Battle Of Midway (WWII) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Battle Of Midway (WWII) - Research Paper Example 44). He wanted to destroy the American carrier fleet. With the advantage of big numbers of navy and of good quality he planned to confuse the Americans with a diversion attack at the coast of Alaska hence the Americans drew to the north and launched his attack on the island of Midway the next day1. Into an ambush the Americans ran to the south hence he used the Midway Island as an Allied air base. Commanders’ intent/ scheme of maneuver for both sides Commander’s intent captures the commanders thinking, assessments and guidance on the concept of battle operations. This mostly is what brings out the result in a battlefield. If he acts too slowly, his coordination, and mental preparedness determines the outcome of the war. Imperial Japanese Navy was under three admirals namely Isoroku Yamamoto, Chuichi Nagumo and Nobu take Kondo. The United States Navy also had three admirals namely Chester Nimitz, Frank Jack Fletcher, and Raymond A. Spruance. Yamamoto had the advantage of numbers against the Americas Chester Nimitz naval. The Americas still had few ships and their strength was coming down slowly and this gave Yamamoto confidence that he was going to defeat them. Nevertheless, Chester gained advantage over the Japanese out of deciphering the Japanese radio code by his intelligence team. With this advantage the Americans were able to know that Yamamoto’s target was at the Midway. Japanese had no idea that their radio calls were being trapped and being listened to, Yamamoto kept on giving his navy directions through the radio because they were scattered all over. The Japanese relied on a sub-marine air reconnaissance to locate the Americans carriers at the Pearl Harbor where they would sink them when they responded (Kernan. 73). Due to the tapping of the radio calls by the Americans they knew about this plan and they spoiled the reconnaissance and the submarine ambush did not ambush their fleet, and therefore the Alaskan diversion placed by the Japanese proved to be no resourceful because the Americans ignored it. Yamamoto believed that Chester had at least two carriers as maybe they had sunk the USS Yorktown at the Coral Sea. Chester had repaired the damaged ships at the Pearl Harbor2. Still there was a great imbalance in the two fleets when it came to the machinery. Chester had in two task force, three carriers, eight cruisers and fifteen destroyers. Yamamoto on the other hand had the advantage of 4 large and 2 medium carriers, 11 battleships with many cruisers and destroyers in his amphibious task force in which he sorted to capture Midway. Strategic, Operational and Tactical setting of the battle The setting for the battle was interesting and came with a lot of force and intelligence. Yamamoto had divided his task force into three divisions namely the invasion force, the battle fleet and the four big carriers. The carrier group operated in close order and it was commanded by admiral Nagumo who led them for an attack at the Pearl Harbor. The problem was that these three groups were at a distance from each even for mutual support. Chester put his entire stake on his intelligence because engaging in a direct contact would see him defeated and looses the remaining task force. He strengthened the air units on the Midway by using the island as aircraft carrier

How Europeans Affected the Indians Essay Example for Free

How Europeans Affected the Indians Essay The arrival of the Europeans affected the Indians in several different ways. The Indians were exposed to new experiences such as diseases, religion, racism, land ownership, and trade to name a few. The Indians way of life changed forever with the arrival of the European colonists. Diseases were introduced to them as early as 1550 by European fisherman who stayed on the New England shores during the winter. The fisherman brought devastating illnesses which the Indians had little resistance to such as diphtheria, cholera, typhus, measles, and small pox. The coastal Indians were the first infected by these aliments and in turn, they spread them to the inland Indians. These diseases were ruinous and cost many Indians their lives. The Indians had their own customs and religions. They were introduced to the colonist’s religion, Protestant Christianity. They did not immediately take to the Puritan religion as the Indians took to Catholicism brought in by the Spaniards. They found it difficult to embrace a religion that taught that all but a few of them were damned to hellfire. Also, the Puritan or Anglican religion was complicated with English ways of eating, dressing, working, and looking at the world. The Indians that did embrace the Protestant religion were forced to adhere to the Protestant ways and abandoned their own. The Indian men were to farm and the women to weave, they lived in English houses and not wigwams, they were to barber their hair as the Puritans, and they were to stop using bear grease toward off mosquitoes. Racism was introduced to the Indians by the English colonists. Before the colonist’s arrival, they knew nothing of prejudice. Captives were adopted into the tribe, white prisoners as well as Indians born into another tribe. They were fully accepted as their brothers and sisters. Tribes would even raid other tribes and white settlements in order to increase their numbers. Extramarital miscegenation produced â€Å"half-breeds† which were consigned to the Indians. This was done in part because they were illegitimate, but mostly because of the consciousness of race that steadily grew in intensity in the colonial societies. The English referred to the Indians as savages because they were racially inferior. They abhorred their culture, morals, manners, and religion. They thought of all Indians as enemies. The Indians  were exposed to this narrow mindedness and bigotry which had been made by the colonist and so they learned of racism. The colonists assumed possession of lands that were vacated, like the site of Plymouth, on the justification of ancient legal principle that unoccupied land is anybody’s picking. The colonists did acknowledge the legal and moral rights of the tribes to own land they occupied and purchased what they could of it. The problem was that when the Indians sold land to the colonists, their understanding was that they were then willing to share their hunting grounds with them, just as they would with other tribes. They did not understand the concept of ownership. This was not a practice in which they had ever been exposed. This misunderstanding between the Indians and colonists caused wars between them which were inevitably won by the colonists. The Indians way of life was not suitable to live where the English lived due to the colonist’s agricultural ways. The Indians farmed by borrowing fields from the forest. They cultivated the soil for a few years and then moved elsewhere. The fields then reverted to hunting grounds. But the colonists did not allow this to happen. They destroyed the forests for hundreds of acres. They farmed these fields until the soil was depleted. Then they would turn the fields into pastures for their livestock. The livestock would renew the soil after several years. But during this time, the colonists would clear more hundreds of acres for their farming. This caused the flight of wildlife and game, which was vital to the Indians way of life. The Indians were anxious to trade with the colonists. They would trade furs for such things as beef, baubles, vessels, tools, iron tomahawks, woven wool blankets, liquor, and muskets. In order to trade with the Europeans, the Indians hunted and trapped for the hides of deer and the furs of other animals which the colonists wanted. Competition for furs between the tribes introduced a vicious kind of war between the Indians. The fur trade also resulted in the destruction of the ecological system of the area. Before fur trading with the Europeans, the tribes killed only moose, deer, beaver, and the other animals which were necessary and they had an immediate need. But with the need for more hides and furs, the Indians hunted until they had extinguished all the animals in their hunting grounds. The Indians then went into other tribes’ territories to hunt which in turn caused warfare between them. Another problem with trading with the colonists arose out of the Indians want of the liquor which the colonists provided. They took to the intoxicating effects of the liquor which in turn caused new problems within the tribes and with the people of the tribes. The colonist’s actions also caused another first for the Indians. The hanging of three Wampanoag’s at Plymouth for murdering Sassamon, a â€Å"praying Indian† caused the first pan-Indian attempt to preserve traditional culture. Metacomet, called King Phillip by the New Englanders, was the one to convince the other tribes to work together as he saw that the colonists with their ever increasing numbers were destroying the Indians way of life. Slavery was the involuntary capture of human beings who were sold and then owned by their masters. They were forced to work for their entire lives. Slaves had no personal rights and no hope of freedom. Slavery was first notable in the southern colonies. At first, colonists saw the indentured servants as better investments than spending money on the slaves. Later, they realized that the slaves seem to have a built up immunity to certain diseases such as malaria, which often killed the indentured servants in their care. The colonists came to see the slaves as an investment, worth the money for the outcome of a lifelong worker who could do manual labor, did not have to be replaced after a specific number of years of service, and also could assist in bearing children born into slavery which only would increase the master’s workforce. Eventually, all of the colonies became involved in owning slaves. Indentured servitude was an adaptation of the well established English means of training boys to be artisans and caring for orphans. Fathers would sign an indenture with a master of a craft. This bound the boy to the master for a period of years, usually seven years. In return for his labor, the master agreed to shelter, clothe, and feed his apprentice and teach him the craft. This institution of indentured servitude was also used to provide for orphans. Indentured servants were well suited for farmers who needed  laborers. People were recruited in England to sign indentures to work in the colonies as servants for an agreed number of years. In return for signing the indentures, the servant’s passage across the Atlantic was paid. Some servant’s were forced by English courts which sentenced convicts to transportation to the colonies. There they served out their sentences as bound servants. Unlike slaves, the indentured servants had personal rights. The term of the servitude was written down which varied from three to seven years. At the end of the agreed time, they were freed. They were given clothing, tools, a little money, and sometimes land.

How are Religion and Culture Connected?

How are Religion and Culture Connected? The aspect of religion and culture is what shapes the lives of all humans, whither they are believers or not. Whole nations have dress codes to keep to their religious values. Government officials are elected upon their views of certain religious and culturist views such as abortion. Even wars between two stable governments can be initiated because of the differences in religious beliefs. The Hebrew religious culture is the most influential ancient culture to the modern world. The Hebrew culture was solely centered upon religion. The one main literature item modern scholars have to study from this nation was the Torah. The Torah also known as the Pentateuch is the main source of the Hebrew government and everyday living situations. The Pentateuch consists of five books. The first book is Genesis. Genesis consists of the early history of the world and how certain questions such as how the earth was formed and where the first humans came from. The second book, Exodus, explains how the Hebrews escaped bondage from Egypt and ended up into Jerusalem area for which the Israelites name came from. Leviticus, the next book, is a book of laws. Leviticus teaches the Hebrew nation which meats to eat, how to clean and what is clean, property rights and rules, and regulations of worship. These principles directed Israelites of the past how to live their everyday lives. After Leviticus is Numbers; Numbers is a record of all the tribes of Judah (which there were twelve). The record was like a modern census of the tribes as they traveled through out the wilderness as they left Egypt to the Promised Land. The final book of the Torah is Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy is known as the second law. This final book is a collection of Moses (the Hebrew that led the Israelites out of Egypt) last sermons. These five books are what formed and shaped Hebrew culture as the tribes moved throughout the Middle East in the ancient times. The Jewish tribes were nomadic and were shepherds of their flocks during biblical times. Throughout the Bible, references were made to God being the shepherd to his flocks below. The shepherd lifestyle impacted the literature in the Bible. Since the Hebrew culture was influenced by a nomadic lifestyle, senses were used in concrete thought. Jeff A. Benner states what concrete thought was like for the Israelite community: All five of the senses are used when speaking and hearing and writing and reading the Hebrew language. An example of this can be found in Psalms 1:3; He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season, and whose leaf does not wither. In this passage we have concrete words expressing abstract thoughts, such as a tree (one who is upright, righteous), streams of water (grace), fruit (good character) and an unwithered leaf (prosperity). With the Greek abstract culture coming down from the north, the Hebrew concrete belief slowly faded away. The Hebrews most powerful time was the reins of King David and Solomon (1005-925 B.C.E.). After King Solomon passed away, the kingdom became a warring nation. Outside influences and rulers kept seeping into the Hebrew nation. In 586 B.C.E., Cyrus captured Jerusalem and transported the Jews out of their holy land. Eventually they came back to their land. Then the Greeks came and Alexander the Great brought with him the Greek culture. Then the Romans conquered Israel and brought their culture. Slowly the Hebrew culture was lost. Even though the cultures concrete thought faded away, the religious influence did not. The Hebrew religious cultures greatest attribute to modern cultures is the creation of Christianity and Islam. Christianity is based on the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah for which would deliver the Israelites. Around 4 B.C.E., a child was born from a virgin according to the Bible. This childs name was Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus was Gods son and the Messiah for which was going to become the King of the Jews. Jesus started teaching his fathers words and spread the good news. Jesus was then crucified and buried. After three days he resurrected from his death. Christianity is based upon Jesus life and teachings. His main points are love God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul, and love your neighbor as just as Jesus loved human kind. Christians believe that one day he will come back to earth from Heaven and judgment day will come onto earth. Christianity has played a major role in government over the last two millenniums. After becoming the sole religion of the Roman Empire, Christianity became the dominant religion of Europe. Many nations became one under God. Today, United States, the most powerful nation in the world, has One Nation under God in the national pledge and printed its currency. With Christianity being a major influence of government officals, the religion has caused several wars, mainly against Islamic nations. Islam was founded by Muhammad around 622 A.D. in the Middle-East. With a background of the Bible, Muhammad spoke of how the Jews corrupted the bible. So he wrote the Quran. The Quran is the words for which Gabriel, one of the arc angels, translated Gods words to Muhammad. Muhammad then started the Islamic religion. Same as Christianity, Islam has made a major impact on the worlds government and people. The Islamic nation spread over Northern Africa, Spain, Eastern Europe, the Middle-East and some of Asia. With the spread of the religion, the foods, spices, and technologies of these areas spread throughout the world. As Islam spread throughout Europe, sparks began to create a fire between Christians and Muslims (another word the Islamic people). The Islamic nations conquered Jerusalem, a Christian holy city, and started advancing towards Constantinople around the late first millennium. These advances ignited the Christian Crusades. The Christian Crusades were missions to free Spain and Jerusalem from Islamic rule. The war between Christians and Muslims continued for centuries and never really rested. Recently on September 11, 2001, Islamic terrorist flew two airplanes into New York Citys World Trade Center. This act by the terrorist started the War on Terrorism between the Allies and the terrorist with America leading the Allies. As the War has slowly dwindled down, old tensions of these religions have kindled old flames. Whither the two religions have any more negative feelings toward each other than did before, they became more aware of each other. With similar Hebrew backgrounds, these two religions have changed the face of this earth for all time. Though Hebrew culture mainly lives through Christianity and Islam, small institutes still keep the Israelite culture in touch with the modern world. Founded in 1892, the mission of the American Jewish Historical Society is to foster awareness and appreciation of the American Jewish heritage and to serve as a national scholarly resource for research through the collection, preservation and dissemination of materials relating to American Jewish history. The American Jewish Historical Society is the oldest national ethnic historical organization in the United States. The Societys library, archives, photograph, and art and artifacts collections document the American Jewish experience. The Hebrew state was a small population and ruled over a small area. From this small region, a powerful influence on todays society and cultures of many different countries has been formed.

