World War 1 Essays (914 words) - Bulgaria In World War I

World War 1 W.W.I World War I was the first major war that included a country from almost every part of the world. It was the second bloodiest war second only to W.W.II. The greatest destruction that humankind had ever previously experienced began on a calm and beautiful August day. It was a senseless slaughter that no nation benefited from. It lasted from 1914-1918. America was involved from April of 1917 to November of 1918. It ended with the Treaty of Versailles, which was signed on November 11 at 11:11 a.m. in 1918. World War I started because of the assassination of Franz Josef Ferdinan and his wife Sophie while they were in a motorcade in the capitol city of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Franz Ferdinan was next in line for the thrown of Austria-Hungry. Principe, a member of the Black Hand terrorist organization, shot them. Preceding the shot that started the war, tension was created though out Europe when Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm II increased the size of his army. The Kaiser had a disturbed childhood. He was born with a bad arm that he couldn't use. Germans valued perfection in humans and it would be kind of hypocritical for the future leader of Germany to speak of perfection and not be perfect himself. His parents put him through hell and back trying to fix his arm. Nothing worked and the constant medical experiments on his body left him messed-up for life. At age 29 Kaiser Wilhelm II became the youngest emperor of Germany. The Kaiser had a personality all to himself. He knew that he had all the power, and he let everyone know about it. The British Royal Navy had long fascinated him, and he wanted one for his own. He got his wish and fulfilled his militaristic dream of having a large and powerful military. The rest of Europe became alarmed at the sudden increase of German military activity. This made every European country look more closely at Germany in fear that they would try to start something. Another source of tension in Europe was the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire. Austria-Hungry and Russia both wanted to control the disintegrating Ottoman Empire. With all of this tension already in Europe, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinan was all that was needed to spark the start of the war. Serbia firmly denied any compensation to Austria for the death of the Archduke, so Austria declared war on Serbia. Germany was an ally to Austria, and Russia was an ally to Serbia. Because of this connection those two countries, Germany and Russia entered the war. Germany quickly declared war on Russia and Russia's ally France. Germany then brutally invaded the neutral country of Belgium. The invasion of Belgium made Great Britain so mad that they too declared war on Germany. Europe was now divided into two separate powers, the Allied Powers and the Central Powers. The Allies would eventually consist of Great Britain, France, Japan, Russia, in 1915 Italy, and the United States in 1917. The Central Powers were made up of Germany, Austria-Hungry, Turkey, and in 1915 Bulgaria. The United States followed the Global War Policy that allowed neutral nations to trade with both sides in a war. President Wilson urged the American people to be neutral in thought and in deed. This meant that Americans were not supposed to support either side in the war. The United States was doing business with the Allies and the Central Powers. Germany felt that any ship carrying supplies for the Allies was fair game to sink. Germany started sinking US supply ships headed for Britain. Wilson cut off all ties with Germany and began viewing Germany as an outlaw after a U-boat sank the Lusitania. Wilson also found out about a plan that Germany was trying to get Mexico to enter the war and invade the United States from the south. This was too much for Wilson to ignore and he declared war. At first when war was declared men lined up at recruiting offices and volunteered to fight. To them war was a noble thing to do and they were excited to go. Over 130,000 people volunteered, but in the end over 4,000,000 Americans went. Theodore Roosevelt called the Great War The Great Adventure. The first American soldiers to arrive in Europe were young and inexperienced. The French wanted to put them in the front line

The Relationship between Microfinance, Entrepreneurship and Sustainability in reducing poverty in LEDC (Less Economically Developed Countries). The WritePass Journal

