Business finance - The Dividend Decision Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business finance - The Dividend Decision - Essay Example Because, they are the ultimate owners of the company, and have to suffer even if both profits/losses made by the company. The dividend policy, its growth and valuation of shares are closely related with the company’s earning capacity. Dividend Discount Model (DDM) is one of the important tool or technique used to analyze the equity share valuation. So, dividend is an important tool to maximize the growth of cash flows and earning capacity of shareholders. The share capital of Carnock plc. is 1.5 million ordinary shares(i.e.15,00,000shares) with a nominal value of 100p., so the overall equity capital of  £150000000. The ultimate market value of shares is 225p / share, and the Finance Director of the Carnock plc decided to provide yield to the share holders at 12.5%. One of the main objectives of the finance manager is to maximize both the return on ordinary shares and total wealth of the company. Earnings Per Share (EPS) means the earnings made by a company during a particular accounting period on each of its ordinary or equity shares. It is computed by dividing the Net Profit after interest, tax and preference dividend by number of equity shares. Number of Equity shares= Equity Financing/Market price per share. Here, market price per share amounts to 225p/share The concept EPS and theoretical ex right per share is closely related to each other. For this calculation of Right Shares or right issue is also required. â€Å"The dividend valuation model states that the market value of a security is equal to the present value of

Democracy - Essay Essay Example for Free

Democracy Essay Essay Introduction Democracy, it is generally believed, had its roots in Ancient Athens. We know it spread its stems to most of Europe and later to parts of Asia by mid 19th century , mostly in the form of parliamentary democracy. But in the context of this paper,we are not interested in the histrocity of the idea or concept of democracy, but in the idea itself. That is to say we want to analyze the meaning of democracy and its different forms, study its efficiency (so to say), ponder over its limitations and compare it to other forms of government. Whether democracy was conceived of in Athens, Sparta or India is not a topic of interest in this paper (although there may be references to historical events in the evolution of the idea when pertinent). What does democracy mean? Democracy comes from the greek â€Å"rule of the people†. But as I searched for a definition of democracy in the course of research for this paper, a consistent defintion of it seemed to elude me. So we must examine some of these definitions and try to find a core to the idea of democracy, if there exists one. Bunch of different ideas and quotes are out thr on internet put about 4-5 of them here and discuss if them from a current or historical perspective..ive written down one for u: â€Å"The right to dissent without repercussions to ones personal well-being is the core value of Democracyâ€Å" * Nathan Sharansky Discuss quotes such as this to evaluate how these ideas are implemented in practice.. All this should take up about 500 words..  The only core value seems to be people get to elect their governement..how much of the peoples rights are respected after that greatly varies.. Forms of democracy Representative..constitutes parliamentary and liberal(most democracies are  these) Constitutional Direct Socialist Totalitarian ..discuss all thseabout 300 words.. A critique of democacy An illusion There was no stone-pelting, nothing.There was no curfew They fired indiscriminately. (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/kashmir-burns-again-as-india-responds-to-dissent-with-violence-2045905.html). The above was said by Abdul Rashid, a Kashmiri youth whose friend was gunned down by Indian army officials for holding a peaceful, nonviolent, anti-government rally in the summer of 2010. But this was not an anomoly in the process of democracy in India. Kashmir still remains the most militarized zone in the world with about a half a million troops on active duty (for the sake of comparison, the United States had about 165,000 troops in Iraq at its peak)(i read these figures on cia.gov..i dont remember the exact link ). How is that a government for the people is killing its own citizens for holding a nonviolent demonstration? How is such a huge militarization of a province in a democracy justified? Even a basic understanding of the ideas of freedom and liberty that democracy ent ails shows how abhorrent these actions are. But these things happen, not just in India, but in other developed counties like the United States (Japanese americans in 1942), where the rights of their citizens are violated just when they would want to exercise them. So one must ask, are democracies really for the people? A study of history of goverment brutality in countries like India and the United States seem to suggest otherwise. The almost forceful takeaway of land by the Indian goverment in eastern India from farmers (actions which directly led to the Naxalite-Maoist insurgency, something the current prime minister of India called the single biggest internal security challenge ever faced by our country.( http://www.ploughshares.ca/libraries/ACRText/ACR-IndiaAP.html)), seem to suggest otherwise. The locking up of Japanese Americans in internment camps in 1942 by Franklin Roosevelt and the Unites States government seem to suggest otherwise. The indiscriminate shooting of  unarmed, nonviolent Kashmiri youths (some as young as 9 years old)shouting â€Å"azadi!azadi!†(â€Å"freedom!freedom!