HR is staffed with nice people Essay

Strategic management of people through HR programs and policies helps to ensure organizational outcomes such as: Organizational survival, profitability, customer satisfaction and employee performance. HR Professionals have been criticized for not understanding and using language of business when discussing the value of the HR Programs. STRATEGY: the formulation of organizational missions, goals, objectives and action plans for achievement that explicitly recognize the competition and the impact of outside environmental forces Future direction and performance targets Strategic planning=rationale process Ends are measure bale Resources are allocated to achieve ends THE FIVE P’S OF STRATEGY BY MINTZBERG 1. Plan: an intended course of action a firm has selected to deal with a situation 2. Purpose: a consistent stream of actions that sometimes are the result of a deliberate plan and sometimes the result of emergent actions based on reaction to environmental changes or shifting of assumptions 3. Ploy : a specific maneuver at the tactical level with a short time horizon 4. Position: the location of an organization relative to its competitors and other environmental factors 5. Perspective: the personality of the organization DESCRIPTIONS OF STRATEGY Strategy: a declaration of intent Strategic intent: a tangible corporate goal, a point of view about the competitive positions a company hopes to build over a decade Strategic planning: the systematic determination of goals & the plans to achieve them Dynamic process, moving, shifting & evolving as conditions warrant changes Objectives: the end, the goals, make-it-or-break it! Plans: the product of strategy, the means to the end Strategic plan: a formal written statement that outlines the future directions and goals of an organization, including long-term performance goals/targets Policies: broad guidelines to action, which establish the parameters or rules Strategy formulation: the entire process of conceptualizing the mission of an organization, identifying the strategy, and developing long-range performance goals Strategy implementation/ execution: those activities that employees and managers of an organization undertake to enact the strategic plan, to achieve the performance goals STRATEGY TIMEFRAMES strategic planning=thinking about the future,the future is unpredictable planning horizon commonly 3-5 years, plans must be flexible enough to cope with changes that appear STRATEGIC TYPES **different org strategies require different HRM strategies (policies and practices) 1. Corporate strategies: Overall strategy for organization and businesses or interests Usually focus on long-term growth and survival goals Typically represented in the â€Å"mission statement† Is key to attracting investors as it examines and questions about which competitive strategy to choose from 2. Business Strategies (LOB) a. Focus on one line of business as opposed to overall organization b. Plans to build a competitive focus with supporting action plans in one line of business 3. Operational Strategies a. Resources, processes, people and how they are organized to support the Corporate and LOB strategic direction

Defining Security

Defining Security â€Å"Security† comes from a broader subject referred to International Relations which is the study of all political cooperation that occurs between states that have their own government, international organizations with or without government influence, and some wealthy separate individuals. â€Å"Security Studies concerns itself with a sub-set of those political interactions marked by their particular importance in terms of maintaining the security of actor† (Hough 2008: 2).Depending on the emergency of security of an actor will depend how a government or country will act on the security measure. For example, concerns relating to health and rights of the people will be at top on the global political agenda compare to other events such as natural disasters or mass killings are rarely seen as security concerns. It might be of importance to the people that these events are happening to, but not to the people not being affected. There are four main paradi gms of International Relations that affect issues in security.Those paradigms are Realism, Pluralism, Marxism, and Social Constructivism. Realism is the idea that states should be self-centered, competitive, and should look after themselves and not trust any other states. The state should do anything within its reach to expand its power in wherever possible being in military or economic sectors in order to secure themselves and be at the top. Realists tend to favor governments that separate the high and low politics and best serve the national interest.Low politics such as health issues, welfare, and other issues of that sort should be dealt at a domestic level and is separate from high politics, such as war. The idea globalization in the 60’s and 70’s took International Relations to a different perspective because not only did they have to deal with military power issues but now they had economic power issues to worry about. That’s where Neo-Realism developed. Neo-realism still maintained the self-centered approach on the states but also included the idea to expand their powers beyond the sector of military and focus on to the state’s economy.In addition to Realism, another paradigm that affected issues in security was Pluralism. Pluralism was developed from a group of scholars that believed that Neo-realism had developed far enough from Realism. Pluralists believed that the pursuit of military power and economic power by a state, which was the idea derived from the thinking of Realism was too simple. â€Å"Pluralists, as the term implies, consider that a plurality of actors, rather than just states, exert influence on the world stage† (Hough 2008: 4).Pluralism, which was built from the idea of liberalism, stated that the interests of individuals would be better served in an environment where their own governments would stop controlling their lives. Unlike realism, pluralists thought of â€Å"low politic† concerns as priorities for International Relations. The paradigm of Marxism focused more on economic concerns rather than military or any other power. Marxism viewed globalization to an idea of the past; there was nothing new in the idea of globalization.Globalization was just a different way to demonstrate that the states with large economies would exploit the smaller ones. sort of like the bigger kid bullying the smaller kid. In a Marxist perspective, wars were fought for economic purposes which indicated that military power was used for economic gain instead for security. Social constructivism came into play in the 1990’s after there were many unsatisfied in the other paradigms. Social constructivism â€Å"favors a more sociological approach and advocates a greater appreciation of the cultural dimension of policy making† (Hough 2008: 6).It argued that â€Å"world stage actors† did not follow any type of rational script rather, â€Å"foreign policy reflects parochial ide ological or moral guidelines rather than objective gains† (Hough 2008:6). In the wide and narrow conceptions of security, the varied range of threats to humans have changed the whole perspective of international security, which previously had been based just on military based issues. Ullman described that a threat to security was solely based on two factors: the first, any threat that lowered the quality of a states’ people and second, any threat that narrowed the policy choices of any actor of the state.After the Cold War, some traditionalist suggested for security studies to go ‘back to basics’ instead of widening their security measures to â€Å"low politics† issues, they should stick to â€Å"high politics† issues such military threat. â€Å"The widening of security did not undermine the realist logic of conventional security studies. The focus was still on the state system and seeing relationships between states governed by power. Wideni ng was simply extending the range of factors that affect state power beyond the confines of military and trade affairs† (Hough 2008: 8).As for the realist, the ideology stayed the same. The main focus was still in the state’s issues and its people, but as for the widening it, it was just the extension of some issues that affected state’s power, beyond military issues. The deepening of security was driven by pluralists and social constructivists which believed that the concept of â€Å"human security† should be based on the individual’s need that makes up the different groups that exist and not the ‘actors’ issues.With that being said, the Copenhagen School philosophy cannot be resolved by the thought of the pluralists and the social constructivists which shifts the idea of security from the states to the people. â€Å"While accepting the idea that non-military issues can be securitized and that the referent object of this can be someth ing other than a state, maintains the logic that only the state can be the securitizing actor† (Hough 2008: 9).The state would be the only one to determine if the issue that is being securitized is an existential threat and if needs to be acted upon. The securitization of issues must be determined by the state’s government and be prioritized by if it’s a ‘low or high politics’ issue. As mentioned in the book, South Africa was one of the first countries that shifted away from military priority to a health priority. â€Å"The proportion of South Africa’s (GDP) Gross Domestic Product spent on military defense is 1. 5 per cent and the overall proportion on health is 3. percent† (UNDP 2002). Today, military threats in some countries are still their priority but global leaders are still able to balance their military and health expense. In conclusion, â€Å"Security† comes from a broader subject referred to International Relations. The paradigms that affect issues in security are realism, pluralism, Marxism, and social constructivism, having realist being the one which has dominated the study of security focuses on military security and to serve the state’s best interest.Although the Marxist idea was to focus more on economic issues instead of military or any other issues, the pluralist and the social constructivist perspective changed the spectrum of international security from what was once solely based on military issues had broaden to other ‘low politics’ issues such as concerns relating to health and rights of the people, so basically shifting the idea of security from the states to the people.In the end, the securitization of issues must be determined by the state’s government and must be prioritized by if it’s a ‘low or high politics’ issue. Workcited Hough, Peter. 2008. Understanding Global Security (2nd Edition). New York: Routledge. â€Å"United Nations De velopment Programme† http://www. undp. org/

Bombardier Case Preparation Essay

Bombardier is a successful company in the transportation industry. Bombardier has two divisions; The Aerospace and Transportation divisions. Bombardier Aerospace is the third largest designer and manufacturer of commercial aircraft in the world, and one of the leading producers of regional aircraft. The company encountered some challenges because of the company’s growth strategy by acquisition. The main problem was communication problems among systems which were different for each acquired company because Bombardier Aerospace became a â€Å"textbook silo organization† after acquiring with other companies. Addition to this problem, low visibility of inventory and lack of integration between its legacy systems was also important problem to the company. Symptoms of the problem were process delays, sequential activities, low inventory turns, supplier proliferation and price inconsistency, and multiple Bills of Material (BOM). The company found a solution for this problem that changing Bombardier Manufacturing System (BMS) which was the group of IT applications to support manufacturing activities to an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.  · First ERP Implementation: After $130million spent, first ERP implementation discontinued mid-project in 2000. Failure of this attempt: †¢Focusing the implementation on inappropriate business processes †¢An outdated company vision †¢A weak sponsorship model †¢Insufficient involvement of internal employees. †¢Employing too many consultants who having a limited knowledge of the business to assist in the project.  · Second ERP Implementation (BMIS) Project: In 2001, a group of senior managers authored a project for the BMIS in order to establish a new integrated manufacturing system. BMIS was the first project to realize a wider ERP strategy and a vision of an integrated organization, one company. It would support Bombardier Aerospace’s operations; would focus on the processes that supporting manufacturing, procurement, finance and the engineering data to support these processes. Issues encountered by Training: †¢ Lack of process documentation or system functionality for trainers †¢3rd party consultants prepared training material †¢Lack of user friendly, understandable training materials †¢Lack of information to employees about necessity of training †¢Lack of focusing on the roles (e-learning module) †¢Incomplete and somewhat wrong data for training †¢Lack of explanation of the wider role & consequences of BMIS. †¢Shorter training time than what was planned Issues encountered after Go Live: †¢Three weeks shutdown to implement new system †¢Lack of knowledge of user’s new responsibilities and roles †¢Blaming new system when encountered problem didn’t solve in a short period of time by support staff †¢Availability of old system (some managers encouraged employees to use old system) †¢Lack of implementing General Ledger †¢Not using reporting functionality by managers BMIS was delivered on time and below budget. After Go Live some issues considered and inadequate areas improved: †¢Initial training supported with additional courses and training material. †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"Day in the Life† training documents developed by management team and these documents improved user’s attitude toward the system.  · Saint Laurent Implementation: After second implementation â€Å"Mirabel† project, some of the issues were solved and improved. †¢The important of user preparation was well recognized. †¢Managers of the Saint-Laurel plant were convinced to own this project. †¢Everybody in the organization got informed about every phase and details of the project. †¢Communication among employees and management for the project got better. †¢Users understood the changes introduced by the new processes. †¢Attendance for the training became priority. †¢Users informed about their roles and responsibilities before deploying the new system. Recommendation: Bombardier needs to apply the best ERP implementation practices which includes; †¢Understanding of the project by management and users: Bombardier did it on Saint-Laurel project. †¢Planning project: Bombardier made schedule for all project and applied on their project. †¢Training: Giving training to users before implementing the new system, and continuing training after implementation to make users to understand new system well. †¢Utilize mapping data techniques and conduct pilot runs and testing simulations: Bombardiers implemented ERP system on one site at the time.

