Wednesday, October 30, 2019

The Cold War Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Cold War - Assignment Example 2010) That said there was plenty of room for disagreements and competition to erupt between the two; There are three are reasons that generally gave the United States little choice but to become a part of the Cold War. The first was the issues of free elections that Poland should have been able to participate. But due to under the table deal making by Stalin with Hitler during World War II the Soviet Union would not allow Poland their free elections. For this reason President Truman made it clear that as our allies we were required to aid and support them; the same was true of our Mediterranean allies.(Henretta et al. 2010) This pushed us into involvement. Next, was the arms competition. The aforementioned arms race left America little choice but to participate in the Cold War, or else face the Soviet Union becoming more powerful and far more dangerous. Lastly, the United States being entering into the Cold War had a great deal to do with ideology and philosophical belief systems. Th e Cold War represented the war between Democracy and Communism. Defeating the Soviet Union was the same as gaining the upper hand over Communism. Ultimately, the United States and the Soviet Union did not destroy each other, or the rest of the world, obviously. However, some scholars today will tell you that the Cold War did not end in the 1960s, as often stated; it did not until the Soviet Union officially fell decades

Monday, October 28, 2019

The structure of the business Essay Example for Free

The structure of the business Essay As you can see from the organisational chart above, Venetian Ices LTD is a respectful size. As from the diagram above it is obvious that there is a large span of control and a reasonable chain of command, this means that communication is very accurate as there is less levels for messages to pass through before the message finally reaches the desired person. Managers are also at an advantage as they are less remote from the lower level of hierarchy, these managers as a result are more in touch with subordinates as there are less managers. Also as there is a small chain of command and a large span of control, managers have more responsibilities, this may at first seem as a disadvantage but after consideration, it is obvious that under the circumstances more delegation will occur meaning subordinates will have more to do. As a result of this employees will come more motivated as there is more of a responsibility handed to them. However a foremost disadvantage is that as managers have a wider range of control, then they may lose control of what their many subordinates are doing. In most businesses there are 4 main functions- Marketing, Production, Finance and Personnel. The production function which I am concerned with throughout this course work, is in charge of ordering the raw materials in which the business produces its product, this is vital as with-out the raw materials then the business would not be able to process the product or in other words, without the raw material Venetian Ices LTD would not be able to produce their ice cream and therefore will be unable to make a profit. The department is also in charge of designing the product along side the marketing section, the two sections try to work together to provide the best product available. This section of production also works together with the finance department in case of damaged machinery of any new material the business has to purchase, if there are any problems then the production manager would provide listings of new investments needed. The production department also have to work within laws of production, in order to make sure that when they produce their product they are abiding different laws which surround the business. This is an aspect of my course work which I have to research into, as I have to reveal to the Venetian Ices LTD directors which laws they have to abide by to produce ice cream. There are three main methods of production, job production, batch production and flow production. Job production is where products are made specifically to order, for example a tailor would make a new suit to match the consumer needs. In this method each order is different, and may or may not be repeated in the same way. Other examples specialist machinery manufacturers who would manufacture a machine for another business to meet particular specification. In this method the costumer is allowed to choose the exact requirements they wish to acquire, which is a distinct advantage. Also workers will proceed to become more motivated, as they get more job satisfaction because employees are not repeating there job over and over again, but instead are doing new requirements every time a new order occurs. However skilled labour is often needed, as employees have to be able to meet incalculable costumer requirements. This is not a method used by Venetian Ices LTD as they make many ice cream products for different supermarkets. One product for each market would not recoup enough profit nor meet supply and demand. Another production method is batch production, this is where similar products are made in blocks or batches. A certain number of another product is made, then another product is made and so on. Examples include when a baker makes one type of bread and then when that order is completed another design of bread is commences. Another example is that when a house design is made acceptable in a certain development area, that design is used several times and after that design is refined with, a new batch of houses is designed. This design is particularly useful as design transformations are easy to complete and progress. Furthermore motivation towards employees is also taken into account as they are not constantly completing the same procedure, but however there is more a variety in job production. For small businesses, this method would bring them to a disadvantage as raw material stock would need to be stored and warehouse space can often consume profits. This method may be used by Venetian Ices LTD in order to see if a new flavour or design fits in well with costumer needs and wants. By only producing a few amounts of their new products they will be able to test their product on the market without risking high values of cash. The last production method is the most continuous, the method is called Flow production. This method is often referred as mass production due to the heavy quantity of products being produced. The basic ingredients of the product are put together at separate levels as the pass different sectors of a production line. I.e. as each component moves along the production belt, another piece is added to the overall product. Large product quantities are made within this method and as a result of purchasing economies the business may buy materials below the average price of that certain material. By taking advantage of purchasing economies, the business can buy in bulk fore a much lower price, by buying each unit at a cheaper price it gives the business a greater benefit against smaller companies who may not buy in the same bulk amounts, as a result it enables the business to sell its product at a much less price, making their product more favourable in the eyes of the public. However research suggest that workers are hard to motivate under these circumstances, for the work is often boring and then same day in and day out. Another essential disadvantage is that high amounts of capital is needed to set up flow production machinery, which may discourage the directors of a business to venture in to this production method. The production function has to also choose the location of manufacturing for it is vital that the right selection of location is chosen. Shown below is a diagram of factors affecting the choice of location: Probably one of the most complicated sections is the finance department that is managed by John Hardy. This function has to be in charge of controlling financial transactions within all the business. It controls the transaction by budgeting and analysing a series of accounts, the analysation occurs is through many different accounts such as cash flow forecast, profit and loss accounts etc This function is important in the sale of a new product as without tracing the sales of a new product then there would be no record of increases or decreases, resulting in a risk of a business losing profit. Probably an extremely important aspect of this function is through the finance department making budgets in which the company has to cope with. It is vital that the company deals within a budget as without a budget, the company may over spend and come drowned in dept. This may leave the future of the company in doubt. The final section is the personnel department, this department deals with the employees, meaning it controls interviews with new employees, selecting staff for promotion, discipline within the company and who will receive bonuses for working well. As well as these responsibilities the function has the more important job of making sure the company workers are well motivated. They do this in many ways, a few of which are giving job perks company car, holidays, special bonuses and personnel problems in which the employees have to deal with. If however a vacancy occurs within a business, then it is the personnel departments responsibility to attract and recruit the most suitable and most qualified staff. If the recruitment process is not completed to the highest degree, then the company could be face with members of staff who are in capable of doing the job that they were employed to do. Also the personnel department is faced with the difficult job of the dismissal and redundancy making of staff. The reason why some members of staff may be faced with dismissal maybe because the company feel that that certain member of staff is not performing to the complete standards that they wished that member would work at. Or a member may be of a certain old age, where the company feel that that staff member is coming to an end of their career. Management responsibilities in different departments Human resources department *Forecasting staff needs for the business * Preparing job descriptions and job specifications * Planning staff training courses * Interviewing and selecting staff * Keeping staff records * Disciplining staff * Recruiting staff * Preparing job descriptions and job specifications * Planning staff training courses * Interviewing and selecting staff * Keeping staff records *Disciplining staff Marketing department * Market research * Planning new products * Keeping and extracting sales records * Deciding upon the best marketing mix strategy Finance department * Recording all financial transactions * Collecting and presenting financial data * Analysing the profitability of new investment projects * Keeping cashflow control * Preparing budgets for the business Production department * Ordering stock and materials * Developing and designing new products * Locating buildings in the most cost effective areas * Designing on production methods * Controlling production to ensure high levels of efficiency * Maintaining machinery * Making sure quality of products is of standard

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Toni Morrisons Sula - The Character of Eva Peace in Sula :: Sula Essays

The Character of Eva Peace in Sula       In the novel Sula, there were other important characters besides Sula.   The character in this book I would like to focus on most is Eva Peace.   Eva is a woman who has a disability but remains strong, and this will be the focus of this paper since it wasn’t focused on so much in the book.  Ã‚   Eva is an amputee.   There are many different theories about how she lost her leg.   Many say she may have cut it off in order to receive insurance money so she could feed her children.   Other tales told claim that Eva had sold her leg for $10,000.00 or that she had stuck it under a train.   Some people in the town said that there was a corn on her toe and it just grew and grew, traveling up her entire leg until the doctors finally had to cut it off.   Others told stories about how her leg had just got up one day and walked off.   Nobody quite knew how Eva had lost her leg and not many people in the town remembered her with it, but everyone knew that Eva Peace was a very strong woman who knew what she needed to do in order to survive.   Her survival consisted of taking care of her children, making sure they had enough to eat.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Eva was the single mother of three kids.   She was the matriarchal figure in her household, which did not only consist of her children, Pear, Plum, and Hannah and Hannah’s daughter Sula, but also many others who boarded in her house.   There were three young boys, all named Dewey by Eva, who had arrived to the house at the same time.   Eva knew that if she named them all the same name it would make them feel as though they were equally loved and cared about.   Such name-calling created a positive camaraderie between them.   Also in the boarding house resided a drunk, Tar Baby, and various newlyweds.   Eva kept the whole house under control.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Although the logistical theory of how she lost her leg was to feed her family, it did not stop there.   Eva did everything she could do to protect her children.   She used her stump, in one incidence, to maneuver herself in such a way that she was able to jump out of the window and save Hannah, who was literally on fire.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Currency Risk Management Essay

