Commodity Marketing and Risk Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Commodity Marketing and Risk Management - Essay Example Market risk. Of all the risk that deserves regular tracking by management, the market risk may be one of the most important. The market can change and no organization is immune to the ebbs and flows the marketplace. Market risk includes the risk of not having a viable market for the product or commodity. For example, if a producer grows his crop without a contract, he faces the risk of not having a market for the crop. Contract. Contract risk is the risk of contact default by the producer or the contractor. Several component contract risks are contract default, contract termination, not understanding contract terms, product contract violators and payment risk. If the contractor is unable to pay, it may leave the producer in the position of an unsecured creditor. Terminator of a contract can also generate serious losses. This is especially true when the producer has incurred high production expenses. Where bailment contracts or personal service contracts are used, the conditions for terminating by the contractor can be viewed as a risk factor. Investment. Investment risk is the risk associated with returns on a long-term asset. There are two main components of investment risk: variability in returns and loss of the asset. Variability in returns is the result of an annual change in the costs of revenue associated with the asset. Loss of the asset may be a result of the fire, or other peril, and is often covered by property insurance. Yield risk is simply the risk of lower than expected production. ... If the contractor is unable to pay, it may leave the producer in the position of unsecured creditor. Terminator of a contract can also generate serious losses. This is especially true when the producer has incurred high production expenses. Where bailment contracts or personal service contracts are used, the conditions for terminating by the contractor can be viewed as a risk factor. Financial Risk Investment. Investment risk is the risk associated with returns on a long-term asset. There are two main components of investment risk : variability in returns and loss of the asset. Variability in returns is the result of annual change in the costs of revenue associated with the asset. Loss of the asset may be a result of fire, or other peril, and is often covered by property insurance. Production Risk Yield risk is simply the risk of lower than expected production. For example, a farmer's produce is affected by factors such as weather, variety risk, unknown yield crop and pest pressure. Relationship Risk Relationship risk is the risk of adversely affecting relationship with buyers, supplies or other resource providers that are critical to the success of the operation several sources of relationship risk are: Landlord - access to land Lender - access to capital Supplier - access to critical supplies including genetics, production technology and knowledge. Buyer processor - access to markets, revenue opportunities, and market knowledge. Marketing Strategies to Avoid the Risk The best way to manage risk is by developing a strategic plan using the full range of risk management tools available. Some of the known risk management strategies are: Product Diversification One of the most important tasks a marketer

Upper Class In Britain Sociology Essay

Upper Class In Britain Sociology Essay There are quite intense debates nowadays about social classes between social scientists. Some argue that there is no need anymore to study the classes of society in the old ways, since in the twentieth century capitalism and the global economy altered the society and the way people live their lives so much; that classes became so fragmented, so layered that basically they have turned into lifestyles (Marsh et al, 2000). Others argue that, although there are changes in the class system, the basic classes still clearly can be found and studied (especially the upper class), and these social classes are still playing a decisive part in peoples life and identity. They agree that social classes became very layered and sometimes hardly identifiable, but they also say that people still identify themselves in the terms of classes and that the classes were not effected equally by these changes in global and national economy. They also say that inequality between people still makes the classes fairly identifiable (Macionis Plummer, 2005). These debates would not have made sense till the industrial revolution. Till that time there was a clearly identifiable working-, middle- and upper class. However the changes in the national and global economy, also in the ownership of the big companies and the birth of the joint-stock companies made the borders between social classes vague and, some say, led to the demise of the upper class (Marsh et al, 2000). Edgell (1993) cited by Kirby et al (1997, p. 125) states that there are two approaches of the upper classs situation now days. The managerialist and the non-managerialist approach. The managerialist scientists, like Dahrendorf, say that the separation of ownership and control led to the birth of a manager class and through this change it also led to vast alterations in the upper class. They state that, on one hand, the workers can buy shares in any company and the control of the companies wandered from the owners (members of the upper class) to the managers, thus the upper c lass became just as fragmented and layered as the working-, and middle-class. On the other hand, because of the changes in the quality of life, the lower classes enjoy or will enjoy the same privileges just as the upper class (Kirby et al, 1997). Hence, argue they, it does not make sense to study classes in the old way, since the classes in the way as people knew them have disappeared. However the scientists on the other side of the fence say that, though the class system became very layered, that change did not affected the upper class as much as the other classes. Moreover, they argue that the upper class is the only one which still can be identified and separated easily, although it became more layered than it was in the nineteenth century (Bilton et al, 2002). They prove this statement with statistics, surveys and other evidences. The changes that made the working-, and middle-class almost too layered to be studied, also had an effect on the upper class. The scientists now days separate different layers. The basic partitioning separates it to two layers: the upper-uppers and the lower-uppers. The upper-uppers are the old landed aristocracy and the lower-uppers are the new rich, who became wealthy during the industrialization or in the twentieth century through the changes in the global and national economy. These are the very basic layers of the upper class, but we can separate them further. As Macionis Plummer (2005) and Giddens (1980) cited by Kirby et al (1997, pp.124-125) state there are four main categories: the land-owning rich, whose income and wealth comes mostly from inherited lands and goods, the so called fat-cats who have gigantic salaries, the ‘jet-set rich who made their wealth in the show-, or any other businesses, but one thing is common in them they are all very famous. The last group i s the entrepreneurial rich who made their money through investments in companies or real estate. Scott (1997) cited by Fulcher Scott (2003, p.716) uses a different partitioning. He states that there are four layers of the lower-upper class. The first one is the ‘entrepreneurial capitalist. They make their money through running the business of big companies, whose shares they own. The second group is the ‘rentier capitalist. They made their money from the land or from any other business, but now days they make money by investing into many enterprises. The third layer is the ‘executive capitalist who own executive positions in big companies and reached this status by good education and hard work; and the last group is the ‘finance capitalist. They make their income by holding part-time positions in many corporations leadership, mainly in the banking or insurance sector. As it can be seen there are many layers in the upper class, but what makes these layers can be asked to constitute a well identifiable and basically single social group, called the upper class? Well, many things. In the nineteenth century the upper-upper and lower-upper class were quite separate. The landed upper class did not absorb the new rich till the end of the nineteenth century. This absorbing process was very slow. Though the lower-uppers had the same power and many times they were richer than many old-uppers, they did not have the prestige which the old-uppers had had for a long time. However, the unity of interests they have, slowly made them one single social class; and nowadays they are attached together by many things (Fulcher Scott, 2003). In a Weberian view, they have the power, status and wealth to defend their interests and reproduce themselves, which can be seen in the statistics. As Macionis Plummer (2005) state in 1997 there were 120.000 millionaires in Britai n, this number grew to 200.000 till 2000. Furthermore between 1983 and 1993 the earnings of the top five per cent of the population rose by fifty per cent, whilst the earnings of the lowest five per cent were basically stagnating. In addition the top one per cent of Britains population owns the one fifth, one fourth of the countrys marketable wealth, while half of the whole population owns only the six per cent of it. That is because they have huge influence in society, hence they can protect each others interest, which they do so. And what tides these people together as an upper class? As Kirby et al (1997) claim there is a social and economic unity amongst them. That means that they have similarities in background and education. They are mostly educated in public schools, and this public school system plays a very significant role in reproducing the upper class. As Stanworth Giddens (1974) cited by Kirby et al (1997, pp.126-127) found that ‘†¦of those employed in each of the following occupational categories bishops, senior ranks of the armed forces, principal judges, senior civil servants, Conservative MPs, and the directors of the largest industrial and financial corporations more than half had been to a public school (in many cases the proportion was much higher). Some 73 per cent of the directors of industrial corporations and 80 per cent of the directors of financial firms had received a public school education. This ratio is quite huge considering that public schools educate only five per cent of the male school population. For the members of the upper class this educational system has many benefits. It reproduces them and as Fulcher Scott (2003), Kirby et al (1997) and Marsh et al (2000) argue it establishes the so-called ‘old boy network. Furthermore, as Fawbert states (2007), it helps them to maintain their cultural capital (which helps them to remain wealthy); also they make very close kinship connections and interlocking networks, which ensure that their privileges will be transmitted to the next generation. Because of all these things it can be concluded that, although the upper part of society changed and got layered during the nineteenth and twentieth century, it still constitutes one well identifiable social class. The people, who belong to the upper class, manage to maintain their superiority. With the wealth and power they possess, they can ensure a privileged education to their children which leads almost straight to Oxford and Cambridge (‘Oxbridge). During this education process the youth of the upper class can develop the ‘old boy network, which helps them to get better jobs through the ‘elite self-recruitment (Fawbert, 2007). Furthermore, as Scott (1992) cited by Marsh et al (2000, p.306) argue, they are ‘†¦a group of people allied around certain social institutions. These institutions are the Conservative Party, the Church of England, the public schools and ancient universities, the legal profession and the Guards regiments†¦.Therefore despit e of the changes there is still a well identifiable upper class in Britain. Moreover it is the only social class left, which can be easily recognized and separated from the other social classes. Bibliography Bilton, T. et al (2002) Introductory Sociology 4th edn. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Fawbert, J. (2007) ‘Week 6: The class structure today: the upper class. Identity Structure. [Online]. Available at: http://breo.beds.ac.uk (Accessed: 7 December 2007) Fulcher, J. Scott, J. (2003) Sociology 2nd edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Kirby, M. et al (1997) Sociology in Perspective Oxford: Heinemann Educational Publishers. Macionis, J. Plummer, K. (2005) Sociology: A Global Introduction 3rd edn. Harlow: Pearson Education. Marsh, I. et al (2000) Making Sense of Society 2nd edn. London: Longman.

Defining Blackness in How it Feels to Be Colored Me by Zora Neale Hurston :: How it Feels to Be Colored Me

Defining "Blackness" in Terms of "Whiteness" in How it Feels to Be Colored Me  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Wald argues that any social critique must work to divest the rhetoric of the dominant discourse of its co-optive power. American rhetoric readily co-opts stories of Black selves through an incorporating language of difference that obscures the actual nature of that difference. Writers of slave narratives and, later, Black autobiographers, countered charges of racial inferiority with testimonies to their industry, ingenuity, and Christian virtues, adopting precisely those terms of the Protestant work ethic through which the culture justified its domination and thereby mitigated their differences(Andrews, 95 ). Defining "blackness" in terms of "whiteness" (reference to the concept of binary opposition in which one term negates the other) submits to the authorization of the dominant discourse and enters into the cultural subjectivity implicit in language. The altemative is equally problematic, however, since the American democratic idealism ensured that any assertion of difference that could not be incorporated into the pervasive national rhetoric was systematically excluded (Wald, 80). Perhaps because of her anthropological training and her doubly marginal status as an African-American woman, Hurston invented a strategy that enabled her to speak from the margins. She employed an African-American language, a symbolic system that reconstituted representation itself and disrupted the dualism of the dorninant discourse. "The Negroes...very words are action words... the suggestiveness of African-American art transforms the spectator into an actor who participat[es] in the performance himself carrying out the suggestions of the performer" (Hurston, 49). Blackness becomes experiential rather than essential, a "quality that permeates and suffuses rather than defines"(Wald, 87). The vitality of the language blurs oppositional boundaries and whatever the meaning of 'blackness' is, the performer and spectator are mutually involved in a relationship that undermines the representation of blackness as sin against a moral white background (Wald, 87). Hurston draws us into the dynamics of"coloration" by redesignating "color" as performance. She inverts her experience of feeling different in a white environment by setting "a white person ...down in our mist," and, again, her "color comes"(Anthology, 1985). Hurston represents the difference in the context of a jazz performance, in which the orchestra "plunges into a number ...constricts the thorax and splits the heart... grows rambunctious, rears on its hind legs and attacks the tonal veil with primitive fury, rendering it, clawing it until it breaks through to a jungle beyond"(Anthology, 1985).