Nuclear Energy :: Essays Papers

Nuclear Energy It seems that the world as a whole is in search of an energy source that is cleaner, cheaper, and more efficient. This seems to be particularly true in the United States where the government seeks to separate themselves from their reliance on petroleum from countries including those in the Middle East. Their agenda, unfortunately, is less concerned with environmental issues than it is with issues of power, money, and dominance. Either way, nuclear energy has emerged as the forerunner for alternative energy sources. Today, there are 109 nuclear power plants in the United States which contribute roughly 20% of the power used in the United States(Nuclear Energy, April 13, 2005). Nuclear fission is performed by fusion of hydrogen into helium. This is done using uranium, plutonium, or thorium and placing them in the reactor, which start a chain reaction that can produce vast amounts of energy. Uranium is the element primarily used in reactors. The fission of a single atom can produce 10 million times the amount of energy that an atom can produce that is burned from coal. Uranium is an abundant element which is easily found and extracted. It often has to undergo a relatively cheap refining process, however, as the isotopes are found mixed in nature. Nuclear fission is also relatively clean, as there is no excess CO2 produced, as there is in the burning of coal and petroleum. It does, however, have is pollutants. The filtering rods used have to be changed every two years and the o ld rods disposed of. Because the rods are highly radioactive, their disposal must be dealt with meticulously. Currently most of the rods are shipped to Yucca Mountain (The Bane of Nuclear Energy, April 13, 2005). Despite the benefits of nuclear fission, the quest still continues for an even better energy source. The hopes of the new energy source are pinned on a process known as nuclear fusion. This is the process that takes place on the sun and other stars under intense heat and pressure. The hope is that nuclear fusion will become a reality here on earth as it will provide an unprecedented amount of energy very cheaply and with very little pollution.

High School and Passion Paper Passion Essay

Passion. What is passion? Passion can be described in two words: strong and uncontrollable. We can’t control how we feel about the people, activities, and ideas in our lives. Passion isn’t always a good thing; too much of it can render a person incompetent. Everyone has a passion of their own and they pursue it in a different way. My passion is the game of lacrosse. I love every aspect of the game: playing, coaching, and officiating. I started playing lacrosse when I was eight years old and I have loved it every since. I was one of those kids that played every sport up until seventh grade, which was when I had a decision to make: what sport am I going to take seriously. I no longer had time for everything that I wanted to do. I knew right away that lacrosse was going to be the major sport in my life. I played volleyball in the fall and lacrosse year round. I quit dance, basketball, snowboarding, and running and I devoted myself to lacrosse. I played up for my high school while I was still in middle school and I played for a travel team  that competed at tournaments in front of college coaches. I decided freshman year that I wanted to play in college; and so my search began looking for the perfect school and program. During this process, I became more and more involved with the sport. I became a certified official and I began assistant coaching. I can honestly say that I love my job. I have the opportunity to pass down the skills I have accumulated over the years to new playing of the game. Being part of a team means having a big family. Lacrosse controls every aspect of my life. It’s what I write about in school. It’s what my mind is focused on 95% of the time. Some people say I am too invested in the game, but it’s what makes me a better player. I know the game and I can read the field. I’m a smart player and I have become this way because lacrosse controls me; but I let it control me in a healthy way. It keeps me active and in shape and gives me skills that are needed in the real world: teamwork, common goals, and never giving up. Lacrosse is my passion and I never want to give it up.

Festivals in Davao Region Essay

Held annually in the city of Tagum, Davao del Norte during February 21-27, Musikahan Festival also known as Musikahan sa Tagum, is a distinct cultural event celebrating Filipino excellence in music through composition, performance and production, providing the youth with more opportunities in the music industry as its goal. Local government of Tagum provides musical instruments to public schools aiming to amplify music appreciation and enhance the skills in performance of the youth in the field of music and prepare them for a bright future in music career. Also, Tagum City facilitates the participation of local barangay units in various music competitons not only to enrich cultural literacy but also as an opportunity to gain support in the development projects of local communities. Musikahan Festival is a weeklong musical celebration that also aims to promote Tagum City as the Music Capital of Mindanao and have now finally made a mark in the music scene as Department of Tourism have officially included the event as one of the country’s pride festivals .Already earning popularism, the city of Tagum plans to bid for a Guinness Record for the longest nonstop live concert in the world. Current holder of the title is Japan with a record of 184 hours. About 5,000 members of contingents from the cities of Cagayan de Oro, Malaybalay, Marawi, Cotabato, Butuan, and Davao, of participants alone not including the visitors, compete in various musical contests which is expected to triple the income of business establishments in Tagum City. Musikahan Festival also aims to provide employment and livelihood for the townspeople. The City of Tagum claims that visitors who would take part in the celebration will be the cause for the city to have substantial multiplier effect to its businesses for they are sure to buy goods in the markets. Revelers can avail food at reasonable prices as booths are scattered in almost every part of the venue during the Musikahan Festival. Holding of the event is also an opportunity for tourism investments for hotels and malls, which is continously flourishing along with the city’s development. Among the festival’s highlights are the Battle of the Bands which divided into three categories: Folksong / Acoustic / Bossa Nova, Reggae / Ska / Emo, and Pop / Rock / Alternative category, the Drum and Bugle Corps / Chorale Competition category, and the Marching Brass Band Competition. Kadayawan Festival From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search The Kadayawan Festival is an annual festival in the city of Davao in the Philippines. Its name derives from the friendly greeting â€Å"Madayaw†, from the Dabawenyo word â€Å"dayaw†, meaning good, valuable, superior or beautiful. The festival is a celebration of life, a thanksgiving for the gifts of nature, the wealth of culture, the bounties of harvest and serenity of living. Indak-indak sa Kadalanan. Indak-indak sa Kadalanan. Kadayawan Festival 2012 Kadayawan Festival 2012 Kadayawan Festival 2012 Davao Events and Festivals Davao, Philippines offers visitors a rich array of events and festivals throughout the year that highlight its unique cultural identity and history. HotelTravel.com highlights the key events and festivals in Davao from month to month, providing visitors with a huge choice of possible choice to play that once in a lifetime holiday around. Each one brings to life why Davao is so representative of people from Philippines. Click the events and festival links below for further information. Davao has a busy calendar of events which includes both holidays that are celebrated by the entire nation and a variety of celebrations that are exclusive to the region. Religion plays a big part in local festivities, with the largest events generally revolving around Roman Catholicism. Below are the most popular festivals enjoyed across the Davao region. January New Years Day: Davao’s residents celebrate the arrival of the New Year with a day off work and the chance to relax and enjoy get-togethers with friends and family. Araw ng mga Natibo: otherwise known as the Day of the Natives, this distinctly regional event sees members of the Tagacaolos, B’laans and Manobo tribes come together to celebrate their respective cultures through performances of ethnic singing and dancing, and the unusual spectacle of horse fighting. February People Power Day: Davao’s residents join the nation in enjoying a public holiday in remembrance of the 1986 People Power Revolt. March Araw ng Dabaw: Davao City celebrates the historic event when the city received an official charter. For a week, the locals enjoy a variety of festivities including horse fighting, ethnic rituals, a beauty contest and grand parade. April Easter: Locals are predominantly Catholic and so attend Holy Week services, culminating in Mass on Easter Sunday followed by celebrations with family and friends. Bataan Day: Davao locals enjoy this national holiday in remembrance of those who gave their lives in battles against the Japanese for control of the Bataan peninsular at the start of WWII. May Summer Island Festival: the third week of the month sees this popular event based at Samal Island in Davao. Locals and visitors assemble to enjoy cultural performances, banca racing and water sports competitions. June Santacruzan: locals don brightly coloured outfits and re-enact St Helene’s discovery of the cross of Christ. The event takes place in the residential areas of Belisario Heights and Lanang, which can be found a short distance north of Davao City. Tabanogan Festival: the feast of St Peter is celebrated in Davao with a number of festivities, among the most notable being the kite flying competition in which locals showcase their talents in this age-old activity. Independence Day: the 12th of June is a national holiday and sees residents of Davao enjoy a day off work to celebrate the country’s anniversary of the Philippine Declaration of Independence from Spain. July Araw ng Davao del Sur, Davao del Norte, Davao Oriental: this is the annual celebration of Davao’s division into the three independent provinces of del Sur, del Norte and Oriental. A variety of festivities are enjoyed including horse fighting displays, beauty pageants and tribal dance performances. Filipino-American Friendship Day: the formal Declaration of Independence from the United States is celebrated across the country on the 4th of July. Davao residents enjoy a day off work. August Araw ng mga Bayani: otherwise known as National Heroes’ Day, this is a public holiday enjoyed by all on the 26th of August. Kadayawan sa Dabaw: in the second week of August, this festival is enjoyed by locals with a variety of events including a beauty pageant, ethnic performances, a fruit and flower show and more. September Osmeà ±a Day: this national holiday commemorates the now deceased fourth President of the Philippines, Sergio Osmeà ±a. October Ramadan: a small percentage of Davao’s residents are Muslim and therefore celebrate the Islamic month of abstinence called Ramadan. Locals eat sparingly and avoid indulgences of any kind for the duration of the period. November Eid ul-Fitr: the Muslim residents of Davao mark the end of the Ramadan period with get-togethers and family feasts. Bonifacio Day: the birth date of Filipino revolutionary leader Andres Bonifacio is celebrated by residents of the Davao region. December Lopez Jaena Day: the life of Graciano Là ³pez Jaena, one of the country’s most significant historic figures, is celebrated on the 18th of December. Christmas: beginning on the 15th of the month and lasting until the 31st, Paskuhan sa Dabaw is the country’s official Christmas season. The period is marked by a variety of festive events. New Years Eve (Bisperas ng Bagong Taon): is the official end of year celebration and sees a variety of festivities enjoyed across the Davao region. Davao City is particularly lively, holding various parties and putting on fireworks displays in a number of locations.

Free Essays on Teen Suicide The Solution

Teen Suicide, the Solution By Brittany Wimpy Twenty percent of high school students seriously consider committing suicide. This means that 106 of the ninth grade students here at North Cache have seriously considered it. I’m betting that out of those 106 you’re friends with at least one of them. If not, think of it this way, six people in this class have contemplated suicide. Micheal Faenza said, â€Å"More adolescents and young adults die from suicide than from all medical illnesses combined.† Too many teens today are giving up. It’s hard to imagine completely solving the problem of suicide, but I have some suggestions on how we can help. First, if you ever think about committing suicide you need to talk to someone. I know that telling someone about your deepest thoughts can be hard but saving your life is more important. Most of time if you ask for help you will receive it. Even if you think that no one cares someone out there does. Our school counselors are always willing to work through your problems with you. I know that parents don’t always listen or understand, but I guarantee they will listen and although they might not understand they will definitely try to. Older brothers and sisters may act like they couldn’t care less about you but deep down inside they love you and they have probably experienced the same things you are experiencing, so talk to them and ask for help. There was a 14 year old boy named Jim who felt like he nobody cared about him. Other kids Jims age were always teasing him and giving a hard about anything they could come up with. Jim couldn’t take it anymore and decided to comit suicide during the upcoming weekend. That week at school another boy noticed that Jim was always alone and didn’t seem to have any friends so he decided to talk to him. Jim and the other boy had a lot in common and spent the rest of the week together, but Jim decided that he would still follow through with hi... Free Essays on Teen Suicide The Solution Free Essays on Teen Suicide The Solution Teen Suicide, the Solution By Brittany Wimpy Twenty percent of high school students seriously consider committing suicide. This means that 106 of the ninth grade students here at North Cache have seriously considered it. I’m betting that out of those 106 you’re friends with at least one of them. If not, think of it this way, six people in this class have contemplated suicide. Micheal Faenza said, â€Å"More adolescents and young adults die from suicide than from all medical illnesses combined.† Too many teens today are giving up. It’s hard to imagine completely solving the problem of suicide, but I have some suggestions on how we can help. First, if you ever think about committing suicide you need to talk to someone. I know that telling someone about your deepest thoughts can be hard but saving your life is more important. Most of time if you ask for help you will receive it. Even if you think that no one cares someone out there does. Our school counselors are always willing to work through your problems with you. I know that parents don’t always listen or understand, but I guarantee they will listen and although they might not understand they will definitely try to. Older brothers and sisters may act like they couldn’t care less about you but deep down inside they love you and they have probably experienced the same things you are experiencing, so talk to them and ask for help. There was a 14 year old boy named Jim who felt like he nobody cared about him. Other kids Jims age were always teasing him and giving a hard about anything they could come up with. Jim couldn’t take it anymore and decided to comit suicide during the upcoming weekend. That week at school another boy noticed that Jim was always alone and didn’t seem to have any friends so he decided to talk to him. Jim and the other boy had a lot in common and spent the rest of the week together, but Jim decided that he would still follow through with hi...

