In Othello, Shakespeare creates characters who reinforce social stereotypes and others who abandon more traditional roles

In this essay I aim to discuss the way Shakespeare creates characters who reinforce social stereotypes and others who abandon more traditional roles and how it helps his play by looking at the language form and structure. In Shakespeare's time there were different standings in class, race and in gender, men were above women and whites were above blacks a character that reinforces this stereotype of the time is the character of Brabantio, he is the father of Desdemona who is the object of Othello's heart. Othello is black and Desdemona is white, these two being together let alone married would've been a great shock to audiences in Shakespeare's time, so Shakespeare needed a character to represent the way most people think and this was Brabantio. An example of Branbantio as being stereotypical is when he says where hast thou stowed my daughter? Damned as though art, though hast enchanted her. This shows him as being stereotypical in a varied number of ways the first being he believes that Othello has used magic to make his daughter love him which shows the belief of the dark arts at this time but also the only reasons he believes Othello has used dark arts to enslave his daughter is because he is black, black people at this time were very much looked down upon and were thought of evil and users of the dark arts so it is understandable to the audience of Shakespeare that Brabantio is so annoyed and shocked although it would be different now. Another way he shows thast he is stereotypical is by the way he thinks he knows that his daughter could not love a black person and should only love the people he sees good enough for her this taking away her rights and feelings are being disregarded but at this time it was normal for the women to be objectified and men control them. Brabantio also shows the stereotypical view of a patriarch in this society and he believes that Othello is a direct threat to the patriarchal society he believes that the pagans will be come statesman which in his eyes would create social chaos an example of this belief is shown when he states for instance Bond slaves and pagans shall our statesmen be. This statement would shock most people of a high standing of this time, the play would have been performed in England and even the thought of this happening in England is preposterous and would decrease the amount of people going to this, so Shakespeare deliberately sets the play in Venice where there are more blacks and it is somewhere fair away from home so it is believable to the audience but other than the fact that it tells you this play is set in Venice, nearly all of the characters can be directly linked to the English lifestyle at the time. On numerous occasions Brabantio makes numerous comments showing his stereotypical views on his daughter and shows that he thinks he owns her by objectifying her, a quote that supports this idea is â€Å"Ay to me, she is abused, stolen from me and corrupted† when he says this you can see he sees his daughter as his own and only thinks she should do what he thinks she should. A character that is not stereotypical and abandons their own typical role in this play is Desdemona she does this by disobeying her father and society by marrying a black man who is seen as a peasant in her fathers eyes, the time this play was shown daughters and women alike were controlled by men, so the disobedience of Desdemona would surprise the audience and is also the reason that Brabantio thinks that Othello has poisoned her with magic but as Othello denies using magic to win her over by saying that it was his stories that she fell in love with, Desdemona also states that she should be loyal like her mother to her husband, which uses her own fathers patriarchal views against him but this is also uncommon at this time as she is choosing her lover instead of her father causing much anger as she is not dropping in line like a girl should in this time. Furthermore Desdemona is not a typical woman of the time that should be quiet love there husband and obey their father, Desdemona has different ideas of what she wants and Othello believes that she fell in love with him because of his stories and that she wants to become a great warrior and all he represented, a quote that shows this is when Othello tells us â€Å"She wished she had not heard it, yet she wished that heaven made her such a man† this suggests that Desdemona does not love Othello for his heart but for what he represents to her, a black man who should be looked down and despised upon becoming a great warrior and even gaining the respect of her father, she had never met anyone of this type before and she became hooked but the fact that she told Othello † If I had that loved her. I should teach him how to tell my story† shows that she was flirting and really does love him causing distress to father and others that have tried to court her before. Othello is another character that defies stereotypes and standing at this time as he has overcome many a trial in his lifetime, he is a black man living a white orientated world and to get to his standing and stature as one of the heads of the Venetian army's as the Venetian empire at this time had much power behind it with strongholds as Venice and Verona his shows how much of a struggle it was to get there and makes it more surprising, from being a slave sold from Africa to a warrior and being respected for his talent and not prejudged due to his skin colour. In his speech he tells us that he has been through many a hardships of war and slavery telling us he has had a hard life and the use of language tells that he is going to go through more hardships but with Desdemona we can see this when he says â€Å"but that I love the gentle Desdemona, I would not my unhoused free condition† he is saying her that he would give up his freedom from slavery to stay with her, this is an i dealised romantic notion which is not practical which in turn shows us that it will end in tragedy.

Film Reveiew – American Beauty

I chose this film due to its difference to conventional filmmaking, as instead of glorifying the main characters, the area and plot, it shows fault and illustrates the main characters as sad and unhappy. I chose to do this review on the opening minutes of the film describing in detail the camera shots and plot, as it would seem to the viewer watching for the first time. The opening scene is a medium shot of the main character's daughter lying on a bed talking. The screen is fuzzy, to give the impression of looking through a video camera. The daughter is talking to someone behind the camera, giving the impression of talking to the viewer or audience. She is talking about how much she dislikes and hates her father (Lester, the main character). This gives the impression of watching a personal film and the viewer is involved, as it appears at first that the character is talking to the audience until the hidden person filming speaks. The scene ends when the character behind the camera offers to kill the girl's father. The screen goes blank and the film title appears in medium red print on a black background, central to the screen. This sudden change from shot is to represent the plot to end a life, as the transition to a blank black screen. The next shot after the title is a top shot of a typical suburban American street on a slow zoom in towards the road. There is a narrative, male voice over of the main character Lester, describing his death. This would appear to fit with the previous scene of the daughter talking about murdering her father This creates a feeling of curiosity and suspense throughout the film, for the viewer, who is waiting to see what could have created such a gap between father and daughter. This effect of giving away the ending in the first scene is very effective in creating constant suspense throughout the film up to the dramatic climax. It has been used in many films and plays including William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. Gradually when the camera zooms in the shot switches to a bird's eye view of the main character lying in his bed, alone. This first shot of him shows him as lonely or incomplete even though he has a family. The camera then changes to a close up of his face, which appears sad and disorientated, further showing his dislike for his current lifestyle. There is then a jump cut to a pair of slippers on the floor next to the bed, being filmed from under the bed. This shot represents an ordered and scheduled lifestyle as the slippers must have been placed neatly next to the bed the previous night. The next frame switches to a medium long shot of the main character (Lester) masturbating in the shower. The effect of this is to shock the audience yet at the same time inspire pity at his frustrated and dull life as he continues to narrate over the film about himself, showing little embarrassment. The next scene is a close up of a Rose flower, which is then cut from the plant by a pair of pruning sheers. The Rose is constantly seen throughout the film, as well as rose petals, however rarely alive. They are usually in vases or on show. The roses, I feel, represent the lifestyle of the family. The rose looks perfect and appears very beautiful however it is dead. The family are similar, as they appear to have everything most people want, their health, nice house, money yet they are not happy. The roses are a constant theme throughout the film, I feel to remind us of the families unhappiness. The next frame sees the camera switch to a medium long shot of Carolyn (the main character's wife) holding the freshly cut rose in her hand. This shot represents that she too was once alive but is now dying inside like the rose. All in all I found this film extremely interesting and thought provoking, I would recommend it to anybody who enjoys twisting plots, amazing acting and some of the most brilliant (and strange) characters in modern day cinema. The slow unravelling of the plot keeps you guessing until the very end of the film, as well as challenging modern day society and depicting modern day family life and the hypocrisy of Suburban America.

