Sunoco case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Sunoco - Case Study Example Though it has managed to garner 14% increase in net income through cutting expenses, the loss in shareholders’ value has become a major concern. The company is faced with challenges of reducing cost through restructuring and evolving new business model. As a result, Cindy Hartley was appointed as Senior Vice President of HR by CEO, Harris DeLoach so as to bring about necessary changes within the organization. It is believed that new business model would enhance organizational capabilities in terms of human resource and provide it with flexible approach to meet the challenges of time. Sonoco’s traditional model of business is faced with huge challenges of competitive business due to rapid globalization and advancing technology. The overcapacity within the industry has forced businesses to consolidate and diversify to regions like South East Asia, specifically China and India where low production cost helps to maintain leverage. Initially, industrial packaging had accounted for 55% of its revenue but now the trend seems to have reversed. Consumer packaging now represents 70% of industrial revenue and operates within the broader framework of global business environment. Branding and market segmentation have also become very important aspects which have redefined the role of packaging within the new business imperatives. Retail packaging has become vital part of marketing of goods. This has further escalated financial burden as creative inputs in design require new technology that would equip organizations with hi-tech tools of designing. Most importantly, So noco has realized that in the dynamic business environment, people centric policies have become central to business goals and must be developed to compete in the highly competitive business environment. The major problem of Sonoco is that its HR strategies are not aligned with the business goals and objectives. Though it has centralized HR policy but each of the Divisions of Sonoco works independently

Theories and Principles of Learning and Communication Assignment Essay Example for Free

Theories and Principles of Learning and Communication Assignment Essay Learning is something that takes place everyday for most people in some way, shape or form and varies depending on certain circumstances. The principles can be simple or radical depending on opinion, some you may agree with while others you might discount straight away. Whether it is in the classroom or sat at home, it is important to understand that learning takes place all the time and people can learn new things everyday regardless of age, culture or background. The education system is the best example to connect these theories as it is so varied in its delivery depending on factors such as again age, skill sets and ability in particular. Overall it is important to understand that by following some of these theories and principles it will help all tutors in performing better within the classroom and delivering better sessions which means that you will enhance the experience for the learner. Theories and Principles of Learning It is important to understand the significance of learning theories and principles as it is important for tutors to understand them, which will then help ensure that effective learning is taking place. It can support the tutor and the learner through the process which allows for success within the taught subject. I believe that certain theories such as Maslows Hierarchy of Needs Motivation and Personality, Third Edition, Harper and Row Publishers are not relevant in regards to all learning sectors today, in particular not in the lifelong learning sector. I agree with Geert Hofsteds’s (1984). The cultural relativity of the quality of life concept. Academy of Management Review that Maslow’s hierarchy of needs neglects to illustrate and expand upon the difference between the social and intellectual needs of those raised in different societies. I think that with our society as it is today, due to such a huge and diverse range of cultures now within the United Kingdom that i t is impossible for this to still completely apply. Within the lifelong learning sector I think that andragogy is perhaps the best principle to apply. Malcolm Knowles researched and penned the four crucial assumptions to his theory which are as follows: 1. Self-concept: As a person matures his self concept moves from one of being a dependent personality toward one of being a self-directed human being 2. Experience: As a person matures he accumulates a growing reservoir of experience that becomes an increasing resource for learning. 3. Readiness to learn. As a person matures his readiness to learn becomes oriented increasingly to the developmental tasks of his social roles. 4. Orientation to learning. As a person matures his time perspective changes from one of postponed application of knowledge to immediacy of application, and accordingly his orientation toward learning shifts from one of subject-centeredness to one of problem centredness. He later added a fifth assumption in 1984:  5. Motivation to learn: As a person matures the motivation to learn is internal. Within the post 16 sector individuals are more geared up to follow in what they want to do and have the experience and hopefully the right mindset to try and achieve this. Therefore this theory is one that can support a tutor by simply understanding why the learners are there, which is normally through choice rather than in the school system were pedagogy seems to take precedent and is a legal requirement. Analysing such theories will always help towards my own personal development and will hopefully allow myself to develop and improve the experience for the learners. Communication â€Å"The imparting or exchanging of information by speaking, writing, or using some other medium: The Oxford Dictionary† Effective communication is essential within any teaching field and perhaps more so in the lifelong learning sector. Without this then even the simplest of tasks can become difficult or done wrongly simply by misinterpreting what the instructions are. The important thing to remember is that it is a two way process. It is all very well telling the learners what to do but if you do not allow them to ask questions to double check what you have said or even as the tutor you were may not have been clear enough to the learners in your delivery. I believe also that gaining a good rapport is essential with the age group that I deal with as some of the information being given is sometimes completely new to them. As it can be a lot to take in within such a short time period then openly discussing their opinions and what they are aware of is important to their and in some cases my understanding of the subject matter that we are delivering to them. Impact of Learning Theory on Practise Describing how a Foundation Learning course operates is not that simple, but in effect it ties in with the learner and should adapt and cater for the learners specific needs and can be tailored to incorporate different aspects of what we deliver and what they want to complete. Our end goal even though it is not within our YPLA contract is to gain them employment after they have improved on their qualifications, which we are contracted on for our funding. My role within this is the delivery of the third week of the induction completing an Employability Award, whilst also helping the learners select which direction and qualifications that they would like to complete with us. Within the classroom I am doing career progression and interview techniques and these are essential to the learner in helping them choose what career direction they would like to go in when they eventually leave us. My main delivery method is to openly discuss with the learners their knowledge and opinions on certain aspects about what is needed for their future employment. While also making sure that there is class participation by everyone and hopefully building on their confidence as individuals. By doing this it helps me gain knowledge and hopefully a good rapport with the individual, which is necessary as I complete their Individual Learning Plan with them. This then helps them decide what they are going to do and provides support to them so they can tailor what they want from the Foundation Learning Programme that we offer at CTS Training Ltd. There are two theories that I believe are best applied to the lifelong learning sector and that they specifically apply to my own role on a day to day bases. The first is the Humanistic approach which I have looked at is Carl Rogers and I believe that out of his all his hypotheses that the following one is the most important. â€Å"A person cannot teach another person directly; a person can only facilitate anothers learning. This is a result of his personality theory, which states that everyone exists in a constantly changing world of experience in which he or she is the center. Each person reacts and responds based on perception and experience. The belief is that what the student does is more important than what the teacher does. The focus is on the student. Therefore, the background and experiences of the learner are essential to how and what is learned. Each student will process what he or she learns differently depending on what he or she brings to the classroom.† Rogers, Carl (1951). Client-centered therapy: Its current practice, implications and theory. For the Foundation Learning programme to work it should be understood that the learner must bring themselves to the table as they are responsible for the choice and control of what they want to achieve. They must also be able to self evaluate their own performance in regards to how they feel they are doing and whether they will be successful, with or without support, in regards to what qualifications they are completing and what career choices that they have made. We can guide the learners but I would suggest we let them guide themselves so I try to apply what I should be doing in the following quote when delivering in the classroom: The tutor or lecturer tends to be more supportive than critical, more understanding than judgmental, more genuine than playing a role. The next theory that I apply is also tied into this and is one that I have discussed early in this assignment and that is the theory of andragogy. I believe that this also ties up well with the humanistic approach as well and by using the two together they complement each other and hopefully reinforce confidence within the learner that they will be able to succeed. Allowing them to be more in control and understanding that they make the decisions which is what the essence of Foundation Learning is, means that I am able to tailor my sessions depending on the groups I get. As I deliver to a different group on a weekly basis, this means I can focus on what is either more important or specific for that group rather than them just completing the same work each week and not addressing what they bring as a whole or on an individual basis. This can be challenging as it can change my aims and objectives on a daily basis which I believe is also good as it keeps the sessions fresh and up to date. By getting the learners to communicate with each other and myself I believe they can then take control of their learning. Giving their input to the direction that they want to choose and ultimately even without them knowing, breaking away from practises such as pedagogy which on the whole, has not worked for many of my learners which is why they have not made a success of the school system. Reflections on Insights Gained from Application of Learning Theory Overall on reflection I believe that this has helped immensely in regards to my approach to how I deliver within the classroom. My experiences of teaching are only within one aspect of the lifelong learning sector but I can see that my delivery has improved by realising and believing that the learner needs to be more active in the decision process of what subjects that they want to learn. A majority of my learners have been told in the past you’re doing this or that next and the decision have been taken away from them as individuals, whether this is directed from their school or even their parents. But I think regardless of where the influences of previous decisions have come from allowing the learner to take a more active role, in particular within the 16 19 category I work in, is essential as it will hopefully change the way that they learn forever and make their choices in the future.

Essay --

Before I explain and talk about why a ball goes farther when hit with an aluminum bat, I would like to present and explain some vocabulary concept and words. A collision, transfers momentum or kinetic energy from one object to another object. There are two types of collisions, elastic collision and inelastic collision. An elastic collision is a collision that occurs when two objects bounce apart when they collide; the total kinetic energy in the system is the same before and after the collision. For example, elastic collision occurs when equally massive balls move in the same direction; in this case momentum is transferred from one ball to another ball. And an inelastic collision is a collision that occurs when two objects collide and do not bounce away from each other; the collision changes the total kinetic energy in a closed system. For example, inelastic collision occurs when two cars crash and join themselves into one; the objects stick together after colliding. In inelastic c ollision all that happened is the loss of some kinetic energy, objects don not necessarily need to stick together in an inelastic collision. Whether a collision is an elastic collision or inelastic collision momentum would always be the same before and/or after the collision as long as you have a close system. According to Asif Shakur, Chair of Physics and Engineering at Salisbury State University, explains, â€Å"Aluminum is a hard material. It doesn't have a lot of "give." In other words, aluminum is highly elastic. Therefore, very little of the ball's initial kinetic energy (the energy associated with motion) is used up in permanently deforming the aluminum. Indeed, the aluminum springs back quickly and the ball retains much of its initial energy. In co... ...reased the animosity between the two players† (Russell). The point of all of this is that Piazza’s bat broke; professional players typically go through a lot of bats during a baseball season. In conclusion, there are a various numbers of reasons why a ball go farther when hit with an aluminum bat; such as, aluminum bat can be swung faster, aluminum bats have the trampoline effect, aluminum bats have winder sweet spots, and aluminum bats don’t break. A ball goes farther when hit with aluminum bat because of the fact that the bat is very lightweight and have a large 'sweet spot' in which to hit the ball. In order to have a ball with a high speed, in other words, lots of kinetic energy, the collision has to an elastic collision. Aluminum bats can be swung faster because the barrel of an aluminum bat is empty; the distribution of mass along the length of a metal bat.