†) by Indian security officials seem to suggest otherwise. One gets the idea. So maybe people like Vilfredo Pareto and Gaetano Mosca are correct after all. The masses are always characterized by apathy and division, the powers to be by drive and unity (Femia, Joseph V. Against the Masses, Oxford 2001). Maybe all democracy does is shift the power scale, from domination by a despotic leader to manipulation by a democratic government. Maybe the people don’t really have much of a say after all. Maybe it’s just an illusion. Majority rule Majority always gets its way..discuss gay rights..civil rights in us..womens rights historically..religious parties like shiv sena in Mumbai..rising intolerance of secularism in india..majority rule can get tyrannical and the minority issues ignored when people get to decide resolutions to minority issues. The irrational voter â€Å"The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter.† – Winston Churchill Talk about how the common man is largely ignorant about serious issues and hence can vote against his/her interests..u can greatly discuss the recent midterms in us to make this pointbasically ur sayin if we must solve economic issues we talk to economist..if we must solve environmental issues we talk to climate scientists..if we are talking abt what to teach in science class we take the consensus of scientist not what the common people of the state think (talk abt teaching creationism in schools..a lot of states in us have majority of it people wanting creationism be taught as science even though almost no scientist believe it to be science)not everything should be up for a vote.. Economically Ur a better person to write abt this Idealistic Show how its hard to apply democratic principles in practicecorrupt officials..apathetic citizens..uprisings etc.. Instable Frequent elections make the government instableshitload of examples on the internet abt this.. Best we have? â€Å"It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.†- Winston Churchill Compare democracy to other forms of governments like dictatorships, communist states, anarchist, socialist,etc..define and discuss each with respect to western liberal democracy..ive done some of it for anarchist Anarchist Anarchists are those who advocate the absence of the state, arguing that common sense would allow people to come together in agreement to form a functional society allowing for the participants to freely develop their own sense of morality, ethics or principled behaviour. (from wikipedia). One such current society is Somalia, and it would not be hyperbole to suggest they are not doing very well. The lack of a state and police have led to nationwide lawlessness, violence and spiralled the country into utter chaos. I think Somalia really characterizes the severe consequences of not having a state and is not a direction one would want their country to go in. Giving people all the power has resulted in the most powerful and the most brutal of them to take power and the rest of people losing all freedom(ironically).

A Comparison of the American Dream in Death of a Salesman and A Raisin

The Value of a Dream in Death of a Salesman and A Raisin in the Sun      Ã‚   How does one value a dream? This question arises while reading both Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman and Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun.   Although the two novels are very different, the stories and characters share many likenesses.   Death of a Salesman concerns a family’s difficulty in dealing with unrealized dreams.   A Raisin in the Sun focuses on a family's struggle to agree on a common dream.   In each of these stories, there are conflicts between the dreams that each character is struggling to attain.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Death of a Salesman, Happy and Biff are uncertain of where they are in life, and only reach out for the simple, already-tangible things at hand. Biff: "I don't know- what I'm supposed to want", and Happy:   "I don't know what the hell I'm working for", means that they bothh feel they havn't progressed.   All they want to do is work with their hands, with their shirts off and their backs to the sun.   Neither Biff nor Happy have struggled to get to where they feel secure, otherwise they would not be admitting such things.   And both have also dismissed the truth; Biff saying "Never mind. Just don't llay it all to me" and Happy saying, "Just don't lay it all at me feet."   Happy also wants to believe that everything is alright; Happy is fine, so long as he can make himself believe that everyone around him is fine.   Towards the end of the story, when Biff accuses everyone of lying, Happy exclaims, "We always told the truth!" b ut in the beginning, he admitted to Biff, "See, Biff, everybody around me is so false that I'm constantly lowering my ideals."      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Willy Loman wants his dreams so badly that, in his ... ...o survive.   The Youngers never left the house; the house was the only place of action.   It was the pillar, even though it wasn't a great one.   They made it the pillar by their pride and faith.   Willy Loman died with somewhat of a sense of honor and dignity.   He knew he would make his family finally and truly proud, and, most importantly, he knew that Biff loved him, and he always had.   There is no such thing as a wasted life, so long as there are dreams to cloud up reality and, possibly, make them possible.      Works Consulted: Bloom, Harold. Twientieth-Century American Literature. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. Draper, James P. Black Literature Criticisms. Detroit: Gale Research Incorporated, 1992. Hansberry, Lorraine.   A Raisin in the Sun.   New York:   Signet, 1988. Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman.   New York: Viking, 1995.   

