Finance - 2208 Words

Sustainable Business amp; Enterprise Roundtable (SBER) Assessment Corporate Users April 2015 Introduction The Sustainable Business and Enterprise Roundtable (SBER) service provides an annual, confidential qualitative Diagnostic and Assessment to benchmark Member-Clients against their peers and recommend areas for improvement. This Assessment Report details benchmarks and performance in five component areas, which are rolled up to a weighted SBER Index (Figure 1). The component and index scores are updated with information sourced from participating Member companies on an ongoing basis. This report details best practices for the Corporate Users, comparing PGamp;E with similar businesses within the SBER. The members of this†¦show more content†¦| | Leader gt;75% Advanced 65-75% Committed 50-65% Needs Improvement lt;50% Leader gt;75% Advanced 65-75% Committed 50-65% Needs Improvement lt;50% Examples of Member Best Practices for Vision and Governance * Publish a vision of sustainable real estate and operations that is aligned with the corporate vision. * Formally charter a sustainability council (green team) that reports to the executive committee and Board of Directors at least once a year. * Adopt a sustainability policy, signed by CEO. Strategy Strategy | | | With regard to real estate and operations, do you: | | | Overall Strategy | | | Have a defined enterprise-wide strategy for sustainability? | | Have a roadmap to implement the strategy? | | Strategic Goals | | | Have strategic sustainability goals for the operations? | | Allocating Resources for Sustainable Outcomes | Undertake indoor environmental quality (IEQ) upgrades in addition to energy efficiency (EE) upgrades? | Valuation | | | Have methodology for the valuation of more sustainable operations? | | Alternative Workplace Strategies | | | Have a policy for allowing remote work, flexible schedules, or innovative office design? | Leader gt;75% Advanced 65-75% Committed 50-65% NeedsShow MoreRelatedFinance1352 Words   |  6 Pagesfinancial manager differ from the traditional financial manager? Does the modern financial managers role differ for the large diversified firm and the small to medium size firm? The traditional financial manager was generally involved in the regular finance activities, e.g., banking operations, record keeping, management of the cash flow on a regular basis, and informing the funds requirements to the top management, etc. But, the role of financial manager has been enhanced in the todays environment;Read MoreFinance1074 Words   |  5 PagesCORPORATE FINANCE COURSE CORPORATE FINANCE 2.1 Working Capital Management Sept. 2014 Ir Frank W. van den Berg mba Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam ALYX Financial Consultancy bv, Aerdenhout FWvdB/2014 1 OUTLINE CORPORATE FINANCE FWvdB/2014 †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Basics Guiding principles †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Time value of money + Capital Budgeting †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Valuation of CF + Bonds †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Valuation of shares (+ co.’s) †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Financial Analysis (Ratios) †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ Financial Planning (EFN) †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¯ à  Ã¯Æ'   Working Cap. Mgt. (A/R,Read MoreThe Finance1054 Words   |  5 Pagesrequires intentional short-term and long-term planning. More importantly, in order for capital management to be deemed successful, it is required that all members of an organization are on board. â€Å"Capital budgeting is not only important to people in finance or accounting, it is essential to people throughout the business organization†lt; /spangt; (Block, Hirt, amp; Danielsen, 2011). As the duration of the investment period increases, and the size of investment increases, the residual risk also increasesRead MoreEquity Finance And Debt Finance823 Words   |  4 PagesStockholders are those entities who provide a company with the risk capital such as preference share owners and ordinary share owners (Freeman and Reed, 1983). Generally, stockholderis one of long-term finance providers with the aim to maximize their wealth.According toBrickleyet al. (1985), long-term finance provi ders are more likely to focus on the matter whether the financial structure in the company is sound or not and the durability of profitabilityrather than temporary profits that a potentiallyRead MoreFinance, Economics, And Finance Essay1245 Words   |  5 Pagesalso studied business, management, economics, and finance. These courses impressed upon me the importance of the financial sector in the economy. Finance professionals have the unique responsibility of managing assets and analyzing risks to ensure the future success of a company or organization. It is difficult to overstate the importance of this role, as the financial crisis of 2009 showed. It is due to my understanding of the importance of finance and investment, coupled with my longstanding interestRead MoreFinance : Finance A Carry Trade1144 Words   |  5 PagesIn finance a carry trade is a strategy that consists of borrowing at a low interest rate currency to fund investment in higher yielding currencies. (Moffett) Th e country in which the investors borrow from is called the funding country and the country where the investment occurs is called the target country. (4) Carry trade is also termed currency carry trade; this strategy is speculative in that the currency risk is present and not managed or hedged. (Moffett) Although there are several complicatedRead MoreFinance, Banking And Finance Industry2170 Words   |  9 Pagescomplete your transaction and move on with your day. The last thing on your mind is how that transaction is taking place. You don’t care what happens behind the scenes as long as your money is where it needs to be and is safe. As the banking and finance industry has transformed, so has the process of how your money is handled. To accompany those changes, regulators and lawmakers create laws designed to protect consumers, banks, and the economy as a whole. As you will learn, the history of the bankingRead MoreFinance : Finance A Carry Trade Essay1144 Words   |  5 Pages In finance a carry trade is a strategy that consists of borrowing at a low interest rate currency to fund investment in higher yielding currencies. (Moffett) The country in which the investors borrow from is called the funding country and the country where the investment occurs is called the target country. (4) Carry trade is also termed currency carry trade; this strategy is speculative in that the currency risk is present and not managed or hedged. (Moffett) Although there are several complicatedRead MoreFinance998 Words   |  4 PagesPlant Improvements Total Investments: total investment in plant and equipment brought forward from the Production spreadsheet. Sales of Plant and Equipment : total sales of plant and equipment brought foraad from the Production spreadsheet. Common Stock * Shares Outstanding: The number of shares of common stock in the hands of shareholders. Reflect any issue/ retire stock transaction at the beginning of this year * Price Per Share: stock price as of yesterday’s close. Stock will be issuedRead MoreInternal Sources Of Finance And Finance Essay2349 Words   |  10 PagesInternal sources of finance: Internal sources of finance are funds that arise from within the business such as profits as they can be retained to grow the finance and selling assets. Retained profit Retained profit is the money kept in the company after paying dividends. It is used to reinvest in the business or to pay debt. It comes by a business after it makes profit and is kept separate to use in other ways such as expanding the business by developing new buildings or certain areas, buying new

