Meaning of life Essay

â€Å"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. † –Nelson Mandela The importance of learning is to enable the individual to put his potentials to optimal use. Education makes man a right thinker and a correct decision-maker. It achieves this by bringing him knowledge from the external world, teaching him to reason and acquainting him with past history, so that he can be a better judge of the present. With education, he finds himself in a room with all its windows open to the outside world. A well educated man is a more dependable worker, a better citizen, a centre of wholesome influence, pride to his community and honour to his country. A nation is great only in proportion of its advancement in education. Education is Self Empowerment. Receiving a good education makes a person strong enough to look after himself in any given situation. It keeps him aware of the given surrounding as well as the rules and regulations of the society. It’s only through knowledge that one can question authority for its negligence or discrepancies and only then that can a person avail his rights as a citizen and seek improvement in the structural functioning of governance and economy. As a whole, people can bring about development only when they know where improvement is necessary for the greater good of mankind. Education gives a better understanding to the person, it helps realize potential and qualities one possesses as a human being. It helps tap into latent talent, so that people can sharpen their skills. Education teaches what man lives and struggles for. It cultivates an integrated life. By so doing, it gives significance of life. It helps restores financial stability and dignity of life. It is the essential basis of a good life. Education enlightens and lifts a nation to heights of progress. The problem in India is that it has adopted democracy without preparing the ground for it by educating population. But its never too late to undertake mass programmes of Adult education or Social education. Adult education is the education of grown up men and women. In the complex modern times, people must be knowledgeable and be aware of what they are doing and what is being done to them. To create such sentience every responsible citizen should take up this social cause and educate the knowledge deprived people. Teaching a daily worker for just an hour daily can change their lives in propitious ways as it was rightly quoted by Neil Armstrong, ‘One small step is a giant leap for mankind’. In recent history our country has taken up good measures to ensure a high educated population by taking up several social causes and concentrating on the rural areas, since they comprise a majority but the system has been laid back due the restraints imposed by old cultural ethics. For the past few centuries in India, the girl has been completely neglected even as a human being, her sole purpose of life has been to feed the family and bear a child. Good education has been denied to women. It is argued that women have their domestic duties to perform and that, if they were educated, they would bury themselves in their books and have little time for attending to the management of their households. But what people fail to understand is education involves knowledge of the means by which health may be preserved and enable a mother to consult such modern books as will tell her how to rear up her children into healthy men and women and skilfully nurse them and her husband, when disease attacks her household. The purpose of education is not just earning a livelihood but education makes an individual into a good human being, which is passed on to the next the kith and kin. It is true that, the education of girls has lately taken a slight leap but this is only in a very small segment of Indian society. Unless the motion is fast and continuous, and includes more of poor urban and rural girls in the field of education, there can be no hope of having a developed and first world country status for India. â€Å"When a man is educated, only he is educated but, when a woman is educated, a family is educated. † – Indira Gandhi â€Å"Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farworkers can become the president of a great nation. It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another. † – Nelson Mandela.

