nod† and would â€Å"listen quietly.† He responds briefly, in a low tone, when spoken to by one of the townspeople. Gradually, more of Ethan’s character emerges, especially after The Narrator has talked with Ethan during the trips to Corbury Flats. Ethan’s intelligence is revealed The Narrator through Ethan’s interest in a book of popular science, and a parallel between Ethan and The Narrator is established when they reveal that they have both been on engineering trips to Florida. Wharton suggests that The Narrator is the kind of man Ethan might have become if he had not become trapped in his marriage. Ethan did the right thing according to the accepted rules of society by caring for his wife; however, it wasn’t the right thing for him. Ethan pays the price by never achieving his potential. According to The Narrator, Ethan lives in a â€Å"depth of moral isolation.† Wharton uses battle imagery to describe the way winter conquers Starkfield. The Narrator mentions â€Å"the wild cavalry of March winds† and he understood â€Å"why Starkfield emerged from its six months’ siege like a starved garrison capitulating without quarter.† The winter season is predominant: Ethan’s memory of his trip to Florida seems to be covered with snow. Even the name of the town, â€Å"Starkfield,† is significant is symbolic of the moral landscape of the novel. It implies the devastating and isolating effects of the harsh winters on the land and the men who work the land. The conclusion is that the ravages of winter destroy both man’s will to survive and the buildings he constructs to shield him from his environment. The â€Å"exanimate,† or lifeless, remains of Ethan’s sawmill are an example. The Narrator comments on the landscape that also suggests the debilitating effects of winter: the â€Å"starved apple-trees writhing over a hillside† suggests the barren land that starves men rather than feeds them. The dead vine on the front porch of Fromes’ farmhouse is symbolic of the dead and dying spirits that inhabit the house and its graveyard. And as The Narrator observes, Fromes’ farmhouse â€Å"shivers† in the cold and looks â€Å"forlorn.† After his important description of the â€Å"L† shape of the house — â€Å"the long deep-roofed adjunct usually built at right angles to the main house, and connecting it, by way of storerooms and tool-house, with the wood-shed and cow-barn† — The Narrator perceives that the farmhouse is symbolic of Ethan himself. The house’s function appears to be a place of confinement and isolation for its inhabitants. Wharton easily changes the focus from The Narrator’s first impressions to the dramatic action of the journey taken by Ethan and The Narrator in the snowstorm. It is ironic that a blinding snowstorm forces The Narrator to take shelter in the Frome farmhouse — it opens his eyes to Ethan’s story. As a result of that, the breaking off of the narration just before the door opens increases the suspense and prepares the reader for The Narrator entering the farmhouse in the culmination of the tragedy in the epilogue.

Elements of Democracy and Constitutionalism Essay

The 16th president of the United States of America explained it succinctly. Democracy, that is. Democracy is a government system adopted by many nations. It is perhaps one of the oldest forms of political rule, one that transcends over time.. Democracy and constitution are just two of the numerous theories that origin in Greece, one of the oldest cradles of civilization. Democracy takes its root from the Greek word which means rule by the people (Johnston, 1987). It is different from other types of government system such as dictatorship or totalitarian (1987). Democracy occurs when people choose its government, or those who will lead them. Democracy dates back to prehistoric times. Some anthropologists, for instance, have unearthed democracy in tribes (1987). It is called â€Å"primitive democracy† wherein a tribal council rules a certain tribe (1987). The council is usually composed of families and clans (1987). The Iroquois Confederacy, which ruled some parts of the United States, is another example of democratic institution (1987). It is even said that the Confederacy contributed to the creation of the US constitution (Cook, 2000). Democracy has several political, economic and social characteristics. One of its vital political characteristic is that men are equal before the law, meaning everyone is entitled to equal right, to participate in all political decisions (Johnston, 1987). Each has the right to vote or choose. During the Athenian government, adult male citizens convened to address public issues. As democracy continued to become popular, especially in Europe and America, the right to vote was adopted, but was limited to male land owners (1987). It was only during the 20th century, wherein women in nations practicing democracy were given the right to suffrage (1987). Another prominent element in democracy is freedom of expression. This pertains to the liberty to express one’s self through speech, press and assembly (Johnston, 1987). Through freedom of expression, views on certain issues would be addressed. The English, French, and American revolutions were geared towards achieving freedom of expression (1987). Basic to democracy is the idea of majority rule. In a democratic nation, a consensus should be achieved. While the majority is generally followed, minority rights are also taken in consideration (Johnston, 1987). The minority’s purpose is not to contest the majority but to give alternatives (1987). Furthermore, one economic characteristic of a democracy is to have equality not just in political areas but in economic as well. Democratic nations have labor unions to address the welfare of the workers (Johnston, 1987). Some countries like the United States passed laws on regulating employment-related issues such as wages and Social Security (1987). Likewise, democracy affects the social distinctions of a nation. Democracy curtails differences on sex, wealth, birth, race and religion (Johnston, 1987). The 14th Amendment to the United States, for example, states that a citizen must be granted all rights (1987). In Greece where the term democracy derived, democracy arose when the middle class comprising merchants, started to gain power (Johnston, 1987). It used to be that tribal systems were dominant in Greece (Rabb, 1987). The period, which was known as â€Å"Age of Kings† had mini-monarchies in Greece (1987). However, by 1000 BC to 500 BC, people started to rethink about the government. By this time, the idea of popular government had started to crop up (1987). A popular government is defined as a government wherein people should not be under the control of others (1987). This popular government concept is the precursor of what is not democracy. Athens was the place where the Greeks first experience democracy (1987). As stated earlier, Athenian democracy practiced voting, although was limited to citizens and men only (1987). It was also during this time that Socrates, the great Greek philosopher, was sentenced to death (1987). When Alexander the Great of Macedonia conquered Greece, the popularity of democracy faded. During the Roman period, the Roman tribune was tasked to stand in for the people or the plebian (Johnston, 1987). The plebian comprised the lower class. It was the Romans who idealized that citizens should be equal before the law (1987). In 16th century, the growth of European trade proved to be a platform for democracy to expand (Johnston, 1987). Throughout Europe, the rising middle class started demanding for recognizing their rights (1987). In England, for instance, free enterprise capitalism developed (1987). In France, advocating on democracy was prohibited especially since the country had absolute monarchy as its type of government (Johnston, 1987). However, some French writers and philosophers started propagating the idea of democracy (1987). Voltaire wrote on the freedom of speech; Baron de Montesquieu drafted a model of a government structure wherein the executive, legislative, and judicial branches are of equal power; and Jean Jacques Rousseau advocated on an equal society (1987). These are just examples of ancient democratic practices. Another Ancient Greek political idea is the constitution. The great Greek philosopher Aristotle used the term constitution to pertain to government forms- either good or bad (Safra, 20002). According to Aristotle, monarchy and aristocracy are good constitution whereas tyranny, oligarchy and democracy are bad constitution (2002). A constitutional government has several elements-procedural stability, accountability, representation, division of power, openness and disclosure (Safra, 2002). Procedural stability means that basic laws of the government must not be changed randomly (Safra, 2002). The government must provide it citizens the laws so that its citizens would know the consequences (2002). Accountability pertains to the government’s responsibility to its citizens (Safra, 2002). It is executed through processes such as elections, fiscal accounting, and referendum (2002). Representation states that the people who have been elected should serve as representatives of their constituents (Safra, 2002). Elections ensure that citizens are well represented by those elected. Constitutionalism allows division of power [of legislature, executive, and judiciary] to ensure check and balance in the government (Safra, 2002). Since democracy sits in constitutionalism, there should exists openness and disclosure in the government. Citizens cannot participate in a constitutional government if they are not privy to the workings. It is therefore necessary to have openness and disclosure in the government, to have access to pertinent documents. Constitutional government has been practiced by several countries. Former colonies of Great Britain in Asia and the Caribbean such as India and Nigeria had adopted constitutional form of government (Safra, 2002). European countries such as France, Germany and Italy have likewise adopted this form of government. In France, for example, its previous government had been absolute monarchy. The constitution of the Third Republic was established in 1870 (Safra, 2002). It was followed for roughly 70 years until the German invasion (2002). In the constitution of the Fourth Republic, the average cabinet life became shorter because the government had to deal with the Algerian independence movement (2002). The constitution of the Fifth Republic provides power to the president to abolish the Parliament (2002). The U. S. constitution, on the other hand, copied most of its phrases from the British constitutional vocabulary (Safra, 2002). The English constitution was the effect of custom rather than a premeditated consultation. Parliament was the product of the Curia Regis or the King’s Council (2002). The US constitution was amended for its own use. The constitution states that the US government has three branches – executive, judicial and legislative. It was signed on September 17, 1787 (Constitution of the United States, 2000). The US constitution serves as the foundation of the US government. It is divided into three parts- the preamble, articles and amendments (2000).

Weeping Woman 1883 by Vincent Van Gogh Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Weeping Woman 1883 by Vincent Van Gogh - Essay Example He grew up religiously due to the influence by his parents, as they were ministry leaders. Vincent had two brothers, Cor and Theo and three sisters Wil, Anna, and Elizabeth. During his early life, he did not give any consideration on concentration on artwork. In fact, he spent a quiet life without a niche and undeniable artistic professionalism. This paper provides a discussion on the â€Å"Weeping Woman 1883† by Vincent Van Gogh. He went through a sketchy educational array since 1870 and due his completion; Vincent got an employment at the Hague gallery governed by French artist (Wildenstein & Company 204). The French artist regulated all the artwork in their company led by Goupil. Goupil transferred Vincent Gogh from The Hague to London in 1875. He later moved to Paris. Owing to this relocation, he lost the desire to work as an artist although he loved and enjoyed his work. Vincent returned home and started theology classes. He was passionate and enthusiastic to proceed to C ouple programs; he failed in his exams. His personality, was composed of intelligence and multi-lingual speaker, he did not see the importance of considering Latin as the language to use in preaching to the poor (Wendy 34). He proceeded to a community that mined coal where he started his missionary work. In this coal mining community, he lived with hard working but poor common people where he developed his profession as a preacher. He gained a big interest for people who lived around him. This big interest influenced him to the artistic career, which was enveloping. Theo, his brother, pressured him to join the artistic word. He also had a big urge to leave the miners with something that was greatly required by human kind. Vincent Gogh underestimated his abilities having gone through only part of his training as an artist. His family pushed and encouraged him to clinch on and move forward as they provided financial support, something that helped Vincent become a master of the art (We ndy 59). At the age of twenty-seven years, Vincent Gogh fell in love with painting and artwork. This was after he got into the school of Beaux-Arts located in Brussels, Belgium and relocation to Amsterdam in a period of fall of winter. In 1882, he was fully devoted to painting where he lived frugally and studied the theory of color. At this stage, he created the Potato Eaters as a major work having been inspired by Peter Paul Reuben’s artwork. Vincent painted peasants in the rural landscapes by use of the dark earth tones. He incorporated impressionism, which involved vivid colors. Vincent adjusted his paintings to a style that made his work generate fame on to people he lived with (Wendy 94). This happened after he relocated to Paris. His fame projected as a result of using bold brushstrokes with thick application of paint on his art work. Vincent Gogh started a colony of artists composed of the most interactive and intelligent artists who had the passion for creating arts i n the most productive way. Formation of this group took place in Arles, in France. Artist like Gauguin joined him and created artwork like the sunflower. However, his successful progression in this period came in with mental disorders declining him some physical capabilities, an illness composed of epilepsy, delusions and psycho attacks that brought great turmoil to Vincent and his family. The effects of mental illness brought episodes like mutilation of his ear and offering it to prostitutes as well as, extensive threats to Gauguin (Wildenstein & Company 212). In the year 1883, he created the figure of a weeping woman, a paint that brought transition for Gogh and the inhabitants of the areas who were under the French laws. The paintings helped the natives to rediscovers the essence of tourism

