Bajaj Auto Limited | Analysis

Bajaj Auto Limited | Analysis The global economy and the market are growing faster than ever. The current business situation is in a state where they need to reshape their ideas constantly. The change has become so inevitable that without it a company couldnt survive in this competitive world. Change is the process of taking a company from current position (state) to a desired or expected position (state) and at the same time dealing with the problems that arise in the process, then change is about the management. (Gill, 2003). Change is something that cannot force upon, it is a gradual process of transformation that can affect the entire structure. Change management is an organized, methodical application of the knowledge, tools, and resources of change that provides organizations with a key development to achieve their business strategy. But change management is not a distinct discipline with rigid and clearly defined boundaries (Burnes, 2004). Organisations may not get their desired outcome if the change management is not effective. With effective management of change we can easily achieve a better turnover, expand the business, reduce cost of sales, maximise profit and even retain the same employee satisfaction. There are two angles in which a change can be viewed one from the management who are implementing it and another form the employees who undergo it. In the past, the affect of change agents on a business organization was very small but as and when the business transactions started to happen on global basis, the agents that could lead into organizational change also increased. The affect of a change can be felt in global way just like the current financial crunch that is happening around world. Brief History of Bajaj Auto Limited The Bajaj Group is one of the top 10 business organisations in India. The Bajaj Group has a wide range of industries such as, Bajaj Auto Ltd, home appliances, lighting, iron and steel, insurance, travel and finance. But the groups main focus is Bajaj Auto which is ranked as the worlds fourth largest two- and three- wheeler manufacturer and is well-known in over a dozen countries in Europe, Latin America, the US and Asia. Jamnalal Bajaj founded Bajaj Auto Ltd in the year 1926, which did mainly import and sell two or three wheelers. In the year 1959, the company secured a license from the government of India to manufacture two and three wheelers. From this license, the company started to grow and in the same year, it went in collaboration with Piaggio to manufacture scooters and marketed under the brand name Vespa. By the end of the 10 year agreement with Piaggio, the company started manufacturing its own scooters under the brand name Chetak which pushed the Indian market to top boom and stayed as market leaders in scooter industry for a long period in India. The scooter made a strong brand image among people especially the middle class families who longed to have their own transport which was economical, durable and easy to maintain which was the key factor for their dominancy in market. The cost of motorcycles was 30% high when compared with scooters, so common people prefer it. Another factor for the market dominancy was the restriction for international brands in the Indian market. Hence the company faced no much competition. After the effect of globalisation when international organisation started to enter the Indian market, the competition faced by Bajaj was severe. The international companies had invested a lot in Research and developments and had better features and fuel efficiencies and this started to trouble the Bajas rule over the Indian market. When the price gap between motorcycles and scooters narrowed consumers started to shift to motorcycles because they were more able to travel on a terrain and had much greater ground clearance. When banks started to give loans to own vehicles it was a dream come true for most of the Indians and thus the consumer preference shifted to motorcycles rather than scooters. To conclude the situation created because of the companys lack of interest in RD, the turn over market dominancy and overall market value of the company starts declining constantly. (Source: www.bajajauto.com) Changing Scenario In the early 1990s, the market saw a great recession in the Indian two wheeler sector; overall sales of two-wheelers declined by 15% in 1991 and 8% in 1992. This period also saw a steep rise in fuel prices, which resulted in consumers placing greater emphasis on fuel efficiency when purchasing a new two wheeler. Fuel efficiency of scooters were comparatively less with motorcycles. When banks started financing for buying new vehicles common people shifted to motorcycles which can save a fortune in fuel. Japanese companies like Honda motor co. ltd (Honda), Suzuki and Yamaha started their operations in India through joint ventures with Indian companies like hero Cycles ltd, TVS, Escorts, etc. All these joint ventures were in the motorcycle segment. The foreign firms came with the latest technology and efficient production systems, which dramatically improved the quality of motorcycles available in the Indian market. Soon the foreign companies started introducing more new models with contemporary technology, styling and greater fuel efficiency. Then, the entire Indian market witnessed a change that was not at all foreseen by the company. The consumer preference shifted from scooters to motorcycles, which affected the company drastically in a much big way. This was because the difference in the ratio of youngsters and mature adults. In addition the motorcycles became cheaper, more fuel-efficient and was capable to ride with ease in any terrain. The arch rivals, Hero Honda was the company the Bajaj had to compete, but it was in vain as Bajaj had not once thought of modifying their scooters or thought of bringing new motorcycles into market and ultimately Bajaj had to give up its throne of the largest two wheeler company. The model Bajaj was rolling out of the company was a geared scooter. In the year 2005-06 with the entry of gearless scooters Bajaj lost its dominance over the Indian market to the gearless scooter named Activa from Honda, which was more comfortable for old people as well as women and even men have started to use Activa for their short errands because of its ease of use. Forces of Change Organisational change is triggered by performance falling below expectations or aspiration levels (Nilakant Ramnarayan, 2006) or change is initiated by disconfirmation. Forces of change can be two types: the external and the internal. External Forces Consumer preference In the 1990s, the Indian two wheeler market witnessed a shift in consumer preferences. License Raj The private investment was extensively regulated by the government through licensing. All the important business decisions like the entry of a firm into an industry, capacity expansion, choice of product, capacity mix and the technology were controlled by the government in an attempt to prevent concentration of economic power. This was referred as License Raj. Also there was a change in emission norms. Poor conditions of the road The conditions were really bad at that time. The consumers need a vehicle with strong reliability and fuel efficient. Poor conditions of the transport system The suppliers had a hard time for supplying materials. Also the growth was partly attributed to the inefficient public transport systems in the countrys towns and cities, which led to a greater demand for personal transport. Internal Forces Companys inability to force