Flexible Budgets and Performance Analysis

9-1 The planning budget is prepared for the planned level of activity. It is static because it is not adjusted even if the level of activity subsequently changes.9-2 A flexible budget can be adjusted to reflect any level of activity—including the actual level of activity. By contrast, a static planning budget is prepared for a single level of activity and is not subsequently adjusted. 9-3  Actual results can differ from the budget for many reasons. Very broadly speaking, the differences are usually due to a change in the level of activity, changes in prices, and changes in how effectively resources are managed.9-4 As noted in 9-3 above, a difference between the budget and actual results can be due to many factors. Most importantly, the level of activity can have a very big impact on costs. From a manager’s perspective, a variance that is due to a change in activity is very different from a variance that is due to changes in prices and changes in how effectively resour ces are managed. A variance of the first kind requires very different actions from a variance of the second kind. Consequently, these two kinds of variances should be clearly separated from each other. When the budget is directly compared to the actual results, these two kinds of variances are lumped together.9-5 An activity variance is the difference between a revenue or cost item in the static planning budget and the same item in the flexible budget. An activity variance is due solely to the difference in the level of activity assumed in the planning budget and the actual level of activity used in the flexible budget. Caution should be exercised in interpreting an activity variance. The â€Å"favorable† and â€Å"unfavorable† labels are perhaps misleading for activity variances that involve costs. A â€Å"favorable† activity variance for a cost occurs because the cost has some variable component and the actual level of activity is less than the planned level o f activity. An â€Å"unfavorable† activity variance for a cost occurs because the cost has some variable component and the actual level of activity is greater than the planned level of activity.9-6 A revenue variance is the difference between how much the revenue should have been, given the actual level of activity, and the actual revenue for the  period. A revenue variance is easy to interpret. A favorable revenue variance occurs because the revenue is greater than expected for the actual level of activity. An unfavorable revenue variance occurs because the revenue is less than expected for the actual level of activity.9-7 A spending variance is the difference between how much a cost should have been, given the actual level of activity, and the actual amount of the cost. Like the revenue variance, the interpretation of a spending variance is straight-forward. A favorable spending variance occurs because the cost is lower than expected for the actual level of activity. An u nfavorable spending variance occurs because the cost is higher than expected for the actual level of activity.9-8 In a flexible budget performance report, the static planning budget is not directly compared to actual results. The flexible budget is interposed between the static planning budget and actual results. The differences between the static planning budget and the flexible budget are activity variances. The differences between the flexible budget and the actual results are the revenue and spending variances. The flexible budget performance report cleanly separates the

Bullying and Violence in the Workplace

The problem, the results, and possible prevention strategies ill be presented based on an invited paper by Bowen, Private, and Bowie (201 1), â€Å"Reducing workplace violence by creating healthy workplace environments) and a peer-reviewed Journal article, â€Å"Effectiveness of Bullying and Violence Prevention Programs† (Stag, S. , Sheridan, D. , 2010). Bullying and workplace violence can be controlled if management takes appropriate steps toward early recognition, education, and preventive practices.Identifying the potential for violent behavior often concentrates on plotting the â€Å"bad apple†, the employee constantly contradicting authority, complaining, verbally busing others, gossiping. Or alienating staff. According to Bowen (2006) It may be a reaction to bad or unhealthy environment referred to as the â€Å"bad barrel†. The policies, procedures, and practices of an organization have recently come under scrutiny as a possible cause of workplace violence . If the atmosphere for nurses, other staff members, and even patients is oppressed, violent, or unsafe, then those affected may resort to violent behavior as a response mechanism.Management must be wiling to look at the tone and practices of the organization and evaluate staff perceptions. If the staff sees the organization in a negative light immediate steps must be taken to correct course and alter perception. Employee productivity and retention are tied closely to the staffs feelings toward the values and practices of the institute. Pride, esteem, excellence In service, caring, open-mindedness, team-spoilt, recognition of accomplishments, fairness In decisions, and constant development and improvements all solidify an employee's loyalty and desire to produce excellence in all workplace activities.Bullying and potential violence can come in many forms both covert and overt. Some red flags would include an employee who has a noticeable change in behavior, verbalized threats, intim idation, harassment, and repeated confrontational behaviors. These individuals must be counseled since these changes may be signs of personal or social turmoil in the individual's private life that is affecting workplace attitudes. If counseling, warnings, diffusing violence / anger management classes are not effective, the individual may face termination for the health and safety of him or herself as well as others (Libber, 2011).Many classifications of types of bullying have been used over the last 10 or more ears, One example Is the taxonomy developed by Earner and Hole (1997) which covers most of the commonly listed categories: I) threat to professional status, ii) (Discover, Mac Carjack, & Kashmir, 2005, p 441). Lynn Libber in the Winter 2011 issue of Employment Relations Today offers four simple but concrete guidelines to address and curtail workplace bullying and violence that can be readily implemented by management.The list includes thorough background checks for all perspe ctive employees watching for signs of previous violent behavior and discipline problems. Create a workplace â€Å"Violence Protection† logic. Communicate the policy to all employees and be sure to explain the forms of bullying and harassment (including internet / cyber bullying), the consequences of unacceptable behavior, and disciplinary steps leading to possible termination for repeat offenders.Train all new hires immediately during orientation and all other employees annually about ways to prevent (primary prevention), De-escalate (secondary prevention), and personally respond (tertiary prevention) to workplace violence and bullying (Bowen, Private, & Bowie, 2011, p. 188). This would include arioso positive and negative reactions to bullying such as confronting the attacker or reporting to superior versus avoidance or quitting Job (Discover, Mac Carjack, & castrate, 2005, p. 451).Once the implications and functions of violence in the workplace are fully understood by organ izational managers, then an effective policy ad methodology can be created which will effectively address this spiraling problem, provide a safe environment for all, and raise the level of care within the institute. An introspective analysis of the current work climate ad changes that can be implemented to improve am spirit and loyalty will pave the way for better employee relationships, a stable, secure, and focused workforce.

An overview of the conflict resolution theory Essay

Conflict Resolution Theory In conflict resolution, preconceived notions, also called the natural cognitive sorting processes, are the stimuli that unwittingly foment war. By taking a look at individual and intergroup relations, one can better grasp conflict resolution as a way of mediation which may lessen the probabilities of the outbreak of political violence. This essay takes a close examination of the effect of individual-level models of change to inspire change at the social level. The scaling up the process from individual treatment to social has its strengths and weakness. Controlled communication, sensitivity training, Freud’s hydraulic model, complex mirroring and conscious raising psychotherapy are experimented means in conflict resolution to dissolve conflict at both individual and general levels. The natural cognitive sorting mechanism of dividing people into ‘us’ and ‘them’ engenders prejudice and in the long run, political violence. This perspective is typical to The Self and The Other concept in which people and groups are constructed to exclude the other or any entity that is perceived as foreign and to include the self or other entities affiliated to the self. â€Å"Protracted social conflicts typically involve an enduring set of antagonistic perceptions and interactions between communal groups†¦negative attributions of motivations and reciprocal negative images perpetuate the antagonisms and solidify the conflict† (Fisher 1997). This concept breeds the antagonization of groups which turns one group against the other, deepening rifts and sharpening rivalry. Since this type of social cognitive process emphasizes differences between ‘us’ and ‘them,’ an elitism can arise which advantages one group over the othe r and fosters an unhealthy intergroup competition and mutual exclusion. With mutual degradation and demonized motives, each group continues to not only drift apart but rub against each other in a frictional relationship to produce an aggression fire. At the national level, us and them dichotomy leads to jingoism which is a chauvinistic form of nationalism. This ideology promotes the suppression of one and the superiority of a people. Fanatical patriotism and the prejudiced belief propose that another party must suffer in the power imbalance. (Paris 2004) agrees that â€Å"exclusionary forms of nationalism also make enemies of excluded groups.† In other words, one nation categorizes, segregates and disadvantages another. As a consequence, the excluded party harbors resentment toward the opposing group. Resentment begets tension-filled relations, which beget mistrust. The polarizing effect of the ‘us’ and ‘them’ construct leads inevitably to suspicion and in a competitive environment, to perceived inequalities. Inequalities result in the categorization of an oppressed and an oppressor, the victimized and the victimizer. At a particular point, one group arrives at a breaking point, demanding the redr ess of wrongs whether real or perceived and an equalizing of the playing field. (Fisher 1997) also recognizes that some â€Å"conflicts arise when identity groups perceive that they are oppressed and victimized through a denial of recognition, security, equity and political participation.† Imbalances of power stimulate one group to react or even retaliate – hence hostilities erupt. It was a wave of nationalism which provokes WWII in which the Aryan Germans attempt to purge Germany of ‘unwanted elements’ for the sake of the country. Similarly, in the case of Rwanda and other countries, ethnic cleansing or genocide take place because of inequality and a false sense of nationalism. Sorting out the Natural Cognitive Processes To arrive at conflict resolution, one must broach the theme of altering intergroup perceptions. This method is an individual-to-social strategy in which with a third party intervention, both groups can mutually exchange opinions and feelings. John Burton pioneers and implements a â€Å"casework approach,† a term used in social work to explain the methods implemented to solve an in individual or group problem. Controlled communication signifies a way to forge effective communication habits. Burton asserts that the source of conflict is miscommunication and the source of miscommunication is distorted worldviews or perceptions of the other. In practicing controlled communication, groups can share their prejudices and biases in a setting that diffuses anger and sets a more amicable tone for talks would help improve relations. Also, Leonard Doob advocates sensitivity training which progresses the transition from individual-level change to collective change. He puts forward that a s mall representative group ventilates their perceptions, opinions, and concerns to create awareness and better grasping of group processes. The sensitivity training workshop is similar to a psychological therapy conducted by a third party. Ideas and feelings are shared to increase interpersonal effectiveness. (Toft 2010) declares that giving voice to former combatants is a mechanism in conflict resolution to craft negotiation settlements in which â€Å"renewed violence can be averted.† This rule follows the sensitivity training theory which enhances sympathy and increases chances at understanding and positive change. In Sigmund Freud’s group processes theory, he posits that the group’s way of thinking is spawned directly from the individual’s. In Freud’s hydraulic model, the principle is that just as it is dangerous to suppress feelings for fear of compounding them for a more violent eruption, so at the social level, it is risky to continually inhibit ill-feeling by conflict resolution (Strachey 1966); instead, venting would help diffuse tensions and instead of internalizing the resentment, the person finds relief in expression. In his work â€Å"Give War a Chance† (Luttwak 1999) examines the effect of peacekeeping which only temporarily resolves the issue by satisfying parties. However, he advocates war as the means of reaching a more definitive and longer lasting conflict resolution. Complex Mirroring Complex mirroring within the group setting is a way in which the individual change scalps up to the group level change. In remedying traumatized individuals, the victims join themselves to a group and begin to mirror one another’s feelings and experiences. A critic notices that â€Å"by listening to one another’s individual presentation of personal experiences, participants gain a new perspective†¦by listening to the series of such descriptions, they gained the experience of universality† (Herman 1997). As a result, the individual-level change dynamic transmutes into the group-level change. As one witness the effect of trauma, the support group experiences secondary trauma as wounded members relate their experiences and seek emotional support. The incidence of secondary trauma gives rise to empowerment and awareness. Kathie Sarachild formulated the conscious-raising psychotherapy structures specifically for the individual but which could be used â€Å"to ef fect social rather than individual change† (Herman 1997). This method was implemented for rape-victims who were silenced by the violence and trauma inflicted by another. In the scope of social change, political violence is a grave injustice inflicted by one and visited upon the other. A remedial path is a sensitization rather than retaining the silence over the injury. As the public’s consciousness heightens, a cure has to be suggested and taken. The beneficial result is that â€Å"changes at the individual level were being linked with policy processes at the macro level† (Fisher 1997). Conflict Resolution Strengths and Weaknesses In conflict resolution, a strength of the individual to group model application is that groups comprise a conglomerate body in which individual mirroring gradually filters into the group’s ethics. The reasoning is that a group is comprised of individuals and since a group is made up of individuals, then a method aimed at effecting change in an individual can also be applied to the group. However, this method does not factor in the wide diversity of the individuals belonging to a group. One rigid rule utilized for one individual cannot work for a group because this view only facilitates the one-size-fits-all theory which is not socially viable.    References: Fisher, R.J. (1997). Interactive Conflict Resolution, Syracuse University Press, New York. Herman, J.L. (1997). Trauma and Recovery. Basic Books Publishers, New York. Anonymous. (1996). Human Rights in Peace Negotiations, Human Rights Quarterly,18(2), 249- 258. Luttwak, E. (1999).   Give War a Chance, Journal of Foreign Affairs, 78 (4), 36-44 . Accessed 14 December 2011. Strachey, J. (1966). The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, The Hogarth Press and the Institute of Psycho-Analysis, Vol. 22, Toft, M.D. (2010). Ending Civil Wars: A Case for Rebel Victory, Journal of International Security, 34 (2), 7-36. Paris, R. (2004). At War’s End: Building Peace after Civil Conflict. Cambridge University Press.