Critically review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Critically review - Essay Example Moreover, their access to recent and new technology is limited. In many occasions only the elites of particular under-developed countries have access to technological. The rest of the country is confined to living in of abject poverty by living lives without the vital necessities like purified water, proper shelter and clothing (James, 2001:148). Therefore, if the developing nations would exploit the advantages offered by information technology (IT) by being integrated in the global economy, they would also be conversant with the many characteristics together with the resulting impulses they would propagate. This is because IT alters the way global competition is carried out and locational behavior of the multinational corporations. Since competition is a continuous technological revolution, it requires new principles and concepts that are beyond those offered by traditional national comparative advantage. As a result, the information industry has led to technological transformations and growth of the whole economies. In addition, competition is characterized by fast technological changes, intense global competition, and uncertainties. Consequently, these characteristics need that; you know the anticipation of the core capabilities, continuous technological learning, exact timing of entry into the market, and finally developing of the supporting institutions (James: 2001:148-9) According to James (2001:149-150) the pattern of globalization in the Third world countries has shown that it has led to the deterioration of foreign trade. This is because the overall ratio of trade to GDP n the past decade has been on the rise for the developing countries.. The Third World countries that are seeking to enter the global market now have already been left behind. The huge amounts of cash flow and general capital are required to establish a true presence in the global market; as a result many Third World nations have not yet generated the necessary capital and domestic con ditions so as to be strong competitors in the current world of neoliberal trade. Moreover, globalization is partly due to the factors that are unrelated changes in technology and IT in particular. As result, the most important of these factors is the liberal approach to both international trade and foreign investment that adopted in many countries, both developed as well as the developing. Developing nations have not been able to fully reap the potential benefits that are available through globalization. As a result this has left them much less subjected to the downsides of globalization like sweatshops and pollution According to Craig, David and Porter (2004:45-7) assert that international trade levels have been depending on costs of transport but also on the communication costs between the sellers and the buyers in the different countries In fact, the two distinct mechanisms through which globalization is being driven by a reduction in costs of communication. The more obvious mech anism is that because of the technologies like the digital switching, fax machines and Internet. Therefore, information about the already traded goods can be passed on between the countries more cheaply than it was hitherto possible. This manifests among other ways, the growth of electronic commerce between various businesses, digital goods delivery and the retail sale of

Sample Exam Paper Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Sample Exam Paper Questions - Essay Example Then UNIQLO concentrates on different market segments using the tools of sales planning, sales promotion, and visual merchandising (UNIQLO official website). The company makes families as their focal point of sales and it keeps wide variety of models so that the customers can choose what they require. UNIQLO operates on the basis of the Ansoff’s matrix theory which says market development and product diversification are the two best techniques to enter into a new market segment (QuickMBA). Since the designers are familiar with the geographical peculiarities of each area, they give more priority to cultural designs which are highlighted in the visual merchandising. The product demonstration has a very effective role in entrancing and dominating a market as it is the fact that ‘first impression is the best impression’. 2. UNIQLO is one of the prominent leading companies with highly extended worldwide network. This large scale network reduces the material costs as it engages in large scale production and purchases. At the same time the commitment to buy 100% of the raw materials of a particular dealer adds to the diminished material costs. The intension to conquer the raw materials at the minimized prices reduces the quality of the materials which eventually leads to less worth products. This puts pressure on the supply chain of UNIQLO. The decision of UNIQLO to dissect the supply chain in order to differentiate the areas of highest and lowest costs gave way for the mismatching of the coordination between the dissected supply chains. It was concluded that reduction in the number of fabrics, designs and cuts resulted in cost effective mass production. As Hoffman and Wimbish (2009) state, changing to mass production encourages the sacrifice of style and excitement which would have an effect on the supply chain (p.10). According to the ‘Product Life Cycle’ theory, the commencement of a product in the market attains utmost customers du ring the business enlargement (The Product Life Cycle PLC). To illustrate, subsequent to the market stabilization, the product becomes mature. Gradually superior competitors overtake the product which leads to the declination and eventually the pulling out of the product. As per the ‘Product Life Cycle’ theory every product goes by the introduction, growth, maturity and decline stages. The desire of mass production and low cost production should not be a barrier for the essence of the quality of products being produced. Effective managerial strategies are one of the key issues to minimize the pressures on the supply chain such as framing of an effective managerial team with innovative thoughts, online feedback collection of the customers etc. Store revolution and streamlining product offerings would add to the efficiency. In the view of ‘Product Life Cycle’ theory product and brand differentiation play vital role in the maturity stage of a product. Product promotion and media utilization becomes essential aspect when the product is in the decline stage. Hence the maturity strategy of PLC needs to be considered during the encouragement of product offer. 3. Online customer engagement refers to the interaction between customers and company through an online medium. It enables the company to market their products and identify the changing tastes and preferences of the customers through online feed back collection. It is the least expensive

Introduction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 9

Introduction - Essay Example Such as enhancing my vocabulary, encouraging powerful writing skills and ensuring wide-ranged career opportunities and advancement options so that I could become stable in the future. Personally, I was keen on improving my command on English language, and the course offered me this opportunity. Emails are extremely important nowadays at any workplace since communications by email are conducted daily. Reading and Writing emails is an essential tool in my company too. Writing email is itself an art and effective writing skills are necessary to write eloquent emails. However, I would primarily focus on improving not just my written but verbal communication skills in English language too so that getting along with others effectively becomes possible for me. I find it difficult to convey my ideas in a clear and precise manner both on paper or during speech and listeners/readers cannot correctly comprehend what I am trying to express and deliver through my thoughts. It has been pretty challenging for me to communicate effectively in written and/or spoken English writing or speaking because it is my second language. However, I plan to overcome this language barrier as it causes a dilemma for me every day. I have taken too many courses to help me out in this context, and I plan to learn more in this class. I am sure it will take a lot of time and dedication to accomplish that, but I am looking forward to it. My main focuses in life are school, work, and most of my free time is spent reading. If I find the title and the theme interesting, I just read it without caring about who is the author. My favourite reading materials are the ones that have some underlying message such as which teach me how to become a better person. Topics like etiquette, human relationships, and personal fitness are some of my preferences. I have always believed

Article review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Article review - Essay Example For example: In motivation and self-directed learning; the author stated that allowing the students to read instructions or to decide their preferred learning strategy could trains them to be self-directed learners as it increases student’s motivation, sense of competence, reading comprehension, and strategy use. Article III – The literature part is comprehensive since it provides general information such as the races that migrates to Portugal in the past up to now; the national institutional regulations on the academic achievements of migrant children; etc. Article III – Quantitative survey questionnaires were used to gather data required to test the correlation among the variables related to socio-economic status, nationality, and the history of their family migration with school performance. The authors adopted Portes and Rumbaut’s (2001) questionnaire design. Article III – A total of 1,843 respondents participated in the survey. Respondents are composed of 53% Portuguese children, 44.3% immigrant children, and 1.9% emigrants. Target respondents are students between the age bracket of 14 to 24 including few students who are about to turn 14 years old. The authors did not mention whether they have randomly selected the respondents from the state secondary schools in Oeiras – a municipal located in the Greater Lisbon Metropolitan Area in Portugal. Article III – Aside from testing the variables related to socio-economic status, nationality, and the history of their family migration with school performance, the researchers used two-fold category for children born in Portugal of first generation immigrant parents; and those born abroad with the exception that those who were born abroad and came to Portugal before the age of six were included in the first category. The purpose of categorizing the respondents is to test whether migration is a factor for

Communication psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Communication psychology - Essay Example Adequate advertising and promotional activities are the key marketing strategies that increase the brand awareness of every individual product of an organization. Advertising is a tool of marketing communication that used to persuade, encourage and manipulate the Audiences to take some new purchasing decisions. Moreover, the purpose of advertising is to reassure the shareholders or employees that an organization is successful or viable enough (Silvera 2004). The desired result of advertising is to drive the consumer buying behaviour with respect to commercial offering. Commercial advertiser habitually seek to produce increased consumption of their goods and services through branding that involves relating a product logo or product name with certain qualities in the minds of Audiences. Non-profit organizations may depend on the form of persuasion, such as PSA. The non-commercial advertisers who spend capitals to promote their products and services other than consumer goods or services include interest groups, governmental agencies, political parties and religious organizations (Silvera 2004). There are various techniques used in creating an effective advertisement for a product in the market. Advertising is most evident on TV, radio, the internet, newspapers, magazines and many other places. Advertising targets specific people or an Audience in specific places like the billboards, the subway, buses, emails, mailings and in store announcements. Some products also act like advertisements themselves like T-shirts, video games, products in movies, vending machines just to mention a few. The advert aims are to reassure customers who have already purchased the product for its continuous production; customer loyalty, get the attention of non-users to start using, to create an image for a product in the market and finally to persuade the customer to purchase the product (Silvera 2004). Transfer of knowledge and