Animal Cruelty Essay

Animal cruelty is the crime of inflicting physical pain, suffering or death on an animal. Society has become a dreadful place for animals where humans can no longer be trusted because of their incongruous behaviour. The animals of the world exist for their own reasons; they were not made for humans to abuse and experiment, however, society has become decayed and inhumane. In the poem ‘Foxes among the lamb’ Ernest G. Moll demonstrates how the farmer poisons the foxes and leaves them to suffer and eventually die. When individuals glance at an animal they judge them as aggressive creatures. The visual poster portrays how animals are innocent and vulnerable creatures to society. ‘The Panther’ by Rainer Maria Rilke displays how animals should not be locked up in cages. Animal cruelty, the abominable way humans treat animals, reflects our decaying society, one that seems to be losing its humanity due to the sadistic nature of humans who lack empathy for others. The poem ‘Foxes Among the lamb’ portrays how foxes eat the lamb and how the farmer acts in an inappropriate abhorrent way. This behaviour is illustrated through the metaphor ‘gift’ which demonstrates the poison that the farmer gives to the foxes to die in a beastly bloodcurdling death. Furthermore the personification ‘Half-frightened eagerness of hate’ presents how the farmer is anxious and determined to kill the foxes and how eager the farmer is to manipulate the foxes. The composer’s use of alliteration â€Å"this time then†¦ † this proves how the farmer had to pause and pay attention to make sure that the fox had died. Therefore, humans can no longer be trustworthy among animals because of their antagonistic behaviour which imitates our society. Recognising animal rights will result in an individual having deep respect for animals. The visual poster indicates the innocence of animal and why humans should look after them as well as treat them in a respectful way. The background of the poster represents the manifestation of the dog delighted to be free and not stuck in a cage. It also reveals the dog in a park where he could run around and not locked up. The first thing an observer sees on the poster is the salience of the dog that looks harmless, healthy and blithe. When the audience beholds this, their first impression would be to save these helpless animals. The only thing that animals have done to humans is becoming man’s best friend. Finally, close up shot of the dog has been used to show the guiltlessness and exploitation of animals. This effect makes the audience focus their attention on the animal’s expression, to show the significance of animals and the way society has become an appalling place for them. Hence, humans have to earn the respect and treat animal just like the way they would like to be treated because animals too have a soul and emotions. Animal cruelty is locking animals in cages and keeping them as captives to satisfy and amaze people that are sadistic. The poem ‘The Panther’ conveys how a panther is locked up in a cage in the zoo to astonish people and how the panther feels about having no freedom. The use of imagery in the first stanza â€Å"his weary glance from passing by the bars,† portrays how the panther is tired of looking outside and exhausted of waiting for his liberty. Moreover, hyperbole is revealed in â€Å"only to sink and die within his heart. † This emphasis the sadness and reaction of the panther’s being lonely. In stanza two the simile â€Å"The iron bands is like a dance,† this emphasis how the panther is aware of everything around him but he just really wants to get out of the cage and be free. Thus, humans should not steal the freedom of animals because they too have the right to live their own life. In conclusion, humans have become violently atrocious and antipathetic that they no longer can be reliable in the animal world. This is evident in the text ‘Foxes among the Lamb,’ ‘The panther’ and the visual poster. Continuing to abuse animals and trying to manipulate them will only lead to a decayed society because of our irresponsible actions.

Target Market Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Target Market - Research Paper Example Anheuser-Busch needs to identify target customers before communicating them about the product. Currently, people are quite conscious about the fact that obesity increases the risk of diseases such as diabetes and heart related issues. The statistics reveal that Obesity prevalence is 30 percent or more in 12 states in the US. Among these Mississippi had the highest obesity rate of 34.9 percent in 2011. Other states are Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Michigan, Kentucky, Indiana, Louisiana, West Virginia, Alabama and Arkansas. The statistics also reveal that non-Hispanic blacks have the highest rates of obesity at 49.5 percent compared to non-Hispanics whites at 34.3 percent. It has also been found that higher income class among non-Hispanic black suffers most from obesity (Overweight and Obesity, 2012). The survey done by Gallup further revealed that obesity has increased significantly in older people in their 40s, 70s and 80s (Heavey, 2012). From the above findings, it is clear that Anheuser-Busch, in its first phase, needs to target non-Hispanic blacks, especially above the age 40, focusing mainly in 12 states with highest obesity rates in the

Written appeal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Written appeal - Essay Example This allows employees to quit employment anytime they wish and allows the employer to terminate employment at any time within the agreement. Ideally, employment at will is a concept under labor laws that define a contractual relationship where an employer has a leeway to terminate employment without giving any justified cause and without warning. As such, employers can terminate employment at any time without accruing any legal liability. Indeed, the law denies the employee any claim for loss resulting from such employment termination. The same law allows employees to leave their employment without a justified cause or warning. In fact, under employment at will, an employee can choose when and how often they want to work without attracting any adverse legal liabilities (â€Å"General Counsel† 1). Moreover, the employer and employees can agree for the termination and dismissal conditions they choose. These conditions may include allowing employees to choose when and how often they want to work. Notably, after realizing that they have limited legal rights to fight for their termination, employees may choose when and how often they want to work before the dismissal comes. Indeed, the employee is aware that they do not have job security under employment at will and hence they can choose when and how often they want to wor k as they search for secured

State Tax Reform Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 17

State Tax Reform - Essay Example Investments in education and infrastructure have escalated. In response to the continuously weak economic performance of North Carolina, a significant change to the tax system has been proposed. According to research conducted by Civitas Institute, chaired by Arthur Laffer, it is claimed that a reduction of tax rates for the wealthy and the elimination of corporate tax will revive North Carolina’s economic performance and induce the creation of numerous job opportunities (Johnson, 2013). The Civitas/Laffer proposal would profoundly change North Carolinas tax framework by abolishing the personal income tax, franchise tax and corporate tax, which in aggregate generate 65 percent of the states income, and to a great extent supplanting this income with a higher sales tax that would apply to more products and services. In particular, the proposal would: first, abolish the personal income tax. Second, abolish the tax on corporate income (Johnson, 2013). Third, abolish the tax imposed on franchise business. Franchise businesses are businesses that benefit from already established brands and models by another organization. In California, the franchise tax is proposed to apply only to those franchise businesses incorporated within the State. The franchise tax is significant to the government since it is a source of revenue. The tax generates $ 650 million, thus the source of its significance. However, it is not as important as a corporate tax since the latter generates more revenue to the State government – $ 1.1 billion. Personal tax is the most important since it generates the highest amount of revenue to the government - $ 10.3 billion based on the fiscal period 2011-2012 (Johnson, 2013). Â  

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Research Paper

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants - Research Paper Example The organization sets up policies and standards to control the acts and non-acts of Certified Public Accountants within the United States. The standards include the Code of Professional Ethics for Certified Public Accountants. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants organization takes a pivotal role to ensure all information transmitted by corporate America to the general public is fairly presented. The organization institutes policies to ensure all its members prepare fairly presented financial reports. noncompliance may result to either minor penalties or major penalties. The organization plays a vital role in crafting and implementing accounting standards. The members of the organization are required to implement all the sections enumerated in the organization’s sets of accounting standards. One of the accounting standards is Generally Accepted Accounting Standards (GAAP). The standards set the guidelines on when and how much of each account should be recorded in the financial reports. The financial reports include the balance sheet and income statement. The accounts listed in the balance sheet include the asset accounts, liabilities account, and the capital accounts. The accounts listed in the income statement include the revenues (sales), cost of revenues (sales), administrative expenses, and marketing expenses (Wlytok, 2011). The organization’s Council implemented the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct. The AICPA organization that established the accounting standards is the Financial Accounting Standards Board. The AICPA organization regularly distributes its AICPA Accounting Research Bulletins (Wlytok, 2011) The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants benefits the general public in several ways. The organization sets up the auditing standards. The accountants are required to comply with all the sections listed in the auditing standards. Likewise, the organization ensures that the corporate financial reports

Memento Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Memento - Essay Example Leonard is motivated by the mission of seeking revenge for the murder of his wife. When his wife died, they were attacked by two men. He succeeded in killing one of them and the other one disappeared and he came to recognize him as John G. He ends up killing teddy and Jimmy as he suspects that they were the attacker who disappeared after killing his wife. However, in the end it turns out that Leonard was delusional and had killed his own wife. He keeps telling himself the story of the attackers in order to forget about his mistake of killing his wife. This paper analyzes the movie Memento in terms of plot structure, character development themes and style. The movie Memento does not follow the normal Freytag plot. Instead the movie follows a unique plot where the events are displayed in two sequences, the white and black sequence that follows a chronological order and the colored one which is reverse. For instance, instead of the climax appearing after the introduction, it comes at th e end of the movie where Leonard realizes that he was actually the one who killed his own wife. Nolan develops rising action by showing the confusion in Leonard’s minds. ... Leonard’s says that he knows who he was before the attack an insurance broker. He however has a problem keeping short term memory. Teddy points out that Leonard has created the unsolvable puzzle of John G. in order to give his life meaning. He tells him that the real attacker had been killed a year ago after tricking him to Kill Jimmy who was a drug dealer. A hotel attendant charges him double for a motel and points out that he would not remember it. He also says that even after getting his revenge, Leonard would not remember it. After the narration that Teddy gives about the killing of the attacker one year ago, the audience question who Leonard really is. Teddy’s story is more reliable than that of Leonard. This is because the movie establishes that since the attack, Leonard could not keep short memory. This is seen in the movie when he pays twice for a room in a motel without realizing it. Moreover, he wears Jimmy clothes and drives his car after killing him. He then walks in a bar where Natalie who was familiar with Jimmy recognized his clothes. It is thus possible that Leonard may have killed the real attacker as Teddy says. Although Leonard has a reminder of the story of Sammy he does not seem to understand the relationship that the story has in his own condition. It can thus be true that Leonard’s wife died of an overdose of insulin shot under directions of Leonard who could not remember events happening around him. He keeps repeating to his listeners that he talks fast since he has problem with short term memory. The notes and pictures that he keeps are unreliable source of information. The notes are flimsy and are not enough to base a memory on. Leonard is unable to read