A full detail of the first and the last chapters of the movie Gladiator Essays

A full detail of the first and the last chapters of the movie Gladiator Essays A full detail of the first and the last chapters of the movie Gladiator Essay A full detail of the first and the last chapters of the movie Gladiator Essay Essay Topic: The Heart Goes Last This essay is a full detail of the first and the last chapters of the movie gladiator; it also covers 3 different topics on the chapters. I am going to explain the expressions given by characters, what director wants from audience, and the role of camera in the movie. This film is presented as an exciting epic. The central focus of the film is intended to be on Maximus (Russell Crowe) by the director (Ridley Scott) and is about one mans heroic stand against the greatness, but at the same time, the corruption of the Roman Empire. Hell is unleashed is the title of the opening scene and begins with credits to the background of flames. It then progresses to a figure walking in a long grassed field to the background of the sky and the camera in a close up, focusing on his hand, the wedding ring clearly visible showing his devotion to his family at an early stage. At this point the music is melancholy with a female soloist which carries on throughout the film. This is a situation of calm; almost like a dream. The shot cuts to a close up on Maximus face as he lifts his head with his eyes closed, as if in deep thought. This is a dramatic change of scenery from the dream like golden fields to the reality of a war stricken battlefield. The music intensity quickens and he opens his eyes, the combined intensity of the music and the clothes he is wearing make him look like a powerful warrior. The camera then cuts to many different angles but after each one cuts back to Maximus, this is showing how busy everyone is when they are preparing for battle. The music is the theme tune. The music stops to show, perhaps, the silence before the battle and the camera cuts to Maximus riding his horse, the camera dollies with the horse and the music starts and intensity slowly rises as the camera cuts to the enemy showing themselves out of the dark. The camera is in amongst the soldiers preparing for battle showing the intensity of war and the discipline of the Romans compared to the barbarians. There is a birds eye view as the battle starts and you are shown all the firepower they had at their disposal. Archers, catapults, cavalry are shown to show the technologically advanced Romans. The camera cuts to the soldiers and the front line battle. The camera cuts to a close up with the camera dollying with cavalry soldiers and Maximus, the music is very fast which reflects the actions happening at the scene. The camera follows them into war where death is shown all the way through and very graphically which shows the horror of war, as the battle comes to an end the music slows and the scene moves into slow motion. The sound effects stop completely but for the music, which is very calm and mournful reflecting the horror of the battle. In this scene the shots go from distant to close up which show the violence, anger and pure adrenaline of war. At the end of the battle ash and snow start to fall, which represents that the Romans won the battle, but with a great cost of human life, the music is very melancholy representing sorrow. The Director wishes to show the audience how organized and invincible the Romans are (on the battle field at least), how they are lacking in motivation, and in contrast how the barbarians are fighting for a lost cause and yet they will not give up. He shows this by always making the Romans look organized and goes in amongst the barracks and with Maximus in the ambush with the camera where as the camera watches the barbarians get attacked and slaughtered. Death smiles at us all is the title of the ending scene and is of possibly the most significance of the whole film. It is the scene where he two main characters die and has religious over tones from the start. It starts with the two main characters, Maximus and Comadus, rising on a platform with roses dropping from above and a gospel choir singing as if they are rising up to heaven; the camera is close up until they go out of view and then pans out to see a wooden structure that resembles a cross. This may symbolize that someone is going to die. As they rise to the top platform the viewer is shown the whole of the floor of the coliseum covered in rose petals; this shows that this is a very emotional occasion. The camera then cuts to a close up of each person of significance to give the effect of a showdown, the petals also mite look like blood on the sand of the arena. During the period of most of the fight there is no music, only other sound effects such as swords clashing; this is because there is no music that could state every emotion that the characters would be feeling and so there is no need because the event almost speaks for its self as it is of such emotional significance because it would affect so many people. Before the battle starts we see a paradox between a bad man wearing white stabbing a good man wearing black in the back whilst showing affection and hugging him, this shows that Comadus wants to become the good man in the publics (us) eyes and Maximus is very upset and his life and does not care, all he wants to do is take revenge and do the last words of Marcus Aeurileus. As the battle starts the camera dollies with them but cuts back and forth from the ground level view and in the stands which puts the audience right in the seats of the arena, this is to give variety to the fight scene and keep it seeming fast paced and keep the audience involved in the fight, it also shows the fighters perspective to the fight. All through this scene some bits are in slow motion, others blurred and some normal speed; this is because whenever any of those happened it was always seen from Maximus view and so Maximus is beginning to die and would be seeing things at different speeds. The fight is fast paced and the camera angles vary lots of times in a very short space of time to make it look more exciting than it actually was. The only sound used throughout the fight scene is that of clashing blades. The camera cuts to Maximus house once more to show that he is dying and is almost dead, the director here wants the audience to sympathise with Maximus. As Comadus dies there is no music and very gory sound effects to show the enormity of the event and the director wants the audience not to have sympathy for him. The camera then cuts to silence with the camera spinning round the coliseum to give the effect of everyone watching and reflecting on the emperors death; the music starts very slowly and builds up. The camera cuts to Maximus house again to show he is really near the end and almost with his family in the afterlife, the solo vocalist returns and then the camera cuts between Maximus and the dead Emperors sister several times before a close up on his face as he dies; the camera then follows him as he glides along the ground, with rose petals clearly visible on the floor behind him symbolizing that he is b ack with his wife and child and happy again. The camera cuts to Maximus walking in the field back to his house as in the beginning but this time in colour and then cuts back to him lying on the floor in the middle of the coliseum. The camera moves to inside the ring of people and has a close up on the emperors daughters big speech about how Rome is not worth one good mans life with a close up view on her but looking up at her to give the effect of her being big and taking over. It then moves to a birds eye view as Maximus is carried off. Next the camera shows a close up of Chimsy burying Maximus figures of his family in sand stained in blood to symbolize him being with his family as he died in the same place in the sand and they are buried in his blood. The camera then rises to see the sun going down on the great city of Rome. In this scene I think that the director (Ridley Scott) is trying to show how weak such a powerful city like Rome can be and that even though it looks so magnificent, it only takes one man to tear it apart. Language At the beginning of the movie the language is shown in text. Within the text it explains the genre and idea of the movie by explaining the situation of the Roman Empire and that the Roman Empire was at its rise (therefore the audience realizes something is going to happen to the Roman Empire). But through out the whole movie the language is shown oral. Main characters such as Russell Crowe use very much of a wise-men language; this means they make influential speeches in the movie, which portrays their character in the movie. The barbarians and the Arabs are shown that they do not speak the same language as the Romans; therefore there are the bad and the roman language is the good. Music The music through out the movie is very downhearted and melancholy. The music expresses sorrow and sadness. At the beginning the movie starts with music and it ends with music, perhaps they are both parts of the same song because the tune seems to be the same. On the other hand there is a music theme for the wars and fights which is a more militia music type to show the expressions and give the feeling of war and death. Symbolism In this movie symbols were very much involved. Symbols such as robins to show winter, bad people wear black dirty and good people wear bright and clean, the bad dead body is on the floor in the arena and the good body is carried of with honor, a ring is shown to show devotion to family, flowers are always shown to show emotions, in the wars the catapults were shown to show the technology of the roman empire and Comadus is shown with a baby face which symbolizes a child, not an emperor. Many different symbols have been used in this movie to give hints or id

Alternative Energy Sources Essay Example for Free (#3)

Alternative Energy Sources Essay What does a car, heater, and stove have in common? They are all powered by fuel sources. The most popular being fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are dead plant and animal matter that has been compressed and heated over millions of years. They are burned to create heat, which in turn creates energy. However, with heavy industrialization (agricultural and manufacturing), transportation, and personal energy use, our world’s fossil fuel supplies are rapidly depleting. Even more, fossil fuels pollute our environment. Scientists are on the search for alternative energy sources so the world can be weaned of its fossil fuel supply. Out of the many alternative fuel sources, I will be focusing on solar and wind power. Solar power is simply the conversion of energy from the sun into usable energy. Solar energy can be harvested in two ways: indirectly by using the heat of the sun and directly by utilizing its energy to turn it into electricity. What makes solar power so popular is the fact that it can be used anywhere that has sunlight. Solar power can be collected in 3 different ways: solar heat collectors, solar thermal concentrating systems, and photovoltaics. Solar heat collectors are collectors that are designed to absorb the heat from the sun. The most common ones are flat plate collectors that have a dark absorber plate that is covered with a transparent plate (usually glass). In between the two plates are pipes that are filled with heat-transferring liquid like antifreeze. When sunlight strikes the absorber plate in the collector, the heat is absorbed into the liquid, which is then passed through pipes to the water heater. When the liquid is finished being used, it flows back up to the plate where it is heated again and repeats the process. Solar thermal concentrating systems use mirrors and lenses to concentrate the energy of the sun into a small area to produce energy. The energy heats up molten salt in pipes that run along the concentrating system which is the power source of a generation system. The concentration system can make the liquid in the pipes heat up to 3000 degrees Celsius in some cases, which makes this method preferable for industrial use or electricity. Finally, the use of photovoltaics directly converts light from the sun into electricity at the atomic power. The system consists of a solar cell, which is made of semi-conductive materials like silicon. The solar cells are made to create an electric field. When the light from the sun hits the cell, the lectrons are separated from the atoms and form an electric current, which produces electricity. There are many benefits for using solar power as an alternative fuel source. 1) Solar power is constantly renewable. The energy from the sun will virtually never run out. 2) The sun is also available world wide so it is a power that everyone can use. 3) Solar energy is also very low maintenance; after installation of the systems there is barely any other work involved with it. In addition, 4) it is a silent producer of energy, even with the photovoltaic cells. However there are a few cons that go along with solar energy. ) Even though the sun is a free source of energy, the cost of solar cells can be quite costly with most cells starting a $1000 for one. 6) Solar energy can only be produced when the sun is out so that means about half of the day solar panels aren’t generating electricity. Lastly, 7) weather can affect the efficiency of the solar panels. Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useable form of energy. Wind power is used widely around the world since there is wind everywhere, however you are most likely to find wind power being used in higher elevations (such as hills) since that is where the wind is the strongest. Wind power is harvested with wind turbines. The process is pretty simple: the wind spins the turbines, which activates a generator, which converts the energy into electricity. Like solar power energy, 1) wind power is sustainable and renewable since wind will always be around to move the turbine. 2) Wind power is also free. 3) The land that the wind turbines are on can be shared for other uses such as farming. 4) Since wind power is available worldwide, the US can use the turbines as its own fuel source and free its dependence from foreign oil. On the negative side, 5) wind turbines can take up a lot of space. ) Even though it is a clean source, the turbines can be very noisy which may be bothersome to nearby communities. Lastly, 7) the cost of wind turbines and the generators are far more expensive than fossil fuels, which makes it a poor competitor cost-wise. With the depletion of fossil fuels, alternative fuel sources are the obvious choice for the present and future. Two of these sources, solar and wind power, are both revolutionizing the way we produce electricity, while benefiting the environment. Even though they both have a few cons, the fact that we have energy sources that are both sustainable and renewable is far superior to the latter. Alternative Energy Sources. (2017, Jan 25).