Managing Change in Complex Environment Essay

History and Background Introduction The United States Postal Service (USPS) is an independent government organization that generates income through mail services. It is currently the second largest civilian employer in the United States. Its primary task is to deliver mail around the country, at a standard price, regardless of geographic location. Over the last two centuries, the USPS has evolved into an efficient organization that financially sustains itself through its delivery operations. With a monopoly on the delivery of non-urgent mail, the USPS provides delivery service of about 40 percent of the world’s mail, or approximately 200 billion pieces of mail annually. Starting in the 1990s, the USPS faced increased competition from rival package delivery and courier services, as well as the Internet. Presently the USPS is facing a financial collapse. The USPS needs to undergo an essential and systematic change in order to maintain its significance in the 21st century. History/Background On July 26, 1775, members of the Second Continental Congress appointed a Postmaster General giving birth to the Postal Department of the United States. The mission of the U.S. Postal Department was much the same as today, process and deliver first class and non-urgent mail to individuals and businesses within the United States. Congress passed various laws that grant the post office a â€Å"statutory monopoly† on non-urgent First Class Mail and the exclusive right to put mail in private mailboxes. Although these laws grant the USPS a market advantaged they also restrict its ability to compete with rival package delivery and courier services, as well as the technological innovations. How it got started The Post Office Department has origins in America dating back to the 17th century, when there was a need for mail between colonial settlements and intercontinental exchange of information with England. In 1775, the Continental Congress named Benjamin Franklin as the first postmaster general and chairman of a committee empowered to make recommendations for the establishment of a postal service. On September 22, 1789 the post office became a new government branch of the United States. At this time there were 75 post offices and approximately 2,000 miles of post roads. The USPS was critical to national welfare and pivotal in facilitating communications for military, congressional representation and newspapers. From the very beginning, the USPS financed operations from revenue it earned and Congress gave it a monopoly to be the only courier service to deliver mail. Key points in evolution The main focus and the efforts of postal officials from the foundation of the Post Office to the present day have been finding the best methods of transporting information and directing mail. For example, in 1791 George Washington stated that that the importance of the postal routes had increased because the country wanted to distribute knowledge of governmental laws. Also, between 1791 and 1861, the U.S increased from 3.9 million to 31.4 million square miles and postal roads grew from 1,875 to 240,595 miles. The Board of Governors of the USPS sets policy, procedure, and postal rates for services rendered. Of the eleven members of the Board, nine are appointed by the President and confirmed by the US Senate. The nine appointed members then select the Postmaster General, who serves as the board’s tenth member, and who oversees the day to day activities of the service as Chief Executive Officer. The ten-member board then nominates a Deputy Postmaster General, who acts as Chief Operating Officer, to the eleventh and last remaining open seat. The USPS is often mistaken as a government organization but it is legally defined as an â€Å"independent establishment of the executive branch of the Government of the United States.† Environmental context The external environment elements that significantly influence the USPS are the United States political system, workforce unions, changing technology and market forces. United States Political System In 1970 the U.S. Postal Department evolved into the USPS through the implementation of the Postal Reorganization act. This act required the USPS to be a â€Å"self-sufficient organization within the U.S. Government†. It also added an additional regulatory body into its chain of command, the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), but did not make any modification to the Postal Department’s Board of Directors or regulatory congressional statutes. The USPS Board of directors is charged with directing the USPS through the control of expenditures, reviewing practices, long term planning and setting policies and service standards. The PRC has 5 commissioners, appointed through the executive branch and confirmed by the Senate, who have the authority to reject, modify and approve any USPS initiated congressional recommendations. Since congress alone retains the authority to change USPS’ rates, service frequency and employee benefits, any market related changes from the Board of directors is routed through the PRC and congress for consideration. Pressure from Unions There are 4 unions representing around 90% of the USPS workforce: National Association of Letter Carriers, American Postal Workers, National Rural Letters Carriers Association and National Postal Mail Handlers Union. These organizations have successfully contracted collective bargaining agreements for its members for compensation and benefits that have come to exceed the USPS’ ability to maintain with its current revenues. These labor unions are very influential in weighing in on most of the decisions that affect the well-being of the USPS labor force. Presently USPS employees enjoy 79% coverage of their health care costs; the most of any federal agency. Strategic challenge Over the years the USPS has transformed its operating model and is now set up and mandated to operate like a business entity generating its revenue through the sale of postal products and services. The largest issue with the current business model of the postal service is its lack of flexibility essential for a business in a dynamic market. Specifically the USPS has not been able to organizationally adjust to a large decrease in the demand for first class mail service has resulted in decreasing net revenue in recent years. Congressional Influence The USPS congressional charter came with both benefits and operating constraints. Among the constraints the USPS is obligated to provide a uniform price