Analysis Of Michael Ondaatje s The Family - 901 Words

Michael Ondaatje’s fictionalized memoir Running in the Family uses the motif of mapping to represent the narrator’s reconstruction of his family history. The memoir develops a parallel between the mapmaking of European explorers who colonized Ceylon and Ondaatje’s attempt to make sense of his family’s chaotic and disordered past, which is difficult to trace due to the way it has become mythologized by gossip and rumours. In Running in the Family, the depiction of mapping as an uncertain art suggests that the search for objective truth is rendered impossible by the subjective perceptions of those who interpret information with their own unique point of view. These biased understandings demonstrate the flaw of accepting subjective statements marketed as facts to be true. When Ondaatje first references Ceylon in cartographical terms, the â€Å"glances† and â€Å"theories† used to describe the first impressions of explorers establishes a sense of uncertainty in their interpretations (45). The author describes these images as â€Å"false maps†, and observes that the â€Å"shapes differ so much they seem to be translations† (45). The inaccuracy implied by the word â€Å"false† and the reconstruction connoted by â€Å"translations† suggests that the explorers who created the maps conceived them in bits and pieces, never quite grasping a clear and unbiased image of Ceylon due to their own subjective point of view. Even the title of the chapter itself, â€Å"Tabula Asiae† (45), serves to reinforce the idea thatShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Michael Ondaatje s Running Of The Family Essay927 Words   |  4 Pagesphysically in a classroom, instead could be found wandering about aimlessly. I could never understand why they were all heralded as paragons in their field. They were never there. We once spent 3 days discussing the purpose of trees in Michael Ondaatje’s Running in the Family. From a student perspective there seemed to be very little organized planning, and most of it was student directed. Through, from a pre-service teacher perspective, I understand the absence of planning was probably due to us beingRead MoreSummary Of The Family Notebook 2051 Words   |  9 Pages9/14/2016 2B Running in The Family Notebook Assignment Section 1 – Chapter Summaries Prologue: Drought Since December – shows the author getting used to the climate of Ceylon because of how much it differs from where he came from. †¢ Intense heat †¢ Reminiscing of when he used to be in Ceylon Asian Rumors: Michael longs for a return to Asia. This section expresses his feelings for Ceylon and how important the place is to him. Asia – analyzes and dreams about Asia during Michael Ondaatje’s farewell party

