America as a Land of Prosperity in the 1920’s

America as a Land of Prosperity in the 1920's is the story of Americans who searched for equality. Yes, for some individuals America was a land of prosperity in the 1920's. The First World War sparked Americas rise in prosperity. As no fighting took place on American soil there were virtually no reparations to be paid, also America had entered the war late and therefore, had not spent nearly as much money as the big European countries such as France, Britain, and Germany. This left America in a very prosperous position. Another key reason to Americas rise in prosperity was a man named Henry Ford. Henry Ford was a car producer who thought of the â€Å"mass production† method. This method used assembly line techniques, whereby each stage of the car production was carried out by a different team of workers who specialized souly in their specific area. This had a huge impact! The method was introduced in 1913 and by 1929; 26 million cars were registered in the U. S. A compared to only 9 million in 1920. That is an increase of nearly 300% in just 9 years! However, the benefits of the ford company stretched beyond just the automobile industry during the 1920's, people also started moving into the cities from the rural areas. In 1920 more than 50% of people lived in the cities which were an increase of more than 50%. Another reason for the rise in prosperity was the introduction of hire-purchase, whereby you put a deposit down on an item that you wanted, and paid installments on that item with interest, so you would pay back more than the price for the item. High purchases were easy to get and people got into debt without any real planning for the future. In the 1920's it just seemed to be the case, that if you wanted something, then you got it, this had a major economic impact; somebody had to make what was bought. This was the era before robot technology and work done by laborers. The person who made that product would get paid and he would not save all of the money. He, too, would spend some of it, and someone else; would have to make more items, so he would get paid and so the cycle continued. By the mid-1920's America was booming. Sales of items, which were once, were considered a luxury such as radios, cars, and other new-on-the market items had rocketed, as had both the average and the minimum wage. The average annual wage for that decade was $1236. 00, a huge increase. Perhaps the fact that highlights most America's rise in prosperity is between 1919 and 1929 Americas GNP rose from 72. 4 billion (1919) to 104 billion (1929) which is around a 75% increase. The boom also led to record low unemployment levels. This was due to the growth of many other businesses and the demand for more workers. The 1920's also saw the construction of towering skyscraper such as the Chrysler building for the first time. However, not all businesses and cultures shared in this â€Å"prosperity†. The farming industry was hit hard, particularly in the south, as some northern farmers found prosperity due to the increase in the demand for fresh fruit as more people could afford, no thanks to the rise in wages. The farmers earned very little money as a result, lived a very poor lifestyle with poor housing; no fresh water and some even faced eviction from their homes. The farmers did not share in the prosperity mainly because of the loss of the foreign markets. (The Fordney-Mcumber tariff act, put tariffs on imported goods at an all time high causing foreign countries to apply the same tariffs to America) Many blacks did not share in the prosperity either. They were discriminated by the White Americans who claimed they were â€Å"polluting their country†. As a result of this, many black people living in slums or â€Å"ghettos† as they were named. In 1926 a survey found that there were over 200,000 unemployed black people in the south alone. America even had its own low-grade facilities for black people and white people to use. For example, white and colored drinking taps with the white drinking tap being of the higher standard. These laws were referred to as Jim Crow laws. But through all the intolerance some black people did do well and did prosper. Black musicians, poets, and politicians emerged. One of the most famous politicians of his time was Marcus Garvey. Garvey was the founder member of the UNIA (Universal Negro Improvement Association), which encouraged black people. Garvey eventually got deported back to Jamaica for Tax fraud. Other Immigrants such as Mexicans and Italians also suffered similarly hard times. Millions of immigrants were allowed into America in the 1900's, where free land and job opportunity became available, but towards the end of the 1920's this was not so much the case. America was letting more and more immigrants in and it had to stop. They devised a literacy test to bring the numbers down. But problems existed with the immigrants that were already in the country. The number of job opportunities had fallen and the majority of migrants were competing for the lowest paid jobs. This often led to racial tension within the ethnic groups. So to sum things up, in general America was a land of prosperity, but weather you shared in this prosperity or not depended largely on your ethnic background and location in the country you lived. We’re still faced with a matter of equality today; People with diverse ethnic backgrounds still are not privilege to being treating equal. They continue to find a way to prevail in America regardless of the laws that government themselves make available only for those who seek a higher power or level of authority. Therefore, the question still remain, is America as a Land of Prosperity?

Nestle-Marketing Oriented Company

Nestle was founded in 1866 by Henri Nestle and is today the world's biggest food and beverage company. Henri Nestle developed the first infant food in 1867 to save the life of a friend's baby who could not be breastfed. (this is a combination of cow’s milk, wheat flour and sugar). Since then, the company has looked to build on a tradition of providing nutritious products. The Nestle Group invests around 1. 5 billions swiss franc in R&D every year. It’s more than any other food company. Every day Nestle sells over a billion products. These individual consumer transactions give the Company total nnual sales of more than 90 billion swiss francs Nestle markets its products in 130 countries across the world. Nestle manufactures around 10,000 different products and employs some 250,000 people; A marketing orientated approach means a business reacts to what customers want. The decisions taken are based around information about customers’ needs and wants, rather than wha t the business thinks is right for the customer. Most successful businesses take a market-orientated approach Since then, the company has looked to build on a tradition of providing nutritious products.It builds its business around: -discovering what customers want -identifying pressures for change e. g. government campaigns, health education initiatives -responding to changes in the market place. Nestle concentrates on their consumers and tries to understand their physical and emotional desires. They have a wide range of products and consumed by all age groups. Nestle try to understand the economic, geographic and social factors which affects the diets of the consumers and try to concentrate on the nutritional and health value of the products.Example Nestle have used their research and technological expertise to their ice cream products to reduce their calories but too keep the same taste. They have also introduced sugar free products and lower sugar products like Kit Kat Light. Ne stle also try to understand the motivations, decision making and purchasing habits of the customers by spending time with the people. Example: Nestle employees spent three days living with people in suburbs of Lima in PERU to understand their everyday aspects of their life, and based on their understanding they sold relevant products in the local markets.A market led company like Nestle is continually monitoring customer attitudes and requirements through market research. This research takes two main forms: Qualitative research. This involves setting up small focus groups of consumers who express their ideas and opinions about their needs and views on different products. Quantitative research. Whereas qualitative research involves only relatively few people, quantitative research involves much bigger numbers. For example, professional market researchers may interview thousands of people through postal or telephone interviewing.Nestle regularly uses both forms of research to gain a c lear idea of consumer opinions and trends. Market research helps the company to keep in touch with an ever changing environment in which social attitudes and buying patterns are continually shifting. The Company's strategy is guided by several fundamental principles. Nestle's existing products grow through innovation and renovation while maintaining a balance in geographic activities and product lines. Long-term potential is never sacrificed for short-term performance.The Company's priority is to bring the best and most relevant products to people, wherever they are, whatever their needs, throughout their lives. Nestle is committed to the following Business objectives in all countries, taking into account local legislation, cultural and religious practices: Nestle continues to maintain its commitment to follow and respect all applicable local laws in each of its markets. Analysis of Market Analyzing the market means getting the information about the current market trends. There are different ways, which are adopted by Nestle to get the information of the market.By Sales Department Sales department is a primary source of getting the information about the market. They actually visit the market and find out that who are the competitors, and what strategies they are adopting. Customer Service Department For Every product there is customer service department.. Nestle knows that regular contact with their consumers is very important. This is why Nestle have a worldwide Nestle Consumer Services network Nestle cares for its consumers because its success depends on meeting their needs and expectations.Through listening and understanding, it can make products that they will want to use all through their lives. Research and Development Department The nestle Research and Development head office is in Switzerland. The customer complaints are forward to the R where research is conducted. Suppliers and distributors To know about the market Nestle has established the close re lationship with their suppliers who provide the raw materials. Conclusion Nestle is one of the world's leading food companies. Its commitment to high quality market research ensures that it remains fully aware of changes in consumer behaviour and consumer tastes.Its excellent product research and development network ensures that it is well placed to meet the challenge of changes in consumer expectations. The company's Wellness strategy is carefully geared to delivering to customers what they want in relation to the foods they eat. Thus it's clear that Nestle is a Market Oriented company because they try to understand the customer or market needs and produce products accordingly to achieve the organizations goals. And they believe that people are the main strength of the company.

BP SWOT Analysis and future action plan

The business was started in 1909 by one of the mega merger of Anglo-Persian Oil Company. It was renamed as British Petroleum in 1954. The head office is located in the city of Westminster, United Kingdom. It operates throughout the globe and owns approximately 93,000 employees. Today there are BP 2go, BP Castrol, BP Express, BP Shop, BP Connect and BP Travel Center. The business has diversified intensively across its core business.BP (British Petroleum) is one of the prevalent vertically integrated conglomerates in oil and gas sector. It explores and produces crude oil and different gases. The colossal business also participates in trading and marketing of power resources, liquid and natural gases. Research and Markets (2010) conducted the SWOT Analysis of British Petroleum as follows: Strength: †¢ Prior to the oil spill catastrophe, the business owned leadership position in oil and gas sector and performed vertically integrated business operations †¢ The business has well established plants which are widened geographically†¢ It performs business worldwide and has collaborated with retail brands and subsidiaries like AMPM, AMOCO, Burmah Castrol, ARCO, BP travel center, Express, Connect and many more †¢ In 2007 the net profit improved by 83% due to the increase in oil and petroleum prices †¢ It owns loyal and committed customers Weakness: †¢ Over the past years the production of natural gas and crude oil has been reduced †¢ Other than the oil spill disaster the business is faced with lots of internal criticism and controversies †¢ The launch of Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline resulted into large numbers of controversies†¢ In 2005 BP refinery explosion in Texas resulted into 15 deaths and 100 injuries †¢ The 2006 oil spill of 250 gallons in Alaskan Tundra has imposed different criminal charges †¢ BP faced immense crisis of poor management due to toxic spill of about 2000 gallon of methanol in Prudhoe bay †¢ The Alaskan oil well operations got seized †¢ The business formulated unsound policies related to environment †¢ Brand image might get worsened due to the recent oil spill crisis †¢ The business lacks contingency plan in order to overcome major issues Opportunity: †¢ Natural gas stipulation in North America has amplified†¢ Recently petrochemicals and refined product requirements has increased in China †¢ Due to prevailing environmental issues more and more businesses are investing in alternative sources of energy †¢ To a greater extent gas and oil exploration plants are being established specifically in developed countries †¢ The business has decided to invest USD 8 billion in alternative energy comprising of hydrogen gas, solar power, wind energy and natural gas †¢ It has decided to further expand in Post Soviet areas and acquire plants in North Sea †¢ Flexible pricing policy will enable the business to compete with major rivalsThr eat: †¢ Environmental regulations have imposed one of the chief threat on diverse business operations †¢ In North sea alone resource has reduced to a major extent †¢ Majority of the oil exploration and production areas have been faced with ups and downs †¢ Major competitors like Chevron and Shell might adversely affect the business †¢ USA government has filed major lawsuit against one of the recent BP oil spill crisis Action Plan for British Petroleum: A novel route: The business presentation reveals that it has adapted to changing environment and opted for sustainable future strategy.The top most priority highlighted includes reliability and safety and the business aims that the future business operations will specifically focus on personal safety. The 2015 forecast reveals immense opportunities in deepwater operations, gigantic fields and producing alternative energy sources. In contrary to this, although BP is not the only player responsible for the probl em, even then numerous issues have been surfaced and political influence has further threatened the operation by imposing strict regulations and control.It has incurred increase in cost due to political influence from USA and Brazil and safety measures criteria. It can be said that business itself destabilized, demoralized and weakened its future directions. Prior to this it was a world class corporation with premium brands and strong customer base and everything changed in three weeks (Rowell, 2010). Future growth strategy: Macalister (2010) states that the business has to recompense USD 20 billion as a liability for the oil spill issue.Nevertheless the business opted for the betterment and claimed that it will be establishing exploration and production plants in Libya, Egypt and Azerbaijan in the imminent years. The business came up with a comprehensive DRP (disaster recovery plan) which involves investigation, bringing changes at management level, looking into group performance a nd opting for future strategy formulation. The business introduced Bob Dudley as new face to clear up the business image. The strategy focuses on rehabilitation and compensation plan and improving the global image of BP and transforming into a good corporate citizenship across all over the globe.In order to gain confidence of stakeholders, the business particularly participated with communities in order to rebuild those areas which have been adversely affected by the crisis. The business stated that the crisis will have an impact on the future strategy in terms of liabilities but it aims in protecting and growth expansion of the business. The corporation collaborated with US agencies in order to pay off all the legitimate claims and deploy massive systems for the purpose of environmental restitution. About more than 15, 000 volunteers participated and committed to the appropriate strategy.Lesson learned as a future contingency plan: Winston (2010) analyzed philosophical, geopolitica l and corporate level strategy of BP and highlighted key learning points: †¢ The conventional fossil fuel technology is disastrous for species, business and overall society. Rather than investing in carbon emitting fossil fuels the business must look into safety and minimizing risk. †¢ Everything never goes right and there exist an element of uncertainty. The spreadsheet models being used in businesses only resemble positive numbers and they cannot forecast and formulate proactive measures.Oil companies found future success in deepwater oil exploration and they went for it and forget to look into clean up technologies and oil spill shielding measures. †¢ One of the prominent examples was reflected by Johnson & Johnson who called back all the Tylenol medicines and established one of the prominent corporate behavior paradigms. In contrast to this, BP CEO Mr. Hayward always said that it was an insignificant issue in comparison to massive sea and it resulted into awful re sponse in the form of slow actions and took them three months to impede the leakage. Nonetheless Mr. Hayward has learnt a lot for future debacles.†¢ Conventionally risk management was the primary concern however abiding to green provision will result into sustainability and decrease in risk. The poor risk management by BP reveals that it lost USD 70 billion market value within one week of the disaster. However the impact of its products on the overall ocean was massive and unquantifiable which killed precious species. Therefore BP will transform into green leader and further improve its supply chain so that it can perform socially and environmentally in an outclass manner. †¢ Businesses spend decades to build brand equity and it takes small fraction of time for everything to be lost.BP invested in businesses beyond petroleum but major diminution can be highlighted in the case of renewable energy just because of slight decrease in current profits therefore the business must invest in renewable sources in future sustainability. Conclusion: It can be concluded that the business opted for a holistic approach. The demeanor remains with adapting to environmental changes and performing as a good corporate citizen. The business gained vast experience from the disaster and opted for finest outcome. It formulated an aggressive marketing strategy with business expansion in Azerbaijan, Egypt and Libya.Although there are political influences even then the business looked into personal safety and reliability measures. The future remains with deep water exploration and alternative energy resources. The corporation formulated a disaster management plan and worked in order to gain confidence from diverse stakeholders. Some of the lesson engrossed includes investing in renewable resources, including risk management in financial modules, opting for swiftness and responsiveness and taking proactive measures for different business processes and operations. References: Re search and Markets. (2010). British Petroleum Company: Company Analysis.Retrieved August 20, 2010, from http://www. researchandmarkets. com/reports/354859/ Rowell, A. (2010). BP’s Long Term Business Strategy in Chaos†¦ Retrieved August 20, 2010, from http://priceofoil. org/2010/06/29/bp%E2%80%99s-long-term-business-strategy-in-chaos/ Macalister, T. (2010). BP chief Tony Hayward to outline strategy that restores firm's fortunes. Retrieved August 20, 2010, from http://www. guardian. co. uk/business/2010/jul/21/bp-oil-spill-tony-hayward Winston, A. (2010). Five Lessons from the BP Oil Spill. Retrieved August 20, 2010, from http://blogs. hbr. org/winston/2010/06/the-bp-oil-spill-top-5-lessons. html