UML Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

UML Assignment - Essay Example This paper will give details of Use Case Diagrams, Use Cases, Sequence Diagram and Class diagram of Cement Mountain Ltd information system. Traditional information system projects were developed using the Systems Development Life Cycle (SLDC) or ‘Waterfall Model’ to manage and implement the system. Designed in the 1960s this methodology sees the process split into a series of distinct steps: Using the above ‘top-down’ process each step cannot commence until the preceding step has been completed and the findings passed down the chain, at each stage a review can take place to ensure that the requirements identified in the previous stage have been met. In recent years, this development process has come to be seen as too rigid, one of the major problems with this process is that the timescale involved from the project inception to the stage of implementation is far too long. Problems and delays at each stage of the process often result in late delivery of a system. However, a more serious problem is that because the development process is so long the final system produced can be out of date by the time it is released for use. As time passes, user requirements for a system may evolve as a company embraces new working process or technology, it is easy for these changes not to be incorporated into the system being developed and as a result, the completed system ma y not be fit for its intended purpose. To try and combat these problems new Iterative development processes have been adopted. This new iterative approach involves breaking the entire project into small ‘chunks’ based on functionality, rather than looking to deliver a complete solution one year after the project starts as the traditional waterfall process does, this iterative style will look to produce a working solution in a few months. This initial solution will not be a complete solution containing all required functionality

Sustainable Marketing Econ-Friendly Fashion Assignment

Sustainable Marketing Econ-Friendly Fashion - Assignment Example The paper "Sustainable Marketing Econ-Friendly Fashion" discovers the Sustainable Marketing in the Fashion Sector. Sustainable Marketing is a process which involves promoting products that are environmental friendly and safe at the retail level, which helps the company to reach its sustainability goals. Companies that follow sustainable marketing have a commitment to bring about sustainability in their production and supply chain processes also. This type of marketing also helps the companies to bridge the gap between the company’s profitability and its corporate social responsibility. The capital investment required in this type of marketing is huge, as the company has to spend a lot in the research and development of the product so that they have effect the environment in appositive way. For example, there is a company that wants to manufacture sustainable cosmetics. The company will use fewer chemicals and more of natural ingredients, for this the company will have to spend a lot on the innovation of the product. It will make the investment because the company thinks that the customers will buy the products because of its innovation and additional features. This will also help the company to enhance its brand image as they can portray to the stakeholder that they are a responsible company and they care for the society and also for the future generations. In this way, business analysts consider sustainable marketing to have a triple bottom line which means that the company’s success is evaluated.

Forensics with UNIX. Prepaid Cell Phones Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Forensics with UNIX. Prepaid Cell Phones - Essay Example One of the most common differences between the UNIX system and Microsoft Windows is the security characteristics in the system design. In most cases, organizations can be drawn into computer investigations even without their will. However, most digital investigations that involve the computer are not successful because of the mistakes that are made in an early stage. One of the most common predicaments is the destruction, compromising and ignoring of digital evidence. This can create a serious crisis within the victim organization (Perrin 2010). Therefore, this crisis is supposed to be managed appropriately in order to ensure a successful digital investigation. The executive individuals in a corporation are supposed to have the capability of devising a corporate plan in the organization. This corporate plan should cover various risks including management structures, resourcing, core procedures, risk analysis and management aims. According to this information, UNIX is a user-friendly system in digital investigation as compared to Microsoft Windows (Sommer 2012). The main difference in the design and the security level of Microsoft Windows and UNIX illustrates one of the crucial and distinct. As stated above, this difference is based on the philosophy of the security level in the design of the operating systems. ... Lastly, the evidence must also satisfy the conditions that are set up by the legal tests of acceptability performed on the systems. UNIX has become one of the well known system targets that have attracted digital investigation. References Perrin, C 2010, UNIX vs. Microsoft Windows: How system designs reflect security philosophy, viewed 4 Oct 2012, http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/security/unix-vs-microsoft-windows-how-system-designs-reflect-security-philosophy/4627 Sommer, P 2012, Digital evidence, digital investigations and E-disclosure: A guide to forensic readiness for organizations, security advisers and lawyers, viewed 4 Oct 2012, http://www.iaac.org.uk/_media/DigitalInvestigations2012.pdf Week 5 DQ2: prepaid cell phones Recent research proves that the cellular phones have become exceedingly valuable for the human beings. This device can be used by all age groups to assist them with their life styles. The mobile phones have also topped the chart in social interaction. A prepaid cell phone is defined as a mobile phone which uses credit that has already been purchased in advance for the use of the mobile services (Virgin Mobile 2012). In this case, the purchased credit caters for all the mobile phone services that are accessed by the handler of the phone. The users usually top up their credit through several techniques depending of the payment mechanisms. In the contemporary world, the prepaid cell phones are slowly evolving to a social event. This is because the device can be used for several purposes (Barit 2012). It is quite clear that the prepaid phones have a lower cost since; it is easier to control spending. However, the prepaid customers sometimes pay more for the mobile services depending on what they do with their phones.