Culture and Traditional Gambian Dress Free Essays

A)In a paragraph, describe the acculturation process that the author experienced and explain how her cultural identity changed. Catherine Pigott came from a Western background. In Africa, she experienced a dramatically different culture. We will write a custom essay sample on Culture and Traditional Gambian Dress or any similar topic only for you Order Now At first, it must have been very difficult. There was little about her that appealed to the Gambian sense of femininity. She was far too thin by those standards. Consequently, she could not dance as they danced, dress as they dressed, or eat with the relish and gusto becoming of a Gambian woman. Frankly, she was too thin. Her slim physique represented everything synonymous with poverty, drought and starvation. Her body was a cause of sadness for those who looked upon her. If she were to remain in Gambia, she would need to adapt to these rather foreign cultural expectations. Her new lady friends insisted she gain more weight, and made it a priority to help Catherine accomplish that goal. Pigott began to understand that â€Å"big truly is beautiful† in this part of Africa. Everyone looked favourably on a woman carrying weight on her hips and thighs. A woman is beautiful if she has a round stomach and heavy, swinging breasts. This was not Catherine’s cultural ideal. In fact, she had difficulty eating as they did; for her, to eat with such delight and abandon was unattractive. Nevertheless, with time she gained weight, and slowly began to believe in Africa’s beauty image. She believed she was becoming more beautiful; she let go of the panic, shame and guilt-ridden resolves regarding her weight and eating habits. One day she clothed herself in traditional Gambian dress and made her way to the shops. As she returned, she placed her newly purchased items on her head, and made her way back home, slowly, swinging her hips in the manner of the natives. She was transformed. Now, when she looked upon the skinny European tourists, she did not see an ideal; she saw something more skeletal than slim, lacking in shape and substance. Her ideal had changed. After only one year Catherine returned home. She was happy and comfortable with her body, but her family had nothing nice to say about her new weight. Pigott returned to a land where fat is feared and despised. Before one month had elapsed she was already back at the gym, yearning to be slimmer and more fit. She was unhappy again; she had lost her Gambian freedom. Catherine’s process of adopting the cultural traits and social patterns of Gambia was difficult, but it was genuine. By the time she left Africa, she was comfortable with her body; she had adopted an entirely new perspective. Unfortunately, she would revert to her older, less fulfilling, cultural ideals after returning home. How to cite Culture and Traditional Gambian Dress, Papers

Better World Ensured To Future Generation â€Myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss About The Better World Ensured To Future Generation? Answer: Introduction In this research paper emphasis will be given on ethics of the manager and the CSR activities in respect of IKEA with the challenges it faced in those domains and comply them with the mission statement and the corporate governance of IKEA. IKEA is a renowned and popular brand name in the segment of furniture. The company exists in 43 countries including its presence in Europe, USA and other parts of the world. This company is also enriched with big numbers of human resources counting to 139,000 individuals. The company is mainly famous for its low-cost, well designed products by complying with environment friendly use of raw materials and manufacturing business process. IKEA has recorded its annual revenue of around 27 billion Euros or 37 billion USD. This company was established by Ingvar Kamprad in Sweden in 1943 at the age of seventeen. Prioritizing on the design to enjoy competitive advantage, the company has excelled through the entrepreneurship excellence and leadership qualit y of the founder. Most significant ethical issues faced by IKEA Although IKEA is famous for its popularity of products, the company had faced different challenges related to ethical practices of the management during the earlier decades. These issues are raised as phenomenal lapses in ethical practices while dealt with the respective stakeholders. Some of them are discussed below. Human Rights Allegation The company is famous for its strong practice of ethics to highlight its corporate responsibility while human rights are concerned. But some allegation was raised which had put question mark on their ethical practices related to human rights. This is due to the incident took place during communist era of thirty years ago. It was found and admitted by the management of the company that the labor deployed for the manufacturing process of furniture were political prisoners of East Germany. It was also reported that in case of denial of performing such work, the prisoners were punished physically with some brutal mode. This occurrence proved that although the company believed in human rights with its proper maintenance, no such control was found for their global supply chain. It is also reported that the company has engaged child labor for their manufacturing process of rugs in India Stand of IKEA For the first incident of East German Prison labor, IKEA management had agreed with the happening and had ensured that no such occurrence would take place in future as this incident was highlighted as a severe corporate misconduct violating the ground of human rights. For the second incident of deploying child labor for manufacturing rugs by Indian supply chain associates, the company had justified their stand with the claim that the outsourcing of the manufacturing process of rugs is being assigned to four suppliers. As per the audit report of the company, those suppliers were complying with the IWAY standards of IKEA as fixed for deployment of labor. Spying of Employees The Allegation It was reported that IKEA has a tendency to conduct investigation on the employees. This was highlighted through an incident of a female employee in France during her long absence due to sickness. As per the investigation, it was found that the said