China Economic Growth Essays - Chinese Communists, Marxist Theorists

China Economic Growth Two years after the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, it became apparent to many of China's leaders that economic reform was necessary. During his tenure as China's premier, Mao had encouraged social movements such as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, which had as their bases ideologies such as serving the people and maintaining the class struggle. By 1978 "Chinese leaders were searching for a solution to serious economic problems produced by Hua Guofeng, the man who had succeeded Mao Zedong as CCP leader after Mao's death" (Shirk 35). Hua had demonstrated a desire to continue the ideologically based movements of Mao. Unfortunately, these movements had left China in a state where "agriculture was stagnant, industrial production was low, and the people's living standards had not increased in twenty years" (Nathan 200). This last area was particularly troubling. While "the gross output value of industry and agriculture increased by 810 percent and national income grew by 420 percent [between 1952 and 1980] ... average individual income increased by only 100 percent" (Ma Hong quoted in Shirk 28). However, attempts at economic reform in China were introduced not only due to some kind of generosity on the part of the Chinese Communist Party to increase the populace's living standards. It had become clear to members of the CCP that economic reform would fulfill a political purpose as well since the party felt, properly it would seem, that it had suffered a loss of support. As Susan L. Shirk describes the situation in The Political Logic of Economic Reform in China, restoring the CCP's prestige required improving economic performance and raising living standards. The traumatic experience of the Cultural Revolution had eroded popular trust in the moral and political virtue of the CCP. The party's leaders decided to shift the base of party legitimacy from virtue to competence, and to do that they had to demonstrate that they could deliver the goods. (23) This movement "from virtue to competence" seemed to mark a serious departure from orthodox Chinese political theory. Confucius himself had posited in the fifth century BCE that those individuals who best demonstrated what he referred to as moral force should lead the nation. Using this principle as a guide, China had for centuries attempted to choose at least its bureaucratic leaders by administering a test to determine their moral force. After the Communist takeover of the country, Mao continued this emphasis on moral force by demanding that Chinese citizens demonstrate what he referred to as "correct consciousness." This correct consciousness could be exhibited, Mao believed, by the way people lived. Needless to say, that which constituted correct consciousness was often determined and assessed by Mao. Nevertheless, the ideal of moral force was still a potent one in China even after the Communist takeover. It is noteworthy that Shirk feels that the Chinese Communist Party leaders saw economic reform as a way to regain their and their party's moral virtue even after Mao's death. Thus, paradoxically, by demonstrating their expertise in a more practical area of competence, the leaders of the CCP felt they could demonstrate how they were serving the people. To be sure, the move toward economic reform came about as a result of a "changed domestic and international environment, which altered the leadership's perception of the factors that affect China's national security and social stability" (Xu 247). But Shirk feels that, in those pre-Tienenmen days, such a move came about also as a result of an attempt by CCP leaders to demonstrate, in a more practical and thus less obviously ideological manner than Mao had done, their moral force. This is not to say that the idea of economic reform was embraced enthusiastically by all members of the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party in 1978. To a great extent, the issue of economic reform became politicized as the issue was used as a means by Deng Xiaoping to attain the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. Mao's successor, Hua Guofeng, had "tried to prove himself a worthy successor to Mao by draping himself in the mantle of Maoist tradition. His approach to economic development was orthodox Maoism with an up-to-date, international twist" (Shirk 35). This approach was tied heavily to the development of China's oil reserves. "When in 1978 estimates of the oil reserves were revised downward commitments to import plants and expand heavy industry could not be sustained" (Shirk 35). Deng took advantage of this economic crisis to discredit Hua and aim for leadership of the party. "Reform policies became Deng's

Free Essays on Our Waters...

