The Beattles

In June of 1956, John Lennon met Paul McCartney for the first time. Nobody ever dreamed that John and Paul would have the success that they had. John Lennon and Paul McCartney along with George Harrison and Richard Starkey (Ringo Starr) became known as the greatest and the most influential rock musicians in the world. The Beatles, whose music has been played by prestigious symphonies around the world and has been sung by renowned singers such as Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett, were a vibrant moving force of the 1960’s; they permanently changed the course of music and soundly influenced the lives of future generations. To get an idea of how much the Beatles helped shape the following generations’ lifestyles, one must look at the lifestyle and the music before the Beatles. The music the Beatles played, â€Å"Rock and Roll,† had already established itself as a popular form of music to American teenagers. Derived from the black’s â€Å"Rhythm and Blues,† rock and roll was made popular by performers such as Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, and Bill Haley. Though rock and roll had been around for about ten years before the Beatles became famous, it was still a relatively new form of music that had plenty of potential. The Beatles were elevated from obscurity by utilizing the music’s potential. The lifestyle of the fifties was slowly changing. The American public was beginning to accept the possibility of a â€Å"working class hero†. Films such as â€Å"Saturday Night and Sunday Morning† and â€Å"The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner,† which portrayed working class protagonists, became overnight successes. The Beatles, who were definitely working class, were the ultimate rags to riches story. As the fifties drew to a close, the Beatles were on a path that forever changed history. The Beatles’ success was not immediate. In 1960 the Beatles, who consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe (guitarist), and Pete Best (drummer), made their first trip to Hamburg, Germany. Although the trip wasn’t a success, the second trip to Hamburg as a backing group to Tony Sheridan was more successful. The Beatles returned home in June of 1961 and found that more and more people would come to see their performances. Though popular and drawing large audiences, the Beatles were refused by Decca, Pye, Columbia, HMV, and EMI, all prominent recording companies. The emergence of the Beatles’ popularity can be traced to the help of two people: the determination of Brian Epstein, their manager, and the foresight of George Martin, their producer. Brian Epstein, a record store owner, was a novice at the manager business. Through his raw determination, he was able to meet up with George Martin. George knew the record business, and he pulled some strings to let the Beatles record. Their first release, â€Å"Love Me Do,† only reached the number seventeen position on the charts; however, that was the start of an illustrated career for John, Paul, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, who replaced Pete Best as drummer in August of 1962. Beatlemania was the term that described the hysteria resulting from the Beatles’ rise. The Beatles were breaking attendance records all over Europe. Following every performance were reports of girls that had become injured in their attempts just to see the boys. By the end of 1963, the Beatles had five songs that had reached number one in Britain. Looking for new directions to expand, the Beatles looked across the ocean to America. When the Beatles touched down in New York in February 1964, they knew they had come to the right place as ten thousand screaming fans fought to see them. During the Beatles stay in Manhattan, at least a dozen girls were injured trying to catch sight of the boys. During their concerts, there was so much noise that the audience drowned out the performers. Any movement by an individual Beatle would cause added screaming by rows and rows of young females. This kind of reaction would plague the group at any performance they did. The Beatles popularity became the point of many debates. At one point in August 1966, John claimed that the Beatles were even more popular than Jesus. Though he apologized for it later, he was correct in analyzing their popularity. It seemed as if anything the Beatles said or did would affect the whole society. One major effect that they had on society was the drug influence of their music. Taking drugs became the â€Å"in† thing to do. The press went into an uproar when they found out the initials to the Beatles’ â€Å"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds† was LSD, a popular but addicting drug. Another song, â€Å"Day in the Life,† was banned by the BBC and some United States radio stations because of alleged drug allusions. Drugs were becoming a way of life for many teenagers. In late 1966, the Beatles decided that they would do no more concerts. Many thought that this would lead to a drop in their popularity. The media was soon proved wrong when their next album, â€Å"Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,† became an instant hit. Anything the Beatles touched turned to gold. John Lennon’s first book, In His Own Write, was a million seller. The Beatles could do nothing that wouldn’t sell. As time went on, however, the Beatles began to pursue their own individual tastes. When Brian Epstein committed suicide in August of 1967, the Beatles began their long decline. The Beatles began to rot from within. The TV film, â€Å"Magical Mystery Tour,† was a complete failure. George Harrison took studying in India very seriously. John’s marriage to Cynthia broke down, and he began to see Yoko Ono. All four started to do musical work without the other three. They were having serious financial trouble with their own recording company, Apple Records. By 1969, the Beatles were in deep trouble. It came as only a mild surprise to most people when Paul McCartney decided to quit the group in April of 1970. Paul claimed personal differences existed with John and with Allen Klein, their financial advisor. Though at first the split was claimed as temporary, the world began to understand that the Beatles would never exist anymore. When asked just what he was going to do now that he was breaking from the group, he replied: â€Å"My only plan is to grow up. † By 1970 though, the Beatles had already made a huge impact on society. A revolutionary group responsible for bombing three business buildings called themselves â€Å"Revolutionary Force 9† which was derived from â€Å"Revolution Number 9,† an eight-minute collage of noises from the Beatles’ White Album. Another influence was in the youth churches where a yellow submarine was made a symbol of love. The yellow submarine, from a movie and a song of that name, was described as a ‘a place where they loved each other in a groovy way and got strength to do battle with the Blue Meanies. It also shows that a church has to have flexibility and maneuverability. ’ Though the Beatles were gone, their influence remained. The Beatles have influenced people in ways never dreamed of. Their music was even blamed for the Charles Manson murders in Southern California. Their style of music changed the way the music industry had worked; most groups now perform their own original material, which was very uncommon in the late fifties and early sixties. The Beatles’ constant preaching of love has changed a whole generation’s thinking, and may have helped to bring an end to the Vietnam War. Their drug taking and radical approach to life has caused some people to take the Beatles’ philosophy wrongly and to think that some terrorist activity was acceptable. Others have taken what the Beatles said as gospel and formed new religions. However people reacted to the Beatles didn’t matter; it was just significant that people were reacting, and therefore were being influenced in some manner by the Beatles. The Beatles, the greatest rock band ever to exist, does not record as a group anymore, but their influences will continue for years as the youth of each generation listens to the music that changed the world. â€Å"Hey Jude† â€Å"Hey Jude† is such a monumental favorite, I am almost dissuaded from touching it because of the pressure to say something profound. It is such a good illustration of two compositional lessons: how to fill a time with simple means, and how to use diverse elements such as harmony and orchestration to articulate form and contrast. I think that the fact that the song was written by Paul McCartney to Julian Lennon during the breakup of John and Julia’s mom, Cynthia, adds a new dimension to the appreciation of it but, as have been observed with respect to the fact of John’s having written â€Å"Julia† in honor of his own mother, the effect that each song has upon someone would be hardly diminished if for some reason were to remain oblivious to the biographical background of either. For me, the main message here is to be found in the first half, the imperative to now pursue one’s destined love the minute either you have found him/her, or he/she has found you. I do believe that once you internalize that much, the transcendent, blissful joy of the second half falls right into place. â€Å"Yesterday† This song is so well established in the pop-cultural subconscious that it is difficult to relate to it objectively, no less say something new and insightful about it. As is often the case with the over-exposed war horses of any artsy genre, whether or not you like this song, there is some good reason why it became so over-exposed in the first place. It is a fine piece of work with something going for it in virtually every detail. By the same token, one should not be fooled by whatever unique and interesting factors surrounding the song’s history and production into thinking of it as more unique and different than it is. Especially if you can step around the self-pitying lyrics for a moment (Paul possibly taking a lesson from George, for a change) you will find this song to actually lie along the same compositional and moody lines of the other hymn or anthem-like ballads which so vividly characterize some of Paul’s highest achievements. Love Me Do† Granted, by itself, â€Å"Love Me Do† is hardly the blockbuster of which legendary careers are made. In fact, it is tempting at first blush to dismiss this one as too simple and even unappealing. After all, we have what must be very nearly the skimpiest Lennon/McCartney lyric ever, but just beneath the surface, you find not also that certain bristling intensity in their voices, but also a great deal of stylistically prophetic, especially i n regards to the phrasing, the vocal harmonies, and the modal melody. The most intriguing aspect to this intuitive innovation of the early Beatles is the question of how much of it was motivated by intentional originality and how much a by-product of less-than-entirely-adept emulation of their derivative influences. It is quite a serious question, the answer to which has nothing to do with the relative merit of the final product itself.