Attitdues on Housework Essay

?The roles of women and men have been very stereotypical in the past. Women were made to cook and clean, and men were made to work, and bring home money to support their families. Today, there is more of an equal division of housework. When comparing my parents to my grandparents I especially notice a difference between the amounts of cooking that is being done. Women work more than ever, men find cooking more interesting, and the stereotypes of the typical man and woman are not the same anymore. Men are continuing to cook more than ever, while females are cooking less than ever, because of the changing society. My parent’s generation is very different from my grandparent’s generation. When my father was growing up my grandma did all the cooking, and because of that my Grandpa never had to cook, so he never learned. My grandma worked a part time job and my grandpa worked full time. It was known that supper would be on the table every night at 6 waiting for my grandpa when he got home from work. In today’s society, in order to make ends meet, it is necessary for women and men to both have full time jobs. In my house, the one who is the first one home from work does the cooking. Very often my parents are also taking turns driving me and my brother to different sports, so meals are sometimes rushed. My mom cooks less than my grandma, but my dad cooks far more than my grandpa ever did. Men cook more than ever because women cook less than ever and there needs to be a happy medium. Years ago women did most of the cooking for many reasons, but the main reason was because that’s what they were stereotypically supposed to do. Today, that stereotype has almost vanished. In fact, most women are insulted by the old house wife title, so they don’t like to cook as much to escape it. Most women today can’t cook to the same standard that their mothers did. This is because women also want to be successful in the work force, so they are busier, and have less time to spend on cooking. Men, on the other hand, work no more than their spouse, so they have no choice but to help out with household chores. They might also remember what their mother’s cooking was like, so that inspires them. Men have more time than their father’s did to spend on cooking. My dad, along with a lot of men would rather cook than clean. In today’s society men have to help out around the house, because women don’t have time to do everything like they used to. Cooking is far more enjoyable than cleaning, there is a finished product that you can enjoy, it is calming, and you can experiment and try new things. These are just a few reasons to why more men may enjoy cooking. I know my dad would rather cook than wash the floors. Since my dad chooses cooking over cleaning my mom does a lot of the other housework resulting in her to cook less than usual. Social media inspires men and women in different ways. My dad loves watching the food network. These TV shows, with chefs that are males, inspire him to be handy in the kitchen. They almost make cooking seem cool because it is something different for men. Men like to always prove that they can do anything, so being a great cook is something they strive for because it can set them apart from other men. TV shows like Oprah inspire women to be different than the average woman. They don’t want to be the typical stay at home mom. Instead they want to be successful business ladies, and change the world. These television shows inspire men and women to be different than the traditional roles their parents played. The end result of this social effect is an increase in cooking for men and a decrease in cooking for women. Today’s changing society doesn’t allow for men to be the bread winners and for females to be the bread maker. Instead, each gender does a bit of both. This affects both genders’ roles and attitudes towards cooking. In most households, to maintain a stable living condition, men need to help their wives with housework. Men find cooking more interesting than cleaning, they have more time for it than ever, and they find it challenging and rewarding. Women have less time for cooking due to their busy schedules, they don’t want to be the stereotypical housewife, and instead they want to be successful in the work force. All of these social factors explain why men are cooking more than ever while females are cooking less than ever.

How Does Willy Russell Create Mood Essay

In the Summer Sequence Willy Russell’s three main protagonists are shown to grow up from the ages of 15 to 18, thus becoming adults throughout the song. This means that the sequence acts as a watershed in the respect that it marks a major turning point in the play. This is shown through the atmosphere that Russell creates, which goes from fairly positive, hopeful tone to a more cynical and desperate one over the duration of the sequence. Russell uses several techniques to create these atmospheres throughout. In the opening of the Summer Sequence the atmosphere is clearly a happy one, which is shown by Russell by using words like â€Å"young, free and innocent† to describe the characters. In this section, the word â€Å"innocent† is used twice. This repetition emphasises their youth and their naivety. â€Å"You haven’t got a care†, suggests Russell is trying to create an image of the characters as being without concern, completely free of worry so it reinforces the absolute happiness of the characters. Another adjective that occurs later in the song is â€Å"immortal† which at this stage of the play creates an atmosphere of excitement and spontaneity because the children can’t conceive of an end to their current lives. A technique that Russell uses starts to use here is imagery, â€Å"street’s turned to paradise†, the word â€Å"paradise† bring to mind an idea of secure and complete happiness, which is how he describes them in this verse. Another technique is personification, â€Å"radio’s singing dreams†, giving the radio the ability to do something that brings happiness or joy. This line also works the first time the motif of dreams appears, one that recurs throughout the sequence. The next notable part of the sequence is entirely stage directions, and shows the characters at a fairground. In this part of the sequence the most obvious technique is foreshadowing and motifs arising. In it, Linda is just ignored by the narrator, who is running the stall, when giving the gun to them, but the boys both insist Linda fires it, which is reminiscent of the beginning of the play when Linda takes the airgun from Mickey and beats him at firing at cans. Linda also used to control their social situations, â€Å"let’s throw some stones through them windows†. This scene is also very reliant on the gun motif that runs through the entire play which creates a darker and more sinister atmosphere, and that suggests a level of violence. The fairground scene is also reflected in the musical choice, which is fairground-like music that plays to the tune of ‘Tell me it’s not true’, the song Mrs Johnstone sings at the very beginning of the play while her two sons lie dead on the stage. So, again this ties in with the audiences’ awareness of the boys’ tragic fate, thus, creating a foreshadowing atmosphere and suggests impending tragedy. This links with the gun motif, as together these themes create a sense of impending violence and death. The last line of this section of stage directions is â€Å"Linda is caught in the middle, the game freezes†. This creates a dark atmosphere as throughout the play Linda is always seen to be caught in between the two boys, but so far, it has never ended badly. In this instance, however, it foreshadows the fates of all three characters. The use of the word â€Å"game†, referring to a game of piggy-in-the-middle, could suggest that the context of the play when Linda gets caught up in her own happiness which eventually leads to the tragic fate of the twins. Overall, this section is of a darker tone than the last, but this atmosphere is created through the subtext, so the audience may not be fully aware of why they feel this way about the atmosphere. This is featured through the presence of the narrator, who throughout the play appears on stage to signify or prompt something negative to happen. He hands them the gun, and prompts the game of piggy-in-the-middle that Linda gets caught between. The next section uses metaphors to create a dark, impending atmosphere, that is more openly sinister that the previous section. Russell refers to the characters are â€Å"Lambs in spring†, which suggests not only their innocence and naivety, but an inevitable fate, specifically one that is forced upon them, not of their own doing. This explicitly refers to the brothers’ fate in a way in which the last section didn’t, so the tone is far more marred by the eventuality of their deaths. This date is also referenced when Russell extends the metaphor, â€Å"fate the later seasons bring†, which causes the audience to remember the scene at the very beginning of the play, preventing them from being drawn into the initial happiness of the three teenagers in this sequence. Again, it refers to Linda being caught in the middle of the pair, foreshadowing their final argument. It also refers to Linda paying a â€Å"price†, a theme that was initially shown in the song ‘Easy Terms’, sung by Mrs Johnstone, and in both cases foreshadows the price they’ll have to pay for their involvement in the twins’ lives. The music becomes far more serious and sinister, a repetitive tense note with no actual melody. In the next section a recurring theme is shown with the references to time. This creates a sad, melancholic atmosphere, as the audience is aware of the character’s significant lack of time together, but the characters are not, so their happy unawareness and this dramatic irony is slightly poignant. Again, fate is reference by the narrator â€Å"care not for what’s at the end of the day†, again forcing the audience to remember the fate of the boys, this enhances the melancholy mood of the section. â€Å"What is to come, what might have been†, references both the eventualities of the play, whilst also suggesting they could have been happy, that it could have they could have been happier, depressing the mood even further. It is made poignant by the characters’ blissful ignorance, â€Å"life has no ending†¦Talk away the night†, which ties in with the earlier references of immorality. Again, this dramatic irony, where the audience know that the boys’ lives do have endings that are fast approaching, almost makes the audience beg them to not waste their time talking â€Å"away the night†. â€Å"Share your last cigarette† also ties into the earlier scene where Mickey and Eddie share things, such as sweets and later cigarettes, they promise to share things in their blood brothers pact; but they cannot share Linda. Arguably the downfall of both brothers, meaning that this watershed’s atmosphere is wholly dark. In the next section it is all stage directions, but Russell uses foreshadowing and the use of the narrator’s presence to create a seemingly happy atmosphere that still foreshadows tragedy. In it, the trip are taking photos of each other at the beach. In the one between Eddie and Linda, Eddie down on one knee and demonstrating affections by kissing her hand. Throughout the play, Linda has shaped Eddie’s personality and actions, such as coercing him to throw rocks, and Eddie has appeared to like her from the very beginning and so this foreshadows the dynamics of their later relationship. Mickey and Linda’s photo does the same, as Mickey â€Å"pulls a distorted face†, and Linda chastening him for it, which foreshadows Mickey’s later dependency on medication, and Linda’s efforts to help him get off them. This foreshadowing of tragic events, in a way that appears innocent creates an  eerie, disconcerting atmosphere. As there are no words, it can’t openly reference what’s to come, but uses what the characters think is a harmless and happy moment. This is compounded by the musical choice, which is again ‘Tell me it’s not true’, as fairground music. Again, this foreshadows the final scene, creating a foreboding atmosphere without explicit reference as to why it appears that way. In this scene we see the characters taking pictures of them at the beach, these photos are memories of the last time the three of them are all truly happy. Therefore, the photographs signify the end of their childhood and innocence and dreams. This made clearer by the narrator being the one to take the photographs, thus being the one who signifies the end of their childhoods and lives. The children literally become adults at the end of the beach scene in the Summer Sequence, as well as metaphorically. Because the narrator is a sinister figure throughout the play, and usually is there to prompt the occurrence of something tragic, it creates a sense of impending tragedy even more obvious in this scene. The picture that the narrator takes is of them all together, happy, so he not only brings their childhood to a close, but also their happiness and friendship. In a sense, he symbolises reality as he intrudes on their happiness, despite their ignorance and the audience’s desire for him not to do so. He also represents society as it is eventually social constraints of class and wealth that divide the two. This way the audience are forced to see the society that they are part of and this is the factor that brings the story to an end. The fact that he appears to them as a friendly, even helpful, face increases the audience’s wariness of him and therefore the sinister nature of the scene. The overriding atmosphere of the scene is the last section is one of desperation and uncertainty. Russell uses metaphors such as â€Å"broken bottles in the sand† to symbolise a man-made impression on something naive and happy, which symbolises the characters’ friendship and how it is affected by class. The motif of a dream is repeated, as is the theme of innocence. The references to dreams ties in with the song tell me it’s not true, which refers to dreams. The reference to innocence here again makes the trio seem devious to the fact that they will be subject to tragedy.