Bag of Bones CHAPTER EIGHT

Buddy Jellison was just the same, all right same dirty cooks' whites and splotchy white apron, same flyaway gray hair under a paper cap stained with either beef-blood or strawberry juice. Even, from the look, the same oatmeal-cookie crumbs caught in his ragged mustache. He was maybe fifty-five and maybe seventy, which in some genetically favored men seems to be still within the farthest borders of middle age. He was huge and shambly probably six-four, three hundred pounds and just as full of grace, wit, and joie de vivre as he had been four years before. ‘You want a menu or do you remember?' he grunted, as if I'd last been in yesterday. ‘You still make the Villageburger Deluxe?' ‘Does a crow still shit in the pine tops?' Pale eyes regarding me. No condolences, which was fine by me. ‘Most likely. I'll have one with everything a Villageburger, not a crow plus a chocolate frappe. Good to see you again.' I offered my hand. He looked surprised but touched it with his own. Unlike the whites, the apron, and the hat, the hand was clean. Even the nails were clean. ‘Yuh,' he said, then turned to the sallow woman chopping onions beside the grill. ‘Villageburger, Audrey,' he said. ‘Drag it through the garden.' I'm ordinarily a sit-at-the-counter kind of guy, but that day I took a booth near the cooler and waited for Buddy to yell that it was ready Audrey short-orders, but she doesn't waitress. I wanted to think, and Buddy's was a good place to do it. There were a couple of locals eating sandwiches and drinking sodas straight from the can, but that was about it; people with summer cottages would have to be starving to eat at the Village Cafe, and even then you'd likely have to haul them through the door kicking and screaming. The floor was faded green linoleum with a rolling topography of hills and valleys. Like Buddy's uniform, it was none too clean (the summer people who came in probably failed to notice his hands). The woodwork was greasy and dark. Above it, where the plaster started, there were a number of bumper-stickers Buddy's idea of decoration. HORN BROKEN WATCH FOR FINGER. WIFE AND DOG MISSING. REWARD FOR DOG. THERE'S NO TOWN DRUNK HERE, WE ALL TAKE TURNS. Humor is almost always anger with its makeup on, I think, but in little towns the makeup tends to be thin. Three overhead fans paddled apathetically at the hot air, and to the left of the soft-drink cooler were two dangling strips of flypaper, both liberally stippled with wildlife, some of it still struggling feebly. If you could look at those and still eat, your digestion was probably doing okay. I thought about a similarity of names which was surely, had to be, a coincidence. I thought about a young, pretty girl who had become a mother at sixteen or seventeen and a widow at nineteen or twenty. I thought about inadvertently touching her breast, and how the world judged men in their forties who suddenly discovered the fascinating world of young women and their accessories. Most of all I thought of the queer thing that had happened to me when Mattie had told me the kid's name that sense that my mouth and throat were suddenly flooded with cold, mineral-tangy water. That rush. When my burger was ready, Buddy had to call twice. When I went over to get it, he said: ‘You back to stay or to clear out?' ‘Why?' I asked. ‘Did you miss me, Buddy?' ‘Nup,' he said, ‘but at least you're from in-state. Did you know that ‘Massachusetts' is Piscataqua for ‘asshole'?' ‘You're as funny as ever,' I said. ‘Yuh. I'm going on fuckin Letterman. Explain to him why God gave seagulls wings.' ‘Why was that, Buddy?' ‘So they could beat the fuckin Frenchmen to the dump.' I got a newspaper from the rack and a straw for my frappe. Then I detoured to the pay phone and, tucking my paper under my arm, opened the phone book. You could actually walk around with it if you wanted; it wasn't tethered to the phone. Who, after all, would want to steal a Castle County telephone directory? There were over twenty Devores, which didn't surprise me very much it's one of those names, like Pelkey or Bowie or Toothaker, that you kept coming across if you lived down here. I imagine it's the same everywhere some families breed more and travel less, that's all. There was a Devore listing for ‘RD Wsp HI1 Rd,' but it wasn't for a Mattie, Mathilda, Martha, or M. It was for Lance. I looked at the front of the phone book and saw it was a 1997 model, printed and mailed while Mattie's husband was still in the land of the living. Okay . . . but there was something else about that name. Devore, Devore, let us now praise famous Devores; wherefore art thou Devore? But it wouldn't come, whatever it was. I ate my burger, drank my liquefied ice cream, and tried not to look at what was caught on the flypaper. While I was waiting for the sallow, silent Audrey to give me my change (you could still eat all week in the Village Cafe for fifty dollars . . . if your blood-vessels could stand it, that was), I read the sticker pasted to the cash register. It was another Buddy Jellison special: CYBERSPACE SCARED ME SO BAD I DOWNLOADED IN MY PANTS. This didn't exactly convulse me with mirth, but it did provide the key for solving one of the day's mysteries: why the name Devore had seemed not just familiar but evocative. I was financially well off, rich by the standards of many. There was at least one person with ties to the TR, however, who was rich by the standards of everybody, and filthy rich by the standards of most year-round residents of the lakes region. If, that was, he was still eating, breathing, and walking around. ‘Audrey, is Max Devore still alive?' She gave me a little smile. ‘Oh, ayuh. But we don't see him in here too often.' That got the laugh out of me that all of Buddy's joke stickers hadn't been able to elicit. Audrey, who had always been yellowish and who now looked like a candidate for a liver transplant, snickered herself. Buddy gave us a librarian's prim glare from the far end of the counter, where he was reading a flyer about the holiday NASCAR race at Oxford Plains. I drove back the way I had come. A big hamburger is a bad meal to eat in the middle of a hot day; it leaves you feeling sleepy and heavy-witted. All I wanted was to go home (I'd been there less than twenty-four hours and was already thinking of it as home), flop on the bed in the north bedroom under the revolving fan, and sleep for a couple of hours. When I passed Wasp Hill Road, I slowed down. The laundry was hanging listlessly on the lines, and there was a scatter of toys in the front yard, but the Scout was gone. Mattie and Kyra had donned their suities, I imagined, and headed on down to the public beachie. I'd liked them both, and quite a lot. Mattie's short-lived marriage had probably hooked her somehow to Max Devore . . . but looking at the rusty doublewide trailer with its dirt driveway and balding front yard, remembering Mattie's baggy shorts and Kmart smock top, I had to doubt that the hook was a strong one. Before retiring to Palm Springs in the late eighties, Maxwell William Devore had been a driving force in the computer revolution. It's primarily a young people's revolution, but Devore did okay for a golden oldie knew the playing-field and understood the rules. He started when memory was stored on magnetic tape instead of in computer chips and a warehouse-sized cruncher called UNIVAC was state-of-the-art. He was fluent in COBOL and spoke FORTRAN like a native. As the field expanded beyond his ability to keep up, expanded to the point where it began to define the world, he bought the talent he needed to keep growing. His company, Visions, had created scanning programs which could upload hard copy onto floppy disks almost instantaneously; it created graphic-imaging programs which had become the industry standard; it created Pixel Easel, which allowed laptop users to mouse-paint . . . to actually fingerpaint, if their gadget came equipped with what Jo had called ‘the clitoral cursor.' Devore had invented none of this later stuff, but he'd understood that it could be invented and had hired people to do it. He held dozens of patents and co-held hundreds more. He was supposedly worth something like six hundred million dollars, depending on how technology stocks were doing on any given day. On the TR he was reputed to be crusty and unpleasant. No surprise there; to a Nazarene, can any good thing come out of Nazareth? And folks said he was eccentric, of course. Listen to the old-timers who remember the rich and successful in their salad days (and all the old-timers claim they do), and you'll hear that they ate the wallpaper, fucked the dog, and showed up at church suppers wearing nothing but their pee-stained BVDS. Even if all that was true in Devore's case, and even if he was Scrooge McDuck in the bargain, I doubted that he'd allow two of his closer relatives to live in a doublewide trailer. I drove up the lane above the lake, then paused at the head of my driveway, looking at the sign there: SARA LAUGHS burned into a length of varnished board nailed to a handy tree. It's the way they do things down here. Looking at it brought back the last dream of the Manderley series. In that dream someone had slapped a radio-station sticker on the sign, the way you're always seeing stickers slapped on turnpike toll-collection baskets in the exact-change lanes. I got out of my car, went to the sign, and studied it. No sticker. The sunflowers had been down there, growing out of the stoop I had a photo in my suitcase that proved it but there was no radio-station sticker on the house sign. Proving exactly what? Come on, Noonan, get a grip. I started back to the car the door was open, the Beach Boys spilling out of the speakers then changed my mind and went back to the sign again. In the dream, the sticker had been pasted just above the RA of SARA and the LAU of LAUGHS. I touched my fingers to that spot and thought they came away feeling slightly sticky. Of course that could have been the feel of varnish on a hot day. Or my imagination. I drove down to the house, parked, set the emergency brake (on the slopes around Dark Score and the dozen or so other lakes in western Maine, you always set your brake), and listened to the rest of ‘Don't Worry, Baby,' which I've always thought was the best of the Beach Boys' songs, great not in spite of the sappy lyrics but because of them. If you knew how much I love you, baby, Brian Wilson sings, nothing could go wrong with you. And oh folks, wouldn't that be a world. I sat there listening and looked at the cabinet set against the right side of the stoop. We kept our garbage in there to foil the neighborhood raccoons. Even cans with snap-down lids won't always do that; if the coons are hungry enough, they somehow manage the lids with their clever little hands. You're not going to do what you're thinking of doing, I told myself. I mean . . . are you? It seemed I was or that I was at least going to have a go. When the Beach Boys gave way to Rare Earth, I got out of the car, opened the storage cabinet, and pulled out two plastic garbage cans. There was a guy named Stan Proulx who came down to yank the trash twice a week (or there was four years ago, I reminded myself), one of Bill Dean's farflung network of part-timers working for cash off the books, but I didn't think Stan would have been down to collect the current accumulation of swill because of the holiday, and I was right. There were two plastic garbage bags in each can. I hauled them out (cursing myself for a fool even while I was doing it) and untwisted the yellow ties. I really don't think I was so obsessed that I would have dumped a bunch of wet garbage out on my stoop if it had come to that (of course I'll never know for sure, and maybe that's for the best), but it didn't. No one had lived in the house for four years, remember, and it's occupancy that produces garbage everything from coffee-grounds to used sanitary napkins. The stuff in these bags was dry trash swept together and carted out by Brenda Meserve's cleaning crew. There were nine vacuum-cleaner disposal bags containing forty-eight months of dust, dirt, and dead flies. There were wads of paper towels, some smelling of aromatic furniture polish and others of the sharper but still pleasant aroma of Windex. There was a moldy mattress pad and a silk jacket which had that unmistakable dined-upon-by-moths look. The jacket certainly caused me no regrets; a mistake of my young manhood, it looked like something from the Beatles' ‘I Am the Walrus' era. Goo-goo-joob, baby. There was a box filled with broken glass . . . another filled with unrecognizable (and presumably out-of-date) plumbing fixtures . . . a torn and filthy square of carpet . . . done-to-death dishtowels, faded and ragged . . . the old oven-gloves I'd used when cooking burgers and chicken on the barbecue . . . The sticker was in a twist at the bottom of the second bag. I'd known I would find it from the moment I'd felt that faintly tacky patch on the sign, I'd known but I'd needed to see it for myself. The same way old Doubting Thomas had needed to get the blood under his fingernails, I suppose. I placed my find on a board of the sunwarmed stoop and smoothed it out with my hand. It was shredded around the edges. I guessed Bill had probably used a putty-knife to scrape it off. He hadn't wanted Mr. Noonan to come back to the lake after four years and discover some beered-up kid had slapped a radio-station sticker on his driveway sign. Gorry, no, ‘t'wouldn't be proper, deah. So off it had come and into the trash it had gone and here it was again, another piece of my nightmare unearthed and not much the worse for wear. I ran my fingers over it. WBLM, 102.9, PORTLAND'S ROCK AND ROLL BLIMP. I told myself didn't have to be afraid. That it meant nothing, just as all the rest of it meant nothing. Then I got the broom out of the cabinet, swept all the trash together, and dumped it back in the plastic bags. The sticker went in with the rest. I went inside meaning to shower the dust and grime away, then spied my own bathing suitie, still lying in one of my open suitcases, and decided to go swimming instead. The suit was a jolly number, covered with spouting whales, that I had purchased in Key Largo. I thought my pal in the Bosox cap would have approved. I checked my watch and saw that I had finished my Villageburger forty-five minutes ago. Close enough for government work, Kemo sabe, especially after engaging in an energetic game of Trash-Bag Treasure Hunt. I pulled on my suit and walked down the railroad-tie steps which lead from Sara to the water. My flip-flops snapped and flapped. A few late mosquitoes hummed. The lake gleamed in front of me, still and inviting under that low humid sky. Running north and south along its edge, bordering the entire east side of the lake, was a right-of-way path (it's called ‘common property' in the deeds) which folks on the TR simply call The Street. If one were to turn left onto The Street at the foot of my steps, one could walk all the way down to the Dark Score Marina, passing Warrington's and Buddy Jellison's scuzzy little eatery on the way . . . not to mention four dozen summer cottages, discreetly tucked into sloping groves of spruce and pine. Turn right and you could walk to Halo Bay, although it would take you a day to do it with The Street overgrown the way it is now. I stood there for a moment on the path, then ran forward and leaped into the water. Even as I flew through the air with the greatest of ease, it occurred to me that the last time I had jumped in like this, I had been holding my wife's hand. Touching down was almost a catastrophe. The water was cold enough to remind me that I was forty, not fourteen, and for a moment my heart stopped dead in my chest. As Dark Score Lake closed over my head, I felt quite sure that I wasn't going to come up alive. I'd be found drifting facedown between the swimming float and my little stretch of The Street, a victim of cold water and a greasy Villageburger. They'd carve Your Mother Always Said To Wait At Least An Hour on my tombstone. Then my feet landed in the stones and slimy weedstuff growing along the bottom, my heart kick-started, and I shoved upward like a guy planning to slam-dunk home the last score of a close basketball game. As I returned to the air, I gasped. Water went in my mouth and I coughed it back out, patting one hand against my chest in an effort to encourage my heart come on, baby, keep going, you can do it. I came back down standing waist-deep in the lake and with my mouth full of that cold taste lakewater with an undertinge of minerals, the kind you'd have to correct for when you washed your clothes. It was exactly what I had tasted while standing on the shoulder of Route 68. It was what I had tasted when Mattie Devore told me her daughter's name. I made a psychological connection, that's all. From the similarity of the names to my dead wife to this lake. Which ‘Which I have tasted a time or two before,' I said out loud. As if to underline the fact, I scooped up a palmful of water some of the cleanest and clearest in the state, according to the analysis reports I and all the other members of the so-called Western Lakes Association get each year and drank it down. There was no revelation, no sudden weird flashes in my head. It was just Dark Score, first in my mouth and then in my stomach. I swam out to the float, climbed the three-rung ladder on the side, and flopped on the hot boards, feeling suddenly very glad I had come. In spite of everything. Tomorrow I would start putting together some sort of life down here . . . trying to, anyway. For now it was enough to be lying with my head in the crook of one arm, on the verge of a doze, confident that the day's adventures were over. As it happened, that was not quite true. During our first summer on the TR, Jo and I discovered it was possible to see the Castle Rock fireworks show from the deck overlooking the lake. I remembered this just as it was drawing down toward dark, and thought that this year I would spend that time in the living room, watching a movie on the video player. Reliving all the Fourth of July twilights we had spent out there, drinking beer and laughing as the big ones went off, would be a bad idea. I was lonely enough without that, lonely in a way of which I had not been conscious in Derry. Then I wondered what I had come down here for, if not to finally face Johanna's memory all of it and put it to loving rest. Certainly the possibility of writing again had never seemed more distant than it did that night. There was no beer I'd forgotten to get a sixpack either at the General Store or at the Village Cafe but there was soda, courtesy of Brenda Meserve. I got a can of Pepsi and settled in to watch the lightshow, hoping it wouldn't hurt too much. Hoping, I supposed, that I wouldn't cry. Not that I was kidding myself; there were more tears here, all right. I'd just have to get through them. The first explosion of the night had just gone off a spangly burst of blue with the bang travelling far behind when the phone rang. It made me jump as the faint explosion from Castle Rock had not. I decided it was probably Bill Dean, calling long-distance to see if I was settling in all right. In the summer before Jo died, we'd gotten a wireless phone so we could prowl the downstairs while we talked, a thing we both liked to do. I went through the sliding glass door into the living room, punched the pickup button, and said, ‘Hello, this is Mike,' as I went back to my deck-chair and sat down. Far across the lake, exploding below the low clouds hanging over Castle View, were green and yellow starbursts, followed by soundless flashes that would eventually reach me as noise. For a moment there was nothing from the phone, and then a man's raspy voice an elderly voice but not Bill Dean's said, ‘Noonan? Mr. Noonan?' ‘Yes?' A huge spangle of gold lit up the west, shivering the low clouds with brief filigree. It made me think of the award shows you see on television, all those beautiful women in shining dresses. ‘Devore.' ‘Yes?' I said again, cautiously. ‘Max Devore.' We don't see him in here too often, Audrey had said. I had taken that for Yankee wit, but apparently she'd been serious. Wonders never ceased. Okay, what next? I was at a total loss for conversational gambits. I thought of asking him how he'd gotten my number, which was unlisted, but what would be the point? When you were worth over half a billion dollars if this really was the Max Devore I was talking to you could get any old unlisted number you wanted. I settled for saying yes again, this time without the little uptilt at the end. Another silence followed. When I broke it and began asking questions, he would be in charge of the conversation . . . if we could be said to be having a conversation at that point. A good gambit, but I had the advantage of my long association with Harold Oblowski to fall back on Harold, master of the pregnant pause. I sat tight, cunning little cordless phone to my ear, and watched the show in the west. Red bursting into blue, green into gold; unseen women walked the clouds in glowing award-show evening dresses. ‘I understand you met my daughter-in-law today,' he said at last. He sounded annoyed. ‘I may have done,' I said, trying not to sound surprised. ‘May I ask why you're calling, Mr. Devore?' ‘I understand there was an incident.' White lights danced in the sky they could have been exploding spacecraft. Then, trailing after, the bangs. I've discovered the secret of time travel, I thought. It's an auditory phenomenon. My hand was holding the phone far too tightly, and I made it relax. Maxwell Devore. Half a billion dollars. Not in Palm Springs, as I had supposed, but close right here on the TR, if the characteristic under-hum on the line could be trusted. ‘I'm concerned for my granddaughter.' His voice was raspier than ever. He was angry, and it showed this was a man who hadn't had to conceal his emotions in a lot of years. ‘I understand my daughter-in-law's attention wandered again. It wanders often.' Now half a dozen colored starbursts lit the night, blooming like flowers in an old Disney nature film. I could imagine the crowds gathered on Castle View sitting cross-legged on their blankets, eating ice cream cones and drinking beer and all going Oooooh at the same time. That's what makes any successful work of art, I think-everybody goes Oooooh at the same time. ‘You're scared of this guy, aren't you? Jo asked. Okay, maybe you're right to be scared. A man who feels he can be angry whenever he wants to at whoever he wants to . . . that's a man who can be dangerous. Then Mattie's voice: Mr. Noonan, I'm not a bad mother. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. Of course that's what most bad mothers say in such circumstances, I imagined . . . but I had believed her. Also, goddammit, my number was unlisted. I had been sitting here with a soda, watching the fireworks, bothering nobody, and this guy had ‘Mr. Devore, I don't have any idea what ‘ ‘Don't give me that, with all due respect don't give me that, Mr. Noonan, you were seen talking to them.' He sounded as I imagine Joe Mccarthy sounded to those poor schmucks who ended up being branded dirty commies when they came before his committee. Be careful, Mike, Jo said. Beware of Maxwell's silver hammer. ‘I did see and speak to a woman and a little girl this morning,' I said. ‘I presume they're the ones you're talking about.' ‘No, you saw a toddler walking on the road alone,' he said. ‘And then you saw a woman chasing after her. My daughter-in-law, in that old thing she drives. The child could have been run down. Why are you protecting that young woman, Mr. Noonan? Did she promise you something? You're certainly doing the child no favors, I can tell you that much.' She promised to take me back to her trailer and then take me around the world, I thought of saying. She promised to keep her mouth open the whole time if I'd keep mine shut is that what you want to hear? Yes, Jo said. Very likely that is what he wants to hear. Very likely what he wants to believe. Don't let him provoke you into a burst of your sophomore sarcasm, Mike you could regret it. Why was I bothering to protect Mattie Devore, anyway? I didn't know. Didn't have the slightest idea of what I might be getting into here, for that matter. I only knew that she had looked tired, and the child hadn't been bruised or frightened or sullen. ‘There was a car. An old Jeep.' ‘That's more like it.' Satisfaction. And sharp interest. Greed, almost. ‘What did ‘ ‘I guess I assumed they came in the car together,' I said. There was a certain giddy pleasure in discovering my capacity for invention had not deserted me I felt like a pitcher who can no longer do it in front of a crowd, but who can still throw a pretty good slider in the old back yard. ‘The little girl might have had some daisies.' All the careful qualifications, as if I were testifying in court instead of sitting on my deck. Harold would have been proud. Well, no. Harold would have been horrified that I was having such a conversation at all. ‘I think I assumed they were picking wildflowers. My memory of the incident isn't all that clear, unfortunately. I'm a writer, Mr. Devore, and when I'm driving I often drift off into my own private ‘ ‘You're lying.' The anger was right out in the open now, bright and pulsing like a boil. As I had suspected, it hadn't taken much effort to escort this guy past the social niceties. ‘Mr. Devore. The computer Devore, I assume?' ‘You assume correctly.' Jo always grew cooler in tone and expression as her not inconsiderable temper grew hotter. Now I heard myself emulating her in a way that was frankly eerie. ‘Mr. Devore, I'm not accustomed to being called in the evening by men I don't know, nor do I intend to prolong the conversation when a man who does so calls me a liar. Good evening, sir.' ‘If everything was fine, then why did you stop?' ‘I've been away from the TR for some time, and I wanted to know if the Village Cafe was still open. Oh, by the way I don't know where you got my telephone number, but I know where you can put it. Good night.' I broke the connection with my thumb and then just looked at the phone, as if I had never seen such a gadget in my life. The hand holding it was trembling. My heart was beating hard; I could feel it in my neck and wrists as well as my chest. I wondered if I could have told Devore to stick my phone number up his ass if I hadn't had a few million rattling around in the bank myself. The Battle of the Titans, dear, Jo said in her cool voice. And all over a teenage girl in a trailer. She didn't even have any breasts to speak of. I laughed out loud. War of the Titans? Hardly. Some old robber baron from the turn of the century had said, ‘These days a man with a million dollars thinks he's rich.' Devore would likely have the same opinion of me, and in the wider scheme of things he would be right. Now the western sky was alight with unnatural, pulsing color. It was the finale. ‘What was that all about?' I asked. No answer; only a loon calling across the lake. Protesting all the unaccustomed noise in the sky, as likely as not. I got up, went inside, and put the phone back in its charging cradle, realizing as I did that I was expecting it to ring again, expecting Devore to start spouting movie cliches: If you get in my way I'll and I'm warning you, friend, not to and Let me give you a piece of good advice before you. The phone didn't ring. I poured the rest of my soda down my gullet, which was understandably dry, and decided to go to bed. At least there hadn't been any weeping and wailing out there on the deck; Devore had pulled me out of myself. In a weird way, I was grateful to him. I went into the north bedroom, undressed, and lay down. I thought about the little girl, Kyra, and the mother who could have been her older sister. Devore was pissed at Mattie, that much was clear, and if I was a financial nonentity to the guy, what must she be to him? And what kind of resources would she have if he had taken against her? That was a pretty nasty thought, actually, and it was the one I fell asleep on. I got up three hours later to eliminate the can of soda I had unwisely downed before retiring, and as I stood before the bowl, pissing with one eye open, I heard the sobbing again. A child somewhere in the dark, lost and frightened . . . or perhaps just pretending to be lost and frightened. ‘Don't,' I said. I was standing naked before the toilet bowl, my back alive with gooseflesh. ‘Please don't start up with this shit, it's scary.' The crying dwindled as it had before, seeming to diminish like something carried down a tunnel. I went back to bed, turned on my side, and closed my eyes. ‘It was a dream,' I said. ‘Just another Manderley dream.' I knew better, but I also knew I was going back to sleep, and right then that seemed like the important thing. As I drifted off, I thought in a voice that was purely my own: She is alive. Sara is alive. And I understood something, too: she belonged to me. I had reclaimed her. For good or ill, I had come home.