Epidemiology Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Epidemiology - Research Paper Example (Friis and Sellers, 2009). Epidemiological activity is used since many decades. The statistical tools are the most powerful device used for identifying the risk factors and the relationship between various factors such as environmental factors, drugs, genetics, hormones, occupation, nutrition and viruses, bacteria. It was the epidemiological studies that revealed the relationship between Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and cervical cancer. (Friis and Sellers, 2009). The US centre for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] estimates that most of the new cases of HPV are teens and young adults. They have estimated that 6 million new cases are recorded every year in US. In 2007, the CDC has announced that one among the four teenage girls ages 13 to 19 are having HPV. Among the teens, 40 percent of the children who had sex were found to have Human papilloma virus. (Lyon and Antoniades, 2009). Similarly CDC has also found that 20 Americans are infected with the HPV and many of them are not awar e of it. Uses of Epidemiology 1. To study the history of the disease and the changes in the disease states. It also helps to study the history of the healthy populations in the locality. 2. To measure the true dimension of the disease and the healthy individuals. The prevalence of the disease based on the risk factors, the distribution of disability and mortality can be understood using epidemiological studies. 3. ... (Friis and Sellers, 2009). 6. To identify the root of the chronic diseases and provide the complete history of the diseases to help the practitioners and people eradicate the disease from the epidemic regions. 7. To confirm the risk factors and causes of the disease using the knowledge obtained through studies for the risky and multiple causative disease. (Friis and Sellers, 2009). Human Papilloma virus: Papilloma viruses are DNA viruses that infect epithelia causing a variety of lesions, warts and carcinoma. Human Papilloma viruses (HPV) are ubiquitous in nature causing cervical and other anogenital cancers. HPV infections are most common in the young and sexually active people within the age limit of 20 – 24. Human papilloma viruses form two groups; Genital and cutaneous HPVs. Most of the papilloma viruses are host specific. Human papilloma virus has an icosahedral symmetry with 72 capsomers arranged in the pentameric structure. It has a circular double stranded DNA of 8 kb long. It has three types of genes: early genes, late genes and control genes. HPV first infects the basal epithelium and inserts itself into the cell. It then dissociates and produces low copy number episomes. The HPV gets loosely linked to the keratocyte differentiation and divides as the keratinocyte undergoes differentiation. The major oncogenic proteins involved in the HPV carcinogenesis are E6 and E7 which interfere in the cell cycle control mechanisms. E6 on binding with the cellular protein AP, degrades the p53 through ubiquitin- directed proteolysis. P53 is essential for DNA repair, when this molecule is degraded; it affects the ell cycle control. The result is genetic instability and accumulation of the mutants

Gratuities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Gratuities - Essay Example In the instant case, as the Chief of Police, it becomes my primary responsibility to uphold the above principles and set an example to my colleagues and subordinates. However, the owner of the restaurant has been operating in the city for the past 15 years and the free meals he offers to the police officers is a token of his appreciation for the efficient services they render and not a favor that the officers extract. In addition, he is also a personal friend of the mayor, my boss. Thus, it appears that the restaurant owner has been offering gratuities to the officers with the tacit knowledge of the mayor. Under the present circumstances, where police corruption has become a threat to nations across the globe, as a responsible officer, I cannot tolerate the acceptance of gratuities in any form, especially when the criminal justice system is planning and implementing various policies for the prevention of corruption. Therefore, I will very politely refuse the offer of the restaurant o wner. In addition, I will also request him to not extend any such favor anymore to the officers of my department. I will also explain the situation to the mayor and apprise him of the policies that our department have on such issues. On the other hand, I understand that my decision may hurt the bona fide intention of this man and, hence, I will agree to accept some contribution from him for any facility or utility for the public visiting the police stations for any service such as building a rest room. However, prior to committing anything, I will discuss the issue in detail with my boss, the mayor. Thus, a liberal citizen’s contribution to the services we offer will ultimately revert to the benefit of the other citizens in the community. Question 2: The National Incident Management System (NIMS) provides the â€Å"national framework† for managing and supporting operations during any emergency, based on standardized incident management strategies (Emergency Operations Plan, 2013, p.8). The Incident Command System (ICS) is a standard command and control system as stipulated by NIMS for the â€Å"response at the scene of incident† (Local and Tribal NIMS Integration, n.d., p.8). Emergency Operations Plan (EOP), on the other hand, is a guide that contains the relevant guidelines to be followed â€Å"before, during, and after† an incident or emergency (Emergency Operations Plan, 2013, p.5). The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) serves as the â€Å"focal point† for managing information, making decision and providing support as well as â€Å"resource distribution† during emergencies (p.5). Thus, it transpires that the NIMS, ICS, EOP and EOC are the major components for the management of various operations during an emergency. NIMS prescribe the uniform standard and all the other components that work together during any major incident. While EOP is the set of policies to be formulated locally to counter any emergency, these wi ll be based on the standards that NIMS prescribes, the EOC and ICS execute the policies and procedures that the NIMS stipulate. Therefore, it can be construed that the activities of all these components are interrelated and mutually complementary to one another. These

All forms of tobacco should be made illegal Essay

All forms of tobacco should be made illegal - Essay Example In light of this, the discussion on whether to legalize all forms of tobacco or not is critical in ascertaining the best course of action. Additionally, it is indispensable to focus on both the advantages and disadvantages of legalizing them. With this in mind, it is arguably correct to assert that the current findings of the effects of tobacco can form the basis for the argument. Therefore, as Gottfried (21) noted, legalizing all forms of tobacco would be creating more problems in the society than the perceived gains accrued to them. Drugs in general have been linked with the increased cases of crime in many states. For instance, a study on the effects of marijuana by Morgan (12) found out that although there are unconfirmed facts of the medicinal advantage of the use of marijuana, it is yet to be scientifically confirmed that this can help in curing different disease. Therefore, the most obvious consequences outline the reasons why marijuana should not be legalized. For example, when people engage in drugs, they tend to neglect most of their duties and responsibilities due to the addictive nature. Cigarette has been found to have very addictive nature to the smokers. Since many people start smoking in childhood, their behavior changes and most of them engage in different anti-social behavior. To a broader sense, smoking has been viewed as an activity of people that have reached maturity, and this has always brought problems in the society. For example, youths and older children smoke cigarette as a sign or proo f to their peers that they have also reached the maturity age. In the event, some of them engage in different forms of crime especially fighting as a way of proving their maturity. Since marijuana is form of a tobacco, it is clear that all negative effects associated with it would be increased by deciding to legalize it. For example, marijuana has been associated with mental

Rights, Social Justice and Diversity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Rights, Social Justice and Diversity - Essay Example More recently, conflicts arising out of such immigration are something that researchers and pressure groups are getting engaged in. In this regard, Weiner (1992) advocated the importance of addressing the issues of country hostility, especially through its people, given the fact that migrants contribute to the economic and cultural growth of the nation they immigrate to. As opposed to the International Political Economic Framework, Weiner explains the phenomenon of international migration through a Security-Stability Framework. The latter is more about the national policies that are aimed for the welfare of the migrant population; about social concerns that have a bearing on the internal political and social stability; and therefore in effect is about social inclusion and exclusion in its elucidation on international immigration and its fall out in the world order. The British Government is also of this understanding - migration is no longer an individual decision; rather it is contingent on a host of geo-politico-economic factors. Emigration has complex and far reaching consequences in the economic, political a nd social base of the host country, and should therefore be viewed in an interactive framework. The United Kingdom is usually considered a much preferred option among emigrants, especially from Asia or the CIS countries (Spencer, 2007). Migration and its Social Repercussions Migration does breed resentment among the natives. While the host country and its populace resents the migrant work force, especially those who are 'skilled' and come at a lower cost, the immigrants face discrimination in their access to essential services like health, education and employment. Immigrants face discrimination on grounds of culture, religion, gender, age and also colour. Conditions of entry posed intentionally by the host country at times are extremely restrictive, and they whittle down a migrants own (as well as those of his dependants), entry into the social and economic fabric of the country. The discriminatory practices, which so far were contained within the social fabric, suddenly burst open post 9/11. The media have helped highlight a lot of such instances. Most natives, including those in UK believe that migration is not beneficial for their country as it leads to a lower wages and unemployment (Spencer, 2007). Asian communities, who form a large part of the im migrant population in UK, argue otherwise, highlighting their contribution. The health care services in UK would quite literally collapse without the overseas doctors and nurses; and some schools would not remain open (Spencer, 2003). As a result, policy makers have little option but to accept this incursion into their economy and try navigating policies that not only provide them with a welfare state but also do not damage the native psyche. One of the most advocated ways is to push forth the agenda of Social Inclusion. This paper discusses the extent of social exclusion with particular reference to United Kingdom. It therefore examines international migration, its basis and the underpinnings, and its links