One natural resource that we as people take great advantage of is water. Water is a resource we use each and every day, and the one thing about water is that we can’t create it. Sure, we can develop devices that can purify water and make it suitable for drinking but we can develop a substitute for it. Water is an ever-recycling resource, which means we have to do everything possible to keep our waters clean. We trust the quality of lake water enough to swim in it, but not enough to drink it. Along the same line, drinking water can be used for irrigation, but water used for irrigation may not meet drinking water standards. It is the quality of the water that determines its use and if we continue to pollute our waters, it may not be used at all. There are many ways in which our water can be polluted, but it can be narrowed down to two sources: direct and indirect contaminate sources. Pollutant can also broadly classified into organic, inorganic, radioactive and acid/base. Direct sources are commons sourced such as sewage outfalls from factories, refineries, waste treatment plants, etc. that emit fluids of varying quality directly into our urban water supplies. The United States is one of few countries that has regulation protecting our waters but that does not necessarily mean our waters can’t still be contaminated by pollutants. Indirect sources include contaminates that enter our water supplies may come from groundwater systems and from our atmosphere by means of rainwater. Soils and groundwater contain the remains of human agricultural practices (fertilizers, pesticides, etc.) and improper disposal of industrial wastes. Atmospheric contaminates are also resulting from human practices such as gaseous emissions from automobiles, factories, and even bakeries. The effects of water pollution are varied. They may and will include poisonous drinking waters, poisonous food animals (due to these organisms having bioaccumulated t... Free Essays on Our Waters... Free Essays on Our Waters... One natural resource that we as people take great advantage of is water. Water is a resource we use each and every day, and the one thing about water is that we can’t create it. Sure, we can develop devices that can purify water and make it suitable for drinking but we can develop a substitute for it. Water is an ever-recycling resource, which means we have to do everything possible to keep our waters clean. We trust the quality of lake water enough to swim in it, but not enough to drink it. Along the same line, drinking water can be used for irrigation, but water used for irrigation may not meet drinking water standards. It is the quality of the water that determines its use and if we continue to pollute our waters, it may not be used at all. There are many ways in which our water can be polluted, but it can be narrowed down to two sources: direct and indirect contaminate sources. Pollutant can also broadly classified into organic, inorganic, radioactive and acid/base. Direct sources are commons sourced such as sewage outfalls from factories, refineries, waste treatment plants, etc. that emit fluids of varying quality directly into our urban water supplies. The United States is one of few countries that has regulation protecting our waters but that does not necessarily mean our waters can’t still be contaminated by pollutants. Indirect sources include contaminates that enter our water supplies may come from groundwater systems and from our atmosphere by means of rainwater. Soils and groundwater contain the remains of human agricultural practices (fertilizers, pesticides, etc.) and improper disposal of industrial wastes. Atmospheric contaminates are also resulting from human practices such as gaseous emissions from automobiles, factories, and even bakeries. The effects of water pollution are varied. They may and will include poisonous drinking waters, poisonous food animals (due to these organisms having bioaccumulated t...

The sports broadcasting industry analysis Research Paper

The sports broadcasting industry analysis - Research Paper Example For example, football broadcasting accounts for the largest share of revenue in European countries. Highly ranked channels are advantageous over local channels that depend on free provisions to air programs. The channels have a limit for airing programs, a process that influences the overall revenue for a broadcasting company (Humphreys & Dennis 4). Giving a company absolute rights to broadcast events leads to escalations in revenue. Broadcasters who transmit live programs earn much revenue as opposed to persons transmitting recorded programs (Vogel 3). Recorded programs act as backup for revenue especially when live transmission occurs during odd hours. The right to transmit programs live is determined by the contract issued by a broadcasting company. Broadcasting directs has several advantages over broadcasting via cable. Affiliate fees create monopoly in advertising because it gives cable channels the autonomy to increase revenues by charging their affiliates highly. Moreover, they deny other channels the opportunity to increase their customer base by monopolizing sports

Final Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Final Project - Essay Example In addition, the internships can also be part-time or full-time. During the internship process that I undertook in a certain construction company, I gained extensive knowledge in the construction sector. As I was specializing in the quality assurance and control department of the company, I received substantial information in connection to project management. In this internship process, I received full payment for the services that I offered. In fact, in the whole internship process I learnt how to apply the expertise I had obtained in school. There are two main types of internships which include work experience internship and research internship. The work experience internship is practiced by students in their school period while the research internship is accomplished by students in their final school year (Baird 19). The work experience internship requires the apprentice to implement what they have learned in school. On the other hand, the research internship requires learners to research on a company in order to come up with several recommendations that can enhance the growth of the company. In this case, the internship process enabled me to gain all the information required to deal with the procedures incorporated in maintaining quality. In addition, the help from my fellow interns also enabled me to obtain the skills required while working in the department. Ranking of the sessions in the course 1. Introduction to Project Management 2. Case Studies in Project Management 3. Business Development 4. Introduction to Finance 5. International Issues in Business 6. Quality Assurance and Control 7. Managing High Performance People 8. Constraints Based Management 9. Intellectual Property and Innovation Introduction to Project Management The discipline of project management is closely related to the process of internship. A project is simply defined as a temporary endeavor which is time-constrained. Therefore, project management can be defined as a discipline that involves organizing, planning, managing and even securing various resources in order accomplish certain goals. However, in project management, the main challenge involved is achieving all the intentions and objectives of the project. Therefore, a project is usually undertaken in order to meet certain goals and objectives hence, bringing about added value and beneficial change (Newbold 23). The modern-day project management era began in the 1950s. In this era, project management was recognized as a different subject from the study of management. There are various approaches that are also applied in project management in order to develop an effective outcome. Based on a traditional view, project management comprises of several elements including several process groups and a key control system (Newbold 21). Some of these process groups include initiation, development, execution, controlling and closing. As stated above, the introduction to project management is closely correlated to th e internship process. This is because both projects involve planning and managing in order to accomplish a certain task or goal. In addition, these processes are also aimed at bringing beneficial change. For example, in project management the main benefit involves accomplishing the set goals and standards (Newbold 12). On the other hand, an internship also develops professional careers in various industrial sectors. An internship process also incorporates an