Special Interests Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 3

Special Interests - Essay Example They need to have a control mechanism which is helped in terms of influence with the public policy which has already been developed for a state or a country. However, the members do not wish to have any political control which suggests much within the relevant scheme of things. These interest groups lobby with the assistance of their members who form a vital ingredient of the various legislative bodies. Their roles are taken care of regularly by the political parties for which these interest groups have an aim to serve from a strategic perspective. It would not be wrong to suggest here that these interest groups have been playing their due role within electing the politicians who have a fair idea as per the cause at hand and the right kind of attention that the subject raised by these interest groups exists. It is a given that these interest groups hire people who have some form of secretive instincts in terms of propaganda movements (Loomis, 2011). On other occasions, they are asked to do it more openly. There are a number of interest groups which are related to one another yet exist separately due to different reasons. These comprise of the economic interest groups, which include within them the trade unions, the religious groups and chambers of commerce. Then there are the professional interest groups which take into account the various doctors, business individuals, architects and lawyers to name a few. These people are usually the skilled workers that exist within any society at any given point in time. Also there is the public interest group which relates itself with the environment and takes care of the concerns which surround the lives of the people (Nownes, 2000). These public interest groups benefit the individuals more than anything else. The fourth interest group is remarked as the special interest group which is a part of the subgroups that usually come about within large groups and have a very precise approach to them. Once a clear cut understandi ng of these interest groups is attained, the next step is to differentiate them from the pressure groups which exist within any society in the present times. The interest groups have very accurate intentions and a focused mission, which it complies to at all times. A number of supporters exist for these interest groups which is a positive sign if seen within the broader contexts. These supporters are of the view that these interest groups highlight what other individuals feel about their own entireties as well as the community at large. A good amount of people opine that these interest groups have a hidden program attached to each and every step of theirs which may be based on fallacies alone. However, people keep raising suspicions every now and then to spark off a controversy surrounding these interest groups. Some interest groups have been able to make a name for their own selves. Two of these are the NCH which advances the economic justice cause which is there for the families w ho are having a tough time as they have low incomes; and the NCPSSM which encourages for the renowned federal programs in terms of social security and Medicare for all Americans who wish to have a healthy, useful and secure retirement plan. 2. Discuss the relationship between interest groups and political parties. The association that exists between the interest groups and the political parties is based on the premise of significance. The reason for this is that these intere

Poverty and the Development of Adolescence Research Paper

Poverty and the Development of Adolescence - Research Paper Example The current study examines the previous research studies on four domains of adolescence development namely, physical, cognitive, social and emotional with special emphasis on household poverty. The specific objectives of the current study are to identify the concepts which are useful for measuring poverty and adolescent development and their association to investigate the impact of poverty on four domains of adolescent development. The paper is organized as follows. The first chapter presents the models, indicators and statistical concepts useful for measuring the household poverty level, adolescence development processes and the factors which influence the adolescence development. Second chapter on literature review describes the physical, cognitive, social and emotional development of the adolescents in poor families by reviewing the literature. Finally the conclusions are drawn relevant to adolescent development and poverty. Concepts The distinguished physical developmental charac teristics such as development of breasts for girls and the deepened voices and broadened shoulders for boys are probably the most prominent characteristics of the adolescent development. ... In the proceeding chapter, these domains are discussed in detail with reference to relevant research literature. Literature Review Physical Development The lower socio economic status in the family can result in impaired development and poorer health of children and increased mortality and morbidity of adults (Emerson et al., 2005). Purchasing power of the poor families is low. Limited access to foods and nutrients is a common problem faced by the third world countries. It is also well established that social support and health beliefs play an important role in physical activity level of the adolescence. These have been recorded as inadequate even among the poor youth in the USA (Debbie et al. 2008). In the US more than 25 percentage proportion of the adolescents are also overweight. More than 11 percentage proportion of the adolescents are obese which cause long term physical and mental health consequences in individuals. Wickrama et al. 2006, revealed that poverty, single parenthoo d and most of the racial minority statuses (African American, Hispanic American, and Native American racial/ethnic groups) are positively associated with obesity and overweight among adolescents in the USA. Asian American status however was found negatively correlated with these health problems. Emerson et al. 2005, used the statistics of National Statistics survey of the mental health of children and adolescents in Great Britain to study the health status of the adolescents and household income. Sample consisted of 10,438 children between the ages of 5 and 15. In the above study the physical development of the adolescents were measured in terms of nine categories namely, current