the market and shift in the trend patterns BAL had been slow in reading the demand pattern and how to cater to the changing consumer tastes and preferences. Company was not interested in RD It was believed that the dramatic shift happened because BAL did not pay sufficient attention to design, research and development and consumer satisfaction. No additional features Motorcycles with better ground clearance, stronger suspensions, and larger wheel bases, performed well on the village roads. Also the fuel economy was an added bonus No other brand of scooters No young and fresh minds in the companys management Change Models The format and the procedure by which a change has been made in a particular scenario is known as the change model. Change models are tools for driving change forces in an organization. Managing the complex process of change mainly involves managing a set of activities, in which each of the activity is crucial for the overall success of change. The change process involves translating the need for change into a desire for change, and deciding who will manage the change and creating a effective workable relationship. Change Model applied in Bajaj Auto Ltd Change Models provided by Kurt Lewin (1951) and V. Nilakant S. Ramnarayan (2006) is one of the prominent change models followed in the present world. The best model suited for the current scenario is the combination of both of these models by above authors. It can be divided into three phases: The first phase involves preparing the people for change with the focus on getting them to let go of what is familiar. The second phase involves taking the steps that actually implement the change. The last phase involves returning the organization to a stable state again based on the new culture. The first stage according to Kurt Lewin, in order to implement a change is Unfreezing and most of the cases it will be done by the change agent. In this scenario, Rahul Bajaj, the chairperson of the company is the change agent and this stage involves alerting and communicating the problems, performance gap and need for change to the internal customers/employees. It is basically modifying the current situation in order to achieve the proposed change by proper communication and understanding to the restrainers of change which helps to reduce the resistance and it is the best strategy for change. The second stage involves the application of the change model provided by V. Nilakant and S. Ramnarayan. It mainly highlights the importance of leadership in the process of change. The task of appreciating change requires the leader to understand the forces of change and prevailing mindset inside the organisation, where as task of mobilising support require leaders to facilitate the idea of change. In the same model, task of executing change involves creating the right structure and processes in an organisation, which is crucial and very important for the vertical and horizontal communication within the organisation, which ensures that employees are highly focused during the change process. Building Change capability involves empowering employees and making them believe in their own abilities to face new challenges; undertake and complete new tasks. Above all, high emphasises is placed on leadership in the organisation which is the driving force of the above tasks, which also plays a vital role in creating and sustaining change within an organisation. Managed Change, is a data-driven process that guides the project teams, internal change agents and sponsors to follow as they just need to follow guidelines through simple projects or complex initiatives. The third stage is refreezing stage which stabilizes the organisation at a new state of equilibrium. The main point about this stage is that new behaviour must be, to some degree, congruent with the rest of the behaviour, personality and environment of the learner or it will simply lead to a new round of disconfirmation (Schein, 1996). In organisational terms, refreezing often requires changes to organisational culture, norms, policies and practices. (Cummings and Huse, 1989) (Source: Bernard Burnes (2004) Managing Change (Fourth Edition) Prentice Hall) Application of change model in Bajaj Auto Ltd Unfreezing Stage: After dominating the Indian two wheeler market for three decades by the end of 1999 BAL realised the change in consumer preference from scooter to motorcycles with four stroke engines and predictions was that this trend will continue in a higher scale. There was a 41% fall in scooter sale in 2001 which was a real threat for the existence of BAL. Also a new set of emission norms (equivalent to Euro II emission norms) came into effect in 2000 for petrol two stroke engines. As a result, scooters with two-stroke engines fell out of favour. Applying the change model proposed above, Bajaj Autos was losing its market share due to change in consumer preferences, development of new market segments and availability of better products and scooters manufactured by their competitors. In first step, Chairman of company Rahul Bajaj which is change agent as well identified the need for change as suggested by Kurt Lewin, he unfreeze the current situation by making employees aware of problems, performance gap and need for change. Simultaneously, he empowered and provided new leadership roles to younger generation such as Rajiv Bajaj (Managing Director). In an attempt to regain market share, the company increased its production of motorcycles by 67.6% in 2001 even as the production of geared scooters fell by 44%. By 2001, the company was manufacturing as many motorcycles as geared scoters. Moving/Changing Stage: This is the stage where the leadership qualities of a change agent play an important role in success of the change. Change agent in our scenario Rahul Bajaj who is the chair person of the company analysed the present market environment and figure out the importance of change to retain the market share and to bring the company back in the path of success. He figured out the customer demands through surveys and categorised the production in different segments such as executive segment, cruiser segment, premium segment etc. He also introduced youngsters into the company and gave them more authority in order to create innovative ideas which were very important for the competitive market. He also invested a huge amount in RD and also for design. This completely changed the product portfolio of Bajaj Auto Ltd. Within a short time after these changes new version motorcycles launched in every segment such as Boxer and Caliber in executive segment, Eliminator in cruiser segment and Pulser Ave nger and Discover in premium segment which was a huge success in the Indian motorcycles industry. This transformation of Bajaj from scooters to motorcycles created a huge impact on the mind set of the public especially the new generation who were looking for more performance and stylish bikes. The turning point in this change process was the introduction of the product Pulsar and DTSi technology which help them to capture the two wheeler market under their name and to overcome their rival Hero Honda. They also tried to resurrect scooter sales. While sale of geared scooters were falling, the gearless scooter has been growing. The purchasers of gearless scooters were mainly teenagers, women and older people. So they started production of gearless scooters in 2000 under the name Saffire which was a great success with its new technology and design from Tokyo RD a Japanese design firm. They also give great importance to improve the mileage