Four Challenges of Sustainability

â€Å"Four Challenges of Sustainability† by David W. Orr confronts the problems of sustainability and proposes a path to get there. The concept of sustainability is the primary topic and goal in regards to the future of humans. The entire idea that humans and civilization as we know it may cease to exist, is a relatively new idea. This very real idea has spawned acknowledgement and pursuit of avoiding it through sustainability. Militarization, the increasing number of incredibly poor, and the increasing amount of frivolous consumption are some of the many current practices that simply cannot be sustained. Major industrial industries like agriculture, energy production, and health care have begun to exhibit diminishing returns. The move to sustainability requires major changes and improvements in government, specifically democratic governments and the relationship between them and their citizens. Fair distribution of wealth, cradle to cradle material policy, and building ecologically sound cities are only possible through ethical governments that have their citizen’s best interests at heart. Orr more succinctly puts this as, â€Å"Sustainability, in short, constitutes a series of public choices that require effective institutions of governance and a well-informed democratically engaged citizenry. † Education and curriculums must be improved to include ideas that are essential to sustainability. These ideas should promote more windmills, more farmers’ markets, and more small businesses. Orr feels that the public must be educated about sustainability and then taught how to implement it. It is then their responsibility to pass this knowledge on to future generations. The transition to sustainability requires more than education and critical problem solving skills. In the quest for sustainability, Orr says we need â€Å"a higher level of spiritual awareness† and references Schumacher in saying that we require, â€Å"wisdom, love, compassion, understanding, and empathy. † These spiritual tools will enable us to stop the self destructive behaviors that we continually perpetuate. If not for any other reason than preserving humanity we must stop killing the planet.

Specialists and generalists Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Specialists and generalists - Essay Example There is element of efficiency as a single person controls related technical areas of organization limiting chances of confusion (Sarkar, 2011). Decision regarding improvements in tech department becomes relatively easy as other peoples contribution is limited. Employment of a single IT administrator may also results to limitation factors in development of organization. Single IT administrator would easily be exhausted due to overwork, this would result to technical problems as a result of errors created when the personnel is tired (Root and Mason, 2012). Decisions made by a single person may not be right and this would affect the overall performance of technical department of an organization. IT administrators in large companies have easy task in attending to their respective duties due to specialization. Employees are assigned to duties based on what they can do better having gathered required skills in their departments like data storage and analysis is separated from networking jobs in companies. This art of specialization has contributed to development of various companies. There are various benefits of specialization. Each and every administrator has a chance to concentrate and improve on personal duties for efficiency. Specialization makes it easy for the replacement of an employee since it’s easy to find other person specialized in the same job (Root and Mason, 2012). Disadvantages of specialization commonly experienced include; development of several departments within the same major department which may be difficult to manage, Employment of many administrators which may be costly to maintain by the organization (Sarkar,

Digital media in China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Digital media in China - Essay Example This "Digital media in China" outlines how restrictions and censorship in China caused the emergence of the local Chinese social networks instead of western and also describes the most popular forms of digital media in this country. The first forms of digital media that are popular in china are the video sharing sites. These include Tudou and Youku. The sites are the equivalent of You Tube that is popular in the western countries. Tudou started in April 2005, and was the first online video platform to be introduced in china. Most of the content is user-generated videos and premium licensed content (Crampton 1). Youku, on the other hand, enjoys the largest Chinese video animation. This site started in December 2006. The videos are licensed, and professional, user generated and self-produced web videos (Crampton 1). However, the use of these sites by Chinese Netizens is different from how Americans use YouTube. These sites do not contain short video of cute animals or silly domestic mi shaps that are popular among YouTube users (Crampton 1). The content of these sites is more reliable, longer, and up to 70 percent is professionally produced (Crampton 1). Most of the users spend more than one hour as compared to counterparts that spend less than 20 minutes per day (Crampton 1). The Chinese sites are more online television stations or a substitute for digital video recorders. An individual in China have discretion of posting videos, but most of the subject of online video is longer-format professional videos. Most of the videos are external programs pirated, subtitled, and uploaded hours after screening in western countries such as United States (Crampton 1). However, there is increased demand of content on Youku and Tudou, and this has resulted to mushrooming of companies that focus solely on online video. The sites television like atmosphere has prompted most of young Chinese reliance on them. The other site is Sina Weibo. This is an equivalent of Micro blog site of the western nation. This started in 2009, three years after twitter. This is the most popular micro blogging platform in china. It has

Arts Complementing Each Other Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Arts Complementing Each Other - Essay Example Though sculpture and music are two entirely different areas of art, some times each can be seen as complementing the other. One can easily recognize that Edward MacDowell’s music complement Ed Kienholz’s sculpture in more ways than one. As Americans, both of them have been naturally influenced by many factors that are unique to American culture. Mac Dowell’s Indian Suite amply illustrates this complementary nature. The composer himself acknowledged the source of his themes for this to be Amerindian Folk songs. However, it was not an imitation or just a restating of Amerindian music exactly. The treatment is quite Mac Dowellian, so to speak, as he maintains a unique identity and character to his work. Potent and vigorous, the theme is unusual, and at times bordering on bizarre. This characteristic is amply echoed in Kienholz’s sculptures like John Doe. The vast, empty spaces of Amerindian country and the exhilarating sense of freedom the musical piece sugge sts has its counterpart in Kienholz’s sculptural form and architectural space.