Critically evaluate the view that Taylorism and Fordism have been Essay

Critically evaluate the view that Taylorism and Fordism have been replaced by post-Fordism as the means of organizing work in a capitalist society - Essay Example t and set forth new standards for employment organisation, proficiency, and machinery, allowing the system to cope with the continuously shifting market and highly technical atmosphere that is shaping the late twentieth century global economy. Nevertheless, philosophers themselves have criticised this modernisation. To them post-Fordism is just like Fordism. Neo-liberalism is just the same as liberalism and so goes for neo-Marxism and Marxism. According to Green (1997), postmodernism is to be perceived as the continuity of certain ideals current within it and not as a progression beyond it. True can be the same for Fordism and Post-Fordism. This essay will assess the current trends and models that have been adapted by the current society and realise if Fordism and/or Taylorism indeed has been replaced and if this replacement system offered any real changes in the management modules. Jessop (in Amin, 1994 p. 9) revealed the dynamism of Fordism and present four levels of analysis. First, Fordism is a labour process, an industrial paradigm that made use of assembly line technique for mass production, employing mass workers for mass consumption. Second, Fordism is a regime of accumulation. Owing to a steady form of macroeconomic growth, it entails a decent circle of growth owing mainly to mass production and a rise in income associated with productivity. A rise in productivity based on economies of balance. An increase in demand owing to increase in wages, rising profits secondary to full utilisation of productive competence leading to multiplication of investment in improved production equipment and performance. Thirdly, Fordism is a mode of regulation, linking to Taylorism and imploring the separation of ownership from control in large corporations, holding on to distinctive multi-divisional decentralised organisations run by one controlling body. Elevating it to a mode of socioeconomic regulation that takes into account pricing monopolisation, union recognition

Israel and the Middle East, Jerusalem center for public affairs Research Paper

Israel and the Middle East, Jerusalem center for public affairs - Research Paper Example Not if it is your own history; remarked Abdullah and continued saying; and you have a brother lost in it. Oh, I am sorry to hear about your bother, I have lost quite a number of my friends and family members and I know how it feels like. But what history are your reading? Asked Paul. Well, it is the history of Palestine and Israel. So, you must be a Palestinian. Not, Exactly, My father is from Palestine but my mother is Egyptian, I was born and grew old in Egypt. Now, my father wants me to leave for Palestine and lay my life for Jehad, which I do not understand why is going on. All the bloodshed and the stories of war have always intrigued me to find out what actually is going on, why are people fighting over a small piece of land when they both can live peacefully. Paul has understood the point and with a small smile asked; what is your name? Abdullah. Listen Abdullah, It is not just a matter of land between the Israelis and the Palestinians. It is all about religion, it is about le gacy and it is about home, not for one but for both sides. How long have you been reading the book? About two hours. And what did you read? Not much, all the stories that I have heard and what I see in the news channels and what I have read in the book may seem easy to read and listen to, but not that easy to digest. It all becomes contradicting. Everyone seems to be on the right side of the gun and then everyone seems to be doing wrong. It is all mixed up. I do not know why exactly did my brother die. Was it for right or just a waste of life. Hmmm†¦. Tell me what you have read and what you know then I might be able to help clear up the confusion you are having, Paul said. Well, first of all the Jews lived in this region, then the region was over taken by the Muslims under whom the... The Jews did not ask the Muslims to leave at first, but after the war, the Muslims were rioting all the places, the Jews had not other choice other then ask them to leave, Commented David. What do you think is the solution to all the blood shed that is going on now in these states. There are lives on both sides that are being wasted, asked Abdullah. The solution my friends lie in the commitment to mutual peace. Both sides have to come to common terms and conclude peace and that is only in the forms of accepting the recommendations of the UN. But both sides are adamant on wanting the complete land which I believe is not ever possible. The result will be that the blood shed will continue on the both sides. Until and unless both the communities do not talk on the humanitarian basis this, all will remain for the next generations to suffer. The only way out is speaking above religion, above ego and above nationalism and the peace will prevail. It is not what I feel, it is what I have seen , concluded Paul.

Criminal justice Writing Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Criminal justice Writing Assignment - Essay Example The America’s Supreme Court has ruled that the capital punishment should reflect and express the conscience of the United States residents, and that its application must be measured against the community’s evolving decency standards. This current report indicates that 65 percent of US inhabitants do not believe that this form of punishment is deterrent to murder. Furthermore, over 30 percent believe that their moral beliefs would exclude them from serving on a death case. About 50 percent of the Americans today prefer the death penalty while about 40 percent prefer life in prison without parole, whereas 10 percent are undecided (William 8). There are several reasons why capital punishment needs to be abolished. First and foremost, capital punishment is an act of Murder. Its use is so arbitrary and violates the prohibition of eighth amendment from severe punishment. This eighth amendment requires that sentencing discretion in cases of capital be structured according to objective standards so as to eliminate discrimination and arbitrariness. Capital punishment is viewed as the cold-blood killing of an individual by the government in the name of justice. Therefore, the use of capital punishment in the United States should end because it is seen as the ultimate denial of human rights. This punishment is inhuman and it violates the rights of an individual. This punishment should not continue to be in use because there can never be justification for cruel treatment or torture (William 16). In addition, since 1975, over 150 individuals have had their capital case convictions overturned. 300 cases of non-capital have overturned since 1990 after DNA testing. Such mistakes sway the public confidence in the system of capital punishment. Nevertheless, capital punishment should be abolished because it is used in a discriminatory

Reponse to a Shakespeare Play Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Reponse to a Shakespeare Play - Essay Example In essence, it leaves only one villain for the story who can be blamed for the tragedy and that is fate. It can be shown with the evidence present in the play that fate is the villain of the story and thus with fate lies the blame for the tragedy. The first instance where we know that fate will have a hand in this tragedy comes from the prologue itself where we are told that the lovers are â€Å"star-crossd† which essentially means that their futures have been completely determined by their fate. Spoken by the Chorus, the prologue foreshadows what is to happen in the play and it does not mention any other person responsible for the tragedy than fate itself (Nevo, 1969). Of course we know that the Capulets and the Montagues have a bitter feud between them but we are also told that this feud will be removed soon albeit with the death of their children. Of course this does not happen before a fare share of other characters in the play have died. For example, in Act 3, Scene 1, Mercutio is killed by Tybalt and Tybalt himself is slain by Romeo after which Romeo has to flee the city. This course of events prompts Romeo to cry out and say, â€Å"O, I am fortunes fool! (Act 3, Scene 1)†. Romeo seems quite aware of fortune playing tricks on him and fate controlling his destiny. Learning about Juliet’s death and knowing that he could do nothing to bring her back does not lessen his love and he remarks, â€Å"Then I defy you, stars! (Act 5, Scene 1)† showing his intent to take some disastrous step which would seal both their fates. â€Å"Romeo and Juliet is an tissue of improbably coincidences: Capulet’s illiterate servant happens by mere chance to ask Romeo to read the list of those invited to his master’s entertainment; Romeo, by a most unusual chance, decides to attend his arch-enemies’ festivities, and so chances to fall in love with Juliet; at just this time the Prince chances to make a stringent

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 90

Assignment Example t the rate might not take past performance into consideration, or same level of performance may be marked for all the attributes or raters have different opinions about different performance levels. 2. The Barnard’s theory states that managers situated in the decision-making positions of the organizations have no authority until his/her subordinates accept his/her decisions. For example, the government wants the department of defense to initiate start working on a task, if the department does not accepts the task; the government does not have authority and vice-versa. 3. System I type management have the ability to provide reward, punishment to their subordinates (Babcock 129). They have this ability due to the position they hold in the organization. This type of management is used to motivate workers to work on a specific task. System II type management is used in Engineering settings where the manager has to help the subordinates through his expertise. 4. In some cases, management fails to adopt the dilemma of authority being equal to responsibility. This dilemma is not followed while delegating tasks to subordinates. A subordinate may be assigned a task or responsibility but he may not have the equal authority to get the task completed. In such scenarios, the subordinate has to use tactics such as persuasion and personal power to get the job done. 5. Engineers undergo heavy training, they are taught about every technicality of the job and in vocational schools, they learn about every single details of doing a task perfectly. They do not have the skills of being flexible on work or use different techniques for working; these are the reasons due to which they fail to manage in organizations. On the other hand, students in the business environment are taught to be flexible and are allowed to do a certain task in any effective and efficient manner and this is why these managers are more