Community College Issue Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Community College Issue Paper - Essay Example Later in the year 2000, the name of the educational institute was again changed to Atlanta Technical College (Atlanta Technical College, 2011). The purpose of the college since its establishment has been to generate awareness and facilitate access to better career opportunities through its contribution in the education sector, which can further facilitate the society to enhance lifestyle. The college thereby intended to benefit students by providing quality support services and programs that could ensure satisfaction among the learners assisting them with greater growth prospects. The college aims to develop the adult learners with efficient qualities to perform in the employment sector within the local, state, national and international contexts. It also aims to ensure the education quality of the institution with due regard to the external economic environment and the changes taking place in relation to the socio-cultural dimensions (Atlanta Technical College, 2011). The Campus Lay out The campus layout of the Atlanta Tech Area allows entrance from both the Southern Direction and the Northern Direction. The campus layout of Atlanta Technical College comprises the Cleveland L. Dennard Building and the Main Campus. The Cleveland L. Dennard Building further includes the Cleveland L. ... m. (Atlanta Technical College, n.d.). Undoubtedly, the university venue is spread in a vast area which increases the requirement of facilitating easy searching for buildings and classrooms. It is worth mentioning in this regard that the college directs its visitors through appropriate map of its buildings and the surrounding area in its official website enhancing the ease to find out the venue. Furthermore, students and visitors are also assisted with adequate information from the receptions which are present in almost every building of the college (Atlanta Technical College, 2011). The campus map has been illustrated below. Campus Layout of Atlanta Tech Area (Atlanta Technical College, 2011) Admission and Registration Processes Atlanta Technical College is open for all students who are eligible for admission in colleges and being devoted towards satisfying the needs of education in the modern society irrespective of racial, ethnic, and age based differences among others. The admissi on and the registration process practiced in the college can be identified as a multi-step procedure that attempts to examine the academic qualifications and competitiveness of passing high school degree to select the qualified candidates. The applicants for the admission procedure are therefore examined on the basis of certain criteria specified in the terms and conditions of the entrance tests. The college also practices transparency policies, in accordance to which, if applicants are found to obtain admission through false information, they would be terminated without the repayment of the admission fees. Additionally, as a punitive measure, the documents and related information of applicants are to be withheld by the college authority and restricting the