The CIA created Osama bin Laden Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The CIA created Osama bin Laden - Research Paper Example Osama Bin Laden was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on March 10, 1957. His father was a close friend of the ruling royal family which helped him to establish the Bin Laden group of companies. Immediately after the birth of Osama, his parents got divorced and he was brought up under the single parenthood after the separation of his parents. In Saudi Arabia, it was allowed to the Muslims to marry as much as girls. Osama’s father had ten wives. During childhood, Osama was a normal child who has shown immense interests in religious activities. The development of Osama from an ordinary person to the most wanted hard-core terrorist in the world, was surprising unbelievable. Osama Bin Laden was a Saudi citizen by birth. He was a multi billionaire by birth and had major shares in the Bin Laden group of companies which was established by his father. He was not a born criminal, but the society made him as a criminal. He was a hard-core terrorists even before the 9/11 attack on America. However, he became famous only after the 9/11 incident. It is often said that America is responsible for the making of Osama as a terrorist. It should be noted that Soviet Union has intruded into the territories of Afghanistan in the 1980’s. Soviet Union’s presence in Afghanistan was indigestible to America. Intense cold war was going on in between America and Soviet Union during 70’s and 80’s. America estimated that Soviet Union’s presence in Afghanistan would give them upper hand in the policy matters in Asia. Therefore, America did everything possible to expel Soviet troops from Afghanistan. America has taught Osama and his company that communism is the most fearful enemy of religions such as Islam. The presence of communism or Soviet troops in Afghanistan would convert Afghan society from a religious society to a communist society. Osama and his

Managerial Decision Making Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Managerial Decision Making - Research Paper Example Managerial Decision Making Decision making is the procedure of identifying opportunities, problems, and solutions to these problems or opportunities. Making decisions involves effort, before and after the actual choice. Decision making occurs at all levels of a business. Frequently, the board of directors makes strategic decisions regarding investment and the course of future growth of a company, among others. Managers can make the tactical decisions regarding how their own department can contribute most effectively to the overall company objectives. Ordinary employees are also expected to make decisions regarding conduct of their own responsibilities, responses to customers and enhancements to business practice. There are two types of decision making; programmed and non-programmed decision making (Richard & Dorothy, 2010). Programmed Decision Making According to Andrew (2011), programmed decisions are made for routine, recurring for well-structured situations using predetermined dec ision rules. These rules normally apply prior experience or practical knowledge about what works in a certain situation. Programmed decisions are resolutions that have been made numerous times in the past; managers have developed guidelines or rules to be applied when certain situations are anticipated to occur. According to Richard & Dorothy (2010), programmed decisions are made to ensure smooth running of the organizational activities. For example, McDonald’s Corporation inventory manager will decide to order certain goods when the company is running out of stock. Few programmed decisions are structured to eliminate individual judgment. In programmed decision making, there are no errors in the decisions since it is routine, and managers normally have the information needed; to create guidelines and rules to be followed by others. Lower level managers are essentially confronted by repetitive and familiar problems; therefore, they typically rely on programmed decisions, such as standard operating procedures. In most cases, lower level managers deal with well-structured problems. If lower level managers come across ill structured problems, they pass on these problems to senior managers in the organizational hierarchy. Similarly, senior managers pass down well structured problems to their subordinates so that they handle more problematic issues. In programmed decision making there is little threat and ambiguity involved, the decision maker is certain on the consequences of his or her actions, pertaining to a certain issue (Andrew, 2011). Non-programmed Decision Making Non-programmed decisio

The concept of peak oil has been devised to reflect scarcity Essay

The concept of peak oil has been devised to reflect scarcity associated with oil supplies. But surely the price of oil would be a more efficient indication of its scarcity - Essay Example In contrast to the peak oil concept, global oil production showed a decline from its peak point at 74 mb/d in 2005; however, after a short decline the figures rebounded, and in 2011 there were higher production of oil than 2005 (US energy information and administration, 2011). Peak oil is ascertained by taking into account extraction rates from each oil well, the predicted oil reserves, and total extraction rate of an oil field comprising of associated oil wells (Berdellà ©, 2011). Here the core contentious issue is that the concept of ‘peak oil,’ which had been devised to reflect oil scarcity, is an ambiguous indicator of scarcity. Instead, some economists content that oil prices prove to be a more efficient indication of the scarcity of oil. Various experts contend that oil scarcity is dependent on the rate of consumption, where constraints placed on supply side are based on product demands. James L. Smith in his research papers, using benchmark scenario, high growth scenario and low growth scenario graphs, proved that peak timing is inconsistent as an indicator of oil scarcity (2011, pp. 8-13). Observations revealed that during 2007-08 economic crisis, despite oil supplies not increasing, there was loosening in the oil scarcity factor, owing to low demand. The equation for supply-demand graph can be plotted effectively through the factor of pricing, hence making oil prices a better indicator for its scarcity. Natural oil does not have any uniform or any standardised quality, and tends to vary significantly, which range from medium quality oil, to oil with high API gravity (high quality) from Saudi Arabian fields, to low API gravity (poor quality) heavy oil from fields in South America and Canada. Despite reports of fall in high quality oil levels, as far as supply of heavy oil is concerned, there is no scarcity, and many oil fields in deep-water areas remain unexplored (Stier, 2008). The Saudi Arabian high API oils are relatively easy to extract and oil

The Civic Hybrid Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Civic Hybrid - Essay Example In the business industry, there are a lot of products available. In order to evaluate the best purchasing alternatives is a good practice to compare similar items from different manufacturers. The products that I’m going to compare are automobiles that are fuel efficient. These types of automobiles are categorized by the media as green vehicles. The three car models analyzed are the Honda Civic hybrid, the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf. The Honda Civic hybrid is a vehicle that combines gas and electric technology. The Civic hybrid has a starting price of $24,050 (Honda). The car gives an mpg rating of 44 miles per gallon. The car is power by a 1.5-liter V-tech engine that incorporates an electric motor for friction reducing and airflow improvements. The car has 110 horsepower.  In the business industry, there are a lot of products available. In order to evaluate the best purchasing alternatives is a good practice to compare similar items from different manufacturers. The pr oducts that I’m going to compare are automobiles that are fuel efficient. These types of automobiles are categorized by the media as green vehicles. The three car models analyzed are the Honda Civic hybrid, the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf. The Honda Civic hybrid is a vehicle that combines gas and electric technology. The Civic hybrid has a starting price of $24,050 (Honda). The car gives an mpg rating of 44 miles per gallon. The car is power by a 1.5-liter V-tech engine that incorporates an electric motor for friction reducing and airflow improvements. The car has 110 horsepower.   The second car featured is the Chevy Volt. The Volt is a hybrid vehicle that combines electric and gasoline technology. The car is very unique because it has different modes that allow for different performance and fuel efficiency. The maximum fuel efficiency of the Volt is 230 miles per gallon. The price of the Volt is $32,780 (Chevrolet). The automobile is power by an electric drive unit wit h 150 horsepower with an 80 horsepower 1.4-liter combustion engine.   The third auto featured is the Nissan Leaf. The Leaf is priced at $25,280 (Nissanusa). The car is powered by an all-electric motor 80 kW A/C synchronous motor with a 24 kWh lithium-ion battery.   The range of one full battery is 100 miles per trip.  