because it was an important specification for choosing a new model in the market. As per the model suggested the change agent was successful in motivating people, engaging people and developing the capabilities in an economical way rather than going for a complete reconstruction of the organisation. They appreciated the change happened in the organisation, build up the change capabilities, mobilise support and execute the change in the right time and right manner. Refreezing Stage: This is the stage where the company returns to a stable state based on the new culture. It mainly deals with changes to organisational culture, norms, policies and practices to cope up with the change for a smooth running of the day to day routine of the organisation. When Bajajs motorcycles were becoming popular the scooter sales were really down because of the competition in market. They analysed the market deeply and made apt changes. Meetings and sessions were arranged to discuss the unpleasant fact about new competition and flat earnings. So they were forced to phase out several models including the Spirit, the Sunny Spice, the Legend NXT 2 and the Bravo. The Saffire, suffered from several technical problems. Its sales too failed to pick up so they did modifications and was replaced by the Wave in 2005. In 2004, they also upgraded their old model Chetak with a new four stroke, 125cc engine, with a promise of greater comfort, superior performance, and better mileage. In June 2006, the company announced its plans to raise production capacity from 3.5 million units to 5.1 million units a year by 2009, of which the capacity for two-wheelers was to be 4.6 million units. According to their plans, they recently launched a 220cc variant of it popular Pulsar motorcycle. In 2004 Bajaj auto changed their old logo and created a new logo and brand line to renew its new brand identity. This proves that a vision says something that helps clarify the direction in which an organization needs to move (Kotter, 2007). These visions and their accomplishments stabilised the organisation at a new state of equilibrium. Change Agent The person who has the handed the management of the change is known as the change agent. The facilitator who is in-charge of the change in particular section where the change is needed is known as the change agent. (Mc Calman and Paton 1992). Their task also includes circulate information, identify problems, strategy development, monitor the progress and problems and reporting to the management. To introduce a change the change agent must have a vision and direction and the capability to make people to follow their direction and understand their vision. (Clarke, 1994). In this case study, the chair person of Bajaj Auto Limited Mr. Rahul Bajaj is the change agent who proved to have a great compassion towards changes in market conditions. He also proved to be an efficient change agent by handling different difficult situation easily. According to the changes in market conditions he changed the brand names to make them more localised and classified the motorcycles in different sections so they can penetrate the market more easily. His adherent Rajiv Bajaj also played a very important role in this change scenario who had a major role in designing and marketing their icon model Pulsar which help the company to acquire a major share in market. Pulsar was selected as Bike of the year for continuous 4 years and he was selected as the Automotive man of the year 2005 by Auto car Professional, bike India and NDTV India respectively. Timely actions taken by change agent like implementation of changes in policies, production and technology and final stage of in tegration help them to achieve the worlds 4th and Indias 1st largest producer of two and three wheelers. Analysis and Recommendations: In this scenario Bajaj Auto Ltd handled this particular situation incredibly but there were certain instances where they could have done even better. The Indian two wheeler market was dominated by scooters till 1990s and motorcycles came as new favourites. Bajaj was the market leaders till that time later their sales declined because they did not pay attention to design, R D and customer preference. They also didnt give much importance to marketing while the competitors were keen in increasing the sales through advertisements. Rahul Bajaj later admitted that they had been slow in reading the demand pattern and failed to anticipate customer behaviour. They also didnt participate in any social responsibilities and failed to build a trusting relationship with customers, employees and society. But they handled the whole situation sensibly with the proper implementation of change models and the powerful leadership under the change agent Rahul Bajaj. Conclusion This scenario clearly shows that change is a continuous process and a proper identification and implementation of a change results in organisational growth. Success of change depends on choosing the perfect change model with fewer resources and can create maximum outcome. An organisation should anticipate the need for change, utilise the resources effectively to attain this mission and must integrate this effort into the planning process. Change agent also has an important role where the desired result depends on how he manages the particular change. To conclude change is an essential aspect in growth and development and the overall success depends on how we tackle the change effectively. References: Bernard Burnes (2004) Managing Change (Fourth Edition) Prentice Hall Bob Hamlin (2001) Organisational Change and Development (First Edition) Prentice Hall B.L Marquis C.J Huson (2003) Leadership Roles and Management (Fourth Edition) Philadelphia, Lippincott Colin Carnall (2007) Managing Change in Organisations (Fifth Edition) Prentice Hall John Hayes (2007) the Theory and Practice of Change Management (Second Edition) Palgrave Macmillan, New York L. B. Fossum M. G. Crisp (1989) Understanding Organizational Change: Converting Theory to Practice (First Edition) Thomson Crisp Learning R. Woolfe W. Dryden (1996) Handbook of Counselling Psychology (First Edition) Sage Publications T.G Cummings C. G. Worley (2001) Organisation Development and Change (Sixth Edition) South Western College Publishing, Ohio V. Nilakant S. Ramnarayan (2007) Change Management (Second Edition) Sage Publications, India http://www.bajajauto.com/1024/aboutbajaj/awards.asp (Electronically Accessed on November 14th 2008). http://www.domain-b.com/companies/companies_b/bajaj_auto/20060313_invest.html (Electronically Accessed on December 06th 2008). http://www.domain-b.com/companies/companies_b/bajaj_auto/20050201_growth.html (Electronically Accessed on November 24th 2008). http://www.honda2wheelersindia.com/default.asp (Electronically Accessed on December 16th 2008). http://www.india-today.com/btoday/20010916/cover.html (Electronically Accessed on January 04th 2009). http://news.moneycontrol.com/india/news/management/bajajautobajajgroup/howhamarabajajbecamesignindependentindia/market/stocks/article/230375 (Electronically Accessed on November 03rd 2008). http://www.rediff.com/business/2000/jan/18bajaj.htm (Electronically Accessed on November 28th 2008). http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=14579309 (Electronically Accessed on January 08th 2009). http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/catalyst/2004/08/05/stories/2004080500020100.htm (Electronically Accessed on October 29th 2008). http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020422/biz.htm (Electronically Accessed on December 11th 2008).