employee was not actually sick and was fired by the management as per the report of the investigation. As this practice of investigation on employees was a serious offence as per the legislation of France related to privacy of employee, the employee had put charges against the company to the Court. The Judge had imposed a bond of EUR 500,000 against IKEA Stand of IKEA Although it was not commented in public by IKEA regarding this issue, the investigation launched internally by IKEA had caused termination of service of many executives of key positions in France. Quality of product The Allegation In 2013, it was reported that the Swedish meatballs placed in the shelves of European countries were made with ingredients of horsemeat. The same was endorsed by the Czech Republic through the detection of DNA of horsemeat. Stand of IKEA The company had immediately reacted to this occurrence with an investigation and reported that the problem was caused due to supplies made by one Swedish supplier, who had bought the ingredients from Polis supplier. As a corrective measure, the company had withdrawn all such products from the market and also confirmed that horsemeat is not bad for human health. IKEA had lodged a complaint against the supplier with the result of termination of agreement related to that supplier. Later on the Swedish meatballs had again appeared in the market with the preventive measure of making sample DNA test of the ingredients. The company had also taken certain corrective measures to ensure the quality of the ingredients by developing the tracking standard of meat from the place of origin to store through production process(Render, 2012). Corporate Governance The Allegation The complex type of corporate structure is also raised as an ethical issue by the critique. The corporate structure of IKEA was run by a non-profit organization with Dutch origin. It was believed that the same concept was the brain child of Kamprad being the head of the organization. Basic objective of this procedure is to ensure exemption of corporate tax as per normal practice. If the allegation is right, this step is to be reckoned as the unethical practice to evade tax. Stand of IKEA IKEA had strongly denied the accusation with the justification that the corporate finance structure was made in such way that it can prove its firmness along with the mitigation of tax to make the products of the company more competitive so far their price is concerned. The company had provided its audited financial statements for the stakeholders of the company, which, as per the management, can prove its transparency with prudence to the world(Ebnother et al., 2014). Vision, Mission and Code of Practices- IKEA Vision and Mission statement Mission statement of any corporate is comprised of vision, mission and code of practices. The same depicts the objective of that organization. For IKEA, vision and mission statement is same which insists on its corporate objective of creating better life for global people. This statement also confirms the business idea which can support the vision of offering a varied range of functional home furnishing products which are designed as per need and with the affordable price range for most of the people(Jurevicius, 2013). As per the standard of mission statement, IKEAs was awarded with 2 out of 4.5 points which concludes that the company has not taken proper initiative to prepare its mission statement as the same lacks to serve five basic components of mission statement namely markets, concern for survival, employees, technology and public image. The mission statement has not emphasized the contribution of the company to its stakeholders except customers. The main drawback of same mission and vision of any organization is that these two statements do not suffice the purpose of two different types as vision and mission statements are different in nature to be used for different purpose. Mission statement should be directed to more stakeholders. Hence, the same statement used for mission and vision is not serving the basic purpose of explaining the objective of IKEA. Code of Practices- IKEA The code of practices of IKEA is based on the code of conduct of IKEA which is launched in 2000 and is known as IWAY. This concept is instrumental to specify the needs which are meant for the supply chain stakeholders with the exchange value for their supplies of goods and services. IWAY is a macro concept with the micro requirement of industry base supplements with special emphasis put on the issue of child labor. The supply chain associates of IKEA are mandatorily bound to pass on IWAY guideline to their employees and suppliers down the line. IWAY is mainly based on internationally acclaimed conventions with specific declarations. IWAY also emphasizes on UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, the International Labor Organization Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work of 1998 and the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development of 1992. IWAY mainly concentrates on prevention of corruption and activities which are not legal. This mandate also confirms disassociation of the company from any form of direct and indirect corruption. Through IWAY, IKEA had introduced a corruption policy with the Rules of Prevention of Corruption along with investigation policy which primarily focuses on the dos and donts of the stakeholders including their duty in case they sense any probable corruption or illegal .occurrence. The same is notified through vendor letter to all stakeholders of supply chain with the acknowledgment received from them(Ikea, 2017). Vision and Mission The company has spread its business globally in 43 countries with as many as 389 stores as of 2016 data. The organization has human resource deployed in different segments of its operation process with 139,000 individuals. These data justifies their vision and mission statement of reaching the customers to meet their needs with most affordable prices to match their pocket. Appendix 1 is depicting this fact featured in Appendices(Statista, 2016). Code of Practices The interventions of IWAY application were found effective in case of child labor deployment for rugs manufacturing in India through their internal audit, which confirmed about the baseless criticism in this aspect. For the Swedish meatball fiasco of 2013, the same had been internally investigated through IWAY standard. When the same had been found justified criticism, corrective measures had been taken by the company with necessary steps to stop re-occurrence of such happening(Hhs, 2009). Corporate Social Responsibility- IKEA Sustainability programs of IEKA are mainly taken up to ensure their CSR compliance. As a company, IEKA had focused on CSR, which has a positive effect on the planet and its inhabitants, out of whom human being are most prioritized. The Carrolls Four Part Model is mainly emphasizing on different contributory areas of social responsibilities which are consisting of economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic responsibilities. These four