The Death Of A Salesman By Arthur Miller - 846 Words

A Dime a Dozen The Death of a Salesman is a tragedy written by playwright Arthur Miller and told in the third person limited view. The play involves four main characters, Biff, Happy, Linda, and Willy Loman, an ordinary family trying to live the American Dream. Throughout the play however, the family begins to show that through their endeavors to live the American Dream, they are only hurting their selves. The play begins by hinting at Willy’s suicidal attempts as the play begins with Linda asking if he crashed the car asking, â€Å"You didn’t smash the car did you?† (Miller 1183). This first line foreshadows Willy’s suicide at the end of the play as it foreshadows that he is not completely sane. Subsequently, Biff and Happy Loman are introduced as Linda and Willy’s two children. Biff has recently returned to his home, but his parents constantly criticize him for not having a good job. Willy and Biff do not get along, as Willy believes that Biff has failed him because he did not succeed in being wealthy and well known. Biff was the classic all American teenager in high school, being a star in football and admired by all his peers. Willy describes him saying, â€Å"I thank almighty God you’re both built like Adonises.† (Miller 1193). Willy builds his children up believing they are above everyone else which will eventually lead to p roblems later in their life. Later in the play it is revealed that Willy has been lying to his children and is not doing well in his job. HisShow MoreRelatedDeath Of A Salesman By Arthur Miller1387 Words   |  6 PagesAmerican play-write Arthur Miller, is undoubtedly Death of a Salesman. Arthur Miller wrote Death of a Salesman in 1949 at the time when America was evolving into an economic powerhouse. Arthur Miller critiques the system of capitalism and he also tells of the reality of the American Dream. Not only does he do these things, but he brings to light the idea of the dysfunctional family. Death of a Salesman is one of America’s saddest tragedies. In Arthur Miller’s, Death of a Salesman, three major eventsRead MoreDeath Of A Salesman By Arthur Miller888 Words   |  4 PagesDeath of a Salesman† is a play written by Arthur Miller in the year 1949. The play revolves around a desperate salesman, Willy Loman. Loman is delusioned and most of the things he does make him to appear as a ma n who is living in his own world away from other people. He is disturbed by the fact that he cannot let go his former self. His wife Linda is sad and lonely; his youngest son Biff is presented as a swinger/player while his eldest son Happy appears anti-business and confused by the behaviorRead MoreDeath Of A Salesman By Arthur Miller1573 Words   |  7 Pagesrepresents a character with a tragic flaw leading to his downfall. In addition, in traditional tragedy, the main character falls from high authority and often it is predetermined by fate, while the audience experiences catharsis (Bloom 2). Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman is considered to be a tragedy because this literary work has some of the main characteristics of the tragedy genre. In this play, the main character Willy Loman possesses such traits and behaviors that lead to his downfall, and theRead MoreDeath of Salesman by Arthur Miller972 Words   |  4 PagesIn the play Death of a Salesman by the playwrig ht Arthur Miller, the use of names is significant to the characters themselves. Many playwrights and authors use names in their works to make a connection between the reader and the main idea of their work. Arthur Miller uses names in this play extraordinarily. Not only does Miller use the names to get readers to correlate them with the main idea of the play, but he also uses names to provide some irony to the play. Miller uses the meanings of someRead MoreDeath Of A Salesman By Arthur Miller1628 Words   |  7 PagesArthur Miller wrote the Pulitzer Prize winning play Death of a Salesman in 1949. The play inflated the myth of the American Dream of prosperity and recognition, that hard work and integrity brings, but the play compels the world to see the ugly truth that capitalism and the materialistic world distort honesty and moral ethics. The play is a guide toward contemporary themes foreseen of the twentieth century, which are veiled with greed, power, and betrayal. Miller’s influence with the play spreadRead MoreDeath Of A Salesman By Arthur Miller949 Words   |  4 PagesDeath of a Salesman can be described as modern tragedy portraying the remaining days in the life of Willy Loman. This story is very complex, not only because of it’s use of past and present, but because of Willy’s lies that have continued to spiral out of control throughout his life. Arthur Miller puts a modern twist on Aristotle’s definition of ancient Greek tragedy when Willy Loman’s life story directly identifies the fatal flaw of the â€Å"American Dream†. Willy Loman’s tragic flaw can be recappedRead MoreDeath Of A Salesman By Arthur Miller Essay2538 Words   |  11 PagesSurname 1 McCain Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course: Date: Death of a Salesman Death of a salesman is a literature play written by American author Arthur Miller. The play was first published in the year 1949 and premiered on Broadway in the same year. Since then, it has had several performances. It has also received a lot of accordances and won numerous awards for its literature merit including the coveted Pulitzer for drama. The play is regarded by many critics as the perfectRead MoreDeath Of A Salesman By Arthur Miller2081 Words   |  9 Pages#1 â€Å"Death of a Salesman† by Arthur Miller is a tragedy, this play has only two acts and does not include scenes in the acts. Instead of cutting from scene to scene, there is a description of how the lighting focuses on a different place or time-period, which from there, they continue on in a different setting. The play doesn’t go in chronological order. A lot of the play is present in Willy’s flashbacks or memories of events. This provides an explanation of why the characters are acting a certainRead MoreDeath Of Salesman By Arthur Miller1475 Words   |  6 Pagesto death to achieve their so- called American dream. They live alone and there is no love of parents and siblings. They may have not noticed the America dream costs them so much, which will cause a bigger regret later. In the play Death of Salesman, Arthur Miller brings a great story of a man who is at very older age and still works hard to achieve his desire, which is the American dream. Later, he no tices that his youth is gone and there is less energy in his body. Willy Loman is a salesman, whoRead MoreDeath Of A Salesman By Arthur Miller1517 Words   |  7 PagesArthur Miller’s play titled â€Å"Death of a Salesman† offers a plethora of morals pertaining to the human condition. One moral, shown in Aesop’s fable â€Å"The Peacock and Juno†, pertains to that one should be content with that of which they are given, for one cannot be the best at everything. In Death of a Salesman there is, without a doubt, a paucity of content and happiness within the Loman family. But what does it mean to truly be content? Aesop’s fable â€Å"The Peacock and Juno†, as the name suggests,

The Black Cat By Edgar Allan Poe - 2214 Words

A man who has abused his pets and killed his wife is sentenced to death, but were these transgressions made in the clarity of mind or was it an act of madness? In the short story THE BLACK CAT by Edgar Allan Poe, we follow the ramblings of a man who is sentence to death on the very next day for his act of murder. Do not take his ramblings to heart as he is an unreliable man but see for it what it really is. The beginning of the story starts out in a jail cell where the narrator is hours away from his death. He says that he wants to recount the events that placed him in this predicament. Since the day he was born, he has been noted for the docility and humanity of his disposition and these qualities flourished as he grew older. He marries a woman who shares his likeness of animals, and they have adopted abundance of pets. His favorite was a black cat named Pluto. The narrator starts drinking and his personality traits change to a detestable person. He begins to abuse his wife and pet s verbally and physically. One night while intoxicated, he believes the cat is ignoring him so he grabs it by the throat. Frightened the cat bit his hand, which angered the narrator so he took a pen knife and cut out one of its eyes. A few days later, he is overcome by a guilt and perverse impulse to hang the cat from a tree in the garden even though he knew it was wrong. That same night his house caught on fire and he lost everything. The next day he returns to the burned down house and sees aShow MoreRelatedThe Black Cat By Edgar Allan Poe1117 Words   |  5 Pages Edgar Allan Poe’s narrator in â€Å"The Black Cat† describes himself as a lover of animals and a man with a kind heart. But he uses his animals and alcoholism as an excuse for his perverse behavior. However, Poe drops hints though out the narrative to tell a different story. His violence towards animals tells the story of an irrational man who weeps while hanging his cat. Therefore, Poe employs the narrat or to show the human tendency to use scapegoats to shift blame for the wrong thing we do. The narratorRead MoreThe Black Cat By Edgar Allan Poe885 Words   |  4 Pagesobserve. An example of these observation and hands on applications would be Edgar Allan Poe, a writer and a poet, whom would be absolutely intrigued in these behaviors. His unique interpretation of the human mind could be seen in â€Å"The Black Cat.† In this short story Edgar Allan Poe embeds himself as the protagonist who are mere victims of the complexities of the mind known as revenge, anger, and perversity. â€Å"The Black Cat† shows the vital side effects of the mind recognized as revenge, anger, andRead MoreThe Black Cat By Edgar Allan Poe1778 Words   |  8 Pagesmonster up within the tomb† (Poe 32). This is the ending of Edgar Allan Poe’s short story â€Å"The Black Cat.† This story is one of the many famous short stories Poe has written in his life time. However, this story, in particular, captivities the horror and frightening works of his display. Having his personal history and short story at hand, will help his audience to understand some of his guilty pleasures. In this Critical Analysis Essay, the composition of â€Å"The Black Cat† will be revealed by connectingRead MoreThe Black Cat, By Edgar Allan Poe1240 Words   |  5 PagesLiterature, D.H. Lawrence condemns Americans for dodging their true selves by means of intellectualization and idealization. Both Edgar Allan Poe’s short story â€Å"The Black Cat† and Nathaniel Ha wthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† feature allegorical representations of characters deceiving themselves in order to deny the darker aspects of their inner selves. In Poe’s â€Å"The Black Cat,† the narrator denies the darker aspects of his soul by abstracting his horrific actions with spectral evidence in order to externalizeRead MoreThe Black Cat By Edgar Allan Poe Essay917 Words   |  4 Pagesreality.† - Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe is known for his dark and thought-provoking horror stories. In particular, The Black Cat does just that. The story focuses on the rationalizations of the horrific actions of the narrator. A black cat is introduced to pounce down on the rationalization of the narrator’s actions. Edgar Allan Poe also constructs a story where the main basis of the narrator’s decisions are ethical egoism and the principles of conscience. Poe constructs the black cat as the conscienceRead MoreThe Black Cat, By Edgar Allan Poe1900 Words   |  8 Pagesportion of his life writing these kind of stories. Edgar Allan Poe was influenced by his own life experiences, social normalities of the early 19th century, and used literary devices to write horrific works such as The Black Cat, The Raven, and Berenice. Edgar Allan Poe wrote the short story The Black Cat in 1843. The story starts out fairly normal, but very quickly spirals into a horrendous chain of events. The narrator of the story has a cat that he adaores at first, but then he grows irritatedRead MoreThe Black Cat By Edgar Allan Poe Essay1503 Words   |  7 PagesThe Black Cat Gothic Analysis In Edgar Allan Poe’s short story â€Å"The Black Cat† (1843), Poe creates a gothic narrative that exceeds the suspicions of the audiences predeterminations. Throughout the entirety of his piece Poe creates a scene that continuously leaves his readers wondering what was happening next. Suspicion being a key factor in gothic tales is only one strategy Poe used to illuminate the story of an unnamed psychopath and his attempts to either clear his conscious or set the recordRead MoreThe Black Cat, By Edgar Allan Poe871 Words   |  4 Pages Edgar Allan Poe is a world famous author who writes suspenseful/thriller story that keeps everyone interested. Three of his stories that we have read is â€Å"The Black Cat,† â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart,† â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado†. The five questions that will be discussed is how/why does Poe have his narrator plan the murder of his victim, what is the narrators reason for killing his victim, how does the narrator dispose of the body, does the narrator know the difference between right and wrong, and finallyRead MoreThe Black Cat, By Edgar Allan Poe1202 Words   |  5 PagesEdgar Allan Poe is prominent for his literacy style of horror and mystery, in which he had written an innumerable number of short stories and poems in his lifetime. Evidently, many of his writings like, â€Å"The Black Cat,† â€Å"William Wilson,† and â€Å"The Raven,† share the same style, as their protagonists’ demonstrated a paucity of reliability. Readers often become engaged with how the main character of each text showed their rivulet of tales that seem to be quite fictitious. Available evidence suggestsRead MoreThe Black Cat By Edgar Allan Poe1142 Words   |  5 Pagescharacter survives eight shots to the torso, all happy endings. Edgar Allan Poe isn’t like that. Most of his characters are dark and insane. They have one last shred of sanity then they refuse to keep it and then they end up going insane, much like the characters in The Black Cat, The Raven, and A Tell-Tale Heart. All three the men reach insanity. In The Black Cat a man expresses his passion over all animals. He has a gorgeous black cat named Pluto,his prized possession. Years later this man has a

