The United Kingdoms anti-money laundering system - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1268 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Law Essay Did you like this example? Introduction Money laundering is the term used to describe the process that disguises the (usually criminal) source of money.[1] The process of money laundering involves three recognisable stages. The first is the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"placementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ stage when the proceeds of the crime, often in cash, are à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"placedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ into the financial system, for example, by being depositing in a bank. The second is the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"layeringà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ stage whereby the proceeds are moved, usually through a series of transactions perhaps involving different entities, different assets, and different jurisdictions, in order to sever any audit trail and hence make tracing their origins harder. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The United Kingdoms anti-money laundering system" essay for you Create order The third stage is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"integrationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ when the criminal resumes control of the proceeds, free from any link to their criminal source. An examination will be made of the statement that forms the subject matter of this essay. As an outline, this essay will contemplate the extent to which the United Kingdoms anti-money laundering regime seeks to address each stage of the process of money laundering. To conclude this essay will briefly reflect on the effectiveness of the UK regime. It must be emphasised that in an essay of this nature, large and complex topics will have to be reduced. The UK regime The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 Banks and other financial institutions facilitate the three stages of money laundering and lend an air of respectability to the proceeds when they eventually reappear, therefore the financial and related sectors have always been positioned at the forefront of the drive to combat money laundering. The UK regime à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" which implements the EU Money Laundering Directives, FATF international standards and UN anti-terrorist financing measures, comprises three main components as far as banks are concerned. First, there is the primary legislation, the Terrorism Act 2000 (TACT) and the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) which creates a number of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"money launderingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ and related offences. The so-called relegated sector[2] is subject to additional offences to encourage its co-operation in reporting suspicious activities and transactions. Part 7 of POCA created three substantive money laundering offences, concealing[3], arrangements[4] and acquisition, use and possession[5]. The three offences are wide in a number of respects. First, the three principal money laundering offences must be related to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"criminal propertyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢[6] which is very broadly defined as any à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"benefità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢[7] from any criminal conduct in any part o f the UK or à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"would constitute an offence in a part of the UK if it occurred there[8]. The meaning of criminal property has been the subject of a number of Court of Appeal decisions, most recently R v Akhtar [2011] EWCA Crim 146, a mortgage broker who had allegedly submitted dishonest claims for and on behalf of his co-defendants, was not guilty of entering into or becoming concerned in money laundering arrangements. Clarke LJ submitted that the natural an ordinary meaning of s328(1) is that the arrangement to which it refers must be one which related to property at the time when the arrangement begins to operate on it[9]. Criminal property has the same meaning in respect of all three principal money laundering offences as set out in s340: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“It does not embrace property which the accused intends to acquire by criminal conductà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Property is not criminal property because the wrongdoer intends that it should beà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ [10] Akhtar followed R v Loizou [2005] EWCA Crim. 1579, where the court ruled that no offence under s327 was made as the property was not criminal at the point of transfer. To say that it extends to property which was originally legitimate but became criminal only as a result of carrying out the arrangement is to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“stretch the language of the Section beyond its proper limitsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ [11]. [analysis] [add facts of the case and relate to stages of ML) R. v Afolabi == re. s329 mention some of the facts Then conclude with test in Geary on part 7 and then further anaylsis on the extentof the act in stages of ML. Scope https://www.criminallawandjustice.co.uk/clj-reporter/R-v-Geary-2010-EWCA-Crim-1925 Arguments that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“criminal propertyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  definition needs to be revised à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Article:A suitable case for treatment: money laundering and knowledge Secondly, Liability arises if alleged money launder knows à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" see online book discussion between Hudson and Forston page 11 and 12 cases Thirdly, Drafted to cover every conceivable offence cases Mens rea cases Supplementary money laundering offences The à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"failure to reportà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ offences Tipping off As mentioned above banks and other financial institutions facilitate the three stages of money laundering, as such it is crucial to obtain the co-operation of those institutions who are essential for money laundering to occur at all. Section 330 and 331 of POCA create two new offences of failing to make a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"required disclosure as soon as practicableà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ after suspicion of money laundering is or ought to have been aroused. The term à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"requiredà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ qualifies the disclosure in order to emphasise that the failure to report is a criminal offence. Slaughter and May à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" unregulated sector The Terrorism Act 2000 and related provisions The Money Laundering Regulations 2007 The Money Laundering Regulations 2007[12] require à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"relevant personsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢[13] to operate their business in accordance with specified systems and procedures designed to combat money laundering and the finance of terrorism. The potential criminal liability laid out by the Supplementary money laundering offences discussed above together wit the regulatory requirements under the 2007 Regulations has caused the financial sector to introduce wide-ranging proces ses and procedures to ensure that its officers and employees fulfil these disclosure[14] obligations and hence that they do not fall foul of the criminal sanctions. The FSA Handbook Problems posed to banks by money laundering control Conclusion I [student number] declare that this piece of work contains # words. Bibliography Articles Shula de Jersey of Russell Jones Walker (2011). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wide but not unbounded à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" the definition of criminal propertyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Money L.B. 2011, 186, 17-18. Money Laundering Bulletin CL J (2011) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Knowingly submitting a dishonest claimà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  C.L. J. 2011, 175(6), 78-79. Criminal Law Justice Weekly Kenneth Murray, (2012) A suitable case for treatment: money laundering and knowledge, Journal of Money Laundering Control, Vol. 15 Iss: 2, pp.188 197 Books Ellinger, E.P and Lomnicka, E and Hare, C.V.M Banking Law (Oxford University Press) The Law relating to financ ial crime in the United Kingdom / Karen Harrison and Nicholas Ryder Hudson, Law of Finance (first edition, 2009, Sweet Maxwell) Encyclopaedia of Banking Law (available via Lexis Library) Pagets Law of Banking (available via Lexis Library) Legalisation Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 Money Laundering Regulations 2007/2157 Other https://www.airant.it/pdf/MLB%20Sept%202011_0.pdf [Accessed 03 March 2014] https://www.criminallawandjustice.co.uk/clj-reporter/R-v-Akhtar-2011-All-ER-D-214-Jan [Accessed 03 March 2014] https://www.criminallawandjustice.co.uk/clj-reporter/R-v-Geary-2010-EWCA-Crim-1925 [Accessed 05 March 2014] https://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?issn=1368-5201volume=15issue=2articleid=17031335show=html [Accessed 05 March 2014] Cases Allen v Gold Reefs of West Africa [1900] 1 Ch. 656 [1] Ellinger, E. P. [2011] Modern Banking Law: Oxford University Press. pp92 [2] Including banks, financial entities regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority such as accountants, lawyers, estate agents, traders in high value goods, casino operators. [3] s327 POCA 2002 [4] s328 POCA 2002 [5] s329 POCA 2002 [6] POCA 2002, s.340(3) [7] See provisions extending the meaning of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"benefità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ in s.340(5)-(8)(including pecuniary advantageà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢) and those as to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"propertyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (s.340(9)). [8] No restrictions are placed on the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"predicate offenceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢, as long as the conduct generating the property is regarded as an offence in any part of the UK, thus it does not need to be an offence in the country in which it is committed. [9] R v Geary [2010] EWCA Crim 1925 [10] Lord Justice Elias in Amir and Akhtar [11] Lord Justice Moore-Bick in R v Geary [12] S.I. 2007/2157 (as amended by S.I. 2007/3299 and S.I. 2009/209, in force on 15 December 2007 and replacing the 2003 Regulations. [13] Reg 3 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Application of the Regulations [14] More usually called à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"reportingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢.

How Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Has Influenced Pop...