Robinson Crusoe Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Robinson Crusoe - Essay Example Perhaps it is true to say that everything which occurred is interwoven into that Providence, and with the relationship between man and God. There is no doubt that a portrayal of that relationship is an integral part of the story. Symbolic of this relationship is that which Crusoe has with his father, whose loving advice and guidance he ignored. The warning signs of danger, or even of Providential intervention, such as storms and slavery, are also ignored, though Crusoe expressed some understanding of the issues when he said, he Hand of Heaven had overtaken me, and I was undone without Redemption.(p. 20 Vol 1), this during his enslavement. Though he was rescued and brought to a wealthy life by the help of the Portuguese Captain, never once did he think to see God's hand at work, nor to offer thanks. God is blamed for his misery, when he is shipwrecked on the island; it took him a long time to realize how fortunate he had been. When he rew up the state of my Affairs in writing(p. 74 Vol 1), it is only that the God's intervention is mentioned in his 'good' list; ..He that Mastering his environment took up so much time that it was not until illness struck, and the vision frightened him, that a turning point was reached, a true acknowledgment of God's goodness occurred and a relationship began to be

The Emancipation Proclomation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Emancipation Proclomation - Essay Example It is relevant to mention that there were no radical steps taken by Lincoln in Emancipation Proclamation. The President followed a well-balanced strategy of the conservatives. He did not want to take radical measures in order not to provoke a strong resonance. Vice versa, Lincoln was very much concerned about the necessity to foster the principles of freedom and the equality of all people, as it is stated in the constitution, but this policy could be implemented only in the case of a well-considerate politics of the President. Thesis statement: anti-slavery moods of Abraham Lincoln, his well-balanced politics, his respect to God, moral and the nation resulted in Emancipation Proclamation and freedom mode of the American society development. Historical Background of Emancipation Proclamation Abraham Lincoln fostered emancipation at the highest speed and no one expected that this process would occur in such a way. The Civil War exerted a great influence on the policy of Lincoln and it shifted the accents of anti-slavery policy of the President. Lincoln is an evident antagonist of slavery, but he is aware of the fact that it is impossible to remove this phenomenon at once, because it takes time and radical instantaneous changes are impossible. Slavery is a deeply-rooted phenomenon of the American society and in order to eradicate it, there is a need to develop innovative reforms and different preventive practices are relevant to halt the development of slavery in America. He was dependent on the environment and the events of the country to the greatest extent that is why it was necessary to develop a properly considered strategy of slavery eradication. Lincoln is often considered as â€Å"an antislavery moderate, a "gradualist," who hoped slavery would slowly die away†1. The striking document of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 was an alternative for creation of new territories of slavery expansion in America. The political party of Lincoln, Whig Party, expe rienced an inner split because of different attitudes of its members to the issue of slavery. Lincoln commented on his indignation about Nebraska Bill: â€Å"I have always hated slavery, I think as much as any abolitionist. I have been an Old Line Whig. I have always hated it, but I have also been quiet about it until this new era of  introduction of  the Nebraska Bill began†2. Lincoln meant that there is an expansion of slavery, in case different states will join the slave states and the question of the slavery will rise again. Arguments about the Nebraska Bill were intensified, when the Republican Abraham Lincoln opposed to the Democrat Stephen Douglas in 1858. The latter supported the Bill very much and Lincoln opposed to the division of the nation, because no nation would survive in case it is half slave and half free. Lincoln denied his intention to make all the races equal. This fact can be criticized, because Lincoln claimed that in the Declaration of  Independen ce "all men are created equal" and this was a starting point for him to foster his fundamental anti-slavery principles. Lincoln won a great reputation and support of the nation. In 1860 he clearly stated that he opposes to slavery and thus he won the election against a split Democratic Party. In the beginning of his presidency, the Civil War broke out. Lincoln made an attempt to please different states and he persuaded those states, where slavery has already been introduced that he would not eradicate it in those states. He

Is an understanding of culture beneficial to organisations Essay

Is an understanding of culture beneficial to organisations - Essay Example Days when organizations used to succeed even after overlooking cultural aspect are past us and either the hard way or the easy way (Punnett, 2010), organizations now understand that they no longer operate in closed systems nor do they have the same bargaining power (Martin, 1992). Customers and employees of today are not only more informed and educated but they also have much more options (Bond & Hwang, 1986; Luthans & Doh, 2008). Therefore, it is imperative for businesses to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the term organizational culture in which they are operating or else their workforce would not think twice before rejecting them ruthlessly (Punnett, 2010). In this regard, it is very imperative that organizational leaders must be aware about their own organizational culture that is a mixture of assumptions, values, artefacts, beliefs, principles, and customs in an organization (Alvesson, 2002). In addition, it is also important to understand that organizational cultur e takes time to spread or disseminate in the organizational culture, and at the same time, success of that culture relies heavily on the way culture disseminates downward or upward in an organization. One of the major reasons of such assumption is due to the fact that at many times, only inefficient dissemination of effective organizational culture results in failure (Brenton & Driskill, 2010), and thus, while it is important for organizations to have an understanding of its organization culture, it is also vital to ensure efficient implementation that is often missed out by the leaders in an organization. The fact is that we are living in a globalized world and never before in the human history has so many people from diverse cultures, traditions, customs, nationalities, ethnicities, races, colours, creeds and religions been brought together (Mullins, 2007). The only possible way to operate and succeed within this diverse globalized business environment is to gain an understanding of the local cultures and develop respectful attitudes towards them in own organizational culture (Luthans & Doh, 2008). There are several arguments in favor of organizations needing to understand culture but all of them, in one or the other, focus on the magnitude, on these differences and their implications on the workplace (Bond & Hwang, 1986). Perhaps, Hofstede conducted one of the most credible researches in this regard, highlighting these cultural differences amongst different countries in four dimensions related to workplace (Hofstede, 2001). These dimensions are of individualism vs. collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance and masculinity vs. femininity but only the former two are discussed here (Luthans & Doh, 2008; Edfelt, 2009). The notion of individualism talks about the inclination of individuals to put their family members on priority in comparison to needs of the society; while on the other hand, collectivism is the notion that involves alignment of oneâ₠¬â„¢s needs in accordance with needs of the society (Mead & Andrews, 2009). In collectivism, it is more about societal exchange and social advantage in an interdependent manner rather than in isolation (Edfelt, 2009). Moreover, it has been observed that individuals in collectivism rely on their associations, as well as on decisions made by the group members. Unlike

Proposal of master project in The differences in the Quality of life Essay

Proposal of master project in The differences in the Quality of life of young old,vs mid-old, vs old-old - Essay Example The 2001 census proved that for the first time there were more people over 60 than under 16 (Dean 2003, p.1). While, the above mentioned statistics can be one of the greatest advantage of the over all improvement in the twentieth centaury, it puts forward immense challenges for the new generation. The existing social and cultural trends make it beyond doubts that older people are mostly bound to stay confined between the four walls in most cases. In a methodological study by John baldock and Jan Hadlow has examined the process of aging from within. The results showed that the old age is indeed a time of ‘identity work’ in which people search for ways to sustain their self-images and to link their present existences to their previous lives (2002). Age-related reduction in muscle strength and power, cardiovascular function and neuromuscular response times, all contribute to the declining physical ability with age Activity and exercise improve health status, muscle strength, aerobic capacity, and reduce fracture risk as well as improving quality of life. Increasing habitual exercise can assist older people in maintaining functional performance (Rajeski W& Mihalko S 2001). Such type of a circumstantial environment is of at most important as the common themes concerning the quality of life, mentioned by participants as important, were concerns with regards to the conditions associated with health, family and home (Kenealy and Beaumont 2003). The quality of life changes along with the deference in the quality of diet as explained by Stephen Burk when he said that meals are not just about refueling, but can really improve someones quality of life (2005). The above mentioned studies have highlighted the variation between the qualities of lives in different age groups. The researchers have been successful in determining the relevance of belief to well-being in later life, and the need for secular welfare organizations to be more prepared to work with

Hog Waste in Eastern North Carolina Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Hog Waste in Eastern North Carolina - Essay Example It also says in Proverbs 11:22, "Like a gold ring in a swine's snout is a beautiful woman without discretion." The swine is just another animal with all the instincts and emotions of fear, anger, contentment or hunger. But the scriptures appear to depict the animal's dispositions that include habits other than just chewing cuds. The swine is known to eat more than cuds. They consume anything from garbage including dead animals and human waste. Thus, the swine is categorized with animals that are not "clean". They cannot be counted among animals like the sheep, goat, deer, and so on that consume only grass and herbs and are categorized as "clean" (Douglas S. Winnail). From the Christian perspectives, the hog is associated with meanness and laziness. The points expressed in the scriptures about the hog do little to dissociate it from such negative attributes. Once the hog has had its fill with food it normally resigned to a corner to slumber the rest of its time. God made all things wonderful and this includes the swine. The swine or hog is not meant for human consumption from its natural standpoint. In the present times, hog meat can be neutralized from the effects of salmonella through vaccinations (Jeffrey A. Husa et al). However, in the times when the Old Testament injunction for not eating the hog was made, the scriptures emphasized that as people of God to serve as a model for the nations around them, the Israelites were to abstain from hog meat for its specific dietary habits. The hog could eat anything. It was not restricted to chewing cuds alone. By the same argument, the hog could also do many things that did not make it an ideal choice for culinary purposes. The hog could grunt, struggle violently, bite, kick and heave. The hog did not observe the basic niceties when it was about to be killed. This contrasted with the disposition of animals like the sheep and goats that did not have to be trussed up when they were slaughtered. What does the theological tradition say about this problem (This will require doing library research in books on theological ethics Theological tradition is varied. There is no single view. Some theologians say that the law about not eating the hog does not apply now. They hold to the scriptures when Apostle Peter was famished and had a vision of "a great sheet let down by four corners upon the earth. In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. And there came a voice to him, 'Rise, Peter; kill and eat.' But Peter said, 'No, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean'. And the voice came to him again a second time, 'What God has cleansed, you must not call common (or unclean)'" (Acts 10:11-15). There is yet another theological tradi

Is an understanding of culture beneficial to organisations Essay

Is an understanding of culture beneficial to organisations - Essay Example Days when organizations used to succeed even after overlooking cultural aspect are past us and either the hard way or the easy way (Punnett, 2010), organizations now understand that they no longer operate in closed systems nor do they have the same bargaining power (Martin, 1992). Customers and employees of today are not only more informed and educated but they also have much more options (Bond & Hwang, 1986; Luthans & Doh, 2008). Therefore, it is imperative for businesses to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the term organizational culture in which they are operating or else their workforce would not think twice before rejecting them ruthlessly (Punnett, 2010). In this regard, it is very imperative that organizational leaders must be aware about their own organizational culture that is a mixture of assumptions, values, artefacts, beliefs, principles, and customs in an organization (Alvesson, 2002). In addition, it is also important to understand that organizational cultur e takes time to spread or disseminate in the organizational culture, and at the same time, success of that culture relies heavily on the way culture disseminates downward or upward in an organization. One of the major reasons of such assumption is due to the fact that at many times, only inefficient dissemination of effective organizational culture results in failure (Brenton & Driskill, 2010), and thus, while it is important for organizations to have an understanding of its organization culture, it is also vital to ensure efficient implementation that is often missed out by the leaders in an organization. The fact is that we are living in a globalized world and never before in the human history has so many people from diverse cultures, traditions, customs, nationalities, ethnicities, races, colours, creeds and religions been brought together (Mullins, 2007). The only possible way to operate and succeed within this diverse globalized business environment is to gain an understanding of the local cultures and develop respectful attitudes towards them in own organizational culture (Luthans & Doh, 2008). There are several arguments in favor of organizations needing to understand culture but all of them, in one or the other, focus on the magnitude, on these differences and their implications on the workplace (Bond & Hwang, 1986). Perhaps, Hofstede conducted one of the most credible researches in this regard, highlighting these cultural differences amongst different countries in four dimensions related to workplace (Hofstede, 2001). These dimensions are of individualism vs. collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance and masculinity vs. femininity but only the former two are discussed here (Luthans & Doh, 2008; Edfelt, 2009). The notion of individualism talks about the inclination of individuals to put their family members on priority in comparison to needs of the society; while on the other hand, collectivism is the notion that involves alignment of oneâ₠¬â„¢s needs in accordance with needs of the society (Mead & Andrews, 2009). In collectivism, it is more about societal exchange and social advantage in an interdependent manner rather than in isolation (Edfelt, 2009). Moreover, it has been observed that individuals in collectivism rely on their associations, as well as on decisions made by the group members. Unlike

Hog Waste in Eastern North Carolina Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Hog Waste in Eastern North Carolina - Essay Example It also says in Proverbs 11:22, "Like a gold ring in a swine's snout is a beautiful woman without discretion." The swine is just another animal with all the instincts and emotions of fear, anger, contentment or hunger. But the scriptures appear to depict the animal's dispositions that include habits other than just chewing cuds. The swine is known to eat more than cuds. They consume anything from garbage including dead animals and human waste. Thus, the swine is categorized with animals that are not "clean". They cannot be counted among animals like the sheep, goat, deer, and so on that consume only grass and herbs and are categorized as "clean" (Douglas S. Winnail). From the Christian perspectives, the hog is associated with meanness and laziness. The points expressed in the scriptures about the hog do little to dissociate it from such negative attributes. Once the hog has had its fill with food it normally resigned to a corner to slumber the rest of its time. God made all things wonderful and this includes the swine. The swine or hog is not meant for human consumption from its natural standpoint. In the present times, hog meat can be neutralized from the effects of salmonella through vaccinations (Jeffrey A. Husa et al). However, in the times when the Old Testament injunction for not eating the hog was made, the scriptures emphasized that as people of God to serve as a model for the nations around them, the Israelites were to abstain from hog meat for its specific dietary habits. The hog could eat anything. It was not restricted to chewing cuds alone. By the same argument, the hog could also do many things that did not make it an ideal choice for culinary purposes. The hog could grunt, struggle violently, bite, kick and heave. The hog did not observe the basic niceties when it was about to be killed. This contrasted with the disposition of animals like the sheep and goats that did not have to be trussed up when they were slaughtered. What does the theological tradition say about this problem (This will require doing library research in books on theological ethics Theological tradition is varied. There is no single view. Some theologians say that the law about not eating the hog does not apply now. They hold to the scriptures when Apostle Peter was famished and had a vision of "a great sheet let down by four corners upon the earth. In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. And there came a voice to him, 'Rise, Peter; kill and eat.' But Peter said, 'No, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean'. And the voice came to him again a second time, 'What God has cleansed, you must not call common (or unclean)'" (Acts 10:11-15). There is yet another theological tradi