Investigate working relationships within a services industry Essay

Investigate working relationships within a services industry context(hospitality mangement) - Essay Example Hospitality Management is the administration of people and services that is essential in the tourism industries in all parts of the world (The Ohio State University at Lima, n.d.). It is a multi-disciplinary major that provides proficiency and competence for the administration, marketing, and above standard operations skills in the accommodations, food, travel and other tourism services to people apart from their homes (Bureau of Economic Analysis, n.d.; MyMajors, n.d.) whereby uninhibited application of irrefutable management theories and principles is implemented (Degree Directory, n.d.; The Ohio State University at Lima, n.d.). It entails indisputable competence in the diverse features of a global business which is comprised of strategic planning, design and construction, finance and marketing, administration, supervision and operations (MyMajors, n.d.). Hospitality managers usually concentrate on specific areas of specializations which cater to particular functions. These could be human resources, food services, guest services and information systems. Nevertheless, top-level managers and executives should have an across-the-board knowledge and skills required for the effective operations of various departments and how they draw together (Degree Directory, n.d.). The legacy began with the distinguished Swiss hotelier Cesar Ritz known as the â€Å"King of hoteliers and hotelier to kings† who valiantly changes the definition of â€Å"luxury hotel experience" in Europe. With his personal philosophy of service and innovation, he commenced the Ritz-Paris and Carlton-London during his time. As a consequence, since the time of its commencement, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C.—more popularly known as The Ritz—is one of the most progressive luxury hotel groups in the world. The first branch was the Ritz-Carlton in Boston, Massachusetts set off on 1927

Corporate Responsibility for Childhood Obesity Essay

Corporate Responsibility for Childhood Obesity - Essay Example The central argument in Linn’s case is that the food manufacturing companies are the ones responsible for the high number of obese kids in society. However, David has a different argument stating that it is the accountability of the guardian and the kid to ensure that the child does not get obese. These central arguments are different and reviewing their supporting arguments offers more insight on the issue. The key difference between these two authors is on who ought to take responsibility for the obesity problem facing kids in the contemporary world. According to Susan Linn, the responsibility for this goes to the companies that manufacture these foodstuffs. She supports this by further stating that the advent in technology has made companies powerful enough to sidestep the authority of the parent when a kid wants to purchase a particular commodity. They have done this by producing commodities that are cheap enough for a kid to purchase with their allowance without necessarily asking their parents for the money. According to David, the responsibility for this falls on the companies and parents. David offers an example of his life where he received enough money to go to fast food restaurants and take his daily meals. He states that this has not changed with the contemporary families and is thus the parent’s responsibility. He further states that the kids ought to practice self-control not to go into these restaurants and eat fast foods. David comments on the issue of children that have flocked courts claiming to sew these fast food restaurants for their obese conditions (ZincZenko). He states that this is a wrong thing to do and that instead of suing these companies, the kids ought to take great care of their health. The fast food companies are also at fault because they do not indicate the ingredient content on their commodities and this leads to misinformed decisions among

The Development of the Marketing Thought Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Development of the Marketing Thought - Essay Example These forces, while closely interrelated, produced fickle consumer markets which are more sensitive to price, services, and such other features which create customer value that a slight difference would equate to huge economic losses. From transactional marketing to relational marketing follows a tool for building customer relationships: customer relationship management. If developed and implemented effectively, Strategic CRM has been a guiding tool for most businesses today in competition-filled markets for without a loyal customer base, the business will eventually remain stagnant and cease to exist. After more than a decade of confining the marketing concept as â€Å"a process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives,† the American Marketing Association developed another definition of marketing, describing it as â€Å"...an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders.† ... s, marketing evolved from a cold means to maneuver a product into the market in both ways strategical and tactical to a humanitarian obligation that likewise yields two-way benefits; only that in the second definition, marketing purports to be the only tool to stay profitable in the industry taking into consideration the radical changes in the business environment. In brief from a product-oriented approach, organizations now divert their attention to their customers and in creating a profitable rapport with them. Marketing Paradigm Shift? The so-called shift in marketing paradigm is seemingly misguiding as what a few authors contest. What is considered a paradigm shift is not applicable to how the marketing concept evolved from transactional into being relational. Some studies have indicated that transactional and relational marketing may still co-exist today although the former is slowly dominated by the latter with the rise of the web technology where direct marketing became virtua lly possible not to mention, efficient for both buyer and seller. Business firms used to concentrate only on the mass production of goods with less or without particular consideration to consumer relations knowing that the consumers will patronize such products anyway through an unsegmented promotional technique. There was technically no form of personality and individuality -- absence of a human touch. In the business equation, there were only enthusiastic retailers and submissive buyers; therefore in theory, businesses did not consider the profitability of confining the emotional link in between human transactions. In the early 1980s, Len Berry coined the term relationship marketing, describing it as the strategical approach that invites, improves, and maintains customer relationships.