Do you agree that students should be paid for receiving good grades Essay

Do you agree that students should be paid for receiving good grades - Essay Example Parents present the cases of positive influence, which this strategy has on their kids. However, this method is not so harmless and effective. The given paper will prove that paying money for good marks is not the best way to make children study well. Money should not be a stimulus for everything Now many parents are sure that money can serve as a stimulus for children to be more concentrated on study. Thus, they pay for each good grade. It really works: a child has a clear understanding; if he or she completes this or that task well, he or she will be rewarded. Parents think that their kids focus on school, try to do their best to have good marks and it seems that there is nothing bad in the parents’ intentions. However, the question is the following: whether this focus on school and study is a conscious desire to gain knowledge or just a method to earn money and then get some pleasure. The second stimulus is much more probable. Moreover, children may start believing that mon ey is the most important thing in the world and the consequences of such belief can be very negative. The long-term effect will not be received Undoubtedly, kids would be happy with introducing such system of financial incentives. At first children will do their best to earn much money, but the question is whether this desire to study well will be constant during the whole learning process. It is also important to understand how children treat money: as a reward or as a salary for going to school. Parents should determine what results they would like to get by using such methods. A wish to study, not money, should be the primary motivation In the majority of cases money is one of the most desirable things for children of all ages. Children would like to have their personal money, in order to spend it for what they want. It sounds like a step into the adult life. In such a way parents can cultivate the feeling of independence in their children, and try to show the correlation between such processes as doing and getting. â€Å"The money doesn't come easily, but it sure motivates students to work hard in school -- both for the dollars and the prestige† (Ivanova). The child begins to understand, that if a person would like to get something, he or she should take some effort. It sounds good from this point of view, nevertheless parents should be very attentive as this desire to get money risks to develop into obsession or become the only method in force. There are students in each class, who are not doing well at school, who have unsatisfactory behavior and who are always under the teachers’ control. It is obvious that parents can hardly change anything with the help of the money. The problem has much deeper roots. Children who get used to get some expensive things from their parents can hardly be motivated by them. If parents just deprive them of gifts, they will only manipulate their children and will not gain results. Parents should find arguments in order to evoke a wish to study, a wish to get knowledge and to become a full-fledged member of the society. Conclusion To sum it up, it is essential to remind the words from the Bible about the money: what does uneducated person want to have money for, if he does not want to get any wisdom? This statement perfectly explains the parents’ endeavors to encourage their kids. Money should not serve as a primary goal. Parent should try to motivate their children, to explain to them the benefits of being educated, instead of making them study under

Environment assignment 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Environment assignment 2 - Essay Example This would greatly reduce the ability of many firms in Botswana to achieve their goals, ultimately leading to lower GDP and increased poverty. d) Western governments can integrate HIV/AIDS in funding proposals so that they the Less Developed Countries (LDCs) can use these monies to boost their internal efforts in combating the spread and negative impact of AIDS. In addition to this the developed world could sponsor building of capacity in health institutions through training health practitioners on modern ways of tackling pandemics, overcoming stigma and promotion of safe sex campaigns. Giving money alone to LDCs without the necessary human capacity to manage it well would be ineffective. Question 2 According to Kriebel et al. (2001) the precautionary principle consist of four central components: taking preventive action in the face of uncertainty; shifting the burden of proof to the proponents of an activity; exploring a wide range of alternatives to possibly harmful actions; and increasing public participation in decision making. With this in mind, we agree that should one wish to introduce a new chemical or a new industrial process, he or she must demonstrate that their change will not harm the environment before proceeding. For starters, as it is now evident to the world, the pace of efforts to combat problems such as climate change, ecosystem degradation, and resource depletion is too slow and that environmental and health problems continue to grow more rapidly than society’s ability to identify and correct them. This therefore means that we cannot afford to compound these problems by allowing more untested products or processes to be started when we already have a backlog of issues to solve. Kriebel and Tickner (2001) concur with this argument when they state that the precautionary principle helps us to avoid creating new problems as we solve the existing ones. By shifting the burden of proof to proponents of an idea, the precautionary principl e prevents the proponents from hurriedly investing in technologies or techniques for a â€Å"quick buck†. Proponents are forced to think through all things that they may propose. This self-check mechanism is regulated from abuse by an increased stakeholder participation, which is advocated for by the precautionary principle. Question 3 In the most comprehensive, peer-reviewed and quantitative climate-health assessment to date, the World Health Organization (WHO) examined the global burden of disease already attributable to anthropogenic climate change up to the year 2000. The study found that this â€Å"global warming† could already be causing over 150,000 deaths and approximately five million ‘disability-adjusted life years’ (DALYs) per year through increasing incidences of diseases especially in developing countries (Patz, Campbell-Lendrum, Holloway, & Foley, 2005). This, however, does not imply that the developed states are risk-free. On the contrary, large increases in heat waves (more devastating than the 2003 Europe heatwaves) have been projected for the USA and European countries (Patz et al., 2005). On the other hand, global warming may not be all doom and gloom. According to â€Å"What Are the Benefits of Global Warming?,† (n.d.) global warming could increase the amount of land available by reducing the Polar Regions. This would lead to provision of more land for production of food crops, crops to be used for generating alternative fuels and land for living. Others argue that it would

Cooking to Become a Chef Essay Example for Free

Cooking to Become a Chef Essay Cooking for me is my way of expressing myself. It gives me a chance as a person to show my friends and family what I’m good at and what I love to do. I haven’t always enjoyed the art of cooking. With cooking, I have learned to prepare different types of meals using different methods, ingredients, a potpourri of equipment and seasonings. Food seasoning is a personal trademark you create and eventually it classifies you to either be prominent as a chef or just a plain Jane Suzy homemaker who cooks for her family only for the fact that we all need to eat. Experimenting is what got me where I am at today. My mother was a diabetic so the meals were prepared with a bland taste, no seasonings, with just a tad bit of pepper, nothing more. When I started cooking I hated it for the simple fact I didn’t know how. I had to follow recipes even for macaroni and cheese. It wasn’t until I met my husband and his family that I started to enjoy cooking because the meals were starting to taste better and I was learning how to make them taste better. He and his family slowly taught me how to cook and when to use seasoning and how much to use. At first, my meals were a work in progress. As the years went on, I have learned to use my eyes and taste buds for measuring cups and spoons. That’s what helps create your own â€Å"cooking signature†. As you learn to cook, you learn to shy away from some or all of the exact measurements in order to create your signature. For some, cooking is just another everyday back breaking chore, a necessity to always haven to follow a recipe, precisely measuring each ingredient, to the point of the great inventor of the microwave ovens. For others it comes natural, a passion they thrive to live on by creating their own â€Å"cooking signature†. Coming to mind are a couple of brilliant and extraordinary chefs that are indulgingly reliable. These two men have countless awards, degrees, own restaurants, shows and cookbooks to show and prove their overwhelming credibility’s. They are Wolfgang puck and Bobby Flay. Neither of the two were born to cook, none of us are. Some talents came naturally while the rest they learned and were taught. Both men attended Le Cordon Bleu and both men are featured on the food network. I may not have earned any degrees or awards such as a Michelin star or chef of the year and did not attend a culinary institute like they have, however, my cooking now exceeds my friends and families expectations. The qualities of an excellent educational resource would have to include tips and the breakdowns of recipes or step by step instructions for them. Pictures or video tutorials are also very helpful to one who’s learning the art of cooking. Tutorials show you step by step from preparing to serving the dish or meal. I have found two out of thousands of resources that have all the educational resources needed as well as countless credibility and qualifications to help you succeed as a prominent chef. These two would be, Le Cordon Bleu, a culinary institute and the Food Network a television show on cable and the food network also has a very useful website, www. foodnetwork. com . The food network website is filled with a massive amount of information that is accurate and full of every resource there is needed for and about cooking. The food network is a unique lifestyle network and Web site that endeavors to be more than just cooking. The network is devoted to exploring new and different ways to tackle food through pop culture, contests, adventure, and travel while also increasing its repertoire of technique-based information. Food Network is strewed to more than 96 million U. S. households and averages more than seven million Web site users monthly. With its headquarters in New York City and branches in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit and Knoxville, Food Network can be seen internationally in Canada, Australia, Korea, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Monaco, Andorra, Africa, France, and the French-speaking territories in the Caribbean and Polynesia. Le Cordon Bleu, www. LeCordonBleu. com, is an extremely accredited culinary institute. The school is constantly keeping their courses up to date and actively adapting to current and future needs of culinary services. The schools graduates leave the school with a diploma that is acknowledged around the world. That has been proven by both Flay and Puck. The culinary institute is solely dedicated to the appreciation and mastery of culinary arts to the their students who study there from over 70 countries around the world. This is where I would want to further my culinary learning, to gain more knowledge; they are one of the top culinary institutes. Qualifications of the resources should include Awards, culinary degrees, owning of their own restaurants with worldwide recognition. They should be well respected, well known with credibility too. Trademarks and copyrights also makes these resources important and credible. We want to make sure our resources are also current and up to date. However, cooking has been a part of our lives undoubtedly forever. Resources such as cookbooks are for the most part revised after some time, but not always. So see, there are numerous and countless educational and reliable resources out there for everyone, from beginner to expert. With a little bit of research one could capture the success of becoming an artistic cook. Learning new ideas and tricks, or just wanting to better yourself in your own kitchen, whatever the case may be, No one should ever have to struggle with cooking. With a little bit of patients anyone can learn how to cook.