Lord of the Flies, Coral Island and the Role of Adults Free Essays

It is known that to fully appreciate the novel â€Å"Lord of the Flies† (1954) by William Golding (1911-1993) it is necessary to have read Robert Michael Ballantyne’s (1825-1894) â€Å"Coral Island† (1858), or at least to understand its theme and treatment. And so, since it was Golding’s intention to set himself to write an island story that deliberately challenged Ballantyne’s model in â€Å"Coral Island† -by inverting its assumptions and values- we can explore multiple angles from which the two novels can be compared and studied. An item which seems quite interesting when analysing both texts is that one related to civilization and its adult exponents. We will write a custom essay sample on Lord of the Flies, Coral Island and the Role of Adults or any similar topic only for you Order Now After a thorough reading and focusing on very clear and specific elements we happen to notice the differences -as well as some similarities- among the roles and the significance of these adult characters in each novel. We will first refer to Golding’s â€Å"Lord of the Flies†, in which there are various examples of the complexity of the adult figure. But we must first refer to Golding’s own experience at war in order to get a clearer picture of his position towards our central concern. From the first years of his life, he faced the atrocities of war when he took part in the Second World War by joining the British Navy at 1940. The war, as a physical result, changed a lot Golding’s view of life. He could not believe in man’s innocence any longer. He found that even the children are not innocent. No one is innocent. The ideas of W. Golding’s view of human nature can be found in almost any of Golding’s books and particularly, in his first and most famous book, â€Å"Lord of the flies† 1. So, let us now focus on the novel itself. At a moment of uncertainty-anguish the boys beg desperately for a signal from the world of grown-ups: (â€Å"Grown-ups know things† said Piggy. â€Å"They ain’t afraid of the dark. They’d meet and have tea and discuss. Then things ‘ud be all right—† â€Å"They wouldn’t set fire to the island. Or lose—-† â€Å"They’d build a ship—-â€Å" The three boys stood in the darkness, striving unsuccessfully to convey the majesty of adult life. â€Å"They wouldn’t quarrel—-† [†¦] â€Å"If only they could get a message to us,† cried Ralph desperately. â€Å"If only they could send us something grown-up†¦ a sign or something. 2) In the next chapter what they get is a dead body of a man hanging from a parachute, a corpse which gets rotten as the story advances. Is this the adult figure they were waiting for? Or, should the question be: Does this ‘gift’ from air help the m in any way to strengthen their boundaries with civilization? The answer seems to be ‘no’. On the contrary, it makes them panic, slowly driving them mad and irrational. It unleashes violence, leads them to sacrifices and murder, and takes them back to a primitive stage. So up to now the adult figure does not seem to be associated with a positive role. However, there is another character in the novel who also becomes very important as regards our analysis of the adult figure. Finally, when on the last pages, Ralph is lying on the sand, ready to accept the blow which will kill him, and he hears the silence around him, and he looks up †¦ up†¦ , he can first see some emblems of power, some symbols of the grown ups’ world and also of his father authority, and only then he can see a man – a naval officer. This man happens to stop Ralph’s brutal chase just by chance. Grown-ups have been dropping bombs and planes, and it was an atomic war which had made the children’s evacuation necessary in the first place. Who have gone crazy and been having an atomic war but the grown-ups themselves? 3 Again, a new question should be made: Is this a real symbol of salvation? Or, How can an ambassador of an atomic war stand for the pa rental protection or even a mature model to be followed? The naval officer’s ignorance, his lack of understanding of what has been going on, is ironical. Furthermore, what Golding is trying to make clear at this instance is the decadent figure of the human adult, and by extension, of the whole human civilized world. Let us now turn to R. M. Ballantyne’s â€Å"Coral Island†. Here, the concern about civilization, seems to be very well defined as well as good and evil are so clearly separated that there cannot be any conflict between them. 5 In spite of this, when we come to a closer look we find a special complexity within a number of characters. Everything about Ballantyne’s boys, who are older by some years than Golding’s boys, is confident and positive. The novel as a whole, pictures the assumptions and values of the Victorian period in affirming progress, imperialism, self-reliance, the Creator, the goodness of nature and of human nature- when Christianised at least 6 Actually, this is quite an interesting item to focus on. On the one hand there are the dark-skinned people referred to as â€Å"the savages†, who are in fact the native inhabitants from the neighbouring islands. They are a kind of primitive adults, constantly characterised as cruel, uncivilised inferior beings. Their rituals, their form of life, the whole of their culture is described as barbarian and demoniac and Ralph, our young narrator, is deeply horrified at seeing them. They represented a menace to the boys, and they tried to escape from them or to stay in good – but distant- terms with them, so as to keep them away from their coral island. On the other hand there are the pirates, who, paradoxically, are –like the rest of the fair-skinned characters- superior ; their ways are civilised, their clothes being the main symbol of their superiority. What is interesting about these last ones is that they are at first described as representing a dangerous element –as had already been the shark or the very ocean. Nevertheless, as the novel goes on, we are made to think that this wandering adults who travel overseas, robbing ships, conquering all that they found at their pace and kidnapping people, are actually ‘not that bad’. Even the pirates are â€Å"better † than the natives, more intelligent, cleaner, etc. But also, as we reach the end of the novel, we suddenly meet some educated peaceful missionaries who work a miracle when they get to the island the boys are captured in and manage to convert the wild savages into Christians and they embrace our Lord’s Gospel. It must be understood that the priest’s reason for being there is to abolish the beliefs of an entire human group and the pirates are traditionally thought of as being thieves, kidnappers and violent conquerors. But, somehow, this is not the image Ballantyne depicts towards the end of the novel. Given, thus, the complex nature of these beings, a new different question arises. What is the true nature of adults-civilization for Ballantyne? How come that adults like the priest and the pirates can be representatives of good or salvation? Are the adults capable of completely changing their previous evil nature all of a sudden? Obviously, the answer seems to rely on the moral outlook, the Victorian ethos, which bathes the whole novel. The didactic intentions are clear. His intentions are to teach his readers, not only to inform them about the wonders and terrors of the Pacific Islands, but also to make them reflect on the power, goodness, glory of God and make them better people. As a result, by comparing and contrasting both novels from the opposed perspectives of the two authors , we identify the key elements inherent to each one as regards our main topic. Basically, while in Ballantyne’s â€Å"Coral Island† the prevalent view of man was that based on the confidence of the white man 9 in Golding’s â€Å"Lord of the Flies† the thesi s is based on the man’s fallen nature myth, expressing through it his belief in man’s other nature, the dark and guilty nature. 0 Mainly, both Ballantyne and Golding’s perceptions about adulthood and civilization vary not only because of a completely divergent perception on the world -which derives from their personal experiences- but also because of the time when each novel was written and the totally different socio-political scenery in which they were developed. 1 Material obtained from http://www. geocities. com/Athens/Forum/6249/bio. htm 2 â€Å"The Lord of the Flies†, by William Golding (p. 117) Faber and Faber Limited (1954) 3 Notes provided by the teacher on â€Å"The Lord of the Flies† by William Golding. Notes provided by the teacher on â€Å"The Lord of the Flies† by William Golding. 5 Notes provided by the teacher on â€Å"The Lord of the Flies† by William Golding. 6 Notes provided by the teacher on â€Å"Coral Islandâ₠¬  by R. M. Ballantyne. 7 Macmillan Master Guide, The Lord of the Flies, 1986 8 Notes provided by the teacher on â€Å"Coral Island† by R. M. Ballantyne. 9 Notes provided by the teacher on â€Å"Coral Island† by R. M. Ballantyne. 10 Notes provided by the teacher on â€Å"Coral Island† by R. M. Ballantyne. 11Macmillan Master Guide, The Lord of the Flies, 1986 How to cite Lord of the Flies, Coral Island and the Role of Adults, Papers

Risk Management and Treasury

Question: You are working in the foreign currency desk of a British bank in the UK. Your superior believes that the currency market has not correctly incorporated the recently announced USA annual inflation rate into the forward exchange * between the US dollar a. the British pound. At present the inter. rate to be earned on 10 million for a month would be 5% per annum in the UK and 0.5% per annum in the USA. You have a. gathered the following information: Exchange rates: Spot $1.5700 per 30-Day Forward rate at premium (swap $0.01 per ). Annual inflation rates: UK () 3% pa; USA () 0.1% pa. Required: A) Given the present inflation an exchange rates above calculate expected spot rate in 30 days' time for the market to be in equilibrium. What do relative *rest rates suggest should be the direction of the forward rate? Compare the quo. forward rate and the expected spot*. Is. market in equilibrium.? (b) If the market is not equilibrium in part (a) above, .ate what an UK trader* 10 million at her disposal should da to take dva.ge of the situation. Calculate total (arbitrage and opportunity) gain made by the trader if she follows your advice.(C) Briefly discuss the risk of the above strategy in deriving the total gain. What would be the breakeven exchange rate for this strategy? Answer: (a) Calculation of expected spot rate:- The formula of expected spot rate is E = S * (rf / rd) Here, E = Expected spot rate S = Spot rate = $ 1.5700 rd = domestic currency interest rate = 3.5 % rf = foreign currency interest rate = 0.5 % Therefore,E=1.5700*(0.5%/3.5%) = 0.2242 We know that if the rate of interest is high in a country, then the country currency is a lot stronger. This is because the investors from the foreign countries will invest more for the countrys high rate of interest. If this happens then the direction of the forward rate will also increase. (b) The calculation of Forward rate: The formula of Forward rate F = S + swap rate Here, F = Forward rate S = Spot rate = $ 1.5700 F = 1.5700 + 0.01 = 1.5800 The forward rate is 1.5800 No, the market is not in equilibrium. 1. If the market is not at equilibrium, then according to the given question the UK trader should invest her 10 million pound in the UK market because the interest rate of the country (UK) is much higher than the USA interest rate. It is known that if the rate of interest is high in a country, then the country currency is a lot stronger. This is because the investors from the foreign countries will invest more for the countrys high rate of interest. In spot rate: If the trader wants to invest in UK in spot rate then the trader will earn = 10 million * 3.5 % = 35000 pound Therefore if the trader invest in UK the trader will earn = 30000 pound If the trader wants to invest in USA the trader will earn =10 million * 1.5700 * 0.5% =$ 7850 In forward rate: If the trader wants invest in the trader will earn =10 million * 3% =30000 If the trader wants to invest in forward rate then the trader will earn = 10 million * 1.5800 * 0.4% = $6320 Therefore, the arbitrage gain earned by the trader is = $ (7900 7800) = $ 1530 If the trader earns $ 1530 more if she invests in forward market then the trader should invest in the forward rate. (c) The risk of the above strategy in deriving the total gain is when the trader invests in the forward market the countrys interest rate may fall down for the economic conditions of the country. The inflation rate may rise due to the economic condition of the country. If this occurs then the trader will face loss from her earning. Break Even Exchange Rate: The USA interest rate is 0.5 % and the UK interest rate is 3.5 %, it may happen that US dollar can be change into the UK pound and can invest in 3.5 %. If this process is done without doing forward coat, then the interest profit of 3 % can be derived. Then the investor can face a loss of 3 %. Reference: Bajlum, C. and Tind Larsen, P. (2008). Capital structure arbitrage. Aarhus: University of Aarhus. Aarhus School of Business. Bragg, S. (2007). Business ratios and formulas. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. Dubil, R. (2004). An arbitrage guide to financial markets. Chichester, West Sussex, England: John Wiley Sons. Whistler, M. (2004). Trading pairs. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley Sons

Sign of the Beaver Essay Example

Sign of the Beaver Paper I read The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare. The genre was historical fiction and Matt, the main character, was a very brave, strong, kindhearted 12 year old boy who had brown hair and was average height. What I admire about matt is that he is a brave kid who was very willing to sacrifice himself to protect the cabin for his family. The story is about a family who lives in Quincy, Massachusetts when one blistering cold winter in 1768, they decide to move to Maine. In the spring Matt and his father went to an area of land that he bought and cleared it out from all the trees. They built a log cabin in a forest. His father would go back to Quincy to get the rest of his family and matt would stay by himself to protect the cabin. He has heard stories about their being Indians in this part of Maine and he has been taught to be very polite to them. His dad told him he wouldn’t come across one if he didn’t bother them. We will write a custom essay sample on Sign of the Beaver specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Sign of the Beaver specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Sign of the Beaver specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer He one day wanted honey from a bee hive that he had seen a couple days back, so he went and was chased by a bunch of bees. He was stung many times but finally tripped on a root and was thrown into a small lake. He was rescued by the feared Indians, who then took him to his cabin and gave him medicine (for his foot he had hurt when he tripped) and new shoes. The next day the Indians came back to matt’s cabin and checked his leg. They said it was sprained. He later in the book found out that the Indians who had saved him were Attean and his grandfather Sankis. Matt made a deal with Sankis that if they taught his skills about the wild he would teach Attean better English. They agreed and Matt learned many skills while Attean learned English or white man signs. Matt bonded with Attean and became his Indian brother. Attean and Sankis then came one day and asked him a very important question. They said, do you want to come with our tribe to live with us and become an Indian. You should read the rest of the book to find out what matt says. The theme of this book is that friends come in many shapes and sizes because when matt, a white boy, becomes friends with an Indian it is amazing. The author chose this title because there are different hunting grounds and Attean’s tribe’s ground was the sign of the beaver. Another good title for this book would be The Boy and the Indian, because Matt, the boy, meets Attean, the Indian. If I had to choose between my Newberry honor book, The Sign of the Beaver, or my Newberry Medal book, Maniac Magee, I would choose the honor book because it wasn’t confusing like the medal book and also it had much suspense. I would give The Sign of the Beaver a 8 because it kept your interest the whole book and was an exciting book.

Yukio Mishima essays

Yukio Mishima essays I read a novella with a collection of three stories by Yukio Mishima. The first story was called The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea, the second was called The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, and the third was Confessions of a Mask. I would enjoy talking about each of these books individually, however I have far too little room for discussions of a such a great feat of writing. Instead I will point out the under lying themes that manifest themselves in each story very clearly. The most prominent and head motif was of the hero myth. Every culture honors a form of hero, and although not many realize that heroes are not always people hero myths often fall onto the shoulders of leaders who focus the same kind of energy. Each story has a hero character. Even thought they have done heroic things it shows a sad side to being a hero. It also tells us that heroes to some are villains to others. In Donald Duck, he is looking for a true hero, a north star to follow to the promised land of his own culture where he can be proud of being Chinese. The important thing is he found it, but not in one person, in everyone. As I pointed out before sometimes heroes are not people. Like the mandate of heaven, thats not really a hero, or is it? It focused the heroic qualities onto one person, a leader. Although each Empire rose and fell it shows that they were popular with the people. And to the people they were heroes. Just like Donald, he found his hero in the community. Eac h hero in Yukios book meets a grotesque fate, or has an impassable quirk that only lets his heroic qualities shine on very few. Frederick Douglass was his own hero, and he knew that and he exploited it. Ultima had many heroic leadership qualities. Even Tenorio, the one who whooped a bunch of men into killing Ultima, he was able to do it which must say something, even if he is an anti-hero. ...