Rationing Healthcare

Rationing Healthcare: America's Best Bet John Curry Keller Graduate School Health Rights/Responsibilities HSM 542 Prof. Michelle Gomillion February 24, 2013 Abstract Rationing Healthcare: America's Best Bet Introduction. Within the last decade private insurance premiums have doubled, rising four times faster than wages. Insolvency of the current government assisted healthcare programs, Medicare and Medicaid, are on track to occur within the next eight years (Singer, 2009, para. 3).Facts such as these lead most experts and scholars such as Peter Singer, bioethics professor at Princeton University, to believe rationing of healthcare is not only necessary but highly desired for all stakeholders involved. The fact of the matter is that healthcare is a scarce resource, and like all scarce resources, it requires close management and rationing to ensure its best use. At present, healthcare in a sense, is rationed through price. In the realm of public opinion however, rationing healthcare is often times connected to the highly politicized word, ‘socialism’ and is highly undesired.In its truest form however, rationing simply put, is a way of distributing limited resources to garner the best overall â€Å"bang for the buck. † In healthcare, rationing is a manner of which providing the best quality of care to the largest number of patients. Investopedia defines rationing as: The artificial restriction of raw materials, goods or services. Rationing commonly occurs when governments fear a shortage and want to make sure people have access to necessities, such as after a natural disaster or during a war.Governments can also impose rationing in the face of failed policies such as central planning, or may be forced to use rationing as a result of shortages (â€Å"Definition of ’Rationing’,† 2013, p. 1). This paper’s purpose is to examine the rationale behind the rationing of healthcare. It will examine the affect it has on healthc are delivery, impact on healthcare providers and consumers, possible solutions, and the role healthcare administrators/managers play in the process.The paper will reference institutions such as the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and other national healthcare systems like Great Britain, Australia, and Canada. In addition, a definition of quality-adjusted life-year will be presented and debated as a possible option to ration care fair and proportionately. Affect Rationing Has on Healthcare Delivery. Challenger’s arguement. Sally C. Pipes, Chief Executive officer of Pacific Research Institute and adversary to the rationing of healthcare, wrote an article titled â€Å"Obama Will Ration Your Healthcare. Within the article, many subjects are discussed, including the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), a rationing system that controls government costs. It is Pipes’ belief that rationing healthcare will result in the eld erly population being discriminated against due to cost benefit analysis. Her article goes on further to state, â€Å"the process of determining which drugs and which treatments would be approved for use would be quickly politicized† (Pipes, 2008, para. 9).There is strong argument that rationing healthcare would ultimately fail in the hands of public opinion. To make this point, Pipes references lessons learned in managed care during the 1990’s. The goal of cost containment was successful however rejected by US citizens resulting in Congress passing a patient’s Bill of Rights (Pipes, 2008, para. 8). Other advocates against healthcare rationing state similar responses to Sally Pipes. Claire Andre and Manuel Velasquez, members of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, go as far as quoting Euripedes, 500 B. C. I hate the men who would prolong their lives by foods and drinks and charms of magic art perverting nature's course to keep off death. They ought, when they no longer serve the land to quit this life, and clear the way for youth. It is their firm belief that through rationing, healthcare would result in the elderly and disabled populations being limited in their care because of a measure called a quality-adjusted life-year (QALY). QALY is a unit designed to enable a comparison of the benefits achieved by different forms of health care (Singer, 2009, para. 22).Andre and Velasquez state the morals of such rationing would be unjust and take away constitutional rights to receive equal care. Proponent’s arguement. Many proponents for rationing healthcare resources feel it is only a matter of time before it becomes necessary. Healthcare analysts and providers predict a health care crisis because of: * Costs of Healthcare * Increased number of uninsured individuals * Unknown status of current healthcare system Factors that are affecting these conclusions consist of: * Expenses are rising faster than the cost of living. Medicare and Med icaid spending (which comprises 26 percent of the federal budget) is expanding faster than the economic growth rate * Individuals and their families continue to pay a significant amount out of pocket (Ukleja Center for Ethical Leadership, 2012, Slide 3) While these factors are compelling, the numbers representing US spending costs ultimately lend credence to the argument for healthcare rationing. In June of 2011, the National Coalition on Health Care reported healthcare spending reached 18. 2% of US Gross Domestic Product (GDP), up by 5. % from the prior year (The National Coalition on Health Care, 2011, p. 1). With a continued climb in spending, insolvency of the current healthcare system could occur as early as eight years. President Obama has plainly stated â€Å"that America’s health care system is broken† (Singer, 2009, para. 5). Proponents for the rationing of healthcare are in agreement with the President and see little to no alternative. While some feel rationi ng is the way to avoid bankrupting the healthcare system others believe the wrong form of rationing is already occurring in the form of ability to pay.Examples of such rationing comes in the form of pharmaceutical deductibles for life saving medication. If the individual is unable to afford the medication they go without. Professionals like Simon Rottenberg, Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts, and David J. Theroux, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Independent Institute and Publisher of The Independent Review, warn against this form of rationing and instead, believe it should be based on a measurement of life quality.They state: There is a strong emotional attraction for price controls as a way for the government to â€Å"do something. † However, well-intentioned motives are not enough—the results also count and whether the consequences from government action are beneficial to the public, especially the disadvantaged, or not (Rottenber g ; Theroux, 1994, p. 1). Examples of where well-intentioned government motives failed in their attempts to ration health care based on price can be found in Germany and Japan.Due to the belt tightening based price rationing both countries experienced shortages of medications, reduced funding for research, and black market criminal activity, along with dissatisfied patients (Rottenberg ; Theroux, 1994, p. 2). Although there is a valid argument for rationed care, determination of what factor should be used to determine who gets what care is still up for debate. Under the solutions category of this paper quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) will be further defined and labeled as the best way to ration care. A method for calculating QALY will be explained and its validity defended.Current Impact on Healthcare Consumers and Institutions. Health care organizations around the world all rely on some form of rationing of care due to limited resources. Ultimately rationing limits access to heal thcare. In the case of the United States, this is done through health coverage both government and private. Creating a universal coverage system will require a rationing system that is both ethical and cost effective. Its impacts can only be examined in theory based on review and comparing of the US to that of other countries’ such as Canada and Great Britain.Review of healthcare rationing in the United States. When comparing the United States’ current healthcare coverage system to those of other countries, the country does not measure up. Under the current system, health care costs in the US result in absorption of approximately one in six dollars of national spending (Singer, 2009). A poor economy along with increased healthcare costs have reduced the number of those with healthcare coverage. In 2012 the estimates indicate approximately 44. 6% of US citizens have health care coverage, a decline of 1. % from the prior year (Young, 2013). At present, the US spends 1. 5 times more than other countries around the world (Kane, 2012, para. 8) with 90% percent of Americans who believe the US healthcare system needs fundamental changes or a complete overhaul (Center for American Progress, 2007, p. 3). Great Britain. In Britain, all citizens have healthcare coverage, a sharp contrast to the United States. 76% of citizens in Great Britain approve of the current system (Singer, 2009) and 9. 6% of GDP is spent on their healthcare needs (Kane, 2012, table 2).The country uses the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) as a resource for determining the rationing of health care services. NICE is an independent organization that provides national guidance and standards on the promotion of good health and the prevention and treatment of ill health (NHS Choices, 2011, para. 3). The organization focuses on: * Public health * Health technologies * Clinical practice * Quality standards * Quality and outcomes framework Canada. Possible Solution. QALY is an opportunity as a measurement for a unbiased approach to organizing healthcare under an umbrella of unified understanding. As a proponent to rationing of healthcare, QALY offers an approach that focuses on the best quality of life compared to that of life extensions. For example, an individual who is 3o years of age has a life expectancy of 70 years compared to that of someone who is 85 years of age who has exceeded their life expectancy. It is cost beneficial to provide life -saving medicine to the individual who is at 30 opposed to the one who are 85 because there is a greater bang for the buck.In essence QALY is a measurement that can help determine the best way to use resources and allocate funds toward the best overall outcome. Unfortunately this decision can result in death for those of less dire circumstances or for those that are less likely to result in successful outcomes. Until American citizens decide on the emphasis of cost vs. life the matter will remain unre solved. Until then, healthcare remains in a grey area where they attempt to balance the value of life with the costs that are associate with maintaining life. References Andre, C. ; Velasquez, M. (2010). Aged-Based Health Care Rationing. Retrieved from http://www. scu. edu/ethics/publications/iie/v3n3/age. html Center for American Progress. (2007). Health Care by the Numbers: Ensure Affordable Coverage for All. Retrieved from http://www. americanprogress. org/issues/healthcare/news/2007/05/03/2962/health-care-by-the-numbers/ Definition of ’Rationing’. (2013). Retrieved from http://www. investopedia. com/terms/r/rationing. asp#axzz2Lp5M2H7u Kane, J. (2012). Health Costs: How the U. S. Compares With Other Countries. Retrieved from http://www. pbs. rg/newshour/rundown/2012/10/health-costs-how-the-us-compares-with-other-countries. html NHS Choices. (2011). Health watchdogs and authorities . Retrieved from http://www. nhs. uk/NHSEngland/thenhs/healthregulators/Pages/nice. a spx Pipes, S. C. (2008). Obama Will Ration Your Health Care. Retrieved from http://online. wsj. com/article/SB123060332638041525. html Rottenberg, S. , ; Theroux, D. J. (1994). Rationing Health Care: Price Controls Are Hazardous to Our Health . Retrieved from http://www. independent. org/publications/article. asp? id=1201 Singer, P. (2009). Why We Must Ration Health Care.Retrieved from http://www. nytimes. com/2009/07/19/magazine/19healthcare-t. html? pagewanted=all;_r=0 The National Coalition on Health Care. (2011). Health Care Spending as Percentage of GDP Reaches All-Time High. Retrieved from http://nchc. org/node/1171 Ukleja Center for Ethical Leadership. (2012). Rationing Health Care. Retrieved from www. csulb. edu/colleges/cba/ucel/modules/documents/rationing-health Young, J. (2013). Number of Uninsured in U. S. Rises as Workers Lose Jobs and Health Insurance. Retrieved from http://www. huffingtonpost. com/2012/02/14/number-of-uninsured-in-us_n_1276189. html

How Great Was Alexander The Great?