An analysis of the key factors that influence the levels of motivation

An analysis of the key factors that influence the levels of motivation The purpose of this study are the motivational factors that Shell Pakistan use to motivates its employees to work in different departments. I have taken five departments: Sales, Marketing, Finance, HR and Production department. As around 300 people work in Shell and to motivate them shell uses different motivational theories which may include Alderfers ERG Theory, McClellands Theory of Needs, Equity Theory, Expectancy Theory. These are the following motivational factors that these departments practice continuously to motivate employees. Employee Appraisal Intrinsic Awards Employee Involvement Skill-based Pay Plans Flexible Benefits Benefits programme Training provision Time off and time out Our diverse global community Sports and social activities Listening to our employees After the analysis of complete survey we can conclude that employees of SHELL PAKISTAN enjoys different attributes of Motivation like they have Job Satisfaction as they believe they have personal and professional growth opportunities, they feel they have empowerment. They have very skillful, high-quality and superior working environment. They believe that their performance is appreciated will result in reward as SHELL PAKISTAN is having EDR system. The one thing that may be a cause of de-motivation is SHELL PAKISTAN does not offer tailored benefits. CORPORATE PROFILE Second Largest oil marketing company in Pakistan with an average turnover of over US$3.4 billion and market share of over 24% in black oil and 35% in white oil. Blue chip organization with market capitalization of around Rs. 44 billion {US$ 755 million} contributing US$ 873 million to the national exchequer. Regained market leadership in Mogas during FY 04 by elevating market share to 44% Set financial landmarks over the last 4 years with earnings almost doubled from Rs.2.3 billion to Rs. 7.06 billion maximizing shareholders value. Only Pakistani corporation to become member of the World Economic Forum based on stringent and forward looking criteria. Only company in Pakistan whose turnaround and remarkable performance is cited in various case studies both locally and internationally. Around 3,800 retail outlets across the country including 1,000 New Vision outlets commissioned within five years. Vast infrastructure of 9 installations and 23 depots from Karachi to Chitral and a supply chain supported by 2000 strong tank-lorry fleet and 950 railway wagons. Extensive storage capacity, almost 15% of total national storage, i.e. around 160,000 metric tons. A company fully aware of HSE standards and using these as part of continuous improvement process. ISO 9001:2000 certification of major retail outlets, Mobile Quality Testing Units and key installations/ depots and ISO 14001:1996 distinction for Kemari Terminal C. Leading National Company committed to support ongoing or innovative social and charitable projects in the field of education, health, welfare, women empowerment, etc. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 COMPANY INTRODUCTION 7 1.1 Introduction 7 1.2 Vision Evaluation 8 1.3 Values 8 1.4 Responsibilities: 8 1.5 Future Engagements 9 2 MOTIVATION IN ORGANIZATION 11 2.1 Definition 11 2.2 Motivation Process 11 2.3 Employee Motivation at Workplace 11 3 MOTIVATIONAL THEORIES ADOPTED AT SHELL PAKISTAN 13 3.1 Alderfers ERG Theory 13 3.1.1 Difference between Maslows Hierarchy of Need Alderfers 13 3.1.2 Alderfers ERG Theory AT SHELL PAKISTAN 14 3.1.3 Relatedness 15 3.1.4 Growth 15 3.2 Equity Theory 16 3.2.1 Theory Overview 16 3.2.2 Equity Theory AT SHELL PAKISTAN 18 3.3 Expectancy Theory 18 3.3.1 Theory Overview: 18 3.3.2 Expectancy Flowchart: 19 3.3.3 Expectancy Theory AT SHELL PAKISTAN 20 4 OTHER MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS AT SHELL PAKISTAN 21 4.1 Employee Appraisal 21 4.2 Intrinsic Awards at SHELL PAKISTAN 23 4.3 Employee Involvement 24 4.3.1 Employee Involvement AT SHELL PAKISTAN 24 4.4 Flexible Benefits 25 4.4.1 Retirement Plans 25 4.4.2 Health Insurance 26 4.4.3 Unexpected Conditions 26 4.4.4 Rightsizing 27 4.5 De-motivated Employees 27 4.5.1 Counseling 27 4.5.2 Career Development 27 5 SURVEY DETAILS 28 5.1 Job Satisfaction 28 5.2 Work Environment 30 5.3 Employee Empowerment 32 5.4 Performance Appraisal Satisfaction 33 5.5 Flexible Benefits 35 6 CONCLUSION 36 7 RECOMMENDATION 38 8 APPENDIX A: Survey Questionnaire 39 COMPANY INTRODUCTION Introduction The history of Shell as a brand name in South Asia is more than 100 years old. Shell brand name dating back to 1899 when Asiatic Petroleum, the marketing arm of two companies: Shell Transport Company and Royal Dutch Petroleum Company began their imports of kerosene oil from Azerbaijan in South Asia. Till today, the heritage of the past is noticeable in a market of South Asia since 1898 In 1928, to make their distribution capability efficient effective, the market concentration of  Royal Dutch Shell plc and the Burma Oil Company Limited in sub-continent had merged and Burma Shell Oil Storage Distribution Company of sub-continent was born. After the independence of Islamic Republic of Pakistan in 1947, the name changed to the Burma Shell Oil Distribution Company of Pakistan. During 1970, when 51% of the shareholding was transferred to Pakistani investors, the name changed to Pakistan Burma Shell (PBS) Limited. The Shell and the Burma Groups retained the remaining 49% in equal propositions. In February 1993, as economic liberalization began to take root and the Burma provided opportunity to Pakistani Investors by divesting from PBS, Shell Petroleum (Pakistan) stepped into raise its shareholding to 51%. The years 2001-2 have seen the Shell Petroleum Company successively increasing its stake, with the Group now having a 76% stake in Shell Pakistan Ltd (SPL) an expr ession of confidence Shell has an over 100 years presence in the Subcontinent http://www.shell.com.pk/home/content/pak/aboutshell/who_we_are/history/history_logo/ (Date:26-11-2010, Time:18:00) Vision Evaluation The Vision of Shell as a company related to energy industry have been very strict focused to competition. The futuristic approach has let to the group in investing innovating different sources of energy apart from oil petroleum. Values We set high standards of performance and ethical behaviour that we apply internationally. The Shell General Business Principles, Code of Conduct and Code of Ethics help everyone at Shell act according to our core values of honesty, integrity and respect for people and to comply with relevant legislation and regulations. http://www.shell.com.pk/home/content/pak/aboutshell/who_we_are/our_values_and_principles/ (Date: 26-11-2010, Time: 21:00) Responsibilities: Shell Pakistan put its total efforts to implement its core values and ethical conduct by fulfilling its responsibilities expectations to its employees, customers, investors, shareholders to society. Employees: Shell Pakistan always puts the safety security of its employees first. This depicts that the organization has a deep concern for its employees value the work efforts by which it wants to achieve success. Customers: The organization has a high motive to attract retain customers by providing them the products that are competitive in price of high standards in quality. The competition in energy sector has been highly focused by Shell investments in innovative products have always been there. Investors: It is important for Shell Pakistan that its investors base remains supportive to the organization so that when it needs to expand or restructure any of its function or component, the business always have financial support to effectively pursue that. Shareholders: Shareholders are the real owners of the organization. Shell Pakistan makes most of its efforts to protect shareholders investments provide them with competitive benefits of long term (capital growth) short term returns (dividends). To Society: There are many aspects of responsibility to society. Some of them are Corporate, Environmental sustainability concern for general people that the business directly or indirectly effects to. Shell Pakistan has clear policies for it sustainability has participated in flood relief in Pakistan by providing aids to the most effected. http://www.shell.com.pk/home/content/pak/aboutshell/media_centre/news_and_media_releases/2010/flood_2010.html (Date: 26-11-2010, Time: 13:49) Future Engagements To engage in backward integration by acquiring a major National Refinery. This has a capacity of 2.8 million tons of which sales to SHELL PAKISTAN are 25%. To develop a white oil pipeline in collaboration with major POL companies so as to eliminate transportation inefficiencies. Invest in the business of coal mining to capture a lucrative fuel source to which most consumers are switching. MOTIVATION IN ORGANIZATION Definition No other topic in the field of Organizational Behavior (OB) has received as much attention as the subject of motivation. . (FTC, 2009) Motivation can be defined in a variety of ways, depending on whom you ask. If you ask someone on the street, you may get a response like, Its what drives us or Motivation is what makes us do the things we do. As far as a formal definition, motivation can be defined as forces within an individual that account for the level, direction, and persistence of effort expended at work, according. (Parsons and Maclaran, 2009) This is an excellent working definition for use in business. Now that we understand what motivation is, we can look at the factors that help managers to be able to motivate and then a look at some of the theories on motivation. (Latham, 2007) Motivation Process Unsatisfied need => Tension => Drives => Search Behavior => Satisfied needs => Reduction of tension => New unsatisfied needs (Adair, 2009) Employee Motivation at Workplace Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. Jim Ryun The job of a manager in the workplace is to get things done through employees. To do this the manager should be able to motivate employees. But thats easier said than done! Motivation practice theories are difficult subjects, touching on several disciplines. . (FTC, 2009) In spite of enormous research, basic as well as applied, the subject of motivation is not clearly understood and more often than not poorly practiced. To understand motivation one must understand human nature itself. And there lies the problem! Human nature can be very simple, yet very complex too. An understanding and appreciation of this is prerequisite to effective employee motivation in the workplace and therefore effective management and leadership (Latham, 2007) . There is an old saying You can take a horse to the water but you cannot force it to drink; he will drink if he is thirsty That is also the case with people; they will do what they want to do or otherwise motivated to do, whether it is to excel on the workshop floor or in the ivory tower. The people or employees must be motivated or driven to it, either by themselves or through external stimulus. (Adair 2009 Leadership and Motivation) Are they born with the self-motivation or drive? Yes and no. if no, they can be motivated, for motivation is a skill, which can and must be learnt. This is essential for any business to survive and succeed. Performance is considered to be a function of ability and motivation, thus Job Performance = f (ability) (motivation) Ability in turn depends on education, experience and training and its improvements is a slow and long process. On the other hand motivation can be improved quickly. There are many options and an uninitiated manager may not even know where to start. As a guideline, there are broadly seven strategies for motivation. Positive reinforcement / high expectations Effective discipline and punishment Treating people fairly Satisfying employees needs Setting work related goals Restructuring jobs Base rewards on job performance These are the basic strategies, though the mix in the final recipe will vary from workplace situation to situation. Essentially, there is a gap between an individuals actual state and some desired state and the manager tries to reduce this gap (Latham, 2007) Motivation is, in effect, a means to reduce and manipulate this gap. It is inducing others in a specific way towards goals specifically stated by the motivator. Naturally, these goals as also the motivation system must conform to the corporate policy of the organization. The motivational system must be tailored to the situation and to the organization. (Adair, 2009) SHELL PAKISTAN is a huge setup and has about 2000 employees. To keep all of its employees motivated is a very complex task, because of the large number of employees and as each employee has his/her own personality. It becomes virtually impossible to devise techniques that match the personality of all the employees. So for this purpose they have certain procedures and policies jointly for all the employees of the organization. MOTIVATIONAL THEORIES ADOPTED AT SHELL PAKISTAN Alderfers ERG Theory Alderfers theory is called the ERG theory Existence, Relatedness, and Growth. Alderfers ERG Theory can well be compared with Maslows Hierarchy of Need Theory cause Alderfers has tried to cover all the points as discussed by Maslows with a little change, which is discussed below. . (FTC, 2009) Existence: Existence refers to our concern with basic material existence requirements; what Maslows called physiological and safety needs. Relatedness: Refers to the desire we have for maintaining interpersonal relationships; similar to Maslows social/love need, and the external component of his esteem need. Growth: Refers to an intrinsic desire for personal development; the intrinsic component of Maslows esteem need, and self-actualization. (Latham, 2007) Difference between Maslows Hierarchy of Need Alderfers Alderfers ERG theory differs from Maslows Need Hierarchy insofar as ERG theory demonstrates that more than one need may be operative at the same time. ERG theory does not assume a rigid hierarchy where a lower need must be substantially satisfied before one can move on. (FTC, 2009) ERG Theory argues, like Maslows that satisfied lower-order needs lead to desire to satisfy higher-order needs; but multiple needs can be operating as motivators at the same time, and frustration in attempting to satisfy a higher-level need can result in regression to a lower-level need. (Adair, 2009) Alderfers ERG Theory AT SHELL PAKISTAN Existence SHELL PAKISTAN gratifies the need for existence and the employees at SHELL PAKISTAN think