Corporate Restructuring Strategies Business Essay

Corporate Restructuring Strategies Business Essay Corporate restructuring is the process of redesigning one or more aspects of a company. The process of reorganizing a company may be implemented due to a number of different factors, such as positioning the company to be more competitive, survive a currently adverse economic climate, or poise the corporation to move in an entirely new direction. Here are some examples of why corporate restructuring may take place and what it can mean for the company. In general, the idea of corporate restructuring is to allow the company to continue functioning in some manner. Even when corporate raiders break up the company and leave behind a shell of the original structure, there is still usually a hope, what remains can function well enough for a new buyer to purchase the diminished corporation and return it to profitability. Purpose of Corporate Restructuring To enhance the share holder value, The company should continuously evaluate its: Portfolio of businesses, Capital mix, Ownership Asset arrangements to find opportunities to increase the share holders value. To focus on asset utilization and profitable investment opportunities. To reorganize or divest less profitable or loss making businesses/products. The company can also enhance value through capital Restructuring, it can innovate securities that help to reduce cost of capital. Corporate Restructuring entails a range of activities including financial restructuring and organization restructuring. 1. Financial Restructuring Financial restructuring is the reorganization of the financial assets and liabilities of a corporation in order to create the most beneficial financial environment for the company. The process of financial restructuring is often associated with corporate restructuring, in that restructuring the general function and composition of the company is likely to impact the financial health of the corporation. When completed, this reordering of corporate assets and liabilities can help the company to remain competitive, even in a depressed economy. Just about every business goes through a phase of financial restructuring at one time or another. In some cases, the process of restructuring takes place as a means of allocating resources for a new marketing campaign or the launch of a new product line. When this happens, the restructure is often viewed as a sign that the company is financially stable and has set goals for future growth and expansion. Need For Financial Restructuring The process of financial restructuring may be undertaken as a means of eliminating waste from the operations of the company. For example, the restructuring effort may find that two divisions or departments of the company perform related functions and in some cases duplicate efforts. Rather than continue to use financial resources to fund the operation of both departments, their efforts are combined. This helps to reduce costs without impairing the ability of the company to still achieve the same ends in a timely manner In some cases, financial restructuring is a strategy that must take place in order for the company to continue operations. This is especially true when sales decline and the corporation no longer generates a consistent net profit. A financial restructuring may include a review of the costs associated with each sector of the business and identify ways to cut costs and increase the net profit. The restructuring may also call for the reduction or suspension of production facilities that are obsolete or currently produce goods that are not selling well and are scheduled to be phased out. Financial restructuring also take place in response to a drop in sales, due to a sluggish economy or temporary concerns about the economy in general. When this happens, the corporation may need to reorder finances as a means of keeping the company operational through this rough time. Costs may be cut by combining divisions or departments, reassigning responsibilities and eliminating personnel, or scaling back production at various facilities owned by the company. With this type of corporate restructuring, the focus is on survival in a difficult market rather than on expanding the company to meet growing consumer demand. All businesses must pay attention to matters of finance in order to remain operational and to also hopefully grow over time. From this perspective, financial restructuring can be seen as a tool that can ensure the corporation is making the most efficient use of available resources and thus generating the highest amount of net profit possible within the current set economic environment. 2. Organizational Restructuring In organizational restructuring, the focus is on management and internal corporate governance structures. Organizational restructuring has become a very common practice amongst the firms in order to match the growing competition of the market. This makes the firms to change the organizational structure of the company for the betterment of the business. Need For Organization Restructuring New skills and capabilities are needed to meet current or expected operational requirements. Accountability for results are not clearly communicated and measurable resulting in subjective and biased performance appraisals. Parts of the organization are significantly over or under staffed. Organizational communications are inconsistent, fragmented, and inefficient. Technology and/or innovation are creating changes in workflow and production processes. Significant staffing increases or decreases are contemplated. Personnel retention and turnover is a significant problem. Workforce productivity is stagnant or deteriorating. Morale is deteriorating. Some of the most common features of organizational restructures are: Regrouping of business: This involves the firms regrouping their existing business into fewer business units. The management then handles theses lesser number of compact and strategic business units in an easier and better way that ensures the business to earn profit. Downsizing: Often companies may need to retrench the surplus manpower of the business. For that purpose offering voluntary retirement schemes (VRS) is the most useful tool taken by the firms for downsizing the businesss workforce. Decentralization: In order to enhance the organizational response to the developments in dynamic environment, the firms go for decentralization. This involves reducing the layers of management in the business so that the people at lower hierarchy are benefited. Outsourcing: Outsourcing is another measure of organizational restructuring that reduces the manpower and transfers the fixed costs of the company to variable costs. Enterprise Resource Planning: Enterprise resource planning is an integrated management information system that is enterprise-wide and computer-base. This management system enables the business management to understand any situation in faster and better way. The advancement of the information technology enhances the planning of a business. Business Process Engineering: It involves redesigning the business process so that the business maximizes the operation and value added content of the business while minimizing everything else. Total Quality Management: The businesses now have started to realize that an outside certification for the quality of the product helps to get a good will in the market. Quality improvement is also necessary to improve the customer service and reduce the cost of the business. VARIOUS STRATEGIES FOR BUSINESS RESTRUCTURING Smart sizing: It is the process of reducing the size of a company by laying off employees on the basis of incompetence and inefficiency. Some Examples Acquisitions: HLL took over TOMCO. Diversification: Videocon group is diversified into power projects, oil exploration and basic telecom services. Merger: Asea and Brown Boveri came together to form ABB. Strategic alliances: Siemens India has got a Strategic alliance with Bharati Telecom for marketing of its EPABX. Expansion: Siemens is expanding its medical electronics division- a new factory for medical electronics is already come up in Goa. Networking: It refers to the process of breaking companies into smaller independant business units for significant improvement in productivity and flexibility. The phenomenon is predominant in South Korea, where big companies like Samsung, Hyundai and Daewoo are breaking themselves up into smaller units. These firms convert their managers into entrepreneurs. Virtual Corporation: It is a company that has taken steps to turn itself inside out. Rather than having managers and staff sitting INSIDE in their offices moving papers from in basket to out basket, a virtual corporation kicks the employees outside, sending them to work in customers offices and plants, determining what the customer needs and wants, then reshaping the corporate products and services to the customers exact needs. This is a futuristic concept wherein companies will be edgeless, adaptable and perpetually changing. The centrepiece of the business revolution is a new kind of product called a Virtual Product Some of the these products already exist, camcorders create instant movies, personal computers and laser printers have made instant desktop publishing a reality. And for all these we can obtain cash instantly at ATMs. Verticalization: It refers to regrouping of management functions for particular functions for a particular product range to achieve higher accountability and transparency. Siemens in 1990 moved from a function-oriented