Global warming is it real or not Research Paper

Global warming is it real or not - Research Paper Example Due to the rise in temperature, much of the living organisms are affected most of which die. Researchers suggest that the rise in the concentration of these greenhouse gases results in the Earth getting warmer gradually. This concentration occurs, for example, by the release of gases like CO2 in the atmosphere through natural processes and also by industries and factories that burn fossil fuels. Deforestation is another cause of increase in CO2 concentration in the atmosphere since trees are the most important absorbers of CO2 and when they are cut down, CO2 increases and thus concentrates the atmosphere. The debate whether global warming is real or not is going on and it is being researched whether increase in the level of greenhouse gases like CO2 will eventually lead to man’s death by warming up the Earth to an unacceptable level. In my view, global warming is as important an environment issue as air pollution or ozone depletion is, and needs serious consideration so as to save the Earth and the life. Reason 1 Now, I discuss the reasons behind my thesis statement. I believe that global warming is real because the stakeholders are many. Humans are being affected by this problem and will continue to get affected if it is not solved. Human beings are the most important stakeholders of global warming and are also the cause of it. They will have to understand that their communities are at stake due to abrupt rise in sea level, massive storms and hurricanes, and heat and cold waves. For example, the year 2007 brought worst floods in the history of many countries like Malaysia, UK, North Korea, and other African countries. Pakistan saw the worst flood in 2010 that took millions of lives and took the shelter of thousands of people. After human beings, the next important stakeholders are the animals and plants. Some animals are able to move to places of acceptable temperature but some are not able to cross the mountain barriers and waters. Plants cannot move, so they die. Another stakeholder is the global governments whose vision toward solving the issue of global warming depends upon the views of their citizens. Many of these governments have not taken satisfactory moves toward the solution of global warming but there are other examples like Kyoto Protocol of 1997 which planned to counter the climate change issue. The Southern Baptist Convention of June 2007, which was considered as the country’s largest Protestant denomination (Miller, 2008, p.128), raised concerns about the fact that global warming will continue to affect the poor of the country because even if steps are taken to counter global warming by reducing the number of factories that emit CO2, this will result in an increase in the cost of energy that will ultimately affect the poor. Businesses are the only stakeholders that will not make movements against the global arming issue so much so that they will even try to stop the decrease in global warming. This is because businesses tend to run such factories and industries that emit CO2 into the atmosphere and no business would want to end his business. But not all businesses work in this manner. For example, FedEx is such a company that tends to decrease global warming by shifting its entire fleet of delivery trucks to hybrids. Reason 2 I believe that global warming is real also because it is resulting in many climate changes. Everybody will

Stock analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Stock analysis - Essay Example This includes, but is not limited to, the background of IHG and a brief statement of four special informational events which will be analyzed in depth within this brief response. Accordingly, a literature review will be shown which helps to underscore and elaborate upon many of the specific theoretical interpretations of the methods utilized within this report as well as relate pertinent information with regards to how such a process has been traditionally understood. Additionally, a demonstration of development of an event study is included and defined. Furthermore, the third part of the piece will include a methodological review. The explanations of approaches which have been utilized to conduct this report will be given as well as some assumptions and critical common factors that are associated with this methodology. Likewise, a research design and results section will comprise the fourth part of this analysis. Ultimately, the issues which will be explored and/or discussed will be analyzed based upon an event study methodology. This part will begin with defining the date of events and then choose the estimated period and test period. Following this, marker models will be chosen as a specific benchmark for abnormal returns. Similarly, a linear regression for the market will be chosen to shed further light on the theoretical interpretation and key data presented. In such a way, ordinary least square assumptions will be necessary to estimate the stability or whether or not it exists to a discernible degree at all. Based on the results of linear regression, the abnormal return will be calculated. Next, the Cumulative abnormal return, or CAR will be utilized as a means of indicating the effect of events specific to those which have already been related and identified. Further, a T-test by CAR will be presented to show the significant of these events. A final portion of the research will necessarily be the conclusion of this report. Within this conclusion, it is t he intent of this researcher to show the basic information of this report and summarize it according to the inference which has been drawn. Background information: InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is global hotel group which operates nine hotel brands; which in turn comprise a total of 4,600 hotels in more than 100 countries and regions, more than 676,000Â  rooms. IHG was established in 1946 and is the world's largest and most widely distributed network of professionally managed hotels. With regards to the business model that IHG exhibits, this can be understood in three distinct ways. First, IHG operates as a franchisor, second as a management accessory, and thirdly it operates upon a rental basis. In addition, the franchise has been recognized as exhibiting an effective business philosophy by many leaders within the industry. This report chose four specific events to explore the relationship with the IHG stock price volatility for a period time. These four events are shown bel ow: (1) On the 18th April 2012: IHG shows its support for small business owners, entrepreneurs and Road Warriors. (2) On the 7th August 2012: IHG reported interim results from the 30th June 2012 and announced $1bn return of capital. (3) On the 8th October 2012: IHG reported the results of general meeting about Special Dividend and Share Consolidation. (4) On the 12th November 2012: IHG announced that

Ideas in management - ANZ Banking Corporation case study Assignment

Ideas in management - ANZ Banking Corporation case study - Assignment Example The business strategy of ANZ is based on three different pillars namely, balancing the growth in the domestic and international front, building super regional capabilities and focusing on customer to gain competitive advantage. The purpose of this paper is to focus on issues of corporate governance and ethics of ANZ bank. The idea is to explore the sustainable ethical and corporate governance practices of banking industry in general and compare them to the practices that have been adopted by ANZ. The issue of corporate governance has become an integral part of governing the success of banks. The importance of banks in the economy is fundamental as banks play the role of allocating resources effectively and propels expansion of almost every sector of the economy. Following healthy corporate governance practices, is important for retaining the trust of the investors and conducting business for banks. The paper first provides a picture of the current corporate governance practices adopted by ANZ and then critically evaluates the same in the light of abuse of ethical issues by the banking sector. ANZ have committed itself to the continuous development of corporate governance practices by embracing a system of continuous disclosure to its key stakeholders. The corporate governance of ANZ is based on adopting the best practices in the banking industry that has been accepted internationally, to be the first mover in case of adopting ethical practices and take a proactive role in formulating best practices of corporate governance. The wide scale of geographic operations of ANZ makes it necessary for it to follow corporate governance standards of multiple nations like Australia, New Zealand and Asian countries (ANZ Bank, 2013). In order to ensure that the business follows ethical business practices, the ANZ board of directors follows a detailed ethics policy framework that covers fraud policy, anti-bribery and anti-corruption policy, policies against employee harassment,

Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo - Africa's First World Essay

Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo - Africa's First World War - Essay Example As explained by Farlex (2012), a sovereign nation is â€Å"one that exercises supreme, permanent authority, especially in a nation or other governmental unit† and that a sovereign nation â€Å"governs territory outside its borders.† This means that nations that are considered to be sovereign are expected to have maximum dominion over their territorial borders such that their borders must not be invaded by other sovereign nations, especially when the nation in question has not offended the intruding nation in any way. Though wars of all kinds are considered inappropriate, it is commonly believed that civil conflicts arise as a means of expressing the freedom and voice of the indigenous people. Most commonly, civil conflicts travel beyond the borders of the conflicting nation in question and this happens through a number of ways. Concepts of Civil Wars and Conventional, International Conflicts Civil wars are commonly propagated, fuelled and fought among civil groups withi n a given country. Smith (2012), therefore, posits that â€Å"a civil war is a war which is fought internally within a nation between differing factions, religious groups, or powers.† The National Intelligence Council (2004), on the other hand, notes that conventional wars are fought among two defined military sides without the use of any nuclear, biological or chemical weapons but strictly by the use of conventional weapons. International wars or conflicts, on the other hand, assume a position where war is embattled between two nations. The kinds of weapons used in international wars are undefined. Invariably, there could be an inference drawn from the definitions above to the fact that civil and international conflicts may be conventional conflicts or not. The difference as to whether or not they are classified as conventional wars depend on the kinds of weapons used. Between civil and international wars also, it could be said that civil wars are highly centered on only one nation and does not involve any second and third parties. When civil wars are fought as conventional wars, it is expected that the harm would not be as devastating as when they are fought with the use of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. International wars are, however, highly probable not to be conventional wars because of the high exhibition of warship authority by involving nations. Processes through which Internal Conflicts become Internationalised in Africa The first process that often leads to the internationalisation of internal conflicts in Africa is the problem of defence of national interest by intruding nations. This point is made against the backdrop that the world is fast becoming a global village. Coupled with other socio-economic relationships and pacts, the opening of commissions, consulates and embassies in other countries is very high. Once these offices are opened, countries with such offices tend to have an interest in the affairs of the host countries b ecause of the need to protect visiting citizens Noting that Africa is one continent that is generally considered as developing, there are several foreign continents with their citizens in African countries with the aim of helping in the development process. Owing to this, once war breaks up in any African country, there are efforts made by resident countries to protect their citizens and other interests they may have in the host country. Unfortunately, some of their attempts

