A comparative analysis between Franklins Caf and Caffe Nero Assignment

A comparative analysis between Franklins Caf and Caffe Nero - Assignment Example The analysis is done mainly with respect to the two important topics relevant in the organizations. The topics discussed are done mainly on the basis of the case study that helps to answer question like which one of the two organizations would one prefer to be a customer and an employee. This essay paper not only states which organization one would want to be an employee and a customer, but also states the reasons behind the decision one makes. In order to make a decision it is very important to study the topics relevant to the organizations like the organizational communication, cultures prevalent, power and control, design and structure, politics and resistance, conflict etc. The topics here are discussed according to the various organizational and management theories. Organization analysis and behavior is a very important topic of study in the context of management. Organizational analysis is a process which is used to study the performance and the efficiency of an organization by studying the systems and the functionality that is existent in the organization. Organizational analysis leads to the understanding of the organizational behavior which involves the study of the organizational design and culture that is prevalent in the organization. ... The cafe has a very strong employee base and has around 3000 employees in the firm. The main intention and philosophy behind the establishment of the cafe is to provide a cozy and warm atmosphere towards its customers. The firm considers its linchpin of the brand as its coffee and also states that its highly committed employees are another great strength. One of the main reasons behind the committed employees is that they make the best choice of employees from world over. Similarly, the management of the Caffe takes an interest in the recreational activities of their employees. The Caffe is conscious about the health of its customers and provides the nutritional chart which allows the customer to weight the coffee options available to them. The cafe is also environment conscious which is understood through its efforts to recycle wastes in the cafe. Franklin’s Cafe: Franklin’s Cafe was started in 2006 by Fiona and Henry Owen as a small coffee shop but very soon it was se gregated into two business groups with one on the Franklin street and the other on the College street. Fiona and Henry along with the management and leadership skills of their son Ed initiated new, less expensive steps to manage both the cafes. At the present, they serve not only the customers with coffee but under the Franklin brand they also sell to their customers tasty foods like Ciabattas, salt beef, soups, cakes, ice creams etc. Their main tagline is the food, which have the authentic Franklin taste and are affordable by most of the customers. Another main strength of the Franklin’ brand is that they provide both drinks as well as snacks under the single name of Franklin. There are separate staffs, who take care about the food that needs to be supplied and in

Meaning of life - Human Essay Example for Free

Meaning of life Human Essay ?According to Albert Camus â€Å"You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life. † People can define happiness in various ways, for ones it means achieving their set goals while for others happiness means serving for society, and finally some people interpret happiness as finding the meaning of their life. People can spend their whole time only searching for the meaning of life, and they forget or ignore the life and real time that passes by. Unfortunately, you can search for the meaning of life and still not find it, or it can come to you with age. Significant events such as surviving the airplane or car crashes or losing the important people in one’s life, force humans to reconsider their values or beliefs, and can help to find the true meaning of life. Meaning of life is something that comes with the age, wisdom or experience. It is also hard to define what the meaning of life is, for it can be easily misinterpreted with the goals or values. I do not have my own meaning of life yet, for I am young, I have not so much experience in my life, and I cannot actually define what the meaning of life is. To begin with, I am not fully mature as a person because I am only twenty years old and my life has just started. Consequently, wanting to enjoy all the charms of my young life I try not to think about difficult topics such as meaning of life. I value my time that I have now, so I want to spend it learning and gaining an experience. The only thing I can figure out in this research on meaning of life, is that people value one thing – time. Having time we can find something or someone, develop ourselves and etc. Theoretically, we can do everything when we have time, but when we have time and do not have someone for whom we can spend it – our life becomes meaningless. Life becomes meaningful when we can spend time on objects and subjects that are important for us. As I am living with my parents, I do not even think about how to earn money, rise future generation and become independent person. I do not have to be a breadwinner at home, and I do not have to work yet. I do not have children, so I do not take the responsibility for treating my children right. However, it would be helpful to find out the meaning of life before I become a parent, for it would help me to raise my children right. My life is easier now, so I do not stop to think about the meaning of my life. Although I am dependent on my parents because they give me shelter, food and opportunity to get an education, I feel that being independent also would lead to thoughts about the meaning of life. Being a young adult give me the opportunity to gain an experience that could help me find the meaning of life. I am learning at the LCC university where professors from different countries tell their stories about their own life experience, and it seems that the person should have an experience in order to have a meaning of life. The experience of meeting different people, being introduced to different cultures, beliefs and values, and seeing the real adult life, all these experiences bring an insight about the meaning that the person can find in life. It is very difficult to find the right definition of meaning of life. When persons speak about creation of family or being a successful in work, it seems like goals and it is, but some people see it as the meaning. I can also assume that being happy and appreciative person has the real meaning in life, but is it the meaning of life? Maybe we should find the meaning that would lead us to feel happy and appreciative. I think that meaning of life does not even exist. There are only purposes. Love, family, friendship are only purposes, and purpose is not the meaning. Why? Because they answer the question of approachability, we can reach it or not. Theoretically, if these things were meaningful, life would end when we reach all of them. Meaning is sort of general idea, which is accessible and equal to all. It cannot answer the question of feasibility. Actually, the meaning of life should by absolute verity. Overall, this is the topic that brings many thoughts to my mind. For now I can say that I do not have any specific meaning of my life so far. I am young, rebel, adventure seeking person, and the spirit that now lives in my soul gives me the opportunity to live and enjoy the fruits of my young adulthood years, and I rarely stop to think about the real meaning of life. I do not know whether it is right or wrong that I do not pay much attention for such topic. I believe that people become wiser with years, and that wisdom would bring the need to evaluate the life and to seek and find the meaning of it. I also cannot actually define what the meaning of life is, and I think that some people cannot find out it through their life. Overall, life is already meaningful as the person lives and breathes.

Essay on the Evil in Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown -- Young Goodman

The Evil in Young Goodman Brown  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      In my interpretation of the story, I will be discussing three main topics: the beginning conversation with Faith, the devilish character, and Brown’s wife’s meaning in the story.   Young Goodman Brown is about to take a journey like many others before him, across the threshold separating the young unknowing boys and the elderly sages.   This, however, will not be without peril, because aging is a testing process defined by trial and error, and the errors’ prices are sometimes significant.   This errand he is undertaking has an evil purpose.   It seems as though this night has been foreseen long ago by both Faith and Goodman Brown.   The wife begs him that, of all nights, he should stay this one home because she senses trouble.   The purpose of the journey is not discussed, because it is the passage b... ...; The last paragraph of the story indicates that this was not just a journey to mature, because he died like a heathen, away from the religious community.   He strayed his faith and he was punished for this.   Gloom is a big part of this story, symbolizing the forest, unknown, and evil.   The fact that every person in Salem, sinful or pious, was present in the forest can reflect some humor.   They act as zombies by night, and normal people by day, pretending one faith in the gloom, and returning to church at dawn.        

Exxon Mobil Essay

Company Description Exxon mobile also know as Xom in the New York Stock Exchange is on of the largest producers of fossil fuels. Exxon engages in oil and gas exploration, production, supply, transportation and marketing in a global economy (Bloomberg). They hold over 13 billion barrels of oil in reserve. Exxon also has thirty eight refineries spread over 21 countries (Annual Report). The company also has a thought put capacity of 6. 3 million barrels of oil daily. Target MarketExxon has a huge target market in today’s economy. They not only provide to anyone driving a commercial motor vehicle but also to larger wholesalers. These wholesalers consist of smaller independent gas and service stations that do not have their own refineries. Xom also provides six hundred airports and two hundred seaports with fuel (Annual Report). These two markets consume a tremendous amount of fuel each year. This is a niche market for Xom because these airports and seaports can not use alternative energy in their endeavors. CompetitionAlthough Exxon is the largest fossil fuel producer they do have some competition with British Petroleum, Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron. These companies’s do not have the same output as Xom, but some might say they are ahead in many ways. British petroleum (BP) has been doing a lot with alternative energy for the future unlike Exxon which has mainly focused on gasoline. Shell has also made some large landmarks in alternative energy like the use of sugar cane for fuels (Bloomberg). Competitive AdvantagesExxon Mobile conducts oil and gasoline exploration in every major accessible area in the world (Integrated Solutions). They also have the largest amount of financial capital for new research and exploration. Exxon is also the largest publically traded energy company in the world and serves over two hundred countries (Annual Report). They also have discipline and consistency which means that they continue to grow in the areas they feel necessary while holding back in others like alternative energy. Current ChallengesOne of the biggest challenges that Exxon faces is the huge increase in energy by new developing nations. By 2030 there is an estimated forty percent increase in energy. This poses a problem because Xom must learn to boost efficiency, develop new supplies while still managing environmental risks. That is the next challenge that they face managing environmental risks like mitigating global co2 emissions. They have started to face this problem already by investing in CO2Remove project. This project is set to develop ways to lower co2 emission and create new guidelines for the industry (Integrated Solutions). Exxon also faces challenges with alternative energy like wind power, ethanol and solar power. The last challenge is with nuclear power and its high cost particularly in the U. S. In the U. S the cost of nuclear energy highly exceeds the cost of coal and gas. There is also the problem of how to properly dispose of radioactive waste and safe control of nuclear material. Exxon also is having trouble opening new facilities because no one wants nuclear plants near them. Part II Exxon Mobil is the world’s largest publicly traded international oil and gas company, providing energy that helps underpin growing economies and improve living standards around the world. To be successful, ExxonMobil must be at the leading edge of competition in every aspect of our business. This requires that the Corporation’s substantial resources, including financial, operational, technological, and human, be employed wisely and evaluated regularly. The success of the company depends mainly on customer satisfaction. For this reason, it is good for a company like Exxon Mobil to have solid mission and vision statements to act as a guideline for the sales and services to be implemented by the company. The mission statement and vision statement are as follows: Mission Statement Exxon Mobil Corporation is committed to being the world’s premier petroleum and petrochemical company. To that end, we must continuously achieve superior financial and operating results while adhering to the highest standards of business conduct. These unwavering expectations provide the foundation for our commitments to those with whom we interact (Annual Report). Vision Statement -providing reliable, affordable energy supplies in a reasonable manner. -safely and reliably producing oil, natural gas, and hydrocarbon -finding and developing new supplies and products to bring to the market – maximizing resource and asset value -improving energy efficiency and minimizing environmental impacts -developing the next generation of scientists and engineers Strengths: The size of the Corporation is the most obvious strength for Exxon Mobil. Exxon Mobil is affiliated with over 200 countries and territories (Annual Report). There are 6. 1 billion shares and over 2. 5 million shareholders. Another strength of the company is the diverse workforce that allows them to achieve superior results. Exxon Mobil benefits from the cultural differences, knowledge, and skills of our employees who represent the diverse communities of the world. Weaknesses: There were three employee fatalities and five contractor fatalities since 2005. However, the company has learned from these incidents and is working hard at preventing such incidents in the future. Also, replacing the oil that is extracted from the locations is another weakness. They also face the challenge of continuing their pace of significant energy efficiency improvements year after year. Opportunities: ExxonMobil has a list of significant Arctic opportunities, with ongoing studies spanning the range of exploration, project assessment and planning, and technology development. We recognize that energy is vital to economic progress. Exxon Mobil is drilling in some of these areas, which helps boost their economy. Other such opportunities include the Canadian Beaufort Sea, West Greenland, and the Orphan Basin. Threats: Threats to Exxon Mobil include drilling restrictions, other independent companies, global warming. Managing the risks from increases in global greenhouse gas emissions is an important concern for ExxonMobil, industry and governments around the world. Exxon Mobil is living up to its vision and mission. They are the premiere gas and oil supplier of the world and do so while staying energy efficient and have very high standards of the functions of business. The company reaches out to its customers and strives to be as helpful and satisfying as possible. They are reliable and for the most part affordable. They continue to develop next generation technology and scientific practices. The company grows stronger each year. Part III Financial AnalysisThe financial analysis for Exxon Mobil Corporation seems to be in very strong financial position overall and when compared to the competition. The revenue for 2007 was reported at 404,552,000 with a net income of 40,610. When compared to BP, Shell, and Marathon it seems to dominate the market and the competition by a gross margin of 20. 8%, which was at least 5% above the nearest competitor and closest to the industry average of 25%. Exxon Mobil’s current ratio was 1. and was highest of the competition. The industry average is 1. 2, the higher the ratio number, and the better the ability to repay current loans. The debt to equity ratio of . 08 is considered extremely low and looked at as being very safe, and was the lowest of the competition. With such a strong performing company and profits come strong earnings, at $7. 35 per share earnings was one of the highest of the industry. Company comparisonWhen Exxon Mobil is compared to the competition it seems to be out performing the rest of the industry and is proven with the financial statements and ratios. This is definitely a great long term company to invest in, when compared to the competition in this industry. Part IV Strategy to Competitive Advantage- As global warming increases Exxon needs to go green. One strategy they need to have is a renewable energy producer, such as electricity from a carbon emitting utility. There are tons of opportunities to gain a competitive advantage by understanding the carbon constraints. First, Exxon needs to minimize the additional costs more effectively than competitors. Second, differentiate their product by binding carbon credits into their offering. Then, Exxon needs to turn their capacity to supply carbon credits into a profit centre (Energy-Edge). Expand or Reduce Operations- Exxon is ramping up its oil exploration and drilling, and even worse, is looking to expand its leadership in exploiting Canada’s tar sands. They need to stop expanding and start reducing its operations. An expansion is increasing production capacity by 40 percent. But, the mining and processing of tar sands is highly destructive to the local environment and is an enormous generator of greenhouse gas emissions (Coop America). New Products or Services- Exxon has launched a new service called the fleet card program. The program offers a number of valuable features including: greater control over driver’s expenses, money-saving rebates on fuel purchases, special discounts on business-related products and services, innovative technology and the convenience of more than 16,000 Exxon and Mobil branded locations nationwide (All Business). Environmental Factors that Influence the Operation- The main environment factor is the climate change on the business from greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide emissions. Exxon Mobile needs to view â€Å"carbon exposure† as more than just a key factor in future corporate competitiveness (Energy-edge). They need to use their profit money towards renewable energy research and development, to break individuals’ oil addiction and create a secure and green energy future for the US. (Coop America) Work at or Investing in Exxon- People should invest rather than work at Exxon Mobile. One reason is that Exxon is ranked number two in the Fortune 500. The world’s energy need, will increase in the near future. Growth in developing countries will drive most of this increase, but energy demand is expected to increase in the United States, too. (ExxonMobil) Exxon spends about $80billion to invest in future energy development.