structure to a vertical entrepreneur-oriented structure embracing size business and three support divisions. Delayering- Flat organization: In the post world war period the demand for goods was ever increasing. Main objective of the corporations was production and capacity build up to meet the demand. The classical, pyramidal structure was well suited to this high growth environment. This structure was scalable and the corporations could immediately translate their growth plans into action by adding workers at the bottom layer and filling in the management layers. But the price paid in the whole process was much higher. The overall process became complicated; number of middle managers and functional managers grew making the coordination of various functions complex. Senior/top management was alienated from the front-line people as well as the end users of the product or sen/ice. Decision-making became slower. Hence, a need is felt to attack the unproductive, bulky and sluggish network of white-collar staff. A powerful strategy would be to remove the layers of senior and middle management i. e. making the organization structure flat. The perspective of organizational restructuring may be different for the employees. When a company goes for the organizational restructuring, it often leads to reducing the manpower and hence meaning that people are losing their jobs. This may decrease the morale of employee in a large manner. Hence many firms provide strategies on career transitioning and outplacement support to their existing employees for an easy transition to their next job. The important methods of Corporate Restructuring are: Joint ventures Sell off and spin off Divestitures Equity carve out Leveraged buy outs (LBO) Management buy outs 1. Joint Ventures Joint ventures are new enterprises owned by two or more participants. They are typically formed for special purposes for a limited duration. It is a combination of subsets of assets contributed by two (or more) business entities for a specific business purpose and a limited duration. Each of the venture partners continues to exist as a separate firm, and the joint venture represents a new business enterprise. It is a contract to work together for a period of time each participant expects to gain from the activity but also must make a contribution. For Example: GM-Toyota JV: GM hoped to gain new experience in the management techniques of the Japanese in building high-quality, low-cost compact subcompact cars. Whereas, Toyota was seeking to learn from the management traditions that had made GE the no. 1 auto producer in the world and In addition to learn how to operate an auto company in the environment under the conditions in the US, dealing with contractors, suppliers, and workers. DCM group and Daewoo motors entered in to JV to form DCM DAEWOO Ltd. to manufacture automobiles in India. 2. Spin-off Spinoffs are a way to get rid of underperforming or non-core business divisions that can drag down profits. Process of spin-off The company decides to spin off a business division. The parent company files the necessary paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The spinoff becomes a company of its own and must also file paperwork with the SEBI. Shares in the new company are distributed to parent company shareholders. The spinoff company goes public. Notice that the spinoff shares are distributed to the parent company shareholders. There are two reasons why this creates value: Parent company shareholders rarely want anything to do with the new spinoff. After all, its an underperforming division that was cut off to improve the bottom line. As a result, many new shareholders sell immediately after the new company goes public. Large institutions are often forbidden to hold shares in spinoffs due to the smaller market capitalization, increased risk, or poor financials of the new company. Therefore, many large institutions automatically sell their shares immediately after the new company goes public. There is no money transaction in spin-off. The transaction is treated as stock dividend tax free exchange. Split-off: Is a transaction in which some, but not all, parent company shareholders receive shares in a subsidiary, in return for relinquishing their parent companys share. In other words some parent company shareholders receive the subsidiarys shares in return for which they must give up their parent company shares Feature of split-offs is that a portion of existing shareholders receives stock in a subsidiary in exchange for parent company stock. Split-up: Is a transaction in which a company spins off all of its subsidiaries to its shareholders ceases to exist. The entire firm is broken up in a series of spin-offs. The parent no longer exists and Only the new offspring survive. In a split-up, a company is split up into two or more independent companies. As a sequel, the parent company disappears as a corporate entity and in its place two or more separate companies emerge. 3. Divestures Divesture is a transaction through which a firm sells a portion of its assets or a division to another company. It involves selling some of the assets or division for cash or securities to a third party which is an outsider. Divestiture is a form of contraction for the selling company. means of expansion for the purchasing company. It represents the sale of a segment of a company (assets, a product line, a subsidiary) to a third party for cash and or securities. Mergers, assets purchase and takeovers lead to expansion in some way or the other. They are based on the principle of synergy which says 2 + 2 = 5! , divestiture on the other hand is based on the principle of anergy which says 5 3 = 3!. Among the various methods of divestiture, the most important ones are partial sell-off, demerger (spin-off split off) and equity carve out. Some scholars define divestiture rather narrowly as partial sell off and some scholars define divestiture more broadly to include partial sell offs, demergers and so on. Motives: Change of focus or corporate strategy Unit unprofitable can mistake Sale to pay off leveraged finance Antitrust Need cash Defend against takeover Good price. 4. Equity Carve-Out A transaction in which a parent firm offers some of a subsidiaries common stock to the general public, to bring in a cash infusion to the parent without loss of control. In other words equity carve outs are those in which some of a subsidiaries shares are offered for a sale to the general public, bringing an infusion of cash to the parent firm without loss of control. Equity carve out is also a means of reducing their exposure to a riskier line of business and to boost shareholders value. 5. Leveraged Buyout A buyout is a transaction in which a person, group of people, or organization buys a company or a controlling share in the stock of a company. Buyouts great and small occur all over the world on a daily basis. Buyouts can also be negotiated with people or companies on the outside. For example, a large candy company might buy out smaller candy companies with the goal of cornering the market more effectively and purchasing new brands which it can use to increase its customer base. Likewise, a company which makes widgets might decide to buy a company which makes thingamabobs in order to expand its operations, using an establishing company as a base rather than trying to start from scratch. 6. Management buyout In this case, management of the company buys the company, and they may be joined by employees in the venture. This practice is sometimes questioned because management can have unfair advantages in negotiations, and could potentially manipulate the value of the company in order to bring down the purchase price for themselves. On the other hand, for employees and management, the possibility of being able to buy out their employers in the future may serve as an incentive to make the company strong. It occurs when a companys managers buy or acquire a large part of the company. The goal of an MBO may be to strengthen the managers interest in the success of the company. Purpose of Management buyouts From management point of view may be: To save their jobs, either if the business has been scheduled for closure or if an outside purchaser would bring in its own management team. To maximize the financial benefits they receive from the success they bring to the company by taking the profits for themselves. To ward off aggressive buyers. The goal of an MBO may be to strengthen the managers interest in the success of the company. Key considerations in MBO are fairness to shareholders price, the future business plan, and legal and tax issues. Benefits of Management buyouts It provides an excellent opportunity for management of undervalued cos to realize the intrinsic value of the company. Lower agency cost: cost associated with conflict of interest between owners and managers. Source of tax savings: since interest payments are tax deductible, pushing up gearing rations to fund a management buyout can provide large tax covers. Conclusion: Restructuring strategies encompasses enhancing economy and improving efficiency. When a company wants to grow or survive in a competitive environment, it needs to restructure itself and focus on its competitive advantage. Thus, the merger and acquisition strategies have been conceived to improve general economic well-being of all those who are, directly or indirectly, connected with the corporate sector. The intension of buy back is visualized as to support share value during periods of temporary weakness, survival and to prevent takeover bids.