What is a truly great leader? It is someone with courage, discipline, creativity, remarkable achievement, and integrity. Unfortunately, Alexander the Great does not have any of these valuable traits to be called a â€Å"great† leader. Even though Alexander left a mark in history’s book, it was a mark of a brutal tormenter. Alexander the Great was born in 356 B.C.E. in a kingdom on the edge of northern Greece called Macedonia. (B.G.E.) His parents, Phillip and Olympia, constantly adored and spoiled him.They hired a famous Greek philosopher, Aristotle, to teach him academic subjects, politics, sports, and warfare. (B.E.) As he grew older, an inner beast was growing inside of him and at last it exploded when his father died, and Alexander was only then able to take the throne. But who would want an unjust leader, who is an egomaniac, a ruthless narcissist, and whose empire would not last?Alexander the â€Å"not-so-great† was a psychotic maniac with a huge ego. He wa s conceded and had absolutely no concern for others. For example, when Alexander’s army was struggling across the hot, dry desert of sand, he could’ve taken them around the desert, so they didn’t have to suffer. (doc.D)Also, every new place Alexander went to he founded a new city and named it after himself†¦.. Alexandria!!! In total he named eleven cities after himself. Because he was spoiled and everyone treated him like he was royalty at a very young age, he came up with the idea that he was part god and told everyone to treat him that way. (B.E.)There were always consequences for when people tried to stand up against Alexander. One example is in the battle with Tyre, when they refused to surrender, so he wouldn’t let them be and ordered his army to destruct and destroy all of Tyre into little pieces.(Doc.C) Therefore, because of his lack of concern for others and huge ego, he was proven, once again, to be Alexander the â€Å"not so great†!! !A second reason Alexander was not great at all was because he was a ruthless narcissist who had savage relish. Evidence to prove my opinion is how he  killed hundreds of thousands of innocent people that were slaughtered by Alexander and his army in only four major battles.(Doc.E)Alexander’s main goal was to conquer many territories. Also, during the battle of Tyre his army killed thousands of people and sold the thirty thousand remaining survivors into slavery. How is that the act of a â€Å"great† leader? To add on to all the other horrifying murdering he also crucified two thousand men who didn’t even harm him!!!This shows that Alexander was nothing but a brutal murderer!Many people wonder why Alexander’s empire did not last. Well, I will tell you why! The first thing that Phillip the Second of Macedon did was name an heir to the throne after he died and it was Alexander. But as soon as Alexander gained the throne all he cared about was conquest and he didn’t seem to plan ahead, because after he died he didn’t name a successor who would expand the empire, therefore his whole empire collapsed. (Doc.E)Besides an empire as vast as his took at least 11 years of hard work and conquering to build. Unfortunately it only took 10 years to destroy it which showed what a poor job Alexander did with leadership. Because of Alexander’s ignorance and foolishness towards his empire, he became an irresponsible leader, instead of a caring, great man, as the world thinks he is.In conclusion I believe that Alexander should not be called great anymore and that people should see the villainous side of him. Though, he did have some good points in his life. For example he built an incredibly vast empire, spread Greek art and literature, and was a major influence on Julias Caesar.However, the three reasons presented above- he was a big egomaniac, a ruthless narcissist, and his empire did not last- show that when all is said done, Alexander is not at all what our history books claims him to be. In my opinion I don’t think Alexander the Great should be called a â€Å"legend† of history, but a moronic monster!

Free Essays on A Midsummer Nights Dream

In the ancient city of Athens a wedding is about to take place between Theseus, duke of Athens, and Hippolyta, the Amazon warrior queen who he had won. They meet in the duke's palace to discuss their marriage festivities. Suddenly, Egeus storms in, extremely upset. He wants his daughter, Hermia, to marry Demetrius, who is in love with her. Hermia, however, is in love with Lysander and refuses to give in to her father's demands. The two men and the woman they both love state their case before the duke. Theseus explains that Athenian law is on the side of the father: Hermia must give into his wishes, not follow her own desire. Also, Hermia must either obey the law, remain a virgin and enter a nunnery, or die! Hermia is given until the next new moon the wedding day of Theseus and Hippolyta to make her decision. She and Lysander secretly plan, instead, to run from Athens and live outside of town with an aunt of Lysander's. Helena, arrives, she is in love with Demetrius, but he doesnâ⠂¬â„¢t love her. In the house of Quince, a carpenter, several Athenian workingmen meet to discuss their plans to present a play as entertainment for the wedding of the duke. Quince, Snug, Bottom, Flute, Snout, and Starveling have decided on a play entitled "The most lamentable comedy, and most cruel death of Pyramus and Thisby." Parts are assigned to each player, but only after Bottom, shows how he could play all the parts himself. They agree to rehearse the following evening in a wood outside of town. Next the players are in an entirely different order. They are Oberon, the king of the fairies, his queen, Titania, and Puck (or Robin Goodfellow), a fairly like attendant of the king. Oberon and Titania have been fighting over the possession of a young Indian boy that both want, but the Queen will not hand him over. Oberon, with the aid of Puck, plans his revenge on Titania. He will drop the juice of a magic flower into the eyes of his sleeping queen. When ... Free Essays on A Midsummer Night's Dream Free Essays on A Midsummer Night's Dream A Midsummer Night’s Dream In the beginning of the play, Hermia was refusing to marry a man named Demetrius because she was in love with another man named Lysander. Hermia and Lysander planned to run away into the forest together the next day so they could get married. In the forest, the king of the fairies tells another fairy named Puck to get a flower that makes you fall in love with the first person you see. Puck started anointing everyone with the magical flower, but he anoints all of the wrong people. Both Lysander and Demetrius end up falling in love with Helena and they all start fighting with each other because Helena just thinks they are leading her on. He also turned Bottom into a donkey and made the queen of the fairies fall in love with him. The king of the faries puts all of them to sleep to fix things while the spell wears off. They all wake up loving the right people and then Demetrius marries Helena and Lysander marries Hermia. I liked the play a lot because it wasn’t too hard to follow and it was extremely funny. My favorite parts were when Hermia, Helena, Demetrius, and Lysander were all under the spell and arguing, the play within the play, and the dancing at the end. I thought the celtic music was one of the best parts. I liked it a lot because the actors all came down in the audience and were dancing. I thought it was a good ending to a really good play.... Free Essays on A Midsummer Night's Dream In the ancient city of Athens a wedding is about to take place between Theseus, duke of Athens, and Hippolyta, the Amazon warrior queen who he had won. They meet in the duke's palace to discuss their marriage festivities. Suddenly, Egeus storms in, extremely upset. He wants his daughter, Hermia, to marry Demetrius, who is in love with her. Hermia, however, is in love with Lysander and refuses to give in to her father's demands. The two men and the woman they both love state their case before the duke. Theseus explains that Athenian law is on the side of the father: Hermia must give into his wishes, not follow her own desire. Also, Hermia must either obey the law, remain a virgin and enter a nunnery, or die! Hermia is given until the next new moon the wedding day of Theseus and Hippolyta to make her decision. She and Lysander secretly plan, instead, to run from Athens and live outside of town with an aunt of Lysander's. Helena, arrives, she is in love with Demetrius, but he doesnâ⠂¬â„¢t love her. In the house of Quince, a carpenter, several Athenian workingmen meet to discuss their plans to present a play as entertainment for the wedding of the duke. Quince, Snug, Bottom, Flute, Snout, and Starveling have decided on a play entitled "The most lamentable comedy, and most cruel death of Pyramus and Thisby." Parts are assigned to each player, but only after Bottom, shows how he could play all the parts himself. They agree to rehearse the following evening in a wood outside of town. Next the players are in an entirely different order. They are Oberon, the king of the fairies, his queen, Titania, and Puck (or Robin Goodfellow), a fairly like attendant of the king. Oberon and Titania have been fighting over the possession of a young Indian boy that both want, but the Queen will not hand him over. Oberon, with the aid of Puck, plans his revenge on Titania. He will drop the juice of a magic flower into the eyes of his sleeping queen. When ... Free Essays on A Midsummer Night's Dream A Midsummer Night’s Dream, written by William Shakespeare is a lively comedy. It takes place in the realm of both the mortals and the fairies. The realm of the mortals is often referred to as the â€Å"real world† and the realm of the fairies as the â€Å"fairy world.† Both worlds are presented with problems. Neither world is faultless. Egeus commands Hermia to marry Demetrius. However, Hermia loves Lysander and the two lovers decide to run away. Helena is in love with Demetrius, who does not return her love. Helena, who is aware of the two lovers’ plan, tells the plan to Demetrius. This is the beginning of the comedic complications between the love affairs of Hermia, Helena, Lysander, and Demetrius. The fairy world has problems of its own. Oberon, the king of fairies, is jealous of Titania’s Indian Boy. Along with these stories, there is a play that is being rehearsed for the Duke. It is the play, â€Å"Pyramus and Thisbe,† act ed by Nick Bottom and Francis Flute as the two characters, respectfully. Puck’s mischief stirs up confusion for the four mortal lovers and Titania falls in love with a Nick Bottom, who has been transformed into a donkey. However, when the two worlds come together, the fairy world seems to control the real world. Although, Theseus believes he has ultimate power and control over Athens, the conflicts of the real world can not be resolved without the magical powers of the fairy world. The story of A Midsummer Night's Dream is a comedy. Shakespeare was a playwright during the Elizabethan era, when most plays were either comedy or tragedy. It wasn't the lines read or story that made a play tragic or comedic. Comedy plays were distiniguishable by their costume, stage, and make-up. The magical and fairy realm setting, the costumes of the fairies, and Nick Bottom wearing a donkey head would constitute this play as a comedy. The story of A Midsummer's Night Dream begins with an introduction ...

