The S'No Risk Program (Management Decision Models) 2 Assignment

The S'No Risk Program (Management Decision Models) 2 - Assignment Example After going through the entire case it can be said that the most important reason behind the sudden hike in rates by the insurance firms was sudden flow of demand for Toro products, especially the shovels during the winter months (Bell, 1994, pp.1-2) and the interest of consumers in buying larger models of shovels so as to take optimum benefit of the deal. The growing interest among the consumers to purchase Toro shovels provided dealers the prospect to clear stock from their warehouses and this helped them to regain their lost confidence. Also S’ no risk program had basic cost of sales of 2.1% of sales which is generally 10% and hence the rates were heaved. The reasonable estimation of rates of insurance will depend on the factors like customer preferences, product demand, competitor’s insurance rates, cost of sales, scope of profit of the company etc. Based on the case, the effect of plausible insurance rates and their relationship with profitability can be derived fr om the following table- Items Single Stage Power Shovel Two-Stage Power Shovel    Min Max Min Max    Price ($) Retail Price 270 440 640 1500 Units Sold 100000 100000 20000 20000 Total Revenues 27000000 44000000 12800000 30000000 Basic Cost of Sales/Premium @ 2.1% 567000 924000 268800 630000 Profit 26433000 43076000 12531200 29370000 Premium @6% 1620000 2640000 768000 1800000 Profit @ 6% 25380000 41360000 12032000 28200000 Premium @8% 2160000 3520000 1024000 2400000 Profit @ 8% 24840000 40480000 11776000 27600000 premium @ 10% 2700000 4400000 1280000 3000000 Profit @ 10% 24300000 39600000 11520000 27000000 From the chart shown above it can be concluded that when the rates are raised profitability will get reduced and vice-versa. Answer 2 The S’ No risk program by Toro is shown below: From the consumer’s point of view, the above pattern showcases an appealing proportion of refund which is utterly reliant on the amount of snowfall in the area. The pattern states that when the snowfall would increase, the consumers would have the alternative to purchase any model of shovel and during lesser snowfall the customers would be allowed money back. However the money back alternative would be applicable till the average snowfall reaches 50%. Further than that the consumers won’t get the reimbursement advantage. Hence it can be concluded that both the approach would be in support of the customer benefit. However a condition might arise when a purchaser makes the purchase of a self-propelled two-stage shovel worth $1500 and during that year the average snowfall in the area reaches 80%, then he will not be entitled to any money back benefit. In such situation the consumer might think that he has made an incorrect choice by expending $1500 for the shovel when he had the alternative to procure the shovel valued at $ 640. The table in the previous discussion demonstrates that the clients prefer to expend the smallest amount and obtain the most gain from a deal. Therefore we can state that the rate which would be most accepted by the consumers is 6%. However 6% would not be favored by the insurance company as it would not bring them enough profits. Thus Toro must select a moderate rate considering both the related stakeholders and it should opt for the 8% rate. Answer 3 Snowfall is the common decision trap here. From Toro’s perspective, the volume of sales would exclusively

The Mystery of the Mummys Curse Essay Example for Free

The Mystery of the Mummys Curse Essay The purpose of this essay is to explain the mystery behind â€Å"the mummy’s curse†. I will do this by first explaining the theory that some believe to be â€Å"the curse of the pharaoh†. Secondly, I will discuss the scientific theories behind the mysterious deaths of the men who were present at the opening of King Tutankhamen’s tomb. Finally, I will conclude with the theory I believe to be true. The first theory, I will discuss is the urban myth about â€Å"the mummy’s curse†. There was a message outside of the tomb that was translated to say â€Å"Death Shall Come on Swift Wings to Him Who Disturbs the Peace of the King†. Legend has it that anyone who dared open the tomb would suffer the wrath of the mummy. A series of unfortunate events suddenly began to affect the men who entered first. Some became ill, others even died. There were many other events that occurred that some believe explains â€Å"the curse†. My second theory would be the scientific explanation behind the mysterious deaths. In 1986, Dr. Caroline Stinger-Phillip discovered the mystery behind the deaths. There seem to be mold growing on the walls of the tomb. The dust particles from the mold had a high allergenic potency. These men who entered the tomb first suffered an allergic reaction, symptoms from the reaction, was probably the cause of their deaths Recent findings give a more convincing explanation of â€Å"the curse of the mummy†. Finally, I conclude with the theory I believe correct, the scientific theory. I do not believe in myths or urban legends. In my opinion, the science in how they inhaled the mold spores, showed symptoms of the allergic reaction, and then going untreated, explains the men’s deaths. Everything else, I feel is pure coincidence.

Analysis Of The Financial Statements Of Coca Cola Finance Essay

Analysis Of The Financial Statements Of Coca Cola Finance Essay The firm and the outside providers of the capital that is the investors and the creditors will all take the financial statements into considerations .The Investor in the companys will be interested in the present and future expected earning of the company . As a result the investoes will be interested in the profitability of the company usually this will be their focus of their analysis. They are also concerned with the firm ability of the firm to pay dividends Internal management will also employ financial analysis for the following reasons: Better purpose of internal control Management need to undertake financial analysis in order to plan and control effectively The financial manager is particularly concerned with the return on investment provided by various assets of the company. Financial statements Financial analysis is the art of transforming data from financial statement into information that is useful for decision making. Balance sheet: A summary of a firm financial position on a given data that shows total assets =total liabilities + owners equity INCOME STATEMENT:- A summary of a firms revenues and expenses over a specified period ending net income or loss for a period. Cash flow statements:- Is a financial Statements that shows how changes in the balance sheet accounts and income affects cash and cash equivalents and break the analysis down to operating investing and finance activities. FINANCIAL ANALYSIS FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Balance sheet Cash Flow Statement INCOME STATEMENT COCA COLA BACKGROUND INFORMATION The coca cola company is the worlds largest produces of non alcoholic beverages concentrates and syrups.This company is based in atalnta, gerogia which makes concentrated form of beverages and sells them to the retailers. The company has its operation in more that 200 countries and sells nearly up to 100 different brands .Coca cola is now one of the worlds largest co-operation with a global workforcw of 90000. Over the years the brand equity of Coca cola trade mark,the produces brands ,has established the company a prominent figure in the non alcoholic industry and allowed comapnay to maintain high revenue and profits . The Coca-Cola Companys major offerings include such as coca -cola, sprite ,Fanta ,coke zero etc. EVALUATION Liquidity (Appendix A) Current Ratio: The current ration from the years 2007 to 2009(Appendix A) has been increasing but when compared to the standard ration 2:1 these ratios are much lower which shows short term liquidity effencicy and inefficient use of resources.Some corrective measures should be taken by the management to maintain the resources. Acid test ratio:This show the ability of the firm to pay its current obligation more quickly without considering the inventory and per-paid expenses . From the ratios (Appendix A) the firm has no trouble in meeting its current obligation ;there is an incline in the ratio and the company has the ability to meet the current obligation. working capital: The working capital of the company (Appendix A) when seen from 2007 to 2008 the net working capital was negative and the situation was alarming.The ablity of the firm to meet its current expenses for day to day operation shows a constraint. But in 009 the working capital shows a positive impact. Receivables Turnover:In Coca cola the number of times receivables are converted into cash has showed continuous varation from 2007 to 2009. In 2007 the accounts receivables turnover showed incline but again in 2008 due to the financial crisis it has showed a decline. So improvement has been made in 2009 in collection of accounts receivables. So overall situation is quite satisfactory. AVERAGE COLLECTION PERIOD: In coca cola the number of days requires to collect receivables have increased over the time; it shows the ineffective management of the credit department. So this ratio shows the negetive trend as efficiency has not improved Days sales in inventory: In coca cola the number of days requires to collect receivables have increased over the time; it shows the ineffective management of the credit department. So this ratio shows the negetive trend as efficiency has not improved. Inventory turnover: In coca cola cash were increased in 2007 and 2009. This was indication of negative trend. However improvement has been made in 2008. Leverage (Appendix A) Leverage ratios measure the degree of protection of suppliers of long term funds. The level of leverage depends on a lot of factors such as availability of collateral, strength of operating cash flow and tax treatments. Thus, investors should be careful about comparing financial leverage between companies from different industries. In Coco cola The amount of funds provided by creditors in relation to total assets has been the same from 2007 to 2009. Debt- to total -asset ratio it is obvious that amount of funds provided by creditors to purchase total assets are continuously remaining the same. As in last 3 years the more than 25% of the total assts are being financed by creditors, so the current situation is quite alarming. Operating cash flow that show a great percentage increase which the suppliers and the investors should see . Profitability(Appendix A) It is this ratio analysis which would give an insight into the prfotability of the firm , as it would help the investors analysi the combined effect of the liquidity of the firm , its dividend yield Earning pershare , revenue growth and the are all important for the survival of the firm. This would tell how the company has been utilizing its resources in generating profits and shareholders value. GROSS PROFIT MARGIN: In coca cola the gross profit margin of the organization has showed a continuous increased from 2007 to 2009. But the above time serious analysis clearly implicit, that the ability of the organization to generate profit is improving. The management has taken reasonable as well as tremendous efforts to improve profitability. Net Profit Margin: In coca cola although there was slight decline in 2007 from 2008 due to the financial crisis net profit margin , but in 2009 serious analysis clearly implicit, that the ability of the organization to generate profit is improving. This showed that the management is managing it selling and admin expenses efficiently and effectively with increasing sales profit to add more to net profits. Profit generation capability is showing positive trend over the years. Operating Income margin: In coca cola operating profit was increased in 2009 from 2008 . It was decreased in 2008 as compared to previous year. However in 2009 a considerable increased has occurred. Operating profit has increased considerably. So the overall situation is quite satisfactory. Return on Equity: The Return on Equity was maximum in 2008 but decreased in 2009 and went down more in 2007 . This again may have happened due to the issue of more long-term debt recession. Return on investment: The overall trend is positive over the timeperiod. The return on investment has increased considerably from 2007 to 2009, which indicates that funds are being utilized effectively to generate revenue. INVESTOR ANALYSIS(Appendix A) DEGREE OF FINANCIAL LEVERAGE: The degree of financial leverage is fluctuating over the time period. It was improved in year 2009 and 2007 but, in 2008 once again it indicate a negative trend. The loan is not being utilized efficiently to made more earnings available toshareholders. So the above trend needs corrective action. Earning Per Share: Earning per share has been increased continuously. It is obvious, that earning capacity of the organization is improving continuously with the time. Earning made on each share of the stockholders equity is increasing. This showed that the shareholders fund is being used efficiently and effectively to maximize the shareholders wealth. Price / Earning Ratio: Price/earning ratio has been decreasing continuously over the three years. It has decreased considerably in 2008. It reflects a very bad indication on the price of the share. It is quite alarming for the marker price of the stock. Corrective action should be taken immediately. Dividend Yield: Dividend yield which shows dividend per share in relation to market price per share. It was decreasing from 2008 to 2009. Dividend yield showed improvement in 2008 as compared to previous 3 years. So the above analysis shows that some improvement has been made. Book Value per Share: It relates the stockholders equity to the number of shares outstanding, giving the shares a raw value. Comparing the market value to the book value can indicate whether or not the stock in overvalued or undervalued. CRITICAL ANALYSIS: (Appendix A) The fizz is back in Coca-Colas stock. As we can see in the envaluation the company is generating a huge amount of cash flow of 44.70 billion and about $2.93 per share.It has made a net prfit margin of 20.55% in 2009 and a return on equity of about 26.92% . Any one would tell that this is a fabulous company. The company last year saw profit and sales rise following a strong performance in the developing markets. Coca-Cola remains financially awesome and its drinks will be sold even if the economy cools off. The company has moved into the an emerging consumer market such as China , as now China is taking is firt sip of Coca cola.If the history is any guide, the people of that country will get hookied to Coca cola nad will become their loyal customers. Coca cola has a strong Earning per share and this would continue growing for the next 2 to 5 years. The stock would hit $62 within this year. Coca-Cola shares were trading at a price-earnings ratio of 19.45 Coca-Colas stock has gained about 20% more than the Standard Poors 500 Index ($INX) over the past five years Earnings growth in the past year has moved up moderately compared to earnings growth in the past years. Positive. Coca-Colas stock actually looks like a good investment now that it is starting to benefit from a renewed focus on aggressively retooling its product mix. The coca cola stock where fluctuating from $45-69, the price of Coca cola stock now is $53.61which is actually down. The company is now willing to take risks on new brands to capture the strength of hip soft-drink trends such as energy drinks and flavored waters. From now on I can see that Coca-Cola is gaining market share through out the globe. Its safe for investors to assume that the growth in the most recent years is not a fake, but the beginning of a trend the shares will grow steadily higher. As of now I guess that the company has a drop in business in Europe and latin America Developing markets such as China, Africa and India posted double-digit growth in unit volume led in part by carbonated beverages such as Coke and Sprite. The analysi of coca cola would not be complete without taking intpo the consideration the brand recogination because it is one of the billion companies in the world that people recognize. Its hard to tell the worth of coke brand but you can be sure that its an essential ingredient contributing to the companys ongoing success SELECTED COMPITETOR PepsiCo Pepsico is the compitetos for coca cola in the non alcoholic beverge industry. It has 31% of the total maket shar as when comapered to coke which has 42.8%. U.S. non-alcoholic beverage market share, by volume PEP has many brands some very well known Mountain Dew Aquafina Tropicana and Lipton Both the companies are working hard to grab a larger share in the market and for the title of the best soda producer in the world ,both the companies have a similar taste in the investment portfolio.both the companies share equal powerful brand names and global franchises , but when it comes to profit, revenue EPS dididend yield and othe terms realeted to investment in their stock both different in different ways. But during the period of recession both the companies had problems making the stock prices and the revenue incomes , the management of pepsico was far better as we get to see in the critical analysi of the assignment , Pepsico has a larger revenue , due to diversifation of its product lines. Liquidity In the receivables area ,PepsiCo is ahead of coca cola. Coca-cola is better off with the days sales in receivables, but substantially behind either per year and account receivable turnover, days. In the inventory area, Coco cola appears to be ahead of PepsiCo. They do have some what different Inventory methods, which could account for the difference. Coca-Cola has a slightly higher operating cycle ,Which favors PepsiCo Working capital cannot be compared .PepsiCo is materially better that Coca cola PepsiCo current ratio is materially higher than Coca colas. This is necessarily bood because the Coca-cola current ratio is very good and PepsiCo possibly has to many inventory. Coca cola and PepsiCo acid test ratio are both quite the same, which is good. Coca-Cola cash on hand is much better than PepsiCo. Leverages: PepsiCo did better in debt ratio ,debt/equity ratio, and tangible net worth ,Cocacola has good ration in these areas. Coca cola has a materially better operating cash flow/total debt .PepsiCo debt indicator appears to be materially better than Coca cola. The Coca-Cola indicators are good. Profitability Coca-Cola has a number of profitability indicators that are materially better than PepsiCo. Included here are net profit margin, return on investment, return on equity. PepsiCo has a number of profitability indicators that are better than coca cola.In general, PepsiCo s profitability appears to be materially better than coca cola. Investors Analysis Neither company has a high degree of financial leverage ,but Coca-Cola is lower. price/earning ratio is slightly higher for coca cola . Take a note liquidity is better for PepsiCo ,long tern debt paying ability was materially better for PepsiCo and the profitability was materially better for PepsiCo . The Investors Analysis appears to be better for PepsiCo that that of Coca-Cola .Considering the liquidity , long-term debt paying ability and the profitability we would expect PepsiCo price/earning ratio to be higher than Coca-Cola . Getting technical (Appendix B) The stock to see them how they have been performed I took a look at the chart of 4 years price of the stock , in the chart for the coca cola share we see that Coke has done remarkably very well in 2007 but in December 2008 we see that the stock proce has come dwn . even because of this , the stock boasts a total return, including dividends, of about 23% for the past year. But PepsiCo has held its ground better In terms of fundamentals, Pepsi seems to have the slight advantage. While Coca-Cola does have the higher figures, Pepsi has the better margins in terms of operating margins, revenue, and profit which is more important for growing companies. During the 2009 pepsi had a better EPS in their statements. The past year Coca-Cola has only remain in a five dollar range, showing little fluctuation patterns for speculators or investors. While this seems to be bad in coca cola ,the value seems to have increased to its maximum, but we can also see a drop in the prices of shre of Coca cola when compared to 2007 and 2009.While pepsico has seen continued growth throughout its tenure in a nice steady growth pattern. The company is in its prime of its careerand this should be able to carry the stock to high numbers for at least a decade.By investing now in pepsi, the investos have an opportunity to see pepsi rise to near 80-100 points by 2010.and possibility of more by 2015. Such as a process is also favorable with its dividend payoff which allows for reinvestments to increase gains. Likewise, I give PepsiCo an edge on the product side. Both companies have done very well navigating a beverage market that is always evolving. PepsiCo owns the Gatorade brand, which is popular with the athletic set; Coca-Cola purchased the trendy Vitamin Water line in 2007. Depending on the market situation in tha klast two years coke stock trades at 10.8 times the analyst earning while pepsico 11.3 times , which indicates that pepsico is doing better. My expectation is that coke profits would grow to 9 percent over the next five years ,but pepsico would grow at 11 percent ,which is behind the forcast. To me, thats an edge for PepsiCo, because the company has more room for overseas growth. This sort of competition keeps both companies innovative, aggressive and eager to please consumers and shareholders. Pepsi has the edge over Coke in price performance, with a total return, including dividends, Looking at longer-term patterns, PepsiCo has a decided edge. Over 10 years, PepsiCo has an even bigger advantage. EVALUATION OF FINANCIAL MARKETS 2008 financial crisis: Coca-Cola Coca cola is selling its products all over the world and it would be a safe investment for the people if they are buying the shares people as I realize that due to the economice crisis investors think twice before they actually buy the stock , the prices of the shaers are increasing and this indicates that the growth will be more as the days pass by. 2009 results. Despite the economic downturn, the company increased its sales by 2 percent in the United States and by 3 percent worldwide. In India, Coca-Colas business grew by 31 percent between January and March 2009. In 2008, sales revenue increased by 7 percent in Brazil In the 2008 due to this crisi profit fell 3 percent to $5.81 billion, or $2.49 per share, from $5.98 billion, or $2.57 per share, in 2007. Commodity Cost Fluctuations Affect Margins:. The varaiation in the prices of the raw materials would directly and indirectly affect the production coas which in turn would affect the profitability of Coca cola. Here Coca cola itself would be directly purchasing the raw materials which are used to make the concertes nad syrups.varation in the prices of these would affect the cost of production of as wellas the profit margins Here also the change in the production cost os the bottlers can also impact the coca cola profitability in and indirect way though. If the raw material becomes more that is necessary for bottling then ,the bottlers would be forced to increase the prices to compensate. Such a nature would hurt the profitabitity of the company , in such an competitive nature of the non alcoholic beverage company.and would be possible incentive for the consumers to switch over to other companies beverages. The prices of these commodities rose in 2007 and dramatically pressured margins. significant rise in Commodities represents a constant threat to profits. Dollar Affects International Performance : The another factor for the decrease in the profit and revenue was the affect in the dollar performance. Although the company was based in north America more that 76% of its revenues was derived from outside north America.Because of this the company is very sensitive to the strength in Dollar price.As the prices of the other currencies weaken relative to dollar , goods that are sold outside the US are worth back in the US, lowering earmning. Thus, if the dollar strengthens (as it did in the second half of 2008 and 2009), it has a negative effect on Coca cola earnings. Coca-Cola expect currency fluctuations to adversely operating income by 10-12% . The Global Economic Recession Threatens Overall Demand http://cdn.wikinvest.com/i/px.gif: In the 2008 -2009 the global economic recession , the credit crunch had a major impact on the sales and revenues of the COCA COLA company as because the consumers where not able to afford the price of coca cola during that period , the company had also increased the prices of their product because of the increase in the price of their commodity. Conclusion and recommendations

Different Modes in Intelligence Surveillance in the United States Essay

DIFFERENT MODES IN INTELLIGENCE SURVEILLANCE IN THE UNITED STATES Information operations conducted in the enemy’s backyard will assist in achieving specific strategic and tactical objectives. The flexibility to change any perspective provides commanders with a deeper insight into the dynamics of target appreciation. Having the ability to understand a target system provides commander’s with the analytical tools to decipher diverse categories of complex surveillance. The end result of the different modes of intelligence surveillance could lead to a variety of improved protocol, or a resolution to a problem. Communication is the division of technology that pertains to the data or information operations of transferring, interpreting, and processing by automatic means or humans. The source can be mediums such as people, places, animals, and equipment. To avoid confusion, the end entities would agree on the method of transportation of the data. Communication Intelligence is the process of intercepting data from domestic and foreign locations worldwide. The interceptions are accomplished through technical means such as wiretapping, network intrusion, contacting government agencies, online databases, surveys, interviews, reverse engineering, and observation. Due to the rapid growth in technology, electronics take on more non-traditional sizes and shapes. Electronics are objects that are made from any type of material other than radioactive sources or nuclear detonations emanated ...

Contextual Factors in Pride and Prejudice influence the characters. Do you agree?

There are many contextual factors in Pride and Prejudice that certainly influence the characters, in the way the characters behave and also in the way that they are viewed. A few of the main factors are money, marriage and the role of women and these can be seen as a few of the novel's themes. However, these factors do not always influence all of the characters. I will explore the different contextual factors in the novel and come to the conclusion as to whether I agree with the statement. Money is a highly influential factor in Pride and Prejudice, so much so, that the narrator is very careful to give financial details of every character to ensure that the reader has an idea of the social standings of all the characters and their placement in society. As the Bennet family and the Lucas family have less money, this means they are of a lower class than most of the other families in the book, for example the Darcys and the Bingleys. This means that the daughters in these families are less likely to be offered a proposal of marriage, as the classes tend not to mix and the possible crossing of social boundaries seems insurmountable. This can be shown in chapter 8, where Miss Bingley mock Elizabeth's behaviour and her family. Miss Bingley begins by stating, â€Å"I have an excessive regard for Jane Bennet, she is really a very sweet girl,† to give the impression of being caring and thoughtful and continues to say, â€Å"I wish with all my heart she were well settled. But with such a father and mother and such low connections, I am afraid there is no chance of it. † In this quote, Miss Bingley conveys fact as an opinion which she uses to try and manipulate her brother's views. By stating this, Miss Bingley shows that she feels Jane should not be allowed to wed Mr Bingley, as this would be crossing the social boundaries. This chapter also shows how Mr Bingley is not affected by money and the fact that Elizabeth has low connections, as this does not affect the way he perceives her. By stating that â€Å"it would not matter if they had uncles enough to fill all Cheapside, it would not make one of them one jot less agreeable,† it illustrates how Bingley is not swayed by other characters' status or appearance. Money can also influence the appearance of characters on the surface, as when Mr Darcy is introduced in chapter 3, he is described as being very favourable, based only on his social standing and his financial status. The fact that Darcy earned ‘ten thousand a year' meant that people looked at him â€Å"with great admiration for half the evening†. It is only when people explored his character that they found him to be â€Å"proud and above his company†, which allows the reader to see how money influences their perception of characters. Elizabeth could be described as one of the only characters with morals whose life is not completely influenced by money, but her conversation with Jane in chapter 59 that her character can in fact be affected by wealth. Her comments to Jane that her love for Darcy began â€Å"from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberley† and although Elizabeth is joking about this, the audience realises that there is an element of truthfulness in what she has said. She feels â€Å"some perturbation† on approaching Pemberley: â€Å"her spirits were in a high flutter†. When she sees the estate, â€Å"at that moment she felt that to be mistress of Pemberley might be something! † Elizabeth speaks of a present and a future, not of something past and concluded, which demonstrates how she could be persuaded by Darcy's estate to marry him. This shows how Darcy's wealth is of great interest to Elizabeth, when she is confronted by its reality, that she can escape her life of being poor and having little money. The reader can also see that the idea of money influences Charlotte, â€Å"Lady Lucas began to directly calculate with more interest than the matter had ever excited before how many years longer Mr Bennet was likely to live†. This shows Charlotte treats money higher in her opinion than the feelings of her friend when her father dies. Charlotte, thinking up â€Å"kind schemes† for Elizabeth feels that Colonel Fitzwilliam was â€Å"beyond comparison the pleasantest man; he certainly admired her and his situation in life was most eligible; but, to counterbalance these advantages, Mr Darcy had considerable patronage in the church and his cousin could have none at all†. This reveals the final twist in which Charlotte's thoughts move from the outcome that might suit her friend best, to that which would serve her own purposes through the advancement and enrichment of Mr Collins, which would undoubtedly earn her more money. Property is shown to be a contextual factor that influences the characters as the females of the Bennet family are in real financial difficulty, as their house is to be entailed upon Mr Collins when Mr Bennet dies. This puts the Bennet daughters into a difficult position as there is added pressure to marry well so they can be financially secure. This pressure is increased as Mrs Bennet wanted one of her daughters to marry Mr Collins so that the Bennet family would not lose the estate which has been in their family for many generations. Property can also be seen as a beneficial factor that influences the perception of characters because at this time the larger the estate then more money was earned. This can be seen in the description of Mr Darcy in chapter 3, where the people at the ball thought very highly of him when they heard about the size of his estate in Derbyshire, which directly relates to his earnings. A contextual factor that influences all the women characters in the novel is marriage. A perfect example of this is in Charlotte Lucas marrying Mr Collins, as she does not marry for love, she marries him to be financially secure and to have a place in society. This can be seen in the quote by the narrator describing Charlotte, â€Å"who accepted him solely from the pure and disinterested desire of an establishment†. This shows that Charlotte married only for an estate and money, so that she could establish herself in society as women were looked down upon if they were not married. As the life expectancy for women in the early 1800's was around the mid to late 30s and Charlotte was 28, she saw that marriage was the only honourable provision for a woman in her position and wealth. Although Elizabeth and Charlotte were close friends, they had very different views. Elizabeth felt that â€Å"it was a long time before she became at all reconciled to the idea of an unsuitable match. She had always felt that Charlotte's opinion of matrimony was not exactly like her own†. Charlotte was prepared to marry for money and financial security and she thought that â€Å"happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance†. In the 1800's society influenced the characters of the novel as marriage was essential for women, they were entirely dependant on men to look after them and if women were not married, they were thought to be excluded from society. However, this did not affect Elizabeth as she turned down two respectable proposals of marriage, from Mr Collins and Mr Darcy. The former proposal is deemed to be more acceptable and her family is more understanding of this as Mr Collins is pompous and boastful, and an all round unfavourable character. However, Mrs Bennet was upset when Elizabeth declined his proposal as it is her duty as a mother to marry all her daughters off and help them to set up her lives. Mr Bennet opposed his wife's views and suggested to Elizabeth that, â€Å"Your mother will never speak to you again if you do not marry Mr Collins, and I will never speak to you again if you do†. This led to Mr Collins withdrawing his offer and marrying Charlotte. The latter proposal was certainly very easy for Elizabeth to refuse as she explained to him that after knowing him for a month, â€Å"I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry. Although, we can see that wealth does affect Elizabeth's judgement as after the proposal is made, she feels some guilt for not accepting the proposal as it would mean a better life for her and it would please her mother and her family. Even though Darcy admits how he admires and loves Elizabeth, he is still influenced by the fact that she is of a lower class and â€Å"his sense of her inferiority – of its being degradation† and before his proposal he would have convinced himself that this could not happen and admits he has repressed his feelings. However, in spite of this, Darcy is still prepared to marry Elizabeth and cross the social boundaries, which shows that money and Elizabeth's â€Å"low connections† do not influence him fully. The pressure of marriage affects many of the characters, but it does not affect Jane or Mr Bingley, as they overcome the separation of the classes and are married because they are truly in love with one another. Jane and Bingley represent the coming together of two handsome, like-minded and kind-hearted people. Their eventual marriage is delightful and a relief to the reader as their have been many obstacles in their way of marriage. The main reason of their separation was caused by the persuasion of Darcy because he thinks that Jane is not in love with his friend Bingley. The reader knows that part of the reason why he persuades Bingley is because he does not feel Jane is worthy enough for his friend. This is ironic as he then proposes to Elizabeth who detests him. In chapter 8 there is a discussion of the accomplishments of young ladies. Bingley has a lot of admiration for women's ability to â€Å"paint tables, cover screens and net purses†, but Darcy wants more than this and even more than the list Caroline Bingley provides of â€Å"music, singing drawing, dancing and modern languages,† plus â€Å"something in her air and manner of walking†. If men expect all those accomplishments for the women to have, then the Bennet daughters and many other women in their position will have little hope of marrying well. However, as seen in chapter 29 when Lady Catherine quizzes Elizabeth with many questions about her family and finds that none of them can draw she is very surprised, â€Å"What, none of you? † and also that only one of her sisters can play the piano and sing. This demonstrates that women do not always need a long list of accomplishments in order to be married, for Mr Darcy was not concerned about her lack of abilities, but only cared about her â€Å"liveliness of mind† and the spirited freedom of her thinking about her world, even in spite of the pressures cause by its snobbery and narrowness of society. In conclusion, the contextual factors do influence many of the characters in the novel, but some of these characters are able to overcome the pressures of society and cross the social boundaries. By using Elizabeth as a main character, Austen is able to highlight these factors as she is not influenced by them and causes others around her to rebel against the norm. The main character highlights what is expected of women and the ‘norms and values' in society during the nineteenth century by behaving in an unacceptable way. The fact that in chapter eight, when Elizabeth walks to Netherfield to visit her sister, and her appearance is deemed improper by the Bingley sisters, â€Å"her petticoat, six inches deep in mud†, is one of the main reasons why Darcy falls in love with Elizabeth, shows that some men prefer women with an independence of mind and a free spirit. This is not in agreement with society, where it is believed women should depend on men and all act very similar with no specific purpose as they are just possessions of men.

The problem of presenting non-Western ethnographic material Essay Example

The problem of presenting non The problem of presenting non-Western ethnographic material Essay The problem of presenting non-Western ethnographic material Essay The problem of presenting non-Western ethnographic material in Western terms is something that both authors had to work with. Abu-Lughod, on introducing her work, says, the unusual form of this ethnography owes much to the remarkable women in the Awlad Ali Bedouin community with whom I lived (Abu-Lughod 1993: 1). This is a progressive step for ethnography, to fit the form of ones work to the content, inspired by the informants. Conversely, Marjorie Shostak describes the problems she encountered when trying to fit the lives of the ! Kung into the categories she had prescribed. Having mentioned some of the topics I hoped to cover (Shostak 1982: 21), she found the informants difficult and unreliable. Shostaks material was gathered mainly through formal interviews (often with informants receiving payment), in contrast to Abu-Lughod who had built up a rapport with her informants and used mostly informal personal and group conversations, which led her eventually to the conclusion that perhaps my wealth, status and foreignness kept the women from trusting me (ibid. : 33). Shostak seems not to recognise the divide she creates and maintains between herself and her informants in her thoughts and actions, while Abu-Lughod is very self-conscious and self-aware. For all her determination to create an ethnography that does not perpetuate a cultural hierarchy, Abu-Lughod can not escape the fact that she remains in ultimate control of her material, and so potentially a superior and authoritative voice. However, she seems conscious of this fact, and is explicit in her methodology, leaving in the questions asked and not pretending conversations did not take place because of her presence. The final chapter centred around Kamla is an example of Abu-Lughods editorial work being governed by the material she is gathering is shown. The content of the chapter is determined according to the information that Kamla included in her essay, Abu-Lughod merely adds relevant points to each section. Shostak, however, is not so open to suggestions as she has set out with a very clear picture of what she wishes to achieve through her ethnography. She says that she explained to her informants, that I wanted to learn what it meant to be a woman in their culture so I could better understand what it meant in my own (Shostak 1982: 21), which is the kind of construction of self through opposition to others that I described earlier in the essay as contributing to the notion of self and other that perpetrates notions of cultural superiority. As shown at one point when she is reminded of the cultural gulf between Nisa and me (ibid. :350), Shostak seems unwilling to attempt to understand her informants on their own terms and not in contrast to herself. Despite describing the ! Kung in the introduction using many generalisations, the fact remains that Shostak has written, as Abu-Lughod would call it, an ethnography of the particular; she has allowed the voice of one woman to be heard. However, it seems that Shostaks intention was not to allow us to see the intricacies of one persons life so that we may see the boundlessness of cultures or the similarity of living life all over the world, but rather that we may get a general picture of the ! Kung culture through one person. In the epilogue, Shostak writes, perhaps [Nisas] story was too idiosyncratic an interpretation of ! Kung life; perhaps it didnt generalise to other women (Shostak 1982: 350), which shows a certain unawareness of the potential of letting informants speak for themselves, and a simple wish to personify culture. Abu-Lughod, on the other hand, uses the opportunity of describing individual lives to great effect. Her wish, she says, was that each chapter might unravel its title, each one being a conventional Western analytical category, to show the boundlessness of life. She is able to show the tensions and contradictions that exist within the community, even within the individual, which would have been flattened out (Abu-Lughod 1993: 221) in generalisations. For example, Kamla describes the importance of traditional values, but if she were to think about how the extensive bonds between kin are to be maintained, she would have to admit the virtues of marriage to paternal cousins, the kind of marriage she wanted desperately to avoid. (ibid. : 234). This internal conflict between tradition and progress is shown in the contradictions of one girl. The question of exploitation in transferring the information gathered to the public is something both authors address. Abu-Lughods intention with this ethnography is clear, but she is uncertain of her authority in executing it: Do the ends of undermining anthropological generalisations, questioning feminist interpretations, and shaking up assumptions about the Middle East justify the means? (ibid. :38) Abu-Lughod was worried that she was exposing things about her informants that were personal and worried that it may be seen that she was using them for her own purpose. Shostak is not so sensitive to the consequences of her work being published. In debating asking Nisa for her permission, she says, it was my work, certainly but it was her story (Shostak 1982: 350). The notion of self and other in her book is shown again. In this case, the issue of exploitation seems more apparent than in Abu-Lughods book because she has constructed an image of herself in contrast to Nisa, and of Nisas world in contrast to her own, which she was using for her own ends in understanding what it was to be a woman. In this essay I have shown some of the main arguments from Said, Asad, Clifford and Abu-Lughod concerning the authority of anthropologists in speaking for their informants. I have shown, using two ethnographies, the potential for success and failure in letting the informants speak. I realise that I was very critical of Shostaks work in comparison to that of Abu-Lughod, and that this followed theoretical suggestions from, amongst others, Abu-Lughod, which may seem biased. However, the arguments put forward by Abu-Lughod for better and more representative ethnography were theoretically supported by other anthropologists and seemed to me to be sensible and appropriate for this discussion. In conclusion, if approached and executed in the right manner, I believe the work anthropologists do in making known the lives of others is not exploitative, but informative and useful. Bibliography Abu-Lughod, L. 1991. Writing Against Culture in (ed. ) Fox Recapturing Anthropology. University of Washington Press, Washington. Abu-Lughod, L. 1993. Writing Womens Worlds. University of California Press, California. Asad, T. 1973. Introduction in (ed. ) Asad, T. Anthropology and the Colonial Encounter. Ithica Press, London. Clifford, J. 1986. Introduction: Partial Truths in (eds. ) Clifford Marcus Writing Culture: The Poetics and Politics of Ethnography. University of California Press, California. Said, E. 1995. Orientalism. Penguin Books Ltd, Middlesex. Shostak, M. 1982. Nisa: The Life and Words of a ! Kung Woman. Penguin Books Ltd, London. AN101 Lent Term Assessment Essay Joanna Clarke

Free Essays on Friendship

The definition of friendship is as subjective and diverse as the people of this world. Each person has a relationship with another person and that relationship is unique to that combination. Friendships grow and change as each individual will, and the definition of friendship grows and changes with each progressive relationship. When I was very young, I had been told not to talk to strangers. Although I understood the potential for danger, I couldn’t help thinking that I might be letting someone important slip by if I didn’t extend my friendship. In church, I would peek my head over the pews and smile at one or two of the people standing there. Most of the people would smile back at me, and I don’t think there was a better feeling in the world. There I was, maybe two or three years old, and I was capable of making adult friends without using a single word. Sunday after Sunday I would try out my smile on new people or launch it without thinking to the familiar faces. Back then, my definition of friendship was broad enough to include the relationship I had with anyone at all who might smile at me. Later, in grade school, it became more difficult to get and keep friends. At the time, I felt I was the only one experiencing sudden shifts in the tide, but as I reflect on my early friendships, I think that each of us as young people are subjected to the fickle nature of children who are defining and redefining friendship, experimenting with identity and imagining themselves, almost daily, as a different person. We defined ourselves by dress and speech as well as by our cliques and acquaintances, so our friends were often accessories to our moods. Hearts were broken, but most of the time they were also quickly healed. Few people stood out as committed companions. They were the ones who managed to fluctuate mood and identity in tandem, and so were able to accompany each other on the journey to identity. In high school, ... Free Essays on Friendship Free Essays on Friendship The effect of friendship Although, others may disagree in the matter of the importance of friendship may have on someone’s life. Notice that when we make friends with people that often we don’t get the last name to. It seems unimportant and most only catch the first name, nor remembers such. It may seem trivial at the time but can end up being crucial later. Such as, this may cause hurt feelings even remembering birth dates and special moments that you share to be forgotten as though they are nothing is one of the many things in friendship that is often seen occur. The main focus on this is how well do you truly know your friends and how well do they know you understanding one another’s needs should be fairly easy if you truly care for one another. Friendship is a two way street and it appears to be often one of the great many things we tend to take for granted, but some believe that this is how friendships are supposed to be! However, forgetting last names (often called name-dropping), for when they are intentionally forgotten. For instance; anything from divulging a secret that is meant to be kept, to dating one of your best-friends past lovers can make primary cause for a fight. Going back to being taken for granted; when one is always prompt and can be supportive of plans and events that are scheduled in advance. However; they are as most people say now a days, â€Å"blown off† and often the ones that take this to heart is the people whom is never get credit for their efforts. This can lower ones self worth and feeling of morality towards themselves. Something’s that lead to this to turn into a major issue is the fact that they often go unnoticed and are â€Å"swept under the rug,â€Å" so to speak. Perhaps; worse, yet they go never at all are they acknowledged by anyone? Becoming soul dependent upon those that are supposedly your friends in this can lead to low self-esteem. In which an action is taken agains... Free Essays on Friendship A writer once said â€Å" A real friend is someone who is one walks in when the rest of the world walks out.† In A Separate Peace, Gene jounced the limb so his friend Finny could fall and get hurt. There could have been many reasons but there really is one could it be that Gene was jealous of Finny. There can be many reasons why Gene pushed Finny out of the tree maybe one reason would be that Gene was jealous of Finny because he was more popular and he was good at sports. In John Knowels A Separate Peace, he described many reasons that Gene would Jounce the limb so Finny could fall. This accident would ruin their friendship and then they wouldn’t be the same. â€Å" I jounced the limb. I caused it. I deliberately jounced the limb so you would fall.† Gene told Finny that he did it on purpose he couldn’t hold it back anymore. He felt guilty for what he had done and Gene had to tell finny the truth. What really happened? Now Finny is confused because ho doesn’t know why his best friend would do something like this. â€Å" Everything that had happened through out the day faded like that first fall snow fall of the winter. Phineaus was back.† Gene was mad because finny came back and all the popularity that Gene had gotten all went to Finny. This would ruin their friendship because Gene was mad and he wanted to feel like he was wanted and popular. When Finny came back Gene felt as if Finny stole all of the popularity away from him. â€Å" Sports are finished for him after an accident like that.† This would also hurt their friendship because Finny played sports and now that he can’t play sports he doesn’t know what to do. Since Gene caused the accident to Finnys leg Finny would be mad at him for ruining his sports life. But Finny would also be mad at Gene because Gene had the smarts and didn’t have to try hard in school to get a good grade and Finny would have to try really hard to even break a c. â€Å" A real ... Free Essays on Friendship I know I am just beginning my teen years, but one thing I have already learned is people can talk after you. Then the problem starts. I have lots of friends but I don’t like them all. The reason is they talked after me and I cant trust them. On the first day of school I earned new friends. We shared our secrets and laugh together. But I realize that it wont continue. They were closer to me because they wanted me to tell them some secrets that I know about someone else. They were behaving very nicely to me, but she wasn’t thinking like that and talked behind my back s. When I understood this I got very angry. I trusted her; she was very good friend of mine. I didn’t talk to her. She was surprised, and asked me what had happened. I talked to her, and asked her why she did she talk after me. She couldn’t answer and went away. She broke my heart. After this experience (This was an experience for me) I was too careful not to trust to wrong person. The days passed. She apologized from me and we are good friends now. Of course I couldn’t forget what had happen to me, but she promised that she will never talk after me again. I want to give you advice. You have to choose your friends very carefully, because friendship is one of the most important things in your teen years. They affect your life very much. You have to now the value of true friends and you mustn’t broke their heart. So please be careful when you’re choosing your true friends. Don’t break their heart and NEVER LEAVE THEM!... Free Essays on Friendship Philosophy Writing for LES MISERABLES Victor Hugo ¡Ã‚ ¯s novel LES MISERABLES is an example of literary Romanticism. Marius Pontemercy courted Cosette from afar, and won her affections with a love letter. Marius crafted his persona with words, representing and embodying himself in a letter, and he gave this letter to the woman he loved, in the hopes that she would see the depth and sincerity of his love. In Marius ¡Ã‚ ¯s love poem to Cosette, he compared her to a shining star. The next evening, they both declared their love as "disembodied spirits," even forgetting at first to tell each other their names. Hugo gave away his views on certain subjects in his writing. He sought compassion for the poor and reform for the prison by creating characters that touched the hearts of the readers, and which encouraged them to change. LES MISERABLES is Victor Hugo's epic novel of love and honor. The protagonist, Jean Valjean, is an ex-convict, who has spent nineteen years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread for his starving family, as well as for repeated escape attempts. He vows to become an honest man after being saved from a second arrest by M.Myriel. Later he falls in love with a doomed prostitute, Fantine. At her untimely death, Valjean promised to raise her daughter Cosette, all the while being hunted by the policeman Javert. An older Cosette falls passionately in love with Marius, a charismatic young soldier. Jean Valjean's quest for redemption reaches its climax when he chooses to sacrifice his freedom in order to save Cosette's love. Jean Valjean is a virtual saint in the novel.... Free Essays on Friendship There are lots of different people who enter our lives, but only certain individuals can actually form true friendships. Many times, friends are people who are supportive and provide unconditional help. Encouragement also exemplifies an important aspect of real friendship. Most importantly, friends are people who have true moral values that not only reflect on themselves, but also on their surroundings. Proper friendship develops on the basis of various aspects that define a good and caring person. A good and true friend depicts someone who is supportive and always lends a helping hand. Since decisions play a big role in everyone’s life, friends are there to give advice and facilitate the decision. For instance, if a teenage girl is going through certain difficulties such as peer pressure and is forced to make a decision that might be detrimental to her, she will almost certainly seek the advice of someone supportive. Regardless of the difficulty of any given situation, a helpful and caring companion like a friend will assist the teenage girl in making the proper decision. Being there to help enhance another individual’s life by being supportive is the essence of friendship. There are many individuals whose weakness lays in their lack of self-confidence. These individuals struggle in making the right decisions, and as a result turn to a good friend who is able to present the proper encouragement and self-assurance needed. For example, if an insecure man has an amazing talent to write and is aware of a writing contest that can win him a lot of money, he will most likely try to seek the encouragement of a good friend. Knowing that a lack of self-confidence is in the way of a great opportunity for the man, a friend will infuse the assurance needed to make the right decision. Helping someone succeed by making him realize his own capability is another great aspect of friendship. Since, influence is a major part of every person’... Free Essays on Friendship There are many kinds of people, that have many different backgrounds. Everyone is unique and special in their own way but one thing that everyone has in common is friends. There isn’t one person who doesn’t have at least one friend. It is human nature to want to interact with other people. There are many kinds of friendships but all friendships must have love, respect and honesty without these things there isn’t really a friendship. Love in a friendship is a major part of that friendship. Being there when a friend needs help shows the love for that friend. When a friend is upset they expect someone to come to their rescue and cheer them up. Love is unconditional even if the friendship doesn’t last their will still be love for that old friend. Respect is not invading the other person’s territory. If they need some space let them have some space. A real friend would never get involved with another friends significant other. Never walk away from a friend just because they have a big problem and have asked for help. Listen to what the friend has to say and never give advice to early. They might take it to heart. When a friend comes over crying because they have just gotten into an argument with a family member they just want an ear to listen and a shoulder to cry on. Wait to give advice until the friend has cooled of from the situation. Honesty is something that every friendship needs in order to keep the friendship. If the friendship lacks honesty there isn’t really a friendship at all. If friends can’t trust each other with their money then how are they going to be able to trust each other with their secrets. A person has to be true to themselves before they can be honest with another person. In the long run being honest to a friend is the best advice someone can give. The truth is the best way to solve any problem. A f... Free Essays on Friendship The definition of friendship is as subjective and diverse as the people of this world. Each person has a relationship with another person and that relationship is unique to that combination. Friendships grow and change as each individual will, and the definition of friendship grows and changes with each progressive relationship. When I was very young, I had been told not to talk to strangers. Although I understood the potential for danger, I couldn’t help thinking that I might be letting someone important slip by if I didn’t extend my friendship. In church, I would peek my head over the pews and smile at one or two of the people standing there. Most of the people would smile back at me, and I don’t think there was a better feeling in the world. There I was, maybe two or three years old, and I was capable of making adult friends without using a single word. Sunday after Sunday I would try out my smile on new people or launch it without thinking to the familiar faces. Back then, my definition of friendship was broad enough to include the relationship I had with anyone at all who might smile at me. Later, in grade school, it became more difficult to get and keep friends. At the time, I felt I was the only one experiencing sudden shifts in the tide, but as I reflect on my early friendships, I think that each of us as young people are subjected to the fickle nature of children who are defining and redefining friendship, experimenting with identity and imagining themselves, almost daily, as a different person. We defined ourselves by dress and speech as well as by our cliques and acquaintances, so our friends were often accessories to our moods. Hearts were broken, but most of the time they were also quickly healed. Few people stood out as committed companions. They were the ones who managed to fluctuate mood and identity in tandem, and so were able to accompany each other on the journey to identity. In high school, ...

Definition and Examples of Periphrastic Constructions

Definition and Examples of Periphrastic Constructions In English  grammar, a periphrastic construction  is one in which an independent word or multi-word expression has the same role as an inflection, such as the use of the auxiliary will with another verb to form the future tense. Periphrasis in the grammatical sense is a back-formation from the adjective periphrastic. For the rhetorical and stylistic sense of the term, see periphrasis (rhetoric). Examples and Observations A tense is inflectional if it is realized as an affix on a head (in English, a verb), periphrastic if it is realized as an independent word. Thus the English past is inflectional, but the future is periphrastic, co-opting the modal will.​  (Jeremy Butterfield, The Arguments of Time. Oxford University Press, 2006)The roots of the periphrastic forms for the future, perfect, and pluperfect can be found as early as Old English. These were established in Middle English, although the simple present and preterite forms were still possible in some contexts in which Present-Day English would use periphrastic constructions.  (Matti Rissanen, Syntax, Cambridge History of the English Language, Vol. 3, ed. by Roger Lass. Cambridge University Press, 2000) Comparison of Adjectives: Inflected and Periphrastic Patterns There are two patterns of comparison of adjectives, the inflected and the periphrastic. The inflected pattern adds -er to the positive degree: small becomes smaller, happy becomes happier. To form the superlative degree, it adds -est: smallest, happiest. The periphrastic pattern uses the adverbial intensifiers more and most: the comparatives of beautiful and ostentatious are more beautiful and more ostentatious; the superlatives are most beautiful and most ostentatious. The generalizations that seem to account for whether we choose the inflected pattern or the periphrastic are these: (1) most one- and two-syllable adjectives use the inflected pattern; (2) adjectives of three and more syllables almost always use the periphrastic; (3) the higher the frequency of two-syllable adjectives, the more likely they are to inflect for comparison; (4) the periphrastic more and most may on occasion be used with any one-syllable or high-frequency two-syllable adjective, e.g., more dear, most happy .​  (Kenneth G. Wilson, The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. Columbia University Press, 1993) The Periphrastic Possessive To attribute possessiveness to inanimate objects we generally use the periphrastic possessive, that is a prepositional phrase (beginning with a preposition and followed by a noun). For the inanimate examples, we might expect the following:  (Bernard ODwyer, Modern English Structures: Form, Function, and Position. Broadview, 2006) The expense of getting wool down to the side of the ship would eat up the farmers profits.The director of the clinic made no bones about the underlying problem.After spending some months in a rather depressing Convalescent Home, I was given sick leave for a month. The Evolution of Periphrastic be going to We will describe a recent English change, the rise of periphrastic be going to ... In the periphrasis stage, a periphrastic construction is employed for a particular function. In the case of the English future, a combination of a motion verb (go) and a purpose clause (to infinitive) is employed for a future function. This stage is motivated most likely to avoid misunderstanding, although expressiveness is also sometimes invoked. . . . The construction be going to probably spread from the closely related meaning of a motion event undertaken with an intended future outcome (the purpose clause). In the fusion stage, the periphrastic construction becomes a fixed, distinct, independent construction employed specifically for the function in question. . . . This stage has clearly occurred with future be going to: it is fixed in the use of the specific verb go and the present progressive form. Finally, erosion occurs: as the construction becomes entrenched, it is phonologically and morpholo gically reduced . . .. The future be going to has commonly be reduced to the contracted form of be plus the reduced unit gonna.​  (William Croft, Evolutionary Models and Functional-Typological Theories. The Handbook of the History of English, ed. by Ans van Kemenade and Bettelou Los. Wiley-Blackwell, 2009) Pronunciation: per-eh-FRAS-tik

The Little Prince Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Little Prince - Essay Example Moreover, the paper aims to evaluate how this particular theme works in our lives. The Little Prince explains how material things make a difference in people’s views and attitudes. In Chapter IV of the novel, it was observed that the Turkish astronomer was ignored despite of presenting his discovery of Asteroid B 612 for the fact that he wore traditional Turkish dress. However, the same person is given a lot of importance and appraisal when he presents his discovery in the European dressing. The narrow-minded and materialistic people accepted the success only when the astronomer followed their limited approach of measuring the success i.e. by appearance, dressing and presentation. This theme of the novel really applies to our lives these days. People argue about equality, rights and equal opportunities, still they lack far behind what is required. The narrow-mindedness of many people is still a hurdle for most of the women to progress. The materialistic approach still limits people from viewing the reality behind the faces. Money-oriented people are still w elcomed and respected regardless of their deeds and wrongful acts. The novel accuses adults for being narrow-minded, materialist, cold, selfish, mean and unimaginative. The writer clearly distinguishes between the views of children and adults about the world in the 1st chapter. Author characterizes children as true, honest, innocent, lively and imaginative creatures who do not give importance to how things look and what benefits them. As the story begins, the writer starts criticizing adults for being unimaginative and materialists who ignore the beauty of life and world for the sake of money, status, power, fame etc. This indirect criticism can be observed when the writer explains how unimaginative grownups are to observe his Drawing Number One which represented a boa constrictor eating an elephant, like anything except a hat. The story goes on and the

Donald Trump Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Donald Trump - Research Paper Example As such, all the people working under the leader will have different tasks in accomplishing a common goal. One of the epic leaders of this century is Donald trump. Trump insists that leaders should have control of organisations they lead. However, this is not to mean leaders should be dictatorial. As a fact, trump leads through the model of personality, which depicts five leadership traits. To begin with, trump suggests that leaders should have surgency. This is where leaders have convincing power to the people they lead. A leader should influence the understanding of the people to focus on the point of view from the leader. Similarly, the leaders should ensure the people they lead have focus on the mission, vision and objectives of the organisation. Therefore, there is a need for mutual understanding of all these aspects for success. When the people they lead have a mutual understanding of the vision, mission and objectives, they are likely to conform to the desires of the leaders ( Lussier and Achua, 2013). Consequentially, trump states that competitiveness is one of the traits that a leader should embrace. With competitiveness, the leader is able to mentor competitive workers. This in turn improves the competitiveness of the organisation. ... This leads to decisiveness in an organisation where decisions are made in the meanest time (Trump, 2005). Therefore, a leader must be in a position to influence agreement in an organisation. This is where a leader has to consider collecting ideas, feedback and thoughts from the subordinates and other workers. As such, a final decision should be substantive after collection of facts from the workers and subordinates. This will enhance decision making as all the interests of workers are considered. Similarly, there is need to enhance change, implementation and managing risks through collective decision-making. Though leaders have the authority and control of making decisions, they should consider the emphasis of the subordinates. Trump states that leaders who often agree with subordinates are better prepared to make a positive impact (Trump, 2011). This allows subordinates and other workers to work in coordination for a collective goal. However, when workers and their leaders do not ag ree, there are possibilities of flaws. This is a perfect way of instilling confusion in an organisation. As such, a quagmire will erupt in the collective goals that should be achieved. Therefore, a leader should engage all subordinates and workers in decision making to limit chances of confusion in the collective goals. Trump states that leaders should be prepared for adjustments. A leader has to be prepared for change when leading people at the work place. For example, in this era of technological advancement, a leader should be prepared to adore and embrace change. With each passing day, businesses and organisation are looking for better and effective methods of executing tasks (Lussier and Achua, 2013). Therefore, a leader that

Future of Comuper Networking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Future of Comuper Networking - Essay Example Although the current version of IP has worked well for many years, exponential growth of the Internet means that the 32-bit address space will be exhausted within 20 years. The IETF has designed a new version of IP that uses 128 bits to represent each address. The new address space is so large that it will not be exhausted for many decades to come. To distinguish the new version of IP from the current version, the two protocols are named using their version number. The current version of IP is IPv4 and the new expected version is IPv6. IPv6 retains many of the concepts from IPv4, but changes all the details. For example like IPv4, IPv6 provides a connectionless service in which two computers exchange short messages called datagrams. However, unlike an IPv4 datagram in which the header contains fields for each function, IPv6 defines separate headers for each function. Each IPv6 datagram consists of a base header followed by zero or more extension headers, followed by data. Like IPv4, IPv6 defines an address for each network connection. Thus, as in IPv4, a computer that connects to multiple physical networks (e.g., a router) has multiple addresses. However special addresses are completely changed in IPv6. Instead of IPv4's notion of network broadcast, IPv6 defines multicast and anycast (cluster) addresses, both of which correspond to a set of computers. A multicast address corresponds to a set of computers at multiple sites that are treated as single entity; each computer in that set will receive a copy of any datagram sent to the set. A cluster permits replication of services; a datagram sent to a cluster address will be delivered to exactly one member of the cluster. To make IPv6 addresses easier for people to use, the designers propose using colon hexadecimal notation, which expresses groups of 16 bits in hexadecimal, with a colon separating groups. The resulting notation is more compact than the dotted decimal form used in IPv4. Today about 6 billion people inhabit the earth. They own an estimated 350 million computers and 480 million mobile phones. The number of mobile phones and PDAs is expected to reach one billion by 2003. The reason we are quickly moving beyond the capabilities of the current protocol has a lot to do with the propagation of wireless devices and new services, as well as the subsequent of massive demand for more addressees. The very concept of computers is changing rapidly as cars, vending machines and even house hold applications follow the lead of the PC and become connected to the Internet. Each one will require its own unique address. It is estimated that within seven to ten years a single user will manage an average of 10 addresses and this number could grow higher in future. Wireless gambling, music on demand, video content and video conferencing are becoming a reality. With IPv6 every person on earth could have a million uniquely addressees and the individually locatable IP devices. With this kind of capability we could create the potential for virtually unlimited access to the Internet for variety of devises. (Techiwarehouse) Some of the benefits of IPv6 seem obvious: greater addressing space, built-in QoS, and better routing performance and services. However, a number of barriers

Evolution of Biology Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Evolution of Biology - Research Paper Example On the basis of the FGF amino acid sequences found in the metazoan lineages, it has been exhibited that the evolutionary scenarios in the metazoan lineages are associated with the FGF gene content. Two hypotheses have been proposed on the basis of the evolutionary progression in the metazoan lineage. The first hypothesis states that the eight FGF subfamilies are chordae-specific and the second hypothesis states that the eight subfamilies were ancestral to all eumetazoans. The study results showed that the chordates possessed two gene copies of the FGF gene and duplications occurred generating the current diversity. The metazoan lineage, on the other hand, exhibits high degree of gene losses during their evolution. Therefore, a total of eight gene families were present in the eumetazoan ancestors, out of which there were six gene losses in cnidarians, five in ambulacrarians and five in protostomes. For phylogenetic analysis of vertebrae FGFs, the amino acids were aligned and maximum likelihood tree was built. For the nonvertebrae FGF phylogenetic analyses, the obtained FGF sequences were aligned with the already known FGF sequences from the metazoan lineages. Maximum likelihood tree for this group was also generated. The methodology focuses on comparing the FGF subfamilies from the vertebrae and non-vertebrae groups to understand the genetic evolutionary process. The approach of the methods used by the research was focused on supporting the hypothesis and different sequences were compared so that an understanding of the variations in the genetics of FGF family could be compared. The data is exhibited through easy to understand diagrams and chromosomal maps. For exhibiting the evolutionary progression of the FGF family the comparison of the amino acid sequences is crucial so that the duplications or losses could be understood. The hypothesis is supported successfully by the results of the data which represents that the FGF

Steelco Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Steelco - Research Paper Example Thus theirs is a typical business-to-business product, and the direct buyers rely more on the standardized specifications in the industry rather than going by any other criteria or mandate. So far the brand of Steelco is concerned, it is already a known brand within the industry and the key players down the line who act as the direct customers of the products sold by Steelco are aware about the products as well as buy them. Thus it is clear that brand awareness is not required by Steelco. However, given that the new products have not been taken well by the direct customers of Steelco, the branding strategy needs a thorough relook so that both the existing products as well as the new products may be branded in such a way that demands for both these product lines may be augmented. In this regard, in order to take a relook at the branding strategy deployed by Steelco, the first step could be to analyse the existing branding strategy as well as activities of the firm. To this end, the concept of POP and POD comes into play. Kotler (2007) has noted that points of parity or (POP) refers to those associations that are not essentially unique to the brand, however these points may overlap with other brands. He has further noted that the concept of competitive points of parity holds that the associations that are designed in order to negate the points of difference of the competitors. On the other hand, Keller, Jacob and Parameshwaran (2011) have been of the opinion that points o difference are attributes or benefits that consumers strongly associate with a particular brand and are even of the belief that the particular point cannot be found to the same extent with any other brand available. In this context, Steelco has already gone by the typical routes of business to business marketing as well as brand building activities. Their awareness about the new product program has included informing about the latest development at their end to their customers through

International law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

International law - Assignment Example aw was catalyzed by international trade, which required merchants from one state to be protected against the activities of other merchants of another state. With the increase in international trade, warfare and exploration the need for international law became essential. Treatises between nations became useful as they were intended to be binding between the nations. The proliferation of treatises, practices, rules and customs became complex and scholars started to compile them into systematic treatises. Hugo Grotius provided the first comprehensive conception of international law in his treatise â€Å"De Jure Belli Ac Pacis Libri Tres† (Schmitt 2008). Grotius’s conception of international was grounded on natural law, human reason and custom. His argument in respect to natural law is that relations between nations should be governed by an international body based on divine justice and morality. The law between nations should be governed by the law of the people, established through the consent of the nations and founded on commitment and observance. In his view, things were either good or bad by their nature. According to Grotius, law is not derived from above but from principles which include maxims that promises must be honored and restitution is required for harm to others. These two values have served as the foundation for international law. Additionally, Grotius took a positivist view of international law. In his perspective, emphasis should be given to what is done as opposed to what ought to be done. It is noteworthy that although Grotius based his perspective of international law on natural law, he also posits that nations can create binding rules between themselves. Grotius was instrumental in the formation of the concept of international society. In this respect an international society is a community held together by believes that nations have rules that apply to all of them. Written agreements and customs form the basis of the law that governs this

Evolution of Biology Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Evolution of Biology - Research Paper Example On the basis of the FGF amino acid sequences found in the metazoan lineages, it has been exhibited that the evolutionary scenarios in the metazoan lineages are associated with the FGF gene content. Two hypotheses have been proposed on the basis of the evolutionary progression in the metazoan lineage. The first hypothesis states that the eight FGF subfamilies are chordae-specific and the second hypothesis states that the eight subfamilies were ancestral to all eumetazoans. The study results showed that the chordates possessed two gene copies of the FGF gene and duplications occurred generating the current diversity. The metazoan lineage, on the other hand, exhibits high degree of gene losses during their evolution. Therefore, a total of eight gene families were present in the eumetazoan ancestors, out of which there were six gene losses in cnidarians, five in ambulacrarians and five in protostomes. For phylogenetic analysis of vertebrae FGFs, the amino acids were aligned and maximum likelihood tree was built. For the nonvertebrae FGF phylogenetic analyses, the obtained FGF sequences were aligned with the already known FGF sequences from the metazoan lineages. Maximum likelihood tree for this group was also generated. The methodology focuses on comparing the FGF subfamilies from the vertebrae and non-vertebrae groups to understand the genetic evolutionary process. The approach of the methods used by the research was focused on supporting the hypothesis and different sequences were compared so that an understanding of the variations in the genetics of FGF family could be compared. The data is exhibited through easy to understand diagrams and chromosomal maps. For exhibiting the evolutionary progression of the FGF family the comparison of the amino acid sequences is crucial so that the duplications or losses could be understood. The hypothesis is supported successfully by the results of the data which represents that the FGF

International law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

International law - Assignment Example aw was catalyzed by international trade, which required merchants from one state to be protected against the activities of other merchants of another state. With the increase in international trade, warfare and exploration the need for international law became essential. Treatises between nations became useful as they were intended to be binding between the nations. The proliferation of treatises, practices, rules and customs became complex and scholars started to compile them into systematic treatises. Hugo Grotius provided the first comprehensive conception of international law in his treatise â€Å"De Jure Belli Ac Pacis Libri Tres† (Schmitt 2008). Grotius’s conception of international was grounded on natural law, human reason and custom. His argument in respect to natural law is that relations between nations should be governed by an international body based on divine justice and morality. The law between nations should be governed by the law of the people, established through the consent of the nations and founded on commitment and observance. In his view, things were either good or bad by their nature. According to Grotius, law is not derived from above but from principles which include maxims that promises must be honored and restitution is required for harm to others. These two values have served as the foundation for international law. Additionally, Grotius took a positivist view of international law. In his perspective, emphasis should be given to what is done as opposed to what ought to be done. It is noteworthy that although Grotius based his perspective of international law on natural law, he also posits that nations can create binding rules between themselves. Grotius was instrumental in the formation of the concept of international society. In this respect an international society is a community held together by believes that nations have rules that apply to all of them. Written agreements and customs form the basis of the law that governs this

Men and Women in Business Society Essay Example for Free

Men and Women in Business Society Essay It is said that in nowadays we live in a modern and developing world where people have unlimited opportunities for development.Widely supported statement is the one which says that the individual success fully depends on the individual abilities and skills.Although it is true,still there are some prejudices which reflect on us and our choice.In our more tolerant community(compared to the past) discrimination is unacceptable but unfortunatelly it still exists. More particularly we will pay attention to one popular belief in the sphere of business according to which men are better leaders than women. Where does this statement come from?What are the differences between businessmen and businesswomen?We will compare men and women in the business society and we will try to find out the truth. It is not a secret that men and women have some significant misunderstandings in their way of thinking and character. As it is said-Men are from Mars and Women from Venus. But lets take a closer look at what exactly show the surveys and statistics.According to them in tensed situations men are more cold-blooded while women are subordinated to emotions.Women are more insecure and prefer to do the things on their own,while men would rather give the task to someone else.That is why because unlike women,men feel comfortable giving orders to other people.Men prefer using competition to cooperation,in the contrary women prefer cooperation to competition because women really appreciate their social contacts on their working place.In difficult moment men accept that obstacle as ‘’problem-solution’’while women-‘’situation-reaction’’.For men taking risks is a question of profits. They ask themselves-‘’What will I win taking this risk?’’For women taking risks is a question of sacrifice or ‘’What is the price of this risk?’’, ‘’What will I have to sacrifice taking it?’’Women accept success as happy concurrence of circumstances while men in case of success take merit to themselves. From all mentioned above we come to a conclusion that women are more emotional and they pay more attention to their feelings-Business as a game of interests does not tolerate such behavior. That is why the sensibility of women and their subordination to criticism are perceived as disadvantage. In spite of all statistics and statements of psychologists my personal opinion is that we do not have to make a difference between a man and a woman. In spite of all supporting the thesis that men are better business leaders we-women know that the best way, in which men can obey to the women, is to remain them to belive that they are the leaders.So weather men are better business leaders or we women let them(in purpose) believe so is still a question with no answer.

Non organic growth strategy

Non organic growth strategy Abstract : As microfinance industry has been growing rapidly, in many places the market of this sector becomes relatively mature and lies in competitive situation. Some of microfinance institutions start thinking, exploring and doing non organic growth strategies. This paper presents the idea of non organic growth strategies in microfinance whether through strategic alliances or mergers and acquisitions which can be a choice for achieving rapid growth and expansion. One of the key success factors in doing such strategies in microfinance could be the comprehensive assessment to the similarities and differences of organizations characteristics, such as their structure and culture. BACKGROUND In the recent years undoubtedly that microfinance has become a diverse and growing industry. This sector has been attracting many eyes for several reasons. One of the reasons can be said that on one side microfinance business is not only based on financial motive, but also on other side used as means for social development, as many called double bottom line principal. Many microfinance institutions (MFIs) have been placing and operating the business in the area where there has been potential market of microenterprises and low-income households. Consultative Group to Assist The Poor (2010) , broadly defined microfinance institution (MFI) is as an organization that deals with the provision of financial services mainly for the benefit of the poor. These organizations vary in their legal structure, mission, and methodology. Generally there are four categories of microfinance providers, namely informal, member-owned organizations, NGOs and Formal financial institutions ,such as Regulated MFI and Commercial Bank (Helms, 2006). All categories of those microfinance institutions are struggling to grow and survive in the arena. As the market is facing the maturity and fierce competition, many microfinance institutions keep trying to expand their portfolio by providing financial services to a larger number of clients while at the same time fulfilling an MFIs social mission. Some of them explore to alternative means for reaching rapid growth by formulating and doing better strategies. They have been trying to adapt non organic growth strategies whether through doing strategic alliances or mergers and acquisitions. Generally speaking in the world of business, we have been witnessing with a lot of examples of many firms achieving growth by creating alliances/collaboration with other parties and mergers and acquisitions. Both strategies are common done by many firms in the world since these can help the firms to covering each own weaknesses and combining each own different resources as well as facing challenges much more powerful. But in microfinance those two kind of strategies are still newly developed. In authors opinion, the issue of non organic growth strategy chosen by MFI whether they want to decide to do strategic alliance/collaboration or merger and acquisition is interesting due to the fact of unique characteristics of the players in microfinance arena as mentioned above. For example, we find that Microfinance Formal Financial Institution (MFIF) comparing to Microfinance NGO is more financially oriented rather than socially. In MFIF, the organization goals are always associated with the financial indicators and sales indicators. Whereas in microfinance NGOs are closely related to the non financial changes, particularly in the social changes of community, such as household income changes, effects of loan to women empowerment, health etc. These differences are very important to be understood considering that the differences inherent to those two institutions will affect to the successful or the failure of doing non organic growth strategic. Therefore,this paper presents the idea for MFIs, mainly for MFIF and Microfinance NGO types, in choosing such non organic growth strategies, whether they want to create a strategic alliance or merger and acquisition. The structure of this paper will be presented as follows : Section 1 provides the background regarding to authors opinion to raise the issue of non organic growth strategy in microfinance. The section 2 elaborates the conceptual background about the definition of strategic alliance and the merger and acquisition, and points out motives and diffrences behinds these strategies as well as the explanation of success keys. Then institutional features of players in microfinance arena is presented in the section 3. In the section 4, we try to give the idea to answer the question which strategy chosen by MFIs based on the different characteristics of those non organic growth strategies and distinctive features of microfinance institutions as explained in section 2 and 3, and thi s section leads to the conclusion as section 5. At the end references are appeared in the section 6. The limitation of this paper is not addressing the issue of alliances or mergers and acquisitions between MFIs which formed in informal and member-owned organizations or cooperatives. This paper only focuses on the basic idea of doing alliances or mergers and acquisition for MFIFs and NGOs form and doesnt explain quantitatively in details. Conceptual Background The words of organic growth and non-organic (external) growth are common known in the corporate growth discussion. Organic growth is usually defined as a companys growth rate excluding any scale increases from takeovers, acquisitions, or mergers. Growth of this type is also referred to as a companys core growth. Organic growth is generated, for example, by selling more product (services as well) to current customers, selling product to new customers, or selling product at a higher price ( Dalton and Dalton, 2006) .Whereas non organic growth obviously can be defined as a strategy to obtain companys growth through alliances, mergers and acquisition and takeovers. Many firms decide to do alliances /collaboration or merger acquisition to survive and to grow rather than to run business relying on the individual efforts. These non growth strategies are done by many firms to form powerful energy in managing difference resources owned by each party. As Zhiang et al (2009) notes that resources are heterogeneously distributed across firms, therefore some important internal resources can be obtained from external sources via inter organizational relationships such as alliances, or by engaging in mergers and acquisitions. Compared to internal development or organic growth, strategic alliances as well as mergers and acquisitions strategy is a much faster way to build organic capabilities. Strategic Alliances A strategic alliance is defined as an arrangement between two or more independent companies that decide to carry out a project or operate in a specific business area by coordinating the necessary skills and resources jointly rather than operating on their own or merging their operations (Dussauge et al,1999) . It can be a contractual arrangement to collaborate on one or all levels without any intended change in organization legal structure (McCarter, 2002). Strategic alliance occurs for a certain period of time whether short or long time. According to Koza and Lewin (1998), there are two main motivations for the decision of doing alliances, namely exploitative and exploratory. Exploitative means that in the agreed alliance, each party seeks to leverage their own resources and capabilities in order to enhance revenue or reduce cost, whereas exploratory each collaborating party willing to create new opportunities, markets, product and technologies. From the conceptual point of view, Sudarsanam (2003) lists some factors potentially conducive to successful alliances: Each party should bring complimentary skills, capabilities and market to the alliance Market overlap between partners should be minimal to avoid conflict of interest Alliance should be based on balance of business strength and ownership interest among partners The alliance must have a degree of autonomy with strong leadership and continual commitment and support The alliance must build up trust and confidence between the partners and not depend only contractual right and obligations Divergence of management styles and corporate culture must be handled with sensitivity, and a new common style and culture distinct. Merger and Acquisition Merger and acquisition is defined as the combination of two companies or firms to achieve certain strategic and business objectives forming a great significance transaction not only to the companies but also to many constituencies, such as share holder, workers, managers, competitors, communities as well as the economy as whole (Sudarsanam, 2003). Schoenberg (2003) notes that firms often use mergers and acquisitions in order to achieve such diverse strategic goals , for example, increasing market power, expanding to new product markets or geographical territories, or gaining access to valuable resources. From this point, even though it seems we can see that strategic alliance and mergers and acquistions have the similar purpose but we noticed that mergers and acquisitions may create some different change concerning the business, organization, ownership and legal status in the result company. Furthermore, Damodaran (2002) describes the term of merger,consolidation, tender offer, acquisition and buy out as all parts of merger and acquisition parlances, and a firm can be combined by another firm by 5 ways : Mergers , when a target firm become part of acquiring firm and stockholder approval needed from both firms. Consolidation, when target firm and acquiring firm become new firm and stockholder approval needed from both firms. Tender offer, when firm continues to exist, as long as there are dissident stockholders holding out. Successful tender offers ultimately become mergers and no shareholder approval is needed. Acquisition of asset , when target firm remains as shell company, but its assets are transferred to the acquiring firm and ultimately target firm is liquidated. Buy Out, when target firm continues to exist but as a private business usually accomplished with tender offer. There are several and diverse motives for mergers and acquisitions, Johnson et al (2005) grouped under three headings. They are environment, strategic capability and expectations: Environment. The need to keep up with a changing environment can dominate thinking about acquisitions. Some major aspects which influenced the changing environment are the need of business speed, competitive situation and deregulation. Strategic capability. Achieving cost efficiency, developing innovation and learning organization are some reasons behind mergers and acquisitions in many industries. Expectation. In some ways, stakeholders have highly expectation and interest to give insight for the growth of company. In this case, mergers and acquisition may be perceived by many stakeholders as a quick way to deliver companys growth. Mark and Mirvis (1993), from their research have summarized that one of the key success for establishing the desired combination between two companies is the assessment of two sides companys structures and cultures. They suggest that in mergers and acquisitions efforts, each party should be proactive in the pre combination phase; planning and preparation are integral to success when companies join forces At least there are different aspects to be taken into account carefully in steering a combination toward the successful path: purpose, partner, parameter and people. But it doesnt end up to the planning and preparation. The most important thing to be taken into account for achieving successful mergers and acquisitions is post-merger combination. All these efforts may help to overcome the most commonly cited reasons for failures: conflicting corporate cultures, over estimation of synergies, inadequate due diligence, slow/poor post-merger combination and poor leadership or management ( McCarter, 2002) The Differences From the explanation about two kinds of non organic growth strategy above, we can note the main difference between strategic alliances and mergers and acquisitions. It can be said that creating strategic alliances is not as difficult as mergers and acquisitions. It is because of making the mergers and acquisition work successfully is complicated process which involves not only putting two organizations together but also involves integrating people of two organizations with different cultures, attitudes and mindsets (Mallikarjunappa and Nayak, 2007). Meanwhile, in the strategic alliances, each company is still independent and it seems to need less effort in term of cost and time. Therefore, Reuer (1999) differentiates alliances and merger and acquisitions in four dimensions which strategic alliances may be preferred: Infeasibility: acquisition may not be feasible for regulatory, political or legal reasons. Information asymmetry : the partners have access to different information sets making it difficult to value their relative contributions Indigestibility: post mergers and acquisition integration of the acquirer and the acquired firms poses problems so severe as to prevent value creation from the acquisition. When indigestibility is substantial, alliances can be attractive because they allow companies to link their resources selectively. Even when acquired assets can be divested this alliance advantage remains. Strategic flexibility: it is more important than commitment of the partners. Now, how we relate this conceptual background of those strategy into the idea of impelementing these to the microfinance industry. However, we should better know the two kind of institutional features of microfinance as explained below. Institutional Features : MFIFs and MFI NGOs As mentioned in the previous page, there are some players in the microfinance arena and they obviously have different characteristics. However, there are basically two main different characteristics in the discussion about players in microfinance industry, namely for profit or financially oriented, and non profit or socially oriented The financially oriented institution, mainly private enterprises/ companies, could be Microfinance Formal financial institutions (MFIF) such as bank and regulated MFI or non bank financial institution. Mean while the socially oriented institutions, most of them are NGOs. What makes different between two types of MFIs? It may be better to look at a table presented by Estallo et al (2006) indicating the differences between private enterprise and NGO types: All these factors make different structure and culture of those two organizations. In the case of MFIs, another important distinctive feature between private MFIFs and MFI NGOs is concerning with the ownership. As Lauer (2008) stated that ownership structure is one of the critical issues to consider in the specific context of each type transformation of such institution. MFIs ownership structure encompasses the ensemble of mechanism by which stakeholders define and pursue the institution vision and mission and ensure its sustainability. Alliances or Merger and Acquisitions ? As whole, from the conceptual background section, we have seen that strategic alliances and mergers and acquisitions might have some similarities and some principally differences. In other section, we have also already known the main difference characteristics of the microfinance players. Then now it raises a question how does an MFI choose a choice between two? MFIF NGO Alliances There have been some evidences that alliances can help the collaborative firms or institution to expand its business. Strategic alliances are able to scale up access to financial services in rural areas in term of the outreach to new clients and markets as well as the introduction of new products (Gallardo et al, 2006). Rondinelli and London (2003) noted that Alliances, in fact, may be the only option for companies interested in accessing the knowledge held by (NGOs), since internal development of such expertise may be too costly, inefficient and time-consuming for most companies and merger with or acquisition of an (NGO) is highly unlikely. While Kramer and Kania (2006) also stated with a similar view that nonprofits often have much deeper comprehension to solve the social problems, which enables them to help companies determining comprehensive strategies and set more ambitious and goals. Strategic alliances are also important in the public sector as a means of addressing particula r social outcomes (Johnson et al, 2005). This also could happen in the alliance MFIF-NGO. Dahan et al (2009) gives examples of MFIF NGO strategic alliances. HSBC Amanah (HSBCs global Islamic banking division) has partnered with, an international development and relief organization, the Islamic Relief, to provide financial services to Muslims in accordance with Islamic Shariah law. Another example is In Dominica. MasterCard builds on an affinity card relationship with Banco Popular Dominicano and Asociacion para el Desarrollo de Microempresas, Inc. (ADEMI), a micro and small-scale lender .This partnership is aimed at providing unbankable entrepreneurs using MasterCard-ADEMI- BancoPopular Dominicano credit cards to withdraw cash and to pay utility and other bills in order to support the micro entrepreneurs in Dominica to run their business. However, this does not close the possibility of the combination between MFIF and NGO in mergers form. For example, McCarter (2002), gives two mergers between MFIF with NGO. In Nicaragua, the Interfin, a licensed Nicaraguan financier, in January 2000 merged with NGO Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) Chispa microcredit program, forming Financiera Confia. Another example in Guatemala, there was a merger between Bancasol, a local commercial bank, with ACCION Internationals affiliate NGO to form Genesis. Meanwhile in 2007, Sonata, a start up MFI in Northern India purchased of Jeevika Livelihood Support Organization to expand its microfinance operation (Tiwari and Chasnow, 2009). Mergers and Acquisitions between MFIF and MFIF or between NGO and NGO As stated on the previous page, making the mergers and acquisition work is complicated process rather than strategic alliances, but this doesnt mean that this strategy is far away from success. Mergers and acquisitions can be used by MFIs to create new capability to survive and achieve significance growth. Mergers and acquisitions are not only about the combination between two organizations which merely based on financial aspect but also the structure and culture of two organizations combined. It takes much more energy, cost and time. It may be the similarity of structure and culture of organization used as a good starting point to think about mergers and acquisitions in the arena of non growth strategy of MFIs. So doing MFIF-MFIF merger or NGO-NGO mergers is more appropriate combination than creating strategic alliances. However, it doesnt mean that MFIF-MFIF strategic alliances cannot be implemented to reduce the competition tension. There are some examples mergers and acquisition in the microfinance industry around the world as summarized and showed in the annex of this paper. Conclusion As the microfinance sector matures, non organic growth strategies mainly strategic alliances and mergers and acquisitions can be a choice for achieving rapid growth and expansion in microfinance. Of course, this effort actually is not easy to be implemented. But it is also not to say that making work such strategies is impossible to be realized. By analyzing the differences between two non organic growth strategies above as well as the different characteristics between MFIF and NGO, on the one hand we may conclude that strategic alliance will likely to be considered for both rather than mergers and acquisitions. However, this does not close the possibility of the combination between MFIF and NGO in mergers and acquisitions form. A strategic alliance between MFIF and NGOs is less effort in term of cost and time but still can result in the growth of the organization. On the other hand, mergers and acquisition can also be created for combining MFIF with MFIF or NGO with NGO. Some evidences showed that the similarity of the structure and culture of those organizations can be used as the good starting point to do mergers and acquisition. It is very important to be considered because mergers and acquisitions are not only about the marriage between two organizations which merely based on financial aspect but also the structure and culture of two organizations combined. One of the key success factors for the future microfinance non growth strategy should be based on the assessment of characteristics of the similarities and differences of organization (i.e structure and culture) before choosing strategic alliances or mergers and acquisitions strategy. For those microfinance organizations who intend to do a non growth organic strategy but both of them have highly different structure and culture, it may be a strategic alliance is more suitable to be created. But in the case, there are some similarities in term of organizations characteristics, merger and acquisition could be an option. REFERENCES Dussauge, O, Garrette B and Mitchell W (1999) Learning from Competing Partners: Outcomes and Duration of Scale and Link Alliances in Europe, North America and Asia, Strategic Management Journal, vol. 21, pp. 99-126. Damodaran, A. (2002), Investment Valuation , Tools and techniques for determining the value of any asset (2nd ed) , John Wiley and Son, New York. Dalton, D.R., and Dalton, Catherine M. (2006). Corporate growth: our advice to directors is to buy organic. Journal of Business Strategy, Vol .27 No.2, pp. 5-7. Dahan, Nicholas. M., Doh.Jonathan.P, Oetzel.J.,and Yazji.M.,(2009), Corporate-NGO Collaboration: co-creating new business models for developing markets, Long Range Planning. Estallo, Maria de L .A .G , Fuente., Fernando .G.D.L, and Miquela, C.G (2006), The Strategic Social Map of Nongovernmental Organization, International Advances in Economic Research, Vol.12 pp.105-114. Gallardo, J.,Goldberg,M. and Randhawa, B.,(2006), Strategic Alliances to Scale Up Financial Services in Rural Areas, World Bank Working Paper No.76, The World Bank, Washington D.C. Helms, Brigit. (2006), Access for All: Building Inclusive Financial Systems, World Bank, Washington DC. Johnson, G., Scholes, K. and Whittington, R. (2005), Exploring Corporate Strategy. Text and Cases. Seventh Edition. Prentice Hall. Koza,M.P.,and Lewin A. (1998), The co-Evolution of Strategic Alliances, Organization Science, Vol.9,pp 255-264. Kramer, M. and Kania, J.,(2006),A New Role for Non Profit , Stanford Social Innovation Review, Vol.4 No.1 pp.32-41. Lauer, K., (2008), Transforming NGO MFIs: Critical Ownership Issues to Consider, CGAP Notes No.13. Marks.M.L, and Mirvis.P.L (1993), Making Mergers and Acquisitions Work : Strategic and Psychological Preparation, Academy of Management Executive, Vol.15 no.2 pp.80-94. McCarter, E. (2002), Tying the Knot: A Guide to Mergers in Microfinance , Catholic Relief Services. Mallikarjunappa, T., and Nayak,P., (2007) Why Do Mergers and Acquisitions Quite Often Fail? Association of Indian Management Scholars, Journal of Management , Vol.15 no.2 pp.80-94. Reuer,J.(1999), Collaborative strategy : The Logic of Alliances , Financial Times, Mastering Strategy series part 2. Rondinelli. D.A, and London, T.,(2003), How Corporations and Enviromental Group Cooperate : Assesing Sector Alliances and Collaborations, Academy of Management Executive, Vol.17 No.1 pp.62-76. Sudarsanam. S., (2003). Creating Value from Mergers and Acquisitions : The Challlenges, Prentice Hall, England. Schoenberg R.(2003). Mergers and acquisitions: Motives, value creation, and implementation. Oxford University Press: Oxford. Tiwari, A., and Chasnow.M.,(2009) ,A Closer Look at Consolidation: The Sonata-Jeevika Acquisition, Center for Microfinance, Insitute for Financial Management and Research, Chennai, India. Zhiang (John) Li, Haibin.Yang and Bindu, A (2009), Alliance Partners and Firm Partnership Resource Complimentary and Status Association, Strategic Management Journal, Vol.30 No.9 pp: 921-940. http://www.cgap.org/p/site/c/template.rc/1.26.1308/, Last accessed: March 18, 2010