Lord of the Flies: The best leader “Ralph, piggy or jack”

The lord of the flies began by a plane crash near the Pacific Ocean during an unnamed war in which a group of English schoolboys are lonely on an island, under no adult control. They are left on the island to feed themselves and fight their own battles. The boys started to make rules and laws in which everyone had to follow, but they tended to have arguments with each other when deciding rules. They collapse from their friendships because they didn't agree with the decisions or rules they made. The story starts off with a young character called Ralph. Ralph is a very organised person, making the reader becomes inclined to think that he is also an intelligent individual. He seems certain throughout the book that his father, a commander in the Navy, will come and rescue him and his peers. He was eventually chosen to be a designated leader of the group by the others. This is most likely because he is a polite character and he also carried the advantage of being one of the older members of the group. Piggy was Ralph's best friend; this is largely due to the fact that he listened to what he said and didn't hesitate to follow his rules. Eventually, as time passed by, piggy developed into a father figure towards the younger boys. ‘Lord of the flies' has become a widely known story over the years, due to the unusual idea of the famous ‘conch.' The boys took to the idea of using this conch to grant one another the power to speak-out without being interrupted in the many assemblies they had. With Ralph as the leader, it was inevitable to the reader that a device of this kind would be thought up, as Ralph, being a sensible youth, seemed to appreciate the great importance of being able to sustain order within the temporary community. This is why he came up with the idea of using a conch. In doing this, the element of fairness in Ralph's character is also demonstrated to the reader. Ralph began to find rules and limits in which they could remain safe on the island. Ralph, Jack and Simon explored the island and began plans for shelters from the weather. Simon was a young lad, although he was still granted respect from the elders, and likewise he respected them. Ralph also made the decision that a fire should be lit permanently on the mountains as a constant smoke signal. This was a very pragmatic idea, again demonstrating to the reader the great leadership skills that Ralph possessed. Ralph then decides to have a meeting about lighting a fire on the mountains and Jack also decides to make a hunting party to hunt for pigs. A small boy claims to have seen a serpent-like beast, but the idea is quickly discarded after Ralph and Jack convince the group to collect wood. The group hurriedly rushes to the mountain and collect wood for a fire. At first they didn't have anything to light the fire with. Then jack uses Piggy's glasses as a magnifying glass to make sunrays as heat. Although there was only a little amount of fire created, the rest of the boys put some green branches on the fire, so they could have more fire. When the next meeting happened Ralph decided to make more regulations or commands to set people on specific tasks like building shelters and putting the fire on. From now Ralph and Jack start to make different decisions and start to ignore Ralph's rules. Jack got more into hunting and started to forget his to goal of being rescued. Everyone started doing there own kind of activities, while Ralph and Simon were the only ones who were building shelters. The younger children started to help less and got more into playing games on the beach. Later on, a ship sails past the island but unluckily fails to notice the boys because Jack's choir had let the fire out completely. Jack and his boys had lost attention in the fire and had gone off hunting. Jack and his boys caught a pig and told Ralph about all the things that had happened during his absence. However, he wasn't interested as he was much more concerned over the fact that they'd failed to keep the fire going. â€Å"There was a ship out there, they might have seen us and we could have gone home. Your stupid ideas about hunting let everything down.† Jack lights the fire again by using Piggy's glasses and prepares pigs meat for a little feast. By reading this phrase proves that Ralph cared about him self and others to be rescued. Later on in the story situation had changed from fire into beast situation because the young children's were scared at night and told Ralph and jack that there is a beast on the island. Jack didn't bother about Ralph rules and started to protect little children's from beast. One night when piggy and Ralph were sleeping, the twins rushed to them and told them that they saw a beast with huge claws and teeth's. Ralph then made a little assembly in the morning and told the rest of the children's about what Sam and Eric saw last night. Jack and Ralph went to explore the island with some other children's but they didn't find anything. Ralph told the group to keep the fire going as well, while we are searching for the beast. The group started to ignore Ralph rules and joined Jack to hunt for the beast. Ralph still hanged around with jack for a little while. Jack told some of the children to come along with him so they can check if there is a beast living on the top of the mountain. Ralph volunteered to come along as well. They claim to see something which they were influenced as if it was the beast. They ran away from the living thing and came down the mountain to protect their self. Ralph had planned a feast at night. They invited everyone to come and eat with them. They all were chanting and started to become louder and louder. Roger pretended if he was a beast and everyone slowly tried to attack him. Piggy stood in one place looking at them. While they were enjoying the festival, â€Å"Simon† went up to the mountain to see if there was really a beast living up there. He walked through the woods and ended up on the mountain. When he saw the beast he stepped back and got scared. Then he went to take a closer look at the beast and he found out that it was only a person made out of parachute which always got blown by the wind and makes it move. It pretended that if it was a real beast. Simon went running down the mountain and ran through the forest to tell everyone that there is no beast. While he is returning the boys saw that there was figure coming down. Someone shouted out that it's a beast. Everyone rushed towards him and stabbed him several times until he can't move. Then they stopped stabbing it and found out that the dead body was Simon. Ralph was in tears about Simon death. Now there were only piggy and Eric left on his side. Ralph told piggy that this was a murder. Piggy replied that it was too dark to see, it was also raining with thunders. It was accident said piggy. We couldn't see who it was. It could have been anyone. Jack had stolen piggy glasses and their fire place. They had fort near the cliffs. Ralph and piggy went to the castle to collect piggy specs from jack, because they needed the specs to light the fire so they can be rescued of from the island. Piggy told jack that he has got the conch and he has got the right to talk. during his speech, he says â€Å"that you lot are acting like a bunch of kids with your faces painted like Niger's†. Jack wasn't even listening to piggy, than Ralph took the conch of piggy and called jack a thief and they both got into a fight. Everyone started to chant. Then eventually the pair stopped, and Piggy spoke. His long speech was interrupted when one of the savages rolled a huge rock down the cliff which struck Piggy and pushed him forty feet down the mountain and ended up falling on top of the pointy rocks. Jack showing no signs of remorse threw a spear which hit Ralph in the ribs. Ralph ran to the forest to save his self. All of the boys were gone, Ralph thought. Only cruelly children have remained. While Ralph was in the forest, he saw Sam and Eric. They told him that he should run and hide because Jack and Roger were going to hunt him soon. Suddenly Roger came to see if the twins were keeping guard. Ralph hid in a grove. When Roger left, Ralph ran away and thought about the best course of action. The island was on fire. The whole group was looking for Ralph. Jack spotted him and the whole group was soon chasing after him through the forest. Ralph was humiliated and ran out of the forest, and fell into the sand, in front of two shoes. The shoes of a sailor whose ship was waiting to take them home. Ralph told him about the deaths and then broke into tears. The sailor said â€Å"he wasn't suspecting like this kind things from English boys†. Diary based on two characters, â€Å"which I consider may have become the selected leader†. Piggy When i was first crashed on an island, I was so scared, because there was no one to look after me or the rest of the group. I met a boy called Ralph. I told him what they used to call me back at the school time. Ralph started to have a little laugh. We carried on walking by the beach, when both us came across a shell. Ralph picked it up and asked me what you exactly do with this. â€Å"You blow it from underneath the hole and it makes a loud noise†, piggy replied in a gentle voice. â€Å"In olden times people use to take this has a symbol of justice, to speak out in assemblies†. As they we were walking and talking to each other, we saw a group of boys walking towards us; they were singing a song. Jack was one of the boys in that group. He asked our names, and then sat down and starts talking about how did they both met each other. When they were in middle of their conversation Ralph said that â€Å"they should have a leader who will give rules to everyone about how they are going to live, eat and do other things†. Jack and Ralph were both chosen to receive votes. Only a few people voted for jack, but quiet few of them said that Ralph should be the chief. Then at last I slowly raised my hand up voting for Ralph. Everything was going great. The entire group was following Ralph's rules, later on things started to collapse because jack and Ralph didn't agree with each other decisions. I was Ralph's best friend and I didn't like jack because he didn't treated me in the same way like he did to everyone else. He called my names and said that I am too fat to do anything good. They all ways leave me behind with the little children's because I was like their father figure. Jack always has wondered off to hunting and the fire would always go off. Our main advantage of the fire was the smoke, which was their signal of proving that someone or something is on the island and they need their help. Ralph When I was crashed on the island, I felt a bit scared because there was no one on the island to look after me. There were a lot of different sounds coming from the trees, like if something was looking or hunting for something. When I was walking beside the trees the first person I met was piggy. I told him my name and a bit about my self. Piggy was so kind and didn't raise his voice above mine. When we were walking down, we saw a group of boys coming down. They were singing a song. A group of boys from them was called jack, he asked our names and then started talking about what's going to happen on this island. I said, â€Å"That. There should be a leader who is going to tell everyone what to do, what to eat, what's there jobs† e.c.t They both agreed with each other decisions. Then jack said to everyone to put their hands up who want me to be the chief. Only a few people voted for him but when it was my turn nearly everyone said that he should be the chief of us. Slowly, slowly my friend piggy raised his hand up at last. I told them that I am the chief, I will tell you lot what to do and what not to do. I structured everyone some fundamental things and told my group to follow some crucial regulations so we can be rescued of from the island. My main rule was to maintain the fire going so we can be noticed on the island and then can be capable of being rescued. Later on jack stopped listening to my rules because he said that I don't do anything for hunting or I don't feed the little children's. From then jack never listened to me and always wondered off to do hunting or to have fun on the beach. During jack's hunting, he killed a pig and became so excited to tell this news to me. I wasn't bothered if they had killed a pig or not because I told them that there was a ship out there. If you lot didn't have gone off to hunting we could have gone home. Your stupid plans to go for hunting had failed me the group, also let out the fire. I was disappointed of being a leader of my group. My worries are that I wish that everyone had worked in a group and then we can have been rescued off from the island soon as possible. Everyone didn't do as i told them to, except from my best friend piggy.