Strategic management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Strategic management - Assignment Example As Atkinson (2011) reports, in November 2011, the Citigroup planned to sell EMI Group’s recorded music sector to Universal Music Group and music publishing division to Sony/ATV consortium. This paper will use a number of strategic management theories including SWOT analysis, PESTLE analysis, Porter’s five forces model, and BCG matrix to assess the level of competitiveness of EMI and identify the need for strategic change in the digital competitive environment of 2012. SWOT Analysis Strengths Strong global presence is one of the major strengths of the EMI group because this factor assists the company to spread its risk elements. In addition, EMI is one of the world’s leading music corporations with 12.6% global market share (Light Speed Research, 2012). The group has a roster of over 1300 artists and many of them are world class artists like David Bowie and Norah Jones. The merger of the Columbia Graphophone Company and the Gramophone Company in 1931 resulted in t he formation of EMI Ltd. Weaknesses The EMI Music’s poor performance in the US market, the world’s largest recorded music market, seems to be its most potential weakness. Since EMI is an independent music industry, it has to find its own resources without any assistance from a parent company. Declining global market share is another weakness of the organisation. Financial data indicate that the firm’s global market share dropped from 13.4% in 2002 to 12.6% in 2003 and eventually 9.55% in 2005 (Bridgewell, 2004). Opportunities Joint ventures offer greater expansion opportunities for the company. The company has often enjoyed potential advantages from its joint ventures with other larger multinationals such as Apple and Yahoo. Liberalisation of mergers and acquisitions in the music industry would significantly promote the company’s growth (Department of Business Innovation & Skills, 2010). In addition, the fast development of internet applications also crea tes a range of potential opportunities for the firm. Threats Declining scope of recorded music is identified to be the biggest threat to the EMI Group. The recent global recession drastically affected the global economy and this condition appears to be an impediment to the growth of the music industry as well. Evidently, music piracy and aggressive market competition also threaten the further development of EMI. PESTLE Analysis Political factors The EMI Group maintains good relations with foreign countries to expand its business territory and thereby improve global market share. The company obtains good support from the political spectrum as it has designed many employee benefit schemes such as flexible working hours, family policies, and other financial incentives. Economic factors The global economic landscape is not much appealing because of the drastic effects of the recent global recession. Many of the EMI’s markets are still under the process of recovery. Hence, the eco nomic factors are not favourable for the organisation. Social factors The EMI website claims, â€Å"whatever the culture, whatever the society, wherever there are people, there is music† (EMI, 2012). In addition, EMI gives more focus on specific cultural aspects of each country where the company has a music market. Hence, social factors are less likely to affect the EMI’s business. Technological factors The technology sector has been performing outstandingly over the

Comparative police systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Comparative police systems - Essay Example ther country and while arguing the extent to which they do so is beyond the scope of the present research, the research shall, nevertheless establish this to be the case with reference to surveillance. Through a comparative analysis of the post 9/11 right to surveillance granted to either of the two states, this paper shall demonstrate that even though the USA constitutes a more critical case than the UK, the right and expectation to privacy in both countries has been critically undermined. Laws governing privacy in the United Kingdom have traditionally, and customarily, restricted the right of the state to engage in the surveillance of citizens without establishing, and arguing, a cause to do so and obtaining the necessary warrants. The Interception of Communications Act (1985) effectively disallows law enforcement, or any representative of the state, from intercepting the telephone and electronic communication of citizens unless it is first established that doing so is integral, either to national security, or for the negation of the real and immediate threat which that person, or those whom he/she communicates with, pose towards society (Lloyd, 1986). Added to that, and as Carter (2001) explains, the European Convention on Human Rights, to which the United Kingdom is subject, holds that, other than when authorized by a court following the submission of evidence which clearly shows that surveillance is necessary for the prevention of a crime or the negation of an imm ediate threat, any form of state surveillance of private citizens, constitutes both a violation of their most basic civil and human rights. In other words, the pre 9/11 and pre 7/7 situation in the United Kingdom was such that strict regulatory frameworks effectively restricted the right of the state to engage in the surveillance of its citizens. As regards the pe-9/11 situation in the United States, despite the fact that the US Constitution makes no explicit provisions for privacy, the

Design an Advertisement or a Web Site for the Cinema Essay Example for Free

Design an Advertisement or a Web Site for the Cinema Essay Design an advertisement or a web site for the cinema. Your advertisement or web site should be attractive and easy to update as films and timings change and be suitable for publication in various places. The application chosen To complete the task above, I used Microsoft Front page 2000. T his is a Desktop Publishing package and enabled me to create a web page, as specified in the task brief. This task required a DTP (Desktop publisher) as it is a web based project, in other words, the result could be published on the web. I used Front page, as it enabled me to easily update and modify the web page, this was also required in the specification. It is also easily published onto the World Wide Web, or the Internet, as long as I have the required web space necessary. I could have used Microsoft Word, which I have more knowledge about, and therefore would have been easier to use, but I felt that I would use Front page, as it automatically saves the web page as the required format for web publishing and also it is designed for my required purpose. Equally I could have used Microsoft publisher, also a desktop publisher, but as I have no previous experience using this program, I felt that I should use Front page. Software Advantages / Benefits Disadvantages / Drawbacks Front Page Specifically designed for Desktop Publishing, many features designed especially for Web publishing. Very complex to use, not much experience in using program. Word Very simple to use, can be used by beginners to experts, the more experience a user has with the program, the more complex the program can become. Primarily a Word-processing package, not designed for DTP. Publisher Desk Top Publisher, lots of templates for easy publishing, easy to update and insert images and text boxes etc. I have not go much experience in using this program, also it is quite difficult to use with no experience. Does not automatically save as html format. Big Ms Software Big M cinemas are currently running computers that can only run basic word processing packages, they may need to upgrade their software, for example a Microsoft Office suite may suit their needs as this can be basic and advanced depending on the skill of the user. Their printer software and drivers may also need updating as they have problems when sending things to be printed, they sometimes do not come out, as they should. Software available for use at home; Microsoft Office 2002; * Publisher * Word * Front Page 2002 * Access * Excel * PowerPoint To complete this project I will not need any other programs, I will need Microsoft Access, Excel and Front Page, and Word for this write up. Software I need to complete this project; Software Purpose and Advantages Front Page Specifically designed for Desktop Publishing, many features designed especially for Web publishing. Specific for my requirements also easy to update page and site, as specified in the requirements. Word Very simple to use, can be used by beginners to experts, the more experience a user has with the program, the more complex the program can become. Specific for Word processing that is what I need it for, in this write up. It incorporates many advanced features, e.g. table of contents, that otherwise would take along time to produce. Excel A very advanced spreadsheet program, which will enable me to make a accounting package, with the use of functions, macros and many other features specific to this program. Access This database software will enable me to complete task 3, a very advanced database program, enabling me to run queries, forms and to create letters to members depending on their interests. Hardware For this task the user would need a relatively fast computer, e.g. 300mhz or over, this would enable the user to use Front Page effectively. Any slower and the time needed for image handling, and even fast input of text maybe hindered. I could have used a slow home computer or those in the library with slower processors and older software. I decided to use the computers in the ICT department as they are adequately fast enough for my needs and will run all the software I need. School Computers Connected to a LAN (Local area network) Standard Qwerty Keyboard Standard PS/2 Mouse 15 Visual display unit (SVGA) 600MHz Celeron processor 6GB HDD A:\ Drive for 3.5 diskette Epson Stylus colour 850 Inkjet Hewlett Packard 2100 Laser jet Printer Epson Scanner 56K Modem My Home PC 333MHz Celeron Processor CDRW 8*4*8 and 10*8*32 with Nero 4 7.5GB HDD Standard Qwerty Keyboard Standard PS/2 Mouse 15 Visual display unit (SVGA) A:\ Drive for 3.5 diskette Epson Scanner Epson stylus colour 440 Inkjet 56K Modem Hardware Advantages / Benefits Disadvantages / Drawbacks School computers Fast processor, 600mhz, networked so I can access work from all computers, very efficient laser printers and colour printers. Some computers do not have Front Page, although this is Software, limited printer credits, and sometimes the internet connection is down. Big Ms Computers None, apparently. Capable of basic word processing. Many; too slow, trouble with printers, whole system out dated. Qwerty keyboard Most commonly used keyboard. Not as quick to type on as other keyboards, e.g. Natural keyboards. Home PC Linked to Internet, no sites are filtered, enables me to do extra project work, out of the time limit. No printer credits Slower processor than school, infected with virus, so has a tendency to crash. Does not have all the same software as school. Lacks new scanner etc. This system is similar to what Big M Cinemas may need to upgrade to, 600 MHz processors are adequately fast enough and will run every piece of software available today. Also the laser printers used at school may also be necessary for Big M cinemas to get high quality print outs and also quick printing. This would enable them to print out lots of very high quality leaflets, and information sheets in a very short amount of time. Using the software In designing a Web Page, as specified in the project requirements, I broke the steps down into smaller parts. Firstly I researched the films, included in my database, and selected some of the latest films. I then created 3 separate pages, Main page, Latest films and Ticket prices. I then created the main page, a very simple page, as outlined in Appendix 1, or the web page research. I then, very briefly explained the ticket prices, Standard Luxury and disabled, giving prices for each. The last page I created was the Latest film reviews, where I simply entered a block of text, or the review and a graphic into a table with two cells, giving a simple and easy reading review page. Data needed by the system The data needed by the Web page system, will be information such as film times, ticket prices, certificates of films, and corresponding pictures for the review of the film. This will also apply for the corresponding text for a certain film. When the data is put into the system, it will have to be correct. I made sure the data was correct by checking it previously. I also made sure when compiling the film reviews, obtained the text and graphic and the title of the film at the same time, so as not to make a mistake. I would have to make sure that information like the Certificate of the films, e.g. U, PG, 12, 15 and 18 was correct as this may be misleading if it was not. Film times were also important as if these were incorrect; people may turn up to the cinema at the wrong time. A lot of this data is included in the Film table on the Database, see Database. This information could be put onto the web page if I were to do this task as the extension. I will also check spelling of film nam es using a spell check tool. The ticket prices would also have to be correct to correspond with the Spreadsheet, as I only included standard seats in the spreadsheet, I would only have to make this price match, in this case à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5. System outputs This task should produce the following outputs, a printout of the Web page, as necessary in this project, to hand it in. Another output possible would be a booked ticket, if I had constructed a booking system on my website, this could be an extension task. I chose to keep my outputs limited to a printout, as this is all I had time to do during the project as time was limited. Systems like the spreadsheet and database will have many more outputs as these were required. Analysing the problem During my research, I found the user would like colourful and attractive, also easy to use web sites. The evidence to support this can be found in Appendix 1, although this is printed in greyscale, all the web sites are high in contrast and very colourful. They are all very simple to use but very complicated systems at the same time. I will be able to achieve a high contrast and colourful site, and make it simple to use, incorporating hyperlinks to each page but will not be able to create a complex system in the time limit. The stages of input, processing and output are shown in the flow diagram below; Types of system Output The system can output information in different formats e.g. using a VDU the information can be displayed on screen, also the information can be printed using many different types of printers e.g. laser or inkjet. Output devices Advantages/Benefits Disadvantages/Drawbacks Visual Display Unit Size can be altered on most programs e.g. percentage of view. Information can be changed on screen. Information cannot be amended by hand whereas a printout can be. Inkjet printer Colour or Black, good quality. Printouts enable information to be marked or easily amended. Very expensive, slower than laser printer. Laser printer Very fast printing, black, very high quality. No colour in some models, extremely expensive. Having looked at the system devices, I decided to use a VDU to change data on screen, which enabled me to change view and so on. To print documents entirely in black, I will use a laser printer for speed and quality of printing. For colour documents I will use the inkjet printed which will enable me to print in colour. One more system output is the image on a VDU, which the user of the system will be able to view. The information, and film reviews will be what is visible, depending on the page that the user is viewing. Data Storage The data will be stored on the school network and my home PC, in addition I will keep a back up on floppy disk. This is three methods of data storage, the hard drives of both computers, are a form of magnetic storage, this also applies for the floppy disk. If I were to make sure I would not lose my data, I could store it optically on a CD (compact disk). For security purposes, I could store all my work on a tape, a security procedure carried out on the school network weekly. Testing To make sure that the system works I will complete these tests; * Ask an impartial person, to use my system, for example, I could ask them to load up the home page, by opening the file in my area, Click the link to the reviews page and print it off, If they were successful I know my system is successful. * Results; I completed this test and the user was able to complete my request. * Ask another person to open the web page, again and click the link to the reviews page, again as before, but this time, highlight the review and graphic for panic room, copy it and paste it into Word, and print it off. * Results; I completed this test; it was also successful, proving my system is user friendly. Simple Documentation For this task, I will only complete a simple user documentation. As this Web page is very simple, and does not have any complex features or relations, it is very simple to use, and as there are no booking systems, or show times, it is not very complicated. * If the system has been uploaded to the Internet, * Type in the address bar; www.BigMCinemas.com * This will take the user to the home page, * Follow the links to either, the Latest film review page or the Ticket prices page. Latest Reviews; * Look at the film reviews, * Scroll down to access hidden ones, * Either, take the link back to the home page or to ticket prices. Ticket Prices; * Gather required information on ticket prices, * Either, take the link to the home page or latest reviews. This is an incredibly simple user documentation, but as the system is so simple to use, this is all that is required. If a booking system were incorporated, the user documentation would become more complex. Evaluation The benefits of the system The benefits of the system I have developed will be; * The user will be able to access Film reviews from any computer connected to the internet. * If I were to extend my site incorporating a booking system, the benefits for the user would be that they would be able to book online, and pay with a secure connection using their credit card. * Another advantage for the user, if they were to become a Friend of Big Ms Cinemas, they would be able to get benefits from using my system, as members may get a reduced price for tickets, and priority seats. * At current, the site is very simple, but another benefit, as it is web based and designed to be easily updated, I will be able to update the film reviews very quickly and easily. This is a benefit for the user as they are getting the latest reviews, and prices as soon as they come out. There may be drawback to my system, such as that at current it is very simple and may not provide all the information the user wants. For example, it only has reviews for a limited number of films, due to the time limit I had in making it. When using the system, which only has 3 different pages, the user may not get all the information they require, e.g. different prices for different seats, and discounts for members. I produced a very simple system and realised that I would need to spend a lot more time in planning and designing the site if it were to become viable to upload to the web and use as an active system. I would need to produce a booking page, with all the different seats and prices for each screen, and depending on the age Certificate, update the ticket prices, e.g. if a film was a 15, child prices would not need be included, and so on. A secure connection would need to be gained for Credit card payment, and I would need to produce a Membership form online, like that featured ion Appendix 2. as well as this I would need to increase the amount of reviews, and add Film times, and their certificates. I could have used a membership form that I could design and print out, and hand out at the Cinema chains, by hand. These forms could be returned in the post. This method is a lot slower and not so reliable, as sending letters is not 100% safe, they can easily be lost or misplaced. Alternative methods for my system; * (1) Instead of publishing my system on the Internet, I could put my parts of my system, as already exists into a newspaper. Many cinemas already advertise film times, and the names of all the films, in weekly newspapers. There are many drawbacks to this system. I would only be able to put in a small advert, due to a large cost for advertising, and I would only be able to include film times, certificates and screens showing certain films. It is a very effective method as it is available to a lot of people. * (2) I could also put my system onto Tele-text, instead of the internet; there are also many problems with this method. Tele-text is quite slow, the design and layout is very simple and not very eye-catching. Only certain information would be provided, as graphics for the reviews would not be possible. An advantage of this system is that it is very easily updated. If I had more time, I would have improved my system, and included a booking system, and improved my reviews page, I would also have included film times, different cinemas, certificates of the films, incorporated a membership application page and generally improved it, making it more complex, but regaining its simplicity. My system Alternative Method (1) Alternative method (2) Advantages Enables me to put all the information onto the system, including booking systems, film reviews and film times, and ticket prices that are easily accessible for anyone with access to a PC, with an internet connection. It is also very easy to update, enabling me to regularly keep the site posted and constantly bring up to date the film times and the screens on which they are showing. More people could access the information, as more people have access to newspapers than the internet. It is also a very good way of advertising as more people will see the information and in some aspects, it is quicker than using either my system or method 2, as it is very direct and the information is very easily obtained. By putting the system onto C-Fax, or Tele-text, I would be able to make the information available to any one with a Tele-text compatible television. This would be easily updateable, unlike alternative Method 1, which is only updateable when a new Paper is released. This system could also include a number for phone booking. Disadvantages There are not too many disadvantages to my system; it is a lot more comprehensive than both the alternative methods, as they are both limited. This system would not be very good, as it would only incorporate the film times, and titles. The first system, allows the user to read reviews and book online. Although this system could include a phone number for phone booking, this is a very successful method. Graphics could not be included, although reviews could. Ticket prices and links to other pages could also be provided. Hyperlinks could not be made, and the design and layout is very primitive on Tele-text. Summary The use of ICT If I compare my solution to ones that already exist then I can see that in many respects my system would be better, if I were to extend and improve it. These system already exist and are very successful, as shown in Appendix 1, showing the Odeons web site, a comprehensive example I would need to follow if I were to extend this particular project. Comparing my current system to systems like that on the Odeon page, I can see mine is very primitive, and not very good. The changes that have occurred due to the use of ICT and computers are, the increased ease in Booking Tickets, becoming a member, viewing reviews quickly and easily, and looking up film times, certificates and the price of various tickets. Computers have enabled many more people to access this information and increase the complexity of a system like this. The people that use the system would benefit from using it as it would save them time booking tickets or becoming a member. In some ways it increases security, and reliab ility, as a membership form sent in the post could be lost. The user would also find all the information they need in one place and at the same time, eliminating hassle in phoning up the cinema or buying a newspaper.