The Normal Distribution and Probability Research Paper

The Normal Distribution and Probability - Research Paper Example The variable of interest, as with any other ratio variable, has a true zero point. That is, it is possible for a participant to not type any word in one minute but may not be able to type any lower than that value. This true zero point is what separates interval level variables from ratio level variables (Agresti & Finlay, 2009, p. 107). Ratio level of measurement is considered the highest level of measurement because many descriptive statistics computations and inferential statistics techniques may be performed on such measures (Cohen, 1988, p. 53). Specifically, it is possible to find the mode (though not applicable on this particular example), median, mean, range, maximum, minimum, and standard deviation for ratio level measures. This variable is normally distributed because the values that it takes may be scattered on a plot, approximating a symmetric bell-shaped curve (Kazmier, 2004). That is, the graph is more concentrated on the central values and symmetrically decreases on both side of the bell-shaped graph. This is possible because more people can type the â€Å"average† range of values for words per minute and as these values go to the extremes (whether extreme high or extreme low), fewer people fall into those values. In terms of central tendencies, it is to be expected that the mean, median, and modal value for number of words typed per minute would be most likely the same value (Agresti & Finlay, 2009). Furthermore, since the sample size is quite large, normal distribution of data points almost always follows (Rubin, 2009). In a normal distribution, the probability value of a particular score is the likelihood of that score occurring in the sample data (which may be carried over to the population). In this particular example, it is the percentage of participants that typed a particular number of words per minute. Moreover, a

The Use of Image, Allegory, and Voice in Robert Frosts Poetry Essay Example for Free

The Use of Image, Allegory, and Voice in Robert Frosts Poetry Essay The poetry of Robert Frost was written in the early 1900s and have become a standard in American Poetry. Frost was a prolific author and poet who had the unique ability to effortlessly combined the rich and varied American landscape with modernized transcendental thinking. His poems continue to inspire poets, students, and casual readers. Many of his poems center around nature, his love for New England landscape, and the human experience. These poems are usually set in the colorful New England landscape at the onset of fall and memorializes the journey of one man forced to decide, choose, ponder, or reflect. He creates his point of view from his own personal experiences. After a close reading of his poems it is clear that Frost often asserted the same theme throughout his work. This theme was that of human choice and utilization of free will. Frost uses voice, imagery and imagery and allegory which develop a theme that life is about making hard choices and committing to those choices.   The central metaphor in the â€Å"Mending Wall† is the wall itself and Frost utilizes this as an allegoary. As the wall decays, the narrator and his neighbor repair, which maintains their relationship. However, the wall is also used by Frost as an symbol. The wall symbolism the metaphoric wall which human build to keep themselves safe and other out. Frost asserts that â€Å"There were it is we do not need the wall† (23) implying that while emotional wall exists, they are not needed. He believes that â€Å"something there is that doesnt love a wall† (1). Narrator cleverly explores that idea that if people were truthful with themselves they would have to confess they do not like the wall which separates one life from another. Perhaps this is the reason for the falling stones and the constant decay of the wall over time. Frost has the unique ability to bring together metaphysical thought and the beautiful New England landscape in rhyming text. There are several minor images within the poem which add to the mood and tone of the poem. The setting of the poem is springtime and can be seen in â€Å"frozen ground swell† (2), â€Å"spring mending time† (11), â€Å"in the sun† (3), and â€Å"spring is the mischief in me† (28). Spring is the time when life begins anew and there is great hope for the future. What matters is that the poem makes clear the fact that sometimes serious questions arise, questions that neighbors must decide. . The concept of being a good neighbor is American ideal and an universal experience. This poem is really a dialogue between Robert Frost and his uncle. His uncle was his hardest critic and pressured Frost to do succeed at school. When Frost attempted college several times and failed, his uncle talked him into running a farm for several years . Frost, while he respected his uncle, wanted him to mind his own business. He wishes that his uncle would be hopeful of the future and not try to dominate his present. Their relationship is reflected in the poem. Similarly, in Nothing Gold Can Stay, he explores another common experience that nothing good lasts forever with images. This is a reflection of his own experiences with loss and death. Robert Frost was born on March 26, 1874, in San Francisco, where his father, of â€Å"irm New Hampshire stock, edited a newspaper. The paper was Democratic and Roberts full name is Robert Lee Frost, two facts which are usually taken to indicate the elder Frosts attitude to then-Republican New England. When Robert was eleven, his father died, and he and his schoolteacher mother crossed country and settled with relatives in Massachusetts. The poem opens with images offering the freshness of spring; but as in a dream, when one reaches for the object it is gone, Natures first green is gold (ln 1). Frost continues, Her hardest hue to hold (ln 2), this first green is of a delicate and transitory quality that is already disappearing even as it is being born. By line four the pattern is set. These desirable things are given, but not to keep. The process goes on as . . . leaf subsides to leaf (ln 5). Every human goes through the loss of innocence and learns the archetype of golden youthfulness and innocence was soon lost before the onslaught of the properties of the tree of knowledge. Frost also utilizes voice in his poetry to talk about the common human experience. This universal experience is exemplified in Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. Frost observes The woods are lovely, dark and deep / But I have promises to keep (ln 13-14). Narrator does not give in, and he makes sure he keeps his promises. The the forest is often a symbol in Frosts poetry. It is symbolic of tempting force which can make an individual off track. This of course is something that everyone in the world has gone through being tempted away from doing what an individual know is right and just . Frost through the utilization of literary devices explores the theme of universal experience. The idea of universal experience is a major reason that Frosts poetry is popular, well loved, and stood the test of time. Frosts personal experience can be traced through all his poetry but most elegantly in The Mending Wall, Nothing Gold Can Stay, and Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. Works Cited DiYanni, Robert. Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Sixth Edition. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2004.

Past Movements in Education and Analysis of Curricuar Reforms Essay Example for Free