Jim’s Nobility in Huck Finn

Houlihan 1 Mike Houlihan Ms. Fledderman English H April 15, 2013 Nobility at the Bottom of Society Someone who is noble is defined as a distinguished person noted for feats of courage and heroism. The character of Jim in  Huckleberry Finn  by Mark Twain certainly fits that description. He risked his life in order to free himself from slavery, and in doing so, helps Huck to realize that he has worth. Huck becomes aware of Jim's sense of love and humanity, his basic goodness, and his desire to help others.Jim faces discrimination based on the color of his skin and is faced with the challenges of racist stereotypes. Twain characterizes Jim as a sincere yet naive character, representing the runaway slave as a fatherly figure who maintains his integrity as being one of the sole characters of the novel who wouldn't be described as hypocritical, despite the fact that Jim also retains a childlike mentality. Throughout the novel Jim expresses nobility through his selfless nature, his stre ngth to good while resisting evil, and his ability to bear with any misfortune that may befall on him or his loved ones.Mark Twain allows Jim to break racist stereotypes by showing more human qualities of him when he expresses his selfless nature. by assuming a role as a father figure to Huck, who he watches over throughout the bulk of the novel. Jim protects Huck by shielding his view from the dead body that turned out to be Huck's father Pap. â€Å"I went in en unkivered him and didn't let you Houlihan 2 come in? Well, den, you kn git yo money when you wants it kase dat wuz him† (320).This show of consideration and paternal care for Huck makes Jim out to be more humane. Jim demonstrates his humanity by not only caring for Huck physically, but also mentally and emotionally in shielding him from a sight that could have been mentally or emotionally strenuous on someone like Huck. Jim’s actions are partly a result of his inability to distance himself from the society whi ch he has been conditioned. There are countless opportunities for Jim to leave Huck during the story, yet he remains by Huck’s side.When Huck and Jim are separated in the fog, Jim says â€Å"When I got all tired out wid work, en wid de callin you, en went to sleep, my heart wuz most broke because I was los, en I didn’t kyer no mo what became er me or der raf† (85). Jim’s freedom is then not worth the price of Huck’s life, and let’s people know that he would readily risk his life for Huck. Twain represents Jim as a paternal figure who maintains his integrity as being one of the only sincere characters of the novel, while contrasting this quality with the typical stereotypes of an uneducated slave during the American slave era.Jim is one of the sole characters of the novel who wouldn't be described as hypocritical, for he has the integrity to do what’s right when everyone around him choose not to. After Jim and Huck decide to travel tog ether on the Mississippi river; the pair has to depend on each other for survival as they encounter  people who cause obstacles and jeopardize Jim’s freedom. For example when Jim is forced to accompany the king and the duke during their scams he says â€Å"But Huck dese kings o ourn is jus reglar rapscallions; dats what dey is deys reglar rapscallions† (153).Although Huck is simply putting on an act and appeasing them in order to prevent turmoil. Jim thinks that it is ridiculous for someone to be entitled to a servant and recognizes that this is wrong by calling them â€Å"rapscallions†. This could also be twain making a jab at slavery, which is Houlihan 3 ironic because Jim has been a slave all his life without asking questions. When Jim talks about his family, he mentions his daughter whom he had hurt due to the misunderstanding that she was deaf and dumb; this proves to be pivotal point in the novel to see what kind of man Jim truly is. Oh, she was plumb de af en dumb, Huck, Plumb deaf en dumb en I’d ben a treatn her so† (156). Jim, like most fathers wanted his child to have manners and due to his ignorance of his daughter’s condition hurt her, for he believed she was just being rude. After coming to the realization of her condition, he begins to feel guilt for being unintentionally cruel. By being simple minded and at the very bottom of the social order, Jim is able to see right wrong, while others who claim to be above him cannot see this. Jim continues to show his nobility by enduring the hardships that he is faced with throughout the novel.He talks about how he feels to Huck to the extent where he forces Huck to stop and think over how he treated Jim. After talking down to Huck after playing a trick on him, Jim tells Huck how he feels and Huck even thinks that â€Å"I wouldn't done that one if I'd a knowed it would make him feel that way† (142). After thinking this, Huck himself subverts the racist stereo type by humanizing Jim and acknowledging that the black man has the capacity to feel, and Huck allows his mood to be negatively influenced by the thought that he hurt the feelings of a man he considered his friend.Jim's condition as a human being is improved even more when Huck considers Jim as his friend, making him equal to a white boy. By making Jim equal to himself, Huck is able to humanize Jim and break the cultural perception that Jim is bound to. Another example of how the book illustrates this theme is when Tom kept Jim locked up as a slave when he clearly could have been set free at any moment. Tom was aware Jim was freed from being a slave but decided to keep it a secret. This caused Jim unnecessary poor treatment. Houlihan 4He was forced by Tom to do things he didn’t want to do. This is shown when Tom forces Jim to have rats, spiders, and snakes in his room. Tom says to Jim â€Å"But Jim, you got to have ‘em- they all do. So don’t make any more fuss a bout it† (263). This was cruel because Jim was forced to live with the creatures that traumatized him in his past. Though Mark Twain breaks some racist barriers with Jim, other stereotypes about blacks in the era are reinforced throughout the novel and Jim still maintains the strength to endure.Throughout the novel, Mark Twain both reinforces and disputes racist stereotypes of the time period through the portrayal of Jim as a noble character. Jim is depicted as a genuine yet unsophisticated character. Twain represents Jim as a selfless, paternal figure that is able to see right from wrong and maintains his integrity as being one of the only sincere characters of the novel. Twain contrasts this quality with stereotypes typical of an uneducated slave during the American slave era.Though he is a stoic character, Jim is able to span the entire novel as a father figure who protects Huck both physically and emotionally and, even after Huck plays tricks on him, forgives Huck and cont inues to protect him. Nobility is reinforced when Jim's simple nature is revealed in various parts throughout the novel. Jim's gullibility and his language relay the stereotypes of the antebellum south that blacks were somehow not people and were much lower than whites. These ideas become relinquished in the end, for readers are able to see the distinguished human being that Jim characterized.