for its services regardless of the geographic location and dispersion of its customer base. The USPS is obligated to deliver six days a week to every mailing address regardless of its mail volume. Additionally the USPS is required to provide free mailing service to the blind and facilitate voting for overseas military personnel. A significant amount of the USPS’ operating costs comes from its requirement to pre-fund retiree health benefits (RHB) for future retirees. Key Issues The USPS is suffering from the combined effects of declining mail volume from new technology and increasing labor costs resulting in a loss of net revenue. These declines are projected to extend into the future. The addition of a significant number of new addresses in the United States each year increases the USPS’ operating costs although volume is decreasing. Business Model – While the USPS has enjoyed the benefits of the monopoly on first class letter mail services that congress has bestowed, it has a stagnant business model that prevents the USPS from being able to adapt in the face of technological innovation and other market forces that affect its bottom line annually. The major source of revenue for the post office is the postage it charges for first class and non-standard mail. The advance of modern information systems such as email, smartphones, online banking, and other digital communications decreased the demand for traditional mail services. Compounding this issue is the basic economic principle of supply and demand. New technologies offer cheaper substitutes for the services that the post office provides. Stakeholders Postal Workers – The USPS employs more than 500,000 employees making it second only to Wal-Mart as the nation’s largest civilian employer. While every employee is represented by a labor union, employees are legally restricted from striking. Labor Unions – The USPS unions are old, influential and politically connected. Collectively, these unions continually fight for increased employee pay, living allowances and health care benefits. Postal Regulation Commission (PRC) – The PRC serves as the middleman between the USPS board of governors and congress. The PRC can reject or modify requests before they reach congress for final approval. Congress – Members of Congress exercise control over many aspects of the USPS operations including approving the markets for which it competes as well as representing the interests of its constituents whenever the USPS requests changes to its business model. Public Consumer – One of the mandates of the post office is to provide mail service of all addresses. The number of addresses has increased by nearly 18 million nationwide in the past decade and continues to climb as the country recovers from the past recession. A vast majority of the consumers are congressional constituents to whom member of congress are responsible. Competitors The USPS monopolizes, via congressional mandates, the delivery of first class mail, non-urgent mail and small packages. As such it faces very little direct competition from other businesses. However, the USPS has seen significant decreases in its mail volume over the years. The decreased volume of mail is directly related to the global acceptance of technology and use of digital communications which displaced traditional USPS services. Market Forces The USPS full time workers cost the USPS 80% of its revenue. Although they still enjoy a monopoly on first class mail, they are in direct competition with smaller, more efficient, companies who deliver large packages and urgent letters. Strategies Used What it Does Now – The USPS has improved its efficiency and effectiveness through both technology and reorganization. The USPS made significant investments in the late 1990’s in fuel efficient vehicles and new facilities as well as a $15 million advertising campaign to improve its image as a progressive and modern organization. A decade ago it took 70 employees one hour to sort 35,000 letters. Today in an hour, only two employees process an identical volume of mail. Though the number of addresses in the nation has increased by nearly 18 million in the past decade, the number of employees who handle the increased delivery load has decreased by more than 200,000 (Potter 2010a). It launched delivery confirmation service and priority mail in order to compete with competitors. The USPS now operates more than 31,000 post offices and the largest vehicle fleet in the world, with an estimated 218,684 vehicles. What They Want to Do – Concerned with increasing costs and decreasing revenues, the USPS petitioned for the following changes: * Stop Retiree Health Benefits prefunding – in 2011 the prefunding amount exceeded net operating losses. * Retirement System Overpayment – In 2010 Government Accountability Office disputed overpayment freezing approximately $6.9 billion. * Delivery Frequency – Shifting from six to five days weekly delivery would save approximately $3 billion annually. This measure is supported by 75% of USPS consumer base. * Change prices – Mandates currently cap the USPS ability to adjust to market conditions dynamically. * Restructure labor costs – Current collective bargaining decision do not consider the USPS financial health yet mandate compensation and benefits to be paid at levels comparable with private sector organizations with the burden falling on the taxpayers. * Consolidate infrastructure – A proposal in 2009 to close 3,000 postal outlets to reduce excess capacity yielded only a closure of 157 following consumer complaints and congressional intervention. Part II Diagnosis Lewis (2011) states that the USPS’ problems are a result of a restrictive business model and its inflexibility to operate in a dynamic market place. As stated earlier, the USPS response to this problem is a direct plan to cut expenses and increase revenues to overcome their mounting deficit. Although this plan does address the USPS’ immediate insolvency concerns, it fails to address their underlying issues. Through the use of Senge’s system approach and the McCaskey’s Organizational Design model, this paper will expose USPS’ root problems. Strategic Issues/Strategies/Goals-Objectives The USPS’ strategic issues are a loss of revenue due to declining mail volume, extensive costs due to a bloated and expensive unionized-workforce and the use of an outdated-legislatively constrained business plan. Their proposed strategy to mitigate these issues centers on cutting their expenses, consolidating infrastructure, renegotiating labor