Sustainability in Slums

Sustainability in Slums Introduction Sustainable development is one of the core strategies of development adopted by many countries across the world. Although this awareness has reached to that level currently, sustainability was not considered profoundly in the past.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Sustainability in Slums specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In the past, people focused on development without considering other crucial aspects such as environmental awareness, sociology and humanity. The introduction of sustainability closed that gap by developing initiatives which integrate the three aspects. In the modern world, governments are dedicating their efforts towards sustainable development in sectors such as real estate management, infrastructural development and health issues. In essence, they focused profoundly on real estate since it was one of the vital sectors of economic development. However, the authorities face many challeng es since the population is increasing progressively leading to high demand of rental houses. As a result, slums have emerged in many parts of the world posing social and environmental threats. In fact, slums have affected many countries such as the UK, the USA, India, China and most countries in Africa. This shows that the emergence of slums should be treated as a global issue demanding a sustainable approach. Therefore, this paper will focus on how the policies of sustainability could be applied to solve challenges posed by the emergence of slums. Development of Sustainability Agenda in Real Estates Slums contravene the ideologies of sustainable development in many ways. The life that people experience in slums is barely sustainable in consideration of aspects such as economy, health and environmental awareness.Advertising Looking for report on environmental studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This implies that the concerned authorities must act swiftly in order to develop the sustainability agenda in the slums. In this light, the development of this agenda should adhere to the five principles of sustainability. Environmental Limits The first principle states that people must live within the environmental limits. This implies that human activities must be conducted in a manner that does not contravene with environmental awareness. For example, people use poor construction materials when they are building houses in the slums. These materials that include polythene papers, rotted iron sheets, and grass roofing destroy environmental fitness. Polythene papers are destroyed easily leading to a fast rate of disposal that results in piling up of waste materials. In addition, since the polythene papers are unrecyclable, people opt to burn the materials in order to dispose them. This leads to the production of green house gases such as carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, and carbon monoxide which dep lete the ozone layer (Amlinger Peyr 2008). In fact, the government of the UK has become very strict in regard to the production of green house gases because their ozone layer is threatened. These sentiments imply that the development of sustainability agenda must be conducted in line with environmental limits. Healthy Society The second principle of sustainable development suggests that development must focus on creating a healthy society. In other words, development cannot be realised when the society is unhealthy.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Sustainability in Slums specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This implies that development of sustainable agenda in slums must purport good health among the residents. This introduces the aspect of purporting development that focuses on people’s satisfaction. This development does not concentrate on building prestigious houses or infrastructure alone. Instead, it conc entrates on satisfying the needs of people. In this regard, it reduces morbidity, purports good health, and strengthens people’s relationships within their residences. Failure to purport these aspects could prevent the realisation of development. Moreover, development should neither isolate humanity nor compromise the needs of human beings. Sustainable Economy The third principle states that the agenda of sustainability should support the development of sustainable economy. In a sustainable economy, economic development should neither compromise human sociology nor environmental fitness. On the other hand, environmental awareness and human sociology should not compromise economic development. This implies that the agents of sustainable development must balance between the two aspects so that human sociology is achieved along with economic progress (Kotchen 2006). This balance could be achieved by applying initiatives such as green economy, renewable energy and green architect ure (Aarons 2007).Advertising Looking for report on environmental studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More While developing this agenda, the agents of sustainability should focus on purporting the economy that does not compromise human sociology and environment (Seibold-Bultmann 2007). For instance, it is hypothesised that most women in the slums get their income from immoral behaviours such as prostitution (Abuya Onsomu 2012). On the other hand, young men indulge in acts of crime which include stealing, killing and hijacking. The sustainability agenda must aim at eliminating these vices and introducing moral ways of earning money in order to improve human sociology. Good Governance The fourth principle is about the promotion of good governance (Clark 2006). According to the principle, development must incorporate good governance that considers sociology, environmental awareness and economic development (Bai 2011). Since the government is a key player in the enactment of policies, a country without good governance can hardly develop the sustainability agenda (Bai 2011). This implies tha t the agents of sustainability must transform the ideologies of governance in order to curb the emergence of slums. For instance, Kenya has invested in a modern real estate project known as the Konza City in Machakos County. During the launch of this project, the government spokesman warned the people of Machakos about building small houses around the city because they could form the slums. In the same light, the government has initiated a project to upgrade a famous slum called Kibera (Barcott 2000). This implies that the sustainability agenda is initiated by good governance. Scientific Evidence The last principle that is pertinent to sustainability agenda relates to the use of scientific approach in sustainability. It states that sustainable development should be based on strong scientific evidence (Earleywine 2002). In this light, decisions on whether or not to implement a policy should be inspired by strong scientific evidence. This implies that decisions should not be based on myths, misdirected theories and speculations. A detailed scientific evaluation should be conducted before introducing any policy or building any infrastructure. This ideology is evident in the real estate sector where scientific evidence is required in order to determine the appropriateness of using some building materials. For instance, the government of the USA conducts profound research in order to determine the appropriateness of paints supplied by foreign manufacturers. This undertaking helps the country to avoid harmful paints that could cause health problems. In this regard, some paints have been prohibited because they contain ingredients that release bad odour in houses (Cacace Schmid 2008). Equally, the development of sustainability agenda in the slums should follow this principle. All the relevant policies must be consistent with scientific ideologies which purport their application. Otherwise, policies based on mere speculation, taboos, and myths might lead to the loss of profitable opportunities. Initiatives and Forums In order to develop sustainability in real estate management, involved agents should create effective initiatives to mobilise people towards establishing sustainable real estates. Recently, the UN has been convening conferences on environmental sustainability, green economy and climate change. However, very few conferences have been organised to focus on real estates. In this regard, the concerned bodies should organise conferences that focus on aspects such as green architecture, sewage disposal and sewage treatment. These initiatives could help in mobilising people against poor real estate management. In fact, real estate is a sector that cannot be ignored if we have to realise sustainable development. Particularly, these conferences should concentrate on the emerging issues such as emergence of the slums. In this light, the drivers of sustainability should treat the emergence of the slums as a crucial and global concern. Emergen ce of slums is a threat to sociology, health, environment and economic advancement. Consequently, it is a problem for the whole world. It must be discussed and curbed globally. Policy Initiatives Health Policies Health policies were stipulated to provide standard requirement for the establishment of a real estate. Also, it stipulates the procedures followed during the establishment of real estates and ensures good health. In addition, the health policies articulate the required maintenance practices that purport good health. For instance, health policies from most countries require the real estate managers to provide sanitation facilities for the people who live in the estates. These facilities ensuring good health include latrines, bathrooms and urinals. They ensure that people living in real estate dispose their waste materials in a healthy manner. In developed countries, these requirements are too obvious to be included in national policies. However, critical problems are experie nced in regard to the provision of basic facilities in some regions such as India and most of the African countries (Jha Rao 2007). The facilities are managed poorly leading to flooded bathrooms, blocked latrines and unclean urinal. The poor management of facilities leads to formation of bleeding areas for anopheles mosquitoes which cause malaria. This situation is more evident within the slums than in other place. Due to the high number of people in the slums, the facilities are owned and used communally. One latrine is used by a large number of people. For example, 30 people use one latrine in the Kibera slums (Schwartz 2002). This is a great threat to the health of residents (Gulis 2004). The main problem conjoined to this policy is failure to implement it in accordance with the ideologies. In most cases, authorities neglect the full implementation of this policy. Policies on Construction Materials Construction materials are vital factors that should be considered while focusing on sustainability (Laquatra Syal 2008). In this light, materials relate to sustainability owing to aspects such as cost, environmental impact and health. The cost of obtaining some materials is very high leading to economic impacts. On the other hand, natural resources are depleted by use of some materials such as timbers (Prasad, 1994). Other materials are harmful to the health of residents implying that they should be prohibited. Some of these harmful materials include paints and iron sheets among others. Governing authorities stipulate policies which take control of construction materials. For example, the American government prohibited the use of indigenous trees from the Amazon forest in order to protect that ecosystem. In other countries, the relevant authorities restricted the usage of some trees which are endangered. In the same light, some synthetic materials are prohibited to avoid poor health and environmental pollution. For example, some paints containing harmful ingre dients have been banned in the USA (Cacace Schmid 2008). In addition, the Kenyan government has banned the usage of iron sheets to construct walls since they can cause injuries. Sewage and Disposal Policies Most authorities have stipulated very stringent policies concerning the disposal of waste materials coming from the real estate. It is known that waste materials are a significant source of diseases and bad odour. As a result, the disposal of sewage cannot be ignored when focusing on sustainable real estates. An authority that aspires to attain sustainable estates cannot let sewage materials run on the surface and cause diseases. As a result, most countries around the world have provided clear instructions concerning the disposal. In Kenya, the health officers cannot license an estate that does not have disposal hole of approximately 2000 cubic meters. It also requires a well maintained network of sewage conveyance pipes which dispose the waste materials. The pipes should be str ong enough to avoid bursting that could release the waste materials. Policies on Provision of Technological Facilities Modern sustainability indicators suggest that sustainable real estate should be equipped technologically. Although this ideology might be unrealistic in the developing countries, developed countries have put advanced policies concerning the provision of facilities such as electricity, internet connection and DSTV connection. The provision of these facilities ensures that people are connected to technology since it is growing at a very fast rate. This is one of the upcoming aspects of sustainable development. However, the ideology is not essentially new considering the foundation of sustainable development. In this regard, sustainable development is about developing people in accordance to the world’s progress. People must develop in accordance to their environments because the development should be directed to people’s needs. Therefore, it is unsustain able for the people to live in a world advanced technologically without having the knowledge. As a result, the policy that purports the provision of these facilities is correlated to sustainability. However, this policy is not crucial to the basic ideologies of sustainability. It is only fundamental to the few developed countries. This implies that the policy will become applicable to the developing countries only when they attain high economic advancement. Occupancy Policies Congestion of people in real estate is another aspect that could impact the sociology of people. In this regard, congestion reduces privacy that is vital to human beings. In addition, it increases competition for resources owing to insufficiency of available facilities. As a result, the quality of these facilities reduces due to the poor usage and incapability to control the residents. The level of crime increases owing to inability of catering for basic needs. As a result, controlling the number of occupants i n a single house could be helpful in order to avoid congestion and other associated vices. As a result, governments depict policies that control occupancy so that a single room can hold a specified number of people. Although the implementation of the policy is quite difficult, it is developed with the intentions of curbing congestion. In places where people embrace policies willingly, it has helped them to minimise the spread of contagious diseases, control the level of crime and reduce poverty (Bressey 2008). In Kenya, a single room is supposed to hold an average of five people. This is the recommended size of a single family in Kenya. This number changes in accordance to the policies of the country which are guided by size of its population. However, the respective authorities recommend the maximum number according to scientific research. This implies that obeying the policy could lead to financial, sociological, and environmental benefits. House Spacing Policy Spacing is another policy that determines the establishment of real estates. This policy aims at reducing congestion and competition for space. In this case, some authorities specify the number of houses that should be built in an acre of land. This policy helps in controlling the number of people who can live in an area. In addition, it ensures that the owner do not compromise the freedom of residents in order to satisfy his/her financial needs. The houses must be constructed in accordance with the specified spacing to create enough space for tenants. The implementation of this policy is barely evident in the slums. Houses are built in a congested manner. People live in very small spaced houses that do not meet the needs of human life. As a result, people living cannot realise sustainability if that policy is not considered and implemented. Problem in Real Estate Management In most countries, the cost of rental house is very high as compared to the opportunities that the country provides to the citiz ens (Gallin 2004). This cost has been increasing for the last five years in most parts of the world. For example, the rental cost has been increasing progressively for the last four years in England as shown in figure 1. Figure 1: The cost trends for rental houses. This trend has rendered many citizens incapable of affording reputable rental houses for accommodation. As a result, they look for cheaper ways of surviving since they cannot afford good accommodation. This leads to the emergences of the slums which pose severe threats to human sociology, environmentalism and economic development. This trend is evident in many parts of the world including developed and developing countries. The following pictures show the existence of the slums in different parts of the world. Figure 2: This shows the existence of the slums in the United Kingdom. The slums have poor housing facilities, waste material lying all over the ground and sewage components running on the surface. The houses are congested showing signs of poor interaction among people and the freedom of movement. In the pictures, there are no signs of electricity supply in these slums implying that provision of essential facilities is impaired. The residences are completely unsustainable owing to environmental degradation and congestion of houses. Figure 3: Kibera slums in Kenya. Figure 4: An image showing the slums in India. Figure 5: An image showing the condition of the slums in the USA. The four images show that slums exist in almost all parts of the world implying that this is a global issue. However, the condition of slums in developed countries is relatively better than the one in developing countries. Besides, the slums portray similar characteristic such as existence of dirty water pools, flowing sewage materials and congestion of houses. The agents of sustainability should focus on the emergence of the slums due to high rental prices in order to create a sustainable economy. Although there are other vices conjoined to the emergence of slums, they cannot be deducted from the above visual representations. However, it is proven that slums are centres of criminal activities and poverty (Moreno 2003). Women practice prostitution in order to get food and other basic things. These aspects contravene with the ideologies of sustainable development as defined by UNESCO (Moreno 2003). In this light, it should be understood that moral behaviours are components of sustainable development. The question that the agent of sustainable development should answer is one that inquires into the solutions to this problem. What can we do to eliminate the threats posed by existence of the slums globally? Solutions to Different Context It cannot be disputed that the slums develop different problems in economic, social, and environmental contexts. In this regard, mere identification of a problem does not change the prevalent situation. However, the identification is a first step involved in the process of solving the entire problem. What are the solutions for the identified problem? Application of Sustainability to Health Context One of the most crucial indicators of sustainability is a healthy society. In this light, World Health Organisation (WHO) suggested that a community is not developed sustainably in case it has not attained the basic health standard (Sclar Garau 2005). This implies that the community must apply strategies purporting good health. In addition, the organisation stated that a group whose rate of morbidity and mortality is higher than the average national level is not developed sustainably. In this regard, the slums are below the average rate of morbidity and mortality in the respective countries. In order to curb poor health, various strategies could be applied. First, the concerned authorities should ensure that the people living in slums are provided with clean water for consumption and use. According to WHO, water holds 76 percent of all microorga nisms that cause diseases (Waitzkin 2003). For example, researchers have established that dirty water is a habitat for infectious microorganisms such as amoeba and fungi. When people consume this water, they are infected with dangerous diseases such amoebic dysentery and typhoid (Waitzkin 2003). This implies that provision of clean water for consumption could curb the spread of these diseases. In addition, pools of dirty water are the bleeding ground for mosquitoes which cause malaria. As a result, sustainable approach suggests that the disposal of such water could help in controlling malaria (Waitzkin 2003). While conducting these activities, it should be understood that malaria is one of the most significant threats in the tropical countries which have relatively high temperatures. This implies that the control of malaria is both an initiative and a demand. Additionally, a collection of polythene papers and polyvinyl chloride material is another measure that purports good health. Equally, they form the bleeding ground for mosquitoes causing malaria. In addition, some of the polyvinyl chloride materials are capable of causing injuries to the body. As a result, disposing these materials helps in controlling poor health. Another sustainable approach towards purporting good health is the disposal and treatment of sewage. In this light, theories of sustainability state that sewage disposal and treatment are mandatory. Furthermore, it points out that the two undertakings must be conducted in order to realise good health in real estate. This implies that the authorities cannot fulfil one of the activities and expect good health. Instead, sewage material must be disposed and treated accordingly. Lastly, the provision of sufficient sanitation facilities in the slums is very crucial. In this light, insufficient facilities lead to the competition and mismanagement which cause blockages. These blockages lead to contamination of water and food. In some instances, the lac k of these facilities leads to severe health problems. Application of Sustainability to Congestion The principles of sustainability suggest that people should have the freedom to interact. It also points out that people should have their own privacy. However, the slums contravene with these requirements causing severe congestion due to the lack of enough housing and spacing. In order to curb congestion, the involved authorities should seek to upgrade the slums. In this regard, sustainable development does not advocate for elimination of the slums. The elimination of the slums could lead to dramatic interference with the life of the residents. In this case, changing the people’s location could lead to introduction of new environments that are strange to them. It is, therefore, prudent to upgrade the slums rather than eliminating them. While upgrading the slums, the most important factors that should be considered include spacing, construction materials and number of people (Ni zami 2008). The authorities should follow the spacing policies completely. Each house should be given the right space. It should have a sufficient space for playground where children can interact and play. As a result, the congestion of houses will be eliminated along with people’s congestion (Nizami 2008). If the number of people is too high to reduce, they should be relocated to other places. However, this should apply as the last option. In regard to building materials, iron sheets are dangerous construction materials. They can cause injuries to people especially when they are used as walls. As a result, the authorities should consider using materials that are much reputable and safe. The process of upgrading requires them to reconstruct the houses allowing re-evaluation of spacing. Application of Sustainability to Crime and Immorality Sustainability suggests that the surest way of solving problems is focusing on the causative agents rather than symptoms. In the recent str ategies, most governmental officials deployed many police officers in order to maintain security in the slums. However, this is a strategy that concentrates on the symptoms of insecurity and prostitution. The true solution to the insecurity, immorality, and entire crime is improving the residents’ financial capabilities. In this regard, it is important to understand that people indulge in crime in order to get money for food and other basic needs (Sahariah Coakley 2007). When the government provides opportunities for these residents, they withdraw from crime to engage in constructive businesses. This will become a benefit for both the slum residents and the entire country. Another critical measure that is pertinent to elimination of congestion is building public houses. In this case, slums emerge due to the high cost of rentals as discussed in this report. However, most of the rental houses are owned by private businessmen and merchants. These businessmen are responsible for escalating the accommodation prices. If the government builds public houses that can be rented to people, few citizens will seek for survival in the slums. The government will easily control the prices of public houses and make them affordable. As a result, the authorities will manage to reduce the number of the slums and congestion in the country. Conclusion It is evident that real estate management is a fundamental concern of sustainable development. The cost and insufficiency of rental houses has led to the emergence of the slums globally. These slums have posed great challenges to economic, sociological, and health spheres. The challenges such as poverty, congestion, and diseases should be solved globally by applying sustainable approaches and strategies. In addition, it cannot be disputed that these solutions must focus on the real problems that accompany the emergence of the slums rather than the symptoms. Importantly, the governing authorities must concentrate on providing c lean water, upgrading the slums and providing good sewage system. Lastly, the agents of development must seek the enforcement of policies purporting sustainable development. Reflective Statement This study has provided new knowledge on the existence of the slums in the global autonomy. It has been misconceived that the slums exist in the developing countries only. However, it is evident that the slums exist in developed countries such as the USA and the UK. This implies that the slums have become a global issue that needs a global approach. In addition, it has proved that the ideologies of sustainability can be applied to real estate management. However, it is evident that further studies should be conducted concerning the actual course of action that could be applied along with the involved challenges. References Aarons, R 2007, Green Building, Local Economy, vol. 22. no. 1, pp. 92-97. Abuya, B Onsomu, E 2012, Educational Challenges And Diminishing Family Safety Net Faced By High- school Girls In A Nairobi Slum Residence, International Journal of Educational Development, vol. 32. no. 1, pp. 81-91. Amlinger, F Peyr, S 2008, Green House Gas Emissions From Composting And Mechanical Biological Treatment, Waste Management Research, vol. 26. no. 1, pp. 47-60. Bai, P 2011, Governance Models, Income Distribution and Sustainable Development, Advanced Materials Research, vol. 204. no. 1, pp. 1910-1914. Barcott, R 2000, The Kibera Slum and NGOs Help, Anthropology News, vol. 41. no. 9, pp. 13. Bressey, C 2008, Down But Not Out: The Politics Of The East End Poor And Those Who Investigated Lives in slums, Journal of Urban History, vol. 34. no. 4, pp. 688-694. Cacace, M Schmid, A 2008, The Healthcare Policies Of The USA And Canada: On Divergent Paths, Social Policy Administration, vol. 42. no. 4, pp. 396-417. Clark, W 2006, Editorial, Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, vol. 48. no. 2, pp. 2. Earleywine, M 2002, Understanding science: a new look at the scientific evidence, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Gallin, J 2004, The long-run relationship between house prices and rents, Divisions of Research Statistics, Washington, D.C. Gulis, G 2004, Health Status Of People Of Slums In Nairobi, Environmental Research, vol. 96. no. 2, pp. 219-227. Jha, S Rao, V 2007, Governance In The Gullies: Democratic Responsiveness And Leadership In Delhi Slums, World Development, vol. 35. no. 2, pp. 230-246. Kotchen, M 2006, Green Markets And Private Provision Of Public Goods, Journal of Political Economy, vol. 114. no. 4, pp. 816-834. Laquatra, J Syal, M 2008, Green And Healthy Housing, Journal of Architectural Engineering, vol. 14. no. 4, pp. 94. Moreno, E 2003, Slums of the world: the face of urban poverty in the new millennium: monitoring the millennium development goal, target 11world-wide slum dweller estimation, Kenya Focus Publisher, Nairobi. Nizami, S 2008, Rehabilitation of slums in urban areas: challenges and experiences, Icfai U niversity Press, Hyderabad. Prasad, K 1994, Editorial, Energy for Sustainable Development, vol. 1. no. 2, pp. 3-4. Sahariah, S Coakley, P 2007, Challenges Of A Food-based Field Intervention Trial For Women In Mumbai Slums: The Mumbai Maternal Nutrition Project, Early Human Development, vol. 83. no. 1, pp. 62-63. Schwartz, R 2002, Participatory Developments in East Africas Largest Slum, Anthropology News, vol. 43. no. 3, pp. 22-24. Sclar, E Garau, P 2005, The 21st Century Health Challenge of Slums And Cities, The Lancet, vol. 365. no. 9462, pp. 901-903. Seibold-Bultmann, U 2007, What does Sustainability Look Like? Green Architecture as an Aesthetic Proposition, Interdisciplinary Science Reviews, vol. 32. no. 1, pp. 3-6. Waitzkin, H 2003, Report of the WHO Commission on Macroeconomics and Health: A Summary And Critique, The Lancet, vol. 361. no. 9356, pp. 523-526.