Gendered Movements of the 1960's Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Gendered Movements of the 1960's - Essay Example is contrary to the past whereby most of them postponed marriages or relationships fearing extra responsibilities that remerged with being sexually active (Golson & Carlisle 170). Therefore, â€Å"The Pill’s† approval gave them liberty meant to plan how they needed their lives. This is especially to those who felt they could adequately handle both education as well as have families, because the latter would not weigh them down, hence prompting women compromise their dreams (Golson & Carlisle 170). Women’s realization that they were capable of reaching high heights in their lives prompted them to embark on guest to have equal elevation in the society, hence the â€Å"The Feminine Mystique† emergence (Kranson, Kohn & Diner 237). This was a publication chronicling numerous predicaments and injustices experienced by the female gender especially in the past that were still evident during the mid 20Th Period despite regimes claiming to believe in gender equality (Kranson, Kohn & Diner 237). Hence, questioning regimes whether motherhood and housework roles were still gratifying goals for the female gender owing to the then prevailing gender based segregation (Golson & Carlisle 159). In her book, Betty Friedan purpose entailed awakening of the female gender besides challenging the then and coming regimes about their perception concerning women’s position (Kranson, Kohn & Diner 230). The author contended what the women experienced during the mid 20Th period was in comparable and lacked name to expound it, hence her book acted as the â€Å"start of all† (Kranson, Kohn & Diner 237). The â€Å"Start of all† encompassed instilling the necessary momentum meant for the women to agitate for their privileges and equal their male counterparts. Therefore, this yielded to the enactment of numerous and key gender related acts, for instance, Civil Rights Act Title VII (Wolbrecht 152). The 1964 Civil Rights Act Title VII interpretation and amendment encompassed shunning segregation

European Colonialism and Africa Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

European Colonialism and Africa - Essay Example The paper tells that the argument to the effect (say, moral purpose and mutual benefit) of European colonialism in Africa is divided into four: infrastructure development, social and economic development, modernization and industrial development, and development of nationalism and political unification. The European colonizers (the French, the British, and the Spaniards) provided ample importance to infrastructure development to exploit the natural resources and the human resources in Africa. To be specific, the development of infrastructure in Africa is deeply indebted to the efforts of the European colonizers. Ambe J. Njoh stated that â€Å"That the foundation of Cameroon’s transportation infrastructure was established by the German colonial administration is indisputable†. On the other side, the development of infrastructure in Africa helped the European colonizers to export raw materials from Africa and to help their motherlands to be rich. From a different angle of view, the development of railroads and roads connected the colonies. The European settlers did provide less importance to the wellbeing of the native Africans because their aim was to create a colonial Africa, not an independent Africa. So, they exploited the human resources available in Africa. For instance, the (French) Congo railroad under France can be considered as one of the examples which can illustrate the exploitation of human resources in Africa. Now, the Congo railroad acts the role of a backbone to the transportation facilities in Congo. In short, infrastructure development in Africa during the colonial era helped the European settlers (the French, the British, and the Spaniards) to be in touch with their motherlands and to exploit the resources in Africa. On the other side, the development of infrastructure during the colonial era proved to be helpful for the African nations in the post-colonial era. The colonization of Africa and social development in Europe are not i nterconnected. Still, one can see that colonization and exploitation of the African continent positively influenced the economic development of Europe because most of the industries during the colonial era depended upon the raw materials from Africa. From a different angle of view, economic development is interconnected with social development. During the colonial era, European colonialism did not help the African nations to gain social and economic development. But the social and development of some nations in Africa during the post-colonial era proves that European colonialism helped some of these nations to be in the forefront of social and economic development. For instance, infrastructure development initiated by the European colonizers was beneficiary for some African nations like Kenya and South Africa.

College entrance response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

College entrance response - Essay Example In addition, there are abundant discussion rooms for students and a library for research. The university has abundant recreation facilitates for students. In addition, the students are allowed to participate in inter-university competitions such as sports, drama, debate and many other activities. The education programs offered at NU-Q gives students a chance to participate in leadership at different capacities. In addition, the university management organizes seminars and motivational talks for students. In this regard, students gain essential skills for surviving in the corporate world. The construction of a permanent home for NU-Q is anticipated to be complete by 2015. The new location is designed to offer a more comfortable learning environment for students. The new facilitate is expected to accommodate more student population and offer more opportunities for research and development. In summary, NU-Q emerges as the best media and arts institution in the region. The studies at NU-Q are not exam oriented but student

Lightest football Essay Example for Free

Lightest football Essay I have chosen to focus on just one of the sports manufacturers Nike, for two reasons. 1. Nike is arguably the fore runner in the technological developments of most sports football being one. 2. There is little deviation between the finished products and their properties regardless of the manufacturer and with Nike being the largest of all the sports brands, it seems logical to focus on them. Shirt Nike cool motion shirt (image 1)   Two layers lighter than one   Inner shirt wicks moisture. Outer shirt has vents and water resistant properties   Luminous colouring makes visibility improved under floodlights Boots Nike vapour boots (image 2)   Lightest football boot around built for speed Soft ground 194 g Firm ground 202 g   Sprint spike stud configuration   Ultra thin synthetic for `feel` of the ball Ball Nike mercurial vapour ball (image 3). Synthetically made strength and durability in all conditions   Low water retention keeps shape and weight  Ã‚  2% more deviation in flight leading to harder shots, therefore more spectacular goals   Special small sided games version in metallic silver higher visibility Protection Nike vapour guards (image 4) Lightweight again built for speed   Anatomically shaped providing optimum fit   Wicking inner layer Nike Kracken gloves (image 5) 4mm thick grip durability and shock absorption in all conditions   curved grip for easier catching of the ball   wicking inner layer Headers` padded head band (image 6). reduces shock to the brain   reduces risk of concussions   reduces risk of onset of post game illnesses directly associated with brain trauma (i. e. Parkinsons) Stadia After the Hillsborough disaster of 1989 and a series of other crowd related tragedies (Heysel 1985, Bradford fires) there was a need to drastically improve the stadia across the world. The Taylor report deemed that all top division clubs must have all seater stadiums, with restrictions placed on those without. Similar guidelines were introduced and applied with lower league clubs, where although all-seater stadiums were not compulsory, the safety of each stadium must pass stringent checks. There have been cases especially highlighted in the conference league where upon a club has been promoted, only to be demoted back to the same league immediately because their ground or stadium did not meet safety regulations. The recent world cup in Japan/Korea highlighted the new breed of `super stadia`, where spectators can rely upon space age technology to enjoy watching in safety and comfort. (Image 7) Television Due to the ever increasing demand to watch football, and sometimes the increasing price to do so, the needs of the spectator, whether at home or at the stadium remain almost the same. Television, has pumped money into many clubs, and very nearly ruined many others. (the collapse of ITV digital bankrupted some smaller clubs)   Television runs football date and times of kick off are directly effected by television companies The majority of money involved is directly to do with television TV rights, pay-per-view   Some clubs cannot survive without TV. money. Football and television have become co-dependent Conclusion   advancements are geared towards providing more of a spectacle   speed of the game has increased more end to end action   balls/boots are benefiting the scoring of spectacular goals again more spectacle   Spectators watch games in more comfort at a price, some match tickets are no longer affordable.   Sport is run now like a business high risk for high rewards, and the rewards are getting that much greater Money essentially now runs the game.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay Example for Free

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay The characters of the King and the Duke are most likely the most important after Huck and Jim in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. These two men come into Hucks story in chapter nineteen when he leaves the Grangerfords, a family who is fighting a continuous and everlasting war against their neighbors, the Shepherdsons. Huck sees the King and the Duke being chased by some dogs, and he decides to take them aboard the raft, which Huck and Jim are using to travel down the Mississippi River. Huck eventually realizes that the two men that he helped are con artists. Towards the end of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the two phonies are tarred and feathered by a mob who was finally able to catch them. The punishment of the Duke and the King was suitable because the scams they performed were sickening, and they obviously were not bothered by what they did. Mark Twain shows his disrespect for the two imposters through Hucks first impression of them, and how he reacts to the small scams they carry out. The appearance of the King and the Duke is negative from the moment he sees them. His impression of the King is that He had an old battered-up slouch hat on, and a greasy blue woolen shirt, and ragged old blue jeans britches stuffed into his boot-tops, and home-knit galluses? no, he only had one. He had an old long-tailed blue jeans coat with slick brass buttons flung over his arm, and both of them had big, fat, ratty-looking carpet bags. (Page 120) This impression The two of them go on to make up stories how one is actually the Duke of Bridgewater and that the other is the rightful King of France. Huck later comments that It didnt take me long to make up my mind that these liars warnt no kings nor dukes at all, but just low-down humbugs and frauds. (Page 125) The next day, the Duke and the King go into the town of Pokesville, where they go to a town meeting in the woods. The King tells the people at the meeting that he is an ex-pirate of the Indian Ocean who has found his true path and wants to dedicate his life to converting other pirates to this true path of life. Everyone cries for him, and he ends up collecting $87. 75 for this scam and a jug of whiskey. Another time, the Duke decides to perform a low comedy to the people of Pokesville called the Royal Nonesuch. At the bottom of the handbill, it says that women and children are not admitted, in attempt to get a large group of men to come. The people feel cheated because the Duke and the King only act a small skit and then leave. The following two nights, the show is sold out but on the third night, Huck realizes that the crowd has rotten eggs and cabbages stuffed in their pockets. He tells the Duke and the King, and they are able to escape with a total of 465 dollars. At supper, the king and the duke fairly laughed their bones loose over the way theyd served them people. (Page 152) The scams that the two frauds performed showed how low-down and rotten they actually were. Huck is hurt by the following two greedy cons that the King and the Duke pull off. The first was one where they found out that a man named Peter Wilks had died and they pretended to be his long lost brothers in order to steal the inheritance from the three Wilks daughters. They actually stooped this low just to gain some money. They only thought of themselves without even considering future of the girls who were relying on them to take them back to England and care for them. Obviously, the plan of the King and the Duke was that once they collected enough money, they would just abandon the three, orphan sisters. This was the reason that their plan failed. Once they received six thousand dollars in gold, they wanted to stay longer to make more money. Eventually, the real brothers of Peter Wilks came, and everyone realized that the King and the Duke were just impostors. Mark Twain showed his disgust for these men through Huck when he said, It was enough to make a body ashamed of the human race. (Page 162) Another instance in which the Duke and the King displayed their gluttony was when they sold Jim to Mr. Phelps in order to make forty dollars. Even after Huck and Jim had done so much to help the crooks, they stabbed them in the back. Then, Huck found out that they were going to the bar with the money they made from every scam and that they were getting drunk. This crushes Huck especially because he is so emotional and has such strong morals. After all this long journey, and after all wed done for them scoundrels, here it was all come to nothing, everything all busted up and ruined, because they could have the heart to serve Jim such a trick as that, and make him a slave again all his life, and amongst strangers, too, for forty dirty dollars. (Page 211) The reader really sees for the first time with the Wilks scam and what the Duke and the King did to Jim how dishonest they really are. The ending of the Duke and the King was appropriate because they were such horrible people. All the cons that they pulled off were more than enough for them to deserve a tar and feathering even though Huck did not believe so. Well, it made me sick to see it; and I was sorry for them poor pitiful rascals, it seemed like I couldnt ever feel any hardness against them any more in the world. (Page 230) The King and the Duke had outraged every town in which they performed a scam. They had to run from the people and dogs following them before Huck and Jim helped them, after the Royal Nonesuch, they had to flee from the mob, and the mob at the town where they tried to rip off the Wilks, they were almost lynched. If they felt that they were brave enough to try to scam all those towns, they must have known that they would have to face the punishment if they were finally caught. The Duke and the King deserved what they got because they cared for no one but themselves. The tar and feathering that the con artists received was a reasonable punishment because they were so greedy, and in their actions they showed that they had no morals or conscience. What was even worse was that they used the money that they stole poorly. They went and wasted it all every time just to get drunk. They were also the reason for slowing down Huck and Jims adventure down the Mississippi River because they were forced to stay with the King and the Duke. The characters of the King and the Duke were despicable and self-absorbed.