Case Law and the Doctrine of Precedent Essay

In this essay I will be discussing several points of interest that will help me answer the given question. My first point is on the Hierarchy of the courts. In this point I will explain the different ‘levels’ there are in the English system. My second point is Stare Decisis and what it is. This point is made up of several questions that I will answer; why have binding precedent? What has to be followed? That is Obiter Dicta and Ratio Decidendi? What is persuasive precedent and who uses it and how it is used? When is a judge bound? Can the Stare Decisis be avoided? And lastly: How has Stare Decisis handicapped the development of the English law? The hierarchy of the courts The English system is made up of a hierarchy of courts. Hierarchal means that the courts which are high in the system hear appeals from the ones below them. The decisions made in the higher courts are of great importance. The bottom courts are known as foot soldiers and are at the bottom of the system. Some courts in this rank are the Magistrates court, the Youth court, the Coroners court and the County court. These courts hear cases daily and are which the average person will find themselves in for debt, injuries, car accidents and low level criminal offences. They are of a good amount of importance because they make decisions for justice daily. These courts however have little impact on the development of law except as a source for cases which may then be heard or appealed to higher courts. Since these courts are the lowest they do not bind any other court except themselves. There are two courts on the higher level. The High court which deals with cases pertaining to civil matter of unlimited value and the Crown court which deals with serious criminal offences. The High court has four sections: the Chancery division which deals with matters pertaining to equity, the Family division which deals with family matters, the Queen’s Bench division which deals with civil matters and the Divisional court who hears the appeals from civil prerogatives of the lower courts. The High court is not bound by its previous decisions but it can make precedents for the courts below it. Like the High court, the Crown court is bound by all higher courts. It doesn’t make binding precedents but their judgments form persuasive precedents when a High court judge sits in the Crown court. It also is not bound by its past decisions. The Court of Appeal is the next step higher. This court is the most important of the hierarchy even though it is not at the top of the system. This court is important because it hears appeals from lower courts in both the criminal and civil matters. There are three judges who sit to hear an appeal. Two of these judges must be Lord of Justices of Appeal. The third judge could either be a judge from the High Court or the Supreme Court. The name given to the head of the Court of Appeal is the Master of the Rolls. The Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in the hierarchy. It hears cases on appeal from the Court of Appeal. Sometimes the appeal will come straight from the High Court or the Crown Court. This only happens if there is a case which involves the important question of the law. The people who sit in the Supreme Court are called Justices of the Supreme Court. There are at least three to five Justices who sit to hear appeals. It the case is very important than seven sit to hear the case. There can only be at most twelve Justices in the Supreme Court. The Privy Council is the highest court in the Commonwealth nations and civil appeals. Some of the judges who sit in the Privy Council are those which make up the Supreme Court. The Privy Council is not a part of the hierarchal system and so its decisions do not bind the English Courts. Even though the decision of the Privy Council does not bind English courts, the judges are the same that make up the Supreme Court of England; there is a section of the Supreme Court that is persuasive precedent. Following the case of R v James Karimi (2006) the Court of Appeal found out that in certain circumstances the Privy Council can bind the English courts and overrule previous precedent. Stare Decisis Stare Decisis means ‘to stand by things decided.’ Stare Decisis is one of the main things that makes up the case law system. This makes judges bound to follow the previous decisions of higher courts in similar cases. This simply means that judges must obey previous judicial decisions of higher courts. This question is often asked: Why have Stare Decisis and why not let judges use their own conscience and wisdom to decide a case? As with everything there are advantages and disadvantages of creating something. The advantages of having Stare Decisis are that it promotes certainty, consistency and predictability. Professor Geldhart said that certainty is promoted by consistency of judicial making. Similar cases should have the same outcome. Certainty promotes predictability and this reduces the possibility for trial because everyone will know how certain cases will be decided.it also limits the potential for the declaratory theory to take effect. The theory is put into place to reduce judges who are not elected not to make law. The role of the judges is to apply and interpret. Law is made in Parliament and it represents the will of the people who elect the members of parliament. It also promotes justice. This type of justice is Aristotlean justice. This means that fairness is given equally of legal principles. The system is the same for everyone and so similar cases should be dealt with the same way. Disadvantages are that it makes the law rigid and inflexible. The law is not able to develop and is stuck. Precedent binds even if it is old and outdated. The discretion of the judge is that he must follow and abide by the decisions made by the judges before him no matter how old or outdated it may be. This also makes the law stuck and not develops to meet the modern day changes. The amount of case law precedent adds up to uncertainty. Case law and its precedents are contained in thousands of reports starting from the middle ages. It is difficult for lawyers and courts to go through them and find similar cases. It is not easy for judges to find the binding part (Ratio Decidendi) of any case. Ratio Decidendi is the reason for coming to the decision. This is the principle in which the court uses to make a decision. The ratio is the rule expressed by the judge to the extent that is necessary for the judge to come to his decision. Obiter Dicta are the things said by the way and other things which so not make up part of the decision making. When is a Judge Bound? As I stated earlier, a court must follow the decision of a higher court and its earlier decision. The system works in a way that makes binding precedent operate in a way to tie the hands of the judge. When the ratio binds any part of a court depends on the original decision that was made. The Supreme Court binds the Court of Appeal, which binds the High Court which binds the Magistrates, Crown and County court. Courts also bind themselves because of its earlier decisions. The only exception is the Supreme Court who makes its own decisions and is not bound by any other court because it is the most senior. Before 1966- Judicial Precedent HoL announced that they would no longer consider themselves absolutely bound to follow their previous decisions. Binding precedent remains the foundation of the English System of case law. The earlier decisions were based on conditions which no longer triumph and in modern conditions the law ought to be different. Judges are bound by similar cases. Judges in the latter case are bound to apply the same ratio used in early court where the two cases were based on the same issue. If the matter of a case is similar but has facts that similar to al later case, they differ and the issues are not all similar and the court is then not bound to apply the earlier precedent. This is called distinguishing. Can the Doctrine of Stare Decisis be avoided? Reversing occurs when a court higher up in the hierarchy downturns the decision of a lower court in the same case. A decision made in a certain case by the Court of Appeal will bind all future lower courts and it would bind itself. This can be avoided id the appeal went straight to the Supreme Court who would reach a different decision. The court of Appeal’s decision would have been short-lived precedent and the Supreme Court decision will take place of the previous one. Overruling is replacing one precedent with another which helps develop the law. Reversing is where a higher court substitutes a principle made by a lower court in the same case. Overruling involves a higher case substituting a principle set down by a lower court in a different and earlier case. My conclusion is thus; the principle of Stare Decisis has handicapped the development of the English Law because it makes the law rigid and inflexible. The law is not able to develop and is stuck. Precedent binds even if it is old and outdated. The discretion of the judge is that he must follow and abide by the decisions made by the judges before him no matter how old or outdated it may be. This also makes the law stuck and not develops to meet the modern day changes. The amount of case law precedent adds up to uncertainty. Case law and its precedents are contained in thousands of reports starting from the middle ages. It is difficult for lawyers and courts to go through them and find similar cases. It is not easy for judges to find the binding part (Ratio Decidendi) of any case. View as multi-pages

1984 - Socialism

1984 Socialism Essay 1984 SocialismEric Blair, known to his readers under the English pen name of George Orwell (1903-1950), was a man familiar with the roles of government.He served with the British government in Burma under the Indian Imperial Police.Returning to his European roots, Orwell also sided with the Spanish government as he fought with the Loyalists in their civil war.It wasnt until he wrote professionally as a political writer that Orwells ideas of government were fully expressed.Orwell, in his political writings, was extremely contradictory.He was a critic of communism, yet he also considered himself a Socialist.He had hatred toward intellectuals, but he too was a political writer.It is only natural that a man of paradoxes would write of them.In his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell develops his Socialist Utopia as a paradoxical society that ultimately succeeds rather than flounders. The society that Orwell creates is full of paradoxes that existed all the way up to its origins.The founders of the new lifestyle, known as the revolutionaries of the mid-twentieth century, leads the public to believe false intentions of revolt, as these purposes soon become exact opposite outcomes.The original designers seek to create an ideal social order out of England that is beneficial to all.Marin Kessler, a literary essayist, agrees that these utopianshad hoped to construct a perfect society in which men and women could enjoy that ultimate degree of happiness which, it was implied denied through the folly and wickedness of their present rulers (304).Besides being founded on the concept of a Utopia, the revolutionaries believe they could achieve their goals through Ingsoc, a variation on English socialism (named justly).The main concept of socialism is its stress on social equality, so much that the government distributes any possessions equally.In reality, this policy sought t o destroy individual property, instead emphasizing collective property, owned by the government for the ultimate purpose of equality.Socialism is also often considered the politics of the working class and lower regime, since they actually benefited from it.Although the founders claim to create a socialist Utopia with its respective freedoms, the society of Oceania they create is exactly the opposite of their original principles.OBrien, a major contributor to the government organization known as the Party, describes the contradictory characteristics of the world power of Oceania, Do you begin to see then, what kind of world we are creating?It is the exact opposite of the stupid hedonistic Utopias that the old reformers imaginedThe old civilizations claimed they were founded upon love and justice.Ours is founded upon hatred (Nineteen Eighty-Four 220).Oceania is anything but socialist; it is rather a totalitarian empire.The Party is all-powerful in this nation and limits the peoples o wn power as well.Oceanias people are oppressed by the government that is supposed to be protecting them and their rights.Orwell foresaw the approach of a totalist society from which faith, custom, common sense, justice, order, freedom, brotherhood, art, literature, and even sexual love would be eradicated, declares literary critic Russell Kirk.The new socialist oligarchy would live for the intoxication of brutal power (311).Every action and policy of the Party demonstrates its oppressiveness.The Party destroys the concept of privacy via the telescreen, an instrument used to transmit and receive images.The Party conceals the truth and only tells lies to its people through the controlled media.The Party destroys a language as it evolves English into Newspeak, a language limited in abstract ideas.The Party outlaws the act of sexual intercourse and procreation.The most horrific violation of natural rights is the Partys prohibition of individuality.Although there are no written laws in O ceania, there is only one true offense: opposing the Party.Socialism attempts to create a society with only one true social order, so that all members are equal parts.Oceania, on the other hand, is composed of three real class orders with the top oppressing the other two. A work entitled The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism, more simply known to the Oceanic public as the book, describes the true class structure: At the apex of the pyramid comes Big Brother.Big Brother is infallible and all-powerfulBelow Big Brother comes the Inner Party, its numbers limited to six millions, or something less then two percent of the population of Oceania.Below the Inner Party comes the Outer Party, which, if the Inner Part..y is described as the brain of the State, may be justly likened to the hands.Below that come the dumb masses whom we habitually refer to as the proles, numbering perhaps eighty-five percent of the population.In terms of our earlier classification, the proles are th e Low, whoare not a permanent or necessary part of the structure. (171-172). READ: The Hound of the Baskervilles EssayThe Party of Oceania completely rejects the class structure that Socialism is founded on.Oceania is more a monarchy than that of a Socialist society, with Big Brother as its immortal and superhuman king; the Party is the nobility class and the proles, mere peasants.Additionally, Socialism is the politics of the proletarians, the working class of a society, differing immensely from the Oceanic structure as the proles are exactly those who are neglected and oppressed.All of the goals the founders sought to bestow upon their supposed, Socialist Utopia do not even imitate those actually outcomes.These intentions, therefore, play a major paradoxical role in this mixed up society. Although the origins of Oceania are paradoxes, the institutions that make up this massive power are also baffling.The most notable signs of paradox to indicate that its establishments are also paradoxical are literally contained in the Partys slogan: War is Peace.Freedom is slavery.Ignorance is strength (7).Even though this slogan appears irrational, it is due to the fact that it is devised by an irrational and contracting government.The paradoxical government represents the philosophies of that government.The Partys entire existence lies upon one ultimate paradox, Doublethink. Doublethink is the ultimate paradox, because as its name suggests it is the philosophy of holding a double meaning, two ideas that are contradictory to one another.It would be impossible, however, for the repressive dictatorship to realize the full benefitswithout DoublethinkWithout Doublethink the party would not function, explains expert on politics Martin Kessler.For, when the party intellectual lies, it is essential that he both know that he is tampering with reality and at the same time genuinely believe in his lie (306).Since the philosophies of Oceanic government are paradoxical, it is no surprise that its four major institution are as well.The Ministry of Truth, which tells little of it, is responsible for all forms of news, entertainment, education, and fine arts.In reality, the Minitrue, as translated in Newspeak, falsifies all information and media exposed to the public, destroying any details hinting otherwise.The Ministry of Peace (Minipax) deals only with waging war, rather than keeping peace since Oceania was always in combat with either Eastasia or Eurasia, the only two other superpowers.The Ministry of Love (Miniluv) offers little compassion whatsoever, because they were responsible for punishing and even vaporizing people with even a hint at anything against the Party.The majority of those sent to the Miniluv by the Thought Police are truly guilty of nothing.Lastly, the Ministry of Plenty (Miniplenty) is contradictory to its name, because although its job is to supply the public with economic goods, it rarely distributes anything to keep the power and property within the Party (8).The institutions within the Ocenic society are mere paradoxes of the society as a whole. Even more paradoxes exist within the Partys primary ways of ruling the continental power of Oceania.Its contradictory methods and instruments used for managing demonstrate the true paradox of the society.The technology and use of the telesceen exhibits many paradoxical qualities.This device, while seeming like an entertainment, is able to cause more suffering than pleasure.It is an oppressive instrument that completely abolishes the concept of privacy as the people that are forced to hear and see the television screen can themselves be heard and seen at all times under constant supervision even while sleeping or in the bathroom, according to writer Issaac Asimov (315).The utilization of the telescreen becomes unpleasurable when it makes it easier for the Party to catch one in any act suspicious to it.The Paradox arises even in its mechanism as it transmits propaganda to the people like a television, but at the same time it receives images of the people like a camera.The true paradox arises, because there may have to be five watchers for every person watched.And then, of course, the watchers must themselves be watched, since no one in the Orwellian world is suspicion-free (Asimov 315).It is a wonder how such a technology is able to work, as the philosophies of the Party must be broken at one point.