The Cask of Amontillado

The Cask of Amontillado Introduction Montresor starts the story of â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† by indicating that his friend irreparably offended him and seeks vengeance. He plans to revenge in a calculated way without putting himself at risk with the law. Edgar Allan Poe is famous for using theatrical imagery in the gothic type. The gothic type of literature has an array of conventions.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Cask of Amontillado specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These include the suggestions of horror, supernatural, and mysterious, alien settings such as fortress as well as the collapsing buildings. The story utilizes graphical language and imagery in the development of a sense of deceptive and persuasive nature and circumstances in the expansion of the symbolic approach of sustaining a condition of suspense. Analysis and explanation of ‘The Cask of Amontillado’ The imagery selected by Poe in The Cask of Amontillado is critical in furthering the plot of the narrative. The suspense created by the author remains until the end of the story. The cause of the intense abhorrence harbored by Montresor towards Fortunato remains anonymous throughout the story. The narrator does not reveal why he hated Fortunato so much to the extent of leading him to his death. The lacking information helps the author to add tension. It makes the reader to create acquaintance with the language used by Montresor as he craftily leads Fortunato to his demise.  In addition to the creation of a closer concentration to the graphical wording, the author also utilizes imagery to develop a sense of the looming doom. There are two providers of the looming doom and tension. The prefiguring and satire take root through the composition of the whole narrative. The elements are highlighted by the author through imagery that creates a sense of situation that is engulfed with the overpowering fear for the reader. The narra tive heavily depends on expressive wording and imagery to attain a sense of mood that matches the narrative’s sinister plot. The extensive utilization of sinister imagery is fundamentally successful in creating a dark mood.  The author has used color imagery as a central pivot point to question the motives by Montresor. By covering the face with a black silk camouflage, Montresor is not a depiction of the blind fairness but rather the Gothic reverse of prejudiced revenge. On the contrary, Fortunato dresses in the mixed color attire of the court fool. He is duped plainly and disastrously by Montresor’s camouflaged intentions. The color design in the narrative is the representation of the satire of Fortunato’s fatal sentence. He countenances the comprehension that even the festive period can be gravely serious.Advertising Looking for essay on american literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More T he author selects the festival setting for its desertion of social order. Typically, the festive season signifies pleasant social interaction. However, Montresor alter its joyous abandon and turn the festive mood on its head. The repetitive references to the bones that line the crypt foretell the narrative’s plunge into the criminal world. The two characters’ underground journey is imagery for the journey to hell. Since the festive mood in the world of the living does not happen as Montresor would wants, he decides to take the celebration mood below the earth within the sphere of the deceased and the satanic. The author further develops suspense through foreshadowing. During the conversation between the two characters, Fortunato states that he shall not die of a cough. In reply to this, Montresor concurs. It is an indication that he already knows that Fortunato will actually die of thirst and hunger in the vaults. The description of the family insignia is also the fore telling of the upcoming events. The emblem characterizes a human foot squashing a stubborn snake. The foot imagery is a representation of Montresor. The snake symbolizes Fortunato. Despite Fortunato having Montresor with injurious affront, he will eventually squash him. The talk about Masons also foretells Fortunato’s death. He dares Montresor’s assertion that he is a member of the Masonic order. Montresor responds menacingly with a visible retort. This is apparently depicted when he claims that he is a mason by removing his trowel. In fact, he meant that he is factually a stonemason. By saying this, he implied that he builds objects out of rocks and mortar. In this context, the imagery is that he will construct Fortunato’s crypt.  The closing moments of the talk between the two characters intensify the horror. It proposes that Fortunato will have in the end and paradoxically some kind of advantage and control over Montresor. From Fortunato’s statement, â€Å"For the love of God, Montresor!† he meant that Montresor has finally managed to take Fortunato to the vault of hopelessness and misery. The imagery is pointed to by his incantation of a God that abandoned him long ago. The words are Fortunato’s last expressions in life. The bizarre distress exhibited by Montresor in rejoinder to the words proposes that he requires Fortunato further than he is ready to confess. Conclusion The narrative extensively uses imagery to make a variety of communication with the reader. The author uses graphical imagery to create a sense of intrigue to capture the attention of the reader throughout the narrative. By using imagery, the author creates suspense through foreshadowing. The narrative effectively uses Gothic literature to create a sense of fear that accompanies the death of Fortunato.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Cask of Amontillado specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn Mo re

What is an Ellipsis

What is an Ellipsis What Is an Ellipsis? Ellipses are punctuation marks that are useful in academic writing, where there is sometimes a need to quote sources at length. This is because ellipses indicate when something has been left out from a quote, helping you to express yourself succinctly. Despite this important role, many people are unsure about how and when to use ellipses. As such, we’ve prepared this guide on how to quote elliptically. Overview: What Is an Ellipsis? As mentioned above, an ellipsis is a punctuation mark indicating an omission from a quotation, typically presented as a set of three periods ( †¦ ). An ellipsis can thus be used to emphasize important points when quoting lengthy passages by omitting excess detail: The popularity of the owl †¦ stems from its design for coping with, and hunting in, the darkness. Enormous frontal eyes stare out from cheek-like facial discs, and they have †¦ highly developed ears: Both are part of the owl’s equipment for homing in on elusive and alert prey. In the above passage, additional details have been removed to focus on two features (â€Å"enormous frontal eyes† and â€Å"highly developed ears†). It is important, however, that the amended text still makes a complete sentence, so read it back to yourself after making any omissions. Presentation The most common version of an ellipsis is the one used in the above passage (i.e., three dots with a space before and after the ellipsis). However, conventions differ depending on the style guide used, so remember to check whether your school specifies a style. Variations you may see include: Three dots with no spaces on either side (e.g., There is something†¦missing here.) Three dots with spaces between them (e.g., There is something . . . missing here.) Three dots enclosed within square brackets (e.g., There is something [†¦] missing here.) Usually, as long as you use a clear and consistent style, the type of ellipses you use will not be a major issue. Informal Writing You may also see ellipses in less formal writing, where they are often used†¦ wait for it†¦ to indicate a dramatic or comic pause! In these cases there will sometimes be no space before the ellipsis. However, there is usually a space afterwards to indicate the end of the pause. Alternatively, if used at the end of a sentence, an ellipsis can indicate a thought or utterance trailing away to nothing without a satisfying†¦

Chemical compound Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

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Mitosis Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

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Selling in Uk Principles and Aspects - Essay Example Whatever might be the channel to market, in UK commerce, purchasers have the right to return defective goods for full refund. Besides, if sale is done via direct selling channel, the consumer has cancellation right, irrespective of the goods being defective or not; these rights occur by the virtue of laws relating to relative channel. The UK consumer in direct selling industry has improved rights, if the seller is a part of Direct Selling Association. UK law concerned with direct selling also provides the direct retailer consumer protection rights to terminate the agreement at the start, or to stop it at any time on notice.  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ Consumers should get clear information about of the aspects involves in purchase before they decided to purchase anything. These include the seller’s name, the price of the product extra delivery charges and VAT.†¢ To cancel the order within seven days following the receipt of goods and to get back the money even if the consumer has to compe nsate for the return of goods. If the sellers realize later on that they can’t deliver within the time, they must inform the customers earlier to cancel the order or to get refund.  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ To ensure safety from fraudulent activities when customers pay by credit or debit card which leads to breach payment for no fault of the customer, the card provider should refund all the money to the customers’ account. Unlike in High Street purchase the customer can complain to the Advertising Standards Authority. if anything is seen fraud in the site. The Distance Selling Regulations guard the customers from the deceitful use of customer’s payment card in purchase over internet. The customer’s account should be re-credited with full amount, if any debit is made by the fraudster. Q. 2) The role of Trading Standards in enforcing legislation in the UK The Trading Standards Institute in UK is a professional body, intended for trading with standard professionals working in public and private sectors. Trading Standards Services implement legislations in safeguarding