Currency or Exchange rate risk management is an integral part in every firm’s decisions about foreign currency exposure. Currency risk hedging strategies entail eliminating or reducing this risk, and require understanding of both the ways that the exchange rate risk could affect the operations of economic agents and techniques to deal with the consequent risk implications. Selecting the appropriate hedging strategy is often a daunting task due to the complexities involved in measuring accurately current risk exposure and deciding on the appropriate degree of risk exposure that ought to be covered. The need for currency risk management started to arise after the break down of the Bretton Woods system and the end of the U.S. dollar peg to gold in 1973. The issue of currency risk management for non-financial firms is independent from their core Business and is usually dealt by their corporate treasuries. Most multinational firms have also risk committees to oversee the treasury’s strategy in managing the exchange rate (and interest Rate) risk. This shows the importance that firms put on risk management issues and techniques. Conversely, international investors usually, but not always, manage their exchange rate risk independently from the underlying assets and/or liabilities. Since their currency exposure is related to translation risks on assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies, they tend to consider currencies as a separate asset class requiring a Currency overlay mandate. It can be argued that prudent management of multinational firms requires currency risk hedging for their foreign transaction, translation and economic operations to avoid potentially adverse currency effects on their profitability and market valuation. DEFINITION AND TYPES OF CURRENCY RISK A common definition of currency risk relates to the effect of unexpected exchange rate changes on the value of the firm. In particular, it is defined as the possible direct loss (as a result of an unhedged exposure) or indirect loss in the firm’s cash flows, assets and liabilities, net profit and, in turn, its stock market value from an exchange rate move. To manage the exchange rate risk inherent in multinational firms’ operations, a firm needs to determine the specific type of current risk exposure, the hedging strategy and the available instruments to deal with these currency risks. Multinational firms are participants in currency markets by virtue of their international operations. To measure the impact of exchange rate movements on a firm that is engaged in foreign-currency denominated transactions, i.e., the implied value-at-risk (VAR) from exchange rate moves, we need to identify the type of risks that the firm is exposed to and the amount of risk encountered. The four main types of currency / exchange rate risk that exist: 1. Translation risk: A firm’s translation exposure is the extent to which its financial reporting is affected by exchange rate movements. As all firms generally must prepare consolidated financial statements for reporting purposes, the consolidation process for multinationals entails translating foreign assets and liabilities or the financial statements of foreign subsidiaries from foreign to domestic currency. While translation exposure may not affect a firm’s cash flows, it could have a significant impact on a firm’s reported earnings and therefore its stock price. Translation exposure is distinguished from transaction risk as a result of income and losses from various types of risk having different accounting treatments. Translation gives special consideration to assets and liabilities with regards to foreign exchange risk, whereas exposures to revenues and expenses can often be managed ex ante by managing transactional exposures when cash flows take place; 2. Transaction risk: A firm has transaction exposure whenever it has contractual cash flows (receivables and payables) whose values are subject to unanticipated changes in exchange rates due to a contract being denominated in a foreign currency. To realize the domestic value of its foreign-denominated cash flows, the firm must exchange foreign currency for domestic currency. As firms negotiate contracts with set prices and delivery dates in the face of a volatile foreign exchange market with exchange rates constantly fluctuating, the firms face a risk of changes in the exchange rate between the foreign and domestic currency. Firms generally become exposed as a direct result of activities such as importing and exporting or borrowing and investing. Exchange rates may move by up to 10% within any single year, which can significantly affect a firm’s cash flows, meaning a 10% decline in the value of a receivable or a 10% rise in the value of a payable. Such outcomes could be troubl esome as export profits could be negated entirely or import costs could rise substantially; 3. Economic Risk: A firm has economic exposure (also known as operating exposure) to the degree that its market value is influenced by unexpected exchange rate fluctuations. Such exchange rate adjustments can severely affect the firm’s position with regards to its competitors, the firm’s future cash flows, and ultimately the firm’s value. Economic exposure can affect the present value of future cash flows. Any transaction that exposes the firm to foreign exchange risk also exposes the firm economically, but economic exposure can be caused by other business activities and investments which may not be mere international transactions, such as future cash flows from fixed assets. A shift in exchange rates that influences the demand for a good in some country would also be an economic exposure for a firm that sells that good; and 4. Contingent Risk: A firm has contingent exposure when bidding for foreign projects or negotiating other contracts or foreign direct investments. Such an exposure arises from the potential for a firm to suddenly face a transactional or economic foreign exchange risk, contingent on the outcome of some contract or negotiation. For example, a firm could be waiting for a project bid to be accepted by a foreign business or government that if accepted would result in an immediate receivable. While waiting, the firm faces a contingent exposure from the uncertainty as to whether or not that receivable will happen. If the bid is accepted and a receivable is paid the firm then faces a transaction exposure, so a firm may prefer to manage contingent exposures. MEASUREMENT OF EXCHANGE RATE RISK After defining the types of exchange rate risk that a firm is exposed to, a crucial aspect in a firm’s exchange rate risk management decisions is the measurement of these risks.   Measuring currency risk may prove difficult, at least with regards to translation and economic risk. At present, a widely used method is the value-at-risk (VAR) model. Broadly, value at risk is defined as the maximum loss for a given exposure over a given time horizon with z% confidence. The VAR methodology can be used to measure a variety of types of risk, helping firms in their risk management. However, the VAR does not define what happens to the exposure for the (100 – z) % point of confidence, i.e., the worst case scenario. Since the VAR model does not define the maximum loss with 100 percent confidence, firms often set operational limits, such as nominal amounts or stop loss orders, in addition to VAR limits, to reach the highest possible coverage. VALUE-AT-RISK CALCULATION The VAR measure of exchange rate risk is used by firms to estimate the riskiness of a foreign exchange position resulting from a firm’s activities, including the foreign exchange position of its treasury, over a certain time period under normal conditions. The VAR calculation depends on 3 parameters: †¢ The holding period, i.e., the length of time over which the foreign exchange position is planned to be held. The typical holding period is 1 day. †¢ The confidence level at which the estimate is planned to be made. The usual confidence levels are 99 percent and 95 percent. †¢ The unit of currency to be used for the denomination of the VAR. Assuming a holding period of x days and a confidence level of y%, the VAR measures what will be the maximum loss (i.e., the decrease in the market value of a foreign exchange position) over x days, if the x-days period is not one of the (100-y)% x-days periods that are the worst under normal conditions. Thus, if the foreign exchange position has a 1-day VAR of $10 million at the 99 percent confidence level, the firm should expect that, with a probability of 99 percent, the value of this position will decrease by no more than $10 million during 1 day, provided that usual conditions will prevail over that 1 day. In other words, the firm should expect that the value of its foreign exchange rate position will decrease by no more than $10 million on 99 out of 100 usual trading days or by more than $10 million on 1 out of every 100 usual trading days. To calculate the VAR, there exists a variety of models. Among them, the more widely-used are: (1) the historical simulation, which assumes that currency returns on a firm’s foreign exchange position will have the same distribution as they had in the past; (2) the variance- covariance model, which assumes that currency returns on a firm’s total foreign exchange position are always (jointly) normally distributed and that the change in the value of the foreign exchange position is linearly dependent on all currency returns; and (3) Monte Carlo simulation which assumes that future currency returns will be randomly distributed. The historical simulation is the simplest method of calculation. This involves running the firm’s current foreign exchange position across a set of historical exchange rate changes to yield a distribution of losses in the value of the foreign exchange position, say 1,000, and then computing a percentile (the VAR). Thus, assuming a 99 percent confidence level and a 1-day holding period, the VAR could be computed by sorting in ascending order the 1,000 daily losses and taking the 11th largest loss out of the 1,000 (since the confidence level implies that 1 percent of losses – 10 losses –should exceed the VAR). The main benefit of this method is that it does not assume a normal distribution of currency returns, as it is well documented that these returns are not normal but rather leptokurtic. Its shortcomings, however, are that this calculation requires a large database and is computationally intensive. The variance – covariance model assumes that: (1) the change in the value of a firm’s total foreign exchange position is a linear combination of all the changes in the values of individual foreign exchange positions, so that also the total currency return is linearly dependent on all individual currency returns; and (2) the currency returns are jointly normally distributed. Thus, for a 99 percent confidence level, the VAR can be calculated as: VAR= -Vp (Mp + 2.33 Sp) Where, Vp is the initial value (in currency units) of the foreign exchange position Mp is the mean of the currency return on the firm’s total foreign exchange position, which is a weighted average of individual foreign exchange positions Sp is the standard deviation of the currency return on the firm’s total foreign exchange position, which is the standard deviation of the weighted transformation of the variance-covariance matrix of individual foreign exchange positions While the variance-covariance model allows for a quick calculation, its drawback includes the restrictive assumptions of a normal distribution of currency returns and a linear combination of the total foreign exchange position. Note, however, that the normality assumption could be relaxed. When a non-normal distribution is used instead, the computational cost would be higher due to the additional estimation of the confidence interval for the loss exceeding the VAR. Monte Carlo simulation usually involves principal components analysis of the variance-covariance model, followed by random simulation of the components. While it’s main advantages include its ability to handle any underlying distribution and to more accurately assess the VAR when non-linear currency factors are present in the foreign exchange position (e.g., options), its serious drawback is the computationally intensive process. MANAGEMENT OF CURRENCY RISK After identifying the types of exchange rate risk and measuring the associated risk exposure, a firm needs to decide whether to hedge or not these risks. In international finance, the issue of the appropriate strategy to manage (hedge) the different types of exchange rate risk has yet to be settled. In practice, however, corporate treasurers have used various currency risk management strategies depending, ceteris paribus, on the prevalence of a certain type of risk and the size of the firm. A. Hedging Strategies Indicatively, transaction risk is often hedged tactically (selectively) or strategically to preserve cash flows and earnings, depending on the firm’s treasury view on the future movements of the currencies involved. Tactical hedging is used by most firms to hedge their transaction currency risk relating to short-term receivable and payable transactions, while strategic hedging is used for longer-period transactions. However, some firms decide to use passive hedging, which involves the maintenance of the same hedging structure and execution over regular hedging periods, irrespective of currency expectations—that is, it does not require that a firm takes a currency view. Translation, or balance sheet, risk is hedged very infrequently and non-systematically, often to avoid the impact of possible abrupt currency shocks on net assets. This risk involves mainly long-term foreign exposures, such as the firm’s valuation of subsidiaries, its debt structure and international investments. However, the long-term nature of these items and the fact that currency translation affects the balance sheet rather than the income statement of a firm, make hedging of the translation risk less of a priority for management. For the translation of currency risk of a subsidiary’s value, it is standard practice to hedge the net balance sheet exposures, i.e., the net assets (gross assets less liabilities) of the subsidiary that might be affected by an adverse exchange rate move. Within the framework of hedging the exchange rate risk in a consolidated balance sheet, the issue of hedging a firm’s debt profile is also of paramount importance. The currency and maturity composition of a firm’s debt determines the susceptibility of its net equity and earnings to exchange rate changes. To reduce the impact of exchange rates on the volatility of earnings, the firm may use an optimization model to devise an optimal set of hedging strategies to manage its currency risk. Hedging the remaining currency exposure after the optimization of the debt composition is a difficult task. A firm may use tactical hedging, in addition to optimization, to reduce the residual currency risk. Moreover, if exchange rates do not move in the anticipated direction, translation risk hedging may cause either cash flow or earnings volatility. Therefore, hedging translation risk often involves careful weighing the costs of hedging against the potential cost of not hedging. Economic risk is often hedged as a residual risk. Economic risk is difficult to quantify, as it reflects the potential impact of exchange rate moves on the present value of future cash flows. This may require measuring the potential impact of an exchange rate deviation from the benchmark rate used to forecast a firm’s revenue and cost streams over a given period. In this case, the impact on each flow may be netted out over product lines and across markets, with the net economic risk becoming small for firms that invest in many foreign markets because of offsetting effects. Also, if exchange rate changes follow inflation differentials (through PPP) and a firm has a subsidiary that faces cost inflation above the general inflation rate, the firm could find its competitiveness eroding and its original value deteriorating as a result of exchange rate adjustments that are not in line with PPP. Under these circumstances, the firm could best hedge its economic exposure by creating payables (e.g., financing operations) in the currency that the firm’s subsidiary experiences the higher cost inflation (i.e., in the currency that the firm’s value is vulnerable). Sophisticated corporate treasuries, however, are developing efficient frontiers of hedging strategies as a more integrated approach to hedge currency risk than buying a plain vanilla hedge to cover certain foreign exchange exposure. In effect, an efficient frontier measures the cost of the hedge against the degree of risk hedged. Thus, an efficient frontier determines the most efficient hedging strategy as that which is the cheapest for the most risk hedged. Given a currency view and exposure, hedging optimization models usually compare 100 percent unhedged strategies with 100 percent hedged using vanilla forwards and option strategies in order to find the optimal one. Although this approach to managing risk provides the least-cost hedging structure for a given risk profile, it critically depends on the corporate treasurer’s view of the exchange rate. Note that such optimization can be used for transaction, translation or economic currency risk, provided that the firm has a specific currency view (i.e., a possible exchange rate forecast over a specified time period). B. Hedging Benchmarks and Performance Hedging performance can be measured as a distance to a given benchmark rate. The risk embedded in the hedge is usually expressed as a VAR number that will be consistent with the performance measure. Hedging optimization models, as methods for optimizing hedging strategies for currency-denominated cash flows, help find the most efficient hedge for individual currency exposures, while most of them do not provide a hedging process for multiple currency hedging. Thus, both performance and VAR are measured as effective hedge rates, calculated for each hedging instrument used and the risk in terms of a confidence level. A single optimal hedging strategy is then selected by defining the risk that a firm is willing to take. This strategy is the lowest possible effective hedge rate for an acceptable level of uncertainty. In this way, when the firm’s currency view entails a perception of volatility, options generate a better or similar effective hedge rate at lower uncertainty than the unhedged position. Furthermore, when local currency has a relatively high yield and low volatility, options will almost always generate a better effective hedging rate than forward hedging. As part of the currency risk management policy, firms use a variety of hedging benchmarks to manage their hedging strategies effectively. Such benchmarks could be the hedging level (i.e., a certain percent), the reporting period especially for firms that use forward hedging to limit the volatility of their net equity (e.g., quarterly or 12-month benchmarks) and budget exchange rates, depending on the prevailing accounting rules. Moreover, benchmarks enable the performance of individual hedges to be measured against that of the firm. C. Hedging and Budget Rates Budget exchange rates provide firms with a reference exchange rate level. Setting budget exchange rates is often linked to the firm’s sensitivities and benchmarking priorities. After deciding on the budget rate, the corporate treasury will have to secure an appropriate hedge rate and ensure that there is minimal deviation from that hedge rate. This process will determine the frequency and instruments to be used in hedging. It should be further pointed out that persistent moves relative to the numeracies (functional) currency should be reflected in the budget rates, or strategic positioning and hedging should be considered. Firms have different practices in setting budget exchange rates. Many corporate treasurers of multinational firms prefer to use PPP rates as budget exchange rates, often with the understanding that tactical hedging may be needed over the short-term where the forecasting performance of the PPP model is usually poor.2 However, other multinational firms prefer to set the budget rate in accordance with their sales calendar and, in turn, with their hedging strategy. For example, if a firm has a quarterly sales calendar, it may decide to hedge its next year’s quarterly foreign currency cash flow in such a way that they do not differ by more than a certain percentage from the cash flow in the same quarter of last year. Accordingly, this will necessitate four hedges per year, each of one-year tenor, with hedging being done at the end of the period, using the end-of-period exchange rate as its budget rate. Alternatively, a firm may decide to set its budget exchange rate at the daily average exchange rate over the previous fiscal year. In such case, the firm would need to use one hedge through, perhaps, an average-based instrument like an option or a synthetic forward. This hedging operation will usually be executed on the last day of the previous fiscal year, with starting day the first day of the new fiscal year. Furthermore, a firm may also use passive currency hedging, such as hedging the average value of a foreign currency cash flow over a specified time period, relative to a previous period, through option structures available in the market. This type of hedging strategy is fairly simple and easier to monitor. The relative version of the PPP theory states that bilateral exchange rates would adju st to the relative price differentials of the same good traded in the two countries. Setting budget exchange rates is also crucial for a firm’s pricing strategy, in addition to their importance for defining the benchmark hedging performance and tenor of a hedge (as the latter generally match cash flow hedging requirements). However, the budget exchange rate used to forecast cash flows needs to be close to the spot exchange rate in order to avoid possible major changes in the firm’s pricing strategy or to reconsider its hedging strategy. In this connection, it should be noted that forecasting future exchange rates is a key aspect of a firm’s pricing strategy. Since it has been well-documented that forward rates are poor predictors of future spot rates, structural or time-series exchange rate models need to be employed for such an endeavour. This becomes evident if we compare a firm’s net cash flows estimated by using the forecast rate and the future spot exchange rate. For an investment in a foreign subsidiary, moreover, the budget exchange rate is often the accounting rate, i.e., the exchange rate at the end of the previous fiscal year. D. Best Practices for Exchange Rate Risk Management For their currency risk management decisions, firms with significant exchange rate exposure often need to establish an operational framework of best practices. These practices or principles may include: 1. Identification of the types of exchange rate risk that a firm is exposed to and measurement of the associated risk exposure. As mentioned before, this involves determination of the transaction, translation and economic risks, along with specific reference to the currencies that are related to each type of currency risk. In addition, measuring these currency risks—using various models (e.g. VAR)—is another critical element in identifying hedging positions. 2. Development of an exchange rate risk management strategy. After identifying the types of currency risk and measuring the firm’s risk exposure, a currency strategy needs to be established on how to deal with these risks. In particular, this strategy should specify the firm’s currency hedging objectives—whether and why the firm should fully or partially hedge its currency exposures. Furthermore, a detailed currency hedging approach should be established. It is imperative that a firm details the overall currency risk management strategy on the operational level, including the execution process of currency hedging, the hedging instruments to be used, and the monitoring procedures of currency hedges. 3. Creation of a centralized entity in the firm’s treasury to deal with the practical aspects of the execution of exchange rate hedging. This entity will be responsible for exchange rate forecasting, the hedging approach mechanisms, the accounting procedures regarding currency risk, costs of currency hedging, and the establishment of benchmarks for measuring the performance of currency hedging. (These operations may be undertaken by a specialized team headed by the treasurer or, for large multinational firms, by a chief dealer.) 4. Development of a set of controls to monitor a firm’s exchange rate risk and ensure appropriate position taking. This includes setting position limits for each hedging instrument, position monitoring through mark-to-market valuations of all currency positions on a daily basis (or intraday), and the establishment of currency hedging benchmarks for periodic monitoring of hedging performance (usually monthly). 5. Establishment of a risk oversight committee. This committee would in particular approve limits on position taking, examine the appropriateness of hedging instruments and associated VAR positions, and review the risk management policy on a regular basis. Managing exchange rate risk exposure has gained prominence in the last decade, as a result of the unusual occurrence of a large number of currency crises. From the corporate managers’ perspective, currency risk management is increasingly viewed as a prudent approach to reducing a firm’s vulnerabilities from major exchange rate movements. This attitude has also been reinforced by recent international attention on both accounting and balance sheet risks. HEDGING INSTRUMENTS FOR MANAGING EXCHANGE RATE RISK Within the framework of a currency risk management strategy, the hedging instruments allowed to manage currency risk should be specified. The available hedging instruments are enormous, both in variety and complexity, and have followed the dramatic increase in the specific hedging needs of the modern firm. These instruments include both OTC and exchange-traded products. Among the most common OTC currency hedging instruments are currency forwards and cross-currency swaps. Currency forwards are defined as buying a currency contract for future delivery at a price set today. Two types of forwards contracts are often used: outright forwards (involving the physical delivery of currencies) and non-deliverable forwards (which are settled on a net cash basis). With forwards, the firm is fully hedged. However, the high cost of forward contracts and the risk of the exchange rate moving in the opposite direction are serious disadvantages. The two most commonly used cross-currency swaps are the cross-currency coupon swap and the cross-currency basis swaps. The cross-currency coupon swap is defined as buying a currency swap and at the same time pay fixed and receives floating interest payments. Its advantage is that it allows firms to manage their foreign exchange rate and interest rate risks, as they wish, but it leaves the firm that buys this instrument vulnerable to both currency and interest rate risk. Cross-currency basis swap is defined as buying a currency swap and at the same time pay floating interest in a currency and receive floating in another currency. This instrument, while assuming the same currency risk as the standard currency swap, has the advantage that it allows a firm to capture prevailing interest rate differentials. However, the major disadvantage is that the primary risk for the firm is interest rate risk rather that currency risk. For exchange-traded currency hedging instruments, the main types are currency options and currency futures. The development of various structures of currency options has been very rapid, and is attributed to their flexible nature. The most common type of option structure is the plain vanilla call, which is defined as buying an upside strike in an exchange rate with no obligation to exercise. Its advantages include its simplicity, lower cost than the forward, and the predicted maximum loss—which is the premium. However, its cost is higher than other sophisticated options structures such as call spreads (buy an at-the-money call and sell a low delta call). Currency futures are exchange-traded contracts specifying a standard volume of a particular currency to be exchanged on a specific settlement date. They are similar to forward contracts in that they allow a firm to fix the price to be paid for a given currency at a future point in time. Yet, their characteristics differ from forward rates, both in terms of the available traded currencies and the typical (quarterly) settlement dates. However, the price of currency futures will normally be similar to the forward rates for a given currency and settlement date. Comparing currency forward and currency futures markets, the size of the contract and the delivery date are tailored to individual needs in the forward market (i.e., determined between a firm and a bank), as opposed to currency futures contracts that are standardized and guaranteed by some organized exchange. While there is no separate clearing-house function for forward markets, all clearing operations for futures markets are handled by an exchange clearing house, with daily mark-to-market settlements. In terms of liquidation, while most forward contracts are settled by actual delivery and only some by offset—at a cost, in contrast, most futures contracts are settled by offset and only very few by delivery. Furthermore, the price of a futures contract changes over time to reflect the market’s anticipation of the future spot rate. If a firm holding a currency futures contract decides before the settlement date that it no longer wants to maintain such a position, it can close out its position by selling an identical futures contract. This, however, cannot be done with forward contracts. Finally, since currency hedging is often costly, a firm may first consider â€Å"natural† hedging, such as (1) matching, which involves pairing suitably a multinational firm’s foreign currency inflows and outflows with respect to amount and timing; (2) netting, which involves the consolidated settlement of receivables, payables and debt among the subsidiaries of a firm; and (3) invoicing in a foreign currency, which reduces transaction risk related primarily to exports and imports. HEDGING PRACTICES BY U.S. FIRMS According to the BIS (see Tables 1-4) and the International Swap and Derivatives Association, the OTC derivatives market has experienced an exponential growth. Even with the recent slowdown due to the special disclosure requirements of FAS 133, derivatives continue to be the main hedging instrument for most firms. However, the increased availability of derivative instruments, coupled with the advent of mark-to-market hedge accounting (FAS 133 and IAS 39), implies a difficult to follow impact of derivatives on firms’ financial statements. Several surveys have shown certain characteristics and practices of U.S. non-financial firms using derivatives. Thus, the larger the size of sales of U.S. non-financial firms, the more likely is to use derivatives in their risk management. Foreign currency derivatives usage is most common, with almost three-fourths of the reporting firms taking positions. The primary goal of exchange risk hedging is the minimization of the variability in cash flow and in accounting earnings, arising from the firms’ operational activities and characteristics. Preoccupation with accounting earnings may be related to their role in analysts’ perceptions and predictions of future earnings and in management compensation. Furthermore, it is interesting to note that U.S. firms do not place high importance in minimizing the variation in the market value of the firm (the present discounted value of the stream of future cash flows) when they use derivatives in risk management. The choice of derivative instruments for foreign exchange management by U.S. firms is concentrated in simple instruments, with OTC currency forwards being by far the most popular instrument (over 50 percent of all foreign exchange derivatives instruments), OTC currency options being the second most preferred hedging instrument (around 20 percent of all foreign exchange derivative instruments) and OTC swaps being the third (around 10percent). Forward-type (volatility elimination) instruments are used to hedge foreign exchange exposures arising from U.S. firms’ contractual commitments (accounts receivable/payable, and repatriations), as recommended by the international financial literature. Option-type instruments, on the other hand, are used to hedge uncertain foreign currency-denominated future cash flows (usually, related to anticipated transactions beyond one year and to cover economic exposures). The tendency of US firms to use OTC currency forwards rather than OTC options or swaps should mainly be attributed to the relatively higher liquidity and depth of forward markets. The use of OTC instruments (forwards/swaps and options) dominates that of exchange traded hedging instruments, with currency futures being preferred by less than 10 percent of U.S. firms and currency options being preferred by a very small percentage of firms. The prevalence of OTC instruments should be attributed to firms’ very specific hedging needs that can primarily be accommodated in the more-flexible OTC market. The majority of U.S. firms with a set frequency for revaluing derivatives do so on a monthly basis, with a quarter of the total firms valuing their derivatives at least weekly and a very small percentage doing so only on an annual basis. Finally, the most common methods to evaluate the riskiness of their foreign exchange positions are stress testing of derivatives and VAR techniques. CONCLUSION Measuring and managing currency risk exposure are important functions in reducing a firm’s vulnerabilities from major exchange rate movements. These vulnerabilities mainly arise from a firm’s involvement in international operations and investments, where exchange rate changes could affect profit margins, through their effect on sources for inputs, markets for outputs and debt, and the value of assets. Prudent management of currency risk has been increasingly mandated by corporate boards, especially after the currency-crisis episodes of the last decade and the consequent heightened international attention on accounting and balance sheet risks. In managing currency risk, multinational firms utilize different hedging strategies depending on the specific type of currency risk. These strategies have become increasingly complicated as they try to address simultaneously transaction, translation and economic risks. As these risks could be detrimental to the profitability and the market valuation of a firm, corporate treasurers, even of smaller-size firms have become increasingly proactive in controlling these risks. Thereby, a greater demand for hedging protection against these risks has emerged and, in response, a greater variety of instruments has been generated by the ingenuity of the financial engineering industry. This paper presents some of the main issues in the measurement and management of exchange rate risks faced by firms, with special attention to the traditional types of exchange rate risk (transaction, translation, and economic), the currently predominant methodology in measuring exchange rate risk (VAR), and the advantages and disadvantages of various exchange rate risk management approaches (tactical vs. strategical, and passive vs. active). It also outlines a set of widely-accepted best practices in currency risk management, and reviews the use of some of the widely-used hedging instruments in the OTC and exchange traded markets. It also reports on the use of various derivatives instruments and hedging practices of U.S. multinationals. Based on the reported U.S. data, it is interesting to note that the larger the size of a firm the more likely it is to use derivative instruments in hedging its exchange rate risk exposure; the primary goal of U.S. firms’ exchange rate risk hedging operations is to minimize the variability in their cash flow and earning accounts (mainly related to payables, receivables and repatriations); and the choice of foreign exchange derivatives instruments is concentrated in OTC currency forwards (over 50 percent of all foreign exchange derivatives used), OTC currency options (around 20 percent) and OTC currency swaps (around 10 percent). From the available exchange-traded foreign exchange hedging instruments, currency futures is preferred by less than 10 percent of U.S. firms and currency options by around 2 percent. Overall, it should be noted that the data on U.S. firms are only representative of the reporting period that they refer to and are indicative of the level of sophistication of U.S. corporate treasurers and the level of development of local derivatives markets. By no means can these stylized facts be generalized for other time periods and countries, especially those with different corporate structures and capital market development. To form a better understanding of global firms’ practices in this area, more empirical studies would need to be undertaken to explore their exchange rate risk measurement and hedging behaviours.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Christian and Wiccan beliefs Essay

