Joseph Conrad: An Innovator in British Literature Essay -- Conrad

Joseph Conrad: An Innovator in British Literature      Ã‚  Ã‚   Joseph Conrad’s innovative literature is influenced by his experiences in traveling to foreign countries around the world. Conrad’s literature consists of the various styles of techniques he uses to display his well-recognized work as British literature. "His prose style, varying from eloquently sensuous to bare and astringent, keeps the reader in constant touch with a mature, truth-seeking, creative mind" (Hutchinson 1). Conrad’s novels are basically based on having both a psychological and sociological plot within them. This is why Conrad’s work carries its own uniqueness from other novels when being compared to his.    Examples of Conrad’s literature include novels such as Heart of Darkness, Lord Jim, and The Secret Agent. Heart of Darkness is basically based on his own experiences, but Conrad also adds fiction into this particular novel (Dintenfass 1). It has been said that Conrad’s style of writing is described as "...life as we actually live it...[is] to be blurred and messy and confusing-- and the abstract ideas...[of] actual experiences can sometimes produce in us, or in that part of us, anyway, which tries to understand the world in some rational way." Acquiring this from the novel gives the reader a psychological perspective in that they are receiving feedback in a conscious way such as a hallucination or a phantasm (Dintenfass 2). Readers have curiously questioned the purpose of his novels such as Heart of Darkness, but the answer is quite simple. "[The] purpose is to get the reader to re-live [any] experience in some [significant] and concrete way, with all its complexity and messiness, all its darkness and ambiguity, intact" (Dintenfass 3). An addi... ...n, eds. Twentieth Century Literary Criticism. Vol. 1 Detroit: Hale Research Co., 1978. Dintenfass, Mark. "Heart of Darkness: A Lawrence University Freshman Studies Lecture." 14 Mar. 1996. *http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~csicseri/dintenfass.htm* (2 Feb. 2000). Draper, James P., ed. World Literature Criticism: 1500 to the Present. Vol. 2 Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1992. Hamblin, Stephen. "Joseph Conrad’s The Secret Agent." *http://www.ductape.net/~steveh/secretagent/* (2 Feb. 2000). The Hutchinson Encyclopedia. 1999. 2 Feb. 1999. *http://ukdb.web.aol.com/hutchinson/encyclopedia/72/M0013572.htm Magill, Frank N., ed. 1,300 Critical Evaluations of Selected Novels and Plays. Vol. 2 Englewood Cliffs: Salem Press Inc., 1976. Stein, Rita, and Martin Tucker, eds. Modern British Literature. Vol. 4 New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1975.

Organisation Structure Essay

The structure is totally centralized. The strategic leader makes all key decisions and most communication is done by one on one conversations. It is particularly useful for new (entrepreneurial) business as it enables the founder to control growth and development. They are usually based on traditional domination or charismatic domination in the sense of Max Weber’s tripartite classification of authority. [edit] Bureaucratic structures Weber (1948, p. 214) gives the analogy that â€Å"the fully developed bureaucratic mechanism compares with other organizations exactly as does the machine compare with the non-mechanical modes of production. Precision, speed, unambiguity, †¦ strict subordination, reduction of friction and of material and personal costs- these are raised to the optimum point in the strictly bureaucratic administration. †[5] Bureaucratic structures have a certain degree of standardization. They are better suited for more complex or larger scale organizations. They usually adopt a tall structure. Then tension between bureaucratic structures and non-bureaucratic is echoed in Burns and Stalker[6] distinction between mechanistic and organic structures. It is not the entire thing about bureaucratic structure. It is very much complex and useful for hierarchical structures organization, mostly in tall organizations. [edit] Post-bureaucratic The term of post bureaucratic is used in two senses in the organizational literature: one generic and one much more specific [7]. In the generic sense the term post bureaucratic is often used to describe a range of ideas developed since the 1980s that specifically contrast themselves with Weber’s ideal type bureaucracy. This may include total quality management, culture management and matrix management, amongst others. None of these however has left behind the core tenets of Bureaucracy. Hierarchies still exist, authority is still Weber’s rational, legal type, and the organization is still rule bound. Heckscher, arguing along these lines, describes them as cleaned up bureaucracies [8], rather than a fundamental shift away from bureaucracy. Gideon Kunda, in his classic study of culture management at ‘Tech’ argued that ‘the essence of bureaucratic control – the formalisation, codification and enforcement of rules and regulations – does not change in principle†¦.. it shifts focus from organizational structure to the organization’s culture’. Another smaller group of theorists have developed the theory of the Post-Bureaucratic Organization. [8], provide a detailed discussion which attempts to describe an organization that is fundamentally not bureaucratic. Charles Heckscher has developed an ideal type, the post-bureaucratic organization, in which decisions are based on dialogue and consensus rather than authority and command, the organization is a network rather than a hierarchy, open at the boundaries (in direct contrast to culture management); there is an emphasis on meta-decision making rules rather than decision making rules. This sort of horizontal decision making by consensus model is often used in housing cooperatives, other cooperatives and when running a non-profit or community organization. It is used in order to encourage participation and help to empower people who normally experience oppression in groups. Still other theorists are developing a resurgence of interest in complexity theory and organizations, and have focused on how simple structures can be used to engender organizational adaptations.