The Relationship between Microfinance, Entrepreneurship and Sustainability in reducing poverty in LEDC (Less Economically Developed Countries). Introduction The Relationship between Microfinance, Entrepreneurship and Sustainability in reducing poverty in LEDC (Less Economically Developed Countries). IntroductionTheoretical FrameworkEmpirical EvidenceCritique of The LiteratureConclusionsReferencesRelated Introduction Theoretical Framework According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Microfinance can be defined as â€Å"the provision of a broad range of financial services such as deposits, loans, payment services, money transfers, and insurance to the poor and low-income households and their microenterprises† (ADB, 2000).   Another definition is provided in Ledgerwood (1999) who contends that microfinance is â€Å"the provision of financial services (like savings, credit, insurance and payment services) to low-income clients (the poor) including the self-employed†. The aforesaid suggests that there is a positive relationship between microfinance and entrepreneurship or microenterprises. Microenterprises promote income generating activities thus promoting repayment. Being able to repay microfinance loans by income generated from microenterprises enables microfinance to be sustainable. Microfinance is specifically designed to offer financial services to microentrepreneurs. Microfinance enables microentrepreneurs to expand and run their businesses. The foregoing shows that microfinance and entrepreneurship are mutually beneficial to each other. Microfinance witnessed an evolution in the 1970s. This evolution has been regarded as a means of breaking the barricade of access to capital by poor people who are interested in carrying out development projects. Microfinance empowers the entrepreneurial spirits that exist among small-scale entrepreneurs worldwide (Olu, 2009). It facilitates the establishment of microenterprises and encourages best practices among individuals involved in small and medium size enterprise (SMEs) (Olu, 2009).   Governments in developing countries have over the last two and half decades formulated great programmes to promote economic development. Lack of access to finance has been cited in developing countries as one of the major reasons behind the relative absence of SMEs in less developed economies.   Large firms can obtain finance from banks because they have an asset base that can serve as collateral. SMEs on the other hand do not have such and asset base and as such cannot gain access to large b anks. Rather, SMEs rely on small scale financing in the form of microfinance to finance small scale development projects (Olu, 2009). Approximately 90 percent of people in less developed economies do not have access to financial services from banks and other financial institutions. Most people neither save nor have access to credit facilities (Marguerite, 2002). The foregoing suggests that people in less developed countries have limited capacity to invest. Limited investment capacity results in restricted productivity which in turn limits incomes, domestic savings and productivity growth.   The lack of access to financial services reduces the ability of entrepreneurs to engage in new business ventures which in turn limits economic growth. The sources and consequences of entrepreneurial activities are therefore neither financially nor environmentally sustainable. Microfinance serves as a means of empowering the poor and is considered as a valuable means of enhancing the economic development process. Despite the importance of microfinance in development, it has been argued that microfinance; entrepreneurship and su stainability tend not to have a great effect on alleviating poverty in less developed economies. Accordingly, microfinance they say can only successfully alleviate poverty if it is combined with entrepreneurial skills. This means that one should expect a positive link between microfinance and SME development or entrepreneurship. Despite this relationship, microfinance and entrepreneurship may have a negative relationship or may even have no relationship. In addition, some people with entrepreneurial skills tend to be risk-averse. This group of entrepreneurs may not use microfinance credit because they may not be willing to take on high levels of risk. As such their projects may remain unfunded even in the presence of microfinance loans. In addition, the poorest of the poor including the sick, the mentally ill and the destitute cannot adequately handle microfinance projects which means that microfinance cannot be used as a means of alleviating poverty for this group of the population . This group of the population would prefer direct basic assistance to microfinance. They are mostly interested in meeting their daily needs of shelter, food, clothing and food. Empirical Evidence Two competing theories have been advanced with respect to the relationship between entrepreneurship and microfinance. One school of thought advocates that lack of credit hinders the growth of microenterprises, indicating that microfinance and entrepreneurship have a positive relationship. The second school of thought on its part suggests that microfinance has a negative effect on the poorest in society. The first school of thought believes that lack of credit is a major constraint to the development of microenterprise and believes that microfinance plays a positive role in enabling a society achieve   its larger goal of deriving social and economic benefits (Hashemi et al., 1996; 1994; Schuler et al., 1997). According to the International Finance Corporation, more than 500 million poor people across the world are engaged in microenterprises (IFC, 2002). When asked what their major constraint is, most of them conclude that the main constraint to business growth is lack of credit. This evidence suggests that microfinance has a positive impact on entrepreneurship. Similar evidence is provided in Sen (1999) who argue that the greater the financial security of an entrepreneur, the higher is his probability of becoming more successful. Furthermore, Eversole (2000) contends that credit is important for the success of micro businesses. The impact of microfinance on poverty alleviation has also been studied. Nair (1998) identifies two schools of thought regarding the effect of microfinance on poverty alleviation. On the one hand, it has been argued that credit is one of the most important tools for alleviating poverty. This school of thought believes that microfinance credit is always invested in a productive investment which will help in poverty alleviation. However, this school of thought is flawed on because it makes the unrealistic assumption that microfinance credit is always invested in a productive investment. The theory ignores the fact that some investments may not be productive which indicates that not all microfinance credit can actually result in poverty alleviation. Rangarajan (2005) observes that microfinance is important for the evolution of â€Å"Self-Help Group† at three basic levels. These include: Level 1 where microfinance is used by households to satisfy their survival requirements by using small savings and loans as a buffer in emergencies; Level 2 where households use microfinance is used to meet subsistence needs; and Level 3 where households become mature enough to take on a higher degree of risk; at this level, microfinance can be employed in setting up enterprises or facilitating the creation of employment in one way or another thus promoting the sustainability of households. The aforesaid shows that the argument that microfinance cannot help the poorest of the poor lacks empirical support. This argument is further weakened by evidence from India, which shows that a large portion of the Indian population falls in the â€Å"poorest of the poor† category. Despite this, microfinance has had a significant positive impact on this group of the population in India. A study based on 20 microfinance institutions in India provide evidence that microfinance has made a significant contribution to both the savings and borrowings of the poor in India (Sinha, 2005). Kuzilwa (2005) provide evidence that credit has been very instrumental in the success of microenterprises in Tanzania. The study provides evidence that most business start-ups have been financed by own sources while expansion has mainly been finance by microfinance credit. The study further observes that inadequate credit resulted in the abandonment or postponement of entrepreneurial projects. Some st udies have concluded that microfinance credit contributes to the growth of enterprises although the impact of finance has not been very significant. Empirical evidence shows that after receiving finance, the firm’s output increased by 40 percent. This evidence shows just how important microfinance is for the growth and expansion of enterprises and thus emphasises the positive relationship between microfinance and entrepreneurship in poor countries. In order for microfinance to help foster entrepreneurial activity, the activity must be sustainable. This means that only enterprises with the potential to evolve from micro to small and to medium enterprises can be considered entrepreneurial businesses (Harper, 1998; Kuzilwa, 2005). Businesses that are merely surviving to sustain a family cannot be considered entrepreneurial (Harper, 1998). The operating cycle of microenterprises is relatively short compared to that of large enterprises. Microenterprises are therefore in need of short term loans in small amounts. Due to their short-term operating cycles, microenterprises are in constant need of small scale loans to finance their business. Consequently, sufficient and timely capital is necessary for the success of microenterprises. According to Alagappan and Nagammai (2003), any entrepreneur’s main problem is finance. Adequate finance is required at reasonable cost to meet the expectations of any entrepreneur (Alagappan and Nagammai, 2003). Small scale entrepreneurs find it difficult to access large financial institutions. This is mostly because of information asymmetries between large financial institutions and small scale businesses. Moral hazard and adverse selection bias often make it difficult for small firms to gain access to finance from large institutions. The process is often complex and may result in delays. Consequently, the only hope for small scale businesses is microfinance. According to a study by Vincent (2004), an initial loan of approximately $100 helped in reintegrating entrepreneurs into formal networks as well as promoting structural and sustainable development in communities. However, the study observed that only 5% of entrepreneurs in these communities were able to obtain micro credit thus hindering the growth and development potential of communities in less developed economies (Vincent, 2004). Vincent (2004) concludes based on this evidence that sustainable entrepreneurship and microfinance can c ontribute tremendously to poverty alleviation in less developed countries. While credit is important, it is not the only factor that can facilitate entrepreneurship in less developed economies. According to a study by Roy and Wheeler (2006) on 12 microfinance institutions in four West African economies, growth of microenterprises is not restricted only by poor access to credit. Rather, other factors such as poor training, lack of trust and corporation as well as risk aversion are other factors that must be taken into account when evaluating the factors that restrict the growth and expansion of microenterprises in less developed economies (Roy and Wheeler, 2006). While microfinance can help in stimulating growth of microenterprises, its availability is only an important part of the story (Roy and Wheeler, 2006). Microfinance needs to be provided only to entrepreneurs who satisfy a host of other requirements such as adequate training, risk tolerance, trust and corporation. While other factors may affect the growth and expansion of microenterprises in less developed countries, Adams and Pischke (1992) believe that lack of funds is the most important problems facing microenterprises. Adam and Pischke (1992) argue that access to small and short-term credit is more beneficial for poor microenterprises than large long-term credit. The evolution of microfinance has been very important because it has enabled microfinance institutions to handle small scale transactions efficiently as well as establish long lasting links with borrowers. The main focus of microfinance institutions is on small and short-term loans which can help small scale entrepreneurs finance short-term investment projects and thus alleviate poverty in the community as a whole. As mentioned earlier, a second school of thought believes that microfinance has a negative impact on the poorest in society (Adams and Von Pischke, 1992; Buckley, 1997). While microfinance programs can create a positive impact on the poor, these programs often fail to reach the poorest people when trying to achieve sustainability. While the programs can serve the poor, they do not necessarily help the poorest of the poor (Copestake et al., 2001; Hulme 2000; Hulme and Mosely 1996; Mosely and Hulme 1998). While superficial analysis shows that microfinance can foster entrepreneurial growth and thus reduce poverty in society, deep analysis suggests that microfinance credit does not create opportunities. Rather the ability of the community to generate income and thus alleviate poverty depends heavily on the entrepreneurial nature of people in the community (Kulziwa, 2005). This does not amount to saying that credit is not important for entrepreneurship. Credit certainly plays a significan t role in improving the competence of the entrepreneur to make use of the opportunity available. However, the entrepreneurial skills must be there to fully realise the benefits of microfinance. Empirical evidence suggests that microfinance has not had a positive impact on entrepreneurship in very poor countries. Shaw (2004) investigated the impact of microfinance on poverty in Sri Lanka. The study provides evidence that not all microfinance projects have been able to alleviate poverty in Sri Lanka. The study contends while microfinance can work well for those very close to the poverty line, it can only help those who are interested and able to engage in high-value entrepreneurial activities (Shaw, 2004). According to Shaw (2004) microfinance loans are not sustainable in that they only serve to protect current consumption levels while offering limited opportunity for exiting poverty. For microfinance programs to be successful, they must be complemented by investment in physical and social infrastructure. Another argument against microfinance programs is that these programs are capable of pushing the poor into a debt trap. This is because the programs often turn out to be unsustainable if the poor are not able to engage in an activity that can generate enough income for repayments (Mead Liedholm, 1998). A study was conducted on NGO led microfinance programs in several developing countries. The objective of the study was to evaluate the performance of microfinance programs in these countries using a set of four indicators including their ability to target the poor, their ability to increase assets of the poor, their ability to generate income and their ability create skill employment and financial viability. Comparisons were made with state-led credit based poverty alleviation programs such as the Integrated Rural Development Project (IRDP) and the Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) in India (Chavan Ramakumar, 2002).   The study provides evidence that microfinance programs have helped in achieving a marginal improvement in the income of their beneficiaries. However, the evidence suggests that the beneficiaries have not obtained any significant benefits in terms of technological improvements because the programs focus primarily on survival skills (Chavan Ramakumar, 2002). Focusing on Ban gladesh, the study observes that microfinance programs which are designed to help customers repay Grameen Bank loans through fresh loans from moneylenders has resulted in the creation debt cycles (Chavan Ramakumar, 2002). Anand (1994) examine the performance of microenterprises in Botswana the balance between lending and borrowing activities of microfinance institutions. The study observes that Microfinance institutions focus more on lending than borrowing. Lending activity constituted 75% while borrowing constituted only 10% of their total activity (Anand, 1994). This clearly shows that finance cannot be considered a constraint for entrepreneurs in Botswana. The foregoing shows that in order for microfinance to be sustainable, it has to be complemented by savings and other factors. There is a common misconception that the poor cannot save. However, the evolution of microfinance has proven that this is a misconception. Microfinance loans are often made based on the saving capacity of the borrower (Stemper, 1996). Savings are used as a means of establishing the history of the borrower and serves as a important input to evaluating the loan application (Stemper, 1996). Savings can also serve as collateral for borrowers who do not have landed property. This view has been reinforced by Buckley (1997) who views savings as the means of achieving financial independence and self sufficiency for micro enterprises. India created Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs) which serve as microfinance institutions in the country. These associations support the need of financial services for the small scale entrepreneurs in India. They are popular because of their simplicity and the freedom that they provide on using funds (Buckley, 1997). Guha and Gupta (2000) provide evidence suggesting microfinance institutions improve the saving habit of the poor by creating income generating activities and improving their loan repayment habits. Critique of The Literature The empirical evidence above suggests that microfinance institutions play an important role in alleviating poverty in developing countries. This is achieved through their impact on entrepreneurship. Microfinance institutions are sustained by promoting savings and investment schemes for the poor. This suggests that microfinance institutions. A key short-coming with the studies above is that most of the studies focus on the relationship between entrepreneurship and microfinance, with little emphasis on sustainability. Sustainability of entrepreneurship and microfinance are important if they have to be used as a means of alleviating poverty in the long run.   Despite the importance of sustainability, the existing literature has not exploited it in great detail. Togo has witnessed significant developments in its microfinance industry. Microfinance was initiated in Togo by the Association for Community-Based Self-Promotion (ACOMB), which operates in two very low-income districts that have experienced excessively high levels of HIV/AIDS with very little government or foreign support (Parker, 2000). The goal of the association was to provide health education, information, and referrals to clients as an important complement to financial services (Parker, 2000). In addition, the Faà ®tià ¨re des Unità ©s Coopà ©ratives dEpargne et de Crà ©dit (FUCEC) is a Togolese-based Microfinance institution which comprises of credit unions aimed at offering credit with eduction as one of its financial products (Dunford, 2002). FUCEC provides underprivileged people (especially poorer women) to join a credit union. The Microfinance institution provides members with the opportunity to save and obtain credit to finance local projects. This means that most me mbers of FUCEC and net borrowers (Dunford, 2002). Despite these developments, the role of microfinance in alleviating poverty in Togo has not been exploited. Likewise, the relationship among microfinance, entrepreneurship and sustainability are yet to be exploited in Togo. It is against this backdrop that this study aims at investing the relationship among microfinance, entrepreneurship and sustainability in Togo. This will help in the formulation of policies regarding microfinance, entrepreneurship and sustainability in future. This paper will look at two hypotheses as follows: Microfinance programs have a positive impact on entrepreneurship in Togo; Entrepreneurship has a positive impact on the sustainability of Microfinance in Togo. Conclusions Based on the literature above, it can be concluded that there is a significant link between entrepreneurship and microfinance. Despite the apparent importance between sustainability and microfinance, very limited research has been conducted to explore this relationship. In addition, most studies on microfinance in less developed countries have focused on other countries thus ignoring Togo altogether.   This study extends the paper by incorporating sustainability into the relationship between entrepreneurship and microfinance using Togo as a case study. References Adams, D.W. Pischke, J.D. V. (1992). â€Å"Microenterprise credit programmes: Dà ©j vu†,  World Development, 20(10), pp. 1463-1470. ADB (2000).  Finance for the Poor: Microfinance Development Strategy.  Manila: Asian Development Bank. Alagappan, V. Nagammai, R.M. (2003). â€Å"Entrepreneurs response to Financial assistance from Institutions†,  SEDME, 30(4). Anand,V. (1994).  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Performance of Microenterprises  in  Botswana: A case study of selected urban and semi urban locations†,  Indian  Journal  of  Economics, 75(296). Buckley, G. 1997. â€Å"Microfinance in  Africa: Is it Either the Problem or the Solution?†Ã‚  World Development  25:1081-93. Chavan, P. Ramakumar, R. (2002). â€Å"Micro-Credit and Rural Poverty: An Analysis of Empirical Evidence†Ã‚  Economic and Political weekly, March 9, 2002. Christen, R.P. (1997). Issues in the regulation and supervision of microfinance in a transforming economy. Paper presented at the 10th  conference of financial Institutions in  Tanzania, Arusha, 7-9. Dunford, C. (2002), Microfinance as a vehicle for educating the poor, Development Bulletin, vol. 57 Eversole, R. (2000). â€Å"Beyond Microcredit- The Trickle Up Program†,  Small  Enterprise  Development, 11(1). Guha, S. Gupta, G. (2005). â€Å"Microcredit for income generation: The role of ROSCA†,  Economic and political weekly, April 2, 2005. Harper, M. (1998). Microenterprise or growth? Which do we want, and which bring development? Paper presented at the conference on the growth of small and medium enterprises in Africa, theKenya  institute of management,  Nairobi, 23-28 March 1998 Hashemi, S., S.R. Schuler, and A.P. Riley. 1996. â€Å"Rural Credit Programs and Women’s Empowerment in  Bangladesh.†Ã‚  World Development  24:635-653. International Finance Corporation (IFC), 2004. Sustainable Financial markets facility.  www.ifc.org Kuzilwa, J.A. (2005). â€Å"The role of credit for small business Success: A study of the national entrepreneurship development fund in  Tanzania†,  Journal of entrepreneurship, Vol. 14 , No.2. Nair,  T.S.,(1998),â€Å"Meeting  the  credit  needs  of  the  micro  enterprise  sector issues   in  focus†Ã‚  Ã‚  Indian  Journal  Of  Labour  Economics,  Ã‚  41(3). Rangarajan, C. (2005). â€Å"Microfinance and its future directions† High level Policy Conference on microfinance in India- May 3, 2005- New Delhi, Keynote Address by Dr. C. Rangarajan Chairman Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. Roy, M.A. Wheeler, D. (2006).â€Å"A survey of microenterprise in urban  West Africa: Drivers shaping the sector†Ã‚  Development in Practice, 16(5). Schuler, S.R., S. Hashemi, and A.P. Riley. 1997. â€Å"The Influence of Women’s Changing Roles and Status in  Bangladesh’s Fertility Transition: Evidence from a Study of Credit Programs and Contraceptive Use.†Ã‚  World Development  25: 563-575. Sen, A. (1999). Development as Freedom,  Oxford:  Oxford  University  Press. Shaw, J. (2004). â€Å"Microenterprise occupation and poverty reduction in microfinance programs: Evidence from  Sri Lanka†.  World Development, 32(7), pp.1247–1264. Olu, O. (2009) Impact of Microfinance on Entrepreneurial Development: The Case of Nigeria, The International Conference on Administration and Business. Marguerite, R. S., (2002), â€Å"The Microfinance Revolution: Sustainable Finance for the Poor†. Sinha, F. (2005). â€Å"Access, Use and Contribution of Microfinance in  India: Findings from a National Study†,  Economic and Political Weekly, April 23, 2005. Stemper, G.A. (1996). â€Å"Commercial banks and Microentrepreneurs in  Latin America†,  Small Enterprise Development, 7(3). Vincent, G. 2004. â€Å"Sustainable Microentrepreneurship:  The Roles of Microfinance, Entrepreneurship and Sustainability in Reducing Poverty in Developing Countries†, www.gdrc.org/icm/micro/guy_sustmicro.pdf Parker, J. (2000) The role of microfinance in the fight against HIV/AIDS, A report to The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI) Bethesda, Maryland, USA