Two miles south of where Mary Anne lived, I encountered Sheila, a 36 year old self-professed astrology and tarot card reader working part-time for a local pharmacy. My initial data revealed that Sheila belonged to the Wiccan Rede principle which is currently considered radical among traditional Wiccan groups. Fortunately, Sheila was at home on her day-off and was talking animatedly with a client in her front porch. While waiting for her client to leave, I was allowed to wander around her house which was surrounded by huge trees making her home look gloomy. After a few minutes, I was ushered in and Sheila welcomed me graciously knowing full well about my intentions. She began by explaining how their group had grown lesser over the years as the other wiccan practitioners complained on the religious incorporation of Christian and Wiccan beliefs. Sheila added that the element of Wicca which includes fertility and reincarnation is incorporated in the key points of the divinity of Jehovah, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit as retained from Christianity that was also quoted in Guiley (1999). According to her, the combination of two religions, which was traditionally at odds with one another, is frequently criticized by members of other wiccan sects. For her, there is no other One God as the greatest and the Lord of all and that the Earth is the Goddess of common Wicca. She has equated the Holy Spirit as a Feminine deity that may be regarded as the Great Mother Goddess similar to the Christian thought. With this in mind, she showed me a picture of the Madonna and Child and claimed that the Holy Spirit is actually embodied in the Virgin Mary. Their small liberalized group was initiated by the BTW or the British Traditional Witchcraft coven. They were widely criticized according to her because many Wiccan practitioners consider Christianity to be incompatible with the pagan philosophy. She added that the merging of Christian and pagan beliefs was considered a lambaste to the Wiccan religion since the Christian faith is male-dominated and an insufficient acceptance of true Wiccan belief. She explained that Wicca, as a ditheistic religion may contain a male god and female goddess giving equal emphasis to the aspects of both divine beings. Admittedly, she said that the principal tenets of Christian Wicca elevate the status of a God which altogether makes it different as there is no equality between the male and female according to Guiley (1999). In the elements of nature symbolically represented by different objects, the Christian wicca believes in the instance of crystals and stones as objects for the element earth, and seashells for the water element in Salomonsen (2002). Sheila added that their group also worships and observes the eight sabbats of the year and the full moon. Most of the practitioners in their group may practice in solitaries but do attend gatherings and other community events but reserve other rituals when they are alone. Their initiation into a coven begins with a one-year study before the actual initiation that spins a religious dedication. She related her initial experience at the thrill of being able to join the coven six years ago which had been a long time dream for her. She had already ventured in yoga and Asian Buddhism before finally exploring the Christian wicca. Sheila unlike Mary Ann does not want to show me her altar and her wares but pointed out a small hut beside the family house as her â€Å"solitary camp† to prevent family members from disturbing her. For Sheila, wicca should not be mistaken for witchcraft as they are simply a religion with ethical standards to live by.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Free Essays on My Fairy Tale Comes True