Vanity made the revolution, liberty was only a pretext

Vanity made the revolution, liberty was only a pretext ‚“Vanity made the revolution, liberty was only a pretext‚”A revolution is the overthrow of one government with replacement of another. The American Revolution against the British during 1775 to 1783 and the French Revolution against their own French government between 1789 and 1799 are both important political and social turnovers. Each country sought radical change for freedom and equality. Many similarities as well as differences existed between the American Revolution and the French Revolution. This paper will explore the driving factors as well as the similarities and differences between the two Revolutions.Both revolutions are fundamentally based on the Enlightenment ideas of John Locke. ‚“The Declaration of Independence‚” contains many of Locke‚s ideas; it is a document that states all Americans are entitled to ‚“life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness‚” (Thomas Jefferson, ‚“The Declaration of Independence‚†, in Mark S. Micale, The Western Experience: 1750 to Present Reader, Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2002, 9-12).Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen of 17...Similarly, the French document, ‚“The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen,‚” states that the French have rights to ‚“liberty, property, security, and the resistance of oppression‚” (‚“The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen‚”, in Mark S. Micale, The Western Experience: 1750 to Present Reader, Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2002, 13-14). Both of these documents emphasize the idea that liberty is something to which all men should be allowed. The French document was based off of ‚“The Declaration of Independence.‚” Rather than a constitution it was a statement of principles. ‚“The Declaration of the Rights of Man‚” was much more understated and less extensive (HIS 142 discussion,01-28-2008).These Revolutions were fueled and instigated by the inef ficiency of their governments and the oppression they placed on their people. Americans were unhappy with the Taxation from the British government. Unfair taxes were placed on the...

How To Cold Pitch Your Next Guest Blogging Opportunity

How To Cold Pitch Your Next Guest Blogging Opportunity Guest blogging has had a tumultuous life cycle. Hot one day, and then cold the next–no one seems to know if they should really be guest blogging or not. Wait, didnt Matt Cutts say that it was dead? Yes, for SEO, but that doesnt mean that it is really dead, does it? Matt Cutts called it, or did he? Heres the thing.  Since the beginning, there has always been two different kinds of guest blogging. There is the lame kind that Matts Cutts has declared dead. These are the spammers, the folks that see guest blogging as a tool to build linkbacks to their website and nothing else. Let me remind you about some of the methods they use. They look like this: Free content? How could this be? These arent really guest bloggers. They are blog hijackers. Their emails are lame, their topics are weak, and the writingOh, *od the writing. Matt Cutts is right in that blog hijacking needs to be dead, but did he really have to go and throw all guest blogging into the mix? Guest Blogging Can Be Good. Right? The second kind of guest blogging, as you can imagine, is the good kind. This is the kind of guest blogging that you do. Right? (Right?) This form of guest blogging is about a lot more than a simple linkback to some sketchy site. It is about audience, respect, and the genuine sharing of information that the web has made possible. These writers appreciate a link to their blog, but it isnt why they get up in the morning. They are trying to build an audience, and blogging on someone elses blog helps them do just that. Who can blame them? This kind of guest blogging isnt dead. It is the ideal form of guest blogging, and Matt Cutts is actually saving it. How Matt Cutts Saved Guest Blogging With every good thing there is at least one bad thing that comes with it. Life is full of tradeoffs. With email, we got spam. With the browser, we got pop-ups. With Twitter, we got direct messages. For every channel that can be used for good, there is a way to abuse it and use it for something bad. There are always opportunities for spammers to spread their spam. Matt Cutts is trying to scare them off. He is doing exactly what we need him to do. Since the beginning, spammers have been using and abusing guest blogging because Google was telling them that it would help. Linkbacks were so obviously tied to search rankings, and guest blogging was an easy way to get those linkbacks. Google was, essentially, enabling them. In January, Cutts put a stop to it. He told them that rather than helping them, guest blogging was going to start hurting them. He was trying to scare spammers off, not you.   He was trying to tell you to keep going. He was secretly whispering to you guest blogging isnt really dead, I am just fixing it for you. By scaring away the riff-raff, he is creating a panacea, a solution to the endless emails promising free content for links, a solution for an endless supply of poorly written posts. The spammers will go away, and we real bloggers can finally get back to work. All I can say is thank you, Matt. Thanks for killing guest blogging so that we can finally start fresh. Learning How To Guest Blog, Again So, if the death blow from Google is really more of a starting point rather than an ending point, where should we go next? It only makes sense that we redefine the rules and learn how to guest blog all over again. Rule #1: Guest Blogging Is For Serious People The first step is to realize who guest blogging is for. No longer is it for semi-pro SEOs and link builders. Instead, it is for those who want to better establish themselves as experts in their field. It  is for bloggers who take what they do seriously, and do it for the love of creating and sharing great content. Rule #2: Guest Blogging Is For Building Your Reputation Guest gives us a chance to write in front of a new audience. This gives us the ability to earn their trust and respect directly, by appearing on a blog they already trust. If we blog well, we may be able to keep their attention over the long term on our own blog. Guest blogging isnt about SEO anymore (although  there are still benefits). Now, it is about building trust and reputation. Rule #3: Guest Blogging Is For The Audience The beauty of the guest post is that we are able to take someone elses audience and make it our own. It is the perfect give-and-take. As writers, we get attention and exposure to a new audience, and as blog owners we get fresh content that will hopefully engage and excite our audience. My own guest post about  long-form content,  over on the Spin Sucks blog,  is a great example. I was able to establish my role in content marketing while encouraging a lively debate and discussion. It was a win for everyone. Rule #4: Guest Blogging Isnt For Links If you are only worried about links back to your stuff, then guest blogging simply isnt for you. Move on. Rule #5:  Guest Blogging Should Come With Simple Expectations If we are going to be participating in guest blogging, we need to know what to realistically expect from the experience. Huge traffic? Probably not. Fame and fortune? Certainly not. Trust and value? Yes please. Guest blogging is no longer about the quick win (with super-sized links!!!!). It is now a long-term tactic. It is really about personal brand building more than anything else, and that means that we need to go into it with simple expectations instead of grandiose visions of traffic and Google juice.

Revenue Management, Implementation and Preconditions Article

Revenue Management, Implementation and Preconditions - Article Example Studies have cited that the RM has evolved over 30 years ago, in the early 70s Littlewood and Rothstein have explored the revenue management practice in the airlines and hotels. In 1978, during the deregulation in the airline industry, the importance of RM was ascertained as an implementation of it can increase the revenue above 5%. Therefore the scope of RM was restricted to capacity scheduling and distribution. After illustrating the definition and the evolution of Revenue management the chapter will move on to the literature review. The report will address the various tools of revenue management in the traditional and non-traditional industries and the importance of such tools in an efficient management system. In the end, the study will comprise of the critical comparison and reflection with respect to both the industries and a summary of the entire project addressing the recommendation. The report works on the yield management system and its implementation in both the aviation a nd the restaurant industries. Initially, it looks at the preconditions and the implementation process. Then it will take a deeper review of the implementation of YM through models and the impacts of the external factors and SWOT analysis of such system within the two different industries.  After the American Deregulation Act that loosened the price restriction in  the USA, the airline companies had started to plan their own prices. The main objective of Airline industry is to maximize profit by regularizing pricing and availability of its single perishable commodity like seats. RM is immensely profitable for airlines because it can generate high profits. The process of revenue management covers fare setting and seat inventory management. The management involves taking the decision on the number of seats to be reserved for late booking.

Contemporary British Drama Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Contemporary British Drama - Essay Example In terms of productivity and impact, we can say that since Shakespeare's time, no other historical period has produced more controversial, brilliant and self-reflected plays as the drama in the last century. Changes in British society affected, influenced and are reflected in the tendencies in the theater. As intellectuals, playwrights react to the social changes, political and economic conditions, to internal governmental conflicts and depict them in their plays. In this paper, I will attempt to demonstrate that British identity seen through the eyes of contemporary drama has become unconventional. In the plays "Feel Good" by Alistair Beaton and "In - Yer - Face Theatre" by Alek Sierz Britishness is explored to its minute details in shocking and unexpected revelations. The idea about Britain and British identity that I found most significant and which is conveyed through the above plays is the total and absolute honesty, which at times borders with our own innermost moral principles. The other idea that strikes me is that even though, the plays that I choose are comedies, they dwell on current reality and biting social and political issues feed both the dramatist and audiences imaginati on. The tendency of the British modern drama is to transform and modify essential theatrical elements like dialogue, set and characterization to extremes of parody, satire, exaggerations and deconstructions. Contemporary British drama is essential, because it is part of the cultural dialogue between intellectuals and the whole nation. Plays deliver ideas, not only about the British identity, but also about its self-presentation to the rest of the world. Modern, British playwrights investigate the subtle changes in the kingdom and its socio-political quests. The contemporary British drama is wittily celebrating the class changes and recent class identifications and the formation of a different elite class. The modern age gives the opportunity for playwrights to probe into the existential social anxieties and torment the British nation. The stage is like a mirror for the nation's identity and writers use their verbal and visual resources to describe what matters for their fellow-citizens. Many of the dramatics that successfully presented their plays in the 1970s and 1980s, still continue to actively produce remarkable intellectual masterpieces. Alistair Beaton is Scottish journalist with left wing political convictions. In the last two decades besides his media presentations he succeeded as a very productive novelist and playwright. In his play "Feel Good" Beaton creates an unprecedented political farce. This play is a comic revenge on New Labour spin and the government's grimness. Alistair Beaton's play is about the clandestine panic that underlies Labour's preoccupation with spin. In short, it is about money, though behind the play lurks a deeper point that the author wants to make. Although, it was made to be a comedy, this play is best understood through its current political reality. This is something that Beaton was aiming for. The play is set in a seaside hotel on the eve