cost/employee benefits and increasing rates. In addition, the USPS intends to evolve their business plan to incorporate technological innovations. This strategy aligns with their long term goal of providing a â€Å"trustworthy, dependable, reliable and secure means to communicate on a national level† (Lewis, 2011), by implementing a long term sustainable business model that promotes flexibility and economic growth in a dynamic market. Environment In FY11 the USPS’ total revenues were $65 Billion dollars while their total expenses were $75 Billion dollars. Under congressional law the USPS is required to be a â€Å"self-sufficient government agency†. Under this direction the USPS is obligated to cover its costs without government assistance. The USPS does this by generating revenues from a monopoly market while operating more like a private business then a government agency. Its government backed monopoly advantage comes with extensive congressional restrictions on rates, delivery procedures and labor benefits. The USPS’ monopoly restricts the direct competition in the delivery of first class mail, use of specific delivery routes and personal mailboxes. It does not protect the delivery of urgent mail and large packages. FedEx and UPS are direct competitors in this market and have a competitive advantage due to their efficiencies, technological innovations and ability adapt to market needs. Key Success Factors The USPS’ key to success is their ability to meet their customer’s needs, generate enough revenue to cover their costs , maintain the flexibility to adjust in a dynamic market and optimize a scalable infrastructure that facilitates the efficient and economic delivery of their services. Task Requirements There are multiple ways that mail is accepted into the delivery process. For the purpose of observing the USPS organizational structure, the simple method of customers placing the mail in their residential, or post office, curbside mailbox will be examined. In either case this process begins and ends with the customer sending or receiving mail at a mailbox. The mail item is received by the postal carrier, and then consolidated at the local post office, where it is inspected manually or automatically checked for correct postage. It is then routed to a hub for delivery to a particular region in the country. The mail is then sent to a final processing plant where it is sorted for the specific route for delivery. Finally the mail is sent to the distant end post office for delivery to the end customer. The mail is moved in a linear manner between each node in the process chain. Along the interdependency continuum of the USPS’ functional units we observed a sequential relationship. Throughout the process each entity produces an output that is a necessary input for the next link in the chain. The USPS’ key to success in this linear process is the secure delivery of mail for a nominal fee. For their part, the workers must be honest and ensure mail is properly safeguarded as it makes its way through each step in the chain. The workers only have to be ‘good enough’ for their specific task in the process. This means that there is very little incentive for them to innovate or make improvements to the process from within. Any efficiencies gained, in any one link in the process, are not readily propagated throughout because of the sequential nature of the process. Because of the nature of change within the organization, and the employee compensation structure, their only incentive is to maintain the status quo. This analysis is represented in the interdependency/coordination mechanism model below. The analysis shows a misalignment between the levels of interdependence between the functional units and the coordination mechanism used. The USPS coordinates through rules and regulations. Using the systems approach of focusing on successes rather than the failures of the organization, we compared the USPS current coordination level to its closest successful competitor, FEDEX. As depicted FEDEX has a coordination level that aligns with it level of interdependency. The preferred and optimal approach is to align the organization’s level of interdependency horizontally with the coordination mechanism. The USPS needs a higher coordination mechanism to match the current level of interdependence in order to facilitate efficiencies in the system. Process/ Systems Snowfall and showers may not be able to stop postal carriers from their appointed delivery routes, but their financial problems may halt at least 50% of all postal offices. The U.S. Postal Service, weakened by a public turning to digital communications, is down 22 percent in volume from just five years ago, a decline which is expected to continue, driven in part by rigid competition from carriers such as FedEx and UPS. The Postmaster General has responded with a list of cost-cutting proposals, such as eliminating Saturday delivery and closing up to 3,700 local post offices which would be replaced with automated centers operating out of local businesses. The Postmaster General has also proposed laying off as many as 120,000 workers, and pulling workers out of more costly federal pension plans. Pre-funding retiree benefits has cost the Postal Service $21 billion in the last three years. The underlying issue is that all those moves cannot be made without congressional approval. In order to make these immediate and dramatic changes, the Postal Service would require access to its own funds as well as the authority to act as its own corporation. The transition from a government ran entity to a privatized organization requires Congress to give the USPS flexibility to take action and make changes without all the bureaucracy. The below modified Senge Model (Limit to Growth) demonstrates how the USPS is constrained from making changes. In short, the USPS is limited by congress to making quick and reactive changes that focus on the problem rather than the underlying issue. Creating change and making it work are all resisted by a condition called the â€Å"Status Quo† and the USPS is no exception. USPS employees feel protected under the current unionized culture. They feel threatened by the prospect of losing benefits and are unwilling to pay the high personal price necessary for change. We have demonstrated that this change is necessary for the long term health of the organization. The real question is, â€Å"does the current status quo fit the new change requirements?