My Fairy Tale Comes True† â€Å"Every man’s life is a fairy tale written by God’s finger (Anderson).† Competing in track and succeeding is my fairy tale come true. Working hard towards reducing my track times changed my life for the better. I see my track goals, of being the very best in the region and in the state, as being only seconds within my reach. The spring of 2000 was my first season of high school track, starting at 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning with the team warm-up jog and stretches. Both Coach Owens and Coach Summerville were amazed by my speed, questioning why I did not run my freshman year. Practices continued, with our first track meet just around the corner I pushed hard to attain the speed the coaches felt I had within me. My coaches knew I was fast in the 200 meter run, with times averaging 26.16 seconds. This was good, but they said I could be better. They were right! My times improved and at the State Track meet I ran the third leg of the 800 sprint medley, running my 200 meters in well under the 26.16 seconds I averaged earlier in the season. I contributed to our relay team earning the State title of being fourth in the entire state. As my sophomore year quickly came to an end my coaches confronted me about running the 400 meter race. They saw more potential than I did. I was afraid, afraid of the length, the competition and most of all the idea of failing. Even though the coaches knew my fear they still encouraged me to run the 400. I reflected on how true their previous belief in me, then so I reached deeper down inside myself and said ok. We were off and running as the training began at the beginning of my junior year. Workout’s became longer and harder. The coaches belief proved true; I had stronger abilities. Through their encouragement I learned a great lesson; If you pull from deeper down within yourself you can succeed. Someone once said â€Å"Failure teaches successï ¿ ½... Free Essays on My Fairy Tale Comes True Free Essays on My Fairy Tale Comes True My Fairy Tale Comes True† â€Å"Every man’s life is a fairy tale written by God’s finger (Anderson).† Competing in track and succeeding is my fairy tale come true. Working hard towards reducing my track times changed my life for the better. I see my track goals, of being the very best in the region and in the state, as being only seconds within my reach. The spring of 2000 was my first season of high school track, starting at 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning with the team warm-up jog and stretches. Both Coach Owens and Coach Summerville were amazed by my speed, questioning why I did not run my freshman year. Practices continued, with our first track meet just around the corner I pushed hard to attain the speed the coaches felt I had within me. My coaches knew I was fast in the 200 meter run, with times averaging 26.16 seconds. This was good, but they said I could be better. They were right! My times improved and at the State Track meet I ran the third leg of the 800 sprint medley, running my 200 meters in well under the 26.16 seconds I averaged earlier in the season. I contributed to our relay team earning the State title of being fourth in the entire state. As my sophomore year quickly came to an end my coaches confronted me about running the 400 meter race. They saw more potential than I did. I was afraid, afraid of the length, the competition and most of all the idea of failing. Even though the coaches knew my fear they still encouraged me to run the 400. I reflected on how true their previous belief in me, then so I reached deeper down inside myself and said ok. We were off and running as the training began at the beginning of my junior year. Workout’s became longer and harder. The coaches belief proved true; I had stronger abilities. Through their encouragement I learned a great lesson; If you pull from deeper down within yourself you can succeed. Someone once said â€Å"Failure teaches successï ¿ ½...