part model is forming a pyramid which is being depicted in Appendix 2(Carroll, 2016). Environment IKEA has generously contributed to the Woodland Trust since 2007 to make funding arrangements for 4,500 tree packs to the UK community through the adopted free scheme which allowed around 150,000 UK individuals to the environmental imapct. Basic objective of such initiative is to ensure better environment, more fresh air for the community and lesser pollution of nature caused by green gas emission. IKEA has arrangement for campaigning to fund 309 acre of new woodland under their project named A Foot of Forest within the geographical area of UK. IKEA has also taken initiative to raise funds from the sensible bunch of customers for pledging a tree for the nearest community for a token donation of GBP 1(Ikea, 2014). Refugees Due to changed global political situation, there are millions of refugees from Middle East had entered Europe since 2015 for better and peaceful life style. IKEA and its Foundation had taken up a Good Cause campaign named Brighter Lives for Refugees through their token contribution from the products sold from their stores to UNHCR, the agency for refugee rehabilitation by UN. As the problem for refugees are more aggravated, the company has taken spontaneous steps to support local organization with the products of basic needs for the newly generated refugees. It is also phenomenal that the workers of IKEA had contributed their honorary service to serve the refugees for their rehab. IKEA is also instrumental for taking up programs with long term duration through their integrated effort by the company workforce(Ikea, 2015). Ethical Responsibilities As per the philosophy of IKEA, human rights are the basic right for every individuals which is sponsored through the vision of the company with the round-the-year activities to ensure ethical environment for the stakeholders like supply chain associates, the customers and the local communities, as well. The employees have high respect for meeting their demand of treatment with fairness and with equality irrespective of the religion, physical ability, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation and gender on a regular basis as routine. The company is following the guideline fixed by UN about human rights and business through IWAY standard and this is applicable for all stakeholders including their community to provide them a global atmosphere which is free from corruption(Ikea, 2015). Legal Responsibilities IKEA is more concerned about the children of the community as they are treated as the best available future resource for the mankind. The company has taken up several steps to protect children by not encouraging child labor. The company believes that children must have the right to get protection from exploitation, abuse or negligence. That is why, IKEA is not practicing child labor for their operation system with the active compliance for preventing and mitigating this bad vice of the business society. The guideline of IKEA fixed through IWAY has endorsed this concept which is as per the international association named as Save the Children with proper guidance from International Labor Organization (ILO) and UNICEF since 2000. In order to promote prevention and mitigation of child labor, IKEA is involved in addressing the basic reason with a detailed approach. IKEA Foundation is supporting UNICEF and Save the Children campaign in around 25,000 localities of India and Pakistan with the expected total target audience of 15 million children by the end of 2017. Economical Responsibilities IKEA believes in the concept of social entrepreneurship and promotes the concept with the objective of better lifestyle in the communities. Social entrepreneurs are handling this instrument in order to face environmental as well as social challenges like reduction of poverty, reforestation and ensured empowerment of female. IKEA feels proud by creating long-term strategic alliance with those stakeholders globally. The company has practiced collaboration with social entrepreneurs which gives impetus by inspiring IKEA with the access to skilled workmanship who traditionally engages themselves in handicraft segment. The handmade products are exclusive with limited in numbers and are displayed and sold from the exclusive IKEA stores with the prime objective to roll back the profit to the basic initiative programs. Economic responsibilities are thus done by the company in order to take care of the global community with the close coordination between the company and the social entrepreneurs by sharing the entrepreneurial experience and with specific unique ideas about upcoming design(Ikea, 2015). Hence, from the above discussion, it is evident that the company is performing its social responsibilities as per Carrolls Four Part Model and thus ensuring the CSR duties with continuance and specific deliverable objectives. Mitchell at el attribute to stakeholder relationship The definition of stakeholder is narrated by Freeman as stakeholder of any organization is specified as any individual or group who has the ability to affect or who may be affected by the objective of the organization. (Freeman, 1984, p.46) With further research on this subject, Mitchell, Agle and Wood had evolved their findings through their article in 1997. They have proposed a new theory which is normative in nature for identifying the stakeholders with three variables- Power, Legitimacy and urgency. As per this literature, power is defined as the variable through which the stakeholder can or already has the gained access as coercion in physical means, utilization in material and normative in respect of esteem, prestige and social means to enable them imposing their will on the organization. Legitimacy is defined as a general concept with the perception that the activities of any individual are expected, appropriate or proper within any organization, which is with socially constructed system of values, norms, beliefs and definitions. Urgency is described as the specific degree by which the claim of the stakeholder can attract urgent attention. That degree is depending upon several variables like time, sensitivity and criticalness of the situation as per the degree of importance of their demand. From the above discussion it is evident that the priority is to be fixed to those stakeholders who have the three variables named as power, legitimacy as well as urgency. These three variables can have the ability to overlap. On the broader definition of such variables, there is micro division of stakeholders in seven different categories which is projected in the Venn diagram given in Appendix 3(Stakeholdermap, 2010). With the above discussion, the stakeholders of IKEA are differentiated as follows: Power- The Board of IKEA and the Managers Legitimacy- The customers, the supply chain associates, and the employees Urgency- The community, the shareholders and the environmental associates Recommendations With the above research, it is evident that IKEA is trying to perform their business with the standard practice as fixed