Case 35: Stock Repurchase Program Recommendation

Memo To:Rajat Singh, managing director at Hudson Bancorp From: Date:08/01/2002 Re:Stock Repurchase Program Recommendation The purpose of this memo is to examine whether Deluxe Corporation should increase borrowings to buyback stocks. After considerable analysis of the company’s financial position, we recommend that Deluxe Corp. to borrow up to $1. 023 billion to buy back 34,175 shares. In order to achieve this, Deluxe will need to lower its bond rating from A rating to BBB , which results in a decrease in WACC from 11. 47% to 9. 5%. By doing this, Deluxe ’s WACC is minimized, yet the bond rating is still at investment –grade rating; plus, the firm will have a financial flexibility of $872 million, and an increase in its equity value per share by $35. 34. This memo explains in detail the calculation of the current WACC, the current intrinsic equity value, the unused debt capacity at different ratings, and the recommended WACC as well as the estimated increase in e quity value with respect to the new WACC at the recommended debt borrowing level.Current WACC Based on our calculation, the current WACC is 11. 47% as of August 01, 2002. In this calculation, for the borrowing rate, we use 5. 70% regarding Deluxe’s bond rate A from Exhibit 8. The marginal tax rate is is projected to be 38%. We use 5. 41% for the risk free rate of return with respect to the 20 years U. S Treasury bond. The equity risk premium and beta are given at 6% and . 85, respectively.Since the beginning of 2002, Deluxe had retired all of its long term debt, we calculate the total debt by adding the short-term debt and the long-term debt due within one year to arrive at $151 million; for the total equity, we multiply the number of shares outstanding which is given in the company’s 2001 Financial Summary, by the market adjusted close price per share which we look up in yahoo finance to get to $1,568 million. For the small stock risk premium, we use 1. 73% as Deluxeà ¢â‚¬â„¢s total equity is between $1. 05 billion and $1. 6 billion. Current intrinsic equity valueDeluxe’s intrinsic equity value as of August 1, 2002 using a discounted cash flow analysis and the current WACC of 11. 47% has a premium of $2. 38 over the current market value. We estimate the terminal value growth rate to be at -2%; we make this assumption by taking the average of the industry’s annual decline growth rate between 1% and 3%. The free cash flows for 2002-2006 are taken from the company’s Financial Forecast; and, to calculate the terminal year’s free cash flows, we grow it by -2% and divide it by the difference between the WACC and the long term growth rate.Since August 1st is our evaluation date, there is still 5 months left for 2002, the cash flow to be received for 2002 is calculated by taking the total cash flow times 5/12, and for the remaining years, the cash flow to be received is equal to the total cash flows. And, finally, for the midy ear factor ,we also take same caution that t are 5 months left to receive cash flows, and payments are made semiannually . Thus, our mid-year factor for 2002 is 5 over 24, and (5+6) over 12 for 2003, and for the remaining years we add 1 to the prior year’s midyear factor.Flexibility by rating Our analysis of the flexibility in allowed debt under each bond rating provided us the maximum allowable