Many timeless novels have impacts on our everyday culture, not only as a book, but also through music or movies. Many popular novels have multiple adaptations, which shape how we approach their interpretation, in ways we may never even notice. In some films, humans are depicted as monsters, whether through their actions, or through the thoughts of other beings. In these films we find issues with our own society, and in turn see ourselves as monsters, and look for ways we can change, for the better. One particular novel that influences this side of Hollywood is Mary Shelleys â€Å"Frankenstein†. The ways Frankenstein influences pop culture can be seen in science fiction films in which humans are depicted as monster, and â€Å"monsters† are seen as†¦show more content†¦You cannot be trusted with your own survival.† Influences from Frankenstein are evident in I,Robot, in the ways that humans respond when the power of the created becomes greater than that of the creator. â€Å"‘Remember, thou hast made me more powerful than thyself; my height is superior to thine, my joints more supple. But I will not be tempted to set myself in opposition to thee.’† In this quote, Frankenstein realizes, through an argument made by the beast, that the monsters power has become greater than his own, when they finally come face to face for their first quarrel since the monster’s animation. The monster uses intelligent language as well as quick wit which, when paired with his already superhuman stature, causes him to tower over Frankenstein in height, wisdom, and humanity. When Victor realizes that he is inferior to his creation he responds rashly, saying things like, â€Å"‘Abhorred monster! fiend that thou art!†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ and â€Å"‘you reproach me with your creation; come one, then, that I may extinguish the spark which I so negligently bestowed!†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ These responses show a pattern of childishness as well as a st rong tendency to resort to violence inherent in the human race. In I,Robot, when the robots revolt, and take to the streets controlling the humans, mobs begin to form, and the humans fight back with chains, baseball bats, and whatever else they can against an enemy that is obviously superior. In a confrontation, oneShow MoreRelatedThe Impact of Mary Shelley ´s Literature1543 Words   |  6 PagesThe Impact of Mary Shelley Frankenstein, who has not heard of this timeless creature or at least seen one of the many movies created in his honor? Many of our favorite science fiction novels were due to the brilliance of a writer named Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. Mary Shelley lived during the romantic period and had parents who were well educated and excellent writers. As a result, Mary began to write and become involved in her father’s literary discussions at a young age. She continued to writeRead MoreRomanticism in Mary Shelleys Frankenstein Essay2052 Words   |  9 PagesMary Shelley, with her brilliant tale of mankinds obsession with two opposing forces: creation and science, continues to draw readers with Frankensteins many meanings and effect on society. Frankenstein has had a major influence across literature and pop culture and was one of the major contributors to a completely new genre of horror. Frankenstein is most famous for being arguably considered the first fully-realized science fict ion novel. In Frankenstein, some of the main concepts behind the literaryRead MoreFrankenstein Study Guide14107 Words   |  57 PagesTHE GLENCOE LITERATURE LIBRARY Study Guide for Frankenstein by Mary Shelley i To the Teachern The Glencoe Literature Library presents full-length novels and plays bound together with shorter selections of various genres that relate by theme or topic to the main reading. Each work in the Library has a two-part Study Guide that contains a variety of resources for both you and your students. Use the Guide to plan your instruction of the work and enrich your classroom presentations. In

Overseas Codeshop - free sample - Myassignmenthelp.Com

Questions: 1. What's going on? 2. What are the facts? 3.What are the issues(non-ethical)? 4. Who is affected? 5. What are the ethical issues and their implications? 6. What can bedone about it? 7. What are the options? 8. Which option is the best and why? Answers: Answer 1. The scenario in the video shows that the Program Manager of a company summons the Senior Program Developer of the Willis Project to get updates on the progress of coding in the project. The senior developer Jason informs that they are already working on three versions of the product and may be able to finish the coding within a few days and send overseas for testing. The manager seems concerned that working on three different versions of the code is using up extra resources and that it may cause issues regarding testing of the product ("Scenario 1 Overseas Codeshop", 2017). Answer 2. The major facts that are involved in the scenario is that a company is involved in a project that is provided by its client, The Willis Group. The development team responsible for the development of the product are working on three separate versions of the software. The development of three versions of the software is using up extra funds and resources, which is not negotiated in the original contract with the client. Therefore, it raises the concern that issues related to deficiency of resources may arise due to the development of two extra versions of the software during the completion of the project. Another fact is related to the testing of the product. The development of extra versions of the project may leave insufficient time for proper testing of the product before it is being delivered to the client within scheduled time (Kamei et al., 2013). Answer 3. The development of extra versions of the project was unnecessary, especially when the project is complex and has a tight deadline. The extra effort and company resource that is spent by the development team to construct the extra versions of the product is using up time and budget that is allotted for completion of one version of the product. This may lead to shortage of budget and resources at a later developmental stage of the software. In such situations, the project may stop due to lack of resources and funds. This will delay the delivery of the project and affect the reputation of the vendor company (Bloch, Blumberg Laartz, 2012). Answer 4 The decision to develop extra version of the product within the allotted time and resource that is required to complete a single version of the product will affect the developer team, the vendor company as well as the client. The developer team will be responsible for any issues that may arise related to the shortage of budget or resources for completion of the project due to their decision of developing extra versions. They will also be responsible if they fail to deliver a completed product in time. The vendor company will be affected if they run out of budget or resources that are required to complete the original project as they have not informed the client about the decision to develop extra versions of the product and renewed the contract accordingly. The reputation of the company will be at stake if the client receives the product after the scheduled deadline or receives a product that does not meet the requirement of the client. The client will be affected as they have invest ed on the project and failure of the project will lead to financial loss on the client side (Yaghootkar Gil, 2012). Answer 5. The development of two extra versions of the product is using up the resource and time sanctioned for the development of one version of the software. Lack of time can lead to improper or null testing of the software, which can lead to various compatibility issues, runtime errors or bugs that the client may find while executing the software to their system. Lack of resources and budget can lead to the delivery of an incomplete or poorly developed product with poor quality of protection and service that may raise security issues for the client as the software may run the risk of being compromised by cyber attackers and hack sensitive data of the client (Yaghootkar Gil, 2012). Answer 6. The best way to avoid such issues is to drop the idea of developing extra versions of the project and focus on one version of the project. This will give the team enough time to complete the development of the software and test it properly before it is delivered to the client. This will enable them to deliver a complete and secure product to the client that will improve the reputation of the company and develop a healthy relationship with the client. In another situation, the manager can call for a meeting with the client where he will explain the client the need for the development of extra versions of the product and its benefits. In case, the client is convinced, the manager can negotiate a new contract with the client in terms of extended delivery date and extra budget. This will also allow the vendor company to deliver a completely tested and secured version of the software within delivery time without running the risk of exhausting allotted budget and resource required to compl ete the project (Mello, Strandhagen Alfnes, 2015). Answer 7. There are three options available, which will have three different effects on the scenario. In the first option, the program manager suggests the senior developer Jason to focus and complete only one version of the software and conduct internal test on the product before delivering the product to the client as it is better to test the product for bugs and errors by themselves rather than the client finding it out. This will ensure the delivery of a product without bugs and errors to the client within the allotted time, which in turn will aid in the improvement in reputation of the vendor company ("Scenario I 1 Project manager requests Senior Developer to work on one version only", 2017). In the second option, the program manager disapproves the action of the senior developer and his team. This is because he thinks that such action is irrational and unnecessary for the scope of the project. He also thinks that involving time in developing the extra versions may lead to an unstable product that may dissatisfy the client and affect their reputation. Therefore, he calls his senior and suggests for complete replacement of the development team as he finds them incompetent for the job. The senior manager complies and arranges for team replacement, which leads to delay in delivery of the project. The delay in delivery violates the terms of contract with the client, which dissatisfies the client and hampers the reputation of the vendor company ("Scenario I 2 Project manager disapproves of the action of Senior Developer", 2017). In the last option, the program manager encourages the action of the senior developer as the developer assures him that they will be able to deliver the project within the scheduled deadline, well tested and with two extra versions that will impress the client. However, after the delivery is done the client constantly faces system crash and compatibility issues. This affects the reputation of the vendor company gravely and leads to termination of service of both the manager and the senior developer who are held responsible for their actions ("Scenario I 3 Project Manager encourages the action of Senior Developer", 2017). Answer 8 Considering all the three options provided in the video it is concluded that the first option is best to follow, as it will ensure the delivery of a secure and errorless product within the delivery time without raising any ethical or unethical issues. It will impress the client and improve the reputation of the vendor company ("Scenario I 1 Project manager requests Senior Developer to work on one version only", 2017). References Bloch, M., Blumberg, S., Laartz, J. (2012). Delivering large-scale IT projects on time, on budget, and on value. Harvard Business Review. Kamei, Y., Shihab, E., Adams, B., Hassan, A. E., Mockus, A., Sinha, A., Ubayashi, N. (2013). A large-scale empirical study of just-in-time quality assurance. IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, 39(6), 757-773. Mello, M. H., Strandhagen, J. O., Alfnes, E. (2015). The role of coordination in avoiding project delays in an engineer-to-order supply chain. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 26(3), 429-454. Scenario 1 Overseas Codeshop. (2017). YouTube. Retrieved 9 August 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBfJ07gfHyc Scenario I 1 Project manager requests Senior Developer to work on one version only. (2017). YouTube. Retrieved 9 August 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_1350394263feature=ivsrc_vid=rBfJ07gfHycv=PqJqxXxKgpM Scenario I 2 Project manager disapproves of the action of Senior Developer. (2017). YouTube. Retrieved 9 August 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_1412212859feature=ivsrc_vid=3HgJXSNb1AUv=wkQaWNYcT7I Scenario I 3 Project Manager encourages the action of Senior Developer. (2017). YouTube. Retrieved 9 August 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_2396390895feature=ivsrc_vid=3HgJXSNb1AUv=1JrTSVk0gSc Yaghootkar, K., Gil, N. (2012). The effects of schedule-driven project management in multi-project environments. International Journal of Project Management, 30(1), 127-140.