The changeling by Thomas Middleton Research Paper

The changeling by Thomas Middleton - Research Paper Example It was interesting to note how their personalities changed during the course of the journey of the story, and how they went through various changes over the course of their respective lives, also intertwined with each others’ because of the various events that took place in their daily lives. Therefore, the focus of this paper has been aligned to the different characters’ existences and how they cope with things that come their way and come to be known in the end. This is mainly a play centred on the idea of sexual tensions between people and how physical beauty always at first outlives a person’s inner beauty and personality. The characters develop and understand their own selves over the course of the entire play and come to terms with themselves as to how they should have been. (Middleton Thomas, Rowley William 1) In The Changeling, Beatrice-Joanna comes across to the readers as someone who portrays a sense of rhetoric love. She is a woman who catches the attention of two men at once, and throughout the course of the play, she displays a reflection of the desires of both of them, which coincide and conflict with each other, at the same time. Beatrice-Joanna is Vermandero’s daughter. She is a shrewd young woman whose interests lie in a number of things. She makes men fall for her in order to get her dirty work done, for example, the way she behaves with DeFlores throughout the play. She entices men by making them believe that she will give them what they want most with her – some alone time in the bedroom. â€Å"Forsooth, if we are to hear of no wickedness, history must be done away with. So those comedies should be prized which condemn the vices which they bring to our ears, especially when the life of impure women ends in an unhappy death.† Scaliger, a literature critic, said this in reference to Beatrice and the actual impurity that lay within her. With a more thorough analysis given below, with regard to her

Qualitative and quantitative research styles of nursing research Essay

Qualitative and quantitative research styles of nursing research - Essay Example The term Nursing Research refers to the application of scientific inquiry to phenomena of concern to nursing. The systematic investigation of patients and their health experience is the primary concern of nursing. Nursing Research seeks to find new knowledge that can eventually be applied in providing nursing care to patients. It includes both Qualitative and Quantitative methodologies. The distinction between qualitative and quantitative research in nursing is representative of a complex issue which will be simplified for the purposes of clarity and brevity. Qualitative researchers collect their data in real world, naturalistic settings. And, whereas a quantitative researcher usually strives to collect data in one type of setting to maintain constancy of conditions, qualitative researchers may deliberately strive to study their phenomena in a variety of natural contexts. Qualitative research reports are written in a more inviting and conversational style than quantitative ones, whic h are more impersonal and include information on statistical tests. Qualitative nursing researchers also strive to share their findings with others at conference and in journal articles. Qualitative findings because of their depth and richness, also lend themselves more readily to book-length manuscripts than do quantitative findings.Regardless of researchers’ position about when a literature review should be conducted, they usually include a summary of prior research in their reports as a means of providing context for the study.... Although this rate is somewhat better than rates reported elsewhere, it still concern that control of pain for dying patients is simply not good enough. Interestingly, families had more complaints about the management of pain for decedents who died at home, even though they did not report higher levels of pain. Perhaps this is because in the home setting, family members are more aware of pain management problems and bear more responsibility for direct care of such needs. Research reports tell a story. The style in which many research reports are written- especially reports in quantitative style, makes it difficult for beginning research consumers to become interested in the story. To unaccustomed audiences, research reports may seem stuffy, pedantic, and bewildering. Four factors contribute to this impression: -> Compactness. Journal space is limited, so authors try to compress many ideas and concepts into a short space. Interestingly, personalized aspects of the investigation often cannot be reported. And, in qualitative style, only a handful of supporting quotes can be included. ->Jargon. The authors of both quantitative and qualitative reports use research terms that are assumed to be part of readers' vocabulary, but they may seem esoteric. ->Objectivity. Quantitative researchers normally avoid any impression of subjectivity and thus research stories are told in a way that makes them sound impersonal. For example, most quantitative research reports are written in the passive voice. Use of the passive voice tends to make a report less inviting and lively than the use of the active voice, and it tends to give the

HALL v. UNITED STATES ANALYSIS Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

HALL v. UNITED STATES ANALYSIS - Case Study Example The contents of the case are of concern to the society and have a number of underlying factors that need elaboration. Lywood and Brenda Hall who were members of the same family did the case filling. The petitioners questioned the mandate of IRS on treating the income they acquired after the sale of their assets as a debt. Earlier on, the petitioners filed a case on bankruptcy as stated by chapter 12 of the state laws and granted sale of their farm property making a sale of $960,000. This sale exceeded the set value of Hall’s assets attracting capital gains duty ( Carrizales &. Schultz 2010). Chapter 12 mainly deals with issues regarding the farmer’s sale of assets to avoid bankruptcy declaration of the farmer. The laws simplify the requirements for assets sale in favor of the farmers to clear their debts. Amendment of the law was took place to allow debtors claim the Owings to government upon sale or exchange of any farm property used in farm operations. The Halls used this law to discharge the arising tax but faced objection from Internal Revenue Service (IRS) who stated that any assets sold upon filling of a petition on bankruptcy does not qualify discharging under section 1222 (Kent College of Law 2010). The first trial was at Arizona District Federal Bankruptcy Court (Kent College of Law 2010). In its ruling, the court agreed with the objection by IRS. The judges said that it was individual liability for taxation on any capital gains insisting that Chapter 12 was not a different taxable body. The petitioners opposed the ruling and; therefore, they appealed to U.S District of Arizona Court. The appeal court reasoned that the intention of Chapter 12 was to protect families from government taxation. The government finally appealed to U.S Court of appeal (Kent College of Law 2010). A ruling similar to the Federal Bankruptcy Court read stating that the Chapter did not authorize for a different taxable entity. The Halls

Native Americans culture vs. Latin Americans culture Essay

Native Americans culture vs. Latin Americans culture - Essay Example It is natural that the representatives of one ethnical groups can have different types of character. Usually the peculiarities of ethnical groups are based on religious views. Though many forms of behavior have the cultural roots. The terms mainstream and ethnic minority point out and reinforce division in society, whereas the phrase multicultural society suggests that the different groups are a part of a whole. In every country society is still divided, with some groups receiving better treatment or having more opportunities than others, but many attempts have been made to reduce discrimination and increase harmony and understanding between people from all cultural backgrounds. According to Oxford Guide to British and American Culture (p123) it is an important empiric fact for racial-ethnical relationship in America (and all over the world): under the impact of immigration from different countries the variety of ethnical groups is increasing. We should not forget that the very racial-ethnical factor had given a special shade civilization to America. It is not surprising that now the problem of assimilation of many ethnical groups is current of importance. It is worth mentioning that a lot of problems for ethnical groups appear in the sphere of education. For example Latin Americans have great difficulties in schools because of weak knowledge in language and culture of Native American population. Immigrants from Latin America are the biggest and rapidly increasing part of ethnical minorities in US population. Usually they occupy rural territories. There is a remarkable peculiarity of Latin American’s culture: they actively resist assimilation with Native Americans. They try to preserve their national identity, mostly they speak Spanish and as a rule they live in their limited communities. L.S. Luedtke (1987, P.64) outlines that â€Å"the life of Native Americans was very difficult

HALL v. UNITED STATES ANALYSIS Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

HALL v. UNITED STATES ANALYSIS - Case Study Example The contents of the case are of concern to the society and have a number of underlying factors that need elaboration. Lywood and Brenda Hall who were members of the same family did the case filling. The petitioners questioned the mandate of IRS on treating the income they acquired after the sale of their assets as a debt. Earlier on, the petitioners filed a case on bankruptcy as stated by chapter 12 of the state laws and granted sale of their farm property making a sale of $960,000. This sale exceeded the set value of Hall’s assets attracting capital gains duty ( Carrizales &. Schultz 2010). Chapter 12 mainly deals with issues regarding the farmer’s sale of assets to avoid bankruptcy declaration of the farmer. The laws simplify the requirements for assets sale in favor of the farmers to clear their debts. Amendment of the law was took place to allow debtors claim the Owings to government upon sale or exchange of any farm property used in farm operations. The Halls used this law to discharge the arising tax but faced objection from Internal Revenue Service (IRS) who stated that any assets sold upon filling of a petition on bankruptcy does not qualify discharging under section 1222 (Kent College of Law 2010). The first trial was at Arizona District Federal Bankruptcy Court (Kent College of Law 2010). In its ruling, the court agreed with the objection by IRS. The judges said that it was individual liability for taxation on any capital gains insisting that Chapter 12 was not a different taxable body. The petitioners opposed the ruling and; therefore, they appealed to U.S District of Arizona Court. The appeal court reasoned that the intention of Chapter 12 was to protect families from government taxation. The government finally appealed to U.S Court of appeal (Kent College of Law 2010). A ruling similar to the Federal Bankruptcy Court read stating that the Chapter did not authorize for a different taxable entity. The Halls

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Management - Essay Example Job experiences can help the managers understand the demands and challenges that might be faced for every job position; the awareness of such aspects directs the individual towards effective management. Question 2 The following approaches have been recommended for the proposed employee development program: Job Rotation: Job rotation is an effective employee development approach to make the individual aware of the whole process and business operations that take place in the workplace (Job Rotations). The assignment of the individual at different positions will facilitate the acquisition of experience for different tasks and will make the individual value the relevance of each job position. Temporary Promotion: Another recommendation is to promote the capable employees for a certain period of time to provide them the valuable experience of being a manager. This also helps the top management to analyze their performance as a manager and their adapted strategies to handle critical situat ions. References Basic Skills for Project Managers, McGraw Hills, 2000, Print. â€Å"Job Rotations†, Individual Learning Strategies, n.d. Web. 22 April 2011.