Globalization & Getting a handle Essay Example for Free

Globalization Getting a handle Essay We cannot overstate the effects of the trend of globalization on our thinking, culture and the media. From the television ads and shows, our style of dressing and the way we converse and communicate with each other in our own country and people from overseas. What is this phenom that we call globalization? How does it affect us now and in the future? What are its benefits as well as its drawbacks? This paper will try to put a body, a face if you will, on the globalization trend. II. DEFINITIONS: Globalization refers to† increasing global connectivity, integration and interdependence in the social, economic, technological cultural, political and ecological spheres. † It can also be defined as a â€Å"comprehensive term for the emergence of a global society in which economic, political, environmental and cultural events in one part of the world quickly come to have significance in other parts of the world†. Now basing from the definitions given, it can mean that globalization can come to mean a trend toward the interconnectivity or interdependence on one another even if we are in two different places. This is its basic concept that is to establish more and better lines by which the world can be bought together in ever increasing ways and means. Now for the questions on how this trend affects the media industry, we can just take a look at the Internet. This system is ready at hand to connect different peoples and cultures with the touch of a button, as it can connect us more swiftly rather than the traditional modes of communication. III. THE EFFECTS ON THE FILM, RADIO AND TELEVISION INDUSTRIES: The entertainment industry have focused their energies on the larger overseas markets for the sale and the promotion of their current offerings, movies, radio shows, television shows have already become a staple in some countries that these have seemed to replace the local industries for the share for the slice of the local market in that country. At the core of the entertainment industry-film, music, television-there is a growing dominance of U. S. products. It can be seen in most parts of the world, products such as KFC, McDonalds or Coca- Cola just to name a few of the transnational companies doing business in other nations aside form the local market. These companies shop around other countries that have lower costs for doing business, thus spurring the local employment and talent pool from those countries to adapt their educational and training pools to the needs of the incoming foreign investors. Some companies, for example, America Online and Time Warner merged to form AOL Time, matching AOLs Internet businesses and Times massive holdings in media, entertainment and news concerns. More and more of these companies ten to look overseas to promote their products and services abroad. But while the trend is focusing on global interconnectivity, that in our modern day environment, time and distance are a negligible factor in terms of dispensing media to other parts of the world. According to Professor Kalyani Chadha at the Philip Merill College of Journalism; â€Å"While popular rhetoric suggest that we live in an increasingly interconnected globalized world in which time and space have collapsed and media experiences are increasingly uniform, the reality is often different Media systems in different countries continue to be characterized by significant differences in press and broadcasting laws, business and economic structure, access to technology and to nature of journalistic practices, resulting often in variations in both content and perspective. † In a nutshell, it is saying that what may be true and acceptable in other countries and regions might not be acceptable, even palatable in some others. The difference may stem from the traditional as well as the cultural background in the country itself or in some belief system that this particular society holds. But in the discussion of the trend of globalization, the problem herein lies in the fact that in the march for interconnectivity, some of these traditions might have to give way. IV. EFFECTS ON CULTURE: The Webster’s Third New International Dictionary defines culture as the â€Å"the total pattern of human behavior and its products embodied in speech, action and artifacts and dependent upon man’s capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations† Thus, cultural globalization can thus be defined as the worldwide cultural standardization. Also, it can refer to the postcolonial culture, cultural pluralism and â€Å"hybridization†, or bringing two or more cultures together to create a new one. In the picture of globalization, we must recognize that the global view will effect the change in the cultural standings of some nations. In the long run of things, we must be resigned to the fact that some of these traditions must give way. Remember that globalization is linked to affecting the global community concept, a â€Å"global village†, if you permit the phrase. ( Marshall McLuhan popularized this belief to highlight his observations that an electronic nervous system ( the media) was rapidly integrating the planet—events in one part of the world could be experienced from other parts in real-time, which is the human experience was like when we lived in small villages). In this â€Å"village†, everybody was with the same beliefs and held to the same traditions, at least most of the time. But in the set up of the globalization concept, those beliefs and traditions sometimes, if not most of the time, have to give way to the establishment of a unified set of beliefs from a strong or stronger source. That is cultural hegemony, wherein the stronger or predominant influence will produce ways of thinking and seeing, and especially eliminating alternative views to reinforce the status quo, meaning the status quo of the more predominant influence. Some people fear a loss of cultural diversity as U. S. companies become dominant. Such companies tend to â€Å"bundle† their products, meaning they ship their products in wholesale form. Movies, television shows audio products all come into the local market and compete with the local industry, thus competing for the attention of that market. These tend to replace local alternatives. This would explain in part the prevalence of the media especially the visual media to promote their advertisements in other countries without thinking of the sensibilities that the ad might be offending. Video games and television games flash ever more violent images that seem to engross kids from many nations that were not ready to absorb these kinds of media. All day long, hey would sit in front of the television and just either stare at the monitor watching these violent shows and absorb the values of the characters of the shows’ characters or sit endlessly at video games and get in to the violence that these game icons display. Local culture and social culture are now shaped by large and powerful commercial interests that earlier anthropologists could not have imagined. Early anthropologists thought of societies and their cultures as fully independent systems. But today, many nations are multicultural societies, composed of numerous subcultures. These subcultures are present and very visible to us, in the forms of food, clothes and even in the places that we often frequent. Rarely do we don’t see that in any of the places that we go, there is not one member of these subcultures that we don’t come across. And we tend to borrow these things, if you will, in the way that we prepare our food, the way we buy our clothes and shoes and other accessories, in our choice of products that seem to satisfy our craving to be what the television stars portray on camera. The values that seem to be displayed out there want to look like them, that we can somehow imitate the way they look to be what these companies want us to believe to be acceptable. People are therefore more biased in the products that they purchase or services that they get for themselves so the image that is bought in to them are to look like the people they see. The transnational companies can manipulate the way that people think of themselves also by making us think that standards have to be met in order for us to be acceptable, or part of what is acceptable in the eyes of the global society as a whole. In short, they dictate what constitutes the â€Å"good life†. For example, if you don’t have a certain kind of piece of clothing such a shirt or pair of sneakers, you’re supposed to feel left out of the loop. Or, in the case that you still wear a shirt that is not in fashion, and this is still dictated by the multinational companies abroad, you’re still going to be left out. Or if you don’t drive a certain brand of car or model of that car, it’s an antique they’ll say. In many instances, this trend of cultural globalization tends to make us want these companies say that we have to be to be happy. From whatever the products or producers say, is what we have been conditioned to think, that these are the keys to be living it up. It is argued that one of the consequences of globalization will be the end of cultural diversity, and the triumph of uni-polar culture serving the needs of transnational corporations. Hence, the world drinks Coca-Cola, watches American movies and eats American junk food.