Export Trade of Bangladesh with Saarc Countries Essay Example for Free

Export Trade of Bangladesh with Saarc Countries Essay Introduction The policy of trade liberalization and free-market economy in the 1980s has created both challenges and opportunities for Bangladesh economy. The creation of the World Trade Organization has created new ways of enjoying the comparative advantage for Bangladesh. At the same time, the globalize trade scenario has opened up the structural limitations of Bangladesh economy, which needs immediate attention through the formulation of appropriate policy and actions. Bangladesh continues to suffer from a low-growth, high-poverty syndrome. However, Bangladesh has a large labor force willing to work for low wages resulting in a very competitive position for labor-intensive manufacturing exports. It has a large number of entrepreneurial businessmen who are able to develop and run small and medium scale enterprises. It has a sufficient amount of natural gas reserves which can potentially provide low-cost energy for a downstream industrial structure. With amicable and mutually beneficial regional cooperation, Bangladesh can be an ideal location for huge foreign direct investments, which can serve as a huge market for goods and services in the South Asia. The growth potential of Bangladesh is, however, limited by a high population density and limited availability of land, which results in a continuing pressure on food supply. The low-income level makes it difficult for households to save, thus constraining the domestic development efforts. The education and health levels are low, resulting in a labor force lacking the skills needed for a modern economy. In addition, the traditions of central control of the economy and the awkwardness of government policy continue to work as a deterrent against private sector investment. Within this global and regional trade scenario, this paper attempts to provide a synopsis of Bangladesh trade with the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries and of its policies regarding bilateral and global trade. The common structure of the economies and the same intensive price competitiveness could lead to a great deal of formal trade between Bangladesh and the SAARC countries, but this potential is yet to be realized. Bangladesh suffers from a huge trade deficit with India. This paper will lay special emphasis on the trade relations with India and the proposed South Asian Growth Quadrangle consisting of seven north-eastern states of India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. This paper will also examine the impact of GDP and of the exchange rate and its variability on the export and import growth of Bangladesh. This study will also examine the trade policies of Bangladesh with special reference to both nominal and effective tariff levels, and non-tariff barriers that hinder the growth of Bangladesh global trade with its neighboring countries. Intra-SAARC trade is very negligible. This study will estimate a gravity model of international trade to examine whether intra-SAARC trade is lower or higher than what is predicated by the economic model. The results of this model will help us understand the possibilities of trade creation and diversion effects resulting from the South Asian Preferential Trading Arrangements (SAPTA) among SAARC member countries. Gravity models of international trade estimate the trade flow as a function of variables that directly or indirectly affect the determinants of normal trade flow. The typical gravity model specification relates bilateral trade to income, population (or per capita income) and distance between the trading partners. If one finds a positive coefficient on the dummy variable indicating that two countries, both of which participate in the same preferential arrangement, trade more with one another than predicted by their incomes and distance, then the conclusion drawn is that the arrangement is trade-creating for its members. This paper will review the tariff concessions agreed upon by the SAARC member countries. Literature Review As it would appear, a significant part of the literature on the state of bilateral and regional economic and trade cooperation in South Asia deals with factors contributing to weak state of integration in the region. According to Sawhney and Kumar (2008), the underlying reasons originate from a combination of political, economic and institutional factors. A large segment of relevant literature deals with identifying opportunities that could emerge from closer cooperation among countries in the region. Three strands of discourse are commonly discernible in this context: firstly, identification of challenges and opportunities of cooperation through regional and bilateral trade and other agreements with participation of SAARC member countries; secondly, quantitative assessments of economic gains, welfare losses which could potentially originate from such cooperation; and thirdly, evidence†based assessments of trade potentialities at sect oral levels. Along with analysis at the regional level, some part of the literature has explored the relevant issues at the bilateral level. A number of studies have attempted to assess whether a bilateral route is more preferable to a regional one in advancing the level of trade and economic cooperation in the context of South Asia. In recent times, increasing attention is being given to the state of bilateral economic cooperation between Bangladesh and India. One nagging limitation in this connection has been the lack of adequate data on informal trade which has tended to constrain the scope of analysis pertaining to bilateral and regional trade in South Asia.9 Only a few studies have attempted to capture this important aspect of trade in the region (Bakht 1996; World Bank 2006). In a feasibility study on the prospects of bilateral FTA between Bangladesh and India, Bhuyan and Ray (2006) conclude that such agreement between the two countries would bring about substantial benefits to both partners. I n contrast to the multilateral arrangements, bilateral FTAs could be fast†tracked and would offer additional preferential treatment to the partner countries. Based on a review of bilateral FTAs, they conclude that this mode of trading arrangement has shown a better record of success in expanding trade between countries, and stimulates investment compared to regional or sub†regional integration schemes. De and Bhattacharyay (2007) argue that a bilateral FTA with India would enable Bangladesh to strengthen her foothold in the Indian market. In view of the NTBs that severely limit the opportunities of bilateral trade between these countries, the study suggests that an FTA with India would be the best way to address the issue of NTBs. Some of the other studies have put more emphasis on the regional route. Among those, Sawhney and Kumar (2008) hold that implementation of the regional free trade agreement (e.g. SAFTA) would result in positive outcomes for all member countries. The authors also conclude that regional cooperation through FTAs such as SAFTA could lead to higher volume of trade in goods and services through allocative efficiency and enhanced production capacity. Rahman (2001) identifies a number of issues which would need urgent attention if Bangladesh-India bilateral economic relation is to gain momentum including multilateralism versus bilateralism, sectoral versus comprehensive approach, duty†free market access, rules of origin (RoO), removal of NTBs and the need for policy coordination to stimulate investment. A number of studies have argued in favour of taking a holistic approach embracing cooperation in areas of trade, investment, transport and infrastructure in order to realise the potential opportunities of bilateral economic cooperation involving SAARC member countries (CPD 2004). However, in articulating a contrasting view, Baysan et al. (2006) argue that the SAFTA makes sense only in the context of a much broader strategy of creating a larger preferential trade area in the region that would need to encompass China and also members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Assuming that the SAFTA agreement was there to stay, the authors recommend a number of steps towards promotion of intra†regional trade in a manner that minimizes likely trade diversion costs and maximizes potential benefits. In this context, some studies have highlighted the positive impact in terms of growth and poverty reduction through regional cooperation by citing other RTAs such as South East Asian and European regional entries (Sawhney and Kumar 2008). In recent times, a number of studies have tried to quantify the potential benefits arising from cooperation among SAARC countries, both at regional and bilateral levels. A number of studies have tried to estimate the degree of market access under the preferential treatment. Mukherji (2000) estimates that the annual value of all imports that entered the SAARC member countries under SAPTA preferences amounted to approximately USD 480 million at the end of the 1990s. According to his estimates, the share of intra-regional imports covered by the SAPTA preferences was the highest for Pakistan (39.6 per cent), followed by Nepal (35.2 per cent), India (30 per cent), Bhutan (17 per cent) and Sri Lanka (12 per cent). In contrast the import value coverage of Bangladesh and Maldives was relatively low. Based on import data for FY1997-98, highest revenue loss was sustained by India (USD 2.45 million), whereas that of Bangladesh was relatively modest (USD 0.02 million) In a more recent study undertaken to evaluate the performance of SAPTA that also explored the prospects of the then proposed SAFTA, Hirantha (2004) applied the well- known gravity model to estimate potential benefits of an FTA in South Asia.11 The study finds that there will be substantial trade creation in the region under SAPTA with no significant trade diversion impact. The estimated results for 2002 showed that bilateral trade between any two pairs of SAARC member countries would be about 10.5 times higher under the SAPTA compared to two otherwise similar countries in absence of an RTA. Moreover, according to estimated coefficients, not only would intra†regional trade be enhanced, but this would also lead to increased bilateral trade with non†members. This result contradicted earlier study of (Hassan 2001) which indicated that lowering of trade among SAARC countries would not result in substantial benefits and would lead result in reduced trade with non†members.12 Rahman et al. (2006) supported the earlier findings of Hirantha (2004) and argued that there would be significant intra-bloc export creation as a result of SAPTA; though there would be net export diversion.13 However, results of this study showed that Bangladesh, India and Pakistan were expected to gain by joining the RTA, while Nepal, Maldives and Sri Lanka would be negatively affected. Given the fact of Bangladesh’s export opportunities in India, a number of studies have tried to identify potential market opportunities for Bangladeshi sectors/products particularly in the Indian market. Based on analysis of secondary data and stakeholders’ perception, Bhuyan and Ray (2006) identify a set of potential exportable products from Bangladesh that could enjoy export potential in the Indian market. These were fish products (including shrimp), leather goods, cement, light engineering items, jute products, pharmaceutical products, ceramic products and processed agro†products. The authors recommended that an FTA with India would enable Bangladeshi producers and exporters to have access to the much needed raw materials and semi-finished products at competitive price. In yet another study, applying a computable general equilibrium (CGE) framework, Siriwardana and Yang (2007) estimate that a number of Bangladeshi items, including beverages and tobacco, fabricated metal products, textile and leather, petroleum and other minerals, food manufactures, and vegetables and fruits sector, will gain substantially in the Indian market both in the short†run as well as long†run, if import duties are abolished by India. In a recent study, the World Bank (2006), however, finds that the prospect for trade between Bangladesh and India, through a bilateral FTA, to be rather limited. Analysis undertaken for a number of items including cement, light bulbs, bicycle rickshaw tyres and sugar indicate that if a bilateral FTA is signed with India it will be India which would be able to expand her exports to Bangladesh; Bangladesh’s export potential in the Indian market is rather limited. The study points out the reasons being (a) faster productivity growth in India bolstering India’s comparative advantage in competing goods, and/or (b) tariff and NTBs constraining Bangladesh’s major exports (RMG) as well as minor exports which have experienced rapid growth in other markets. The study argues that in a situation where an Indian supplier gets advantage of captive protected market under the bilateral FTA with Bangladesh, there was likelihood of collusion amongst Indian producers or between them and Bangladeshi importers which would reduce some of the welfare gains. According to this study, Bangladesh’s interests would be better served through multilateral liberalization. In similar vein, Bandara and Yu (2003) also conclude that SAFTA would lead to a marginal 0.21 per cent gain in real income for India, 0.03 per cent gain for Sri Lanka, 0.10 per cent loss for Bangladesh, while the rest of South Asia would gain 0.08 per cent in terms of real income. More recently, Raihan (2008) used the WITS/SMART model and carried out simulation exercise in view of various scenarios under the SAFTA accord (removal of intra†regional tariff for all countries). The study makes an attempt to quantify export potentials of Bangladesh in the Indian market. The modeling exercise identifies export items of Bangladesh at disaggregated HS 6 digit level which were likely to expand in the Indian market under the SAFTA. The study finds that under the SAFTA Bangladesh’s exports to Indian market would rise by only about USD 78 million. Top 30 products (at the 6 digit HS code), together, account for 83 per cent of the increase in Bangladesh’s export earnings (USD 64.9 million). A review of literature indicates that the majority of studies have tended to focus on tariff barriers and the impact of removal of duties on regional and bilateral trade. However, the presence of large number of NTBs was also recognised as a major constraint in these and other studies. Rahman (2010) identifies salient features of the NTBs prevailing in South Asian trade, and examined cross†country experiences in addressing the NTBs. The study also documented how the NTBs are being addressed within the SAFTA architecture. Particularly, an in†depth look at NTB†related issues has become even more necessary in view of the recent debates, and the modalities that are being put in place to address those. An important recent study by Razzaque (2010), which combines qualitative analysis with three different types of quantitative analyses (gravity model, CGE model and GTAP) argues that the weaker economies in the SAARC region are expected to lose significantly from the SAFTA agreement, at least in its current form. The study shows that the losses for the weaker economies, particularly for Bangladesh and Nepal, arise from increased imports from regional partners, nominal increase in exports within the region and loss of tariff revenue. Results of estimation carried out in this study based on WITS/SMART simulation, are similar to that of Bandra and Yu (2003), and shows that SAFTA will lead to an increase in Bangladesh imports from the region of about USD 400 million compared to rise in regional exports of only about USD 33 million. Results of the study also show that only India stands to experience regional export gains that would be higher than imports from regional sources. The gravity simulation results suggest that SAFTA would influence regional trade flows mainly by increasing India’s exports, and Bangladesh and Nepal’s imports. For every USD 100 worth of new export trade almost USD 78 would accrue to India, whereas share of Bangladesh, Maldives and Bhutan would be insignificant. The authors recommend that LDC members of the SAFTA should continue with their respective policy reforms, and will need to address supply-side bottlenecks in order to benefit from the increasingly larger regional market. In another study, Raihan and Razzaque (2007) ran two different simulations using the GTAP model and database. In the first scenario, the authors depict a case in which all member countries eliminate their intra-regional tariffs but retain their respective tariffs with the rest of the world intact. In the second scenario, in addition to SAFTA tariff cuts, the authors let Bangladesh slash its tariffs against the rest of the world by 50 per cent. Comparisons of the various scenarios give an opportunity to examine trade diversion effects when determining the overall welfare effects for Bangladesh. The results show that full tariff liberalisation under SAFTA alone would lead to a net welfare loss of USD 184 million for Bangladesh India, Sri Lanka, and the rest of South Asia in this scenario register welfare gains, as trade creation effects dominate trade diversion effects. However, when Bangladesh undertakes MFN (most favoured nation) tariff cuts by 50 per cent along with the full tariff liberalisation for SAFTA members, it stands to gain by USD 84.1 million. In the latter exercise, the positive welfare gains of other countries were maintained. ADB and UNCTAD (2008) finds that the welfare gains, based on CGE analysis, for Bangladesh are likely to be one of the highest. According to the study, export gains for Bangladesh in SAFTA market under the phase†I of liberalisation (2008-09) would be significant (38.08 per cent to South Asia), but not as high as the peak export growth to SAFTA seen by other countries. The study further contends that Bangladesh will be able to increase her global exports by about 4.3 per cent by 2016 on account of SAFTA. A number of authors have highlighted the importance of better regional connectivity to foster and promote intra-regional trade and deepen economic cooperation among the regional countries. Rahmatullah (2010) points out in this connection that due to lack of integration of the transport system in South Asia, logistics costs are very high and ranges between 13†14 per cent of GDP, compared to 8 per cent in the US. Whilst many studies have focused on aggregate level gains and losses originating from regional cooperation among SAARC countries, those focusing on identifying potential opportunities of bilateral trade between Bangladesh and India, at a disaggregated level, as was pointed out above are few. Additionally, in view of the rapid changes in the structure of bilateral trade in recent times, a closer look at the relevant issues has become even more urgent. Since the sensitive lists have emerged as a major area of concern, an in†depth look at the Indian sensitive list, from the Bangladesh perspective, is also called for in order to identify the fall opportunities of market access by Bangladesh in the Indian market. The issue of signing bilateral FTA as a more comprehensive and speedier tool of enhancing trade among SAARC countries has been highlighted by a number of authors. de Mel (2010) points out in this connection that negative lists of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are substantially larger than those in the respective bilateral trade agreements. Echoing this, Weerakoon (2010) observes that SAFTA has already been overtaken by bilateral process in many instances, and would appear to be in danger of being further upstaged by bilateral and other regional initiatives. A review of literature thus, in general indicates that under the existing scenarios the potential benefits originating from regional trade cooperation among the SAARC countries would not be substantial. Bangladesh’s gains also appear to be inconsequential. The idea of bilateral FTA has been examined by some, but here also the positive impact in terms of additional trade flows is rather limit. However, one common limitation of most of these studies had been that these are based on static analysis. One way of addressing this is to examine and analyse the data with regard to the dynamics of trade, its composition and putting under scrutiny factors contributing to and factors constraining the trade flows.