The First Generation Currency Crisis Model Finance Essay

The First Generation Currency Crisis Model Finance Essay Reinhart, 1999). A currency crisis is an episode in which the exchange rate depreciates substantially during a short period of time. The models in this literature are often categorized as first-, second- or third-generation. FIRST GENERATION CURRENCY CRISIS MODEL: The classic first-generation models are those of Krugman (1979) and Flood and Garber (1984). It is a model without uncertainty. It states that, traders speculate against fixed exchange rate in order to profit from an anticipated speculation. Speculative attacks in this framework are inevitable and respect an entirely rational market response to persistently confliction internal and external macroeconomic targets. In first-generation models the collapse of a fixed exchange rate regime is caused by unsustainable fiscal policy. A hallmark of first-generation models is that the government runs a persistent primary deficit. This deficit implies that the government must either deplete assets, such as foreign reserves, or borrow to finance the deficit. The key ingredients of a first-generation model are its assumptions regarding purchasing power parity (PPP), the government budget constraint, the timing of deficits, the money demand function, the governments rule for abandoning the fixed ex change rate, and the post-crisis monetary policy. Burnside, Eichenbaum and Rebelo argue that their model accounts for the main characteristics of the Asian currency crisis. This explanation of the Asian currency crisis stresses the link between future deficits and current movements in the exchange rate. In first-generation models the government follows an exogenous rule to decide when to abandon the fixed exchange rate regime. The things to note about this model of currency crisis are- The root cause of the crisis is poor government policy. The source of the upward trend in the shadow exchange rate is given by the increase in domestic credit. The crisis, though sudden, is a deterministic event: the crisis is inevitable given he policies and the timing is in principle predictable. The first generation currency crisis model seen to do no harm. In this model, there is no effect on output, but even a richer model will not generated a real economy slump in the aftermath of a first generation currency crisis model. The crisis determination is a future policy stances that investors foresee, not the one observed in the past. The importance of policy choice in deciding to quit the fixed exchange rate regime. There was no mechanical link between capital flight and abandonment of the peg. There was no obvious trend in long-run equilibrium exchange reate. There was no evidence of irresponsible policies in any of the country involved. SECOND GENERATION CURRENCY CRISIS MODEL: The logic of this model is the interactions between expectations, macro economic trade-offs and decisions. This class of model is characterized by multiple equilibria and the interactions between market expectations and policy outcome can lead to a self-fulfilling crises. As long as the peg is credible this is the price the government is willing to pay because there are political and/or long-run economic goals. In second-generation models the government maximizes an explicit objective function (Obstfeld, 1994). This maximization problem dictates if and when the government will abandon the fixed exchange rate regime. Second-generation models generally exhibit multiple equilibria so that speculative attacks can occur because of self-fulfilling expectations. It differs with the first generation models in- 1. No irresponsible policy. 2. No predictability of the crisis and 3. If the country leaves the peg, there is no negative impact on employment and output. Since the monetary policy constraint is removed and the result is positive in terms of short-run macroeconomics benefits. 2. MORAL HAZARD Moral hazard is a situation in which one party in a transaction has more information than another. The party that is insulated from risk generally has more information about its actions and intentions than the party paying for the negative consequences of the risk. Moral hazard arises because an individual or institution does not take the full consequences and responsibilities of its doings, and therefore has a tendency to act less carefully than it alternately would, leaving another party to hold some responsibility for the consequences of those actions. Moral hazard also arises in a principal-agent problem, where one party, called an agent, acts on behalf of another party, called the principal. EXPANDED GOVERNMENT GUARANTEES FOR BANK LIABILITIES: Government provision of a financial safety net for financial institutions has long been a key element of the policy response to crises and the current crisis is no exception. This particular crisis is fairly severe however, so governments have felt obliged to go beyond the usual support measures, moving to expand existing guarantees and to introduce new ones, in some cases quite markedly. Valuation problems are also complicit in the duration of the problems. These and other related actions (such as loss sharing arrangements for assets and capital injections) appeared to have avoided a further loss of confidence on the part of market participants, by raising the likelihood that retail depositors and other creditors would continue to provide a stable source of funding for banks, thus reducing the threat of insolvency of these entities. Thus, these actions have bought time, with limited if any upfront fiscal costs. Actually, just like financial guarantee insurance companies, the governm ent earns a small fee from the debt issuer for lending out its top credit rating. There are nonetheless potentially substantial costs associated with these measures. Even if guarantees do not generate significant upfront fiscal costs, they create large contingent fiscal liabilities, as well as other potential costs that may arise as a result of distortions of incentives and competition. In recognition of this situation, the discussions of financial safety net issues at the past CMF meeting concluded that, going forward, policy makers need to consider the issue of exit strategies from expanded guarantees. Another important issue related to the additional guarantees is their pricing. In this respect, the premise of the discussion in the present note is that potential distortions should be limited to the extent that government guarantees are priced appropriately. By contrast, distortions are more likely to arise where guarantees are offered at prices that appear to be substantially low er than market or some form of fair prices. It has long been known that financial intermediaries whose liabilities are guaranteed by the government pose a serious problem of moral hazard. The U.S. savings and loan debacle is the classic example: because depositors in thrifts were guaranteed by FSLIC, they had no incentive to police the lending of the institutions in which they placed their money; since the owners of thrifts did not need to put much of their own money at risk, they had every incentive to play a game of heads I win, tails the taxpayer loses. WORKING OF CIRCULAR PROCESS IN REVERSE TO CAUSE ASSET PRICES COLLAPSES The mechanism of crisis involved that same circular process in reverse: falling asset prices made the insolvency of intermediaries visible, forcing them to cease operations, leading to further asset deflation. This circularity, in turn, can explain both the remarkable severity of the crisis and the apparent vulnerability of the Asian economies to self-fulfilling crisis which in turn helps us understand the phenomenon of contagion between economies with few visible economic links. Asian economies experienced a noticeable boom-bust cycle not only in investment but also or even especially in asset prices. Presumably this reflected the fact that assets were in imperfectly elastic supply. The easiest way to do this is to imagine that the only available asset is land, which cannot be either created or destroyed. Again, let us initially consider a two-period model. In the first period investors bid for land, setting its price. In the second period they receive rents, which are uncertain at the time of bidding. But now suppose that there are financial intermediaries, once again able to borrow at the world interest rate (again normalized to zero) because they are perceived as being guaranteed. And also as before, we assume that owners need not put any of their own money at risk, but that competition among the intermediaries eliminates any expected economic profit. The result is obvious: intermediaries will be willing to bid on the land, based not on the expected value of future rent but on the Pangloss value in this case 100. So all land will end up owned by intermediaries, and the price of land will be double what it would be in an undistorted economy. 3. MORAL HAZARD CAUSE A DEADWEIGHT SOCIAL LOSS The phenomenon of undertaking risky and often corrupt loans and transactions, but knowing that if the gamble fails someone else (usually the state) will pick up the tab, is known as moral hazard. In the table 1, two alternative investments are available. One yields a known present value of $107 million; the other will yield $120 million if conditions are favorable, but only $80 million if they are not. The good state and the bad state are equally likely, so that the expected returns on this risky investment are $100 million. However, the owner of the financial intermediary knows that while he can capture the excess returns in the good state, he can walk away from the losses in the bad state. So if he chooses the safe investment he gains a sure 7; but if he chooses the risky investment he gains 20 in the good state, loses nothing in the bad state, for an expected gain of 10. Thus his incentive is to choose the risky investment, even though it has a lower expected return. And this distortion of investment decisions produces a deadweight social loss: the expected net return on the invested capital falls from $7 million to zero. 4,5, 6 7. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE EXPECTED VALUE OF LAND RENT AND ITS CORRESPONDING PENGLOSS VALUE. There is a two period model to explain land value. In the first period, investors bid for land and setting its price. In the second period they receive rents, which are uncertain at the time of bidding. The financial intermediaries will be willing to bid on the land, based not on the expected value of future rent but on the Pangloss value. So all land will end up owned by intermediaries, and the price of land will be double what it would be in an undistorted economy. In an undistorted economy we can solve backwards for the price. The expected rent in period 3, and therefore the price of land purchased at the end of period 2, is 50. The expected return on land purchased in period 1 is therefore the expected rent in period 2 (50) plus the expected price at which it can be sold (also 50), for a first-period price of 100. This is also, of course, the total expected rent over the two periods. Now suppose that intermediaries are in a position to borrow with guarantees. Again working backwa rd, at the end of period 2 they will be willing to pay the Pangloss value of third-period rent, 100. In period 1 they will be willing to pay the most they could hope to realize off a piece of land: the Pangloss rent in period 2, plus the Pangloss price of land at the end of that period. So the price of land with intermediation will be 200 in period 1 again, twice the undistorted price. It seems, then, that the multi-period version of the model, in which part of the return to investment depends on the future prices of assets, makes no real difference to the distortion of those prices imposed by guaranteed intermediaries. However, this result changes in a dramatic way once we allow for the possibility of changes in the financial regime that is, if we believe that moral hazard may be a sometime thing. 8. KRUGMANS MODEL JUSTIFICATION ON OCUURANCE OF SELF-FULFILLING FINANCIAL CRISIS Using a signalling approach-based EWS model, this paper has attempted to provide more empirical evidence on the causes of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, with a view to discriminating between the two hypotheses of weak fundamentals and investors panic. The results show that the overall composite leading index of the EWS model issued persistent warning signals prior to the 1997 crisis in not just a few, but all of the five countries most affected by the crisis. This finding appears not to square well with the investor panic, market overreaction and regional contagion postulate. Instead, it lends support to the hypothesis that weaknesses in economic and financial fundamentals in these countries triggered the crisis. First, in most countries under consideration, there were appreciations in the real exchange rate against both the US dollar and the basket currencies of their major trading partners. The real appreciations appeared to have contributed to the deteriorations in these countri es trade and current account positions. Second, there were apparent problems in the capital account, as indicated by persistent warning signals by the ratio of M2 to foreign reserves in the case of Indonesia, and the ratio of foreign liabilities to foreign assets of the banking sector in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Third, there was strong evidence of excessive growth of domestic credit, particularly in Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand. Last, there was also evidence of deteriorations in the real sector in most countries, and the burst of asset price bubbles, especially in Korea and Thailand. The fact that all these individual leading indicators issued warning signals prior to the 1997 Asian crisis indicates that they had reached the critical levels that historically had often triggered currency crises, lending further support to the weak fundamentals hypothesis. 9. EXPLANATION OF ASIAN CRISIS 1997 BY KRUGMANS MODEL The crucial point here is that capital is not so much interested in aggregate growth rates as sectorial profitabilitythus a growing economy might still experience declining profitability in certain sectors which in turn can scare off financial capital and possibly later productive capital. However, in East Asia, this would have meant hundreds of banks and finance houses being forced to shut downthreatening not only the financial system of Asia, but also institutions across the globe with which they have myriads of dealings. The credit crunch that followed led to massive layoffsthis is the classic paying for the crisis. The East Asian crisis does shed light on developments in the world economy which make it highly likely that similar crises will erupt in the future. Such developments relate to the deregulated nature of world financial markets, so that the triggering mechanism of a crisis may be financial (currency devaluations, runs on banks, etc) even though the ultimate origins lie in the real economy . This is not to deny that financial panics may also emanate in situations where there has been no significant deterioration in the real economyabove all on the profit rates. Hence when profits start to dip, or are likely to fall below expectation, a careful calculation needs to be madeeither stay with the gamble or move elsewhere. In regard to direct investment, the decision naturally cannot be acted upon with immediate effect, but in financial markets exiting from markets can be done almost instantaneouslyand this potentially accentuates the stampede and contagion. Evidence suggests that the origins of financial instability in East Asia do indeed reside within the real economyabove all in the falling returns on investment.