by the IWAY standard. Still the company has enough scope to improve their performance so far their different area of activities are concerned. Although profit is the main criterion for doing business, other aspects affecting society and community should not be ignored. The company is spreading their business globally and has the scope of more business in long term. In order to prove them more responsible towards their different stakeholders, the company has to ensure that they should comply with the global regulation related to maintenance of environment and facilitating mankind in the area where they exist. Recommendations for their ethical and CSR compliance are: More importance to the need of the stakeholders More cooperation with the global associations for environment sensitiveness More application of business acumen with ethical business practice More emphasis on CSR programs for the global mankind. Conclusion It is evident that the company, IKEA is performing its business as per their standard to comply with the needs of UN. More emphasis on security of women and child ensures their effort towards community. Their ultimate focus on the interest of the stakeholders makes the company unique with their business approaches. The company is forwarding towards its long term sustainability by making rectification to their mistakes and honoring the global business norms by ensuring security to the environment by their specific strategies. References: Carroll, A., 2016. Carrolls pyramid of CSR: taking another look. International Journal of Corporate accounting Responsibility, 1(3), Available at: https://jcsr.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40991-016-0004-6. Ebnother, M., Rivera, M. Sawayda, J., 2014. IKEA Address Ethical and Social Responsibility Challenges. [Online] Available at: https://danielsethics.mgt.unm.edu/pdf/ikea.pdf [Accessed 11 September 2017]. Hhs, 2009. IKEA and CSR: Like Hand in Glove? [Online] Available at: https://arc.hhs.se/download.aspx?mediumid=656 [Accessed 11 September 2017]. Ikea, 2014. This is ikea people planet people communities. [Online] Available at: https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/this-is-ikea/people-planet/people-communities/ [Accessed 11 September 2017]. Ikea, 2015. Human rights. [Online] operations at: https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/this-is-ikea/people-planet/people-communities/human-rights/ [Accessed 11 September 2017]. Ikea, 2015. Suppliers. [Online] Available at: https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/this-is-ikea/people-planet/people-communities/suppliers/ [Accessed 11 September 2017]. Ikea, 2015. This is ikea people-planet people-communities refugees. [Online] Available at: https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/this-is-ikea/people-planet/people-communities/refugees/ [Accessed 11 September 2017]. Ikea, 2017. About the IKEA Group. [Online] Available at: https://www.ikea.com/ms/en_JP/about_ikea/our_responsibility/iway/index.html [Accessed 11 September 2017]. Jurevicius, O., 2013. Mission statement of IKEA. [Online] Available at: https://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/mission-statements/ikea-mission-statement.html [Accessed 11 September 2017]. Render, B., 2012. Teaching Tip: Ethical Issues Facing Ikea and Darden. [Online] Available at: https://heizerrenderom.wordpress.com/2012/11/20/teaching-tip-ethical-issues-facing-ikea-and-darden/ [Accessed 11 September 2017]. Stakeholdermap, 2010. Stakeholder Analysis, Project Management, templates and advice. [Online] Available at: https://www.stakeholdermap.com/stakeholder-analysis/stakeholder-salience.html [Accessed 11 September 2017]. Statista, 2016. Number of stores of the IKEA Group worldwide in 2016, by region. [Online] Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/241821/number-of-stores-of-the-ikea-group-worldwide-by-region/ [Accessed 11 September 2017].

The Tartar Steppe Review Essay Example

The Tartar Steppe Review Paper Essay on The Tartar Steppe I read books I choose spontaneously. Hand offhand pulls with bookshelves Tomiki .. opens at a random location and tasting the eye. One paragraph is usually enough. And what is most interesting, something like this is that the next book will show exactly the most relevant questions for me. Let not the right, but at least indirectly. About the book Dino Buzzati The Tartar Steppe we can say that it was not just a response to my questions of middle-aged men. It was the last Chinese warning that fate put in my hands. Such a direct allegory of his own life, Ive never met In front of me appeared on the pages of the book one persons life -. Officer Giovanni Drogo, who devoted himself to the army. And went to serve in an abandoned frontier fortress, which became in the end it mousetrap More specifically mousetrap was not the army as such, and not even the fortress, and the illusion that taking some decisions in our lives, we always we are able to cancel them, change; hitting a dead end in life, at any time, be able to go back. We will write a custom essay sample on The Tartar Steppe Review specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Tartar Steppe Review specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Tartar Steppe Review specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer As if in mockery of the fate of the young officer immediately gave him such an illusory chance of fate -vyrvatsya traps. When Giovanni still had the strength to do it. But Drogo ignored them and with this first step event raced in Rapid shooting a mans life in front of unfolded bud, blossomed and withered curled lump. And, as the story progresses the speed of the fading only increased What, in my opinion, was the reason for such an exchange of life Giovanni -. Any step towards illusion, any concession to her, her makeup changes us It makes more weak-willed, conformal The illusion addictive. Today, you say to yourself no, I do not like it, but I put up, gather strength and I will tear. Besides, Im not alone here, we can not as we all make mistakes And after a while you already see the open doors and you do not want to go through them you become a stranger to the world of freedom, youve already formatted Similarly, it seems a world of heroes Kobo Abes Woman in the Dunes, who also spent all of his life force to internally search for the meaning of the eternal struggle with the sand at some point refuse to newfound freedom. Consciousness, turned inside out for freedom is no longer needed. I do not know how I would have reacted to the book Dino Buzzati, I read it in his youth. Might have said to himself, thats for sure no matter what illusions do not get caught. But I read it, already being tightly strung on a hook of self-deception. And, probably, because of its OTFORMATIROVANY, I was horrified to this discovery. With some hooks, I did not tear. But life is full and those who lie in wait for me, today, and tomorrow. And can, thanks to this book, I have at least a part of the illusion was waiting for me I can still get around and snatch yourself at least a piece of freedom.