To Kill a Mockingbird Essay Example for Free

To Kill a Mockingbird Essay â€Å"It takes one step at a time. Small changes eventually add up to huge results.† Life lessons are important in the way life is understood. Without life lessons to teach the importance of life there would be much suffering and unhappiness. To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic novel written by Harper Lee. It was written in the early 1960’s about a young girl named Scout and her family about the racism that was provoked in the town. Harper Lee, in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, illustrates three main lessons with the Tom Robinson trial: Stand up for what you believe in, racism is painful and avoid mob mentalities. One of the most important lessons in To Kill a Mockingbird is to stand up for your beliefs. The character Atticus is a promonate example Harper Lee used to express the importance of standing up for your beliefs. â€Å"Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men’s hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her moth and screamed.† (Lee 323). Atticus throughout the novel displays the courageous and daring act of standing up for his beliefs. Atticus presented a strong defence for the coloured man, even though he knew that there was nothing he could really do. Atticus was appointed to defend Tom Robinson in his case. Atticus took the case seriously and took it upon himself to take all evidence into close examination. â€Å"This case, Tom Robinson’s case, is something that goes to the essence of a man’s conscience-Scout, I couldn’t go to church and worship god if I didn’t try to help that man.† ( ). Atticus strongly defends Tom Robinson for his own personal beliefs and took this case ‘white vs. Black’ seriously and he has taken all odds against society to justify this man. Standing up for what you believe in is a strong way to under mind authorities and prove a strongly arguable point. Atticus did not end up winning the case, but he still stood up for what he believed was right and held on to those beliefs until the end. Roberts 2 Racism causes pain to so many coloured people in the 1930’s, still to this day racism affects the lives of many. The Tom Robinson case is a prime example of how racism can negatively affect the lives of many. Maycomb the town in To Kill a Mockingbird is very racial. The town folk locked Tom Robinson up for a crime he simply did not do. The men in Maycomb did not care if this man did it or not, they just wanted him to be imprisoned because of the colour of his skin. â€Å"To Maycomb, Tom’s death was typical. Typical of a niger to cut and run. Typical if a niggers mentality to have no plan, no thought for the future, just run blind first chance he saw. Atticus Finch might’ve got him off scot free, but wait-Hell no. You know how they are. Easy come, easy go. Just shows you, that Robinson boy was legally married, they say he kept himself clean, went to church and all that, but when it comes down to the line the veneers mighty thin. Nigger always comes out in ‘em.’’ ( ). Tom died because he was convicted of a crime committed by a white man. Tom was sent to jail, and first chance at free dome so he ran, ending himself with 17 bullet shots in him. Anger when associated with racism can drive a man insane. Bob Ewell let both of them get to him. â€Å"Mr. Finch-wasn’t crazy, mean as hell. Low-down skunk with enough liquor in him to make him brave enough to kill children. He’d never have met you face to face.† ( ). All just because Atticus was appointed to defend Tom Robinson in his case, Bob Ewell got angry. Bob Ewell was furious with modem to kill because in the trail, Atticus’ defence for Tom Robison was rather embarrassing for Bob Ewell. Atticus made an embarrassment of Bob Ewell by presenting the jury and the courtroom to the evidence that clearly indicates that Bob Ewell was the one who abused Mayella. Bob Ewell being mad he had enough modem to go after Atticus’ children just because he did his job and defended a black man. Racism is still painful to many today. Harper Lee expresses the real pain behind racism in To Kill a Mockingbird. The white men of Maycomb posses mob mentalities which Harper Lee presents as despicable. All of Maycomb County think that black people are so different, but in reality no one is here to tell everyone who can be better or not. â€Å"A quiet, respectable, humble Negro who had the unmitigated temerity to ‘feel sorry’ for a white woman has to put his word against two white people’s. Need not remind you of their appearance and conduct on the stand-you saw them for yourselves. The witnesses for the state, with the exception of the Sheriff of Maycomb County, have presented themselves to you gentlemen, to this court, in the cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted, confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the assumption-the evil assumption-that all Negros lie, that all Negros are basically immortal beings, that all negro man are not to be trusted around women, an assumption one associates with minds of their caliber.† (273). Maycomb judges coloured people on the colour of their skin and not what really matters. Tom Robinson was brutally exposed to racism and never got the chance to live it down. Atticus is very well to avoid mob mentalities. Atticus makes a point of making what he wants to be heard, heard. Atticus is very courageous in Roberts 4 the way that he will stand up for and defend his beliefs and not follow in the same corrupt path that others are on. â€Å"I shall be brief, but I would like to use my remaining time with you to remind you that this case is not a difficult one, it requires no minute sifting of complicated facts, but it does require you to be sure beyond all reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the defendant, To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. This case is as simple as black and white.† (271) Atticus actually took the time to consider all the evidence in the Tom Robinson case. Atticus presented his evidence before the jury and he strongly believed that it was not Tom Robinson. Atticus did not follow in the ways of others with no just assuming that because he is black he did it. Atticus took into all the consideration the evidence he had pulled together to treat Tom as an equal and give him a fair defence against a white man. Mob mentalities are everywhere. People believe in anything they hear and go along with it, but it takes one person to stand up and represent those who cannot. Standing up for what you believe in, racism is painful and avoiding mob mentalities are really important life lessons that Harper Lee expresses throughout the novel, epically in the Tom Robinson trial. Harper Lee incorporated life lessons into her novel to teach the reader the importance in knowing right from wrong and to teach you things you may not learn in schooling. History is full of examples of people that kept making the same mistakes because they fail to learn the first time. Life lessons are everywhere, you learn something new every day that builds your character and defines who you are as a person.