The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution

Through all these years I always think of the American Revolution as customary rebellion which the parties involved fight for something like a parcel of land or for political divisions, i. e. territorial expansion. They deliberately fight against each other head-to-head just to get what they wanted. Maybe it is the result of watching classical movies that defy true essence of revolution that I came to think this way about the ancient wars. However, reading the book entitled The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution written by Bernard Bailyn, renewed my traditional view of the revolution as a whole.It was astoundingly compact yet the message the author conveyed was crystal clear. Bailyn vividly presented his idea that â€Å"power must be watched and restrained tightly† else, liberty will no longer take hold of the situation and much worse, slavery and other forms of oppression will occur. I learned to view the American Revolution from a different perspective in what he called the â€Å"ideological origins†. In effect, I was able to draw critical analysis based from Bailyn’s work of other cases of rebellion here and abroad.The purpose of the author in writing the book, as I comprehended it, is basically to tell everyone that wars happened because of radical minds that drew political ideology from social and traditional outlooks and screened by past experiences. They are explicitly called as radical libertarians who focused on the effort of freeing the individual from tyranny of the state. Bailyn traced their ideological background and found one important piece of the puzzle that he presented in the first part of the book: the pamphlet story.He told us that those pamphlets â€Å"had peculiar virtues as a medium of communication† among the proponents who drafted of the American Revolution. It was in this method (and many others following it) that radical minds gained power and support from the commoners and so the revolution was given birth. But of course, the main event still laid in the messages that the radicals were sending out. The American Revolution was indeed initiated and maintained by radical libertarians until it reached its final destination.The author showed in the book that the American Revolution was â€Å"a cluster of convictions focused on the effort to free the individual from the oppressive misuse of power† by the state. He did not just a compile these convictions but also the analyzed each of them point-by-point as those were his premises in the logical structure of the book. It was the product of years of constant search of relevant information that pertains to the American Revolution. The book was overwhelming with researched ideas which the author found useful.The book was organized into six parts beginning from the Literature of Revolution down to the Contagion of Liberty. In the Literature of Revolution, he explained the method of communication between the radicals who insti gated to the public the idea of revolution. Part II of the book talked about the Sources and Traditions which he identified the ideological background of the radical libertarians. In Part III, entitled Power and Liberty: A Theory of Politics, Bailyn discussed the issues concerning power and liberty, i.e. how should the state treat the underprivileged, the oppressed, the people who were exploited by tyrants. He showed the premises in Part IV the Logic of Rebellion—the only option that the libertarians can have. Here he talked about conspiracies and how the rebellion happened during the Great American Revolution. In Part V, Bailyn discussed the history on the Transformations resulting from the revolution. The areas he tackled were the issues on Representation and Consent, Constitution and Rights, and the Sovereignty.These transformations were the fruits of the radical libertarians’ efforts. The last but not the least, Bailyn discussed in Part VI entitled The Contagion of Liberty the privileges that the underprivileged were able to uphold after the revolution. The discussion talked about the long-term issues of slavery, religion, respect, that all in all summed into the new concept, the concept of democracy that gave every person the right to exercise his freedom in the country. However, Bailyn did not end the book here.He also included an essay entitled â€Å"Fulfillment: A Commentary on the Constitution† which described the existing constitution as the ‘fulfillment’ of the libertarians’ dreams. Bernard Bailyn is widely and deservedly identified as â€Å"our finest historian of the colonial period†. He was an Emeritus Professor at Adams University and professor of Early American History at Harvard University. He wrote many award-winning books including The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution which garnered him both the Pulitzer and Bancroft prizes.This book first published in the 1960’s was a brea kthrough for the whole mankind. He wrote the book in such a way that radical ideologies were seen as the main reason for the American Revolution to ensue. The book also proved to be applicable not just in the American societal and political transformations but also to majority of revolutions lead by radical leaders of such revolution. After all, there was no trouble understanding his ideas despite the fact that it was written from literally hundreds of sources compressed into a 416-page book.In conclusion, the Bailyn’s The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution was the possibly the best book ever written that pertains to the subject of ideological origins or backgrounds of radical libertarians who aimed to â€Å"free the individual from oppressive misuse of power† by the state. Also, he did not end his discussion to the accounts of the first half of the century but rather commented on the existing laws that he called â€Å"Fulfillment† of the hopes and d reams of the leaders of the American Revolution. Reference: Bailyn, Bernard (1992). The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press.