Responsible Tourism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Responsible Tourism - Essay Example As a result, the situations is several destinations including Africa is characterized by deteriorating infra-structure, political and economic instability, increasing external control and weak backward and forward linkage with other economic sectors. Besides, tourism benefits do not filter down to poor communities (Booyens, 2010). With changes in consumer lifestyle and higher disposable incomes, more people desire to travel and experience pleasure. The World Travel Organization (WTO) predicts that by 2020 international arrivals would exceed 15 million (UNEP, 2005). Growth in tourism would take place across the world but it would be concentrated in the developing countries. In South Africa alone international arrivals are set to grow at an average of 5.5 per year. This can have profound impact on the local economies and the destination because human systems and the environment are strongly coupled and jointly determined systems. For sustainable development the social and the ecological systems cannot be analysed separately (Modvar & Gallopin, 2005). In fact, the perspectives and concerns of the major stakeholders need to be incorporated for an effective decision making. This is because there is a relationship between tourist behavior and their attitude towards the environment (Andereck, 2009). The purpose of this report is to evaluate the concepts of sustainable and responsible tourism, and the similarities and difference between these two concepts. Based on an understanding of responsible tourism, this report presents a responsible tourism strategy for Masai Mara game Reserve. The problems at Mara are identified and then objectives have been set followed by the strategy to achieve the SMART objectives. The concept of sustainability first came into discussions in1987 with the release of the Brundtland Commission’s â€Å"Our Common Future† sponsored by the UN

Research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 19

Research Paper Example They also serve to secure internet traffic. Just like a Wide Area Network, it connects multiple sites and servers over a long distance. The most important aspect of a virtual private network is its emphasis on privacy, because when a client computer connects to the internet through a VPN, its initial IP address is replaced by the one provided for by the VPN providers. For Example, a person’s physical location is Washington, but while using a virtual private network he appears to live in Brussels, this clearly shows that users obtain IP addresses from the area the VPN provides (Stewart 2011). In order to get access or connection into a virtual private network, one must have a username and password, mostly provided for by the service provider. On a computer, a VPN client is normally used, or you can access a special website, you enter your correct authentication details, then the computer exchanges information with the remote servers and once verification has taken place, connection happens and all the information and internet data is encrypted and secured from on lookers. Software developers have also developed applications for smart phones to also take advantages of accessing the internet safely through a VPN, by using certain protocols such as PPTP and L2TP/IPSec. Computers also uses PPTP VPN connections, OpenVPN and L2TP/IPSec protocols use an open source software known as OpenVPN client and authentication details configured into a certificate that you download and run on the client (Yuan & Strayer 2001). A virtual private network has many protocols of which can be utilized to secure the flow of information over a public network with the only difference between these protocols being how each keeps the data safe and secure (Geier 2014). IP Security protocol (IPSec), is one of the major protocols used to obtain a secure connection over the internet, it is a combination of many

Civil Society Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Civil Society - Research Paper Example Therefore a civil society includes: Keeping in view the above scenario, it can be asserted that the role of civil society is extremely important as it plays the role of an umpire that functions to judge the conditions or the society. The different segments of the society which include the market, the state and the households perform their roles in an independent fashion. The civil society is the connecting link between these segments and plays its role to harmonize the interactions that exist between various segments. The reaction of civil society to any undue happening in this interaction is manifested in the form of protest. Kant’s opinion is that there is no universal law that can govern the functioning of all civil societies. Therefore, the development of a law to govern the functioning of a civil society may only regulate the society’s interaction with external factors. According to Kant, if such a universal law and a universal civil society were to exist it would be equal to universal peace. Civil society has also been used typically to develop public reasoning and resistance to forward deliberation and thinking. This process leads to the political process of voting and hence determines individual choices. However, Habermas disagrees; he believes that such open discussion do not always produce optimistic and positive results and can sometimes lead to disruptive influences. He proposes to use control over such debates in public open spaces and freedom of expression should be limited to bringing the society to a good turn. Regulator: the civil society keeps tabs on the State and the marketplace and keeps them in check. It compares their relative performances, their performance worldwide and their performance in accordance with the prevalent laws and brings all the key points of the errors to check and balance. Activist: the element of change

Use data Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Use data - Essay Example When enough experimental results confirm a hypothesis, a well-tested explanation known as a theory is developed. The theory is further subjected to more well-designed experiments and if there is continued regularity in results, scientists may accept the theory as a law (Shipman, Wilson and Todd). Statistical science explores the relationships between different variables for purposes of establishing the nature of the relationship between various aspects of nature. Statistical science requires that once data is collected, it becomes organized in a way that will enable others to experience the data which has been collected. For this purpose it makes use of specific models and tools such as graphs and charts. Statistical science, thus, evaluates and interprets confidence intervals and significance tests (Diggle and Chetwynd). Physical sciences use the scientific method of study to prove or disprove a theorem whereas statistical science is based on quantitative variables which are subjected to mathematical theorem for analysis

The Ego, The Superego and The Id Essay Example for Free

The Ego, The Superego and The Id Essay The structure of the personality in psychoanalytic theory is threefold. Freud divided it into the id, the ego and the superego. Only the ego is visible, or on the surface one may say, while the id and the superego remain hidden, below the surface of what we show of our personalities to others, but each has its own effects on the personality nonetheless. This essay seeks to explore these three layers of personality and how they work with one another. In Freuds structural hypothesis, the id is generally recognised as the psychic representative of the drives. (Berger 1995 p.106) The id represents biological forces and is always present in the personality. The id is governed by the pleasure principle, or notion of hedonism (seeking of pleasure). Early in the development of his theory Freud saw sexual energy, or the libido or the life instinct, as the only source of energy for the id. It was this notion that gave rise to the popular conception that psychoanalysis is all about sex. Read more: Superego examples essay After the carnage of World War I, however, Freud felt it necessary to add another instinct, or source of energy to the id. So, he proposed Thanatos, the death instinct. Thanatos accounts for the instinctual violent urges of humankind. Obviously the rest of the personality would have somehow to deal with these two instincts. It is interesting to note how Hollywood has capitalised on the id; box office success is highly correlated with movies that stress sex, violence, or both. We can come nearer to the id with images, and call it chaos, a cauldron of  seething excitement. We suppose that it is somewhere in direct contact  with somatic processes, takes over from their instinctual needs and gives  them mental representation. These instincts fill it with energy, but it has  no organisation and no unified will, only an impulsion to obtain satisfaction  for the instinctual needs, in accordance with the pleasure principle. (Hinsie Campbell, 1970 cited in Berger 1995 p. 106) The id is a source of energy and should not be retained too much, but at the same time we must contain it, otherwise its force and desire for pleasure shall dominate our lives, inhibiting our life progress; our lives would be dominated by impulses. The id knows no values, no good or evil, no morality. The quantitative factor, which is so closely bound up with the pleasure principle, dominates all its processes. We view the id as containing instinctual cathexes seeking discharge. According to Freud, the id constitutes the total psychic apparatus of the newborn; the psychic later splits into three parts adding an ego and superego. Although this view that the psyche is all id at birth has been criticised, what is generally held is that the id precedes the development of the ego and the superego. The ego is thought to start functioning early in life, around the age of five or six months old and is concerned with the environment. This is because the ego is involved in making sure that the id secures its gratifications. (Berger 1995 p.106) After researching the ego, I, as I think many, found its concepts much more complicated than the id. I will try to simplify the central ideas of the ego, as often it helps to make a more precise and understandable picture in ones own mind. A primary function of the ego is to mediate between the id and the superego, trying to keep them in balance. The ego is the part of the psychic apparatus which is the mediator between the person and reality, (Hinsie Campbell 1970 cited in Berger 1995 p.107) not only this but it functions to perceive and adapt to reality. Tasks of the ego include such things as perception, motor control and the use of the reality principle. The ego seeks to influence the id and its tendencies by the external world. It also tries to substitute the reality principle for the pleasure principle, which rules unrestrictedly in the id. Ego represents the common sense and reason whilst the id contains passion. The functional importance of the ego to the id is well captured in an analogy used by Joan Riviere (1962), where it is like a man on horse back, who has to hold in check the superior strength of the horse, with the difference being that the rider tries to do so with his own strength, whilst the ego uses borrowed forces. The ego is in the habit of transforming the ids will into action as if it were its own. (Rieviere 1962 p.15) Speaking broadly, perceptions may have the same significance for the ego as instincts have for the id. At the same time the ego is subject to the influence of the instincts too. As shown by Freud in Civilisation and its discontents there are two classes of instincts; one is the sexual instincts known as Eros, and the second is the instinct of death. The death instinct would thus seem to express itself as an instinct of destruction directed against the external world and other organisms. Sadism and masochism are both manifestations of the destructive instinct. Masochism is a union between destructiveness directed inward and sexuality (Freud 1957). It is in sadism, where the death instinct twists the erotic aim in its own sense and at the same time satisfies the erotic urge. The instinct of destruction, moderated and and tamed, inhibited in its aim, must, when it is directed toward objects, provide the ego with the satisfaction of its vital needs and with control over nature. (Freud 19 57) The transformation of erotic libido into ego-libido of course involves an abandonment of sexual aims. This highlights an important function of the ego in its relation to Eros. Riviere (1962) explains that by getting hold of the libido from the object cathexes, setting itself up as a sole love-object, and converting the libido of the id, the ego is working in opposition to the purposes of Eros and placing itself at the service of the opposing instinctual impulses. It has to participate in some of the other object-cathexes of the id, so to speak. This implies an importance of the theory of narcissism. At the beginning, all of the libido is collected in the id. The id sends part of this libido out into erotic object-cathexes, where the ego, once grown stronger, tries to gain this object-libido and to force itself on the id as a love object. The narcissism of the ego is thus a secondary one, which has been withdrawn from objects. Usually, when one is able to trace instinctual impulses back, we find them to be derivatives of Eros. Some creatures die in the act, or after, copulation because after Eros has been eliminated through the process of satisfaction, the death instinct has a free hand for accomplishing its purposes. (Riviere 1960 p.37) Freud (1963) sees civilisation as based upon individuals learning to control their sexual urges and finding other ways of getting gratification.  But because sexual impulses are powerful, there is always a tension between them and the institutions in society. Civilisation, as Freud points out in Civilisation and its Discontents (1957), is the cause of many of our miseries: it forces us to give up uninhibited instinctual gratifications (in particular, genital satisfactions and aggressiveness), and it creates guilt. Life consists of the struggle of mankind between Eros and death, betw een instinct of life and instinct of destruction; this presents the meaning of the evolution of civilisation. Now we turn to explore the third structure, the superego. According to Freud, the superego is the agency in our psychs involved with conscience, morality and ideal aspirations. The superego consists of two parts, the conscience and the ego-ideal. The conscience is the familiar metaphor of angel and devil on each shoulder. The conscience decides what course of action one should take, what is right and what is wrong, and forces the ego to inhibit the id in pursuit of morally acceptable, not pleasurable or even realistic, goals. The ego ideal is an idealised view of ones self. Comparisons are made between the ego-ideal and ones actual behaviour. Both parts of the superego develop with experience with others or through social interactions. According to Freud, a strong superego serves to inhibit the biological instincts of the id, while a weak one gives into the ids urgings. The superego is part of a trio that controls our urges and desires. The id being the urge at its raw form, the ego filtering the urge (in a very complicated manner!) and the superego is the decider of whether or not the urge can be satisfied immediately or must be put aside for later. The superego is not created when we are born, rather we are born with the superego and it develops over the course of our life as new rules and regulations are brought to light. The superego is known as the seat of morality, part conscious and part unconscious. It is the part of us that induces guilt. In Civilisation and its Discontents, this question is posed, what means does civilisation employ in order to inhibit the aggressiveness which opposes it? To this, Freud explains that ones aggressiveness is internalised, it is sent back to where it came from, and it is directed toward ones own ego. There its taken over by a portion of  the ego, which sets itself over against the rest of the ego as superego, and which now, in the form of conscience, is ready to put into action against the ego the same harsh aggressiveness that the ego would have liked to satisfy upon other, extraneous individuals. The tension between the harsh superego and the ego is called the sense of guilt. Civilisation controls ones desire for aggression by setting up an agency (the superego) within a person to watch over it and control it. We can compare the superego to a personal watchdog, keeping us in line with the rules of society, sometimes these rules are broken and the superego lets us know by inducing in us a sense of guilt. When we do well, our superego makes us swell with pride and joy. Our superegos are shaped primarily by the superegos of our grandparents, as they shape our parents superegos, who then socialise us and give us our moral sensibilities. The severity of our superegos is not tied to how strict our parents were when raising us, but the way they have dealt with their Oedipus complexes and our  internalization of this process. Too complex to fully expand on now, I shall just say that the superego develops, according to psychoanalytic theory, out of our need to deny hostile wishes we have,  incestuous in nature, which may simply be described as our Oedipus complexes. I believe the words of David Stevenson (1966) give a clear and concise insight into the superego. While the ego may temporarily repress certain urges of the id in fear of  punishment, eventually these external sources of punishment are internalised,  and the child will not steal a chocolate, even unwatched, because he has taken  punishment, right, and wrong into himself. The superego uses guilt and self-reproach  as its primary means of enforcement for these rules. But if a person has done  something which is acceptable, he experiences pride and self-satisfaction. I have discussed the structural relationship within the mental personality, and although very complex, Freuds work on the ego, superego and id has continued to be greatly studied, respected and used to expend our fields of knowledge.