Business Ethics Assignment 8_08 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business Ethics 8_08 - Assignment Example It can reduce all the possible negative outcomes. Management of any organization can take right decision at right time by using this theory. Traditional utilitarianism has a couple of flavors. These are act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. Act utilitarianism states that right or wrong act depend on the situation or consequence. If outcome is good then it can be said that right strategy was applied for getting such positive outcome. Again in case of negative outcome, the opposite judgment can be observed. Rule utilitarianism is very simple by nature and it states that morality can be maintained by anyone by obeying moral rules. Now moral rules are basically those guidelines which provide maximum happiness to the maximum number of people (Taleff, 2009). The below mentioned considerations can be taken to determine what moral things have to do in any particular occasion. Utilitarianism is attractive to many persons as well as many organizations for different reasons. These reasons are as follows. From the organizational point of view this can be analyzed that different people have different interests and sometimes conflict arises from such different interests. It hampers the organizational activities. Utilitarianism helps to trade off between interests of different parties and reduce egoism in a particular group. It always focuses on the actual interest. Self interest is maintained by using this theory after fulfilling the group interest. This theory is attractive because people can judge the right and wrong decision by using utilitarianism. Second reason for the attractiveness of utilitarianism theory is reflection of morality. This theory is simple, powerful and rigorous system of morality. It establishes relationship between relatively correlated basic principles. This morality helps people to understand the wrong and right decision. This theory constructs a consistent and powerful philosophy and this philosophy can be applied in any situation

Select 3 photographs taken in africa about colonial period, that have Essay

Select 3 photographs taken in africa about colonial period, that have common theme, choosing santu mofokeng chasing shadows work - Essay Example Relating this to colonial South Africa where apartheid had taken the better side of the country, historical antecedents justify the thinking that the Black population of the country were vigilantly keeping watch to see when it was all going to be over. As seen in the photograph, the Black man has his eye wide shut because he does not want to miss out on anything or wants to be taken by surprise on an event of the passing apartheid that he may possibly not see. Aesthetic Appreciation Aesthetically, the photograph â€Å"Eyes-wide-shut† is a photograph with much value on the depiction of elements of photography. For example, there is major emphasis on symmetry, where the jacket of the man in the photograph is taken in such a way that gives an equal striking image to the photograph. The same can be said of the positioning of the man, where he is balanced between the spaces left around him on the left and right sides. As far as depth of field is concerned, the photograph is given t wo depths of fields, which are rough and smooth. The smooth depth of field is with the man who is clearly captured as the focus of the photograph. All other people in the background and the background itself are given a rough depth of field by keeping the camera blur on them. Indeed, the way symmetry, balance and depth of field were used helped in giving the central focus of the photograph, the needed emphasis. Critic Even though there is much emphasis on the focus of the photograph in highlighting the theme of vigilance, which was a major topic for the Black community during the apartheid, it would have been much meaningful should the photography had included an element of a White person in the photograph. This is because the knowledge that the apartheid was a racial war between the Whites and the Blacks is common knowledge in history. The eyes that were wide shut could therefore have been made to be shut on a White man for example. This way, the photograph would have been easier t o comprehend and appreciate by a lay person, especially in support of the theme of the photograph. Theme The photograph above is captioned â€Å"Motoulen Landscape with Poplar Trees and Altar†. Rightly by comparing the caption of the photograph to its images, the theme of a fading land becomes trumpeted in the mind of the viewer. This is because poplar trees by themselves are known to be very viable trees in the South African soil. This makes them to have a season round of fresh green leaves and stems in the country. Indeed, the sight and appearance of a poplar tree is that of freshness and hope. But in the photograph, nothing else than a savannah dry land is seen. This is because the poplar tree that was once fresh and blossom has gone dry. Like the result of colonization in South Africa, the freedoms, rights and identities of the ordinary South African was made to go dry due to oppression and suppression at the hands of colonial masters. For the poplar tree to have any hope , it must find itself in the midst of an altar where a religious or divine intervention could possibly make it regain its freshness. Indeed, the South African nation found redemption through the efforts of freedom fighters such as Nelson Mandela. Aesthetic Appreciation Lines are very powerful elements used by the photography in the picture that is presented above. Generally, lines are useful in directing the viewer to the focal point of the photography. Indeed, in the

Human resources system for employee self-self of royal mail Essay

Human resources system for employee self-self of royal mail - Essay Example It offers several services through these subsidiaries, which include parcel delivery system, postal mail services, general logistic system, and general services related to post (Russell, 2005 p45). Royal Mail focuses on delivering letters and packages to all part of the world. Currently, this company has 14,300 post office branches and 113,000 post boxes throughout the UK, which collect packages, letters and parcels from over 87,000 individuals and businesses. These commodities are collected through a diverse collection and transportation network that includes 33,000 bicycles and 30,000 vehicles (Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons Committee: Trade and Industry, 2006 p23). This paper provides strengths and weaknesses (internal analysis) of Royal Mail’s human resource management system for employees, and recommendation that should be adopted to improve its human resource management system and employees’ performances and efficiencies. Strengths The highly skilled and hard working employees, who are regularly motivated by the financial resources and efficient management, form the key strengths of Royal Mail. The company’s employees are offered improved new range of training and assured performance related pays (Plunkett, 2009 p76). Some of the Royal Mail’s employees are regarded as the company’s valuable assets. ... esource management system, and they include: the present contracts were renewed, and new standardized contracts were awarded to the employees; the newly introduced techniques and machinery help the employees achieve a world class standard performance, the newly revised Pension scheme plans were going to be directed to those employees in the Royal Mail pension plan (Russell, 2005 p58); the new plan for early retirement and temporary redundancy were going to be implemented with an immediate effect, and the minimum wages and working hours were also revised. The Royal Mail’s human resource management also puts employees’ safety in the forefront of the priority list. In order to motivate its staff members, this company has improved its working condition, stress relief exercise, self appraisal process, first aid facilities, and changes employees’ job duties over some time. The HRM has also included increments and promotions into the new plan. The Royal Mail has also de veloped a new method of dealing with the Trade Union. The trade union has been given a vital position in the company’s management activities. The union has also been requested to help employees to conform to the Organizational rules and regulations, and achieve sustainable competitive advantage (Chancery House, 2008 p26). An effective system of communication between the HRM and the trade union was also developed. Weaknesses There have been frequent complaints from customers regarding missing parcels and letters in some Royal Mail’s retail outlets. Careful investigation revealed that some of the company’s staff members have been involved in a series of mail theft over the past few years (Brooks, 2003 p118). This has reduced the Royal Mails reputation and prestige before it esteemed customers. This

Mobile phone dependency Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words

Mobile phone dependency - Research Paper Example The evolution has occurred, and a series of changes have enabled the modern modes of communication, where technology is the aspect that is driving communication. In the presence, age gadgets are been used to pass messages instead of having to deliver the message to the intended parties. With this development, much have changed from the way people communicate to the language used to pass this messages. In the past, the mode of delivering information was essentially formal, and much respect was accorded to the communication, mostly when it came to face to face, among people of different ages. There are different means to communicate, where the variation is based on the method of sending, transmitting and receiving the message. Technology has far much affected the way of communication in the greatest means. In this age, people have adapted news means of transmission which allow messages to be encoded in the electronic devices and sent through the devices (Jin & Park 2010). Communication through digital devices is considered fast and time-saving, thus the reason the y- generation finds it preferable. Here, it takes a fraction of a minute to encode the information into the gadget, such as through text messages. Then, the message is instantly transferred to the recipient via the internet connection or GSM connection. On the other hand, Thulin and Vilhelson (2010) states that the messenger could take more than a day to deliver a message from one village to the other in the 1000 BC. Currently, it may take many hours to travel to the recipient, in order to deliver the message via face-to-face method. The digital communication is also considered cheap compared to voice to voice communication. In the text and social media communication, the cost of transport is cut to zero because the distance between the parties is not a factor that

Managing Stress among Employees in Out-patient Setting Research Paper - 1

Managing Stress among Employees in Out-patient Setting - Research Paper Example It is identified that the negligence of evaluation phases causes the breakdown of implemented changes. This paper will discuss various strategies and techniques that can be effectively employed in evaluating the impacts of the introduced changes among employees in out-patient settings. There are three evaluation phases that are scientifically designed for program evaluation; formative evaluation, summative evaluation, and impact evaluation. The formative evaluation phase continuously acquires information regarding the introduced program in order to amplify the performance. According to Lytras, Carroll, Damiani, Tennyson, Avison, Vossen, and Pablos (2008), in the summative evaluation phase, the outcomes of the project are assessed; and from those results, the project managers analyze the impact of the outcome on its actual beneficiaries; the shareholders (p.672). On the other hand, impact evaluation phase focuses on the larger group of beneficiaries over a long period of time. Here we can use formative evaluation and summative evaluation techniques for the determination of the effectiveness of the introduced organizational change in an out-patient setting. The organizational changes implemented to manage employees’ stress need to be analyzed from the perspective of both employees and organization; it involves the application of formative evaluation phase. In order to get the status of the introduced change, from the perspective of employees, it is necessary to collect their feedback using methods such as questionnaires, surveys, voting, and general meetings. Similarly, it is suggestible for the project management team to assess the effectiveness of the change by considering its impacts on those employees who were affected by stress. It can be achieved by comparing the individuals’ level of performance prior to and after the implementation of the program. Their new ways of working behavior both as individuals and as a team need to be  evaluated for knowing whether the change takes a positive effect on them or not.