Dead Poets Society Essay examples -- essays papers

Dead Poets Society Dead Poets Society Hysterical Text One person’s interpretation of a story is always different than another’s. Some of us may see things that are not being shown to us. Dead Poets Society, in author Tania Modleski’s eyes has taken on a manifestation larger than the author herself. This story is not what the author will have you believe, whereas the true story was hidden in the misconception of Modleski’s beliefs. The sexual content, homoerotic tensions, and antiauthoritarian behavior, seemed to come from the author’s wishful thinking as opposed to the reality of the film. In the film a homosexual theme could not be seen. When Mr. Keating came to the school to teach, he did not insist on being called oh captain my captain. That phrase was used only three times in the movie, once by Mr. Keating himself. Oh captain my captain was used by two separate young men as a show of admiration and respect for Mr. Keating. In contrast Modleski sees oh captain my captain as a â€Å"pious deference to male authority†(Modleski â€Å" Dead White Male Heterosexual Poets Society† 315) because the very authority the film pretends to be challenging. One character that just enrolled at the school and was somewhat of a loner, and misfit, and is expected to achieve great success as his brother did before him. He is an example of how some families push one child to be exactly like another i.e. his older brother. When he first comes in contact with Mr. Keating he could not speak openly in front of a crowd. This is evident when he decides not to write a poem that is to be read in front of the class the following day. When Mr. Keating calls upon him to read and he cannot, he uses the technique of spinning him around while spewing... ...land. Mr. Keating probably was dismissed from the school in England for his freethinking ways. He may travel from school to school spreading the Dead poets Society way of free expression. This is illustrated when a boy returns to his room, and finds Mr. Keating’s book of poetry lying on his desk. When Modleski critiqued this movie, with good intentions in mind, somehow she lost her way. There are two sides to every story and these boys and Mr. Keating’s has been told. The illustrations, and aforementioned reasons, show that Dead poets society is a hysterical text. We may never know the real meaning behind this movie, but we all have our interpretations of it. There are no hidden or reclusive meanings being portrayed here, just a boarding school that suppresses freedom of thought, and creativity. This is why Mr. Keating’s character comes through loud and clear.

The Character of Othello Essay -- GCSE Coursework Shakespeare Othello

The Character of Othello      Ã‚      Shakespeare's Othello is not simply a play which embodies the conflict between insider and outsider. The paradigm of otherness presented in this play is more complicated than the conclusion, "Othello is different; therefore, he is bad." Othello's character is to be revered. He is a champion among warriors; an advisor among councilmen; a Moor among Venetians. Yes, Othello is a Moor, but within the initial configuration of the play, this fact is almost irrelevant. His difference is not constructed as â€Å"otherness.† Othello, by his nature, is not an â€Å"otherized† character. Besides being the dark-skinned Moor, Othello varies in no real way from the other characters in the play. Further, Othello and Iago can be seen as two sides of the same destructive coin. With Iago as a foil and subversive adversary, Othello is not faulted for the indiscretions he commits. It is the invention and projection of otherness by various characters in the play, especially Ia go, which set the stage for the tragedy of dissimilarity which is to ensue. Continually confronted with his difference, and apparently associated inferiority, Othello eventually ingests and manifests this difference in a violent rage against the symbol and defining emblem of his otherness, Desdemona. Yet, who is to blame? Which character is redeemed through our sympathy so that another can be condemned? Othello, the dark-skinned murdering Moor, himself. The separation of his otherness from explicit and innate evil contrasted with Iago's free-flowing and early-established taste for revenge and punishment, alleviates Othello from responsibility. Surely, Othello has wronged and is to be held reprehensible--with his death--but even this is a self-infli... .../www. Galileo pechnet.edu Bloom, Harold. "Introduction" Modern Critical Interpretations, Othello Ed. Harold Bloom, Pub. Chelsea House New Haven CT 1987. C. W. Slights. "Slaves and Subjects in Othello," Shakespeare Quarterly v48 Winter 1997: 382. J. Adelman. "Iago's Alter Ego: Race as Projection in Othello," Shakespeare Quarterly v48 Summer 1997: 130. Jones, Eldred. "Othello- An Interpretation" Critical Essays on Shakespeare’s Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994. Neely, Carol. "Women and Men in Othello" Critical Essays on Shakespeare’s Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994. Norman Sanders, ed. Othello. Cambridge: New York, 1995: 12. Snyder, Susan. "Beyond the Comedy: Othello" Modern Critical Interpretations, Othello Ed. Harold Bloom, Pub. Chelsea House New Haven CT 1987.   

Collective Goods Essay -- International Community, The Kyoto Protocol

The international community is made up of many state actors that contribute in some form or other to establish a world that can establish key public goods. When more than one nation is trying to come together to achieve their collective goods, the nation may be confronted with a number of issues. There are times when the countries may need to come together to make decisions in specific topics like global warming, ozone depletion, space exploration amongst many other issues that require group attention (Stiles p269). A collective good does not belong to one specific player, cannot be withheld from a player and can be used by all players. When referring to collective goods there must be an investment or expenses may be accrued in the good by the player(s). The decision that must be made is which player will be making the investment and this is agreed to by negotiation. One of the many influences of the creation of collective goods is the Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol focuses on many issues that cross national boundaries and require the attention of more than one country at a time. This leads to an international affairs situation where various countries have to solve problems of a trans-boundary nature (Stiles p.268). In order for this to occur the countries must first acknowledge that there is a need for a collective good. The problem arises however when countries use their judgment to determine how and if they should contribute to the collective good. Some countries may suggest that the country that has caused the most damage should be responsible party and should contribute more money (Stiles p269). It is rarely the case when all the countries involved offer to contribute their share without any hesitation. It ... ...re fearful of the other powerful countries (United States and Russia). This changed during the end of the Cold War giving a new era of promise and an evolving international order (Grant p572). In 1994, the Global Conference on Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States made it clear that national, regional and international levels need to work together for better outcomes (Grant p581). In this conference, Third World Countries that the United Nations should also place more focus on hard economic issues as well. The agenda for development was created to deal with sensitivity to development concerns and the influence of global development policy decisions that were aborted 15 years ago in the Cancun Summit (Grant p582). The global transformation will focus on advancing the interest of groups that have universal membership of the United Nations.

Cross Cultural Issues Essay

With hot topics like globalization and cross-cultural opportunities in the Asia Pacific rim, one might think it would be easy to research the implications of cross cultural issues. Rather, what the writer found was a significant discussion all around the periphery but little in-depth analysis. Discussion prevailed on the socio-economic and technological ramifications. Others resources focused on the language issues but little work was intuitively available on the subtleties of cross cultural issues one may encounter. Based on experience working in the Asia Pacific rim for two years as a PMO Manager, and training PM’s in many European countries, I decided that understanding international socio-cultural issues encountered in business is essentially at the heart of the issues companies will encounter in globalizing operations. Therefore, the writer will approach the crosscultural issues from a personalized understanding based on his many months of first hand mistakes in understanding cultural issues encountered in Asia Pacific. I will base my observations of cross-cultural issues on my experiences in working most closely with individuals from China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, and India. Naturally there are more countries in the Pacific Rim but these mentioned provided the most opportunity for interaction. I want to also acknowledge the contributions of my wife, Helena Shiu Leung Chow Ballow, whom I initially met in Asia. Her wisdom, coaching, and meaningful insights on the many differences between Western and Eastern business and cultural practices were, and remain till this day, illuminating, helpful and daunting. Introduction Clearly we all understand to some degree the impact of cultural issues in communications. If nothing else, we have encountered situations where language was the barrier. But language may be the smallest of the issues when dealing with other cultures. Even when we pull out our Translation Guides or employ translators we may get pass some of the language difficulties. But from the writer’s experience, language is the least of the issues. Ingrained and systemic patterns of cultural behaviours can be so subtle as to completely deny meaningful communications. I found a really good example of just how easily cultural variances can cause communications problems. In this case the issues was â€Å"psychological filtering† of appearance or gesture. I would think is would also be easy for the reader to extrapolate this example into some experiences that may have encountered even in the West. Timofeev (2002), in an article in National Concepts and Globalization, provided the following example: â€Å"The idea or rather the hypothesis that underlies this paper was stimulated by a trivial chat with a friend of mine. Being a linguist by trade, Russian by origin and living in Finland, she is well aware of cross-cultural discrepancies and provided me with a curious example. It was a TV commercial of an international brand of Persil washing powder. Two young ladies were shown sitting in a crowded place, some restaurant or a cafe. One of the ladies notices quite a peculiar manner her friend has chosen to wear her wristwatch. It was placed above the cuff of her blouse. It turned out in a second that the only reason for placing her watch there was to cover some stain that regular detergents failed to deal with. Oh dear, you should use Persil instead! † So everything was straight and simple. But before that, when the attentive and thoughtful lady was describing her version of her friend’s peculiar manner of wearing her watch in Finnish (and I guess that the German, French and English versions were quite similar to that in Finnish), she said: â€Å"You are such a busy person. You have to wear your watch so that it can always be seen. † While in Russian the same lady made quite a different guess: â€Å"Your watch must be terribly expensive since you wear it so that everyone can notice it. † †¦ The Russian version, when translated into English, seems to be full of irony; it describes the lady’s manner as showing off. It would definitely undermine the main purpose of the ad, which was to provide a friend and those watching the commercial with thoughtful advice about using detergents. (p. 1)† To understand the issues we must start with a framework definition of culture. There are just too many definitions of culture, and even speaking the same language, we might get off tract pretty quickly. So, the writer did some research and decided on the following foundational definition of culture upon which to proceed. This is summarized by Kim (1999): â€Å"As the author himself confesses that there are 160 different definitions of the term ‘culture’ and picks up the definition of scholar Clyde Kluckhohn. According to him, â€Å"Culture consists of patterned ways of thinking, feeling and reacting, acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievement of human groups, including their embodiment in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional (i. e. historically derived and selected) ideas and attached values. † continued  © 2004, 2005 Dennis G. Ballow, Sr. , PMKT, Inc. , All Rights Reserved Globalization and Cross-Cultural Issues in Project Management, page 2 Another scholar, Triandis, presents a psychological perspective to the description. â€Å"Culture is a subjective perception of the human – made part of the environment. And this includes the categorization of social stimuli, associations, beliefs, attitudes, roles, and values individuals share. † Culture thus is a melting pot consisting of many things gathered over a period of time in which religion and language play a great role. (p. 228)† Now, with a definition of culture in hand, and a real life example to back up the idea, we will look at some relatively common cultural issues that impact communication, and thus, also have implications for Western corporations working in the Asia Pacific Rim. Cross-Cultural Issues and Implications I will present the materials in a table format such that it may be easier to digest. A simple summary provided by Bhagat et al (2002 provides a good stepping-stone for analysis of the cross-cultural issues: Cross-border transfer of organizational knowledge is most effective in terms of both velocity and viscosity when the type of knowledge (i. . , human, social, or structured) being transferred is simple, explicit, and independent and when such transfers involve similar cultural contexts. In contrast, transfer is least effective when the type of knowledge being transferred is complex, tacit, and systemic and involves dissimilar cultural contexts. (p. 204) Table 1: Cross-cultural Implications – Asian (China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan) and the West Cross-culture Dimension Language Implications Asian Perspective Not that complicated to the Asian. Foreigners should have more respect and learn the language. American Perspective English is the international business language so everyone should use it. Implications It is generally good practice to â€Å"localize† materials when feasible. Local words and expressions sometime just do not properly translate for English and may actually be offensive. A focus on team activities and collaboration vs. individual competitive activities is preferred. Individualism vs. Collectivism Strong Collectivism – The Asians depend more on groups or institutions to determine what they should do and emphasize loyalty to the group. They are more likely to cooperate with others to avoid risks and reduce responsibilities. Their value systems appreciate duty to the group and harmony among its members while pursuing personal goals is viewed rather negatively in Asia. The Asian person does not consider contracts as seriously as the Americans. They think there will always be changes and the contracts can be reasonably modified according to changes. Instead, they tend to pay more attention to relationships than contracts. Strong Individualism – They rely on their own view to determine what they should do. They tend to work alone and are reluctant to cooperate because their individualism and masculine culture view cooperation in general as a sign of weakness and place a high value on independence and control. Americans place greater importance on contractual safeguards than the Asian. They believe that contracts can ensure that their partners’ tendencies to focus on individual goals and aspirations do not interfere with their own individual goals and aspirations. Cooperation Nothing is cast in stone for the Asians. Authority is seldom, if ever, challenged. But when encouraged and trust is gained by the instructor, students will interact better, and challenge each other in a negotiative manner as not to create a †save face† problem. This takes much longer that you will ever plan – so take time to let the process work itself through. Asian employees seldom have the chance to really participate in the decision-making process. So activities requiring decisions may well take longer. continued