Power and Politics Paper Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Power and Politics Paper - Research Proposal Example Power and politics go side by side in an organization and if they are separated, the organization is affected negatively. Organizational politics are employed to gain reputation, to get some self-concerned benefit, to get promotion, to get financial increase, to get influence, to make decisions, to attain power, to get knowledge related to some confidential information and much more (Aronow, 2004). Organizational leaders such as the employers and other persons having power and influence make use of organizational politics to support the organization in terms of its interests. Leaders after attainment of information concerning organizational politics and their impact make use of them in order to enable the organization to get benefits in all terms such as expansion, financial gains and business development and much more (Aronow, 2004). While politicizing any issue in an organization, the leaders make sure that they inform about their participation to the management. They also make sure that they are backed by the management in their decisions and proposals. In change management and management of crises, organizational politics play a significant part (Malott, 2008). The organizational leaders have to identify and gather the people that are at their side. People are gathered at one side only because of organizational politics. Leaders are considered at the back of organizational politics as they exercise enough authority and influence on other employees of any organization. For the obtainment of power and influence, again organizational politics play a crucial role. The leaders are able to get reputation on the basis of the power that they can exercise on their co-workers (Malott, 2008). Politics can be found in any group working together. Some people consider that organizational politics are wholly disruptive. These people attempt at staying away from all kinds of organizational politics because according to them hard work

Contemporary State of the Domestic Violence Issue Research Paper

Contemporary State of the Domestic Violence Issue - Research Paper Example The client has a history of the specific abuse, both at the hand of her father in the initial years of her life, and now at the hand of her husband and his family. The client has been married for 13 years and has been living with her family in slums and ghetto regions of the cities in rented and government-funded housing. The family has been shifting houses every 8 to 10 months due to their changing financial situation and the constraints government-funded schemes for the homeless in the cities. The diagnosis that has been made till now regarding the predicament faced by the client is that the environment in which the client resides as well as the current financial position and the homeless state of the client and her family have aggravated the issue of domestic abuse. The client does have history regarding being a victim of domestic abuse from her childhood as well. The client is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder due to the repeated domestic abuse. Domestic abuse is one of the many forms in which women are exploited in modern society and cultures by their families and husbands. There exist various different forms of domestic violence which can include sexual, emotional as well as violence in terms of intimidation, stalking, threats, and economic deprivation. This is one of the passive forms of abuse of women which often goes unreported due to the submissive and lack of confidence and resources available to the victims of domestic abuse. Domestic abuse was actively targeted and received attention on the 1970s with the movements for women's rights. Research and findings from studies regarding domestic violence have indicated that "around the world, at least one in every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during her lifetime and nearly one-third of American women (31 percent) report being physically or sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend at some point in their lives, according to a 1998 Commonwealth Fund survey. Nearly 25 percent of American women report being raped and/or physically assaulted by a current or former spouse, cohabiting partner, or date at some time in their lifetime, according to the National Violence Against Women Survey, conducted from November 1995 to May 1996." ('Domestic Violence is a Serious Widespread Social Problem in America: The Facts', 2008).

Globalization Impacts On The Poor And Inequality Essay

Globalization Impacts On The Poor And Inequality - Essay Example Financial integration should be accompanied with the pursuit of macroeconomic stabilization policies. Both traditional and modern trade theories suggest that gains from the free trade will not be distributed equally within economies. The World Bank studies several ways in which globalization affects inequality within and across countries. A very important factor in the distribution of income is the initial income of the country. The empirical literature reveals that free trade contributes only to 20% of the world inequality, being less important than such factors as technological innovations or demographic changes. The economists use the term globalization to refer to international integration in the capital, commodity, and labor markets. The crucial economic features of the two most recent periods of globalization (1950-73 and 1974-2007) involve increased integration in trade, international capital flows and movement of labor. However, as we can see in table 1 (WTO,2008), there are differences in the importance of these factors in each period. During the entire 1950-2007 period, the trade expanded by 6.2 percent. In the first decades after World War II (WWII), due to the reconstruction of the country economies, the most dynamic traders were the Western European countries and Japan.From 1974 to 2000, newly industrialized Asian economies (NIEs) were the main beneficiaries of globalization, with their merchandise exports comprising raising from 2.4 percent to 9.7 percent within only two decades.  

Contemporary State of the Domestic Violence Issue Research Paper

Contemporary State of the Domestic Violence Issue - Research Paper Example The client has a history of the specific abuse, both at the hand of her father in the initial years of her life, and now at the hand of her husband and his family. The client has been married for 13 years and has been living with her family in slums and ghetto regions of the cities in rented and government-funded housing. The family has been shifting houses every 8 to 10 months due to their changing financial situation and the constraints government-funded schemes for the homeless in the cities. The diagnosis that has been made till now regarding the predicament faced by the client is that the environment in which the client resides as well as the current financial position and the homeless state of the client and her family have aggravated the issue of domestic abuse. The client does have history regarding being a victim of domestic abuse from her childhood as well. The client is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder due to the repeated domestic abuse. Domestic abuse is one of the many forms in which women are exploited in modern society and cultures by their families and husbands. There exist various different forms of domestic violence which can include sexual, emotional as well as violence in terms of intimidation, stalking, threats, and economic deprivation. This is one of the passive forms of abuse of women which often goes unreported due to the submissive and lack of confidence and resources available to the victims of domestic abuse. Domestic abuse was actively targeted and received attention on the 1970s with the movements for women's rights. Research and findings from studies regarding domestic violence have indicated that "around the world, at least one in every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during her lifetime and nearly one-third of American women (31 percent) report being physically or sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend at some point in their lives, according to a 1998 Commonwealth Fund survey. Nearly 25 percent of American women report being raped and/or physically assaulted by a current or former spouse, cohabiting partner, or date at some time in their lifetime, according to the National Violence Against Women Survey, conducted from November 1995 to May 1996." ('Domestic Violence is a Serious Widespread Social Problem in America: The Facts', 2008).

Week one questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Week one questions - Essay Example â€Å"Though Nokia invested a large amount on its new version called "Nokia Lumia 920", it did not meet the expectations of Nokia’s customers†(Giri, 2012). Nokia promised much and delivered less whereas its competitors like Samsung and Apple promised less and delivered more. Apple is using its own iOS operating system in iPhones whereas Samsung is using Google’s Android OS in its smartphones. Even though Windows is the leading OS in the computer world, it is not so in the mobile phone world. Moreover, the features and designs of Lumia are comparatively inferior to that of iPhone or Galaxy S3. All these factors contributed heavily to Lumia’s failure in the market despite the fact that smartphone market is growing rapidly. Google trends and marketresearch.com are the two websites I would like to use for market research. Present trends in the market with respect to any product are displayed in Google trends. It provides graphical illustrations also about the present trends in the market. Market research.com is another website which helps entrepreneurs to check the current trends in the market. It provides market intelligence required to make sound business decisions. I would like to search these websites to know the demand and supply of the product or service which I am going to offer to the consumers. Moreover, I will look for the competition and price factors also. Market research is a costly act. It is often done with the help of primary as well as secondary research. Modern technologies like computers and internet helps even small scale industries to conduct effective and less costly market research. Survey and focus groups are the two cheapest options available for small scale industries to learn the market trends. Surveys are primary market research method aimed to collect primary data from specific group of people or consumers. It can be administered easily with the help of email or