Greek Mythology - Bible vs Biblos

Greek Mythology - Bible vs Biblos The Bible is sometimes called the Good Book, which is fitting since the word Bible comes from the Greek word for book, biblos. For the Greeks, the bible was Homer, particularly, The Iliad, and Hesiod. The Father of History, the Greek Classical period traveler Herodotus (c. 484-425 B.C.) writes: Whence the gods severally sprang, whether or no they had all existed from eternity, what forms they bore - these are questions of which the Greeks knew nothing until the other day, so to speak. For Homer and Hesiod were the first to compose Theogonies, and give the gods their epithets, to allot them their several offices and occupations, and describe their forms; and they lived but four hundred years before my time, as I believe.~ Herodotus Book IIYou can find a religious world view, morals, customs, genealogy, and more in Homer and Hesiod. However, The Iliad, The Odyssey, and Theogony were not sacred texts. (Depending on your definition, the Greeks had other sacred texts, like hymns and responses of the oracles.)The Opening of The IliadThe Iliad begins, not with the creation of the world in 6 days, but with an invocation of the goddess or muse:Sing, O goddess,followed by the story of the wrath of the great Greek hero of the Trojan War, Achilles:the anger of Achilles son of Peleus, t hat brought countless ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to Hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures, for so were the counsels of Jove fulfilled from the day on which the son of Atreus, king of men, and great Achilles, first fell out with one another....and his anger at the expeditions leader, Agamemnon, who has strained relations with his best man by stealing his beloved concubine and committed sacrilege:And which of the gods was it that set them on to quarrel? It was the son of Jove and Leto [Apollo]; for he was angry with the king and sent a pestilence upon the host to plague the people, because the son of Atreus had dishonoured Chryses his priest.(Samuel Butler translation)The Place of Gods in Mans LifeGods in Homers ancient heroic age walked among men, but they were much more powerful than humans and could be prevailed upon by prayer and sacrifice to help human beings. We see this in the opening of The Iliad where the rhap sode (the composer/singer of the story) Homer seeks divine inspiration to create a great epic, and where an old man seeks the return of his abducted daughter.There is nothing in this Greek great book (The Iliad) about taking clay and forming it in a certain likeness or taking a rib from said animated clay, although the latter, the story of the creation of woman (Pandora) by a craftsman, does appear differently elsewhere in the canon of Greek mythology.Next Page: Creation Stories Introduction to Greek Mythology Myth in Daily Life What Is Myth? Myths vs. Legends Creation Stories Titanomachy Olympian Gods and Goddesses Five Ages of Man Philemon and Baucis Prometheus Trojan War Bulfinch Mythology Myths and Legends Kingsley Tales from Mythology | Golden Fleece and the Tanglewood Tales, by Nathaniel Hawthorne Confusing Creation Stories Creation StoriesUranos Revenge Titanomachy Philemon and Baucis Prometheus Version 1: Genesis 1.27 King James27: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. Version 2: Genesis 2.21-2321: And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22: And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23: And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.... the story of the 5 Ages Also see Jewish Legends - Creation Genealogy Shows Mans Relationship to God(s) The stories one polis told about its divine connection might or might not contradict the stories of another polis about its connection with the same god. Sometimes what looks like an effort to smooth out one set of inconsistencies seems to have created others. It might serve those of us coming to the Greek stories from a Judaeo-Christian tradition to remember that there are plenty of apparent inconsistencies in the Bible, too. Reference: [url formerly www.rpgclassics.com/quotes/iliad.shtml] Interesting Quotations from the Iliad Introduction to Greek Mythology Myth in Daily Life What Is Myth? Myths vs. Legends Gods in the Heroic Age - Bible vs. Biblos Trojan War Bulfinch Mythology Myths and LegendsGolden Fleece and the Tanglewood Tales, by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Hiring Process Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Hiring Process - Essay Example This can be simplified by use of mobile phones or via email so that finally they will have gotten the right information and have a good list of potential candidates from which to chose from. The major advantage is that interviewees are able to know in a better way the job they wait for and the salary that awaits them .To the manager, it an easier way to evaluate the candidate’s communication skills by listening to how well they establish rapport (Erling, 2010).This is later effected by physical face to face so as to make a better assessment based on grooming , character and evaluation of documents to see if there is additional thing they can do other than just the work they qualify for .For instance are they talented in other fields like sports .This may act as an additional benefit to the employing firm in terms of social services (Erling, 2010). It is therefore important to make an all-round assessment to ensure that no element of bias is left and that the firm gets the best employee from among many so that it can leap the benefits of a good hiring