Factors That Lead Youth To Join Gangs Essay Example for Free

Factors That Lead Youth To Join Gangs Essay Youth violence in American society has escalated in an alarming rate. Violence in schools, spree killings, and risk taking behavior seem to have become more commonplace than a decade ago. Most social scientists have pointed out that youth violence is directly related to later criminal behavior, such that a child who has been exposed to violence early in life would seek violence or become involved in criminal activities. One of the most alarming social groups that perpetuate violence is street gangs, and the youth are generally drawn into these gangs. Gangs had existed since societies were formed and social norms and expectations were required of all members of society. Gangs were first formed as a social group espousing brotherhood and friendship, however, gangs evolved to become anti-social groups involved in crimes such as drug trafficking, selling and manufacturing, murder, assault, and riots. Since most gangs recruit adolescent members, it is important to understand what and why adolescents join gangs. This paper seeks to examine the factors that influence the youth’s decision to join gangs. Background of the Study The marked increase in youth violence and delinquency was observed two decades ago, at which point membership in gangs had also increased. Youth gangs were prevalent in large urban cities, but at its peak, it made its way even to smaller cities and the more rural areas across the country. Researchers had found a link between the rises of  youth gangs to youth violence because gang members have access to guns and other weapons as compared to delinquents. Another factor considered in the rise of gangs and violence is the increase in drug trade in the area or locality, it is expected that those who deal illegal drugs have guns, weapons, and have more tendency to commit violence. At present, the number of youth gangs in American society have continued to rise and gain more members. Youth gangs had existed even before American society had developed to what it is now, previously, youth gangs were organized in order to serve some social purpose, but with more tendencies for vandalism, fighting with other gangs and establishing their territories. Gangs had now become the epitome of what is anti-social behavior, thus, gangs are viewed as troublemakers, violent, illegal, unscrupulous, to be feared and woe to the parent who have lost a child to gangs. Many studies had been conducted to explore and understand the dynamics of gangs and gang membership, most had been able to identify the factors associated with gang membership and how gang members behave as well as their organizational structure. One thing is for sure, gangs are anything but simple, gangs have a complex organizational structure, and studying gangs have not been conclusive to date. Gangs had been difficult to study and understand especially that more people and even the youth know that gangs are negatively perceived in society and that it can be dangerous to join gangs. The difficulty lies in the lack of consensus among researchers and the public as to what is a gang and how it is different from other social groups. Loosely defined, youth gangs is an organization with a set of leaders and members that  are engaged in criminal acts, on the other hand, motorcycle gangs, prison gangs and hate gangs are more hard core, have more structure and hierarchy and are different from youth gangs. Moreover, gangs are more likely to be composed of males rather than females, but there has been a marked increase in the number of female gangs and female members. The relationship between membership in youth gangs and later criminal behavior had been espoused by a number of researchers and studies. Thus, it would follow that gang membership may predict violent behavior and criminal behavior. At this point, understanding why adolescents want to join youth gangs would help police, parents, schools and the public to make better decisions and provide programs that would keep the youth from joining gangs. This study hopes to explore and understand the factors that influence the youth’s decision to become a member of a youth gang. Problem Statement This study seeks to explore and understand the factors that contribute to the adolescent’s desire to join a gang. It is a reality that being a member of a youth gang is risky and disadvantageous in the sense that one is more likely to engage in criminal behavior, more likely to be involved in illegal activities and more likely to be caught and imprisoned. Nevertheless, youth gangs still enjoy the popularity and social status that they have in our society. More and more teenagers become gang members wherein they learn anti-social behaviors that only place them at risk. Due to the presence of youth gangs and the increasing membership of the said gangs, there has been a marked increase in violent crimes and criminal acts in almost all  cities in the country. This social problem have contributed to the increase in the number of convicted juvenile delinquents, the increase in high school drop out rates and even the violence that occurs in our schools. If the youth focus only on what is essential, and that is to go to school, learn the skills that would help them become productive members of society and to serve as examples for the younger generation, then our society would be in a better position than it is now. If the youth today stay away from gangs, ultimately, gangs would die and end its existence because there are no members to sustain it. By studying the factors that lead teenagers to join gangs, we would be in a better position to provide programs and information that would keep them from joining gangs; hence, we would have a better society, a more positive, creative, and promising youth and less crimes, delinquency and violence. This study specifically aims to answer the research question â€Å"What factors lead the youth to seek membership in gangs?† In order to answer the main research question, the study also seeks to determine the following: Who is the typical gang member? What are his/her personal characteristics, educational attainment, and interests? When and how does a person become a gang member? What factors predispose the youth to join gangs? What factors influence the youth to join gangs? Purpose and Objectives of the Study This study seeks to explore and determine the factors that lead the youth to join gangs. At the outset, this study is not one-dimensional; it takes into account that there  could be a myriad of factors that engage the youth to become gang members. Thus, this study was designed to provide answers to the following questions: Who is the typical gang member? What are his/her personal characteristics, educational attainment, and interests? When and how does a person become a gang member? What factors predispose the youth to join gangs? What factors influence the youth to join gangs? Just as some people are drawn to gangs, there are also those who do not want to become a member of any gang, thus in order to sufficiently answer the main research question, it is also important that the personal characteristics of the gang member should be examined. By knowing the personal characteristics, educational attainment and interest of the gang members, we would be able to identify who among the youth are drawn to gangs and thus, we could provide interventions or prevention strategies targeted at the said persons to keep them from joining gangs. Knowing what goes on in gangs and how individuals are recruited and the process in which members are accepted into gangs will provide answers to the question of what is in gangs that make them attractive to the youth of today. Understanding what attracts them to join gangs also enables us to provide a more specific intervention strategy or campaign that would help individuals become prey to gangs. The term predispose means the propensity or likelihood of joining gangs, in this question, it is desired that the family set-up, academic performance, social skills and needs of the youth are examined and whether this contributes to the decision to join  groups. This question can be answered by individuals who have not yet officially joined any gang but desires to become part of a gang, as such we would be able to identify what mitigating factors increase the likelihood of joining gangs. The last question is designed to identify the factors that lead the youth to join gangs. As such, the individuals are asked to specify the factors whether it be personal social, educational, economic or psychological that have influenced their decision to join gangs. This question can be adequately answered by individuals who are already gang members.

