My Nursing Ethics Kelly Martinez Grand Canyon University

My Nursing Ethics Kelly Martinez Grand Canyon University: Introduction to the Study of Ethics 10/14/2012 My Nursing Ethic PASSION: Why am I here? As a child I was always attracted to the smaller, weakened animal I found in my yard, i. e. dying birds, kittens, bugs, etc. The animals we owned were never neutered which resulted in a numerous amount of puppies and kittens. I was intrigued by the cycle of life. Originally I wanted to become a veterinarian. The financial strain on my family made it apparent that it would not be possible.As fate would have it, there was a two year waiting list for nursing school, but I was readily accepted into a two year respiratory program. At the end of the respiratory program, I stayed for one more year to specialize in NICU. As time passed, I became very passionate about the patient care aspect; however the nurse always pulled rank on my practice. It was at this point in my career that I knew I wanted to be the nurse. I felt I knew everything there was to know about nursing; luckily I was mentored by a group of seasoned nurses who molded me to be the nurse I am today.They taught me who I was and what I was made of. I learned that I had very strong traditions of the Contemporary medical care culture. I was raised a strict Catholic and believe that the Physician held the same status as that of the Priest. Both were held in the highest regard and you never questioned their word. You were religious about visitation, immunizations and treatment. I never questioned the physician in regards to treatment plan or care. I was a stickler for following the rules no matter what my own personal morals or beliefs were.MOTIVATION: What moves me to act? For the most part, I worked in a predominately white middle class community hospital which had roughly the same ethical morals, values and beliefs as I did. Rarely did we care for a minority. As I matured and began to recognize what my nursing ethics were all about, I began to question physician o rders when I felt they were not in the best interest of the patient. I began to question treatments that I was performing which seemed to have little or no effect.Because of my strong moral convictions, when a family member questioned the treatment I was providing, which I didn’t have a real answer for except, â€Å"your doctor ordered it† made me uncomfortable. I was unhappy with this response as was the family. I needed answers for myself as well as the patient. I needed to believe that I was practicing medicine to the best of my ability. I had a moral obligation to my patients to do the right thing regardless of the physicians written orders. I was the one caring for the patient and their families for 72hrs. t a stretch, while the physician was there for only 15 minutes. I came to understand the patient’s culture, values and beliefs. I wanted to advocate for their wishes. I need to do more than carry out orders written in a chart. INSPIRATION: What keeps me i n motion? Because of my personal values and beliefs and how it related to my nursing philosophy I felt obligated to stand up for what I believed in. As luck would have it, I was at the beginning of the, â€Å"Evidence Based Practice†, era. I jumped on every class, committee, and program I could find to support my nursing convictions.I taught one of the first â€Å"Culture Sensitivity† classes at my facility. I rewrote the ICU visitation policy to include families during CPR if they were so inclined. I attended classes on wound care and followed home care nurses to learn how they treated unstageable non healing wounds. I was no longer willing to follow doctor’s orders just because they were written in a chart. I needed to know that the care I provided was morally and ethically sound. LOYALTY: Whom do I serve? One late Sunday afternoon I received a very obese restless, combative full arrest from the ED.I was challenged to keep him in the bed and from pulling out h is ET tube. I turned to his family for assistance in finding out why he was so angry. His wife was a very small timid abused woman who was afraid of her own shadow. He was an abusive alcoholic and a diabetic. He was non-compliant with any medical regimen. His legs were swollen with weeping wounds. He refused any medical treatment and had told his wife if she took him to the hospital he would surely kill her. Because of this woman’s own personal morals and convictions, when she thought he was near death, she called 911.I reassured her that she had done the right thing. I called the doctor to receive orders for comfort measures and also ask if he was aware of the patient’s wishes for medical treatment. He was very clear that he knew the patient’s wishes to be a No Code, however; due to his age and diagnosis, he also knew this patient could be cured of his medical aliments. Ironically, the patient pulled out his ET tube with his tongue. As soon as the tube was out, the patient arrested. I started CPR as per protocol. I encouraged the physician to talk with the wife and respect the patient‘s wishes.I was in a moral dilemma with caring out physician orders vs. the patient’s wishes. I was uncomfortable ordering care for a patient that I clearly knew did not want it. The physician was in his own dilemma because he knew the patient’s medical status could be cured if he was given the chance. After much debate, the patient was re- intubated and made a full DNR. Later I heard the patient worked his ET tube out again with his tongue and died. The physician did not speak to me for a very long time because of this incident.It is because of this journey that I now oversee the Palliative Care Department. I assist patient in understanding the implications and ramification of their advanced care directives. References: Characteristics of Ethical Dilemmas, (2012). Retrieved on October 14, 2012, from www. nln. org/ce/mcgovern/tslg015. htm Doherty, R. , Purtilo, R. (2011). Ethical dimensions in the health professions. (5th ed. ) (57-58). St. Louis:Mosby. http://www11. georgetown. edu/research/nrcbl/pcbe/bookshelf/reader/chapter3. html

Unit Discussion

What learned from the writing assessment, that formal writing requires a firm foundation in English sentence construction, usage, and punctuation. I also learned that a scientific writing style also provides a tool that sharpens critical thinking about ideas and evaluation of conclusions.The research and writing strengths you identified for yourself. My strengths are definitely my grammar and vocabulary. I'm also pretty good at making a valid point. My ability to re-tell what was just read and predicts what may happen based on what has happened. The areas you identified as challenges. My biggest problem is figuring out how to write what am thinking. Have never been proficient at this task. It looks good to me when read it, but when I turn the paper over to someone else; they do not find the point was trying to convey.Typically, I have to verbally express the meaning of the paper to them. This is the area in which I would like excel this class. How you might address your challenges as you prepare for graduate learning. Communicate with experienced instructors, researchers and other learners in the classroom, to establish a strong foundation of academic excellence and high-value experience. In graduate programs, you'll find that each faculty member is enthusiastically accessible, passionate about coaching and teaching and committed to preparing you for the complex challenge of graduate school. Unit Discussion This week, you will engage in a discussion about managerial behavior and ways to bring about the highest standards of performance. Think about your personal attributes and how you can capitalize on those attributes In management responsibilities. The Washington Post article â€Å"Top Ten Management Mistakes† addresses some errors In judgment a manager can make. Go to the link below and read the article, then choose three of the mistakes and, using the information In Chapters 12 and 14, discuss strategies for correcting these mistakes in the health care setting.Also, respond to at least two classmates' posts. Http:// www. Liabilities. Com/top-10-management-mistakes/ 16570198-1. HTML#txzz1xnYZ2Pos 06/07/2014 HA 510-01 unit 4 Discussion Initial post Resisting Change While all ten adversely affect an organization, for me resettles change Is the biggest nemesis of healthcare management and the industry overall. Healthcare is one of the last true dinosaurs of the business industry.W hile rigorous attempts have been made to shape the healthcare landscape to reflect the financial challenges, business decisions, and how administrators interact with and set agendas for staff, the truth is, hose changes have been hotly contested by top level management, doctors, and even HER. So intense has been this resistance that the Affordable Care Act (Obama Care) had to be voted in to legislation. Yes change is the biggest nemesis of management and every other sector of the US Healthcare System.Showing Favoritism Showing favoritism or the appearance of such is my next highest problem. Just as I discussed in the unit 2 forum there is a contrasting difference between being too socially involved with staff or developing what could be considered â€Å"special legislations† with the professional decorum can be a deterrent to the management process with regard to those who are not considered to be In that connective position of social propriety and can damage a managers overa ll credibility with staff (All Business. Com, 2014).Keep a neutral social interaction approach and appearance. Believing You Have All the Answers Beveling you have all of the answers as a manager Is a sure way to disintegrate the communication process and Impair team cohesion. Nobody Likes working with a â€Å"know it all† or a person who doesn't acknowledge that their approach is not the only encourages others to make a contribution in the decision-making and strategy implementation process; which in turn increases the confidence that whatever the finally course of action that is chosen it will be successfully executed.

Analytical Proceduresâ€Ratio Analysis Form

11 ANALYTICAL PROCEDURES—RATIO ANALYSIS FORM The auditor can use this form to document the performance and evaluation of ratio analysis in connection with analytical procedures performed in an audit. The form is only a guide and is not a substitute for professional judgment. The form may be modified by adding or omitting certain ratio analysis. CLIENT NAME: DATE OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS: LIQUIDITY RATIOS 20__20__19__19__ 1. Current ratio = Current Assets Current Liabilities____________________ Comments: 20__20__19__19__ 2. Quick or acid test ratio =Current Assets – Inventory Current Liabilities____________________ Comments: PROFITABILITY RATIOS 20__20__19__19__ 1. Gross profit ratio = Net Sales – Cost of Goods Sold Net Sales____________________ Comments: 20__20__19__19__ 2. Operating margin ratio = Income before Income Taxes and Interest Net Sales____________________ Comments: 20__20__19__19__ 3. Net income ratio (or profit margin ratio) = Net Income Net Sales____ ________________ Comments: 20__20__19__19__ 4. Return on total assets ratio = Net Income + Interest Expense Total Assets____________________Comments: 20__20__19__19__ 5. Return on equity ratio = Net Income Average Stockholders’ Equity____________________ Comments: LEVERAGE RATIOS 20__20__19__19__ 1. Debt to assets ratio = Total Debt Total Assets____________________ Comments: 20__20__19__19__ 2. Debt to equity ratio = Long-Term Debt Stockholder’s Equity____________________ Comments: 20__20__19__19__ 3. Times interest earned ratio = Income before Income Taxes and Interest Interest Expense____________________ Comments: ACTIVITY RATIOS 20__20__19__19__ 1. Inventory turnover =Cost of Goods Sold Average Inventory____________________ Comments: 20__20__19__19__ 2. Average age of inventory = 360 Days Inventory Turnover____________________ Comments: 20__20__19__19__ 3. Accounts receivable turnover = Net Sales Average Accounts Receivable____________________ Comments: 20__20__19__ 19__ 4. Days sales in accounts receivable = 360 Days Accounts Receivable Turnover____________________ Comments: 20__20__19__19__ 5. Asset turnover = Net Sales Total Assets____________________ Comments: Prepared by Date Approved by Date