Critically assess Thomas Aquinas’ approach to the problem of evil The WritePass Journal

Critically assess Thomas Aquinas’ approach to the problem of evil Bibliography Critically assess Thomas Aquinas’ approach to the problem of evil IntroductionBibliographyRelated Introduction St Thomas Aquinas was one of the most influential theologians to date and his influence on the Catholic faith and understanding of ethics is both vast and undeniable. As a theologian he took great influence from the work of St. Augustine who in turn took influence from the Greek philosopher Aristotle. To understand Aquinas’ approach to the problem of evil it is important to first examine the influence he took St. Augustine. I will also look at another approach to the problem of evil given by the modern British theologian John Hick. I will see if this accounts for anything which Aquinas’ account does not. St. Augustine’s work on the problem of evil came as a reaction to the Manicheans’ who believed in a type of ‘cosmic dualism’. Their belief was that there were two opposed forces in the universe; the force of good and the force of evil. The force of evil was responsible for all evil that occurred in the world; be it the death of a relative or a very poor yield of crops. These forces, according to the Manicheans’, were in a constant cosmic battle against each other. This view of the forces of good and evil can be seen in modern literature and film and a good example of this is the book Lord of the rings. In the lord of the rings Frodo and the other members of fellowship can be seen to represent the force of good and Sauron and his dark army can be seen to represent the forces of evil. The Manicheans supported their dualist claim that there were both evil and good forces in the world through quotations found in the book of revelations which state that S t Michael and some angels went into   battle with the devil and his angels (the similarity between this and the battles in the lord of the rings is very apparent). St Augustine did not accept the Manicheans account as he did not believe it was a Christian position; believing that there was a separate force of evil was not a defensible position for a devout Christian. Many religions, including Christianity, Judaism and Islam, state that there is only one God and that one God created the universe and everything within it. From this we can take the position that there can be absolutely no independent or separate power of evil due to the fact that everything that exists was created by an all powerful and completely good God. But how then does one account for evil being present in some form within the world? Surely one must either accept that evil does not exist at all or that the God of which we speak is not utterly good or that god is not omnipotent. Cleverly St. Augustine managed to avoid this problem by introducing some of the philosophy of Aristotle; namely that of his work on absence. Aristotle believed that many things we could view as being a negative force or thing could actually be explained in terms of the absence of something good. Where we may view sickness as being the introduction of a virus or a parasite into somebody’s previously healthy body Aristotle would have viewed it as a ‘lack of health’. So where health is not present there is sickness. Another good example is ‘where there is darkness there is an absence of light’. So, for Aristotle, many negative things can be seen as an absence of something positive. To further illustrate this point Aristotle gave the example of a ship being wrecked. If the pilot of a ship is not on the bridge and the ship crashes into rocks and becomes wrecked it is due to the absence of a pilot. The pilot himself did no wrong; he was not inattentive or inebriated during duty; he merely was not there. It was the absence of the pilot which caused the ship to crash. This illustrates that negativ e things occur when there is an absence of some good which should have been there. St. Augustine took Aristotle’s work on absence and applied it to his own work on the problem of evil, and the idea that something negative was the absence of something positive became a central theme in his theology. Augustine did make some changes to the idea of evil being an absence of good as he believed that not every single absence is an evil; he did this by stating the difference between a privation and an absence. The distinction he made is this; an absence exists when some good is not present that should not be present in the first place whereas a privation (privatio bonni (a privation of good)) exists when some good is not present that should have been there in the first place. To illustrate this a few examples are useful. If a stone does not have eyes then there is an absence of some good but the stone is not intended to have eyes so this seen as an absence not a privation. If a person does not have wings then there is an absence of some good, but the person is not i ntended to have wings so this is seen as an absence and not a privation. Now if we look at privation then the difference should be clear. If a person does not have eyes then this is a privation and not an absence as a person is intended to have eyes, there is something missing which should be there. If a giraffe does not have a neck then this is seen as a privation and not an absence as there is something missing which should be there. In other words; if something falls short of what it is supposed to be then it has suffered a privation. Who decides the way something is supposed to be is God. It is God who created everything to have a certain nature and if something falls short of this God given nature then it is suffering a privation. Furthermore; if something falls short of its God given nature then it is not as God intended it to be, thus, it is to an extent evil. So the person without eyes is suffering, to a certain extent, from an evil (a privation of good). It is important to note here that these privations do not occur from free choice; they are existent because of some ‘natural evil’ which occurred; for example a birth defect. No choice was made by the person to have no eyes; it was not because of a choice they made. So if these types of privation are seen as natural evil then what is moral evil? How does moral evil occur? St. Augustine believed that human beings and angels were different to the rest of God’s creations. What they had, which God’s other creations did not, was free will. Where all of God’s other creations were susceptible only to natural evil (they had no choice over the privations which they may have suffered) humans and angels had the ability to choose whether or not they wanted to fall short of God’s intended nature for them. A human being has the choice to be good, to help those who need help or to act in a godly manner and the choice to not be good, the choice to fall short of God’s intended nature. They have freedom; the freedom to act in the right way or in the wrong way. They can choose to act in a manner that makes them fall short of God’s intended nature (as in the story of Adam and Eve). So in other words; moral evil occurs when humans use their freedom to fall short of God’s intended plans for them. Because humans have this fre e choice where all of God’s other creations do not it is humans which are responsible for all moral evil. Augustine also believed that there was a mysterious connection between human’s free choice to fall short of Gods intentions and the occurrence of natural evil; he thought there was a link between choosing to act in the wrong way and the occurrence of natural disasters. He took the biblical account of creation totally literally and from that he assumed that God created the world without any ‘natural evil’ whatsoever. There would have been no earthquakes, there would have been no tsunamis and there would have been no volcanic explosions (in fact there would have been no volcanos at all). He believed that all of these features of the world were brought about by humans and angels using their free choice to rebel against God.   So now the background to Aquinas’ theology has been established we can look at Aquinas’ work in some detail. St. Thomas Aquinas’ approach to the problem of evil took much from Aristotle and Augustine. Like Aristotle he saw that many negative things can be seen to be an absence of something else, i.e. darkness being an absence of light. He also saw the need to make a distinction between absence and privation, for he too believed that it was not evil for a stone to not have eyes. He took these ideas and expanded on them to create a much more detailed view of what evil can be seen to be. He states ‘For evil is the absence of the good, which is natural and due to a thing’. He stated that pure evil is totally impossible and this is due to two reasons. If pure evil was possible then it would imply that there was a separate force of evil, opposed to that of good. If this were the case then it would mean that God was either not utterly good, or it would mean that God was not omnipotent. It would also negate the idea that evil is an absence of good. The other reason that Aquinas stated that pure evil was impossible is that for something to be purely evil, by definition, it would have to fall short of its God given nature by 100%. As God created everything that exists then something that fell short of its God given nature by 100% would not exist. Even Satan, according to Aquinas, cannot be seen to be totally evil. Satan was created by God and is evil because he chose to rebel against his God given nature but he is good in the fact that he exists and is one of Gods creations. Another example would be that of Chairman Mao. Chairman Mao was good to the extent that he existed but was bad because he failed to live up to God’s intended nature for him (because he killed around 10 million people). So, for Aquinas as for Augustine, pure evil does not exist. Another feature that Aquinas added to Augustine’s work was the differentiation between evil suffered and evil done. It is evil done that creates moral evil. It is not evil to have a thief steal your wallet; there is evil in the crime and the person who has been robbed has suffered from evil but they have committed no evil themselves, they have done nothing morally wrong and they have created no moral evil. It is the thief who has done something wrong; he has committed an evil act and has created some moral evil. So far it appears that Aquinas’ and Augustine’s approach to the problem of evil are the same (if not for a few revised definitions and differentiations). Where Aquinas really made a difference was with his work on the idea of natural evil. Unlike Augustine Aquinas effectively denied that natural evil exists. He did not believe that volcanoes and tsunamis were brought about by the free choices of angels and humans. Furthermore he did not believe that the world was created without things such as volcanoes and tsunamis, flesh eating tigers and fatal illnesses. He believed that all of things have always existed from the moment of creation and all of these things were created by God for a reason. The things which we may view as evil are only evil from a homocentric perspective; we only see tsunami’s as being evil because they kill other humans. We only see flesh eating tigers as evil because they are a threat to us. These things which we view as evil are only seen as evil from our perspective. Aquinas’s approach does not look at the world from a homocentric perspective; instead he looks at the world from the perspective of god (a theocentric perspective). When the world is looked at from God’s perspective what is seen as evil changes vastly. When a tiger eats a human or even a baby this not evil. The tiger is fulfilling its God given nature perfectly when it kills other beings to eat them. God designed the tiger to eat meat to sustain its own life; if it did not eat meat to sustain its own life then it would not be fulfilling its God given nature and then it would be succumbing to evil (it would be falling short of God’s intentions for it). Even the recent tsunami in Japan, according to Aquinas, cannot be seen as a natural evil. He would say that the tsunami was good in that it was fulfilling its God given nature to the fullest extent. The tsunami did what it was intended to do. It was being a good Tsunami. All of God’s creations are seen to be good if they fulfil their God given nature, if they do what God intended them to do. A volcano that erupts is a good volcano, a sheep that eats grass is a good sheep, and a fox which eats chickens is a good fox and so on.   Obviously from the chicken’s perspective it is a bad thing that the fox eats it but from God’s perspective the fox is being a good fox because it is acting as God intended it to act. If the chickens were not killed by foxes or any other animal there could be a situation where there were too many chickens and this could lead to other problems such as chickens eating all the food and leaving none for other animals. In the same way if there were no disasters such as tsunamis then there could be too many humans in the world and this would leave no food for God’s other creatures. The same applies to things such as the AIDS virus. Although we see it is a very bad thing, in God’s eyes it may be seen as necessary to keep the population at a certain level without overcrowding. Because the AIDS virus was created by God it is not evil if it fulfils its God given nature. It is only from a human perspective that th e AIDS virus is seen as a bad thing. This is a philosophically interesting and attractive position to take on the problem of evil. Aquinas’ approach not only deals with moral evil in an effective manner but also explains what Augustine would call ‘natural evil’ in a much more logical way. Aquinas’ decision to look at the world from a theocentric perspective allowed him to explain things such as tsunami’s and AIDS without turning to mysterious effects of moral evils. In effect Aquinas took Aristotle’s conception of a ‘good man’ or a ‘good carpenter’ and extended it to encompass all of God’s creations and in doing so created a much more philosophically sound approach to the problem of evil. One problem with Aquinas’ approach to the problem of evil is that he does not explain what use evil has. Why is evil allowed to be prevalent in the world? Why does God allow so much suffering to occur? Although Aquinas states that evil is not ‘something’, it is an absence of good he does not explain why God allows man to fall so short of our intended nature and thus allow evil to exist (even if its existence can only be explained in terms of a lack of good). One theologian who does manage to explain why evil exists is John Hick. Hick rejects much of the traditional Christian approach to the problem of evil and states that the ideas which underlie much of traditional Christian theology are false and effectively outdated. It is now useful to look at Hick’s approach to the problem of evil to see how it differs from Aquinas’ approach and to see whether it manages to successfully account for why evil is allowed to exist in the world. John Hick is a British philosopher and theologian who effectively denies much of traditional Christian beliefs. For example he denies that the humans were ever perfect and in doing so he denies the story of ‘the fall’. He does this by looking at scientific research and using this to show that it is very improbable that humans were ever perfect, improbable that the Garden of Eden existed. This is radically opposed to Aquinas’ view as Aquinas was a firm believer in the story of ‘the fall’, from which stemmed all evil. Hick took much inspiration from St Ireneus who believed that human kind was created in God’s image. We were created to look like God but it was our responsibility to become like God. It is our responsibility to grow morally through our own free choices. We must choose to live a way of life that reflects the ‘divine’ way of life, we must choose to act in the way that God would. But how can we do this? How can we grow to become more like God? Hick believes that we can grow to become like God through our own free choices. Through our choice to act in the right way and not commit evil acts or give in to our weaknesses we can grow morally and spiritually to become more like God. Hick goes on to state that the evil which exists in the world is part of God’s creation. The evil which we find all too easy to give into was created by God as a gift. It is through this evil that we can grow into God’s likeness. We can choose not to give in to our base desires an d do the wrong thing. We can choose not to remain in our animal state and accept that ‘we are only human’. We can choose to adopt the features of God such as kindness, compassion and love and if we do we grow spiritually and grow away from our animal state. So Hick believed that evil was put into the world to allow us to make free choices; choices between right and wrong, good and evil. He developed this line of reasoning in an attempt to prove that a belief in an all powerful, all good and all loving God was not an irrational belief. But this still begs the question; if God wants us to believe in him and act in the right way why does he not prove his existence to us? Why doesn’t he show himself to us? It would seem like the sensible thing to do, it would stop all speculation over whether God exists or not and it would be very likely that people would stop acting in an evil way. Hick claims that God does not show himself to us in order to protect human free will. God chooses to remain hidden to preserve our freedom. This allows us the make our own choices and to choose to act how we want. It is this freedom, according to Hick, which allows us to grow morally and spiritually and thus grow into God’s likeness. If God did sho w himself then this would destroy our free choices and thus stunt our moral and spiritual development. So; God cannot show himself as it would destroy human freedom, it would destroy our freedom to act in whichever way we please. Without this freedom we would not be able to grow into God’s likeness. So it is evil which allows us to become more like God. It is evil which makes us more moral beings. This approach to the problem of evil does overcome some of the objections faced by Aquinas’ approach as it manages to explain why God permits evil to exist in the world. The approach devised by Hick’s manages to justify why belief in an all powerful, all good and all loving God is not irrational in the face of great evil. This is something which Aquinas fails to do. Aquinas does manage to explain how there is evil in the world but not why. To conclude I have found that Aquinas’ approach, despite it underpinning much of Catholic belief, fails to account for why God permits evil to exist in the world. Aquinas does manage to explain how it exists and blames this on the bad choices of humans but he fails to explain why it exists. He fails to give evil any purpose unlike Hick who explains why and how evil exists in the world. Hick states that God gave us evil as a gift which will bring about the highest good and he explains this point well. So, although Aquinas does give a fairly good account of how evil exists and makes a good point in stating that natural evil does not exist, he fails to justify or explain why evil is permitted in this world. Because of this I am inclined to reject Aquinas’ pre-scientific theory in favour of the better explained, more scientific and more plausible theory devised by Hick. Bibliography Herbert McCabe. God and Evil: in the theology of St. Thomas Aquinas. Continuum international publishing group. 2010 aquinasonline.com/Topics/probevil.html Peter Vardy. A thinker’s guide to evil. John Hunt Publishing. 2003 Peter Vardy. A thinkers guide to god. John Hunt publishing. 2003