the 5 pillars of islam Essay -- essays research papers

Five Pillars of Islam   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In order to follow the right path in the Islam religion its followers, Muslims, are required to practice its five pillars, or duties. Each of these duties is mentioned in the Quran; however, scholars have found a more detailed explanation in the Hadith. The five pillars are uttering the Shahada, prayer, zakat, participating in the fast, and a pilgrimage to Mecca.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first of the five duties is uttering the Shahada, a phrase that declares the faith of the follower. The phrase is, â€Å"There is no god but God and Muhammad is His messenger.† This phrase is used in the daily life of Islam’s followers, because this phrase illustrates the central beliefs in the Islam faith.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second ritual duty is prayer. Muslims are obligated to pray five times each day. The prayer sessions must take place at designated times of the day and following the proper procedures. These designated times are at dawn, midday, in the afternoon, during the evening, and at sunset. Before prayer begins Islam’s followers must cleanse themselves both physically and mentally to achieve the purity required to engage in prayer. Prayer also must follow a cycle. Takbir is the first step in the cycle. This step is the opening sutra which means that the follower says, â€Å"Allahu akbar,† which mean â€Å"God is great.† At this point the worshiper will perform four postures, standing, bowing, postrating, and sitting...

Dark Time

Theodore Roethke is one of America’s premier poets, ranking alongside Robert Frost, Walt Whitman, and Carl Sandburg. His 1964 poem â€Å"In A Dark Time† is both disturbing and challenging as a man veers on the edge of sanity through an outdoor experience. Roethke demonstrates through subject and form that he is a master poet, reflecting the deep inner sense of self that can portray such emotions without being reduced to cliche or juvenilia. The title of the poem—â€Å"In A Dark Time†Ã¢â‚¬â€is the first clue that all is not well in Roethke’s universe.It is the primary indicator that the poem speaks to the troubled half of life. In many ways one is reminded of Robert Frost’s â€Å"Acquainted With the Night,† which conveys a deeper metaphor of depression in its surface-simple account of insomnia. â€Å"In A Dark Time† speaks volumes about the poem that will follow. Roethke relies on a single simile in this poem, although it is rep lete with metaphor. In the last stanza, he says his soul is â€Å"like some heat-maddened summer fly† buzzing on the windowsill.One can instantly picture the frantic action of such a fly, its nervous bouncing, ticking and constant action. His soul, being like this, is perpetually agitated. But Roethke has established this interpretation through the metaphor of the dark woods; a place where is soul has been caught out in the middle of the day, yet plunged in darkness. He is lost here, wondering whether something ahead is shelter (the cave) or further travail (merely a bend in the path). He sees himself dancing on the edge physically and metaphorically.In the first two stanzas, Roethke personifies his shadow, an image that most people perceive as a dark figure to begin with. Roethke expands the idea of his shadow to incorporate the darker nature of his self. He meets his shadow in the deepening shade, giving the reader a sense that he is meeting the darkest part of his inner se lf at a time when the depths of his depression have encompassed him. As with most people, Roethke relates a realistic happening as most people only reflect upon their lives in their darkest hours (â€Å"In a dark time, the eye begins to see†).In the last stanza, Roethke personifies his fear. (â€Å"A fallen man, I climb out of my fear†). As many know, fear is not a physical entity that can be ascended or descended. In this case, however, Roethke’s fear (â€Å"his dark time†) has become such an overwhelming reality to him that, in order to emerge from the depths of his struggle, Roethke sees this ascent as a physical act. Reading the line in full, the reader gets a sense that Roethke has actually fallen into an abyss known as fear.