Analysis of the Daimler-Benz and Chrysler Merger

Analysis of the Daimler-Benz and Chrysler Merger ABSTRACT Globalisation has changed the appearance of the economy. Especially in the 1990s firms expanded into new markets to operate more global and to develop their business. To do so, many companies choosed to expand via corporations with other companies to make the market entry easier or simply to strenghten their market position. Mergers and acquisition became one of the most used tools for development, whereas a merger between well known and successful companies always caused a sensation. Mergers caused such a stir as the companies involved in a merger faced a complete new identitiy and innovations were about to alter the company. The research project proves the decision for a merger rather than an alliance and the synergies gathered due to this tool of development. Two companies, Daimler-Benz and Chrysler, are investigated to illustrate the academic frameworks in practice to come to a conclusion why they merged. Methodology includes analysis of secondary data which has been published on the subject area. The findings and analysis of the research conducted, concluded that synergy is the most important aspect when companies grow through mergers. Furthermore, the results show that internationalisation due to globalisation is the key driver of mergers. The paper concludes with an evaluation of the study and recommendations for further research. CHAPTER ONE 1.1. Reason for Choice of Topic Companies come and go, chief executives rise and fall, industry sectors wax and wane, but an outstanding feature of the past decade has been the rise of mergers and acquisitions (MA). Whether in times of boom or bust, MAs continue to be the preferred option for businesses seeking to grow rapidly. A company has several options to choose from when it comes to growth strategies. One option is to grow organically by increasing sales personnel, new product developments and by expanding into new geographical areas. Alternative options to achieve the desired growth, companies traditionally build, buy, merge with other companies or co-operate through alliances. However, the best example of how to grow inorganic is to merge or aquire (Sherman, 2005). MAs are mainly about growth according to Lees (2003) and Sudarsanam (2003). Internal or organic growth is in most cases a slow process and MAs is another option that will increase the growth process. By doing an MA deal, the acquiring company or the merged companies can get instant access to new markets, technology and operations can be completed more efficiently. Several reasons and motives exist why a company chooses to grow through MA. According to Gaughan (2002) the most common motive for MA is to create synergy. However, other motives play also an important role, like diversification, improved management, market power or tax motives. Johnson and Scholes (1997) state that MAs are a quick way of entering new markets or products. The company can also gain competences or resources through this way. Knowledge about the market situation is also a significant cause why companies choose to develop through MA. Another reason for companies to develop through MA is that they are actively s earching for benefits arising from synergies. The author has chosen the topic to gain further knowledge about the topic of why do companies actually merge to gain synergy. The reasons for attempting to gain further knowledge are based on the authors fascination on MA in general and to the extend why Daimler-Benz and Chrysler did actually merge. The split between those two has not been long ago and therefore the author was particularly interested in this merger. Furthermore, the author is interested what type of synergies were the most relevant in this merger of equals. 1.2. Academic Obejctives of Dissertation This research aims to point out that synergies play an important role when two companies are doing a corporation in order to grow. The author has chosen the following objectives in order to support the research hypothesis: To discover why companies select mergers instead of strategic alliances as tool for development To investigate to what extend synergies play an important role when merging To explore the importance of internationalisation in times of globalisation 1.3. Outline of Chapters Introduction: Introduces the topic of this research and explains the aims and objectives of the study. Setting the scene: This chapter is to set the scene for the study. It presents background information about the two companies and what actually did happen. Literature review: Discusses the academic literature on mergers and acquisition and synergies concentrating on several approaches to be applied to the case study. Methodology: Discusses how the research was conducted and recognizes any limitations and biases of the chosen methods. It involves a description of how the research and data was analysed. Findings: Presentaion of the case study including important information for the research Analysis: The findings from the secondary research are analysed against the earlier literature and research from chapter three. Conclusion: The research project is finally concluded, commenting on the initial objectives of the study. The limitations and recommendations for further research are also discussed in this chapter. CHAPTER TWO 2.1. Background of Daimler-Benz AG As Jurgen Schrempp became the new CEO of Daimler-Benz AG in May 1995, one of his first jobs was the promulgation of a new strategic concept containig five points to strenghten their market position and to expand further. Mercedes considered the US market to be the important and competitive automobile market in the world. They established a greenfield plant in Tuscaloosa in 1994 already to strenghten their position in the US market and were supposed to be market openers. Those were the first signs that Daimler-Benz wanted to expand. 2.2. Background of the Chrysler Corporation From 1994 to 1997 Chrysler beat one historical record after another, where even some models were selected as cars of the year. It was even crowned by Forbes as the company of the year 1996. Bad labour relations have been improved through corporatist agreements. However, most cars were sold in the home market and plans to expand to other non-american countries have been scattered more or less. Nevertheless, the frequent crises and the internationalisation deficits of the company had planted the idea of a partner in the minds of the Chrysler executives. 2.3. The Merger When in May 1998 the CEO of Daimler Benz, Jurgen Schrempp and Robert Eaton, CEO of Chrysler signed the contract for a merger between those two companies, they made the biggest industrial merger in history. Both partners expected great value and advantages, as both companies seemed to complement well with each other. As a matter of fact, the company did not develop as good as anticipated. From the beginning on DaimlerChrysler could only announce little profits and losses, in the year 2001 it was even the biggest loss in history of all German companies. By mid 2004 the market value of the company has been less than half of what the value has been of both companies before the merger. By the same time the sales figures and business numbers of competitors increased. In May 2007, not even ten years after the merger, the dream of a super company bursted like a bubble. CHAPTER THREE 3.1. Reasons for Internationalisation As Kwon Kopona (1993) state in their theory the choice of market entry should relate to the companys corporate strategy and the extent, depth and geographical coverage of the present and intended foreign activities. Furthermore, the decision for growing should be made when there is a sufficient understanding of the different types of entry. On the one hand companies could gather experience through alliances and on the other hand fail to see that in particular cases an acquisition would be more successful (Clark, 2005). Dyer et al. (2004) state that a specific advice is needed about when to apply each strategy that is based on internal and external circumstances. Especially internally, the companies should focus on resources that are to be combined, the extent of unnecessary resources and the type of synergy which the firms seek. Externally, important factors are the degree of market uncertainty and the level of competition. As experience and interests of the company are different, t hese factors will have different degrees of importance. In Porters (1987) point of view entering a new market must be attractive for the expanding company. It needs feasibility of making profits in the target organisation. The costs of entry must be taken into account. These include direct costs as the cost of shares and advisors and indirect costs include such costs as integration costs. According to Dunning (1988) where he argues with the eclectic theory that additional costs can occur because of the failure of knowledge about market conditions, the legal and cultural diversities and the increased costs of operating at a distance. It also must be taken into consideration if the possibility of gaining synergies exists and what the opportunity of benefiting from the target companys core competences is. The local advantages of countries play an important role. The main country advantages can be classified as economic advantages, consisting of quantity and quality factors such as transportation, production, scope and the size of the market. Then there are political advantages that include government policies which have a positive influence on the market entry. And finally there are social and cultural advantages, which implicate the physical distance between the home country and the foreign country, language and cultural diversities and the general attitude towards foreigners. Dunning (1988) declared that companies have to be aware that relative attractiveness of locations can change over the year. He also declares that particular know-how and specific core abilities which count as an internalisation advantage can have a positive impact on the general business performance. 3.2. Methods of Development 3.2.1. Merger and Acquisitions As De Witt Meyer (1998) state in their thesis, mergers and acquisition are the most popular and influential form of discretionary foreign direct investment. Acquiring of another company is a takeover, be it friendly or hostile, while mergers only represent the share in a company according to Douglas Craig (1995). A non-adversarial approach benefits not only buyers but vendors as well, claimed by Beckett (2005). Mergers and acquisitions are significant alternatives to internal growth of companies as they enable companys fast penetration of new and foreign markets, acquire necessary know-how and skilled personal and obtain economies of scale and scope, according to Jackson (1995). Companies that merge gain access to supply and distribution channels through an upstream alliance. Furthermore Contractor Lorange (1998) state that enhancing their reputation and reducing competition if the integrated company is a competitor might be seen as an advantage. MAs are a well developed strategy and not a reaction to the first apparent opportunity as Simmons (1988) argued. As Coyle (2000) states, MA can be the outcome of either an aggressive or defensive strategy. Aggressive would mean that the company will seek to improve its market position to create a bigger company and finally to produce on a bigger scale and more cheaply through economies of scale. Defensive strategies on the other hand are made in order to survive in changing industry. A totally different reason for doing MA claimed Beckett (2005) as he said that companies may benefit from MAs when they acquire a company at a certain value and sell it later at a higher value. Through increasing shareholder value by providing a higher level of dividend and capital gain return and securing a higher return on the investment. This paper is mainly looking for the purposes for a merger and therefore for the realisation of potential synergy effects, as the purpose of most MAs is to achieve some kind of synergy. The belief is that two comparable companies together will achieve far better results than independently. Cost cuttings and savings will often lead to this effect. A successful MA can be classified as one where the potential synergies identified are to be utilised best as Coyle (2000) states. 3.2.2. Strategic Alliances Johnson (1999) has declared that defining strategic alliances are difficult to define as various forms exist. Clark (2005) defines it as two companies which are brought together with similar interest but with different strengths to work on particular projects, developmental approaches and marketing agreements which will offer benefits for both companies. Lorange and Ross (1992) even came to the conclusion as strategic alliances entail a very broad definition that it incorporates MA. Strategic alliances can be separated into three different types as Contractor and Lorange (1988) state: Joint ventures, Non-equity alliances and Minority equity alliances. Preece (1995) recognised 6 main reasons for strategic alliances, starting all with the letter L, therefore they can be named as the 6 Ls. Learning is the first one of them, as he argues that knowledge will be acquired. Leaning is meant as replacing the value chain activities and filling in the missing infrastructure. Leveraging will fully integrate the firms operation. Linking suggests that the links between supplier and customer should be build closer. Leaping pursues a radically new area of endeavour. And finally Locking out, which means reducing competitive pressure from non-partners. 3.2.3. MA versus Alliances The main difference between MA and alliances is the power of control according to Lorange Roos (1992). A pure acquisition would mean that the brought up company is under the control of the ones who bought it. To achieve growth due to acquisition and remain in control, huge financial resources are needed. Rather than buying a whole company, a corporation can propose a joint venture with a specific division in which the corporation is interested in. In case this joint venture works well, a multi-activity alliance could be grown. Equity swaps can be conducted for long-term stabilisation. However, without full control the corporation cannot decide for its own how the alliance or the merger will develop or if it will continue. A company with two equal CEOs does not work out well due to different interest and objects as Lorange Roos (1992) state. And Clark (2005) stated earlier that companies could gather experience through alliances but fail to see later that in particular cases an acquisition would be more successful. 3.3. Mergers 3.3.1. Types of mergers In a merger, the assets of two previously separate firms are combined to establish a new legal entity. In fact, the number of mergers in mergers and acquisition is almost vanishingly small. Less than 3 percent of cross border mergers and acquisitions by number are mergers. In reality, even when the mergers are supposedly between equal partners, most are acquisitions where one company controls the other. When there is a merger between two competing firms in the same industry, it is called a horizontal merger. (Buckley and Ghauri, 2002). When there is a vertical merger, two companies merge that have a buyer-seller relationship. Then there are the three conglomerate types. Pure conglomerate will be a merger where there are different markets and different products, so totally unrelated. Then there is conglomerate market extension, where it is a merger between a company that offers the same products but in a different geographical market. The last type is the conglomerate product extensio n, where the merged company sells non-competing products, but functionally related in production and distribution. In the case of the dissertation, it focuses on horizontal mergers which operate on overlapping markets and segments. Cartwright Cooper (1996) claimed that the definitions and intentions of MAs often read like a cheesy novel with a likeness to a more or less welcomed dating or courtship. The following four approaches are made: Pillage and Plunder One-night stand Courtship/Just Friends Love and Marriage Love and Marriage would certainly best fit to the focus of this paper, as the aim is to achieve a positive long term international growth. The fourth category is aiming for long term integration through assimilation and blending. 3.3.2. Cross-Border Mergers One important aspect of understanding cross-border MA is to examine the logic driving the deals. Strategic motives for a cross-border merger involve acquisitions that improve the strength of a firms strategy. Examples would include mergers intended to create synergy, capitalize on firms core competence, increase market power, provide the firm with complimentary resources, products and strengths, or finally to take advantage of a parenting advantage. However, in a recent book by Mark Sirower (1997) he argues that synergy rarely justifies the premium paid. Sirower declares, many acquisitions premiums require performance improvements that are virtually impossible to realize even for the best managers in the best of industry conditions (p.14). In exploiting a core competence a firm takes an intangible skill, expertise, or knowledge and leverages it by expanding its use to additional industries where it may create a competitive advantage in several different businesses. One strategic reas on to acquire is to gain complimentary products, resources or strengths. Research shows that one important driver of cross-border mergers and acquisitions may be undervaluation (Gonzalez et al., 1998). A driver of cross-border mergers might be differences in the macro-economic conditions in two countries. That is, one country might have a higher growth rate and more opportunity than some other country. Thus, it would seem reasonable to expect the slower growth country to be more often home to acquirers whereas the faster growth country is likely to more often home to target firms as Hitt et al. (2001) stated. Reasons for cross-border acquisitions include market power, overcoming market entry barriers, covering the cost of new product development, increasing the speed of entry into a market, and greater diversification. Cross-border acquisitions can produce both economies of scale and economies of scope. They help a firm enter new international markets and thereby enhance their ability to complete in global markets. Of course, cross-border acquisitions are even more challenging to complete successfully than acquisitions of domestic firms according to Hitt et al. (2001). In fact, some research studies suggests that with the right strategy and the right approach to post-merger integration, cross-border acquisitions can create value for the acquiring firm according to Belcher and Nail (2000). 