Find Out Who is Discussing Music Brings Me Joy Essay Samples and Why You Need to Be Concerned

Find Out Who is Discussing Music Brings Me Joy Essay Samples and Why You Need to Be Concerned The Upside to Music Brings Me Joy Essay Samples For instance, a physicist of Russian descent, Leo Theremin, besides inventing sound alarm systems and lots of tools utilized in espionage, is famous for his invention of a theremin, a musical instrument that utilizes a magnetic area and which people may play without touching it. Though it's an intimidating task, we're here to create the process as easy and rewarding as possible. Our whole life is the procedure of learning and gaining new useful understanding. There are innumerous applications of music that individuals can produce. From time to time, music is a means to hide from everything and everyone. It is very powerful and conveys positive messages for all emotional problems and does not ask anything from anyone. To me, it is more than just a way to relax and take a break. There are lots of different types of music I listen to. Luckily, there are lots of strategies people are able to utilize to make happiness, or at least strive for it. It is something that comes to those who expect it and therefore deserve it. In case you have at least once been to an amazing live concert, you probably understand what type of inspiration I am speaking about. You are able to acquire decent sample essays from our site. When you set your mind or must compose a hip hop music essay, you will need to gather the updated info and data about the topic. Writing an audio essay is an intimidating task because there are a lot of choices and you've got to discuss something which is tough to explain in qualitative terms. 1 big portion of music day would be that a huge part of merchandise and food proceeds would go to charity and the primary facet of Music Day would be a run of free concerts throughout the day throughout the world. Music Brings Me Joy Essay Samples Ideas This is a typical question many men and women ask. Perhaps it's safe to say that most folks wish to be happy. So, education is a vital method of eradicating the unemployment issue. While in the Army, I had the amazing honor to serve with different women and men who, like me, fought to earn a difference on the planet. Your choices in regards to writing a highly effective music essay really are quite varied! Without music, my life would be a lot less complete. You will need to wisely choose which music topic can help you bring out your abilities and knowledge in music. Inside my life music is far more important than dance. In general, my pick of music is dependent on what mood I'm in. The audio essay topics should also be in a position to assist you exhibit your literary elegance. That music has some type of calmness and it possesses no distracting lyrics, so I can concentrate on my study work far better. What's interesting, together with some well-known tracks, which my coevals are listening to at the present time and provide their preference to, I really like to follow the works of well-known classic composers. Being a real member of the band has let me in becoming independent and that's an honor to get. He cannot study without music. Their music is merely beautiful and lots of their songs have messages that still you can now relate to. Artists came from all around the world. Music has turned into a valuable part of society throughout the world as people use it in order to express themselves. Music in all its forms is around us and the undertaking is only to notice it and learn how to appreciate how it is able to be shared. Type of Music Brings Me Joy Essay Samples Members had disagreements from time to time. In this song, there were two solos which were performed. Whether it be day or night, we're just two or three clicks of your mouse away, waiting to help you. Music essay topics have to be well chosen in order to get ample scope to enlarge your imagination to make something unique. It is the most inspirational phenomena I can think of for a multitude of reasons. It is like yoga, it makes us happy and helps in keeping hormonal balance in the body, relief our body and mind and thus keeps us physically and mentally healthy. It is like meditation, if it is practiced with full dedication and reverence, it im proves mental health and concentration.