Restaurant Concept Statement Essay

Cowgirls Steakhouse will be fun, country style restaurant that serves southern comfort food. It will be located right in the heart of Austin, the capital of Texas. The goal of the restaurant is to make every guest experience a great and exciting one and to serve good quality food at an affordable price. It will be a great place for almost any occasion because we will accommodate big parties and provide excellent service while making the experience memorable. The atmosphere of Cowgirls Steakhouse is going to be inviting and invigorating. As you walk in to the lobby, the aroma of the steaks, smoked brisket, and barbequed ribs will fill your nose, along with the sweet smell of freshly baked biscuits and apple pie. We will have the best of the best country music playing throughout the place that makes you feel like you are at a rodeo about to saddle up. The hostess’ and the servers are going to be women that are dressed up in cowboy hats, button down long sleeve tops, blue jeans, belt buckles, and boots. Each of them are going to be ready show you a great time and provide you with professional and friendly customer service. Read more:  Essay About Restaurant Review   The walls of the restaurant will have great country dà ©cor including hung up horse saddles, ropes, horseshoes, cast iron skillets, framed pictures of country legends and cowgirls, neon light beer signs, etc. The floors will be covered with peanut shells, but it’s not trash, it’s decoration for the country folk! As you are lead into the dining room and seated in your booth or table with chairs, you will be given a big bucket of peanuts for a small, free starter. Don’t be shy! Go ahead and throw the peanut shells on the floor when you are done. Our house is your house. We will even put a southern touch on the beverages by serving all of the non-alcoholic drinks in Mason jars. When it comes to the alcohol, we will have many kinds of imported and domestic beers, creative and classic cocktails, and aromatic wines. If the bar is where you are headed, then we hope you enjoy the several plasma screen t.v’s we will have above the bar that are playing different sport’s games. Don’t miss the big game just because you wanted to eat some great food. Maybe you come with a hankering to party a bit more, well than head right on in to the second section of the  restaurant. This closed off space will consist of another full bar, bar stools and tables, and a small stage at the end where we will have great live country bands playing every Friday and Saturday night. We will have all the best things in one; great service, great music, and damn good southern comfort food. Although this is a steakhouse, amazing steaks are not the only thing we will be known for. When you think of southern country style food, you think brisket, ribs, fried chicken, and chili. Well that is exactly what we will offer. We are going to slow smoke our brisket overnight so when you take a bite it almost melts in your mouth. The natural smokey flavor couldn’t get any better. Our ribs with our brown sugar based dry rub is also going to be one of the highlights on the menu. The flavor and tenderness of them are out of this world.

Essay Sample on Population in the World

Essay Sample on Population in the World The world is a very big place with a population of 6,234,250,234 people and always growing. The world and its important resources are being destroyed by populations growing in such small areas. Many of these small areas have many problems of their own because of over population, such as hunger and many poor people. China is the largest country in the world with a population of 1, 284,304,705 people and ranked the third largest in size in the world. In the year 2050 the population of China will be about 1,322,435,000. The population in china is growing by about 87% a year. China is controlling the population by the one-child policy. The one child policy was created in 1979 to help control the growing population of China. How the one child policy works is that families are only allowed one child but if that child can’t work the family can adopt another. Also many of the families are killing their new born if they are girls because in China when girls are born nothing is done but when a boy is born there is a huge celebration. The population of the U.S. is 280,562,489 people and by the year 2050 the population will almost had doubled, 394,241,000 people. Each year the population increases by 89%. In the U.S. there is nothing being done to control the fast growing. Although there are many people in some states there are still many that have very few due to the climate which is usually too hot or too cold. India is 1,045,845,226 people and as the population grows at 1.15% in the year 2050 there will be about 1,706,951,724. In the 1970’s India started to educate people about birth control. They put up posters and also want men and women to be sterilized. By teaching people India about birth control the later generations will be more aware of overpopulation. The total population of Europe is about 728,543,592 and if the population continues to grow at about 1% in 2050 the population will be about 642,447,530. Although Europe consist of many countries not many are doing anything to help control overpopulation. Africa has a total population of 803,310,514 and in 2050 the population will be about 1,786,117,607. The population growth rate is about 2.6%. Even thought the population is still growing there is also illness and lack of food is sort of the population control. There are many ways that over population destroy the earth one way is by pollution. Pollution has been killing the environment since power has been producing power to work every day things for the growing populations. Also have also been major accidents form power plants that cause many people to move to different and make them even more populated. Also over population destroys forest and other natural resource. In South America there are many rain forest, these rain forest may or may not contain cures for some illnesses that we have no cures for not. But farmers in South America are cutting down the trees for the top layer of soil. There are may was to control the population of the world, one way is to have a certain amount of people in a household or family, kind of like China’s One child policy but now people will be able to have 4 to 5 child girls or boys. In Conclusion, at the population of the world grows, over population will continue slowly destroy the earth. You can order a custom essay, term paper, research paper, thesis or dissertation on Population topics at our professional custom essay writing service which provides students with custom papers written by highly qualified academic writers. High quality and no plagiarism guarantee! Get professional essay writing help at an affordable cost.