Improvement of Coca Cola Market Decision Making Research Paper

Improvement of Coca Cola Market Decision Making - Research Paper Example The company has a variety of products, and it licenses or possesses more than 500 brands. With is vast empire worldwide the company has grown to become a market leader that is considered one the influential organization in the world. The company has grown from operating within the city of Atlanta in 1886 to operating in more than two hundred nations currently. It has further grown from selling 8 glasses of soft drinks to 1.8 billion bottles a day. Furthermore, the company has over 300 hundred bottling branches and organizations worldwide, which are the link between the company and its customers. The company manufactures syrup that is sent to these organizations to produce the soft drinks that are distributed to the consumers. The company values its customers who sell and consumes its products worldwide and it considers them a significant part of its sustainability process. INTRODUCTION The company focuses on producing light and diet beverages, waters, juice drinks, and coffees, as we ll as tea. It also provides energy and sports beverages, operating in over 200 nations. It has its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia with around 140 000 employees. The company has been successful in its businesses registering revenues of $35, 119 million in the financial year of 2010. This was an increment from of 13.3% from the previous financial year. The beverage was initially being sold in glasses, but it was later sold in the bottles, first in 1894, to make it portable, and enhanced its distribution to other states.   The tools applied include Affinity Diagrams, Control Charts, and SWOT analysis that have enabled the company to remain relevant in the market and become a leading organization in the production of the non-alcoholic beverages worldwide. ANALYSIS Affinity tool diagram The Coca-Cola Company has managed to dominate the non-alcoholic beverages world because it applies the right decision-making tools concerning its products worldwide. Since the company operates in more than 200 nations, it faces the problem of utilizing a lot of information and ideas, which affect their targeted audience. The affinity tool diagram, comes in handy, in ensuring that large sums of data and information are gathered from ideas of groups, through the process of brainstorming, to ensure that the information is prompted, based on the natural affiliations of the groups 8 Parnell, 2011). The company ensures that it melds the perceptions, ideas, and opinions as well as insights of a faction that is conversant or well acquainted with the modern market changing trends (Hoerl and Snee, 2012). This includes the marketing and advertising segments, who gather the relevant information, which the managerial body of the company, uses to make decisions that affect the investments and marketing strategies of the organization. These decisions are aimed at ensuring the sustainability of the company in the market as well as attaining the maximum possible returns.  Ã‚  

Doubt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Doubt - Essay Example In USA, there are lots of untold stories revolving around intelligence, security and the government. Ordinary Americans do not understand the operatives of the Federal Bureau of Investigations and National Intelligence Agency (NIA). They do not let people know the exact reasons behind their activities such as domestic and international surveillance on individuals’ secret communications. In order to make this play more appealing, Shanley had to incorporate the use of antithesis, motif, metaphor, symbols, themes, and analogy. These are very important devices which enabled him to deliver his message to the intended audience. The element of antithesis is evidenced when he juxtaposes two opposing ideas. For instance, it is successfully used by comparing and contrasting the young liberal and friendly Father Flynn and the conservative Sister Aloysius; Irish students and black students; and the guilty and innocent Father Flynn. These are instances which are very important in the play because they help in promoting the development of the plot and thematic concerns. For instance, by comparing the guilt and innocence of the priest, the play brings out Sister Aloysius as a very suspecting and doubtful character that can not actually make a concrete decision based on the ‘allegations labeled against the priest’ (Brantley). Just like her, the audience is left wonder ing about the actual truth about this matter. In my own imagination, I think the best word to use to describe Father Flynn is shrewd. Although Sister Aloysius accuses him of molesting the young Donald, the actual truth about his innocence or guilt is not known. However, I would like to suggest that he is innocent of all the accusations. After failing to prove them, Sister Aloysius tries to screw him by allegedly learning of his misconduct in his previous mission through a phone call. With all the unresolved mysteries surrounding this matter, I would like to

Raise or Lower Tuition Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Raise or Lower Tuition - Assignment Example This would result into more revenues for the university. On the other hand, if the demand for the university is less than the number of available seats, a rise in tuition would result in lowering of the revenues (Mankiw, 2011). Due to lesser demand, the students would opt for alternate choices where the tuition is comparatively less. Answer 2 The revenue earnings of the university would vary depending upon the prevailing conditions of demand for the university and the number of seats available. The revenues of the unity will rise when the demand for admission exceeds the number of seats available. The university would have the option to raise tuition resulting into higher revenue earnings. The revenue earnings of the university are likely to fall when the demand for university admissions is less than the number of available seats. Due to lesser demand, the university would have to reduce the tuition that would result into fall of revenue earnings (Marshall, 2006). Even stagnant tuiti on fees would lead to fall of revenue due to lesser number of students. The revenues of the university are likely to remain same when there is equilibrium between the demand for university admissions and the number of seats available. ... Due to the high demand for university admissions, there is large number of students available for enrollment. The students would be ready to pay more for their preferred university. This would positively impact the process of revenue earnings. The loss of revenue from the lower number of student enrollments is a scenario that can occur due to lower demand of university admissions against the number of available seats. Due to lower demand, a hike in the tuition fees would cause lower number of students to enroll. The students would prefer other universities for which the process of revenue earnings would get affected. Answer 4 A negative price elasticity of the university indicates with the rise in the tuition fees, the demand for university admissions is likely to fall. Considering the situation when the price elasticity of the university is (-1.2), a rise in tuition fees of the university would result in considerable fall of demand of the university admissions. The university has al so been suffering with the revenue earnings in recent times. A further rise of revenue in such a condition would result in the further lowering of student enrollment (Schotter, 2008). This would result into lowering of revenue earnings for the university. In such a situation, the university would be suggested to lower the tuition fees in order to revive the situation of revenue crunch of the university in recent times. A reduction of tuition would draw more students for enrollment. The students would want to take the advantage of comparatively low tuition fees. This would lead to expansion of revenue for the university. Answer 5 Being the President of NSU, the economic theories of supply, demand and price elasticity would be

Use Of Computers In Education Education Essay

Use Of Computers In Education Education Essay Exploring the digital divide amongst schools requires not only requires examining the access the students have to technology but also the equality in the educational experiences the students have with the technology. The usage of technology in a school plays an important role. It is said to be one of the factors that cause a digital divide amongst schools. Reasons are as followed; putting computers in the classroom does not automatically decrease the divide. The outcome of investing in computers should be for the benefit of the students. Students must be able to manipulate their skills on the technology thus improving the learning process. Doing so would mean analyzing how the students are making use of the computer technology provided to them. From survey B done on the local and international schools students, we find that 47% of the sampled local students do not use the computers at school. This is a common case as we find from prior results that students are more acquainted with their computers at home. Although this then leads to a socioeconomic problem. As students from different socioeconomic groups have varying access to computers and the Internet. Therefore this has an effect on the equity of computer access. However survey B shows that 57% of local students didnt have access to computers at home. Those who did have access, 77% of them did not use it. This leads to a major problem as most students are unlikely to be using a computer at all. It is almost impossible to enjoy the benefits of ICTs without the use of ICT in education and indeed ICT education itself to improve skills. Computers have brought about a revolution across all industries. They have changed the face of society. What was once known as a technology that required specially trained people has now become a daily utility. Computers have gained immense importance in day-to-day life. Their increasing utility has made computer education the need of the day. (Oak) The ICT skills of students in the local school were poor. From the survey we see that on average 45% of students did not have the required skills to use simple tool-based applications (such as word processors) Where as students from international school all of them had some sort of idea about each of the simple tool-based applications. Various technologies deliver different kinds of content and serve different purposes in the classroom. For example, word processing and e-mail promote communication skills; database and spreadsheet programs promote organizational skills; and modelling software promotes the understanding of science and math concepts. Therefore it is important to consider how these electronic technologies differ and what characteristics make them important as vehicles for education (Becker, 1994). Computers being implemented in education has made it not only easier for the teachers to render knowledge but also for students to grasp it much quicker. Computer technology allows a fun-element to education and it goes without saying that the Internet has endowed education with interactivity. The computer offers several advantages to a students life, ranging from interactive audio-visual media to PowerPoint presentations to animation software. Each can be used to render information to students in an interactive and much more appealing manner. The visual effects provided by the animation and presentation software result in greater awareness of the students dues to greater interest rates. Furthermore, these applications serve as visual aids to the teachers. Overhead projectors and screens facilitate a simultaneous viewing of information by a large number of students. These audio-visual teaching aids have brought about marked improvements in student attendance and attentiveness. Intera ctive media have proven to be useful in enhancing the concentration levels of students. Therefore we can conclude that this underlines the importance of computer teaching against textbooks. (Oak) Computers skills are more important than ever, required for nearly half of all jobs now compared to less than a third in 1997. A technology savvy youth is playing an increasing influential role in employment and with a countries development. Education is crucial for students to be prepared to meet global needs so that well paying jobs are not outsourced. Lack of Education and employment slows down progress within a country (Koss, 2001). The most severe consequences of the digital divide are the long term effects that it can have on students that do not have access to education. Lacking access and computer skills would mean that a whole generation will miss out on realizing their full potential in an information and communication technology world (Koss, 2001). Therefore it is virtually impossible to ignore the need for technology in an education curriculum (Di Bello, 2005). Studies have also shown that school students who are competent computer users tend to perform better in their other key school subjects than those with limited experience and confidence to perform basic computer necessities. According to OECD studies it has been found thata tech-savy youth could perform strikingly better due to the relationship that they hold with computers. In short students with limited access to computers or only recent access to computers are at a higher risk of performing poorly at curriculum level. Internet use The internet has more or less become a fundamental medium of communication and information processing, permeating every domain of economy and society. The more it becomes the key medium for business, education, for social services, for personal development, and for social interaction, the more the capacity to use it becomes dependant on peoples educational level. In other words the real inequality starts when we are all dependent on the internet. The more we move into an internet society, the more education becomes the foundation for equal opportunity. Therefore in addition to the computer use, the level of internet use was examined as well. The results also show that 64% of students did not have internet access as compared to all the students who had access from the international school. Information and Communication Technology is playing an increasingly influential role in reshaping employment in large parts of the world. Information and Communication Technologies presents unprecedented opportunities to combat poverty by increasing income, opening markets and providing employment opportunities. Knowledge based economies have an advantage in todays global market. Countries with extensive knowledge assets are able to open employment opportunities which create rapid technological progress that benefits in economic growth and rising living standards. A trend has formed with employees wanting workers with certified skills and educational levels to fill positions. Students in higher education are dealing with more than a digital divide, it has now become a degree divide. Students that are prevented from getting bachelor degrees are at a disadvantage in gaining employment (Garmon, 2003).

Comparing Truth in The Education of Children, Paradise Lost and Hamlet

Nature of Truth in The Education of Children, Paradise Lost and Hamlet      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To some, truth is something that is absolute and unchanging. To others, truth is volatile and inconstant. In the 16th and 17th century, the foundations of civilization itself had been shaken. Many of the ideas which were thought to be absolutely true had been plunged into the depths of uncertainty. The cosmological, geographical, and religious revolutions called into question the nature of truth itself. It is no wonder, then, that some of the great writers at the time included within their works a treatise on the ways in which truth is constructed. Because of the major ideological revolutions that shaped their world, Milton, Montaigne, and Shakespeare all used characters and theatrical devices to create their own ideas on the construction of truth.    As a result of Milton's failed political aspirations, he believes that individuals do not construct truth, or decide for themselves what the truth is; instead, individuals receive the truth directly or indirectly from God. Conversely, deception comes from Satan. In Paradise Lost, Milton sets up this idea by forcing good to result only from obedience to God's will and evil to result whenever God is disobeyed. Dr. Evans' argument that Milton's ultimate point in all this is to express a moral position that is very extreme, that no quality or action can be innately good or evil, is firmly rooted in this model. What determines the morality of anything we do is in whose service we do it. Since Raphael was sent from God, his warning is true and divine. Since Satan disobeyed God, his ideas are all false lies. Part of Milton's ideology may have come from his own life experiences. After the restorat... ...FCS, 2000.    Brentano, Franz, The Origin of our Knowledge of Right and Wrong, trans. Cecil Hague (London: Constable, 1902).    Fish, Stanley Eugene. Surprised by Sin: The Reader in Paradise Lost. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1967.    Milton, John. Paradise Lost. Ed. Roy Flannagan. New York: Macmillan, 1993.    Patrides, C.A. Milton and The Christian Tradition. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1966)    Montaigne, Michel de. The Complete Essays of Montaigne. Trans. DonaldM. Frame. Stanford: Stanford UP, 1958.    Moore, G. E., Review of The Origin of our Knowledge of Right and Wrong by Fritz Brentano, International Journal of Ethics, vol. 14 (1903), pp. 123-8. -----, 'Nature of Truth', Mind, vol. 16 ns, no. 62 (April 1907), pp. 229-35.    Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. 1600? Ed. Sylvan Barnet. New York: Signet Classic, 1998.