Study On The Financial Sources For SMEs

Study On The Financial Sources For SMEs Introduction SMEs are those industries, which are unquoted in a stock exchange, run by few individuals or a type of family businesses having connection with shareholders. According to South West Venture Fund, SME is a company or business that has less than 250 employees and has an annual turnover not exceeding approximately  £24 million. SME sector is very large in UK economy. There are 3.7 million businesses in UK according to the survey conducted in 2003 by Department of Trade and Industries (DTI) and 99% of those are small and medium sized and survey also suggested that UK gains 50% of its total turnover from SME sector. On the other hand according to the report of HM Treasury 2008 there are 4.7 million SMEs in the UK and are responsible for more than 52 per cent of total UK business turnover. Therefore it can be seen that SMEs have an important role to play to drive UK growth and the average productivity of SMEs has increased in the last ten years. On the other hand SMEs are struggling in accessing to finance whereas there are many sources of finance available in UK. The main problem with SMEs to obtain finance is that of uncertainty. Investors most of the time dont rely on SMEs in investing because SMEs does not have a long track record of success. Banks are quite nerves of SMEs to investment because SMEs represent high credit risk. The problem is, banks are not increasing the loan amount without increasing security given and most of the SME owners are unable to provide security. There are many SMEs without tangible assets to use as a security for all lenders. All the financial sources for SMEs are listed below with brief description. Business Angles Business angles are private individuals who invest their own assets in SME or start-up businesses. Business angles also share their personal business experience with other entrepreneurs. LBA (London Business Angles) provides great services to innovative starting-up businesses who seeks the capital more than  £100 k for their future growth. London Business Angle runs by Greater London Enterprise (GLE). The main reason behind investing by business angles is that they are very experienced and successful entrepreneurs and they not only provide finance they also train new business through sharing their experience. The fact on the other hand is only few companies can find business angles, LBA receive 1000 business plan and after the whole selection procedure only 42 business have been invited to invest with. Another group of business angles BBAA (British Business Angles Association) is also working to provide financial help to early stage businesses. Every year private individual or these business angles invest between  £800 million to  £1 billion in starting-up business and SMEs. Overdraft Financing Overdraft financing is another most popular way of accessing to finance for SMEs. In overdraft financing, payments are made from the current account of business when the amount exceeds the available balance. Through the overdraft facility business gets short-term funds whereas the amount which is loaned is repayable according to the bank demand. There are some benefits of overdraft facilities such as the borrowed amount can be changed within the limit and interest is only payable on the amount borrowed. The main disadvantages of overdrafts are, bank can ask to pay back the money very sooner than expected time, overdraft limit can be changed at any time by the bank, overdraft facility cannot be used if large amount is needed and the interest rate is higher than the bank loan. Some other factors must be considered when using overdraft facility to obtain finance. Such as the amount that is borrowed should not go beyond the given or agreed limit, interest also differs according to the am ount borrowed and the interest rate is higher than the bank base rate , sometime bank can charge the overdraft fee and finally overdraft cannot be obtained for long term. One more difficulty for SMEs to obtain finance through overdraft is SMEs can be asked to provide some kind of security depending on the size of overdraft facility. Security may be of any type for an example it can be tangible fixed assets or personal guarantees given by company directors. Venture Capital Venture capital provides long-term, committed share capital, to help unquoted companies grow and succeed. If an entrepreneur is looking to start-up, expand, buy-into a business, buy-out a business in which he works, turnaround or revitalise a company, venture capital could help do this. Obtaining venture capital is substantially different from raising debt or a loan from a lender. Lenders have a legal right to interest on a loan and repayment of the capital, irrespective of the success or failure of a business . Venture capital is invested in exchange for an equity stake in the business. As a shareholder, the venture capitalists return is dependent on the growth and profitability of the business. This return is generally earned when the venture capitalist exits by selling its shareholding when the business is sold to another owner. Venture capital in the UK originated in the late 18th century, when entrepreneurs found wealthy individuals to back their projects on an ad hoc basis. This informal method of financing became an industry in the late 1970s and early 1980s when a number of venture capital firms were founded. There are now over 100 active venture capital firms in the UK, which provide several billion pounds each year to unquoted companies mostly located in the UK. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Introduction It being any country, small and medium enterprises has become an integral part of it and provides remarkable contribution to its economy. SMEs play a pivotal role in job creation and in progress of country. Like UK, many countries now understand the importance of small business and started to diversify it for job creation and also for the long term development of the countrys economy. . SMEs constitute the majority of economies around the world, these highly contribute in private sector and one of which seems to be growing in folds with time. According to the reports of Bank of England (2003), approximately 54% of the total value is added by small and medium firms in the UK. In fact, in some sectors SMEs have contributed more than larger firms Entrepreneur and Entrepreneurship The word entrepreneur has been defined numerous times by the researchers in their research. There is no specific definition of entrepreneurship but there is a generally accepted definition which highlights its significant contribution in the growth of economy. An entrepreneur has the ability to provide momentum for the change, innovation in the traditional strategies and approach. They always try to introduce new ideas in the business market. Entrepreneur is someone who can gauge the financial risk during the business startup and has the ability to capitalize the opportunity of benefit of an enterprise. Besides, various researchers have determined different characteristics of an entrepreneur. For instance, according to Adler, 2002; Aldrich, 1989; Alstete, 2003; Anderson et al, 1992; Anna et al, 1999, an entrepreneur is very creative, skilful, innovative and always keen to explore new ideas and strategies. While, according to others the traits are Hunger for achievement Desire of total control Need of independence and leadership Low traditionalism Risk taker Dominance Moreover, Yonekura in 1984 suggested the characteristics like assertiveness, insistence, forward looking, critical thinking, creative, innovative, broad minded, creative etc. On the other hand, Burk (2002) proposed that optimistic, hard working and desire to achieve are the qualities which are common in entrepreneurs. There are various reasons for people to choose entrepreneurship and start their own business. This area has also been widely researched (Walker, 2004). Result of most of the studies done in this area show that people are motivated by personal and financial reasons like achievement need, independence, and the creation of wealth (Bird, 1989; Birley and Westhead, 1994; Burns, 1996; Hisrich, 1986; Kuratko et al., 1997). Generally, most of the studies suggest that personal internal reasons are more important motivations as compared to financial reasons in going into entrepreneurship (Gray, 1993). Despite of the above mentioned reasons, his/her present job situation also plays an important part and can influence them for business adoption. According to the Moore and Buttner (1997), unfavorable conditions experienced within the organization, for instance- lack of opportunities and less salary may also push them to start their own business. Furthermore, people who are jobless are also sometimes forced to become entrepreneurs (Still and Guerin, 1991), even though the clarity of the entry of business and its form are not that clear to them at the start (Praag, 2003; Vodopivec, 1998; Walker, 2004; Walker and Brown, 2004; Burke et al., 2002; Burns, 1996; Buttner Moore, 1997; - Process Involved in Business Start up Over the period of time remarkable changes have taken place in the work environment and culture of small and medium enterprises. The failure or the success of any organization depends upon the initial or the kick off stage of the business. The start up of any business activity depends upon the manner or the way in which the business makes arrangements or provisions of funds. The growth of the firm is the most important aspect and has to be done with taking care so that it can grow up to its full potential (Carter et. al., 1996; Carter Anderson, 2001; Carter Cannon, 1988; Chaganti Parasuraman, 1996; Cliff, 1998). Steps involved in the start up of any business activity can be classified as under:- Business Start up:- The theoretical aspects behind the set up or start up of any business are quite different from the practical ones which can be classified as under:- The creation of an idea Theory:- The start-up of the business by the entrepreneur begins with the setting of an idea. Idea is the stepping stone on which the business relies and most of the aspects of the business are considered in the initial idea itself. There are pros and corns to everything and in the business set-up the setting of idea itself leads to the same. Opportunity Recognition The recognition of the right opportunity at the right point in time is what the entrepreneur must be able do. The task of recognizing opportunity for the same is not an easy task at all. There may be loads of opportunities which arise in the market like they may be in the form of a new product or service that has to be offered to the customer (Kotler, 1972; Deshpande, 1983). Research of the market and forming of the Business plan Research plays a key role before the starting up any activity and business also demands for the same i.e. to conduct research and then formulate a business plan. The key role in set up of any business plan is by carrying out SWOT analysis of the same which means to recognize the Strength Weakness Opportunities and Threats that the organization has to offer (Kotler, 1990; Dyer, 1994). Finance Arrangement Finance is the blood stream of any organization and without the induction of finance no organization can operate. There are loads of sources available for the firms both small and medium sized. Basically for the small and medium enterprises there are mainly two sources of finance internal and external. The basic difference between the internal and external source is the element of interest. Internal sources as the name suggest is from friends family and the saving element and external is all that which leads to the payment of interest basically borrowed funds from sources such as banks, financial institutions etc. (Feldman Bolino, 2000; Fielden et al., 2003; Fitzgerald and Muske, 2002; Leazar, 2002). The small and medium firms in the initial stage cannot afford to bear any additional cost and the interest element also becomes a burden for them and they are mostly concerned with the internal sources of finance i.e. the money invested in the firms by family and friends (Lee Mathews, 1999; Hisrich, 1986). The other aspect of business is the big business houses which have their operation on a large scale and the finance is procured by them from banks and other leading financial institutions. Optimum Use of Resources Resources are the tools and materials which form the crux of any organization and making a proper use of the same plays a very important role in the growth and overall development of the organization. It is vital to make the best possible use of resources as in small towns the scope of business activities is limited as compared to big cities wherein the opportunities as well as the resources required are more and readily available Gimeno, 1997; Gray, 1993; Gatewood et al., 1995; Gundry Welsch, 2001) Resources are portrayed as being distanced from main markets and main centres of business activity, have lower and more dispersed population, a weaker infrastructure, local markets are limited due to lower population. Despite the apparent difficulties in starting up and running a business to towns, the number of businesses has grownà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. (Anderson, 1997) Problems in Starting Up a Business When starting up a business, the owner is bound to face some problems. There are basic steps and procedures that should be followed by the entrepreneur, while starting a business. But the problem arises when the successful implementation of these steps becomes difficult, due to the problems in the market. Sometimes things do no happen in reality as they were expected and also it may take longer time than expected (Martins et al., 2002; Marschack, 1994; Morrison, 2000; Olson, 1992; Praag, 2003; Rainbird, 1991). Major problems in starting up a business can be classified as: Goodwill- When a business is new, it lacks good reputation in the market, which is called Goodwill. In business, it is very important to have goodwill. It means that the business has trustworthy image in the market. Sometimes, just because of lack of goodwill, customers dont trust the company (Reynolds, 2000; Robichaud et al., 2001). Market Prediction- It is essential for the entrepreneur to have the market predictions. The market trends keep on fluctuating. Thus the entrepreneur has to mould himself according to the market situations. If he does not maintain pace with the market trends it becomes very difficult to be in the race. This is not a very easy job (Robinson, 1994; Shane, 1995; Smith, 2000). Financial Gap- The existence of a financial gap arises because demand from small firms is greater than the willingness of financial institutions to supply the finance at current market conditions. For finance such as bank loans, these gaps may be termed as credit rationing (Stanworth Stanworth, 1997). Getting the premises in prime location- Getting a good location to set up the business is a very big issue. The entrepreneur should keep in mind to get the best location. If the location is good and is very close to all the available resources then he can grab the opportunities of using these resources (Taylor, 1980). Judging the customer expectations- It is very hard to match the ever changing expectation and demands of the customers. It is very difficult to have an exact idea about the choice of the customers. In this case it becomes very difficult for the new firms to have an idea about the customer expectations (Timmons et al., 1985). Small and Medium Enterprises in the United Kingdom Source: http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/sme/smestats2008-ukspr.pdf. According to the department for business innovation and skills the profile of the small and medium scale enterprises are as follows: As per to the reports there were approximately 4.81 million private sector enterprises in the UK during the starting of 2008, which showed the increase of 104,0003 (2.2 per cent) since the start of 2007. These are the highest levels after the time series began in 1994. Approximately, 23.1 million people were employed by these enterprises with an estimated combined annual turnover of  £3,000 billion. Moreover, 99.9 percent of all enterprises were together accounts by the Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and 59.4 per cent of private sector employment and 50.1 percent of private sector turnover. Employment in SMEs is estimated at 13.7 million, 287,000 (2.1 per cent) higher than in 2007.Turnover in SMEs is estimated at  £1,500 billion,  £61 billion (4.2 per cent) higher than 2007.More industries experienced growth in the number of enterprises between the start of 2007 and the start of 2008, than experienced a fall. In percentage terms, the biggest increases were in the Mining and Quarrying; Electricity, Gas and Water Supply (19.3 per cent) and Financial Intermediation (10.2 per cent) sectors and the biggest falls in the number of enterprises were in the Manufacturing (- 6.9 per cent) and Other Community, Social and Personal Service Activities (-4.7per cent) sectors (http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/sme/smestats2008-ukspr.pdf).