Components of Business Documents

Components of Business Documents When is it appropriate to submit a report in business? Compare 3 types of business documents, look at the components of each and recommend the ideal business scenario for each. Executive Summary A business report is a written document, which provides comprehensive information and specific topic for a business purpose. The study investigated about definition, content and purpose of a business report. The study consisted of an analysis of three types of business documents and the ideal business scenario for each, and was based on information collected from a variety of sources: textbook, books and the Internet. Introduction A business report is a written document, which constitutes comprehensive information and specific topic for a significant business purpose. The purpose of a business report is typically used to make plans for the future, assist in decision-making, and propose a business idea. There are various types of reports that depending on different situations such as: informational reports, analytical reports, research reports and so on. The report is divided into two main sections: a Findings section, which presents information about three types of business documents, and a Recommendations section that provides specific suggestion about using each of business documents in distinct situations. Types of business documents Emails An email is considered as a form of business communication that is fast and convenient for everyone to use. They just need to access to the Internet to send and receive documents via emails. Business emails are generally brief, positive and professional. There are various benefits for people to use the email. It is a useful medium that can reach anywhere in the world after few minutes of being sent. With the available of the Internet, it can be connected quickly through laptops, computers or smart phones and can be sent fast to many people at the same time. Beside, the writers can send combinable emails that have text, pictures, videos and sounds. They also can attach documents or other files to the email. Nowadays, more enterprises are using email communications as an effectively communicational tool that helps them to share necessary information with customers, employees, and prospects. However, there are some disadvantages to take into consideration to use the email efficiently. Firstly, it is quiet difficult to discriminate between casual and formal emails because of their similar layout. Secondly, it takes us a lot of time to deal with spam and may cause information overload. It has some difficulty in solving viruses that affect an organizations online systems. Moreover, it can lead to interactive obstacle and decrease relationship building in environmental working. Finally, it also may lead to misunderstandings because the receivers just can read without knowing the writers tone and expression. There are six common types of email: instruction emails, request emails, announcement emails, transmittal emails, authorization emails and confirmation emails. Memorandums A memorandum is brief summary used as a means of internal communication. It provides suggestions, conveys information, seeks explanation and may solve problems. It includes detailed information on routine activities of an organization and is used by many companies for distinct purposes. The body of the memo is a short piece of writing that has numbered paragraphs and contains the subject sentence. It has a specific structure and is written in Plain English to show an actual, objective description of the topic with readers. Memos can be sent accurately to many receivers with just a single click. It provides a snapshot of what is happening in a workplace at a particular point and who is involved in company activities. It is considered as a written record or evidence of communication for reference. Therefore, managers and employees can refer to the memo to solve problems when they have a contradiction. In addition, memos are usually be short and to the point that enable the writer to disseminate information logically. One of the disadvantages of memos is lack of explanation. Because of the concise form, the readers sometime cannot understand clearly about the main content of the memo. It also can lead to the lack of formality because memos provide only informal communication. There are six types of memos: instruction emails, request emails, announcement emails, transmittal emails, authorization emails, confirmation emails. Report A report, whether long or short, shows comprehensive information on a specific issue. It provides specific information that help managers in making a decision, controlling progress or planning for the future action. Business reports play a vital role in conveying information to everyone in an organization. It is necessary management tool for managers to make a decision and resolve problems. Reports not only transmit internal information but also supply important information for customers, shareholders, agencies, suppliers and so on. Moreover, reports are used to develop information base in a company in two main ways: Firstly, day-to-day information is recorded endlessly for writing reports. Secondly, the saved reports will be used for future reference. By these ways, reports assist in boosting a secure information base. Although there is no doubt that reports are useful management tool, they also have several drawbacks. One of limitations of reports is cost of valuable time and money. Sometimes, reports become misunderstanding because it is not interact and the readers cannot give questions and get feedback. The viability of establishing a new salon was considered in relation to two broad areas the mega environment and the task environment (Bartol et al. 2008). Each of these areas is discussed below.