that their basic needs are being satisfied but they dont seem to be completely satisfied with it especially with the material rewards that they get. For e.g. Average Salary The employees at SHELL PAKISTAN are not satisfied with their salaries and they consider it to be average. This view is strongly found in the lower grade employees and the contractual employees. Though the upper level employees that include the Departmental Heads, General Managers and above seem to be much satisfied with what they are paid. Excellent Working Environment Though the average salary seems to be de-motivating factor for the low level employees and the contractual employees but due to the excellent working environment that SHELL PAKISTAN provides, these employees seem to be seldom de-motivated. It was surprising for us to find that there had been various employees who just wanted to work in SHELL PAKISTAN because of the working environment they provide regardless of what they are paid and what job responsibilities are they given. This turned out to be one of SHELL PAKISTANS strongest points. Job Security Working at SHELL PAKISTAN seems to be a secure job as far as the permanent and high-level employees are concerned but the contractual employees never find it to be as secure. But due to job security being a major issue in Pakistan today, these contractual employees were hesitant to voice their complaint. (Latham, 2007) Insurance Medical Benefits All permanent employees at SHELL PAKISTAN enjoy the Life Insurance and Medical Benefits that are entitled to them. In contrast the contractual employees; realizing the downward trend in the economy, just want a stable job regardless of the insurance and medical benefits provided by SHELL PAKISTAN. (Latham, 2007) Employee Safety The employee safely is given top most importance and they also have an emergency evacuation system with which the entire organization can be evacuated within minutes. The employees also given various training and sometimes perform various drills for employee safety. The employee seems to be satisfied with the safety that SHELL PAKISTAN provides to them. Relatedness These needs are social in nature and they are about the interpersonal relationships of the staff. Good Working Relationship At SHELL PAKISTAN, these needs are quite well satisfied since the employees have a good working relationship even though there is an air of competency surrounding them. Self Differences between High Level Employee It has also been noticed that few of the high level employees at organization have some self differences that are developed due to status problems and ownership problems which effect the process of maintaining a good interpersonal relationship but then again the high level employees are professionals and they tend to forget these difference when they meet each other a global level. (Latham, 2007) Company Events and Privileges All employees are given the special privilege to join and use the SHELL PAKISTAN club, gym, attend in Company events, dinner etc thus allowing them to intermingle with each more. Growth The permanent and high-level employees are satisfied with the growth opportunities that SHELL PAKISTAN provides them every now and then. Training Employee training workshops are conducted on a need basis. Trainings are carried out in areas such as: Improvement of Business Communication skills Usage of new Computer software Encourages Ideas Employees are encouraged to put forward any creative, beneficial ideas. If the idea seems to be attractive, SHELL PAKISTAN gives the employees the opportunity to implement the idea. This turns out to be a very encouraging and motivating approach for the employees and later on the employees are rewarded if the idea is implemented well. (Latham, 2007) Employee Job Rotation For the purpose of employee growth and increase in motivation, employees are often rotated within or between departments. Equity Theory Theory Overview Equity (or inequity) is a psychological state residing within an individual. It creates a feeling of dissonance that the individual attempts to resolve in some manner (Latham, 2007) Equity is a social comparison process, resulting when individuals compare their pay to the pay of others. There is no rational or single equitable pay rate for any given job or individual. Equity is a subjective evaluation, not an objective one. Based on the comparisons that an individual uses, each individual is likely to develop different perceptions of equity. (Latham, 2007) The comparisons that individuals use tend to fall into four classes of comparison: Self Inside: An employees experiences in a different position inside his current organization. (Adair, 2009) Self outside: An employees experiences in a different position outside his current organization. Other Inside: Another Individual or group of individuals inside the employees organization. Other Outside: Another Individual or group of individuals outside the employees organization. (Latham, 2007) Individuals determine equity by comparing their contributions (job inputs) and their rewards (job outcomes) to those of their comparisons. This comparison takes the form of a ratio and if this ratio is in balance, the individual perceives equity. Inequity is experienced when ratio is out of balance. Thus when an individual perceives that his/her contribution is equal to the comparison and his/her reward is lower or his/ her contribution is greater and reward is equal, inequity is felt. (Latham, 2007) The individual responses to inequity include: Leaving the organization Reduction in performance, generally extra role behavior Attempting to increase ones pay Attempting to reduce the performance of others Rationalization- perceptually altering reward and/or contribution What do individuals view as relevant contributions? Given the perceptual nature of equity, the answer varies with each individual; however, contributions fall into a number of categories: Job contributions Include the factors that differentiate one job from another. They typically include responsibility, skills, education, and working conditions required by the job itself. (e.g., individuals working in jobs requiring greater levels of responsibility generally expect higher levels of pay). (Parson and Maclaran, 2009) Personal contributions Include attributes the individuals bring to the organization that they believe differentiate them from others such as experience, longevity and extra education (e.g., individuals with greater seniority often expect higher levels of pay). Performance contributions Include the extra effort/results that differentiate one employee from another (e.g., individuals who perceive that their performance is better than others with whom they work, often believe they are entitled to higher levels of pay. (Latham, 2007) Typical Management interests Managers generally define pay-related problems in terms of their behavioral consequences (turnover or performance). Therefore, inequity itself is not generally viewed as a management problem unless it appears to be related to turnover of reduced performance. Since the links between turnover and pay are often much clearer than those between pay and extra role behavior, turnover often becomes the only managerial focus. Therefore, typical management interests relate to keeping the employees who it deems valuable.(Latham, 2007) Typical Employee Interests From the employee perspective, the perception of inequity is a problem in itself. A unions interests lies in achieving equity for the greatest number of its members, regardless of their ability to leave the organization. In fact, it is a unions responsibility to bargain for the interests of those with limited individual power or marketability. Low morale is often a consequence of inequity. Even when low morale is not manifested in turnover, reduced performance, to reluctance to take on extra duties, from the employee perspective, it is still viewed as a problem. (Adair, 2009) Equity Theory AT SHELL PAKISTAN Employee Performance Appraisal Employee performance appraisal procedure is highly accountable thus leaving no chance of inequity among employees. Employee Salary Evaluation An employees educational qualification is given highest importance when evaluating salary. It may be possible that a lower grade employee, within the same or different department, has a higher salary than someone in an immediately higher grade. Thus inequity sometimes arises among employees working in a higher group within the same or different departments. (Parsons and Maclaran, 2009) Expectancy Theory Theory Overview: The expectancy theory argues that the strength of a tendency to act in a certain way depends on the strength of an expectation that the act will be followed by a given outcome and on the attractiveness of that outcome to the individual. In more practical terms this theory says That an employee will be motivated to exert a high level of effort when he or she believes that the effort will lead to a good performance appraisal; that a good performance appraisal will lead to organizational rewards like a bonus, a salary increase, or a promotion; and that the rewards will satisfy the employees personal goals (Latham, 2007) Expectancy The expectancy is the belief that ones effort will result in attainment of desired performance goals. This belief, or perception, is generally based on an individuals past experience, self-confidence (often termed self-efficiency) and the perceived difficulty of the performance standard or goals. (Adair, 2009) Instrumentality The extent of individuals belief of performing at a particular level will lead to the attainment of a desired outcome. Valance The extent of attractiveness of rewards offered by an organization that must satisfy an individuals requirements retain them by prospect potential development within career organization. Example Include: Do I want a bigger raise? Is it worth the extra effort? Do I want a promotion? Expectancy Flowchart: (Vroom  V H.  (1964) Work And Motivation) Valence Instrumentality Expectancy OUTCOME PERFORMANCE EFFORT REWARD Expectancy Theory states that the strength of a tendency to act in a certain way depends on the strength of expectation that an act will be followed by a given outcomes and on the attractiveness of that outcome to the individual. (Parsons and Maclaran, 2009) Expectancy Theory AT SHELL PAKISTAN At SHELL PAKISTAN the employees believe in maximum effort which leads to good performance which further results in the outcome in the form of rewards like a raise in income, promotion, performance appraisal letter etc that contribute towards their personal goals. Contractual Employee Views The contractual employees are also aware of this theory but they dont follow it because it has been found that their basic aim is to become a permanent employee. But becoming permanent employee doesnt entirely depend on the performance. It also depends if there is any permanent slot available. So the contractual employees are aware of the facts that even if they perform well, they cannot become permanent unless there is a slot available. So this serves as a very de-motivating factor for the contractual employees and this is the reason they dont hesitate to switch the job whenever they get even a slight better opportunity or a permanent place in some other organization. (Adair, 2009) Effort At SHELL PAKISTAN, the employees are aware of the fact that if they work competently and put their efforts, they will be able to attain the task performance, as the effort expanded by them will have a positive result. Performance When the employees of SHELL PAKISTAN put their efforts, they attain the desired performance level and consequently are evaluated on that ground. (Latham, 2007) Instrumentality: Instrumentality is also quite high in the company as the management assigns a certain % of work that the employees have to achieve, through which, they are evaluated at the time of dispensing rewards. The % of work is in terms of yearly goals, monthly goals and weekly goals. Rewards When the employees attain certain level of work performance gauged against the goals set at the start of the year, they are positively evaluated and get rewards in shape of annual increment; and organizational performance rewards etc. Valance: The employees attach a great deal of value to the rewards they get. The rewards are often in the form of a praise or recognition, to which the employees attach a great deal of significance. Monetary rewards are costly and require loads of time and energy. Therefore the management is not too keen on imparting such gifts. (Latham, 2007) OTHER MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS AT SHELL PAKISTAN Employee Appraisal At SHELL PAKISTAN, employee appraisals are conducted annually to evaluate their work related and personal performance. The process of appraisal works in various steps and the HRM department is proud to have such a system instilled in the company where no one objects to the appraisal process as its considered to be the fairest attempt of grading an employee in the company. The appraisal process is held in between the months of July and June every year. Increments and promotions are devised after this period that becomes effective from the month of October, the same year. Performance Appraisal at SHELL PAKISTAN is a six step approach. Step 1: SHELL PAKISTAN HR department have designed two forms named as Form 1A and form 1B to measure the milestone, target achievements that were made last year. This is done by comparing the goals set last year for each individual employee under their department. Once measured, it is sought out to what extent the company was successful in achieving its target. Also, targets are set for the next year on the basis of this measurement. Step 2: In the next step, HRM department does performance analysis by distributing to departmental heads and supervisors Form 2A and 2B (Collectively known as Employee Development Report) to measure the employees capabilities on 24 different attributes and of the attribute is rated on the scale of 1 to 5; summary of these points is reflected in the table below Rating Point Summary 1 Inadequate, Not satisfactory 2 Marginal, Below Average 3 Average 4 Above Average 5 Outstanding The 24 different attributes are divided in to key 4 sections; a summary of those is listed below: Employee Development Report (EDR) A What did the employee accomplish? Quality of work Cost objective Profit objective Develop people Commitment to company vision, value and corporate objective B Gets the job done Planning Organizational communication Analysis