Genetic and Environmental Influences in Alcoholic Tendencies Essay

Alcoholic Tendencies in people may be triggered by environmental influences, genetic influences, or both. Some people may be at a great risk of developing alcoholism because of this. Genetics alone can cause certain behaviors in people. If a child grows up in an environment where neither of the parents are alcoholics but the child carries the gene to become one, the child may have a higher chance of becoming an alcoholic as an adult due to genetic factors. However, because the child is not exposed to alcohol use regularly they may never exhibit alcoholic tendencies. A person may have an even greater risk if they have genetic factors, and they are brought up in an environment where there is a lot of alcohol use. Environmental factors can also cause behaviors in people. A person that grows up in an environment where they are exposed to alcoholism regularly might have the tendency to become an alcoholic even if their genetics don’t show alcoholic tendencies. The environment in which they consider normal consists of alcohol use. Therefore, it is likely they will continue with the behaviors that they are used to. However, because the child does not have genetic factors influencing alcoholic tendencies, they may never have a problem with alcohol despite growing up in an environment where alcoholism is present. Scott 2 Genetic and environmental factors influence alcoholic tendencies in people, but this does not necessarily mean having one of these factors will result in alcoholism. However, if both factors are present then a person might have a greater chance.

Swag Essay Example

Swag Essay Example Swag Essay Swag Essay Essay Topic: The Grapes Of Wrath Throughout the tale of the Goads migration to California, Ma had begun as a timid Oman without having much say in the family decisions, but steadily took on a dominant role as she threatened deputies, took care of her family, and began using a feisty mannerism that everyone obeyed. In The Grapes of Wrath, Ma is without doubt the one who holds the Goad family together because she Is the primary caretaker of everybody In the family and constantly pushes them until they achieve work and suitable living conditions. Ma is the primary caretaker of everyone, but a few instances stand out more than others. Though Ma is sassy to her pregnant daughter, Rose of Sharon, she also informs her at the Headache government camp when Rose of Sharon is upset about Connie, the father of her growing child, leaving her. Ma takes Rose of Sharon to the dance at the camp and promises not to allow anyone to touch her so she can enjoy the music without having to dance. They end up enjoying the night by each others side. Ma also comforts her other daughter, Ruttier, In an important scene where Ruthless gets in a fight with another girl and ends up bragging that her older brother, Tom Goad, Is currently hiding and wanted by police. An example of Mas impassion for Ruthless In this situation Is when Ma warns Pa that Ruthless told about Tom holding. Pa calls Ruthless a little blotch and Ma retorts, No, she din know what she was a-doing. Ruttier knows that she should not have done that and even though what she did put the whole family in jeopardy, Ma had motherly instincts and instantly comforted her little girl. When there are situations with her son, Tom, Ma is the one person that holds him back from going haywire and beating up cops. An instance where this is shown is when the Goad family leaves the Hoverflies camps to drive and look for work in Tulane. The car gets halted by men armed with pick handles and shotguns and Tom instantly becomes agitated by the rude men. He reaches for the pick handle in the car, but Ma caught his arm and held it powerfully. After driving off, Tom cannot retrain himself from crying anymore, so Ma reassures him saying tenderly, You done good. You done Jus good. Not only Is Ma a comforter with emotional problems In her family, but she also stands by Grammars side as he dies. When Grammar does die, she wraps him up appropriately In a comforter after tying his jaw together and placing two half-dollars on his eyelids. This are not alive and breathing anymore. Secondly, Ma is the main person who pushes the family on the road until they find safe conditions to work and live in. Her care and concern for her family is apparent throughout the whole book because of this constant pushing. An example is when Ma hurries them out of the comfortable Headache government camp. Though the living conditions there were filled with toilets, showers, and hospitable people, Ma knew the Goad family could not stay there anymore while there was no work to be found. When Pa tells Ma that the reason the men dont like looking for work is cause they know they wont find any, Ma replies fiercely, muff mint got the right to get discouraged. This here familys going under. You Jus mint got the right. When she says This here familys going under, it can be understood that her main concern is the family. The men finally begin discussing where to drive to and Ma interrupts saying, Well, we got to kit going, and going quick. I mint a-setting here no longer, no matter how nice. This quote is important because it shows that Ma puts the family before her own happiness because she was comfortable living in the government amp, but knew the family would not survive. She pushes them to leave the camp immediately that night, in hopes of finding work to sustain them. Another scene in the book where Ma pushes her family towards better conditions is when they are at the peach camp. Ma knows that they cannot stay there because the low wages are barely enough to keep the family alive every day and because it isnt safe for Tom to hide there with the cops looking for him. She rallies up the family and tells her clever plan for Tom to hide in a cave composed of mattresses on the back of the truck. At he end of her plan she states, Dont argue. Thats what well do. Those last two sentences show her authority and even Pa complains that it Seems like the man mint got no say no more. Also, when the flooded conditions at the boxcar camp in Chapter 30 become too unbearable, Ma announces that the children and her will be moving towards higher ground. Pa tries to weakly argue, but Ma retorts that the conditions are too wet for Rose of Sharon, so Pa eventually agrees to leave with them. This scene is important because the reader can infer from Mas strict attitude that once her mind was set, she would not let anyone stop her from helping her family be as comfortable as possibl e. In conclusion, Ma is the character in The Grapes of Wrath that holds the Goad family together. Arguably, the Goads would have gone down a rougher path if it had not been for Mas immense care for the well-being of the family that led her to become bossy. There are various scenes in the book that exhibit her obvious authority and leadership. Whether it is through emotional and physical care or the constant push to find better working and living conditions, Mas dominant role is apparent.

Representation of Women in Higher Education

Representation of Women in Higher Education Introduction The modern woman is no longer the person who was traditionally meant to be mainly involved in domestic activities exclusively. Today’s women have ventured into the professional world and are no longer regarded as people whose work is mainly the domestic chores.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Representation of Women in Higher Education specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More To achieve this, women have developed careers and do all that is required to develop their careers. Moreover, many women have ventured into the world of academia and competed with the men for different positions. To this end, women can now be found in spheres, which were traditionally meant for men eg medicine and engineering. Women form a large number of students in the undergraduate colleges. They also form a large proportion of students found in tertiary and even postgraduate colleges. Therefore it would seem natural that since the women are the majority of the students enrolling in graduate and postgraduate degrees they should therefore be the one who form a sizeable proportion of the leadership in all the professional fields. In some fields women form the majority of the leaders in those fields. However, this is not true in the case of higher education. Moreover, despite forming a sizeable population of the members of different institutions of higher learning, few women are usually in position of leadership. Leadership positions of institutions of higher learning are usually divided into hierarchies whereby, in the lower hierarchies, women are very well represented. However, as one goes to the higher hierarchies, the representation of the women diminishes. These hierarchies are mainly represented by men. Women are also subjected to biase in their employment selection and consideration for promotion. However, even when women hold similar positions with the men the women are usually paid less salari es compare to their male compatriots who do the same kind of jobs as the women. Women are also subjected to limited chances to career and professional advancement (Dean, Bracken and Allen, 2008, p 2).Advertising Looking for research paper on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, despite the fact that women are still underrepresented in the leadership of higher education, there has a great improvement in the number of women on various positions of leadership. Their number continues to increase and it is expected that in the future their number will almost be equal to that of men in leadership positions (Alemn and Renn, 2002, p 3). Therefore, due to the above situations women need to come up with strategies to help increase their representation and enhance their chances of being elevated to leadership positions. They need to correctly position themselves to benefit from any available opportunities that ma y crop up. This will ensure that the women representation in higher education improves and the women can achieve their academic and professional goals (Dean, Bracken and Allen 2008, p2). The women in the black community are the ones who are most underrepresented in the higher education. They face double discrimination, the fact that they are black and being women. The black women are viewed by the white men as having little or no worth. These women usually immigrate to the countries in order to obtain the higher education. Therefore, the women find it hard to get assimilated to the society of academia and are usually faced with many barriers to their academic success. They must be culturally assimilated to the society before achieving any meaningful progress. Even for women who are native assimilation into the world of academia is difficult. Hence these women are faced with much more difficulties in attaining leadership opportunities in the higher education. (Jones, 2005, p 1) Purpo se of this study This paper attempts to show the different in the number of leadership positions of women who are higher levels of education. In so doing we will mainly be focused on the women’s point of view regarding the subject.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Representation of Women in Higher Education specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However leadership in institutions of higher learning is just one of the issues on gender equality which need to be addressed. This paper will not deal with the other issues as its main focus is on representation of women in higher education. However this paper does not deal with the other issues of gender equality The purpose of this study is to determine the factors that may be making the representation of women in higher education to be lower compared to that of men. This paper will also focus on the reasons for the under representation of women in mostly the pre stigious institutions of higher learning. By studying the reasons for the under representation this paper will attempt to come up with different strategies to ensure that the pattern is avoided. Background of the problem A brief background of the conditions in America will help understand the reasons for the current under representation. During the beginning of civilization, two factors were mainly considered to bring about change; democratic and political revolution and economic development. In all these changes women were not actively involved, men were the ones who were mostly involved (attached material p 5). Thus, women were generally considered mainly concerned with the performance activities in the domestic spheres of life, whereas the men were actively involved in the activities, which were of public interests (Alemn and Renn, 2002 p 5). In those days, the women who chose to follow their academic paths were perceived by the men to be awkward and going against the norms of so ciety, which required that they be relegated to the roles bestowed upon them, by the men. However, today’s women choose to pursue their career objectives. These women have enrolled in university programs to achieve their desired career objectives so as to effectively compete with the men. There are now more women who are enrolled in higher education than the men (Alemn, and Renn, 2002 p xx).Advertising Looking for research paper on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, despite the fact there are more women enrolling in university education, the number of women who are in the leadership positions in higher education is still comparatively low. The leadership positions have been mainly the domain of men. Theoretical framework There are many methods that can be used to gauge the increase of leadership of women in various positions. The political reforms, which allow the women to become the heads of states, are just one of the methods used to gauge the emergence of women leadership. However, this does not truly reflect the equality of men and women in distribution of leadership position in the spheres of society (Hartman, n.d). In recent times, there have been so many advocacies for equity of women in all the spheres of society. These initiatives are mostly led by women and seek to empower women economically, politically, academically and health wise. This initiatives help to create equity in all the sectors of society and enable women to rea ch their leadership potential more easily. However, even after the creation of equity women still do not occupy leadership in visible spheres of the society. This has made different people to point out that women do not have leadership qualities. This is mot true since have exercised their leadership abilities even before the beginning of civilization. The leadership of women was mostly concerned with the community and households leadership; hence her leadership was not seen since it was not a leadership position which is highlighted in the public domain. Leadership of women mainly concerned things which relate to domestic issues. However, modernization has reduced the tendency of women to be relegated to the domestic realms. Women are now having fewer children, marrying late, concentrating more on attaining quality education and moving out of the homes to seek paid jobs. This has made women to lead lifestyles which resemble those of men and hence seek leadership opportunities consi dered to belong to men. However, by so doing, the women have sacrificed their roles which were traditionally female such as the tender care which the women give to children and society. However women do not have to sacrifice all that at the expense of being leaders. They can still be leaders and maintain their roles which would be of great benefit not only to the society but also to themselves. Hence, gender equality should not just be viewed as the ability of women doing things, which were conventionally meant, for men, but their ability to influence the society in their specific way. Literature Review Women current form a majority of the undergraduates of colleges in America (57 %), and also form a large percentage of the doctorate degrees awarded in America. However despite these statistics men still continue to dominate the most desirable positions of leadership in the education system. As one move up the administration ladder, which demands for more responsibility, the number o f women in those positions decreases markedly (Gupton 2009 p 3). In these institutions, 58% of the instructors are women, 54% of the lecturers are women, 51% of the women are in the unranked areas and only 23% of the full professors are women. The data shows that there is a majority representation of women in the lower ranks of the institutions. It also clearly illustrates the misrepresentation of women in the higher positions of leadership in the institutions (Gupton, 2009, p 3). In the US, the bulk of the full professors, tenured faculty members and high level administrators in the institutions of higher learning are formed by men. However, more and more women are employed in these institutions but for positions, which have lower salaries (Gupton, 2009, p 3). However, the situation is far much worse for the leadership positions of institutions of higher learning. Only 16% of the university presidents are women. Women form 25 % of the chief academic officers of institutions of high er learning. This situation is also grave in the other professional fields. Among the chief business officers, only 13 % of them are women. This seems to be ironical since women form a large percentage of the population in both the undergraduate and post graduate schools of higher learning (Chliwniak, 1997 para 1). This is despite the fact that more women are likely to obtain a doctorate degree than men. However, this proportion is further worsened by the fact that either most of these women presidents are heads of two-year colleges, which are not as prestigious as four-year colleges, or they are the presidents of women colleges (Gupton, 2009, p 4) The men also occupy a large percentage of the district school superintendents (85%). The superintendents are usually promoted from the rank of principals of high schools. However, the number of women principles has recently equaled the number of men principles, therefore the expected to improve further. Even though this may seem a good ad vancement, it is negligible compared to the number of women who are involved in the profession of teaching. The teaching profession is made up of 72% women and is sometimes referred to as the profession of the female. This profession despite being largely populated by women it is still mainly dominated by men who are the majority of the district superintendents in the US. Comparison of the female and male forms of leadership The question of the comparison between the leadership of men and women usually attracts mixed reactions. There are people who see that the leadership abilities of women are usually measured using the male-gender standards which are somehow biased. However men and women generally lead in totally different ways. It has been shown that women leaders tend to be more power sharing than that of the men. In exercising their leadership, the women generally create relationships with the people who they are leading and other relevant people to succeed in their leadership. Women generally tend to be reconciliatory and ready to share power with the people who they are leading it the implications of these actions will lead to better results (Ramsay, 2000, p 3). However, this is not the case for men leaders who generally do not form relationships. The men usually impose leadership through the rewarding of exemplary work and punishing people who they perceive to have done wrong. However if has been showed that women leaders tend to be reconciliatory than the men leaders (Dean, Bracken and Allen 2008 p 11). When women are education administrators, their main emphasis is usually on the solution to the personal differences of the students, knowledge of curriculum teaching methods and the objectives of teaching (Growe, n.d, p 3). Barriers to women advancement in higher education leadership Women generally face different hurdles in their quest to obtain promotion to higher levels of leadership in institutions of higher learning. The women usually occupy large numbers of leadership positions the midlevel administrative positions and in lower levels of leadership. The midlevel administrative positions include the deans and directors of various faculties in institutions of higher learning. The lower levels are mainly librarians and dealing with student issues. The women in the lower levels f administration are usually considered for promotional faster than in the other levels. However when the women reach this level they start getting the promotions at a slower rate. Hence, they are said to experience a glass ceiling, which hinders their promotion to the higher levels of administration (Alemn and Renn, 2002, p 484). Recommendation To increase the number of women in management of institutions of higher learning, the government should not just offer lower qualifications for the women. The most important thing for governments to do is to increase the participation of women in leadership of institutions higher learning, is to take measures tha t will lead to an increase the quantity and quality of women in institutions of higher learning. The increase in the number of women who enroll in both the undergraduate and post graduate courses of institutions of higher learning will enable women to effectively compete with men for the available post which require educational qualifications. Increasing the quality of education offered to the women enables the women to obtain the necessary qualifications required to get leadership jobs in higher education institutions. This would greatly help in reducing the underrepresentation of women in institutions of higher learning as sometimes the institutions are willing to hire women but lack women with the necessary qualifications (Singh 2002 p 54). This can be achieved through the setting up of scholarship funds for women and improving the conditions of postgraduate studies to cater for the needs of women (Singh 2002 p 55). Already some universities have started implementing this and off er a variety of programs meant for women (Bethman, p 1) The institutions of higher learning should also come up with training programs and courses that target women to help improve their knowledge and leadership skills. These courses should focus on helping the women to improve their knowledge on a variety of issues on management which are applicable to higher education. They should also train women on developing plans which will enable them to effectively cope with their personal and professional lives which are both very demanding on the women (Singh 2002 58). These courses may just be short courses given to the female staff of various institutions or they may be integrated into degree programs to help the women. These courses help the women to effectively cope with management of higher educations institutions thus enabling them to effectively compete with the men. Summary and conclusion As outlined in the above paper women face a diverse of issues concerning their representation in institutions of higher learning. The men have dominated all the aspects of leadership in higher learning. Therefore the women need to be extra vigilant to ensure that they are effectively represented in all the education spheres. The women should not just expect favour from the government in order for them to get representation in these institutions. The women should arm themselves with the necessary knowledge which will lead to their elevation to leadership positions in institutions of higher learning. However, one important aspect, which one should note, is that the representation of women in all spheres of society is slowly increasing and in the future, it is expected that the number of women in various leadership positions will be equal to that of the men. Having more women in leadership positions will ensure that they are equally represented and the few do not lead the many as it continues to happen in the institutions of higher learning in the US. Due to the economic crisis facing the US, the problem of women being under represented is likely to be reduced as history has proven that drastic measures are usually taken during times that are considered hard. References Alemn, M., Renn, K.A. (2002). Women in higher education: an encyclopedia. CA: ABC-CLIO. Bethman, B. L. (N.d). College and university women leadership programs Accessed from nwsa.org/research/downloads/centerdocs/otherdocs/leadership.pdf. Chliwniak, L. (1997). Higher Education Leadership: Analyzing the Gender Gap Washington DC ERIC Clearinghouse on Higher Education. Retrieved from ericdigests.org/1998-1/gap.htm Dean, D. R., Bracken, S.J. and Allen, J.K. (2008). Women in academic leadership: professional strategies, personal choices. Virginia Stylus Publishing, LLC. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=TuDmMIghR4sCpg=PA74dq=women+leadership+in+higher+educationhl=enei=PBPmTMKnHsTHswalw7TBCwsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=5ved=0CEUQ6AEwBA#v=onepageqf=false. Growe, R. (N.d). Women and the leadership paradigm: bridging the gender gap. Retried from nationalforum.com/Electronic%20Journal%20Volumes/Growe,%20Roslin%20Women%20and%20the%20Leadership%20Paradigm%20Bridging%20the%20Gender%20Gap.pdf. Gupton, S. L. (2009). Women leadership in the US: reflections of a 50 year veteran. Forum for public policy. Retrieved from forumonpublicpolicy.com/summer09/archivesummer09/gupton.pdf. Hartman, M. N.d. Women in power: A theoretical framework. (Attached material). Jones S.D. (2005). Leadership in higher education: influences on perception of black women. Retrieved from http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=vq=cache:To2h5mpsXygJ:www.vonfrederick.com/pubs/Leadership%2520in%2520Higher%2520Education%2520-%2520Influences%2520on%2520Perception.pdf+women+leadership+in+higher+educationhl=engl=kepid=blsrcid=ADGEESiBClEqHVXoMWGUYnbW4v8U5ki-YltHtqb-NEYxxeG7FMTaPH2Betdxe_PSZZWJFgDf1RWwIOoRcQgJUutwUi5P9FMMdLVRjdWOHeiFmqY-R-WNUsrI3wFjo3PB-n_kH20Mf8qqsig=AHIEtbS9OyfwcN_xeqSBSNBzIe3xFa9dVA. Rams ay, E. (2000). Women and leadership in higher education: facing international challenges and maximizing opportunities. Retrieved from http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=vq=cache:Woj9e_CaM4MJ:www.atn.edu.au/wexdev/local/docs/women_leadership.pdf+women+leadership+in+higher+educationhl=engl=kepid=blsrcid=ADGEEShZjMNRwI44GmRAXv4gJaHPUqFC6XRd3iGjnUVTewLMzzj64I4igykdFO7W4DHlKFBp9gyKOeteZUoof3S1apBcub8oRImUJy2Y_Aalu6bHxNNHUhNW9O4NOH-00tnxw7Fkf_GEsig=AHIEtbS9-KT9xSk_NpTF2wdrvEj8t5W4kQ. Singh, J.K. S. (2002). Women and management in higher education a good practice handbook. United Nations educational scientific and cultural organization (UNESCO). unesco.org/education/pdf/singh.pdf.