Emerging Issues In Strategic Human Resource Management Commerce Essay

Emerging Issues In Strategic Human Resource Management Commerce Essay This report is based on the case study Apple Inc.s Corporate Culture: The Good the Bad and the Ugly. The report tried to investigate and find out what is good and what is detrimental to the organisational culture in terms of Human Resource strategy and practice in Apple Inc. The conceptual investigation was totally focused on Human Resource Management perspective issues of Apple, though the case study has included wide areas of analysis including Apples operations, marketing, accounts etc. This theoretical research provides a reasoned and academically underpinned critical analysis as well as provides coherent and justified recommendations for changes to HR strategy and practice in Apple Inc. Based on the above mentioned case study, this essay reviewed the impact of people (employee) in apples magical success as well as it has reviewed the Apple Incs management and leadership styles. In the progress of the essay, Apples human resources policy is also critically evaluated and detrimental HRM issues are identified. Appropriate models and frameworks also has been identified which could be used for better managing of human resources. Good HRM practices also given credit which they can effectively keep implementing for sustainable future success. Critical appraisal of the contribution people has made to Apple Inc People, in organisational term employees have great impact towards organisations success or failure. Michigan model (Cited in Price 2007, pp 40) explains that employees are resources in the same way as any other business resource. So exploiting the peoples are crucial as with other equipment and raw material of the organisation. Peoples in Apple Inc. have made huge impact and they are the key of companys success. Its CEO Steve Jobs is the person who has been the figureheads for the company. He is the founder of the company, however after his initial spell with the organisation he had to leave. When he came back after twelve years, he has made Apple most innovative and profitable organisation on earth. He is an iconic figure and everybody wants him around in the company. He is worlds greatest salesman (case study). Apple and Jobs have become synonymous. How one person can make a crisis-ridden company to a world most recognised company, what might be impact of peoples to an organisation, Apple and Steve Jobs would be used as an example surely for long. It is not only Steve Jobs, apart from him it is peoples who works for Apple made the difference. As the case study suggests, totally awesome team of people working in the company. Everyone is respectful, intelligent and good at executing. Apples employees had high passion and believe in the corporate mission and it was the competitive advantage for the company. Apple exploits it employees in various roles right from engineering to marketing to operations and sales. People working for Apple feels proud working for the most innovative company and work hard for the company which is phenomenal within the industry. According to the case study the key people in the organisation are the position of technical, marketing and staff positions. The organisations success largely depends on attracting and keeping these peoples. Redman Wilkinson (2009) indicates that personal and organisational success is increasingly correlated with the profession of skills. Skilled individuals can command a premium salary in periods of high economic activity. It is the interests of any company to maximise its human resources by investing in the skills of its workforce: its human capital. Price (2007) suggests human capital is a crucial component of an organisations overall competitiveness. Companies like Apple where human resources become the driving force in the development of strategy; there is an overriding emphasis on developing their skills and capitalising on their competencies. Apple has successfully focused on the people resources and capitalised it to achieve competitive advantages in the market place. Apple is acknowledged as the most innovative company within the industry and no doubt, its peoples (management and other employees) has made it worlds top innovative company. Analysis of factors concerning the management of the human resource in Apple Factors concerning the management of the human (people) resource vary within an organisation and across situations. The output of any organisation, however it is measured, relies heavily upon market factors which determine how the organisation operates. RDI (2010) suggests, future trends must be identified and the organisation must be able to adapt to them if it is to continue to function in a profitable and effective way. The HRM function must support these strategic perspectives. In developing a strategic perspective, an in-depth understanding needs to be acquired of the relationship between an organisations environment and its people (HRM) strategy. HR professionals must therefore have an understanding of the strategic HRM process in term of people aspects. . Most organisations are being held back by people issues. They need to be handled with care and effectively. It seems Apple has adopted a balance of Best fit and best practice approaches to manage its human resources. The objective of Apples Human Resources is to maximize the return on investment from the organizations human capital and minimize financial risk. These responsibilities are conducted by human resource managers in an effective, legal, fair, and consistent manner. Human resource management in Apple serves these key functions: Recruitment and selection, work analysis, training, job rotating, leadership development, performance appraisal, incentive compensation, benefit profit sharing, employee development, employee security and health, employee relation etc. However some key factors concerning the management of human resource in Apples are discussed below: Recruitment Apple recruits people with computer based knowledge. Highly selective recruitment process was designed to hire only the best who would fit well to the organisational culture regardless of their experiences. Organisational fitness is more important in Apple than job-fitness. Case study suggests that selection process is a short procedure, where prospective employees organisational suitability is measured by verbal interview. Equal opportunity and diversity Apple is the equal opportunity Employer and promoted diversity within the organisation. Apples employees are from diverse background. Diversified workforce is one of the positive aspects of Apples corporate culture. Compensation and benefit: Apple offers various benefits to its employees and its compensation and benefits are very competitive. Benefit package varied depending on location and employment status. The common benefit included insurance coverage, flexible spending accounts, an employee stock purchase programme and a 401(k) saving and investment plan. Product discounts, on site fitness centre, and the opportunity to work on big projects with some of the experienced players in the industry were added bonuses. Salary and compensation reviews include year-end bonuses, vacation time and other perks and reimbursements. Apple also offered the FlexBenefits programme to its employees where they could choose benefits that best fit their lives. Recognition and appreciation In 1995 Apple created the Apple fellows program in order to recognise the best of its employees who had made extraordinary contributions to personal computing. Each Apple fellow acted as a leader and visionary guiding the company in their particular area of expertise. According to the case study apple is well known to appreciate and value its employees. It is considered a great place to work for people who are passionate about innovation. Career opportunity: Apples positive recruitment policy emphasis on candidates suitability to suit the organisational culture rather than their skills to fit in a specific position. However opportunities are given to employees to gather skills within the organisation. Opportunities for training and development include internship, on-the-job training etc. Internship with apple offered real learning experiences that led to prospective careers in diverse fields. Apple attracted most talented people to come as interns, as people valued Apple best place to learn, they joined them and worked for them as interns. They thought once they get chance to work at Apple, whatever basis it is , it would not be a problem for them to find jobs in elsewhere, the fact is that it wasnt as according to the case study most of Apples interns were able to find jobs promptly once they had some experience from Apple. On-the-job training is applied successfully in Apple. In this casual work culture employees get an opportunity to work with experienced and talented people with no end to challenges. Employability security: Apple has no mutual obligation between the company and its employees and the employees should opt for a better opportunity if it came along. Apple is always unapologetic about layoffs and made it clear that the company believed in employability security rather than employment security. The employability security means that an employee after working with apple would learn enough to be attractive to another employer if laid off. Apple emphasis on psychological contract rather than physical contract. Price, (2007) viewed psychological contract as an informal understanding between the employer and employee. Unlike the formal employment contract, this has no physical existence. It is a set of expectations held by both employers and employees in terms of what they wish to give and receive from their working relationship. Comparison and contrast of the concepts of management and leadership in context of Apple Inc The effectiveness of any organisation depends upon the structure of the management system in operation, as well as its cultural environment. According to the case study Apple is ranked in the top position for the people management within the industry. Jobs is a charismatic CEO whose management style has influenced by Douglas McGregors Theory Y type attitudes (Price, 2007) who leaves his employee to work on their own, taking initiatives, being self-motivated and tending to work hard. However when it comes to take final decisions, the case study suggests it is always one person who takes them and it is Steve Jobs himself as well as his job delegation was very selective only to whom he (Jobs) trusted which is named benevolent authoritative style of management by Likert (2009). One of the problems of management was span of control and information communication gap. As the case study suggests one of the employees said, six different supervisors gave him six different answers and they did not communicate together. Apples management coordination is characterised by Japanese centralisation (Torrington et al 2008) orientation the typical Japanese approach is for strong headquarters group to keep for themselves all major decision. Steve Jobs is a visionary leader who has who has always identified the need of change and has vision of future desired state. Anon (2002) dubbed him as a transformational leader who has single-handedly turned the organization around and delivered it from crisis when he was called back to the company in the year 1997 after twelve years of his departure. Jobs inspired the employees at apple to come out with unconventional products by thinking differently. However though Jobs leadership has brought success for Apple, it does not guarantee that same style would work for future leaders. According the case study Jobs leadership in Apple is supported by Great man theory of leadership where he practices CEO centric power. Anon (2008) suggests that he is secretive, controlling, hog credit, makes people cry and parks his Mercedes in disabled spots. In the world of continuous change this sort of leadership is ineffective for long run. Jobs has been a successful manager who has showed his competency of managing task and people in Apple at the same time though he is a transformational visionary leader but on the other side of the coin he is a autocratic dictator who has been subjecting his employees to tyrannical outburst and fostering a culture of strict secrecy at the company. Apples future leader should adopt more integrating style of leading rather than Jobs traditional controlling leadership. Apples organisational culture is ingrained by Steve jobs and he has made Apple an Institutional mirror of himself. However the company thinks that they would keep operating the same way even when Jobs was no longer there. As the case study suggest that Jobs put an executive team, trained and groomed in his way of doing things in place to take the company forward in his absence. It seems the scheme is successfully working as in Jobs recent six months absence period the company ran smoothly and even Apples stock price was up 66%. Steve jobs has put bold management succession plan in place as it is clear after Jobs sudden exit, Cook will take over as the CEO. Torrington et al (2008) describe it as individual succession analysis. This process is focused to an informal approach to promote with short-term focus on who would be able to replace senior people if they left suddenly. However it is not undisputable that Apple is a visionary organisation or Steve Jobs is a visionary leader as some critics thinks they live just in present. Like Boivin, C. Roch, J. (2006) said Apples leadership are stonewalling; these people, accustomed to the veneer of emergencies, could find no heart or time in their calendars for thinking beyond next months products, next months programs. Too many Apple people, live only in the present and are so wrapped up in the present, so totally engrossed in fighting todays battles, that they live unaware of the past and the future. All today, no yesterday, no tomorrow. They werent stonewalling on the strategy; the strategy dealt with tomorrow, and there was no time in their calendar for tomorrow. Leading and developing effective teams Though Apples work culture is driven by intense work ethic, however it has also another side. In one side we can see a group of eccentric workaholic peoples who work unusually longer hours on the other side we can see that Apples work environment is relaxed and casual, which has certainly helped leading and developing effective team spirit. Employees are followed by casual dress code on the job. According to the case study, Apples employees think it has funny, brilliant, relaxed co-workers and modern, spacious, beautiful offices filled with comfortable couches. Case study also suggests, employees are upbeat about Apples workplace experience and corporate diversity and shared passion. Apple has been able to instil a sense of pride towards its employees. The work culture at Apple was driven by passion for products and attention to the minutest details. Every department is equipped with smart, creative and hard-working people. The work culture is much more like club rather than family. Product development team is formed at Apple with peoples from diverse experience background. By hiring innovative people from diverse background, apple was able to incorporate different perspectives and skills and achieve its goal of making the best products on the market. Teams in Apple work in challenging and creative environment and explored new ways of performing common tasks. Apple provides them ample opportunities to learning and growing. There was amazing level of coherence among the executive teams at Apple. However rather than team work in apples corporate culture encourages individual performance. In Apple, employees had to do their work independently and each individual was his/her best resource. Guidance was occasional. As a company policy employees were not allowed to take note in meetings. Apple appreciated hard working employees and rewarded those who demonstrated their skills and capabilities. It seems Apple fostering an individualistic culture rather team culture. It selects independent thinker who likes to work alone. Apple created a club/community like environment to motivate and retain employees. Analysis of HRM problems in Apple Inc and appropriate models to develop solutions The absence of systematic standard human resource management tools is major problem for Apple. In the absence of well-structured systems and process, the corporate culture became dysfunctional. Many talented people left Apple, because they did not like Apples culture. Without systematic HRM strategy which should be aligned with organisational strategy the company will not prosper for long time. Lack of proper tools to recognition and appreciation Case study suggests that employee had to look after their career as organisation has no proper talent tracking system. Management did not care about interests of other employees, recognising their hard works. Employees innovative product ideas have never been accepted by the company. Though in the early stage employees were appreciated for their work e.g. those who worked for Mac their signature were engraved in the inside of computer case. However it was not the practice later on. Promotion unfairness According to the case study unfairness in promotions and overall employee treatment existed at Apple. Apple worked its employees to the bone but did not reward their hard work and dedication. Only top executives were rewarded. In Apple, appraisal is not based on contribution to the team and support of others, rather based on individual outstanding performance. Career progression and development In a flat hierarchical organisational structure career advancement opportunities were very limited. Reward and bonuses Reward is not based on team performance and contribution, rather individual performance and individual effort. The top management seems in Apple is content with their pay. Lower level employees have not got bonuses or pay rise. Even lower level employees do not have stock option though they worked 60 hours per week. Pfeffer (1998) models suggests profit can still be made with higher pay rates if the right pay format is used such as gain sharing , stock options and pay for skills (cited in Price, 2007). When employees think they are fairly rewarded they will show more commitment. Apples management must pay attention on this. It is important task for any HRM department to aligning an organizations payment arrangements and wider reward systems with the business objectives (Torrington et al. 2008, pp. 638). Long work hours Apple is criticised for its long work hours. Employees struggle to balance work and family life and Apple was blamed for having no regard for family life. Even the company was sued by its employee on the ground of breaking the Californian labour law. Adopting a commitment model (Torrington et al 2008) and changing the organisational culture could solve most of the HRM issues for Apple. commitment model: Communication: Outlining the direction that the organisations strategy is taking and the purpose of any changes. Staffs need to understand why decisions have been before they will cooperate in their implementation. Apples top level managements strict secrecy and rigid mentality must need to be changed. Ownership: Ownership is encouraged by involving people in decisions and making them responsible for implementing specific action. Steve Jobs himself and his successor must stop taking all decisions without employee involvement and participation. Employee involvement is all about their participation with organizational decision making process. Employee involvement is largely concerned with preventing or alleviating alienation (Torrington et al. 2008, pp. 484). Staffs can be involved within the organization through ownership or empowerment. ABE (2001) HRM study manual suggests that empowerment involves people in the operation of organization, so they feel personal responsibility for their actions (pp. 115). Emotional Identification: It is more likely in an atmosphere of enthusiasm. This can be created by acknowledgement and encouraging responsibility and recognising hard work. Performance: Performance assessment and reward structure should be focused on commitment. Apple must put proper performance appraisal system in the place and act accordingly to identify well performing individuals and reward them accordingly. Change of organisational culture: Moreover organisational cultural shift is also needed which would change Apple from an excessive control cultural company to a collaborative cultural company. To survive in future transference and collaboration is essential. A culture that is constantly in pursuit of operational excellence. Good organisational cultures flourish the organisational growth. Leadership in control cultures is a function of authority, and decision making is tied closely to title and role in the organisational. Such organisations tend to be more hierarchical in structure (RDI, 2010). Apple belongs to this category. Scholars place a high value on collaboration not just internally, but with its customers and partners. It emphasises the power of teamwork. By collaboration it seeks to be closely in touch and in tune with the customer and the market at large. RDI (2010) hints that leadership in a collaboration culture is role-based, not person or title-based, and authority is situational (dependent on the particular client engagement, project etc). The natural organisational structure of a collaboration culture is cross-functional teams aligned to market opportunities. According to the case study Apple has been subject to the criticism for an organisational culture characterised by Steve jobs over controlling, top management strict secrecy maintaining and practice of lack of transference. To attain sustainable customer trust, transference and collaboration are necessary in all levels of the organisation. Conclusion It is obvious apple has many good thinks which are strength for the company including strong management, leading, skilled and dedicated people resources. However it is also evident that companys overall corporate culture is out dated which is characterised by absence of morale and lack of alignment of people with organisational strategy. So change in organisational culture is crucial and should be imminent for sustainable long term success. Future leaders initiatives to address these issues, their openness to change and implementing changes to the organisation would become vital factor to success. It is also need to be seen whether Apple finds a perfect successor (predictably Cook) for Steve Jobs, a man who has always been well ahead of competitors to create future vision. It is not drastic change Apple has to go through in near future in terms of its HRM strategy but they must implement some changes which will put the company from one man show to a systematic practice. Apples existing workforce comprise by 35,000 employees worldwide (case study), however this number is inevitable to increase in future and without proper Human Resource strategy and defined policy it will be difficult to manage a diverse huge workforce. Future leaders and managers must set out a standard HRM policy aligned with organisational strategy addressing all emerging issues of HRM. Reference Anon (2002) Transformational leadership; Organizational change; Management styles. Review of Transformational leadership in the context of organizational change by Eisenbach, R. et al (1999). Strategic Direction, 18(6), pp.5-7 [Online] Available at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?issn=0258-0543volume=18issue=6articleid=869238show=html [Accessed: 19 July, 2010] Anon (2008) Leading personalities. Review of The trouble with Steve by Elkind, P. (2008). Strategic Direction, 24 (11), pp. 17-19 [Online]. Available at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?issn=0258-0543volume=24issue=11articleid=1747898show=html [Accessed: 19 July, 2010] Bovin, C. Roch, J. (2006) Dominant organizational logic as an impediment to collaboration Management Decision, 44 (3), pp. 409-422 [Online]. Available at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?issn=0258-0543volume=18issue=6articleid=869238show=html [Accessed: 19 July, 2010] Likert, R. (2009) Management Operations. Harlow, England: Pearson Education Price, A. (2007) Human Resource Management in a Business Context. 3rd Edition, London, UK: Cengage Learning EMEA rdi (2010) Managing the Human Resource Manual [Online] Available at: http://moodle.bl.rdi.co.uk/course/view.php?id=168 [Accessed: 18 July, 2010] Redman, T. Wilkinson, A. (2009) Contemporary Human Resource Management Text and Cases. 3rd Edition. Harlow, England: Pearson Education Torrington, D. et al (2008) Human Resource Management. 7th edition. Harlow, England: Pearson Education