The Moon and Sixpence Summary

THE MOON AND SIXPENCE Topic: The theme revealed in the novel â€Å"The  moon and sixpence† Outline: I. Summary about  writer  and the  novel â€Å"  The moon and  sixpence† II. Two  themes  revealed  in  the  novel  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The  moon  and  sixpence† 1. The revolt of an individual against the well- established conventions of  Ã‚  bourgeois society 2. No rooms  for trivial and  ordinary  pleasures of  life  in  Great Art III. Conclusion Summary about the writer and the novel â€Å"  The moon and sixpence† 1. William  Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) W. S.Maugham is famous English writer, well-known as a novelist, playwright and shortstory writer. In his writings he kept to the principles of Realism, but his method of writing was also influenced by Naturalism, Neo-romanticism and Modernism. W. S. Maugham was born in Paris where his father worked as solicitor for the English Embassy. At the age of 10, Maugham was orpha ned and sent to England to live with his uncle, thevicar of Whitstable. Before becoming a writer he was educated at King's School, Canterbury, and Heidelberg University, Maugham then studied six years medicine in  London.William worked in a hospital of Saint Thomas, which placed in a poor block of London the experience  found its  reflection in  the 1st novel. During World War, Maugham volunteered for the Red Cross, and was stationed in France for a period. There he met Gerald Haxton (1892-1944), an American, who became his companion. Disguising himself as a reporter, Maugham served as an espionage agent for British Secret Intelligence Service in Russia in 1916-17, but his stuttering and  poor health hindered his career in this field. In 1917 he married Syrie Barnardo, an interior  decorator; they were ivorced in 1927-8. On his  return from Russia, he spent a  year in a sanatoriumin Scotland. Maugham then set off with Haxton on a series of travels to eastern Asia, th e Pacific Islands, and Mexico. In many novels the surroundings also are international. Maugham's most famous story such as â€Å"Ashenden: or the British agent ’’Maugham died in Nice, a small French town from pneumonia on December 16, 1965. During the war, Maugham's best-known novel, Of Human Bondage(1915) was published. This wasfollowed by another successful book,The Moon and Sixpence(1919).Maugham also developed areputation as a fine short-story writer, one story,Rain, which appeared in The Trembling of a  Leaf  (1921), was also turned into a successful feature film. Popular plays written by Maugham include The Circle(1921),East of Sue(1922), The Constant Wife1926) and the anti-war play,For Services Rendered   (1932). In his later years  Maugham wrote his autobiography,Summing Up (1938) and works of fiction  such as The Razor's Edge (1945),Catalina (1948) and Quartet   (1949). After the 1930s Maugham's reputation abroad was greater than in England.Maugha m once said,†Most people cannot see anything, but I can se what is in front of my nose with extreme clearness;the greatest writers can see through a brick wall. My vision is not so penetrating. † His literaryexperiences Maugham collected in The Summing Up, which has been used as a guidebook for  creative writing. William Somerset Maugham died in 1965 in a small French town from  pneumonia. â€Å"I have never pretended to be anything but a story teller. It has amused me to tell stories and I  have told a great many.It is a misfortune for me that the telling of a story just for the sake of the  story is not an activity that is in favor with theintelligentsia. In  endeavor  to  bear  my  misfortunes  with  fortitude. † (from  Creatures  of  Circumstance, 1947) The novel â€Å"The  moon and sixpence† Charles Strickland, a good, dull, holiest,  plain man who is  a conventional stockbroker. He is  probably a worthy member of so ciety, a good husband and father, an honest broker, but he abandoned his wife and two nice looking and healthy children, a boy and a girl. A supposition is putforth: Charles walks out upon his wife to  run after some woman.A friend of Strickland is sent to Paris to find out who the woman is and if possible to  persuade him to come back to his wife. After a long talk with Strickland, the man understands that the real reason that inspires him to run away is not woman. He decided to be a painter. Living in Paris,  Strickland  comes into  contact with  a  Dutch  painter, Dirk  Strove . Strove  is presented  as an antipode to Strickland. Strove is a kind hearted man but a bad painter. He is the first to discover the real talent of Strickland. When Strickland falls seriously ill, it is Strove who comes to help.Strove  persuades his wife to let him bring the  artist home to look after him. To  his surprise, his wife falls inlove with Strickland who she holds in disgust. Later his wife, a housemaid rescued by Strove, kills herself by drinking acid after Strickland leaves her. What Strickland wants from Blanche is not sexual relation but the nude picture of her beautiful figure. Leaving France for Tahiti, Strickland is in search of a world of his own. In Tahiti, he marries a native girl Ata and he  has about three years of happiness. He has two children. Strickland contracts leprosy and later becomes blind.He wants to leave the family but Ata doesn’t let him do it. His eyesight gets worse but he continues painting. Ata couldn’t go to the town and buy canvases; he uses the walls of his house. Strickland gets rid of some strong irresistible obsession imprisoning his soul with the help of those paintings. He has achieved what he longs for  on this land. He has painted his masterpiece. Knowing that he is going to die, he makes his wife  promise to burn down his masterpiece after his death in fear that it will be contaminated by the commercial world of money.Two themes  revealed in the  novel â€Å"The moon and sixpence† 1. The revolt of an  individual against the well- established conventions of bourgeois society In many of his stories, Maugham reveals to us the unhappy life and the revolt against the set social order. The  Moon and Sixpence was  written  in this  line. It  is a  story of the  conflict between the artist and the conventional society based on the life of a painter. The revolt of an individual against the well-established conventions of bourgeois society was shown in the following two aspects: 1. 1. Money worship societyThe bourgeois society with its vices such as: snobbishness money worship, pretense, self-interest†¦made their profit of the frailties of mankind. To them, money was a useful tool to dominate both economics and politics. Money also helped the bourgeois maintain their regal life and it connected the members in family, on the other hand, husban d had obligated to support his wife and children for whole his life. Therefore, the last generations of the bourgeois forced the young generation to continue their domination. It was mentioned in the conversation betweenStrickland and his friend. I rather wanted to be a  painter when I was a boy, but  my father made me go into  business because he said there was no money in art†. In this society, art was non-profitable. Therefore, it must be looked down upon. In their  Ã‚  point of view, art was nothing more than just a job to earn money. They did not see the beautiful things that art brings. When Strickland decided to follow in his father's footsteps, his dream and aspiration were hidden on the bottom of his heart. After working hard for ages, he became a  prosperous stockbroker. He is probably a worthy member of society.However, there is in streets of the poor  quarters a thronging vitality which excites the blood and prepares the soul for  the unexpected. It w as actually happened in Paris, because Strickland gave up the luxury life and got acquainted with hard life just only wanted to fulfill a long-cherished dream. He had to give up his dream to follow his father’s wishes. â€Å"I want to paint. †Ã¢â‚¬Å"I’ve got to paint. † The brief answer expressed his willingness to get out of ideology ties which were imposed  by his father. And his hand and mind would express his big dream by painting masterpieces. I couldn’t get what I wanted in  London. Perhaps I can here. †Ã¢â‚¬Å"I tell you I’ve got to paint. † The author said that â€Å"I seemed to feel in him some vehement power that was struggling  within him, it  gave me the sensation of  something very strong, overmastering, that held  him† And Strickland cannot have a comfortable life any more. â€Å"I haven’t any money. I’ve got  about a  hundred pounds. † We could probably see it  through St rickland’s appearance when he came to Paris. â€Å"Sitting there in his old Norfolk jacket and his unnourished bowler, his trousers were baggy, ishands were not clean; and his face, with the red stubble of the unshaved chin, the little eyes, and  the large, aggressive nose, was  uncouth and coarse. † 1. 2 Family and social responsibilities Painting is not only a ‘dreamy moon’ of Strickland but also of many progressive people in  bourgeois society. According to bourgeois concepts, all the men have to be responsible for hisfamily and children. He’s forced to have a strong connection with what is considered to belong tohim. Strickland’s life is tied tightly down to family’s contract. However, all that sort of thingsmeans nothing at all to  him.He doesn’t let those reasons impact on  his way chasing his passion any longer. It can be obviously proved through the conversation between two men, Strickland and the author, in ch apter II of the  novel. ‘Hang it all, one can’t leave a  woman without a bob. ’  Ã¢â‚¬ËœWhy not? ’  Ã¢â‚¬ËœHow is she going to live? ’  Ã¢â‚¬ËœI’ve supported her for seventeen years. Why shouldn’t she support herself for  a change? ’  Ã¢â‚¬ËœLet her try. ’  Ã¢â‚¬ËœDon’t you care for  her anymore? ’  Ã¢â‚¬ËœNot a bit’   When Strickland talks about his children, his attitude is revealed to be heartlessly scornful. ‘They’ve had a good many years of comfort. It’s much more than the majority of children have. Dirk Stroeve was one of those unlucky persons whose most sincere emotions are ridiculous. † On the nature of art â€Å"Why should you think that beauty, which is the most precious thing in the world, lies like a stone on the beach for the careless passer-by to pick up idly? Beauty is something wonderful and strange that the artist fashions out of the ch aos of the world in the torment of his soul. And when he has made it, it is not given to all to know it. To recognize it you must repeat the adventure of the artist. It is a melody he sings to you, and to hear it again in your own heart you want knowledge and sensitiveness and imagination. Besides, somebody will look after them. When it comes to the point, the Mac Andrews will pay for  their schooling. ’  Ã¢â‚¬ËœI like them all right when they were kids, but now they’ve growing up I haven’t got any particular  Ã‚  feeling for them. ’     He totally gives up on his own family, children and thinks  that they could live by themselves without his care. Even if they can’t make arrangement for their life, his relatives might come to help. Strickland also doesn’t mind what  people loathe and despise him. ‘Everyone will think you a  perfect swine. ’  Ã¢â‚¬ËœLet them. ’  Ã¢â‚¬ËœWon’t it mean anything to you that people loathe and despise you?   Ã¢â‚¬ËœNo’  Ã¢â‚¬ËœYou don’t care if  people think you an utter  black-guard? ’  Ã¢â‚¬ËœNot a damn. ’  Ã‚  He really doesn’t care any longer. ‘You won’t go back to your wife? ’  Ã¢â‚¬ËœNever’  Ã¢â‚¬ËœYou don’t care if she and your children have to beg their bread? ’  Ã¢â‚¬ËœNot a damn. ’     He does everything: abandoned wife and children; left his successful career behind just  because he totally hates that gloomy  society and its old  customs. Only by a short conversation between two men, the author already describes the strongly reactive mind of Strickland, a man who dares to stand up and fight over the old customs of that  boring society and bourgeois.Regarding to Strickland’s point of view, his escape is the only decision; it’s also the solution to release his imprisoning mind. He doesn’t regret or be ash amed of  what he’s done. He accepts the eyes of society because he doesn’t care. Actually, it’s never ever  meant anything to him. The only thing that he really cares is  his mind right now freely to follow anddo everything he ever dreams of in his own ‘dreamy moon’. 2. No rooms for trivial  and ordinary pleasures of life in  Great Art 2. 1  Sacrifice everything to be an artist. At the beginning, the stockbroker Strickland had a stable life with happy family.However,when he started to chase his path as an artist, he had to experience a poor situation. Moreover, he was  willing  to  get  rid  of  everything  to  be  an  artist. Great art  don’t depend  on age  as long  as you have real passion. Even though at the age of fortyâ€Å"the chances are a million to one†, Stricklandstill wants to be a  painter. â€Å"I can learn quicker than I could when I was eighteen†, said he. He wanted to be a painter when he was a boy but his father didn’t allow him. His father  consumed that there was money in art. Therefore, he had to give up his passion for such a long time. However,  his fire for art wasn’t  stamped  out.And this  was  the perfect  time  for him to implement his dream again. On  his way chasing that dream, he had to  sacrifice everything. He  passed by the material and the sensual to fulfill spiritual needs. He got rid of a happy family with acomfortable life to go to Paris  and lived in destitute life there Although he knew that his family needed him and they had to suffer difficulties in life without him, he didn’t intend to change his mind and he accepted to be considered as a selfish man. He understood that his action weren’t highly appreciated; however, he still wanted to pursue art in his own way.Strickland accepted to live in a bad condition, without money, job, food and at last he found a Shelter at a hot el. Afterward, despite the fact that he got a serious disease and became  blinded; he still  tried to  fulfill  his masterpiece  on the  walls of his  house. During the  first daysstaying in Paris, he only found a cheap hotel to live. He appeared with such a miserable, untidy image. â€Å"He sat there in his old Norfolk jacket and his unnourished bowler, his trousers werebaggy, his hands were not clean; and his face, with the red stubble of the unshaved chin, the littleeyes, and the large, aggressive nose, was uncouth and coarse.His mouth was large; his lips wereheavy and sensual. †He desired to paint. He repeated his speech many times when answering his friend. â€Å"I want to paint. †Ã¢â‚¬Å"I’ve got to paint†Ã¢â‚¬Å"I tell you I  have to paint†. 