Mining industry Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Mining industry - Research Paper Example As such, when looking at the relationship between these two countries, there will be no doubt to mention of the tension between the local laborer and the immigrant. Immigrant labor is the type of labor that occurs when individuals depart from their mother country to another country in search of better terms of labor and improved standard of living (Brakman, et al 2007). In other words, it means the movement of people from their homelands into a new place in search for employment on both temporary as well as a permanent basis (Debrah 2002). For a long time, the perception was that when people move, it is because they are attempting to escape harsh conditions back home because the land that they are headed to is perceived to be at a higher level development wise than their homeland. In other words, it is the movement of labor from an underdeveloped economy to a developed one (Debrah 2002). Nowadays, this will not always hold water because there are cases of people who move from the developed countries into the developing world still in search of greener pastures (Tang 2000). Coming back to the topic at hand, the relations between the Chinese and the Australians can be looked in terms of the terms of employment of the host country in comparison to the home country (Morrow 2012). Also of importance is the matter of the problems that arise from the movement. When looking at the working conditions at the mines, it is clear that these were not the best places to be. A lot of the work that was given to the Chinese was in the form of menial tasks such as ‘running’. This involved the taking of the empty cars to the white miners or even descending deep into the mines to dig for gold or coal (Walker 2008). The fact that the Chinese were willing to earn less than the white miners is rather in dispute. It was the only choice they had (Walker 2008). A Victorian newspaper, at the time, suggested the setting aside of inferior diggings for the Chinese since

Experimentation, Research and Consent for Ethics in Healthcare class Essay - 1

Experimentation, Research and Consent for Ethics in Healthcare class - Essay Example The next question which was raised to importance was when there was no such statement and there existed conflicting interest between the guardians of the patient then whose say would hold importance, that of the spouse or the parents? Along with these two questions, when the media got active a third conflict arose, regarding the rights of the disabled, whether their condition could be misconstrued to be an accent against pro life treatment? The hype was addressed by the then President of the US by passing a bipartisan Bill via which he had invalidated the ruling of the state judge by passing the matter to the federal courts. The reason why this was done was because it was felt by the Senate and the House of Representatives who had passed the Bill that the matter involved Terri’s Constitutional rights.1 The biggest conflict which came into being was also regarding the case being a right to die case or the disability rights case! But life cannot be charted into black and white words, and that’s what public opinion forced the courts to consider-ethical questions. Every person has the right to choose against medical treatment, against any sort of bodily intrusion. Then there is the right to life and personal liberty in contrast to the state’s right of preserving health and its duty to not allow people to commit suicide. This is called the duty of the state to maintain the sanctity of life. To add to this debate, many argued that the basic provision of food and water should not be removed as it is not covered within the ambit of medical treatment and as such law regarding the medical perspective could not guide removal of pipes which ensured regular basic nutrition. The third issue that was raised was whether a doctor is capable to decide on the issue about a miraculous breakthrough in a patient’s condition, especially when the same is steady if not improving. On removal of medicines which reduce

United States and the neo-Gramscian perspectives Essay

United States and the neo-Gramscian perspectives - Essay Example The United States is an interesting case as explained through neo-Gramscian perspective. The model is able to evaluate American policies and their motivation, including their impact on the global arena. There is valuable insight offered with respect to the American behavior in international relations and how to understand and deal with it as a hegemon. This paper will explore the United States from the neo-Gramscian perspective. For this purpose a brief discourse on the theoretical model will be included, with a brief discussion of hegemony from different perspectives as well as the stability and the neo-Gramscian thought and its challenges. This paper will cover the theoretical discussions on power structural, the declinist school of thought, and the concepts of unipolarity and multipolarity. The concept of hegemony emerged out of the integration of the world system on the strength of global economic and political developments. As members of the system struggle and compete in order to navigate its intricacies, players adopt policies that promote and advance their interests. Successful players become dominant within a process that many thinkers consider as social in terms of formation. These players are able to exploit the system to perpetuate its status. Antonio Gramsci, the Italian thinker, provided one of the most important bases to this thought by capturing the dynamics of this process. His position holds that hegemony pertains to the process in which a hegemon is able to exploit the world system for its own purposes. This is achieved through the consent of the dominated class who act for programmes that benefit the hegemon although they may not always be in their best interests.2 This Gramscian perspective is important in the sense that it implies a dominance that is not based on brute force or coercion. Rather, it is viewed as a result of manipulation, with the dominant player(s) orchestrating events and strategies in such a way that subordinate

Banduras social learning theory Essay Example for Free

Banduras social learning theory Essay Our study is based on the theory of operant conditioning and Banduras social learning theory. Operant conditioning states that learning happens through association, and we believe that car advertises are trying to make their target population associate buying their car with a desired characteristic/traits/lifestyles e.g. having a lot of female attention. Skinner described the ABC model of operant conditioning, which includes an antecedent, behaviour and a consequence. Bandura for his theory stated that learning can only occur if the four criteria (attention, retention, reproduction and motivation) were met. From looking at YouTube adverts we found that smaller cars had a tendency to have more feminine themes whereas larger cars tended to have more masculine themes.  Aim  To whether there is a difference between gender and the size of cars they drive.  Alternative Hypothesis:  Males will have a higher tendency to drive large cars while females will have a higher tendency to drive smaller cars  Null Hypothesis:  There will be no difference in gender and the size of the car they drive, and any difference will be due to chance. METHOD:  Design:  This is an independent group design and a quasi experiment as each participant can only be in either the male or the female category. We will gather our data by tallying, as our study will only include nominal data. This is useful as tallying is easy to analyse and draw up conclusions from. We are only looking at the gender of the driver and the type/size of their cars, so our data is quantitative. This is a non-participant naturalistic overt observation. Seeing as our results are nominal, this is an independent group design and the hypothesis predicts a difference. We will try our best to operationalise our variables by tallying the cars for the same period of time and by collecting data in different locations throughout Maidstone. Our IV will be the gender and how dependent variable (DV) will be the size of the cars. To make it easier to see the driver or the car, we will be collecting our data by a set of traffic lights, and tallying in the correct sections.  Participants  All of our participants will be over 17, as this is the legal minimum driving age. We will be using opportunity sampling as only those driving at the time of the study will take part in the study. Apparatus  Pen, paper and clipboard   Procedure  1. A table was draw up to collect results in (a copy can be found in appendix)  2. Researchers decided time and place of when they will be getting results  3. Researches went to location, stood by the nearest traffic light and collect results  4. Next lesson, the results were pooled  5. Adjustments were made  6. Carried out inertial test using chi-squared test  Control:  Pilot study was not to include family and sports cars as they are marketed differently and tend to be gender neutral. We increased our ecological validity by carrying out the experiment in different places in Maidstone. Ethics We followed most of the ethical guidelines by: ensuring that no participants were harmed physically or psychology and that the results were anonymous. Participants were not given fully-informed consent and were not debriefed as this would be too time consuming, but if a participant was to ask about our study they would have been told the true aim of the study and having their results omitted if they want to.We will accept our null hypothesis and reject our alternative hypothesis because our observed value (1.34) of chi-squared is lower than the critical value(3.841) and this means our results arent significant. Therefore the probability of our results being due to chance equal p0.5. Evaluation Our results are not generalisable because our participants are only form Maidstone and surroundings areas. People from different areas may have different cars and adverts in different cars might be marketed differently where males may not necessarily drive large cars and females drive small cars. To improve the study, we could look at adverts from other countries and if they are different, we could see whether they have an effect on the drivers.  By using opportunity sampling, our results were not representative because there might be different people that only drive specifically during a certain time of day. Our results are not reliable as they have inter rater reliability and also it is likely that participants may not have been driving their own car they might have been driving a family members car or a company car either way they might have not necessarily been driving their own car. This means our results would be unreliable because we are trying to find out if advertising influences a persons choice in cars we would have to ask the participants if they are driving their own cars and discard the results of those who arent. However, this is would be too time consuming and the only way of doing this efficiently is to do it in a car park but this would mean our sample size would be small.  We can also tell that our results arent replicable as other members of our class had different results and did accept their alternative hypothesis (we all carried out the same tasks with the same aim but under different conditions) and they are not similar to the key study (Bandura) as his study would suggest that advertising would have an effect on peoples choice on the size of the car. Also, there are other factors that may influence the choice on car, for example the cost of the car. Our results were made insignificant because there were more males driving small cars than large cars but overall there were more small cars than large cars observed in the experiment and this could be due to smaller cars being cheaper rather than the way they are being observed.  We could carry out the experiment at different types to have more control over extraneous variables in order to try and improve our study. Seeing as our results show that there is no difference between gender and the size of the car, it seems that our study would have applications to real life as it shows that advertisers are wasting their money marketing their cars specifically to male/females.  The study was valid in that it was a naturalistic observation of real driving behaviour that was not affected by the observer. The drivers of the cars were either male or female. Also, our study has face validity as there are different opinions on types and the sizes of cars, even though there was a general outline, most of us did get confused about some cars and to those that we could not categorise were not included in the study.  Our study would be ethical regardless of the fact that informed consent was not given as if participants were to ask us about the study; they would be informed about the true aim.