How to Conjugate the French Verb Étudier (to Study)

Personal Narrative Story Short Story - 1619 Words

I grew up in the mid nineties on the West Coast along the shores of Oregon. There were many nights of the seeming endless summer where my cousins, siblings and I would spin tales of great horror and gore. Tales of stumbling corpses coming back to avenge their deaths; deals with the devil where the soulless few would meet the worst death’s imaged, conjured up by six preteen minds. Oh, I can still smell the burning firewood, a small fire created by branches we found along the sand and a stolen lighter. We were never supposed to go out on the beach after dark, I suppose it was due to our parent’s afraid we would go out into the ocean and find ourselves being pulled under by the cold waves. Or at least that’s what I used to think. It was†¦show more content†¦Having four bedrooms and two bathrooms the layout of the summer house was interesting. On the upper floor had the kitchen, two bedrooms and a bathroom that connected in the middle. There was a dining ro om that led out into a balcony that over looked the beach and ocean. Down a flight of windless stairs was the open basement. On the bottom floor was a living room, two more bedrooms and a bathroom in a layout that matched the above floor. Along the living room was nothing but large windows and sliding glass doors instead of walls. There were no blinds on the windows either, allowing as much natural light as needed until dark. When it was dark was when we usually went to bed so it didn’t matter that there wasn’t many lights in the living room to us kids. Since there was five adults, and six kids, there was trouble with deciding on rooming situations. The adults all got rooms naturally, but each summer it was a fight of which kids got the last bedroom. For the longest time us girls got the bedroom simply because we were the youngest. When my youngest brother was old enough to sleep with the boys however, it changed. That summer was the first time I slept in the living ro om. The first few nights went without incident. I made sure to sleep with my back to the windows as the deep black of night gave me the chills. There was something about it that bothered me. I was a rational child, or so IShow MoreRelatedPersonal Narrative Short Story1538 Words   |  7 Pages Seventh grade, probably dumbest person in the school. Not kidding, take a look at my report card from last semester and you’ll be shocked about how many F’s there are. I also have a really active imagination, so I just love to write and imagine stories in my head. Eileen and I start walking home from school, as I’m trying to look at all of the bruises on my face using my phone’s camera while we walk. â€Å"Okay, girl, you may not be the smartest person in the school, but that was probably the dumbestRead MorePersonal Narrative Short Story1153 Words   |  5 PagesI still remember that fateful day, the day I was Stolen. It started out as a normal day at school. I’ll take you through the whole story. There is one thing you should try to figure out, who kidnapped me. â€Å"Joey, Wait up!† I yelled out. Why was he walking so fast, and not responding? It’s almost like he’s ignoring me. I started to jog, but he was already gone. I turned the other way to walk home. It was a long walk, for I lived in the country part of town. I noticed leaves crunching behind me, andRead MorePersonal Narrative Short Story1191 Words   |  5 PagesIt was a warm summer day with good air, most kids were out riding their bikes, scooters, etc. or running around, playing tag, yet I was huddled inside, reading a good book. The sun was shining bright, yet the clouds were blocking it, acting like the filter in a juice machine, separating the good stuff from the bad stuff. The clouds let the light come in just enough so it can light up everything, but not enough to make you sweat when not doing draining activities. This made it the perfect weatherRead MorePersonal Narrative : A Short Story1301 Words   |  6 Pages â€Å"Aww is little Airi hurt?† he says with a sarcastic tone. His let’s out his evil laugh and picks me up. â€Å"L-leave me alone.. DON’T TOUCH ME!† I scream out. â€Å"Okay† he says as he immediately drops me on the floor and drags me through the snow by my short brown hair. My legs are numb so I can’t feel my legs being cut up by the wooden porch. He lets go of my hair in the middle of the living room. This is the first time he’s ever put his hands on me and I don’t like it. My mother comes back and takesRead MorePersonal Narrative : A Short Story1598 Words   |  7 PagesShadows The leaves blowing, the wind was whistling. The moon shined brighter than the sun did that morning. I looked like no other normal teenager, But I was wearing all black. Black leggings, Black jacket, Black shoes, black shirt. My hair looked like caramel, my eyes looked like a yellowish brown that shined in the moonlight. My name was nothing important to people. People say â€Å"Angelys† is a nice name but i think differently. Nothing seemed to happen, I was coming home from a friend’s house.Read MorePersonal Narrative Short Story1415 Words   |  6 Pagesme have alcohol, and would only get me some water. At the end of the day, I had seen many people and the many occupations they all had. I saw many people from different jobs including, fishermen, merchants, importers, and bankers. I heard many stories of people’s families. As night approached, I walked out of the coffeehouse in search of somewhere to sleep. I did not want to go back to my own house because I did not want to catch yellow fever myself. So I decided to leave town, and walk all theRead MorePersonal Narrative Short Story1598 Words   |  7 Pages â€Å"Noooooooooo, I don’t want to!† I yelled. â€Å"I don’t care Emma, I’m going to be gone all night,† my mom said. â€Å"I am not babysitting Ally. I have track tonight.† â€Å"I bet you can make it up another day. You are babysitting your little sister tonight no matter what.† â€Å"No I’m not!† â€Å"I don’t like your attitude Emma! If you don’t babysit your little sister tonight, you can’t do track anymore!† â€Å"I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!† Then I ran out of the house slamming the door behind me. My momRead MorePersonal Narrative Short Story1787 Words   |  8 Pagescaught by one of the S.W.A.T. officers. I remember being in a helicopter and being brought to a tower. I was led to a room with a gun pointed at my back, I wanted to run and get my life over with but I knew that my job was more important than my personal wants. I saw a man his face was handsome but his eyes held the death of hundreds. I knew that my time here was not going to be leisurely. This man began asking me questions such as what I was doing here and why I was running from the S.W.A.T. I ofRead MorePersonal Narrative Essay : A Short Story936 Words   |  4 Pageswhen I open the door of my grandma’s house my grandma asks â€Å"Are you ok?† â€Å"Your face is all red† â€Å"I’m fine,† I say. Then I run to my room trying to hide my tears. Whenever I feel bad I would always read a bedtime story book but not the ones with happy endings. So I grab are small story called anger. There was once a man who kept all his sadness and anger in him waiting to explode and finally one day he couldn’t take it anymore and all that anger exploded the end. After I read it I realized it remindedRead MoreAlice Munros an Ounce of Cure1548 Words   |  7 Pagesstudies make the link between literary techniques such as narrative and storytelling and several other disciplines. Thus, one may find the theories of narrative and storytelling extending up to several major disciplines, such as philosophy, psychology, and literary criticism. In the view of different experts in literary analyses, there is a close connection between narrative or storytelling and the definition of the nature of self and personal identity. The former has been understood as influential