† An organization in dire need to make radical adjustments to become current cannot be fixed with antiquated congressional imposed constraints. PART III Change Management Plan The USPS acknowledges its need to cut costs and increase revenue. It believes this will fix the problems. USPS starts to address this by taking reactionary measures, but fails to take the necessary steps to address the root issue. We argue that there is a more fundamental problem within the USPS organization which requires a systems approach to identify and solve. Senge says â€Å"it is impossible to change the system from inside the system.† By â€Å"complicating up† the USPS management structure we identify the core problem and faults in its system. Due to the short time needed to enact this change we propose a top down approach that pushes change while mitigating assumed employee resistance such an approach will generate. Our plan uses the Lewin and Kotter models to shape the USPS organizational transition. Through the Lewin model we identify a three phase approach to address changes that simultaneously focuses on employee and organizational issues. Throughout each p hase an information plan is propagated to employees to facilitate transition to the next phase. Conclusion The bottom line is that the USPS current costs of doing business outweigh its current methods of productivity. Without changing the strategic management model, the USPS will continue to lose revenue and be unable to react effectively to market demands. Its proposed cost cutting solutions only scratches the surface of the underlying problem of restrictions on organizational management and coordination. Our uses validated organizational change models. We justify our plan which uses the Lewin model and shows a close association to Kotter’s organizational change model. Our plan leads the USPS to long term success, maintains its relevance in today’s market and allows it to make appropriate changes through periodic reevaluations. References Lewis, T., Montgomery C., Shuler, J. , (2011), The US Postal Service , Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA. Senge, P., (1990), The Fifth Discipline, Doubleday Publishing, New York 15May 2012: http://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2011/pr11_124.htm> 15 May 2012: http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj31n1/cj31n1-9.pdf 19 May 2012: http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/industries/Transportation-Communications-Utilities/United-States-Postal-Service.html

En Route Essay

D. C Scott’s poem, En Route describes the moment of stillness a train passenger observes as his train is unexpected halted on a train journey. This essay analyses the poem, exploring details of how the journey the passenger intended to take is interrupted, offering him an altogether unexpected journey, one which affords him an opportunity to see his surroundings in a new light. Within this essay I will explore the meaning of the title â€Å"en route† and consider the various meanings that can be attributed to this title as a result of the track followed by the passenger within the poem. The poem starts with an attention grabbing line, â€Å"The train has stopped for no apparent reason in the wilds†. The image presented is that of isolation, a passenger stuck in the middle of nowhere, with a sense of solitude and forbiddance. All around the now still train is further stillness. Winter has frozen the landscape in the same way in which the train has been stopped, â€Å"A frozen lake is level and fretted over†, â€Å"all so still†. The reader is provided with an image of stillness and serenity, the purpose of the train journey, its origin and its destination all become irrelevant and the reader instead becomes heavily involved in the here and now and what is happening in the landscape outside in which the train now sits is so still. The stoppage of the train allows the passenger to look beyond his immediate surroundings within the train to what is actually happening outside his carriage. The delicate and detailed language employed within the poem describes the world outside, â€Å"it seems a tiny landscape in the moonlight†. The landscape that, moments ago would have been a blurred image as the train rushed through, becomes a fascinating scene with multiple levels of life, detail and delicacy. Descriptive lines such as â€Å"wisps of shadows from the naked birches† and â€Å"one almost hears it twinkle as it thaws† provide the reader with a vivid sense of how the passenger is able to scrutinize every minute part of the landscape which surrounds him. These are all things that people generally do not have the time or opportunity to observe as they journey on route from one place to another. Whilst these images are perhaps real and part of nature and life, the passenger seems to perceive them as transitory, â€Å"they’re going fast where all impressions go†. He is preoccupied with his journey, a journey that he values in contrast to the scene he can see. The train represents real direction to him, a solid steel structure which is without emotion and sensuality is, ironically, of more meaning to him that these delicate images. The purity and honesty of the nature that he is afforded the opportunity to view in great detail is something that he sorrowfully perceives as meaningless, â€Å"On a frail substance- images like these, vagaries the unconscious mind receives†. The passenger is unable to change. He intends to carry on with the journey he started and, sadly, dismisses the intimate relationship between himself and the environment in which he lives. The title of the poem En Route has numerous meanings within this poem. The train is clearly en route from one place to another when it is stopped. The stoppage itself is ironic as the train is no longer â€Å"en route†; it is going nowhere at all. However, through the stoppage the passenger is transported from one place to another almost instantaneously. Whereas previously he would have been concerned with the immediate surroundings of his carriage, with the landscape perhaps whirling by quickly outside his window, he is now offered an opportunity to look beyond this, to real life outside his window. These views offer him another route, a possibility to acquaint himself with the real meaning of life. Although he momentarily observes this and appears to emphasize with it in some way, he eventually rejects it as being something that isn’t of real meaning. He instead chooses to continue on his intended route, leaving the reader with the sense that he is on the wrong tracks, failing to be fully appreciative of the images he can see.