Merger Acquisitions and Value Creation

Merger Acquisitions and Value Creation LITERATURE REVIEW Many firms used corporate mergers or acquisitions as business strategy to accomplish various objectives. For instance, businesses used acquisitions to enter into new markets and regions, allocate capital or gain technical expertise and knowledge. Therefore, organizations often utilize strategic mergers and acquisitions in order to grow or survive. However most of the poorly managed acquisitions or merger resulted in disappointing performance and up to 50 percent are considered unsuccessful (see Louis, 1982). Furthermore, according to Smith and Hershman (1997), it was held by Mercer Management Consulting that in 1980s, 57 percent of acquisitions were failed and the successful corporate acquisitions in 1990s were hardly 50 percent (p.39, cited in Smith and Hershman, 1997). To date, merger or acquisition is one of the most widely used instruments to enhance the growth of organizations. Systematic and sophisticated corporate research helps companies to understand the pre and post-acquisitions performance and achieving other business objectives (as discussed in Singh Zollo, 2000). However, according to Sirower (1997), empirical academic literature does not provide any clear understanding, which facilitates the managers to maximise the success of acquisitions or merger programs. Therefore, understanding the source of value creation is critical to determine the causes of failure or success in corporate merger or acquisitions. The literature review presented in this section critically evaluates and analyze the earlier studies in order to solve the paradigm of Merger Acquisitions and Value Creation. Corporate Acquisitions and Their Research Paradigms Datta et al. (1992) suggested two distinct frameworks for acquisitions programmes to identify sources of shareholders wealth i.e. strategic management and financial economics literature and both approaches follow different research directions. The strategic management approach focused on factors that have been controlled by management. For instance, Datta et al (1992) suggested that in order to assess the post-acquisition performance, this approach attempts to differentiate between various diversification strategies and types of acquisitions or types of payment in acquisitions (i.e. stock vs. cash). In contrast, financial economic research attempted to prove the unique hypothesis of market for corporate control. This approach views the acquisition activities as a contest among different management teams in a competition to control corporate firms as argued by Datta et al (1992). Therefore, this view suggests that the value creation through merger or acquisitions is decided by capital market and its characteristics including its competitiveness such as regulatory modification affecting a particular market (see Datta et al, 1992). However, these two methodologies are unable to explain the factors resulting in unsuccessful corporate acquisitions. Thus, many academics such as Chatterjee (1992), attempted to identify critical variables of ineffective performance in acquisitions or merger activities by studying the relationship between post-acquisition performance and integration. While the initial notion by Kitching (1967) that the key factor for a successful corporate acquisition is the post-acquisition integration process, it was recognised that acquisition or merger activities create value not only from strategic factors realised through synergies (see Chatterjee, 1992), but also from the process itself, which leads to anticipated synergistic factors, as reflect in capital market expectations (see Jemison and Sitkin, 1986). Therefore, it is very important to understand the processes and factors resulting in corporate merger and acquisitions value creation before we critically evaluate the research paradigm of value creation. Evolution of Acquisitions In order to improve the understanding of the research hypothesis, firstly this paper attempts to review trends of acquisitions and mergers followed by comments on value creation during these periods. For illustration purposes, I will focus my attention to the US economy considering the fact that corporate sector is enriched with these activities and capital markets of United States are much developed comparative to rest of the world. Following section presents the analysis of corporate mergers and acquisitions programmes dated back to1897. The First Wave, 1897-1904: According to Gaughan (1999), this particular period is dominated by horizontal acquisitions resulting surge in stock markets and ultimately creation of monopolies. Some of the todays giant conglomerates created in first wave include General Electric, American Tobacco, Du Pont, Kodak and Standard Oil (see Gaughan, 1999). First Merger Wave 1897 1904 Year Number of Mergers 1897 69 1898 303 1899 1208 1900 340 1901 423 1902 379 1903 142 1904 79 Table 3.1 First Merger Wave 1897 1904 Source: Gaughan (1999), p.24 Figure 3.1 First Merger Wave 1897 -1904 Data Source: Gaughan (1999), p.24 The Second Wave, 1916-1929: In contrast to first wave which is termed as merging for monopoly, the second wave is termed as merging for oligopoly. Gaughan (1999) pointed out that the reason of this terminology is the predominance of vertical or horizontal integration of companies during the period of 1925 to end of the decade. Moreover, Jemison and Stikin (1986) argued that the abundant capital availability stimulated by favourable economic conditions resulted in prominent corporate mergers and integration. Further according to Gaughan (1999), the antitrust law force during this era was stricter comparative to the first merger wave, which created more oligopolies and vertical integration and fewer monopolies in contrast to earlier wave. The Third Wave, 1965-1969: According to Gaughan (1986), the decade of 1960s observed controversial of the merger and acquisitions activities and termed as conglomerates. The companies such as ITT (International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation, USA) and Textron acquired numerous unrelated businesses to diversify and to reduce cyclic risks. Furthermore, during this period the conglomerates not only grew rapidly and profitably but the management were perceived to be skilful as well, which facilitated the diversity in acquisitions and operations of the companies (see Judelson, 1969). For instance, Geneen (1984) documented that during this wave ITT built itself into a highly diversified conglomerate by acquiring various businesses such as insurance, food and car rentals. Moreover, he found that executives of the company used the advanced financial tools like detailed budgeting and tight financial controls to make these acquisitions successful and well-functioning. Following figure presents the overview of the a ctivities during the period: Scholars like Goold and Luchs (1993) argued that general management skills were one of the vital factors in successful acquisitions and mergers during this era, which also helped corporations to diversify in different businesses. Moreover, engaging in unrelated business by many companies was based on the assumptions that different businesses would not require dissimilar managerial skills (see Goold and Luchs, 1993). However, in late 1960s companies start facing performance problems and the share price of these conglomerates such as Textron fell almost 50% comparative to 9% drop in Dow Jones Industrial average (see Bonge and Coleman, 1972). Furthermore, in early 1970s companies began to experience profitless growth like General Electric sales increased by 40% from 1965 to 1970 but its profit actually dropped (see Goold and Quinn, 1990). According to Gaughan (1999), the era has been ended when ITT spin off in three different companies. It is perceived that most of the mergers during the period failed and companies jettisoned their under-performing and unrelated business to face the competitive environment (see Sikora, 1995). In addition, Sadlter et al (1997) observed that the combined value of businesses separated from their parent firms significantly increased to more than $100 billion in 1996 comparative to 1993 figure of $17.5 billion. Acquisitions in the 1970s: The merger and acquisition activities decreased significantly in 1970s, which can be seen in the following figure. Figure 3.3 Merger Acquisitions in 1970 -1980 Source: Gaughan (1999), p.36 As a consequence of problem in merger and acquisitions activities experienced by conglomerates, the senior executives realised that only general management skills are not sufficient for a successful transactions (see Chandler, 1962). Therefore, they focused their attentions toward the long term companys objectives instead of operating of strategic business units (see Christensen, 1965). Andrews (1971) highlighted that this change introduced the concept of corporate strategy for firms and most CEOs of the organizations started accepting that strategy is their unique and primary task. However, corporate strategy poses some practical problem and did not help executives in deciding about allocation of resources among businesses especially when each investment proposal has a different strategy (see Goold and Luchs, 1993). Moreover, Bower (1970) argued that investment decision should be part of overall business strategy rather than prevaricate on project to project basis. In 1970s these revolutions in corporate finance lead to the development of portfolio planning by Boston Consulting Group (1970). Soon, portfolio planning became famous in corporate sectors and according to the survey of Haspeslagh (1982) by 1979, 45 percent of the Fortune 500 companies were using portfolio planning in some form. However, with the passage of time problems related to portfolio planning emerged. As Goolds and Luchs (1993), argued that the corporate manager with long experience of particular sector of the industry found extremely difficult to manage their newly acquired businesses in vibrant and unfamiliar sectors. Consequently, this affected the performance of new acquisitions or mergers of the firms. In search of solution to this problem Hamermesh and White (1984) found that administration was a vital factor in explain business performance of mergers or acquisitions but many organizations incorrectly addressed the approach. The Fourth Wave, 1981-1989: The decade of 1980s seen another merger wave in business world. In this period, merger deals were frequent and larger and total value of mergers were approximately $.13 trillion in US (see Sikora, 1995). This was influenced by service sector and significant support from investors; lenders and globalization facilitated companies to finance the buyout deals (see Sikora, 1995). Moreover, the reasons of the fourth merger wave were excess capacity (see Jensen, 1993), agency problems (see Jensen, 1988), market failure (see Shleifer Vishny, 1997), and tax and antitrust law changes (see Bhagat et al, 1990). It seems that during 80s, diversified firms do not have capacity to create values therefore companies start re-thinking about role of corporate management as well as appropriate strategies for diversified firms. As highlighted by Goold and Luchs (1993) highlighted that in order to survive firms cut back costs and scale down their staffs but these were not adequate to create value. Furthermore, they argued that diversification strategies failed to create value for many businesses. Nevertheless, these failures compelled senior managers to transform their primary goals to creating shareholders values instead of building huge businesses (see Porter, 1987). Moreover, management of the companies started evaluating corporate performance like stock market by using economic indicator instead of accounting measures and take whatever steps were essential to enhance the value of their firms stock (see Goold and Luchs, 1993). However, value based planning based on financial tools of Return on Equity (ROE), internal rate of return and discounted cash flow provided different views to managers about competitive advantages and stock prices (see Rappaport, 1986). Further, Goold and Luchs (1993) pointed out that a higher stock price could be a reward for creating value. However, during the era of 80s firms that did not diversify into unrelated businesses and specialize into their core industry were able to create value and turn out to be successful companies (see Peter and Waterman 1982). Mintzberg and Lampel (1999) also support this notion by arguing that focused corporations which know their customers, have deep knowledge and understand their missions were better able to create value in contrast to companies that applied the diversification concept of value creation. In summary of the merger and acquisitions activities in 1960s and 1980s, it can be assert that conglomeration and diversification were the dominant trends in 1960s contrast to specialization and consolidations phenomena of 1980s. However, empirical evidence on value creation tends to suggest that significant merger and acquisitions of 60s reversed subsequently and did not lead to profitability. According to Shleifer and Vishny (1994) many of the conglomerates created in 1960s were destroyed in 1980s, which provides the evidence of failure in notion of merger acquisitions and value creation that was not expected in 1960s. The Current Wave, 1990-Present: According to Gaughan (1999), in contrast to 1960s decade of conglomerates and 1980s period of Leveraged Buyouts (LBO), the dominant deals of 90s were designed with a view to fit strategically among merging firms. Moreover, the forces behind the merger and acquisitions activities were different than earlier periods and corporate sector seen some of mega-deals during that period. For instance in 1996, the top 100 deals of merger and acquisitions were worth more than $1 billion or approximately 53.5% of total transactions (see Sikora, 1997). Merger Acquisitions in 1990s Year Number of Deals Value ($ Billions) 1980 1558 34.8 1981 2328 69.5 1982 2299 60.7 1983 2395 52.7 1984 3176 126.1 1985 3490 146.1 1986 2523 220.8 1987 2517 196.5 1988 3011 291.3 1989 3825 325.1 1990 4312 206.8 1991 3580 143.1 1992 3752 125.3 1993 4148 177.3 1994 4962 276.5 1995 6209 375.0 1996 6828 550.7 Table 3.2 Merger and Acquisitions in 1990s Data Source: (www.mergerstat.com) The era of 90s was said to the decade of Consolidation; which means combination of operating and management resources between two companies as well as their stocks, assets and liabilities (see Lipin, 1997). Furthermore, in 1990s, stable economic environment, relax antitrust laws, stock markets favourable conditions and low cost of capital were the catalyst of merger and acquisition trends. However, still many firms failed to create shareholder value and according to study by Mercer Management Consulting Inc. (1997) 48 percent of mergers failed to generate shareholder value in 90s comparative to 57 percent failure of 1980s (p.39, cited in Smith and Hershman, 1997). Nonetheless, the firms in 90s believed that larger pools of assets are essential either to survive or to grow but the question remains that how to discover ways to create value for portfolio of firms businesses? (see Goold and Luchas, 1993). To resolve this anomaly, three possible explanations have been identified: Firstly, as shown by Porter (1985) that diversification should be limited to companies which have synergy potential and without synergy a diversified business is nothing more than mutual fund. He also suggested that synergies can be attained when the portfolio of businesses create values more than sum of its individual components. Besides, the notion of synergy should be based on economies of scale and cost saving strategies (see Porter, 1985). However, in practice it has been found by studies such as Chatterjee (1992) that gaining synergy is not an easy task and most acquisitions and merger gains arise from either disposals of assets or from restructuring rather than synergistic benefits. It seems that synergy was a primary rationale for merger and acquisitions in the era but remains anomaly from value creation prospective as discussed by Goold and Luchs (1993). Secondly, the corporate strategy of the firms should focus on exploiting core competencies. For instance, Prahalad and Hamel (1989) suggested that the corporate portfolio should be based on technological competencies instead of portfolio of businesses. Similarly, Itami (1989) argued that invisible assets like reputation, brand names or customers list are the most valuable source for sustaining competitive advantage and could be used to create value by exploiting competitive opportunities. Furthermore, other competencies such as technology or managerial expertise can also be used to enhance the performance of business portfolio (see Haspeslagh and Jemison, 1991). However, this approach also has some drawbacks; for example, Goold and Luchs, pointed out that it can be difficult to assess the contribution of investment in building the competencies of a business especially when the investment is in new business area. Thirdly, the best way to create value via successful diversification is to build a portfolio of businesses, which fits with the managers logic and their management style (see Parahalad and Bettis, 1986). If conglomerates diversification is based on business with similar strategic logic then its possible to add value to business by adopting a common approach across all the business units. For instance Goold and Luchs (1993) exposed that sharing the skills or activities across organization can help corporate management to realize synergies. Moreover, Goold and Campbell (1987) found the evidence that top executives also find it difficult to deal with a wide range of styles and approaches. Review of Major Areas in MA This section presents the literature review of major areas focused by academics in merger and acquisition field. Consequently following five sub-sections have been established to review the academic literature: Performance Success in Merger and Acquisitions People in Merger and Acquisitions International Prospects of Merger and Acquisitions Best Practices in Merger and Acquisitions Valuation Issues in Merger and Acquisitions The measurement of success in merger and acquisition activities is mainly through quantitative research and is subject to various studies such as Gosh (2001); Healy et al (1992), in the field of finance or economics and also other directly related fields. People are normally unobserved in merger and acquisitions, however extensive studies like Bliss and Rosen (2001), addressed issues from ethical and organizational learning to more in depth personal perspective. Similarly, increasing trend of international trade and globalization attracted the attention of many researchers, for instance Rossi and Volpin (2004). The valuation of the companies is often overlooking in the field of merger and acquisitions. However, it is a very critical part of acquisition process and could be very helpful not only in the pre-acquisition stage but also during the acquisition process as well as at post-acquisition stage (see Becher, 2001). Finally, the best practices research in the field of merger and acquisition is usually done in the form of case studies but the quality and intensity of these studies vary widely (see Marks and Mirvis, 2001). Performance and Success in MA As stated before companies often engaged in the series of acquisitions and merger activities and early studies such as Barney (1988), tend to show that related acquisitions performed better than other acquisition transactions. However, relatedness itself does not create value for acquiring companies but synergy is the vital factor that helps companies to generate abnormal returns from acquisition programs. For example, Barney (1988) showed that synergistic cash flow stemming from relatedness, which is unique and private creates abnormal returns for shareholders of acquiring firm. However, later studies such as Hayward (2002), suggested that different level of relatedness results in various degree of success and moderately similar companies tend to be more successful than the companies that are highly similar or dissimilar in business or size to one another. He further concluded that if a firm experienced small losses in past acquisition in contrast to high losses or high gains then it has better chances of success in prospective acquisition. In addition, the timing of acquisition plays a vital role in success of the transaction and should not be too close or far-away from central acquisition (see Hayward, 2002). Similarly, Brown and Eisenhard (1997) argued that companies benefit differently depending upon their experimenting and timing of the merger and acquisition activities. Moreover, when the acquiring company has some inimitable resources then it can create value by utilizing these resources in targets company as suggested by