Monday, October 21, 2019

buy custom Five Theme of Geography essay

buy custom Five Theme of Geography essay Geography is an interesting subject, but sometimes, the teachers may fail to express the point correctly, hence misleading the students. Teachers in Texas should employ the data presented in Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) to ensure that they give all the relevant information to the students. In geography, a teacher should be able to discuss the five themes to ensure that the students receive the necessary information. These include location, place, human-environment interactions, movement, and region (Davis, Ochman, Boehmer, McLarty, Ojo, 1992). Location can be either absolute or relative. Place is concerned with human and physical characteristics of a location. Human-environment interaction relates to ways in which humans adapt to and modify the environment. Movement theme relates to traveling of goods, ideas, resources, and information from one place to another. Regions are subdivisions of the world (Davis et al, 1992). Different events and people are included in the TEKS that helps the students to understand the subject of geography. Aristotle is one of the philosophers quoted by Davis in his book Dont Know Much about Geography. Aristotle was one of the great philosophers who relied on simplified reasoning. He thought that the closer to the equator, the hotter the temperature. His argument was based on the black skin of the Libyans, which made him believe that the black skin was as a result of being scorched by the sun. He believed that life on the equator was unbearable due to excessive temperature. Aristotle also believed in the natural balance that made the continents in the south of the equator equal to those in the north. He introduced the concept of the anti-poles, which lasted from his times till the voyages of Captain Cook in mid-eighteenth century. Aristotles philosophy is presented on the TEKS. However, the students need to get more information on this philosophy because it formed the basis of the geograpy history. Students should get more information about Aristotles contribution to the division of science into theoretical, practical, and productive group views, which is fundamental in understanding the geographical science. More emphasis should be put on Aristotles argument about the shape of the earth. TEKS should explain Aristotles observation. He observed that the shadow cast by Earth on the Moon during an eclipse is an arc. He also observed that the phases of the Moon and its appearance during eclipses are spherical, which led to the suggestion that the Earth might also be spherical (Seroglou Koumaras, 2001). The appearance of the stars as a person moves towards North or South and the falling away of the horizon when a person approaches is another indicator that the Earth is spherical. The things fall to the Earth in a way that appears to be close to the surface. It is the spherical shape that facilitates this as the sphere is the only shape that has the smallest surface in consideration of a given volume. Aristotle argued that the Earth is the center of the universe since all things move around it or fall towards its center (Seroglou Koumaras, 2001). Aristotles philosophy deserves the status given by the TEKS he it gave the idea of the shape of the Earth, which is now known for sure to be a sphere. Although Aristotles philosophy was developed in 384 BC, his observation has been approved by other philosophers that came after him. His philosophy marked the beginning of determining the shape of the Earth, the Moon, and the Sun. For this reason, it is essential to emphasize the contribution made by Aristotle to defining the shape of the Earth. Much information should be included in the TEKS concerning how Aristotle based his argument on logics. Although he was trying to be logical, he argued that the logic is just a dialect; hence, the study of reasoning should be analytical. The modern scientists use most of mathematical models and abstracts developed byy Aristotle. There are many people who apply these theories and equations without understanding how they were developed. Although most of the natural events were associated with actions of gods, Aristotle and other ancient philosophers were not sure about the role of gods. There was controversy about who causes particular event if not gods with most philosophers trying to explain those occurrences through the application of mathematical and philosophical principles. Aristotle, being unsatisfied with such arguments, offered a suggestion that such occurrences were found within nature (Seroglou Koumaras, 2001). He argued that nature was available within nature, which was pos sible to reveal through inductive reasoning and careful observation. This kind of thinking and reasoning is essential in teaching students to enable them to exercise their thinking capacity. Davis depicts Aristotle as one of the key contributors to the evolution of physical geography. He explained how Aristotle agreed with Platos argument that the Earth is a sphere by moving from philosophic reasoning to providing observable evidence. However, Davis explained how Aristotle failed in fairly simplistic reasoning by arguing that the closer to the equator, the hotter the temperatures. Again, Davis showed how Aristotle explained the theory of natural balance. I agree with the way Davis portrayed Aristotle as a great contributor to the modern geography. It is due to his argument that the current maps are drawn the way they are, and time is also determined. However, Davis did not give details about Aristotles argument and other ancient philosophers in his book. Davis only pointed that Aristotle had given evidence about the shape of the Earth by observing the shadow cast during the solar eclipse, but he did not explain how this information is applied in modern-day science. I believe much more information should be included in the book to ensure that the students understand the depth of Aristotles philosophy. Buy custom Five Theme of Geography essay