unused debt for each rating. We calculated this figure by considering both the interest coverage ratio as well as the leverage ratio, and then using the smaller of the two figures. We calculated the maximum allowable debt using the leverage ratio by multiplying the five-year EBITDA average times the required leverage ratio under each credit rating. The lower the credit rating the larger the allowable debt becomes.By choosing the lower of the two calculations, the maximum allowable debt under credit rating AAA is 278. 9 million and ranges up to 2,456. 6 million for bond rating B. In or der to maintain an investment grade rating, Deluxe’s maximum allowable debt would be 1,023. 5 million. Recommended WACC In calculating the WACC for each bond rating, we altered several components for each. First, the borrowing rate increases as the bond rating decreases. These figures were provided in Exhibit 8. Second, we recalculated beta taking into account the changes in the debt/equity capitalization structure using.The re-levered beta was calculated using the levered and unlevered information. Third, as ratings declined their debt/equity ratio increased and altered their weighted cost of debt. Fourth, their equity/debt ratio decreased as their bond rating declined. Our final calculations of the WACC for each bond rating went from 11. 47% at AAA down to 9. 95% at BBB and back up to 11. 02% at a B rating. We recommend using the debt level allowed under the BBB rating since it maintains our status as investment grade bonds and also provides the lowest possible WACC. Estima te increase in equity valueTo determine the number of shares to be repurchased in the upcoming repurchase program, we used the maximum allowable debt under the BBB bond rating and subtracted our current debt to determine the total funds to be used to repurchase shares. In order to determine the number of shares that could be repurchased, we divided the total allowable debt by the current market per share price. This resulted in a recommended repurchase of 34,175 shares. Next, we conducted a free cash flow analysis to determine the intrinsic enterprise value of Deluxe Corporation.This analysis is similar to the one conducted for the Current intrinsic equity value. However, we lowered the WACC to reflect our recommended credit rating. In estimating the total increase in shareholder value from this repurchase program, we took enterprise value minus the maximum allowable debt at the BBB rating. This gave us the equity value of Deluxe Corporation. Then, we divided the equity value by the current outstanding shares net of the repurchase program. This gave us equity per share value of $63. 24. In comparing this to the old equity per share value, we found an increase of 127%.This is a highly favorable move for the shareholders of Deluxe Corporation. Concluding Recommendation We believe Deluxe Corporation should borrow funds in the amount of $872 million for the stock repurchase program. By borrowing these funds, Deluxe Corporation will be able to increase their equity value per share by 127% while still maintaining investment grade status. Deluxe is aiming for a flexible capitalization structure, and by borrowing more debt we believe they can achieve this due to the high cost of equity. If you have any question or concern, please feel free to contact us via emails:

How to Identify a Shakespeare Comedy

How to Identify a Shakespeare Comedy Shakespeares  comedy plays have stood the test of time. Works such as The Merchant of  Venice. As You Like It and Much Ado About Nothing are among the Bards most popular and most often performed plays. However, even though we refer to about a dozen or so of Shakespeares plays as comedies, theyre not comedies in the modern sense of the word. Characters and plots are rarely laugh-out-loud funny, and not everything that occurs in a Shakespearean comedy is happy or light-hearted. Indeed, the comedy of Shakespeare’s time was very different from our modern comedy. The style and key characteristics of a Shakespeare comedy are not as distinct as the other Shakespearean genres and sometimes determining whether one of his plays is a comedy can be a challenge.   Common Features of a Shakespearean Comedy What makes a Shakespeare comedy identifiable if the genre is not distinct from the Shakespeare tragedies and histories? This is an ongoing area of debate, but many believe that the comedies share certain characteristics, as described below: Comedy through language: Shakespeares comedies  are peppered with clever wordplay, metaphors, and insults.Love: The theme of love is prevalent in every Shakespeare comedy. Often, we are presented with sets of lovers who, through the course of the play, overcome the obstacles in their relationship and unite. Of course,​ that measure isnt always foolproof; love is the central theme of Romeo and Juliet but few people would regard that play as a comedy.Complex plots: The plots of Shakespeare comedies have more twists and turns than his tragedies and histories. Although the plots are convoluted, they do follow similar patterns. For example, the climax of the play always occurs in the third act and the final scene has a celebratory feel when the lovers finally declare their feelings for each other.Mistaken identities: The plot of a Shakespearean comedy is often driven by mistaken identity. Sometimes this is an intentional part of a villain’s plot, as in Much Ado About Nothi ng when Don John tricks Claudio into believing that his fiance has been unfaithful through mistaken identity. Characters also play scenes in disguise and it is not uncommon for female characters to disguise themselves as male characters. Shakespeare’s comedies are the most difficult to classify because they overlap in style with other genres. Critics often describe some plays as tragic-comedies because they mix equal measures of tragedy and comedy. For example, Much Ado About Nothing starts as a comedy, but takes on some of the characteristics of a tragedy when Hero is disgraced and fakes her own death. At this point, the play has more in common with Romeo and Juliet, one of Shakespeare’s key tragedies. Shakespearean Plays Generally Classified as Comedy Alls Well That Ends WellAs You Like ItThe Comedy of ErrorsCymbelineLoves Labour’s LostMeasure for MeasureThe Merry Wives of WindsorThe Merchant of VeniceA Midsummer Nights DreamMuch Ado About NothingPericles, Prince of TyreThe Taming of the ShrewTroilus and CressidaTwelfth NightTwo Gentlemen of VeronaThe Two Noble KinsmenThe Winters Tale

The Meaning of the Name Kovacs

The Meaning of the Name Kovacs Kovcs (КÐ ¾Ã ²Ã °Ã'‡) is a surname that means forger or smith in the Hungarian language, from the Slavonic Kovaà ¨. The Hungarian equivalent to the English surname Smith, Kovcs is the second most common surname in Hungary. Kovacs is the second most common Hungarian surname according to surname distribution data from Forebears. Surname Origin:  Hungarian, Slavic Alternate Surname Spellings:  KOVATS, KOVAC, KOVAT, KOVATS, KOVACH, KOWAL, KOVAL Fun Facts About the Kovcs Surname The Kovacs surname most commonly originates from Hungary, although this is not always the case. Similar surnames include Kovach (Carpatho-Ruthenian), Kowal (Poland) and Koval (Ukraine). The singular Kovac may be the original surname, an adaptation of Kovacs, or a shortened version of a longer name such as Dukovac. These are all just general guidelines, however. The specific surname variation used by your family may also be something as simple as a spelling change and have nothing to do with its original origin. Famous People With the Surname Ernie Kovacs, popular American television comedianLszlà ³ Kovcs, legendary cinematographerTom Kovach, American author and activistLuca KovaÄ , a fictional character (doctor) portrayed by Goran ViÃ… ¡njić on the American television series ER Genealogy Resources Kovacs/Kovats FamilyTree DNA ProjectThis Y-DNA project is open to all individuals with the surnames Kovacs, Kovats, or any derivative such as Kovaks, Kovak, Kovac, Kohen, Kohan, Kohn, Kovan, etc., of any ethnic or religious background.   Kovacs Family Crest - Its Not What You ThinkContrary to what you may hear, there is no such thing as a Kovacs family crest or coat of arms for the Kovacs surname.  Coats of arms are granted to individuals, not families, and may rightfully be used only by the uninterrupted male-line descendants of the person to whom the coat of arms was originally granted. Kovcs Family Genealogy ForumSearch this popular genealogy forum for the Kovcs surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Kovcs query. The Kovacs Genealogy and Family Tree PageBrowse genealogy records and links to genealogical and historical records for individuals with the popular last name Kovacs from the website of Genealogy Today. Source: Cottle, Basil.  Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Dorward, David.  Scottish Surnames. Collins Celtic (Pocket edition), 1998. Fucilla, Joseph.  Our Italian Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges.  A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick.  Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Reaney, P.H.  A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1997. Smith, Elsdon C.  American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