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Free sample - Poes Horror. translation missing

Poes Horror. Poe's HorrorINTRODUCTION Edgar Allan Poe (1809 - 1849) was a famous poet in America who wrote many stories and poems (Hossick 28). He was also an editor as well as a writer and he worked with several journals and publishing homes. He is most famous for his stories of mystery. It is believed that Edgar Allan made a generous contribution to the genre of scientific fiction through his stories and poems of mystery. The most outstanding stories by this poet are the black cat, the cask of Amontillado, William Wilson and the man of the crowd. These four stories are the area of interest in this paper and a comparison in the themes of the four stories will be made. DISCUSSION THE STORIES 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   BLACK CAT This story is narrated by Edgar himself and he explains that the story is inspired by his childhood passion for domestic animals. The story is about him and his favorite pet, a cat named as Pluto. Pluto and Edgar were good friends until Edgar changed abruptly, became violent and a drunkard. The situation worsened and Edgar killed the cat, an act that haunted him and prompted him to look for another cat to replace Pluto with. The new black cat does not bring peace to Edgar and the story ends with Edgar killing both the black cat and his wife. The narrator takes the audience through the story with lots of symbolism and imagery. The main theme of this story is the man’s fear of the unknown such as the fear of darkness, illusion and spaces. In the story, Edgar finds his house on fire after killing Pluto, and later he sees an image of a huge cat on the wall of his house. Perverseness is also a theme in this story where the quilt feeling by Edgar causes fear in his life (Barger and Poe, 59). There is also the theme of self destruction which is shown by the way Edgar brings trouble to himself through alcoholism and his violent actions. Another theme is the theme of vengeance (Lippmann 45). The black cat haunts Elgar in order to avenge its death and in the end of the story, the cat alerts draws the attention of the police to the acts of Elgar. The most outstanding elements in this story are the elements of horror and superstition. It is superstition that makes Edgar think that he has seen a cat on the wall of his burnt house, a symbol of Pluto hanging on the noose. Another important element in the story is the cat itself, which plays the roles of an actor, symbol, and a device to develop the plot. It doubles up as both a real creature and a ghost by dying and another cat reappearing in the story. This element of doubling is used in German folklore to signify bad luck or bad omen. The name Pluto is also symbolic as according to Roman mythology, the name symbolizes death or misfortunes. The story is also ambiguous, with the question of whether the reappearance of the cat was natural or superstitious being left unanswered. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   CASK OF AMONTILLADO In this story the narrator, Montressor, is not happy as the others during the annual celebration of the beginning of Lentern season. The reason why he is not happy is because of the many offenses committed against him by Furtunato. Montressor is out to revenge and he looks for an opportunity to do so. He uses a new wine by the name of Amontillado as bait to catch Furtunato and he succeeds and kills him brutally. The themes in the story are revenge, deception and pride. Montressor is out to revenge against Fortunato for the many offences he has committed, the most recent one being an insult. Deception is another theme shown by the way the way Montressor uses Amontillado to lure Fortunato to the catacombs where he kills him. Pride is evidenced by the believe Fortunato has on his ability to know whether the wine presented to him is truly Amontillado. He believed in his ability even though he was not sober and he was also unwell (Barger and Poe 88). 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   WILLIAM WILSON The story is narrated by a person on the verge of death, and it first builds on flash back. He is disturbed and seeks to get the reader to sympathize with him by informing the reader that his bad deeds were out of unavoidable circumstances. One theme of the story is the enemy within, which means destroying oneself or working against ones interests through alcoholism, drug abuse and others. There is an inner spirit that develops within us and cause fear of some things, depression or lack of sleep. According to Barger and Poe, the narrator is facing such a situation and in his struggle to overcome it, he fights against himself and loses (620). The other theme is the theme of terror which is shown by the way the narrator struggles to fight against an imaginary enemy. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   THE MAN OF THE CROWD This is the story of a man in the streets of London who has been suffering from an unknown illness. His sits outside and starts categorizing passers by where he notices one old man and follows him. The pursuit extends to the next day and the man is not able to understand the mission of the old man. The main theme in this story is the theme of mystery which is shown in the way the young man can not categorize the old man from the looks, as opposed to the other people in the streets. Even after following the old man for a long time, the man can not tell the motives of the old man and leaves the reader to find out for themselves (Barger and Poe 298). COMPARISON OF THE STORIES   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Through out the four stories, there are some themes that seem to recur, which are insanity as opposed to rationality, obsession, man and death, double identity, love or hatred, curiosity, resolve among others. About insanity and rationality, in the four stories there are people whose decisions are not driven by rationality but by an element of insanity. In the Black cat, the insanity was brought by influence from alcohol and Elgar is not in control of his decisions (Lippmann 68). Also, in the Cask of Amontillado, Fortunato is driven by drunkenness to accept the challenge to test the wine. The same case applies to the story William Wilson who is so disturbed that his decisions are not rational. In the man of the crowd, the man is driven by an unnamed sickness to sit idly in a coffee shop and categorize people. His move to follow an old man for so long is also an insane decision since he does not stand to benefit from discovering who the old man was.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another common theme in the stories is obsession. The characters in the stories are obsessed with different things and this obsession is a source of misfortunes or death to the characters. In the Black cat, the narrator is obsessed with the cat, his favorite pet and alcohol while in the story of the cask of Amontillado; Fortunato is obsessed with alcohol (Lippmann 176). There is also the obsession with discovering the truth in the man of the crowd. In the story of William Wilson, the narrator is obsessed with fighting against self and wining.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Throughout the stories, double identity is used to develop the plot. In the black cat, the black cat doubles as a both a natural creature as well as a ghost by dying and reappearing. In the story of the cask of Amontillado, the wine doubles as something to cheer up Fortunato and also as something to kill him. In the story William Wilson, the narrator’s struggle against self results to both a win and a loss while in the story the man of the crowd, the young man doubles as the man we know as well as a mysterious man.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the stories, Elgar has employed the use of symbolism, anaphora and first person narration in his work. In the story of the black cat, the cat is used to symbolize misfortune. In the cask of Amontillado, the name ‘Amontillado’ is also used to show bad luck. Anaphora is repeating a phrase or a word before the beginning of lines often to show emphasis and create balance. In the story of the black cat, he uses anaphora as shown in the line â€Å"...I blush, I burn, I shudder, while I pen†¦..†(Barger and Poe 62) and in the story of William Wilson, anaphora is shown in the line â€Å"†¦The same name! The same contour of person! The same of arrival...† (Barger and Poe 625).Irony is also used as shown in the story of the black cat. The cat which was initially a great friend to Edgar turned to be an enemy and cause of trouble to him. In the cask of Amontillado, when Montressor gives Fortunato wine, he toasts â€Å"to his long life† knowing very well that h would kill him. When they are ascending the stairs, he also tells him that his life is respected, which was not true since he was planning to kill him.  Ã‚   CONCLUSION Allan Edgar was a good writer who used various tools in his short stories to develop the story as well as to bring out the various themes. His favorite themes were mystery, obsession and revenge and these are common in most of his works (Hossick 67). He used the first person narration since it is more captivating and also convenient. His short stories are informative, thrilling as well as entertaining due to his literature skills.    WORKS CITED Barger, Andrew and Poe, Allen, E. Edgar Allen Poe Annotated and illustrated entire Stories and Poems. London: Bottletree Books LLC, 2008. Print. Hossick, Malcolm. Edgar Allen Poe. New York: Ardent Media, 2007. Print Lippmann, Babette. Edgar Allen Poe- â€Å"The Philosophy of Composition†: An Analysis of His Work. Norderstedt: GRIN Verlag, 2007.Print

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Russia - Essay Example Specifically, this paper will discuss and analyze some of the different features of tourism industry in Russia, in order to understand its related factors, determinants, and its influence on other sectors of the country. Geographically, Russia is considered as transcontinental country having its boundaries in both Asia, as well as, Europe. In specific, a larger part of the Russian Federation is extended in northern Eurasia. Moreover, some of the countries that share their borders with Russia are Poland, Finland, Norway, Georgia, China, North Korea, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Latvia, etc. It can be seen that a number of these countries are rich in terms of culture and heritage, which is a kind of benefit for Russia, for being located in a rich cultural region. In terms of borders touching waters, Russia shares its boundaries with the Black Sea, the Baltic Sea, and the Caspian Sea. In addition, it provides sea route with the Pacific Ocean, as well as, the Arctic Ocean. (Jafari, pp. 516, 2003) A country sharing its boundaries with so many land and water locations is considered an immensely benefited location in context of tourism, which is the reason that despite of Russia’s image of battle land and s uperpower, its historical places attract millions of tourists every year. Another reason for selecting Russia particularly for this study is its recognition as the largest country of planet earth covering 17,075,400 square km, and thus, the paper will now try to identify different physical resources that are contributing in appealing millions of inbound, as well as, outbound tourists from different parts of the globe. Almost every country has been blessed with historical treasures, physical features, attractive sites, etc; however, it is essential that such places should be maintained and utilized according to the demands and specialties of particular region. In other words, physical features can be utilized for energy purposes, as well