Comparing Two Artists Essay Example for Free

Comparing Two Artists Essay Magritte uses minimal dull colours though he changes tones within his colours to create shadowy effects and also creates a layered element contributing to line within his artwork; the horizontal layers between the background make the vertical lines of the owls stand out in the foreground of his artwork. Magritte is known to not leave hidden messages within his artwork, cleverly painting the reality he see’s. For this particular symbolic painting Magritte uses oil on canvas, the sharp detail he uses in his brush strokes make the image look real but not real at the same time. His witty version of reality he paints fall into surrealism, although his artwork include symbolic owls his painting is clear, interesting and well defined, he wanted his viewers to look at his painting and appreciate what is right there, not leaving them wondering why or what it means, because everything he wished to portray is right there in the artwork. Owls symbolize wisdom. In many cultures they are believed to be able to see all things that are usually hidden quite possibly fears. Magritte uses these owls to represent as an ancient human fear or the owls are the companions of our ancient fears, the birds growing from the soil may represent the ‘roots’ to our fears. In comparison to Magritte, Peter Booth’s artwork ‘Untitled 1976’ displays an image of apocalyptic shock, at the same time Booth includes his painful personal experiences and his view of humanity. This is evident when he uses harsh and cold colours to represent the apocalyptic vibe he sends through his artwork, the tones are very similar within each colour although when looking at the whole painting the contrast between the different colours is quite prominent leaving a cold feeling for his viewers to feel. Line has most strongly been used to create the strong horizon line and hence fore-middle- and background. The thin repeated lines of the fire and sky create pattern and simulated texture. The texture of the paint Booth uses to illustrate the industrial side of his landscape maybe suggesting he had a rough childhood. The shape of the figures in Booth’s artwork are all out of proportion, implying they could be apart of his hazy memory or hallucination, and this is how he remembers them. Booth uses gouache on paper for this particular artwork his intense brush strokes create perspective on his painting, guiding his viewers to understand and follow where he directs them. His work is characterised by an intense emotional power of often dark narratives, and esoteric symbolism, this artwork also reflecting on his nightmarish dreams which categorise him in surrealism, as he works closely with the element of surprise or shock difference. The colours he uses are symbolic to aspects of his childhood growing up in the industrial surroundings.

Padre Pio :: essays research papers

Padre Pio, whose real name was Francesco Forgione was born on May 25, 1887 in Pietralcina, a small town in southern Italy. Every since he was a child he has always showed love towards the religious life. It is said that at the age of 5 Padre Pio had already dedicated his life to God. He had an extreme love for prayer. At the age of sixteen he entered the ‘Capuchin Friars’ which are a religious order in memory of St. Francis of Assisi. From the first time Padre Pio had entered into the Friary he was already recognized by his teachers as someone special. â€Å"There was something which distinguished him from the other students, whenever I saw him he was always humble and silent†, one of his peers had said. What struck them most was Padre Pio’s love for prayer. In the year 1910 at the age of 23 Padre Pio had been ordained a priest.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Besides the Mystery of God taught by Padre Pio, he had his own mysteries. After celebrating a Mass on September 20, 1918, he had received the â€Å"Stigmata†. His hands, side and feet were scarred with the same wounds of Christ; he was the first priest ever to have received the gift of Stigmata along with other gifts which later declared him a Saint. The news of this spread all over the world and people flocked to witness this miracle. Scientists had examined the wounds over and over but could never come up with an explanation. He had performed many miracles which included curing a blind little girl without pupils in her eyes to see again, and she is still alive today to tell her story. Padre Pio was also rewarded by God with other magnificent gifts such as bilocation which was Padre Pio’s ability to visit and needy in far places from where he was without ever leaving, also the gift of perfume which was the beautiful odor of roses that marked Padre Pio’s presence , and the gift of conversion which was his ability to make remarkable conversions of peoples choices or views.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Throughout the life of Padre Pio, God was no mystery to him because it seemed as if he already knew the mystery of God. He once said â€Å"the pivot of perfection is love, he who lives in love lives in God, because God is love, as taught by the apostles†, which simply those who do not love cannot be completely connected to God.

Databases :: essays research papers

databases The Many Faces of Databases Large databases can contain hundreds of interrelated files. Fortunately a database management system can shield users from the complex inner workings of the system, providing them with only the information and commands they need to get their jobs done. In fact, a well-designed database puts on different faces for different classes of users. Downsizing and Decentralizing The earliest file management programs could only do batch processing, which required users to accumulate transactions and feed them into computers in large batches. These batch systems weren't able to provide the kind of immediate feedback we expect today. Today disk drives, inexpensive memory, and sophisticated software have allowed interactive processing to replace batch processing for most applications. Users can now interact with data through terminals, viewing and changing values in real time. Batch processing is still used for printing periodic bills, invoices, and reports and for mak ing backup copies of data files. But for applications that demand immediacy, such as airline reservations, banking transactions, and the like, interactive, multiuser database systems have taken over. Until recently most databases were housed in mainframe computers. But for a growing number of organizations, the traditional centralized database on a mainframe system is no longer the norm. Some companies use a client/server approach: Database software in client desktop computers works with files stored in central server databases on mainframes, minicomputers, or desktop computers. Other companies use distributed databases that use data strewn out across networks on several different computers. From the user's point of view, the differences between these approaches may not be apparent. Tomorrow's Databases? Many computer scientists believe that the relational data model may be supplanted in the next decade by an object-oriented data model, and that most future databases will be object- oriented databases rather than relational databases. Instead of storing records in tables and hierarchies, object-oriented databases store software objects that contain procedures (or instructions) along with data. Object-oriented databases often are used in conjunction with object-oriented programming languages. Tomorrow's databases will be able to respond intelligently to commands and queries issued in natural human language. Rules of Thumb: Dealing with Databases A few common-sense rules when working with file managers or relational database management systems are: o Choose the right tool for the job. o Think about how you'll get the information out before you put it in. o Start with a plan, and be prepared to change it.

Country Report – Italy

Marks and Spencer Group (M&S) is a leading retailer of clothing, foods and home-ware. The company operates in about 34 countries worldwide with UK as its primary market. It is headquartered in London, UK and employs about 52,700 people (approx). The company recorded revenues of i8,588. 1 million during the fiscal year ended March 2007, an increase of 10. 1% over 2006. The operating profit of the company was i1,045. 9 million during fiscal year 2007, an increase of 23% over 2006. The net profit was i659. 9 million in fiscal year 2007, an increase of 26. 2% over 2006. Italy has a growing economy with huge business opportunities, being the 8th largest economy of the world and fourth largest of Europe. It is also one of the main members of the European Union and being an open economy it has no investment restrictions especially for an EU member country. It has also adopted the euro as a currency which might come into play. Fashion being one of the main industries in Italy and this can be seen by the fact, that the trend setter fashion companies for the world like Giorgio Armani, Diesel and Benetton feels home in Italy. The clothing and fashion market is very competitive, foreign companies have not had a great success, moreover it is the only country with only one foreign fashion retailer in the top 10 and that is Zanier (on position 9th in Italy). This shows it has a mature home industry but still the market is not fully competitive and it has its own niches which might need some more exploitation. Marks and Spencer can be a suitable retailer to invest in Italy, With 760 stores in more than 30 countries around the world which shows that the company has a vast experience of doing business in foreign soil. It is one of the most iconic and widely recognized chain stores in the United Kingdom, and is the largest clothing retailer in UK and also an established food retailer. Marks and Spencer has more chances of becoming a lucrative food retailer because of the changing eating habits of Italians, as a result of globalization. The food industry in Italy is very scattered and mostly based on medium sized companies and no firm has absolute market share, this could be an advantage for a firm like Marks and Spencer which could establish its roots in welcoming Italian food market before other giants join the game. The Italian food retail market grew by 0. 6% in 2004 to reach a value of $91. 9 billion. In 2009 the market is forecast to have a value of $107. 5 billion, representing an increase of 17. 0% since 2004. Supermarkets form the most lucrative market sector, generating 64. % of the market's overall revenues. Italy accounts for 9% of the overall European food retail market. The leading revenue source for the Italian food retail market in 2004 was the supermarket sector, which accounted for 64. 4% of the market's value, generating total revenues of $59. 11 billion in 2004. The company should also do a detail market research before investing and it might need to present itself in a different way by giving it a local touch in order to achieve consumer acceptability but still the business would be competitive. The major competitors would be Coop & Conad and Interdis the company also poses threat form the German giant LIDL which already has 320 stores around Italy. The company can also experiment with its household and furniture at the same time company has a considerable success in this department in the recent past, besides that the concept of home wares is still taking its grip and it could become a cash cow for M&S. In the near future the furniture could also give a positive response if managed properly. Getting back to the clothing which is the main product of Marks and Spencer, though the market is highly competitive and market penetration is a monster of a task there are still some market niches which could be exploited to get the maximum advantage for example, the formal clothing has always been of the highest quality and has a world wide recognition. Since the product is of such high quality it is most likely to be appreciated which could result in high volume of revenue moreover, the company also has a vast experience of penetrating in foreign competitive markets which could be used in this situation. Wine is another product which could be used to attract customers, currently it is a serious competitor in UK. M&S has produced many award winning wines, this is one of the areas which could be very important as Italians are wine lovers and they will always try something new, if the standards are met. It could be a regular revenue generator. Marketing will also hold the key in this situation and retailers who market themselves well are more likely to be successful then the ones who didn't divert much of its resources in this area. Since elections are approaching in Italy so the management should also wait and see how the newly formed government changes its policies especially corporate and tax policies and the company has to see that it is suitable to invest in the country and should analyze the financial pros and cons of expansion. The firm should consider the locations of its outlets; the obvious one would be Milan, Rome and Naples. The company can also open stores in the less developed area like south of Italy, it will attract tax soaps for investing it in less developed areas and providing employment opportunities but consumers in south unlike in the north will be having lower purchasing power and this could be the decisive factor. Investment and expansion decisions are always a bit of a gamble but with the right strategy it can give rewards. One important factor is the goodwill which can come into play as Marks and Spencer's is one of the leading retailers in the world and it is a trusted brand. It is more likely to receive a welcoming response rather that loosing out. The company can use its vast experience of expansion to the maximum and can come up with a positive result. The retail market structure in Italy is also developing and if M&S adopts the right policy it can grow with and could become one of the leading retailers providing quality clothing, food, home ware and wine under one roof. Thus investing a large amount of money in a developed area or a developing area would help an individual/organization/economy to get a strong financial background and right amount of publicity which would enhance the image of the brand and the country. At the same time recognition of the brands reflects the fame of the country.