Strategic Business Plan

Strategic Business Plan Developing a Strategic Business Plan Either in the start up process or when re-inventing ones business development, the design of a strategic business plan is an indispensable step towards a successful and viable business. Strategic planning involves setting up a sound and multifaceted plan or strategy to follow over a defined time period.It can involve all aspects of the business, or just a small part of it i.e. a selected department such as the marketing department.However, this does not mean that strategic business planning is only for large scale businesses since it can also benefit the small business, especially at start up, when the business sets its first goals and establishes itself in the business landscape. Writing up a business plan is an important step of a starting business, since most lending bodies will not authorize loans in absense of a detailed business plan.Why is it important? Imagine sailing off for a voyage in the sea and not planning for resources or supplies that you might need. Developing a business plan is the only way to determine the allocation needs, personnel, utilities, marketing goals, outreach and all valuable aspects that make your business useful and unique in the sea of business. However, strategic planning is a process employed in any time period in a formal business administration, since it usually comprises of a long range planning process of a specific or broader managerial aspect, that will in a time-frame manner set the outline of the business goals and image and ultimately form its policy. To be successful, a strategic business plan, either at start up or as a means of sustainment of a particular policy, should provide with day to day reference for the decision making in organization and management of the business and should provide a template against which all decisions can be evaluated (Goodstein et al ,1993).Ackoffs (1981) typology of planning, provides with several points to the understanding of the planning process, identifies as a key step in the business or organizations decision to adhere to the long term goals of strategic planning.These are l Reactive planning ( planning through the rear view mirror) l Inactive (going with the flow) l Preactive or future planning l Proactive or designing the future planning. The most challenging and demanding type of planning is the proactive planning, which is based on the beleif that the organization or business itself, is responsible for shaping its future and thus can do differently i.e. to solve an anticipated problem.In order for an administration to sustain an applied strategic planning process in its midsts, it is anticipated that efforts are made to develop an openness for new ideas and allow for envisioning in serving the future. An area where envisioning is particularly useful is the mision development : who the business customers are, how will the business go about its tasks and the business raison detre. Moreover, the strategic planning process must be strongly intercalated with the organizational culture of the business, the latter being the social context in and through which the business performs its work. This connection will facilitate the easy transmission to the workers and administrators of the mission of the business, the specific operational goals and the means to acheive them. After the decision and contexts of the strategic planning are made, several steps are indispensable in the successful inplementation of the process: 1st setting the stage for planning: understanding the way planning works, the values scan and mission formulation 2nd Setting strategic business directions : strategic business modeling such as performance auditing, gap analysis 3rd Implementing the strategic plan : integrating action plans, contigency planning and implementation. In conclusion, a strategic business planning process is an expansion of the traditional business plan method towards the future developmentof the business, that formulates a strategy in anticipating change and maintaining its status in the business arena. Several steps are necessary in implementing a viable and successful strategy plan, most of which require serious documentation, market research and official design and control. In several examples in history, an inspired and well grounded strategy plan has been the means to ground-breaking enterpreneurships and immense success. REFERENCES: Ackoff (1981) Creating the corporate future. New York : John Riley Goodstein LD, Nolan T, Pfeiffer JW (1993) Applied strategic planning. Mc Graw Hill

Curiosity Killed a Friendship Essay -- Personal Narrative Essays

How many people wonder about holes in the ceiling and cracks on the floor? When did they happen? What caused them? Or what about when you see a cigarette in someone’s hand and ask yourself how do they feel about smoking even though they know it’s dangerous. And even if people do think about these things, why? For what purpose? I guess I do it out of boredom. But is boredom really an excuse? I mean, really, how bored can a person get? I don't believe it is boredom after all, probably curiosity, which can build to all sorts of lengths, and I believe it most certainly starts there. How else can you explain why I want to know what happened to a certain somebody when a certain somebody else, punches them in the eye? I am almost positive it isn’t boredom, but curiosity and that is where and how I try to make sense of this story. It begins on a nice hot October morning, with birds singing and flowers in full bloom, ok, not really. I live in Washington for crying out loud. But how awesome would it be if it worked out that way. It really would put something beautiful into this mesh of words. Actually it really didn't have a starting place, but starting people. A group of friends. All the people in this group and all the people that surrounded this group were a part of my life and some still are. I don't really understand why, but at first I really did enjoy hanging out with these people. I guess maybe because they were 'cool', but I mean we never really did anything cool. So basically we sat around pretending to be cool, because we were considered cool. Or maybe it was just the others that were considered cool. I really don't know, but pretending to be cool was just not all that cool to me. I don't understand how people can hang out w... ...re. Sadly, the infection, the disease had taken over me too. I had officially become part of the crew, in fact that one conversation, everything I hated about myself and anything else bestowed upon me had been poured out, through words on my phone. The girl I told this to was very upset and lost a friend. I went from the loved to the hated in a matter of a fifteen-minute conversation. And quite frankly I was so upset that I really didn't care to speak to any of them again. I decided not to do anything mean (wow, I really had become a bad person if I had to decide not to be mean). So maybe my story was pointless and you don't understand why I think curiosity is the cause of all things and why it kills all, but it killed my friendships, it killed my personality, it killed my life. But then she changed, a little, and we became friends again. Or at least I hope... ï Å'

Educational System :: essays research papers

â€Å"Educational System†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  High school is a place where you grow up physically and mentally. In high school you begin as freshmen and graduate as a senior. Throughout that span of life a lot happeneds, and you are constantly learning as you grow. But I know many high schools including mine are not perfect and have flaws in their educational system, that can be fixed in order to provide a better environment for learning. Learning is a never ending process that we draw from our personal experiences. Although Americans believe in our educational system, there seems to be many problems that we are not aware of that have a negative effect on our students as a whole. One problem that the educational system faces is the obstacle between school and life. Schools need to break down the barrier in order to connect, going to school to learn and living your life. The students should be told that learning doesn’t stop after the bell rings or it is time to go it is happening all the time. In â€Å"School Is Bad For Children†, John Holt states, â€Å"’You come to school to learn’, we tell him, as if the child hadn’t been learning before, as if living were out there and learning were in here, and there is no connection between the two† (34). I think schools sometimes play a role of being separate from life because they enforce the rule of ‘you come to school to learn’ and that is it. Children come to school curious to learn with other people, particularly other children, but when the school teaches them to be indifferent they lose interaction with the world. Holt explains, â€Å"You might say that school is a long lesson in how to turn yourself off, which may be one of the reasons why so many young people, seek the awareness of the world and responsiveness to it they had when they were little, think they can only find it in drugs† (35). Making the student disconnect from the real world, meaning life, allows the students to believe that drugs are ok, which is bad. School and living is a connecting subject because you are living your life while attending school, which can affect the way you are learning. Problems and other situation that are happening in your life can make you lose focus, which affects the way you learn. Letting school and learning connect will break the barrier and create a better environment for students to function. Educational System :: essays research papers â€Å"Educational System†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  High school is a place where you grow up physically and mentally. In high school you begin as freshmen and graduate as a senior. Throughout that span of life a lot happeneds, and you are constantly learning as you grow. But I know many high schools including mine are not perfect and have flaws in their educational system, that can be fixed in order to provide a better environment for learning. Learning is a never ending process that we draw from our personal experiences. Although Americans believe in our educational system, there seems to be many problems that we are not aware of that have a negative effect on our students as a whole. One problem that the educational system faces is the obstacle between school and life. Schools need to break down the barrier in order to connect, going to school to learn and living your life. The students should be told that learning doesn’t stop after the bell rings or it is time to go it is happening all the time. In â€Å"School Is Bad For Children†, John Holt states, â€Å"’You come to school to learn’, we tell him, as if the child hadn’t been learning before, as if living were out there and learning were in here, and there is no connection between the two† (34). I think schools sometimes play a role of being separate from life because they enforce the rule of ‘you come to school to learn’ and that is it. Children come to school curious to learn with other people, particularly other children, but when the school teaches them to be indifferent they lose interaction with the world. Holt explains, â€Å"You might say that school is a long lesson in how to turn yourself off, which may be one of the reasons why so many young people, seek the awareness of the world and responsiveness to it they had when they were little, think they can only find it in drugs† (35). Making the student disconnect from the real world, meaning life, allows the students to believe that drugs are ok, which is bad. School and living is a connecting subject because you are living your life while attending school, which can affect the way you are learning. Problems and other situation that are happening in your life can make you lose focus, which affects the way you learn. Letting school and learning connect will break the barrier and create a better environment for students to function.