Mobile Device Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Mobile Device Management - Essay Example Mobile device management has the capacity to remotely upgrade itself by changing a bit of its system's settings; it ensures security, data transfer, user friendliness and discourages sensitive information theft, fabrication or any other illegal act of company's policy. The most useful and advanced invention of the century is Computer and Information Technology. This technology is something that advances everyday and never becomes idle. Since its invention, computers have helped mankind to do their work with more flexibility, easiness, efficiency and time saving. The two main fastest growing aspects of Computers are Data Communications and Networking. Data communication is used for transferring information whereas networking is the medium through which the information could be transferred. These days, the electronic medium has grown with the new technology and the work pace has fastened its speed to cover time efficiency by lessening down the work load manually (Hossein, 2000, p#159). The information needs a medium to travel from one place to another. ... The modern age use binary signals instead of analog, the binary signals are used universally and known to every system. The binary signals are also known as digital signals, which is easy and flexible for the system to understand and process. Data is transferred through Data transmission and data switching techniques. The data can be sent via coaxial cables, optical fibers, telephone lines, modem, radio, and others. Group of data bytes are usually send to the receiver by the sender in shape of data packets to ensure secure and compact information. Data communication looks after the while process of how the information is being transferred from the sender to the receiver. This technique is of very importance since it holds the root value for the whole cycle. Data communication can be listed further into numerous techniques and holds control of uncountable devices. Such a technique is known as Mobile Device Management. Mobile device management: Mobile device management is a technique driven from data communications. It basically is the set of tools through which distribution of applications, configuration settings and data can be made easy for mobile devices such as mobile phones. As the time passes and technology grows, the enterprise and communications are going mobile. It helps individuals, companies, and even employees to access their work virtually from anywhere in the world without handling the connectivity manually or additional plug-ons. Mobile device management enables to perform security support, policy management, inventory, backup and device locking system and let the other users to choose their own devices. It not only provides efficient productivity, but also enhances flexibility and saves cost.

Vultures by Chinua Achebe and Night of the scorpion by Nissim Ezekie Essay Example for Free

Vultures by Chinua Achebe and Night of the scorpion by Nissim Ezekie Essay How is language and structure used within Vultures and one other poem to bring the message across to the reader? Vultures by Chinua Achebe and Night of the scorpion by Nissim Ezekie, both use lunguistic and structural techniques to relay the message being brought forward by the poem. Within Vultures we are presented with an active comparison between the evil of an human and the evil of a vulture. Similarly within Night of the scorpion we are also presented with an animal personifying evil bringing forward true feelings and beliefs of an community. Within Vultures Achebe uses Language in order to carry the message being brough forward, pathetic falacy is used in order to create a atmosphere for the reader, this is shown through greyness..drizzle this creates an eiry atmosphere creating a sense of danger fior the reader, this enhances the message being brough forward by this poem; pathetic falacy is also used within Night of the Scorpion for a similar purpose, the fact that the steady rain is present it shows it is a tense atmosphere for the reader foreshadowing upcoming events in the poem. In addition through Ezekiel using the word night at the beginning of the poem this adds to the atmosphere as at this time is mostly associated with unawarness and also a time of fears coming to life, this may alert the reader adding to affect brought forward by the upcoming pathectic falacy, thus amplifying the message being brough forward to the reader. Achebe describes the vultures in a gastly way with them holding features such as gross feathers/ telescopic eyes and with the vultures picking eyesof corpse this disgusts the reader, with it creating a horrendous images in the reader mind, On the otherhand the reader is giving another disgusting description of the comandent this is shown through him being described with having: hairy nostrilsstench of human roast clinging to him this also creates a negetive image in the readers imagnation creating links between the two showing the similarities, the use of this increases the readers understanding if the message. Within Night of the scorpion the repetition of the word they said also amplifys the message as it shows the mothers son is not being heard and the fact that the mother is in the chentre shows the sons annoyaance towards the community showing they are shutting him out, this showcks the reader as as his mom is on the death bed he is sill not given the chance to see her. The structure within Night of the Scorpion also holds a great importance in order to relay the message being brough forward, the structure is free verse which backs up the point that was stated above the use of free verse shows the lack of structure within the communuty and how their believes can clash under stressfull circumstances, this signifficantly contributes to the message being brough forward to the reader. Vultures is also written in free verse with the vultures and the comandant being on seoerates sides this symobolises the diffeence in their appearences ; aksi their similarities in the way they act with them bith commiting fellenous acts, however the vultures do this for survuval whereas the comandent has a choice in the matter but still shooses to do this. The use of all these linguistic and structural techniques used by the pots make the poems messages clearly understood by the reader.

My Grandmother Essay -- English Literature

My Grandmother This poem explores the relationship between the speaker and her grandmother. It focuses on the remorse and guilt she felt - and perhaps does still feel - about the way she behaved towards her on one occasion, and can be seen as an attempt to exorcise this. The poem is divided into four parts: the first stanza describes her grandmother working in the shop; the second the incident which causes her guilt; the third stanza shows her in retirement. In the final stanza, after her grandmother has died, the speaker reflects on herself and her grandmother's life. The first stanza sets the scene - the antique shop reflects the character and life of the grandmother. The words 'it kept her' suggest that it seems, to the speaker, her only reason for living; the grandmother's concern is with surface appearance ('polish was all') not with deep human feelings ('there was no need of love'). Her solitariness is suggested in the fact that it is only 'her own reflection' she sees reflected in the antiques; it is these she lives 'among', not people. The antiques themselves create an oppressive atmosphere - they are 'faded' and 'heavy' in this stanza, and in the final stanza the 'tall/ Sideboards and cupboards' in the 'long, narrow room' take on the air of coffins. Even the sounds of the words the speaker uses contribute - the sibilants in 'the brass/ Salvers and silver bowls' are unwelcoming to the reader, and perhaps betray her disapproving attitude to the shop. But to the grandmother the antiques have great importance. They are 'needed', though never 'used' - they are a substitute for human company, a replacement for love. She takes pride in her possession of them; the speaker's 'wish not to be used/... ...think that the women is treating the girl like she was an antique; "It was perhaps I think a wish not to be used like antique objects ...." In stanza three I think that you can see all the memories actually being revealed to the grandchild; "All her best things in one tong narrow room" It gives us the sense that after she had passed away now the guilt is just kicking in and the old women's life has just began to open. In the very last stanza I think that the very last chapter in the old women's life is beginning to come to an end. Nothing is left in memory of her: "..and no finger marks were there" I think that now her life is over and that her family have been excluded, their lives have had a fundamental change and new dust had just began to settle over the rather cold possessions she seemd to value over her children and grandchildren.