Past Movements in Education and Analysis of Curricuar Reforms Essay For an individual, it must be treated as a continuous process that should not end when graduation rites in each particular level of schooling are being held. True education is life, it must always be a part of our daily living, whether through formal or informal means. Educational systems in general, and educational curriculum in particular, also need not to be static. The curriculum should respond to the demands of a fast-changing society. To some extent, it should also be global or internationally-aligned. These are the reasons why foreign and local educational educators in the past and until now have been introducing educational reforms and innovations. They have been searching means to address the problems being met in the implementation of a certain curriculums and to ensure the total development of every learner. I. The Past Movements for Social Change in the School System Social change affects education. Centuries ago, pioneers of education have sought to introduce renewal in education. Their ideas were far ahead than the actual renewal that took place later on. Among them were Commenius, Condorcet, Rousseau, Pestalozzi, Froebel, Dewey, Drecoly, Montessori and Freinet. 1. Johann Amos Commenius -â€Å"Father of Modern Education† Most permanent educational influences: a. practical educational work Comenius was first a teacher and an organizer of schools, not only among his own people, but later in Sweden, and to a slight extent in Holland. In his Didactica Magna (Great Didactic), he outlined a system of schools that is the exact counterpart of the existing American system of kindergarten, elementary school, secondary school, college, and university. Didactica Magna is an educational treatise which aimed to seek and find a method of instruction by which teachers may teach less but learners may learn more, by which the school may be the scene of less noise, aversion, and useless labor, but of more leisure, enjoyment and solid progress; and through which the Christian community may have less darkness, perplexity (confusion) and dissension (disagreement), but on the other hand, more light, orderliness, peace and rest. b. formulating the general theory of education In this respect he is the forerunner of Rousseau, Pestalozzi, Froebel, etc. and is the first to formulate that idea of â€Å"education according to nature† so influential during the latter part of the eighteenth and early part of the nineteenth century. c. the subject matter and method of education -exerted through a series of textbooks of an entirely new nature His published works: Janua Linguarum Reserata (The Gateway of Language Unlocked) contained his convictio n (certainty) that one of the prerequisites for effective educational reform was a fundamental change in language of instruction. Orbis Pictus (The World of Sensible Things Pictured) contributed to the development of the principles of audio-visual interaction. It was the first successful applications of illustrations to the work of teaching, but not the first illustrated book for children. Schola Ludus (School as Play) a detailed exposition of the doctrine that all learning should be made interesting, dramatic and stimulating. These texts were all based on the same fundamental ideas: (1) learning foreign languages through the vernacular; (2) obtaining ideas through objects rather than words; (3) starting with objects most familiar to the child to introduce him to both the new language and the more remote world of objects: (4) giving the child a comprehensive knowledge of his environment, physical and social, as well as instruction in religious, moral, and classical subjects; (5) making this acquisition of a compendium of knowledge a pleasure rather than a task; and (6) making instruction universal. He also developed the pansophic scheme, the view that education should take the whole of human knowledge as its universe. For him, truth was indivisible and was to be seen as a whole. Thus by relating each subject to every other subject and to general principles, pansophia was to make the learner capable of wisdom. 2. Marquis De Condorcet Marie-Jean-Antoine-Nicolas de Caritat took his title Marquis de Condorcet from the town of Condorcet in Dauphine. He advocated that the aims of education were: o cultivate in each generation the physical, intellectual and moral facilities and, thereby contribute to the general and gradual improvement of the human race. He envisioned a national system of public education designed to develop the natural talents of all, making real equality possible. His proposals of the five levels of public instructions areas follows: 1. Elementary- for the teaching of the ‘elements’ of all knowledge (reading, writing, arithmetic, morals, economics and n atural science)and would be compulsory for all four years 2. Secondary school- of three years’ duration, teaching grammar, history and geography, one foreign language, the mechanical arts, law and mathematics. The teaching at this and the first level would be non-specialized. 3. Institutes- responsible for ‘substituting reasoning for eloquence and books for speech, and for bringing philosophy and the physical science methodology into the moral sciences’. The teaching at this level would be more specialized. Pupils would choose their own course of study (at least two courses a year) from among four classes: mathematics and physics, moral and political sciences, science as applied to the arts, and literature and fine arts. 4. Lycee the equivalent of universities, with the same classes as the institutes and ‘where all the sciences are taught in full. It is there that scholars-teachers receive their further training’. Education at this and the first three levels was to be entirely free of charge. 5. National Society of Science and the Arts a research institute responsible for supervising the formal education system as a whole and for appointing teachers. Its role would be one of scientific and pedagogical research. 3. Jean Jacques Rousseau According to the history of education, he was the first great writer to insist that education should be based upon the nature of the child. Rousseau’s Emile is a kind of half treatise, half novel that tells the life story of a fictional man named Emile. In the history of education, the significant contributions of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi are: 1) his educational philosophy and instructional method that encouraged harmonious intellectual, moral, and physical development Pestalozzis most systematic work, How Gertrude Teaches Her Children (1801) was a critique of conventional schooling and a prescription for educational reform. Rejecting corporal punishment, rote memorization, and bookishness, Pestalozzi envisioned schools that were homelike institutions where teachers actively engaged students in learning by sensory experiences. Such schools were to educate individuals who were well rounded intellectually, morally, and physically. Through engagement in activities, students were to learn useful vocations that complemented their other studies. 2) his methodology of empirical sensory learning, especially through object lessons Pestalozzi designed object lessons in which children, guided by teachers, examined the form (shape), number (quantity and weight) of objects, and named them after direct experience with them. 3) his use of activities, excursions, and nature studies that anticipated Progressive education. He also emphasized the importance of the nature of the child and propounded (advocated) that in the educational process, the child must be thought in relation to the subject matter. He sought to understand the nature of the child and to build his teaching around the natural, progressive and harmonious development of all the powers and capacities. He is an advocate of each man’s right to education and of society’s duty to implement that right and pave the way to universal national education. His motto Learning by head, hand and heart is still a key principle in successful 21st-century schools. 5. Friedrich Froebel The German educator, Friedrich Froebel, was one of these pioneers of early childhood educational reform. Froebel’s educational principles: a) free self-activity As an educator, Froebel believed that stimulating voluntary self-activity in the young child was the necessary form of pre-school education (Watson, 1997a). Self-activity is defined as the development of qualities and skills that make it possible to take an invisible idea and make it a reality; self-activity involves formulating a purpose, planning out that purpose, and then acting on that plan until the purpose is realized (Corbett, 1998a). Corbett suggests that one of Froebels significant contributions to early childhood education was his theory of introducing play as a means of engaging children in self-activity for the purpose of externalizing their inner natures. ) creativity Froebel designed a series of instructional materials that he called gifts and occupations, which demonstrated certain relationships and led children in comparison, testing, and creative exploration activities (Watson, 1997b). A gift was an object provided for a child to play withsuch as a sphere, cube, or cylinderwhich helped the child to understand and internalize the concepts of shape, dimension, size, and their relationships (Staff, 1998). The occupations were items such as aints and clay which the children could use to make what they wished; through the occupations, children externalized the concepts existing within their creative minds (Staff, 1998). Therefore, through the childs own self-activity and creative imaginative play, the child would begin to understand both the inner and outer properties of things as he moves through the developmental stages of the educational process. c) social participation A third component of Froebels educational plan involved working closely with the family unit. Froebel believed that parents provided the first as well as the most consistent educational influence in a childs life. Since a childs first educational experiences occur within the family unit, he is already familiar with the home d) motor expression Motor expression, which refers to learning by doing as opposed to following rote instructions, is a very important aspect of Froebels educational principles. Froebel did not believe that the child should be placed into societys mold, but should be allowed to shape his own mold and grow at his own pace through the developmental stages of the educational process. 6. John Dewey He contributed the educational philosophy which maintains that education is life, education is growth and education is a continuous reconstruction of human experiences from the beginning to the end of life. He was the spokes person of progressive education which states that aims have significance only for persons, not for processes such as education, and arise only in response to problematic situations in ongoing activities. Aims are to be viewed as anticipated outcomes of transactions, as intrinsic aspects of the process of problem-solving, and as a motivating force behind the individual’s approach to problem-solving situations. The Progressive Education Association, inspired by Dewey’s ideas, later codified his doctrines as follows: a. The conduct of the pupils shall be governed by themselves, according to the social needs of the community. b. Interest shall be the motive for all work. c. Teachers will inspire a desire for knowledge, and will serve as guides in the investigations undertaken, rather than as task-masters. d. Scientific study of each pupil’s development, physical, mental, social and spiritual, is absolutely essential to the intelligent direction of his development. . Greater attention is paid to the child’s physical needs, with greater use of the out-of-doors. f. Cooperation between school and home will fill all needs of the child’s development such as music, dancing, play and other extra-curricular activities. g. All progressive schools will look upon their work as of the laboratory type, giving freely to the sum of educational knowledge the results of their experi ments in child culture. He believed that education has two sides: the psychological and the social on the same plane. Education must start from the psychological nature of the child as the basis for directing his energies into totally useful channels. Schools must be set up to include bond the individual and social goals. The needs of a new society are to be taken into consideration in modifying methods and curriculum. 7. Ovide Decroly He influenced instruction in the kindergarten, the aim of which was to guide the child’s desire for activity and to give him a sense of discipline and norms for his social behavior (same with Dewey) 8. Maria Montessori Maria Montessori left a long lasting mark on education around the world.