Impact Of SMEs On Economic Development

Impact Of SMEs On Economic Development CHAPTER 4 Small businesses contribute substantially to two fundamentals of poverty reduction job creation and economic growth (The World Bank Group). In the previous chapter we examined a complete picture of MA in the theory of banking and at offering economic evaluation and strategic analyses of the process, also high lighting the performance of commercial banks in post consolidation period in Nigeria. It then viewed the benefits, consequences and limitations of MA and concluded with recent estimates of the effects of bank consolidation on Small Business Lending. In this chapter we shall be looking at the roles of SMEs, its benefits and impacts on the economic development. We shall also be looking at how SME get funded and the main sources of cash. Finally we will compare this credit availability to SMEs before consolidation and after consolidation in the Nigerian banking sector 4.0 Introduction Small enterprises are the seeds of the private sector, and also the source of innovation and diversification. They supply larger companies and develop their own activities and product lines. When they grow, they provide employment and tax revenues. Small and medium-sized enterprises can be the motors of economic growth. In most African countries, however, the business environment is not conducive to enterprise development ( Bercy, 2005 ). Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) are important for successful economic growth and social development. SMEs, properly supported, foster Entrepreneurship a proven pre-requisite for national economic success. Public and private policy support of SMEs is most effective when SMEs are part of the formal sector. One key objective therefore is to encourage migration of SMEs from informal to formal sector (Oyekanmi, 2006) Nigerian SMEs in informal sector are beyond the reach/help of public or private policy Policies do not provide sufficient support Difficult access to finance To use SMEs to stimulate economic growth and encourage businesses requires SMEs to move from informal sector to formal sector. 4.1 Definition of SMEs SME is an acronym for small and medium enterprise. It is a term that is used in a different way in different country and used differently even within the same industries. In the United States for instant SMEs can be used to express firms from small office home office to even large company. In Europe SMEs is used to refer to a business firm or company that has fifty to two hundred and fifty employees with an annual turnover of seven to forty million euro. Yet these SMEs must have a total asset less than twenty-seven million euro. In Canada, the industry uses the term SMEs as a reference to any company that has less than five hundred employees while categorizing company with employees above this number as large business. The definition of SMEs is country specific which is measured on size and level of development. In Nigeria SMEs are the moral fibres of the economy, a large percentage of businesses in Nigeria employ less than one hundred employees (Oyekunmi, 2006). This segment provides fifty percent of employment and fifty percent of the total industrial output. This can be said that most of the developing nations, its private economy comprises totally of SMEs and seen as the only reasonable employment opportunity for communities ( Oyekunmi, 2006) 4.2 Impact of SMEs on Economic Development Nowadays, the importance of SMEs has been recognised worldwide and their immense involvement to economic growth, community organisation, employment, catalysts of growth, innovation and skills and development. SMEs account for over 95% of enterprise and 60%-70% of employment, and generate a large share of new jobs in Organisation for economic Co-operation and development economies. (OECD Africa). Since the dawn of industrial changes and globalisation the importance and contribution of small firms is enhance as the economies of scale reduces. Nevertheless a lot of the conventional problems SMEs faces have also become more acute in this global environment. Such problems as lack of funding or credit availability, problems in utilization of technology, constrained managerial capabilities, regulatory weight down and low yield. Since every economy stands to gain from SMEs precise strength and weakness, policy framework and the role of government must evolve for these enterprises to flourish , adapt to new demands and strains and to reap the benefit of globalisation. For this reason encouraging entrepreneurship is high on the agenda of governments in OECD member countries, developed and developing economies. The importance of entrepreneurship stands out in this time of innovative change, and fostering a climate to help the dynamism in firm creation is considered fundamental worldwide.( OECD African Economic Outlook ,2009) 4.3 Role of SMEs to Economy Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) occupy a place of pride in virtually every country or state. Because of their significant roles in the development and growth of various economies, they have been referred to as the engine of growth and the vehicle for socio- economic change of any country. SMEs are seen as an authentic medium for the realization of national economic objectives of poverty alleviation and employment generation at low investment cost. Another benefit of SMEs includes access to the infrastructural facilities made available by the very existence on these enterprises. Also the spur of economic activities through supplies of items produced, distribution process stemming from rural to urban centre, enhances the standard of living of the employees and their families as well as those who directly and indirectly related with them ( Onuorah, 2010). The benefits of SMEs are innumerable and cannot be exaggerated. These benefits are summarized below. Economy contribution in the provision of outputs in form of goods and services. Generation of employment involves creation of jobs at relatively low capital cost. And the employment opportunities provided reduces village to city (rural-urban) migration and allows for even development Utilization of local resources: This promotes the use of local raw materials requiring simple technology SMEs help to reduce income disparity by developing a group of both skilled and semi-skilled workers as a basis for expansion Income generation: SMEs constitute major avenues for income generation and participation in economic activities in the lower income and rural brackets of developing societies especially in agriculture, trading and services. Stiglitz and Weis (1981) observe that small and medium scale firms with opportunities to invest in positive net present value projects may be blocked from doing so because of adverse selection and moral hazard problems. This selection problem occurs when providers of funds cannot validate the firms access to quality projects. While the hazard problems is related with the possibility of SMEs diverting funds to alternative projects or taking more risks than they can afford to. (Ogujiuba, Ohuche, Adenuga, 2004). Since SMEs ordinarily do not have access to public funds through the capital market, they obviously have to depend on banks for funding. The reliance on banks makes them even more vulnerable for the simple reason that crisis in the financial system can have a great impact to credit supply to SMEs, thus, SMEs are subject to funding problems in equilibrium and these problems are worsening during periods of financial instability. Berger and Udell (2001) further note that shocks to the economic environment in which both banks and SMEs exist can significantly affect the willingness and capability of banks to lend to small and medium scale firms. Government worldwide have realised the importance of SMEs and have encouraged them by originating and creating policies that are favourable to encourage, support and make funding accessible. To encourage the developments in small and medium enterprise are a plus as the role SMEs plays in economic development. (Oladele, 2009). 4.4 SMEs Promotion in Nigerian The Nigerian government has supported the SMEs development programs since its independence, yet very few of which have yielded impressive results. Now the challenge is to recognise the factors that influence their performance and development as well as the implications of these factors for policy. Ever since the attainment of independence in Nigeria, every known regime recognizes the importance of promoting SMEs as the basis of economic growth. As a result, several micro lending institutions were established to enhance the development of SMEs. Unfortunately, records indicate that the performance of SMEs in Nigeria has not justified the establishment of this overabundance of micro-credit institutions. Odedokun (1981) notes that in spite of the quantum of credit made available to the SME manufacturing sector; the contribution of the index of manufacturing to GDP was only 7 percent between 1970 and 1979. Source: CBN Annual Report, 2008 The major credit programs and specialized credit delivery institutions implemented to promote SMEs in Nigeria between the year 1971 to 1997 includes: The small scale industries 1971, agricultural credit guarantee scheme (ACGSF)of 1973, the Nigerian Agricultural and Co-operative Bank of 1973, the Nigerian bank for Commerce and Industry of 1973, the small and medium scale enterprises loan scheme 1 2 of 1992, National Economic Reconstruction Fund of 1994 and The Family Economic Advancement Program of 1997.( Oyekunmi, 2006). Others includes micro credit institutions include the Nigerian Bank for Commerce and Industry (NBCI), National Economic Reconstruction Fund (Nerfund), the Peoples Bank of Nigeria (PBN), the Community Banks (CB), and the Nigerian Export and Import Bank (NEXIM), and the liberalization of the banking sector. (Ogujiuba, Ohuche, Adenuga, 2004). In addition there has been an entrepreneurship development centres in three zones since 2008, which is has trained nine thousand people and is expected to create about five hundred and twenty-five thousand jobs in three to five years. Most of these programmes failed due to poor administration in loan processing and credit procedure, poor monitoring techniques and the abuse of the scheme attributed to corruption (Oyekunmi, 2006). CBN initiated together with the Bankers Committee In 1999, an interventionist strategy called the Small and Medium Industries Equity Investment Scheme (SMIEIS). This scheme requires banks to set aside 10 percent of their profit before tax to fund SMEs in an equity participation framework. (Ogujiuba, 2004). SMIEIS requires all banks in Nigeria to set aside 10% of their PBT for equity investment in SMEs (revised to 5% from end 2006) ( Oyekunmi, 2006) According to Mambula (1997), since its independence, the small business development programs have generally yielded poor results, despite the immense amount of money invested by the Nigerian government. But this can be associated to the fact that these funds hardly reached the SMEs business because funds got lost to bureaucratic bottle neck and end up in accounts of public office holders. It has however been worrisome that despite the incentives, policies, programmes and support aimed at revamping the SMEs, they have performed rather below expectation in Nigeria. 4.5 Funding opportunity for SMEs To assist SME development, priority should be given to financial reforms and appropriate financing. Effective financing of SMEs should include regulatory reform the creation of a friendly business environment for doing business, the extension of guarantees to local banks to entice them to lend in local currency (e.g. USAID Development Credit Program), tax incentives for rewarding companies that agree to have their financial statements audited, the creation of equity funds suitable for SMEs, financial incentives for partnerships, etc. (Bercy, 2005). SMEs being very unique and important and because of their relative small size can be negatively affected by changes in the financial institution especially banks during crisis period. The credit availability to SMEs is very important and significant not only from a theoretical point of view but also for policy purposes. In many countries different innovation have enthused extensive restructuring in the financial sector. Commercial banks have engaged in mergers and acquisitions, which has lead to the vanishing of many small credit institutions and appearance of complex financial conglomerates. Merger has open previously isolated markets due to the lifting of geographical barriers hence reducing market segmentation. SMEs can be funded in two major ways; internal finance, concerned with getting money from personal savings and from friends and relatives and external finance when the company grows and begins to expand. External financing is sourced from most financial institutions. There are two notable variants of external finance and these include debt financing and equity financing. Dept financing engages interest bearing instruments and are secured by asset collateral and have term structured into it. This can be long termed or short termed. Examples of dept finance include loans, overdrafts, leasing and hire purchase arrangement and letters of credit. Equity financing allows the banker or investor the right of ownership in the business. This as such may not require collateral since the equity participant will be part of the management of the business. ( Ogujiuba et all, 2004). We have seen the two approaches to overcome financial gap to SMEs. This approach has been further encouraged by two approaches. The first has been to broaden the collateral based approach by encouraging bank lenders to finance SMEs with insufficient collateral. The second approach is to broaden the viability based approach since its concerned with the business itself and the aim has been to provide an increase return in the general business, create a favourable environment and reduce risk. Viability based financing is especially associated with venture capital. This often entails a detailed review and assistance with the business plan. A common aim or feature of the viability based approach is the provision of appropriate finance that is tailored to the cash flows of the SME. (Berger and Udell, 2005). Levy in 1993 reported that smaller enterprises have limited access to financial resources compare to larger organisations and he discussed the impact of his findings in economic growth. SMEs funding is supplied through the business financial market in the following Retained Profit The Financial Market The use of banks. Government monetary policy 4.5.1 Retained Profit In the course of running a business profits are made, when these profits are kept for future use to expand the business it is referred to as retained profit. This profit is there for use to help buy new machinery, vehicle, computer etc to improve the business and keeps it going. On the other hand the retain earnings can be used to expand the business by diversification. And it can also be kept for a rainy day. 4.5.2 Financial Market The financial Market is a system that allows buying and selling of financial securities and instruments. It is a centre where bonds and stock are traded, and allows people to buy or sell commodities such as precious metals or agricultural good and other items of value at low transaction costs. Both general markets (where many commodities are traded) and specialized markets (where only one commodity is traded) exist. In finance, financial markets facilitate: The raising of capital (in the capital markets) The transfer of risk (in the derivatives markets) International trade (in the currency markets) The financial market matches those who want to buy with those who want to see. Money market is one component of the financial market for asset involved in short term borrowing and lending usually not exceeding one year. Trades in the money market involve T-bills, Commercial Papers (CP), bankers acceptance, Certificate of Deposits (CD) and both mortgage and asset backed securities. 