The Impact Of Liquidity On Profitability Finance Essay

The Impact Of Liquidity On Profitability Finance Essay Padachi observed the trends in working capital management and its impact on performance of a firm. Return on assets and cash conversion cycle was used to measure the firms profitability and efficiency of working capital management respectively. He described that a firm should maintain stability between profitability and liquidity while maintaining its day to day activities. The manager of a business want to maximize firms value by achieving preferred tradeoff between liquidity and profitability of a firm. The results indicated that the more investment in inventories and receivables lower the profitability of a firm. Raheman Nasr (2007) discussed the impact of working capital management on profitability of a firm. They also highlighted that the basic objective of a firm is to maximize profit but maintaining liquidity is also an important objective. There will be a serious problem if firm increase profit at the cost of liquidity. Both objectives are important for the firm. If a firm does not concerned about profit then it cannot survive for a longer period. On the other hand, if a firm does not concern about liquidity it may face bankruptcy. They took 94 firms of Pakistan and analyzed that there is a negative relationship between liquidity and profitability of a firm. Michalski (2008) empirically analyzed the relationship between firms policy regarding net working investment and firms profitability. Too low liquidity level may come up problems with timely reimbursement of its liabilities while surplus liquid assets would negatively affect firms profitability. He discussed that decisions regarding liquidity is very difficult, a firm has to choose one of the three policies: first an aggressive policy i.e. a large part of the firms fixed and volatile demand to finance fixed assets is supported with short term financing, second a moderate policy i.e. a fixed part of current assets is financed with long term funds and volatile part is financed with short term funds lastly a conservative policy i.e. both fixed and volatile parts of current assets are financed with long term funds. Dash Hanuman (2009) were concerned about working capital management and they analyzed the liquidity-profitability trade-off model named as goal programming model. They supported that proper flow of fund is needed to run any business. A firm has conflicting objectives regarding liquidity and profitability so the goal programming model determines how targeted levels of profitability and liquidity would be achieved by maintaining current and fixed assets and at the same time minimizing opportunity cost. Their model proposed that working capital and inventory must be streamlined to profitability. Nazir Afza (2009) tried to find out the relation between aggressive working capital management policy and firms profitability by using panel data regression model and Tobins q of 204 Pakistani companies for the period of 1998-2005. They claimed that investors give importance to stocks of those firms which adopt aggressive policies to manage current liabilities. Their findings suggested that aggressive working capital investment and financing policies and profitability are negatively associated. They claimed that investors consider that firms which have less long term loans and equity can have better performance than the others. Burtescu (2010) documented the reflection of liquidity and profitability of a company in the accounting result. He emphasized that it is not adequate for a firm to follow only economic indicators but it is also essential for a firm to make sure its liquidity in its quality of a specific dimension of financial management. The information about solvency and liquidity are beneficial for a firm to predict the ability of a firm to fulfill its financial obligations. He argued that investors have a great concern about the cash flow of a company and it becomes obligatory for a firm to include cash flow statement in its annual financial statements. Gill, Biger Mathur (2010) attempted to examine the relationship between working capital management and profitability. They used sample of 88 firms listed on New York Stock Exchange for the period of 2005-2007. The results suggested that the relationship between cash conversion cycle and gross profit margin is statistically significant. They also concluded that account receivables and profitability are negatively associated. The managers can enhance profits of their company by handling the cash conversion cycle efficiently. Mohamad Saad (2010) attempted to scrutinize the impact of working capital management on profitability and market valuation of a firm. They analyzed the secondary data of 172 Malaysian companies for the period of 2000-2007. They took working capital variables such as cash conversion cycle, current ratio, debt to asset ratio, current asset to total asset, current liabilities to total asset and profitability variables are return on asset and return on invested capital. By using multiple regression analysis and correlation, their results revealed that working capital variables have negative association with firms profitability. Firms cannot exist without working capital and it can improve the profitability and market value of a firm. Dong Su (2010) also conducted a study to find out the relationship between working capital management and firms profitability. The working capital management has an important part in the success and failure of a firm because it has a great impact on the profitability and liquidity of a firm. Their sample is based on 130 firms which are listed in Vietnam stock market for the period of 2006-2008. Their findings proved that profitability and cash conversion cycle is strongly negatively associated. By optimum working capital management, the managers may create a value of stock for the shareholders. The firm should maintain a balance between its two objectives; profitability and liquidity. One objective should not be achieved at the cost of other. Their findings also suggested that profitability can be increased by decreasing the number of days accounts receivable and inventories. Saleem Rehman (2011) observed a significant relationship between liquidity and firms performance. Liquidity of a company is very important for its every stack holder. If a firms cash and near cash assets are insufficient to satisfy its immediate payment obligations than firm may face difficulties. This can affect firms day to day business operations and profitability. They evaluated that liquidity and profitability are inversely related, one increases the other will decreases. Bhunia, Khan Mukhuti (2011) provided the evidence with respect to the relationship between liquidity and profitability of a firm. They took steel companies of private sector in India to assess the management of liquidity as a factor of performance. They studied important liquidity indicators and analyzed that optimal working capital management can be achieved by controlling the trade-off between profitability and liquidity of a firm. Firm value is positively affected by optimal working capital management so the investment in working capital must be satisfactory. They concluded that liquidity and profitability are significantly positively associated. Saghir, Hashmi Hussain (2011) studied the relationship between working capital management and profitability of a firm. They used cash conversion cycle to measure working capital management efficiency and return on asset to measure profitability while analyzing the financial data of 60 textile firms listed on KSE for the period of 2001 to 2006. They suggested that smooth inflow of profit is mainly affected by the optimum point of working capital. Working capital means companys current assets and it has a direct effect on the liquidity and profitability of a firm. According to the risk and return theory, when firms liquidity of working capital is high then it has low risk and low profitability and vice versa. The shorter cash conversion cycle is better for the firm profitability. Their result shows the negative relation between working capital management and profitability of a firm. Alipour (2011) researched about working capital management and corporate profitability while taking sample of 1063 companies from Tehran stock exchange. To test the hypothesis, multiple regression and pearsons correlation was used. He analyzed that sale and profit of a company is greatly influenced by the working capital management. Due to inefficient working capital management, a company may be incapable to pay its debts on time. The results show a significant relationship between working capital management and profitability of a company. There is a negative relationship between cash conversion cycle, average collection period, inventory turnover in days and profitability. Qazi et al. (2011) examined the impact of working capital on the profitability of a firm. Using the financial data of Pakistani automobile and oil and gas industry for the time period of 2004-2009, he proposed that the important components of working capital are debtor, creditor and inventory. The efficient and effective working capital can create value of the shares to shareholders. He persuaded that maintaining the companys liquid level is a major task of a company. So, by ignoring liquidity objective, company may face insolvency or bankruptcy. Their results showed the positive impact of working capital on profitability. Ching, Novazzi Gerab (2011) scrutinized the financial statements of two separate groups of companies: working capital intensive and fixed capital intensive having16 companies in each group listed on Brazil Stock exchange during 2005-2009. They used return on assets, returns on sales and returns on equity to measure profitability and cash conversion cycle, debt ratio, days receivables, days inventory and days of working capital are used as independent variables. Their results showed that managing working capital is very important for both type of companies. Moreover, working capital intensive type of company gets more profit by managing inventory and cash conversion efficiency at optimum level and fixed capital intensive type of company yield more profit through other two variables. Karaduman et al. (2011) also investigated the link between management of working capital and profitability of a firm. In the recent economic conditions, the survival of a firm greatly depends upon the ability to manage its financial function. Their sample is based on 127 companies listed in the Istanbul Stock Exchange during 2005-2009. The cash conversion cycle was used as a proxy of working capital management and returns on assets was used to measure profitability. The results portrayed that ROA is positively affected by the reduction in CCC. The profitability is increased by developing efficiency of working capital. Alam et al. (2011) studied the influence of working capital management on the profitability and its market value of firms which are listed on Karachi stock exchange. They claimed that a misconception that firm survival is based on its profits has been cleared due to the present liquidity crises. They used financial data of 65 companies listed on Karachi Stock exchange during 2005-2009. Return on assets and returns on invested capital were used as proxy for measuring financial performance of the firm, Tobins Q was used to determine the market value of a firm and five financial ratios such as cash conversion cycle, current ratio, debt to asset ratio, current asset to total asset ratio and current liabilities to total asset ratio were used as dependent variables. Their empirical results presented sufficient evidence that firms strongly depends upon current assets to generate profits. Ogundipe, Idowu Ogundipe (2012) provided evidence regarding the influence of working capital management on performance of a firm and its market value. They collected data from annual reports of 54 Nigerian companies for the period of 1995-2009. They explained working capital management as management of current assets and current liabilities and it has a direct effect on firms profitability and market valuation. Their findings suggested that as cash conversion cycle decreases firms profitability increases and efficient working capital management also increases the market value of a firm. Barine (2012) established the relationship between efficient working capital management and firms profitability. Working capital management ensures a firms ability to satisfy both short term obligations and forthcoming operational expenses. They compared the cost and returns of working capital of 22 listed firms on Nigerian stock exchange. Their findings proposed that if cost of working capital is greater than returns on working capital investment then it negatively affects profitability and firms should have optimized working capital investments to stay away from over or under investments. Bhunia (2012) explored the influence of liquidity on profitability while taking the sample of FMCG companies in India during 2001 to 2010. He argued that working capital management plays an important role in the financial management decisions of a firm and managers should manage the trade-off between liquidity and profitability to attain optimal working capital management as it can create value for the firm. By using applied normality test, correlation and regression, the results indicated that liquidity and profitability are positively associated. The research of Vahid, Mohsen and Mohammadreza (2012) also highlighted the affect of working capital management policies on firms profitability. They explained that working capital management has a great impact on profitability and liquidity of a firm and it is responsible for the success and failure of a firm. Their sample consists of 28 Iranian companies listed on Tehran stock exchange for 2005-2009. Their results suggested that conservative investment policy i.e. high level of short term investment have a negative impact on profitability and value of a firm, while aggressive investment policy i.e. long term investment have positive impact on profitability and value of a firm. Their results also showed that aggressive financing policies i.e. high level of current liabilities to finance firms project have a negative impact on profitability and value of a firm, while conservative financing policies i.e. having more long term liabilities to finance firms operating activities have a po sitive impact on firms profitability and value. Al-Mwalla (2012) tried to observe the affect of working capital management policies on the profitability and value of a firm. He persuaded that a firm has to maintain adequate level of working capital to fulfill its short term obligations. Therefore, a firm can adopt one of the two policies; a conservative policy by maintaining low level of current assets to total assets or an aggressive policy by keeping high level of current liabilities to total liabilities. He took annual data of 57 firms listed in Amman Stock Market during 2001 to 2009 for analysis. The results portrayed that conservative policy of investment and financing are positively associated with profitability and value of a firm. Ahmad (2012) highlighted the influence of working capital management on forms performance while taking a sample of 253 companies related to non financial sector listed on Karachi Stock Exchange, Pakistan. He use ROA and ROE as proxy of firm performance and current asset over total sales, current asset over total asset, debtors turnover, current ratio and inventory turnover as proxies of working capital management. Using OLS regression, Pearson correlation analysis and logistic regression techniques, he found that all explanatory variables are positively correlated to firm performance except current assets to total sales as it has a negative correlation with firm performance. Usama (2012) extended the work of Rehman and Nasar regarding working capital management while taking the sample of 18 companies from other food sector listed on Karachi Stock Exchange for the period of 2006-2010. The researcher used different variables to measure working capital management such as average collection period, inventory turnover in days, cash conversion cycle, average payment period, debt ratio, firm size, current ratio, and financial asset to total asset. Using common effect model and pooled least square regression, the results indicated that working capital management has significant positive association with firms profitability and liquidity. He also concluded that firm size and minimum inventory turnover in days has positive influence on firms profitability. Myers (2001) purported that there is no general theory regarding debt and equity choice. He discussed three main theories for the choice of debt and equity. He described that according to trade off theory firms adopt that debt level which balances the tax benefits of additional debt against the cost of financial distress. Debt financing gives a tax shield to a firm therefore they took high level of debt to gain maximum tax benefits and eventually increase profitability. However, the increase of debt financing increases the possibility of bankruptcy. According to pecking order theory, when firms internal cash flow is not enough to fulfill its capital expenditure then firms prefer debt on equity. Mostly low profitable firms entail external financing and accumulate debt. According to the free cash flow theory, when a mature firm has profitable investment opportunities and its operating cash flow is considerably exceeds its investment opportunities, so this dangerous level of debt will h ave a positive effect on firms value regardless of threat of financial distress. Berger Bonaccorsi di Patti (2003) supported that leverage has a direct impact on agency cost which influences firm performance. They proposed that high leverage or a low equity capital ratio causes to reduce the agency cost related to outside equity and raises firm value. They used annual information of U.S. commercial banks from 1990 to 1995. Their result showed that a 1% increase in leverage decrease equity capital ratio surrenders a predicted 6% increase in profit efficiency. Fama French (2005) described the financing decisions of firms. They tested predictions of pecking order theory about financing decisions and claimed that more than half of their sample firms defy the pecking order predictions. Their first result is against the pecking order prediction that firms hardly issue stock. Under their sample, 67% of the firms issue stock each year during 1973-1982 and it rises to 74% for 1983-1992, and 86% during 1993-2002. So, equity decisions of a firm frequently violate the pecking order. Second prediction is that capital structure of a firm is derived by asymmetric information problem but their findings are against this prediction. They suggested that this problem can be avoided by issuing equity through different ways. Elsas, Flannery Garfinkel (2006) studied firm major investment, financing decisions and long run performance. They took 1,185 U.S. firms which made huge acquisitions or capital expenditures during 1989-1999. They observed that large firms financed their new investment with debt whereas equity has a small role. With the passage of time, new debt replaced with equity funds. Small firms mostly rely on issuing equity when financing its new investments to replace debt while internal cash flow is used by medium sized firms. They analyzed that debt financing produces negative long run performance more than equity financing whereas financing with internal funds never produce important share underperformance. Dittmar Thakor (2007) developed a new theory of issuance of security that is when stock prices are high then firms issue equity. This issue is contradictory with the two major theories of capital structure: pecking order and trade off theory. The main idea of their theory is that managers decision about security issuance is based on how their decisions will influence the investment choice of the firm and how this choice will influence the post-investment stock price of the firm. After the investment in the project, managers are more concerned about the stock price and the long term equity value of the firm. The shareholders and bondholders may object to the managers choice of investment because they have dissimilar beliefs regarding the value of the project. Their findings suggest that firms which issue equity have higher stock prices, higher values of agreement parameter and higher increase in investments.