Total Supply Net Work of Coca Cola

Introduction A supply network refers to interrelated business processes whose main aim is successful delivery of products or services of an organization to its end users or consumers. The aim of this task is to identify and describe the total supply net work of the Coca Cola Corporation and to identify factors that have influenced its determination of the parts of business to outsource or keep in-house.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Total Supply Net Work of Coca Cola specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The Supply Network of the Coca Cola Company Coca Cola Company is one of the biggest multinational companies in the world, with business operations in virtually all independent nations. Busa and Wright (2007, p. 92) states that Coca Cola Corporation has for over a century been manufacturing and selling bottled beverages. They further add that the actual manufacturing and bottling of its beverages is carried out by its world wide system of business partners. The Company has local bottling branches in various countries world over where its products are made and packaged for markets in the immediate environs. In reality, success of the production network of a company like Coca Cola which acts globally relies mainly on how well the logistics collaboration between partners is working Stangford-Smith, et al. (2002, p. 640). These authors argues that the Coca Cola Company maximizes the possible saving possibilities within the European food processing sector through an enhanced collaboration in production systems Stanford-Smith et al. (2002, p. 640). With respect to the supply section the company has automated order taking processes especially in the developed countries. For instance, in USA its sales agents does this by entering sales on transportable terminals while out in the field which are in turn transferred automatically to the companies main database Scott (1986, p. 33).This enables the co mpany to maintain a superior customer service and satisfaction. Factors Affecting Coca Cola out Sourcing Decisions Business out sourcing process refers to situation whereby an organization’s part of its business is done by another partner as opposed to its actual employees. For example, a company can seek I.T services for its business from another organization specializing in provision of services in that field.Advertising Looking for assessment on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More An organization’s decisions regarding business process out sourcing is influenced by many factors which can be economic, social, and political in nature. Russell and Taylor(2005, p. 245) for instance argues that the Coca Cola Company can not in its endeavors to out source reveal its formula to another partner even under circumstances where secrecy is guaranteed. Most of the factors that have influenced Coca cola Corp oration decisions on what parts of its business to out source and which to keep in-house are socioeconomic in nature in that most of the services outsourced are geared towards cutting the cost of operating and enhancing a superior customer service that guarantees satisfaction. The company for instance aims at reducing its labour and distribution costs through partnership with companies that specialize in certain kind of business processes like distribution. Government policies also play a critical role in determining how Coca Cola Company makes its decisions regarding business out sourcing process. How Coca Cola Company Has Planned for Location of its Capacity Coca Cola Company capacity is largely hinged on its ever expanding global market floor space and other competitive strategies such as purchasing of own premises like warehouses in its operational bases. In addition to expanding, the company partners with other organizations whose business activities impacts directly upon its a ctivities. United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America for instance points out that various companies in the food and beverage sectors have been breaking into new markets by either competing or partnering with MNCs like Coca Cola UNECLA 2008, p. 67). Reference Busa, R. and Wright. N. (2007) Total Supply Chain Management. London: Butterworth-Heinemann. Russell, R. S., Taylor, B. W. (2005) Operations management: quality and competitiveness in a global environment. New York: John Wiley.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Total Supply Net Work of Coca Cola specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Scott, K. (1986) Data to go: Portables a profusion of portables permeate the market place, Net work World. Vol. 3, No. 23, p.33 Stanford-Smith, B., Chiozza, E. and Edin, M. (2002) Challenges and achievements in E-business and E-work. New York: IOS Press. United Nations Publications, United Nations: Economic Commission fo r Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLA) (2008) Foreign Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean 2007. New York: United Nations Publications. This assessment on Total Supply Net Work of Coca Cola was written and submitted by user Braxton House to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Banking Essays - Systemic Risk, Bank Regulation In The United States

Banking Essays - Systemic Risk, Bank Regulation In The United States Banking Banking So Much for That Plan More than 70% of commercial bank assets are held by organizations that are supervised by at least two federal agencies; almost half attract the attention of three or four. Banks devote on average about 14% of their non-interest expense to complying with rules (Anonymous 88). A fool can see that government waste has struck again. This tangled mess of regulation, among other things, increases costs and diffuses accountability for policy actions gone awry. The most effective remedy to correct this problem would be to consolidate most of the supervisory responsibilities of the regulatory agencies into one agency. This would reduce costs to both the government and the banks, and would allow the parts of the agencies not consolidated to concentrate on their primary tasks. One such plan was introduced by Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen in March of 1994. The plan called for folding, into a new independent federal agency (called the Banking Commission), the regulatory portions of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS). This plan would save the government $150 to $200 million a year. This would also allow the FDIC to concentrate on deposit insurance and the Fed to concentrate on monetary policy (Anonymous 88). Of course this is Washington, not The Land of Oz, so everyone can't be satisfied with this plan. Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan and FDIC Chairman Ricki R. Tigert have been vocal opponents of the plan. Greenspan has four major complaints about the plan. First, divorced from the banks, the Fed would find it harder to forestall and deal with financial crises. Second, monetary policy would suffer because the Fed would have less access to review the banks. Thirdly, a supervisor with no macroeconomic concerns might be too inclined to discourage banks from taking risks, slowing the economy down. Lastly, creating a single regulator would do away with important checks and balances, in the process damaging state bank regulation (Anonymous 88). To answer these criticisms it is necessary to make clear what the Fed's job is. The Fed has three main responsibilities: to ensure financial stability, to implement monetary policy, and to oversee a smoothly functioning payments system (delivering checks and transferring funds) (Syron 3). The responsibilities of the Fed are linked to the banking system. For the Fed to carry out its job it must have detailed knowledge of the working of banks and financial markets. Central banks know from the experience of financial crises that regulatory and monetary policy directly influence each other. For example, a banking crises can disturb monetary policy, discouraging lending and destroying consumer confidence, they can also disrupt the ability to make or receive payments by check or to transfer funds. It is for these reasons that it is argued that the Fed must maintain a regulatory role with banks. The Treasury plan would leave the Fed some access to the review of banks. The Fed, which lends through its discount window and operates an interbank money transfer system, would have full access to bank examination data. Because regulatory policy affects monetary policy and systemic risk, it is necessary that the Fed have at least some jurisdiction. The Fed must be able to effectively deal with current policy concerns. The Banking Commission would be mainly concerned with the safety and stability of the banks. This would encourage conservative regulations, and could inhibit economic growth. The Fed clearly has a hands on knowledge of the banking system. The common indicators of monetary policy - the monetary aggregates, the federal funds rate, and the growth of loans - are all influenced by bank behavior and bank regulation. Understanding changes and taking action in a timely fashion can be achieved only by maintaining contact with examiners who are directly monitoring banks (Syron 7). The banking system is what ultimately determines monetary policy. It is only common sense to have personnel in the Fed that have a better understanding of the system other than just through financial statements and examination reports. The Fed also needs the authority to change bank behavior that is inconsistent with its established monetary policy and with financial stability. This requires both the responsibility for writing the regulations and the responsibility for enforcing those regulations through bank supervision. State banking charters have already started to be affected. Under the proposed plan, state chartered banks would be subject to two regulators. While the federal bank would have only one. Thus, making the state bank charter less attractive. However, an increasing

Free Essays on Buddism

Buddhism is one of the major religions of the world. It was founded by Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, who lived in northern India from c.560 to c.480 BC. The time of the Buddha was a time of social and religious change, the development of trade and cities, the breakdown of old tribal traditions, and the rise of many new religious movements that answered the demands of the times. These movements came from the Brahmanic tradition of Hinduism but were also reactions against it. Of the new sects, Buddhism was the most successful and eventually spread throughout India and most of Asia. Today Buddhism is divided into two main branches. The Theravada, or "Way of the Elders," the more conservative of the two, it is mainly found in Sri Lanka, Burma, and Thailand. The Mahayana, or "Great Vehicle," is more liberal, it is found mainly in Taiwan, Korea, and Japan, and among Tibetan peoples, where it is known by its emphasis on he Buddhist Tantras. In recent times, both branches, as well as Tibetan Buddhism, have gained followers in the West.... Free Essays on Buddism Free Essays on Buddism Buddhism is one of the major religions of the world. It was founded by Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, who lived in northern India from c.560 to c.480 BC. The time of the Buddha was a time of social and religious change, the development of trade and cities, the breakdown of old tribal traditions, and the rise of many new religious movements that answered the demands of the times. These movements came from the Brahmanic tradition of Hinduism but were also reactions against it. Of the new sects, Buddhism was the most successful and eventually spread throughout India and most of Asia. Today Buddhism is divided into two main branches. The Theravada, or "Way of the Elders," the more conservative of the two, it is mainly found in Sri Lanka, Burma, and Thailand. The Mahayana, or "Great Vehicle," is more liberal, it is found mainly in Taiwan, Korea, and Japan, and among Tibetan peoples, where it is known by its emphasis on he Buddhist Tantras. In recent times, both branches, as well as Tibetan Buddhism, have gained followers in the West....