2. 2. Strickland protects Beauty and Art. Art is very  pure. It can not be  measured by the value of money or sexual relation. Stricklandstruggled to abandon his appetence for art. â₠¬Å"Let me tell you. I imagine that for months the matter never comes into your head, and you’re ableto persuade yourself that you’ve finished with it for good and all.You rejoice in your freedom, and  Ã‚  you feel that at last you can call your soul your own. You seem to walk with your head among the  stars. And then, all of a sudden you can’t stand it any more, and you notice that all the time your  Ã‚  feet have been walking in the mud. And you want to roll yourself in it. And you find some woman,coarse and low and vulgar, some beastly creature in whom all the horror of sex is blatant, and you  fall upon her like a wild  animal. You drink till you’re blind with rage. † He assumed that as an artist he shouldn’t have trivial fun such as desire of  women.For Strickland, woman is like an invisible rope tightening his life. It is very hard to escape from  them. Therefore,  he  tried  to  avoid  it. He  was  willing  to  give  her  up  as  well  as  his unsatisfactory painting. He did everything to be a true artist even though it made him become acruel man. Finally, he achieved what he wanted. He created a masterpiece. It was worth what he’d spent. He devoted all his life to pursue art. As an artist, he didn’t care about fame or wealth. He  painted pictures only to satisfy his love to art. He never sold his pictures to get money.He did not toaccept his masterpiece to be contaminated by the commercial world of money. His dream was very  beautiful III. Conclusion Based on the life of Paul Gauguin, â€Å"The Moon and Sixpence†is W. Somerset Maugham'sode to the powerful forces behind creative genius. Charles Strickland is a staid banker, a man of  wealth and privilege. He is also a man possessed of an unquenchable desire to create art. As Strickland pursues his artistic vision, he leaves London for Paris and Tahiti, and in his quest makes sacrifices that lea ve the lives of those closest to him in  tatters.Through Maugham's sympathetic eye Strickland's tortured and cruel soul becomes a  symbol of the blessing and  the curse of transcendent artistic genius, and the cost in human’s lives it sometimes demands. Topic 2: Impression of  characteristic THE ANALYSIS  OF STRICKLAND CHARACTER 1. Strickland as an ordinary man 1. 1 Strickland is irresponsible inconsiderate toward his wife Strickland used be a good husband to his wife. Actually, he owns a happy family and goodeconomic condition. For many people, Strickland is good businessman and has good status insociety.However, he suddenly abandoned his wife and  went another place. Strickland leaved his wife and children behind without a word. His leaving makes her very miserable and she had asuspicion that he run  away with other women. His wife- Army is a pleasant hospital woman. Strickland can’t find any reasons which belong to Arm to leave her. When Army sends him many letters to persuade him to come back, Strickland doesn’t read any letters from her. It  meansthat he doesn’t concern anything related to his wife. When making conservation with friend sent to persuade him, Strickland expresses a coollyattitude to his wife. I can not describe the extraordinary callousness with which he made this reply†Although Strickland acknowledged his action, he still  does like that. Has she deserved that you should treat her like that? NoThen, isn’t it monstrous to leave her in  this fashion after seventeen years of married life withouta fault to find with her  Monstrous†Abandoning wonderful wife is faulty. However, letting a woman without a bob is more pitiless. He also knows before that his wife and children will have to suffer difficulties in life withouthim. But he still leaves them to  pursue his aim. Hang it all, one can’t leave a woman without a  bobWhy not? Don’t you care for her any more? N ot a bit†Strickland does not try thinking whether a weak woman can live without support from man;especially she has to nurse two children. They don’t know what they should do in order to support their life and what will wait for them in the future. He supposed that he no longer haveany responsibility to his family and all things that he  did before be enough. 1. 2 Strickland is irresponsible selfish father Strickland does not want to take any responsibility to his children. His children are very youngand innocent.They have never done any harm to  Strickland. â€Å"Damn it all. There are your children to think of. They’ve never done you any harm. They didnot ask to be bought in to the world. If you chuck everything like this, they’ll be thrown on thestreet. They have had a good many years of comfort. It’s much more than the majority of childrenhave. Besides, somebody will look after them. When it comes to the point, the Mac Andrewswill pay for t heir schooling†. How can children live without support from their father? He did not care about his children anymore, even though they could be thrown out in the street. Read also:  Moon By Chaim PotokFor many people, rearing children isvery holly duty and happiness. For children, father is the material and spiritual favor. It is very  poor for children when he entrusts them to the care of  Mac Andrews. Especially, Strickland thought that he did not have any special feeling to  his children. For many men, children are always very special and take really important part in their emotional life. Strickland only had special feeling to his children when they were small. When they grow  up, heno longer loves them. It seems that the nature of a father in Strickland has disappeared. He  became an unemotional father. 1. Strickland is ungrateful to his friend Dirk Strove is a very kind- hearted person. Dirk Strove is the person who recognizes the talentof Strickland and helps him everything in bad days. When Strickland falls seriously ill, it isStrove who comes to help. Strove persuades his wife to let him bring the artist home to look  after. St rickland must have gratitude all the things that Strove had done for him. On the other  hand, Strickland has an adulterous affair with his best friend’s wife. Moreover, Strickland justwants to take use of her body for  the nude picture and causes the death of Strove. 2. Strickland  as an  artist . 1 Strickland is a  really passionate painter .He compares his passion to paint is like the desire to breath. He abandoned his wife andchildren to pursuit his dream of painting. He gives up a happy life to go strange place to learn painting. He gets divorced with his wife without any reasons and lets his children alone to devotefor art. â€Å"I have got to paint† is repeated four times in conservation with the friend. It means thatthe desire to paint is full  of in his head all the  time. When family’s friend is sent to persuade Strickland, he used all the tactics and arguments tochange Strickland’s decision.However, Strickland still expresses a con sistent attitude to allarguments. Strickland believes that his wife could take care of herself and also is ready to  provide all necessary background for her to divorce. His children can grow without his support. Strickland reckons that it is the high time for him to realize his dream. For Strickland, painting is the air of life, an interest. The painting is all. He does not concernabout all the worst things people can think about him. â€Å"Everyone will think you are perfect swineLet themWon’t it mean anything to you to  know that people loath and despise you?No†Short answers contain a terrible determination. It seems that the art  is the only meaningful thingto him now. The passion of painting is covering all his body and  will. Behind the dull appearance, Strickland has the true passion to art. Strickland- a man with old  Norfolk jacket, unnourished bowler, his trouser was bagging, his hand were not clean, his facewith red stubble of the  unsaved chin, little eye, the large aggressive nose, his mount large and hislip were heavy and sensual. On the surface, he was not born for art. The rude and sensualappearance is completely contrary to deep passion on art and artist soul.The narrator feels  powerful desire to paint in his voice and vehement power. There is strong struggle between willand passion inside this man. Strickland decides to leave all his family and material values, loveand lust behind to scarify for art. Strickland accepts a poor life to devote for art and passion. From a prosperous stockbroker,Strickland became a poor man for only reason of being a painter. He  can live in cheap hotel withabout hundred pounds to learn painting. When coming Tahiti, Strickland marries with a nativegirl and lives in forest far away from town. They live in misery. When there was no food to behad, he seemed capable†. It seems that he â€Å"lived a life wholly of the spirit† . All the materialvalues do not have any meaning t o him. He wants to spend the rest of the life painting. He couldsuffer the poorest conditions to draw. Strickland decides to paint at the age of 40. â€Å"Do you think it is likely that a man will do any good when he starts at your age? Most people  begin painting when they were eighteen. I can learn quicker than I could when I  was eighteen†. The age is one of the most important barriers for Strickland to overcome. People mainly paintwhen they were eighteen.In spite of acknowledging this, Strickland still decides to paint by allmeans. In fact, there is no limitation of age in art. However, Strickland must have had the trulystrong desire to art because it is very difficult and unusual for people to start learning painting atthis age. Strickland had dream of painting when he was very small. At his time, the values of  man are measured in terms of money. His father said that there was no money in art and obligedhim to do business. Obeying his father’s speech, Stric kland became a prosperous stockbroker. He owns a happy family and good social status.Strickland does not satisfy with the current life. He feels the life is so boring and not meaningful. After 40 years, the dream of childhood stillobsesses him and wins other things. It seems that the man is cut for painting. At the age of 40,after many years of empty soul, he realizes clearly what he wants, what is important to his life. Panting is the job which he really wishes to do and  succeed. 2. 2 Strickland understands the rotten society and he is very brave man who sacrifices for the real art   When Strickland abandons his wife and spends all the rest of life for painting, many peoplewould think he is not usual.His action is different from the normal people in society. In the  bourgeois society, money is highly appreciated and most of people live for money. They supposethat there is no money in art and artists are not highly evaluated in social order. In contrary,Strickland can give up everything to pursue art. Strickland wishes to paint because of true  passion, but not for money. He never sold a single picture and he was never satisfied with whathe had done. In the end, Strickland obliged his wife to burn all his picture and house so that allhis products are not survived for commercial purpose.He has the great art concept and is acourageous man who devotes everything to art. With the endowed talent and passion, Strickland creates the wonderful pictures which containthe great content and perfect beauty. Strickland can go anywhere to find inspiration for his  picture. He decides to move from London to Paris, after that he came to Tahiti and live in aforest. Strickland is in search of a world of his own. When he contracts leprosy, he still draws. As he becomes blind, he continues painting until he died. Strickland is worth to  be great and realartist. 3. Conclusion For Strickland’s family, he is a bad father and husband.In term of the normal concepts in the society, Strickland is considered to be a selfish person who can abandon all important things to  pursue his own passion. Strickland is a real artist  and brave man in bourgeois society. He abandons all the normal thingsincluding family, money, social status, moral values to sacrifice for the real art. With deep enthusiasms, Strickland creates the great product and paints until his the last breaths. Hesupposes that the true art should not be contaminated by the commercial world of money. He isthe typical artist who can scarify for the  real art in the bourgeois society. Some comments:This is a fictionalized account of the life of artist Paul Gaugin. It's the best fictionalized biography I've ever read. From the moment I learned he's left his wife and children to the death of his mistress, I've been captivated by this intense personality. I'm reminded of Steve Jobs, a heartless man obsessed by work, by a vision. But the most interesting thing so far is the art itself. Th e narrator, a writer, admits that the first time he sees â€Å"Charles Strickland's† paintings, he's disappointed. The oranges are swollen and lopsided. He doesn't have the craftsmanship of the old masters. (And no wonder. He's only been painting for five years. Yet he says to himself, it's because it's a new style. This is key. Would anything ever make it in art if it weren't new? It goes through a couple of stages. Total rejection, then wild acclaim. The narrator is disappointed in himself for not recognizing genius. Only later, after he's seen these works in museums, acclaimed by others, is he able to recognize the hand of a master. It brings to mind Tom Wolfe's â€Å"The Painted Word. † Nothing is art until a story makes it so. And yet†¦ A major character in â€Å"The Moon and Sixpence† is a hackneyed artist who has great technical skill yet paints for the vulgar masses, making a comfortable living.He sees the genius of Gaugin (or in this case â€Å"Ch arles Strickland†) as no one does. He tries to get dealers to take the works though Strickland is uninterested in selling them. This character is the polar opposite of Strickland. He thinks only of others. If it weren't for him, Strickland would have died. Yet he gets no respect. He's other-directed in a world where the inner-directed rule. Yet he's a great judge of art. I can't help concluding that nearly every new style offers something, however turned off we may be initially. But I still prefer representational work to most modern art. The Right TimeThere are some books that walk into your life at an opportune time. I'm talking about the books that send a pleasant shiver down your spine laden with â€Å"Man, this is meant to be! † as you flip through its pages cursorily. Or those that upon completion, demand an exclamation from every book-reading fibre of your body to the effect of â€Å"There couldn't have been a