The Pros and Cons of The Belmont Honor Code Essay -- Argumentative Per

The Pros and Cons of The Belmont Honor Code To thine own self be true, as Shakespeare writes, is the fundamental principle that defines honesty. Although a variety of factors influence one's decision to be honest, the primary reason to choose integrity is to be true to oneself. Part of being true to oneself is recognizing the need for individualism. Individualism is the state in which a person is able to take in the events of the surrounding world and discern for himself which practices he or she will participate in. The importance of individualism is engraved in Belmont University's purpose statement, yet it is unclear whether or not individualism is valued because of the university's new honor code system. Is forcing Belmont students to comply to an honor code enabling them to make decisions for their own individual selves? On the first page of Belmont's internet web site, one might assume that Belmont is a university that focuses solely on the individual. According to the statement on the web page introduction, "there is a strong distinction between capturing individual spirit and freezing it. It is the line that divides being squeezed into a mold and being cheered as you shape a life to fit yourself. There is no question on which side of the line you'll find Belmont University." Honor code or no honor code, establishing integrity is crucial to developing one's independent self. Often times, those who are dishonest depend on other humans to meet their spiritual and emotional needs. By choosing honesty as a personal choice instead of a mere compliance with Belmont's honor code, one is making the decision for oneself and therefore promoting one's individualism. In weighing the concep... ...ee a decline in academic dishonesty and a multitude of students will be so afraid of failing a class that they will choose to be honest. But, at the same time, how does each individual student benefit from that? Other than that fact that they may take the time to study and actually learn something, the Belmont community that promotes the spirit of the individual will have nothing but simulated honesty and very few students who truly are honest "individuals" by choice and not by force. Works Cited Baylor University Website. www.baylor.edu Belmont Undergraduate Bulletin. 1998-99. 13-56. Belmont University Website. www.belmont.edu. Moore, Susan. "Honor Code Holds Cheaters Accountable." Belmont Vision. 11 Sept. 98. 6. Vanderbilt University Website. www.vanderbilt.edu.