OMV PETROM, applying integrative organizational change to lead company Essay

OMV PETROM, applying integrative organizational change to lead company become more sustainable - Essay Example The company will understand its requirement to change the values, norms and rules. The company will also understand the need to list individual goals. The listing of goals starts by collecting data and diagnosing the goals. After understanding the elements, a company will need to adjust its management to achieve set goals. The â€Å"Do† part is concerned with implementing the organizational change. â€Å"Check† on the other hand, has its meaning. The corporation should check and evaluate the performance of the organizational change towards the objectives. The company needs to take corrective measure if it is underperforming. The other significant part is â€Å"Act†. After a corporation gathers, all of the data, it should give its reaction, and read the plan to know whether it meets the objectives. If it does not meet the objectives, it needs to change or come up with a new plan to achieve the objectives. The major issue of OMV core competencies is a contradiction with sustainable development. Sustainable development means â€Å"meeting current needs without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own need† (Bocean, and Sitnikov, 2012). This is an issue for oil and gas companies. This is because it is hard to reduce emission by leading OMV to produce long-term energy efficiency. The companies see difficulties in applying safety, security, environmental care and corporate social responsibility while at the same time needs to maintain healthy economic condition. The environment is impacted because a sustainable company reduces the harmful effect to society. For example, in 2010, OMV Corporation produced 184 barrels per day less crude oil of 4.15 and still maintained high net turnover of 18616. This shows the oil company helps to reduce emission that will positively affect the environment. This makes the company receive positive perspectives, and make their employee confident.

Impact of telecommunications in the work setting Research Paper

Impact of telecommunications in the work setting - Research Paper Example 1). Another more detailed definition of the term disclosed its meaning as the â€Å"science and technology associated, in general, with communications at a distance. A telecommunications system requires a analog or digital transmitter, a compatible receiver, and a physical (cable or wire) or non-physical (wireless) connection† (Web Finance, Inc., 2013, par. 1). Messerschmitt (1996) revealed that â€Å"the term telecommunications is derived from â€Å"tele†, meaning at a distance, and â€Å"communications†, meaning exchanging of information† (p. 1). If defining the term apparently generated voluminous results, one was more intrigued on how telecommunications have evolved and impacted the contemporary work setting. In this regard, the current discourse aims to present the impact of telecommunications in contemporary work settings, or how telecommunications have significantly shaped the work place. Historical Overview of Telecommunications A discussion on the historical background of telecommunication actually traced its origins from the discovery of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 (von Alven, 1998), 137 years from now. Previous to that, it was interesting to note that forms of communication included fire signals, carrier pigeons, and even a line of canon that relayed relevant messages (von Alven, 1998). Also, other communication patterns such as the Chappe brothers’ semaphore system which â€Å"consisted of movable arms on a pole whose positions denoted letters of the alphabet† (von Alven: Early Beginnings, 1998, par. 1) and the electric telegraph were also noted. Telecommunications in the 21st century has evolved in a rapidly changing pace due to the merging with the computer industry and the emergence of the Internet (Messerschmitt, 1996). As such, it pervaded vast industries and endeavors that transformed diverse facets of the work setting through increased access to information and through the use of ne w technologies and communications facilities that provided new applications in faster, greater and wider scope. The statistics from axvoice.com (2013) presented the changes in market shares of telecommunications in the United States from 2010 to 2015, as shown in Figure 1 below: Figure 1: Changes in Market Shares of US Telecom, 2010 to 2014 Source: Axvoice, 2013 Effect of Telecommunications in the Work Setting Telecommunications have evidently transformed contemporary work settings in terms of eliminating barriers to time, space, and locations. As confirmed â€Å"advances in telecommunications have not only untethered people from desks, but they have also made it possible for people who might traditionally be unable to be in the workforce- such as those who are caring for children, or those who are disabled- to have exciting jobs and contribute to the business community† (Alexis, 2010, par. 7). The evolution of telecommunications have enabled the establishment of diverse work settings, from the traditional office-based work place to varied work centers (Kurland & Bailey, 1999). Due to developments in telecommunications, there emerged four distinct work settings such as home-based; use of satellite offices; the existence of neighborhood work centers; and mobile working (Kurland & Bailey, 1999). This provided greater opportunities for increasing productivity, higher morale, lesser absenteeism, and minimizing costs and expenses. Likewise, through developments accorded by increased access