4.5.3 Banks The systems of banking in Africa are not properly adapted to lending to SMEs with some exceptions. This makes financing a more difficult approach, hence making financing more flexible would be a welcoming help (Bercy, 2005). All over the world the importance of promoting SMEs as a channel of growth and industrialization has been recognized. One of the vital roles of the banks is to devise a way to creating loan package and providing loans to small business that are otherwise not properly informed. (Berger, Klapper and Udell 2001). Conversely credit provision to small borrowers may be affected by a number of factors. Bank consolidation is one of the major factor affecting credit to small borrowers. The creation of mega bank suggests that large institution devote less of their asset proportion to lending to small business than smaller less complex institution. ( Emeni and Okafor, 2008) .These mega banks may be oriented towards transaction lending and providing capital markets services to large corporate clients. These institutions often have their headquarters in business metropolis far away city centre that are a great distant from small borrower. Ogujiuba, Ohuche and Adenuga, 2004) Banks in Nigeria although reported to being highly liquid and wanting to make loans available, they are usually put off by the uncertain nature of SMEs. And since these banks do not provide the necessary funds required to start a business, run the business and keeps it going, SMEs tend to rely on personal assets for their working capital. This reliance on personal funds makes it very difficult to operate at optimum capacity, increase output and make sales. It also limits investment to develop, expand operation or even improve technology. This risk on bank not lending is attributed to lack of information on SMEs true situation in terms of finance and their performance ability to repay loans both principal and interest. And since the judicial system is not reliable, banks cannot enforce contracts, hence making business environment generally risk prone and uncertain.(Ogujiuba, Ohuche and Adenuga, 2004) The table below show the proportion of loans given to SMEs by commercial banks. It gives a brief summary for six years from 2000- 2005 of the ratio of loans given to SMEs to the total credit available to commercial banks in Nigeria. From this table it can be deduce that percentage of loans made available to SMEs is very low and over the years it reduces even more to a more trivial proportion. Table 4.1 Ratio of Loans to SMEs to Commercial Banks Total Credit YEAR Loan to SMEs (=N=M) Commercial Bank Total Credit (=N=M) Ratio of Loan to Total Credit (%) 2000 44,542.3 508,302.2 9.7 2001 52,428.4 796,164.8 6.6 2002 82,368.4 954,628.8 8.6 2003 90,176.5 1,210,033.1 7.5 2004 54,981.2 1,519,242.7 3.6 2005 50,672.6 1,899,346.4 2.7 Source: Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin Volume 16, 2005 4.5.4 Government policy (New Monetary Policy) The Nigeria Government in a bid to encourage small and medium scale enterprises has introduced several monetary policies. This has been mentioned in the previous chapters. The success of this strategy is based on its proper implementation, co-ordination and supervision. These monetary policies includes: The Small and Medium Enterprise Equity Investment Scheme (SMEEIS), the Small and Medium Enterprises Credit Guarantee Scheme (SMECGS) and the Microfinance Banks and Micro Credit Fund. 4.5.4.1 Small and Medium Enterprises Equity Investment Scheme (SMEEIS) The Small and Medium Enterprises Equity Investment Scheme is a voluntary initiative of the Bankers Committee in agreement with CBN, approved IN 1999. It was aimed at mitigating the risk-averse behaviour of banks. The scheme was a responds by the federal government to the promotion of small and medium enterprises as a tool of industrialization, poverty alleviation and job creation or employments. This scheme required all commercial banks in Nigeria to set aside annually ten percent of their profit before tax (PBT) for promotion of small and medium enterprises and equity investments. This was the banks own contribution in responds to the federal governments efforts in economic growth. This takes care of the burden of all financial charges such interest under normal bank lending. In addition the scheme provides financial, advisory, technical and managerial support from the banking industry. ( Soludo, 2005). Activities approved for funding under the scheme includes manufacturing, constru ction, Information technology, education, tourism and services. The funds set aside by banks under the scheme increased from N13.1 billion in 2002 to N41.4 billion in 2005. However, actual investments grew much slower from N2.2 billion in 2002 to N12.1 billion in 2005, representing only 29.1 per cent of the funds set aside. This further increased to N21billion in 2007 representing a further 21.5 per cent of funds set aside. (CBN Statistical Bulletin, 2008) Figure 4.2 Banks Investment in SMEs through SMEEIS Source: CBN Statistical Bulletin, 2008 Table 4.1 SME Reserve for Small and Medium Scale Industry of Top Five Commercial Banks in Nigeria. (NM) Zenith First Bank UBA Union Bank Intercontinental 2009 3,729,204 11,193,000 2008 3,729,204 9,439,000 2,635,000 3,868,498 2007 3,729,204 7,916,000 2,635,000 5,537,000 3,868,498 2006 3,729,204 6,998,000 2,635,000 4,931,000 2,387,122 2005 2,580,324 1,379,000 2,050,000 4,429,000 1,527,532 2004 1,224,242 1,379,000 1,426,000 3,491,000 856,935 2003 1,224,242 1,379,000 865,000 2,280,000 856,935 Source: Annual Reports of the Various Banks Various studies have pointed out that inadequate data on SMEs business activities and the vague scope of economic activities are some of the major issues constraining disbursement of funds under the scheme. Two very important policy actions were than taken by the Bankers Committee in 2005, to restructure the scheme so it could take proper effect. The first policy action was to implement the funding of all business activities with the exception of general commerce and financial services under this scheme. It was restructured to contain and provide for non-industrial enterprises so that other sectors of the economy such as agriculture, housing, transport and utilities can be funded under this scheme. The name of the scheme was, therefore, changed to Small and Medium Enterprises Equity Investment Scheme (SMEEIS), to reflect the expanded focus. The Bankers Committee also embarked setting the guidelines for the management of withdrawn un-invested funds during the year. The second policy a ction was to set the limit of banks equity investment in a single enterprise. This was increased from N200 million to N500 million, thus accommodating the real medium sized industries that constitute the missing middle in Nigerias industrial structure. These two policies had an instantaneous impact on the scheme as investment rose by 29.4 per cent in 2005 to N12.1 billion. The cumulative amount set aside by the banks at end- December 2005 stood at N41.4 billion, compared with N28.8 billion at the end of the preceding year 2004. The final benefit of this policy is expected to manifest fully from 2006, following the success on bank consolidation exercise in 2005. (CBN Annual Report, 2005). 4.5.4.2 Small and Medium Enterprises Credit Guarantee Scheme (SMECGS) CBN established the Small and Medium Enterprises Credit Guarantee Scheme (SMECGS). This scheme was set up in a bid to ease the rigid nature of the credit market in Nigeria, to also augment credit to the real sector and complement its 500 billion Naira Power/Manufacturing facility; the Management of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) approved the establishment of a N200 billion Small and Medium Enterprises Credit Guarantee Scheme (SMECGS), to promoting access to credit to manufacturers and SMEs in Nigeria. It is funded one percent and managed by CBN. The aim ideas behind this scheme is to fast track the development of SMEs and the manufacturing sectors in Nigeria as a whole by providing guarantees, creating an atmosphere favourable for industrialization, increasing the accessibility of credit and generate employment. ( Soludo, 2006) 4.5.4.3 Microfinance Banks and Micro Credit Fund The Microfinance Policy Regulatory and Supervisory framework was a major policy initiative of the Bank in 2005 after consolidation of banks. Microfinance Banks and Micro Credit Fund was a replacement to community banks with a deadline to microfinance bank latest December 2007. The policy, among others, addresses the problem of lack of access to credit by entrepreneurs who do not have access to regular banks; strengthens the weak capacity of such entrepreneurs, and raises the capital base of microfinance institutions. The key elements of this framework was to set aside not less than one percent of the annual budget by state governments and local government for on lending through the microfinance banks, in addition to endorse and authorise the management of microfinance banks, establishment of the micro credit funds and introduce deposit insurance for micro finance banks to protect depositors funds. Problems associated with Credit availability for SMEs According to Cork and Nisxon, (2000) poor management and accounting practices have hampered the ability of smaller enterprises to raise finance. Owning to the nature of small business and the personal lifestyle of individual owners, goes a long way to affect operations and sustainability of the business. As a consequence of the ownership structure, some of these businesses are unstable and may not guarantee returns in the long run. However, there is reason to hope because according to Liedholm et al. (1994), a large number of small enterprises fail because of non-financial reasons. Remmers et al. (1974) reported the debt/total assets ratio to be independent of firm size while Peterson and Schulman (1987) reported that debt/total assets ratio to first rise and then fall with size of firm. Whatever sides you choose to take, the granting of loans to SMEs depends solely on the decision of the loan granting institution. And this choice is also depended on size of the balance sheet of the SMEs. The general problems associated with credit availability for SMEs everywhere is summarized below. Bad Credit History An adverse borrowing history of SMEs particularly if it is involving a sister organization will discourage the lender. The logical presumption is that if you do not have a good credit history then that is indicative of a personality pattern which means that in the future you will face the same problems as you are trying to clear you refinancing initiative. The bank is then well advised to stay away from you or at the very most offer you some very stringent terms for borrowing. Poor business plans Most SMEs applying for loans do not present convincing feasibility studies or attractive business plans. They are therefore regarded as high-risk ventures. Lack of Collateral Thirdly, even those SMEs with business plans not backed by adequate collateral. The lack of adequate collateral would be unacceptable risk for the lender. As banks cannot afford to take any chances of non-repayment of loans, they insist on these collateral requirements being met. In as much as they have nothing to fall back on should you default on your loan repayment obligations? Good financial management requires that they do not accept a refinancing initiative until they are sure that you are more than capable of covering the full loan if circumstances demand it. Collateral is the final reserve to meet this criteria and if it is missing, then the decision is likely to be negative. The impact of regulatory and monetary factors on bank loan The result is that monetary policy effects on bank lending depend on the capital adequacy of the banking sector; lending by banks with low capital has a delayed and then amplified reaction to interest rate shocks, relative to well-capitalized banks. Other implications are that bank capital affects lending even when the regulatory constraint is not momentarily binding, and that shocks to bank profits, such as loan defaults, can have a persistent impact on lending. Financial crisis Again bank financial distresses may also be an important determinant of credit availability during periods of credit crunch and accompanying financial crises. However, there are very few small firms that will satisfy the rigorous condition set by the traditional feasibility appraisal model, which is often designed for both small and big firms. While some aspects of the criteria of the feasibility model are met by some small firms, others are not met at all, therefore for banks to lend , they need to develop lending rules that accommodate the peculiar characteristics both for the SMEs and their owners. Other reasons In addition, many SMEs do not hold deposit accounts in the formal banking sector, which the banks require from loan applicants. Another reason SMEs were not given any concessions in terms of loan conditions was that in Nigeria no law exists to protect bankers against default. Yet another reason banks resist loans to SMEs is the unwillingness of owner/managers to acquire formal training. Such training is useful in providing added expertise and competence in a chosen field of business and in improving chances of obtaining loans.( Mambula, 2002) THE END .