Globalism Free Essays

I am writing today to inform you about Globalism. I will begin with . â€Å"In 1962, the Canadian communications theorist Marshall McLuhan predicted the electronic transformation of the planet earth into a â€Å"global village†. We will write a custom essay sample on Globalism or any similar topic only for you Order Now In the global village, communication between geographically remote parts of the world would be almost instantaneous, and every important new development—technological, ecological, political, economic, and intellectual—would affect every villager to some degree. Social and geographic mobility, receptivity to change, and a sense of collectivity would be the hallmarks of this new world community. Over the past four decades, McLuhan’s futuristic vision has become a reality† (Fiero). Through the decades art has been such a great form of expression for all, from the people who create, to the people who just like to look or collect. Art has also gone through such an incredible form of change. When I think of art I think of Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Donatello, ect. These are the most prominent artists of the last thousand years. But now there is so much more that people can do with art because of modern technology as well as the freedom of expression that, in my opinion, has made artists in this century a little more creative. â€Å"While accelerated by electronic technology, it owes much to a broad array of late twentieth-century developments: the success of anticolonial movements, the fall of the Berlin Wall and subsequent collapse of Soviet communism, and the end of the cold war. With the elimination of these obstacles to freedom of communication among the populations of the earth, global cultural integration became a possibility, than a reality† (Fiero). We are in the technological era where computers, and simulations do everything for us! We think of our idea, and tell the computer what we want it to look like and the computer spits out something more creative than we could ever imagine. There is only one problem with this method of art and ease of access. Modern industries bring so many benefits to humankind, but it also threatens the global ecosystem we call home. These industries are creating pollution that is damaging every aspect of our lives. â€Å"Sulphur dioxide emissions in one part of the world affects other parts of the world, causing acid rain that damages forests, lakes, and soil. Industrial pollution poisons the entire planet’s oceans. Leaks in nuclear reactors endanger populations thousands of miles from their sites, and green house gases (produced in part from the burning of the coal, oil, and natural gas that power the world’s industries), contribute to global warming and other changes in the earth’s climate† (Fiero). Edward Osborne Wilson is an American biologist, theorist, naturalist, author, and researcher of sociobiology and biodiversity who is a leading defender of the environment. He is a landmark researcher in the study of ecological systems. E. O. Wilson was born on June 10, 1929 (Wilson 1) in Birmingham, Alabama. His early work in biology identifying the correlation between ants (and other animal societies) and human species. Wilson makes great points about the preservation of biodiversity in his book titled The Diversity of Life, â€Å"Every country has three forms of wealth: material, cultural, and biological. The first two we understand well because they are the substance of our everyday lives. The essence of the biodiversity problem is that the biological wealth is taken much less seriously. This is a major strategic error, one that will be increasingly regretted as time passes. Diversity is a potential source for immense untapped material wealth in the form of food, medicine, and amenities. The fauna and flora are also part of a country’s heritage, the product of millions of years of evolution centered on that time and place and hence as much a reason for national concern as the particularities of language and culture† (Wilson 2). This means to me that we need to stop while we are ahead. Despite the wonderful progressions technology has made for the human race, it is actually setting us back. It is making it difficult for future generations to live and thrive. The more resources we use, the less that will be left. Also, with using these resources it causes bad effects for the environment. No environment, no habitat, no human race or any other species for that matter. There are many other people who agree with Wilson’s beliefs. â€Å"The poets Gary Snyder (born 1930) and Annie Dillard (born 1943) share Wilson’s concerns for the natural environment. To essays and poems inspired in part by her love for Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, Dillard brings a dimension of awe that has been called â€Å"ecospirituality. A Roman Catholic convert whose outlook is essentially pantheistic, Dillard tests the objective facts of nature against her mystical appreciation of its wonders† (Fiero). As far as art in concerned Wilson’s has influenced many contemporary visual artists such as Robert Smithson. â€Å".. for instance, pioneered one of the most impor tant ecological landmarks of the late twentieth century, the piece known as Spiral Jetty† (Fiero). The Spiral Jetty is a work of art built entirely of mud, salt crystals, basalt rocks, earth, and water on the northeastern shore of the Great Salt Lake. More importantly, and more recently green architecture has been on the rise. According to the text, this is because† Architects have always given practical consideration to the environment in which they build. Now, however, in the face of rising fuel prices, global warming, and the degradation of the ecosystem due to industrial growth, the job of designing structures that do the least possible damage to the environment (a practice known as â€Å"green† or â€Å"sustainable† design), has become even more imperative† (Fiero). This is great because I try my hardest to be â€Å"green† as far as recycling, using my own grocery bags instead of just using the plastic ones and throwing them in the garbage, and also buying products with recycled paper for labeling and their packaging. Being green is important to me as it should be for all. To conclude, globalism is closely identified with a belief. Globalism is acknowledging there are other species in the world besides our own and that future generations need to be thought of in the long run. We must preserve what we have for our children, our children’s children, and so forth. Bibliography Fiero, Gloria K. â€Å"Chapter 28 Globalism: The Contemporary World. † The Humanistic Tradition: Modernism, Postmodernism, and the Global Perspective. 6th ed. Vol. 6. New York: McGraw Hill, 2011. 153-72. Print. O’Meara, Stephen James. â€Å"E. O. Wilson boy naturalist. † Odyssey. April. 2007: 6+. General Reference Center GOLD. Web. 16 Oct. 2012 Wilson, Edward O. Naturalist. Washington, D. C. : Island [for] Shearwater, 1994. Print. Wilson, Edward O. The Diversity of Life. Cambridge, MA: Balknap of Harvard UP, 1992. Print How to cite Globalism, Essay examples