Corporate Governance and Value Creation Relationship

Corporate Governance and Value Creation Relationship Department of Economics VALUE CREATION AND THE ROLE OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE Abstract Corporate Governance is a subject of many professional and academic debates. Since there are many different research and contexts associated with corporate governance problem, then, this topic has continued to be an interesting topic under scrutiny. However, is has been observed that the relationship between corporate governance and value creation of corporation remains as an untapped area with enough consideration. This paper tends to investigate this linkage and using Enron case as critical analysis. TABLE OF CONTENTS (JUMP TO) 1. Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 2. Literature Review. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 3. Corporate governance and performance of the company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 3. 1. Definition and explanation of key concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 3. 1. 1. The concept of corporate governance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 3. 2. 2. The concept of value creation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 3. 2. 2. 1. Definition of value creation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 3. 2. 2. 2. The importance of value creation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 3. 2. 2. 3. Measuring Value-creation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 3. 2. The impact of corporate governance in the Value Creation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 4. The role of finance in creating value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 4. 1. The principles of management by the financial value. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 4. 1. 1. The principle of double market. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 4. 1. 2. The principle of identifying financial levers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 4. 1. 3. The principle of internal steering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 4. 2. The mechanisms and the extent of creating value. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 4. 2. 1. The economic indicators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 4. 2. 2. The indicators such as accounting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 4. 2. 3. The nature of stock market indicators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 4. 3. The limits of management by the financial value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264. 3. 1. Scope limited and performance standards unrealistic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 4. 3. 2. Transfer of risk to the employee shareholder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 4. 3. 3. Focus on short-term and limits the cost of capital. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 5. Critical approach to corporate governance: the case of Enron. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 5. 1. Introduction of the Enron affair. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 5. 2. Enrons scandal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 5. 3. The consequences of this scandal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 5. 4. The lesson from Enron Case. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 6. Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 7. Further study recommendation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 List of Abbreviations NGO Non- Governmental Organization US United State CEO Chief Executive Officer BOD Board of Directors COO Chief Operating Officer CFO Chief Financial Officer CRO Chief Risk Officer CFROI Cash Flow Return on Investment EVA Economic Value Added RCF Residual Cash Flow DCF Discounted Cash Flow CVA Cash Value Added RAN The Rainforest Action Network MFV Management by the Financial Value TSR Total Shareholder Return MVA Market Value Added NPV Net Present Value EPS Earnings per Share ROE Return on Equity EROR Economic Rate of Return PBR Price to Book Ratio 1. Introduction The successive industrial revolutions of the late eighteenth and nineteenth century were a major factor for the development of Western capitalism and gave gradually traits that characterize it today. In this movement, the company as a structure that brings together human beings who are organized to act on nature to obtain useful results and thus create value has always been at the heart of the capitalist system. However, in recent decades, many changes have affected the financial-market capitalism and gave new prominence to creating value for shareholders of the company. This has resulted in the emergence of a form of management oriented to advance the financial value and mobilize employees to that goal. This focus on value creation reflects a desire to meet the requirements of the shareholder because it has become in the current financial world a king increasingly adulated and increasingly capricious. Undoubtedly, this logic has largely influenced the conduct of the strategy of com panies that demonstrate ingenuity to cope with competition and remain competitive. However, it has undergone profound questioned at a number of scandals that have marked with an indelible history of finance and have been accompanied by strengthening institutional mechanisms for regulation of businesses and financial markets. In such a context of questioning, suspicion and doubt in respect of managerial practices, questions about the role of governance and firms value creation does it not absolute importance to apprehend the changes that occurring within the company? The aim of this paper is to answer this question. The structure of the paper is organized as follows. Section 1 provides a background of what has been done in the literature in the effort to capture relationship between corporate governance and value creation. Section 2 introduces the key concepts such as corporate governance and value creation. Section 3 illustrates the role of finance in creating value in firms. Empirical approach are presented and discussed in section 4, with special stress on the managerial behaviour in Enrons Company. Section 5 will conclude and propose further areas of research. 2. Literature review On the topic of relationship between corporate governance and value creation, there have been various researches and conclusions. Before examining about the relationship between corporate governance and value creation, many early studies has explored the linkage between Ownership and Value Creation as a beginning. Talking about owners who have been passionate about their ideas and visions to create the best value for their company, study named Ownership and Value creation of Carlsson. R. H (2001) gave a valuable historical review and illustration with case how active ownership has played an important role in company development. Through this book, we can see that ownership makes significant differences in corporate governance, it fulfils an indispensable role in the market and its quality made firm the best value. Later, in his research Corporate Governance and Value Creation, Jean-Paul Page (2005) has referred to the financial approach to corporate governance in his analysis. He has explored the connection between the foundation of power and decision making to create the large value for firms. In order to focus on an in-depth analysis of the links between value creation and governance, his research started with the assumption that regulation and laws exist to constrain corporate activities which could harm society as well as the economy, then corporate agreement is expected. Through a research, he tried to find the answers of who should hold the ultimate power which companies can create maximum value or how this power should be used. To do this, first, he discussed the delegation of shareholder power and a variety of standard to evaluate the performance of managers. Then, he presented a framework by which securities analysts can evaluate corporate governance system. As the result of his study , he strongly believed that directors of companies have the necessary judgment to discharge their value creation responsibility. Jean-Paul Page result is developed further in detail by Monks (2002) when he applied this theory into Volkswagen Company. After that, Huse (2007) successfully combines the behavioural of directors work and the value creation which contributes to both the practitioner and the academic debate. Huses book is based on two key ideas: the main task of a broad of director is to create value for company and looking inside board to understand the value creation process needs. His book provided a good discussion about governance effectiveness and value creation by an exploration of behavioural perspectives on governance and how various types of related factors influence governance as well as value creation. In addition, in his recent research named The Value Broad: Corporate governance and organizational behaviour in 2008, he aimed to go further and explore actual behaviour in creating value from entrepreneurial management perception throughout various European countries such as Netherlands, Italy. Beside, The differentiated Network: Organizing Multinational Corporation for value creation of Nohria. N and Ghoshal. S (1997) was successful to present the globally distributed capabilities of multinational corporations and organize these corporations for value creation. This study is built to develop these ideas of both authors above. Besides theoretical research and studies, many case studies were analysed to examine the implication of all theories in the real economic market. Case study in Finances: Managing for Corporate Value Creation of Bruner. R. F (1990) provided numerous financial analyses of the world famous and successful corporations such as Walt Disney, Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Morgan Stanley Group INC, Merit Marine Corporation. . . However, this analysis was published in 1990, it can not update with changes in the economy as well as financial scandals have been happened through recent years. Based on all these suggestions, an analysis of value creation and the role of corporate governance is an interesting paper. And Enrons scandal in 2001 is an updated illustration. 3. Corporate governance and performance of the company 3. 1. Definition and explanation of key concepts 3. 1. 1. The concept of corporate governance We can consider that the practices of corporate governance have ancient origins insofar as they are inseparable from the very concept of enterprise. Indeed, corporate governance problem was already in the eighteenth century. Adam Smith posed as soon as 1776, in the Wealth of Nations, the problem of separation of interests between managers and owners in companies per share. This question will take a new turn with the emergence in 1807 in France and then England with the Company Act and a little later the United States, the limited liability company. In general, governance refers to the governing relations between the leaders of a company more broadly, an organization and the parties concerned by the fate of the so-called organization, mainly those who hold legitimate rights - namely shareholders. Even if made generally and in order to illuminate our analysis, such a definition requires clarification. First, governance is focused on a category of actors of any organization: the lea ders of this organization, category sometimes reduced to a person, most often represented by a small group strongly hierarchical around the leader, sometimes expressed by semi-hierarchical and ill-defined contours. Whatever the difficulties of defining exactly and narrow, this category of actors always pay attention on a system of governance. Corporate governance can be seen as vast field and its works as regulatory body that includes (OECD, 2004): Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Board of Directors (BOD) Management of Organization Shareholders Stakeholders (Suppliers, Employees, Creditors, Clients and Social Communities) Then, the issue of governance is also the role and control of corporate officers in legal persons. The leaders of an organization finalized commercial, public . . . Speak and act on behalf of this organization: a title that they can buy, sells, hire, dismiss and so on. They have before it