Understanding Childrens Development Essay Example

Understanding Childrens Development Essay Example Understanding Childrens Development Essay Understanding Childrens Development Essay There has been a huge amount of research into infants perception of objects including experiments into subjective contours, object unity, shape perception and size perception. This research has resulted in the emergence of contrasting views and has attracted both positive and negative attention. It seems that the general conclusion is that infants are born with an innate capability to perceive objects, however this is limited and during the first 4 months infants develop very quickly and are able to fill in the gaps in perception in order to perceive object unity and subjective contours. Another main area of study into infant perception is that of perception of people. In order for infants to form attachments it is paramount that they are able to distinguish between strangers and parents. Fantz (1961) conducted a study in which he presented infants with three examples of schematic stimuli. The first face presented had all its features in the right place, the second had all its features jumbled up and the third had the same stimulus brightness but had no specific features. Fantz found that even in the first month, infants showed a small but consistent spontaneous preference for the full face, it was concluded that even the youngest infants had the ability to perceive faces, therefore providing support for the nativist view of infant perception. However, there were several criticisms of this study, the main one being that the full facial arrangement contained more information around the edge of the stimulus and evidence has shown that infants tend to scan around the edge of complex pictures, therefore it is possible that infants may have looked longer at the full facial arrangement simply because there was more detail around the edge. There has been extensive research conducted in this area as it has important implications for later development in infants. Wilcox (1969) estimated that the age for face perception was around four months; this was later revised to two months as a result of the work conducted by Maurer and Barrera (1981). This appears to provide support for the empiricist theory that perception is developed not innate. However it is possible that the negative results obtained with younger infants could be due to the experiments being unsuitable for infants that young. Goren, Sarty and Wu (1975) developed a more suitable method by using the visual preference technique. They moved the schematic stimuli back and forth within the vision field of newborns and found that they followed the full face further and for longer than the other two faces. It is possible that the movement of the stimuli was the reason for the different results; it could be argued that this method is more ecologically valid as faces are rarely static. The second main area of research into face perception in infants is into whether infants are able to discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar faces. There have been several studies that have found support for the nativist theory that infants are able to distinguish between their mothers and a female strangers face (Carpenter, 1974). The same results have been found with newborns that had only had a few hours contact with their mother (Bushnell, 2001). In all these experiments the infant showed a preference to their mothers face. This is important evidence to support the theory that infants are able to perceive effectively before they know how to act appropriately. However, one weakness found with this study is that it is possible that the infant will recognise the mother through smell rather than sight; therefore it is not possible to tell whether they are distinguished solely through visual recognition. Bushnell, Sai Mullin (1989) tackled this problem by providing a strong smelling perfume to act as a kind of mask. Another problem is that when the mother looks at the infant they tend to have more pronounced facial expressions through familiarity, the infant could simply be reacting to this. Walton, Bower Bower (1992) reduced this possibility by presenting video tapes of the mother and stranger to the infant, therefore it was clear that the infant stared longer at the mother due to visual recognition alone, this provides support for the nativist theory that infants are able to perceive adequately before knowing how to act appropriately. Another area of face perception in infants investigated by psychologists is imitation. Piaget (1954) put forward the conventional view that imitation was impossible until infants were capable of representing self and other, a capacity thought to develop in late infancy. However, evidence has shown that even newborns are capable of imitating facial and manual gesture. Meltzoff and Moore (1977) were the first ones to report well-controlled studies of imitation in early infancy. The research into imitation provides strong evidence to support the nativist view as in order to imitate a facial gesture, infants have to be able to understand the method involved in making a particular gesture and match this to their own facial gestures. However, these findings were seen as highly controversial and still are. Investigating imitation is difficult as you are faced with two problems: you must ensure that the actions are simple enough for an infant to imitate but at the same time the gestures should not be those that can be confused with the gestures infants make spontaneously. The research discussed in this essay provides evidence to suggest that many perceptual abilities are present in infants from birth or emerge very shortly afterwards. This suggests that many aspects of perception develop on innate, maturational factors rather than on learning from the environment. A main example of this would be face recognition; newborns become familiar with their mothers face within a few hours of birth. The infant ability to perceive depth and distance and to apply visual constancies has also been investigated. It is not as clear in these areas whether the evidence provides support for the nativist or empiricist argument. The methodological difficulties involved in studying infants makes it difficult to form firm conclusions, however, it seems likely that babies need to interact with the environment at some level in order for their perceptual abilities to develop normally and effectively. References Cardwell, M. , Clark, L. , Meldrum, C. (2001) Psychology for A2 Level pp185-218 Slater, A. , Bremner, G. (2003) An Introduction to Developmental Psychology pp117-139 Smith, P. K. , Cowie, H. , Blades, M.(2003) Understanding Childrens Development pp319-341 Sources Cardwell, M. , Clark, L. , Meldrum, C. (2001) Psychology for A2 Level. Collins. Carlson, N. R. Buskit, W. Martin, G. N. (2000) Psychology: The Science of Behaviour (European Adaptation. ) Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd. Slater, A. , Bremner, G. (2003) An Introduction to Developmental Psychology. Blackwell Publishing :Oxford. Smith, P. K. , Cowie, H. , Blades, M. (2003) Understanding Childrens Development 4th Edition. Blackwell Publishing: Oxford.