English Literature Romantic Period

Breeana Whitehead The Art in Romanticism The works of William Woodsworth and William Blake are some of many great examples of Romantic literature. Romanticism was an artistic and intellectual movement that began in Europe in the early 1800’s. It was a reaction to the Industrial Revolution as illustrated in William Woodsworth’s â€Å"Michael. † This poem mourns the changes made by the Industrial Revolution. In Romantic texts, everything written is out of the ordinary and very fictional. The characters in a romantic piece of literature are created from nothing and the plot is often in imaginary places.All pieces of art and intellect were nothing but fantasy put to paper in one form or another. There is nothing realistic about Romantic literature. This is the Romantic Period. Every piece of art, whether it is music or paintings or drawings or literature, was created to make their readers think about their own emotions within the art. William Blake displays the Roman ticism in his poem â€Å"Garden of Love† by showing discussing an aspect of spirituality. He shows how with religion there is a disconnect of freedom. The poem speaks of a chapel that was built where the speaker, whether Blake or an unknown character, used to play.The speaker notices a sign saying â€Å"Thou Shall Not† on the door of the chapel and so he turned to the garden of love. The speaker soon notices that there are tombstones where flowers should be, and priests were walking around in black binding the character’s joys and desires. This shows the captivity that Blake believed came to a person when that person claimed religion. This shows a free thought that well expresses the idea of Romanticism. This shows the intellectual freedom that the Romantic Period brought forth. William Woodsworth showed Romanticism in his many works, such as his poem, â€Å"Michael. Woodsworth romanticizes or dreams up the characters of Michael and Luke. Michael is a shepherd that lives in the forest side of Grasmere Vale, and Luke was his son. Michael’s family happily lives off in this beautiful countryside when a financial burden falls upon them because of a contract that Michael had signed. Instead of selling his land, Michael sends Luke off to work to pay off this debt. While gone Luke prospers well for himself at first but them falls into a criminal line and has to flee. Michael mourns the loss of his son and soon thereafter Michael and Isabel, Michael’s wife, both die.This poem is a good example of the changes from the Industrial Revolution that spurred the Romantic Movement but it is also a great example of the fictional aspect of Romanticism. Another brilliant example of Romantic literature is the poem, â€Å"Hymn to Intellectual Beauty† by Percy Shelley. In this poem Shelley turns inward to this idea of intellectual beauty. This beauty is an intangible, spiritual idea that is different for everyone. This intellectual beauty becomes the freedom from the doom and gloom that Shelley describes the world to be.The spiritual aspect and emotional pull of this poem makes it a perfect illustration of a Romantic poem. The literature and other arts from the Romantic period were created to create emotion within a person and to make them think about their emotions. This poem does a great job at forcing its reader to look inward to determine his or her own intellectual beauty, whether it be love or hope or self-esteem. A final example of a Romantic poem is Lord Byron’s â€Å"When We Two Parted. † This poem definitely pulls at a readers heartstrings. The poem talks about two people who were lovers but something happened to break them apart.It seems that one of the two in the relationship had had an affair or somehow broke their vows and forced a separation between the two lovers. Byron’s poem brings out the emotions of the audience. The Romantic Age was basically an era of an outpouring of feelin gs. All of the works of this time period were based on an effort to make their audience feel something. The works were of religious and intellectual standards that caused the reader or the observer to stop his or her own life for a second and contemplate a deeper meaning to the work and to life.Artists and authors such as William Blake in his poem â€Å"Garden of Love,† William Woodsworth in his poem â€Å"Michael,† Percy Shelley in his â€Å"Hymn to Intellectual Beauty,† and Lord Byron in his emotional poem, â€Å"When We Two Parted,† developed pieces of art that brought this emotional appeal to the table. These pieces of literature represent and explain Romanticism and the Romantic Era perfectly with everything from the fantasy and fictional characters and plots and settings in the pieces such as â€Å"Michael,† to the emotional aspects as shown in â€Å"Hymn to Intellectual Beauty† and in â€Å"When We Two Parted. †

Life Cycle Assestment Essay

The automotive industry is major component of the American economy, but also is a very devastating one, which consumes in large quantities natural resources and generates a lot of waste. This industry contributes pollution with toxic substances and fossil fuels. By knowing the Life cycle implication of a specific design materials are the key point for managing and being able to have decision making strategy .The results of the Life cycle analysis of cars provide information on n environmental impact issues. The evaluation of automobiles fueled, new technologies such as electricity and gas units can prove the benefits and decrease the environmental impact. Although none of these alternatives is a clear winner, lowering emissions and improving sustainability is a priority of this industry. Companies such as the Ford Motor Company need future regulation, government priorities and technological developments in order to achieve sustainability. For understanding the end-of-life on a Ford Motor Company vehicle we must define the life cycle concept. By material life cycle I refer to Consecutive and interlinked stages of a product or service system, from the extraction of natural resources to the final disposal.   , as written in the International Organization of Standards (ISO) norm 14040.2. With the knowledge of the life cycle path we can define the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)?which is also stated under the same above ISO regulation as This concept he ?Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is A systematic set of procedures for compiling and examining the inputs and outputs of materials and energy and the associated environmental impacts directly attributable to the functioning of a product or service system throughout its life cycle. 1. Life Cycle Assessment is a process to evaluate the environmental burdens associated with a product, process, or activity by identifying the quantity of energy and materials used and wastes released to the environment; and being able to assume the damage it causes to the environmental issues. Ford might make use of this tool for making a compression and to better understand their environmental, social and economical impact. Ford is actively developing and applying life cycle assessment methodologies that can be applied in the vehicle industry supporting Ford’s Design for Environment approaches LCA is a powerful decision making tool, which identifies the factor that will be used in his process to accomplish a great  decision. This is used as an aid from the industry. The criteria may depend on who is making the decision. This tool is used for tracking system performance for a diversity of criteria like: emissions, energy use, and financial costs, among others. This tool can also evaluate environmental impacts from the process or the production of a product; it also helps to compare options between competition and consumers. The aluminum, plastic and steel industries are developing new ideas and technologies with automakers in order to study the environmental impact of vehicles. By using the ?life cycle inventory (LCI) (The first step of the LCA the one that uses methods to estimate the environmental performance of a product or process over its entire life cycle) . – have studied the energy flows and its uses in extraction of the raw material from the original source , emissions, amount of fuel consumed and the end-of-live of the waste disposal . The average of aluminum has increased in the past decade, as an example is the ?increase from 64 kilograms to 113 per vehicle in 1999. ?†The aluminum, steel, plastics and auto industries are cooperating in developing a credible, authoritative database of information that the auto companies can use to meet their customers’ requirements and enhance the environmental performance of their vehicles,† said David Parker, president of the Aluminum Association. 2 As an example of the above explained issue I can make an explanation trough the aluminum use in vehicle assembly. Aluminum saves an equivalent of 20 kilograms of carbon dioxide emission over its lifetime. Due to the reduction of the weight, its recycling properties ( ?In North America, 96 percent of automobiles enter the recycling process,? said Andrew Sharkey, the American Iron and Steel Institute’s chief executive officer and president. 2) and energy sources. The energy consumption for aluminum productions are non pollutant and it is very easy material to recycle. No additional scrap exists in aluminum recycling process. Aluminum reduce 10 % of the weight and with it, there is a fuel economy improvement between 6-8 %. Ford itself has reported a 4% improvement in fuel reduction from the 10% weight reduction. Ford produces 24 million cars and truck per year imagines how much they can save not only in an economical area but also  the environmental benefit for not exhausting the natural sources and preserving the planet. In 1999, Ford used about 88 million pounds of recycled non-metallic materials in its products and has set a goal to use more than 132 million pounds of recycled non-metallic material by 2002. A solution for this problem that nowadays it has been a little bit more taken in consideration is the use of alternative fuels and electric vehicles. Alternative Fuel Vehicles (AFVs) use internal combustion engines but run on fuels like compressed natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, ethanol and many others. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) use electric motors for propulsion. The motors run on electricity stored on board the vehicles in batteries.? With projects like Hybrid vehicles – Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) combine conventional internal combustion and battery electric powertrains to take advantage of the capabilities of each and the synergies between them – and lightweigthing steels material the industry will make a huge contribution to reach sustainability. Full cost accounting is a tool that tries to assign values to all of the society costs, but it is very difficult to apply it properly. Issues like Health management might be useful to understand better this tool. In a free-market society such as the American decisions are not done by a central planning organizations that optimizes the social costs or criteria for society issues , but on the basis of market prices of alternative products and technologies . Ultimately, comparisons between new technologies should be done based on lifecycle assessments for achieving sustainability or at lest an improvement on it.