The Controversial Issue of Religion in Schools Essay -- Religion Relig

The Controversial Issue of Religion in Schools Religion in Schools has proven to be a very controversial matter as of lately. Even though teaching about religion is allowed in public schools, there are still many questions that are being asked in order to provide a basis of what is appropriate for school, and what is inappropriate. The first amendment to the United States Constitution says that 'congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof' which implies that you have the choice of exercising your own religion, no matter what it may be. However, this poses an interesting argument within the public schools of America because we have such a diverse population with thousands of different religious groups. While many people do believe in a God and go to church religiously, many people do not do this-- and they find religion in schools to be offensive. Such things that are controversial in school include organized prayer, wearing religious garments like crosses or yarmulkes, differentiating between the acknowledgement of religious holidays and the celebration of religious holidays, and more recently, the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance. In lieu of the recent events that took place on September 11, 2001, patriotism seems to have skyrocketed across the country?and that increase of patriotism seems to directly correlate with religion as well. Everywhere you look, people are waving around the flag and singing patriotic songs. The most controversial issue to date is our country?s pledge of allegiance, specifically because of two words located near the end of the oath to patriotism. Those two words are ?under God.? The pledge of allegiance originally di... ...o, Charles J. (2004) The Supreme Court and the Pledge of Allegiance: Does God Still Have a Place in American Schools? Bringham Young University Education and Law Journal, p. 301-331. 9. Sunstein, Cass R. (2004) The Smallest Court in the Land. New York Times 153(52900), pp. 9. Retrieved September 26, 2004 from MetaLib-Quicksearch: Cook Library. 10. Borja, Rhea R. (July 10, 2002) The Pledge of Allegiance in the Legal Spotlight. Edweek [Online],volume 21, issue 42, pp. 6. Retrieved on November 29, 2004 from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2002/07/10/42pledge.h21.html. 11. Walsh, Mark. (June 20, 2001.) Court Boosts School Access for Religious Groups. Edweek [Online], volume 20, issue 41, pp.1-36. Retrieved November 29, 2004 from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2001/06/20/41scotus.h20.html?querystring=Good%20News%20Club%20v.%20Milford%20Central%20School.

Comparing My Dad and Me Essay -- Comparison Compare Contrast Essays

Comparing My Dad and Me In a world of over six billion people, what could be more boring than a bunch of look-alike clones? Everyone on this earth shares certain traits with others. Each person, though, shares more similarities with some people than with others. Strong similarities can be seen most frequently among family members, most likely because people in one family come from the same gene pool. My dad and I represent prime examples of people who share a lot in common. Regardless of how much we resemble each other, though, we are different people and always will be. Setting aside the physical differences between my dad and me – I am significantly taller but have a smaller build than he – quickly reveals our similarities. Though the majority of our shared traits come as a result of the fact that I received many of his genes, our most important similarity– our faith in and fervent love for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ – does not exist in anyone’s genes. Rather, this comes exclusively from God. Every day my dad goes out and fixes garage doors. Working in people’s garages on a daily basis, he gets numerous opportunities to talk to people. Just about every day, my dad has a chance to share his faith with others. Not only does he deal honestly and fairly with his customers, he frequently talks to them about his belief in God and explains why Jesus died 2000 years ago – for them. Likewise, I often must defend my beliefs in school. In past English classes, we have had many debates on a great variety of moral issues and I have been able to give my stance on â€Å"the issues,† based on what the Bible, God’s Word, teaches. Hopefully, I will have additional opportunities in American Government class and possibly even in English.... ...I. He does not mind confronting people when they do something with which he does not agree. I have a more difficult time confronting people. When I do, so as not to anger them, I beat around the bush rather than telling them blatantly that they are wrong. While my dad and I are very similar even in such little things as our mannerisms, our similarities do not in any way, shape, or form make us the same person. No two people are the same, in spite of all their likenesses. If we were all exactly alike, what good would we be? If we all excelled in construction work and could build anything from a shed to a skyscraper, who would prepare food? If everyone cooked, who would treat the sick and injured? More fundamentally, who would make the equipment used for cooking? People identify us by who we are, by our differences – not by what we have in common with everyone else.