A Good Editor Can Help You Become a Better Writer

A Good Editor Can Help You Become a Better Writer Today, most of us find that we have to write more often than we thought we ever would. We are definitely not professional writers. In fact, many of us dont want to be writers at all. We struggle through English classes in high school, composition classes in undergraduate school, thesis work in graduate school. We write only when we have to write, wishing all the while, as we revise endlessly at three in the morning, that the project were struggling with was already completed.When we receive our degrees and go into the real world, we find that nothing has changed. Our reasons for writing became even stronger. We discover that the world in the information age does indeed run on words, words that constantly appear in team meetings, statistical documentation, projects, proposals, press releases, memos and letters, and executive summaries – the list goes on and on, and all of it is communication that is essential to our career advancement. We find that despite that technical gadget called a computer, we still have to be creative and learn how to communicate in the best manner possible. It all, of course, means more writing!So what is a frustrated, overworked person to do? The answer is simple. If you want to become a better writer, find a good editor. A good editor can act in numerous ways to help you become a good writer. A good editor is a blessing, disguised in formatted red ink, lined strikeovers of your copy, and inserted, often weird, comments that help you discover suddenly what you really want to say and how to say it better.A good editor can make you a better writer because that person will make you look at your writing from a different point of view. An editor sees your writing from a fresh perspective, and when you get your document back and work on it again, you suddenly find you are looking at your writing more closely. You will have to make some decisions too, which will also help turn you into a better writer.You will have to decide whether to accept the editors offered changes or keep what you had in your draft. You will have to decide whether you agree or disagree with the editors criticism of your topic, your arguments, and your conclusions. In short, you will have to learn how to defend your document. In so doing, you will not only see its strengths; you will suddenly learn its weaknesses. Great editors in the publishing world, like Maxwell Perkins and Bennett Cerf, and most recently Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis with Viking Press, have worked on just these tasks, as they helped some of the greatest writers polish their masterpieces.So when you find a good editor, what can you expect that editor to do? The following descriptions cover a few of the writer benefits a good editor can provide:A mentor – a good editor is a helpmate, a cheerleader who will keep you writing, and despite how convoluted your work is or how complete, will offer praise and encouragement to keep you writing and rewriting.An instructor  œ a good editor will teach by explaining the concepts behind the red typed changes and the comments to re-organize or focus or stay on topic or clarify or expand. You will learn not to make those grammar errors you have always made because now you are beginning to understand the rules. You will learn how to replace the wrong word with the right word that really communicates the idea you have stored so precisely in your head, but cant get down on paper or the computer screen. You learn about the Whys of Writing, and amazingly, start to like the process, if not love it. Learning how to write clearly is a major high.A second pair of eyes – a good editor looks at your copy with fresh eyes and without an ongoing headache (hopefully). One of the tenets of writing is to set aside a newly written draft and let it steep like a good cup of tea. An editor can see the potential of that cup of tea because he or she didnt brew it. That impression from the other side of the room is invaluab le to any writer. An editor can see the flaws of your logic or point out the details that you missed. In doing so, your editor will speed up the process for you, the writer.A devils advocate – a good editor is not afraid to appeal to your artistic and creative conscience. A little like Jiminy Cricket in Disneys Pinocchio, an editor will be your conscience, play the role of lawyer, philosopher, and critic to help you evaluate your ideas and your logical, truthful, and even accurate expression of them. Whether you are off the wall, or on the beaten track, or arguing a unique point of view that needs clarification, an editor can give you valuable feedback about your creative ideas and help you find your true voice.A personal organizer – a good editor will keep you striving to meet your deadline and help you produce the best product possible. Your editor will be a stickler in finding and drawing to your attention (sometimes a bit annoyingly) the silly proofreading mistakes you just keep on making, as you try to be creative, productive, and finished.No matter what kind of material you want or need to produce, any time a person writes, input is vital. Writing is a solitary job. It can be a pretty lonely exercise to sit and stare at your computer or a blank sheet of paper while you try to pull the words out of your head and birth that marvelous idea you know in your creative mind was just what you wanted to say.Writers need contact and input, praise and disagreement. Editors can do that with great aplomb when they are good. Your editor is your creative partner, who after he or she has helped you to make the best possible impression with your writing, fades silently away until the next time help is needed. Where else could you find a better partnership than that?