Off Balance Sheet Accounting free essay sample

Operating leasing is the most common form of off balance sheet financing. With leasing, on the one hand, an entity could acquire the right to use an asset through a rental agreement. On the other hand, the entity could purchase the same asset using external finance. While the two arrangements may result in identical net cash flows to the entity, in the case of a purchase both the asset and the associated financing obligation appear on the entity’s balance sheet whereas in the formal scenario rental payments are accounted for as a period expense, with the asset corresponding liability omitted from the entity’s balance sheet.Entities used Special Purpose Entities (SPE), are also known as Variable Interest Entities (VIE) for off balance sheet treatment of deals. SPE or VIE is a corporation or partnership formed for the purpose of borrowing money to buy financial assets. Debts are move to a newly created company (SPE OR VIE) specifically to make a company look like it has far less debt than it actually does, which was the case with Enron. For example, a company needs to finance a business venture but doesn’t want to take on the risk, or when there is too much debt to get a loan.By starting a new SPE, they can secure a loan through the new entity. There are situations where it makes sense to start a SPE. If a company wants to branch out into another area outside of its core business, a SPE will keep that risk from affecting the main balance sheet and profitability of the company. The main factor that companies are doing off balance sheet accounting is to provide a better looking balance sheet with lower reported debt to equity ratio, which usually results in driving their stock price higher. Nevertheless, omission of the asset could help to inflate return on assets. This may make the firms look more creditworthy. For instance, by having operating leases, debt does not appear; thus, reducing financial leverage with an increase in operating leverage. By having lower leverage ratio or higher operating leverage, it could attract more investments from investors; therefore, it drives up the stock prices. Next, off balance sheet accounting allows the firms to receive benefits of the interest deduction for tax purposes while avoiding the obligation and the interest expense on its financial statements.In other words, firms with off balance sheet financing are likely to have tax interest expense that exceeds financial reporting interest expense. However, off balance sheet accounting has brought some impacts toward the stakeholders. Off balance sheet accounting removes the transparency from investors, markets and regulators. Firms use financial engineering to make their balance sheet appear that they are better capitalized and less risky than they really are. Without transparency, investors and regulators can no longer accurately assess risks.This is because investors and regulators use the balance sheet as an anchor in their assessment of risk. The shareholders could only guess at the extent of the firm’s exposure risks. This affects the judgment of stakeholders; and, it could bring tremendous loss to the stakeholders when the firms collapse. The Enron accounting fraud will best illustrate this. In order to overcome this issue, regulators have established several methods through Sarbanes-Oxley Act, MDamp;A as well as new rules on leasing. The Securities and Exchange Commission issues final rules implementing Section 401(a) of the Act relating to the disclosure of off balance sheet arrangement, contractual obligation and contingent liabilities. These rules require disclosure of off balance sheet arrangement that have, or are reasonably likely to have, a current or future effect on a company’s condition, changes in financial condition, revenues or expenses, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources that is material to investors.The disclosure includes elements such as the nature and business purposes to the company of the off balance sheet arrangement and the importance to the reporting company of the liquidity, capital resources, market risk support, credit risk support or other benefits provided by the arrangement. Nonetheless, firms are to disclose the amounts of revenues, expenses and cash flows of the company arising from the arrangements as well as the nature and amounts of interest retained, securities issued and other debt incurred by the company in connection with the arrangements.The rules also require public companies to disclose in a tabular format in their MDamp;A the amounts of payments due under specified contractual obligations, aggregated by category of contractual obligation. The five categories of contractual obligations, consisting of long term debt obligations, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations, purchase obligations and other long term debt liabilities reflected on the company’s balance sheet. The table must disclose what portion of payments under these obligations is due within less than one year, from one to three years, from three to five years and more than five years. To encourage the disclosure on off balance sheet arrangement, the amended rules include a safe harbor that applies the existing statutory safe harbors protecting forward-looking information required by the rules. With regard to the disclosure of off balance sheet arrangements, the safe harbor provision indicates that the meaningful cautionary statements element of the statutory safe harbor will be satisfied if the company satisfies all the requirements of the amended rules relating to off balance sheet disclosures.As mentioned above, operating leases can be exploited by entities for off-balance sheet financing – using an operating lease to obtain assets, thereby not increasing leverage and not decreasing return on assets. The proposed new standard on leases by the joint project of FASB and IASB, currently under development, moves away from the current â€Å"risk and returns† basis to a â€Å"right of use basis†. The lessee and the lessor will recognize assets and liabilities individually for all rights and obligations arising from a lease contract.There will no longer be separate treatments for operating and finance leases – all leases will be accounted for on the same basis. In short, operating leasing contract is no longer available and only finance leasing will be used for accounting in the near future. In short, off balance sheet accounting could be use but only with appropriate disclosures are done. By having the disclosures, balance sheet is more transparent to the stakeholders; and, the stakeholders do not need to have a wild guess on the risk of a company. Stakeholders’ investments are said to be more secured.