Capron and Pistre (2000). However, they also added that if the source of synergies is recognized in target firm than market associate expected gains to target firm due to the competition among potential bidders. Consequently, this competition raises the price of target firm and would create value for shareholders of the target firm but also lead to under performance of acquirer. Nevertheless, performance success through merger and acquisitions is still controversial among academics as pointed out by Cording et al (2002). To resolve the issue Chatterjee (1992) measured the cumulative average of abnormal returns (CAAR) during the period of 11 months before the tender offer until 60 months after the tender offer. After studying the sample of 577 tender offers between the periods of 1963 to 1986; he suggested that net gain arises for the economy from these transactions but it does not necessarily create gains for everyone involved in merger and acquisition. More specifically, CAAR after 60 months were observed to be negative for unsuccessful bidders, zero for successful bidder and positive for target company. Furthermore, Chatterjee (1992) found much higher positive CAAR for restructured target companies in contrast to non-restructured targets. Certain studies view the merger and acquisition transactions from a different prospective. For example, Golbe and White (1993) proved in their study that macroeconomic environments influence the merger activities and the number of merger transactions increases in time of economic expansion comparative to decrease in programme at the time of economic down turn.Similarly, Amburgey and Miner (1992) studied the effects of companies momentum on merger activities and suggested that managers follow the past patterns. The academics such as Capron (1999), also attempted to assess the performance of the merger and acquisition activities by conducting the survey of prime stakeholders in merger activities. He further concluded that the available financial data is too gross to allow the separation between the types of pure value-creating mechanism. Moreover, he also argued that more often the objective of the companies is to retain the top management team of the targets firm, whether its a conglomerate or related merger. International Prospects of MA The emergence of globalisation and increasing trends in international trade fasten the number of local as well as cross-border acquisitions and merger activities. For instance, the cross-border acquisition activities in United States increased to 19% in 1999 from 6% in 1985 (see Seth et al, 2001). According to the study of Seth et al (2001), the evidence suggests that there are three motives for cross-border acquisitions such as synergy seeking, managerilism and managerial hubris. Moreover, the research tends to show that there is a positive relationship between the level of value creation and reverse internalization, asset sharing, financial sharing and market seeking ( as discussed by Seth et al, 2001). In addition, there seems to be association between value creation and governance system of bidders country. For instance, Seth et al (2001) argued that bidding companies from group-oriented governance system like Japan and Germany appear to be engaged in acquisitions and merger activities with higher level of value creation in contrast to bidding firms from market oriented governance system such as United Kingdom. Further enhancement of research in the area of cross-border merger and acquisition suggests that experience in merger and acquisition activities can be utilized to create value in another country. For example, Gugler et al (2003) compared the data of 15 years and proved that post merger patterns are similar across different countries. Moreover, their evidence also signifies that there are no major differences between domestic and cross-border mergers as well as manufacturing and service sectors around the world. With the passage of time and in the era of globalization the merger and acquisitions activities are increasing especially in emerging economies. The multinational companies often use the tools of acquisition and mergers to penetrate in new markets and economies particularly in emerging countries such as Central and Eastern Europe (see Milman, 1999). However, in many countries MNC mergers and acquisitions are seen as threats by government agencies, privatized companies and state enterprises. Therefore, in order to develop a successful alliance the acquisition or merger program should be designed in such as way that creates value for companies as well as the host-country governments (see Rondinelli and Black, 2000). Lastly, yet the number of merger and acquisitions across border appears to be increasing but it seems difficult to integrate and manage the successful processes. Hence, Inkpen et al (2000) suggested that the companies should critically evaluate the areas of decision making, communication, networking and socialisation, communication and the structure of authority and responsibility before involving in the process of MA. People in MA Only looking to financial aspects might limit the understanding about the question why MA activities are so widely used by companies as a tool to grow. Hence, another area focused by academics, such as Karitzki and Brink (2003), is related to merger and acquisitions and people. Generally, one of the motives for merger activities is to follow the cost-cutting strategies including synergy and targets customers. Often, the employees are laid off in the process of merger and acquisitions and consequently this creates new but conflicting networks of relationships in new companies as suggested by Vermeulen and Barkema (2001). Thus, it affects the success and results in under-performance of merger and acquisition programmes. Therefore, considering the affects of MA on employee or managers of the potential target firms are of similar importance as financial issues. Similarly, the research in the area of executive compensation pointed out that prior to acquisition or merger, management of acquiring company receive significant higher packages comparative to the executives of target firms (see Lynch and Perry, 2002). Hence, these issues can lead to turnover and morale issues that ultimately affect the success of anticipated integration from MA. Furthermore, in extreme circumstances, issues like these emerging from dissimilarities create hurdles to achieve the objective of the original merger and acquisitions. Thus, reconciling the differences is one of the major issues faced by the combined company to create value (as discussed in Lynch and Perry, 2002). Moreover, successful merger or acquisition depends upon the people in both target and acquiring firms. The attitude and opinion of the employees regarding acquisition or merger can change over the time. Schweiger and DeNisi (1991) conducted the survey of employees and compared the attitudes in pre-acquisition and post-acquisition period. Their results show that attitudes of the employees three months after the announcement of merger changed significantly and turn towards continual negative consequences (see Schweiger and DeNisi, 1991). Likewise, Covin et al (1996) studied the attitude of 2845 employees from a large manufacturing concern in post merger period. The results show significant differences between the target firm and acquiring companys employees in satisfaction with merger. The employees of acquired company faced high level of dissatisfaction and ultimately felt more stress due to changes introduced after merger. In addition, this stress is aggravated due to the direct competition between target firm and acquiring company. Furthermore, Covin et al (1996) pointed out that factors such as loss of power and status, changes in salary or benefits and lack of managerial direction result in high level of stress and dissatisfaction from merger activities. Hence, it has been suggested that in addition to financial aspects these types of issues should not be overlooked in order to create value and to develop a successful merger and acquisition programme (see Karitzki and Brink, 2003). Best Practices in MA It is often suggested that acquisitions are predominantly unsuccessful and numerous studies like Aiello and Watkins (2000), confirmed this fact. However, generally the conditions and environment is relevant before judging the results. Furthermore, there is lack of research in answering the question; what would happen if both the companies continued in their own separate way. Therefore, estimating the successfulness of merger or acquisition is a tricky anomaly (as discussed in Chaudhuri and Tabrizi, 1999). Moreover, the unsuccessful MA activities are more highlighted in contrast to successful programmes. Ed Libby, the chairman and CEO of AllState stated that when MAs fails they draw more notice despite the fact that lot of other projects fails in business but no one can see them because they remain within internal walls of the companies (cited in Cary, 2000). As stated earlier, there is no one strategy that fits all kinds of merger and acquisition activities, however systematic approaches such as suggested by Jan Leschly, can help companies to develop a successful plan. Jan Leschly, retired CEO of SmithKline Beecham suggested that they put their people on the boards of different companies by investing small amounts. Once the companies get going then they decide whether to buy it completely or not (cited in Cary, 2000). Likewise, understanding the various components of merger process is very vital to develop a successful merger or acquisition deal. However, it is very hard to enumerate the components especially when these are integrated with each other. According to Marks and Mirvis (2001), the successfulness of merger and acquisition is highly depended on following factors: Acquisition Plan Implementation of this plan Post-acquisition cooperation between firms after acquisition Moreover, they collected a number of factors that were mentioned in previous research such as strategic objective, clear selection, search and selection process etc. They also argued that pre-acquisition planning is very important for successful merger and acquisition plan and more prepared the people will more synergies in a combination will result (see Marks and Mirvis, 2001). Similarly, Aiello and Watkins (2000) suggested that every MA deal pass through following five stages: Screening potential deal Reaching initial agreement Condu Merger Acquisitions and Value Creation Merger Acquisitions and Value Creation LITERATURE REVIEW Many firms used corporate mergers or acquisitions as business strategy to accomplish various objectives. For instance, businesses used acquisitions to enter into new markets and regions, allocate capital or gain technical expertise and knowledge. Therefore, organizations often utilize strategic mergers and acquisitions in order to grow or survive. However most of the poorly managed acquisitions or merger resulted in disappointing performance and up to 50 percent are considered unsuccessful (see Louis, 1982). Furthermore, according to Smith and Hershman (1997), it was held by Mercer Management Consulting that in 1980s, 57 percent of acquisitions were failed and the successful corporate acquisitions in 1990s were hardly 50 percent (p.39, cited in Smith and Hershman, 1997). To date, merger or acquisition is one of the most widely used instruments to enhance the growth of organizations. Systematic and sophisticated corporate research helps companies to understand the pre and post-acquisitions performance and achieving other business objectives (as discussed in Singh Zollo, 2000). However, according to Sirower (1997), empirical academic literature does not provide any clear understanding, which facilitates the managers to maximise the success of acquisitions or merger programs. Therefore, understanding the source of value creation is critical to determine the causes of failure or success in corporate merger or acquisitions. The literature review presented in this section critically evaluates and analyze the earlier studies in order to solve the paradigm of Merger Acquisitions and Value Creation. Corporate Acquisitions and Their Research Paradigms Datta et al. (1992) suggested two distinct frameworks for acquisitions programmes to identify sources of shareholders wealth i.e. strategic management and financial economics literature and both approaches follow different research directions. The strategic management approach focused on factors that have been controlled by management. For instance, Datta et al (1992) suggested that in order to assess the post-acquisition performance, this approach attempts to differentiate between various diversification strategies and types of acquisitions or types of payment in acquisitions (i.e. stock vs. cash). In contrast, financial economic research attempted to prove the unique hypothesis of market for corporate control. This approach views the acquisition activities as a contest among different management teams in a competition to control corporate firms as argued by Datta et al (1992). Therefore, this view suggests that the value creation through merger or acquisitions is decided by capital market and its characteristics including its competitiveness such as regulatory modification affecting a particular market (see Datta et al, 1992). However, these two methodologies are unable to explain the factors resulting in unsuccessful corporate acquisitions. Thus, many academics such as Chatterjee (1992), attempted to identify critical variables of ineffective performance in acquisitions or merger activities by studying the relationship between post-acquisition performance and integration. While the initial notion by Kitching (1967) that the key factor for a successful corporate acquisition is the post-acquisition integration process, it was recognised that acquisition or merger activities create value not only from strategic factors realised through synergies (see Chatterjee, 1992), but also from the process itself, which leads to anticipated synergistic factors, as reflect in capital market expectations (see Jemison and Sitkin, 1986). Therefore, it is very important to understand the processes and factors resulting in corporate merger and acquisitions value creation before we critically evaluate the research paradigm of value creation. Evolution of Acquisitions In order to improve the understanding of the research hypothesis, firstly this paper attempts to review trends of acquisitions and mergers followed by comments on value creation during these periods. For illustration purposes, I will focus my attention to the US economy considering the fact that corporate sector is enriched with these activities and capital markets of United States are much developed comparative to rest of the world. Following section presents the analysis of corporate mergers and acquisitions programmes dated back to1897. The First Wave, 1897-1904: According to Gaughan (1999), this particular period is dominated by horizontal acquisitions resulting surge in stock markets and ultimately creation of monopolies. Some of the todays giant conglomerates created in first wave include General Electric, American Tobacco, Du Pont, Kodak and Standard Oil (see Gaughan, 1999). First Merger Wave 1897 1904 Year Number of Mergers 1897 69 1898 303 1899 1208 1900 340 1901 423 1902 379 1903 142 1904 79 Table 3.1 First Merger Wave 1897 1904 Source: Gaughan (1999), p.24 Figure 3.1 First Merger Wave 1897 -1904 Data Source: Gaughan (1999), p.24 The Second Wave, 1916-1929: In contrast to first wave which is termed as merging for monopoly, the second wave is termed as merging for oligopoly. Gaughan (1999) pointed out that the reason of this terminology is the predominance of vertical or horizontal integration of companies during the period of 1925 to end of the decade. Moreover, Jemison and Stikin (1986) argued that the abundant capital availability stimulated by favourable economic conditions resulted in prominent corporate mergers and integration. Further according to Gaughan (1999), the antitrust law force during this era was stricter comparative to the first merger wave, which created more oligopolies and vertical integration and fewer monopolies in contrast to earlier wave. The Third Wave, 1965-1969: According to Gaughan (1986), the decade of 1960s observed controversial of the merger and acquisitions activities and termed as conglomerates. The companies such as ITT (International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation, USA) and Textron acquired numerous unrelated businesses to diversify and to reduce cyclic risks. Furthermore, during this period the conglomerates not only grew rapidly and profitably but the management were perceived to be skilful as well, which facilitated the diversity in acquisitions and operations of the companies (see Judelson, 1969). For instance, Geneen (1984) documented that during this wave ITT built itself into a highly diversified conglomerate by acquiring various businesses such as insurance, food and car rentals. Moreover, he found that executives of the company used the advanced financial tools like detailed budgeting and tight financial controls to make these acquisitions successful and well-functioning. Following figure presents the overview of the a ctivities during the period: Scholars like Goold and Luchs (1993) argued that general management skills were one of the vital factors in successful acquisitions and mergers during this era, which also helped corporations to diversify in different businesses. Moreover, engaging in unrelated business by many companies was based on the assumptions that different businesses would not require dissimilar managerial skills (see Goold and Luchs, 1993). However, in late 1960s companies start facing performance problems and the share price of these conglomerates such as Textron fell almost 50% comparative to 9% drop in Dow Jones Industrial average (see Bonge and Coleman, 1972). Furthermore, in early 1970s companies began to experience profitless growth like General Electric sales increased by 40% from 1965 to 1970 but its profit actually dropped (see Goold and Quinn, 1990). According to Gaughan (1999), the era has been ended when ITT spin off in three different companies. It is perceived that most of the mergers during the period failed and companies jettisoned their under-performing and unrelated business to face the competitive environment (see Sikora, 1995). In addition, Sadlter et al (1997) observed that the combined value of businesses separated from their parent firms significantly increased to more than $100 billion in 1996 comparative to 1993 figure of $17.5 billion. Acquisitions in the 1970s: The merger and acquisition activities decreased significantly in 1970s, which can be seen in the following figure. Figure 3.3 Merger Acquisitions in 1970 -1980 Source: Gaughan (1999), p.36 As a consequence of problem in merger and acquisitions activities experienced by conglomerates, the senior executives realised that only general management skills are not sufficient for a successful transactions (see Chandler, 1962). Therefore, they focused their attentions toward the long term companys objectives instead of operating of strategic business units (see Christensen, 1965). Andrews (1971) highlighted that this change introduced the concept of corporate strategy for firms and most CEOs of the organizations started accepting that strategy is their unique and primary task. However, corporate strategy poses some practical problem and did not help executives in deciding about allocation of resources among businesses especially when each investment proposal has a different strategy (see Goold and Luchs, 1993). Moreover, Bower (1970) argued that investment decision should be part of overall business strategy rather than prevaricate on project to project basis. In 1970s these revolutions in corporate finance lead to the development of portfolio planning by Boston Consulting Group (1970). Soon, portfolio planning became famous in corporate sectors and according to the survey of Haspeslagh (1982) by 1979, 45 percent of the Fortune 500 companies were using portfolio planning in some form. However, with the passage of time problems related to portfolio planning emerged. As Goolds and Luchs (1993), argued that the corporate manager with long experience of particular sector of the industry found extremely difficult to manage their newly acquired businesses in vibrant and unfamiliar sectors. Consequently, this affected the performance of new acquisitions or mergers of the firms. In search of solution to this problem Hamermesh and White (1984) found that administration was a vital factor in explain business performance of mergers or acquisitions but many organizations incorrectly addressed the approach. The Fourth Wave, 1981-1989: The decade of 1980s seen another merger wave in business world. In this period, merger deals were frequent