Fine Arts Lsson #1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Fine Arts Lsson #1 - Essay Example gures shown in the website look photographed, and seeing them would entice anyone to come to the museum to take pictures with figures of their favorite personalities. There are a number of figures shown in the website but my attention was drawn to the wax figures of Hollywood actors such as Denzel Washington, Johnny Depp, and Robin Williams. These famous Hollywood personalities have their own identities, which the wax sculptors have captured in wax form. The wax figures have some noticeable characteristics that give meaning to the work of art. These include shape, line, texture, and color. The first thing that one can notice in the wax figures is shape. Unlike other figures that one can see in museums and parks, the wax figures at Madame Tussaud’s are shaped to reveal the identity of the model. They are not just plain figures striking a pose or statues holding a symbol of identity. Rather, they are shaped to imply their personal character, the way people know them in the movies. For example, Robin Williams smiles and holds out his left hand to the audience, suggesting a jolly and welcoming attitude, whereas Denzel Washington has his right hand stretched out across his abdomen, which connotes his serious character and masculinity. Meanwhile, Johnny Depp’s pose is likewise serious but his figure is a little too stiff, which makes it less realistic than the other two figures. Also, I believe that the jaws of Depp are not as wide as that of the figure. Nonetheless, Depp’s figure also draws attention because of its color. See Figure 1. One important aspect that deserves attention is line. Notably, the lines applied in the wax figure of Robin Williams are excellent. They are well-planned, varied, and meaningful. The lines are mostly visible on the face of the actor, especially on his forehead, thus suggesting old age. The wrinkles vary in depth to add to the facial expression. The lines for the lips are curved in a natural way to make the figure look realistic.

Identity analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Identity analysis - Essay Example This is something significant in that the difference is nothing more than just race and colour. Statistics constantly brings in the fact that women are more likely to be poor than men. In fact, women are more susceptible and more exposed to hunger because of the universal subordination and gender discrimination they contend with in education, healthcare, employment, and in controlling resources and political authority. Although violence against women is existent across all economic groups, women who are suffering from poverty experience it more frequently and they have less possessions or means with which to deal with the situation. Poverty among women is a global truth that reveals itself differently from one country to another; nevertheless, the factors and figures in global gender discrimination are blindingly comparable: gender disparities in wages, work-related discrimination, dangerous employment conditions, and uneven necessities in household and childhood care among others. B y and large, this social development in terms of gender has aided in the explosion of feminist movement. My case is not only a contention of how Hispanic women are being represented – and just because I am a Mexican – but it is about the subordination of women on the sole basis of gender and how this has caused social stratification and elitism. Rummaging through the vast array of literature, I have found a strong resemblance in Hua Mulan, a fictitious character who made a resounding message throughout the world by proving that women can do what men can do. Hua Mulan disguised herself as a man to be allowed to join the Imperial army in order to protect their community. Hua Mulan then became an icon not just within the context of the text in which she has been storied, but even in various forms of media. Her valiant determination to join the army despite her femininity – she’s short, skinny, and very demure – was an index to the changing roles of wo men during her time. Women during her time were expected to stay at home as wife or helper and nothing more. For someone who has no background or anything about the character and the film in general, Hua Mulan may appear to express connotations beyond Chinese traditions. Her figure encourages an act to decode the essence of translatability. Today, an increasing proportion of the world’s population suffering from poverty signified women. Women as an object of gender criticism, extreme subordination, and social stratification established the specious ontology of women, which happens to have defined the belief of the kind of society dominated by paternal mentality. This implies a striking reality that the feminization of poverty continues to become a concerning truth. The mainstream media has described women in myriads of way. As aforementioned, these descriptions have formed the false ontology of what is supposed to be the bearer of burden and icon that signified bravery and ch ange. Violence According to various studies, a great majority of women are victims of human trafficking that is manifested in various forms such as prostitution, which is considered to be the most common and widespread form of human trafficking (UNICEF 11). This then contributed to the way women became interpretant of weakness. Worsening of living conditions usually forces children to quit school in order to help the family survive, placing them susceptible to exploitation and violence. For instance, some young girls in Zimbabwe are trading sex in exchange for food for

Reconstruction after the Civil War Essay Example for Free

Reconstruction after the Civil War Essay Black political activity during the Reconstruction after the Civil War came from the experience of after war slavery or what was called servitude. A strong sense of community grew out of shared racial oppression and contributed to the formation of a political stand for the black freedman. Even though this formation was important it really did not become very strong after the Civil War. Emancipation was confusing to most blacks and the wartime disorder didn’t help the uncertain situation. Freedmen moved very cautiously to explore what changes were happening in their lives. They were more interested in individual measures to enhance their freedom and avoided becoming politically active. One of the freedmen’s first desires was to leave anything having to do with slavery behind. They wanted to define their new status different than the slavery they had known. What many blacks did first after becoming free was to leave the plantation that had enslaved them. Some looked for family and other headed for towns and cities, but most wanted to leave. Autonomy was a key issue that arose out of emancipation. At first the freedmen hoped their needs would be met by the federal government. Inspired by wartime confiscation of planters land, and the promise of the Freedmen’s Bureau, the former slaves waited for their â€Å"forty acres and a mule†. The Freedmen’s Bureau was a temporary agency set up to aid the former slaves by providing relief, education, legal help, and assistance in gaining land or employment and came from the Reconstruction period. The problem of how to reconstruct the Union after the South’s military defeat was won of the most difficult challenges faced by American policymakers. The Constitution didn’t provide any guidelines. The farmers had not anticipated a division of the country into warring sections. Emancipation was a major force for the Northern war aims, but the problem became larger when questions arose on how far the federal government should go to secure freedom and civil rights for former slaves. The debate that followed led to a major political crisis. Advocates of a minimal Reconstruction policy favored quick restoration of the Union with no protection for the freed slaves beyond the prohibition of slavery. Proponents of a more radical policy wanted readmission of the southern states to be dependent on guarantees that loyal men would displace the Confederate higher ups in position of power and that blacks would gain some of the basic rights of American citizenship. The White House wanted the lesser approach and congress endorsed the more radical approach of Reconstruction (Divine, Breen, Fredrickson Williams, 1987, p. 457). The tension between the President and Congress on how to reconstruct the Union began during the war. Lincoln never had a plan for bringing the states back together, but he did take some initiatives that indicated a more lenient and forgiving policy towards Southerners who gave up the struggle and denounced slavery. Lincoln issued a Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction in 1863 that offered a full pardon to all Southerners, except certain classes of Confederate leaders, who would take an oath of allegiance to the union and acknowledge the legality of emancipation (Fitzgerald, 1989, p. 11). This policy was meant to shorten the war. The President hoped that granting pardon and political recognition to oath-taking minorities would weaken the southern cause by making it easy for disillusioned confederates to switch sides. But Congress was unhappy with the President’s reconstruction experiments and in 1864 refused to seat the Unionists elected to the House and Senate from Louisiana and Arkansas. A minority of congressional Republicans, who were strong anti-slavery radicals, wanted protection for black rights as a precondition for the readmission of the southern states. These Republican militants were upset because Lincoln had not insisted that the constitution creators provide for black suffrage. The dominate view in Congress was that the southern states had definitely forfeited their place in the Union and that it was up to Congress to decide when and how they would be readmitted. Congress passed a Reconstruction bill of its own in 1864. The Wade-Davis bill which required that fifty percent of the voters must take an oath of future loyalty before the restoration process could begin (Divine Breen, Fredrickson Williams, 1987 p. 452). Those who would swear that they had never willingly supported the Confederacy could vote in an election for delegates to a constitutional convention. The bill did not require black suffrage, but it did give federal courts the power to enforce emancipation, but Lincoln used a pocket veto and refused to sign. Congress and the President remained stalled on the Reconstruction issue for the rest of the war. But during the last months in office Lincoln showed some desire to compromise. He showed much interest in getting the governments in Louisiana and Arkansas that he started, with the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction in 1863, to gaining full recognition but Lincoln was warming up to the ideal of including black suffrage in all of this. Sadly Mr. Lincoln died before anyone knew the outcome of the struggle between congress and this man. Andrew Johnson’s attempt at reconstruction also put him on the defensive with Congress creating the most serious crisis in the history of relations between the executive and legislative branches of the federal government. During the war Johnson endorsed Lincoln’s emancipation policy and carried it into effect. He viewed it primarily as a means of destroying the power of the planter class rather than as recognition of black humanity (Divine Breen, Fredrickson Williams, 1987). Johnson’s presidency was a huge surprise and really wasn’t suppose to happen considering that he was a southern Democrat and a fervent white supremacist. But the root of the problem was that he disagreed with the majority of Congress on what Reconstruction was supposed to accomplish. A believer of the Democratic states’ rights he wanted to restore the prewar feral system as quickly as possible, with the only changes being that states would no longer have the right to legalize slavery or to secede. Many Republican’s believed that if the old southern ruling class were to gain power they would devise a plan to subjugate blacks. Emancipation had removed the three-fifths clause of the constitution that counted slaves as only three-fifth of a person now they were to be counted in determining representation. Congress favored a Reconstruction policy that would give the federal government authority to limit the role of ex-confederates and provide protection for black citizenship (Fitzgerald, 1989, p. 48). The disagreement between the President and Congress became irreconcilable in early 1866 when Johnson vetoed two bills that had passed with overwhelming Republican support (Fitzgerald, 1989, 81). The first was to extend the life of the Freedmen’s Bureau and the second was a civil rights bill meant to nullify the black codes and guarantee to the freedmen full and equal benefit of all laws and security of self and property as the white had. Johnson was successful at blocking the Freedmen’s bureau bill but later a modified version did pass. The Civil Rights Act won the two-thirds majority needed to override the president’s veto. The main fact was that recovery would not happen or even begin until a new labor system replaced slavery. It was widely assumed in both the North and South that southern prosperity would continue to depend on cotton and that the plantation was the most efficient way for producing the crop. But rebuilding the plantation economy was hindered by lack of capital, the belief of southern whites that blacks would work only if forced, and by the freedmen’s resistance to labor conditions that were still basically slavery (Divine, Breen, Fitzgerald Williams, 1987). Blacks wanted to be small independent farmers rather than plantation laborers and they believed that the federal government would help them to attain their dreams. General Sherman, who had huge numbers of black fugitives follow his army on a famous march, issued an order in 1865 that set aside the islands and coastal areas of Georgia and South Carolina for only black occupancy on forty acre plots. The Freedmen’s Bureau was given control of hundreds of thousands of acres of abandoned or confiscated land and authorized to make forty acre grants to black settlers for a three year period. After that they would have the option to buy at low prices. Over forty thousand black farmers worked on three hundred thousand acres of land they thought were going to be theirs (Berlin, 1976, p. 141). But the dream of forty acres and a mule the government promised was not going to happen. President Johnson pardoned the owners of most of the land assigned to the ex-slaves by Sherman and the Freedmen’s Bureau and along with the failure of congress to propose an effective program of land confiscation and redistribution the land blacks could not gain title to the land they had been working. The ex-slaves even without land and in poverty still were reluctant to settle down and commit their selves to wage labor for their former masters. They were hoping for something better and some still expecting grants of land while others were just trying to increase their bargaining power. The most common form of agricultural employment in 1866 was contract labor. Under this system workers would commit themselves for a year in return for fixed wages that the bulk of would be paid after harvest. Many planters were inclined to make hard bargains, abuse their workers or cheat them at the end of the year. The Freedmen’s Bureau took the role of reviewing the contracts and enforcing them. Buy the bureau officials had differing notions of what it meant to protect blacks from exploitation. Some stood up strongly for the rights of the freedmen; others served as allies of the planters, rounding up available workers, coercing them to sign contracts for low wages, and keeping them in line (Fitzgerald, 1989, p. 138). After 1867 the bureau’s influence was fading and a new arrangement come from direct negotiations between planters and freedmen. Unhappy with gang labor and constant white supervision, blacks demanded sharecropper’s status. This meant that they wanted the right to work a small piece of land independently in return for a fixed share of the crop produced on it and that was usually half. With the shortage of labor this gave the freedmen enough leverage to force this arrangement on those planters who were unwilling. But many landowners found it to their advantage because it did not require much capital and forced the tenants to share the risks of crop failure or a fall in cotton prices. Blacks at first viewed sharecropping as a step up from wage labor and a direction towards land ownership, but in reality it was just a new kind of slavery (Fitzgerald, 1989, p. 140). Croppers had to live on credit until their cotton was sold, and planters or merchants seized the chance to give them at high prices and huge rates of interest. Creditors were entitled to deduct what was owned to them out of the tenant’s share of the crop and this left most sharecroppers with no net profit at the end of the year, some with debt that had to be worked off the next year (Fitzgerald, 1989, p. 141). Blacks moving to cities and towns found themselves living in an increasingly segregated society. The Black Codes of 1865 attempted to require separation of the races in public places but most of the codes were set aside by federal authorities as violations of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, but that was defeated by private initiatives and community pressures. In some cities blacks successfully resisted forced separation on streetcars by appealing to the military during the brief period when it exercised authority or by organizing boycotts. But they found it almost impossible to gain admittance to most hotels, restaurants, and other privately owned establishments that catered to whites. When black supported Republican governments came to power in 1868, some of them passed civil rights acts requiring equal access to public facilities, but little efforts were made to enforce the legislation (Berlin, 1976, p. 249). Some forms of racial separation were not openly discriminatory and blacks accepted or even endorsed them. Freedmen who had belonged to white churches as slaves welcomed the chance to join all black denominations which gave freedom from white dominance and a more congenial style of worship. The first schools for ex-slaves were all black institutions established by the Freedmen’s Bureau and various northern missionary societies (Berlin, 1976, p. 285). Blacks had been denied any education at all after the war and blacks viewed separate schooling as an opportunity rather than as a form of discrimination. The Freedmen’s Bureau was a government agency that was to give assistance and protection to the Southern ex-slave after the Civil war. It gave assistance to the relief of the needy of both white and black. Its main job was to improve labor relations, administering justice and developing a black educational system. The Bureau influence though suffered in the North and was mortally damaged in the South by corruption, especially those that were connected with promising Republican control of the black vote. These excesses strengthened resistance to black suffrage and encouraged secret organizations like the Ku Klux Klan (Sehat, 2007). The bureau was established under the War Department and was suppose to exist for one year after the war. It was strengthened and its life extended in 1866 when Johnson attempted to veto. Its Director was a Christian general by the name of Oliver O. Howard and functioned through ten districts. Each had an assistant commissioner with the power to control all individuals that were refugees and freedmen. The Freedmen’s Bureau became the strongest single instrument of Reconstruction. Even though it was ended in 1869 its educational activities were extended to 1872 and its soldiers’ bounty payments till 1872 and had an expenditure of about $20,000,000 (Divine Breen Fredrickson Williams, 1987). Reconstruction failed because it was inadequately motivated, conceived and enforced. But the causes of this failure remain in shadow. Some explain it in terms of an underlying racism that prevented white Republicans from identifying fully with the cause of the black equality. Others use the clash between the class interests of those in charge of implementing and managing Reconstruction and the poor people of the South who were supposed to benefit. But the basic issue raised by Reconstruction was how to achieve racial equality in America and that was not resolved during that era and is still in conflict even today. Reference: Berlin, I. (1976). Slaves without masters. New York: Vintage Books Divine, R. A. , Breen, T. H. , Fredrickson, G. M. and Williams, R. H. (1987). America past and present, 2nd. Ed. Illinois: Scott , Foresman and Company. Fitzgerald, M. W. (1989). The union league movement in the deep south. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. Gibson, G. J. (1957). Lincoln’s League: The league movement during the Civil War. Ph. D. dissertation, University of Illinois. Sehat, D. ( 2007, May). The civilizing mission of Booker T. Washington. Journal of Southern History, 73(2), 323-362.