the financial, material, human, which can be considerable even excessive. Issues relating to their appointment as corporate officers, the conditions for exercising their mandates are, therefore, legitimate and make corporate governance a key point of management systems of the latter. Finally, the governance system includes various components that can be, simplifying, grouped into three sets of components: structures, procedures and behaviour. The structures involved in the governance system are varied. Some are specific to the organization concerned: general meeting, board of directors, ad hoc committees. Others are external and intervene on the basis of contractual missions (auditors, rating agencies) or as part of missions of general interest (regulatory authorities). The procedures are also very varied and more or less diversified in codes or codes imposed on the actors involved (chart of accounts, commercial code . . . ). They may involve both methods of collection and dissemination of information on the functioning of the entities concerned that ways and means to carry out such an operation such as changing the parameters of the structure or listing on the financial market. The behaviour complements the first two components by providing a dimension without which they would remain for the most formal. Such behaviour are those agents individuals is not the legal fiction made up by legal persons involved in the institutional and responsible to implement it and animate it. Therefore, their best practices, their ethics or, conversely, their lack of scruples and their departures were a major part in the effectiveness of governance systems like any human system. In their brilliant literature review of corporate governance topic, Shleifer and Vishny (1997) offered a definition of corporate governance: Corporate governance deals with the ways in which suppliers of finance to corporations assure themselves of getting a return on their investment (p. 737). This notion of governance seems rather simplistic. Because it is limited to the individual control worked out by shareholders and ignores the rights of all the other stakeholders in the company such as creditors, suppliers, customers, employees, and finally, the State and society in general. Indeed, the shareholder affects some form of power and imposes limits in varying degrees that affect value creation. Besides, this definition of governance fails to take into account the implicit rules and standard such as legislation, regulations and contracts. All these things actually have an important influence on final decision. In his book, Jean- Paul also gave the broad definition of corporate governance as follows: Corporate governance consists of the legal, contractual, and implicit frameworks that define the exercise of power within a company, that influence decision making, that allow the stakeholders to assume their responsibilities, and that ensure that their rights and privileges are respected. (pp. 2) To be successful in this notion, corporations must acquire the best resources such as: finance, material and human at the best if they want to create value or wealth. Good corporate governance is assessed in a book named Corporate Governance: Responsibilities, Risk and Remuneration, Keasey. K and Wright. M (1997) He defined a good corporate governance is as concerned with correctly motivating managerial behaviour towards improving the business, as directly controlling the behaviour of managers. They also analysed executive remuneration is one mean of motivating good behaviour. Illustrating the standard corporate governance frame work, both authors above indicated that the key elements concern the enhancement of corporate governance is via supervisors of management performance and ensuring the accountability of management to shareholder and other stakeholders. Analysis of a frame work of corporate governance was also carried by Hart (1995). He discussed the need for accountability and supervisor of director come up because there is a divorce between ownership and control power in large firms. According Harts study, supervision may take various forms ranging form system where shareholders are outsiders with little direct incentive to monitor management. Moreover, Whittington (1993) argued that is has to be noted that the accountability and supervision aspects take place within a wider regulatory framework which regulates relationship with external third party contractors. 3. 1. 2. The concept of value creation 3. 1. 2. 1. Definition of Value Creation As for value creation, it is an ambiguous concept because of the multiplicity of managerial practices associated with it: exchange value, book value or economic value partnership, value for the customer, and so on. In all case, the most important objective of every firm is to maximize resource allocation, to produce as much economic value as much as possible and to look up social well-being. Offering the best product and services at reasonable price is the way which firms can do to achieve these objective above. Jean-Paul Page (2005) examined economic value as creating wealth. Because the firms wealth is measured by the value of their product on the market, then, creating value for firm mean company will observe its prices and value increase as demand for its services and goods rises. Concisely, creating economic value means increasing in firms value, increasing in share price and creating wealth. As a result, corporate governance have to focus on decision that tend to maximize share price and then on the creation of economic value. This way will translate the wealth creation objective of firms into tangible results. 3. 1. 2. 2. The importance of value creation In his academic journal, Favaro. Khas proved that if firm puts their value creation as a first strategy, it will help a corporation growth in the greatest rate. First of all, by understanding how, why, where the value is created within your company; which is the market where your company perform best; identifying which of your companys activity and asset is distinctive enough to be a profitable growth will tell your company where and how to grow. The best example of this case, we have to mention about Coca -cola. Since the early of 1980s, Coca-colas leader discovered the value creation in their mix businesses and in the entire beverage system; then, this company have taken a major growth opportunity in their core business. Secondly, there are two advantages which putting value creation first can gives firms are: capital and talent. When firm set value creation first, they will never suffer from a capital shortage. Favaro gave explanation that, these companies which put value creation first will find sufficient capital for their investment needs and can attract a large capital from the market, and then they never miss any investment opportunities. In addition, knowing all important targets, these companies also understand how important the high standard and good qualification managers are. Therefore, over time, these firms will build a team of manager with better capabilities and standards. This will give company more managerial talent and help these companies achieve higher level of profitable and also sustainable growth than their competitors. Value creation enhances companys ability to grow up which requires perseverance Discipline and leadership skills. Through his experience, Favaro suggests that: By product, channel, customer, market and technology; skilled managers who always put value creation first will understand how or why value is created or destroyed. Then, they will know whatever cut will be the best reveal the truly capabilities or asset which their company have to do to get profitable and growth. Promoting, celebrating and rewarding managers who see growth is an outcome of their focus on value creation. Briefly, if a company put value creation first in the right way, their managers can identify how and where to grow, they will use capital better than others and build up more talents. Consequently, value creation will offer you a vast advantage to achieve profitable and long-term growth. It should be noted that these multiple approaches are experiencing varying degrees of success. Thus, while some of them are rather a fashion effect, others seem more rooted in the reality of management. This is particularly the case in the field of strategy with the general themes related to the competitive advantage that determines the value that a company can create for its customers and in the field of finance with the concept of maximizing the shareholder value. However, there are two themes refer to distinct managerial logic. In schematising, one can oppose a logic of financial reform dominated the creation of financial value and logic of integration that connects the various aspects of value creation. The financial approach emphasizes the idea that any asset is comparable, at least conceptually, a financial asset whose correct measure is the present value of expected flows of that asset, given the risk that it is linked. Thus, by analogy with financial assets, it is possible to buy or sell at any time comparable assets or reinvest the funds on other opportunities. The option is part of choice and is a factor of flexibility. The logic of integration recognizes the importance of value creation but the analysis as the result of a synthesis of different components of value, whether organizational aspects, competitive or institutional. It puts forward concepts such as basic skills, know-how of cooperation and coordination, competitive advantage. It requires a broader view of performance and the development of a scoreboard, including non-financial aspects. This concept of value creation is currently experiencing a revival and for several reasons. This renewal first undoubtedly result of the transformation of financial capitalism and its origin movements takeover carried out on companies that exploitation not effectively their asset base for shareholders. These practices have provided external visibility to market discipline that has prompted leaders to do more attention to creating value and bring back the shareholder at the centre of the strategy. In addition, development of globalization and the rise of new technologies of information and communication technologies have accelerated the process of internationalization of enterprises and networking complex and globalize. The result is a financial reform of the strategy based on the refocusing on the principal market and the pursuit of critical size. That is why the purchase of shares and options markets external growth is systematically privileged at the expense of endogenous development of the company. But for institutional investors, who control more companies using their power, the ability of business to create value is an essential criterion of assessment. Finally, another external factor that has boosted the value creation is the gradual disappearance of state monopolies especially in the case of France. The purpose of the public monopoly system based on the existence of cross-shareholdings is to ensure a stable partnership. The financial globalization has gradually reduce d the interest of a national shareholding making less essential closures capital that provides few resources. 3. 1. 2. 3. Measuring Value-creation: When evaluating value creation, there are three main measurements are: Cash Flow Return on Investment (CFROI), Economic Value Added (EVA), and Residual Cash Flow (RCF). G. Bennett Stewart III (1991). The Quest for Value. HarperCollins discussed Economic Value Added (EVA) as the heart and soul of Value planning. He described EVA is the one measure which properly accounts for all the complex trade-offs involved in creating value. EVA computed by taking the spread between the rate of return on capital r and the cost of capital c* and then multiplying by the economic book value of the capital committed to the business: EVA = (r-c*) x Capital EVA = (rate of return cost of capital) x capital EVA will increase when: The rate of return earned on the existing base of capital improves; that is, more operating profits are generated without tying up more funds in the business. Additional capital is invested in projects that return more the cost of obtaining the new capital Capital is liquidated from, or further investment is curtailed in, substandard operations when inadequate return being earned. These are the only way in which value can be created