Mahindra & Mahindra †Sm Essay

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY – INDIAN AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY Starting its journey from the day when the first car rolled on the streets of Mumbai in 1898, the Indian automobile industry has demonstrated a phenomenal growth to this day. Today, the Indian automobile industry presents a galaxy of varieties and models meeting all possible expectations and globally established industry standards. Some of the leading names echoing in the Indian automobile industry include Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Mahindra and Mahindra, Hyundai Motors, Hero Honda and Hindustan Motors in addition to a number of others. During the early stages of its development, Indian automobile industry heavily depended on foreign technologies. However, over the years, the manufacturers in India have started using their own technology evolved in the native soil. The thriving market place in the country has attracted a number of automobile manufacturers including some of the reputed global leaders to set their foot in the soil looking forward to enhance their profile and prospects to new heights. Following a temporary setback on account of the global economic recession, the Indian automobile market has once again picked up a remarkable momentum witnessing a buoyant  sale for the -first time in its history in the month of September 2009. At present, about 75 percent of India’s automobile industry is made up by small cars, with the figure ranking the nation on top of any other country on the globe. Over the next two or three years, the country is expecting the arrival of more than a dozen new brands making compact car models. Like many other nations India’s highly developed transportation system has played a very important role in the development of the country’s economy over the past to this day. One can say that the automobile industry in the country has occupied a solid space in the platform of Indian economy. Empowered by its present growth, today the automobile industry in the country can produce a diverse range of vehicles under three broad categories namely cars, two-wheelers and heavy vehicles. 1.1. Exports of Automobile Industry Today, India is among the world’s largest producers of small cars. The New York Times has rated India as a very strong engineering base with an incomparable expertise in the arena of manufacturing a number of low-cost, fuel-efficient cars has encouraged the expansion plans of the manufacturing facilities of a number of automobile leaders like Mahindra, Hyundai Motors, Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen and Suzuki. While the automobile industry in India is the ninth largest in the world, the country emerged as the fourth largest automobiles exporter on the globe following Japan, South Korea and Thailand, in the year 2009. The automobile sector of India is the seventh largest in the world. In a year, the country manufactures about 2.6 million cars making up an identifiable chunk in the world’s annual production of about 73 million cars in a year. The country is the largest manufacturer of motorcycles and the fifth largest producer of commercial vehicles. Industry experts have visualized an unbelievably huge increase in these figures over the immediate future. The figures published by the Asia Economic Institute indicate that the Indian automobile sector is set to emerge as the global leader by 2012. In the year 2009, India rose to be the fourth largest exporter of automobiles following Japan, South Korea and Thailand. Experts state that in the year 2050, India will top the car volumes of all the nations of the world with about 611 million cars running on its roads. 1.2. Various Segments of the Indian Automobile Industry Motor cycles manufacture makes up the major share in the two-wheeler segment of the  Indian automobile industry. About 50% of the motorcycles are manufactured by Hero Honda. While Honda manufactures about 46% of the scooters, TVS produces 82% of the mopeds running on the Indian roads. About 40% of the three-wheelers manufactured in India are used for transporting goods with Piaggio manufacturing 40% of the vehicles sold in the Indian market. On the other hand, Bajaj has emerged as the leader in manufacturing three-wheelers used for passenger transport. The firm produces about 68% percent of the three wheelers used for passenger transport in India. The Indian passenger vehicle segment is dominated by cars which make up about 80% of it. Maruti Suzuki manufactures about 52% of passenger cars while the firm enjoys a complete monopoly in the manufacture of multi-purpose vehicles. In the utility vehicles segment Mahindra makes up a 42% share. Tata Motors is the leader in the Indian commercial vehicles market while it holds more than 60% share. Tata Motors also enjoys the credit of being the world’s fifth largest manufacturer of medium and heavy commercial vehicles. 1.3. Potential of Indian Automobile Industry There is a very stiff competition in the automobile industry segment in India. This has helped many to realize their dreams of driving the most luxurious cars. During the recent past, a number of overseas companies have started grabbing a big chunk of the market share in both domestic and export sales. Every new day dawns in India with some new launches by active players in the Indian automobile arena. By introducing some low cost cars, the industry had made it possible for common men to buy cars for their personal use. With some innovative strategies and by adopting some alternative remedial measures, the Indian automobile industry has successfully come unaffected out of the global financial crisis. During the current fiscal year, the Indian automobile industry rode high on the resurgence of consumer demand in the country as a result of the Government’s fiscal stimulus and attractively low interest rates. As a result the total turnover of the domestic automobile industry increased by about 27 per cent. Predictions made by Ernst and Young have estimated that the Indian passenger car market will have a growth rate of about 12 percent per annum over the next five years to reach the production of 3.75 million units by the year 2014. The analysts have further stated that the industry’s turnover will touch $155  billion by 2016. This achievement will succeed in consolidating India’s position as the seventh largest automobiles manufacturer on the globe, eventually surging forth to become the third largest by the year 2030 behind China and the US. The Automotive Mission Plan launched by the Indian government has envisaged that the country will emerge as the seventh largest car maker on the globe thereby contributing more than 10 percent to the nation’s $1.2-trillion economy. Further, industry experts believe that the nation will soon establish its stand as an automobile hub exporting about 2.75 million units and selling about a million units to be operated on the domestic roads 1. MAHINDRA & MAHINDRA – OVERVIEW Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) is not just India’s largest utility vehicle manufacturer anymore. It is the third-largest player in the passenger vehicle segment and in a neck-and-neck race with Tata Motors. It has set its sight on challenging the domination of Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motors. Pawan Goenka, as president for automotive and farm equipment sectors, is the main architect of this feat Mahindra and an independent India began their rise together. In 1945, two enterprising brothers named J.C. Mahindra and K.C. Mahindra joined forces with Ghulam Mohammed and started Mahindra & Mohammed as a steel company in Mumbai. Two years later, India won its independence, Ghulam Mohammed left the company to become Pakistan’s first finance minister, and the Mahindra brothers ignited the company’s enduring growth with their decision to manufacture Willys jeeps in Mumbai. The Mahindra brothers believed that new modes of transportation could be a key to India’s prosperity, so one of their first goals was to build rugged, simple vehicles capable of tackling the Indian terrain. Early pioneers of globalization, the brothers collaborated with a wide range of international companies and before long, Mahindra’s reach extended to steel, tractors, telecom, and more. Now, after 65 years, Mahindra has grown from a humble local outfit to a US $15.4 billion corporation employing more than 144,000 people around the world. It’s been quite an adventure so far, and they’re proud of our global leadership in utility vehicles, tractors, and information technology, as  well as our significant presence in financial services, leisure and hospitality, engineering, trade, and logistics. As they accelerate into the 21st century, they’ll continue to pursue innovative ideas that enable people to rise. They’ve come a long way, but the journey has just begun. Over the past few years, M&M has expanded into new industries and geographies. They entered into the two-wheeler segment by taking over Kinetic Motors in India. M&M also has controlling stake in REVA Electric Car Company and acquired South Korea’s SsangYong Motor Company in 2011. Mahindra & Mahindra is a major automobile manufacturer of utility vehicles, passenger cars, pickups, commercial vehicles, and two wheelers. Its tractors are sold on six continents. It has acquired plants in China and the United Kingdom, and has three assembly plants in the USA. M&M has partnerships with international companies like Renault SA, France and International Truck and Engine Corporation, USA. M&M has a global presence and its products are exported to several countries. Its global subsidiaries include Mahindra Europe Srl. based in Italy, Mahindra USA Inc., Mahindra South Africa and Mahindra (China) Tractor Co. Ltd. M&M made its entry into the passenger car segment with the Logan in April 2007 under the Mahindra Renault joint venture. M&M will make its maiden entry into the heavy trucks segment with Mahindra Navistar, the joint venture with International Truck, USA. M&M’s automotive division makes a wide range of vehicles including MUVs, LCVs and three wheelers. It offers over 20 models including new generation multi-utility vehicles like the Scorpio and the Bolero. It formerly had a joint venture with Ford called Ford India Private Limited to build passenger cars. Mahindra & Mahindra has a controlling stake in Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles. In 2011, it also gained a controlling stake in South Korea’s SsangYong Motor Company. Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M), has launched its much awaited SUV, XUV 500, code named as W201 in September  2011. The last ‘500’ in the name is pronounced as ‘5 double-O’ (alphabet). The new SUV by Mahindra has been designed in-house and it is developed on the first global SUV platform that could be used for developing more SUVs. 2. MISSION AND OBJECTIVES Vision: * To create a fully collaborative environment in which suppliers can deliver exactly what the company needs, when it needs it, and at a competitive cost. * â€Å"We don’t have a group-wide mission statement. Our core purpose is what makes all of us want to get up and come to work in the morning† -Anand Mahindra Mission: * To create India’s largest automobile and automobile-related products distribution network by providing dealers and customers with the largest choice of unique world-class products and services. Since 1945, the Mahindra group has built the company around the core idea that people will succeed if they are just given the opportunity. Employees across the Group constantly challenge conventional thinking to create solutions that make a significant difference in the lives of their customers. That’s why everything they build—be it a tractor, financial service, solar-powered lamp, or software—is designed to empower you to reach your potential. Internally, they follow three basic tenets—accepting no limits, thinking alternatively, and driving positive change in everything they do. These brand pillars guide all their actions and business decisions from deciding whether or not to enter a new field or planning a portfolio of services. * We accept no limits, and ask the same of everyone else. In return, they work relentlessly to provide the tools, information, and inspiration to push past limitations and comfort zones. This challenger spirit galvanized us to meet the oil crisis in the 1970s by re-engineering our fuel efficient tractor engines for utility vehicles. It led us to take on the challenge of designing the Scorpio utility vehicle at a cost that many industry experts  thought was impossibly low. They’ve created completely new business models to enter areas others had written off or ignored, like our leading hospitality business and our rural financial services. And they just registered our highest ever profits despite the worst global recession since the Great Depression. This determination influences every aspect of our culture and our employees. As a result, each Mahindra business constantly pushes the envelope and raises the bar as they strive to deliver better value to our customers. * Alternative thinking means solving problems in ways no one has thought of before, by using fewer resources and entering markets thought to be unreachable. Take the Scorpio for example—they developed our best-in-class utility vehicle from the ground up using a process that put drivers’ needs first. Our Energy Solutions help businesses keep going when everyone else’s lights go out. They build two wheelers that provide affordable mobility solutions to more people. And our extensive arrays of innovative IT services are increasing productivity at some of the world’s leading companies. Thinking alternatively isn’t always easy, but it’s always worth it. * Driving Positive Change: Mahindra is a business with a conscience. Every product they make and each market they explore must make sound economic sense, but it just so happens that smart business decisions are often good for people and communities as well. They strive to spread positive impact through our products and services by greening our manufacturing process and by being a good employer. They want to be counted among the global companies that make incredible products and services, but they also wish to be recognized for creating a better world. From building green homes with the most eco-friendly materials to providing loans to rural entrepreneurs, from designing goods carriers that run on compressed natural gas (CNG) to offering educational programs and supporting Indian theatre, they strive to make a positive impact on all the lives they touch They created a tractor designed for small farming that is enabling farmers to mechanize for the first time. Our motivation to give our best every day comes from our core purpose: we will challenge conventional thinking and innovatively use all our resources to drive positive change in the lives of our stakeholders and communities across the world, to enable them to Rise. Our products and services support our customers’ ambitions to improve their living standards; our responsible business practices positively engage the communities they join through employment, education, and outreach; and our commitment to sustainable business is bringing green technology and awareness into the mainstream through our products, services, and light-footprint manufacturing processes. This commitment to sustainability—social, economic, and environmental—rests upon a set of core values. They are an amalgamation of what they have been, what they are, and what they want to be. These values are the compass that guides our actions, both personal and corporate. They are: * Good corporate citizenship: They will continue to seek long term success in alignment with the needs of the communities they serve. They will do this without compromising on ethical business standards. * Professionalism: They have always sought the best people for the job and given them the freedom and the opportunity to grow. They will continue to do so. They will support innovation and well reasoned risk taking, but will demand performance. * Customer first: They exist and prosper only because of the customer. They will respond to the changing needs and expectations of our customers speedily, courteously and effectively. * Quality focus: Quality is the key to delivering value for money to our customers. They will make quality a driving value in our work, in our products and in our interactions with others. They will do it ‘First Time Right.’ * Dignity of the individual: They will value individual dignity, uphold the right to express disagreement and respect the time and efforts of others. Through our actions, they will nurture fairness, trust, and transparency. 3. SWOT Analysis 4.1 Strengths * Mahindra has been one of the strongest brands in the Indian automobile mark. * Mahindra group give employment to over 110,000 employees. * Excellent branding and advertising, and low after sales service cost. * Sturdy SUV’s good for Indian roads and off-road terrain. * Over the years the company has emerged as one of the top players in the world in terms of number of tractors sold. This gives a clear indication that the company’s market shares one of its biggest strengths. * The company’s ability to introduce new products in the market and to generate sales from those new products is a major strength. * The reason being that this is very essential for any company, for its survival in the long run. The company has established its brand name in other countries of the world as well. * This is evident from the 40% market share that it holds in the 30-40 HP tractors market in the US. 4.2 Weakness * Mahindra’s partnership with Renault did not live up to international quality standards through their brand Logan. * The company is highly dependent on the rural sector, and the rural sector in turn is highly dependent on the monsoons. As a result, if there happen to be bad monsoons (less of rains) for two consecutive years it could have an adverse impact on the demand of tractors for the company. 4.3 Opportunity * Developing hybrid cars and fuel efficient cars for the future. * Tapping emerging markets across the world and building a global brand. * Fast growing automobile market. * Growing in the market through electric car Reva (controlling stake) and entry into two-wheeler segments. * The government has been trying to strengthen the exports of agricultural products. As a result, the quality of agricultural products necessarily has to be very high. For this, they need better rural and agricultural infrastructure. This might result in an  increase in demand for tractors. * In India, the penetration of tractors is 10 tractors per 1000 hectares of cropped area, which is much below the world average of 19 tractors for the same. Thus there is scope for the demand to increase. 4.4 Threats * Government policies for the automobile sector across the world. * Ever increasing fuel prices. * Intense competition from global automobile brands. * Substitute modes of public transport like buses, metro trains etc. * The company has a history of having invested in unrelated diversifications such as telecom, holiday and resort inns, financial services, etc. which it has hived off as subsidiaries from time to time when these turned unmanageable. * This is a cause for concern as such diversifications could divert the company’s attention from its core business. It is a dangerous tendency as it leads to destruction of shareholders value. * The entry of foreign players in the tractors segment could pose a threat to the company as these foreign players are technically more competitive than Mahindra & Mahindra. 