The art of the body adornment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The art of the body adornment - Essay Example It ias also found in areas such as Egypt, Uganda and other Middle Eastern and African countries. The plant is used for body art because it contains a property called tannins which allows the plant to exhibit color when ground up finely and mixed with hot water. One of the practical uses of henna is as a cooling agent. One can rub the mix on hands or feet in order to cool down in hot, Middle Eastern and African countries with extremely hot, dry climates. Henna is also commonly used as a form of hair dye. When it is used however for the purposes of body art, it is mixed with oils and sugars. Henna can be known as some of the following names, â€Å"henne, Al-Khanna, Jamaica Mignonette, Egyptian Privet and Smooth Lawsonia, the art of its application is referred to as henna (Arabic) or mehndi (Indian)† (Islamic World.net, 2006). Historically speaking, henna has been used for as much as 5,000 years for both its healing properties and for cosmetic purposes. Today henna is used in place of tattoos from time to time as it is not permanent. Henna designs can last on the skin for several weeks as opposed to the permanence of getting a tattoo. Culturally however, Hanna has significance in the Muslim religion as well as other religions. Many historians believe that henna originated in India with the Hindu culture but other historians have reason to believe that it originated in Egypt around the twelfth century. It is also possible that henna was used even earlier by certain African countries as well as countries in the Middle Eat. Many archeologists have found henna markings on the fingers and toes of mummified pharos. Hindu body decoration has been used within the Islamic faith but also within Jewish, Hindu, Christian and even pagan religions. Although henna has been used for religious purposes in many cases, it is known to have been used by working

Global Business - Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Global Business - - Assignment Example At the same time, a SWOT analysis and a PEST analysis have been employed for revealing the potentials of the organization to improve its performance through internationalization. Three different methods for entering the market chosen are presented. It is concluded that the expansion of the firm in a foreign market could highly support the increase of its profitability but only if certain terms are met, as indicatively highlighted in the sections that follow. In any case, it seems that the continuous monitoring of the relevant process is necessary for avoiding unexpected failures. One of the most important characteristics of the global market is its high competitiveness, a fact that has been related to the expansion of globalization (Griffin 2008). At this point, the following issue appears: how the potential of a firm to face the challenges of the global environment can be measured? The use of strategic tools, as those presented above, could possibly help towards this direction. Still, it is necessary to refer also to the global market trends in regard to the industrial sector involved (Nummela 2010). In the case under examination, emphasis should be given on the electronics industry. The global electronic industry is characterized by trends for growth. In fact for 2013 the growth of the industry has been estimated to 5.4% (QFinance 2012) with trends for further growth in the years that follow. Of course, the influence of the recent recession on the particular industry has been severe, as also in all industries worldwide. Still, it seems that the potentials of the particular industry to face market pressures are important, even if not all parts of this industry has presented signs of growth (QFinance 2012). The above facts are critical when having to evaluate the potential prospects of Elecdyne’s internationalization process. In case that the firm had tried to expand but in different environmental conditions, meaning the trends in the

An Inspector Calls Character Profile Essay Example for Free

An Inspector Calls Character Profile Essay Arthur Birling Husband of Sybil, father of Sheila and Eric. He is the owner of Birling and Company, some sort of factory business that employs several girls to work on machines. He is a Magistrate and two years ago, was Lord Mayor of Brumley. Gerald Croft Engaged to Sheila. His parents, Sir George and Lady Croft, are above the Birlings socially, and it seems his mother disapproves of his engagement to Sheila. He works for his fathers company, Crofts Limited, which seems to be both bigger and older than Birling and Company. Sheila Birling Engaged to be married to Gerald. Daughter of Arthur Birling and Sybil Birling, and sister of Eric. Sybil Birling Married to Arthur. Mother of Sheila and Eric. Sybil is, like her husband, a woman of some public influecnce, sitting on charity organizations and having been married two years ago to the Lord Mayor. She is an icily impressive woman, arguably the only one of all the Birlings to almost completely resist the Inspectors attempts to make her realize her responsibilities. Eric Birling Son of Arthur and Sybil Birling. Brother of Sheila Birling. Eric has a drinking problem He works at Birling and Company, and his father is his boss. Inspector Goole The Inspector is in his fifties, and he is dressed in a plain dark suit. He initially seems to be an ordinary Brumley police inspector, but (as his name might suggest) comes to seem something more ominousperhaps even a supernatural being. Edna The parlour maid. Eva Smith A girl who the Inspector claims worked for Birling and was fired, before working for Milwards and then being dismissed. She subsequently had relationships with Gerald Croft and then Eric Birling (by whom she became pregnant).

Preparing a Website for Sale :: Sell Websites Buy Websites

Preparing a Website for Sale Reprinted with permission of VotanWeb.com A website owner recently asked me to succinctly define what an owner must do in order to prepare a website for sale. I segmented my response into major categories as follows: Financial Since most website sales are based upon a multiple of the cash flow (either EBITDA or Discretionary Cash Flow), the website owner must have all of the financial records segregated and in good order. At a minimum, we would suggest having three years of financial statements and tax returns. If there are substantial differences between taxable income and book income (e.g. cash basis vs. accrual), those must be identified and explained. Culling out all significant discretionary expenditures along with isolating any unusual and non-recurring expenditures and losses will be important. Operations The Seller will want to identify all products and services provided by his (her) website and the specific markets served. In this review, it will be important to define the strategic advantages enjoyed by the website in their respective niche as well as comparative gross profit margins for each product and service. Growth Opportunities While buyers will purchase a website at a price predicated on current and historical cash flows, the main impetus for the purchase will be the ability of the buyer to grow the website at a rate that exceeds the norm for similar opportunities. It is important for the Seller to visualize those growth possibilities and define them tangibly in terms of product extensions to current lines, existing products to new markets, better market penetration, wider geographical distribution and etc. Deal Structure The preponderance of transactions in the sale of privately held website are handled as an asset sale (versus sale of stock). This type of sale will result in the buyer receiving a stepped up basis in the assets purchased (which generates future tax deductions) while concurrently avoiding unwanted contingent liabilities that result from a stock sale. The owner must sit down with his CPA and/or attorney and understand the tax implications of this transaction under each scenario so that he will not be surprised at closing or worse yet, when preparing his individual and corporate tax return. Remember, it's not what you get but what you keep that counts! Available Financing Most website owners would prefer to be cashed out of the transaction at closing and do as little owner financing as possible.

The Game :: Creative Writing Essays

The Game They tried to hide the huge needle, of course. He laid with his face planted hard into the sheets. His father and a nurse held him down by his shoulders and legs. The needle was pushed in just above his hip. He took it better than most boys his age. He clenched as it made its way through his skin. It stopped when it met his hipbone. The doctor had to ratchet it now, hard, to penetrate the bone. He clenched harder. The doctor now rocked the needle around in every direction now, to break of the thread of marrow that was drawn. The boy's lips finally opened. His father would never forget the scream that came out. All he did was tighten his grip as the boy thrashed. It was this, or it was death. The doctor had all that was needed for now. A sample to analyze before making a final decision. Tomorrow, if all was good, the needle would have to go in four more times, it wouldn't hurt though, promise. "Don't worry, David, you'll get anesthesia next time. You'll be numb, you'll never feel a thing." He stepped out of the car and looked around. Before him he observed a stately building, manicured flowers, lush green grass. He noticed some men wearing spotless shoes, and neatly creased slacks standing on the grass observing a small white ball and trading remarks that made them smile. Everyone, everything, seemed so peaceful, so clean, so perfect at Timuquana Country Club. David Duval was just nine. He was so short that his bag of clubs almost dragged on the ground. He was slightly chunky, with freckled skin. His bottle-thick glasses sat on his nose. He carried six bags of golf balls to the driving range. If you watched how he carried himself, you wouldn't know that he had really just started playing, or that the bag of clubs was irritating a string of puncture scars on his hips. He poured the balls out and began sending them flying across the grass. The men finished and moved away. David left only to collect six more bags of balls, about 150 more balls, and returned, again and again. "David," Woodrow Burton, a club employee, begged, "you better leave some of them balls for the members." David, saying nothing, opened his palms for the balls. Soon those calluses would be hard, those hands wouldn't feel a thing.

Postal Rule of Acceptance

Four main justifications of Postal Acceptance Rule i. ‘Ad infinitum’ Justification Postal rule had existed almost for 200 years and the post had been creating problems for people which the courts are obliged to solve them logically. Why it had been creating so many problems for people and that we will be discussing later on. For now let’s look at the four main justifications for postal rule of acceptance. It came from Treitel and he believes that the four main justifications are for the creation of postal rule.First of all, the first justification is the â€Å"Ad Infinitum† justification where its main rationale is that acceptance by post has to be valid on posting because if there were no postings which mean there is no contract formed. Based on the case of Adam v Lindsell, the defendant actually mail the offer of selling wool to plaintiff and the plaintiff was requested on mailing back to the defendant. Unfortunately there was an error in the offered pric e and plaintiff did not receive it.We can thus conclude that the defendant had not receive the letter of acceptance and therefore the defendant assume that the plaintiff did not want to accept his offer so he sold the wool to a third party. There was actually a contract exists before the sale of the wool because acceptance made right after the mail is being mailed. Therefore, the defendant was liable in breach of contract. In this case, it might go on ad infinitum because once mail is being posted which means that acceptance is being made.Of course, there is a high level of uncertainty because of the distance between the two parties causing them difficulties for the formation of contract. ii. ‘Symbolic Act’ Justification In this justification, rationale being that the offeror must be considered as continually making (the offer) until he has brought to the knowledge of the person to whom it made that it is withdraw. Based on the case of Brogden v Directors of Metropolita n Railway Co, there was a contract sent by the defendant (Directors of Metropolitan Railway) to the plaintiff (Brogden) regarding the contract.The plaintiff agreed the contract by signing it and return to the defendant. The defendant then filled in the blanks without informing the plaintiff about the acceptance. Since there is no acceptance being communicated between the both parties, the plaintiff did not supply the company with coals. Thus, there was subsequently a dispute arose that whether the written agreement was valid. Although the action of communication of acceptance had not been showed clearly, in fact the written agreement was valid despite no acceptance being informed.Reason being both parties had already agreed on the terms of the contract without any objections. In the real world, we do not see an offeror consistently making an offer to people, and subsequently this justification seems to be attempting to affect a useful acceptance rule rather than providing any real r ationale for the postal rule. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. The Law of Contract, 11th Edition, 2003 page 25 [ 2 ]. Stevenson P. J, 2010 [ 3 ]. (1818) 1 B&A 681 [ 4 ]. Henthorn v Fraser (1892) 2 Ch. 27 [ 5 ]. Stevenson P. J, 2010