Increasing Literacy in Children Kindergarten through Sixth Grade with A

Illiteracy has been a reoccurring predicament ever since people have been able to read. Either children do not understand how to read and write in school, or they require extra help in becoming skilled in the areas of reading and writing. After school programs were created to help schools increase the literacy development in children. An after school program is defined as a program that offers its services to children after school to help them with arts, crafts, sports, or homework. Are after school programs fulfilling their duty to increase the level of literacy in children? After school programs are increasing the level of literacy in children kindergarten through sixth grade because they were created to help children increase their literacy level since schools are not providing children kindergarten through sixth grade with help in increasing their literacy level. The common definition of illiteracy is the inability to read and write. The Funk and Wagnalls Dictionary defines illiteracy as the â€Å"inability to read and write, an error in speaking or writing.† Even if there is a fault in the speaking or writing of a child, that child is defined as illiterate. If that is the definition of illiteracy, is the definition of a literate child one who never makes a mistake in his or her reading and writing? A child will always make mistakes in reading and writing because the child is human, but if that child never progresses in his or her ability to read and write then the child is defined as illiterate. Funk and Wagnalls Dictionary defines literacy as â€Å"the state of being literate† and a literate individual as one that is â€Å"able to read and write, educated, cultured.† Literacy is also indicated by comprehension and a progres... ...b. 2005 . â€Å"Illiteracy.† Funk & Wagnalls Standard Desk Dictionary. 6th ed. 1983. â€Å"Literacy.† Funk & Wagnalls Standard Desk Dictionary. 6th ed. 1983. â€Å"Literate.† Funk & Wagnalls Standard Desk Dictionary. 6th ed. 1983. Prosser, Theresa M., and Levesque, Jeri A. â€Å"Supporting Literacy Through Service Learning.† Reading Teacher Sep. 1997: 31 par. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. University of Denver Penrose Library, Denver. 19 Jan. 2005 . Sylva, Kathy, and Evans, Emma. â€Å"Preventing Failure at School.† Children and Society 13 Sep. 1999: 9p. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. University of Denver Penrose Library, Denver. 19 Jan. 2005 .

The Effect of Legal and Illegal Immigrants in the United States :: Immigration Cause Effect Essays

For many years the United States of America has been held by many to be the land of opportunity where everyone can achieve their dreams. Like in any area of the world the immigration and migration of people both legally and illegally shapes our country’s population and the economy. In the United States there are millions of illegal immigrants that struggle to find a way to live and then there are the legal foreign-born individuals that abide by our laws and still struggle to get by. A great deal of the population growth we have seen in the past and will see in the future is due to the immigration of foreign people into this land. As one studies our nation he can see there are many differences between the status and living conditions of natives and foreign-born population. There are many migrant workers that come into this country every year to work in the farms and industries that offer seasonal work with little pay. In light of the recent terrorist acts against this country t he immigration laws and border patrols are coming under greater scrutiny. Immigrants and Their Place in our Population There are all kinds of immigrants in the United States and they have different kinds of statuses. First of all there are legal immigrants that were foreign born but have become citizens of the United States. There are also people who come into the country legally and are given permission to live here permanently but are not naturalized citizens because they have either never applied for citizenship or do not meet a requirement for citizenship. We also have those who come here legally to stay for a set amount of time for things such as education, or work. On the other end of the spectrum are the millions of illegal immigrants that sneak into our country hoping to find asylum and a better way of life. As is apparent in any area that receives immigrants the influx of new people has an effect on population size and diversity. The Department of Labor expects the population of the United States to grow by around fifty percent over the next fifty years. They also say that immigration will have the biggest role in growth through mid-century and that other changes come only because of birth rate and death rates. We are to expect around 820,000 immigrants to arrive in our country every year not including those who come illegally.