The Seventeen-Article Constitution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Seventeen-Article Constitution - Essay Example The Seventeen Article Constitution was written in a period of Chinese expansionism. Previously insulated from Chinese cultural and political influence because of geographical separation by the sea, the Japanese rulers noticed the Chinese with more concern as they made forays into the Korean peninsula. With a desire to consolidate their own government in a more structured and unified form, Shotoku sent his missions into China to study the centralized structure of the Tang kingdom. The results of these missions had a great influence on the constitution Shotoku was going to write. Even though there is no evidence that the constitution was promulgated practically as a law, it remained a guideline for how the rulers expected the standards of statehood to be and set the direction for future reforms, such as the Taika reforms (Lu 23). Two of the key precepts of the constitution were the rights of the sovereign and the establishment of a bureaucracy. These were both designed to change the then current structure from being clan-based to that governed by a central monarchy. In espousing the powers and rights of the monarchy, the constitution made undiluted references to the monarch being â€Å"likened Heaven† and if not obeyed â€Å"ruin will be automatically result† (Lu 24). The reference to the monarch being like heaven itself was borrowed from the Confucian descriptions of imperial government in China which emphasized the monarch’s status as being the link that creates â€Å"harmony† between â€Å"what is above† and â€Å"what is below† resulting in prosperity if obeyed (Kasulis 86). Supplementing the monarch based central government was the idea of a bureaucracy which was selected on merit rather than heredity. It may be pointed out that the entire Confucian theory was n ot used in the constitution and in the adaptation some elements were skipped. For example, in Confucianism, if the monarch did not rule as he was

Medication Administration Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Medication Administration - Case Study Example Hence, this tablet must be taken strictly according to the doctor's instructions. There is no mention about Mrs. Smith's age. If she is elderly with impaired renal function and low lean body mass, she has to take lower dose than what non-elderly patients do. Higher dose intake is known to cause dizziness, eye disorders, cardiac disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, and skin rashes (Lanoxin). Frusemide is used for hypertension as well as congestive heart failure, pulmonary, renal disorder in adults, children and infants. Diuresis is induced in an hour after the intake of Frusemide. Frusemide is rapidly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. The dose may comprise 20 mg to 80 mg two to four consecutive days per week, in single dose. If the response is not satisfactory, the dose may be increased by 20 mg to 40 mg after 6 to 8 hours from the first dose intake until the desired dose is established. Symptoms of headache, dizziness, dryness of mouth or visual impairment are known to occur. Patients with cirrhosis of liver are known to develop potassium deficiency. The tablet must be taken strictly under doctor's advice without any chance for overdose (Apo-Frusemide). Span K 600 mg is advised for patients with potassium deficiencies, cardiac failure and hypertension. 1 to 2 tablets are taken three times in a day, preferably during meals. This tablet must be withdrawn at once if there is vomiting or abdominal pains. Caution must be exercised for use for patients with chronic renal disease (Span K). Atenolol 25 mg Atenolol is used in treatment of angina and hypertension. It is also used in treatment to prevent heart attack. This medication must be taken with full glass of water and at the same time every day. Atenolol is only part of a complete program of treatment for hypertension that may also include diet, exercise, and weight control. In case of patients with high blood pressure, it may be necessary to take this drug for the rest of the patient's life. Atenolol can also cause drowsiness, difficulty in breathing, swelling of the face, lips, throat or tongue. If any of these symptoms is noticed, call the doctor at once. Atenolol must be taken exactly as prescribed. Do not stop taking Atenolol without consulting the doctor (Atenolol). Celebrex 100mg SD Celebrex has been used for the treatment of osteoarthritis. It causes reduction in joint pain. Single dose of Celebrex provides pain relief within 30-60 minutes. Celebrex doses of up to 200 mg can be administered without regard to timing of meals. However, care must be taken while administering Celebrex to patients with arthritis. Start use with the lowest recommended dose. Celebrex is known to aggravate hypertension conditions. Also, sometimes, serious gastrointestinal toxicity such as bleeding, ulceration, or perforation of the stomach or intestine has been observed. Patients must stay alert for such symptoms and discontinue use of Celebrex if they occur (Celebrex). Outline if any of these

Marks and Spencer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Marks and Spencer - Essay Example The above merge resulted to the creation of a union with over three million members (Towers and Terry 1991, p.53). The last two decades a trend for Europeanization of unions has appeared (Towers and Terry 1991). More specifically, unions from various member states have started to be organized at the level of the Union ignoring the national labour systems and laws (Towers and Terry 1991, p.54). An example of this form of union response is the following one: a cooperation/ membership agreement has been signed between ‘the GMB union (Britain) and the IG Chemie-Papier-Keramik (German)’ (Morely et al. 2006, p.77). It is implied that the union responses influence the union types; this result to the increase of union’s power to confront policies which are against the rights of employees. For example, through the research developed by Dreiling and Robinson it was revealed that certain unions in USA and Canada were stronger than others in confronting NAFTA (Dreiling and Ro binson 1998), a fact which was related to the types of the unions (Dreiling and Robinson 1998). On the other hand, it has been proved that trade unions are not so strong in order to face effectively the challenges of globalisation (Dolvik 2001). In the case under examination of particular importance is a specific category of union response: Europeanization. Indeed, since Marks and Spencer is established in UK the labour laws of UK should be used for resolving the dispute between the firm and its employees in France. However, it should be examined whether the unions in France had the right and the potential to cooperate with unions in Britain so that the rights of employees in the firm’s stores in France to be protected. According to Platzer (2010) the EU Reform Treaty of 2007 (Lisbon) emphasizes on the promotion of social rights and highlights the power of the EU to intervene in order to secure employment rights of people in member states (Platzer 2010). Therefore, the develo pment of a strategic alliance between the unions in France and those in Britain would be an initiative aligned with the existing European law on industrial relations. Under these terms, top managers in Marks and Spencer cannot ignore the trade unions in France, which could ensure the support of other European countries so that the rules of the above Treaty are applied. A different assumption would be developed if the study of Kip (2011) is taken into consideration. The above researcher notes that still, the most critical arrangements related to employment relations are developed at national level (Kip 2011), i.e. it seems that European Union is not, still, ready to support effectively the unions wishing to cooperate at European level. According to the above view, the decision of top managers in Marks and Spencer to use the British labour laws for resolving labour disputes in regard to their stores in France is considered as justified. It seems that the courts handling the case have accepted the second view; even if at a first instance the court’s decision was negative for Marks and Spencer, the firm managed to support the case effectively at the next level, an effort, which was successful; when reviewing the case at the next level, the court decided that the decision should be overruled (case study, p.39). A2. The infrastructure of Unionism and common interests Trade unionism is

Default Determination Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Default Determination - Term Paper Example This paper thus is going to handle and talk about the termination by default or default termination to every detail while analyzing everything that it entails, as well as the remedy of default termination in the context of federal procurement in reference to the nature of the course. In termination for default, the government always wants to have the upper hand on the contract hence always trying to make sure that the contract is always to their advantage. So in that case, in order for the government to prevail in the defense of a termination by default, the government must establish that the termination of the contract by default prior to the contract completion date was effective, proper and correct. Since this default termination is such a drastic action, the federal procurement must show how its determination was well grounded and had no hidden motive or agenda, and is supported by solid evidence. Moreover, the agency must show/demonstrate through convincing evidence that there was no reasonable likelihood that the contractor could complete the work in time as agreed. The untimely performance of work which does not affect the critical path does not provide a basis for a default termination. The above said, there are suggestions that it is improper for the government to terminate a contractor for his or her failure to make progress where the contactor had reason to be expected to complete the work to finish the job contracted fro in due time. In such cases the federal procurement must consider all available factors and reasons when they are determining whether to terminate a contractor using the default termination. Moreover, if the totality of the state of affairs shows or indicates the unsupported and arbitrary nature of the decision to terminate for default the law requires conversion of the action to termination for convenience. There are laws put in reference to this type of termination

America's Post-Civil War Growing Pains Research Paper - 1

America's Post-Civil War Growing Pains - Research Paper Example Lincoln gave out his plan of giving out amnesty to all the southerners who will support slave’s emancipation and then later proclaim loyalty to the union this was because he wanted to drain the support of the confederacy and shorten the war. Presidential reconstruction started in the year 1965 whereby Johnson became the president after the death of Lincoln. He then unveiled his master plan of Reconstruction which was to create loyalty oath that should be taken in the southern so that they could receive a pardon for their rebellion participation, and doing away with the â€Å"40 acres and a mule plan† that had been suggested in the charter of the Freedmen’s Bureau. At this time, many of the southern states brought back confederate leaders to political power and then later created the â€Å"black codes† that had been modelled on the slave codes that was in existence due to the civil war. Johnson did not do anything to prevent the south from imposing these co nditions to the black population. This saw the beginning of the Radical Republican party which was made up of the northerners because the southerners were still in the congress (Colains & Marler, 2008). The Racial Republican then took the initiative of passing important Civil Rights Acts that counteracted the new black codes of the south. In 1865-1915, there was the second historical event which was named industrial Revolution. At this time, US tried to evolve from a low economic backwater to be the most powerful economic country in the world. The nation’s main energy source which was mainly powered by humans and animals changed to mechanical power (Roberts, 2010). The railway industry expanded at this time from 30,000 miles of track to around 250,000 miles. These improvements lead the movement of goods and products to be easy, reliable and cheap. In addition to this; the steel industry was the main contributor of the massive expansion of railroads (Mckenzie, 2007). In case J ohn Wilkes would have not assassinated President Lincoln, many things could have changed, and one of the issues that could have changed drastically is Reconstruction. First, in the case of Lincoln, he could have tried to be more diplomatic to the south this was not the case with President Johnson because his main interest was to punish the southerners. Lincoln was more guided in favour of diplomacy and compromise (Selden, 2010). Secondly, the Radical Reconstruction could have been different from what happened. Those people who were radical thought that Lincoln was much softer to the south and could have revolutionized the southern institutions, habits and manners; they all wanted the south to be reconstructed according to the new order. They were mainly idealists whereby they were mostly driven by religious views, these Republicans were not for the idea that the blacks were low-grade and consequently, they requested that complete social, political, and civil privileges for slaves to be administered and respected. The Radical Republicans dominated in congress and they clashed with President Johnson often (Mckenzie, 2007). Johnson policies were on how to carry out reconstruction according to Lincoln, but the motives were not the same with those of Lincoln. The industrialization and urbanization revolution of the 19th and 20th centuries generally changed the urban life of many Americans and gave them chance to improve on their living standards.