3.4. Motives and Objectives for Merging The literature on motives for MA has placed a significant amount of different sources and theories by several authors. The merits of using mergers to reduce costs are disputed by managers and by practitioners. For example, managers have been heard to comment that costs reductions are the merger benefit that is most likely to be achieved whereas the achievement of synergy is highly uncertain. On the other hand, Michael Porter argues that what passes for strategy today is simply improving operational effectiveness. Porter (1998) argues, In many companies, leadership has degenerated into orchestrating operational improvements and making deals (p.70). It is understandable how operational effectiveness may have come to be the driving motive for many mergers, however. Often at the same time a merger is announced, there will be an announcement of a cost reduction target. Merging in order to create synergy is probably the most often cited justification for an acquirer to pay a premium for a target company. Synergy effects can be created by redeploying assets. This can mean two different things. In the first case, the acquiring company may transfer a resource belonging to the target company to the acquiring company. Colombo et al. (2007) also found out that a strong predictor of acquisition performance was the extent of asset redeployment from the target to the bidder. Weston and Weaver (2001) stated that the first category is synergy or efficiency for a merger, in which total value from the combination is greater than the sum of the values of the component firms operating independently. Hubris is the result of the winners curse, causing bidders to overpay; it postulates that value is unchanged. Of course, in a synergistic merger, it would be possible for the bidder to overpay as well. The third class of mergers comprises those in which total value is decreased as a result of mistakes or managers who put their own preferences above the well-being of the firm, the agency problem. Economic motives are an important subcategory creating strategic logic for a merger. One example is to establish economies of scale. A second closely related reason is to be able to reduce costs due to redundant resources of two firms in the same or closely related industry. Thus if the company acquires a company that is in the same or a closely related industry and there is substantial overlap between the two businesses there may be ample opportunities to reduce costs. Another reason is that the stock of the firms from a particular country may be undervalued. A fourth reason is the macroeconomic difference between countries such as different growth rates. Finally, the exchange rates may play a role. Recent research did show that acquiring a foreign company when the home country currency has appreciated in relation to the target companys currency has great benefits for the acquiring company when the industry is highly technological (Georgopoulos, 2008). Firms engage in merger and acquisition activity for many reasons. Effective mergers and acquisitions can, for example: serve as a platform for corporate growth, lead to increased market share, provide the foundations required to generate and gain advantages from economies of scale (these are benefits that occur when the firm is able to use its resources to drive costs lower across multiple products; scale economies are acquired primarily at the operational level) and economies of scope (these are benefits realised through using one units resources in the operations of another unit), and reduce organizational expenses by eliminating duplication and transferring knowledge between and among business units and/or individual product lines (Collins and Montgomery, 1999). One of the most important motives for MA activities, as seen from the experience of the last decade, has been economies of scale and scope. Companies aim to achieve economies of scale by combining resources of two merging companies or create economies of scope by acquiring a company allowing product/market diversification. Other motives include access to each others technology or market reach, achieving a dominant position in the industry, consolidation of the industry, and manipulating rules of competition and antitrust as Buckley and Ghauri (2002) state. The question as to whether merge primarily concerns the identification of the corporate objects and which of these objects are to be pursued through organic growth and which through MA in the form of participations or a full takeover. At the same time, the consequences of the growth strategy and its economic or financial effects in the light of the competition situation and the extension of the value added chain must be carefully examined. Empirically, in approximately 85 per cent of all concentrations between undertakings and acquisitions, the question as to whether is answered with a view to the object of achieving growth in the core business (Picot, 2002). However, Buckley and Ghauri (2002) stated also that mergers and acquisition have become the most dramatic demonstration of vision and strategy in the corporate world. More than 50 percent of the mergers so far have led to a decrease in share value and another 25 percent have shown no significant increase. When coming to a conclusion what is now the main purpose to merge, the author would conclude that it depends on the companys expansion strategy and the different motivation to form alliances. However, effective mergers and acquisitions can serve as a platform for corporate growth, lead to increased market share, provide the foundations required generating and gaining advantages from economies of scale and scope as Collins and Montgomery (1999) concluded. These factors are seen as the most important motives to form a merger and to believe that it would help the effected corporations to strengthen their market position and even gain more market share. 3.4.1. Synergy According to Coyle (2000) synergy is the additional benefit that can be derived from combining the resources of the bidding and target companies. Synergy has been described as the two and two makes five effect. It can also be classified as Gaughan (2002) put it, as synergy and value creation are a synonymous and synergy is when the value of the MA exceeds the value of the two separate firms put together. According to Habeck et al. (2000) the term synergy is used as a synonym for cost cutting. However, in his book he argues that those companies that understand this definition of synergy as cost cutting need to redefine it as it also includes the positive aspects of the MA such as growth and knowledge sharing. Furthermore, he states that it is important to capture growth synergies as quickly as possible and favour those areas where cost efficiencies can be gained. Therefore synergy is an important part in a successful merger. Ansoff (1986) classified different types of synergies. Manag ement synergy occurs when the top management of one of the companies resolves problems of the other company through their experience. Investment synergy can occur from the joint use of plant and equipment, joint research and development efforts, and having common raw materials inventories. Operating synergy can arise from better utilization of facilities and personnel and bulk-order purchasing to reduce upcoming material costs. And finally sales synergy where a merged organization can benefit from common sales administration, distribution channels, warehousing and sales promotion. 3.4.2. Creating Synergy through Mergers Hitt et al. (2001) states that there are four foundations in the creation of synergy which are called strategic fit, organisational fit, managerial actions and value creation. As all four foundations exist the chance of creating synergy is substantially better. Strategic fit can be defined as the match between the two companies organisational capabilities. As two companies with similar capabilities and the same strengths and weaknesses merge the chances of creating synergy is reduced. Organisational fit means that the two companies are highly compatible, meaning that these have similar management processes, cultures, systems and structures. This makes it easier for the firms to share resources, knowledge, skills and effectively communicate. Companies without organisational fit could find that the integration process will be hard to implement. Managerial actions is that creating synergy requires the active management of the acquisition process, in order to realize the different synerg ies and the benefits they convey. To create synergy an active management is needed that recognises the international issues and other problems connected with the MA process. Value creation is the last of the four synergy creation foundations. It is based on the fact that the benefits from the synergy need to exceed the cost of creating and capturing synergy. The costs that should be less than the value of the synergy that is created include those associated with a purchasing premium, financing of the transaction and the set of implementation actions required to integrate the acquired unit into the existing organisational structure. Synergy will add no value as creating it outweighs the value of the synergy. Gaughan (2002) has compiled a model of the process of realizing synergistic gains. The management needs to carefully deal with the strategic planning since the better planned MA is a better chance to succeed. Secondly the management needs to integrate the two companies into one. Finally the synergy can be separated into revenue enhancing synergies or cost cutting synergies. Ficery et al. (2007) furthermore points out that synergy created through MA, the targeted company has access to new geographic market or access to a new customer segment allowing the acquiring company to reach those new markets and segments at a faster pace and at a lower cost. CHAPTER FOUR 4.1. Introduction In this chapter, the author examines the most suitable methodology for the research area and justifies the different methods chosen. It outlines the authors main decisions on methods and data collection and considers their implications for the research findings. It also includes details for the sources used for information collection and explanations why other research methods were rejected. Furthermore, this chapter will give an insight into how secondary research has been gathered, discuss advantages and limitations of research methods and illustrate ethical issues. 4.2. Research strategy This chapter examines the most suitable methodology for the research area and justifies the methods chosen. The author explains how the linkage between the academic literature and reality was explored by using research methods. Furthermore, it will give an insight into how secondary research has been gathered, discuss advantages and limitations of research methods and illustrate ethical issues for this thesis. According to Jankowicz (2000) there are four research strategies that can be used for conducting: the archival method, the case study, the survey and the field experiment. By using the archival method, the companys present and future performance can be analysed by using past financial figures. Using the case study as a research method, a specific organisation can be analysed by researching the internal and external situation of the organisation to find conclusion for a specific subject. Through surveys, human input can be used to find representing input out of the population to a specific topic. A field experiment applies the scientific method to experimentally examine an intervention in the real world. The case study is the most suitable research method to use, as the objective of this research is to analyse and investigate the external situation within a real-life Analysis of the Daimler-Benz and Chrysler Merger Analysis of the Daimler-Benz and Chrysler Merger ABSTRACT Globalisation has changed the appearance of the economy. Especially in the 1990s firms expanded into new markets to operate more global and to develop their business. To do so, many companies choosed to expand via corporations with other companies to make the market entry easier or simply to strenghten their market position. Mergers and acquisition became one of the most used tools for development, whereas a merger between well known and successful companies always caused a sensation. Mergers caused such a stir as the companies involved in a merger faced a complete new identitiy and innovations were about to alter the company. The research project proves the decision for a merger rather than an alliance and the synergies gathered due to this tool of development. Two companies, Daimler-Benz and Chrysler, are investigated to illustrate the academic frameworks in practice to come to a conclusion why they merged. Methodology includes analysis of secondary data which has been published on the subject area. The findings and analysis of the research conducted, concluded that synergy is the most important aspect when companies grow through mergers. Furthermore, the results show that internationalisation due to globalisation is the key driver of mergers. The paper concludes with an evaluation of the study and recommendations for further research. CHAPTER ONE 1.1. Reason for Choice of Topic Companies come and go, chief executives rise and fall, industry sectors wax and wane, but an outstanding feature of the past decade has been the rise of mergers and acquisitions (MA). Whether in times of boom or bust, MAs continue to be the preferred option for businesses seeking to grow rapidly. A company has several options to choose from when it comes to growth strategies. One option is to grow organically by increasing sales personnel, new product developments and by expanding into new geographical areas. Alternative options to achieve the desired growth, companies traditionally build, buy, merge with other companies or co-operate through alliances. However, the best example of how to grow inorganic is to merge or aquire (Sherman, 2005). MAs are mainly about growth according to Lees (2003) and Sudarsanam (2003). Internal or organic growth is in most cases a slow process and MAs is another option that will increase the growth process. By doing an MA deal, the acquiring company or the merged companies can get instant access to new markets, technology and operations can be completed more efficiently. Several reasons and motives exist why a company chooses to grow through MA. According to Gaughan (2002) the most common motive for MA is to create synergy. However, other motives play also an important role, like diversification, improved management, market power or tax motives. Johnson and Scholes (1997) state that MAs are a quick way of entering new markets or products. The company can also gain competences or resources through this way. Knowledge about the market situation is also a significant cause why companies choose to develop through MA. Another reason for companies to develop through MA is that they are actively s earching for benefits arising from synergies. The author has chosen the topic to gain further knowledge about the topic of why do companies actually merge to gain synergy. The reasons for attempting to gain further knowledge are based on the authors fascination on MA in general and to the extend why Daimler-Benz and Chrysler did actually merge. The split between those two has not been long ago and therefore the author was particularly interested in this merger. Furthermore, the author is interested what type of synergies were the most relevant in this merger of equals. 1.2. Academic Obejctives of Dissertation This research aims to point out that synergies play an important role when two companies are doing a corporation in order to grow. The author has chosen the following objectives in order to support the research hypothesis: To discover why companies select mergers instead of strategic alliances as tool for development To investigate to what extend synergies play an important role when merging To explore the importance of internationalisation in times of globalisation 1.3. Outline of Chapters Introduction: Introduces the topic of this research and explains the aims and objectives of the study. Setting the scene: This chapter is to set the scene for the study. It presents background information about the two companies and what actually did happen. Literature review: Discusses the academic literature on mergers and acquisition and synergies concentrating on several approaches to be applied to the case study. Methodology: Discusses how the research was conducted and recognizes any limitations and biases of the chosen methods. It involves a description of how the research and data was analysed. Findings: Presentaion of the case study including important information for the research Analysis: The findings from the secondary research are analysed against the earlier literature and research from chapter three. Conclusion: The research project is finally concluded, commenting on the initial objectives of the study. The limitations and recommendations for further research are also discussed in this chapter. CHAPTER TWO 2.1. Background of Daimler-Benz AG As Jurgen Schrempp became the new CEO of Daimler-Benz AG in May 1995, one of his first jobs was the promulgation of a new strategic concept containig five points to strenghten their market position and to expand further. Mercedes considered the US market to be the important and competitive automobile market in the world. They established a greenfield plant in Tuscaloosa in 1994 already to strenghten their position in the US market and were supposed to be market openers. Those were the first signs that Daimler-Benz wanted to expand. 2.2. Background of the Chrysler Corporation From 1994 to 1997 Chrysler beat one historical record after another, where even some models were selected as cars of the year. It was even crowned by Forbes as the company of the year 1996. Bad labour relations have been improved through corporatist agreements. However, most cars were sold in the home market and plans to expand to other non-american countries have been scattered more or less. Nevertheless, the frequent crises and the internationalisation deficits of the company had planted the idea of a partner in the minds of the Chrysler executives. 2.3. The Merger When in May 1998 the CEO of Daimler Benz, Jurgen Schrempp and Robert Eaton, CEO of Chrysler signed the contract for a merger between those two companies, they made the biggest industrial merger in history. Both partners expected great value and advantages, as both companies seemed to complement well with each other. As a matter of fact, the company did not develop as good as anticipated. From the beginning on DaimlerChrysler could only announce little profits and losses, in the year 2001 it was even the biggest loss in history of all German companies. By mid 2004 the market value of the company has been less than half of what the value has been of both companies before the merger. By the same time the sales figures and business numbers of competitors increased. In May 2007, not even ten years after the merger, the dream of a super company bursted like a bubble. CHAPTER THREE 3.1. Reasons for Internationalisation As Kwon Kopona (1993) state in their theory the choice of market entry should relate to the companys corporate strategy and the extent, depth and geographical coverage of the present and intended foreign activities. Furthermore, the decision for growing should be made when there is a sufficient understanding of the different types of entry. On the one hand companies could gather experience through alliances and on the other hand fail to see that in particular cases an acquisition would be more successful (Clark, 2005). Dyer et al. (2004) state that a specific advice is needed about when to apply each strategy that is based on internal and external circumstances. Especially internally, the companies should focus on resources that are to be combined, the extent of unnecessary resources and the type of synergy which the firms seek. Externally, important factors are the degree of market uncertainty and the level of competition. As experience and interests of the company are different, t hese factors will have different degrees of importance. In Porters (1987) point of view entering a new market must be attractive for the expanding company. It needs feasibility of making profits in the target organisation. The costs of entry must be taken into account. These include direct costs as the cost of shares and advisors and indirect costs include such costs as integration costs. According to Dunning (1988) where he argues with the eclectic theory that additional costs can occur because of the failure of knowledge about market conditions, the legal and cultural diversities and the increased costs of operating at a distance. It also must be taken into consideration if the possibility of gaining synergies exists and what the opportunity of benefiting from the target companys core competences is. The local advantages of countries play an important role. The main country advantages can be classified as economic advantages, consisting of quantity and quality factors such as transportation, production, scope and the size of the market. Then there are political advantages that include government policies which have a positive influence on the market entry. And finally there are social and cultural advantages, which implicate the physical distance between the home country and the foreign country, language and cultural diversities and the general attitude towards foreigners. Dunning (1988) declared that companies have to be aware that relative attractiveness of locations can change over the year. He also declares that particular know-how and specific core abilities which count as an internalisation advantage can have a positive impact on the general business performance. 