Getting to Know Your Protagonist How to Create “Real” Characters - Freewrite Store

Getting to Know Your Protagonist How to Create â€Å"Real† Characters - Freewrite Store Have you ever read a book where the characters seem so real it’s like they could step off the page and sit down for a coffee with you? Those are the kinds of characters I love - the ones you almost miss when the novel comes to an end. Unfortunately, too many books I read contain characters that seem little more than cardboard cutouts. Being able to craft a protagonist in your story that is three-dimensional and totally â€Å"real† is a skill that a lot of novelists struggle with. If you find it difficult to create those kinds of characters, you’re certainly not alone - but it’s absolutely possible to learn this skill. And it’s not as hard as you might think it is! Keep reading if you want to discover powerful secrets for creating characters that jump right off the page. What Not  To Do You’ve probably come across those questionnaires that many ‘how-to-write’ websites love so much. You know the questions I mean - the ones that are supposed to help you get to know your characters by having you fill in every detail of your character’s life. Where they were born, their middle name, how their parents met, their job, their hobbies†¦ and so on. Here’s my first piece of advice. Don’t rely on those kinds of questionnaires to bring your characters to life. Sure, it can help to have those details to hand when you’re writing, but I’m afraid they’re not going to give you three-dimensional characters. It’s not facts that bring your characters to life. Getting Under Your Protagonist’s Skin Being able to describe what your character looks like is useful, but it’s not what makes him come alive in your reader’s mind. Instead, you need to focus on what makes your character tick. To get under your characters’ skin, you need to know the answers to these kinds of questions: What motivates him? What is she afraid of? Is she emotional, passionate and extroverted or placid, gentle and introverted? What secrets does he have that he’s afraid that others may reject him because of? What influences her decision-making? What’s his life-story? What makes her happy? What makes him angry? How does she present herself to others - and is that at odds at how she feels inside? What are the experiences that have shaped his opinions and reactions to different situations? The emotional details of your protagonist’s psyche are far more important than being able to describe the color of his hair or the layout of her home. When I write fiction, I’ve been known to spend more time getting to know my characters innermost secrets than I actually spend on writing the novel. Taking the time to really get under your characters’ skin can be frustrating when you just want to sit down and write, but trust me, the effort is absolutely worth it. When I look at some of the stories I wrote before I discovered the secrets of bringing my characters to life on the page, I’m embarrassed by how two-dimensional the characters seem. I didn’t spend enough time understanding what made my protagonists tick, and it shows. I’m going to take you through my own 3-step process for creating realistic characters so that you can easily follow a tried-and-tested technique that really works. 3 Powerful Steps Toward Understanding Your Protagonists When you start the process of bringing your characters to life, I suggest you open a new document for each protagonist. This is where you can keep and organize all the details you ‘discover’ and have a handy reference when you start to write your novel. This technique also works for short stories, but you won’t need quite so much detail! Step 1: Exploring the Psyche The psyche of your protagonist and other characters is where their motivations lie. There are different aspects to this - both conscious and subconscious. While it may seem a little weird at first to dig into the subconscious of a character that you’re creating, investing time in this exercise really pays off. To explore your protagonist’s psyche, you need to ask deep and searching questions and dig into as much detail as you can. If you find that you’re struggling with this exercise, you might want to try the ‘empty chair’ visualization. Put a chair opposite you and imagine that your character is sitting in it. Ask them the following questions, as you might do if it was a friend sitting in the chair. What is your primary goal and why is it so important to you? What is the deepest desire in your life? Do you worry that you’ll never reach the point where that deepest desire is realized? If so, why is that? What are you most afraid of? What are your core beliefs about yourself, other people, and the world around you? Do you believe in fairytales? What are your views about marriage, divorce, happiness, success, and failure? If you could sum up your fundamental beliefs in a single sentence, what would that sentence be? What three values describe you the most closely? What principles do you believe should always be adhered to? What drives you to get out of bed every morning? At the end of this exercise, you will have a pretty good insight into the conscious and subconscious things that make your character who they are. If there are other questions you want to ask, go ahead and ask them - this list isn’t an exhaustive one! Step 2: Examining their Behavior Knowing how your character will react in different situations can help you to craft scenes that really bring your protagonist to life. We’ll be looking at why they behave the way they do in step 3, so in this step, you need to focus solely on your character’s behavior and actions. Instead of asking your character questions, this step requires you to really exercise your imagination. By the time you’ve finished with this step, you’ll be confident in knowing how your character will react in a whole range of situations, and it’s this kind of detailed knowledge that allows you to bring your protagonist to life on the page. You’re going to be putting your protagonist (and other key characters) into a range of hypothetical situations, so this step can take a while! You don’t have to go through all the scenarios at once, though - it’s something you can come back to later if you’re short on time. Scenario 1 Your protagonist leaves the office and rides the elevator to the underground garage to get their car to head home. As they’re pulling out of the garage, a black sedan comes hurtling towards them and rear-ends their vehicle. What does your protagonist do? Scenario 2 The phone rings in the middle of the night. Your protagonist sees that it’s an ‘unknown number’ and ignores the call. In the morning, they check voicemail and learn that a friend or family member has been involved in an accident. By the time they get to the hospital, the person has passed away. How do they react? Scenario 3 Your protagonist heads out on a hike one Saturday morning after a busy week at work. After a couple of hours, they come across an abandoned campsite. There’s a still-smoldering campfire that suggests that it’s not long since someone left in a hurry. Suddenly, your protagonist hears the sound of someone sobbing. What do they do? Scenario 