Investment Banking

Investment Banking in 2008 Group Report 1. Failure Analysis: Identify the major factors that contributed to Bear Stearns’s failure? Who stood to benefit from its implosion? How did Bear Stearns’s collapse differ from the ‘Long Term Capital Management’ failure a decade earlier? What could Bear Stearns have done differently to avoid this fate? In the early 2000’s? And during the summer of 2007? And during the week of March 10, 2008? (1) Identify the major factors that contributed to Bear Stearns’s failure? Bear’s somewhat cutthroat and renegade culture of maverick may have contributed a lot to their failure.This culture somehow made it killed by the credit crisis, while other investment banks survived. But the direct factors resulted in Bear’s implosion were the failure of Ralph Cioffi’s High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Fund and Enhanced Leverage High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Fund, which invested in sophisti cated credit derivatives backed by mortgage securities. And these failures cost Bear more than 1. 6 billion dollars to prop up two hedge funds. And the failures of two hedge funds led to a continuous questioning about Bear’s financial stability.At the same time, Bear concentrated its business on CDOs, which means it had high exposure to this item. Thus when credit crisis happened, it is significantly impacted. And in early 2008, Moody’s downgraded 163 tranches of mortgage backed bonds issued by Bear. Almost everyone realized that Bear will face liquidity problem. But meanwhile, Bear highly relied on repo to finance itself. When lender lost confidence in Bear, it failed in finding another effective way to find cash. In sum, the reasons above contributed to the failure of Bear in 2008 crisis. (2) Who stood to benefit from its implosion?JP Morgan is the beneficiary from Bear’s bankruptcy. It gained a company which had $172. 61 worth less than 8 months ago with an i ncredible low price of $10 a share. (3) How did Bear Stearns’s collapse differ from the ‘Long Term Capital Management’ failure a decade earlier? The origin in LTCM’s failure was the high-leveraged structure. It obtained excessive debt for the investment of the bonds. Simultaneously, the market capacity was not sufficient to support LTCM’s large bloated size. As time had gone, market competition and capacity diminished its profitability.But with such a high leverage, LTCM had no other choice but to gain enough profit to move on. Therefore, they got a foot into some unfamiliar area. Meanwhile, as to the trading strategy, LTCM held a large quantity of asset with low liquidity. However, situation was different from what they had predicted. Big loss happened eventually, but LTCM could not sell asset for enough cash. It inevitably had to go bankruptcy. High leverage structure of Bear’s hedge fund also had great impact on its collapse. But the awful strategy of Bear’s management should blame most for its bankruptcy.If it was in a less turbulent environment, things might be different. Continual bad news about Bear from executives’ unmannered behavior to its first quarterly loss since foundation ruined the confidence of investors. And another difference in the failure of both was that Bear mainly died of market failure. When the whole market was fear of the loss of subprime asset, the large subprime assets holding companies such as Bear Stearns, could not avoid a fate of great loss and liquidity problem. (4) What could Bear Stearns have done differently to avoid this fate?In the early 2000’s? As an investment bank, Bear was just in pursuit of the return while underestimated the potential aftermath of being too risky. Most of its profit was composed of fixed income securities. Meanwhile, Bear should not let each hedge fund manager just specialize in a particular security to make volatility. It is obvious that Bear’s risk management had significant flaw. Furthermore, since the over-confident Bear was desperate for the incredible return, it was not attentive to such supernormal growth of the housing price.They should not just concentrate on CDOs without also devoting their asset in other business, as diversification is so important for a firm. But it may not happen, since Bear was not less greed than the surrounding. And during the summer of 2007? If Bear realized the market could not be defeated, they should have controlled Cioffi’s risky action of raising new hedge fund with a higher leverage. Conversely, they should liquidate the fund. If the liquidation was performed, they should not have lost such great amount in this worthless fund.And meanwhile it began to try to search for cash to finance itself. Except those worthless ‘toxic assets’, Bear still had some assets, which could provide it some cash flow. If Bear sold these assets earlier with determination, they might not sink in liquidity problem so deeply. And during the week of March 10, 2008? After Bear was downgraded by Moody, market had lost confidence in it. Almost everyone realized bear’s liquidity problem. When pointed out to have liquidity problems, Bear’s executives should realize the severity of the crisis rather than believing the worst was once again behind them.Even though they could not recover from the difficulty, prime actions could be taken, including exposing the reality to the market, reassuring the investors, making urgent strategies, applying for emergent aids from the Fed, and applying for temporary held in stock trading. 2. Liquidity Crisis and Business Model of Investment Banks: What is the role of Liquidity for banking and investing banking firms? Is perception of Liquidity more important for a banking/investment banking firm than manufacturing firms (such as Ford or Boeing)? Why?What could Bear Stearns have done to address its Liquidity concern s, which initiated the run on the bank? Looking back, what lessons can we infer from Bear Stearns’s failure regarding the business model of investment banks? Looking forward is the concept of ‘pure-play’ investment banks sustainable? (1) What’s the role of liquidity for banking and investing banking firms? Liquidity can reveal the untrue existence of cash (and cash equivalents), short-term investments, accounts receivable and accounts payable, etc. To which extent it lives up to the real condition.It measures whether the bank’s business is legal, reasonable and whether the financial status is promptly and properly reflected on the financial reports. Liquidity risk is also important. It values the repayment of debt and reminds the board of the corporation’s risk at any time. Managing liquidity is a daily process requiring bankers to monitor and project cash flows to ensure that adequate liquidity is maintained. The investment portfolio serves as the primary source of liquidity and represents a smaller portion of assets. Investment securities can be liquidated to satisfy deposit withdrawals and increased loan demand. 2) Is perception of Liquidity more important for a banking/investment banking firm than manufacturing firms (such as Ford or Boeing)? Why? Yes. The main sources of funding for commercial banks are deposit, interbank borrowings, commercial banks deposits, the international money market borrowings and the issuance of financial bonds, among which the short-term deposit accounts for the vast majority of the proportion. However, these funds are primarily used for commercial loans, discounting business, securities investment, etc. These higher profitability and long-term loans account for the absolute proportion in the composition of assets.This mismatch between assets and liabilities makes the liquidity of assets very important in banks’ operation. Since when sudden changes occurred in the market, a large n umber of customers will be forced to perform withdrawal, therefore the bank will be very difficult to realize its assets and to meet its liquidity needs. In some sense, it is similar for the investment banks. The difference is just that they do not raise money from retail depositors; most of the money is funded in the interbank market and is used to hold illiquid mortgage backed securities.Once banks were not able to provide funding for business, a banking contagion will occur and spread. A traditional manufacturing business is generally funded by equity or long-term debt and has steady cash flows from business operations. Even in the case of a collapse of such businesses, it would not have the same contagion effect as banks. (3) What could Bear Stearns have done to address its Liquidity concerns, which initiated the run on the bank? 1. The basis of the modern financial system is not physical assets, but people’s confidence in this system.Actually when the rumor of BSC runnin g out of cash was widely spread, BSC was forced to make a public announcement to ensure the public that their financial situation was solid and their liquidity was sufficient. Unfortunately, BSC did not take valid action or provide strong evidence such as strengthen its financial sheets or reducing leverage to convince investors. The board should pay more attention to the operation of the corporate rather than participate in a bridge tournament. 2. BSC could reduce leverage by selling their risky assets to generate cash during a period of financial stress.They should maintain enough reserves in the form of short-term instruments of the highest credit quality to meet the obligation. So an amount of funds should be invested only in instruments that have guaranteed liquidity, like treasury instruments. 3. Bear Stearns, three-quarters of whose revenue was still dependent on the market (see the source below), should adopt diversification strategy to find a real alternative to business an d improve its finance. The plans could be accelerate the development in other countries and diversified business, including equities, investment banking and asset management businesses.Source: http://finance. sina. com. cn/money/future/20080403/09024705325. shtml (4) What lessons can we infer from Bear Stearns’s failure regarding the business model of investment banks? Diversification of the investment is the foremost thing to consider for any matured investor. Investing heavily into one company, one industry, or having only one investment strategy is unadoptable. You are banking for speculation that one company or industry will always do well. But in fact, it is hardly possible to be in perfect condition at any time.You must make your investment portfolio diversified. Maybe an element of international stocks can be added into the portfolio. When the U. S. market is unprofitable, it still has the chance to get profits from Asia and Europe so as to keep the portfolio solid. So metimes high leverage can kill a firm. In March 2008, Bear owned tangible equity capital of about $11 billions versus total assets of $395 billions—a leverage ratio of 36. For several years, this reckless financing bring the company a profit margin of about one third and a return on equity of twenty percent.However, when the market endured a sharp downturn, Bear lose a lot of capital and willing creditors. During the ensuing months, the same story was to be played out at scores of other banks and non-banks. (5) Looking forward is the concept of ‘pure-play† investment banks sustainable? The performance of a pure-play investment bank can be highly influenced by the type of investing style which targets at it. For instance, if a pure-play bank's business is favored by growth investing, the company will do well during a bull market, where growth stocks tend to outperform the market.Conversely, a pure-play bank associated with growth investing will do poorly during bea r market, when a value investing strategy is historically more profitable. What’s more, the pure-play investment banks have relied heavily on short-term capital, especially repo transactions in which counterparties take collateral as security against the cash they lend. As public companies, pure-play banks faced pressure to deliver return on equity comparable to that of universal banks, even as those banks put competitive pressure on traditional advisory businesses such as M;A, underwriting, and sales and trading.In response, pure-play banks resorted to the two advantages they had over non-depository institutions: unlimited, unregulated leverage capacity, and increasing reliance on proprietary trading to deliver earnings. 3. Systemic Banking Crisis and Regulation: What is a â€Å"systemic banking crisis†? What is ‘banking contagion†? What was the rationale for the creation of ‘fire-wall’ of separation between investment banking and commercial b anking in USA that was institutionalized by the Banking Act of 1933? Why did the regulators weaken and phase out that ‘fire-wall of separation’ in 1990s?Identify the major Deregulatory Acts and its role in the meltdown of the investment banking industry? In your opinion, based on lessons from past global banking crisis, what steps should regulators institute now to address similar future problems? (1) What is a â€Å"systemic banking crisis†? Systemic banking crisis refers to the crisis detrimental to the whole financial system. It is the fatal chaos that several disastrous crises occur simultaneously, such as monetary crisis, banking system crisis, foreign-debt crisis, etc.The crisis expands from one financial market to another. For example, from the stock market to the real estate market or foreign-trade market, etc. (2) What is ‘banking contagion†? Banking contagion refers to a scenario where the banks, which initially affected by some crisis sprea d to the other banks even the other countries whose economy is previously healthy. In this scenario, the expansion could be very quick and disastrous. The international spread might cause the whole banking system to be paralyzed and need another several more years for recovery. 3) What was the rationale for the creation of ‘fire-wall’ of separation between investment banking and commercial banking in USA that was institutionalized by the Banking Act of 1933? There are 3 major factors. 1. Risk of losses (safety and soundness). Banks that engaged in underwriting and holding corporate securities and municipal revenue bonds presented significant risk of loss to depositors and the federal government that had to come to their rescue; they were also more subject to failure with a resulting loss of public confidence in the banking system and greater risk of financial system collapse. . Conflicts of interest and other abuses. Banks that offer investment banking services and mutu al funds were subject to conflicts of interest and other abuses, thereby resulting in the harm to their customers, including borrowers, depositors, and correspondent banks. 3. Improper banking activities. Even if there were no actual abuses, securities-related activities are contrary to the way banking ought to be conducted.The Act prohibited the combination of a depository institution, such as that, commercial banks (those that accept deposits) were prohibited from engaging in most investment banking activities, including underwriting and selling securities, and from affiliating with investment banks and other companies â€Å"engaged principally† in the trading of securities. Likewise, investment banks were barred from accepting deposits. (4) Why did the regulators weaken and phase out that ‘fire-wall of separation’ in 1990s? Inspired by a desire to make U. S. nvestment banks competitive with foreign deposit-taking investment banks such as UBS, Deutsche Bank, an d Credit Suisse First Boston, a Republican Congress and President Clinton passed the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act in 1999, permitting insurance companies, investment banks, and commercial banks to compete on equal footing across products and markets. (5) Identify the major Deregulatory Acts and its role in the meltdown of the investment banking industry? 1999–Glass-Steagall Act Fell The repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999 had larger ramifications than any other steps in deregulation.Repealing this act made it possible for investment banks to be savings and loan banks and to receive to the same government protections as savings and loan banks. An investment bank could make investments with people's savings, sometimes irresponsibly, and those investments now were guaranteed by the federal government. 1988–Securitization In 1988, securitization, or repackaging assets as a financial instrument to sell to investors, became legal. Banks were a llowed to sell their mortgages to SPVs. Mortgages were no longer being made to hold but to sell, and lending requirements became substantially more lenient.This created a combination of bad loans and banks without the funds to back them up. 2004–SEC In 2004, the SEC abolished the â€Å"net capital† rule, which restricted the amount of debt their brokerage units could take on-demonstrated this growing appetite for leverage. This led investment banks to leverage themselves at a financially irresponsible 30 to 1 percent, meaning that for every $1 they had on hand they had $30 in debt. When some of these investments collapsed, the banks did not have the ready capital to maintain their companies. Ultimately, increased leverage and proprietary trading ravaged the nvestment banking industry, leading to the collapse, merge, or restructure of all 5 major pure-play banks on Wall Street. This time, the SEC took the unprecedented step of temporarily banning short sales of financia l institution stocks. The ban caused massive losses in hedge fund portfolios and dissuaded them from making additional investments, denying would-be issuers access to needed capital. Moreover, the SEC placed a ban on so-called ‘naked’ shorting, which reduced the total amount of short interest that could accumulate in a stock. 6) In your opinion, based on lessons from past global banking crisis, what steps should regulators institute now to address similar future problems? 1. The regulations should be placed on the fundamental part of economy. For example, when there seems to have bubbles in one field, the Fed should not ignore. It should adjust the policy towards the industry to change the unbalanced situation. 2. To fortify the risk awareness continuously in traders’ mind, especially those who control the wealth of millions of people. Their behaviors might have huge influence to the market and the profitability of the firms. 3.The Fed should research for adjustm ent for investors from the market of different systems to ensure that obstacles will not exist in multinational trades. Meanwhile, policies of staying resistant to exterior crisis should be prepared in case of the explosion of crisis. 4. Federal Bailout and Public Policy: Why did the Federal Reserve bail-out Bear Stearns? Why was Lehman Brothers allowed to collapse while Bear Stearns was not? Is the Fed orchestrated sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America the optimal solution for addressing the crisis? Could Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have survived with out becoming bank holding companies?In your view, what public policy role should the Federal Reserve play in maintaining sustainability in global banking and stability securities markets? Why was there such a public out-cry against the bailout of Wall Street investment banks? Based on this recent performance how would you rate the Federal Reserve’s response to the financial crisis? (1) Why did the Federal Reserve bail-o ut Bear Stearns? If Bear went bankruptcy, it would affect other firms in Wall Street as well, since Bear was a market leader in prime brokerage and clearing who provided trading and back-end services to many other Wall Street financial institutions.Most customer asset would get frozen in the event of bankruptcy, and many hedge funds had collateral in the firm. Because of Bear’s holding of 13 trillion credit default swaps, the collapse of Bear would influence many other companies, which means too big to fail at that time. However, the Fed didn’t forecast that this kind of matter will happen again. The Fed Reserve bailed out Bear Sterns just to avert crisis and dissuade further irresponsible risk-seeking. The bailout benefited Wall Street at the expense of Main Street and the low share price was to discourage banks from taking on similar risk. 2) Why was Lehman Brothers allowed to collapse while Bear Stearns was not? The decision to let Lehman Brothers fail was largely m ade by then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and the British Financial Services Authority. The public outcry over the taxpayer assumption of $29 billion in potential Bear losses made repeating such a move politically untenable. Therefore, the Fed refused to back Lehman’s liabilities and backstop losses from Lehman’s toxic mortgage holdings. Moreover, Barclay’s quitted the acquisition, worrying that it could not be satisfied with the timely shareholder approval, which directly led to the collapse of Lehman.The Fed also wanted to set it as an example, to let other company to know that not every time the government will come out to bail out the company, so they will have deliberate consideration repeatedly before making all kinds of risky investments. (3) Is the Fed orchestrated sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America the optimal solution for addressing the crisis? No. This transaction doubled the investment banking size of Bank of America. Furthermore, it exposed Bank of America to mortgage-backed securities, which had negative impact on the long-term credit rating of the bank.This transaction could not prevent the occurrence of another such case like Merrill Lynch’s, and this behavior could not bring unforgettable lesson to other banks. (4) Could Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have survived without becoming bank holding companies? No. According to the research, Goldman Sachs was a major beneficiary of the government’s bailout of the financial services industry, not only through AIG but also through its ability to fall under the regulatory umbrella as a bank holding company, which made it eligible for debt guarantees and other government backstops.Every financial services company on the earth wanted to become a bank and line up for the handouts coming from Washington such as American Express, GE Capital, and GMAC. Even Willem Buiter, a former central banker, wanted to become a bank. Goldman was in a more precarious position than bank holding companies because of the vulnerabilities of being a broker-dealer. Nouriel Roubini warned repeatedly before Lehman’s collapse that the large full services broker-dealer model was broken. (5) In your view, what public policy role should the Federal Reserve play in maintaining sustainability in global banking and stability securities markets?From the lesson of subprime housing crisis, we think the Federal Reserve should control the capital, but without influencing the supply and demand. Since this crisis was created by those bad loans, the government’s control would limit people to invest on housing market, and somehow be better for people who are really in need of a place to stay. Furthermore, we have several pieces of advice to the Fed, besides in housing matters: a) Regulate the gross domestic and international banking environment. b) Reinforce the supervision over the risk control of investment banks. ) Restrict the expansion of any potential crisis once any symbol occurs. d) Do best to avoid the asymmetric information in the market. e) Ensure a fair and open environment for trading. (6) Why was there such a public out-cry against the bailout of Wall Street investment banks? People’s being against to government’s bailout the Wall Street had 2 main reasons. First, people believed Wall Street got this mess by themselves and they should be the one to clean it up, rather than that the government used tax payer money to save the Wall Street.They thought this was not fair, because this kind of action would increase the US government’s debt, and tax payer would have to pay more tax in the future to cover this debt. This debt may take a long time to be recovered. Second, when the government did get involved in the Wall Street crisis, the free market would not exist anymore, and next time if any firm had problem, they would ask the government to save them, which would totally be against the American economic policy , and belief. 7) Based on this recent performance how would you rate the Federal Reserve’s response to the financial crisis? Based on the recent performance, we think they had done what they had to do, but we think they should let the economic fail, based on the free market of American. They should let the invisible hand control the market, and the market should flow freely by itself. It will come back up, however long it takes. Now the government is using the tax payer’s money to cover Wall Street crisis, which actually is not fair.