E-Practice of Medicine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

E-Practice of Medicine - Essay Example The company prides itself on offering excellent prices for its goods and heavily advertises this feature of its business. Clearance items can be purchased for as much as 80% off of the suggested retail price. The company also offers a savings club for regular purchasers that allows them to realize substantial discounts. (drleonards.com) Customer service is offered via email, live chat, and a toll free phone number. Agents are available from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. EST Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. EST on Saturdays. (drleonards.com) Ensuring secure data transmission is a priority for the company. Dr. Leonard’s contracts with Verisign (www.verisign.com) to ensure that ordering information is protected from hackers and other information pirates. McAfee Security has evaluated the site and awarded it McAfee SecureClub status for the level of protection it offers for customers performing online transactions. (drleonards.com) According to drleonards.com the firm’s customer base is in the millions. Aside from the main web page and printed catalog, it also has a network of affiliated web sites that link to drleonards.com. Site owners earn an 8% commission on sales that result from visitors clicking on the link. Dr. Leonard’s is a member of the Better Business Bureau of New Jersey, according to www.bbb.org. It holds accredited status with the organization and enjoys an excellent record of satisfying its customers. Dr. Leonard’s customer base is primarily persons in their 40s and older. Their income levels range from below average to slightly above, with a small number in high income brackets. A large proportion are elderly and retired, and many live in rural areas with limited access to local shopping. They tend to be married, conservative in lifestyle and values, and enjoy purchasing items via mail order and online. Analysis of the company’s product line shows that its

Program capstone IP5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Program capstone IP5 - Essay Example The introduction stage occurs after a product has been effectively been marketed and surveys carried out and as a result achieved its desired marketing goal. The product is then introduced into the market with an aim of creating immediate demand. At this stage, there is very little competition in the market and the sales volume of the product increases rapidly. The prices are very high as well as promotion methods leading to the firms registering high profits. The maturity phase of the product life cycle is marked by an increase in sales volume at a decreasing rate. At this stage, imitations of the product begin to emerge in the foreign markets causing the firm to begin lowering its exportation of the product. The manufacturers are forced to lower the market price of the product in order to maintain its market share as well as supporting its sales. Despite a decrease in the profit levels, the firm’s product still remains attractive due to high volumes available in the market. The saturation period is marked by stability in the product line. The sale volume is at its peak and there is no possibility of extending it further. Sales at this stage undergo stability initially but then begin to fall as many substitutes of the product enter the market. At this stage, the manufacturing firms must aim at developing new alternative uses of the product through effective differentiation which can be either vertical or horizontal (Chitale, 2013). In order to sustain the maturity period, firms will tend to introduce alterations as well as innovations to the product so as to keep the interest of the customers high so that they keep on buying the product. The phase can also be lengthened through variations in terms of prices due to the stiff competition in the market. Some of the popular and well known products such as the iPod together with the iPhone are currently in the maturity stage. Apple has however been very

Ukraine Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Ukraine Culture - Essay Example Ukrainian art was said to have its beginning in the pre-Christian era but any progress and development that it had gained was squashed by centuries of turmoil during the Tatar barbarism. In the 17th century, however, a Cossack Ukraine took interest in the country’s culture and arts as a way of gaining the trust of the local Orthodox Church and population to create a strong power base. As a result, there was significant movement and progress in Ukraine’s arts and culture, but it was in the 18th century when the Khmel’nyts’kyi Revolution, the Period of Ruin and the last days of the Mazepa era, was brought to a close that they began to flourish. Whatever gains, however, that Ukrainian arts and culture had during that era soon became ineffective when Stalinization and â€Å"russification† was imposed on non-Russian cultures. This implied a suppression of non-Russian culture and the imposition of Russian culture as a guideline for all artistic and cultur al activities. With the death of Stalin in 1953 and the subsequent de-Stalinization of Russian policies during the reign of Nikita Khrushchev in the late 1950s, Ukrainian art became free once again. Ukrainian Architecture Ukrainian architecture began to take a distinctive shape in the pre-Christian era. Early Ukrainian structures were made of wood. In the 9th to 10th centuries churches, fortifications and even palaces were made of wood (see Fig. 1). Pieces of timber were horizontally placed on top of another to form structures and this tradition of construction was continued even up to the 20th century (My Ukraine).

Philips Versus Matsushita Essay Example for Free

Philips Versus Matsushita Essay How did Philips become the leading consumer electronics company in the world in the postwar era? A key success of Philips in my opinion came from a decision to build the postwar organization on the strengths of the national organizations (NOs). NOs are greatly increased self-sufficiency and became adept at responding to country-specific market conditions. What distinctive competence did they build? Philips had 14 product divisions (PDs), and NOs built their own technical capabilities and product development. This is an adaption to local market’s needs. What were its incompetencies? Philips had many technological innovations, but its ability to bring products to market was falter. Philips also have had problem in reorganizing the company to deal with its growing problems. 2. How did Matsushita succeed in displacing Philips as No. 1? A key success of Matsushita in my opinion is ability to create new products to meet local market’s needs and very quick. Matsushita also adopted the divisional structure, giving each division clearly defined profit responsibility for its products, and using â€Å"one-product-one division† system. The division was acting liked entrepreneur and financed its product development from Matsushita’s banking system liked. Any division that failed over 2 consecutive years would be fixed. If the division could not be fixed, the division team would be replaced. This management strategy gave more effective and speed to react to local market in the competitive environment. In order to manage many divisions across the world, Matsushita has expatriate Japanese managers and technicians on foreign assignment for four to eight years. A few positions that is always almost reserved for them. Those are general managers whose main role was to translate Matsushita philosophy abroad, expatriate accounting managers who provide a truth of financial health, and Japanese technical managers who transfer product and process technologies and provide headquarters with local market information. This strategy helps headquarter to maintain relationship with all satellite divisions. Matsushita moved none of key production assembly to offshore factory in order to reduce the impact of trade war and utilize lower labor cost and low shipping cost. In short, the ability to market new products of Matsushita and ‘Time-To-Market’ or speed were better than Philips. What were its distinctive competencies and incompetencies? Matsushita’s distinctive competency in my opinion was â€Å"one-product-one division† system that created self competition inside the company itself. In addition, the Japanese expatriate in key positions (i. e. general managers, accounting managers and technical managers) helped headquarter to main to relationship, control, and support to other Matsushita’s divisions around the globe. Matsushita’s incompetency was happened when Nakamura announced a program of â€Å"destruction and creation,† in which he disbanded the product division structures that KM had created as Matsushita’s basic organizational building block. Attempting to reorganize the company core structure too quick seems to bring down Matsushita. 3. What recommendations would you make to Geraid Kleisterlee? To Kunio Nakamura? In my opinion, the recommendations that I would make to Geraid Kleisterlee and Kunio Nakamura will base on balancing the method of AAA’s (Adaptation, Aggregation, and Arbitrage). It seems that the large company likes Philips and Matsushita have had issues how to reorganize the company (aggregation). The key that was driven the change came from a lower profit ability of company base on the investor’s demand. In Kunio’s case, he radical changed the core structure of Matsushita to quick. Quickly change a core strategy of big company came with unstable structure in which many people would not be able to adapt in short term and could create a catastrophic. I would recommend him to make a small and slow changes or deviations as needed in core structure. Kunio shall remain individual product divisions to maintain a focus in innovation of new products, but he shall consolidate or integrate the factories to be capable of building multi-product production. The new integrated product production can switch the assembly lines quickly from producing less profit products to high profit products, and eliminate a high cost to maintain less profit product lines in the old way. In Geraid’s case, I would recommend Philips to focus in innovation of new technologies and utilize new or existing technologies to create a value in the new product, maintain outsource of its basic manufacturing. This strategy is similar to iPhone product where Apply added style/art into a mix of MP3 player and cell phone. Apply only focus on designing the new product and allowed outsource manufacturing in China to build the product.

Post War Developments of Pop Art and Consumerism

Post War Developments of Pop Art and Consumerism What were the most significant changes in consumer behaviour in America after 1945? In what ways did these changes have an impact on the production of art? INTRODUCTION The purpose of this essay is to outline the ways in which consumer behaviour changed in the United States after 1945, and the ways in which the production, and the content, of art reflected these times. These were the years following the Second World War, and advances in technology made during the war were now being used to change the ordinary way of life of American citizens during the new time of peace. National wealth had increased, and the population was very much looking to the future, which seemed more affluent, easier and more convenient than ever before. Buying and spending quickly became the main cultural preoccupation as corporations made use of war-time technology to bring consumers the products of the future today: television, processed food, vacuum cleaners, synthetic fabrics, and Tupperware. (www.ucalgary.ca) In this essay I will show how Pop Art developed in America, and how these newly fashionable artists drew on the consumerist culture of the time to create a kind of art that had not been seen before. CONSUMERISM IN POST-WAR AMERICA In postwar America, the public became more brand-conscious – advertising became much more advanced and was seen as crucial to business, and branding and company logos were part of the everyday landscape. There were technical devlopments in photography, broadcasting and the inventionof television. Sociology in the US was now more concerned with the masses, and pop art identified with this. (Alloway:1974:5) In 1960 the General Motors Corporation spent $66.3 million on advertising, the most of any corporation in that year, but in 1968 Proctor Gamble took the lead at $196.3 million a 200% increase in the top advertising budget in only eight years. Likewise, the advertising revenues for magazines between 1958 and 1968 increased 150%, while the advertising revenues for television in the same period rose nearly 250%. (www.ucalgary.ca) Lifestyle advertising was conceived – instead of pre-war adverts which would have simply described the product and what it literally did, now advertisers wanted to make people think that if they bought a certain product it would be central in changing their life, making them better, happier, more successful. Advertisements promise such abstract desires as beauty, success at work, success in relationships, or the ability to be a better person physically, mentally, and socially. Social historian Christin Mamiya has argued that the changes brought  about in America by the increased industrialisation and urbanisation were those that made the public more susceptible to the media’s influence: In the alienation and non-communal world of urban society it became increasingly important to rely on outward appearances to define self-worth and success, the tools of which advertising provided. (www.ucalgary.ca) John F. Kennedy, elected as President in 1960, fully endorsed the new consumerist ethic through his policy. Kennedy’s government followed the work of British economist John Maynard Keynes, who in earlier decades had written that the key to a nation’s collective wealth lay in the individual spending of individuals. The more money citizens spent, the greater the national wealth would be. The Kennedy government was the first to implement this theory into both domestic and foreign economic policies, thereby officially endorsing and promoting mass production, mass distribution, advertising, and inadvertently, the idea of keeping up with the Joneses. (www.ucalgary.ca) As a result of the war, America felt a new patriotism which was reflected in the all-Americanness of branding products and celebrities. As the wealth of the country increased, and people were inclined to celebrate their status (personal status reflecting the greatness of the country – the American dream) and also to celebrate having life easy in comparison to the hardship and compromises of the war years, products were designed to save time and effort. Advertising was particularly aimed at women in the home – household products, food, housekeeping, clothes, also things that made bored housewives feel more glamorous. During the 2nd World War, Hollywood had also taken the idea of the movie star to another level. Celebrity-watching therefore became a more significant part of the public’s lives, and the faces of celebrities were ubiquitous. The most frequently depicted face in art during this time was that of Kennedy, as he, more than anyone, had realised early on the importance of media marketing and image-creation. The consumerist ideology was therefore perpetuated by the mass media, in radio, television, cinema and print media. POPULAR ART IN THE US This was reflected in art both in terms of the content, and the methods of production and distribution of art. Pop Art originated in New York in the late 1950’s/early ‘60s, and intentionally subverted critical ideas of what constituted ‘art.’ Household objects and celebrities faces were the subjects: Suddenly, T.V. dinners and canned spaghetti, department store dresses and blue suede shoes, tailfins and tires were the subject of paintings and sculptures gracing the window fronts of art galleries. (www.ucalgary.ca) Claes Oldenburg, Tom Wesselmann, Roy Lichtenstein, James Rosenquist, and, most famously Andy Warhol were among the leading names of Pop Art. Most of the Pop Artists had previously worked in commercial advertising and printing. Printing presses were used to quickly produce hundreds of standardised images which could then be mass-distributed. Andy Warhol was one of the first to do this; instead of selling unique pieces of work for a high price, he preferred to produce multiple silk-screened copies which were sold for a low price but which together made up large profits. The ideas of mass and standardisation would be seen therefore both in the fact that one piece of art work contained dozens of cola bottles, and also that that piece was itself reproduced again and again. Therefore art became visible to greater sections of the population and to lower classes, because of its positioning – images were seen in conjunction with advertising and printed on clothing and accessories, instead of hidden away in galleries – and its content – where as traditional fine or ‘high’ art requires some academic learning for the viewer to know the correct ways of appreciating it, tins of baked beans were recognisable to all and needed little interpretation. Americanness had been expressed differently in the late 40s and 50s: Abstract Expressionism is characterised by splashes and rhythms of colours across the canvas, often with no subject other than the emotion that the finished image creates in the viewer. It celebrated the individual because it was highly personal. (www.ucalgary.ca) This art was critically acclaimed, but unapproachable to much of the general public, who found it difficult to understand and doubted its artistic credibility. Pop artists reacted directly against the assumptions made by the Abstract Expressionists; they believed that art should be ‘for the people,’ and so they celebrated every-day objects in a style of art that was easily approachable. Pop Art was first seen in a particular school of thought in Britain in the mid-50’s, invented by the Independent Group. This was a group of artists and intellectuals who were fascinated by the effect that post-war American consumerism was having on British culture. Therefore they focused on the trappings of a materialist, brand-conscious culture. The objects depicted in their art were often cheap and defied traditional notions of good taste. British artist Richard Hamilton is regarded as the first to expressly define Pop Art. He characterised it as: Popular (designed for a mass audience) Transient (short-term solution) Expendable (easily-forgotten) Low Cost Mass produced Young (aimed at youth) Witty Sexy Gimmicky Glamorous Big business. (www.ucalgary.ca) It has been argued that the work of the Independent Group probably did not influence the American Pop Artists as they started creating work later in the decade. American artists would likely be unaware of this small and avante-garde movement in Britain. If this is the case, it is evidence of the widespread influence of post-war consumerism and advertising, that people on both sides of the Atlantic begun to develop similar ideas about art. Critics were deeply offended Pop Art, believing that it was of no real artistic merit. No progress was made, they argued, in the use of colour or materials, and the subject matter was frequently in bad taste or simply banal. Unlike Folk Art, pop culture is created on a huge scale to please the mainstream. It is those emblems and messages that we all understand, meaning that we have one shared culture that obliterates other more local or personal cultures. (Alloway:1974:4) But Pop Art was light-hearted, quirky and tongue-in-cheek, even blasà ©, which appealed to a nation of people who after years of war and economic depression, did not want to be too reflective or melancholy. Thus, it was oddly ambivalent. Pop Artists played to these popular needs/desires, and yet bitterly criticised them at the same time. The tone of Pop Art in general was humorous, but artists seemed to be satirising a culture that had ‘dumbed down,’ becoming obsessed with convenience, speed, instantly recognisable iconic images and brand names. For instance Rosenquist painted images of rockets alongside plates of spaghetti, to draw attention to what he saw as the absurdness of modern concerns. Lichenstein painted huge versions of cartoon strips, using the stock themes of romance and violence, and the style of using hundreds of coloured dots to make up the impression of an area of block colour, in order to show how formulaic and non-individual this popular form of art w as. Warhol criticised the mass media in his work, such as his prints of Marilyn Monroe’s face, made after she committed suicide in 1962, which echoed what Steven Madorff describes as the â€Å"repeated, endless manufacture† of the celebrity. Similarly, Warhol created a print of repeated images of a crashed car and mangled corpses, in criticism of the way he believed news reports could reduce a terrible tragedy to a single throwaway image. He produced the painting 129 Die In Jet, after an article about 129 American tourists who were killed in a plane crash over Paris-Orlis. The book draws on Susan Sonag in saying that the more you see pictures, the less real the actual event is. (Museum Ludwig Cologne:1996:474) CONCLUSION The Pop Artists made their art out of drawing attention to the consumerist nature of American culture. To Art critics dismay, household objects such as tinned food, icons of the mass media and such low art conventions such as comic book drawing now became the subjects of high art. Pop Artists had correctly identified the things that were important to the average American citizen, and the content, means of production, and location of their art all reflected this. In many ways Pop Art seemed satirical, wry and at times outright critical. The images made at this time have immortalised an image of post-war America as superficial, image-obsessed and unconcerned with any real depth or subtlety. However the means of production meant that artists were reaping the benefits of this culture. Instead of labouring over an oil painting for months, artists now could print a simple image hundreds of times – money could be made for every print sold, and also galleries would now accept paying high prices for a piece of work that had taken very little time to complete. It was as though artists were portraying Americans as ignorant and lazy, but celebrating and taking advantage of just that. References Alloway, Lawrence (1974) American Pop Art, New York: Collier. Lippard, Lucy (1966) Pop Art, London:Thames Hudson Museum Ludwig Cologne (1996) 20th Century Art, Taschen. http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/popculture/PfourT.html

PEST Analysis of Indias Banking Sector

PEST Analysis of Indias Banking Sector HISTORY OF BANKING SECTOR The first bank in India was established in 1786.from 1786 till now ,the journey of Indian banking system can be segregated into three distint phases . Early phase from 1786 to 1969 of Indian banks Nationalisation of Indian Banks and up to 1991 prior to Indian banking sector Reforms. New phase of Bankig System after banking sector reforms. STEPS TAKEN BY THE GOVERNMENT The following are the steps taken by the Government of India to Regulate Banking Institutions in the Country 1949: Enactment of Banking Regulation Act 1955: Nationalisation of State Bank of India. 1959: Nationalisation of SBI subsidiaries. 1961: Insurance cover extended to deposits 1969: Nationalisation of 14 major banks. 1971: Creation of credit guarantee corPoration 1975: Creation of regional rural banks. 1980: Nationalisation of seven banks with deposits over 200 The commercial role of banks is not limited to banking, and includes: issue of banknotes processing of payments by way of telegraphic transfer, EFTPOS, internet banking or other means Issuing bank drafts and bank cheques Accepting money on term deposit lending money by way of overdraft, installment loan or otherwise providing documentary and standby letters of credit (tradefinance),guarantees, performance bonds, securities underwriting commitments and other forms of off- balance sheet exposures safekeeping of documents and other items in safe deposit boxes currency exchange Acting as a financial supermarket for the sale, distribution or brokerage, with or without advice, of insurance, unit trusts and similar financialproducts ROLE OF BANKS Capital formation Monetization Innovations Finance for priority sectors Provision for medium and long term finance Cheap money policy Need for a sound banking system FUNCTIONS OF A BANK Accepting Deposits from public/others ( deposit). Lending money to public ( loan). Transferring money from one place to another (remittances). Credit Creation. Acting as trustees. Keeping valuable in safe custody Investment decisions and analysis. Government business, Other type of lending and transaction TYPES OF BANKING Central bank Commercial bank Industrial bank Agricultural bank Foreign Exchange bank Indigenous bank Rural bank Co-operative bank ANKING CHANNEL Branch ATM Mail Telephone Online Mobile video BANKING SECTOR REFORMS In 1991, the RBI had proposed to from the committee chaired by M. Narasimham, former RBI Governor in order to review the Financial System viz. aspects relating to the Structure, Organisations and Functioning of the financial system. TheNarasimham Committee report, submitted to the finance minister, Manmohan Singh, on the banking sector reforms highlighted the weaknesses in the Indian banking system and suggested reform measures based on the Basle norms..The main recommendations of the Committee were. Reduction of Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) to 25 per cent over a period of five years. Progressive reduction in Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR). Phasing out of directed credit programmes and redefinition of the priority sector Deregulation of interest rates so as to reflect emerging market conditions Imparting transparency to bank balance sheets and making more disclosures Setting up of special rule to speed up the process of recovery of loan. Restructuring of the banking system, national bank to international bank some and nationalised some other bank. Abolition of branch licensing Liberalising the policy with regard to allowing foreign banks to open offices in India Rationalisation of foreign operations of Indian banks Giving freedom to individual banks to recruit officers Inspection by supervisory authorities based essentially on the internal audit and inspection reports Ending duality of control over banking system by Banking Division and RBI PEST ANALYSIS (P)OLITICAL/ LEGAL ENVIROMENT Government and RBI policies affect the banking sector. Sometimes looking into the political advantage of a particular party, the Government declares some measures to their benefits like waiver of short-term agricultural loans, to attract the farmers votes. By doing so the profits of the bank get affected. Various banks in the cooperative sector are open and run by the politicians. They exploit these banks for their benefits. Sometimes the government appoints various chairmen of the banks. Various policies are framed by the RBI looking at the present situation of the country for better control over the banks. (E)CONOMICAL ENVIROMENT Banking is as old as authentic history and the modern commercial banking are traceable to ancient times. In India, banking has existed in one form or the other from time to time. The present era in banking may be taken to have commenced with establishment of bank of Bengal in 1809 under the government charter and with government participation in share capital. Allahabad bank was started in the year 1865 and Punjab national bank in 1895, and thus, others followed Every year RBI declares its 6 monthly policy and accordingly the various measures and rates are implemented which has an impact on the banking sector. Also the Union budget affects the banking sector to boost the economy by giving certain concessions or facilities. If in the Budget  savings are encouraged, then more deposits will be attracted towards the banks and in turn they can lend more money to the agricultural sector and industrial sector,  therefore,booming the economy If the FDI limits are relaxed, then more FDI a re brought in India through banking channels. (S)OCIAL ENVIROMENT Before nationalization of the banks, their control was in the hands of the private parties and only big business houses and the effluent sections of the society were getting benefits of banking in India. In 1969 government nationalized 14 banks. To adopt the social development in the banking sector it was necessary for speedy economic progress, consistent with social justice, in democratic political system, which is free from domination of law, and in which opportunities are open to all. Accordingly, keeping in mind both the national and social objectives,bankers were given direction to help economically weaker section of the society and also provide need-based finance to all the sectors of the economy with flexible and liberal attitude. Now the banks provide various types of loans to farmers, working women, professionals, and traders.They also provide education loan to the students and housing loans, consumer loans, etc.Banks having big clients or big companies have to provide servi ces like personalized banking to their clients because these customers do not believe in running about and waiting in queues for getting their work done. The bankers also have to provide these customers with special provisions and at times with benefits like food and parties. But the banks do not mind incurring these costs because of the kind of business these clients bring for the bank. Banks have changed the culture of human life in India and have made life much easier for the people. (T)ECHNOLOGICAL ENVIROMENT Technology environment plays a very important role in banks internal control.The latest developments in technology like computer and telecommunication have promoted the bankers to change the concept of branch banking to anywhere banking. The use of ATM and Internet banking has allowed ‘anytime, anywhere banking facilities. Automatic voice recorders now answer simple queries, currency accounting machines makes the job easier and self-service counters are now encouraged. Credit card facility has encouraged an era of cashless society. Today MasterCard and Visa card are the two most popular cards used world over. The banks have now started issuing smartcards or debit cards to be used for making payments. These are also called as electronic purse. Some of the banks have also started home banking through telecommunication facilities and computer technology by using terminals installed at customers home and they can make the balance inquiry, get the statement of accounts, give instruc tions for fund transfers, etc. Through ECS we can receive the dividends and interest directly to our account avoiding the delay or chance of loosing the post. Today banks are also using SMS and Internet as major tool of promotions and giving great utility to its customers. For example SMS functions through simple text messages sent from your mobile. The messages are then recognized by the bank to provide you with the required information. All these technological changes have forced the bankers adopt customer-based approach instead of product-based approach. INTRODUCTION OF FINANCE SECTOR A financial system, which is inherently strong, functionally diverse and displays efficiency and flexibility, is critical to our national objectives of creating a market-driven,productive and competitive economy. The financial system in India includes of financial institutions, financial markets, financial instruments and services. The Indian financial system is characterised by its two major segments an organised sector and a traditional sector that is also known as informal credit market. Financial intermediation in the organised sector is conducted by a large number of financial institutions which are business organisations providing financial services to the community. Financial institutions whose activities may be either specialised or may overlap are further classified as banking and non-banking entities. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as the main regulator of credit is the apex institution in the financial system. Other important financial institutions are the commercial ban ks (in the public and private sector), cooperative banks, regional rural banks and development banks. Non-bank financial institutions include finance and leasing companies and other institutions like LIC, GIC, UTI, Mutual funds, Provident Funds, Post Office Banks etc. REFORMS OF FINANCIAL SECTOR The quantum of resources required to be mobilised, as the economy grows in complexity and generates new demands, places the financial sector in a vital position for promoting efficiency and momentum. It intermediates in the flow of funds from those who want to save a part of their income to those who want to invest in productive assets. The efficiency of intermediation depends on the width, depth and diversity of the financial system. Till about two decades ago, a large part of household savings was either invested directly in physical assets or put in bank deposits and small savings schemes of the Government. Since the late eighties however, equity markets started playing an important role. Other markets such as the medium to long-term debt market and short term money market remained relatively segmented and underdeveloped. In The past decades, the Government and its subsidiary institutions and agencies had an overwhelming and all encompassing role with extensive system of controls, rules, regulations and procedures, which directly or indirectly affected the development of these markets. The financial system comprising of a network of institutions, instruments and markets suffered from lack of flexibility in intermediary behavior and segmentation of various markets and sets of financial intermediaries. Well developed markets should be inter-connected to facilitate the demandsupply imbalances in one market overflowing into related markets thereby dampening shocks and disturbances. The inter connection also ensures that interest rates and returns in any market reflect the broad demand supply conditions in the overall market of savings. But such adjustment of interest rates is delayed when the intermediaries lack flexibility. On account of the historical role of the Government in controlling and directing a large part of the financial activity, such adjustments were slow and the problem needed to be addressed urgently if the financial sector had to keep pace with the reforms in the real sector. World wide experience confirms that the countries with well-developed and market-oriented financial systems have grown faster and more steadily than those with weaker and closely regulated systems. The financial sector in general and banking system in particular in many of the developing countries have been plagued by various systemic problems which necessitated drastic structural changes as also a reorientation of approach in order to develop a more efficient and well functioning financial system. The Indian financial system has been no exception in this respect and the problems encountered in the way of efficient functioning necessitated the financial sector reforms.Recognising the critical nature of the financial sector prompted the Government to set up two Committees on the Financial System (Narasimham Committees) in 1991 and 1998 to examine all aspects relating to the structure, organisation, functions and procedures of the financial system. The deliberations of the Committees were guided by the demands that would be placed on the financial system by the economic reforms talking place in the real sectors of the economy and by the need to introduce greater competition through autonomy and private sector participation in the financial sector. Despite the fact that the bulk of the banks were and are likely to remain in the public sector, and therefore with virtually zero risk of failure, the health and financial credibility of the banking sector was an issue of paramount importance to the Committees. The Committees proposed reforms in the financial sector to bring about operational flexibility and functional autonomy, for overall efficiency, productivity and profitability. In the banking sector, in particular, the measures have been taken aimed at restoring viability of the banking system, bringing about an internationally accepted level of accounting and disclosure standards and introducing capital adequacy norms in a phased manner. Most of the measures suggested by the Committees have been accepted by the Government. Interest rates have been deregulated over a period of time, branch-licensing procedures have been liberalised and Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) and Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) have been reduced. The entry barriers for foreign banks and new private sector banks have been lowered as part of the medium term strategy to improve the financial and operational health of the banking system by introducing an element of competition into it. A Board for Financial Supervision has been set up within the Reserve Bank of India and it has introduced a new system of offsite surveillance even while revamping the system of on-site surveillance. The financial sector reforms have been pursued vigorously and the results of the first set of reforms have brought about improved efficiency and transparency in the financial sector. It is well recognized that reforms in the financial sector are an ongoing process to meet the challenges thrown up on account of the integration of financial markets, both within the country and worldwide. Future direction of reforms If the financial sector reforms are viewed in a broad perspective, it would be evident that the first phase of reforms focussed on modification of the policy framework, improvement in financial health of the entities and creation of a competitive environment. The second phase of reforms target the three interrelated issues viz. Strengthening the foundations of the banking system; Streamlining procedures, upgrading technology and human resource development; Structural changes in the system. These would cover aspects of banking policy, and focus on institutional, supervisory and legislative dimensions. Although significant steps have been taken in reforming the financial sector, some areas require greater focus. One area of concern relates to the ability of the financial sector in its present structure to make available investible resources to the potential investors in the forms and tenors that will be required by them in the coming years, that is, as equity, long term debt and medium and short-term debt. If this does not happen, there could simultaneously exist excess demand and excess supply in different segments of the financial markets. In such a situation the segment facing the highest level of excess demand would prove to the binding constraint to investment activity and effectively determine the actual level of investment in the economy. Such problems could be resolved through movement of funds between various types of financial institutions and instruments and also by portfolio reallocation by the savers in response to differential movements in the returns in the alternative financial instruments. In this context, it is very important to identify the emerging structure of investment demand, particularly from the private sector, in order to reorient the functioning of the financial sector accordingly, so that investment in areas of national importance flows smoothly. A major area that needs to be focused in the context of the countrys development policy is investment in infrastructure. Financing of infrastructure projects is a specialized activity and would continue to be of critical importance in the future. A sound and efficient infrastructure is a sine qua non for sustainable economic development. A deficient infrastructure can be a major impediment in a countrys economic growth particularly when the economy is on the upswing. A growing economy needs supporting infrastructure at all levels, be it adequat e and reasonably priced power, efficient communication and transportation facilities or a thriving energy sector. Such infrastructure development has a multiplier effect on economic growth, which cannot be overlooked. Financial Institutions Credit Rating Information Service of India Limited(CRISIL) Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency of India (ICRA India) Insurance Regulatory and Development(IRDA) Board for Industrial and Financial Reonstruction(BIFR) Export Import Bank of India National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development(NABARD) Small Industries DevelopmentBank of India(SIDBI) National Housing Bank(NHB) PEST ANALYSIS OF FINANCE SECTOR Political Factors Financial Stability Monetary Policy Changes Foreign Direct Investment Trends Call for International Cooperation Economic Factors Financial Services and Gross Domestic Product Growing Unemployment in Financial Sector Volatile Exchange Rates Decline in Inflation Rates Tax Contribution of Financial Services Social Factor Geographic Distribution of Financial Services Employment Trends in Financial Services Sector Changing Lifestyles Expectations Credit Crunch Delaying Retirements Technological Factors Growth in eCommerce, despite Economic Crisis Banks to Invest in IT INTRODUCTION OF INSURANCE SECTOR Insurance is basically risk management device. The losses to assets resulting Form natural calamities like fire, flood, earthquake, accident etc. are met out of the common pool contributed by large number of persons who are exposed to Similar risks. This contribution of many is used to pay the losses suffered by unfortunate few. However the basic principle is that losses should occur as a result of natural calamities or unexpected events which are beyond the human control. Secondly insured person should not make any gains out of insurance. Insurance in India can be traced back to the Vedas. For instance, yogakshema,the name of Life Insurance Corporation of Indias corporate headquarters, is derived from the Rig Veda. The term suggests that a form of community insurance was prevalent around 1000 BC and practiced by the Aryans. Burial societies of the kind found in ancient Rome were formed in the Buddhist period to help families build houses, protect widows and children. Bombay Mutual Assurance Society, the first Indian life assurance society, was formed in 1870. Other companies like Oriental, Bharat and Empire of India were also set up in the 1870-90s. It was during the swadeshi movement in the early 20th century that insurance witnessed a big boom in India with several more companies being set up. As these companies grew, the government began to exercise control on them. The Insurance Act was passed in 1912, followed by a detailed and amended Insurance Act of 1938 that looked into investments, expenditure and management of these companies funds. By the mid-1950s, there were around 170 insurance companies and 80 provident fund societies in the countrys life insurance scene. However, in the absence of regulatory systems, scams and irregularities were almost a way of life at most of these companies. As a result, the government decided nationalizes the life assurance business in India. The Life Insurance Corporation of India was set up in 1956 to take over around 250 life companies. For years thereafter, insurance remained a monopoly of the public sector. INSURANCE IN INDIA opening up of the insurance sector to private players that the sector was finally opened up to private players in 2001. The Insurance Regulatory Development Authority, an autonomous insurance regulator set up in 2000, has extensive powers to oversee the insurance business and regulate in a manner that will safeguard the interests of the insured. The insurance sector in India has come a full circle from being an open competitive market to nationalization and back to a liberalized market again. Tracing the developments in the Indian insurance sector reveals the 360-degree turn witnessed over a period of almost two centuries. Milestone of indian life insurance industry:- The business of life insurance in India in its existing form started in India in the year 1818 with the establishment of the Oriental Life Insurance Company in Calcutta. Some of the important milestones in the life insurance business in India are: 1912: The Indian Life Assurance Companies Act enacted as the first statute to regulate the life insurance business. 1928: The Indian Insurance Companies Act enacted to enable the government to collect statistical information about both life and non-life insurance businesses. 1938: Earlier legislation consolidated and amended to by the Insurance Act with the objective of protecting the interests of the insuring public. 1956: 245 Indian and foreign insurers and provident societies taken over by the central government and nationalized. LIC formed by an Act of Parliament, viz. LIC Act, 1956, with a capital contribution of Rs. 5 crore from the Government of India. The functions of Insurance can be devided into three parts PrimaryFunctions SecondaryFunctions Other Functions The primary functions of insurance include the following: Provide Protection- The primary function of insurance is to provide protection against future risk, accidents and uncertainty. Insurance cannot check the happening of the risk, but can certainly provide for the losses of risk. Insurance is actually a protection against economic loss, by sharing the risk with others. Collective bearing of risk- Insurance is a device to share the financial loss of few among many others. Insurance is a mean by which few losses are shared among larger number of people. All the insured contribute the premiums towards a fund and out of which the persons exposed to a particular risk is paid. Assessment of risk- Insurance determines the probable volume of risk by evaluating various factors that give rise to risk. Risk is the basis for determining the premium rate also. Provide Certainty- Insurance is a device, which helps to change from uncertainty to certainty. Insurance is device whereby the uncertain risks may be made more certain. The secondary functions of insurance include the following: Prevention of Losses- Insurance cautions individuals and businessmen to adopt suitable device to prevent unfortunate consequences of risk by observing safety instructions; installation of automatic sparkler or alarm systems, etc. Prevention of losses cause lesser payment to the assured by the insurer and this will encourage for more savings by way of premium. Reduced rate of premiums stimulate for more business and better protection to the insured. Small capital to cover larger risks Insurance relieves the businessmen from security investments, by paying small amount of premium against larger risks and uncertainty. Contributes towards the development of larger industries- Insurance provides development opportunity to those larger industries having more risks in their setting up. Even the financial institutions may be prepared to give credit to sick industrial units which have insured their assets including plant and machinery. The other functions of insurance include the following: Means of savings and investment- Insurance serves as savings and investment, insurance is a compulsory way of savings and it restricts the unnecessary expenses by the insureds For the purpose of availing income-tax exemptions also, people invest in insurance. Source of earning foreign exchange- Insurance is an international business. The country can earn foreign exchange by way of issue of marine insurance policies and various other ways. Risk Free trade- Insurance promotes exports insurance, which makes the foreign trade risk free with the help of different types of policies under marine insurance cover. Characteristics of Insurance Sharing of risk Co-operative device Evaluation of risk Payment on happening of special event The amount of payment depends on the nature of losses incurred OPENING OF INSURANCE SECTOR INSURANCE INDIA The Union Govt. of India decided to open the insurance sector to make it more dynamic and customer friendly. Objective of Liberalization of Insurance The main objective for the opening up the insurance sector to the private insures as under. To provide better coverage to the India citizens. To augment the flow of long term financial resources to finance the growth of infrastructure. Insurance Industry in the year 2000-2001 had 16 new entrants, namely Life Insurers. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) Act The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act was introduced to end the monopoly of State-owned companies and to invest in the Insurance. Regulatory Authority power to control the insurance sector. Reforms of Insurance sector in India In 1993, Malhotra Committee, headed by former Finance Secretary and RBI Governor R. N. Malhotra, was formed to evaluate the Indian insurance industry and recommend its future direction. The Malhotra committee was set up with the objective of complementing the reforms initiated in the financial sector. The reforms were aimed at â€Å"creating a more efficient and competitive financial system suitable for the requirements of the economy keeping in mind the structural changes currently underway and recognizing that insurance is an important part of the overall financial system where it was necessary to address the need for similar reforms†¦Ã¢â‚¬  In 1994, the committee submitted the report and some of the key recommendations included: About the various player of life insurance sector Since being set up as an independent statutory body the IRDA has put in a framework of globally compatible regulations. In the private sector 12 life insurance and 6 general insurance companies have been registered than after remaining companies are registered. Here we have described the private life insurance companies registered in which year wise. PEST ANALYSIS OF INSURANCE SECTOR POLITICAL FACTORS Within India political ambitions and rise of communalism, fissiparoustendencies are on the rise and may well continue for quite some time to time.Therefore, it expected that the insurance companies might consider offering politicalrisk coverage also. The only area where Indian insurers consider giving cover is with regard to customs duty change under certain conditions.Certain type of political risk at the international level has serious implications for exporters. The term ‘political risk has a wider connotation than commonly understood or assumed. It covers events arising not just from politics, but risks in thecourse of international transactions. In this connection, it may be noted that export credit insurance has evolved out of uncertainties relating to international trade,particularly due to problems arising out of foreign legal jurisdiction, political changesand currency exchange difficulties faced by many developing countries. Prohibition for Investment Manner and conditions For investment Insurance business in rural / social sector All insurers are required to undertake such percentage of their insurance business, including insurance for crops, in the rural social sector as specified by the IRDA. They should discharge their obligations to providing life insurance policies to persons residing in the rural sector, workers in the unorganized sector or to economically vulnerable classes of society and other categories of persons as specified by the IRDA. 4. Capital requirement: The paid up equity of an insurance company applying for registration to carry on life insurance business should be Rs 100 Crores. 5. Renewal of registration: An insurer, who has been granted a certificate of registration, should have the registration renewed annually with each year ending on March 31 after the commencement of the IRDA Act. The application for renewal should be accompanied by a fee as determined by IRDA regulations, not exceeding one forth of one percent of the total gross premium income in India in the preceding year or Rs 5 Crores or whichever is less, but not less than Rs 50000 for each class of business as per Section 3A. 6. Requirements as to Capital The minimum paid up equity capital, excluding required deposits with the RBI and any preliminary expenses in the formation of the country, requirement of an insurer would be Rs 100 crore to carry on life insurance business and Rs 200 crore to exclusively do reinsurance business as per Section 7. Investment of funds outside India Insurers outside India as per Section 27-C cannot invest the funds of policyholders. 8. Insurance business in Rural Sector After the commencement of the IRDA Act, 1999, every insurer would have to undertake such percentage of life insurance business in the rural sector as may be specified by the IRDA in this behalf. It is mandatory for the new co

Research Paper -- essays research papers

Wireless Fidelity In the last few years the world has undergone a tremendous and unprecedented technological change with the attack of the Information Technology revolution. Earlier it was e-mail that changed the way people communicate, and then online shopping became the order of the day, gradually online banking caught up and the list goes on and on. The new trend, Wi-Fi, or Wireless Fidelity, allows you to connect to the Internet from your couch at home, a bed in a hotel room or at school, all without wires. As author Harold Davis nicely puts, â€Å"Wi-Fi is a wireless technology just like a mobile phone and Wi-Fi enabled computers send and receive data indoors and out; anywhere within the range of a base station. Wi-Fi certification means that you will be able to connect anywhere there are other Wi-Fi CERTIFIED products — whether you are at home, the office, school and other public areas equipped with a Wi-Fi Access Point device† (35). Customers with the capability to tap into w ireless Internet networks at certain universities and Starbucks coffee shops in US will soon be able to browse the Web in a very inexpensive way using the wireless internet technology Wi-Fi WLAN use radio technologies called IEEE 802.11b or 802.11a to provide secure, reliable, fast wireless connectivity. Michael Galagher notes that, â€Å"A Wi-Fi WLAN can be used to connect computers to each other, to the Internet, and to wired networks (which use IEEE 802.3 or Ethernet)† (120). Wi-Fi WLANs operate in the unlicensed 2.4 and 5 GHz radio bands, with an 11 Mbps (802.11b) or 54 Mbps (802.11a) data rate or with products that contain both bands (dual band), so they can provide real-world performance similar to the basic 10BaseT wired Ethernet networks used in many networked environments. Competition has already driven down the costs of deploying 802.11b networks which can now be deployed by businesses to give their employees mobility within the business. Home users can buy 802.11b kit to extend their DSL or cable broadband Internet access wirelessly to the entire house. James LaRocca points out that, â€Å"In universities and schools a wireless network can allow computers to be integrated more effectively into teaching as classes no longer need to be held in computer lab† (48). In ... ...The master key also serves as a password by which users can be authenticated and granted network access. WPA was designed to be a software upgrade to WEP, so most existing wireless devices should be upgradeable to WPA via a firmware (define) update. In order to take advantage of WPA, all network devices like access points and clients must be upgraded. The first WPA-enabled products are expected in the early Spring of 2003, and upgrades for existing products should be available at around the same time or shortly thereafter. For Wi-Fi to really take off in homes, its needs to capture the public imagination and make the initial equipment costs seem even more trivial – similar to when TV sets were drastically reduced in price . "Wi-Fi is a key step for home networking, but it still doesn't solve issues of developing home entertainment," agrees Roland Berger's Kintz. That's probably true. But coming up with an attention grabber doesn't seem so impossible with Intel and Microsoft already pouring millions of dollars into Wi-Fi technologies and major carriers such as VoiceStream and AT&T figuring out how to make the technology work for them.

The Strange Points of View of Dostoevskys The Brothers Karamazov :: Brothers Karamazov Essays

The Strange Points of View of Brothers Karamazov The novel, The Brothers Karamazov written by Fyodor Dostoevsky was first published in 1880. This book is unique because it is effectivly written in a combination of third person omniscient and first person point of view. The author seems to be a character in the book but also seems to know all. Parts of The Brothers Karamazov is in the third person omniscient point of view. Third person omniscient is when the author is all knowing. This is shown when the author is able to read the thoughts of all of the main characters. A good example of this is when Mitya, one of the main characters, is observing two Polish men that he just met. Mitya’s thoughts are displayed when he decides that "it was the little pipe-smoking Pole who was in charge" (pg. 507). This shows what is going through Mitya’s mind when he meets the Poles and is a good example of the third person omniscient point of view. The author also knows what is going on in other towns while he seems to always be at the monastery in the main town in the book. This is shown when Mitya goes to the village of Sukhoi in order to see a man about a business deal. Mitya gets a priest to go with him and the priest "suggested they go on foot, for, he assured Mitya, it was only a miles walk..." (pg. 452). This is information that could only be known to someone who was at Sukhoi at that time while the character of the author was still at the monastery that is in another town. This also shows third person point of view. The author seems to also know what is going on in the privacy of people’s homes. This is shown on page 483 when Mitya is at his friend Perkhotin’s house and they are the only two people there and yet the author is able to describe exactly what is going on. He explains how "the washing operations began" when he had no way of actually knowing. This adds to the third person point of view. The third person omniscient point of view aspect of the book makes it so that the story keeps going even though the author is not there. The thoughts and the actions of the characters are always known so that the story is more complete and therefore more effective.

Populism DBQ

In the late nineteenth century, around 1880-1900, many farmers were experiencing problems and threats to their way of life. The valid complaints of the farmers dealt with the money supply system in America and the large railroad companies. In 1892, the platform for the Populist Party was laid down. In this platform it is stated that â€Å"the national power to create money is appropriated to enrich bondholders †¦ thereby adding millions to the burdens of the people.†This is discussing the demonetization of silver and the negative effect it has on the common people, such as farmers. Later on in the platform is it also discussed that silver has had widespread acceptance as a coin for a very long time and by demonetizing it to increase the purchasing power of gold, the results are several negative consequences which will eventually lead to â€Å"terrible convulsions, the destruction of civilization, or the establishment of an absolute despotism.†This unhappiness of fa rmers regarding the money system in the United States is also shown in a political cartoon from The Farmers Voice, a Chicago newspaper in the late 1880's or early 1890's. The cartoon entitled â€Å"The Eastern Master and His Western Slaves† depicts farmers as slaves to the wealthy eastern businessmen. It is representing the exploitation of the farmers and shows yet another of their economic struggles; the mortgages they bore on their farms.Further evidence that supports and validates the farmers' complaints about the current economic situation is found in William McKinley's acceptance speech given in Canton, Ohio on August 26, 1896. In his speech, McKinley said that even though free silver â€Å"would not make farming less laborious and more profitable.. † farmers and laborers are the ones who suffer the greatest as a result of the cheap money. â€Å"They are the first to feel its bad effects and the last to recover from them†¦ †. The belief that silver is the solution of the problems for farmers is opposed in J.Laurence Laughlin's â€Å"Causes of Agricultural Unrest† article in the November, 1896 issue of Atlicantic Monthly. Laughlin describes that the increase in supply without an increase of demand led farmers to believe that silver can solve their issues by his saying, â€Å"the sudden enlargement of the supply without any corresponding increase of demand produced that alarming fall in the price of wheat which has been made the farmer's excuse for thinking that silver is the magic panacea for all his ills†¦Ã¢â‚¬ He then goes on to describe that farmers have simply pushed the blame on the scarcity of gold as opposed to realizing the actual cause is their own overproduction of wheat. The effects of the different acts and laws regarding money supply is shown in the United States government data from 1961 depicting the population of the country along side the money in circulation from the year 1865 through 1895. This dat a shows that from 1865 through 1885, the population was increasing, however the amount of money in circulation was decreasing rapidly.This suggests that the effects of the acts and laws regarding money were resulting in the deflation of of the currency. against the railroad companies is credible because during this time period the government showed enormous favoritism towards large businesses even though the railroads were monopolies. Further discontent with monopolies is expressed in A Call to Action: An Interpretation of the Great Uprising. Its Source and Causes by James B.Weaver, a Populist candidate for president in the election of 1892. Weaver described that trusts and monopolies use â€Å"threats, intimidation, bribery, fraud, wreck, and pillage† to â€Å"impoverish the producer, drive him to a single market, reduce the price of every class of labor connected with the trade, throw out of employment large numbers of people †¦ , and finally †¦ they increase the price to the consumer†¦ †.The farmers and laborers of the late nineteenth century faced two main problems; money supply and large businesses such as railroads. These issues resulted in a variety of complaints from the agriculturists, however the grievances did prove to be valid based on the evidence previously presented. The farmers were struggling to survive off of the small profit they received, and they suffered even further when large monopolies and railroad companies took actions that dwindled their profits further.

Sunbeam

In 1897 John K. Stewart and Thomas Clark incorporated their Chicago Flexible Shaft Company, which made horse trimming and sheep shearing machinery. [4] In 1910 the company produced its first Sunbeam branded household appliance, the Princess Electric Iron. The company did not officially change its name to Sunbeam until 1946. [5] In 1928, the company's head designer, Swedish immigrant Ivar Jepson, invented the Mixmaster mixer.Introduced in 1930, it was the first mechanical mixer with two detachable beaters whose blades interlocked. [6] The Mixmaster became the company's flagship product for the next forty years, but the brand also became known for the designs, mainly by Robert Davol Budlong, of electric toasters, coffee makers, and electric shavers, among other appliances. [edit] Purchases and acquisitions Sunbeam bought out the Rain King Sprinkler Company and produced one of the most popular lawn sprinkler lines of the 1950s and 1960s.Meanwhile, Sunbeam continued to expand outside of Chicago. By the end of the 1970s, as the leading American manufacturer of small appliances, Sunbeam enjoyed about $1. 3 billion in annual sales and employed nearly 30,000 people worldwide. The John Oster Manufacturing Company was acquired in 1980 by Sunbeam Corporation. In 1981, after Sunbeam was bought by Allegheny International Inc. of Pittsburgh, most of the Chicago-area factories were closed and the headquarters moved from the Chicago region.During this time the companies Allegheny controlled included John Zink Company (manufactured air pollution control devices) and Hanson Scale (manufactured bathroom scales and other balance machines). [7] Allegheny's 4 principal divisions, including Sunbeam, went into decline through the mid 1980s. Since Sunbeam-Oster was one of the most important divisions, responsible for nearly half of all sales, the stockholders were very concerned about the leadership. In 1986, the stockholders accused the Chairman and CEO, Robert Buckley of mis-appropri ating funds. 8][9] Buckley's successor, Oliver Travers, downsized considerably and by 1988, the company was essentially just Sunbeam and Oster. The decline continued aided by the stock market crash of October 1987 and Allegheny filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. [10] In the fall of 1989 an investment group called Japonica Partners [11] purchased the remains of Allegheny for $250 million ($468. 7 million today) in hostile takeover. [12] The company was renamed Sunbeam-Oster Company, Inc. At this point the usiness was then divided into 4 divisions: Outdoor Products, Household Products, Specialty Products, and International Sales. The company headquarters were moved again from Pittsburgh to Providence, Rhode Island and then finally to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. [13] By late 1991, Sunbeam-Oster's sales had increased 7% enabling it to make the Fortune 500 list. [edit] Chainsaw Al In 1996, Albert J. Dunlap was recruited to be CEO and Chairman of Sunbeam-Oster. In 1997, Sunbeam reported massi ve increases in sales for its various backyard and kitchen

Simon in the Lord of the Flies

Simon is a member of the choir, but is the only one who seems weak. Simon is introduced in the novel when he faints; this is a show of his weakness. He is a lot like piggy, but not as bullied. Ralph thinks he is ‘queer' and ‘funny' because he is realistic. Simon is the first boy to notice the candle bud flowers when they are out walking. Simon always sees the spiritual side of the island. The only place you see candles nowadays is in churches. Jack slashes at the candle buds with his knife keeping up his reputation as the anarchist. The creepers on the island are long vines. The small children see these creepers as â€Å"beasties†. When the little child comes forward during a meeting, he describes a ‘snake-thing', then changes his mind to a ‘beastie'. The boy makes out the ‘beastie to be evil'. The beastie the boy has seen is not a physical monster it is a monster inside the boy's head. The most terrifying thing is darkness and the unknown. The unknown makes the human imagination go wild and ask all the questions it can, â€Å"What's out there?† â€Å"Is it a huge big snake† â€Å"Is it coming to get me in the night?† The snake-like thing the ‘little-un' describes is symbolic of the serpent in the story of Adam and Eve. In Genesis, in the Bible, the serpent is portrayed as the devil and acts against god's wishes; it offers Eve the fruit from the tree of knowledge, unknowing of the consequences, Eve accepts the fruit. She offers the fruit to her husband, Adam. They both eat the fruit and become aware of their state of undress. When God came walking in the garden he found that Adam and Eve had hidden their genitalia under fig leaves. God banished Adam and Eve from Eden. The serpent, the devil, had won. Simon is the one who is helping to construct the huts on the beach. He believes the shelters will guard from the ‘beastie'. This is for the benefit of the rest of the group, not selfish like Jack and his crazed hunt for pigs. Simon is a bit of a loner; he has his own cove in the jungle, which he keeps secret from everyone else. This place has ‘more sunlight' than the rest of the jungle and is decorated with floral bouquets. The jungle suddenly turns into a picturesque haven from the outside anger of the island. But Simon is not escaping the outside force he is merely running from himself, the Simon that exists with the other boys. When he is inside his special sanctuary he fells protected. There is the appearance of the candle bud flowers again, and coupled with the safety and sanctuary of the cove it almost turns into a church. When the tight canopy of creepers envelops Simon, the light in the cove increases. The passage describes of how the evil in this part of the jungle disappears, ‘Darkness poured out'. Simon is the light in the darkness of the island; he is the only voice of religion amongst the chaos of evil. Golding is showing Simon to be a spiritual guide in the book. When he is walking through the jungle towards his cavern, he comes across some small children, â€Å"little-uns†. They are trying to reach some fruit located just beyond their grasp in a tree. Simon obligingly picks the ‘choicest' fruit from the foliage and passes it back down to the ‘endless outstretched hands'. This scene can be likened to an event in the bible, which is where Jesus Christ feeds five thousand people with a few loaves of bread and some fish. Simon is the saviour for these children; they had been trying for hours to reach the juiciest fruit from the tree and Simon has got it for them with very little ease. Simon's description by Golding shows he has a mop of hair, which is black in colour. This is like that of Jesus Christ, again rekindling the association with a spiritual nature. Like Piggy Simon is clear-sighted, he knows what is best, but unlike Piggy he advises on the religious meanings of the island. He is the first boy in the party to notice the transformation that has occurred on the island. He sees that, the island they once took for an Eden, has under gone a metamorphosis into a place of evil. When Jack talks of how the ‘little-uns' scream in their sleep, terrified of the ‘beastie' Simon is the first to acknowledge â€Å"As if the beastie was real† and â€Å"As if it wasn't a good island.† Simon is still blaming the evil experience on an outside force, he, like the entire group still fail to see the evil is within or â€Å"The darkness within†. Jack also senses the evil on the island, he likens it to a physical presence when he goes hunting, â€Å"†¦you can feel as if you're not hunting, but-being hunted: as if something's behind you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The boys on the island have difficulty finishing their sentences; this is because they are scared and embarrassed of their situation. The boys themselves find it difficult to understand the emotions they are feeling and whether these emotions should be listened to. The situation is like that of the Jews in Egypt from the Old Testament in the Bible. When the evil Egyptian slave masters ruled them, they were not enjoying themselves but they had some kind of law and order. When Moses freed them, they were happy at the wonders of freedom, but soon were reduced to a rabble of immoral ‘wrong-doers'. The boys have been ruled by grown-ups all their lives and when they find themselves on the Island, they are ecstatic, but when things get difficult and new feelings arise, bad things happen. Luckily for the Jews Moses was there to save them, he went to God and received the Ten Commandments that brought law and order back to his people. Maybe something similar will happen in this novel. Simon may save the boys, or he may be symbolising Moses and some other, yet unknown force, is God.

Influence of Western European Economy on Migration Since 1945 Essay

After the end of the second world war, many European countries suffered from the effects of the war and the future of the continent was in doubt. Most countries had a hard time rebuilding and recuperating their economies from the aftershocks of the war. The western part of Europe, after a torrid time of economic and political hardship, began to recover and rebuild their countries. In the years that came after the war, the countries in the western region had to enact cooperative measures with each other as opposed to competing with each other to ensure that they survived the torrid period together. This period was marked by complex processes with the rolling out economic programs that would reduce trade barriers among the countries and this kick started a period of significant economic development in the region. The migration history of Europe represents an unplanned development and unintended occurrence. It represented a combination of labor migrants, colonial migrants and asylum see kers (Schönwälder, 2003). This essay will establish the link between successful economic periods in western Europe and the levels of migration into these areas. The postwar migration can be categorized into two phases; a regime which involved colonial migration and that which involved the migration of guest workers. Those migrated came to look for work opportunities which were created by the ten recovering and booming economies in Western Europe. In the 1970’s, there was an interaction of economic deficiencies with colonial migration before the war. This also interacted with the existing citizenship regulations in countries such as France, Belgium, UK and the Netherlands while countries such as Austria , Denmark, Germany Sweden and Switzerland had implemented guest-workers policies that were a major attraction for foreign migrants. Germany enacted a currency reform in 1948 which instigated the recovery of its economy. In mid 1950’s, the country along with the others in the western region of Europe experienced high labor demand levels that could not be satisfied locally. A unanimous pattern in Western Europe at that time involve d sourcing of labor from the eastern parts of Europe as they believed that migrants from those parts could be integrated easily into their systems. This expanded into the northern countries in Africa and countries near the periphery of middle east such as Turkey. The countries arranged guest-worker schemes among themselves and other interested countries out of their region. Trade unions especially in Germany saw the guest-worker programs as a threat to existing wage rates as they feared that they would experience a downward spiral at the end. Governments in Western Europe particularly Germany’s incorporated measures that ensured that the guest workers enjoyed the equal work conditions as their European counterparts. The basic principle behind the scheme of guest-workers was that that the foreign workers would remain in the countries as long as they held their jobs and would leave back to their native countries once the economy started to perform badly. In Germany for example, many guests-workers left the country during the 1968 economic recession with the guarantee that they could return when the economy recovered and the labor demand went up again. In the early 1970’s, the huge numbers of migrant workers in the European market were causing an economic slowdown and most of the countries responded to this by stopping the migration programs in 1973. This, however did not result into the intended result of migrants moving back to their countries. Many guests-workers remained in the countries where they received help from NGOs and charitable organizations in addition to favorable court judgements which permitted their stay. This case was most prevalent in Germany. Countries such as France, Sweden, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland and Holland implemented varying forms of the guest-workers policies which sharply decreased the extent of migration related to labor from 1973 onwards. In the other regime of labor migration touching on colonial background, bilateral and multilateral agreements in regard to guest-workers became the sole supply of migrant labor. UK, Netherlands, France and Belgium had the capability of drawing huge numbers of unskilled laborers. Policymakers were thought to have tapped at the opportunity colonial labor offered to satisfy the boom experienced after the war but this was not the case. The inability to secure domestic workers meant that the policymakers had to rely on colonial migrants to feed the labor demand. This was mostly practiced in France and UK with limited implementation in Belgium and the Netherlands (Schönwälder, 2003). In the postwar period, UK put into trial its version of the migrant worker scheme by sourcing workers from the Eastern part of Europe. However, the local economy became sluggish and this reduced the pull factor that UK had on migrant workers. Countries such as Germany, France, Austria and Switzerland were more appealing and attractive to migrant workers from eastern Europe countries. The UK economy was not on the same level with the rest of western Europe but its situation with guest-workers were enhanced by its citizenship program which integrated over half a billion colonial subjects into the country’s fold. In 1948, UK had in place legislation that confirmed all of its former colonial subjects as the country’s citizens with rights to enter and enjoy all social, economic and political rights within the country. The resulting occurrence was the inflow of migrants of Indian and Pakistan origin in the country. The economy of the country enjoyed a full employment rate at the time and there were labor shortages which the migrants helped to correct. By 1962, UK had over half a million non-white colonial migrants and this marked the start of restrictive measures that regulated the inflow of colonial migrants. The figure of non-white colonial migrants had risen to over a million by 1972, a period which saw UK cut on the privileges associated with UK nationality status at the time (Strayer, 2009). France on the other hand concentrated on migrants from northern Africa particularly from Algeria though not a former French colony. The supply of the labor migrants was hampered by completion from Germany and Switzerland which were experiencing increased economic growth. This shortened the supply of labor in France and the interest of the European nations in colonial labor resulted to an increased migration of Algerians into the country as they had the right to enter France, a case similar to that of UK. French companies sourcing for cheap labor looked to Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco as credible sources of such labor. The system was tighter in Austria, Germany and Switzerland but the French took the opportunity to directly hire colonial migrants into their companies and confirm their nationality status afterwards through the National Immigration Office (Foley, 1998). In recent decades from the 1980’s, the largest percentage of migrants into Europe have come from West Africa. This has been accentuated by extreme poverty levels, high rates of unemployment and political instability in some of the nations. This has been enhanced by the perception held by many people that Africa is a continent plagued by miseries of all kinds. Despite these challenges afflicting people in Africa, the promise of a better life and economic conditions in the dominant Western Europe countries offers a unique attraction to African migrants into the economically developed countries. The European economy is a major contributor to the success of the global economy and presents numerous lucrative and medium scale job opportunities for skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled laborers from all walks of life. The prevailing excellent economic conditions act as the main pull factors for migration into the more popular countries in Europe such as Germany, France and UK. These co untries offer a chance for many migrants who are driven by the sheer aspiration to live in a western country. After many African countries gained independence, the education systems were hugely improved and this resulted into the outlet of highly learned and qualified personnel . The demand for expatriates and skilled labor in the Western European economy presented a great chance for the ;learned people to move abroad and try their luck with corporate and technological jobs. Most colonial powers had projects that flew talented students in their countries to present better academic opportunities for Africans. In the current era, a significant number of migrants in the Western part of Europe are students who come to achieve advanced educational dreams. The European countries are well economically developed which translates into quality education structures which are among the best in the world. Many students of African, Indian and Asian descent migrate to these countries to tap into t he great educational opportunities that are present in these countries (Schönwälder, 2003). Migration patterns are created through network functionality. Which leads to the rise of migration systems that act as links to origin and destination countries through an established exchange of products, people, information and capital remittances. The systems may be legal or informal but all contribute to the continous cycle of family and labor migration . Currently,many countries in Western Europe pay more attention to migration of skilled laborers who are viewed as capable of bettering their economic growth. The UK and Germany have taken significant steps towards this priority by issuing work permits to the highly-skilled labor migrants. This attracts many professionals who believe they have a great chance of succeeding in those countries. In 2000, Germany introduced a ‘green card’ program aimed at attracting over 20000 highly qualified workers. This was in pursuit of further economic progress, a factor that acted well in raising the migration levels in the country and therefore into Europe. In a period spanning from 1999 to 2004, France has seen the number of foreign migrant rise from 376000 to more than 570000 which signifies a rise of 35000 migrants annually. These migrants were mostly of African descent who came to France for educational. Job and resettlement purposes. In Britain and the Netherlands, the levels are not too far apart from those in France with an annual inflow of more than 10000 migrants being reported. These migrants come into these countries either illegally or legally. The legal form of migration differs with the driving motive of the migrants (Foley,1998). This brings in the third aspect migration into Western Europe fuelled by the economic success enjoyed in this region. Many countries in Western Europe enjoy unperturbed peace and economic stability. All of them are members of the United Nations and are bound by the regulations and principles that are core to the operations of the United nations. In recent years dating from the 1970’s into the new millennium some African countries have suffered from political instabilities which have resulted into civil unrests in those countries. The civil unrest acted as the push factor which caused many migrants to leave their war stricken countries. However, the choice of their destination country was mainly influenced by , the economic stability of that country. Many western European countries presented this option and represent viable choices where the migrants can be granted asylum and thrive under better humanitarian conditions as opposed to neighboring countries. The migrants go against all odds to reach the European mainland with the hope that once they are there, they will find ways of integrating i nto the local population and tap into the available opportunities of work and settlement. In the 1980’s, asylum applications had reached 320000 and more than doubled from 1992 in Germany. In Britain the numbers hit the 100000 mark. Most of these migrants are offered refugee status but their main aim of coming to these countries is to find a better a life away from their native countries. This notion is enhanced by the high economic performance levels identified with the European economy(Strayer, 2009). In the European region, specifically the western part offers the second largest intra-regional migration of workforce behind America. Most of the migrants in this region have been attracted to this place by the prospect of successful lives in countries and regions experiencing economic booms. However, the uncontrolled number of illegal migrants poses a challenge to them and the same economy that attracted them to these countries. Most of these migrants are mostly concentrated in low-skill tertiary sectors of the various industries present in the region. With the recent economic crisis in the world and in the European region, most of the migrants were faced with various vulnerabilities associated with economic pressure as they depended on unsustainable resources and their status as migrants only made matters worse for them. In light of the economic problems that afflicted the region in 2008,. The countries in the region in conjunction the whole EU body started to enact immigration pol icies that would control the levels of migration during the hard economic conditions. These policies were proposed and enacted to shield the labor sector from increased worsening conditions and to protect the existing wage rates which had a significant effect of the economic downturn at the time (Kaelble, 2011). In conclusion, it is clearly evident that many push and pull factors that have influenced migration into Western Europe. However, the economic success that the region has enjoyed in the years after the second world war in the current era of economic recessions and recoveries acted as a major influence in determining which part the migrants moved to. The economic conditions in this region provided numerous opportunities for the migrants to progress their lives and mould a successful future. With the demand for labor souring in the region at one time and the advent of excessive inflow of migrants through various economic periods shaped by both success and downturns, the main pull for migrants to the western part of Europe was the economic development that Europe was identified with. References Foley, B. J. (1998). European economies since the Second World War. New York: St. Martin’s Press. Kaelble, H. (2011). The social history of Europe, 1945-2000: recovery and transformation after two World Wars. New York: Berghahn Books. Schönwälder, K., Ohliger, R., & Triadafilopoulos, T. (2003). European encounters: migrants, migration, and European societies since 1945. Aldershot, Hants, England: Ashgate. Strayer, R. W. (2009). Ways of the world: a brief global history. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s. Source document