3.2. Methods of Development 3.2.1. Merger and Acquisitions As De Witt Meyer (1998) state in their thesis, mergers and acquisition are the most popular and influential form of discretionary foreign direct investment. Acquiring of another company is a takeover, be it friendly or hostile, while mergers only represent the share in a company according to Douglas Craig (1995). A non-adversarial approach benefits not only buyers but vendors as well, claimed by Beckett (2005). Mergers and acquisitions are significant alternatives to internal growth of companies as they enable companys fast penetration of new and foreign markets, acquire necessary know-how and skilled personal and obtain economies of scale and scope, according to Jackson (1995). Companies that merge gain access to supply and distribution channels through an upstream alliance. Furthermore Contractor Lorange (1998) state that enhancing their reputation and reducing competition if the integrated company is a competitor might be seen as an advantage. MAs are a well developed strategy and not a reaction to the first apparent opportunity as Simmons (1988) argued. As Coyle (2000) states, MA can be the outcome of either an aggressive or defensive strategy. Aggressive would mean that the company will seek to improve its market position to create a bigger company and finally to produce on a bigger scale and more cheaply through economies of scale. Defensive strategies on the other hand are made in order to survive in changing industry. A totally different reason for doing MA claimed Beckett (2005) as he said that companies may benefit from MAs when they acquire a company at a certain value and sell it later at a higher value. Through increasing shareholder value by providing a higher level of dividend and capital gain return and securing a higher return on the investment. This paper is mainly looking for the purposes for a merger and therefore for the realisation of potential synergy effects, as the purpose of most MAs is to achieve some kind of synergy. The belief is that two comparable companies together will achieve far better results than independently. Cost cuttings and savings will often lead to this effect. A successful MA can be classified as one where the potential synergies identified are to be utilised best as Coyle (2000) states. 3.2.2. Strategic Alliances Johnson (1999) has declared that defining strategic alliances are difficult to define as various forms exist. Clark (2005) defines it as two companies which are brought together with similar interest but with different strengths to work on particular projects, developmental approaches and marketing agreements which will offer benefits for both companies. Lorange and Ross (1992) even came to the conclusion as strategic alliances entail a very broad definition that it incorporates MA. Strategic alliances can be separated into three different types as Contractor and Lorange (1988) state: Joint ventures, Non-equity alliances and Minority equity alliances. Preece (1995) recognised 6 main reasons for strategic alliances, starting all with the letter L, therefore they can be named as the 6 Ls. Learning is the first one of them, as he argues that knowledge will be acquired. Leaning is meant as replacing the value chain activities and filling in the missing infrastructure. Leveraging will fully integrate the firms operation. Linking suggests that the links between supplier and customer should be build closer. Leaping pursues a radically new area of endeavour. And finally Locking out, which means reducing competitive pressure from non-partners. 3.2.3. MA versus Alliances The main difference between MA and alliances is the power of control according to Lorange Roos (1992). A pure acquisition would mean that the brought up company is under the control of the ones who bought it. To achieve growth due to acquisition and remain in control, huge financial resources are needed. Rather than buying a whole company, a corporation can propose a joint venture with a specific division in which the corporation is interested in. In case this joint venture works well, a multi-activity alliance could be grown. Equity swaps can be conducted for long-term stabilisation. However, without full control the corporation cannot decide for its own how the alliance or the merger will develop or if it will continue. A company with two equal CEOs does not work out well due to different interest and objects as Lorange Roos (1992) state. And Clark (2005) stated earlier that companies could gather experience through alliances but fail to see later that in particular cases an acquisition would be more successful. 3.3. Mergers 3.3.1. Types of mergers In a merger, the assets of two previously separate firms are combined to establish a new legal entity. In fact, the number of mergers in mergers and acquisition is almost vanishingly small. Less than 3 percent of cross border mergers and acquisitions by number are mergers. In reality, even when the mergers are supposedly between equal partners, most are acquisitions where one company controls the other. When there is a merger between two competing firms in the same industry, it is called a horizontal merger. (Buckley and Ghauri, 2002). When there is a vertical merger, two companies merge that have a buyer-seller relationship. Then there are the three conglomerate types. Pure conglomerate will be a merger where there are different markets and different products, so totally unrelated. Then there is conglomerate market extension, where it is a merger between a company that offers the same products but in a different geographical market. The last type is the conglomerate product extensio n, where the merged company sells non-competing products, but functionally related in production and distribution. In the case of the dissertation, it focuses on horizontal mergers which operate on overlapping markets and segments. Cartwright Cooper (1996) claimed that the definitions and intentions of MAs often read like a cheesy novel with a likeness to a more or less welcomed dating or courtship. The following four approaches are made: Pillage and Plunder One-night stand Courtship/Just Friends Love and Marriage Love and Marriage would certainly best fit to the focus of this paper, as the aim is to achieve a positive long term international growth. The fourth category is aiming for long term integration through assimilation and blending. 3.3.2. Cross-Border Mergers One important aspect of understanding cross-border MA is to examine the logic driving the deals. Strategic motives for a cross-border merger involve acquisitions that improve the strength of a firms strategy. Examples would include mergers intended to create synergy, capitalize on firms core competence, increase market power, provide the firm with complimentary resources, products and strengths, or finally to take advantage of a parenting advantage. However, in a recent book by Mark Sirower (1997) he argues that synergy rarely justifies the premium paid. Sirower declares, many acquisitions premiums require performance improvements that are virtually impossible to realize even for the best managers in the best of industry conditions (p.14). In exploiting a core competence a firm takes an intangible skill, expertise, or knowledge and leverages it by expanding its use to additional industries where it may create a competitive advantage in several different businesses. One strategic reas on to acquire is to gain complimentary products, resources or strengths. Research shows that one important driver of cross-border mergers and acquisitions may be undervaluation (Gonzalez et al., 1998). A driver of cross-border mergers might be differences in the macro-economic conditions in two countries. That is, one country might have a higher growth rate and more opportunity than some other country. Thus, it would seem reasonable to expect the slower growth country to be more often home to acquirers whereas the faster growth country is likely to more often home to target firms as Hitt et al. (2001) stated. Reasons for cross-border acquisitions include market power, overcoming market entry barriers, covering the cost of new product development, increasing the speed of entry into a market, and greater diversification. Cross-border acquisitions can produce both economies of scale and economies of scope. They help a firm enter new international markets and thereby enhance their ability to complete in global markets. Of course, cross-border acquisitions are even more challenging to complete successfully than acquisitions of domestic firms according to Hitt et al. (2001). In fact, some research studies suggests that with the right strategy and the right approach to post-merger integration, cross-border acquisitions can create value for the acquiring firm according to Belcher and Nail (2000). 3.4. Motives and Objectives for Merging The literature on motives for MA has placed a significant amount of different sources and theories by several authors. The merits of using mergers to reduce costs are disputed by managers and by practitioners. For example, managers have been heard to comment that costs reductions are the merger benefit that is most likely to be achieved whereas the achievement of synergy is highly uncertain. On the other hand, Michael Porter argues that what passes for strategy today is simply improving operational effectiveness. Porter (1998) argues, In many companies, leadership has degenerated into orchestrating operational improvements and making deals (p.70). It is understandable how operational effectiveness may have come to be the driving motive for many mergers, however. Often at the same time a merger is announced, there will be an announcement of a cost reduction target. Merging in order to create synergy is probably the most often cited justification for an acquirer to pay a premium for a target company. Synergy effects can be created by redeploying assets. This can mean two different things. In the first case, the acquiring company may transfer a resource belonging to the target company to the acquiring company. Colombo et al. (2007) also found out that a strong predictor of acquisition performance was the extent of asset redeployment from the target to the bidder. Weston and Weaver (2001) stated that the first category is synergy or efficiency for a merger, in which total value from the combination is greater than the sum of the values of the component firms operating independently. Hubris is the result of the winners curse, causing bidders to overpay; it postulates that value is unchanged. Of course, in a synergistic merger, it would be possible for the bidder to overpay as well. The third class of mergers comprises those in which total value is decreased as a result of mistakes or managers who put their own preferences above the well-being of the firm, the agency problem. Economic motives are an important subcategory creating strategic logic for a merger. One example is to establish economies of scale. A second closely related reason is to be able to reduce costs due to redundant resources of two firms in the same or closely related industry. Thus if the company acquires a company that is in the same or a closely related industry and there is substantial overlap between the two businesses there may be ample opportunities to reduce costs. Another reason is that the stock of the firms from a particular country may be undervalued. A fourth reason is the macroeconomic difference between countries such as different growth rates. Finally, the exchange rates may play a role. Recent research did show that acquiring a foreign company when the home country currency has appreciated in relation to the target companys currency has great benefits for the acquiring company when the industry is highly technological (Georgopoulos, 2008). Firms engage in merger and acquisition activity for many reasons. Effective mergers and acquisitions can, for example: serve as a platform for corporate growth, lead to increased market share, provide the foundations required to generate and gain advantages from economies of scale (these are benefits that occur when the firm is able to use its resources to drive costs lower across multiple products; scale economies are acquired primarily at the operational level) and economies of scope (these are benefits realised through using one units resources in the operations of another unit), and reduce organizational expenses by eliminating duplication and transferring knowledge between and among business units and/or individual product lines (Collins and Montgomery, 1999). One of the most important motives for MA activities, as seen from the experience of the last decade, has been economies of scale and scope. Companies aim to achieve economies of scale by combining resources of two merging companies or create economies of scope by acquiring a company allowing product/market diversification. Other motives include access to each others technology or market reach, achieving a dominant position in the industry, consolidation of the industry, and manipulating rules of competition and antitrust as Buckley and Ghauri (2002) state. The question as to whether merge primarily concerns the identification of the corporate objects and which of these objects are to be pursued through organic growth and which through MA in the form of participations or a full takeover. At the same time, the consequences of the growth strategy and its economic or financial effects in the light of the competition situation and the extension of the value added chain must be carefully examined. Empirically, in approximately 85 per cent of all concentrations between undertakings and acquisitions, the question as to whether is answered with a view to the object of achieving growth in the core business (Picot, 2002). However, Buckley and Ghauri (2002) stated also that mergers and acquisition have become the most dramatic demonstration of vision and strategy in the corporate world. More than 50 percent of the mergers so far have led to a decrease in share value and another 25 percent have shown no significant increase. When coming to a conclusion what is now the main purpose to merge, the author would conclude that it depends on the companys expansion strategy and the different motivation to form alliances. However, effective mergers and acquisitions can serve as a platform for corporate growth, lead to increased market share, provide the foundations required generating and gaining advantages from economies of scale and scope as Collins and Montgomery (1999) concluded. These factors are seen as the most important motives to form a merger and to believe that it would help the effected corporations to strengthen their market position and even gain more market share. 3.4.1. Synergy According to Coyle (2000) synergy is the additional benefit that can be derived from combining the resources of the bidding and target companies. Synergy has been described as the two and two makes five effect. It can also be classified as Gaughan (2002) put it, as synergy and value creation are a synonymous and synergy is when the value of the MA exceeds the value of the two separate firms put together. According to Habeck et al. (2000) the term synergy is used as a synonym for cost cutting. However, in his book he argues that those companies that understand this definition of synergy as cost cutting need to redefine it as it also includes the positive aspects of the MA such as growth and knowledge sharing. Furthermore, he states that it is important to capture growth synergies as quickly as possible and favour those areas where cost efficiencies can be gained. Therefore synergy is an important part in a successful merger. Ansoff (1986) classified different types of synergies. Manag ement synergy occurs when the top management of one of the companies resolves problems of the other company through their experience. Investment synergy can occur from the joint use of plant and equipment, joint research and development efforts, and having common raw materials inventories. Operating synergy can arise from better utilization of facilities and personnel and bulk-order purchasing to reduce upcoming material costs. And finally sales synergy where a merged organization can benefit from common sales administration, distribution channels, warehousing and sales promotion. 3.4.2. Creating Synergy through Mergers Hitt et al. (2001) states that there are four foundations in the creation of synergy which are called strategic fit, organisational fit, managerial actions and value creation. As all four foundations exist the chance of creating synergy is substantially better. Strategic fit can be defined as the match between the two companies organisational capabilities. As two companies with similar capabilities and the same strengths and weaknesses merge the chances of creating synergy is reduced. Organisational fit means that the two companies are highly compatible, meaning that these have similar management processes, cultures, systems and structures. This makes it easier for the firms to share resources, knowledge, skills and effectively communicate. Companies without organisational fit could find that the integration process will be hard to implement. Managerial actions is that creating synergy requires the active management of the acquisition process, in order to realize the different synerg ies and the benefits they convey. To create synergy an active management is needed that recognises the international issues and other problems connected with the MA process. Value creation is the last of the four synergy creation foundations. It is based on the fact that the benefits from the synergy need to exceed the cost of creating and capturing synergy. The costs that should be less than the value of the synergy that is created include those associated with a purchasing premium, financing of the transaction and the set of implementation actions required to integrate the acquired unit into the existing organisational structure. Synergy will add no value as creating it outweighs the value of the synergy. Gaughan (2002) has compiled a model of the process of realizing synergistic gains. The management needs to carefully deal with the strategic planning since the better planned MA is a better chance to succeed. Secondly the management needs to integrate the two companies into one. Finally the synergy can be separated into revenue enhancing synergies or cost cutting synergies. Ficery et al. (2007) furthermore points out that synergy created through MA, the targeted company has access to new geographic market or access to a new customer segment allowing the acquiring company to reach those new markets and segments at a faster pace and at a lower cost. CHAPTER FOUR 4.1. Introduction In this chapter, the author examines the most suitable methodology for the research area and justifies the different methods chosen. It outlines the authors main decisions on methods and data collection and considers their implications for the research findings. It also includes details for the sources used for information collection and explanations why other research methods were rejected. Furthermore, this chapter will give an insight into how secondary research has been gathered, discuss advantages and limitations of research methods and illustrate ethical issues. 4.2. Research strategy This chapter examines the most suitable methodology for the research area and justifies the methods chosen. The author explains how the linkage between the academic literature and reality was explored by using research methods. Furthermore, it will give an insight into how secondary research has been gathered, discuss advantages and limitations of research methods and illustrate ethical issues for this thesis. According to Jankowicz (2000) there are four research strategies that can be used for conducting: the archival method, the case study, the survey and the field experiment. By using the archival method, the companys present and future performance can be analysed by using past financial figures. Using the case study as a research method, a specific organisation can be analysed by researching the internal and external situation of the organisation to find conclusion for a specific subject. Through surveys, human input can be used to find representing input out of the population to a specific topic. A field experiment applies the scientific method to experimentally examine an intervention in the real world. The case study is the most suitable research method to use, as the objective of this research is to analyse and investigate the external situation within a real-life