How to Tackle the 2015-16 Common Application Essay Prompts - The Essay Expert

How to Tackle the 2015-16 Common Application Essay Prompts - The Essay Expert In preparation for a TV interview on Channel 3000 last summer, I researched the new Common Application Essay questions. Somehow I got it into my head that I had already written about them since I had researched them. But in actuality, I did not share these new topics on my blog! Now that it’s college application season, I am really and truly sharing the Common Application Essay Prompts for 2015-2016. These new college essay prompts, on which I’ve commented below, were crafted based on survey results from almost 6,000 people who were members and constituents of the Common Application organization. The parts that changed from last year are in italics: Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it.  If this sounds like you, then please share your story. (Previous prompt: â€Å"Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it†¦.†) I like that â€Å"identity, interest, and talent† were added as options and that the words â€Å"so central to your identity† were replaced with â€Å"meaningful.† These changes open up the question to a broader range of possible responses, and frankly take some pressure off. Not every applicant has a background that they consider â€Å"so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it.† But just about everyone has something in their life that’s meaningful enough to be important to share with the admissions committee. The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience? (First sentence was added to prompt.) Honestly, I don’t love this addition. To me it’s too handholding and should be clear to any student writing an essay about failure. Perhaps schools were not getting enough essays that showed how students applied the lessons they learned from their failures? But I would think a student’s approach to this essay would be one of the aspects admissions officers would want to consider, without handing a directive to them on a silver platter. Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again? (No change.) In my experience, this question proves challenging for most high school students. Few youngsters at that age have gone against the grain in a meaningful way. I recall in second grade challenging teachers who were talking during a fire drill, and, in high school, writing an editorial expressing my dislike of the student dress code. Neither was serious fodder for a college essay. Nevertheless, for those debaters and newspaper editors and political activists in the college application pool, answering this prompt might be just the right road to admission. Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma-anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution. (Completely new prompt, replacing this previous one: â€Å"Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you?†) I like this change a lot! The previous question was fairly bland and presented a difficult writing challenge, with no obvious opportunity to show growth. The new question, in contrast, provides an exciting opportunity for students to display their intellectual prowess or emotional intelligence. Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family. (No change.) This might be the prompt to go or be changed significantly in 2016-17. Can you imagine thousands of students struggling to find something â€Å"different† to say about their Bar Mitzvah or Eagle Scout project? However, the prompt does offer an opportunity to explore and describe a unique childhood-to-adulthood transition. I remember fondly, for instance, the essay of one of my clients who taught his sister how to ride a bike, going from being annoyed at her wimpiness to owning his teacher role and succeeding in his task. The challenge here is to steer clear of anything clichà ©. That’s my take on the new College Application essays. As for other people’s opinions on these prompts, almost all of those surveyed agreed that the current prompts would generate effective essays on the whole. A slight majority believed the â€Å"story/background† prompt is the most effective, and I agree. In fact, most students could probably answer that question and submit a very effective essay; but there’s value in offering four more ways for students to approach thinking about their unique offerings and how to talk about their lives in 650 words. Note that very few participants in the survey wanted the â€Å"Topic of Your Choice† topic back. This is understandable since a student could write about pretty much any topic of their choice that’s personal to them and fit it within one of the current essay choices. If your child is applying to college and wants support on writing a great response to the Common Application questions, contact The Essay Expert. Remember, approximately 26% of all college applicants hire an admissions consultant, and your child is in the same pool they are. You might also enjoy some of my other articles about college essays and admissions.