Supply chain management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Supply chain management - Essay Example Transformation. Another key strategy is that Zara keeps tight control and flexibility over every link in its supply chain, keeping the bulk of manufacturing in-house rather than outsourcing them. While other companies begin with the designers who plan a year in advance, Zara store managers monitor what is selling daily and track current sales trends. They feed information on what customers need but can’t find to designers who create the designs and have them manufactured instantly. Throughout its process, the ‘fast fashion’ concept enables designs to reach production in two weeks, and has been imitated by Forever 21, Mango, and Topshop (Hansen, 2012). Output. As for distribution, Zara does this exclusively through their own stores because they desire to control the customer’s entire experience. Its Just-in-time system was developed in collaboration with Toyota Motor thus enhancing its control. Smaller batches of clothing are delivered to stores, to project an image of exclusivity to attract customers, and precluding the need to conduct bargain sales to move mass quantities of out-of-season merchandise (Capell, 2008). Part B: Analyse the competitive priorities of the three apparel operations and the approaches taken to managing their supply chain Design Zara’s design phase ‘breaks all the rules’ in retail fashion by drawing ideas from the market and passing these on to its designers to create. Unlike conventional garment retailers, ideas for designs do not originate from the designers in Zara, but from the customers. Customers come into the Zara store, and if they could not find the design they wanted the store management feeds this back to headquarters for designers to work on. This system is what enables the company to realize its competitive advantages, that is, its fast development lead time to market of only two weeks, compared to six months for other companies. While the method assures Zara of a ready market f or its designs, the designers however, could only experiment within a strict and narrow margin. Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) plans and designs centrally in Sweden, based on customer demands while achieving a balance among fashion, quality and price. The designers came up with their ideas by observing fashion trends, getting inputs from employees and feedback from customers; in this last aspect, they are similar to Zara. Unlike Zara which releases its designs within two weeks after order, H&M released its designs by seasons, in two main collections and several subcollections. Designing begins by brainstorming which involves all designers, buyers and pattern designers, a process not undertaken in Zara. Styles and designs previously successful and unsuccessful are deliberated on and a look of the year is decided upon. The result is that many designs brainstormed do not reach production. The design method of H&M is organized and shows planning, deliberation, and joint collaboration between bu yers and designers, but it is time consuming and inefficient compared to Zara’s two week development to market system. Benetton’s designs depend to a large degree on their designers’ diverse backgrounds and cultures. Designing is organized

System Development and Business Processes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

System Development and Business Processes - Essay Example Neither the storage of this information, nor the retrieval should be a time consuming exercise. All this should happen at the click of a button. YellowPen ushers in such a product. This should therefore bring in a great reengineering in the way the internet is used. Common shareable data helps in sharing research information across an organization. Knowledge Management is defined as availability of information for the right person at the right time. Information that one needs should be available when the person needs it. This is made possible by YellowPen. By using a common server, YellowPen is able to offer its services for any body who can log on to the system using Windows. It keeps the user posted as to what are the latest postings available which she has not read by having an online icon on their job tray. YellowPen provides a personalized Knowledge Management System for every user on the net. 1. Anywhere anytime accessible repository of all their information and the related information makes this methodology a unique and usable alternate to any other storage-retrieval mechanism that is in use. 2. Storage and retrieval is on the fly. When you need to store a specific information, all that we need to do is, drag and drop the specific page. The software captures the entire page with all its graphics and images into the YellowPen system. Along with this it also captures, who did the capturing, data and time stamps in addition to the location from which this was captured. YellowPen also captures a host of metadata along with this that helps in keeping the page updated and easily searchable for instant retrieval. 3. Being an encrypted and password protected database, it makes sure that the data is available on a single server and also is very well protected. It is also very well integrated with the current trends in piping XML data over RSS or Dublin Core. Do you believe that organizations will be better served by implementing YellowPen as an additional resource in a corporation Knowledge management in a company is very important. Nearly 60% of the information or knowledge in any company is in the minds of the people. Most of this knowledge gets transferred in the form of emails which are very difficult to search and locate when the need props up. A database with all the relevant information, easy to search option and a common repository where every body puts in relevant information is very useful and would bring out at least 20% of the dormant knowledge. If every company 'knows' what it 'knows' and could make use of that dormant knowledge residing in the emails and in the minds of the people, then certainly that company would be able to beat the competition. If a large company should need personal solution for these knowledge management systems, then they could create their own server with the software, which should be very valuable for their

On the Origin of the Scythed Chariots Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

On the Origin of the Scythed Chariots - Essay Example From this study it is clear that  Alexander is trying to reason about the role of reconstruction. As a distinguished scholar, he takes this opportunity to look for possible evidence that can help in unveiling the exact origin of this weapon. After acknowledging that this mater still remains a contentious issue, he goes ahead to state that he disagrees with Hesychius, but concurs with Xenophon for linking the chariot to King Cyrus the Great. Nonetheless, he concludes by saying that a lot of research still needs to be conducted by looking for all the available evidence that can help in shedding more light on this mater.This paper declares that  the reporter expresses his pleasure with this author for writing about scythed chariots. Having keenly gone trough his analysis, he concluded that it is a product of a vigorous research because it was based on a collection of necessary evidence. Also, the author provided exhaustive explanation to prove his point. For instance, his position t hat this type of chariot was used during the ancient times is accurate. He digs deeper into explaining that the chariot was used at a time when horses had not become stronger as they are today. This is why they were pulled by human beings. He explains this is a candid manner that makes it easier to comprehend by anyone who is interested in knowing about the origin of this weapon.  Alexander’s illustrations are up to the expected standard.

The Competitive Position Of A Company

The Competitive Position Of A Company This statement (in the coming referred to as The Statement) holds two different perspectives on the strategy thinking one based on competitive positioning and the other one based on industry structure and The Statement could to all appearances come from Porter. In Porters world it is the industry in which a company operates that is the foundation for the strategic analysis (reference). This is where the rules for competition are being made something that is well documented in Porters earlier work (see box Black box reference). In his later work (efter 1980 reference) Porter is more concerned about the resource needed to create a favorable competitive position within the industry. According to Porter every strategic formulation therefore needs to contain the two elements industry analysis and competitive positioning analyses (reference). My argument in this paper is that the two approaches cannot stand alone and that they are the two sides of the same coin. Taken the word limitations of this assignment into consideration, this is a short version of a huge area of strategic thinking, literature and ideas. How and why the stages of the evaluation has been undertaken I will be evaluating The Statements through two different theoretical approaches to strategy. The industry analyses (outside-in) versus the resource based view (inside-out). I will be working with the two approaches as two opposite poles in strategy thinking. In the industry analyses part I will be focusing on Porters early work (and the positioning school in the coming referred to as P-School) and their approach to strategy thinking. On the other side I will be focusing on the resource based view (in the coming referred to as RVB). This will be done through 2 different aspects A) The two approaches fundamental hypothesis and B) The two approaches key points of criticism. Finally I will compare the two rirections and make the following conclusion/thesis: The main statement of the assignment is too simplistic. In my view its a combination of internal and external factors that determines the competitive position of a company. The inside-out and the outside-in approaches have much in co mmon and for strategy development both approaches are relevant. A theoretical approach to evaluation of the statement There have been several attempts in literature to categorize strategy perspectives or schools of thought (e.g. Mintzberg 1990 and Whittington 2001). The two schools I will be looking at here P-school and RVB school each describing one part of a the SWOT framework (Barney 1991). RVB describes the strengths and weaknesses of a company, and the industry analyses are accountable for opportunities and threats as described in Barneys view on strategic framework. In the following I will try to make the correlation between two key views which both are occupied with the concept of competitive advantage through two components (Verdin Williamson, 1994); external sources and internal sources. Focus on the internal sources Resource based view (Inside out) The resources based view underlines the internal capabilities of the organisation in achieving sustainable competitive advantages in the market. Studies show that there are differences in companies returns within specific industries (Werner Field Montgomery, 1988). These differences are interpreted as caused by the existence of company specific differences in resources and skills. So it can be argued that it is the companies portfolio of resources and skills and the effective use of them, which determines a sustainable competitive advantage. Jay Barney is often mentioned as the author of the RVB approach (reference), but also significant contributions have been made by authors like Wernerfelt (1984) and Gary Hamel/ C. K. Prahalad (1990). With the publication of the book: The Theory of the Growth of the Firm (Penrose 1959) Edith Penrose advocates the view that the limitation of a companys growth opportunities are primarily related to its internal resources and capabilities. Grant, an other noble contributor to the RBV, puts the theses internal resources into three groups: tangible, intangible and human (reference). They all have similar but still slightly different understandings of RBV, but fundamentally they argument for an inside-out view, where the competitive advantage derives from a companys resources. Studies show that there are differences in companies returns within specific industries (Werner Field Montgomery, 1988). These differences are interpreted as caused by the existence of company specific differences in resources and skills. So the main hypothesis of the RBV writers is that is its portfolio of resources and skills and the effective use of them, which is the prerequisite for achieving sustained competitive advantage (reference). Fahy, Smithee (1999) cites Hooley, Moller and Broderick (1998) for criticising the resource-based view for its inward focus which risks ignoring the nature of market demand. Also Priem Butler (2001) made several points of critic by arguing that the role of product markets is underdeveloped in the argument, and that different resource configurations can generate the same value for firms and thus would not be competitive advantage. Priem and Butler further argue that the RBV is lacking detail and therefore being difficult to implement. The most outspoken criticism of the schools theory and method is directed against the schools one-sided emphasis on the companys resource at the expense of the market. It can be argued that this theory is too one track minded on enterprise resource being the only factor in building competitive advantages. The resource-based only relates inward inside out, so it does not create an immediate understanding of its environment, or the fact that a company must act in the environment in order to be competitive. Focus on the external sources Industry Perspective Porter is a prominent scientist in relations to the outside-in view at least his work before 1980 (reference) (which is what I will comment here). Porter and the P-School, tries explaining why some companies are more successful than other companies when they apparently are subject to the same business conditions (reference). In addition, the school has focused on answering the question What forces drive competition in an industry? (reference). In relation to The Statement Porter believes that for the individual company, the industry structure is essential for the companys strategic development and competitive position (reference). Porter identifies 5 different basic forces which determine a companys competitive position in the market a model of industry attractiveness Porters 5 Forces. The five forces is an out-side strategy tool which is used to illuminate the main competition issues in a market and measure how strong and important each one of them is. A critic of Porter and the P-school is linked to the fact that the choice of strategy is largely based on analytical desk work, without prior knowledge of real market conditions. Mintzberg writes in his book The rise and fall of Strategic Planning: The whole positioning school of which Porter is the leading spokesman depends to such an extent on strategic analyses, that it virtually replaces overall planning as the main activity (Mintzberg 1994:273). Porters Five Forces Model has some limitations with the market and business environment we have today. One of the criticisms is that the model assumes a relatively static market structure ((Prahalad and Gary, 1990) that can only create a snapshot picture of the market situation. Porters model is based primarily on the economic situation in the 80s were characterized by strong competition and a stable market structures. Todays market is dynamic, hectic and constantly changing (Prahalad and Gary, 1990), which also affects the firms acting in these markets. Another recent critique is made by Larry Downes (2001) who comments on Porters theory not being as important as they used to be, as new economic laws, conditions and markets have raised ( globalisation, digitalisation and deregulation). Still they are valid to some extent, as long as they are used with the knowledge that they have limitations within them. Hill and Jones (1995) make further criticisms of Porters 5 forces by stating that a companys success is not certain to be successful just because it operates in an attractive industry. The positioning school are solely focused on the market conditions and their crucial role in the competitive position of a company (reference). They do not involve the internal environment in determining/improving the competitive position of a company. This is a very limited view, which is the same critique as I put on the RBV its too one-sided. Alternative nonfinancial perspective to Inside-Out and Outside-in approach An alternative theoretical approach to Inside-Out and Outside-in in a nonfinancial measure could be done by looking at the contingency approach to management and strategy development. Fiedlers contingency model has the basic assumption that there is no best way of organizing or leading (Fiedler, 1964). Charles W. Hofer (1975) discusses the concept in terms of business strategy development. The contingency approach to strategy thinking underlines the importance of developing a best fit between structure, strategy and environment (là ¦rebogen side 69). Summery Not either or, but complementary I have now looked at our statement through two perspectives to strategy thinking. In my opinion, there is no one best way. Its about finding the perfect fit between inside out and outside in focus. The industry perspective and RBV perspective in strategic analysis are two parts of the same whole. E.g. in analyzing the industry perspective, it is possible to identify elements, which lies outside the area of RBV and vice versa. To be able to navigate successfully and be successful in todays dynamic markets you have to adapt to the external environments as well as the internal resources and ideally create the perfect fit between them. So its not neither or, but a complementary of both approaches, which is also the direction Porter is giving in his later work from 1985 (Murray, A. I.:390). Conclusion Strategic analysis has two dominant approaches or better referred to as fractions or perspectives. Outside In which is based on Porter and the positioning schools and the inside out concept which is often referred to as RBV Barney being the central author. This papers main point is that none of them can do without the other. The fundamental difference is that inside-out looks at the strategic analysis and a company competitive ability as being based on the internal resources and capabilities of which the company has at its disposal. On the other hand, outside in works from the starting point that it is the structure of a given industry which determines the companies competitive ability. An industry analyses requires both internal and external analyses to be successful. The Statement The competitive position of a company is determined by the industry structure in which it competes. should be rephrased to The competitive position of a company is determined by the internal resources available to the company and by the industry structure in which it competes. if the statement should be fully correct.