4. ACQUISITIONS 5.1 Ssangyong Motor Company India’s Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. completes acquisition of a majority stake in SsangYong Motor Company On March 15, 2011, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M), India’s leading manufacturer of utility vehicles, today announced that it has completed all formalities related to the acquisition of a majority stake in SsangYong Motor Company (SYMC) and that the company is no longer in Court Receivership. Mahindra had emerged as the preferred bidder for SsangYong in August 2010. This marks the beginning of a new journey for SYMC and will also pave the way for both Mahindra and SYMC to emerge as a strong force allied together in the global passenger vehicle industry, through their strategic partnership. Present on the occasion were Mr. Bharat Doshi, Executive Director & Group CFO, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. and Dr. Pawan Goenka who is President of Mahindra’s Automotive and Farm Equipment Sectors. Key officials from the Mahindra Group and SYMC were also present. For Mahindra, the biggest benefit from this partnership  will be the opportunity to harness synergies between the two companies, while protecting their respective brand identities and ensuring quality. Towards this end, a Synergy Council comprising of senior management from both companies will be established to ensure focus and delivery of synergies between the two companies. The Council will focus on various aspects such as global procurement, new car development and business strategy to penetrate international markets. Strategic plans such as the India project which involves launching the Rexton and Korando-C in India have already been kicked off. Also under discussion are opportunities for joint product and technology development and synergy in global operations and purchase. Mahindra has a strong IT system that is being reviewed for suitability for SsangYong. The company is also considering the possibility of Mahindra Finance setting up operations in Korea to enhance the sales of SsangYong vehicles. Mahindra has also proposed the following five point agenda for SsangYong: * Strengthening the product pipeline. * Harnessing synergies between the two companies. * Investing in the SYMC brand. * Building human resources. * Focusing on financial stability. SsangYong has also proposed the following investments: * In 2011, the business plan calls for a 70% investment increase in product development, as compared to last year, at over KRW 200 billion. * Over 40 billion KRW for brand building in Korea – a 60% increase over 2010 – and an increase in overseas brand investment by over four times, in 2011. Dr. Pawan Goenka, President, Automotive and Farm Equipment Sectors, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., mentioned that Mahindra was extremely conscious of SYMC’s Korean heritage and would only want to enhance it. SsangYong will be an independently run Korean company – with largely Korean Management – and will remain a ‘Made in Korea’ Brand. He also announced that the new CEO of SYMC will be Mr. Yoo-il Lee, while Mr. Dilip Sundaram from Mahindra will be the new CFO. He also announced the names of the new Board of Directors of SsangYong Motor Company. â€Å"This is a landmark day for all of us at Mahindra  as it marks the beginning of what I am sure will be an enduring partnership with SsangYong Motor Company. I would like to thank all the employees of SsangYong as well as the company’s creditors for the help and cooperation extended to us during this long process. As one of the country’s premier automotive companies, SsangYong brings with it a rich legacy of R&D and innovation. This legacy, coupled with the synergies between the two companies in the areas of R&D, product development and platform sharing, will make the combined entity of Mahindra and SsangYong a force to reckon with in the global utility vehicle space. They are committed to nurturing the SsangYong brand in both the Korean and global markets and returning it to its days of glory,† said Dr. Pawan Goenka. â€Å"Mahindra brings with it a great deal of passion, domain expertise and knowledge of the global UV market, as India’s leading utility vehicle (UV) manufacturer. All of us at SsangYong look forward to working closely with the Mahindra team to help develop a new product portfolio and gain momentum in overseas markets,† said Mr. Yoo-il Lee, CEO, SsangYong Motor Company. 5.2 REVA Electric Car Co Ltd. Mahindra enters high growth electric car segment acquires majority stake in REVA REVA was established in Bangalore in 1994 as a joint venture between the Maini Group of Bangalore, India and AEV LLC of California, US. Its REVA electric vehicle was first commercially available in Bangalore in 2001 and in London in 2004, under the G-Wiz brand. REVA is a technology innovator with the largest deployed fleet of electric cars in the global market today, available in 24 countries across Europe, Asia and Central and South America with more than 3,500 of its vehicles on the road and the accumulated data from more than 100 million km of user experience. Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. Today strengthened its position in the Electric Vehicles domain with the acquisition of a majority stake in REVA Electric Car Co Ltd., Bangalore. REVA Electric Car Co Ltd. will be renamed Mahindra REVA Electric Vehicle Co Ltd. Under the new agreement which was signed today by both the companies, M&M will own 55.2% equity in Mahindra REVA by a combination of equity purchase from the promoters and a fresh equity infusion of over Rs 45 crores (approx US $10 million) into the company. The buyout makes the Mahindra group a strong global player in the electric vehicle space. Post  the buyout, the Board of Mahindra REVA has been re-constituted under the chairmanship of Dr Pawan Goenka, President Automotive & Farm Equipment Sectors, Mahindra & Mahindra. The new board includes five nominees from Mahindra & Mahindra, two from the Maini family, and one from AEV LLC, California (co-founders of REVA). An independent director will be added to the board subsequently. Mr. Chetan Maini will continue to play a leading role in Mahindra REVA as Chief of Technology & Strategy and will continue to be on the board. Under its core Sustainable Mobility initiative, Mahindra has been working for the last 10 years on developing green technologies and has demonstrated diesel hybrid technology on the Scorpio and hydrogen Alfa three wheelers. Mahindra has a pilot fleet operating with 100% bio-diesel and was the first to launch micro-hybrid technology in India with around 50,000 such micro-hybrids on the road today. In EVs, over and above the electric three-wheeler Bijlee developed in 1999, it is also currently working on an electric version of its mini-truck, Maxximo. Mahindra REVA’s EV technology will be adapted for these and other M&M vehicles. Access to strong EV technology will strengthen Mahindra’s other current sustainability initiatives. REVA is currently marketing its products in 24 countries across the world with an overall vehicle population of over 3500, arguably the largest EV fleet globally. REVA recently premiered its next generation electric car models, the NXR and NXG which received an enthusiastic response. Mahindra REVA will now have access to Mahindra’s vehicle development technology and distribution network, significantly enhancing its ability to launch a state-of-the-art electric vehicle for global markets. Speaking on the acquisition, Mr Anand Mahindra, VC&MD, Mahindra & Mahindra said, â€Å"With issues such as climate change and carbon footprint taki ng centre stage globally, eco-friendly transportation becomes the need of the hour. Mahindra already has an established sustainable mobility solutions programme and our association with REVA will only help us further expand our green footprint both in India and overseas†. Dr Pawan Goenka, President (Automotive & Farm Equipment Sectors), Mahindra & Mahindra and the newly elected Chairman of Mahindra REVA said, â€Å"This is a key strategic acquisition for Mahindra in its march towards sustainable mobility. Mahindra and REVA bring together complementary strengths. With  Mahindra’s vehicle engineering expertise, global distribution network, sourcing clout and financing support, REVA’s vehicles have the potential to significantly gain in market penetration. Mahindra will also benefit from REVA’s EV technology for its own products.† Mr Chetan Maini, Chief of Technology & Strategy, of the newly formed Mahindra REVA mentioned, â€Å"The EV market is poised to grow significantly and they concluded that in order to seize the opportunity they needed the resources and experience of a major automotive manufacturer. In Mahindra they have found a company that not only shares our vision of principled and sustainable growth but one that also has a reputation for good corporate governance. As a result of Mahindra’s investment, Mahindra REVA will be able to scale, innovate and accelerate and so to deliver better products to more customers in more places†. 5. GROWTH STRATEGY Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (M&M) is the flagship brand of the $12.5 billion Mahindra Group, which operates with a portfolio comprising a wide spectrum of vehicles from two wheelers to heavy trucks, SUVs to school buses. M&M over the years has strengthened its position as one of the country’s premier utility vehicle (UV) and farm Equipment manufacturer with market share of over 50% in UV and 40% in tractors, respectively. It has recently entered 3-wheelers and CV segment. M&M is targeting sale of about 550,000 tractors in FY12E. 6.1 Investor’s Rationale During Q2FY12 net sales of M&M surged by 37.6% to `73,068 million from the `53,113 million in the year-ago quarter, driven by 35.9% and 35.5% growth in its automotive and farm equipment segment, respectively. Though operating margins for the current fiscal are likely to stay under pressure under tight liquidity and rising input cost scenario, they expect the revenues of M&M to reach `300-320 billion in the coming two year. At a time, when consecutive rate hikes, high inflationary data, strikes and  costlier fuel prices have crippled the Indian auto sales manufacturers, M&M has emerged as the only automotive player to have beaten the slowdown comprehensively with a growth of 21% in 2011. Considering M&M’s aggressive growth strategies to expand its global footprint with a range of new variants in the four-wheeler segment, they expect M&M to mark 11-14% rise in its FY12E sales realization. M&M complement the tag of no. 1 tractor manufacturer in the world in terms of volumes, occupying more than 40% of the domestic tractor market. With tractor demand fairly stable despite ongoing economical slowdown, the company is targeting sale of about 550,000 tractors next year. Beside, with the industry providing sufficient headroom for growth, they expect sales from the farm equipment segment of M&M to grow 17-18% by the end of FY12. M&M acquisition of SYMC Motors (SYMC) gives the UV product line of the company an extension into the premium SUV segment with an established foothold in the markets of South America, Russia etc. The management expects 50% volume growth at 113,000-114,000 units for SYMC in CY11 and aims to sell 160,000 units by 2013 and 300,000 units by 2015-16 from the unit. 6.2 High volume in tractor segment drives Q2FY12 revenue During Q2FY12, M&M net sales surged by 37.6% to `73,068 million from the `53,113 million in the year-ago quarter, driven by 35.9% and 35.5% growth in its automotive and farm equipment segment revenue, respectively. Besides, the operating expenditure of the company increased by 43% to `64,866 million mainly due to the increase in raw material cost and employee expenses by 33% and 20% respectively. The strong volume growth across the vehicle and tractors segment despite of a difficult market situation and a tight control on expenses has helped lift the EBITDA by 6.3% to `8,202 million from `7,719 million in the corresponding quarter last year. Further, owing to the sharp rise in the interest and depreciation charges, the net profit margin (NPM) dropped by 375bps to 9.7%. M&M’s standalone net profit at `7,374 million declined 2.8% from `7,585 million in the corresponding period preceding year, due to a foreign exchange loss. The company has suffered a foreign exchange net loss of `320 million, as the rupee fell 8.8% against the dollar  in the July-September quarter. Going further, they expect the revenues of M&M to reach 321 billion in the coming two year, making a contribution of 950-980 basis points to its present EBITDA margins. 6.3 Robust November sales volume, higher realizations to drive performance in FY12E M&M’s November total sales volume in the automotive segment reported a robust growth of 53% (y-o-y) at 40,722 units, with a significant contribution of 38,159 units from the domestic terrain. A high volume growth of 46% in the passenger Utility Vehicles (UVs) segment led the domestic four-wheeler sales while sales volume in the three wheeler segment grew 32% during the month. M&M’s UV and three wheeler export during the month also grew 71% at 2,563 units against 1,500 units a year ago. Meanwhile, M&M’s Farm Equipment Sector division reported a 3% fall in tractor sales to 17,527 units in November with domestic sales falling 5% to 16,175 units backed by issues related to the credit flow to the domestic farm sector. The company’s tractor export increased 33% to 1,352 units during the month against 1018 units sold to overseas market in the same period prior year. At a time, when consecutive rate hikes, high inflationary data, strikes and costlier fuel prices have badly hampered the Indian auto sales numbers; M&M has emerged as the only automotive company to have beaten the slowdown comprehensively with a growth of 21% in 2011. Backed by significant demand for M&M’s premium sports utility vehicle, XUV500, the company is aggressively working to double its production to clear its order backlog of 9,500 units by January 2012. Considering, M&M’s ability to outperform the industry numbers despite strong economic headwinds and its proposed variants in both two-wheeler and four wheeler segment, they expect M&M to mark 11-14% rise in its FY12E sales realization. 6.4 Increased focus in the tractor segment to drive M&M growth in FY13 M&M complement the tag of no. 1 tractor manufacturer in the world in terms of volumes supported by 1,300 dealers with over 2,200 service points, 7 tractor plants and 1 foundry. The tractor segment has been fairly stable during the ongoing economical slowdown and has registered a growth of 20% in the current fiscal. M&M with more than 40% share in the tractor industry of the country has gone a long way in keeping pace with the industry growth. The company is targeting sale of about 550,000 tractors next year. Market share movements have been slower with a 0.5% to 1% change in a year. However, it was successful in penetrating newer villages that accounted 10,000 units in such markets. Growing focus in the tractor division will also provide further assistance to M&M as slowdown in rural consumption has not been experienced yet. Besides, the strong replacement demand will be a key support in the near term as it accounts for 40% of sales. India’s tractor industry is well poised to register 10-12% growth in FY13 and with labor shortage driving the farm mechanization; the industry is likely to register a 20% growth in the coming three years. With the industry providing sufficient headroom for growth, they expect sales from the farm equipment segment of M&M to grow 17-18% by the end of FY12. 6.5 Macro factors- to drive the expected demand for farm equipment The quantum of tractors bought using cash payments has increased to 20-25% of sales in India, compared with 10% earlier, which reflects buoyancy in rural incomes. About 40% of the current tractor demand is from the replacement market. Though there is some concern about rural economy and consumption is slowing down, M&M has not seen any slowdown in rural consumption. Shortage in farm labour has also acted as a key catalyst for tractor demand. Tractors are no longer a luxury for the rich farmers, but a tool for better cost management. 6.6 New launches, foray into new segments to augment future growth In FY11, M&M registered domestic volumes growth of 24% led by new product launches and strong performance from existing product ranges. It launched  Gio, Xylo, Thar, Maximmo, Yuvraj, Genio and Arjun MAT, during the year which is likely to power the company’s growth in future. Besides, M&M has also lined-up new launches, which would help bring additional volumes. It is ready to enter the market with a new SUV, 4-seater electric car, re-launch of Stallio motorcycle, two new versions of Verito, one SUV with SsangYong in India, aerospace components and mine protected vehicle (MPV-I). M&M’s recently launched XUV500 SUV received remarkable response from the domestic consumers. Priced at `10.8 lakhs, the company has rightly positioned XUV500 in the market for people who desires something above `7 lakhs and below `15-20 lakhs. As a result, M&M’s the XUV500 has gone a long way to set a booking record of 8,000 units in just 10 days of being launched in 5 cities of the country. 6.7 SYMC to add value in premium UVs Acquisition of SYMC Motors (SYMC) gives the UV product line of the company an extension into the premium SUV segment. SYMC has a distribution network of over 130 dealers in Korea and 1,200 dealers in more than 90 countries. The acquisition gives M&M access to SYMC’s popular product portfolio with an established foothold in the markets of South America, Russia, Eastern and Western Europe, and Africa which bodes well for M&M‘s plans to launch a global SUV this year. The management has guided 50% volume growth at 113,000-114,000 units for SYMC in CY11, with the recent launch of Korando-C. Thus, the acquisition of Korean company SYMC augurs well for M&M in the long term, placing it on a new growth trajectory. As debt woes continue to plague one of its largest markets Europe SYMC is eyeing to enter emerging markets including India, China and Russia playing a bigger role in a bid to boost volumes in 2012 with a year-on-year volume growth of 40%. The company aims to sell 160,000 units by 2013 and 300,000 units by 2015-16. M&M-SYMC have finalised a combined future product portfolio strategy, which will see 3 new platforms and 4 new products coming in from both partners. The new sourcing strategy for M&M-SYMC is being put into  place, which will see both companies sourcing an enormous $20 billion of components over the next 5 years. This huge sourcing is expected to bring in economies of scale and reduce the cost for the duo. 6.8 Strategic growth plan for Mahindra Navistar to drive M&M future growth Mahindra Navistar Automotives Limited (MNAL), which is a 51:49 joint venture between M&M and Navistar Inc., is planning to launch at least two new models—a 49-tonne tractor trailer and a 25-tonne tipper for the mining sector in H2FY12E. Intending to establish a pan India presence, the company further intends to increase its current 48 dealership across various cities to around 100 by adding 50 new dealers by the end of FY13E. With a targeted growth of 9% in the second half of FY12E, the company is planning to see cash break-even in the next 12 months. Further, the company is planning to invest around `2.50 billion to add few more variants in the heavy-duty goods commercial vehicles segment, which in turn will help the company ramp up volumes and use its factory capacity fully in the next three years. 6.9 M&M eyes to enter larger South Asian market The largest utility vehicle maker of the country is planning to set up an assembly plant in Southeast Asia in the next few years as a part of its strategy to expand its global presence through its entry to markets in Thailand and Indonesia. Currently, M&M exports vehicles to Malaysia and is aiming to expand to other markets in ASEAN region. Over the next four to five years, M&M sees at least 15-20% of its total export volumes coming from this region. In FY11, M&M exported 17,000 units of utility vehicles and pick-ups and around 11,000 tractors. The company is aiming to double overseas revenues to more than $1 billion by 2013 and is aiming two-fold increase in volumes to 100,000 units. 6.10 M&M to launch its first compact Car in 2012 M&M is eyeing to launch its first compact car after it acquired Reva  Electric Car Company in 2001. The SUV-maker is aggressively working to launch its first compact car in the country Reva NXR by 2012. With a mileage of about 9.6 km for every `3 spent, the Reva NXR, ensures nine times the mileage generated by the country’s most fuel-efficient petrol-powered car. At a time, when petrol prices are breaking new highs M&M expects its Reva NXR to seek significant attention from the consumers who spend `7,000-8,000 every month on petrol. Beside, M&M is also establishing one of world’s biggest manufacturing bases for electric cars of 30,000 units per annum near Bangalore, which is likely to commence production in FY13. With increased demand for electric cars, M&M apart from its marketing strategy to sell its Reva NXR through an expanded network of 100 outlets in India, the company is also mulling over rolling its new electric car model in countries like Norway, which houses the highest consumer market for electric cars in the world. After M&M lead development in the electric car market of India, many other car makers are also developing concept vehicles to cater to the emerging demand for Electric vehicles in India in the years to come. Polaris India, a major multi terrain vehicle manufacturing company is planning to introduce electric cars to Indian market. Considering the rising fuel prices, the impact on power and utilities companies of the electric vehicle market is likely to attain consumer attention in medium to long term. 6. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS The part of Indian automotive industry in Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd comprises of a number of Indian-origin and multinational players with varying degree of presence in different segments. Today, nine of the top ten global automotive manufacturers have a presence in India which clearly points to its importance as a strategic market. Similarly, the domestic tractor market also has a mix of Indian-origin and international manufacturers and is segmented by horsepower. While the automotive segment is doing well and has already clocked an average volume growth of 28% in April and May 2012, it may face problems in the form of policy decisions. The proposal to impose a higher excise duty on diesel cars/SUVs, which is yet to be implemented, is like a Damocles sword hanging over the company. The differential in diesel pricing, which means charging less for transport trucks and more for diesel cars/SUVs, is another proposal that can make life difficult for Mahindra & Mahindra. Though the company cannot do anything about the monsoon, the management is taking several steps to revive growth in the farm segment and maintain a high growth rate in the automotive segment. With this in mind, Mahindra & Mahindra is set to launch six new products, which will cover both the segments, during 2012-13. Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, the only manufacturer of electric cars in India, plans to introduce at least five such vehicles in the next three years to take advantage of a government plan to spend Rs. 14,000 crore to boost the popularity of electric and hybrid vehicles in the country. Therefore Mahindra is considered at the top in the automobile sector as of date. The growth strategy adopted by the company will have a colourful future for the company.