Hcc Industries

1. Evaluate the decision to use â€Å"minimum performance standard† (MPS) targets instead of â€Å"stretch† targets. The purpose of setting a budget system is to briefly forecast a company’s performance in the following year, and it can also be a result control system that makes people in the corporation work properly to achieve the objectives and give them incentives by bonus related to performance. From this point of view, the budget system should be reasonable, achievable, and also have some challenge to ensure the hard working. HCC Industries was using â€Å"stretch† performance targets until 1987.The main idea of using â€Å"stretch† targets was to motivate managers to perform at the highest level possible by setting aggressive targets with probability of achievement between 75 % and 80 %. In order to motivate the managers, incentive system was directly related to the budget targets. The bonus potential for division managers was 30% of base sal ary and was equally based on profit before taxes (PBT) and subjective rating of performance depending on the degree of accomplishment of the targets in all seven performance areas.In case that only few of performance areas were not met, but the management considered them important, no subjective bonus would be provided. Objective bonus based on profit before taxes was provided as following: if 60 % of the budget was achieved, 80 % of the bonus potential was paid; if 100 % of the budget was achieved, 100 % of the bonus potential was paid; and if 140% of the budget was achieved, 150 % of the bonus potential was paid. Bonuses were paid quarterly at the level of 80 % of what was earned in order to prevent paying the bonuses that were not earned.However, philosophy of using â€Å"stretch† performance targets in HCC Industries did not work very well, since it encouraged thinking optimistically that pushed employees to perform at a higher level leading to innovation. This philosophy is advantageous for particular companies with a certain size that have an understanding of the markets and have an ability to influence them. HCC Industries was a small publicly held corporation which was just taking orders and not doing marketing. For this reason, there was little probability for the employees to enlarge the market and achieve an aggressive growth in sales every year.Performance targets were set too high and optimistic, they were unrealistic, unachievable, and not suitable for a company which could not make a sustaining growth by influencing the market. One of the main disadvantages of â€Å"stretch† targets was that they were set too high. This led to the situation that for the last four years HCC Industries never achieved its targets. As a result, employees lost their motivation and commitment to achieve the targets; they were discouraged, and exert less effort by giving up trying, as they felt that â€Å"stretch† concept was causing the corporatio n not to achieve its plans.If a division keeps missing the budgets, employees feel like a failure. Taking into account that the employees could not achieve the targets for already four years, they had lost their confidence and became used to missing the budget and the enthusiasm to strive for the objectives was weakened. Although the targets were set at an unreachable level, the control system was not that tight. Even if the managers failed to achieve the targets, they may also be paid the bonus. For example, the managers were still paid 80% of objective bonus potential based on profit before taxes if they had just achieved 60% of the budget.So if a manager was not so ambitious, he did not have to worry about meeting the budget. Moreover, important constraint to motivation of division personnel was that they did not know their bonus potential and the bases on which the bonus awards were made, as division managers did not want to disclose division-level financial information to their personnel. As a result, being unaware of the main objectives of the corporation and its incentive system, employees did not exactly know what they are expected to do and how they would be rewarded for their efforts.As a result of the lack of communication between division managers, middle managers and employees, division personnel became discouraged and demotivated. In addition, if employees are systematically undercompensated, the corporation may suffer from losing key employees. Another disadvantage of â€Å"stretch† performance targets was subjectivity of incentive system. According to the information, provided from the case study, bonuses were paid only to employees included in the bonus plan. It can be concluded that not all employees were included in this plan.Moreover, half of the bonus potential was based on subjective evaluation of top management. However, there is a concern whether top management could judge each division in appropriate way, taking into account all the differences between them. The aforementioned subjective aspect influences performance and motivation of employees. In addition, important demotivating factor was that awards had to be paid quarterly at the level of 80% of what was earned. It took three to four months before they actually were paid because the necessary approvals by several levels were needed before the payments could be made.The remaining 20 % was paid at the end of the year based on annual performance. Taking into account aforementioned challenges of using â€Å"stretch† performance targets, the management of the corporation had taken a decision to change the philosophy to â€Å"minimum performance standard† (MPS) targets from the fiscal year 1988 onwards. The philosophy provided a two-level budget standards. The first level included the minimum performance standard that determined the basic financial target that divisions should reach. The second level included the targets that were set more cha llenging, and had some incentive effect.The main objective of this decision was to submit budgets with realistic targets with an achievement probability of 100% in order that divisions could meet the targets. As a result, division managers and other employees would become motivated by being proud of themselves, having self-esteem and starting feeling like â€Å"winners†. Being motivated, division personnel would be encouraged to work hard, be entrepreneurial and increase the level of aspiration for the future. Moreover, they would be given an opportunity to earn extra rewards.Another advantage of highly achievable budget targets is that they reduce the costs of needed interventions from corporate managers and the costs of optimistic revenue projections. Highly achievable budget targets also reduce the risk of game-playing. However, not all potential advantages of MPS targets were achieved in HCC Industries. Before implementing MPS targets, corporate managers did not analyze c arefully all problems that the company faced on the level of operations, marketing and finance. Corporate managers of HCC industries introduced the following changes in the corporation connected with the switch to MPS budgeting philosophy.First of all, the probability of the achievement of the budgets had been changed. MPS budgets were to be set with the felt probability of achievement 100%. In addition, managers were asked to set targets that exceed normal capability and involve an increase by 25-30 % with the probability of achievement of 50 %. However, although the budgets were planned to be set realistic and achievable, in reality they were too high and some division managers were even more than before concerned whether it would be possible to achieve them.In some divisions, such as Glasseal and Sealtron, corporate managers just increased the planned budgets without any analysis of the actual situation and discussion about business potential and risks with the division managers. As a result, division managers became even more demotivated because of too optimistic budgets. Moreover, by missing the new budgets, employees could be fired. The division manager of Hermetite was not provided by top managers with essential information about the corporation, its strategy, targets and the actual situation, and targets of his division before planning the budget.Being just hired and having the lack of experience and knowledge, he set too optimistic targets that could never be achieved in reality. As a result, the new division manager experienced failure and frustration at the beginning of his working experience in HCC Industry that had led to undermining of his confidence and commitment. Secondly, the incentive system had also been changed. According to new incentive compensation plan, bonus pool consisted of 20 % of the amount by which actual division PBT exceed MPS and 25 % of the amount by which it exceeded the target.Bonuses were paid quarterly at a level of 90 % of that earned and the remaining 10 % at the end of the year depending on the performance. It can be concluded that the rewards became lower than with â€Å"stretch† performance targets. The probability of losing the job in case the MPS targets would not be met, became greater. The disadvantage of subjective judgment concerning the bonuses was not eliminated under the new philosophy, as the division managers were given the discretion to decide which of their subordinates would share in the bonus pool and how the pool would be allocated among themselves and the others included.The key factor to the success of the budget system lied in the accuracy of forecasting the market share, the booking rate, the potential growth of sales, and so on. If a manager had little knowledge about the market information and the competitors, it would be difficult to set the MPS. The effectiveness of the budget system would be weakened, and this was the one of the main problems HCC faced after intr oduction of the MPS system. Evaluating the decision of changing the corporation’s philosophy based on early results, allows concluding that the new concept was not implemented well, even given the fact that it was a good idea.After the first quarter of fiscal year 1988, none of the divisions achieved all of its MPS and some of the divisions missed their minimum performance by large margins. 2. Should HCC managers have expected that the MPS target-setting philosophy would be equally effective in all four operating divisions described? HCC Industries was organized into four operating divisions: Hermetic Seal, Glasseal, Sealtrol that were producing connectors of various types, and Hermetite that was producing custom-designed, micro-electronic packages. Each division was run by a general manager who was responsible for all business functions of a certain division.In order to proper evaluate and monitor divisions’ results on which the bonuses were based, controllers of each division reported to HCC’s CFO. Corporate managers should have taken into account that the divisions differ from each other, and should have considered each division separately while using MPS target-setting philosophy as each division had some specific characteristics that were different from others. Although all the three connector divisions were similar in that they were profitable but growing slowly, there was a significant difference in the degree of standardization of their product lines.For example, division Sealtrol was highly standardized and produced connectors with large economies of scale. On the contrast, Hermetic Seal was the least standardized division and operated primarily as a job shop that designed and produced small batches of custom connectors. Glasseal’s product lines had the medium level of standardization. The forth division Hermetite was completely different from the connector divisions. In comparison with the first three divisions, its market and competitors were well defined and its potential for growth was tremendous.In addition, Hermetite faced huge price competition and significant production technology and control challenges. Moreover, the production processes were complex and its engineering and production organizations were instable. Given the fact that all four divisions were independent from each other, had different targets, accounting and information systems, product standards, served different customers, had different professional background of division managers, a detailed analysis should have been made whether MPS targets would be equally effective in all four divisions.Mike Pelta, the manager of the first division Hermetic Seal was more motivated after the changes, as with â€Å"stretch† performance targets, the probability of the achievement of the targets was 85-90%, whereas with MPS targets it has increased by 95-98%. The reason of such a high probability of achievement the targets was the fact that the division manager had set conservative targets. Mike Pelta was a cofounder of HCC, and was more familiar with the situation of the company. From the first quarter revenue result of 1988, we can find that only Hermetic Seals exceeded target in both bookings and profit before tax.But on the other hand, there were some problems in product qualities such as returns and rework. The manager of the second division Glasseal was even more demotivated after the changes than under the â€Å"stretch† performance targets. After the division manager had prepared the budget based on realistic forecast, the targets were increased by corporate managers. As a result, the probability of the achievement of the targets remained 90%, as it was before changes. However, with the â€Å"stretch† targets the rewards were greater and could be earned even if the budget was missed.It could be concluded that the change for MPS targets had not become better and more motivated for the second d ivision. Historical performance of the third division Sealtron was not so good. Efficiency in sales per employee was 50 % below other connector divisions, and budget was missed so salaries were frozen. The division manager, Lou Palamara, was recruited in 1986. Lou Palamara had a background of an engineering manager, so he was not that familiar with the corporation and had less knowledge about budget and cost saving. The division manager was discouraged by newMPS targets, as the targets he set had significantly been increased by corporate managers and the probability of its achievement according to division manager, was only 60-65%. As a result, if the budget would have increased by 18 % compared to the previous year, there would be still no bonus earned. Moreover, in case MPS standards would not be achieved the manager could be fired. At the same time, CFO of the corporation assessed the probability of the achievement of the targets by 90%. His idea was to stimulate sales as the Sea ltron’s efficiency was below other connector divisions.It can be concluded that the opinion of top managers and division manager on the achievement of targets was significantly different (90 % versus 60-65 %). In this situation, in order to come to common solution, additional analysis should have been done of actual situation and current performance of the division. It should have been carefully analyzed the reason of poor performance of the third division. Before the fourth division Hermetite was acquired in August 1985, it had been operating at a loss for the price competition and the production problems.The former general manager of Hermetite left a serious delinquency problem, which had worsen the reputation of the company, so booking could not be guaranteed. The manager Alan Wong, being new in the corporation and lacking particular experience and knowledge, was not provided with additional training and explanation of the corporation’s and division’s main ob jectives. He thought the corporate managers would not accept a budget that projected a loss. As a result, he had set very aggressive and optimistic targets that were unrealistic and corporate managers decreased the targets.However, the probability of achievement of the performance target at sales was 80 % and PBT target was only 5 %. The performance of the forth division was very risky and uncertain. From the first quarter results of 1988, we can