Causes and Effects of Stress in Daily Life Essay

Causes and Effects of Stress in Daily Life Stress comes from many different things and is the cause of many problems in a person’s life. There are different type of stress that mostly people experienced in there lives. The Acute, episodic and chronic stress. Each of this stress has a different types of characteristics, symptoms and treatment. Mostly people suffer from acute stress and experienced a perceived threat either physical, emotional or psychological that can cause our body to experiences and increased the levels of hormones and to increase the heart rate, breathing and higher blood pressure. Episodic stress is more severe type of acute stress. This type of stress is often more difficult to diagnose. Mostly people suffer from this type of stress experience symptoms everyday. The most common symptoms are headaches such as migraines, tension, being irritable, feeling anxious or even pain in the chest. According to Benjamin H. Gottlieb, Chronic stress is often defined by continuing the possibility or expectation of potential harm. The most common sources of stress in people’s life are often categorized like Death of spouse, family or friends. Health, crime, sexual problems, alcohol or drug abuse or inancial, and the life changing, for instance the divorce, separation, marriage or new baby. Argument with spouse, family member, friends, co-workers or boss. Physical changes to include lack of sleep, new work place and hours and the demands of the job and relationship with co-workers, new responsibilities and to understand the roles and regulations of the new Job and the support that there getting to a co- workers or supervisors. A lot of people suffers stress from the work place. to include the lack of feedback on the performance, poor communication with their own teams , orking long hours and uncomfortable work place. The general causes of stress that most common of people experienced are physical threat, social threat and financial threat. In particular it will be worsen when the person feels they have no response that can reduce the threat, the need and sense of control. When a person dealing with stress it can become fear that leads to imagined the outcomes. Uncertainty, unable to predict , and feeling not in control and lastly feeling being cognitive dissonance. It occurs when they cannot meet the commitments and being perceived as incapable and dishonest.

Alphabet Games Essay

A) The analytical framework I have chosen to use is PEST. Pest stands for Political, Economic, Social and Technological and are all factors of a PEST analysis. These are intellectual tools which are created in order to help a researcher to collect, sort, prioritise and interpret a variety of existing data and information about the subject or context that has to be analysed. When changes happen within a business or organisation the company will use a PEST analysis to view each factor in the changing process, in this case we will be looking at the changes of Alphabet Games. Political Factor Political forces include regulatory requirements, legal concerns, and any impact from the current political climate of the country or region where the business operates. The changes in the political factor could effect Alphabet Games considerably as they would have to sell games or consoles at a higher cost if the taxations in the gaming industry increased in order for the company to earn a stable profit. Economic Factors – Any change in the economy that impacts the supply or demand for a company’s products and services fits into this category. Sometimes they have a positive impact, like when a country’s gross domestic product (GDP) increases more than expected. Other times economic forces can hurt a business, like when consumer confidence drops and potential customers spend less and save more.Alphabet Games may need to pay more or less for the resources they need depending on where they purchase these from. As more companies are forming within the industry and all purchasing from the same supplier then the costs may decrease as they will be taking in more money, and this could decrease the price of games and consoles. Social Factors – Social factors are those that reflect the preferences, fads, and trends in society. Media companies are very sensitive to social trends as their business model is to produce content that reflects society’s interests. A social factor which relates to the case study is the force of change within Alphabet Games. Alphabet Games will have to constantly keep up to date with with upcoming and new trends so that they can work towards these. By  checking quantifiable statistics Alphabet Games will be able to see if the community offers a population with the demographic traits necessary to support the business. Technological Factors – Advancement in technology has had a dramatic impact on the business world over the last two centuries, and especially over the last 30 years. Anticipating changes in technology and capitalizing on those changes can become a competitive advantage and so Alphabet Games could be affected by this. Alphabet games will have to be able to change their patterns by creating new games, software and consoles in order to increase sales and marketing. BSWOT Analysis Strengths Close working relationships that exist between the partners Multi-million pound business at the cutting edge of the games development market Custom built facility that houses research, development and production Wide range of corporate and individual customers Extensive experience World known reputation for excellence, quality and innovation They offer software solutions as well as games Passion for software within the company is still as strong as when it established Weaknesses Competition between the small businesses and larger companies Technological enviroment Opportunities Recent growth in demand for flash games Some of their recent clients include NHS, Pepsi, Virgin Media and other small businesses The software can draw potential customers to companies websites providing a competitive marketplace Due to their experience they are a lot faster than most rivalry’s at developing new software Threats The challenge for small companies like Alphabet Games to stay in the market for long term and reap in potential benefits Production costs have tripled in recent years with the introduction of next generation consoles Sales and revenues have increased at a fraction Technology costs have risen which means large investment in staff and equipment CSWOT analysis guidelines In order to carry out an effective SWOT Analysis all information used must be current and relevant to the firm. A SWOT Analysis is a general technique which can be applied across diverse functions and activities used by managers. Using a SWOT Analysis can provide benefits such as a framework for  identifying and analysing strengths, weaknesses, opportunity’s and threats in relation to particular tasks or objectives or a stimulus participation in a group experience as well as many others. Below are a set of guidelines to follow that will enable them to carry out an effective SWOT Analysis. GATHER A TEAM The first step to take when conducting a SWOT analysis is to gather a team who have experience when conducting a SWOT analysis. By gathering a team that have experience they will be able to define the objectives which are relevant and accurate to the firm. PARTICIPATING IN THE SWOT ANALYSIS For best results invite contributors to participate in the swot analysis but by giving them enough time to prepare and conduct their own SWOT in advance. By providing a draft SWOT with brief descriptions of what they think is being seen as strengths, weaknesses, opportunity’s and threats. Once the group has assembled the process and established ground rules should be explained. The process of documenting strengths, weaknesses, opportunity’s and threats should be explained prioritising these lists and using the information as part of the strategic, business marketing plans. Explain that the SWOT process is a cooperative exercise aimed at organisational improvement and not about allocating blame and assure all participations that their input will be respected. Ground rules include – Everyone’s ideas are important Every idea is a good one No-ones idea is better than the other Suggesting an idea does not mean that you will be expected to carry it out if it is respected Except in the case of an emergency, participants commit to remaining on task until completion LIST STENGTHS The group assembled should list their lists of strengths identified before continuing to the workshop. They should be invited to the form in pairs and develop one combined list. The pairs then combine to form fours, and the process is repeated. Set of four then combine to form eight, and then again the process is repeated, each sets of eight then presents its list. The list of strengths is developed incorporating all contributions. The list should then be finalised by asking participants to reword any descriptions or include any additional strengths that may have been considered during the process. LIST WEAKNESSES In order to identify weaknesses a repeat process for strengths should be generated reflecting on the participants contributions. The list will provide a useful indication of growth over a period. When you review the list in a year’s time you may notice that most of the identified weaknesses have disappeared. Even though other weaknesses will be identified, the disappearance of previous ones is an indicator of successful progress. LIST OPPORTUNITIES In order to list the opportunities and threats the process for which was used for strengths and weaknesses should be repeated. The focus now becomes external, as opposed to internal for strengths and weaknesses. Make sure that opportunities and threats are not absolute – one person’s threat can be another’s opportunity, however the same item won’t appear on both lists. ESTABLISH PRIORITIES When the process has been completed there will be four lists developed from everyone’s input. Ideally these lists should be displayed so that participants have an accurate and succinct picture of everyone’s views of  the current situation. The list should then be narrowed down showing top priorities. Clarity of objectives is key to this process as evaluation and elimination will be necessary to cull the wheat from the chaff. With the lists compiled a clear picture should at this stage start to emerge in response to the objectives. CARRY YOUR FINDINGS Make sure that the SWOT analysis is used in subsequent planning. Revisit your findings at suitable time internals to check they are still valid and use lists to identify issues that are crucial to achieving the stated purpose of the business in which the company is involved. It is likely that you will be able to identify specific themes across all four lists. Try to restrict the number of themes if possible.