Separation of powers and checks and balances AND bill become law Essay

Separation of powers and checks and balances AND bill become law - Essay Example Each of these branches of government holds different powers. Another prominent aspect of this government structure is the system of checks and balances. In these regards, the system of checks and balances is such that each of the branches of government is structured to check and balance the powers of the opposing branches. There are a variety of instances in which this system of checks and balances work. In terms of the legislative branch, this function of government checks the executive branch through its ability to enact impeachment proceedings against the President; the legislative branch also oversees the judicial branch as it has the ability to oversee judges for committing crimes or unethical actions (Douglas). In terms of the executive branch, the President holds veto power over bills based in the House and the Senate (Douglas). Finally, the judicial branch oversees the legislative branch through its ability to interpret laws passed by this branch of government (Douglas). A fundamental aspect of the American government is its fluid ability to pass and amend laws. The Constitution established the process where a bill becomes a law. The overarching process where a bill becomes a law occurs as a bill is brought to the House of Representatives ("U.S. Constitution") . The Congress must agree on the law and pass it with majority approval. After the bill passes through Congress it is sent to the Senate where it also must be approved. After the bill passes the Senate it is then sent to the President. The President must sign the bill into law. If the President doesn’t support the bill he has a veto power. If the President decides to veto the bill, then it returns to Congress. Congress then has the option to override the veto if they are able to attain 2/3rds-voting support for the measure. This is referred to as overriding a veto ("U.S. Constitution"). In addition to this overarching process of passing a bill into

As experts in the field, your marketing communications agency has been Research Paper

As experts in the field, your marketing communications agency has been asked to prepare a 'promotional plan' for an organisa - Research Paper Example The adaption of the second brand is due to the fact that products of the same nature exist but lack the ‘ah!’ factor. Through flavor and processing the best tobacco in 6teh world, Shishaah is presented as one of the purest form of rolled tobacco. The packaging of this product takes a rather more stylish look than the other products that trade in the same markets as the target markets for the Shishaah. The packaging includes the use of bio-friendly cover and a covered top presenting the illusion of an executive pen. By launching this product, the promotional plan aims at presenting a new tobacco product to the market to create a market share from those customers or cigarette smokers with the intentions to quit. While cigarette smoking and criticisms have led to reduced consumption of tobacco, the aim of this promotional plan is to launch a product that rates lower than cigarettes in terms of health – one that satisfies the smoking cravings of the regular smoker and the struggling quitters. In the past, various people, presumably users of conventional cigarettes have been documented filing law suits due to health problems that they associate directly with the consumption of tobacco from capable companies such as British American Tobacco (BAT) (Centers For Disease Control And Prevention a, 19). In this case, intense research on all possible effects of smoking Shisha have been identified and through the introduction of a better processed and flavored Shishaah major concerns are handled primarily. The selection of target market follows research results from a prefeasibility study that shows the number of people quitting cigarettes and their reasons for quitting. In addition, the number of quitters willing to take a break from conventional cigarettes presents an initial market as their motive for quitting conventional cigarettes is to try new products that may give a better feeling than the comfort sought from cigarettes. The target market mostly comprises of 25-50 year olds who are at their prime stage of developing their career foundations or at their active smoking phases (Centers For Disease Control And Prevention b, 33). The positioning of the Shishaah would be targeting all customers of the ages 25-50 and with a base income of more than $60,000 per annum. This target market is selected due to the fact that the product is released with the tagline ‘Shishaah! A product for the premium consumer’. Hence fore, the marketing positioning for Shishaah will be targeting middle to upper class customers within the industry. Competition in this area is presented by products such as Marlboro and Bucks as they are products, although not similar to Shishaah, that target the same cohort of consumers as the target market for the Shishaah. SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths With regards to the target market of Shishaah, a considerable number of active smokers in the UK alone stand over 13,700,000 within the urban settings alone. On th e international market, the US is estimated to have a total of 18% of adults smoking on a regular basis – the Center for Disease Control reports. The CDC also identifies that a majority of working US adults are quitting smoking due to reasons central to health issues. In this case, one of the strengths of Shishaah is creating