Sunday, October 20, 2019

How to Stay Organized in College

How to Stay Organized in College You might have had grand plans about getting organized in college. And yet, despite your best intentions, your plans for organization seemed to slip through your fingers. So how can you stay organized for the long road ahead? Fortunately, although there are a zillion things to manage between your first day of classes and your last, staying organized in college is a lot easier than you might think. With a little advanced planning and the right skill set, staying organized can become more of your routine instead of just your ideal. Try Various Time Management Systems If you were wholly dedicated to making some fancy schmancy new calendaring app work for you this semester, but it ended up not working at all, dont be too hard on yourself. That means a particular system didnt work for you, not that youre bad at time management. Keep trying (and trying and trying) new time management systems until you find one that clicks. And if that means using a good, old-fashioned paper calendaring system, so be it. Having some calendar is the most important part of staying organized through the chaos that is college. Keep Your Dorm Room Clean When you lived at home, you had to keep your room relatively clean. But now that youre in college, you can keep your dorm room as messy as you want, right? Wrong! As silly as it sounds, a messy dorm room can represent a messy college life. Keeping your living space clean can help with everything from preventing you from losing your keys (again) to being able to mentally focus when you need to since you wont be visually distracted by all the junk on your desk. Additionally, keeping your space clean doesnt have to take a lot of time and will lead to all those little things that make you feel like youre in control of your own life: having clean clothes to choose from in the morning, knowing where that FAFSA form went, always having your cell phone charged. If keeping your dorm room clean seems like a waste of time, spend one-week tracking how much time you spend maintaining it clean and another week tracking how much time you spend looking for stuff or trying to recover from things youve lost (like that FAFSA form). You might surprise yourself. Stay on Top of Your Responsibilities When you are faced with anything that connects with your college life responsibilities - from a cell phone bill to an email from your mom about when youre coming home for Thanksgiving - make yourself do one of four things: Do it Schedule it Toss itFile it As an example, spending the next month arguing with your mom over when youll fly home will take ten times as much time as it will for you to just give her some dates when she brings it up. And if you arent sure yet, figure out a day by which you will be sure - and then put it into your calendaring system. Your mom will leave you alone, youll knock something off your to-do list, and you wont have to spend time telling yourself Oh shoot, I need to figure out Thanksgiving a million times a day between now and then. Spend Time Each Week Reorganizing Youre in college because youve got a great brain. So put it to use on all you have to do outside of the classroom! Just like a finely tuned athlete, your mind is learning, expanding, and strengthening each week; youre in school. Consequently, what organizing systems worked for you a month or two ago might not work any longer. Spend a few moments looking at what you got done, what youre doing, and what youll need to do over the next few weeks. While it may seem like a waste of time, those precious minutes can save you a lot of lost time - and a lot of disorganization - in the future. Plan Ahead to Stay Ahead Everyone knows that student who always says, Oh, I cant do something then, Ill be up all night cramming for my midterm. Really? Because that is just planning to be disorganized! Plan for everything you have to do. If you have a significant event youre planning, make sure your homework is done ahead of time so you can focus on your event when the time comes. If you know you have a major paper due, plan to work on it - and finish it - a few days in advance. Since its on your calendar and in your master plan, youll stay organized and on top of your tasks without even having to think about it. Take Care of Your Physical, Emotional, and Mental Health Being in college is hard - and not just academically. If youre not eating healthy, getting enough sleep, finding time to exercise, and overall treating yourself kindly, it will catch up with you sooner or later. And its impossible to get and stay organized if you dont have the physical, emotional, and mental energy to function. So give yourself a little TLC and remember that taking care of your health is an integral part of reaching your college goals.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Literature review Example The researcher therefore seeks to review literature on what recruitment and selection processions are, how recruitment and selection can be done effectively and efficiently, how to ensure fairness in recruitment and selection processes, the risk in undertaking awful recruitment and selection exercises and finally how to maintain workers recruited into a company. 2.2 Human Resource Recruitment and Selection What is Recruitment? According to the People Management Magazine, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), www.cipd.co.uk, â€Å"Recruitment is the process of having the right person, in the right place, at the right time.† This definition however seems too broad as it goes beyond job vacancies. To narrow down the definition to the job sector, a business directorate journal, www.businessdictionary.com defines recruitment as the â€Å"Process of identifying and hiring best-qualified candidate (from within or outside of an organization) for a job vacancy, in a most timely and cost effective manner.† In relation to this research, which seeks to assess the recruitment and selection process within B&M, recruitment can thus be said to be the processes that companies go through to get new employees to work for them when there is vacancy at their work places or new positions created. Vacancies are commonly created by the exit of workers either voluntarily or by expulsion. Workers who find the need to stop working for a company apply for resignation and subsequently quit the company. Older workers also apply for retirement when their retiring age is due. Companies also dismiss workers for several reasons as defined by their code of operation. After years of operation too, certain companies open new departments, sectors and branches. All these situations necessitate the need to recruit new employees to fill the vacancies. What is Job Selection? The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) define job selection as â€Å"short listing, and assessing applicants to decide who should be made a job offer.† Jarvis (2010) also gives a very similar definition of job selection as â€Å"decision stage, of choosing suitable applicants for a job or jobs.† Job selection the activity in which an organisation uses one or more methods to assess individuals with a view to making a decision concerning their suitability to join that organisation, to perform tasks which may or may not be specified (Lewis 1992, p17). The three definitions seem to suggest that the selection stage is the climax point of getting a candidate to fill a vacant position at a work place. It is however worth saying that as suggested by Lewis, the process should involve structured methods so that the ultimate aim of getting a suitable applicant as mentioned by Jarvis would be achieved. What are the various Recruitment and Selection Methods available to a Company? Recruitment and selection methods refer to the various means by which a com pany can attract applicants to come and seek for jobs. Doan (2010) outlines ten methods by which recruitment may be carried out. These methods include recruitment by campus method, recruitment by job centres, head hunting, recruitment by advertisements, database search on job site, employee referral, contract staffing, word-of-mouth recruitment,

Giant Car case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Giant Car case - Essay Example In the current case the other elements, intention to create legal relations and consideration, are not in question, but the element of offer and acceptance is. In this respect, it is significant to show first that there was a valid offer and secondly that the offer was accepted. In order to form a contract, the parties involved must reach a mutual consent or meeting of minds. This mutual consent is attained through offer and acceptance that does not alter the terms of the offer.1 The rule applicable in determining if there is mutual consent is the application of the mirror image rule. The rule dictates that an offer must be accepted without altering the terms of the offer. An alteration of the terms of the offer amounts to a counter offer and cancels the initial offer. Lord Langdale in Hyde v Wrench2 ruled that a counter offer acts to cancel the initial offer. In this case, Wrench offered to sell Hyde a farm for ?1,000. Hyde in reply to this offer offered ?950 for the farm which Wren ch refused. Hyde thereafter wanted to accept the initial offer of ?1,000. Wrench refused to sell him the land and Hyde brought an action for specific performance. The question before the court was whether a valid contract between Hyde and Wrench existed. In deciding that there was no legally binding contract, the court noted that when a counter offer is made this offer destroys the initial offer such that the initial offer is no longer open to be accepted by the offeree. ... Additionally, these responses may deal with other issues rather than substitute the original terms of the offer.3 Their language can also manifest an intention to retain the initial offer under consideration, and they should not be considered counter offers. A mere inquiry on the offer does not constitute a counter offer Stevenson v McLean4. In this case, McLean wrote to Stevenson on Saturday with an offer to sell iron ore. The letter indicated that McLean would sell the ore for 40s in cash, and the offer was to remain open till Monday. On Monday Stevenson telegraphed McLean asking if he would accept 40 for delivery over two months and if that was not possible the longest period that was acceptable. McLean later sold the iron ore to a third party after receiving the telegram from Stevenson. McLean later sent a telegram to Stevenson that he had sold the Iron ore, but Stevenson had telegraphed Mclean accepting his offer prior to receiving the telegram indicating the ore was already sol d. The question was whether the telegram sent by Stevenson was counter offer or a mere inquiry to the original offer. In arriving at its decision, the court observed that the wording in the communication did not include anything specific to infer a rejection but was a mere inquiry which ought to have been answered and not considered a rejection of the offer.5 It is, therefore, essential to note that in order to distinguish between an inquiry and a counter offer it is prudent to look at the details of the communication. A counter offer varies the terms of the original offer while an inquiry does not vary these terms. In Simon's case, his communication that he would buy the car at ?5,500 was a counter offer to the

Friday, October 18, 2019

The Capital Appellate Process and the Unkept Promise of the Essay

The Capital Appellate Process and the Unkept Promise of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act - Essay Example All victims are entitled to appeals and should they apply for one, the state gives them an alternative for representation through a state sponsored attorney. While other convicted offenders begin their jail terms soon after the verdict is passed, death row culprits stay for long before facing justice. In Oklahoma, the duration between the judgment and the actual execution gets to up to ten years. This is contrary is normally contrary to the provision of justice, the society expects justice from the legal system, the justice in such a case is the execution of a victim, by delaying this, the society is deprived of the justice. To ensure the smooth and effective execution of criminals in time, the congress passed the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA). This Act aimed at speeding the execution process of the indicted criminals (Nicole 9). The act was informed by the fact that prisoners often suffered from death row phenomenon. The anxiety brought about by the lengthy waiting slowly seeps sanity out of such inmates. They therefore suffer mental breakdowns and become burdens to the state and risks to their fellow inmates. Th is threatened the safety of other inmates besides being an inhumane treatment. The paper is written in an official report format implying that it serves an official purpose. Its potential target is law scholar interested in understanding the operations of the judicial system and the coordination between the justice department and the department of correction. The paper provides the details of this relationship clearly outline the weaknesses that exist and the possible consequences of the weaknesses. The headline is bold and written in a font clearly larger than the rest of the text, this is a writing method employed by newspapers and magazines, its sole objective is to draw as much attention to the article from a browsing reader. Scholarly