discover that the bookings and shipments were both below MPS. After analyzing MPS targets in all four divisions, it could be concluded that only the manager of the first division, that was the original HCC business, was motivated by the changes. The managers of the other three divisions were even more concerned than before the changes.The main reason of such situation was that corporate managers thought that the targets were achievable, whereas division managers had the opinion that they are not achievable and unrealistic. It can be conclud ed that there was a lack of communication between corporate and division managers. Moreover, the evaluation standards were the same for every division without taking into account different situation and various targets of each division. Given the fact that there were only four independent divisions, individual approach and specific evaluation standards for each division should have been used. 3.What, if anything, could have been done to improve the implementation of the new philosophy? From 1988 onwards, the philosophy in HCC Industries had been changed from â€Å"stretch† targets to minimum performance standard (MPS) targets. However, according to the results of the first quarter of 1988, none of the divisions had achieved all of its MPS. It can be concluded that there were some problems in implementing new philosophy. First of all, the targets of every division should be aligned with the long-term strategy of the corporation. Top managers should clearly set the company stra tegy and priorities and communicate them to all divisions.Division managers should in turn have been communicated to the corporate managers opportunities, resource needs, constraints and risks. HCC Industries would achieve success if all divisions would work together towards common targets and objectives instead of being concentrated on personal goals of each division that could diverge from the strategy of corporation. According to the information provided in the case study, corporate managers were confident that the set objectives were achievable and realistic, division managers had the opposite opinion.As a result, division managers were discouraged to perform from the beginning. In order to avoid demotivation and increase the probability of the achievement of the targets, the balance should be found between the desires of the top management and the possibilities of the divisions. In that case, they closely need to communicate with each other and come together to the common solut ion. This would lead to more realistic budgets, would build employees up and increase managers’ commitment to achieve the targets.Secondly, as long as at HCC all divisions were decentralized, the differences and unique characteristics of each division should be taken into account. As a result, different performance evaluation standards should be used for every division. It is impossible to compare Hermetic Seal which is the original HCC business with Glasseal and Sealtron that were acquired even if all of them produce connectors. Moreover, the degree of standardization of product lines within these divisions is completely different. The forth division is completely different from the first three.That is why individual approach should be used for every division. There are only four divisions, that is why it is realistic for corporate managers to evaluate and analyze each division separately. Whereas some divisions could achieve higher targets, for others lower targets are more realistic. When planning the budget, the actual situation and performance of each division should be analyzed instead of comparison with other divisions. Before increasing the targets of the second and third divisions a more detailed analysis was needed.In addition, it would be helpful for corporate managers to discuss with the division managers the possible constrains of poor performance of their divisions and to evaluate whether additional actions are needed in order to improve performance. In order not to demotivate employees, it would be better to agree the targets and to find compromise rather than just to set them. Corporate managers should establish the dialogue with division managers and other personnel in order to gather an objective opinion about the real situation inside the company.Such working atmosphere would encourage employees to be involved in the company more and would give them the feeling that corporate managers listen to them when changing strategic issues. Div ision managers would feel themselves important in the organization and would be more encouraged to perform at the highest level possible and would feel more responsibility for the achievement of the targets. Thirdly, top management before changing the budgeting philosophy should have made a sound analysis of current performance on corporate level as it is a very important decision.Implementing new standards for evaluating involves the research of effectiveness of operation potential growth, the personal characteristics, the financial constraints, resource limitations, opportunities and risks. Fourthly, personal controls could be used by training division managers. For instance, it was very important for the fourth division to provide the manager with some additional information about the corporation before planning the budget.Taking into account the fact that Alan Wong was relatively new in the corporation, it is quite obvious that he lacks some experience and knowledge to plan an e ffective and realistic budget. It is also clear from the information provided in the case study, that he was unfamiliar with the strategy of the corporation and the expectations from the top managers from his division. Planning the budget is very important for the corporation. It requires deep understanding not only the goals and objectives of a particular division but also of the entire corporation.As there was a lack of communication between the top management and the division managers, the new division manager had set unrealistic budget. Fifthly, there was not only a lack of communication between top management and division managers, but also between the division personnel. In order to increase the motivation amongst personnel, the division managers should clearly communicate the main objectives and set the targets to their employees and provide them with the detailed information concerning the incentive system.In this case, employees would understand what they are expected to do and how they would be rewarded for that. Sixthly, as the marketing information collection was an obvious obstacle for the accurate forecast of the future, it is important to set up a marketing team in the four divisions. The target of the team is to collect the market share data of each product in previous years, the reasons for the up-and-downs of the market share, find out what kind of improvement will the target consumers need in the future, the scale of potential customers, and so on.With the detailed information of the market, it will be easier for the division to forecast the future sales and try to expand the existing market. Seventhly, it can be suggested, that for the first year when the changes were applied, the top management could set very realistic conservative targets in order to encourage employees and make them feel that the targets are achievable. Given the fact that the targets were not achieved for the last four years the employees got used to missing targets and became demotivated.In addition, given the fact that some divisions, for example Hermetite, experience current problems, flexible targets could be set, that would depend on certain conditions at a particular time. Finally, before taking a new decision about the changes, it could be helpful to organize the meeting with all division managers in order to announce them personally about the expected changes and gather some ideas from them about how to implement the new philosophy. Such brainstorming could help to pay attention to some important aspects from the bottom that top management was not considering. Hcc Industries 1. Evaluate the decision to use â€Å"minimum performance standard† (MPS) targets instead of â€Å"stretch† targets. The purpose of setting a budget system is to briefly forecast a company’s performance in the following year, and it can also be a result control system that makes people in the corporation work properly to achieve the objectives and give them incentives by bonus related to performance. From this point of view, the budget system should be reasonable, achievable, and also have some challenge to ensure the hard working. HCC Industries was using â€Å"stretch† performance targets until 1987.The main idea of using â€Å"stretch† targets was to motivate managers to perform at the highest level possible by setting aggressive targets with probability of achievement between 75 % and 80 %. In order to motivate the managers, incentive system was directly related to the budget targets. The bonus potential for division managers was 30% of base sal ary and was equally based on profit before taxes (PBT) and subjective rating of performance depending on the degree of accomplishment of the targets in all seven performance areas.In case that only few of performance areas were not met, but the management considered them important, no subjective bonus would be provided. Objective bonus based on profit before taxes was provided as following: if 60 % of the budget was achieved, 80 % of the bonus potential was paid; if 100 % of the budget was achieved, 100 % of the bonus potential was paid; and if 140% of the budget was achieved, 150 % of the bonus potential was paid. Bonuses were paid quarterly at the level of 80 % of what was earned in order to prevent paying the bonuses that were not earned.However, philosophy of using â€Å"stretch† performance targets in HCC Industries did not work very well, since it encouraged thinking optimistically that pushed employees to perform at a higher level leading to innovation. This philosophy is advantageous for particular companies with a certain size that have an understanding of the markets and have an ability to influence them. HCC Industries was a small publicly held corporation which was just taking orders and not doing marketing. For this reason, there was little probability for the employees to enlarge the market and achieve an aggressive growth in sales every year.Performance targets were set too high and optimistic, they were unrealistic, unachievable, and not suitable for a company which could not make a sustaining growth by influencing the market. One of the main disadvantages of â€Å"stretch† targets was that they were set too high. This led to the situation that for the last four years HCC Industries never achieved its targets. As a result, employees lost their motivation and commitment to achieve the targets; they were discouraged, and exert less effort by giving up trying, as they felt that â€Å"stretch† concept was causing the corporatio n not to achieve its plans.If a division keeps missing the budgets, employees feel like a failure. Taking into account that the employees could not achieve the targets for already four years, they had lost their confidence and became used to missing the budget and the enthusiasm to strive for the objectives was weakened. Although the targets were set at an unreachable level, the control system was not that tight. Even if the managers failed to achieve the targets, they may also be paid the bonus. For example, the managers were still paid 80% of objective bonus potential based on profit before taxes if they had just achieved 60% of the budget.So if a manager was not so ambitious, he did not have to worry about meeting the budget. Moreover, important constraint to motivation of division personnel was that they did not know their bonus potential and the bases on which the bonus awards were made, as division managers did not want to disclose division-level financial information to their personnel. As a result, being unaware of the main objectives of the corporation and its incentive system, employees did not exactly know what they are expected to do and how they would be rewarded for their efforts.As a result of the lack of communication between division managers, middle managers and employees, division personnel became discouraged and demotivated. In addition, if employees are systematically undercompensated, the corporation may suffer from losing key employees. Another disadvantage of â€Å"stretch† performance targets was subjectivity of incentive system. According to the information, provided from the case study, bonuses were paid only to employees included in the bonus plan. It can be concluded that not all employees were included in this plan.Moreover, half of the bonus potential was based on subjective evaluation of top management. However, there is a concern whether top management could judge each division in appropriate way, taking into account all the differences between them. The aforementioned subjective aspect influences performance and motivation of employees. In addition, important demotivating factor was that awards had to be paid quarterly at the level of 80% of what was earned. It took three to four months before they actually were paid because the necessary approvals by several levels were needed before the payments could be made.The remaining 20 % was paid at the end of the year based on annual performance. Taking into account aforementioned challenges of using â€Å"stretch† performance targets, the management of the corporation had taken a decision to change the philosophy to â€Å"minimum performance standard† (MPS) targets from the fiscal year 1988 onwards. The philosophy provided a two-level budget standards. The first level included the minimum performance standard that determined the basic financial target that divisions should reach. The second level included the targets that were set more cha llenging, and had some incentive effect.The main objective of this decision was to submit budgets with realistic targets with an achievement probability of 100% in order that divisions could meet the targets. As a result, division managers and other employees would become motivated by being proud of themselves, having self-esteem and starting feeling like â€Å"winners†. Being motivated, division personnel would be encouraged to work hard, be entrepreneurial and increase the level of aspiration for the future. Moreover, they would be given an opportunity to earn extra rewards.Another advantage of highly achievable budget targets is that they reduce the costs of needed interventions from corporate managers and the costs of optimistic revenue projections. Highly achievable budget targets also reduce the risk of game-playing. However, not all potential advantages of MPS targets were achieved in HCC Industries. Before implementing MPS targets, corporate managers did not analyze c arefully all problems that the company faced on the level of operations, marketing and finance. Corporate managers of HCC industries introduced the following changes in the corporation connected with the switch to MPS budgeting philosophy.First of all, the probability of the achievement of the budgets had been changed. MPS budgets were to be set with the felt probability of achievement 100%. In addition, managers were asked to set targets that exceed normal capability and involve an increase by 25-30 % with the probability of achievement of 50 %. However, although the budgets were planned to be set realistic and achievable, in reality they were too high and some division managers were even more than before concerned whether it would be possible to achieve them.In some divisions, such as Glasseal and Sealtron, corporate managers just increased the planned budgets without any analysis of the actual situation and discussion about business potential and risks with the division managers. As a result, division managers became even more demotivated because of too optimistic budgets. Moreover, by missing the new budgets, employees could be fired. The division manager of Hermetite was not provided by top managers with essential information about the corporation, its strategy, targets and the actual situation, and targets of his division before planning the budget.Being just hired and having the lack of experience and knowledge, he set too optimistic targets that could never be achieved in reality. As a result, the new division manager experienced failure and frustration at the beginning of his working experience in HCC Industry that had led to undermining of his confidence and commitment. Secondly, the incentive system had also been changed. According to new incentive compensation plan, bonus pool consisted of 20 % of the amount by which actual division PBT exceed MPS and 25 % of the amount by which it exceeded the target.Bonuses were paid quarterly at a level of 90 % of that earned and the remaining 10 % at the end of the year depending on the performance. It can be concluded that the rewards became lower than with â€Å"stretch† performance targets. The probability of losing the job in case the MPS targets would not be met, became greater. The disadvantage of subjective judgment concerning the bonuses was not eliminated under the new philosophy, as the division managers were given the discretion to decide which of their subordinates would share in the bonus pool and how the pool would be allocated among themselves and the others included.The key factor to the success of the budget system lied in the accuracy of forecasting the market share, the booking rate, the potential growth of sales, and so on. If a manager had little knowledge about the market information and the competitors, it would be difficult to set the MPS. The effectiveness of the budget system would be weakened, and this was the one of the main problems HCC faced after intr oduction of the MPS system. Evaluating the decision of changing the corporation’s philosophy based on early results, allows concluding that the new concept was not implemented well, even given the fact that it was a good idea.After the first quarter of fiscal year 1988, none of the divisions achieved all of its MPS and some of the divisions missed their minimum performance by large margins. 