and larger and total value of mergers were approximately $.13 trillion in US (see Sikora, 1995). This was influenced by service sector and significant support from investors; lenders and globalization facilitated companies to finance the buyout deals (see Sikora, 1995). Moreover, the reasons of the fourth merger wave were excess capacity (see Jensen, 1993), agency problems (see Jensen, 1988), market failure (see Shleifer Vishny, 1997), and tax and antitrust law changes (see Bhagat et al, 1990). It seems that during 80s, diversified firms do not have capacity to create values therefore companies start re-thinking about role of corporate management as well as appropriate strategies for diversified firms. As highlighted by Goold and Luchs (1993) highlighted that in order to survive firms cut back costs and scale down their staffs but these were not adequate to create value. Furthermore, they argued that diversification strategies failed to create value for many businesses. Nevertheless, these failures compelled senior managers to transform their primary goals to creating shareholders values instead of building huge businesses (see Porter, 1987). Moreover, management of the companies started evaluating corporate performance like stock market by using economic indicator instead of accounting measures and take whatever steps were essential to enhance the value of their firms stock (see Goold and Luchs, 1993). However, value based planning based on financial tools of Return on Equity (ROE), internal rate of return and discounted cash flow provided different views to managers about competitive advantages and stock prices (see Rappaport, 1986). Further, Goold and Luchs (1993) pointed out that a higher stock price could be a reward for creating value. However, during the era of 80s firms that did not diversify into unrelated businesses and specialize into their core industry were able to create value and turn out to be successful companies (see Peter and Waterman 1982). Mintzberg and Lampel (1999) also support this notion by arguing that focused corporations which know their customers, have deep knowledge and understand their missions were better able to create value in contrast to companies that applied the diversification concept of value creation. In summary of the merger and acquisitions activities in 1960s and 1980s, it can be assert that conglomeration and diversification were the dominant trends in 1960s contrast to specialization and consolidations phenomena of 1980s. However, empirical evidence on value creation tends to suggest that significant merger and acquisitions of 60s reversed subsequently and did not lead to profitability. According to Shleifer and Vishny (1994) many of the conglomerates created in 1960s were destroyed in 1980s, which provides the evidence of failure in notion of merger acquisitions and value creation that was not expected in 1960s. The Current Wave, 1990-Present: According to Gaughan (1999), in contrast to 1960s decade of conglomerates and 1980s period of Leveraged Buyouts (LBO), the dominant deals of 90s were designed with a view to fit strategically among merging firms. Moreover, the forces behind the merger and acquisitions activities were different than earlier periods and corporate sector seen some of mega-deals during that period. For instance in 1996, the top 100 deals of merger and acquisitions were worth more than $1 billion or approximately 53.5% of total transactions (see Sikora, 1997). Merger Acquisitions in 1990s Year Number of Deals Value ($ Billions) 1980 1558 34.8 1981 2328 69.5 1982 2299 60.7 1983 2395 52.7 1984 3176 126.1 1985 3490 146.1 1986 2523 220.8 1987 2517 196.5 1988 3011 291.3 1989 3825 325.1 1990 4312 206.8 1991 3580 143.1 1992 3752 125.3 1993 4148 177.3 1994 4962 276.5 1995 6209 375.0 1996 6828 550.7 Table 3.2 Merger and Acquisitions in 1990s Data Source: (www.mergerstat.com) The era of 90s was said to the decade of Consolidation; which means combination of operating and management resources between two companies as well as their stocks, assets and liabilities (see Lipin, 1997). Furthermore, in 1990s, stable economic environment, relax antitrust laws, stock markets favourable conditions and low cost of capital were the catalyst of merger and acquisition trends. However, still many firms failed to create shareholder value and according to study by Mercer Management Consulting Inc. (1997) 48 percent of mergers failed to generate shareholder value in 90s comparative to 57 percent failure of 1980s (p.39, cited in Smith and Hershman, 1997). Nonetheless, the firms in 90s believed that larger pools of assets are essential either to survive or to grow but the question remains that how to discover ways to create value for portfolio of firms businesses? (see Goold and Luchas, 1993). To resolve this anomaly, three possible explanations have been identified: Firstly, as shown by Porter (1985) that diversification should be limited to companies which have synergy potential and without synergy a diversified business is nothing more than mutual fund. He also suggested that synergies can be attained when the portfolio of businesses create values more than sum of its individual components. Besides, the notion of synergy should be based on economies of scale and cost saving strategies (see Porter, 1985). However, in practice it has been found by studies such as Chatterjee (1992) that gaining synergy is not an easy task and most acquisitions and merger gains arise from either disposals of assets or from restructuring rather than synergistic benefits. It seems that synergy was a primary rationale for merger and acquisitions in the era but remains anomaly from value creation prospective as discussed by Goold and Luchs (1993). Secondly, the corporate strategy of the firms should focus on exploiting core competencies. For instance, Prahalad and Hamel (1989) suggested that the corporate portfolio should be based on technological competencies instead of portfolio of businesses. Similarly, Itami (1989) argued that invisible assets like reputation, brand names or customers list are the most valuable source for sustaining competitive advantage and could be used to create value by exploiting competitive opportunities. Furthermore, other competencies such as technology or managerial expertise can also be used to enhance the performance of business portfolio (see Haspeslagh and Jemison, 1991). However, this approach also has some drawbacks; for example, Goold and Luchs, pointed out that it can be difficult to assess the contribution of investment in building the competencies of a business especially when the investment is in new business area. Thirdly, the best way to create value via successful diversification is to build a portfolio of businesses, which fits with the managers logic and their management style (see Parahalad and Bettis, 1986). If conglomerates diversification is based on business with similar strategic logic then its possible to add value to business by adopting a common approach across all the business units. For instance Goold and Luchs (1993) exposed that sharing the skills or activities across organization can help corporate management to realize synergies. Moreover, Goold and Campbell (1987) found the evidence that top executives also find it difficult to deal with a wide range of styles and approaches. Review of Major Areas in MA This section presents the literature review of major areas focused by academics in merger and acquisition field. Consequently following five sub-sections have been established to review the academic literature: Performance Success in Merger and Acquisitions People in Merger and Acquisitions International Prospects of Merger and Acquisitions Best Practices in Merger and Acquisitions Valuation Issues in Merger and Acquisitions The measurement of success in merger and acquisition activities is mainly through quantitative research and is subject to various studies such as Gosh (2001); Healy et al (1992), in the field of finance or economics and also other directly related fields. People are normally unobserved in merger and acquisitions, however extensive studies like Bliss and Rosen (2001), addressed issues from ethical and organizational learning to more in depth personal perspective. Similarly, increasing trend of international trade and globalization attracted the attention of many researchers, for instance Rossi and Volpin (2004). The valuation of the companies is often overlooking in the field of merger and acquisitions. However, it is a very critical part of acquisition process and could be very helpful not only in the pre-acquisition stage but also during the acquisition process as well as at post-acquisition stage (see Becher, 2001). Finally, the best practices research in the field of merger and acquisition is usually done in the form of case studies but the quality and intensity of these studies vary widely (see Marks and Mirvis, 2001). Performance and Success in MA As stated before companies often engaged in the series of acquisitions and merger activities and early studies such as Barney (1988), tend to show that related acquisitions performed better than other acquisition transactions. However, relatedness itself does not create value for acquiring companies but synergy is the vital factor that helps companies to generate abnormal returns from acquisition programs. For example, Barney (1988) showed that synergistic cash flow stemming from relatedness, which is unique and private creates abnormal returns for shareholders of acquiring firm. However, later studies such as Hayward (2002), suggested that different level of relatedness results in various degree of success and moderately similar companies tend to be more successful than the companies that are highly similar or dissimilar in business or size to one another. He further concluded that if a firm experienced small losses in past acquisition in contrast to high losses or high gains then it has better chances of success in prospective acquisition. In addition, the timing of acquisition plays a vital role in success of the transaction and should not be too close or far-away from central acquisition (see Hayward, 2002). Similarly, Brown and Eisenhard (1997) argued that companies benefit differently depending upon their experimenting and timing of the merger and acquisition activities. Moreover, when the acquiring company has some inimitable resources then it can create value by utilizing these resources in targets company as suggested by Capron and Pistre (2000). However, they also added that if the source of synergies is recognized in target firm than market associate expected gains to target firm due to the competition among potential bidders. Consequently, this competition raises the price of target firm and would create value for shareholders of the target firm but also lead to under performance of acquirer. Nevertheless, performance success through merger and acquisitions is still controversial among academics as pointed out by Cording et al (2002). To resolve the issue Chatterjee (1992) measured the cumulative average of abnormal returns (CAAR) during the period of 11 months before the tender offer until 60 months after the tender offer. After studying the sample of 577 tender offers between the periods of 1963 to 1986; he suggested that net gain arises for the economy from these transactions but it does not necessarily create gains for everyone involved in merger and acquisition. More specifically, CAAR after 60 months were observed to be negative for unsuccessful bidders, zero for successful bidder and positive for target company. Furthermore, Chatterjee (1992) found much higher positive CAAR for restructured target companies in contrast to non-restructured targets. Certain studies view the merger and acquisition transactions from a different prospective. For example, Golbe and White (1993) proved in their study that macroeconomic environments influence the merger activities and the number of merger transactions increases in time of economic expansion comparative to decrease in programme at the time of economic down turn.Similarly, Amburgey and Miner (1992) studied the effects of companies momentum on merger activities and suggested that managers follow the past patterns. The academics such as Capron (1999), also attempted to assess the performance of the merger and acquisition activities by conducting the survey of prime stakeholders in merger activities. He further concluded that the available financial data is too gross to allow the separation between the types of pure value-creating mechanism. Moreover, he also argued that more often the objective of the companies is to retain the top management team of the targets firm, whether its a conglomerate or related merger. International Prospects of MA The emergence of globalisation and increasing trends in international trade fasten the number of local as well as cross-border acquisitions and merger activities. For instance, the cross-border acquisition activities in United States increased to 19% in 1999 from 6% in 1985 (see Seth et al, 2001). According to the study of Seth et al (2001), the evidence suggests that there are three motives for cross-border acquisitions such as synergy seeking, managerilism and managerial hubris. Moreover, the research tends to show that there is a positive relationship between the level of value creation and reverse internalization, asset sharing, financial sharing and market seeking ( as discussed by Seth et al, 2001). In addition, there seems to be association between value creation and governance system of bidders country. For instance, Seth et al (2001) argued that bidding companies from group-oriented governance system like Japan and Germany appear to be engaged in acquisitions and merger activities with higher level of value creation in contrast to bidding firms from market oriented governance system such as United Kingdom. Further enhancement of research in the area of cross-border merger and acquisition suggests that experience in merger and acquisition activities can be utilized to create value in another country. For example, Gugler et al (2003) compared the data of 15 years and proved that post merger patterns are similar across different countries. Moreover, their evidence also signifies that there are no major differences between domestic and cross-border mergers as well as manufacturing and service sectors around the world. With the passage of time and in the era of globalization the merger and acquisitions activities are increasing especially in emerging economies. The multinational companies often use the tools of acquisition and mergers to penetrate in new markets and economies particularly in emerging countries such as Central and Eastern Europe (see Milman, 1999). However, in many countries MNC mergers and acquisitions are seen as threats by government agencies, privatized companies and state enterprises. Therefore, in order to develop a successful alliance the acquisition or merger program should be designed in such as way that creates value for companies as well as the host-country governments (see Rondinelli and Black, 2000). Lastly, yet the number of merger and acquisitions across border appears to be increasing but it seems difficult to integrate and manage the successful processes. Hence, Inkpen et al (2000) suggested that the companies should critically evaluate the areas of decision making, communication, networking and socialisation, communication and the structure of authority and responsibility before involving in the process of MA. People in MA Only looking to financial aspects might limit the understanding about the question why MA activities are so widely used by companies as a tool to grow. Hence, another area focused by academics, such as Karitzki and Brink (2003), is related to merger and acquisitions and people. Generally, one of the motives for merger activities is to follow the cost-cutting strategies including synergy and targets customers. Often, the employees are laid off in the process of merger and acquisitions and consequently this creates new but conflicting networks of relationships in new companies as suggested by Vermeulen and Barkema (2001). Thus, it affects the success and results in under-performance of merger and acquisition programmes. Therefore, considering the affects of MA on employee or managers of the potential target firms are of similar importance as financial issues. Similarly, the research in the area of executive compensation pointed out that prior to acquisition or merger, management of acquiring company receive significant higher packages comparative to the executives of target firms (see Lynch and Perry, 2002). Hence, these issues can lead to turnover and morale issues that ultimately affect the success of anticipated integration from MA. Furthermore, in extreme circumstances, issues like these emerging from dissimilarities create hurdles to achieve the objective of the original merger and acquisitions. Thus, reconciling the differences is one of the major issues faced by the combined company to create value (as discussed in Lynch and Perry, 2002). Moreover, successful merger or acquisition depends upon the people in both target and acquiring firms. The attitude and opinion of the employees regarding acquisition or merger can change over the time. Schweiger and DeNisi (1991) conducted the survey of employees and compared the attitudes in pre-acquisition and post-acquisition period. Their results show that attitudes of the employees three months after the announcement of merger changed significantly and turn towards continual negative consequences (see Schweiger and DeNisi, 1991). Likewise, Covin et al (1996) studied the attitude of 2845 employees from a large manufacturing concern in post merger period. The results show significant differences between the target firm and acquiring companys employees in satisfaction with merger. The employees of acquired company faced high level of dissatisfaction and ultimately felt more stress due to changes introduced after merger. In addition, this stress is aggravated due to the direct competition between target firm and acquiring company. Furthermore, Covin et al (1996) pointed out that factors such as loss of power and status, changes in salary or benefits and lack of managerial direction result in high level of stress and dissatisfaction from merger activities. Hence, it has been suggested that in addition to financial aspects these types of issues should not be overlooked in order to create value and to develop a successful merger and acquisition programme (see Karitzki and Brink, 2003). Best Practices in MA It is often suggested that acquisitions are predominantly unsuccessful and numerous studies like Aiello and Watkins (2000), confirmed this fact. However, generally the conditions and environment is relevant before judging the results. Furthermore, there is lack of research in answering the question; what would happen if both the companies continued in their own separate way. Therefore, estimating the successfulness of merger or acquisition is a tricky anomaly (as discussed in Chaudhuri and Tabrizi, 1999). Moreover, the unsuccessful MA activities are more highlighted in contrast to successful programmes. Ed Libby, the chairman and CEO of AllState stated that when MAs fails they draw more notice despite the fact that lot of other projects fails in business but no one can see them because they remain within internal walls of the companies (cited in Cary, 2000). As stated earlier, there is no one strategy that fits all kinds of merger and acquisition activities, however systematic approaches such as suggested by Jan Leschly, can help companies to develop a successful plan. Jan Leschly, retired CEO of SmithKline Beecham suggested that they put their people on the boards of different companies by investing small amounts. Once the companies get going then they decide whether to buy it completely or not (cited in Cary, 2000). Likewise, understanding the various components of merger process is very vital to develop a successful merger or acquisition deal. However, it is very hard to enumerate the components especially when these are integrated with each other. According to Marks and Mirvis (2001), the successfulness of merger and acquisition is highly depended on following factors: Acquisition Plan Implementation of this plan Post-acquisition cooperation between firms after acquisition Moreover, they collected a number of factors that were mentioned in previous research such as strategic objective, clear selection, search and selection process etc. They also argued that pre-acquisition planning is very important for successful merger and acquisition plan and more prepared the people will more synergies in a combination will result (see Marks and Mirvis, 2001). Similarly, Aiello and Watkins (2000) suggested that every MA deal pass through following five stages: Screening potential deal Reaching initial agreement Condu