Define empowerment, capacity building and participation

Define empowerment, capacity building and participation in the context of your research. Describe the dependent and independent variables in your research and justify the relationship between the dependent and independent variables. The understanding of the concept of empowerment varies among disciplines. It is a cross-disciplinary term, mainly used in fields of Education, Psychology, Community Development, Economics, among others. Based on this many meanings of the term, it has been seen as a construct easy to define by its absence but difficult to define in action, based on the fact that it takes different forms in different people and contexts (Rappoport, cited in Page Czuba, 1999). Therefore, how we define empowerment within our projects and programs will depend upon the specific people and context involved. In the context of community development, a general definition of empowerment was proffered by Page Czuba (1999) as follows: Empowerment is a multi-dimensional social process that helps people gain control over their own lives. It is a process that fosters power (that is, the capacity to implement) in people, for use in their own lives, their communities, and in their society, by acting on issues that they define as important. From the above definition, three basic components are necessary to any understanding of empowerment, namely multi-dimensional, social, and a process. By multi-dimensional, empowerment is frequently connected to the four development dimensions of equity, capacity building, participation and self-reliance. According to Adams (2002) these four dimensions are regarded as the common denominators in most definitions of empowerment and debates regarding the role of empowerment in the development process. It also occurs at various levels, such as individual, group, and community. And it is a social process because it occurs in relationship to others. Embedded in this definition of empowerment is that the individual and community are fundamentally connected. The importance of individual empowerment is such that it is a prerequisite for community and social change and empowerment (Speer Hughey, 1995), and a bridge to community connectedness and social change (Wilson, 1996). With specific reference to the current study which looks at Youth development as a strategy for Poverty reduction, empowerment in this case entails the acquisition of power and the ability to give it effect (Swanepoel, 1997). Theron (2005) buttresses this view by looking at empowerment in terms of dual perspectives, namely empowerment as a process of skills and abilities development; and secondly, empowerment as a process that equips people to decide on and take action regarding the issues of concern to them. In the same vein, Burkly (1993) states that empowerment is a process that releases power to the people which they can use to access resources in order to achieve desirable goals. Although empowerment as a concept can be examined in the context of both individual and collective aspects, the concept as used here is operative at the individual level, rather than collective or organizational. While individual empowerment relates to the way people think about themselves, as well as the knowledge, capacities, skills, and mastery they actually possess (Staples, 1990, p. 32), collective empowerment refers to processes by which individuals join together to break their solitude and silence, help one another, learn together, and develop skills for collective action (Boehm Staples, 2004). For the purpose of this study, empowerment is defined as a process whereby individuals develop the skills and capacity for gaining some reasonable control over their lives. From the foregoing, empowerment in the context of this study does not only imply capacity building, by which is meant the building up of peoples knowledge, skills, and ability to enable them take actions correctly, it (empowerment) is also an effect of this process of capacity building where the individual participants of the capacity building process overcome their poverty situation and attain self-determination. Self-determination is consistent with notions of personal control (Greenberg Strasser, 1991); and it refers to an individuals sense of control over his or her own work (Wagner, 1995). As a major component of individual empowerment, self-determination is most frequently reported in the literature (Sprague Hayes, 2000). Fetterman (1996, p.92) believes that self-determination, defined as the ability to chart ones own course in life, forms the theoretical foundations of the components of individual empowerment. Against this background, the individual participants, who have become self employed and are economically empowered, having acquired skills via capacity building, are enabled to be in control of their lives. Therefore, empowerment here is an outcome of the process of capacity building. Individual empowerment is a development that involves many changes whereby an individual is able to strengthen and exercise the ability to act to gain control over his or her life. Hence, the goal of individual empowerment is to achieve a state of emancipation strong enough to impact ones power in life. Capacity Building As with the concepts of globalization, development, and sustainability, the term capacity building is an ambiguous concept that means different things to different people, groups and organizations. Although many people use these terms, their definitions do not conform to the same, as each puts emphasis on a certain aspect of capacity development (James, 2001). However, definitions of capacity building emphasize that capacity building is a tool to build and improve the skills, resources and ability of people to implement, monitor and assess a project. The United Nations (UNDP, 1997) sees capacity building as a process by which individuals, groups and organizations, institutions and societies increase their abilities to perform core functions, solve problems and define and achieve objectives; to understand and deal with their development needs in a broad context and in a sustainable manner. Eade (1997) sees capacity building as an approach to development which encompasses all the fields that influence the development sphere. In this approach to development, capacity building identifies the weaknesses that people experience in achieving their basic rights, and finding proper means through which to increase their ability to overcome the causes of their exclusion and suffering. In the context of this study, capacity building comprises the skills acquisition that the youth undergo in the process of their empowerment. Capacity building here is an intervening variable, which by its nature surfaces between the time the independent variable (participation) starts operating to influence the dependent variable (empowerment). It helps to explain the relationship between the IV DV. Thus, by participating in the development programmes, youth are equipped with the capacity, skills, knowledge that will enable them become economically empowered, employable and self-employed, thereby reducing unemployment and poverty among them. Capacity building as used in the study is not concerned about implementing a project or enhancing a particular aspect of life; it is a comprehensive empowerment process which builds the capability of people with relevant skills needed to find meaning in their lives. Consequently, the concept of capacity building as used in the study is a process where people are developed in order to manage themselves. To this end, empowerment of the participants becomes the ultimate output of capacity building process. On this understanding of capacity building as a process, Eade and Williams (1995) elaborate the concept as: Men and women becoming empowered to bring about positive changes in their lives; about personal growth together with public action; about both the process and the outcome of challenging poverty, oppression and discrimination; and about the realization of human potential through social and economic justice. Above all, it is about the process of transforming lives, and transforming societies. In this process of capacity building, people acquire the skills, which in turn create an avenue for them as individuals and as members of the community to achieve their development objectives and improve the quality of their lives. Hence, capacity building is a response to community development needs. Participation Participation is one of the essential aspects of community development associated with empowerment. It is a people-oriented approach to development, where people play an important role by feeling a high degree of ownership; and are subjects rather than objects in the process of their development. According to De Beer and Swanepoel (1998), participation leads to empowerment and empowerment results in vulnerable people or oppressed groups achieving sufficient power or authority to be able to influence decisions that affect their lives and livelihoods, so that they can attain ownership of their lives. Participation in this study is the input variable or independent variable, where, through involvement in youth development programmes like auto mechanics, electrical work, and welding, the participants acquire the capacity (skills, knowledge and training) that enable them to become self-employed and employable. By participating in the programmes, youth have enhanced their capacity to alleviate poverty. They have also built partnership with others by widening their employment opportunities. As marginalized members of the society, being involved in their development programmes enabled them to voice their concerns, hopes, and grievances. Adams (2008) asserts that participants are able to contribute to their development by giving feedback on programmes that are aimed at them. With empowerment in mind, the youth are able to collaborate with the project providers, thereby paving way for a more active role, having greater choice, exercising more power, and contributing in decision-making and management (Adams, 2008, p.17). Their participation has also broadened their support network, resulting in opening up new opportunities through programme development and social action. By participating in their development process, youth not only gain skills and knowledge, but also gain self-confidence, pride, initiative, responsibility and cooperation which without such development components in people all efforts to alleviate poverty will be difficult. An important attribute of participation is community empowerment, which requires a people-centered approach that culminates in self-reliance. Chambers and Freire (1996, p. 77) envisage that participation and empowerment can enable the poor to express and analyze both their individual and shared multiple realities. According to the World Health Organization (2002), community members should participate in their development because they have a right to have a say about decisions that affect their lives; and will also lead to better decisions being made, which are more appropriate and more sustainable because they are owned by the people themselves. Dependent and Independent variables of the study The conceptual framework below illustrates the variables of the study Youth empowerment as a strategy for poverty reduction in Niger Delta, Nigeria. In a nutshell, participation is the independent variable, where youth, through their involvements in skills acquisition programmes in auto mechanics, electrical work and welding develop/acquire the capacity in skills, training, knowledge and competence that led to their empowerment (DV); hence, becoming economically empowered, self-empowered and having a reduction in poverty. Empowerment Economic Empowerment Self-employment Individual Empowerment Unemployment reduction Poverty reduction Participation Involvement in youth development programmes Capacity Building Skills Knowledge Awareness Competence * Sense of community Input Auto mechanics Electrical work Welding a. Independent variable: Participation Based on the definitions and framework given above, the concept of participation will be the independent variable (IV) of the study, which will be manipulated in order to determine its influence or effect on the dependent variable (DV). As an input variable which influences the dependent variable, participation of the youth in development programmes will constitute the IV of the study, to see their relationship with the dependent variable. In other words, the youth participation in such programmes as auto mechanics, electrical work and welding will be operated to see how they lead to empowerment, which is the DV. Participation as employed in the study therefore is the social element whose characteristics or variations shape and determine the dependent variable. In other words, it is through the participants involvement in the development programmes that they are eventually empowered. Thus, participation causes the outcome of involvement in development programme which is empowerment (the DV). Economic empowerment b. Dependent variable: Empowerment Self-employment Unemployment reduction The dependent variable (DV) is a variable of primary interest to the researcher, whose task is to understand and describe it (the DV). And it is through the analysis of the dependent variable that the researcher is likely to find answers or solutions to the issues under study which is done by measuring the dependent variable as well as the other variables that influence this variable. In this study, empowerment is the dependent variable (DV) because it is a response to the action of participation (the IV). The DV depends and responds to the action of the IV. Empowerment in this study is the variable that reflects the influence of the independent variable. As illustrated in the framework above, economic empowerment, self-reliance (self-employed), unemployment reduction and poverty reduction are the effects or outcome of participation of youth in development programmes. These outcomes are necessitated by the skills, knowledge, training and competence which the participants have acquired in the process of their capacity building via the development programmes. Capacity building therefore becomes the intervening variable that brings about the effect of the independent variable (participation) on the dependent variable (empowerment). Justification of the relationship of variables The independent and dependent variables are related based on the dependency relationship, where one variable, the dependent variable depends on the independent variable. It is a cause and effect relationship where the DV is an effect of the IV. In this study, empowerment resulted as an effect of participation. Participation (the IV) causes the change (effect) that resulted in the empowerment of the youth. To elaborate further, the relationship of participation (IV) and empowerment (DV) is such that the variation of the IV influences the DV. The dependent variable changes when the independent variable changes the dependent variable depends on the outcome of the independent variable. Further, capacity building relates to both the IV and the DV as an intervening variable by linking the independent and dependent variables. In this study, capacity building resulted as a function or operation of the IV (Participation) and helps to explain the influence of the IV on the DV. Capacity building here explains the relationship that exists between the action of the IV and the DV. As the diagram shows, the participants involvement in the skills development programmes equipped them with the enabling capacity (capacity building skills, knowledge, and training) that led or transformed them into empowered members of the community. 