Tangent Line to a Function

Finding the tangent line to the graph of a function at a single point can be extremely useful when interpreting the information that the function represents. So first to describe what a tangent line is: A tangent line of a function at one point shows the direction that the function is going at that point (Fig. 1). Theoretically the tangent line is only touching the curve of the function at one single point, or the point of tangency. To find the equation of the tangent line, certain bits of information are required. One of these bits of information required is the slope of the tangent line. To find the slope of the tangent line of a function at a single point, the equation is used, assuming that â€Å"a† is the single point on the equation. The rest of this paper will be used to describe, through graphical methods, why this equation finds the slope of the tangent line. The slope of any linear equation can be described as rise over run, y over x, the output of a function over the input of a function, or the dependent variable over the independent variable. All of these terms mean the same thing: the Y value on a graph over the X value on the graph. If the equation is examined closely, then it is clear that it represents a slope. The equation has the change of two output values, g(x) – g(a), over the change of two input values, x – a. The equation uses the change of an output, and the change of an input because two points on the graph is the minimum amount of information required to create a line. Fig. 2 and Fig. show how the two points on a graph can create an accurate tangent line. Fig. 2 shows that two points on the function can create a secant line with a slope that is approximately close to the slope of the tangent line, but it is not accurate enough. Fig. 3 shows that as the second point, D, on the function moves closer to the original point, C, the slope of the secant line approaches the slope of the tangent line. This movement shows how the slope of the secant line is equal to the equation. All the equation for the slope of the secant line is the change in the Y value over the change of the X value. As point D gets closer to point C, the reason why finding the tangent line has to be a limit equation, and not just the secant line equation, becomes clear. The denominator of the secant slope function makes it so x cannot equal a. If x were to equal a, then the equation would be undefined because the denominator cannot equal 0. So the slope of the tangent line is the limit as D approaches C.