Do small corporate or SMEs require consultancy services

Do small corporate or SMEs require consultancy services Introduction Utilizing consultancy services has become one of the most ignored practices by large corporate and SME’s due to diverse issues which include corporate-style practices, unwillingness and the view that purchasing consultancy services is a risky and expensive investment.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Do small corporate or SME’s require consultancy services? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Research done by Antony Buono in his book Current trends in management consulting investigates and compares the practice of business consultancy among small and medium-sized business enterprises (SME’s) with large business organizations. It indicates that the former has thriftily and infrequently used consulting services in their daily operations. This has been largely attributed to the levels of doubt and mistrust which SME’s have on the reliability and efficiency of consultantsâ₠¬â„¢ expertise, and which has greatly impacted on their annual turnover. Sturdy (2009, p. 7) argues that SME’s, just like bigger companies, have consulting needs in areas of developing effective marketing strategies and leadership. As analyzed in this paper, and with reference to a study on consultancy methodologies done by Executive grapevine International Limited in the book UK Directory of Executive Recruitment, consultation services are imperative for improving the ability of SME’s to perform optimally in the competitive global market environment. Additionally, research evidences have shown that most SME investors find it cumbersome to cope with the possible risks in the process of improving their businesses (Neumann, Kellner Dawson-Shepherd, 1997, p.4). For this reason, there is need for SMEs to seek consultation services in order to enhance standard management practices in their operations. For some time now, it has been perceived that consultancy services are o nly meant for well established companies (Harrison, 1995 p.40). Further evidence has demonstrated that sole traders and family businesses have not been able to track the techniques and tools that are essential in running sound investments (Block, 1999 p. 34). This has raised controversy on the view and thus the paradigm has highly being criticized. Due to the fact that the world of business is prone to unremitting changes and challenges, consultancy services need to be incorporated even in small businesses. Indeed, small businesses will be in a position to survive more complex risks and uncertainties such as inflation, natural disasters and recession if consultancy services are embraced and fully adopted (Harrison, 1995 p.44).Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It is against this scope that this paper succinctly seeks to determine whether small corporate or S ME’s require consultancy services and how the same can impact on business performance. Definition of Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) Reports from statistics by Small Business Service (SBS) indicate that small and medium-sized enterprises offer employment to a majority of workforce in the whole world. In the UK alone, 99.9% of over 4.8 million businesses are SMEs and this provides multinational organizations and the government a target for offering consulting and financial business support. In the UK, the Companies Act defines a small company or business in sections 328 and 465 as that whose employees are not more than 50, whose balance sheet total is less than  £ 3.26 million and whose turnover does not exceed  £ 6.5 million. On the other hand a medium sized company is defined as one whose employees are not exceeding 250 people, whose balance sheet has a total of less than  £ 12.9 million and a turnover that is less than  £ 25.9 million. However, it is import ant to note that nations have dissimilar definitions for SMEs and as such, Kakabadse (2006, 499) argues that there is no single definition nationally or internationally. From the emerging consensus derived from research, it is apparent that all the small businesses in United Arab Emirates (UAE) can be distinguished in terms of size from large companies by evaluating the number of employees. In UAE, an enterprise is defined to be an SME if the number of employees is less than ten. On the other hand, large companies have an entity of between10 to 100 employees (Obaid, 2011p. 159). It is evident that most SMEs in UAE have workers with limited training as opposed to the case in larger companies. However, survey evidences has shown that there is a higher probability for SME investors to save and invest regardless of the fact that their entrepreneurial skills are slightly below those of larger companies (O’Mahoney, 2010 p.46). Research has also shown that SMEs are relatively flexib le as opposed to large companies when it comes to seeking consultancy services, introducing and implementing changes (Obaid, 2011 p. 170).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Do small corporate or SME’s require consultancy services? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Moreover, due to their small size, SMEs managers are able to get into contact with customers. This implies that top managers have a high predisposition to final clients hence it is easier to introduce radical changes (Block, 1999 p. 42). This explains why SMEs hire external consultants temporarily as opposed to large and well established companies that need to have a permanent internal consultant who offer consultancy services. This claim can be supported by the fact that large number of SMEs in UAE has low level of investment and skill when compared with large companies (Obaid, 2011 p. 171). Moreover, SMEs have relatively simple products and services produced and in most case, labor is produced by family members. Due to such differences, large companies must have internal consultancy services in order to produce favorable services in all the diverse manufacturing entity (Obaid, 2011 p. 160). However, this should not deny SMEs the opportunity to have internal consultancy services whenever deemed necessary and possible. Management Consulting Consultancy and consultancy role Since there is no clear boundary between a business’ customer related practices like coaching, learning, counseling and mentoring, and business consultancy, it is judicious for this study to provide a definition of consultancy. Kakabadse (2006, 450) points out that consultancy refer to services or other undertakings that a qualified and independent person provides to the public or a business. Though this definition does not focus on roles played by management consultants, it clearly indicates that it is an advisory service provided to or contrac ted for an organization by individuals who are trained and qualified. These individuals assist a business in an independent and objective manner to identify problems related to management and analyze them. They also recommend effective solutions and help organizations in implementing them. Roles of business consultants Kakabadse (2006, 452) argues that business consultancy is an important aspect that involves acquiring and sharing information and knowledge necessary for business learning. Due to the fast-changing business environment, top-level managers in SMEs are employing consultancy services with an intention of aiding their businesses devise better strategies of overcoming organizational uncertainties.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This clearly indicates the great need and awareness among organizations on the need for am change and intervention of a professional on business matters. It is important to underscore that a business seeking consultancy services is one which has identified a problem but doe not have adequate knowledge of the nature of the problem and the way out. Many SMEs in the UAE are prone to such problems, and such uncertainty forms the main reason for a higher demand for consulting services. Therefore, due to persistent organizational problems, managers in SMEs are forced to act innovatively and rationally in seeking consultancy services to reduce uncertainties and restore control of business. Kakabadse (2006, 455) argues that the roles carried out by business consultants may be singe and similar or different depending on the situation a business is in, nature of client and the plethora of options. Business consultants may fulfill a variety of business duties depending on a situation and the n eed to ensure that a client is satisfied. Some academics with the same school of thought argue that business consultants play both resource role and process role which cover a broad client base and which are helpful in solving organizational issues. Clark and Salaman (1998, p. 26) posit in their publication that the practice of management consulting has become an important aspect in the business circle today since it assists organizations to develop their overall performance through improvement of advancement plans and analysis of problems existing within an organization. Services of management consultant are drawn and utilized by most organizations which seek to gain access to specialized expertise from consultants and to acquire objective or presumably external advice among many other reasons. It is important to mention that consultancies play pivotal role in the contemporary business environment by providing businesses with operational improvement services, strategy development, technology implementation, developing coaching skills and assisting in managing change. Furthermore, consultancies achieve this by bringing in their own frameworks or proprietary methodologies which aid them in identifying problems within a business and which serve as foundations and component parts for recommending efficient and effective methods of carrying out business activities. Studies indicate that management consulting services given to businesses today are specialized and have diverse specialisms which include virtual management consulting, human resource consulting and information technology consulting. In his publication, Graham (2007, p 17) argues that most of the specialisms overlap, are mostly costly and are provided to bigger businesses by diversified and larger consultancies. Organizations which may not be able to afford such services opt for boutique consultancies which are smaller in size and offer limited specialism. Currently, many nations have consulting firms o f three main types which include boutique firms, medium sized consultancies and the large diversified firms which offer consulting expertise globally, in functional areas and in industries. From the review of literature, it is definite that consultancy services are essential for small businesses since it assists them to grow. Research evidences derived from surveys in UAE have shown that there is need for SMEs to have an insight toward business management in the emerging market (Neumann, Keller, Dawson-Shepherd, 1997 p.32). It has been analyzed that the level of consultancy services has relatively been done away with in business sectors in UAE. For instance, in the banking system, it is has been observed that lack of consultancy services in sole traders has led to the fall of entrepreneurial skills and particularly the customer services provided to clients. Recently, in-depth interviews conducted among marketing experts have shown that there is need for SMEs to apply consultancy se rvices in their business (Obaid, 2011 p. 160). Research survey has indicated that due to lack of consultancy services among SMEs traders, investors have not been able to provide customers services satisfactorily. Most of the areas focused by the literature review include overall service provided such as management services, customer Service and resolution of complaints from clients. However, despite the fact that SMEs in UAE lack consultancy services; satisfaction was achieved in some areas (Obaid, 2011 p. 167). For instance, on the manner through which customers responses, resolution and encouraging lodging of complains by customers. On the same note, it has been observed that there are some significant efforts being made by small business to execute satisfying services to clients. Nevertheless, research has shown that few of the businesses in UAE still lag behind. Recent survey has shown that the annual benchmarking index in the banking system has advanced in excellence since2010. For instance, 21 banks were surveyed in Dubai and the results indicated that customer service has been improved and thus the annual performance has gone up (Obaid, 2011 p. 162). Further studies have demonstrated that the significant improvement could be as a result of some of the SMEs applying consultancy services to improve their customer care services. On a relative note though, researchers claim that consultancy services could be preferred as the best practice to overcome concurrent crises in financial, banking and other institutions in UAE (Obaid, 2011 p. 158). For this case, analysis done indicates that consultancy services have become popular tools amongst SMEs thus improving their administration and coordination of management-related activities. From the review, most of the areas where consultancy services have been applied include data storage, and customer care service department. Further findings from the literature review indicates that increased application of consultan cy services would lead to better relationship and customer retention in SMEs business(Grint Case,1998 p. 102). Management consultancy practices in SMEs would actually require a sophisticated process in order to have outstanding outcomes in business operations. In this case, when determining the consultants for the business one needs to consider persons who are knowledgeable to the business being undertaken (O’Mahoney, 2010 p.24). For instance, SMEs investors in banking systems need to hire consultants who are well conversant to banking services (Grint Case, 1998 p. 62). Furthermore, from a theoretical perspective, research has emphasized on the need to have consultants who are well connected to the business. This can be considered by evaluating their publicity and experience in the respective industry. Research has confirmed that applicability of consultation services in SMEs should be derived form persons who are effective in communication (Block, 1999 p. 12). This can be derived from the fact that some of the SMEs business managers in UAE have often been unable to derive advices from consultants due to miscommunication. Organizational learning The process of business consultation underpins the idea of organizational learning through transfer of skills. This, as Kakabadse (2006, 460) points out is observed in the role of a consultant in helping a business manager to be a sufficiently competent diagnostician. Consultants provide organizations with an opportunity to learn hoe to improve their performance and solve certain organization problems themselves. Grint and Case, (1998 p. 62) agree with Kakabadse ’s argument and point out that the role of business consultants to SMEs does not only stop at problem solving but helping managers to understand the cause and nature of the issues. As such, they facilitate organizational learning through building the capacity of business owners to diagnose situations and carry out effective management. SMEs in t he UAE having projects seek consultancy services not only for survival, but to also facilitate organizational learning. Learning in these organizations in essence forms part and parcel of consultation process. Kakabadse (2006, 470) points out that due to the rapidly changing business environment learning has become an important component for the survival of businesses. Organizational learning is brought about by a problematic situation that leads a business through a consultant to restructure their activities and improve its outcomes and expectations. The question of whether corporate or small and medium-sized enterprises require consultancy