Contract Law

Contract Law The case under discussion has all the hallmarks of a contract law dispute. The present paper demonstrates the reasons as to why the defendant’s motion on the case should be overruled. More importantly, it shows why the plaintiff should be compensated as requested for wrongful termination of services.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Contract Law specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As the judge in the case, I would rule in favor of the plaintiff and oblige the defendant to pay for the damages as requested. Available literature on such cases argue that there can be oral manifestations of assent in a contract (Barmes 437; Wilkinson-Ryan 2110), and that such oral manifestations mean that parties to a contract communicated to each other about their agreement (Estlund 381). This in effect means that a contract may not necessarily be delivered in writing as argued by the defendant when citing the stature of frauds. In consequence, the rights of the plaintiff to gainful employment were effectively violated when the defendant chose to terminate the employment even after orally assuring the plaintiff that employment would continue for a substantial period of time. Additionally, the ruling would be in favor of the plaintiff due to the fact that termination of employment was premised upon the wrong reason that was not listed in discussions for engagement. Here, it is important to note that â€Å"a contract is just a tool to procure a service, supply, construction or so on† (Page Krauer 12). However, the law that binds the contract gives it its life and vitality to guide relationships and covenants. The plaintiff’s contractual agreement with the defendant, it seems, was predicated upon the passage of the Madison State Bar examination. However, the defendant proceeded to terminate the services of the plaintiff before the lapse of the initial three years even after the plaintiff sat for the examination and passed. This scenario is aggravated by the fact that the plaintiff’s services were discontinued after one year due to budgetary constraints rather than failure to perform as originally agreed during the discussions. It cannot therefore escape mention that the plaintiff was wrongly terminated. Furthermore, the ruling would be in favor of the plaintiff due to the fact that she had not gone against any of the rules set by the defendant to warrant termination of services. Available literature demonstrates that â€Å"employment contracts may have post-employment obligations and covenants, including confidentiality agreements, noncompetition agreements, and nonsolicitation agreements† (Rashty 24).Advertising Looking for case study on business corporate law? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The plaintiff fulfilled all these obligations yet the defendant proceeded to terminate her services to the law school in spite of the fact that the reason for termination was not of plaintiff’s making. It is therefore of essence for the defendant to compensate for the lost wages given that the oral agreement insinuated that the plaintiff would offer services for three years before a consideration for promotion was made. Fulfillment of employment obligations on the side of the plaintiff makes the defendant to carry the weight of blame. Lastly, an offer was made by the defendant through a letter and the plaintiff accepted the offer through writing. This in itself demonstrates that the parties entered into a contract. An offer can be described as an expression of willingness to contract on specified terms, while an acceptance can be described as the final and unqualified expression of assent to the terms of a given offer (Chapman Millbrook 1-2). The defendant, therefore, cannot argue that he did not enter into a contract when in essence his offer had been accepted by the plai ntiff in writing. This in itself demonstrates that the plaintiff is entitled to the damages sought. Overall, the defendant’s motion is null and void considering the above named reasons. The judge should rule in favor of the plaintiff and make the defendant compensate her for the financial damages caused due to termination of services. Barmes, Lizzie. â€Å"The Continuing Conceptual Crisis in the Common Law of the Contract of Employment.† Modern Law Review. 67.3 (2004): 435-464. Academic Search Premier. Web. Chapman, Millie and Glenson Millbrook n.d., At a Glance Guide to Basic Principles of English Contract Law. PDF file. Web. Estlund, Cynthia L. â€Å"Between Rights and Contract: Arbitration Agreements and Non-Complete Covenants as a Hybrid Form of Employment Law.† University of Pennsylvania Law Review. 155.2 (2006): 379-445. Academic Search Premier. Web.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Contract Law specifically for you for onl y $16.05 $11/page Learn More Page, John M. and James J. Krauer. â€Å"Basic Contract Legal Reviews.† Reporter. 41.2 (2014): 11-15. MasterFILE Premier. Web. Rashty, Joseph. â€Å"Employment Contracts with Post-Employment Obligations.† CPA Journal. 84.12 (2014): 24-27. MasterFILE Premier. Web. Wilkinson-Ryan, Tess. â€Å"Intuitive Formalism in Contract.† University of Pennsylvania Law Review. 163.7 (2015): 2109-2129. Academic Search Premier. Web.