Critical analysis of the process of deconstructing an organisation in Essay

Critical analysis of the process of deconstructing an organisation in such a way as to be able to identify the organisations strategy and policy - Essay Example In the first one, the literature published by the organization in the form of reports and analysis is deconstructed to find out the emphasis and to interpret what it excludes. In addition to the texts of the organization, the symbols can also be deconstructed to find the inner meaning. The second approach is that the deconstruction enables us to write the organizational analysis. The main motive is to understand the theme of the context and how these are employed to understand the inner meanings of the texts. The texts interpret what the organizations do not want to talk about. The deconstruction process helps in the evaluation of the motives of the company. The process of deconstruction has not assumed popularity because it puts in question the integrity of the management and its publications. (Thorpe & Holt, 2008; Pp 71-72) However, the efficiency of the process cannot be questioned in the analysis of the company. The paper will discuss the process of deconstruction in the understa nding of the strategy and policy of the organization. As stated earlier, deconstruction as a process or an analytical tool has not assumed the popularity like the other analytical tools. This is because the deconstruction process emphasizes on the analysis of the inner meanings. Deconstruction as a process is based on the texts and the symbols of the organization. The texts and the symbols are analyzed to reveal the inner meaning. The deconstruction analysis is based on the observation of the organizations as bodies of texts. The organizations are not viewed as static entities and they are viewed as some structure, which have some inherent meaning. True to the deconstruction theory of philosophy, the texts of the organizations have inner meaning that reveals some important information about the organizations. The base of the deconstruction process is based on the observation of the texts of the

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Popular Indian Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Popular Indian Religion - Essay Example Translation of a segment included in this Vedic literature â€Å"Âpastamba's Yagà ±a-Paribhà ¢shà ¢-Sà »tras† was conducted by F. Max Muller which was related with the ‘General Rules of the Sacrifice’. ‘Yagà ±a’ or sacrifice in Sutra I of this literature is stated as an act to offer or rather to surrender, i.e. ‘pruputti’ of a living or a non-living object to the God (Muller, 2004). ‘Yagà ±a’ is made to the God or Goddess with the expectation to attain a reward in terms of blessings. These rewards have often been termed to be related with the ‘path to heaven’, prosperity or ‘samridhi’ and absolute enlightenment or ‘samyak-sambodhi’. The Sutras in â€Å"Âpastamba's Yagà ±a-Paribhà ¢shà ¢-Sà »tras† reveal a variety of rituals to perform sacrifice in order to satisfy the worshiped God or Goddess. Rituals and objects for the ‘Yagà ±a’ differ according to the God or Goddess and similarly the process also varies in each case. In the traditional art of Hinduism, the rituals of sacrifice also differed on the basis of the caste system, i.e. Brà ¢hmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Sudra (Oldenberg, 1892). ... The importance of sacrifice and the raison d'etre of the ritual has also been explicitly defined in all the four main Vedas of Hindu Shastra, i.e. Rig, Yajur, Sama, and Atharva Vedas (Oldenberg, 1892). It is in this context that the Sutras mentioned in the literature had a significant impression on the society during the traditional period where Brahmanas and Kshatriyas were termed to be the higher castes possessing the rights to perform every kind of sacrifice and thus were referred to be better connected with the spiritual world in comparison to Vaisyas and Sudras. In relation to the influences of the rituals mentioned in the sutras on the Hindu society and from an ethical point of view it is quite apparent that â€Å"Apastamba's Yagna-Paribhasha-Sutras† played a crucial role in introducing hierarchical caste systems in the then Hindu society. On the similar context, in the â€Å"Grihya Sutras† of Gabhila in Kandika 5, it has been stated that a worshiper should even s acrifice a ‘black-cow’ or a ‘white-cow’ in order to please God and thus barricade the harms caused due to Asvattha, Palaksha, Nyagrodha, and Udumbara to the house. Notably, these are termed to be the favourite trees of Surya, Yama, Varuna, and Pragapati (Muller, 2004). The question that arises in this context relates to the issue where on one hand the religion tends to term cow as a sacred animal and similarly teaches to have mercy on every living creature on earth respecting them as the blessings and creations of God himself, the rituals of the same asks to sacrifice an animal. Concerning these issues, followers of other religions such as Budhists, Jains and Ajivikas have remarked the ritual of sacrifice to be a symbol of ‘ascetic practices’.

Vulnerable Population and Healthcare Research Paper

Vulnerable Population and Healthcare - Research Paper Example Health care is therefore one of the most growing industries now. Institutes in the field have realized that the only way they can deliver effective services to those in needs is through first singling out the needy from the general sample and then personally taking the aid to them. This paper examines drug addicts as a vulnerable group and sees how the personal biases and attitudes of the healthcare professionals affect the delivery of the services. Drug addicts are one of the most vulnerable groups of individuals in dire need of help in all stages of their susceptibility (Chesnay, 2006). Many people view drug addiction as a lowly, self-harming habit with no hopes of recovery. However, nothing can be further from truth. Drug- addiction is more of an ailment, a chronic disease in which a patient keeps relapsing into the pursuit and in-take of harmful drugs that, to him, soothe his nerves and calm his body. It is true that the first doze is more of an outside-in process and depends on the will of the person completely, the subsequent changes in the physiology of brain makes it very difficult for the addict to quit and urges him to impulsively continue with the menace. However, treatments are now available to help these addicts recover from their addiction gradually and more successfully. As modern researches reveal, a good combination of medicinal and behavioral therapy can lead to a much better and quicker treatment of the problem. In addition, personalized treatments, which are, customized to the needs and attitudes of individual patients, make the recovery process quicker and less painful than it normally is. The demographics of drug addicts is rather interesting and at some instances, surprising. For instance, â€Å"in 2003, the rate of dependence on substance for youths between the ages of 12 and 17 years was 8.9% and that between the people of ages between 18 and 25 is 21% â€Å"(Wolf, 1998). In particular, â€Å"58.1% of the young drug addicts depend on illicit drugs while the ratio in adults is 37.2%. In 2003 only, males were twice as prone to substance-dependency as women† (Wheeler, 2006). However, in youths below 18 years of age, the substance abuse in both the genders was almost the same. Ethnically speaking, the dependency on substance is highest amongst â€Å"Native Americans and the Natives of Alaska, i.e. around 17.2%† (Wheeler, 2006). Second to this are â€Å"Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders with 12.9%. Asian Americans come last with 6.3%† (Wheeler, 2006). Contrary to popular belief, blacks have lower substance dependency rates than â€Å"Hispanics and whites, 8.1 percent as compared to 9.8 and 9.2 percent, respectively†. The dependency on drugs also differs in various age brackets. In 2003 only, there were â€Å"3.8% drug addicts in the range of 12-13 years, 10.9% drug addicts in the range of 14 to 15 years and 19.2% drug addicts† (Wheeler, 2006) in the range of 16 to 17 years of a ge. The illicit drug use also follow the same graph with ascending slope in the teens, peak at 20 years of age and then a gradual decline after that. Personally speaking, this research opened up some new dimensions of thinking. Earlier, drug addicts came around just as another marginalized group of people whom one should never be friends with. They usually confront stereotypes of being dangerous and unfriendly or homeless. Drug addiction is also paired with assault,

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Popular Indian Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Popular Indian Religion - Essay Example Translation of a segment included in this Vedic literature â€Å"Âpastamba's Yagà ±a-Paribhà ¢shà ¢-Sà »tras† was conducted by F. Max Muller which was related with the ‘General Rules of the Sacrifice’. ‘Yagà ±a’ or sacrifice in Sutra I of this literature is stated as an act to offer or rather to surrender, i.e. ‘pruputti’ of a living or a non-living object to the God (Muller, 2004). ‘Yagà ±a’ is made to the God or Goddess with the expectation to attain a reward in terms of blessings. These rewards have often been termed to be related with the ‘path to heaven’, prosperity or ‘samridhi’ and absolute enlightenment or ‘samyak-sambodhi’. The Sutras in â€Å"Âpastamba's Yagà ±a-Paribhà ¢shà ¢-Sà »tras† reveal a variety of rituals to perform sacrifice in order to satisfy the worshiped God or Goddess. Rituals and objects for the ‘Yagà ±a’ differ according to the God or Goddess and similarly the process also varies in each case. In the traditional art of Hinduism, the rituals of sacrifice also differed on the basis of the caste system, i.e. Brà ¢hmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Sudra (Oldenberg, 1892). ... The importance of sacrifice and the raison d'etre of the ritual has also been explicitly defined in all the four main Vedas of Hindu Shastra, i.e. Rig, Yajur, Sama, and Atharva Vedas (Oldenberg, 1892). It is in this context that the Sutras mentioned in the literature had a significant impression on the society during the traditional period where Brahmanas and Kshatriyas were termed to be the higher castes possessing the rights to perform every kind of sacrifice and thus were referred to be better connected with the spiritual world in comparison to Vaisyas and Sudras. In relation to the influences of the rituals mentioned in the sutras on the Hindu society and from an ethical point of view it is quite apparent that â€Å"Apastamba's Yagna-Paribhasha-Sutras† played a crucial role in introducing hierarchical caste systems in the then Hindu society. On the similar context, in the â€Å"Grihya Sutras† of Gabhila in Kandika 5, it has been stated that a worshiper should even s acrifice a ‘black-cow’ or a ‘white-cow’ in order to please God and thus barricade the harms caused due to Asvattha, Palaksha, Nyagrodha, and Udumbara to the house. Notably, these are termed to be the favourite trees of Surya, Yama, Varuna, and Pragapati (Muller, 2004). The question that arises in this context relates to the issue where on one hand the religion tends to term cow as a sacred animal and similarly teaches to have mercy on every living creature on earth respecting them as the blessings and creations of God himself, the rituals of the same asks to sacrifice an animal. Concerning these issues, followers of other religions such as Budhists, Jains and Ajivikas have remarked the ritual of sacrifice to be a symbol of ‘ascetic practices’.