à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? As such, out of the 4.81 million private enterprises in the United Kingdom, 99.9 percent are classified as small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) and they are responsible for 59.4 percent of employment in the country as well as 50.1 percent of private sector turnover. The sector also experienced growth from 2007 to 2008 (http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/sme/smestats2008-ukspr.pdf). Most of these private enterprises are (see Table 1) small which is 99.3 percent of the total and they employ about 0 to 49 employees per enterprise while the medium enterprises is 0.6 percent which numbered at 27,000 enterprises and employs from 50 to 249 employees per firm. The large enterprises employs more than 250 employees per firm percent which numbered at 27,000 enterprises and employs from 50 to 249 employees per firm. ISSUES FOR SMEs AND ENTREPRENEURS According to Deakins and Freel (2003), small and medium sized firms do not easily get finance because of the restrictions imposed on them. Notably these SMEs have very less equity and very high risk is associated with them. As a result, most of the sources of finance are not accessible, for instance Stock Exchange. There are mainly two sources that entrepreneurs use that is Internal Source and External Source. Internal source includes personal equity, which are usually remortgages, savings and money taken from friends and family members. While external sources of finance comprises loan taken from bank, venture capitalist, formal investors. Few more sources include leasing, hire purchase and factoring. However, there are various sources of finance available for the SMEs; it is worth discussing the problems faced by the entrepreneurs and constraints of financing. Major issues for SMEs are Financial gap Getting finance from bank Role of security Credit scoring Financial Gap: It mainly occurs when the financial need of SMEs is not fulfilled by financial institutions because of the current market conditions the present situation (credit crunch) further adding problems to the same. It happens when the demand side of the curve exceeds the supply. However, it is still a debatable topic whether this gap is the result of information asymmetries or it is due to the reputational effects. Informational asymmetries are basically considered as the imperfect information provided to the financing institutions, which suggests that there will be insufficient funds available for the firms (Stiglits and Weiss, 1981). According to Shane and Cable (2008), it is likely that few firms specially manufacturing and technology based companies are often reluctant to give full information about their company to avoid the disclosure which can make it easier for others to use it. Moreover, there are few more categories which can face financial gap, such as young entrepreneurs and those who belong to remote areas. Young entrepreneurs mainly lack to provide the security, while for the entrepreneurs in the remote areas, it is quite difficult to get access with the banks (OCED, 2008) Getting finance from bank: However, banks are easily accessible; it is less likely that entrepreneurs get favourable offers from them. Short-term financing given by banks only looks theoretically attractive. Besides, banks also face issue in assessing the proposition from the borrower, which generally arises when both provider and borrower share different set of information. For banks, two main issues are: Adverse Selection Moral Hazard Adverse Selection: This arises when a bank is unable to assess a proposition correctly. For instance, when it refuses to provide for a proposition which could have been successful or when it accepts the position which results as failure. Moral Hazard: It causes more serious problem for banks and ultimately causes problems for the entrepreneurs having less/no security to offer. It can occur when a firm misuses the security-free financing from the banks, as there is no guarantee taken from the firm to repay the loan. This is a monitoring problem for banks and for comparatively smaller amount of loans; it is not economic to observe them closely. However, this creates problem for the entrepreneurs who lack sufficient equity and security. Role of security: This has now been widely used to overcome the shortcomings like moral hazard and adverse selection. However, bank officers can also choose to have frequent monitoring of the information to reduce the adverse selection, a cost minimisation approach (role of security) seems to be a better option. Furthermore, collateral seems to be a better option because it ensures commitment from the borrower and allows bank to make safer deal. It also enhances the chances of loss recovery in case of adverse selection. Credit Scoring:- Nowadays, this computerized technique has been widely used by banks. Credit scoring is based on considering various variables of the borrower such as, occupation, post code of home address, previous payment records and other commitments Taking all the above mentioned things into consideration, a computerized acceptance or rejection report is generated. Credit scoring has brought a remarkable reduction in decision making for the bank managers. In most of the leading banks of UK like NatWest, Barclays, Lloyds/TSB, Bank of Scotland, use different systems to measure credit of the loan applicant. Albeit, few above mentioned banks have adopted this technique completely, there are some banks still relying and using both methods (Credit scoring and decision making) However, credit scoring has proved to be a boon for the banks, it has some demerits as well. It only judges the applications on the basis of past records. This technique may reject the proposal which sounds beneficial and successful but dont have good credit history and past records. Study On The Financial Sources For SMEs Study On The Financial Sources For SMEs Introduction SMEs are those industries, which are unquoted in a stock exchange, run by few individuals or a type of family businesses having connection with shareholders. According to South West Venture Fund, SME is a company or business that has less than 250 employees and has an annual turnover not exceeding approximately  £24 million. SME sector is very large in UK economy. There are 3.7 million businesses in UK according to the survey conducted in 2003 by Department of Trade and Industries (DTI) and 99% of those are small and medium sized and survey also suggested that UK gains 50% of its total turnover from SME sector. On the other hand according to the report of HM Treasury 2008 there are 4.7 million SMEs in the UK and are responsible for more than 52 per cent of total UK business turnover. Therefore it can be seen that SMEs have an important role to play to drive UK growth and the average productivity of SMEs has increased in the last ten years. On the other hand SMEs are struggling in accessing to finance whereas there are many sources of finance available in UK. The main problem with SMEs to obtain finance is that of uncertainty. Investors most of the time dont rely on SMEs in investing because SMEs does not have a long track record of success. Banks are quite nerves of SMEs to investment because SMEs represent high credit risk. The problem is, banks are not increasing the loan amount without increasing security given and most of the SME owners are unable to provide security. There are many SMEs without tangible assets to use as a security for all lenders. All the financial sources for SMEs are listed below with brief description. Business Angles Business angles are private individuals who invest their own assets in SME or start-up businesses. Business angles also share their personal business experience with other entrepreneurs. LBA (London Business Angles) provides great services to innovative starting-up businesses who seeks the capital more than  £100 k for their future growth. London Business Angle runs by Greater London Enterprise (GLE). The main reason behind investing by business angles is that they are very experienced and successful entrepreneurs and they not only provide finance they also train new business through sharing their experience. The fact on the other hand is only few companies can find business angles, LBA receive 1000 business plan and after the whole selection procedure only 42 business have been invited to invest with. Another group of business angles BBAA (British Business Angles Association) is also working to provide financial help to early stage businesses. Every year private individual or these business angles invest between  £800 million to  £1 billion in starting-up business and SMEs. Overdraft Financing Overdraft financing is another most popular way of accessing to finance for SMEs. In overdraft financing, payments are made from the current account of business when the amount exceeds the available balance. Through the overdraft facility business gets short-term funds whereas the amount which is loaned is repayable according to the bank demand. There are some benefits of overdraft facilities such as the borrowed amount can be changed within the limit and interest is only payable on the amount borrowed. The main disadvantages of overdrafts are, bank can ask to pay back the money very sooner than expected time, overdraft limit can be changed at any time by the bank, overdraft facility cannot be used if large amount is needed and the interest rate is higher than the bank loan. Some other factors must be considered when using overdraft facility to obtain finance. Such as the amount that is borrowed should not go beyond the given or agreed limit, interest also differs according to the am ount borrowed and the interest rate is higher than the bank base rate , sometime bank can charge the overdraft fee and finally overdraft cannot be obtained for long term. One more difficulty for SMEs to obtain finance through overdraft is SMEs can be asked to provide some kind of security depending on the size of overdraft facility. Security may be of any type for an example it can be tangible fixed assets or personal guarantees given by company directors. Venture Capital Venture capital provides long-term, committed share capital, to help unquoted companies grow and succeed. If an entrepreneur is looking to start-up, expand, buy-into a business, buy-out a business in which he works, turnaround or revitalise a company, venture capital could help do this. Obtaining venture capital is substantially different from raising debt or a loan from a lender. Lenders have a legal right to interest on a loan and repayment of the capital, irrespective of the success or failure of a business . Venture capital is invested in exchange for an equity stake in the business. As a shareholder, the venture capitalists return is dependent on the growth and profitability of the business. This return is generally earned when the venture capitalist exits by selling its shareholding when the business is sold to another owner. Venture capital in the UK originated in the late 18th century, when entrepreneurs found wealthy individuals to back their projects on an ad hoc basis. This informal method of financing became an industry in the late 1970s and early 1980s when a number of venture capital firms were founded. There are now over 100 active venture capital firms in the UK, which provide several billion pounds each year to unquoted companies mostly located in the UK. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Introduction It being any country, small and medium enterprises has become an integral part of it and provides remarkable contribution to its economy. SMEs play a pivotal role in job creation and in progress of country. Like UK, many countries now understand the importance of small business and started to diversify it for job creation and also for the long term development of the countrys economy. . SMEs constitute the majority of economies around the world, these highly contribute in private sector and one of which seems to be growing in folds with time. According to the reports of Bank of England (2003), approximately 54% of the total value is added by small and medium firms in the UK. In fact, in some sectors SMEs have contributed more than larger firms Entrepreneur and Entrepreneurship The word entrepreneur has been defined numerous times by the researchers in their research. There is no specific definition of entrepreneurship but there is a generally accepted definition which highlights its significant contribution in the growth of economy. An entrepreneur has the ability to provide momentum for the change, innovation in the traditional strategies and approach. They always try to introduce new ideas in the business market. Entrepreneur is someone who can gauge the financial risk during the business startup and has the ability to capitalize the opportunity of benefit of an enterprise. Besides, various researchers have determined different characteristics of an entrepreneur. For instance, according to Adler, 2002; Aldrich, 1989; Alstete, 2003; Anderson et al, 1992; Anna et al, 1999, an entrepreneur is very creative, skilful, innovative and always keen to explore new ideas and strategies. While, according to others the traits are Hunger for achievement Desire of total control Need of independence and leadership Low traditionalism Risk taker Dominance Moreover, Yonekura in 1984 suggested the characteristics like assertiveness, insistence, forward looking, critical thinking, creative, innovative, broad minded, creative etc. On the other hand, Burk (2002) proposed that optimistic, hard working and desire to achieve are the qualities which are common in entrepreneurs. There are various reasons for people to choose entrepreneurship and start their own business. This area has also been widely researched (Walker, 2004). Result of most of the studies done in this area show that people are motivated by personal and financial reasons like achievement need, independence, and the creation of wealth (Bird, 1989; Birley and Westhead, 1994; Burns, 1996; Hisrich, 1986; Kuratko et al., 1997). Generally, most of the studies suggest that personal internal reasons are more important motivations as compared to financial reasons in going into entrepreneurship (Gray, 1993). Despite of the above mentioned reasons, his/her present job situation also plays an important part and can influence them for business adoption. According to the Moore and Buttner (1997), unfavorable conditions experienced within the organization, for instance- lack of opportunities and less salary may also push them to start their own business. Furthermore, people who are jobless are also sometimes forced to become entrepreneurs (Still and Guerin, 1991), even though the clarity of the entry of business and its form are not that clear to them at the start (Praag, 2003; Vodopivec, 1998; Walker, 2004; Walker and Brown, 2004; Burke et al., 2002; Burns, 1996; Buttner Moore, 1997; - Process Involved in Business Start up Over the period of time remarkable changes have taken place in the work environment and culture of small and medium enterprises. The failure or the success of any organization depends upon the initial or the kick off stage of the business. The start up of any business activity depends upon the manner or the way in which the business makes arrangements or provisions of funds. The growth of the firm is the most important aspect and has to be done with taking care so that it can grow up to its full potential (Carter et. al., 1996; Carter Anderson, 2001; Carter Cannon, 1988; Chaganti Parasuraman, 1996; Cliff, 1998). Steps involved in the start up of any business activity can be classified as under:- Business Start up:- The theoretical aspects behind the set up or start up of any business are quite different from the practical ones which can be classified as under:- The creation of an idea Theory:- The start-up of the business by the entrepreneur begins with the setting of an idea. Idea is the stepping stone on which the business relies and most of the aspects of the business are considered in the initial idea itself. There are pros and corns to everything and in the business set-up the setting of idea itself leads to the same. Opportunity Recognition The recognition of the right opportunity at the right point in time is what the entrepreneur must be able do. The task of recognizing opportunity for the same is not an easy task at all. There may be loads of opportunities which arise in the market like they may be in the form of a new product or service that has to be offered to the customer (Kotler, 1972; Deshpande, 1983). Research of the market and forming of the Business plan Research plays a key role before the starting up any activity and business also demands for the same i.e. to conduct research and then formulate a business plan. The key role in set up of any business plan is by carrying out SWOT analysis of the same which means to recognize the Strength Weakness Opportunities and Threats that the organization has to offer (Kotler, 1990; Dyer, 1994). Finance Arrangement Finance is the blood stream of any organization and without the induction of finance no organization can operate. There are loads of sources available for the firms both small and medium sized. Basically for the small and medium enterprises there are mainly two sources of finance internal and external. The basic difference between the internal and external source is the element of interest. Internal sources as the name suggest is from friends family and the saving element and external is all that which leads to the payment of interest basically borrowed funds from sources such as banks, financial institutions etc. (Feldman Bolino, 2000; Fielden et al., 2003; Fitzgerald and Muske, 2002; Leazar, 2002). The small and medium firms in the initial stage cannot afford to bear any additional cost and the interest element also becomes a burden for them and they are mostly concerned with the internal sources of finance i.e. the money invested in the firms by family and friends (Lee Mathews, 1999; Hisrich, 1986). The other aspect of business is the big business houses which have their operation on a large scale and the finance is procured by them from banks and other leading financial institutions. Optimum Use of Resources Resources are the tools and materials which form the crux of any organization and making a proper use of the same plays a very important role in the growth and overall development of the organization. It is vital to make the best possible use of resources as in small towns the scope of business activities is limited as compared to big cities wherein the opportunities as well as the resources required are more and readily available Gimeno, 1997; Gray, 1993; Gatewood et al., 1995; Gundry Welsch, 2001) Resources are portrayed as being distanced from main markets and main centres of business activity, have lower and more dispersed population, a weaker infrastructure, local markets are limited due to lower population. Despite the apparent difficulties in starting up and running a business to towns, the number of businesses has grownà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. (Anderson, 1997) Problems in Starting Up a Business When starting up a business, the owner is bound to face some problems. There are basic steps and procedures that should be followed by the entrepreneur, while starting a business. But the problem arises when the successful implementation of these steps becomes difficult, due to the problems in the market. Sometimes things do no happen in reality as they were expected and also it may take longer time than expected (Martins et al., 2002; Marschack, 1994; Morrison, 2000; Olson, 1992; Praag, 2003; Rainbird, 1991). Major problems in starting up a business can be classified as: Goodwill- When a business is new, it lacks good reputation in the market, which is called Goodwill. In business, it is very important to have goodwill. It means that the business has trustworthy image in the market. Sometimes, just because of lack of goodwill, customers dont trust the company (Reynolds, 2000; Robichaud et al., 2001). Market Prediction- It is essential for the entrepreneur to have the market predictions. The market trends keep on fluctuating. Thus the entrepreneur has to mould himself according to the market situations. If he does not maintain pace with the market trends it becomes very difficult to be in the race. This is not a very easy job (Robinson, 1994; Shane, 1995; Smith, 2000). Financial Gap- The existence of a financial gap arises because demand from small firms is greater than the willingness of financial institutions to supply the finance at current market conditions. For finance such as bank loans, these gaps may be termed as credit rationing (Stanworth Stanworth, 1997). Getting the premises in prime location- Getting a good location to set up the business is a very big issue. The entrepreneur should keep in mind to get the best location. If the location is good and is very close to all the available resources then he can grab the opportunities of using these resources (Taylor, 1980). Judging the customer expectations- It is very hard to match the ever changing expectation and demands of the customers. It is very difficult to have an exact idea about the choice of the customers. In this case it becomes very difficult for the new firms to have an idea about the customer expectations (Timmons et al., 1985). Small and Medium Enterprises in the United Kingdom Source: http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/sme/smestats2008-ukspr.pdf. According to the department for business innovation and skills the profile of the small and medium scale enterprises are as follows: As per to the reports there were approximately 4.81 million private sector enterprises in the UK during the starting of 2008, which showed the increase of 104,0003 (2.2 per cent) since the start of 2007. These are the highest levels after the time series began in 1994. Approximately, 23.1 million people were employed by these enterprises with an estimated combined annual turnover of  £3,000 billion. Moreover, 99.9 percent of all enterprises were together accounts by the Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and 59.4 per cent of private sector employment and 50.1 percent of private sector turnover. Employment in SMEs is estimated at 13.7 million, 287,000 (2.1 per cent) higher than in 2007.Turnover in SMEs is estimated at  £1,500 billion,  £61 billion (4.2 per cent) higher than 2007.More industries experienced growth in the number of enterprises between the start of 2007 and the start of 2008, than experienced a fall. In percentage terms, the biggest increases were in the Mining and Quarrying; Electricity, Gas and Water Supply (19.3 per cent) and Financial Intermediation (10.2 per cent) sectors and the biggest falls in the number of enterprises were in the Manufacturing (- 6.9 per cent) and Other Community, Social and Personal Service Activities (-4.7per cent) sectors (http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/sme/smestats2008-ukspr.pdf).à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? As such, out of the 4.81 million private enterprises in the United Kingdom, 99.9 percent are classified as small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) and they are responsible for 59.4 percent of employment in the country as well as 50.1 percent of private sector turnover. The sector also experienced growth from 2007 to 2008 (http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/sme/smestats2008-ukspr.pdf). Most of these private enterprises are (see Table 1) small which is 99.3 percent of the total and they employ about 0 to 49 employees per enterprise while the medium enterprises is 0.6 percent which numbered at 27,000 enterprises and employs from 50 to 249 employees per firm. The large enterprises employs more than 250 employees per firm percent which numbered at 27,000 enterprises and employs from 50 to 249 employees per firm. ISSUES FOR SMEs AND ENTREPRENEURS According to Deakins and Freel (2003), small and medium sized firms do not easily get finance because of the restrictions imposed on them. Notably these SMEs have very less equity and very high risk is associated with them. As a result, most of the sources of finance are not accessible, for instance Stock Exchange. There are mainly two sources that entrepreneurs use that is Internal Source and External Source. Internal source includes personal equity, which are usually remortgages, savings and money taken from friends and family members. While external sources of finance comprises loan taken from bank, venture capitalist, formal investors. Few more sources include leasing, hire purchase and factoring. However, there are various sources of finance available for the SMEs; it is worth discussing the problems faced by the entrepreneurs and constraints of financing. Major issues for SMEs are Financial gap Getting finance from bank Role of security Credit scoring Financial Gap: It mainly occurs when the financial need of SMEs is not fulfilled by financial institutions because of the current market conditions the present situation (credit crunch) further adding problems to the same. It happens when the demand side of the curve exceeds the supply. However, it is still a debatable topic whether this gap is the result of information asymmetries or it is due to the reputational effects. Informational asymmetries are basically considered as the imperfect information provided to the financing institutions, which suggests that there will be insufficient funds available for the firms (Stiglits and Weiss, 1981). According to Shane and Cable (2008), it is likely that few firms specially manufacturing and technology based companies are often reluctant to give full information about their company to avoid the disclosure which can make it easier for others to use it. Moreover, there are few more categories which can face financial gap, such as young entrepreneurs and those who belong to remote areas. Young entrepreneurs mainly lack to provide the security, while for the entrepreneurs in the remote areas, it is quite difficult to get access with the banks (OCED, 2008) Getting finance from bank: However, banks are easily accessible; it is less likely that entrepreneurs get favourable offers from them. Short-term financing given by banks only looks theoretically attractive. Besides, banks also face issue in assessing the proposition from the borrower, which generally arises when both provider and borrower share different set of information. For banks, two main issues are: Adverse Selection Moral Hazard Adverse Selection: This arises when a bank is unable to assess a proposition correctly. For instance, when it refuses to provide for a proposition which could have been successful or when it accepts the position which results as failure. Moral Hazard: It causes more serious problem for banks and ultimately causes problems for the entrepreneurs having less/no security to offer. It can occur when a firm misuses the security-free financing from the banks, as there is no guarantee taken from the firm to repay the loan. This is a monitoring problem for banks and for comparatively smaller amount of loans; it is not economic to observe them closely. However, this creates problem for the entrepreneurs who lack sufficient equity and security. Role of security: This has now been widely used to overcome the shortcomings like moral hazard and adverse selection. However, bank officers can also choose to have frequent monitoring of the information to reduce the adverse selection, a cost minimisation approach (role of security) seems to be a better option. Furthermore, collateral seems to be a better option because it ensures commitment from the borrower and allows bank to make safer deal. It also enhances the chances of loss recovery in case of adverse selection. Credit Scoring:- Nowadays, this computerized technique has been widely used by banks. Credit scoring is based on considering various variables of the borrower such as, occupation, post code of home address, previous payment records and other commitments Taking all the above mentioned things into consideration, a computerized acceptance or rejection report is generated. Credit scoring has brought a remarkable reduction in decision making for the bank managers. In most of the leading banks of UK like NatWest, Barclays, Lloyds/TSB, Bank of Scotland, use different systems to measure credit of the loan applicant. Albeit, few above mentioned banks have adopted this technique completely, there are some banks still relying and using both methods (Credit scoring and decision making) However, credit scoring has proved to be a boon for the banks, it has some demerits as well. It only judges the applications on the basis of past records. This technique may reject the proposal which sounds beneficial and successful but dont have good credit history and past records.

The Future of Education :: essays papers

The Future of Education The future of education is very promising to younger generations. From Kindergarten though college many changes are brewing. On the horizon are things like smart objects, full-length online courses, and prosthetic devices designed to equalize education. Online courses soon will prevail over the traditional high school and college education. Online Universities will create classes sponsored by companies. These companies will direct the universities on the materials of the course. The company will then offer those who pass the course a job. This will created a skilled worked specifically for a position in a company. Teachers will take a backseat in these courses. Teachers will offer one-on-one help and help people work collaboratively. These teachers will be more of a guide then a true classroom teacher. Also on the horizon are smart objects. These objects are geared more to small children then those in high school or college. Objects with animations such as building blocks that can talk and light up to indicate to a child how to stack them correctly. Objects that will test a child’s spelling and reading skills. Smart books and tools that require a child to listen and react. Another development is in the area of prosthetics. These new prosthetics are uses to make education equal for all children. They have recently developed an implant for children with hearing disabilities. Microelectronic lenses are being designed now for those with reading and sight problems. No longer will a child be left behind because or his or her disability. All education for children with be as equal as possible. As you can see the future for the education world is bright. There are many developments to make education more efficient, simpler, and equal for all from

Strategies for Reviving the Japanese Economy :: essays papers

Strategies for Reviving the Japanese Economy Introduction 1. Assessment of the Current Economy The Japanese economy has begun to show some signs of change as the effects of recent large-scale economic packages have gradually helped to stop the severe economic downturn. But despite this progress, private demand as a whole remains stagnant. Therefore, the economic prospects for self-supported recovery are still uncertain once the economic effects of the last packages have phased out. The fundamental problems pertinent to the weak economy are twofold. First, the true adjustment of the burst of the bubble economy is still insufficient. Second, against the background of the sharp decline in the number of births and the rapid aging of the population, the pace of which has not been experienced in other industrialized nations, the "Japanese system"--the engine of the country's astonishing high growth in the postwar era--has turned problematic with regard to economic growth. First, fears about employment prospects, future pension plans, and the sharp rise in government deficits are obviously restraining an economic turnaround. These fears are attributable to eroding sustainability in the Japanese-style wage and employment systems and the generous social security system. To cope with the situation, provisions of renewed safety nets are urgently needed. Furthermore, the rising fiscal deficits are restraining economic upturn by making people serious about future tax hikes and raising long-term interest rates. Measures to restore government fiscal balances in the medium and long term are also required. Second, the Japanese social system, which has looked highly on across-the-board equality, has generated a bloated public sector and inefficient resource allocation. Typical examples are excessive regulation, overprotection, lack of self-reliance, and the "convoy" system. To cope with these problems, a new system needs to be built in which all production factors such as capital, labor, and land should be best allocated in a more efficient way through fundamental reforms in the public sector and full utilization of the market mechanism. Third, a Japanese management style that depends on unrealized capital gains has become obsolete by international standards, and has made the new challenge difficult. The Japanese financial system of indirect financial intermediation, which is based on land as collateral, has been malfunctioning. A new business management as well as a new financial system that will fit the Japanese economy in the 21st century need to be established early, so that the abundant savings of Japan are best mobilized for economic development in the next century.

Presidential Power :: essays research papers

Richard E. Neustadt, the author of Presidential Power, addresses the politics of leadership and how the citizens of the United States rate the performance of the president's term. We measure his leadership by saying that he is either "weak or "strong" and Neustadt argues that we have the right to do so, because his office has become the focal point of politics and policy in our political system. Neustadt brings to light three main points: how we measure the president, his strategy of presidential influence, and how to study them both. Today we deal with the President himself and with his influence on government action. The president now includes about 2000 men and women, the president is only one of them, but his performance can not be measured without focusing on himself. Richard Neustadt today is a professor of politics and has written many books on subjects pertaining to government and the inter workings of governments. He has many years of personal experience working with the government along with the knowledge of what makes a president powerful. He has worked under President Truman, Kennedy and Johnson. His credibility of politics has enhanced his respect in the field of politics. His works are studied in many Universities and he is considered well versed in his opinions of many different presidents. It is true that he seems to use Truman and Eisenhower as the main examples in this book and does show the reader the mistakes he believes were made along the way in achieving power. Neustagt begins with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, whom he believes is the one president that knew how best to yield his power. He uses other examples throughout the book of Presidents from FDR to Reagan and endeavors to show the reader the ways in which power and persuasion was used in order for the presidents too perform at the best of their ability and still retain the power to persuade in order to govern the country and appease the public. Neustadt points out to the reader his opinion of the ways the president power is seen by others and how affective it is when certain strategies are applied correctly.

American Civil War and United Fruit Company Essay

In, â€Å"Testimony: Death of a Guatemalan Village,† Victor Montejo describes events surrounding the military regimes occurring throughout Guatemala. The book itself is an eyewitness account detailing one instance of violence between the indigenous peoples village’s â€Å"civil patrol† and the army. This occurrence leads to the execution and imprisonment of many villagers. Even though the book is mainly a testimony by one person, in which he discusses the personal conflicts and struggle between himself and the army, the account is structured around the Guatemalan civil war and the conflict between the government and civilians. The Guatemalan Civil War occurred between the years 1960 to 1996. It was a battle between the government of Guatemala and the numerous leftist rebel groups who were supported by the Mayan indigenous, poor, and working class. This civil war began as the many poor realized that their government had little concern for them, as the elites in the country owned most of the land. Much of the land was also owned by multinational corporations, such as the U. S. wned â€Å"United Fruit Company† in the 1940s and 50s. The result of this unequal land ownership, which also contributed to an unbalanced distribution of wealth, led to an oppressed population living in extreme poverty. These local hardships were ultimately the driving force behind the rebellious leftist groups As military leaders began to have control of the government by the 1960’s and through the 1970s, physical violence became a method used to overthrow political opposition. As other countries in Latin America had their own revolutions; Guatemalan citizens looked to them as a source of inspiration for their attempts to take control of their country. The example of Cuba became a stepping stone and a clear example for Guatemala as Fidel Castro was successful throughout the Cuban Revolution in Cuba and was able to overthrow the Batista family. Other examples included the Sandinista guerilla movement who successfully completed a revolution in Nicaragua in 1979, and in El Salvador where the FMLN guerillas also appeared to be having similar results. However, these regimes are appealing at first, but after having them continue for long periods, much conflict ensued which contributed to much loss for the poor rebels and their fight for sovereignty. Looking at Montejo’s testimony, Maria Lupe’s testimony, and the cold war in Guatemala; we will examine how these violent regimes appeared to the civilians, their effects on society, and their connection to the civil war. Victor Montejo describes several political instances that have led to the people’s desire for a revolt against the acting government. He mentions that former president Lucas Garcia left many things â€Å"undone;† though not much information is given for background information of Garcia, we can conclude that he was responsible for the growth of the military’s power and an initial cause for the dissent of the poor. He also mentions Garcia’s successor, president Efrain Rios Montt and his lack on taking the government out of the hand of the military. Montejo states â€Å"no president would be able to control the situation because the military were the ones in charge. Later on Montejo reveals that under Lucas Garcia’s administration’s military; â€Å"paramilitary, police, and priests, were kidnapped, tortured, and killed; or rather anyone who had influence in the town who spoke out against the government. † As the government paved ways to try to economically stabilize the state, many of its poor suffered, and regimes occurred to support the poor, leading many to suspect communistic or socialist identities, and a desire for government change. With the military being in control, with help and support coming from the U.  S. , the army was used to stamp out the leftist guerrillas who were pushing for a new government that would support the people. Looking at Montejo’s testimony, we see the creations of civil patrols, a group of men designated by the military government to protect their town from the guerillas. However, some of these patrolmen were thought to also secretly support the guerrillas and under a confused set of operations, attacked the army and; according to Montejo’s testimony, many villagers were killed. The army also rob and burn down parts of the village. In one case, a young man who was part of the patrols is shot and as he laid dying, reveals that the uniform worn (in that particular day) by the army was similar to the ones the guerrillas would wear, except that the guerrillas didn’t cause any harm as they walk through the village. This has a lot to say about how the civilians saw the government’s military, and how they saw their repressive state; being something they had to do without question due to fear. Taking a look at the testimony alone, we can also see how society was effected. Out of Montejo’s brief background detailing the ailures of the presidents and the absolute repression faced by the civilians, we can conclude that the governments force to keep the guerillas unsuccessful was limited and pushed society into rebellions. In other words, as the army continued to torture and persecute the innocent, many found it necessary to fall into the hands of the guerrillas in order to stamp out their oppression. Maria Lupe’s account is similar to Montejos. She describes her hardships as a house wife, working on a plantation of a rich land owner. Her husband worked for 50 cents per day, and her payment was in food. She mentions moving closer to the north in a town called Ixcan, hoping for better jobs. At about two years the member of the guerrilla army for the poor began entering the town, recruiting people, and telling them that they were fighting so that they could all live better lives. After she had met with the guerrillas, she realized that their interests were aligned with hers. The guerillas and â€Å"companeros† as the group was called, effected society for the better; they were able to construct support within the community, almost â€Å"communistic† in style; sharing food, selling materials, and taking care of each other. She mentions that spies were beginning to infiltrate the village and set up a military commissioner. Just as Montejo, suspicion of guerrilla collaboration was dangerous and could lead to death. She eventually becomes involved with this group which enables her to feel secure, and at some point is given arms for protection. She also mentions that the †companeros† made efforts to include women and support women’s roles in society, outside of the home, giving women more of a say in the community. We see an opposite reaction as to how the civilians felt about the guerrillas that is only slightly mentioned in Montejo’s testimony through the eyes of the dying patrolmen when he mentions that the guerrillas never attack them. The government military’s efforts was to remove any dissent, particularly those of the guerrillas. The hatred for them is revealed in Montejos testimony, as he is constantly beaten by the army because of the suspicion of him being a guerrilla. He eventually flees the country for fear that they may target him again under false pretenses. In Lupe’s account the military is the enemy, and when suspicion arises, she is arrested and detained for several months, leaving behind her children; she later flees and leaves the community, having to work for low wages again in another town. Lupe’s case shines a light upon the guerrillas, they are almost portrayed as saviors. She never discusses the government’s military repression into great detail, but we see here that civilians showed a bit of amnesty toward the guerrillas and favored their motives against the repressive government. The history of these conflicts stem from the effects of the Guatemalan civil war. Initially, it began as a â€Å"social revolution,† a stance against neo-colonialism. Through 1944 to 1954, Guatemala experienced the â€Å"Ten Years of Spring† a time when two democratically elected Presidents; Arevalo and Arbenz, stressed reform, nationalism, and new constitutions. The Arbenz reforms stressed the importance to remove any outside corporations and instead focused on independent commerce within the country. He was able to move Guatemala from a semi-colonial system to an independent country. He did this by moving the country’s economy from a feudal system to a more capitalistic one. He was also able to raise the standard of living for most of the population. In order to do so, he confiscated large estates and redistributed them to the peasants, he also seized unused â€Å"United Fruit Company† and railroad lands to benefit his people. His most controversial step was his opposition to the â€Å"Declaration of Caracas,† which aligned all of Latin America with the United States to ensure the â€Å"success† of democracy. He instead supported solidarity against U. S. interventions. This lead to wide speculation by the Eisenhower administration, and concluded that Guatemala was moving toward communism. This led to a huge U. S. infiltration on the Guatemalan government. The U. S. trained and armed proxy forces in Honduras who later joined the conservative Guatemalan military to overthrow Arbenz. These coups are the ones who will become responsible for the military takeover that plagued Guatemala for many years, and which are highlighted in Montejo’s and Lupe’s accounts. By June 1954 a new military junta in Guatemala formed, supported by the U. S. nd established the â€Å"National Committee of Defense Against Communism,† which allowed for the arrest and death penalty of â€Å"subversive† activities. By September 1954, General Carlos Castillo Armas, who was supported by the U. S. becomes president of Guatemala. He then forces society to reverse many of the Abrenz reforms; revoking voting rights for illiterates, which made up half of the population, forced peasants to leave the acquired lands, banned political parties and peasant organizations, and restored the secret police. By the 1960s, a 36 year civil war had begun, with the U. S. supporting the authoritarian government. With the onset of the civil war, we see the outcomes which shaped Montejo’s and Lupe’s testimony, and the hardships the civilians faced and the effects on society; being banished from lands that were given to them, having to abandon jobs and a thriving economy due to outside efforts to contain â€Å"communism. † For three decades the civil war was fought, a fight, one might say, to reclaim what belonged to Guatemala from greedy outsiders and those wanting to ensure their own success, while the poor Indians had no say in government and were forced to remain loyal to a government that did not share in their interests. Luckily, the civil war came to an end and the violent regimes once waged ceased. However, through the eyes of Montejo and Lupe, we are able to see the lives of the civilians that had to live under the repressed state and the attitudes these people shared for their government, leaving an important legacy for all people to witness, that regimes started by the poor where necessary in order to create a society where everyone had an equal share to the same rights as the elites.