2. Based on the main concepts of your research, provide a theoretical framework that can best explain the research that you will be undertaking. What are the theory/ies that can be used to support your research? Discuss the rationale for choosing the theory/ies and the strengths and weaknesses of the theory/ies. With regard to the main concepts of the research, Keiffers theory of empowerment as a process was considered relevant and suitable for handling the study. The theory illustrates the elements and stages of empowerment as well as the phases that the individuals undergo in the process of acquiring skills, which translate into full realization of empowerment. The theory was considered appropriate for the study as it has been extensively used in several related study. Keiffers theory of empowerment as a process The theory applies to individuals in the process of empowerment; where the (empowerment) process passes through several phases in the participants. It shows the patterns and processes of the participants transition from a state powerlessness to empowerment. The theory is suitable to this research, which focuses on empowering the youth of the Niger Delta, who are ravaged by poverty and unemployment, coupled with what Keiffer (1984) referred to as a feeling of alienation from resources for social influence, an experience of disenfranchisement and economic vulnerability, and a sense of hopelessness in socio-political struggle. Understanding empowerment in the light of Keiffers theory starts by examining the concepts of power and powerlessness (Moscovitch Drover, 1981). Power is conceived as a multi-dimensional social process that helps people gain control over their lives (Page Czuba, 1999, p. 25). The Cornell Empowerment Group (1989, p.2) define power as the capacity of some persons and organizations to produce intended, foreseen and unforeseen effects on others. Underscoring the need to produce these expectations or effects on others, some sources of power were identified as a panacea. Moscovitch and Drover (1981), for instance believe that the class-dominated nature of our society indicates that a small proportion of the people have enormous economic and political power as opposed to the greater number of the people that have little or none. Therefore, power is required to influence the outcome of life events. On the other hand, powerlessness is seen as an objective phenomenon, where people with little or no political and economic power lack the means to gain greater control and resources in their lives (Albee, 1981). Keiffer sees powerlessness at the individual level as the expectation of the individual that his or her own actions will be ineffective in influencing the outcome of life events (Keiffer, 1984). Lerner (1986) distinguished between real and surplus powerlessness. While real powerlessness emanates from economic inequities and oppressive control exercised by systems and other people, surplus powerlessness derives from an internalized belief that change cannot occur a belief which results in apathy and an unwillingness of the person to struggle for more control and influence. Keiffers (1984) effort on individual empowerment is one of the prominent studies which examine individual empowerment as a process. He conceives empowerment as a developmental process which consists of four stages: entry, advancement, incorporation, and commitment. These stages are: era of entry (characteristics: powerlessness, sense of integrity, rootedlessness, sense of attachment, and support within a caring community of peers, experience of injustice); era of advancement (centrality of mentoring relationships, more critical understanding of social and political relations); era of incorporation (developed self concept, increased strategic ability, and matured critical comprehension, improved organizing and leadership skills, and constructed survival skills); and era of commitment (application of new abilities to the reality and structure of everyday life worlds, commitment to adapting recent empowerment to continuing proactive community mobilization and leadership) (Keiffer, 1984). From the above, the individual is prompted at the entry level by his or her experience of certain disturbing self or family situation, which Keiffer refers to as an act of provocation. The advancement stage possesses three important characteristics that are necessary to the progress of continuing the empowerment process, namely, a mentoring relationship; supportive peer relationships with a collective organization; and the development of a more critical understanding of social and political relations. While the focal point of the third stage is the development of a growing political consciousness, the era of commitment, which is the fourth stage is such that the acquired participatory competence is applied by participants to ever expanding areas of their lives. Consequently, Keiffer believes that empowerment at the individual level is the experience of gaining increasing control and influence in daily life and community participation (Keiffer, 1984). A major strength of this theory is that the author worked on the premise that the existence of powerlessness or alienation is a given at the very first step of individual empowerment; and this underscores the need for participation in view of acquiring skills. As with the area under study which requires a source of power to alleviate their poverty and unemployment, the author confirms that such a state of powerlessness becomes evident prompting a group of empowerment agents recognizing the alienated and oppressed. In this first stage of empowerment, both the alienated and the empowerment agents have come to true knowledge of the formers powerlessness, coupled with such social pathologies as disadvantages, oppression, alienation, and stratification. The process of participation, thus, was both empowering and advanced in the process of empowerment for the participants. As participants got involved in development programmes, they see it as a process towards the reduction of their povert y. It is in this way that participation advanced the process of individual empowerment (Keiffer, 1984). On capacity building, the theory underscores the fact that the transition towards individual empowerment was an exceptionally ongoing process towards skills acquisition. And that the skills which the participants acquired will function as catalysts for the empowerment process, making them become aware of their own capacities and developing new directions for themselves while in the process of emancipating from the experience of powerlessness. Here participants have to gain the skills and the potential to change their circumstance. As participants gain mastery over their lives and learn and utilize skills, which are the skills (capacity) for gaining some reasonable control over their lives, they become empowered. With the foregoing, individuals become empowered when they develop capabilities to overcome their social obstacles and attain self-determination. Self-determination, defined as the ability to chart ones own course in life (Fetterman, 1996) is repeatedly presented in the literature and considered as a sole and vital component of individual empowerment (Sprague Hayes, 2000). Boehm and Staples (2004) advocated mastery and self-determination as the components of individual empowerment. Mastery is understood as: full control over someone or something, and through in-depth understanding or greater skills, can be a variety of types, such as physical mastery, mastery of emotion and behavior, mastery of information and decision making, mastery of social system, efficient mastery of time, mastery as connected to autonomy and individual freedom, and planning mastery, thus enabling consumers to prevent negative situations and to actualize positive ones (Boehm Staples, 2004). As components of individual empowerment, self-determination is associated with the power that enables individuals to meet the challenges of different life situations; mastery on the hand is concerned with increased levels of the individuals ability to understand reality and the capacity to make decisions that impact the conditions and quality of life. Conversely, one of the limitations of Keiffers theory is the fact that it did not elaborate how the individuals impact their community with their acquired participatory competence. He limited individual empowerment as the experience of gaining increasing control and influence in daily life and community participation. It was earlier noted that sustaining involvement in participation deepens the competence and control of the participants leading to the advancement of the process of personal empowerment (Keiffer, 1984). Although empowerment can exist at the individual level, yet one would have expected that the theory incorporated how the participatory competence can impact the larger community bearing in mind that community development entails improving the community life in its wider sense. Another weakness of the theory emanates from a theme which the theorist identified as underlying the movement through all phases of the empowerment process: the view that conflicts and growth are inextricably intertwined (Keiffer, 1984). The suggested dynamics of praxis advocated by the theorist for resolving these conflicts may, after all, be time-consuming and ineffective in the empowering process. Praxis, for him: refers to the circular relationship of experience and reflection through which actions evoke new understandings, which then provokes new actionsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The building up of skills only progresses through repetitive cycles of action and reflection. In other words, crucial for the building of empowerment is time and practice (Keiffer). There is a likelihood that conflict may degenerate and also prove irresolvable by the praxis within a given period of empowerment process; thereby hampering the skills developing process of participants which should have a time frame. 3. Compare and contrast 2 different research methods (qualitative and quantitative) that might be used in your study. For each approach, discuss: how the research question are formulated/arrived at (what kind of questions are posed) the approach to data collection; the approach to data analysis; how the findings might be triangulated; and how the findings might be presented and discussed. There are two broad approaches in the collection of information for research purposes, namely quantitative and qualitative methods. A basic understanding of both methods will be highlighted to show their differences. First quantitative data: It is an objective, formal, systematic process in which the enquiry is based on numerical data findings. It derives from the scientific method used in the physical sciences (Cormack, 1991). Quantitative method describes, tests, and examines cause and effect relationships (Burns Grove, 1987), using a deductive process of knowledge attainment (Duffy, 1985). In other words, it tests theories deductively from existing knowledge, through developing hypothesized relationships. On the other hand, qualitative research differs from quantitative approach as it develops theory inductively. Qualitative researchers are guided by certain ideas or perspectives regarding the subject to be investigated (Cormack, 1991). It is used as a vehicle for studying the empirical world from the perspective of the subject, not the researcher. Benoliel (1985) buttressed this aspect, describing qualitative research as modes of systematic enquiry concerned with understanding human beings and the nature of their transactions with themselves and with their understandings. The aim of qualitative research is to describe certain aspects of a phenomenon, with a view to explaining the subject of study. Unlike the quantitative method, qualitative research derives from the social sciences such as sociology, anthropology, psychology and philosophy, (Cormack, 1991). For sampling, both research approaches require a sample to be identified which is representative of a larger population of people or objects. Quantitative research employs random selection of the sample from the study population and the random assignment of the sample to the various study groups. Results obtained from random sampling have an advantage, which is an increased likelihood of the findings being generalizable. Its disadvantage stems from the fact that random selection is time-consuming, with the result that many studies use more easily obtained opportunistic sample (Duffy, 1985). This hampers the possibilities of generalization, especially if the sample is too small. Qualitative research uses non-random sampling, which is a selective sample, because of the in-depth nature of studies and the analysis of the data required. Hinton (1987) confirms that the strength of this approach is seen when the sample is well defined, for then it can be generalized to a population at large. A disadvantage of this approach can be suspicion that the researcher could have been influenced by a particular predisposition; hence having a tendency of affecting the generalizability of the study. a. how the research questions are formulated/arrived at (what kind of questions are posed) Based on the statement of the problem, the research questions were formulated with a focus on what the researcher expects to achieve in the study. They show close relationship to the statement of the problem and arise from issues raised in both literature and on the ground, not deviating from the objectives of the study. The questions were arrived at to establish a clear purpose for the research in relation to the chosen field. The issue of manageability was considered in formulating the questions. This relates to the researchers ability to tackle the scope and scale of the project. For instance, the ability to access people and documents from which to collect the data required to answer the questions fully; and whether the data can be accessed within the limited time and resources available to me. b. the approach to data collection This study will adopt both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to collect data, through questionnaire survey and in-depth interview. The study will be primarily quantitative, while the qualitative aspect will complement it in order to increase understanding of the study, and to generate richer and deeper research findings. Both approaches will be concurrently undertaken. The research design therefore relies on a mixed-method approach to investigate the topic under study. The primary method of data collection will be through questionnaires. A Likert scale questionnaire survey will be the major instrument for quantitative data collection; and the questions will be formulated based on the research objectives, as a means of exploring respondents views on the topic under study. Likert scale provides researchers a way of measuring the degree of agreement or disagreement of the respondents to a question. It is also very convenient for the respondents due to the non-ambiguous nature of the format of the questions. The research variable will be measured on a 5-point Likert scale, with a score of 1 representing strongly disagree, and a score of 5 representing strongly agree. A pre-test will be conducted with a convenience sample to ensure the clarity and validity of the questions. Respondents will also be asked to comment on any difficulties encountered in completing the ques