services is that of either adapting or dying. The business environment in the UAE and in most parts of the universe is increasingly changing and becoming competitive. As such consultation services for organizational learning among SME’s are required, and this is not to create change, but to aid managers to organically manage change (Mugha n, Lloyd-Reason Zimmerman, 2004, p.425). One important factor about SME’s in the UAE is that with consultations services, they are able to quickly adapt to the changing environment in the market place. The challenge they are faced with comes from traditional consulting firms that sell them business process re-engineering projects, change management and continuous improvement initiatives which are inappropriate. However, Drucker points out in his model on management by objectives that reflects on the extended nature of consultation services in the UAE that there is potential danger to a business when consultancy services extends beyond the duration a CEO takes in a business. The inherent and dynamic nature of SME’s can make them adapt to the changing environments, but require consultation services to effectively manage resources, create better organizational structures and add considerable value to the business (Soriano, 2003, p.411). Organization traits that ensure sm all corporate or SMEs demonstrate the benefit of consultancy As mentioned above, there are organizational aspects that make SMEs to benefit from the consultancy services. In this case, the facts that SMEs are small in size make them easier to organize (Clark Fincham, 2002 p. 44). Research has shown that complex mechanics in organizations make consultation task complicated. SMEs size helps to easily improve the performance of the business since consultants can be able to understand their design at a glance. Moreover, SMEs are easier to determine the overall performance and how it can be improved as opposed to large companies (Clark Fincham, 2002 p. 47). Furthermore, the other aspect that makes SMEs to benefit from consultancy services is that they are easier to evaluate and analyze the impact of change within a short period of time. For this reason, consultants can easily identify significant strategies to be implemented from their potential impacts. Additionally, the fact that SME s deals with simple products makes it easier to prepare sales proposals (Clark Salaman, 1998 p.91). For this case, consultancy services act as a booster on how to adequately define the produc9ts and capture customers. Why both small size corporate and SME’s require consultancy services They play major economic roles in the business arena Small corporate and medium sized enterprises are some of the leading and commonly recognized that pose enormous impacts on both economic and social environment due to the their economic activities. Neumann, Kellner, and Dawson-Shepherd (1997, p. 45) indicate that many companies in the UAE fall under the category of SME’s and offer diverse goods and services as well as carrying out the important role of supplying large enterprises. They add that the performance of SME’s in the UAE, whether negative or positive, has been considered as influential as those found around the Asia-Pacific region owing to the massive economic growth b eing experienced in the region. Indeed their strong influence on social and economic matters as well as their impact on the environment is very significant not only in diversity, but also in magnitude. However, their level of access and use of consultation services from consultancy services have not been efficient and have as such failed to yield impressive results they need especially when they are compared with larger companies. Clark and Fincham (2002, p. 65) strongly support the argument above and point out that their failure to effectively utilize consulting services has made SME’s in the UAE and most regions of the world to remain weak (Sandberg Werr, 2003, p.61). While economists widely accept that the role being played by SME’s are significant for the development of the economy in the UAE, they exert considerable pressure on the need for them to seek consultancy services individually and not collectively (Schein, 2002, p.86). Business management analysts in th e UAE hold a similar view that when it comes to energy and resources, the SME’s are voracious consumers and this has a significant impact on the generation and production of waste by-products. However, without consulting services to obtain expertise and advice, the SME’s are deprived the opportunity to achieve full potential. O’Mahoney (2010, p. 120) argues that this is because most SME’s in the UAE use obsolete technology, are resistant to changes, lack marketing information, cannot access export markets and lack finances. These problems are majorly contributed by the fact that there is a little consultations service given to them, and owners of the companies carry out decision making activities on their own. Consultancy services will definitely have positive impacts on small business owners since they will be able to improve their management practices in business (Caulat DeHaan, 2006 37). This implies that wrong business decisions will be decimated and only the helpful solutions will be adopted to improve and sustain small businesses (O’Mahoney, 2010 p.56). One of the possible impacts of consultancy services in SMEs if that it will be possible to manage changes occurring in the business environment. An in-depth survey done in UAE has shown that SMEs investors are able to amake commitments on how to dynamically expand their businesses amid risks such as inflation and recession (Critchley, Higgins King, 2006 p.112). Moreover, the service help managers to review the operation of their businesses independently thus making suggestion on how to improve them (Caulat DeHaan, 2006 39). Besides this, consultancy services results to dynamism and growth of businesses on regular basis. In this case, they act as the guidelines through which foundation for SMEs businesses are set. This is essential in establishing the best management processes in a business. That notwithstanding, consultancy services impact on the experiences in the se nse that SMEs managers are able to successful learn their businesses on their own (Caulat DeHaan, 2006 p.51). Such experiences help investors to overcome failures and challenges and also promote indiscriminate exchange of various levels of experience. To enhance GDP distribution, export and job creation The effective and efficient performance of SME’s in the global business environment can be enhanced through continuous consultation with expertise on business matters. Statistics indicate that corporate and small and medium-sized businesses represent a GDP growth of over 54.3% in the business sector (Binns, 1993, p. 203). In terms of exports, the small and medium-sized businesses play a significant role in the global economy by adding to the growth of the economy. For instance, a considerable percentage of exporting companies with an employee base of less than a hundred people are by SME’s while over 57% of exports are done by large firms. Moreover, in the employment s ector, about 64% of employees in the private sector are SME employed (Binns, 1993, p. 90). Critchley, Higgins King (2006, p. 100) argue that this can be enhanced when SMEs conduct more consultations. Indeed, since the SME’s drive most economies in the business environment and as such need more management consultancy services than larger firms. Critical arguments on SME’s and consulting services Consulting services may be a risk to SME’s in terms of cost The cost of using consulting services among small and medium enterprises may be high and may impact on the growth of a businesses due to the nature and type of a consulting firm they go to. One of the major criticisms regarding management consulting which Schein (1995, p. 17) posits in his article Process consultation, action research and clinical inquiry: are they the same? is the overwhelming tendency that consultancies have that focuses on an organizations operational performance with little consideration on the context of their operation. These bench consultants, as Schein refer to them, fail to consider the context of SME’s and as such make their services inaccessible due to cost issues. His argument hinges on the fact that this kind of consulting service reflects body shopping and is a common approach prevalent in larger consulting firms. Such consultation firms target both big companies and smaller ones but aim at providing large teams of consultants to work for a lengthy period time and to undertake complex projects. Even though small and medium-sized businesses deserve more consultation services, the methods that consultancies use involve continuous use of corporate-style practices on sometimes unwilling and unsuspecting clients. Consequently, this makes purchasing of consultation services by the SME’s to be expensive and to be seen as a risky investment. In his publication, Caulat and De Haan (2006, p. 25) argue that for SME’s consultation services should tar get creation and addition of value to business. Neil Smelser echoes Caulat and De Haan’s sentiments in his value adding theory that the ability of a business to perform well economically requires addition of value which may in turn enhance its ability to become productive. As one would expect, this requires creativity on resourcing consultants and innovation in content and delivery of consulting services. However, small consultancy firms argue that they lack marble atriums and as such prefer big companies that they provide to a fraction of service for complete payment does not serve the ever growing needs of corporate and SME’s in the marketplace. Caulat and De Haan (2006, p. 26) further point out that the perspective held by the small cannot solve different issues SME’s have. As a matter of fact, business leaders in the SME deserve consulting services that are more focused and which are cost effective. Block (1999, p. 90) concurs with Caulat and De Haan’ s arguments and indicates that these prevents SME’s from accessing important services necessary for boosting their performance and add value to their activities. Consultancy services may increase the ability of SME’s to compete favorably in the global market arena Mary Jo Hatch posits in her model of business dynamics that the ability of an organization to compete favorably in the competitive market environment rests on its ability to sustain competitive advantage over others (Wood, 2002, p.88). Hamel Prahald echoes Hatch’s opinion in his model of core competence by indicating that consultancy services are key components that a business requires to gain management strategies and technological know-how imperative for businesses in the market today. Indeed, in the industries in the UAE and other economies of the world, technology plays a major role in the growth of businesses and attainment of competitive edge key in business success. However, Blake and Mouton (19 76, p. 45) posit that many SME’s are lagging behind due to the fact that they lack consultancy services on the use of technology to build social networking and internet capabilities. Even though their argument is bias and tend to indicate that the knowledge to use technological by a business comes from consultation services, one aspect that clearly emanates from their argument is that consultation services can introduce SME’s to technologies which are new and proven. Consequently, this can provide SME’s with platforms which are cost effective and stable for their business growth. Conclusion To sum up, the arguments in this paper support the thesis statement that â€Å"utilizing consultancy services has become one of the most ignored practices by small corporate and SME’s due to diverse issues which include corporate-style practices, unwillingness and the view that purchasing consultancy services is a risky and expensive investment†. From the discus sions, consultancy services have been brought out as important components not only for solving organizational problems, but also for organizational learning through providing managers with solutions and capacity to tackle business issues. it is also evident that all business oriented organizations do require consultation services in order to obtain expert advice for the sole purpose of their growth and development. Most importantly are the SME’s in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which need such services to adapt to the changing needs in the business environment. As pointed out in the analysis, consulting firms should provide small corporate with guidance at product and strategic levels and act as credible investment vehicles for them. Furthermore, research evidences have shown that SMEs should have consultancy services in order to improve on their performance on customer care and management services. It is definite that companies all over the world need to have consultancy se rvices in order to enhance sustainable growth in spite of the spontaneous changes experienced in the business world. Essentially, consultancy services aid businesses to incorporate necessary changes in order to overcome challenges and risk such as recession, inflation and natural disasters References Binns, P 1993, â€Å"Some reflections on parallel process, shadow consulting and learning laboratories†, ACG Shadow Consulting day. Blake, R.R Mouton, J.S. 1976, â€Å"Consultation. Reading, Mass†, Addison-Wesley. Block, P. 1999. Flawless Consulting. A guide to getting your expertise used. San Francisco: Jossey Bass. Caulat, G. DeHaan, E. 2006. â€Å"Virtual peer consultation: How virtual leaders learn. Organization People 13(4): 8. Clark, T Fincham, R 2002. â€Å"Critical consulting: new perspectives on the management advice industry†, Oxford, Blackwell. Clark, T Salaman, G. 1998. Creating the right impression: towards a dramaturgy of management consultancy, The Service Industries Journal 18(1): 18-38. Critchley, B, Higgins, J King, K 2006, â€Å"Field Research into the Practice of Relational Consulting†, Ashridge Consulting. Graham, P.R. 2007, â€Å"Management consultants: How to win friends and influence people?† Ashridge paper. Grint, K., Case, P. 1998. The violent rhetoric of re-engineering: management consultancy on the offensive. Journal of Management Studies  35(5): 557-577. Harrison, R. 1995. Consultants Journey. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill. Kakabadse, N.K. 2006, â€Å"Consultant’s Role: A Qualitative Inquiry from the Consultant’s Perspective,† Journal of Management Development, 25 (5): 416-500. Mughan, T., Lloyd-Reason, L., Zimmerman, C. 2004. â€Å"Management consulting and international business support for SMEs: Need and obstacles†. Education Training, 46(8), 424-432. Neumann, J., Kellner, K., Dawson-Shepherd, A. 1997. Developing Organizational Consultancy. London, Routledge. Obai d, H. 2011. â€Å"Potential for the application of emerging market Z-score in UAE Islamic banks†. International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management, 4(2), 158-173. O’Mahoney, J. 2010, â€Å"Management consultancy†. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Sandberg, R. Werr, A. 2003, The three challenges of corporate consulting, MIT Sloan Management Review, Spring, pp. 59-66. Schein, E. 2002, Consulting: what should it mean?† in Clark, T. and Fincham, R. (Eds), Critical Consulting: New Perspectives on the Management Advice Industry, Blackwell Business, Oxford. Schein, E.H. 1995, Process consultation, action research and clinical inquiry: are they the same? Journal of Managerial Psychology 110(6): 14-19. Soriano, D.R. 2003, The impact of consulting service on Spanish firms, Journal of Small Business Management, 41(4): 409-416. Sturdy, A 2009, Popular critiques of consultancy and the politics of management mearning, Management Learning 40(4) : 7. Wood, P. 2002, The rise of consultancyand the prospect for regions, in Clark, T. and Fincham, R. (Eds), Critical Consulting: New Perspectives on the Management Advice Industry, Blackwell Business, Oxford.