better time for me to have read this book! † N ow, I come from deferred-gratification stock. So books like these, you don't read immediately,. You let them sit there on your table for a while. You bask in the warm expectant glow of a life-altering read.You glance at the book as you make your way to office, take pleasure in the fact that it'll be right there on your table when you open the front-door wearily, waiting to be opened, caressed, reveled in. And when that moment of reckoning arrives, you don't stop, you plunge yourself straight into the book, white-hot passionate. The Moon and Sixpence was just that kind of a book for me. I had just completed (and thoroughly enjoyed) a course on Modern Art in college and could rattle off the names of Impressionist painters faster than I could the Indian cricket team.I was particularly intrigued by Paul Gauguin, a French Post-Impressionist painter, after reading one of his disturbingly direct quotes. â€Å"Civilization is what makes me sick†, he proclaimed, and huddled off to Tah iti to escape Europe and â€Å"all that is artificial and conventional†, leaving behind a wife and five children to fend for themselves, never to make contact with them again. This struck me as the ultimate expression of individuality, a resounding slap to the judgmental face of conservative society, an escapist act of repugnant selfishness that could only be justified by immeasurable artistic talent, genius, some may call it.My imagination was tickled beyond measure and when I discovered there was a novel by W. Somerset Maugham (the author of The Razor's Edge no less! ) based on Gauguin, my joy knew no bounds. I was in the correct frame of mind to read about the life of a stockbroker who gave up on the trivial pleasures of bourgeois life for the penury and hard life of an aspiring painter without considering him ridiculous or vain. Supplied with the appropriate proportions of awe that is due to a genius protagonist, I began reading the book. I have to admit I expected a whol e lot from it.I had a voyeuristic curiosity to delve into the head of a certified genius. I was even more curious to see how Maugham had executed it. At the same time, I was hoping that the book would raise and answer important questions concerning the nature of art and about what drives an artist to madness and greatness. The Book The book's title is taken from a review of Of Human Bondage in which the novel's protagonist, Philip Carey, is described as  Ã¢â‚¬Å"so busy yearning for the moon that he never saw the sixpence at his feet. † I admired Maugham's narrative voice.In his inimitable style, he flits in and out of the characters' life as the stolid, immovable writer who is a mere observer, and nothing more. His narrator defies Heisenberg's uncertainty principle as in observing his characters, he doesn't change their lives or nature one bit. He has a mild disdain for the ordinary life of a householder and relishes his independence. â€Å"I pictured their lives, troubled by no untoward adventure, honest, decent, and, by reason of these two upstanding, pleasant children, so obviously destined to carry on the normal traditions of their race and station, not without significance.They would grow old insensibly; they would see their son and daughter come to years of reason, marry in due course – the one a peretty girl, future mother of healthy children; the other a handsome, manly fellow, obviously a soldier; and at last, prosperous in their dignified retirement, beloved by their descendants, after a happy, not unuseful life, in the fullness of their age they would sink into the grave. That must be the story of innumerable couples, and the patter of life it offers has a homely grace.It reminds you of a placid rivulet, meandering smoothly through green pastures and shaded by pleasant trees, till at last it falls into the vasty sea; but the sea is so calm, so silent, so indifferent, that you are troubled suddenly by a vague uneasiness. Perhaps it is only a kink in my nature, strong in me even in those days, that I felt in such an existence, the share of the great majority, something amiss. I recognized its social value. I saw its ordered happiness, but a fever in my blood asked for a wilder course. There seemed to me something alarming in such easy delights.In my heart was a desire to live more dangerously. I was not unprepared for jagged rocks and treacherous shoals if I could only have change – change and the excitement of the unforeseen. † In Maugham's hands, Gauguin becomes Charles Strickland, an unassuming British stockbroker, with a secret unquenchable lust for beauty that he is willing to take to the end of the world, first to Paris and then to remote Tahiti. He is cold, selfish and uncompromising in this quest for beauty. â€Å"The passion that held Strickland was a passion to create beauty. It gave him no peace. It urged him hither and thither.He was eternally a pilgrim, haunted by a divine nostalgia, an d the demon within him was ruthless. There are men whose desire for truth is so great that to attain it they will shatter the very foundation of their world. Of such was Strickland, only beauty with him took the place of truth. I could only feel for him a profound compassion. † However words such as these serve to romanticize Strickland's actions which at first glance, remain despicable. (view spoiler)Maugham paints him as a rogue loner, an unfathomable apparition, compelled to inhuman acts by the divine tyranny of art. He lived more poorly than an artisan. He worked harder. He cared nothing for those things which with most people make life gracious and beautiful. He was indifferent to money. He cared nothing about fame. You cannot praise him because he resisted the temptation to make any of those compromises with the world which most of us yield to. He had no such temptation. It never entered his head that compromise was possible. He lived in Paris more lonely than an anchori te in the deserts of Thebes. He asked nothing from his fellows except that they should leave him alone.He was single-hearted in his aim, and to pursue it he was willing to sacrifice not only himself – many can do that – but others. He had a vision. Strickland was an odious man, but I still think he was a great one. † In these beautiful words he describes Strickland's strange homelessness and suggests a reason for his subsequent escape to Tahiti. â€Å"I have an idea that some men are born out of their due place. Accident has cast them amid strange surroundings, but they have always a nostalgia for a home they know not.They are strangers in their birthplace, and the leafy lanes they have known from childhood or the populous streets in which they have played, remain but a place of passage. They may spend their whole lives aliens among their kindred and remain aloof among the only scenes they have ever known. Perhaps it is this sense of strangeness that sends men f ar and wide in the search for something permanent, to which they may attach themselves. Perhaps some deep-rooted atavism urges the wanderer back to lands which his ancestors left in the dim beginnings of history. Sometimes a man hits upon a place to which he mysteriously feels he belongs.Here is the home he sought, and he will settle amid scnes that he has never seen before, among men he has never known, as though they were familiar to him from his birth. Here at last he finds rest. † By the end of the book, Maugham's narrator somewhat loses his grip over the reader and I could picture him in my mind floundering around the island of Tahiti, interviewing the people who came in contact with Strickland, trying to piece together a story. He finds himself in the â€Å"position of the biologist, who has to figure out from a bone, not only a creature's body, but also its habits. The reader is promised the ineffable, a study of genius and is only delivered an admission of its elusive nature. Also the tone of the novel tends to get slightly misogynistic in places. But I suppose that is more a failing of the protagonist rather than the author. As compensation, Maugham offers delicious crisp cookies of wisdom throughout. In simple lyrical language, he penetrates to the core of the human condition and offers invaluable advice to the aspiring writer, the hopeful lover and the wannabe genius.For its unpretentious, sympathetic and humane portrayal of a deeply flawed protagonist, its quotable quotes and its ironic humour, this book shall rank as my one of my favourite books on the life and development of an artist in search of the unknowable. My Master Maugham I strongly believe that the adjectives one throws around are a barometer of one's sensitivity or at the minimum, one's desire to be accurate. Both of these qualities are indispensable to the aspiring writer because honestly, what is there to writing exceptfresh verbs, evocative adjectives, searing honesty and an unbounded imagination.Also, that it's easier said than done. In this context, there are moments when I feel utterly stupid and unimaginative. My inner monologues resemble the chatter of teenage girls in their lack of content and use of worn-out adjectives. I mean, awesome and amazing, like seriously? Bleeuurghh!! During such exasperating times, my inner world aches to devour a mouthful of good-looking words in the Queen's English. I head to my dusty book-closet and roughly displace its contents until I find a book either by one of the barons of British literature, a W. Somerset Maugham/PG Wodehouse or a laid-back satire along the lines of Yes Minister.The book usually serves its purpose admirably. It manages to extract me from my predicament by either making me split my sides laughing or by drowning me in a stream of sentences so beautifully constructed that I completely forget my insecurities and start shaking my head ponderously at the writer's virtuosity instead. Coming to the to pic of the writer himself, W. Somerset Maugham is one of my favourite writers in the English language. Being an aspiring writer who's yet to find his voice myself, his novels never fail to stab me with a hopeful optimism. My premature belief, that I can write well, is reinforced when I read Maugham.He never intimidates me or bores me, commonplace sins many writers will have to go to confession for. While reading his prose, he possesses the singular ability of making the difficult art of writing seem pretty doable. This, I've realized with the passing of time, is due to one simple reason. It is because W. Somerset Maugham never shows off! Never! Never does he ramble pointlessly. Never does he merely graze the point instead of hitting it fair and square because he was too busy fooling around with the language. Never! He hits bulls eye with eloquence and a kind of frugal, flowing lyricism.There is always a single-minded purpose behind his writings. It is to spin a mighty good yarn by g etting the point across without making his readers consult a dictionary. He even propounds profundity in a manner that typically makes me re-read the paragraph(and underline it) to admire the economy and ease with which the thought was expressed in words. I find the writing styles of Hemingway and Maugham similar in form, but while Hemingway's writing is austere to the point of being skeletal, Maugham clothes his words until they can be considered passably pretty.For his remarkable abilities, Maugham's opinions about his own writing were always modest. He believed he stood  Ã¢â‚¬Å"in the very first row of the second-raters. †Ã‚  Asked about his method of writing, he simplified it to a matter of keen observation and honest reproduction. â€Å"†Most people cannot see anything,†Ã‚  he once said,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"but I can see what is in front of my nose with extreme clearness; the greatest writers can see through a brick wall. My vision is not so penetrating. † My f avourite excerpts Advice to aspiring writers I forget who it was that recommended men for their soul's good to do each day two things they disliked: it was a wise man, and it is a precept that I have followed scrupulously; for every day I have got up and I have gone to bed. But there is in my nature a strain of asceticism, and I have subjected my flesh each week to a more severe mortification. I have never failed to read the Literary Supplement of The Times. It is a salutary discipline to consider the vast number of books that are written, the fair hopes with which their authors see them published, and the fate which awaits them.What chance is there that any book will make its way among that multitude? And the successful books are but the successes of a season. Heaven knows what pains the author has been at, what bitter experiences he has endured and what heartache suffered, to give some chance reader a few hours relaxation or to while away the tedium of a journey. And if I may judg e from the reviews, many of these book are well and carefully written; much thought has gone to their composition; to some even has been given the anxious labour of a lifetime.The moral I draw is that the writer should seek his reward in the pleasure of his work and in release from the burden of his thoughts; and indifferent to aught else, care nothing for praise or censure, failure or success. † â€Å"Until long habit has blunted the sensibility, there is something disconcerting to the writer in the instinct which causes him to take an interest in the singularities of human nature so absorbing that his moral sense is powerless against it.He recognizes in himself an artistic satisfaction in the contemplation of evil which a little startles him but sincerity forces him to confess that the disapproval he feels for certain actions is not nearly so strong as his curiosity in their reasons. The writer is more concerned to know than to judge. † On the ironic humour of life â €Å"Dirk Stroeve was one of those unlucky persons whose most sincere emotions are ridiculous. † On the nature of art â€Å"Why should you think that beauty, which is the most precious thing in the world, lies like a stone on the beach for the careless passer-by to pick up idly?Beauty is something wonderful and strange that the artist fashions out of the chaos of the world in the torment of his soul. And when he has made it, it is not given to all to know it. To recognize it you must repeat the adventure of the artist. It is a melody he sings to you, and to hear it again in your own heart you want knowledge and sensitiveness and imagination. † B? kh? n kh? ? nha c? a chu c? a minh va ? tru? ng, chang trai Maugham b? t d? u phat tri? n m? t cai tai kheo dua ra nh? ng nh? n xet gay t? n thuong cho nh? ng ngu? i ma c? u khong ua. Cai tai nay doi khi du? c ph? n anh trong cac nhan v? t van h? c c? a Maugham