Takeover Mergers Acquisitions Case Study Of British Petroleum Commerce Essay

Takeover Mergers Acquisitions Case Study Of British Petroleum Commerce Essay BP is one of the largest vertically integrated oil and gas companies in the world. The companys operations primarily include the exploration and production of gas and crude oil, as well as the marketing and trading of natural gas, power, and natural gas liquids. BP has its headquarters in London, United Kingdom and employs about 80,300 people. British Petroleum, which transformed from a local oil company named Anglo Persian formed back in 1908 to a global energy group, is one of the worlds largest energy companies today, providing its customers with fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, retail services and petrochemicals products for everyday items. BP excelled exponentially in the past century and today it employs over 80,000 people and operates in over 100 countries worldwide. On 20th April, 2010, BP came across a deep water rig explosion in the gulf of Mexico which was caused by what has been described as the worst US ecological disaster ever, wiping more than $58 billion from the companys value and causing its share price to drop down more then half compared to the value before the explosion. Many analysts are saying that this could trigger a takeover of the business by one of its big competitors such as Exxon Mobil, Shell or even Petrochina. In this report, we will discuss the factors and reasons which can result in a takeover of any company along with the very real disadvantages which a company may face if they do an acquisition, including those special to an acquisition of BP at this time. What is Merger and Acquisition stands for? The term Merger Acquisition or Takeover refers to the aspect of corporate strategy, corporate finance and management dealing with the buying, selling and combining of different companies that can aid, finance, or help a growing company in a given industry grow rapidly without having to create another business entity. Takeovers and mergers are also the reason why todays corporate landscape is a maze of conglomerations. Insurance companies own breakfast cereal makers, shopping mall outlets are part of military manufacturing groups, and movie studios own airlines, all because of mergers and acquisitions. Although often used synonymously, the terms merger and acquisition mean slightly different things. Merger A merger happens when two firms agree to go forward as a single new company rather than remain separately owned and operated. It can be described as the mutually agreed decision for joint ownership between organizations. When two companies merge, the boards of directors (or the owners, if it is a privately held company) come to an agreement. The original companies cease to exist, and a new company forms, combining the personnel and assets of the merging companies. Like any business deal, this can be straightforward, or incredibly complex. The key is that both companies have agreed to the merge. Acquisition When one company takes over another and clearly establishes itself as the new owner, the purchase is called an acquisition. From a legal point of view, the target company ceases to exist, the buyer swallows the business and the buyers stock continues to be traded. Hostile Takeover: A hostile takeover is an acquisition in which the company being purchased doesnt want to be purchased, or doesnt want to be purchased by the particular buyer that is making a bid. The buyer has to gain control of the target company and force them to agree to the sale. Both acquisitions and mergers typically involve the managers of one organization exerting strategic influence over the other. Reasons for a Takeover There are different reasons for developing through a takeover activity. The primary reason being that acquiring firms seek improved financial performance. Another major reason is the need to keep up with the changing environment and to gain opportunities of market growth more quickly than through internal means. Following gives a brief account for the conventional reasons of a takeover. Speed of Entry Speed of entry is one of the reasons for a takeover because products and markets nowadays are changing so rapidly that acquisition becomes the only way to successfully enter a market, since the process of internal development is too slow and when speed is important, acquisition is more likely to be used. Most acquisitions are consummated relatively quickly, whereas internal development of new products or services normally takes many months or years. Acquisition may allow the acquiring firm to realize revenue earlier, achieve economies faster, and capture a greater market share. When entry occurs through internal development, a decade or more is often required to fine-tune the business to achieve the profitability of established competitors Economies of Scale Economies of scale is an economic term describing a business model where the long-run average cost curve declines as production increases, or in a simple example explaining the principal, where a manufacturing company saves money as it produces higher quantities of its product, as in all business areas, the more you buy, the more you save. Economies of scale is a long run concept and refers to reductions in unit cost as the size of a facility and the usage levels of other inputs increase. This refers to the fact that the company after takeover can often reduce its fixed costs by removing duplicate departments or operations, lowering the costs of the company relative to the same revenue stream, thus increasing profit margins. An example is that of a private soft drinks manufacturer. The more orders that the manufacturer receives, the more savings it makes, as it will in turn get cheaper prices for the materials it needs to produce its drinks (e.g. plastic, aluminium, sugar) as it will be buying them in larger quantities and receiving discounts, the manufacturing company in turn would give its customers cheaper prices for the more orders for drinks they make for this very reason, as they will gain the discounts, they can pass a saving onto their customers, making themselves stronger, a more respected company from its suppliers as it is buying in higher volumes and its turnover becomes higher. All these factors contribute to the benefits of economies of scale.. Why Economies of Scale Happen: An In Depth Look Corporations incur fixed costs when buying heavy machinery, buildings, or other large purchases. A fixed cost is called fixed because when production increases in the short run, new buildings and machines are not immediately needed. Because fixed costs are not tied to production, firms have an incentive to produce as much as possible (assuming they can sell their product). Intuitively, a large factory should produce a large number of units to minimize its fixed cost per unit. Say that an automobile factory costs 1 million dollars. If it only produces 1000 cars, then its Fixed Cost Per Unit is 1 million dollars divided by 1000 cars, or $1000/Car. If the factory produces 8000 cars, however, its Fixed Cost Per Unit is 1 million dollars divided by 8000 cars, or $125 per car. By producing 7000 more cars, the firm gets an 88% fixed cost reduction per car. This graph illustrates that increased production reduces fixed costs per unit. Figure 1 With fewer fixed costs per unit, firms can afford to lower per unit prices. If fixed costs are very significant to a particular firms industry, then firms who mass produce efficiently can cut costs, extract revenues, lower prices, and therefore capture market share. Higher market share and higher revenues mean more money to spend on machinery, and expand the firm. This in turn allows further cost cutting, higher production, and the development of better products. In the long run, firms which effectively mass produce take over industries dominated by high fixed costs. Figure 2 Financial markets Financial markets may provide conditions that motivate acquisitions. If the share value or price/earnings (P/E) ratio of a company is high, it may see the opportunity to acquire a firm with a low share value or P/E ratio. Indeed, this is a major stimulus for the more opportunistic acquisitive companies. An extreme example is asset stripping, where the main motive is short-term gain by buying up undervalued assets and disposing of them piecemeal. Eliminating Competition A buyer company, when absorbs a major competitor, eliminates the major competition and thus increases it revenue or market share. This motive of takeover comes into play when companies want to increase their market power which results in an increased share value and overall monopoly. Synergy Synergy is the potential additional value from combining two firms. It is probably the most widely used and misused rationale for takeovers. Operating Synergy Operating synergies are those synergies that allow firms to increase their operating income, increase growth or both. Operational synergy is deemed to be the main motive of the takeover when the bidder takes over a target in the same industry. We would categorize operating synergies into four types. 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Economies of scale that may arise from the takeover, allowing the combined firm to become more cost-efficient and profitable. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Greater pricing power from reduced competition and higher market share, which should result in higher margins and operating income. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Combination of different functional strengths, as would be the case when a firm with strong marketing skills acquires a firm with a good product line. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Higher growth in new or existing markets, arising from the combination of the two firms. This would be case when a UK consumer products firm acquires an emerging market firm, with an established distribution network and brand name recognition, and uses these strengths to increase sales of its products. Operating synergies can affect margins and growth, and through these the value of the firms involved in the takeover. Financial Synergy With financial synergies, the payoff can take the form of either higher cash flows or a lower cost of capital (discount rate). Included are the following. 1. A combination of a firm with excess cash, (and limited project opportunities) and a firm with high-return projects (and limited cash) can yield a payoff in terms of higher value for the combined firm. The increase in value comes from the projects that were taken with the excess cash that otherwise would not have been taken. This synergy is likely to show up most often when large firms acquire smaller firms, or when publicly traded firms acquire private businesses. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Debt capacity can increase, because when two firms combine, their earnings and cash flows may become more stable and predictable. This, in turn, allows them to borrow more than they could have as individual entities, which creates a tax benefit for the combined firm. This tax benefit can take the form of either higher cash flows or a lower cost of capital for the combined firm. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tax benefits can arise either from the acquisition taking advantage of tax laws or from the use of net operating losses to shelter income. Thus, a profitable firm that acquires a money-losing firm may be able to use the net operating losses of the latter to reduce its tax burden. Alternatively, a firm that is able to increase its depreciation charges after an acquisition will save in taxes and increase its value. Diversification Companies takeover different product line companies to diversify their product or service range and to protect themselves against downturns in the core markets. This calls for a very well thought and specific policy keeping in mind the future steps and goals of a company. Moreover, can really help if there is a downfall in the core market and company shares of a particular product. Disadvantages of a Takeover The reasons for takeover are kept under account while targeting a company, but calculating the disadvantages associated with it are analysed with more precision and taking all situations under consideration. Companies mostly come up with the following disadvantages while acquiring other companies Costs of mergers and acquisitions Mergers and acquisitions can be costly due to the high legal expenses, and the cost of acquiring a new company that may not be profitable in the short run. This is why a merger or acquisition may be more of strategic corporate decision than a tactical maneuver. Moreover, if a poison pill unknowingly emerges after a sudden acquisition of another companys shares, this could render the acquisition approach very expensive and/or redundant. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Legal expenses à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Short-term opportunity cost à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Cost of takeover à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Potential devaluation of equity à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Intangible costs MA activity can also be exacerbated by the short-term cost of opportunity or opportunity cost. This is the cost incurred when the same amount of investment could be placed elsewhere for a higher financial return. Sometimes this cost does not prevent or deter the acquisition because projected long-term financial benefits outweigh that of the short-term cost. Consumer and shareholder drawbacks In some cases, acquisitions may not only disadvantage the shareholders but consumers as well. In both cases, this may happen when the newly formed company becomes a large oligopoly or monopoly. Moreover, when higher pricing power emerges from reduced competition, consumers may be financially disadvantaged. Some of the potential disadvantages facing consumers in regard to mergers are the following. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Increase in cost to consumers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Decreased corporate performance and/or services à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Potentially lowered industry innovation à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Suppression of competing businesses à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Decline in equity pricing and investment value Shareholders may also be disadvantaged by corporate leadership if it becomes too content or complacent with its market positioning. In other words, when takeover activity reduces industry competition and produces a powerful and influential corporate entity, that company may suffer from non-competitive stimulus and lowered share prices. Lower share prices and equity valuations may also arise from the merger itself being a short-term disadvantage to the company. Effects on management A study published in the July/August 2008 issue of the Journal of Business Strategy suggests that mergers and acquisitions destroy leadership continuity in target companies top management teams for at least a decade following a deal. The study found that target companies lose 21 percent of their executives each year for at least 10 years following an acquisition more than double the turnover experienced in non-merged firms. If the businesses of the acquired and acquiring companies overlap, then such turnover is to be expected; in other words, there can only be one CEO, CFO, etc at a time. Wages Settlement This could also be a problem if the acquiring company gives less wages to its employees then the acquired company. This may result in overpaying the new employees of acquired company or increasing the wages of its previous employees. This can really unsettle the budget and administration of the company. REASONS AND DISADVANTAGES OF TAKING OVER BRITISH PETROLEUM The idea of BP being taken over by anyone would have sounded crazy before the gulf of Mexico disaster, but it is now becoming commonplace to suggest that the UK oil major might even fall into the hands of rivals like Exxon Mobil, Shell or even Petrochina. The about turn has been extraordinary. Before its money and reputation began bleeding away in the Gulf of Mexico, the oil giant was considered the safest of blue chip companies, because its debts were so low and its income so high. BPs failure to stop an oil leak from spewing millions of gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico may leave the biggest oil and gas producer in the U.S. in a fight to stay independent. BP Facts Clean-up: Cost to date: $3.1bn approx Escrow account promise: $20bn Shares: Share price on 20 April (before leak began): 656p Share price lowest point (on 25 June): 296p (55% fall) 2009 profits:  £10bn 2010 dividend:  £1.8bn in Q1; Q2-4 cancelled, saving  £5.4bn Debt: Total debts:  £17bn, of which  £4.9 due by end-2011 2009 cashflow:  £21bn Credit ratings: A2/A (Moodys/SP) Credit default swap spread (5 years): 4.1% per annum Strategic investors: Market capitalisation:  £65bn (at 345p current share price) Kuwait shareholding: 1.75% China shareholding: 1.1% (Data: Bloomberg as of 6 July 2010) Reasons for Takeover In addition to being the largest oil and gas producer in the U.S, BP is the biggest operator in the Gulf of Mexico, where it holds more than 500 leases and pumps 450,000 barrels of oil a day. The company plans 10 projects in the Gulf during the next five years, more than other regions of the world, according to a BP presentation. A takeover of BP will result in the acquisition of all these projects ultimately increasing the growth of the acquiring company. A takeover by Anglo-Dutch shell looks likely because synergies of $9bn had been estimated by former BP chief Lord Browne and it is revealed that merger of these companies were tried before in 1995 and 2004. These synergies will give the combined company the power to take advantage from economies of scale and great pricing power. If Exxon Mobil acquires BP that would be a combination of the first and second biggest gas producers in the US which will result in the monopoly of the whole oil market in the hands of the acquirer. If this happens, the joined company can dictate the stock market and gain other advantages as well. Chinese oil giant Petrochina which is not a major oil producer but an avid consumer of oil can divert scarce oil supplies of BP towards china to satisfy its needs rather than those of the west. This will not only give Petrochina access to BPs international oil and gas reserves, but also the expertise and latest technology which will result in higher value and growth of the combined company. The takeover will eliminate a fierce competition between the oil giants of the world as the acquiring company will absorb a major competitor in the form of BP. Thus increasing overall market power and share value. Disadvantages The huge and indeterminate cost of the oil spill cleanup, as well as damages, fines and compensation analysts forecast of the cash cost to BP have ranged up to about $40 bn, could spiral into tens of billions. Political Effects Technically any of Exxon Mobil, Shell or Petrochina can afford to buy BP, but in an industry which is already fraught with regulatory and political risk, it is a difficult to cope up with all the arising situations. There is already a statutory limit under US law for oil spill costs of a mere $75m, but BP long ago waived this limit, as hiding behind it would have been politically untenable. The oil firm could take more active steps to limit its liability, for instance through a selective bankruptcy of its US business. But this would almost certainly be unpalatable to the companys board, as it would enrage US politicians, including President Barack Obama, and probably cut off the entire US market to BP. So the political reality is that BPs liability in the Gulf of Mexico remains unlimited, and this continues to weigh down the companys share price. A takeover of BP in such a scenario will result in an unlimited liability for the acquiring company. Moreover, it may probably cutoff from the U.S market where BP is the biggest oil and gas provider. Environmental Effects The environmental threats after Mexico oil spills are still in account and acquiring companies will feel the effects of it for a long time. The cost of oil cleanup is indeterminate and in case of an acquisition, those cleanups and its effects will become the liability of the acquiring company and if they fail to clear them in a particular set of time, then the acquired company can feel the heat as well. Legal Effects The damages, fines and compensation forecasts of the spill are very unclear and there is no exact account of the litigations which BP will face. BP has crossed the $368 million mark till now in paying companies and individuals as a result of after-effects of the oil spill. Still there is a long way to go and no one wants to pay an unquantifiable liability. Other Disadvantages If Shell makes a move, then it will ace serious competition issues that would force divestments in Europe and the US. A combined company will be very difficult to manage and to sustain growth. Petrochina will be in a risk of overpaying the employees of BP as labour is cheap in Chinese companies and this could really effect the management and workforce from top to bottom. In case of Exxon Mobil, Most combinations of assets would have to be downsized for competition reasons. The overlapping management will lose their jobs and the old management will have to fit in the shoes of the BP management and become familiar with their systems and ways which will take time and incur cost. The costs of oil projects are set to soar as governments insist on tougher environmental safety standards in the wake of the spill. Already the Kazakhstan energy ministry has forced Shell to tighten up plans at its Kashagan development, meaning that the current $136bn budget dedicated for the project is likely to be busted. The result could be that smaller companies, that dont have market values in excess of $100bn might pull out of deep-water activities. Only the big boys of the industry would remain in the waters. Conclusion There are many likely motives to takeover BP but it carries a lot of dips and drops. If a buyer does try to overcome all these enormous hurdles, it would still need to agree a deal. At the moment, there is no sign of BP to surrender. Takeover talks are likely to keep swirling, but the chances are that BP will emerge with its independence intact.