Viewing Terrorism through Social Psychology Essay -- Psychology

Acts of terrorism are becoming increasingly common in today's society. From the frequent suicide bombings in Israel, the recent violence in the Russian village of Beslan, to the attacks on the world trade centers on September the eleventh of 2001 that so violently shook the world; terrorism is rarely far from our minds. Terrorist groups have a variety of aims, acts of revenge, politics, but by far the most common, and arguably most disturbing reason for these actions is religion. It is exceptionally important that we can learn to understand the forces that drive people to commit such wanton acts of destruction, and social psychology can help us to do that. Social psychology is a diverse field of study, it is "the scientific field that seeks to understand the nature and causes of individual behavior in social situations" (Social Psychology, Baron and Byrne). In social psychology we study the social factors which influence the individual to carry out certain actions, thus it is invaluable in studying terrorism. Social psychologists study both the immediate social context (the influence of whatever group we are in the immediate company of) and the wider social context (the effects of family, culture etc) both of which have great effect on personality, belief and behavior. An example of the effect of the immediate social context are the experiments carried out by Stanley Milgram. Milgram carried out a series of social psychology experiments into proximity and willingness of humans to cause pain to others using an electrocution device. The test also involved however the use of an authority figure to issue orders to carry out the electric shock. Milgram put volunteers in pairs and assigned one the role of teache... ...e understanding, to change an attitude so vastly of a devout person into a vicious killer it takes a depth of belief that no experimentation can understand, it goes beyond measurement and scale. Social psychology can indeed help us to understand terrorism, but I does not tell the full story, in the words of David Hume (A treatise of human nature) "this difficulty is to hard for my understanding." References David Hume: A treatise of human nature (Penguin Classics, 1969) L.B.Brown: Psychology and Religion (Penguin Education,1973) Baron and Byrne: Social Psychology ( Mark Juergensmeyer: Terror in the mind of God (University of California press, 2000) Roy F Baumeister: Evil, inside human violence and cruelty (W.H. Freeman and company, 1997) The Holy Bible: Mt 10:34 John Radford and Ernest Govier: A textbook of Psychology (Sheldon press, 1980)

Class Distinction Shown in The Prince and the Pauper Essay example --

In his book, The Prince and the Pauper, Mark Twain highlights class distinction very often. It plays an immensely important role in his novel, because Twain places his two main characters in the total extremes of the social class. Through these characters, Edward and Tom, Twain illustrates the vast difference between the high and low ends of the social class in England, shows how ignorant they were of each other, proves that a person's social status was determined by his appearance, and demonstrates that social status does not show the true worth of a person. Throughout the whole book, Twain shows that there is a huge difference between the English Royalty and the slums. He does this by describing Tom's and Edward's homes, the people surrounding them, their way of life, and the way they dressed. The first chapter of Twain's book starts out like this: In the ancient city of London, on a certain autumn day in the second quarter of the sixteenth century, a boy was born to a poor family of the name of Canty, who did not want him. On the same day another English child was born to a rich family of the name of Tudor, who did want him. (15) Already in the first two sentences, he shows a drastic difference between the two main characters. Tom was an unwanted child, but the whole nation had been longing for the birth of Edward. Later on in the chapter he makes a comment about their clothes, saying that Tom was â€Å"lapped in his poor rags,† and Edward â€Å"lay lapped in silks and satin† (15). Twain uses Tom's and Edward's homes as another way to portray class distinction. He describes the places where they live so vividly that the reader can almost visualize it in his head. Tom lived on Offal Court, and the name fit his situation pre... ...ction can be found on almost every page. Twain uses it to portray his own views on England's social classes. Works Cited Paul, Kathleen. "The Prince and the Pauper." Masterplots II: Juvenile and Young Adult Fiction Series (1991). Literary Reference Center. EBSCO. North Haledon Free Public Library, North Haledon, NJ. 3 Jan. 2009 . "The Prince and the Pauper." Masterplots, Revised Second Edition (1996). Literary Reference Center. EBSCO. North Haledon Free Public Library, North Haledon, NJ. 3 Jan. 2009 . Twain, Mark. The Prince and the Pauper. New York: Harper and Row, Publishers, Inc., 1964.

Successes and Failures in Biotechnology Innovation Essay -- Business M

Successes and Failures in Biotechnology Innovation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When I first started this paper I would have to admit that I was pretty green in the field of Biotechnology, I had a brief understanding but nothing near an in depth understanding of the field. So when I first started looking for a success story, I tied my views on successful innovation in the areas that I am familiar with to the biotech field. The major theme that emerged was that successful innovation equals a product that produces quality profits for a company. After further research on the success of innovation, you do realize that profits may be the end goal of the company but success stems from a total company wide effort, that may start many years before a single cent of profit is ever realized.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In my opinion, you have to look at three major areas to see if a company successfully manages their innovation; at the company level, customer level, and the impact the innovation had on society. From the company viewpoint, you have to look at how well management set the company up to be innovators in a given market. Did they choose an industry that would provide the company potential for continuous growth? How did they utilize their employee base and acquire a strong base of knowledge to continually come up with new ideas in the area of interest they are trying to enter? In addition once a product is developed did they manage their intellectual property in the in a manner which provided themselves maximum protection? Finally you have to look at the end results of the innovation. Did they introduce an innovation that allowed the company revenue to grow, were they able to achieve a strong segment of market share, did this innovation have a positive effect on the co mpanies stock price, etc?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  From the prospective of the customer you have to look at if the innovation introduced by the company successfully met their needs. Would this product help them save time and money and improve their overall business? How did they manage the channels to which deliver their products to their customers? Your customer will ultimately impact your final sales figures, if they view the product as a benefit to them and if you can meet the needs that the customer has you can have your innovation viewed as a success.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Finally from the standpoint of how the companies innovation had an impact on society. Was... ...sequence can be felt. With the world population soaring you will continue to see the emergence of genetically engineered crops to continue and you will be able to see who the winners and losers are within that industry based on how they handle the introduction of their products. Works Cited Current Status of Starlink Corn. 3 Jun. 2002. Starlinkcorn.com. 2 Feb. 2005.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Estes, Lane. Economic Analysis of Roundup Ready Soybeans. Feb. 2002. 2 Feb. 2005. Geo-Pie Project. Am I eating Soy Beans. 16 Aug. 2004. Genetically Engineered Organisms. 2 Feb. 2005.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Harl, Neil, Roger Ginder, Charles Hurburgh and Steve Moline. The Starlink Situation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  25 Oct. 2000. AG Biotech Info Net. 2 Feb. 2005.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Harris, Andrew. GE Corn Pollution Spawns 30 Lawsuits. 18 Sept. 2002. Organicconsumers.org. 2 Feb. 2005. Monsanto Inc. Simply the Most Profitable Way to grow Soy Beans. Jan. 2005. Monsanto Inc. 2 Feb. 2005. Ruen, Jim. Biotech R&D Isn’t Just About Traits. Jan. 2005. Dealer and Applicator. 2 Feb. 2005. Starlink Corn. FSANZ. 2 Dec. 2004. Foodstandards.gov. 2 Feb, 2005. US 2000/01 Corn Exports Dented by Starlink. 10 Sept. 2001. Planetark.com. 2 Feb 2005.