Sylvia Plath Poem Analysis Essays

Sylvia Plath Poem Analysis Essays Sylvia Plath Poem Analysis Paper Sylvia Plath Poem Analysis Paper Sylvia Plate draws upon her personal experiences to blend a range of powerful emotions, weaving them cleverly throughout her poems. Lady Lazarus and Daddy explore her intimate struggles and how the abandonment and betrayal of masculine figures in her life shaped her views on life and death. Her carefully selected language is crucial in exhibiting her feelings about the oppression of herself as a woman and her demand of dominance over the men around her. The protagonist of Lady Lazarus Is an allegory of Sylvia Plate herself, the suicide attempts in the poem being a reflection of the poets own suicidal tendencies. The title itself is a reference to Lazarus of Betray from the Gospel of John, which suggests a similarity between the narrators resuscitation by Herr Doctor and the resurrection of Lazarus by Jesus; revived without apparent consent. This comparison to God Is repeated in her use of Herr Doctor, Herr Enemy and Herr God/Herr Lucifer linking all these figures as equals, merging their motives and Insinuating their connection as one force of evil in the form of men. This sets up a disparity between males and females. The fight for feminine control is presented powerfully within this same section of the poem, as the narrator claims she WI eat men like air. The use of the word air is effective as it is pronounced very similarly to Herr, German for Mister, used several lines earlier. This suggests that she can and will devour the masculine title of these male figures and with It any dominance of which they hold above her. The use of German words also links in with her allusions to the Holocaust, relevant to ere childhood, set in the midst of World War II. Plate declares her skin/Bright as a Nazi lampshade and her face a featureless, flee/Jew linen. This links the subject of the poem to the situation of the Jewish people and implies the oppression and possession of herself in relation to those around her. This repression of which Plate felt In her personal life forms a motive for the several suicide attempts presented In the poem. The use of anaphora, the reiterating of phrases such as l do it so it feels like hell/l do t so it feels real, is reminiscent of her recurrent near death experiences. She states that Dying/ Is an art, like everything else, which signifies that she is performing for the people around her. They bring her back only to speculate her struggles, giving Herr Doctor and The peanut-crunching crowd dominance over her. The repetition of words, however, stresses the importance of her message to the audience and announces that her conviction is growing constantly stronger; she will not yield to those who haul her from her freedom; the freedom of death. The repetition of me and my emphasizes the protagonists independence. These words draw away from the masculine concepts of which she is expressing and remind the reader that the poem Is about her control and Is a statement that men shall not overshadow her Plashs references to the holocaust throughout Daddy resonate strongly with accounts of her strict upbringing by her authoritarian father. The poem addresses the concern of male dominance, forming a link to many of her other poems. Like in Lady Lazarus, Daddy floods the male figureheads from Plashs life with an unflattering light, and again, provides a metaphor between herself and the Jews of the Holocaust. German words are used to strengthen the metaphor linking her father to the Luftwaffe, the Mainframe and the swastika, making him represent the Nazis in her image. The poem establishes communication as one of its main concerns. Although written in English, it is sprinkled with the German words that sometimes mimic her father; ICC, ICC, ICC, ICC, sometimes address him; Ach du, and sometimes describe him; With a Mainframe look. It says that he spoke gobbledygook insinuating that she could not understand him, a lack of communication between father and daughter. Plate then writes; l began to talk like a Jew/ think I may well be a Jew, supporting further the metaphor in which her form is in complete contrast to that of her father. She also establishes that she never could talk as she claims the tongue stuck in my jaw/ It stuck in a barb wire which is reminiscent of being stuck within the fences off concentration camp in which she is confined. The narrator states in the third last stanza that The black telephones off at the root, this time suggesting a more permanent loss of contact of which she herself is the designer, as she finally realizes her wish to cut the link between herself and a man in black. The color black is used many times throughout the poem to describe the father. The black man with his fat black heart who does stand at the blackboard while he confines his only daughter within a black shoe of which she must obey him, barely daring to breathe. Black is he color of death and oppression, and expresses her lust to kill him through the murky dark pool in which she is drowning in her attempts to obey him. Its a stark contrast to the poor and white girl with the pretty red heart, white being the color of innocence and purity while red represents the devotion she still feels for her father despite the resentment she has for his controlling nature. Blue is also used to represent the freakish Atlantic/ Where it pours bean green over blue/in the waters off beautiful Nausea which links with her fathers Aryan eye, bright blue, presenting a beauty and fascination but also a coldness and feeling of detachment, again a reference to his Nazi-likeness. Despite being free verse with no specific rhyming pattern, the poem contains a constant repetition of the 00 sound that conveys the womans frustration and consistently throughout, the you being directed at daddy in an accusing and frustrated tone of the poem. In essence, Plate is recalling how her own father, emotionally repressed himself, passed on his traits to his daughter along with inflicting his arrogant nature and his digressiveness of women upon her.

Influence of Ethics on Decision Making & Impact of Technology on Essay

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American Dream by James Truslow Essay Example for Free