Organic Consumers Association :: Web Internet Food Cyberspace Essays

Organic Consumers Association The World Wide Web, so vast, so fast, what’s the page you’ll look up last? Well it may not be the last page you would ever search for but it probably is not on the list of your top ten web sites. However it should be on the top ten, dare I say number one? The Organic Consumers Association is an extremely interesting and informative web page that most Americans will probably never see. It deals with a broad range of issues, mainly those concerning organic foodstuffs. The web page also has many other aspects to it including discussion boards and ways to search for related material over the web. The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) web page offers a broad range of places to explore and issues to learn about while incorporating rhetorical devices and various illustrations. Well awesome, now it is understood that the OCA webpage offers a plethora of opportunity for hours and hours of internet fun. But why does this concern me and why do I care? The fact of the matter is many people are inadequately informed about many issues happening in the world today. Most people get their news from the television or a newspaper but those are only small samples of things happening in this wondrous country of ours. This is where the OCA website comes into play. It offers hundreds of different articles from newspapers around the world based on less mainstream but equally important topics. These topics range from research done about organic foods to air pollution crack downs. One topic that I guarantee most would not expect to encounter goes a little like this, â€Å"Flame Retardants Found in Mothers’ Breast Milk in U.S† (OCA website). Clearly there are a wide range of topics to read about to make yourself more aware of less common things happen ing around the globe. The majority of topics covered on the site are obviously going to about be organic foods. This may pertain to growing foods organically or what types of organic foods are the most popular or health facts about eating organic foods. There are also many articles about genetically engineered foods that are becoming more and more problematic. Being more specific, there is an article to make people aware that Starbucks Coffee (a place where many American visit one to two times per day) uses genetically altered coffee beans.

The U.s School System :: essays research papers

When one is a student, it is ever so simple to criticize the way that schools are conducted. The ideas of students towards their schools may be somewhat misguided by their varied emotions and attitudes for their school. However I believe that my thought out reforms for the American school system, are not only objective, but valid.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For many students, going to school is more than just part of the daily routine. A lot of students see their role in school as a stepping stone not only to their future life, but to their future success. Some people in the school however do not even feel the slightest bit of pressure to do well in school. These people are satisfied with mediocrity. Possibly even worse, some are careless towards not only their on education, but neglectful towards the schooling of others. I think that such students who are not only disruptive, but destructive, should not be dealt with such a severity, that they will either realize the error of their ways or that they do not belong in a public school. Through my few years in high school, I have noticed some students who are always breaking rules. And for some of these students, they are so regularly in trouble that the standards for their behavior is lessened , being permitted to break small rules because the standard for their behavi or is lessened. This is a excellent example, why I believe in not only stern punishment, but set disciplinary action. A student should not be allowed the chance to break rules simply because that is just the way they are. Their bad habits will never be corrected, when they are not expected to act properly   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I haven't really had a great relationship with teachers, in the sense that I felt that they were able to give me good one on one assistance if needed. This however is not the fault of the teacher. Cities have a problem of expanding without planning. Oviedo for example, is possibly going to be a prominent city in the state of Florida. Even now, we are starting to see a major boom in not only population but development. I am not sure however, that I can say that the city is correctly planning for this development, if at all. Roads will need to be widened. Irrigation, and sanitation will need to be carefully managed.

DBQ Federalists and Democratic-Republicans Essay

Thesis: It would appear that the assertion that Democratic-Republicans were strict interpreters of the Constitution while Federalists were not are only somewhat accurate. The Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Samuel Kercheval is of particular interest because Jefferson outright states â€Å"†¦I know also, that the laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind†. This is somewhat different from the traditional image of Jefferson interpreting the constitution as absolute under any circumstances. The fact that he himself writes that the constitution must be adapted to the times suggest that Jefferson, like the Democratic-Republican party as a whole, was not such an absolutist. Jefferson also states that â€Å"I am certainly not an advocate for frequent and untried changes in laws and constitutions†¦Ã¢â‚¬  which would seem to indicate that He also believed that a change to the constitution was a serious thing not to be taken lightly much like the historical image of the Democratic-Republicans. Jefferson believed that amendments would eventually become necessary to preserve the constitution as a credible document, however he also believed such changes should only be made when absolutely necessary. The fact that this idea about the constitution (that it was not perfect and would eventually need change) contradicts the historical image of strict and absolute interpretation of the constitution that Democratic-Republicans, and by extension Jefferson himself, are given. -While Jefferson shows sympathy towards eventual change on issues such as slavery he did not follow through in the least as president. -Jefferson is sometimes portrayed as the first great president by historians. -Jefferson actually helped sign in the constitution with many of the men who would go on to be federalists. -Jefferson made many of his statements against slavery and absolute interpretation of the Constitution later in life which could suggest that much of these writings were out of hindsight of his actions as president and the unofficial leader of the Democratic-Republicans One document that might suggest that Federalists were not all so supportive of the federal government over the states was the speech that Federalist  Daniel Webster delivered before Congress on december 9th 1814. Webster states â€Å"If the secretary of war has proved the right of Congress to enact the law enforcing a draft of men out of the militia into the regular army, he will be able at any time be able to prove quite as clearly that Congress has the power to create a dictator†. This quote is loaded with sentiments normally expected from a Democratic Republican rather than a Federalist. States rights, negative sentiment towards Federal authority over the states, and the assertion that this expansion of Federal power is a step towards tyranny, are all opinions typical of a Democratic Republican, not a Federalist. This clearly suggests that not all Federalists were loose interpreters of the constitution since states rights is an argument usually made by someone advocating for a strict interpretation of the Constitution. – It would appear that this speech was relatively pointless to affect the conflict at hand considering that the war of 1812 (Mr. Madison’s war as dubbed by Federalists) was only fought for a few more weeks before it was officially concluded. – Federalists were quite against this war with Britain which could mean that Webster could have come to this argument more out of anger over the war than actual ideals. – It is interesting that the measure Webster is referring to took place in 1814 considering that the Democratic-Republicans, who would have been against drafting militiamen into the national army, controlled the Congress, Senate, and the White House. -1814 was the last year that Federalists had a major role in Congress given their attempt to secede from the union in 1815 in the Hartford Convention. The report and resolutions of the Hartford Convention serves to demonstrate how Federalists did support a loose interpretation of the constitution. In the resolution the participants (of whom many were Federalists) proposed that several amendments to the constitution be adopted by the states. While this may seem fairly insignificant the fact that they were trying to conform state laws to national law shows a very strong leaning towards Federal authority over state authority. This was very much in line with Federalist principles and loose interpretations of the constitution since they are proposing three changes to several state constitutions. The Federalists are taking a stance against state rights which are guaranteed in the  constitution and requesting that the states conform to federal law which can be seen as a rather loose interpretation given that powers not afforded to the national government are given to the states by the tenth amendment. -The three proposed amendments seem to inhibit the power of the government which is more in line with Democratic-Republican ideals, which could suggest that this was meant to gain bipartisan support in the states. – The Hartford Convention was also famous for being the unofficial demise of the Federalist party considering that the resolutions also threatened to declare New England independent from the union if the government did not comply which the largely Democratic-Republican populated nation viewed as treasonous. – One of the amendments proposed made it illegal to enforce an embargo for longer than 60 days which is interesting considering that leading up to the war with Britain, many Federalists were advocating ignoring the embargo on Britain. – Although the Democratic-Republicans controlled Congress, the Senate, and the presidency prior to the Hartford Convention, the negative reaction to the resolutions layed out by the Hartford Convention ensured what could be described as a near one party rule for the Democratic-Republicans through the mid 1800’s. One Final Document that would serve to demonstrate how there was a large grey area in how Democratic-Republicans and Federalists interpreted the Constitution is actually another speech made by John Randolph in 1816 before Congress. Randolph himself was a very strict interpreter of the constitution but what makes this speech interesting is who he is calling out in this speech and why. â€Å"We have another proof that the present government (the Madison administration) have renounced the true Republican principles of Jefferson’s administration on which they raised themselves to power†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . Randolph is calling out the Democratic-Republican president James Madison, for â€Å"renouncing† the policies laid out by Thomas Jefferson who is seen as  the establisher of many of the ideals of the Democratic Republican Party. Madison is accused of â€Å"aggravating the burdens of the people for the purpose of favoring the manufacturers†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . Essentially he is being called out for raising taxes on the middle class. Why this demonstrates how Democratic Republicans could have taken a loose interpretation to the constitution is because raising taxes is something that many Democratic-Republicans believed to be a state by state issue even though the Constitution gives the government the power to levy taxes. However Madison is going against that ideal and raising the national tax rate which given the Democratic-Republican interpretation of only allowing states to raise taxes, is a very loose interpretation. -Madison was known to have changed his opinion on these matters several times as a politician which could explain why he was raising taxes. -Randolph also linked Madison to John Adams who was also a loose interpreter of the constitution and rather unpopular amongst the Democratic-Republicans because of it. – Madison was very much influenced by Thomas Jefferson who would have definitely disapproved of raising taxes on the middle class. – Madison was the first president to preside over the â€Å"Era of Good Feelings† or the time period where the Democratic-Republicans enjoyed a near one party rule in the government. This tax would have been a very unusual interruption in the usual lack of debate and argument that was apparent in Congress and the Senate.