4 Your character spends several hours at a family picnic attended by extended family and friends. They have a secret that they thought no one is aware of, but then their cousin makes a comment that suggests the secret is out of the bag. What does your protagonist do? Scenario 5 It’s vacation time, and your protagonist is vacationing in Jamaica. While they’re lazing by the pool, a stranger asks a too-intimate question. How does your protagonist respond? Scenario 6 New neighbors have moved in, and the whole neighborhood is talking about them because they’re not the kind of people who normally live in this part of town (for whatever reason, it’s up to you!). Your protagonist is mowing the front lawn when the new neighbors come out of the house. How does your character respond to them? Scenario 7 Your protagonist discovers that they have a stalker. What aspects of their personality emerge in response to the chilling situation? Scenario 8 At work, your protagonist’s line manager is deported because she’s breached the terms of her visa. Suddenly, your character has to step into a leadership role that they’ve never been trained for. How do they respond, and what kind of leader do they make? Scenario 9 Your protagonist is talking to a friend when they suddenly realize that they’ve caught their friend in a lie. How do they react? (You can flip this one and imagine how your character would behave if a friend discovered that your character has been lying to them). Scenario 10 There’s a freak storm that knocks out the power and phone lines and leaves your character stuck in the office, unable to get home because of flash flooding. Their twelve-year-old child is home alone. How does your character respond to the crisis? If you want to try more scenarios to delve even deeper into your character’s behavior, feel free to create your own! Step 3: Understanding their Influences Now that you understand your character’s psyche a little more, and you’ve delved into the way that they behave, it’s time to start exploring the things that have shaped them as a person. To a certain extent, this is similar to knowing your character’s backstory, but in this exercise, you’ll be delving a bit deeper and exploring facts that might never be revealed in your novel. Backstory is usually used as part of the novel in some form or another, but many of the details that you’ll be uncovering in this exercise are about helping you to understand your characters, rather than providing the context in a story. You can use the empty chair technique again to ask your character about the things that have made them who they are. What is your earliest memory? How have your early experiences impacted on your personality? For example, have they made you: Reserved/shy? Fearful? Timid? Aggressive? Confrontational? Anxious? Determined? Confident? Tell me about your childhood. What kind of relationship do you have with your parents and other close family members? How old were you when you had your first kiss? What were your experiences at school like? Were you encouraged to express yourself as a child? Can you tell me about the 7 most challenging and/or life-changing events you’ve experienced in your life? How have these events shaped you? Do you find it easy to trust other people? Why/why not? Who was your first crush, and why were you attracted to them? When you are faced with a threatening situation, is your immediate response one of fight, flight or freeze? Again, this isn’t an exhaustive list of questions, so feel free to add others that you think will deepen your understanding of your character(s). Real Characters Require Real Effort It would be great if there was a quick and easy way to create characters that just leap off the page, but unfortunately, there isn’t. Cutting corners when you’re creating characters leads to two-dimensional characters that your readers will quickly lose interest in and forget about once the novel is over. If you want characters that are going to stay in your readers’ minds and give you a solid fanbase for future books featuring the same characters, then you’re going to have to put the time in. Trust me, you won’t regret it. What’s more, if you’re planning a series then you only have to get to know your protagonist once, so future novels will be ‘easier’ to write.    About the author: Ariella is an experienced copywriter, editor, and digital marketing consultant. Driven by a passion for writing and content creation she takes pride in producing articles that deliver the latest information in an engaging manner and marketing campaigns that deliver exceptional results. Ariella has a BA (Hons) in English Language and Creative Writing (First), an MA in Theology and Ministry, and is a published author of three novels and a bestselling non-fiction book. A creative at heart, Ariella has 14 years’ industry experience and always aims to keep abreast of current trends and developments. She lives in the UK with her three beagles Zeke, Hope, and Sandy, who always make life interesting.

Assess the extent to which governments shape the global oil economy Essay

Assess the extent to which governments shape the global oil economy. In your analysis, consider the respective roles of nature, industrial structure and war - Essay Example y by oil prices, since it is the major economic activities in such countries factors such as political corruption, foreign debt, militarization, and power intervention are problems that this countries experience. Energy is a key driver of growth and industrialization in this century. The current global economy relies heavily on oil as a form of energy, manufacturing, transport and other key industry depend on oil either directly or indirectly. Some of the household goods as well as cooking gas is as a result of oil, hence, the global population depends heavily on oil. Due to this reasons oil prices have been reported to be very volatile, and this has affected both developed and developing nations. Fluctuations of oil prices shift political balances around the globe. When the oil prices are high the exporters tend to gain power, but face severe challenges when the prices drops (Bridge and Le billion, 2012). The need to control sources of oil has historically made many countries to go to war. For instance, the US paced an oil embargo over Japan, which obstructed 80 percent of its oil supply. This then prompted Japan to join World War II with the embargo being one of their key motivator. Oil industry is a continuous process that involves extraction of oil from the earth. There are two levels in this industry structure, upstream and downstream. Upstream comprises activities such as explorations, looking for oil bearing lands, construction of gas separators and oil well infrastructure. Downstream comprises of activities such as transportation that is sometimes done through pipelines, railroads and tankers; refining, which is the process of converting crude oil to usable products such as gasoline and fuel oil; and finally marketing that is done by setting up petrol stations. This industry is capital intensive despite using sophisticated technology in present times (Bridge and Le billion, 2012). Everything from production requires large amount of capitals and this has