Case Study #2 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

#2 - Case Study Example Gasoline is most commonly used as a fuel in vehicles which makes it one of the most important commodities in human life today. One of the characteristics of a necessary item is that its price should stay within the affordable limits of the general public, so that they are not deprived from its usage under any circumstances. But, gasoline price is found not to adhere to this rule and had often been subjected to wide variations, a consequence of similar variations in oil prices. The impact of such price movements is more intensely felt in the Western economies where almost every household owns a car. The following diagram is evidence of the wide fluctuations in gasoline prices in USA over five years (2004-2008). In fact, the mean and standard deviations of the gasoline prices, which are 251.38 (cents per gallon) and 62.15, over the five year span being considered, are also evident of wide variations in the same. The present study tries to investigate the causes and effects of wide fluctuations in gasoline prices in context of the US economy. USA being one of the highest GDP earning nation in the world and also the one with the highest per capita income, is a good ground for the study since oil has become more like a mode of daily life for the Americans. Hence, any fluctuations in the price level of the same, will have a widespread impact on the lifestyle of the nationals. The research outcome will help the residents of the country to get more aware of the possible impact of a rising oil price and thus they will be in a position to anticipate beforehand how they might be affected when subjected to such price fluctuations, and thus shield themselves accordingly. The fluctuations in oil prices and hence that of gasoline could be owed to a large proportion of oil being produced in the Middle East nations which, having formed an organization in themselves (OPEC) enjoy almost a monopoly power over the price movements of the

Family Medical Leave Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Family Medical Leave Act - Essay Example It is important to notice that any federal employee or officer, who has been covered under subchapter V of chapter 63 under title 5, would not be eligible for this leave. Moreover if the employee has been working at such a worksite where the total number of employees is less than 50 then also that employee would not be eligible for family and medical leave. There are certain conditions due to which any eligible employees would be entitled to leave. An eligible employee would be entitled to leave in case of birth of son or daughter or in case of taking care of the same. If spouse, parent, son or daughter of an employee is having serious health condition then the employee would be entitled to leave in order to take care of them. If the employee himself/herself is seriously ill and as a result he/she could not perform properly then also he/she would be entitled to such leave. One of the main purposes of FMLA is to create the balance between the need of the families and demand of the workplace. Other important purposes include promoting economic stability and security of families, promoting the importance of family integrity which is a national interest. One of the most important purposes of FMLA is to entitle employees for taking reasonable leave so that they can care their son or daughter, spouse or parent who are having serious health condition. Employees would be entitled to this leave for their own health condition also (United States Department of Labor, n.d.). In case of FMLA employers do not need to pay wages during the leave periods. Total duration of this leave could be at the most 12 weeks. Sometimes health insurance premiums of workers’ are paid by the employers. As per FMLA these employers must continue to pay these premiums for their workers during the leave