Essay examples --

Scientists have been successful in the areas of cloning before, but a breakthrough in 2013 is helping the area of stem cell usage. There is much controversy over the use of stem cells, but this new technology may help lessen that. Using a technique called â€Å"somatic cell nuclear transfer,† researchers cloned a human embryo. Within an embryo are embryonic stem cells, which are unique because of their never-ending list of uses. Stem cells are a crucial part of many new medical research projects because they can be manipulated into producing any type of bodily cell, including more stem cells. With the use of stem cells, scientists may be able to produce organs, create vaccines, and possibly find cures for many diseases. Cloning has been a goal of scientists and researchers for decades. In 1996, the first mammal was successfully cloned: a sheep named Dolly. Then, in 2007, researchers at the Oregon National Primate Research Center cloned the embryos of primates. The goal of embryonic cloning is to extract embryonic stem cells, which are desirable because of their wide variety of uses in research. Embryonic stem cells are rare because they are found only in a four or five day-old embryo. In 2013, researchers achieved an astonishing breakthrough by cloning a human embryo and thus, were able to extract embryonic stem cells. This breakthrough is crucial to the development of stem cell research, since it is a way for stem cells to be used without harming a living human embryo. While there are other alternatives to retrieve stem cells, including the reprogramming of an adult stem cell to create an induced pluripotent stem cell, such technologies have not yet been perfected. In May of 2013, an 8-month-old baby with a genetic disease was brou... ...oping stages, there are no major vendors or customers. In the future, once laboratories perfect treatments using stem cells, they will be the vendors to the hospitals hoping to use those technologies to treat patients and save lives. I believe the use of stem cells will have a positive impact on our society. We are always looking for ways to cure any diseases that affect our everyday lives, from cancer to diabetes. With the use of stem cells, we could see a cure for these diseases in the future and millions will benefit. The cloning of embryos to extract embryonic stem cells is an amazing breakthrough for scientists worldwide. The possibilities for stem cell use are endless and cloning is a new way to achieve them. Potential problems may include further ethics debates and a possible shortage of donor eggs, but I believe scientists will overcome these obstacles.

Truman Capotes In Cold Blood: A Nonfiction Murder Mystery :: In Cold Blood Essays

In Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, the author uses a style of writing combining factual, journalistic writing with the mystery and intrigue normally found in traditional fiction novels to develop a new genre that critics found unique from the modernists of his time. In the beginning of this book, the murders and victims seem unrelated, but as the book moves ahead, the relationship becomes clear. The victims, who are the Clutter family of four, are the typical all-American family. The family is murdered in their own home by two ex-convicts named Dick and Perry. The murder takes place in Holcomb, Kansas, but Dick and Perry travel around the U.S. and Mexico cashing bad checks until they are finally caught in Las Vegas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Capote’s general style revolves around a family and home destroyed within a context of hidden corruption, alienation, and loneliness (Kazin). His sympathy and compassion towards his characters shows how involved he is in his subjects.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Capote’s writing style in the book In Cold Blood is very straightforward. He writes from an omniscient point of view. In preparing to write In Cold Blood, Mr. Capote lived in the town for five years. In the course of that time, he interviewed everyone including the two murders Dick and Perry. H had taken over 6,000 pages of notes. Each scene in the book is climatic like a movie (Kazin). They go back and forth the investigation in Kansas to the adventures of the murders. The writing and scenes are visual (Kazin).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Truman Capote’s writing falls into the modernism period. The Clutter family represents the ideal American family. The father is a successful farmer and a prominent figure in the town. The daughter is the all-American girl â€Å"†¦be a straight-A student, the president of her class, a leader in the 4-H program and the Young Methodists League, a skilled rider, an excellent musician (piano, clarinet), an annual winner at the county fair (pastry, preserves, needlework, flower arrangement)†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (18). Capote is also experimental with his formatting of the book by cutting from scene to scene to make the reader feel as if they are reading two stories at the same time. That reinforces the thought and fact that the two things are happening at the same time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This book can be considered both journalism and novelism (Langbaum). Truman Capote's In Cold Blood: A Nonfiction Murder Mystery :: In Cold Blood Essays In Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, the author uses a style of writing combining factual, journalistic writing with the mystery and intrigue normally found in traditional fiction novels to develop a new genre that critics found unique from the modernists of his time. In the beginning of this book, the murders and victims seem unrelated, but as the book moves ahead, the relationship becomes clear. The victims, who are the Clutter family of four, are the typical all-American family. The family is murdered in their own home by two ex-convicts named Dick and Perry. The murder takes place in Holcomb, Kansas, but Dick and Perry travel around the U.S. and Mexico cashing bad checks until they are finally caught in Las Vegas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Capote’s general style revolves around a family and home destroyed within a context of hidden corruption, alienation, and loneliness (Kazin). His sympathy and compassion towards his characters shows how involved he is in his subjects.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Capote’s writing style in the book In Cold Blood is very straightforward. He writes from an omniscient point of view. In preparing to write In Cold Blood, Mr. Capote lived in the town for five years. In the course of that time, he interviewed everyone including the two murders Dick and Perry. H had taken over 6,000 pages of notes. Each scene in the book is climatic like a movie (Kazin). They go back and forth the investigation in Kansas to the adventures of the murders. The writing and scenes are visual (Kazin).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Truman Capote’s writing falls into the modernism period. The Clutter family represents the ideal American family. The father is a successful farmer and a prominent figure in the town. The daughter is the all-American girl â€Å"†¦be a straight-A student, the president of her class, a leader in the 4-H program and the Young Methodists League, a skilled rider, an excellent musician (piano, clarinet), an annual winner at the county fair (pastry, preserves, needlework, flower arrangement)†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (18). Capote is also experimental with his formatting of the book by cutting from scene to scene to make the reader feel as if they are reading two stories at the same time. That reinforces the thought and fact that the two things are happening at the same time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This book can be considered both journalism and novelism (Langbaum).