2. Should HCC managers have expected that the MPS target-setting philosophy would be equally effective in all four operating divisions described? HCC Industries was organized into four operating divisions: Hermetic Seal, Glasseal, Sealtrol that were producing connectors of various types, and Hermetite that was producing custom-designed, micro-electronic packages. Each division was run by a general manager who was responsible for all business functions of a certain division.In order to proper evaluate and monitor divisions’ results on which the bonuses were based, controllers of each division reported to HCC’s CFO. Corporate managers should have taken into account that the divisions differ from each other, and should have considered each division separately while using MPS target-setting philosophy as each division had some specific characteristics that were different from others. Although all the three connector divisions were similar in that they were profitable but growing slowly, there was a significant difference in the degree of standardization of their product lines.For example, division Sealtrol was highly standardized and produced connectors with large economies of scale. On the contrast, Hermetic Seal was the least standardized division and operated primarily as a job shop that designed and produced small batches of custom connectors. Glasseal’s product lines had the medium level of standardization. The forth division Hermetite was completely different from the connector divisions. In comparison with the first three divisions, its market and competitors were well defined and its potential for growth was tremendous.In addition, Hermetite faced huge price competition and significant production technology and control challenges. Moreover, the production processes were complex and its engineering and production organizations were instable. Given the fact that all four divisions were independent from each other, had different targets, accounting and information systems, product standards, served different customers, had different professional background of division managers, a detailed analysis should have been made whether MPS targets would be equally effective in all four divisions.Mike Pelta, the manager of the first division Hermetic Seal was more motivated after the changes, as with â€Å"stretch† performance targets, the probability of the achievement of the targets was 85-90%, whereas with MPS targets it has increased by 95-98%. The reason of such a high probability of achievement the targets was the fact that the division manager had set conservative targets. Mike Pelta was a cofounder of HCC, and was more familiar with the situation of the company. From the first quarter revenue result of 1988, we can find that only Hermetic Seals exceeded target in both bookings and profit before tax.But on the other hand, there were some problems in product qualities such as returns and rework. The manager of the second division Glasseal was even more demotivated after the changes than under the â€Å"stretch† performance targets. After the division manager had prepared the budget based on realistic forecast, the targets were increased by corporate managers. As a result, the probability of the achievement of the targets remained 90%, as it was before changes. However, with the â€Å"stretch† targets the rewards were greater and could be earned even if the budget was missed.It could be concluded that the change for MPS targets had not become better and more motivated for the second d ivision. Historical performance of the third division Sealtron was not so good. Efficiency in sales per employee was 50 % below other connector divisions, and budget was missed so salaries were frozen. The division manager, Lou Palamara, was recruited in 1986. Lou Palamara had a background of an engineering manager, so he was not that familiar with the corporation and had less knowledge about budget and cost saving. The division manager was discouraged by newMPS targets, as the targets he set had significantly been increased by corporate managers and the probability of its achievement according to division manager, was only 60-65%. As a result, if the budget would have increased by 18 % compared to the previous year, there would be still no bonus earned. Moreover, in case MPS standards would not be achieved the manager could be fired. At the same time, CFO of the corporation assessed the probability of the achievement of the targets by 90%. His idea was to stimulate sales as the Sea ltron’s efficiency was below other connector divisions.It can be concluded that the opinion of top managers and division manager on the achievement of targets was significantly different (90 % versus 60-65 %). In this situation, in order to come to common solution, additional analysis should have been done of actual situation and current performance of the division. It should have been carefully analyzed the reason of poor performance of the third division. Before the fourth division Hermetite was acquired in August 1985, it had been operating at a loss for the price competition and the production problems.The former general manager of Hermetite left a serious delinquency problem, which had worsen the reputation of the company, so booking could not be guaranteed. The manager Alan Wong, being new in the corporation and lacking particular experience and knowledge, was not provided with additional training and explanation of the corporation’s and division’s main ob jectives. He thought the corporate managers would not accept a budget that projected a loss. As a result, he had set very aggressive and optimistic targets that were unrealistic and corporate managers decreased the targets.However, the probability of achievement of the performance target at sales was 80 % and PBT target was only 5 %. The performance of the forth division was very risky and uncertain. From the first quarter results of 1988, we can discover that the bookings and shipments were both below MPS. After analyzing MPS targets in all four divisions, it could be concluded that only the manager of the first division, that was the original HCC business, was motivated by the changes. The managers of the other three divisions were even more concerned than before the changes.The main reason of such situation was that corporate managers thought that the targets were achievable, whereas division managers had the opinion that they are not achievable and unrealistic. It can be conclud ed that there was a lack of communication between corporate and division managers. Moreover, the evaluation standards were the same for every division without taking into account different situation and various targets of each division. Given the fact that there were only four independent divisions, individual approach and specific evaluation standards for each division should have been used. 3.What, if anything, could have been done to improve the implementation of the new philosophy? From 1988 onwards, the philosophy in HCC Industries had been changed from â€Å"stretch† targets to minimum performance standard (MPS) targets. However, according to the results of the first quarter of 1988, none of the divisions had achieved all of its MPS. It can be concluded that there were some problems in implementing new philosophy. First of all, the targets of every division should be aligned with the long-term strategy of the corporation. Top managers should clearly set the company stra tegy and priorities and communicate them to all divisions.Division managers should in turn have been communicated to the corporate managers opportunities, resource needs, constraints and risks. HCC Industries would achieve success if all divisions would work together towards common targets and objectives instead of being concentrated on personal goals of each division that could diverge from the strategy of corporation. According to the information provided in the case study, corporate managers were confident that the set objectives were achievable and realistic, division managers had the opposite opinion.As a result, division managers were discouraged to perform from the beginning. In order to avoid demotivation and increase the probability of the achievement of the targets, the balance should be found between the desires of the top management and the possibilities of the divisions. In that case, they closely need to communicate with each other and come together to the common solut ion. This would lead to more realistic budgets, would build employees up and increase managers’ commitment to achieve the targets.Secondly, as long as at HCC all divisions were decentralized, the differences and unique characteristics of each division should be taken into account. As a result, different performance evaluation standards should be used for every division. It is impossible to compare Hermetic Seal which is the original HCC business with Glasseal and Sealtron that were acquired even if all of them produce connectors. Moreover, the degree of standardization of product lines within these divisions is completely different. The forth division is completely different from the first three.That is why individual approach should be used for every division. There are only four divisions, that is why it is realistic for corporate managers to evaluate and analyze each division separately. Whereas some divisions could achieve higher targets, for others lower targets are more realistic. When planning the budget, the actual situation and performance of each division should be analyzed instead of comparison with other divisions. Before increasing the targets of the second and third divisions a more detailed analysis was needed.In addition, it would be helpful for corporate managers to discuss with the division managers the possible constrains of poor performance of their divisions and to evaluate whether additional actions are needed in order to improve performance. In order not to demotivate employees, it would be better to agree the targets and to find compromise rather than just to set them. Corporate managers should establish the dialogue with division managers and other personnel in order to gather an objective opinion about the real situation inside the company.Such working atmosphere would encourage employees to be involved in the company more and would give them the feeling that corporate managers listen to them when changing strategic issues. Div ision managers would feel themselves important in the organization and would be more encouraged to perform at the highest level possible and would feel more responsibility for the achievement of the targets. Thirdly, top management before changing the budgeting philosophy should have made a sound analysis of current performance on corporate level as it is a very important decision.Implementing new standards for evaluating involves the research of effectiveness of operation potential growth, the personal characteristics, the financial constraints, resource limitations, opportunities and risks. Fourthly, personal controls could be used by training division managers. For instance, it was very important for the fourth division to provide the manager with some additional information about the corporation before planning the budget.Taking into account the fact that Alan Wong was relatively new in the corporation, it is quite obvious that he lacks some experience and knowledge to plan an e ffective and realistic budget. It is also clear from the information provided in the case study, that he was unfamiliar with the strategy of the corporation and the expectations from the top managers from his division. Planning the budget is very important for the corporation. It requires deep understanding not only the goals and objectives of a particular division but also of the entire corporation.As there was a lack of communication between the top management and the division managers, the new division manager had set unrealistic budget. Fifthly, there was not only a lack of communication between top management and division managers, but also between the division personnel. In order to increase the motivation amongst personnel, the division managers should clearly communicate the main objectives and set the targets to their employees and provide them with the detailed information concerning the incentive system.In this case, employees would understand what they are expected to do and how they would be rewarded for that. Sixthly, as the marketing information collection was an obvious obstacle for the accurate forecast of the future, it is important to set up a marketing team in the four divisions. The target of the team is to collect the market share data of each product in previous years, the reasons for the up-and-downs of the market share, find out what kind of improvement will the target consumers need in the future, the scale of potential customers, and so on.With the detailed information of the market, it will be easier for the division to forecast the future sales and try to expand the existing market. Seventhly, it can be suggested, that for the first year when the changes were applied, the top management could set very realistic conservative targets in order to encourage employees and make them feel that the targets are achievable. Given the fact that the targets were not achieved for the last four years the employees got used to missing targets and became demotivated.In addition, given the fact that some divisions, for example Hermetite, experience current problems, flexible targets could be set, that would depend on certain conditions at a particular time. Finally, before taking a new decision about the changes, it could be helpful to organize the meeting with all division managers in order to announce them personally about the expected changes and gather some ideas from them about how to implement the new philosophy. Such brainstorming could help to pay attention to some important aspects from the bottom that top management was not considering.