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Performance appraisal system and performance management system Essay

Performance appraisal system and performance management system - Essay Example Performance management systems refer to measures that the organization has put in place with the aim of establishing what employees ought to do in a certain period. For example, it can constitute measures on how the employee should perform in the next quarter of a year, the next sixth months, or the next one year. A performance management system outlines what should be met within a certain time frame, as well as the benefits that accrue to employees when they meet these objectives (Grote 1996, p.17). Differences between performance Appraisal System and Performance Management System There are certain differences, which exist between performance appraisal systems and performance management systems. These differences represent the most fundamental components of the two approaches, as well as how the two approaches differ in terms of what they address. The major differences between performance appraisal and performance management systems lies in the scope of what they aim to cover. While performance management systems represent a traditional approach to the management of human resources, performance management can be termed as a contemporary approach to the management of human resources (Rao 2004, p. 213). ... 333). During performance appraisal, the principal activities that the human resource department engages in include evaluating employees, as well as rating their performance. On the contrary, performance management aims at the review, analysis, and planning of the expected performance of employees, and how an employee should make improvements (Deb 2006, p.201). While performance management can be regarded as a continuous process within the organisation, performance appraisal takes place in an annual basis. In performance management, there may be reviews that take place quarterly while, in performance appraisal, the review of the employee takes place once a year. However, there may be periodic ratings of employees in the course of the year (Rao 2004, p.214). Performance appraisal is a function entirely performed by the human resource department of the organisation. This means that the human resource department has the responsibility to design, evaluates, as well as monitor the implemen tation of the performance appraisal system (Roberts 2003, p.89). On the contrary, the performance management system can be designed by the human resource department, but the implementation of the system can be done by the various departments. In performance appraisal systems, there are reviews that may be conducted to ensure that the ratings of employees enhance objectivity. In performance management systems, the reviews serve the purpose of ensuring that the organization improves its performance (Waal & Counet, 2009). In performance appraisal, the need for making development is identified when the year ends. During performance management, the need for development can easily be

Monday, October 14, 2019

The themes in Hamlet Essay Example for Free

The themes in Hamlet Essay Hamlet by William Shakespeare is a revenge tragedy that illustrates a tragic heros struggle with two opposing forces: moral integrity, and the need to avenge his fathers murder. Hamlet the prince of Denmark discovers from his fathers ghost that his father has been murdered with malicious premeditation and this atrocious act was committed by none other than his uncle Claudius. Inevitably Hamlet is instigated to seek revenge, however is incapable of such action due to the need for certainty and other emotional, psychological, and ethical factors; thus he remains indecisive. Through Hamlets complex, divided, introspective character and with the help of such an intriguing plot Shakespeare exposes the themes of immorality, revenge, and death; which are evidently the most significant and recurring themes throughout the play. Immorality plays a significant role in the play. The plot commences with Claudius not only committing the immoral act of regicide but also repulsively seducing the queen into marriage; completely disrupting the natural order of Denmark. Therefore Claudius has deprived the prior king of life, of crown, of queen Such corruption leads to Denmark being represented as a physical body which has been made ill as the people come to believe that something is rotten in the state. (I, iv, 90) The appearance of the previous kings ghost confirms a sense of foreboding about the future of the country since the new king has forced himself onto the throne through corrupt means. All this corruption affects Hamlets view of the world as well, where he comes to believe that the world is merely possessed by things rank in gross in nature. ( I, ii, 136) Even before Hamlet encounters his fathers ghost who reveals the truth about the murder, Hamlet is searing with indignation over how his mother with most wicked speed, [did] post with such dexterity to incestuous sheets (I,ii,156 157) Thus Hamlet foreshadows that such dissolute deeds cannot come to good (I. ii. 158) However when the ghost does reveal the truth Hamlet is overwhelmed with disgust at the immorality and injustice of his own uncles and his mothers foul deeds. Inevitably the occurrences of such immoral acts have brought a burning need within Hamlet, a need to seek to revenge; which is another significant theme that recurs throughout the play. Indisputably, revenge is probably the most essential theme in the development of Hamlet. Revenge is a dreadful, decadent and a bloodthirsty emotion and is the driving force behind two of the main characters in the play- Hamlet and Laertes. However Shakespeares conduct of revenge within Hamlet differs completely to the quintessential style of revenge during his era. Shakespeares illustration of revenge delves more into the physiological and moral aspect of seeking revenge; where he portrays that revenge is not an action that usually comes innately because even overpowering emotion cannot bring about immediate action. Therefore Hamlet contemplates heavily and plans the revenge, but fails to put his ideas into action until the last scene. The first sign of revenge is evidently seen in the beginning where Hamlets fathers ghost urges him to revenge his foul and most unnatural murder. (I. v.25). However Hamlet was still not convinced by the ghost as he believes it may be the devil( II,ii) Therefore in order to catch Claudiuss conscience and prove the ghosts message, Hamlet has a play enacted in the scenario of his fathers murder. This shows Hamlets need for certainty and deep contemplation. Even after The kings outburst when he had the perfect opportunity to kill whilst he was praying, Hamlet failed to perform. Hamlet states Now he is praying a villain kills my father and for that, I, his sole son, do this same villain send to heaven( III,iii). It is evident that Hamlet is a man with too much reason (III.ii) and not enough action. One could argue that it is as if he develops excuses for not completing the deed, mainly because he is human and that the deed is immoral. Therefore he is incapable of performing such action immediately. This proves that every action; even revenge is affected by rational considerations, involving the need for truth or certainty as well as moral, physiological and emotional factors. Nevertheless it seems as though Hamlet disbelieves the notion of performing a deed in a purposeful and controlled way; because when Hamlet does take action; killing Polonius, he prefers to do it irresponsibly, blindly and viciously. It evidently shows his thirst for revenge as well as the obscurity and complexity of his character. Hamlets blind, irrational, and impulsive, manner of killing Polonius without being aware of his identitiy formulates the beginning of a vicious cycle of retribution; as Hamlet becomes a part of Denmarks squalor and misery. This irrepressible and unjustifiable murder instigated Laertess(Poloniuss son) quest to avenge his fathers death. Later on in act 5 Hamlet and Laertes have the opportunity to avenge their fathers in a gruesome duel. However this only leads to their downfall, revenges eventual outcome- death. Shakespeare utilizes the theme of death as a cleanser of corruption, as all the corrupt players are killed through unnatural means which ultimately restores the natural order of Denmark. As destined the characters receive the deaths they deserve. Thus the king dies in Hamlets hand as well as being poisoned like the queen, whereas Hamlet dies in a soldierly fashion being provided the respect a soldier deserves. Inevitably death is seen as the ultimate resolution for immoral injustice. Death is not only seen as a cleanser of corruption but according to Hamlet death carries various meaning involving freedom, inevitability and the fact that death renders life meaningless. It is evident that Hamlets obsession with death works in three stages: death as a means of escape or freedom, his circle of life theory and the physical decay of death which proves the futility of life. From the very beginning Hamlets seems to find the world weary, stale, flat and unprofitable. (I,ii,129-134) and would have ended his agony by committing suicide if the everlasting had not fixed his canon `gainst self-slaughter. ( I. ii. 129-134) Hamlet ponders over the means to handle his outrageous fortune(III,i, lines 58-70)and contemplates whether he should fight the slings and arrows (III,i lines 58-70) that life has thrown upon him or he should end the heart ache and a thousand natural shocks (III, i,lines 58-70) by killing himself. However he is afraid of the after life and chooses the nobler (III. i, 58-70) path to face the suffering of life in order to avoid the gruesome aftermath of death. According to Hamlet aftermath can also involve the grave where the person has to face worms and maggots feeding on him, evidently pointing out that death is a leveler which inevitably everyone is entitled for. Therefore he believes that life goes around in a circle because a man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a king, and eat of the fish that hath feed of that worm. (IV,iii, 30-32) Hamlet also believes that life is meaningless because after death all physical beauty is lost. So with Yoricks skull in hand he reminisces upon all the moments he spent with Yorick and what has become of him now. Likewise, regardless of how women emphasize on their beauty; as Hamlet states to this favor she must come. (V. i. 192-195) Evidently Shakespeare, through the voice of Hamlet proves that all the greed and lust for power eventually leads to nothing in the face of death. Shakespeares utilization of the significant intertwining themes of death, revenge and immorality, he is able to coherently elucidate how immoral injustice can never be restored and unless all the corrupt players are purged and a new king, in this case Fortinbras, is crowned. In addition Shakespeare also exposes that ultimately revenge is not the solution for internal peace but rather when committed it brings forth chaos and disorder within the society; forcing death to be the only resolution to cleanse the corruption and bring back peace and harmony to the state. In the process of the play these universal themes are dealt not in the conventional sense but in a reality based fashion which any human being can easily relate to, and this is what makes Hamlet such a tour de force.