The Business Activities Study

This case study is related to the business activities of a hedge fund which performs a macro investment strategy. Its investment manager Troy Dexter seeks for profits which arise from shifts in the real economy. As he considers an end of the Australian housing market boom as likely, he anticipates that Australia's overall economic growth will slow down, whereas the prices for energy will go up. In reaction to those expectations he decides to purchase treasury bonds and stocks of energy companies Against this background Case Study 1 is aimed at classifying Troy Dexter's two investment decisions as either direct or indirect investments. Such a classification provides different results depending on the party from whose perspective it is assessed. Thus, it is the purpose of the following section of this work to distinguish between the terms direct and indirect investment based on the corresponding point of view using practical illustrations whenever possible. This is to be done after clarifying key terms associated therewith first. Term definition A hedge fund is an alternative investment vehicle which excessively uses financial instruments such as derivatives and leverage and in which an aggressive management strategy is usually applied (Fung & Hsieh, 2004). As Capocci and Hà ¼bner (2004) state, a hedge fund's major purpose is to generate active return (called alpha) for its typically wealthy investor base. As hedge funds are less exposed to capital market regulation than other fund types, they are able to generate – on average – higher returns, but associated with higher levels of risk as well (Lederman, 2012). Troy's decision to purchase energy stocks is related to his expectation of rising oil prices. Given his expectation turns out to be correct, the share price of oil producing companies will increase. The term â€Å"energy stock market†, however, comprises not only oil producing companies, but all other kinds of energy producing firms, as well as energy infrastructure and energy service providers, too (Henriques & Sadorsky, 2008). As Henriques and Sadorsky (2008) note, a rise in the oil price will not only increase the share price of oil and gas producers, but also the market value of those firms which offer substitutes (e.g. solar and wind energy) will increase. This holds as their products become more competitive in such an environment and their turnover is likely to increase. Stockholders who have purchased such stocks directly for their own stock portfolio before a rise in the oil price has taken place, will profit. Their profits, on the one hand, consist of the 4 chance to sell those shares at a higher price at the stock market and, on the other hand, of (increased) dividend payments (Bodie, 2013). Treasury bonds purchased in the debt market are usually characterized by less risk than any kind of stock market investment (Sharpe et al., 1999). Given Troy's expectation about the future economic environment of Australia, his decision to purchase such long-term fixed interest debt instruments is reasonable. This holds as they are issued by the Australian government which is very unlikely to default (Chaudhuri ; Smiles, 2004). On the contrary, as the Australian government has several tools at hand which allows it to make interest payments as promised (e.g. increase taxes), a treasury bond is considered as one of the safest investment forms available in the market (Hull et al., 2005). Investors who have decided to hold treasury bonds in their stock portfolio (direct security investment) can expect a fixed interest on their investment. The historic development of the Australian 10-year treasury bond is illustrated below.   Source: Reserve Bank of Australia, 2017. From this graph it can be derived that the long term trend of Australian treasury bonds is downward sloping. Starting from a level of more than 10.0% in 1995, the interest rate went down to about 3.0% in 2013. Interest rates in the short run are stagnating on a relatively low level of about 3.0%. Based on the fact that Troy Dexter has founded the hedge fund in 2009, it can be stated that his decision was right in the short run: Interest rates, indeed, went up from 4.0% to 6.0% between January 2009 and January 2010. However, it has to be noted that in the subsequent years his expectation turned out to be incorrect: Starting from January 2011, interest rates on the Australian 10-year treasury bond went down to about 3.0% in January 2013. This implies for Troy Dexter as the fund manager that his hedge fund may have generated losses from 2011 onwards as the interest rate of Australian treasury bonds have lacked his expectations. The figure adds value to the topic of this work as it illustrates that the fund manager's decision to invest in treasury bonds could not have been a smart decision in the long run: Fund investors are indirectly suffering from this decision as they have decided to provide Troy Dexter with parts of their funds which are now invested in a non-optimal security. 1. Direct vs. indirect securities – Northwest Capital Management perspective In order to classify Northwest Capital Management's investments in treasury bonds and energy stocks from the firm's perspective, one has to understand the business concept of capital management firms first. Firms such as Troy Dexter's hedge fund business aim at professionally managing private investor's funds. They do so by investing customers' money in a broad range of asset classes, restricted by particular investment goals (Fung ; Hsieh, 2001). However, as Brav et al. (2010) notice, the service such firms provide is not just related to the optimum asset allocation, but financial statement analysis as well as the monitoring of existing investments plays an important role, too. Hedge funds – in contrast to more conservative capital management firms – invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in risky asset classes such as the stock market of even emerging market economies (Jansen et al., 1998). The portfolio composition of an exemplary hedge fund is illustrated in the graph below. Source: Blair, 2001. The figure above already reveals that it is the hedge fund manager Troy Dexter who is responsible for the investment decisions of his fund and who chooses between the above asset classes (asset allocation). It is important to understand that the private investor is not involved in the daily investment process of the hedge fund, but hands over any responsibility for the invested amount of money to Troy Dexter. 0.50% 0.50% 31% 19% 15% 14% 7% 6% 3% 2% 2% Strategy composition of a hedge fund Short selling Other Equity long/short Macro Relative value arbitrage Event driven Fixed income Convertible arbitrage Distressed securities/high yield Equity markets neutral Emerging markets 6 Derived from this line of reasoning it can be stated that Troy Dexter's intended purchase of treasury bonds and energy stocks can be considered as a direct securities investment from the firm's point of view. This holds, because there is no third party involved in Troy's securities acquisition process (Bodie, 2013). In contrast, it is likely to be assumed that Troy himself owns a trading platform which he can use to exercise any stock market transactions personally and immediately. Even if Troy does not own such a trading platform, the consultation of a stock broker can still be considered as a direct securities investment from Northwest Capital Management's point of view. This holds because a stock broker can simply be considered as an entity which executes buy and sell orders on behalf of someone else for a particular fee or commission (Pollock et al., 2004). As Pollock et al. (2014) note, brokers are not allowed to alter the order, but execute the transaction only. 2. Direct vs. indirect securities – Investor perspective Taking the viewpoint of an investor in Troy Dexter's hedge fund, Troy's investment decisions can clearly be considered as indirect investments. As stated above, the fund manager decides about the allocation across available asset classes. The investor knows about the financial risks tied to Troy's investment decisions from the prospectus and may have expectations about a desired return, but cannot alter Troy's daily sell and buy orders. However, this would be a vitally important characteristic of a direct securities investment. As soon as customers have decided to invest in the fund, they have to sign a declaration of consent in which they transfer the responsibility for managing their funds to the portfolio management team (in our case to Troy Dexter) (Philpot ; Jonson, 2007). Not the investors themselves engage a broker who carries out financial market transactions, but Troy Dexter does that on behalf of them using his financial market knowledge. In this context it is important to note that – although restrictions are less strict in a hedge fund – fund managers have to stick to the proposed fund objective and are not allowed to invest in anything which is not related to the praised goal of the fund, although it may be a lucrative investment (Philpot ; Jonson, 2007). This assignment of any kind of right to alter the investment decision related to maximizing investors' own monetary wealth underpins the indirect nature of a fund investment from an investor's point of view. The incentives for customers of Northwest Capital Management to provide Troy Dexter with the rights to manage their savings on behalf of them (indirect investment) is related to Troy Dexter's expertise about financial markets (Capon et al., 1996). Additionally, as Capon et al. (1996) state, the pooling of large amounts of money in the hedge fund provides customers with a lot more market power than they would have when investing on their own. This shows that although private investors cannot actively decide about each investment decision on their own, the indirect securities investment through Troy Dexter's Northwest Capital Management is utterly worthwhile for its investor base. It can be summarized that investing in a hedge fund implies no direct securities investment from the private investors' perspective. This is compounded by the fact that private investors of a hedge fund do not own any securities themselves (Droms & Walker, 1996). Instead, those securities are entirely controlled by the fund managers who either own a trading platform themselves or contact brokers to carry out deals which are likely to benefit the fund's investor base. Shareholders are not able to access the fund's existing investments on a daily basis, but have to rely on the fund managers' expertise (Droms ; Walker, 1996). This trust, however, may be the basis for higher returns compared to investing individually on any kind of capital market. 7 Furthermore, the indirect securities investment from the investor's point of view implies that each single investor gains or loses proportionally to his or her investment in Troy Dexter's hedge fund. This fact stands in sharp contrast to a direct securities investment in which an investor is on his own and has a claim on any gains and losses related to this investment (Bodie, 2013). Instead of having the chance to convert profits right away in a direct securities investment, an indirect investment via a fund prohibits an investor from this right and makes him dependent on the decisions of the fund manager. Recommendations: A common way of how to classify securities is to divide them into either direct or indirect securities. In this context it is of particular importance to distinguish between either an investment manager's or a private investor's perspective (Davis, 2004). Conclusion: The statements above have shown that the classification of any kind of investment as being either direct or indirect depends on the party from whose perspective such a classification is made. In the case of a hedge fund one can categorize an investment as an indirect one from the investor perspective and as a direct one from the fund manager's perspective. This holds as it is not the investor who makes any kind of investment decision, but the fund manager on his behalf. The investor puts trust in the fund manager's capital market expertise when deciding to invest in a fund and – at the same time – cedes any kind of rights to alter the fund manager's perspective on the future development of the capital market. In contrast, the fund manager, on a daily basis, has to directly â€Å"step† in the capital market and has to sell or buy certain types of investments. References Blair, F. (2001): Managing the equity portfolio: South-Western College Publishing. Bodie, Z. (2013): Investments: McGraw-Hill. Brav, A.; Jiang, W.; Kim, H. (2010): Hedge fund activism. A review. In: Foundations and Trends in Finance 4(3), p. 185–246. Capocci, D.; Hà ¼bner, G. (2004): Analysis of hedge fund performance. In: Journal of Empirical Finance 11(1), p. 55–89. Capon, N.; Fitzsimons, G. J.; Prince, R. A. (1996): An individual level analysis of the mutual fund investment decision. In: Journal of Financial Services Research 10(1), p. 59–82. Chaudhuri, K.; Smiles, S. (2004): Stock market and aggregate economic activity. Evidence from Australia. In: Applied Financial Economics 14(2), p. 121–129. 8 Cristodoulou, A. (2016): The internal rate of return problems and manners of solution. In: Prospettive e Proposte Mediterranee-Rivista di Economia, Agricoltura e Ambiente. Online available at http://www.iamb.it/share/img_new_medit_articoli/802_32cristodoulou.pdf. Davis, E. P. (2004): Institutional investors. In: MIT press. Droms, W. G.; Walker, D. A. (1996): Mutual fund investment performance. In: The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance 36(3), p. 347–363. Fung, W.; Hsieh, D. A. (2001): The risk in hedge fund strategies. 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(2015): Economics for today (5th ed.). Thomson, South Melbourne, Australia. Lederman, S. J. (2012): Hedge fund regulation. Philpot, J.; Jonson, D. T. (2007): Mutual fund performance and fund prospectus clarity. In: Journal of Financial Services Marketing 11(3), p. 211–216. Pollock, T. G.; Porac, J. F.; Wade, J. B. (2004): Constructing deal networks. Brokers as network architects in the US IPO market and other examples. In: Academy of Management Review 29(1), p. 50–72. Reserve Bank of Australia (2017). Online available at http://www.rba.gov.au/statistics/historicaldata.html. Rudolph, S. (2008): Net Present Value Rule in comparison to the payback and internal rate of return methods. In: Working Paper. Sharpe, W. F.; Alexander, G. J.; Bailey, J. V. (1999): Investments: Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall 6. Titman, Sheridan (2015): Financial Management. Principles and Applications. (7th ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson.