Reverend Henry Ward Essay

Reverend Henry Ward is best known for changing the Jamaican school system. Up until Reverend Henry Ward got involved with the government to change it, the system was a flawed, failing system, with hundreds, if not thousands of children unable to get educated because of the lack of facilities. Although churches and infant centres tried their best to cater for as many children as possible, there was simply too much demand. That was until Reverend Henry Ward got involved in the schooling system. In 1938, Reverend Henry Ward started researching primary education for young children and began to campaign for children in Jamaica. The campaign was a hard task to take on, as there very little education services back then, and not a lot of money was put aside by the government to place into building and creating schools and education centres. In 1938, after alerting the government of the desperate need for primary schools, Reverend Henry Ward developed a number of community schools that later became known as â€Å"basic schools†. He then went on to create schools in areas that needed critical help. He once said in an interview that he created a school for 3-6 year olds after seeing them unprotected, running about the streets unattended. In 1941, Reverend Henry Ward held a presentation to the Jamaican Board of Education calling for the creation of ‘play centres’. These centres were to include play stories, action songs, lessons on pets, the caring of a garden, the teaching of reading, writing, numeracy, craft and handy work. This was dropped by the government, sadly, although they did then create more â€Å"basic schools† in Ward’s name. Without Reverend Henry Ward fighting every step of the way for basic, primary education, Jamaican schools would still now be very far and few between.

Continuities and Changes in South Asia Essay

In 1450, India was a divided land. Lack of central unified power had caused the frequent invasions from foreign armies or groups such as that of the Muslims, which slowly occupied and ruled the region, the Portuguese, Aryas, and Turkish armies. Yet the impact that the Europeans had settled in this divided subcontinent is diverse and had changed India immensely with their distinct ideas and culture. Impact of British rule had been widespread through the country and had not only affected their political and culture, but also the religious, social, and economic state of India forevermore. India developed into a divided land, due to political and geographic separation, and consisted of small kingdoms that’d drive away various invaders. The small Muslim population controlled most of the political power whose rulers imposed a tax against all non-Muslims affecting almost the entire population. India at this time only holds a small portion of the oceanic trade, but with the Muslims in the north, items were traded from the Middle East and its nearby regions. However, by the 1500’s, the Indian Ocean trade grew and linked India to Southeast Asia, Africa, and even to the European nations. Europeans, especially the Portuguese, were in need for rare materials and in search of trade in the early 16th century. Ports were deployed by Europeans, African natives, and India in order for goods and other cultural advancements to be introduced. Europeans slowly began to administer and control the trade along the Indian Ocean and soon, The East India Company was established in the 1600’s due to Britain’s economic power. Over time, the Scientific Revolution which resulted to the development of the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution stimulated the requirement for new colonies and raw materials. In 1858, Britain took control over India and passed a British rule by the title of The British Raj which brought passengers to South Asia along with their cultural methods, customs, technology advancements, and power competence. The British soon began to obtain resources for their industrial needs and replaced local leaders whom assembled factories and textiles industries leading the natives of India to despise the British. Colonies from many European nations were located throughout the subcontinent bringing along beneficial and difficulties in relations of dissimilar political ideas. European paid Indian soldiers to fight against other fellow Indians. Not only that, but ammunition pack also required them to remove the bullet with the process of biting it and consuming animal fat which belonged to cows. Cows were an animal sacred to the native. After switching to pigs, the Muslim residents were discontent as well. This intrusion from the foreign Europeans concluded the Indians with the desire of independence. Unfortunately, the contrasting Indians did not unite to fight off the trespassers, but instead rivaled against each other. Over periods of time, Indian nationalist movements continued to surface. Although the Nationalist movements did not contribute a big role in gaining independence to the country, they did bring a sense of Nationalism among the people. It was because of this Nationalism and Unity among Indians that caused the British to finally evacuate the country leaving behind a Secular Democracy of India. India went through an immense conversion from the impact of the arrival of the Europeans in the 16th century. With its abundance of resources and population, it became a benefit to the Europeans to conquer and colonize. New conflicts were created between them such as that of the Sepoy Rebellion which lasted till the First World War. Superior technology, political ideas, various customs, cultural methods were accommodated within the region transforming the nation and changing the course of history.

Criminal law undergraduate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Criminal law undergraduate - Essay Example Thus, if a doctor applies skill and care and functions in a style that is considered as an adequate practice, he would not be regarded functioning negligently despite a successful medical result cannot be assured. Where a doctor is found guilty of total negligence or has done a crime through malevolent intent to assault or harm a patient, this may end in a criminal prosecution. To face a criminal action by doctors is extremely a rare event for doctors in their professional capacity. If a doctor anticipated serious injury to the patient and done gross negligence by prolonging with the wrong medical procedures without the required consent or induced intentional harm, in such a scenario, a doctor will face a criminal prosecution. In Kent v Griffins 2000], an ambulance was called by a doctor to shift a person to a hospital who was suffering from asthma. The control room replied to the doctor in affirmative. However, there was a failure on the part of ambulance to arrive in a reasonable time and as a result, the person suffered a heart attack which could have averted if the ambulance arrived in time. Claimant was succeeded. In this case, the doctor was not directly responsible for the sufferings of a patient but due to late arrival of an ambulance. (The Thomas Hardye School 2010). In Barnett v Kensington Hospital 1969], three night watchmen went to a casualty hospital and complained severe vomiting and stomach pain after drinking tea in a shop . When the duty nurse contacted the duty doctor, he refused to come and suggested that they could visit their own doctors. One of the watchmen went to home and after few hours, he was dead due to arsenic poison. The claimant sued the doctor. The claim was not successful, mainly due to the fact that by the time the doctor was requested to check up the watchmen , the poison would have taken hold, and the watchmen’s fate was sealed

Female Cicumcision Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Female Cicumcision - Essay Example There are three main types of FC practiced in the Sudanese region; â€Å"Clitoridectomy, Intermediate and Pharaonic Circumcision.† (Magied, Sulima, and Kawther, 2002). The most common kind is a Clitoridectomy, which means the hood of the clitoris is removed (Magied, Sulima, and Kawther, 2002). Intermediate is when the clitoris and part of the labia minor is removed (Magied, Sulima, and Kawther, 2002). A Pharaonic Circumcision occures when the whole outer female genitals are removed then sewed up save a small hole for urination and menstruation (Magied, Sulima, and Kawther, 2002). The type of FC Nawal underwent would depend on the region she was from. There are three main reasons for FC being practiced in the Sudan. The first is the popular belief that if a woman cannot feel sexual pleasure, then she will remain a virgin until marriage (Davidson, 2007). The second reason is the Sudanese belief that the female genital areas are unclean. It is believed that FC makes a female genital area cleaner and smoother. Lastly, many men want their future brides to undergo the most radical form of FC, the Pharaonic Circumcision, for their personal sexual pleasure (Davidson, 2007). This type of FC leaves only a small hole, which tightens the vagina, which enhances a man’s sexual pleasure. This type of circumcision is preferred by 76% of women. Right or wrong, these are the cultural beliefs in the Sudan, since 99% of women are circumcised (Davidson, 2007). The major cultural argument against circumcision is the medical complications (Davidson, 2007). Immediate medical complications were pain and burning during urination (Davidson, 2007). This was due to the urine passing over the wound. This could also lead to infection, fever, and hemorrhaging (Davidson, 2007). Long terms effects were sexual dysfunction, lack of sexual pleasure, infertility, and scarring. The infertility is caused by difficulty in urination and menstruation, which causes â€Å"urinary tract and

11-2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

11-2 - Assignment Example Actually, the developed countries have exploited the resources of the poor countries for self interests, conveniently forgetting the objectives of globalization. Thus the gap between poor countries and the developed countries are gradually increasing instead of decreasing. UN intervention is essential in modifying the globalization policies, more suitable to the development of the poor countries. Even though exchange of workforce across different countries is taking place smoothly because of globalization, most of the international workers or the workers from the poor countries are facing discriminations in developed countries. We would like to bring your attention in this regard urgently and we strongly believe that you can (UN) interfere effectively in this matter. Environment problems are increasing day by day and it is not possible for a country to tackle such issues independently. Collective efforts are required for reducing environment pollutions and the UN should play its part effectively in order to save the future generation from a polluted

Interactive and Digital Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Interactive and Digital Marketing - Essay Example It has huge ware houses with lots of products and the inventory keeps getting updated at a quick rate in each week. It targets the market of UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Australia, USA, China and also distribution channel to other countries as well which are all generally been controlled by the two distribution channel of the company in UK. The website used by the company is very accessible and useful for all the customers. The website provides good facility for all its customers to find their product as per their needs and buy the particular product. It has the facility of different section of apparels for men’s and women’s which enables the customers to easily go into the section of their choice. The company website has got the user friendly navigation platform which helps the customers to access and buy products easily and comfortably. The best facility that the company provides is that people can access to the site and buy products from their own social networ king site like facebook without even going out of the social networking site. The company website is made based on the standards of worldwide consortium and also national institute of blind using plain English so that it is easily understandable to the customers. The website is updated on timely basis based on the new browsers and software (ASOS, 2014). Primark was opened in 1969 in Dublin, Ireland and came up with 38 stores. The company has opened 161 stores currently with its first store in Derby in 1973. The company is an Irish apparel retailer which operates in Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Ireland and UK. The company offers variety of products like men’s and women’s beauty products, confectionery and also kids’ apparel of large variety. The company website provides variety of options to access where every section is been divided like the women, men’s, kids and home, it also provides the facility to set the budget price of the customers so that

Quality control throughout the life cycle Assignment

Quality control throughout the life cycle - Assignment Example This may require measuring the project performance, modification to work breakdown structure and alternately revising the project management plan, particularly components of plan that include scope management plan, time management plan and cost management plans. Techniques like fast tracking would be one of our major option while planning for the schedule management. Also a number of risks may need to be reviewed including regulatory requirements to procurements and additional resource allocation. Further, effective implementation of a change control system to analyze and accept the changed scope for approval would also be crucial. While managing the triple constraints of scope, time and cost, it is equally essential to effectively manage the quality of the project outcome. According to Sanghera (2010), controlling the quality is a critical to the project management requirement effective mitigation of the project risks. This suggests reviewing the quality management plan and risk management plan to complement the additional scope. Mulcahy (2011) highlights the use of seven basic tools of quality including Cause and effect diagram, Flowchart, Histogram, Pareto chart, Run chart, Scatter diagram, Control chart to monitor and control the project quality. In project with change in scope, a mix of following quality tools is recommended. Flow Charts. Flow Charts helps to identify the source of an existing or potential quality problem in the project and develop approaches to resolving these problems (PMBOK 2008). It is a graphical representation of all the project processes showing activities, their sequence and decision making points. In a construction project with additional scope having a same time bar, flow charts would be used to review the interaction of all activities and analyze any potential problem especially in case of fast tracking. A major merit of flow charts is to consolidate procedures and processes, for

Managing Relationships Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Managing Relationships - Essay Example It all begun when I joined high school, this man came my way as I was looking for a place to print my documents. Being that I was new to this school, I asked him to show me where I could print my documents. The man gladly volunteered to deviate from his journey to where he was headed initially, just to make sure he takes me to the printing place. He directed me to a certain cybercafà ©, just by the gates of the school compound. Here, all services were offered at a student-pocket- friendly prices. I liked it, and after I was done, I asked the young boy to tell me who owns the cybercafà ©. At my surprise, the man told me he did. The man was the owner of the cybercafà © and he was a student as well. I had always thought of doing the same thing. So I told this young man my interest and he allowed me to join him in the business. It is now three years since we met and became business partners with John. Our business has expanded since we now have a wider customer base and a lot of cumulated assets. Our short-term attraction to work with each other each was dependent on interest. I was very interested and impressed with the fact that one can actually run a cybercafà © very well as they study. In addition, John did not have enough capital to expand his business, so he wanted a trusted partner to work with. On the other hand, after working for some time together, we acquired a lot of assets together with the money we jointly owned. This is a fact that made our relationship develop further and make it now to be a long-term one. We are long-term partners since we have established the business to a bigger one right now and even opened up a branch in a nearby town. Our relationship is one that is guided by several types of power. For instance, there is the use of reward power, legitimate power, expert power as well as referent power. In this case, reward power since we

Travel and Leisure Industry Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Travel and Leisure Industry - Assignment Example Attitudes to the industry in question Roles of men and women in the society What is the age and income profile of the citizens and how is it likely to change FOR CENTER PARCS Increased personal stress - Increased personal stress has become a way of life in UK and everyone is looking towards ancient therapies to relieve stress and regain vigour and health. Therefore, a need to rewind during the weekend and / or take a few days off for pure relaxation and rejuvenation is increasing. Increase in the older generation - The older population continues to increase with the 'baby boomers' reaching the age of above 55 years. The 'grey' market therefore is ready for boom. Increase in the corporate travel incentives - Corporate travel incentives has seen an increase over the year; a trend that is unlikely to change in a hurry. Increased interest in beauty and fitness - high interests in health, beauty and fitness among the UK populations have made the spa industry to be a sought after area of operation. Other factors - Reduced costs of airlines (Anon, 2005) . All this points towards a higher demand for services like health spas. TECHNOLOGY FACTORS The technological factors that one reviews are How vital is technology for the industry Does it allow for reduced variable cost of the product Does it allow for more innovative service FOR CENTER PARCS Technology of a different kind - Here a technology of a different kind is required. Understanding various treatments like 'Carita', 'Decleor', 'Elemis' and other such treatments is a must. The techniques of a Turkish bath, a Japanese Salt Room, Aromatherapy, Reflexology and many more do not come without technology. Trained professionals who are qualified need to be recruited to... Increase in the numbers for the older generation - Groups such as the Fitness Industry Association are lobbying for a US style tax system for the use of health clubs on the premise that by encouraging the citizens of UK to be healthier the load on the National Health Service will reduce (Anon, 2005). Taxes for the industry - There is a positive view on the overall taxation for the industry since the current government is encouraging citizens to take time off for leisure and is propelling the health industry into momentum. Increased personal stress - Increased personal stress has become a way of life in UK and everyone is looking towards ancient therapies to relieve stress and regain vigour and health. Therefore, a need to rewind during the weekend and / or take a few days off for pure relaxation and rejuvenation is increasing. Technology of a different kind - Here a technology of a different kind is required. Understanding various treatments like 'Carita', 'Decleor', 'Elemis' and other such treatments is a must. The techniques of a Turkish bath, a Japanese Salt Room, Aromatherapy, Reflexology and many more do not come without technology. At the beginning of 2003, the estimated number of private health clubs in UK was 2328. Other information sources suggest that these are conservative estimates and the actual number was close to 4271. It is clear therefore, the competition for Center Parcs is large. Most of these are luxurious

MGT499 - Strategic Management Mod 1 Case Assignment Essay

MGT499 - Strategic Management Mod 1 Case Assignment - Essay Example 82% of American households have made at least one purchase at Wal-Mart during an annum. Company’s expansions are very aggressive where there is a new store opening every day. However analyzing the growth and profitability trends over the years, there is a declining trend in terms of same store performance which is currently covered up by the aggressive new outlet openings. This paper aims to assess whether the company’s mission and objectives are well aligned with its stake holder needs that will allow the long term sustaining of the company’s success. Wal-Mart’s mission is â€Å"Saving People Money so They Can Live Better† This is the philosophy of the Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton who stated that â€Å"If we work together, we’ll lower the cost of living for everyone†¦we’ll give the world an opportunity to see what it’s like to save and have a better life.† This is the driving principle of the company’s low cost-low price business model. The company claims that their core principles of 1) respect for the individuals, 2) Service to the customers and 3) Striving for excellence has been the cornerstones of their success as they move forward (Wal-Mart Stores Website 2008). While Wal-Mart has benefited from this business mission of offering every day low prices over the past decade, the trends indicate that the competition has intensified in the market and the competitors have streamlines their own operations, benchmarking against Wal-Mart. They have managed to increase their internal efficiencies and cut back on cost structures, allowing them to bring their prices closer to Wal-Mart but offer more value additions such as greater customer service, better product quality and greater stores ambiance that has increased their appeal to the middle and upper income group strata. While the appeal of the low price offer has kept legions of low income customers loyal to the

The marketing environment audit Essay Example for Free

The marketing environment audit Essay Brisk innovation and globalization have produced great opportunities and alternatives in the marketplace for consumers and business organizations alike. Competitive demands have led to sourcing and manufacturing on a global scale, resulting in a significant rise in product offerings. As businesses grow more multifaceted, so as their supply chains. This paper will attempt to describe Dells supply chain as one of the most successful and leading supply chain in the personal computer industry, including its processes and material flow. Comparison and contrast with its competitors, recommendations for process improvement and its ethical considerations will be discussed. Existing Supply Chain Process Dells business concept based on direct-sales and build- to-order has achieved superior performance in the PC industry in terms of inventory turnover, reduced overhead, cash conversion and return on investment. Building PC to order means that Dell must have parts and components on hand to build a wide array of possible configurations with little advance notice. In order to fill orders quickly, Dell must have an excellent manufacturing and logistics capabilities supported by information systems that enable it to substitute information for inventory. Order? taking The supply chain process begins when orders come in, mostly from internet/intranet (90%) using the built-to-order model. Integrated with direct to consumer, the system allows consumers to decide what features are needed for their computers before product manufacturing is completed. Dell offer standard models configured by the customers themselves as they generate the orders. It is called built-to-order as opposed to built- to-stock that requires inventory. Built-to-order significantly lowers financing costs and increases customer satisfaction for Dells chosen market segment. Dell records an order, clears credit (as they take no chances) and Demograpic the competitive rivalry that exists in the PC market globally become one of the threaths to dell’s company. There are some actions that have been taken by dell’s company to respond to the demographic’s developments and trends , such as innovation approach, technology initiatives, flobal product development,etc. Economics The computer industry expects a growth of approximately ten percent over the next years. 5 This growth is influenced by the economic situation in a specific country, having an impact on the purchasing power of potential customers. Additionally, changing inflation rates and currency fluctuation also determine the profitability of a company. To respond to the economic development, dell is making and selling low cost , low price computers to PC retailers. Dell is the world’s largest PC maker. For the last couple years, it has held its position as market leader. Environmental Dell led firms in the computing sector, Dell scored particularly well in renewable energy use , recycling, and its integration of a sustainability strategy in its business. Moreover, Dell sources about 35 percent of its U. S energy use from green power and app. 20 % globally, and its offers free computer recycling to consumer world wide. Technological There is hardly any industry that is characterised by a faster technological development than the computer industry. Increased Research Development have caused permanent innovation processes which lead to short product life cycles resulting in a faster depreciation of the products Politic and legal Political factors include government regulations and legal issues determining the conditions under which companies have to operate. In this field, the computer industry has to face certain restraints. Problems can arise in countries where political stability is not guaranteed, no matter whether companies operate production facilities or if they do business with that country through exports. Many countries still have restrictive policies which are maintained to protect domestic manufacturers and production. Such policies often hinder foreign companies from entering into these markets. The only possibility to do business in those countries is to establish partnerships with local companies, where they are additionally forced to accept minority shares and to provide money and technological know-how. However, the computer industry sees great potential in those countries which loose their restrictions. 4 This is especially true for China which has opened for many industries since its accession to the WTO in 2001. In the course of globalisation trade barriers decline and new markets emerge, allowing free trade to expand. Cultural and social The national demand for computers is dependent on the educational level prevailing in a specific country. The higher the educational standard, the higher is the demand. Furthermore, computers get more and more involved in daily life. Today, children already get familiar with the use of computers at a very young age, representing a generation that will hardly live and work without a computer in the future. Additionally, the brand image of a computer and lifestyle trends get more and more decisive for the purchasing decision. The computer industry adapts to this trend, e. g. by offering a wider range of notebooks and by trying to create a strong brand name. For Dell’s company, this lifestyle can give benefits for them. There are some respon of the Dell’s company to factors in the micro environment. I’ll explain it in this paragraph. Firstly, the market for laptop computers has distinguished its self as the fastest growing segment in the computer industry. Throught out its growth and development,this market, like many others , has changed a great deal as a result of customers demands. In an effort to carter to these demands, the company like dell look to market trends to aid to the development of new products. In its most recent stages, the laptop has been specifically influenced by an number trends. Secondly, customers are becoming more educated about their purchase so dell believe in creating loyal customers by providing a superior experience at a great value. Dell are committed to direct relationships, providing the best products and services based on standards-based technology, and outperforming the competition with value and a superior customer experience. Besides, there are many competitors that must be looked by dell’s company. Therefore, to response to the markets, customers, competitors , distribution and dealers, and supplier and facilitators, Dell’s company use direct strategy which selling low cost , low price computers to PC retailers.

Controversial Nature Of The Subject Of Sufism Religion Essay

Controversial Nature Of The Subject Of Sufism Religion Essay Before tenth century there had been started a new emphasis began to develop within the religion of Islam. This emphasis was a reaction against the prevailing impersonal and formal nature of Islam. For many Muslims the sharia, while seen as necessary, failed to satisfy their deepest spiritual longings and desires. The search for deeper meaning led to the development of the popular mystical side of Islam known as tasawwuf or Sufism. The controversial nature of the subject of Sufism becomes evident when one realizes that this short introduction already reveals a viewpoint which the Sufi would strongly disagree with. For, if the Sufi spiritual quest is to be viewed as legitimate, even within Islam itself, it must be rooted in the Quran and the Sunna of Muhammad. (p.b.u.h) In defense of Sufi legitimacy, some Muslims argue that it was simply a response to the growing materialism in the Islamic world. However, this argument skirts the basic reason for Sufism, as during early Islamic times under Muhammads (p.b.u.h) leadership, wealth was enjoyed and served as a great motivation for the military expansion of Islam. Muslims, at the time, followed a legal system allowing unbridled materialism, though they were fully observant of the present religious doctrine. The formal and legal nature of the Islamic system never addressed the issue of materialism, and as a result was seen as inadequate by those who became Sufis in their search for deeper spirituality. Sufism has inclined many Muslims, and is, especially in the West, represent and regarded as a valuable and legitimate part of the Islamic faith. Fazlur Rahman, in his work Islam, says that considerable ink has been spent by modern scholarship on the origins of Sufism in Islam, as to how far it is genuinely Islamic and how far a product, in the face of Islam, of outside influences, particularly Christian and Gnostic. Rahman seems to hint that some of this ink has been wasted, as he concludes that outside influences must have played an accessory role and these no one may deny, but they must have supervened upon an initial native tendency. However, aside from a vague reference to the ideas of trust in and love of Allah as being a result of developments within the intellectual and spiritual life of the community, In reaction to critics, Sufis argue that tasawwuf has been present from the very initial stages of Islam, and profess to find evidence for their claims in the Sunna and the Quran. On this basis they state that tasawwuf is the batin aspect of Islam. According to Sufi principle a number of verses in the Quran provide clear support for their mysticism. Perhaps the most often quoted as a proof is Surah 24:35, Allah is the Light of Heaven and Earth! His light may be compared to a niche in which there is a lamp; the lamp is in a glass; the glass is just as if it were a glittering star kindled from a blessed olive tree, {which is} neither Eastern nor Western, whose oil will almost glow though the fire has never touched it. Light upon light, Allah guides anyone He wishes to His light. Sufism does throw in in the means of spirituality to the religion of Islam. Mounting out of the weakness of the Islamic system of faith and practice, it, however, added a aspect which has varied and further destabilized the structure of Islamic belief and practice. Reflecting on the authentication presented, and ending given, we see that to suppose Sufism, with its important concepts, is a rightful part of Islam introduces definite problems for anyone who then challenge to try to defend Islam as a logically consistent set of beliefs. For Sufism not only points to a lack of spirituality in Islam, but also contradicts orthodox Muslim teachings in the process clearly opening the door to all the worlds religions There have been a lot of aspects which should be discussed and reconsidered regarding this aspect of orthodox teachings of Islam, so I can write it is to be continued Reference Notes: Sufism, Reformed Internet Ministries Andrew Rippin, Muslims: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices (New York: Routledge, 1990), 118, 119, 120 Fazlur Rahman, Islam (London: Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 1966), 131, 148,149 Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Sufi Essays (London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd., 1972), 11-12, 15, 137, 138, 139, 147, 149 Tara Charan Rastogi, Islamic Mysticism Sufism (New Delhi: Sterling Publishers Private Ltd., 1982), 1.. Titus Burckhardt, An Introduction to Sufism (Wellingborough: The Aquarian Press, 1990), 15, 16 In Arabic Inna liLlahi wa-inna ilayhi raji un. Martin Lings, What Is Sufism? (London: George Allen Unwin Ltd., 1975), 28,32 Haqiqa refers to the inner Truth or inner Reality that Sufis believe is at the heart of Islamic revelation. William Stoddart, Sufism The Mystical Doctrines and Methods of Islam (New York: Paragon House Publishers, 1986), 41, 66,67,83,74 Eisegesis, or the practice of interpreting meaning into a passage, bears a striking resemblance to Sufi methods of Quranic interpretation. Orthodox Muslims opposed to Sufism argue that Sufi interpretations are indeed eisegesis in other words the Sufis are ascribing an inner meaning which the verses themselves do not contain. Fazlur Rahman in his work Islam states, the Sufis, in order to justify their stand, formulated (ie. verbally invented) statements, sometimes quite fanciful and historically completely fictitious, which they attributed to the Prophet. Rahman, 132,133,134.. J. Spencer Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1971), 246.. Rahman, 140. Other authors also agree with Rahmans position on this point. A.J. Arberry argues that Abu Hamid al-Ghazali brought about Sufisms reconciliation and assimilation with orthodox Sunni theology and religious law, through a number of writings consolidated in the Ihyaulum al-din, which was written between 1099 and 1102 A.D. A.J. Arberry, Sufism An Account of the Mystics of Islam (London: George Allen Unwin Ltd., 1950), 74. . Ibn al-Arabi (1165-1240 A.D.) was one of the great Sufi masters of all time and is referred to as The Greatest Shaikh (al-Shaykh al-Akbar). Muslim opinion has always been split about Ibn al-Arabi: for some he is a great heretic; for others, a great saint. Ian Richard Netton, A Popular Dictionary of Islam (London: Curzon Press, 1992), 110.. Elliot Miller, Sufis The Mystical Muslims, Forward (Spring/Summer 1986), 17-23.. Martin Lings, What is Sufism? (London: George Allen Unwin Ltd., 1975), 84, 85, 99.. Dara Shikoh (also spelled Shukuh) was a Sufi of the Qadiriyyah order and a devout Muslim according to Seyyed Hossein Nasr. Shukuh believed the Upanishads to be the Hidden Books to which the Quran refers (lvi. 77-80) and wrote that they contain the essence of unity and they are secrets which have to be kept hidden. Nasr states that it is enough to read Shukuhs translation of any of the Upanishads to realize that he was not only translating words into Persian but also ideas into the framework of Sufism. However, as usual Nasr follows up with a statement denying that this is an attempt to syncretize, once again revealing a blatant disregard for the evidence presented, not to mention a complete lack of logical thought. The members of one popular order (the Mawlawiyya) begun by Jalal ad-Din Rumi (d. 1273) are the origin of the Western term whirling dervishes John Alden Williams, ed., Islam (New York: George Brazillier, 1962), 155-156.. Idries Shah, Reflections Fables in the Sufi Tradition (Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1972), 1.; Miller, 20..

Stability of Islamic and Conventional Banks

Stability of Islamic and Conventional Banks 1. Ratio Analysis The performance and the stability of banks can be quantified and measured through the analysis of their financial ratios. We can have several hundreds of ratios at our disposal. However, we will use only those that are common, and of some meaning for the analysis of the banks. Also, it is important to note that we should use only major and comparable ratios in order to fully understand the financial position of these banks as compared to all those ratios that may include some vagueness in the research. Mainly five categories of these financial ratios are used to eliminate the vagueness created by redundant use of the financial heads and items from the financial statements. Hence, the five categories are: (CFA 2009, p498): Profitability Ratios Activity Ratios Liquidity Ratios Solvency Ratios Valuation Ratios However, for the banking industry, which is our main concern, we will use only the first four categories, making an exception of the Valuation category. The financial stability department of the State Bank of Pakistan, which is the central bank of this major economy in the Muslim world, and actively involved in the promotion of Islamic Banking, suggests that the financial ratios fairly reflect the stability, health and the performance of the banks. Hence, these ratios can be used for our purpose. 2. Z-score Instead of just doing the Financial Ratios Analysis, we should also do the analysis of the banks insolvency risk, which is measured by the z-score. This will be done for both the categories of banking systems: Islamic Banks; as well as the Commercial Banks. The statistic based on z-score is calculated with the help of the data on the banks expected profits, the riskiness or the variation in such profits and the capital base of the bank. In other words, the following variables help to calculate the z-score and test it, we need the profit margin, its likelihood of occurrence and the shareholders equity available to compensate in case of the negative margins (losses). A z-score represents the number of standard deviations by which the return on asset have to decrease in order to incur a loss (a negative return). Z-scores can be measured by the following formula: z = (ROA+CAP)/ÏÆ' (ROA) where: ROA (Return on Assets) = Net Income / Total Assets; CAP (Capital to Asset Ratio) = Equity / Total Assets; and ÏÆ' (ROA) = standard deviation of return on assets (proxy for the variation of return). According to the formula, the higher z-score means that the equity base and the return added on it is much higher than the potential risk to the earnings as measured by the standard deviations. Hence, such usage of the z-score testing as the test for measuring risk is recommended by many researches in the field. By the definition of the z-score here, it can be said that it directly relates to the probability of a banks insolvency. It is necessary to evaluate and understand the extent to which Islamic banks are risky as compared to conventional banks. Z-scores will play an integral role in helping us identify the risk profile of Islamic banks. 3. Regression One of the most extensively used statistical measure of conformity is the use of regression and correlation. The extent to which two different datasets match in terms of moving together is evaluated by a regression analysis. This context will look closely at how the dataset we obtained for Islamic and conventional banks will be moving in tandem with the GDP and inflation (CPI) of their respective countries. A pooled regression test will be used to perform the respective tests and statistics generated from the regression such as the R-squared value will be used to make judgments on the relationship between the profitability and growth of Islamic and conventional banks with respect to their national growth and inflation. This test is extremely as it is crucial to understand the synchronization of growth of these banks with their national economies. It would be difficult to make pre-assumptions about either Islamic or conventional banks however, it has generally been seen that while conventional banks were wiped of several billions of dollars, Islamic banks stood their ground and even grew in some countries. Thus, bearing this in mind, a pooled regression test will enable us to identify the polarity of growth of Islamic and conventional banks with their respective economies. Chapter Four: 1.1 Financial Ratio Analysis: Financial statement analysis involves comparing the firms performance with that of other firms in the same industry. In this research, we are comparing banks with banks but having two categories within the banking industry: Islamic banks and the conventional banks. Ratio analysis also involves evaluating trends of the financial position of the firm over a time period. The ratio analysis of the firms financial statements helps the management of the firm to identify problems and deficiencies and then to take actions to try to improve performance. It also helps the decision makers to make operational as well as strategic decisions that would help the firm over a long period of time. Financial statements mainly comprises of the balance sheet, the income statement and the cash flow statement. The balance sheet and the cash flow statement both report the firms position at a given point of time. It gives the situation in which the company is standing at that point of time. And the income statement tells about the performance of the companys operations over a certain time period, usually a year. In other words, the financial statement analysis is useful to help anticipate the future conditions and as a starting point for planning actions that will improve the firms future performance. But with these lengthy and complicated financial statements, it is really time consuming for the decision makers and other stake holders to confer something. Hence, the financial ratios are used to help evaluate the financial statements. These ratios are taken from the break down elements of the financial statements. These ratios are easy to read and understand rather than the whole financial statements. Profitability Ratios Profitability is what every firm is seeking. The higher the profitability, the better is the performance of a bank. The profitability ratios show the combined effects of the liquidity, the asset management, and debt on the operations of the company as the profit is what comes out in the end of the income statement and this profit is what is mainly desired by the ownership and the management of a firm. One of the most important and most often looked at category of the ratios is the profitability ratios. These ratios are integral in that they help us estimate the degree to which revenues are converted into profits. A bank may be earning extremely high revenues in comparison to its competitors however, its profitability may be low signifying a lower efficiency. On the other extreme, a low earning bank may have a higher profitability signifying a greater efficiency. Thus, it is important to compare the relative profitability of the two bank streams and analyse them over several years data. Return on Assets: The performance of the firm is often and most commonly looked at through the ratio of net income (return) to total assets. In simple words, return on assets shows that what the company is getting out as net profits from its investment in the assets of the business. The assets in a companys statements are valued on the basis of original cost. Furthermore, the total return is usually the sum of the net income and the interest paid if any on the borrowings, as it is assumed that the assets may be financed by the borrowings. Banks also do have assets employed in their business, including the loans they have offered to the customers. The return is usually the spread between the rate of borrowings and deposits, which is net of all expenses incurred. In case of Islamic banks, the net income is the net profit earned from the investments through different financial instruments such as mudarbah, murabaha, musharakah, ijarah, etc. and the assets of the Islamic banks also comprise of the investments in different schemes through Islamic modes of financing. It can be seen from the graph that the conventional banks experienced a rise in the ROAA (Return on Average Assets) during the booming period from 2002 till 2007. However, in 2007, it started to decline and has been declining since. But, during this same period, ROA for the Islamic Banks have been rising on average. Although, the financial crisis in 2007 hit both banking systems, Islamic banks experienced a relatively lesser impact. It has fallen from 2.6 in 2007 to around 2.1 in 2009. The conventional banks on average were at their peak in 2006 at almost 2.5 and since then, its been falling and has reached 1.6 in 2009. The overall decline of the conventional banks is far greater than the decline in ROAA of the Islamic Banks. Return on Equity: Shareholders, the real owners of the company, are mainly concerned about the return on the equity they have invested in the business. They need to know the profitability of their investment in the company. Hence, the net profit of the company is measured as a ratio of the equity the shareholders have invested in this ratio. The main difference in the return on assets and the return on equity is that usually, the assets are financed by both the investors (such as shareholders) and the lenders (such as the banks); and the equity reflects only the investment by the shareholders. Hence, this measure shows the rate at which the company is returning the investment to its shareholder (in absolute terms and not in cash terms, as cash is paid out in form of dividends). In terms of the banks, the equity will be the shareholders money that they have invested in the bank to make it running. This will not include any loans that the banks management has obtained for its operations or assets. If this measure is giving out high results, it means that investing in a bank as a shareholder is a profitable venture. It can be seen from the graph that from our sample of banks, the conventional banks are slightly returning a better amount than the Islamic banks especially after the crisis of 2007. In this regard, we can say that the Islamic banks have taken a bigger impact as their average Return on Average Equity (ROAE) have fallen from 25 in 2006 to around 11 in 2009 as compared to conventional banks having 26 in 2006 and falling to around 16 in 2009. There can be several possible reasons for such results. It could be that after the crisis, the investments in equity for the Islamic banks have risen, or fallen for the conventional banks. It may be possible that the investors have seen Islamic banks as a safe haven and have taken out their money from conventional banks and put it into the Islamic banks as its equity. However, it could also be possible that with so many closures in the conventional banking, the competition is thinned out and the remaining banks are making higher profits than they would have been when there was more competition. There may be one or more explanations for such results however, the most popular of these is that the very basis that caused the credit crunch crisis was not influential in the operations of an Islamic bank and thus left them unscathed to a great extent. Efficiency Ratios: Efficiency of a company can be measured in many different ways. One of the basic indicator of efficiency is that how much of the earnings are used up as expenses. The ratio of expenses to earnings shows how much is the company efficient. If the ratio is low, then it is considered to be very efficient. If its high, then there must be some problem with the company. If it is high for the whole industry, then it can be seen that the industry is not very profitable. If the ratio is near to one, it signifies serious problems for a company, be it a bank or not. This is because if the earnings and expenses are closer to each other, then there is little room for the profits and denotes that the bank is not able to manage its operations efficiently leading to a very small net profit margin. This would definitely put off investors and is highly undesirable. Hence, the lower the ratio, the better it is. It can be seen that this ratio is quite low for the conventional banks as compared to the Islamic banks, especially after 2004. The conventional banks efficiency is being steadied even during the financial crisis. The expenses are hovering to around 40 percent of the earnings, which is reasonably lower than for the Islamic banks. When looking at the Islamic banks, the expenses rose from 40 percent in 2004 to 80 percent in 2005 and slowly falling back to 60 percent during the financial crisis but staying there during 2009 as well. Hence it is also possible to see that the Islamic banks efficiency have improved during this period as this ratio has fallen significantly. However, in this regard, the Islamic banks are not as efficient as the conventional banks. But we will also not ignore the fact that our sample does not represent the whole Islamic banking industry or the conventional banking industry and the results may be completely different for different samples. Assets Turnover (a type of Activity Ratio): The asset turnover ratio indicates how hard and efficiently the firms assets are being put to use. It is also known as the sales-to-assets ratio. It shows that what each dollar of assets has produced in terms of total revenue (or sales). â€Å"Sales† in the banking industry has different names. For conventional banks, the net interest income is used instead of sales. This is the interest earned from lending minus the interest given out on deposits. However, for Islamic banks, the interest-free system, the net profit on investments of different modes of Islamic finance is used as revenue. This is the major differing element of the income statements of the two systems. From the results of this ratio, it can be seen that the Islamic banks and the conventional banks have a very close and similar trend before the financial crisis as the asset turnover keep on rising till 2006. However, this is worth noting that the ratio for Islamic banks remained a bit higher than that of conventional banks. After the 2007 crisis, the conventional banks asset turnover fell sharply from around 0.08 in 2006 to around 0.055 in 2009. Whereas for Islamic banks; this ratio fell from around 0.089 in 2006 to 0.08 in 2009. Hence, the turnover for Islamic banks was not much affected by the crisis. This result may prove worthwhile to note that Islamic banks were having less risk during the financial crisis than the conventional banks. Though insignificant at the moment, this can be an important dimension in future studies involving Islamic banks and conventional as it provides insight into the risk profile of Islamic banks viz-a-viz conventional banking. Financial Leverage: Solvency ratio shows the financial leverage of a firm. When a firm requires money more than the equity it has risen from its shareholders and from within the business, it needs to borrow. This borrowing can be from anyone including the bank. However, usually it is required to give out fixed rate as interest payment regardless of whether that money is properly utilized and gained from or not. Whether the company is in profit or loss, the interest payments on the debt has to be given out. If the profit is high, the shareholders gain as the leftover profit after interest payments goes to them. However, in case of loss, the shareholders bear the burden as well because the interest payment still has to be paid. Because of this debt increasing the profit rate to shareholders in good times and reducing it in bad times, this debt is said to create financial leverage. Debt to Equity Ratio: The debt to equity ratio is a clear measure of the percentage that a company is indebted to the external sources. It gives out the rate at which the debt is as a multiple of the equity. If the debt is less than the shareholders equity, than this ratio would be less than 1. But if there is more external debt than internal equity, than this ratio will exceed 1. And this could be really problematic for a company. However, in todays world, high debt to equity ratio is considered normal. For a bank, whether a conventional bank or an Islamic bank, this ratio just indicates the ratio of the actual owners to the external lenders. However, in case of crisis, it is usually seen that the banks to go out of the business first had a high debt to equity ratio. Islamic banks usually tend to have lower debt indebted to them. As their core principle of interest free banking may not be fulfilled if they take on debt on interest. So all the debt they have is interest free and such type of debt is difficult to obtain. However, according to the result of this ratio here shows that Islamic banks debt to equity ratio rose significantly during 2004-2005 and was nearly equal to conventional banks ratio, but then it steadied around 1.6 during the financial crisis and after it. On the other hand, during this time period this ratio for conventional banks rose to 2.6 in 2007. And then the effect of the crisis took over and it fell to around 2.1 in 2009. It can be realized from this result that the shock of the crisis made the conventional banks realized that they have stretched too far from how they should be financing themselves. Hence, either they started to pay off their debts to reduce the risk of bankruptcy or the lenders started to get strict control over them. On the other hand, the Islamic banks were more relaxed as they did not have high debts to fear from and continued keeping a similar debt to equity ratio. Liquidity Ratios: Liquidity ratios are the indication for the company to know how much current assets there are to deal with the liabilities. In case of the banks, it shows how much loans are there to give out from the deposits available. Total Loans / Total Deposits: Banks give out loans to the customers (borrowers) are assets as they are receivables. Whereas, the deposits taken from the customers (depositors) are liabilities as they are payables to the depositors upon their request. Deposit is the property of the depositors; hence its the liability on the bank to pay the depositors back their money. This ratio for banks is similar to the current ratio used for other firms. It is similar to the ratio of current assets to the current liabilities. Hence, we can see that for Islamic banks, this ratio is lower than that of the conventional banks. This may be because many different financial instruments are used to finance those who want the funding. So many Islamic banks may not show all the investments as current assets or loans in this case. Also, it may be possible that perhaps a higher profit rate is charged by the Islamic banks as compared to the interest rate charged by the conventional banks and people are reluctant to fulfil their financing needs from Islamic banks in order to avoid higher rates to pay back. As the Islamic banks are growing and gaining consumer confidence, it may also be possible that the people are depositing their savings in Islamic banks much more than they are using its money for their financing needs, for a time being. Here, it is worth noting that the financial crisis did not affect this rate significantly for both the banking systems. Total Loans / Total Assets: As discussed above, total loans can be termed as current assets as they are the receivables. Hence, this ratio is about how much part of the total assets is this receivable loan. For the sample on hand, it is worth noting that the loan to total assets ratio for the conventional banks have slowly declined during the years and not affected significantly by the crisis. However, in the same time period, this ratio for Islamic banks has risen slowly. This may show that other assets for Islamic banks have reduced as compared to main current receivable assets. Growth Analysis: Growth analysis is the analysis used to measure and compare the growth rate of a company for different heads of accounts. It could be growth in sales, growth in assets, growth in liabilities, etc. Deposits Growth: First of all, we will look at the growth of the deposits. Although the deposits for banks are the liabilities, it shows the demand for the bank by the customers. If more and more customers start depositing in a bank, the bank is said to be growing in terms of customer base. In other words, the demand for the bank is rising. From the graph taken from the sample, it can clearly be seen that the growth rate of deposits have risen sharply for the Islamic banks. However, there is a major dip after the financial crisis from 35% to 25% in 2008. But after that, it has risen back to around 34% in 2009. In case of the conventional banks, there has been a growth in the deposits, but much slower than the Islamic banks. Also, there is a major dip in growth rate from around 24% in 2006 to around 11% in 2007. And moreover, the recovery that Islamic banks have shown after the crisis was nowhere to be found in our sample of conventional banks. The deposit growth rate rose from around 11% in 2007 to just around 14% in 2009 as compared to 34% for Islamic banks. Equity Growth: The equity growth directly shows the investors (shareholders) confidence as the deposit growth showed the customer confidence in the bank. Hence, it can be said that this ratio directly measures the success of a bank because if the bank is getting success, the shareholders (investors) will be putting in more money as equity to get higher returns in terms of profits. For our sample of the banks from the two systems, we can see that there are ups and downs during the sample time period. Initially, both the conventional banks and the Islamic banks equity growth have risen till 2005. But much before the crisis happened in 2007, there was a fall in investors confidence since 2005 for the conventional banks. This has been shown by the sharp decline in the equity growth from around 49% in 2005 to a mere 12% in 2007 for the conventional banks. But after that there was a sharp increase next year and then it again fell in 2009. But when we see at the Islamic banks, their equity growth was at its highest during 2006 and 2007 at around 55% when this rate was having a free fall for the conventional banks. However, the equity growth rate for Islamic banks also had a major drop in the aftermath of the crisis in 2008 when it dropped to around 22% but then bounced back in 2009. It is worth noting that the growth rate for the last year have increased for the Islamic banks and decreased for the conventional banks, thus setting out a trend for investors confidence in favour of the Islamic banks. From this financial ratio analysis, it can be observed that the Islamic banks were affected lesser than the conventional banks. 1.2 Z-Scores In this case, z-score is the test for financial stability of the two systems. Conven z-score Islamic z-score Overall Avg z-score 2002 7.046525 11.84681784 9.446672 2003 5.77853 4.605240229 5.191885 2004 10.33028 4.238655854 7.284467 2005 8.640415 4.21893723 6.429676 2006 10.80977 9.34741143 10.07859 2007 7.954082 12.91780713 10.43594 2008 6.356607 4.69090727 5.523757 2009 6.103882 5.737315593 5.920599 Avg 7.877512 7.200386572 7.538949 The table above shows the summary of z-scores for both the banking systems and the overall z-score as an average of both. There are some surprising results here. The z-score for Islamic banks is a little less than that of the conventional banks even though the results of the financial ratio analysis showed that the Islamic banks were exposed to less risk as compared to the conventional banks during this period, especially the period of financial crisis. In other words, the conventional banks are a little more financially stable than the Islamic banks. Looking at the trend of the z-scores during our sample time period, the graph shows that on overall, conventional banks z-score was higher thus showing that they were more insolvent as compared to the Islamic banks. However, it can be seen that there was a fall in z-score before and during the crisis in 2006 and 2007 for conventional banks and only during this period, the Islamic banks were less risky. However, the dip in the aftermath of the crisis for the Islamic banks showed that they became riskier especially after the crisis in 2008 and 2009. It is worth noting here that in 2009, the z-score for the conventional banks has a downward trend and for Islamic banks, it is rising. Hence, in the future, it may be predicted when the things get stabled that the Islamic banks would become less risky and more financially stable. Conventional Islamic ROA Equity/Assets Z-Score ROA Equity/Assets Z-Score Average 2.03 0.08 7.88 2.10 0.10 7.20 In the table above, the average results are shown. There is a higher return on assets for the Islamic bank during the period on average, and also a higher share of equity in assets as compared to the conventional banks. However, the z-score on average is lower for Islamic banks as compared to the conventional banks thus telling that even though there is less ROA and equity share in the assets for the conventional banks, they are more stable financially and have lesser risk for solvency. However, as mentioned earlier, there is a rising trend for the Islamic banks at the moment. Hence, once the dust settles down, we can have a clearer picture of the future of the two systems. However, the slight variations in the z-score do not differentiate the financial stability of the two banking systems by very much. Hence, it would be unwise to conclude something here at this point of time. 1.3 Regression Analysis Overall Regression: SUMMARY OUTPUT Regression Statistics Multiple R 0.803713 R Square 0.645954 Adjusted R Square 0.173893 Standard Error 1.94228 Observations 8

Vicky Green Case Essay example -- Ethics Theory

The Vicky Green Case Right to be Informed:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Since key personnel of other companies are certainly going to face the risk of losing their jobs if they decide to accept the K.I., Koke International, 50 percent raise, then Vicky must consider the key personnel’s right to be informed about the aftermath of such a decision. Wendy McGee, Vicky’s boss, has made it clear to her senior staff members that key personnel of the other five player companies will be fired once they finish training K.I. employees. Vicky must consider the fact that those key personnel have the right to be informed about K.I.’s future plan, which will affect their careers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It was not clear whether the orders that Wendy passed to her senior staff members will be mentioned to the top corporate people or not. Vicky must acknowledge the right of those top people to be informed of what Wendy has in mind. It is her job to make sure that these corporate people are aware of all consequences since K.I. could face antitrust issues by going forward with such a plan. Vicky must not let such orders pass without informing these corporate people. Do No Harm   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Vicky must avoid harming the powerless versus harming the powerful. The powerless in this case are the other stores that are going to compete with K.I. in the New England states region. Vicky is in charge of coming up with a unique pricing strategy that will run the competitors out of business within an 18-month period. The other competitors’ stores are considered powerless when compared to the gigantic and powerful Koke International. Vicky must consider the harm that is going to affect the powerless stores, which will lead them to bankruptcy according to Wendy’s plan.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Vicky must also consider harming many versus harming few. The many in this case would be employees of the other five major players in the region and the few are K.I.’s employees. If the plan is successful then K.I. becomes a monopoly in the region while the competitors go out of business leaving their staff unemployed. Therefore Vicky must be concerned about the harm that is going to affect the many left unemployed versus the harm that is going to affect the few at K.I. Duty:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Even though Vicky is considered a new employee at K.I., that should not stop her from striving to amend the company whenever there is an opportunity. Vicky must acknowledge the du... ...fusal to continue on with the plan will cost the company extra time and effort. The company will be required to come up with a new pricing analysis, which might discourage the company from continuing with the plan since it will cost them time and effort. Therefore K.I. might lose its share from New England’s market. However, K.I.’s loss is a gain to the other stores in the New England states region. With K.I. out of the way the stores in the region will continue to operate in a healthy competitive market. If K.I. chooses not to dominate the New England market, which will eventually lead to dismissing Wendy’s plan, then such a decision would be beneficial because K.I. will avoid antitrust issues. However, Vicky’s reaction may vary. Vicky may oppose the plan and challenge her boss right after the meeting by persuasion and convincing. If this action doesn’t work, then Vicky may take it to the next level, which is to inform the top corporate people of what unpleasant consequence might they face from the federal government if they accept the Wendy’s plan. If this action also doesn’t work, then finally Vicky must report the plan to the federal government, so the law will take action.

The Idealization of Women is Responsible for Tragic

Throughout history, women’s place and role in society has changed. Women are often seen as a lower status and have a need to be taken care of by men. There are conflicts with the idealization of women as they are often overlooked and viewed as secondary characters. This idealization is well established in the characters of Desdemona in Othello and Daisy in The Great Gatsby. In F.Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby and Shakespeare‘s play Othello, Desdemona and Daisy are both responsible for their tragedies due to the manipulation and impact of the outsiders, their loss of innocence, and their vulnerability as women. The outsiders, Tom and Iago become influential puppeteers, as Daisy and Desdemona are their puppets. Their influences on each of the female protagonists, results in inevitable tragedy. In Othello, the antagonist Iago has a strong bitter hatred towards Othello. He envies that fact that Cassio is chosen to be lieutenant over him. In response, he resorts to manipulation and trickery to make Othello regret his decision. Desdemona is immensely affected by Iago’s plan because this leads to her tragic death. Iago manipulates Desdemona through other characters. An example of this can be seen through his wife, Emilia. Iago believes women â€Å"are pictures out of doors† (Shakespeare.2.1.121) and are more like workers than wives. Emilia is part of Iago’s scheme, as she is one of the closest people to Desdemona. Emilia has no idea what Iago is plotting until the very end. She is oblivious to Iago’s plan and it results in Desdemona’s death. Like Desdemona and Emilia, Daisy is also heavily influenced through other characters as well. Tom uses other characters to make an impact on Daisy and this can be seen through his altercation... ...lay weaknesses that make them too vulnerable for other characters to take advantage of. This vulnerability sends both Daisy and Desdemona through a never-ending fall towards their fate. Othello and The Great Gatsby, are the perfect exemplars of how an ideal innocent women, can face undoubtedly tragic fates. Despite much strength in their characters, both Daisy and Desdemona exhibit the vulnerability of their innocence, the ability for others to take advantage of them, and glaring weaknesses. They are unaware of their surroundings, which lead to questionable actions. Their inevitable tragedies occur because of how each character dealt with these situations placed in front of them. All in all, Daisy and Desdemona are responsible for their tragedies because they are women placed in unfamiliar positions and are unable to deal with situations placed in front of them.

Texas Holdem Poker Casino v.s. Online Play Essay -- Compare Contrast E

Texas Holdem Poker Casino v.s. Online Play (All revisions in italics) So what’s this entire buzz about this new poker game? World poker tour play Krieger asks the question, â€Å"Why is it the most attractive card game to all the new comers and regulars alike (Krieger 4).† This new game is being played in almost every Casino from Atlantic City to Las Vegas Nevada. They game now has world championships and is played on TV and watched by millions around the world. This fascinating game known to many as Texas holdem poker is played by many in our homes, casinos, and now the every so popular game is attracting millions online. There are many things that are involved with this game and they include history, how to play, what to play, when to play or fold, how to read and how to bluff. These are only a few of the aspects that will be covered in this paper. So the question a rises for those who plan to make any money playing this game, and that is are the odds better online or in the casinos? Before we get into the odds of playing I will first introduce the modern day Texas holdem card game. According to poker author Krieger, the game originated its name from the first casino it was played in and how it was played (krieger 14). Krieger then adds that the game has only become popular in the last few years. The tournaments have been taking place over the last 40 or so years. These tournaments are the reason many believe the game has become so famous. The tournaments have been known to rake in over 2 million dollars for the winner and payouts for the top twenty positions (Krieger 17). Most of us are falling into this game for the first time, watching these holdem tourney's on television and holding poker night on the weekends. We have... ...to read people will open a lot of avenues of approach such as, knowing when to fold knowing when to bluff and even knowing when to play certain hands and how much to bet on them. Know these give always will allow a player to know what each player has without actually seeing the hand. All of these statements and reasoning above have pointed in the direction that if a player can use his or her skills playing in a casino is a better way to make money playing Texas holdem. In the casino a player can read his or her opponents, bluff his or her opponents out of their money, and have a more enjoyable atmosphere because he or she will be winning money. Where as when a player plays online the only thing he or she can play with are the odds and the people never become a factor. Playing in a casino is a better way to make more money playing Texas holdem than is playing online.

What Role Do Hrm Practices Play in a Business Decision to Expand Internationally?

What Role Do HRM Practices Play In A Business Decision To Expand Internationally? Ilein Arteaga 2608214 Florida International University HRM CONTRIBUTIONS TO INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION OF BUSINESS Human Resource practices play a great role in the international expansion of businesses. With globalization being the current trend in businesses all over the world, success of international business units depends heavily on the effective performance of the Human Resource department (Edwards & Rees, 2006). Globalization or the international expansion of business involves the integration of an organization`s operations, business processes and strategies into diverse cultures, ideas, products and services. Business operations transverse regional and geographical boundaries, while having to deal with diverse cultures in their area of operation; ranging from customer relation to recruitment of employees (Edwards & Rees, 2006). Transnational businesses have to also strategically deal with their foreign markets which involves understanding concepts of multi-culturalism which can be effectively handled by the Human Resource Management. Most importantly however, is the role of Human Resource Management in cultural sensitivity that will determine the success of a business beyond its borders (Jackson, Schuler & Werner, 2012). Human Resource planning is essential in the success of any business. HR planning is the strategic process of forecasting future human resource needs of an organization, and ensuring that structures are established to align these needs with the goals that a business envisions to achieve. This process is especially important in the international expansion of businesses, as the success of a business is highly dependent on this management of this resource (employees). This critical practice of HR management will ensure an organization is equipped with accurate information and data on human resource before it ventures into any foreign markets or fields. HR planning will also ensure correct information on projections in terms of employee turn over is available to avoid future surpluses of deficits in the workforce of an organization (Jackson, Schuler & Werner, 2012). All these information that is gathered through the process of HR Planning is imperative to a business that is deciding to embark on the process of globalization, or operating beyond its geographical or cultural borders. Recruitment and selection are other roles of HRM that are significant in a business’ decision to venture into international markets and operations. Transnational business translates into incorporation of a larger workforce in the business operations due to the expanded magnitude operations (Ervin & Smith, 2008). This calls for recruitment and selection of new employees to facilitate the expanded scope of operations. The HR practice of recruitment and selection is important in a business’ decision to venture into international markets. Expansion of a business into international markets requires full knowledge of the culture in the host country/region. Culture and perspective of people in the new markets is imperative to understand, as it would govern the processes of recruitment (Ervin & Smith, 2008). A good example is a nation where people frequently read the dailies and newspapers. This would direct the advertising of recruitment in the dailies. The perspective of people in the host country should also be taken into account to ensure this HR practice is aligned to their culture. Understanding of the host country`s culture and perspective is imperative in conducting a credible and efficient recruitment and selection process. The other equally important HR practice in deciding on international expansion of business is the training and development role in HR. Before a business decides to embark on international markets, it has to consider the possibility of training either newly recruited staff in the new markets, or similarly, training expatriates to work in the new markets (Evans, Doz & Laurent, 1989). There is a high possibility of businesses to fail in newly ventured markets if its operations do not match up to that of its competitors. To maintain competitive advantage in new markets, a business must ensure it offers quality services and products that either match or surpass the standards in the newly ventured markets. This can be maintained through continuous training and developing the organization`s workforce. Training will inculcate the right job attitudes, skills and knowledge that will ensure effective and efficient job performance; an attribute that will enhance a business’ chance of success in international markets. Performance appraisal is yet another HR practice that plays an important role in determining the viability of a business venturing into international markets. However small the connection may seem between these two factors, the impact of performance appraisal largely determines the consistency of a business’ performance. Performance appraisal is the structural check against which the performance of an organization`s workforce is weighed and rewarded. Performance appraisal should significantly take into account the working culture of the market it is operating in (Edwards & Rees, 2006). This is important as people from different cultures are motivated by different factors. Some cultures value wage increment as motivational factors whereas others value job promotions and recognition more. Performance appraisal should consider such cultural factors before establishing ways on how to reward employees. An efficient performance appraisal will ensure that employees are constantly working towards exemplary performance, as they know their efforts will be awarded. Performance appraisals that are fair, transparent and in line with employees’ expectations; will see the rise in productivity of a business` operations. The rewarding system established by an organization is also important in determining the success of a business in foreign markets. Different countries in the world have different rates of inflation and standard remuneration. These factors should be taken into effect as they greatly influence the performance of employees in an organization. Remuneration is a sensitive factor in HRM as extremes on either side may lead to high unhealthy turnover for an organization (Jackson, Schuler & Werner, 2012). High remunerations that are above average in the country of operation may build employees wealth to limits that make them leave their workplaces, on the contrary, meager salaries may result to turnover as employees seek greener pastures. It is therefore imperative that any organization that wishes to expand into international markets to consider the remuneration average in their countries of operation. Other HR practices that need to be considered before a business ventures into international markets include: management development, quality management, and compliance management (Evans, Doz & Laurent, 1989). The management of an organization venturing into international markets should be ready to streamline its operations to thrive profitably in its market of operation. Most importantly however, the management should adapt a global culture of professionalism that ensures expatriates and employees from the home country work in harmony. The international business should have managers who are focused to ‘think globally, but act locally†. This is a sure-way policy that will rocket any international business into success (Jackson, Schuler & Werner, 2012). Compliance management is the other HRM practice that is equally important in the consideration of venturing into international business. Different countries have different business compliance laws that must be adhered to if a business is to maintain its legal jurisdiction in its area of operation. Laws relating to the quality threshold of production, taxes, employee welfare among others should be taken into effect. It is also important for a business to recognize what operations are deemed legal or illegal in its host country to avoid legal tussles (Evans, Doz & Laurent, 1989). From the above, it is clearly evident that HRM practices play a significant role in determining the globalization of a business. It is therefore essential that before businesses embark onto international businesses, they should take into account global factors that will ensure its ascent to success. BIBLIOGRAPHY Edwards, T. , & Rees, C. (2006). International human resource management: Globalization,   national systems and multinational companies. Harlow: Financial Times/Prentice Hall. Ervin, J. , & Smith, Z. A. (2008). Globalization: A reference handbook. Santa Barbara, Calif:   ABC-CLIO. Evans, P. , Doz, Y. L. , & Laurent, A. (1989). Human resource management in international   firms. Macmillan. Jackson, S. E. , Schuler, R. S. , & Werner, S. (2012). Managing human resources. Mason, Ohio:   South Western cengage learning.

Understanding of Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is one of the biggest problems facing our schools and businesses today. A week rarely goes by without a reminder of the pervasiveness of sexual harassment as a social problem. Sexual harassment is a growing problem in the government agencies, schools, and the corporations of the world; however, many corporations are now adopting new anti-harassment policies. (Conta) The definition of sexual harassment is any unwanted or inappropriate sexual attention. That includes touching, looks, comments, or gestures. A key part of sexual harassment is that it is one sided and unwanted. There is a great difference between sexual arassment and romance or friendship, since those are mutual feelings of two people. Often sexual harassment makes the victim feel guilty, but it is important for the victim to remember that it is not their fault, the fault lies totally on the person who is the harasser. Many times fear is involved in sexual harassment because it isn't about physical attraction, it's about power. In fact, many sexual harassment incidents take place when one person is in a position of power over the other; or when a woman has an untraditional job such as a police officer, factory worker, business executive, or ny other traditionally male job. Typical victims of harassment are young, single, college-educated, members of a minority racial or ethnic group (if male), in a trainee position (or office/ clerical positions if male), or have an immediate supervisor of the opposite Presently, it is hard for courts and others to decide when sexual harassment has taken place because the definition of sexual harassment is much too broad. Clearing up the legal definition of sexual harassment would discourage and punish harassers and bring comfort to the victims. Here are some points to remember in deciding hen sexual harassment takes place: Sexual harassment is one-sided and * It is about power and not attraction. * Subtle sexual behavior is sometimes socially acceptable, but some would consider it offensive and want it stopped. * Moderate sexual behavior is not socially acceptable, reasonable * Severe sexual behavior is never acceptable. (Swisher 28) Sexual harassment is a major problem in public schools, colleges, and universities. Surveys on college campuses show the number of respondents reporting to have been sexually harassed ranging from 40-70 percent. Only two percent of campus harassment ases involve a professor demanding sex in return for a good grade. Most cases involve male and female students. In public schools current sexual harassment definitions are inappropriate, since bad sexual behavior of today's children isn't sexual harassment, but it is a reflection of the vulgar, violent, and the sexually explicit nature of our media and culture. When little six-year-old children get suspended from school for kissing girls on the cheek, it is not an example of sexual harassment but of political Sexual harassment is still a big problem in schools and every school district in Washington now has an antiharassment policy. Junior high or middle school has the biggest problem with sexual harassment mainly because of their immaturity and out-of-control hormones†. Says Viki Simmons of the YWCA. â€Å"Many times in high school, students don't think anything about it when harassment happens, but schools are now cracking down on it†. Simmons interview) In the business world employers are now on notice that sexual harassment will no longer be tolerated in the workplace. Claims brought against alleged harassers include wrongful termination, invasion of privacy, violation of due process and free speech rights, efamation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Sexual harassment usually happens to women in low-paying jobs, or women that have to have a job in order to support themselves and children. If sexual harassment happens at work, write down a detailed description of what took place, so that it is well recorded and you don't have to think back to the incident. You should keep a note pad handy for this purpose, or write it on a napkin to help you * What actually took place and what the offender said Another way to do this is to write a letter to the harasser. Be sure to keep a copy. Tell the person clearly in the letter that his behavior toward you is unwanted. Tell the person that he will be reported if the behavior doesn't stop (Kolbert). According to the research group Catalyst, recent studies have found that 40 percent to 60 percent of woman say they have been harassed sometime in their Employers have a duty to investigate allegations of sexual harassment, and their employees have a legitimate interest in knowing what activities could result in their termination. Ever clearer definitions of sexual harassment are being implemented by more and more corporations around the country. As this happens, an ncreasing number of companies are searching for new ways of protecting themselves against allegations, adopting their own anti- harassment policies to combat this growing problem. CEO's should do a variety of things to stop sexual harassment in the work place. The most important thing is senior management makes it clear to workers that harassment in any form won't be tolerated. If top managers don' take the issues seriously, employees won't either. Managers must also understand they are responsible for their Companies need an explicit written policy on sexual harassment that is widely available in the workplace. Most consultants advise companies to do more than just post the policy on bulletin boards. They should distribute it company wide, repeatedly. Copies should be included in new employee orientation packets. Employees should have clear definitions of what sexual harassment is Many companies are now offering employee training sessions on sexual harassment, and many say that follow up training is a good idea. Training programs should include all employees, rather than just managers. The tone should be gender neutral and avoid heavy discussions on male harassment that might cause some resentment among the male employees. Many times programs aren't effective because they spend a lot of time just attacking men and not the crime. Companies need a good system to deal with complaints. A clear process for handling complaints shows that a company takes them seriously. Until 1991 it was harder for woman to make allegations of sexual harassment, since woman felt like there was nothing that they could do about it. But the highly publicized hearings of Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill in 1991 changed everything. During the fall of 1991, the subject of sexual harassment grabbed news headlines. Everyone began discussing this issue and motions ran high. Judge Clarence Thomas was nominated to be a Supreme Court Justice, which is America's highest court, and Supreme Court Justices have their jobs for life. They cannot be fired. Before a person can be made a Justice, he or she must be questioned and Judge Thomas was ounce the head of a U. S. agency called the EEOC. The EEOC makes sure everyone is treated fairly when applying for a job. It also enforces laws against sexual harassment. Anita Hill is a law professor who worked with Judge Thomas at the EEOC many years ago. A few weeks into the Congressional Questioning she came orward and accused Thomas of sexual harassment. She claimed that he used to constantly ask her for dates and spoke to her about pornographic films he had seen. Anita Hill said that she was deeply offended by these remarks but felt that she could not complain. Clarence Thomas was her boss, and she thought that her career could be Anita Hill was a very believable witness. But Judge Thomas denied her charges in the strongest possible terms. Who was telling the truth? The country was divided. But the issue was being discussed everywhere. Women from all across the nation told of their experiences with sexual harassment. And many men admitted being Finally, the senate voted to approve Judge Thomas. But the vote was close. Many senators had doubts about Thomas's character. Others did not the, Thomas's career should be destroyed because of one person's story. They said there was not enough evidence to prove there was wrongdoing. In the end, everyone agreed that sexual harassment is a serious problem everyone must become more sensitive It's important to know that men have trouble too. Women are not the only victims of sexual harassment. More and more men are being harassed in the workplace, classrooms, and locker rooms. Whoever is in the position of power tends to be the harasser. Men can a be victims of both woman and other men Sexual harassment is very wide spread, but there are ways of avoiding it, such as: Keeping everything strictly on a business level. If working in the same room as the harasser, create a barrier between the two work stations with a desk or file cabinet, etc. Do not ask for personal favors or special treatment from the harasser so that he won't feel he is owed anything. Do not talk about anything personal. Sexual harassment is always wrong. No one deserves it. And it is always hurtful to the victim.

Reaction Paper Last Princess by Kara David Essay

Stories of princess were part of our childhood memories. We dream of becoming one during those times. But in Tumandok tribe in Tapaz, Capiz, Philippines, there were women, who were treated like a princess. They are known to be the binukot. Before seeing the documentary of Huling Prinsesa (Last Princess), I was really excited because who knew that a 3rd world country like the Philippines would afford to have a princess. Then I realized, Philippines was not a 3rd world country then. And I remember that during the pre-Hispanic period we used to have datus, babaylans, pandays so having a princess would not be far from reality. Philippines though colonized by foreigners, retained its rich culture and I think this is one of the proofs. The binukot was usually the prettiest daughter of the chief tribe. The term was derived from bukot which means â€Å"to keep†. Binukot was not allowed to go outside the house. That’s why her food was usually delivered in her room. She will be taught to memories and sing different epics. Going outside the house is not a simple task. The binukot needs to be carried on a cradle so that her feet will be kept clean. The tribe believed that the binukot has a supernatural power. During planting and harvesting time, she will be brought to the farm to perform, for them to have a bountiful harvest. At present there are still few binukot on some part of Panay Island. But the danger of losing this tradition is very high, for most women of Panay preferred to be an ordinary citizen instead of becoming a princess. Stories of princess were part of our childhood memories. We dream of becoming one during those times. But in Tumandok tribe in Tapaz, Capiz, Philippines, there were women, who were treated like a princess. They are known to be the binukot. The trip to the remote mountains of Capiz is tough — an hours-long motorcycle ride and several hours more of trekking across rivers and up and down rocky, slippery slopes. It is a challenging feat for anyone who wants to see and explore a mysterious tradition preserved for decades among some of the mountains isolated communities.The trip took some time and I thought it’s worth the wait just to see the ‘Last Princess’, from the trip alone, it made me really curious of what will princess look like. I-Witness travels to the Tapaz Mountain, considered the farthest in Capiz, located in the central Philippines island of Panay. The mountain people called the tumandoks live in Tapaz, and I-Witness searched for the tribe’s last remaining princesses called the binukots. Reporter Kara David reaches the community of Rizal Sur, a village that looks just like any other isolated community, where the tumandoks living in traditional huts and survive on whatever nature provides them. In the midst of this community, she meets one of the last remaining binukots, 73-year-old Lola (grandmother) Isiang. Lola Isiang lives in an old hut, just like everybody else in the community. However, she has stayed inside a room in the house ever since she was five years old, living in isolation as the family’s chosen binukot.

Broad Scholarship

Education is the key to all doors of the world. I know that by seeking my education I can help someone else benefit from it and also succeed in their life as well. My desire to obtain a degree is a representation to others that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. As a person who appreciates the opportunity to educate myself on all topics, not just one, I can never take that for granted.Many people who don’t have an education or those who cannot achieve it because of poverty or fear, I can be an inspiration to them, letting them know that receiving your education is not only about hard work and dedication, but that its fun and exciting at the same time. I can give the wisdom of knowing that nothing compares to learning something new and experiencing that knowledge first hand in the world.I tell the kids who I work along-side with everyday that going to school is fun. They see me going to school every day. I share stories of the high school lifestyle to them all the time. They know that by going to college you can be whatever you want and how you want to be presented to the world. You’re your own boss and they listen. They not only see the benefits from having education, but they know how having an education can lead to newer heights in their lives and also for their families lives.I believe by me getting my education, I can keep that hope among our younger generation for all eternality, one that will never perish, but only live with a smile of gratitude and appreciation for the word education. The dream of receiving an education will expand through their eyes and mine, bringing new dimension and understanding of education to the world as a whole for all people. This is why my degree is so important to me, for the better of our children’s children children.

The level of interest within Generation Y towards social network Essay

The level of interest within Generation Y towards social network marketing - Essay Example This study would further help marketers to understand the tools that would work for both generations and how to effectively target these generations. The research would also be helpful for the developers of SNSs as it would provide them with an insight towards the users and the needs of the market. They would then be able to develop or modify their social network according to the needs of the target market. This may even help in developing a better SNS and its business end. Social Networking has become the greatest trend in the last few decades. People from all generations are linking with their friends and families through social networking. In this respect, social networking provides a great opportunity for marketers to target all kinds of generations and specifically Generation Y. Generation Y is the generation that was born between 1978 and 1991. This generation is also known as the Net Generation on account on their frequent use of the internet. Generation Y has been recorded as the greatest users of social networking with Generation X slowly catching up. Generation X is the generation born between the early 1960s and the early 1980s. Generation Y has been brought up at a time when technology was at its peak and thus this Generation grew up with the Internet. This was a reason that Generation Y was quick to get addicted to social networks. They even developed social networks in the form of Facebook and quickly became every day users. Generation Y saw these sites as a way of presenting them selves and their opinions. They made maximum use of the features of social networks by uploading pictures, videos, comments, tweets, status etc in order to connect with their friends. Generation Y remains connected with their friends through these networks and even relies on these friends to guide them in their purchasing decisions. Generation X, on the other hand, was not the initial users of social networks but being flexible, they quickly adopted the trend. Generation X’s usage of social networks has grown rapidly in the last few years as this generation uses social networks mainly to maintain their connection with their friends and family and also to remain updated with the latest trends. In order to target this generation, marketers have to rely on honesty since honesty sells for this generation. This generation demands respect from their brands and loyalty is earned through consistent performance. 1.2 Significance of the Study The growing popularity of social networking sites (SNSs)

Accounting for investments under U.S. GAAP Personal Statement

Accounting for investments under U.S. GAAP - Personal Statement Example Investments are categorized as either long-term or short -term investments. Current investments are. Other investments that are not current are categorized as long-term investments (Epstein, Nach & Bragg, 2009). The U.S GAAP provides various standards for accounting for investments. The objective of U.S accounting standards that deal with property plant and equipment is to recommend treatment of property; plant and equipment to enable users of financial information have proper details regarding the enterprises investment in property, plant and equipment and changes in such investments. The main issues in accounting for PPE are recognition of the assets, determination of the assets carrying amounts, the appropriate depreciation charges and impairment losses that are supposed to be recognized in relation to these assets (Thornton, 2013). According U.S GAAP, Property plant and equipment include tangible items that are: 1) held for the purpose of production of goods and services, rental to others, or for administrative needs, 2) anticipated to be used for more than one period and, 3) It is probable that the future economic benefits related with the items will flow to the enterprise and 4) the cost of the PPE can be measured reliably (Thornton, 2013). The cost of an item of PPE is the cash amount or its equivalent, paid in acquiring the asset, commonly adjusted for amortization and other allocations after acquisition. If an enterprise recognizes a liability for retirement of an asset obligation, the carrying amount of the long-lived asset should be increased by an amount equivalent to the liability (Thornton, 2013). Routine maintenance costs should be expensed as they are incurred. Major inspection and repair costs can be expensed as incurred or capitalized and amortized to the subsequent major inspection or repair. Borrowing