Leading and Managing Change :: Organizational Development, Planned Change

Organisational development is both a professional field of social action and an area of scientific inquiry†. (Cummings and Worley, 2009, p.1). Organisational development does not have common definition; however, it has more than one definition that expresses the meaning of organisational development and change. Organisational development can be best described as a â€Å"system wide process of data collection, diagnosis, action planning, intervention, and evaluation aimed at enhancing congruence among organisational structure, process, strategy, people, and culture; developing new and creative organisational solution; and developing the organisation’s self-renewing capacity.† (Beer as cited in Cummings and Worley, 2009, p.2). It occurs through the cooperation of organisational members working with a change agent using behavioural science theory, research, and technology (Beer as cited in Cummings and Worley, 2009, p.2). Organisational development and change managem ent deal with the effective implementation of planned change (Cummings and Worley, 2009, p.3). The two terms deal with the leadership issues and the change process (Cummings and Worley, 2009, p.3). Change is very critical process for every organisation and it is a characteristic of organisational development. Change is moving from one state to another; it is the inevitable aspect of life and the essence of any organisation (sharma,2007,p.1);it is the only constant and is moving target as change pace became so rapid so it needs effective management and leadership to be successfully implemented (Cummings and Worley, 2009, p.27). Change Management: Management and change are interrelated. It is impossible to undertake a journey without addressing its purpose (Paton and Mccalman, 2008, p.3). â€Å"Managing change is about handling the complexities of change; it is about evaluating, planning, and implementing operational tactics and strategies† (Paton and Mccalman, 2008, p.3). According to Armenikas and Bedeian organisational change is greatly responsive to management; its possibility remains high as managers strive for successful and perfect change in the organisation (Paton and Mccalman, 2008, p.3). Change management is a complex, and dynamic process; it is about finding best fit for the organisation to get best results (Paton and Mccalman, 2008, p.4). The environment is rapidly changing resulting from changes in technologies, customers’ preferences, alteration in the economy and many other factors (Paton and Mccalman, 2008, p.10) so organisations have to take the journey of change to cope with the external forces facing them and that is done through management. In order to be able to manage change effectively, managers have to look to the faults and problems found in the organisation, putting alternatives and stating its pros and cons, decide on the future state of the organisation and then implement the change process (Paton and Mccalman,2008,p.

Eastman kodak Essay

Evaluating the financial condition of Eastman Kodak can be troublesome. Per my evaluation of their quarterly report which was found at http://www. kodak. com, some red flags have appeared that the auditors should be aware of. These stand out and should have special focus on. This quarterly report is based on the companies’ business activities as well as their subsidiary companies between the reporting periods of January 1, through December 31, 2011. It has been speculated that some of the previous reports have not been dealing on actual performance data basis (Avery, 2012). While many believe this to be impossible and untrue, however, there seems to be that there were no exceptions reported or noticed on prior reports. Once again, while analyzing this report there seems to be correspondence in regards to data exclusion from the outsourced operations and data for leased facilities were indicated. The cash flow analysis of Kodak has always been cause for concern. The Kodak companies the past several years have had many issues as seem by the financial statements. â€Å"The internal cash flows are negative indicating that this company has a financial problem (Arnold, 2012). Items such as the operating costs, investing, and the use of the cash and its outflow when it has cash are what we consider internal cash flows. Kodak company is aimed its focus on funding numerous functions and operations. This funding was to make sure that the IP licensing strategy would a hit. For this to be applicable, the company would have to sell its assets. â€Å"Thus in order to be successful in the IP portfolio strategy EASTKOD 3 Eastman Kodak set there sites aimed at getting funds of over $200 million and then to have licensing transactions to generate between #250 and $350 million dollars (Anderson, 2012). Some of the red flags that they should be aware of can be economic factors, earning problems, excessive debt. With these factors in mind it is clearly visible that Kodak focused on clearing their work on the idea of sustainability that they had place in process within the 2011 fiscal year. For Kodak to stay competitive they had to initiate new programs to generate business in the areas in which they operate. These programs would boost business. â€Å"After the 2011 quarterly report, Kodak was more sustainable and looked to prosper and take advantage of their customer’s economic, environmental, and social performance in order to maintain and attain a profitable , sustainable, and digital company (Anderson, 2011). With these red flags mentioned, Kodak and its position economically, either would attract or not attract investors. This is due to the fact that the economic factors such as the earnings of an organization give an idea of what its profits, and the shareholders value to be. The public willingness to invest and to get companies to fall in line with them, Eastman Kodak is not an attractive company. This is true due to its low profits the company makes based on its last quarterly report. Kodaks last quarterly report and its last 3 previous years indicate that the company if financially falling. During the audit procedure they should be alerted that Eastman Kodak has adjusted its financial statements making its return on capital and its economic stability unreliable. Eastman Kodaks free cash flow is well below par. Their strategy has failed, and this will not attract new investors. The financial statement show that the cash flow has reduced and this is partly contributed to the board and the lack there of on their fiduciary duties.

Analysis on my Favorite Poems Essay

Dorothy Parker’s poem entitled â€Å"One Perfect Rose† is a simple verse that talks about the joy of the narrator. Despite of all the odds and confusion, she remained happy with the rose that she received. The narrator is not actually contented with what she has because she wants more than what she already received despite of its â€Å"perfection,† but she tried to be satisfied with it. The main theme of the poem is joy or happiness. Like many other woman, the narrator was very happy after receiving a very special and perfect flower just for her from the one she loved. The phrase â€Å"One perfect rose† was scattered all over the poem to justify the happiness of the narrator that happens in reality because we used to express our happiness by saying a certain thing often that delighted us. The author used irony or comparing two things with different identity or individuality such as rose and limousine also leaves and heart. Based on my interpretations, I have seen that the author wanted to show the distinction of the two terms as well as its similarity. In realism, a woman wants to enjoy herself riding a limousine after receiving a flower. From this, she feels that she is the most beautiful woman ever. On the other hand, the existence of metaphorical heart of the narrator’s man as it refers to the leaves shows irony because a leaf drops once it began to pale, which is different from a loving heart that became stronger and dignified even if it is the only one who loves. Those literary terms in the poem made me think of its sense in a deeper manner. Even if the author already gave all the details without making her readers think or imagine the emotion of the narrator, she used literary terms to make each stanza complex by showing ironies, metaphors, simile, and images or symbolisms that hides the true meaning of the poem. From here, I can say that the poem is nice and understandable that made its readers capable of reading the poem without any boundaries of uncertainties. My Papa’s Waltz by Theodore Roethke Theodore Roethke’s poem, entitled â€Å"My Papa’s Waltz† shows the life of a boy within the hands of his father. The author wanted to convey a deeper meaning in his poem. By way of reading it, I can see that it was not just a simple learning of dancing that made the narrator struggled into his father’s authority. From learning how to follow his father’s dance step signifies his pursuance of obeying his father as well as making his life the same his father’s life. The main theme of the poem is fear. The narrator was afraid to counter-attack his father from all its way of educating him but he could not do anything because even his mother could not talk or act against his father. Based on my interpretation, the author wrote this poem because he experienced the same pain and struggle of his narrator. Readers could feel each situation and waiting for the next occurrence that can happen. The poem has no resolution at all. This verse illustrates the entire situation without any act of resolving the conflict. The father is the only authority because both the child and the mother could not speak for their rights. From this, I can also say that the author justified a simple way of describing a woman and child abuse that happened within a family that many could not able to perceive. The author selected literary themes to show the emotion of the narrator as he described his experience while â€Å"dancing. † Within those literary themes is the resemblance of fear and unknown future that awaits the child. I have felt the senses and attempt of the narrator to escape but he could not because of his fear and inability to pursue his life alone. From this, I can say that I thoroughly understand each line and stanza that the author wanted to interpret that brought me a new light of this kind of situation that happened in the society that many of us could not understand. The Ruined Maid by Thomas Hardy The poem entitled â€Å"The Ruined Maid† by Thomas Hardy shows the struggle of a maid within her employers. The author showed and discussed the life of a maid without happiness but always failure. The author used two different characters in the story to show the emotions of a maid by using her friend. The author utilized jargons or terms that usually used in African-American community. Through this, even if the author did not state the physical characteristics of the maid, it shows that it refers to the Blacks by way f acknowledging the usage of words and terms in the whole poem. The author putted different literary terms or symbolisms to justify his claim about the ruined maid. Tired of digging potatoes, and spudding up docks; / And now you’ve gay bracelets and bright feathers three! (Hardy 6-7). These lines showed that work of the maid was not just to clean a house or to take care of the children, but becoming like a farmer. The metaphorical symbolisms of potatoes and bracelets also docks and feather shows the evolution of the maid’s life and â€Å"prosperity. † By comparing the bracelets and potatoes, the bracelets are light, beautiful and clean while the potatoes are full of dirt, hard, and dark. It shows that the life of the maid progresses from being a potato to become a bracelet. The maid also becomes a feather that was led by the wind even if she was already ruined. Despite of the uncertainties, the maid leaves her painful and sorrowful life in the hands of his master to find her self and new beginning alone. These literary terms made the poem more fun and entertaining. As I have read the poem, it gives me the right kind of laughter that I can feel while imagining the characteristic and lifestyle of the ruined maid. Because of this, I enjoyed every line and stanza of the poem because of the symbols, images, ironies, similes, and metaphors that exist all throughout the verse. From this, I can say that the author’s intended audiences in his poem are the middle-class people especially the Blacks because despite of all the struggles and pains that they went through, they still have the capability to laugh and entertain their selves. Conclusion As a whole, these poems are not just simple verses. They are social constructs that we usually take for granted. They are also part of realism that we tend to ignore because these occurrences exist commonly. However, if we look at the content and its context in human society, we can perceive each scenario as a sensitive issue that we need to understand and tackle. Through this, we can demonstrate some solutions to these complex problems to avoid or at least lessen its existence within the society whether it came from the minority or majority communities that we lived in. The importance of these poems is not only to entertain us but to give as the right perspectives and justifications of the â€Å"simple† truth. References Hardy, T. (2005). The Ruined Maid. Retrieved 19 February 2008. http://rpo. library. utoronto. ca/poem/926. html Parker, D. (n. d. ). One Perfect Rose. Retrieved 19 February 2008. http://www. web-books. com/classics/Poetry/Anthology/Parker_D/One. htm Roethke, T. (n. d. ) My Papa’s Waltz. Retrieved 19 February 2008. http://gawow. com/roethke/poems/43. html