Corporate Governance Essay

ABSTRACT This paper examines whether the remuneration of the Chief Executive Officer position in Hong Kong public firms is affected by board composition, given the influence of family control on the boards of many Hong Kong companies. It is hypothesized that I) in family-controlled boards, Chief Executive Officers receiver higher compensation and II) Chief Executive Officers in family-controlled boards serve as Chief Executive Officer positions longer. In family-controlled boards, corporate governance is of very high importance as the independent non-executive directors can exert less influence over the board, compared to non-family-controlled boards (â€Å"dispersed boards†). Keywords: Board composition, Remuneration, Corporate Governance. 1.INTRODUCTION The economic turmoil in Asia in 1997 has led to a wider recognition of the importance of corporate governance. In line with global trends towards higher standards of corporate governance, the duties and liabilities of the directors of the listed companies have therefore become more stringent. It follows that many corporate governance mechanisms designed to monitor board members may be less effective for family-owned and family-controlled firms. However, to attract outside investors, family-owned and family-controlled firms tend to encourage greater independence and monitoring from the board. For the purposes of the study, family-owned and family-controlled are used interchangeably. The reason is that actual family ownership is difficult to ascertain due to various shareholdings and special purpose vehicles that are used, and cannot be deduced from annual reports. Thus, in this study we classify family-control and family-ownership when the board is made of a majority of related family members as a â€Å"family-controlled board†. When it is not, we classify it as a â€Å"dispersed board†. In practice, there are instances where the family owns the majority of a company but comprise of a minority of the board, and it is possible that the family is able to exert influence via other avenues, however, this study will not be examining such. Family-owned firms are common throughout Asia. Studies show that, family-owned firms hold more than 20 percent of the equity of listed companies in Asia, and more than 60 percent of the listed companies have connections with family-owned groups (Bebchuk & Fried, 2006). Family-owned businesses represent the predominant form of listed companies in Hong Kong (Standard & Poor’s, 2002). Such family ownership structure implies the strong influence of dominant shareholders and provides limited voice for minority shareholders. Compared to the Anglo-American environment, where ownership blocks are less concentrated but institutional investors are more prevalent, in Hong Kong, there is less of a culture for non-executive directors or minority shareholder activists to challenge. Variations in ownership structure may lead to differences in the nature of agency conflicts, the roles of directors may vary in accordance to the ownership structure. For family-owned firms, Shleifer and Vishny (1997) argue that the primary agency conflict is between a family owner and non-family owners. Meanwhile, for widely held firms, Berle and Means (1932), and, Jensen and Meckling (1976) argue that the primary agency conflict is between executives and shareholders. As a consequence, tying remuneration to performance of executives may prove the most efficient way to mitigate this agency conflict. To date, a vast of literatures published in recent years show the growing recognition of influences of family-owned firms and executive remuneration on corporate governance. Many studies have tended to focus on the use of remuneration contracts to align interests of executives with owners in family-owned firms. The rise in executive remuneration in recent years has been the subject of public criticism, which further intensified corporate governance scandals. Therefore, the question whether a correlation exists between remuneration and family-control in board composition at Hong Kong-listed companies. 2.OBJECTIVES In 1994, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited introduced rules that require listed firms to disclose the remuneration of directors. Before 2004, there was no requirement to disclose the names and remuneration of directors (Cheng & Firth, 2005). The Disclosure of Financial Information rule under Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited’s Listing Rules was amended on 31 March 2004 to require full disclosure, on an individual and named basis, of directors’ fees and any other reimbursement or emolument payable to a director. In addition, Hong Kong Financial Reporting Standard 2 requires listed firms to disclose directors’ share-based remuneration. The Code on Corporate Governance Practices forms part of the Listing Rules and came into effect on 1 January 2005. According to the Code on Corporate Governance Practices, Hong Kong’s listed firms should be overseen by an effective board, which should assume responsibility for the leadership and control of the listed firm, and the members of which should be collectively responsible for promoting the success of the firm by directing and supervising its affairs. Directors should make decisions objectively in the best interests of the firm. In regards of remuneration policy for firms’ directors, the Code on Corporate Governance Practices requires the disclosure of information related to the firm’s directors’ remuneration policy and other remuneration-related matters. There should be a formal and transparent procedure for setting policy on executive directors’ remuneration. The Chief Executive Officer, a director in the board of company, will hence have his/her full remuneration disclosed. It is recommended that remuneration should be set at a level sufficient to attract and retain directors of the caliber required to run the company successfully, but companies should avoid paying more than is necessary. However, it is argued that many corporate governance mechanisms designed to monitor board members may be less effective for family-owned firms. However, to attract outside investors, family-owned firms tend to encourage greater independence and monitoring from the board. In Hong Kong, there are quite a number of listed companies have a high concentration of family ownership. It is common for the top executives of family-owned firms in Hong Kong to be family members. The rise of remuneration of family executives in family-owned firms has been the subject of public criticism. Recognizing this, the purpose of this research is to find out whether there is any relationship between family-board-control of firms and remuneration of Chief Executive Officers. To summarize, this study revolves around the following major objectives. †¢ To test whether there are significant differences in Chief Executive Officers’ remuneration for family-controlled and non-family-controlled firms (specifically firms with family-controlled boards and firms without family-controlled boards); †¢ To find out whether â€Å"Family Chief Executive Offices† (cases where the Chief Executive Officer are family members of the family-controlled boards) are awarded excessive compensation, compromising standards of corporate governance; †¢ To examine the tenure of Chief Executive Officers for family-controlled firms vs non-family-controlled firms, given that there may be differences in the board’s ongoing approval and demand of the results delivered by the Chief Executive Office; and †¢ To test whether there are significant differences in corporate governance structure of family-controlled and non-family-controlled firms. 3.LITERATURES REVIEW, HYPOTHESIS DEVELOPMENT 3.1 Agency theory It is commonly acknowledged that ownership structure, the basis of corporate governance, is important to the overall performance of firms. While there are a large number of literatures discussing ownership structure, agency theory is frequently cited as a foundation. In modern corporations, the separation of ownership and control leads to agency conflicts that can be alleviated through various corporate governance mechanisms (Fama and Jensen, 1983). As one such mechanism, compensation schemes are designed to provide incentives that align the behavior of agents to act on behalf of principles (Jensen and Meckling, 1976). This relationship between executive compensation and firm performance has received considerable attention from the general public and academics. One of the issues in the field of management is the impact of family influence (Mishra et. al., 2001; McConaughy et. al., 1998) and corporate governance on the value of a firm (Khatri et al., 2001; Kwak, 2003; Black et al., 2003). There are various studies in diverse areas like accounting, economics, finance, law and management have been conducted to study such impact (Mishra et al., 2001; Kwak, 2003; Blacket al., 2003; Andersen and Reeb, 2003). These studies have resulted in interesting and useful observations. According to Alchian and Demsetz (1972), the principal agent problem comes from hidden action due to asymmetric information. The essence of a firm is that, it permits people to work as a team. It is the cooperation of a team that leads to a firm’s output. Thus, the agency problem inevitably arises in corporate governance. According to Jensen and Meckling (1976), agent problem arises from the conflict of interests between shareholders as the principals and the executives as the agents. Consequently, residual control rights fall into the hands of management instead of the residual cash flow claimants. As a result, the sum of monitoring expenditures be incurred by the principal, bonding expenditures incurred by the agent, and the value of the lost residual borne by the principal are included as the cost of agency. In general, when ownership of a firm becomes more dispersed, the agency problem will be deteriorated due to the inability of the relatively small shareholders to monitor the behavior of management. The monitoring of managers by shareholders is also weakened by free-rider problem. To mitigate the problem of agency, Ang (2000) and Denis and Sarin (1999) suggested the shareholding of management to be increased in order to make the executive a significant claimant. An inverse correlation exists between the dispersed ownership and firm performance (Berle and Means, 1932), because executives’ interests do not coincide with the interest of shareholders so that corporate resources are not used for the maximization of shareholders’ wealth. This view has been supported by many scholars. Shleifer and Vishny (1986), McConnell and Servaes (1990), and Zingales (1995) found a strong positive relationship between ownership concentration and corporate performance. In transitional economies, Xu and Wang (1999) and Chen (2001) found a positive relationship between actual firm performance and ownership concentration for a sample of listed Chinese companies. 3.2Ownership Structure It is common in Hong Kong, that ownership structure is characterized by single dominant owners (Chau & Leung, 2006). A report of the Corporate Governance Working Group of the Hong Kong Society of Accountants in 1995 indicated that a high concentration on family-controlled listed firms is highly entrepreneurial and opportunistic in their business strategies, however, the report also indicate that these firms with single dominant owners lack resources and corporate culture to maintain strong internal corporate control. The 2001 Review on Corporate Governance by the Hong Kong Standing Committee for Corporate Law Reform, as well as a report from Standard & Poor’s, indicated that family ownership structures present particular challenges. Theoretically, there is a major puzzle regarding the role of family in large firms (Bertrand & Schoar, 2006; Villalonga & Amit, 2006). In family-controlled firms, threatening factors may negatively influence the firms’ value (Demstez, 1983; Demstez and Lehn, 1985). Table 1 as below lists positive and negative factors affecting the relationship between family control and firm value. It shows that there is still difference of opinion among researchers on this topic of importance. 3.3â€Å"Family† Chief Executive Officers In this study, whether a person belonging to the family acts as a Chief Executive Officer is taken into account. We classify family-control and family-ownership when the board is made of a majority of related family members (â€Å"family-controlled board†). When it is not, we classify it as a â€Å"dispersed board†. Family Chief Executive Officers have substantial stockholdings of 5 percent or more (Daily & Dollinger, 1993), with such given bargaining power, can be expected to influence the size and structure of their remuneration packages to their own benefit. Thus, for the purposes of this study, Chief Executive Officers with stockholdings of less than 5 percent are not counted as â€Å"Family Chief Executive Officers†. There are differing opinions on whether such Family Chief Executive Officers have higher or lower remunerations at such family-controlled firms. Some believe that such Family Chief Executive Officers are receiving above-average compensation due to the family-controlled board, as well as their strong ability to influence remuneration committee. Oh the other hand, others take the opposite view and see that Family Chief Executive Officers should be receiving below-average compensation. There is several reasons for this expectation. First of all, both anecdotal (Applegate, 1994; Kets de Vries, 1993) and empirical (Allen & Pamian, 1982; Gomez-Mejia et al., 2001; Schulze et al., 2001) evidence suggest that incumbents with family ties to owners enjoy high employment security. As argued by Beehr (1997), the Family Chief Executive Officer inherently plays two overlapping and interdependent roles: a work role as steward of the company, and a non-work role as fulfillment of family obligations. In reciprocity for this role duality, the Family Chief Executive Officer is rewarded with a relatively assured job (Allen & Pamian, 1982; Kets de Vries, 1993; Gomez-Mejia et al., 2001). Moreover, some literatures suggested that evaluators are more likely to make positive performance attributions to employees when there are emotional ties between monitoring and those being judged (Cardy & Dobbins, 1993). It is expected that in family-controlled firms, board members in their role as monitors may be less inclined to attribute disappointing results to the Family Chief Executive Officer, giving the benefit of the doubt to the incumbent when interpreting ambiguous performance data. Agency theory suggests that there are inherent conflicts between shareholders and executives. Applying agency theory’s logic, the above scenario suggests that in family-controlled firms, risk adverse agents would trade higher job security for lower earnings if they are related to principals. Family Chief Executive Officers mitigate usual agency costs because of their aligned interests with the owners (Anderson & Reeb, 2003). The information asymmetry problem in agency relationships may also be reduced given the close ties between Family Chief Executive Officers and the owners. Since they hold high ownership stakes, Family Chief Executive Officers have sufficient incentives to place family welfare ahead of personal interests, thus may perform better than firms with non-family Chief Executive Officers. Barney (2001) suggested that appointing family members as Chief Executive Officers may be beneficial. Tradition, loyalty, and bonding relationships determine how resources are deployed in family firms. Family Chief Executive Officers build common interests and identities (Habbershon & Williams, 1999) and play a dual role by being both owners and executives (Chang, 2003; Yiu, Bruton, & Lu, 2005). Through social relationships with managers and employees, Family Chief Executive Officers may help to obtain intangible resources such as goal congruence, trust, and social interactions, providing valuable, unique, and hard-to-imitate competitive advantage (Chu, 2011; Liu et al., 2011; Luo & Chung, 2005). The Code on Corporate Governance Practices recommends remuneration committee to seek advice from the Chief Executive Officer on the matter of directors’ remuneration. Executives in firms controlled by a large shareholder receive more compensation for performance, than executives in firms lacking a controlling owner (Gomez-Mejia et al., 1987). Mehran (1995) examined the relationship between executive remuneration, ownership structure and firm performance. The results indicate that firms, which have more outside directors, have a higher percentage of executive remuneration in equity-based form. Moreover, the percentage of equity-based remuneration is inversely related to the outside directors’ equity ownership, i.e., the executive’s equity-based remuneration rose if the outside directors’ owned less of the company, and vice-versa. Next, Mehran (1995) turned to firm performance, and its relationship to executive remuneration and ownership structure. He used Tobin’s Q and return on assets as measures of firm performance. He found firm performance to be positively related to the percentage of executive remuneration that is equity-based. However, Mehran (1995) no relationship between firm performance and ownership structure. He concluded that the results support the notion that executive remuneration should be tied to firm performance. There is a vast amount of literature on turnover of the Chief Executive Officer position (Furtado and Karan, 1990; Kesner and Sebora, 1994; Finkelstein and Hambrick, 1996; Pitcher et al., 2000). However, according to Finkelstein and Hambrick (1996), the relationship between remuneration and turnover has not been subjected to rigorous empirical examination, even given the emphasis on retention as a justification for high remuneration of Chief Executive Officer. The following hypotheses are framed: Hypothesis 1: In family-controlled boards, Chief Executive Officers receive higher compensation. Hypothesis 2: Chief Executive Officers in family-controlled boards serve as Chief Executive Officer positions longer. 3.4Board Composition The role of the board is expected to represent shareholders, provide strategic guidance to and effective oversight of management, foster a culture of good governance, and promote a safe and healthy working environment within the company. In accordance to Hong Kong Stock Exchange Listing Rule 3.10, the board of directors is required to have at least three independent non-executive directors. The presence of â€Å"truly† independent non-executive directors in the corporate governance regime is seen as one way of mitigating agency problem associated with concentrated family ownership. In family-owned firms, given the influence of family control on the remuneration and performance relationships exists, where the majority of shares are in the hands of family members, under this circumstance, the executive and risk-bearer functions are merged and more of the wealth consequences of the executives’ decisions are internalized. In other words, there is less separation of ownership and control and thus lowering agency costs, which in turn leads to less cost for monitoring by outside directors. Therefore, firms closely controlled and managed by family members are expected to use lower proportion of outside directors compared with firms with disperse ownership. In widely held firms, with ownership dispersed among many investors, investors are often small and poorly informed to exercise even the control rights they actually have. Moreover, the free-rider problem faced by individual investors makes them uninterested in expending effort to learn about the firms they have financed, or even to participate in the governance (Shleifer and Vishny, 1997). As a result, the larger degree of separation of ownership and control in widely held firms leads to greater conflicts. The use of outside directors by widely held firms is expected to be more. 3.5Remuneration Committee In 1999, remuneration committees were uncommon in Hong Kong, with only few firms reporting their existence (Cheng & Firth, 2005). Since 2006, Hong Kong Stock Exchange proposes a rule to require issuers to set up a remuneration committee, with the committee chairman and a majority of the members being Independent Non-executive Directors. In family-owned firms, the positions of the Chief Executive Officer are usually held by family members, who can influence the level of remuneration paid to directors. The Code on Corporate Governance Practices recommends remuneration committee to seek advice from the Chief Executive Officer on the matter of directors’ remuneration. The Code on Corporate Governance Practices recommends that the majority of remuneration committee members be Independent Non-executive Directors. The presence of Independent Non-executive Directors on the remuneration committee is supposed to be used as monitoring mechanism that prevents excessive remuneration for executive directors (Basu et al., 2007), including that of the Chief Executive Officer. The role of independent non-executive directors and large institutional shareholders becomes crucial to curtailing the possible self-serving behavior of top managers (HKSA, 2001). Studies of firms in other countries show conflicting results on the relationship between remuneration and remuneration committee. Some findings show that remuneration committees tend to reduce remuneration, whereas others report the opposite (Conyon & Peck, 1998; Ezzamel & Watson, 1998). However, in practice it is highly likely that the Chief Executive Officer has some influence over the compensation decision (Murphy, 1999). An important question relating to the composition of remuneration committee concerns the ideal combination of outsiders and insiders. Insiders may face distorted incentives due to their lack of independence from the Family Chief Executive Officer (Bushman et al., 2004). 3.6 Components of Remuneration The basic components of remuneration of Chief Executive Officer are similar, however, the relative level and weights on the components differ (Abowd and Kaplan, 1999, and Bryan et al., 2006). Generally, remuneration of Chief Executive Officer can be divided into four basic parts: a base salary, an annual bonus which is tied to some accounting measure of company performance, stock options, and long-term incentive plans, such as restricted stock plans and multi-year accounting-based performance plans. †¢ Base salary: is the fixed part of remuneration of Chief Executive Officer, causing risk-averse executives to prefer an increase in base salary rather than an increase in bonuses. Most components of remuneration are specified relative to base salary. †¢ Bonus: in addition to the base salary, most companies offer their executives an annual bonus plan based on a single year’s performance. The purpose of such bonuses, as well as options, is to align the incentives of the Chief Executive Officer with that of the shareholders. †¢ Stock options: are contracts, which give the owner the right to buy shares at a pre-specified exercise price. Stock options reward stock price appreciation, not total shareholder return, which includes dividends. In this study, stock options are excluded, as full details of such information would not be retrievable from annual reports. †¢ Other forms of compensation: restricted stock to be received by executives, it is restricted in the sense that shares are forfeited under certain conditions, which usually have to do with the longevity of employment. Many companies also have long-term incentive plans in addition to the bonus plans, which are based on annual performance. Top executives routinely participate in supplemental executive retirement plans in addition to the company-wide retirement plans. Most executives have some sort of severance arrangement. Finally, executives often receive benefits in the form of free use of company cars, housing, etc. Based on the various conceptual and empirical evidences presented above, this study aims to understand whether the remuneration of a Family Chief Executive Officer is influenced by the board composition, i.e. whether it is family-controlled or not. This ties into the original Hypothesis 1, thus, the further hypotheses is framed as follows: Hypothesis 3: The higher the proportion of independent non-executive members on the board of directors at family-board-controlled firms, the lower the Chief Executive Officer remuneration.