American Dream by James Truslow Essay The ‘American dream’ is a term coined by James Truslow in his 1932 book Epic of America, but it is a concept as old as America itself: anything is possible if only the individual is willing to work hard. The dream draws immigrants to our shores and borders every year and keeps millions of Americans content in the idea that their toiling will pave the way to success for them and for their children. However, for every rags-to-riches story, there are thousands of other hard-working people who cannot get by, who do not have enough to eat, transportation, safe housing, or warm clothes in winter. There is much evidence that the American dream is little more than a myth, a false promise that keeps millions of people working themselves weary for a better tomorrow that will never come. The American dream is the promise of the Declaration of Independence, which indicates that our â€Å"inalienable rights† are â€Å"life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.† There is no single American dream, but Adams defines the concept in its most dignified sense: [It is the] dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement†¦a dream of a social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which that are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position. (qtd. In Ferenz) The lure of America for immigrants and the promise to its citizens is that, as Adams indicates, the individual is not held back by circumstances, but through individual efforts can pursue and attain whatever personal brand of happiness he or she desires. In the midst of the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt recognized the part the federal government needed to play in keeping the American dream alive-no longer was hard work the only factor involved in ensuring an acceptable standard of living. Under his administration, a number of social programs were put into place to help Americans achieve the dream, which Roosevelt described as â€Å"sufficiency of life, rather than†¦a plethora of riches [and] good health, good food, good education, good working conditions† (qtd. In Muir). Owing to these principles, Roosevelt’s New Deal included the Social Security Act, Fair Labor Standards Act that banned child labor and established a minimum wage, and a variety of programs that put Americans to work in civil service (Successes 4-6). Roosevelt’s programs and World War II helped drag the nation out of the Great Depression, but were not permanent solutions in making the American dream possible for all Americans. By the 1960’s, one in five Americans were living in poverty, and in his first State of the Union address in 1964, Lyndon Johnson declared, â€Å"an unconditional war on poverty in America.† (qtd. In Quindlen 1) Johnson, too, understood that the American dream was one not attainable through hard work alone. As Anna Quindlen, Pulitzer-prize winning journalist, notes in her 2004 editorial, â€Å"from [Johnson’s] declaration a host of government initiatives sprang, including Head Start, an expended food-stamp program, and sweeping reforms in health care for the needy† (Quindlen 2). Unfortunately, in spite of the attempts of Roosevelt, Johnson, and others to lend a hand to those Americans who need it most, the feeling that the poor are responsible for their own troubles always seems to creep its way back into the American mind. We’ve all heard the rumors that the poor are lazy, that welfare is just n excuse not to get a job. Quindlen comments that â€Å"part of the problem with a war on poverty today is that many Americans have decided that being poor is a character defect, not an economic condition† (Quindlen 2). Public policy of the last few decades seems to follow this line of thinking: the Federal minimum wage has not risen since 1997 even as welfare reform movements have forced millions of people, many single parents, off public assistance and into minimum wage jobs. Quindlen argues that â€Å"forty years after Johnson led the charge, the battle against poverty still rages. The biggest differences today if that there is no call to arms by those in power† (Quindlen 1). How does this shift in American policy affect the status of the American dream? Can we still call ourselves the land of opportunity when the American dream eludes so many of our citizens? Should the American dream exist and is it really worth it to try and live by the dream? In July 2000, Mortimer Zuckerman, editor-in-chief of U.S. News and World Report, wrote an essay about the success of the American dream. Zuckerman claims that â€Å"it is a dream on individual effort-talent, ambition, risk-taking, readiness to change, and just plain hard work-qualities that count more in America than social background of luck† (Zuckerman 120). That is a perspective that Zuckerman, a billionaire whose biography on the U.S. News and World Report website boasts he has substantial real-estate holdings, including properties in Boston, New York, Washington, and San Francisco can afford to have. The reality for most Americans, however, is not nearly so great. It is a reality where social background and luck play far too large a part in achieving the American dream. Two articles written a decade apart demonstrate that bitter reality. In USA Today in 1996, Charles Whalen writes that â€Å"beneath the misleading surface prosperity [of the 1990s] are numerous alarming trends,† among them â€Å"relentless downsizing, longer job searches and sluggish job creation, explosive growth in contingent work (part-time and temporary employment), and wage stagnation† (Whalen 2-3). One would be hard=pressed to find a list that better demonstrates the part luck plays in securing steady employment. Whalen also cites a survey, ironically conducted for U.S. News and World Report, that indicates â€Å"57% of those asked said that the American dream is out of reach for most families† (qtd. in Whalen 2). In 2006 in the Chicago Sun-Times, Clyde Murphy cites a â€Å"new report released by the Opportunity Agenda [that] measures the nation’s progress in living up to the American dream.† The findings? â€Å"That millions of Americans do not have a fair chance to achieve their full potential, despite their best efforts† (Murphy 33). Two of the reasons cited by the study are housing discrimination against blacks, Hispanics, and Asians are employment discrimination against women and minorities, which included favoring job candidates with â€Å"white-sounding† names. These findings clearly refute Zuckerman’s claim, demonstrating that background does in fact count more in America than individual effort when it comes to achieving certain aspects of the American dream. Another dubious claim in Zuckerman’s essay is that â€Å"anybody who wishes to work has the opportunity to move from the bottom of the ladder to a middle-class standard of life, or higher† (Zuckerman 120). As award-winning journalist Barbara Ehrenreich notes in her book Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, the rhetoric surrounding welfare reform â€Å"assumed that a job was the ticket out of poverty and that the only thing holding back welfare recipients was their reluctance to get out and get one† (Ehrenreich 196). As a wealth of evidence suggests, this is the fundamental misperception surrounding the American dream. In her 2003 editorial A New Kind of Poverty, Anna Quindlen argues â€Å"America is a country that now sits atop a precarious latticework of myth. It is the myth that working people can support their families† (Quindlen 2). Quindlen interviews two women who run services for the homeless and impoverished in New York City, ant they note that more often they are seeing working families in dire need of their help. Indeed, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2005 report on poverty, America’s poverty rate has been climbing, from 11.3 percent in 2000 to 12.7 percent in 2004, the latest for which data is available. This translates into 37 million people who live below the poverty line. This is further complicated, however, by the way that the Census Bureau calculates the poverty level. Barbara Ehrenreich explains that â€Å"[it] is still calculated by the archaic method of taking the bare-bones cost of food for a family of a given size and multiplying that number by th ree. Yet food is relatively inflation-proof† (Ehrenreich 200). This method results in a base calculation of $9,310 for one person, with $3,180 added for each additional person in the household. As anyone who has ever lived on his or her own understands, those poverty calculations are very low. Ehrenreich points out that â€Å"the Economic Policy Institute recently reviewed dozens of studies of what constitutes a ‘living wage’ and came up with an average figure of $30,000 for a family of one adult and two children† (Ehrenreich 213). When compared to the federal poverty calculation of $15,670, the gap becomes glaringly apparent. Anna Quindlen explains â€Å"when you adjust the level to reflect reality, you come closer to 35 percent of all Americans who are having a hard time providing the basics for their families† (Quindlen 2). As pioneering psychologist Abraham Maslow’s research reveals, psychological and safety needs-the â€Å"basics† referred to by Quindlen, such as food and housing-must be fulfilled before other needs, core components of the American dream such as belongingness and self-esteem, can be met (Abraham 2). This creates a basic gap between those who can reach for the American dream and those who cannot; if all someone’s energy is focused on providing food and shelter, there is nothing left to reach for higher goals. In a 2002 essay What’s So Great About America? Dinesh D’Souza, an Indian immigrant, makes assertions that demonstrate some common misconceptions about Americans meeting our basic needs. â€Å"The United States is a country where the ordinary guy has a good life,† (D’Souza 23). He even goes so far to say that â€Å"very few people in America have to wonder where their next meal is coming from† (D’Souza 23). Sadly, this is not true. Quindlen indicates â€Å"the U.S. Department of Agriculture notes that 1.6 million New Yorkers†¦suffer from ‘food insecurity,’ which is just a fancy way of saying they do not have to enough to eat† (Quindlen 1). Ehrenreich reports that â€Å"according to a survey conducted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, 67 percent of the adults requesting emergency food aid are people with jobs† (Ehrenreich 219). Two other basic needs, safe housing and health care, are also beyond the reach of many Americans. â€Å"When the rich and the poor compete for housing on the open market,† writes Ehrenreich, â€Å"the poor don’t stand a chance. The rich can always outbid them, buy up their tenements and trailer parks, and replace them with†¦whatever they like† (Ehrenreich 199). This is exaggerated by the fact that â€Å"expenditures on public housing have fallen since the 1980s, and the expansion of public rental subsidies came to a halt in the 1990s† (Ehrenreich 201). Health care is another sad story. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of Americans with no health insurance has been slowly rising, arriving at 15.7 percent in 2004, and as Quindlen observes, â€Å"poor kids are much more likely to become sick than their counterparts, but much less likely to have health insurance. Talk about a double whammy† (Quindlen 1). How can families dream big an d plan for the future as they worry about whether the next month will bring eviction or illness? Two people in particular have put a human face on the statistical evidence that the American dream remains out of reach for millions of hard-working Americans. At the urging of her editor at Harper’s magazine, Barbara Ehrenreich undertook a yearlong undercover investigation of living on low-wage jobs in Florida, Maine, and Minnesota. She waited tables, worked as a maid, and worked at Wal-Mart, never revealing her statue as a reported, but keeping careful private diaries documenting the details of her experience. In spite of working at least full-time, usually more, she was unable to get by. The most heartbreaking part of her journey, however, was the people she met, women who were not just experimenting with the low-wage life, but who were trapped by it. They were women who were victims of the affordable housing shortage, who lived in cars, or if they were lucky, weekly rental motel rooms. They walked, rode bikes, or bummed rides to work. Certainly among those who experience food insecurity, they skipped meals or ate nutritionally void foods like hot dog buns because they couldn’t afford to eat. They were women with raw hands and sore backs, balancing two or more jobs who would never, in spite of their work ethic, move off that bottom rung of the social ladder. In a similar experiment, Morgan Spurlock (of Super Size Me fame) and his fiancà ©e lived on minimum wage for thirty days in Columbus, Ohio and recorded the results for the premiere episode of his television series 30 Days. As Spurlock works eighteen-hour days making at least $7.50 per hour and Alex works for minimum wage at a coffee house, the pair is faced with a host of challenges that mirror the everyday trials of the working poor. Emergency room visits for a urinary tract infection and a sprained wrist cost them $1,217. D’Souza correctly comments that in America, â€Å"even sick people who don’t have money or insurance will receive medical care at hospital emergency rooms† (D’Souza 23), but he fails to take into account that suck care generates bills are equivalent to six weeks’ of full time minimum wage work. The most affordable housing they could find, a steal at $325 per month, has ant infestations, malfunctioning heat, and is upstairs from an apartment that was a crack house just the week before. Furthermore, their relationship is strained by the stress that results from the constant worrying about money. At the end of the month they find themselves hundreds of dollars in the hole, by permanently changed by their experience. When taken together, the accounts of Ehrenreich and Spurlock offer powerful insight into the everyday struggles of the working poor, those who are anything but lazy but still find themselves drowning financially, the American dream slipping further away all the time. Dinesh D’Souza claims that â€Å"in America your destiny is not prescribed. Your life is like a blank sheet of paper and you are the artist† (D’Souza 24). It is difficult to believe, however, that the millions of working poor are not trying to create a better destiny for themselves, only to find their dreams let down by the harsh realities of daily life. So why is the American dream still suck a pervasive part of our consciousness, even in the face of overwhelming evidence that hard work is not the ticket to prosperity, or even necessarily to a comfortable standard of living? In his â€Å"Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of the Right,† Karl Marx wrote that â€Å"religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of the heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for the real happiness† (qtd in Cline). Marx’s clever observation is that religion, in keeping the focus on the afterlife, keeps people from demanding fair treatment in this world. D’Souza suggests, however, that â€Å"capitalism gives America a this-worldly focus that allows death and the afterlife to recede from everyday view†¦the gaze of the people is shifted to earthly progress† (D’Souza 25). If this the case, why is it that we are not more aware of (and enraged about!) the decided lack of â€Å"earthly progress† of so many of our friends and neighbors? Some believe that it is because the American dream has taken the place of religion as today’s â€Å"opiate of the masses.† So long as we all believe that there is a better life ahead, that is we only work harder, our dreams are within reach, it is easy to be lulled into satisfaction about the inequality that is so common in America today. Barbara Ehrenreich predicts that someday the working poor â€Å"are bound to tire of getting so little in return [for their labor] and to demand to be paid what they’re worth† (Ehrenreich 221). Some challenge, echoing Marx, that Ehrenreich’s predication will not come true until the American dream, â€Å"the illusory happiness of the people,† is abolished in favor of a more realistic world view that recognizes that more than hard work, a hel ping hand is needed to make America truly the land of opportunity. From the survey that I took in class, 14 out of 20 people were surveyed and said that they to, disagree that the American dream should exist. They believe as well that there should be a more realistic view in society that allows you to get what you work for. Of the people that did agree, most were people between the ages of 18 and 21, people who have not yet, most likely gotten out into the real world to experience what type of life they can actually work for. If you too, disagree with the American dream, I ask you to go to this website: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/3/the-american-dream-is-not-for-rent , sign the petition, and keep working hard at what you do! Work Cited â€Å"Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.† Shippensberg University Website. Sept. 2005: 2-3. Web. 16 June 2009. Cline, Austin. â€Å"Karl Marx on Religion.† About.com. 5 Apr. 2006: n.pag. Web. 16 June 2009. D’Souza, Dinesh. â€Å"What’s So Great About America?† The American Enterprise. May 2002: 22-25. Print. Ehrenreich, Barbara. â€Å"Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America.† New York: Owl Books. 2002: 20-38. Print. Ferenz, Kathleen. â€Å"What is the American Dream?† San Francisco State University Online Web Site. 31 Mar. 2005: n.pag. Web. 16 June 2009. Muir, Ed. â€Å"Narrowing the Highway to the American Dream.† American Teacher. Oct. 2004: 25. Print. Murphy, Clyde. â€Å"When Opportunity Knocks, It Skips Over Some Adresses.† Chicago Sun-Times. 14 Feb. 2006: 33. Web. 16 June 2009. Quindlen, Anna. â€Å"A New Kind of Poverty.† Newsweek. 1 Dec. 2003: 1-2. Web. 16 June 2009. Quindlen, Anna. â€Å"The War We Haven’t Won.† Newsweek. 20 Sep. 2004: 1-2. Web. 16 June 2009. â€Å"Successes and Failures of Roosevelt’s ‘New Deal’ Programs.† Bergen County Technical Schools and Special Services Web Site. 10 Mar. 2006: 4-6. 16 June 2009. U.S Census Bureau. 2005 Poverty Press Release. 30 Aug. 2005: n.pag. 16 June 2009. Whalen, Charles J. â€Å"The Age of Anxiety: Erosion of the American Dream.† USA Today. Sep. 1996: 1-3. Web. 16 June 2009. Zuckerman, Mortimer. â€Å"A Time to Celebrate.† U.S. News and World Report. 17 Jul. 2000: 120. Print.