Why Evolution and Religion Can Coexist

Jason So argons 1-1 Science and godliness Can Coexist Re pot 2 For centuries attainment and apparitional belief fork over been competing with distri preciselyively some former(a) to reign supreme eeryplace the other. It makes superstar wonder honorable wherefore it has come to this. After al unitedly arent they in some(prenominal) aspects instead similar? Con steadr the following the theory of evolution, the large-minded volcanic eruption theory, and the Copenhagen interpretation theory al unitedly fix atomic number 53 constant term, theory. Why? completely of them havent been proven yet as they are still mere theories. immediately shifting everyplace to godliness, when reading a holy book, one finds no facts or substantial express of how things exist as they do to twenty-four hour period. faith, as much of acquaintance, is merely reportd on beliefs. Yet billions choose to every gestate in a higher creation or eliminate the idea of a god altogether. No affair which side is square(a) or false, one true statement that can be do is that one could not exist without the other. Religion is for spiritual healing and belief whereas, information is, in most cases, the actual avatar of our beliefs.Science and worship can coexist because arguably the spectacularest mind of them all give tongue to so, religions moral philosophy and determine uses lore to the benefit of all mankind, and possibly idol himself employ learning to hit all that we see. Firstly, if indisputably the greatest scientist in the taradiddle of mankind, Albert wizard the person who set the base for modern science as we contend it today found no line of work in believing in both(prenominal) science and religion, then why should we?Einstein did not believe in a personal perfection, a god who cares for us or intervenes in the lives of people, provided in one that maintained and created the harmony of the world a god nonetheless. That may await quite odd as galore(postnominal) beliefs render science and religion incompatible. Yet, m each scientists, correspond to surveys, arrange that there is no conflict between their faith and their work. Joel Primack, a professor from the University of California, Santa Cruz, co- fixed the cold dark matter theory that seeks to explain the formation and construction of the populace.He also believes in deity and that God and science can exist in harmony. He claims that in the last a couple of(prenominal) geezerhood astronomy has come together so that were now able to ramify a coherent reputation of how the universe began, Primack said. This story does not contradict God, moreover instead enlarges the idea of God. (National Geographic intelligence activity website) This is one example of how clearly science and religion go hand in hand. Secondly, most religions in this world pick up three basic steps in world able to enter the without end life that most of them offer keep one another, love your neighbour and be kind to all.Not a bad disposition on which to base a unit religion on. In fact it sounds quite noble. Think close it, many lives are based on the above lean referable to a strict enforcing of religion from family or a confederation, and if even a small portion of those people climb up to be doctors and scientists, we can say with ease that the conviction to come of our technological advancements is fulgid and it is in the right hands. After analyzing the nurture of these theoretical people, we can come to a conclusion that religion helped a great deal in steering their science-filled future in the right direction.It exit be foolish on our part to disclaim religion just because weve advanced in science and engineering. As our knowledge increases, we must move nearer to the roots of our religion, and this is the peak when both religion and science will be working together for the break upment of mankind. For example, euthanasia, t he killing of a human beingness to relieve pain and suffering (mercy-killing), is wide considered unethical. This mercy-killing is just a euphemism for felo-de-se. The priming coat why we dont say suicide is because it is usually frowned upon by society, yet when someone is on a hospital complete and doesnt want to live anymore, its justified.People say suicide and mercy-killing are different, hardly they both lead to the same progeny the killing of a human being because the person no longer has a desire to live. By definition, this is indeed suicide because it is taking a life international since they no longer find appreciate for it, and yet it is being done throughout the world in public hospitals. straight off a doctor with a well behaved moral and ethical background due to religion or a community with strong values would not consent to the pressures of this daily occurrence. And arent doctors supposed to film life into this world and help puzzle it when outside forces threaten it?Moreover, it is daunting to theorise that someone can just evoke the plug on another being just because the former wants to die. Science and technology can be a grace of God in the hands of wise men, temporary hookup it can be deadly in the hands of others, and if we are wiser and nearer to our religious roots we can enjoy our lives better knowing that religions morals and values will use science to the benefit of all mankind. Thirdly, possibly one of the most controversial and heated theories of all is the one that concerns the very place in which we live in, the grown bang theory.According to the bombastic bang theory, space, time, and all matter close to us was created by the grandest explosion ever to occur in our universe. When consulting religious persons about this theory they would whole heartedly disagree with it. treat for granted they were Catholics, they would immediately refer to the Bible and deferred payment that God created the world, the vegetation, animals, and humans within it. Now level headed persons who are on incomplete side of the science-religion debate would argue that, why cant both the big bang theory and the biblical story of God be true?They would reason that mayhap God used this order of creation for His own purpose, to create a world that is habitable by life. formerly again the religious would disagree, saying that according to the book of Genesis, God created Earth in seven days, and according to the big bang theory the earth took billions of years to develop in order to exhibit any traces of human life. Seven days compared to billions of years is quite a difference, yet when examining the record of God in the Bible, the religious cannot take the seven day period so literally.Perhaps it did take God seven days to create the earth, but maybe God was on a different time scale. One day for us is 20 four hours, but one day for God could have been thousands, millions, or billions of years. Furtherm ore, perhaps these seven days werent consecutive. They could have been spanned out over billions of years and just the major days on which God created his most praised wonders are mentioned. In rundown to the creation process of the earth, God could have used the scientific methods of photosynthesis, natural selection, and unnumberable others to create this world.Not only can we admit science and religion closer together than ever by this new position, but we can say that one by all odds assisted in the process of the other and that the relationship between science and religion is strong. Ultimately, one can see that science and religion can coexist, because many of our brightest minds are an example of this, science can be used for worthy causes due to religions ethics, and with a new perspective it can be debated that God himself used science for his own creation purposes. No one is forced to sway either way of the debate and everyone is elcomed to stay neutral, nonetheless, one cannot obliviously deny one and praise the other with an un-open mind. We can choose to believe one, but we shouldnt reject the other altogether. All we should ask of ourselves is not to ignore the wardrobe questions which alter our views on religion or science, but to expand our tunnel vision and wander into unfamiliar territories to grasp a better understanding of both therefore closing the gap between science and religion so that one day the feud between the two may rest peacefully in the minds of all.