The Famine, Affluence And Morality By Peter Singer

In the â€Å"Famine, Affluence and Morality† Peter Singer argued that individuals are morally obligated to grant most of their belongings to famines. He puts his argument as following. â€Å"suffering and death from lack of food, shelter, and medical care are bad. If it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening, without derby sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance, we ought, morally, to do it.† (Singer,454) John Arthur’s objection to this theory is that Singer’s second premise which he calls â€Å"greater moral evil principle† is not the whole picture and does not consider entitlement of individuals. He explains that Singer’s claim that great moral evil principle â€Å"explains our felling or that it appears uncontroversial† (singer, 454) is not sufficient since moral equality is also important. Arthur’s criticism of Singer’s view is established in his concept of a social moral code, which is â€Å"a system of principles, rules and other standards designed to guide people’s conduct.† (Arthur 501) Arthur explains that our social moral code approves both great moral evil principle and entitlement or right, which is consists of negative and positive right. Many has argued that Arthur’s formulation of positive right concept does not seems to be right. One point here is that the distinction between positive and negative right is not as distinct as Arthur’s assumption. Or there are rights that cannot be easily assigned to negative or positive right. Consider the newborn babies’Show MoreRelatedFamine, Affluence and Morality by Peter Singers929 Words   |  4 Pages In this essay I will be arguing why a utilitarian could possibly disagree with Peter Singers Argument presented in â€Å"Famine, Affluence and Morality.† After reading such an interesting paper I must say as much as I disagreed with Singers viewpoints I almost found it difficult to object them with support. From a utilitarian point of view we are to maximize Happiness by reducing suffering. How can Giving possible make someone unhappy? But as I was thinking a saying came across my mind, â€Å"Two steps forwardRead MoreFamine, Affluence and Morality by Peter Singer1486 Words   |  6 PagesIn his own essay â€Å"Famine, Affluence and Morality†, Peter Singer puts forth some compelling arguments for affluent people to give what they have in excess, to the suffering people of the world. Before any criticism is made, here is the argument: - There are people suffering and dying from lack of food, shelter and medical care. - People suffering and dying from lack of food, shelter and medical care is bad. - If you have the power to prevent something bad from happening without sacrificing †¨anythingRead MoreFamine, Affluence, and Morality by Peter Singer1107 Words   |  5 Pages Famine, Affluence, and Morality by Peter Singer The Elements of Reason #8 1. Use two or three sentences to state the main purpose or argument in this article. In other words, what is the argument the author is making? (This should be a specific argument. We all know that the authors are writing about morality and ethics.) The main purpose or argument in this article is that Peter Singer believes that richer nations should give assistanceRead MoreIn Famine, Affluence, And Morality, Peter Singer Argues1553 Words   |  7 PagesIn Famine, Affluence, and Morality, Peter Singer argues for the utilitarian system of ethics. To thoroughly understand this system, one must first accept the notion that the individual has a moral obligation to prevent something bad from happening if it is in their power to do so. For Singer, there is no inherently good moral compass one must strictly abide by. Actions that are considered good or bad differ based on the situation in question. Contrarily, Immanuel Kant asserts that there is intrinsicRead MoreThe Problem of Poverty in Famine, Affluence, and Morality by Peter Singer1112 Words   |  5 Pages Peter Singer is often regarded as one of the most productive and influential philosophers of modern times. He is well-known for his discussions of the acute social, economic, and political issues, including poverty and famines. In his â€Å"Famine, Affluence, and Morality†, Singer (1972) discusses the problem of poverty and hunger, as well as the way this problem is treated in the developed world. Singer believes that charity is inseparable from morality, and no distinction can be drawn between charityRead MorePeter Singer: Famine, Affluence, and Morality Essay1399 Words   |  6 Pagesone person is worth more than another (Lillehammer, 2011, p. 90). As we read in â€Å"Famine, Affluence and Morality,† Singer asserts that suffering from lack of food, shelter and medical care are bad. If we accept this assumption, and if we can, by our actions, prevent this bad from occurring, we are morally obligated to do so unless in so doing we sacrifice something that is of â€Å"comparable moral importance† (Singer, 1972, p. 500). Not all consequentialists agree with giving to Singer’s suggested â€Å"levelRead MoreAnalysis Of Peter Singer s Argument On Famine, Affluence, And Morality Essay1729 Words   |  7 PagesI’m a strong believer in that anyone can make their own choices in life. There is no such thing as â€Å"moral obligation† in my books, however there does exist â€Å"courtesy† or â€Å"kind-heartedness.† Peter Singer’s argument regarding famine, affluence, and morality is, in my opinion, strongly influenced by sympathetic and empathetic feelings based on observations in a still developing country. In a sense, his reasoning is subjective and biased because he seems to focus only on the problem, and not the circumstancesRead MoreI.Introduction. Famine Is A Highly Prevalent And Debated1106 Words   |  5 PagesI. Introduction Famine is a highly prevalent and debated topic. Written in November 1971, Peter Singer’s â€Å"Famine, Affluence, and Morality† addresses famine as a moral issue. Peter Singer, as a Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University, focuses on ethics and moral values, and with his text, I will analyze this moral dilemma and show that the reasonable and well-thought Peter Singer’s argument is successful. II. Peter Singer’s Argument Peter Singer begins by laying out two basic premises: 1.Read MoreFamine, Affluence and Morality1663 Words   |  7 PagesSinger’s Famine, Affluence, and Morality Ametra Heard PHI208 Ethics and Moral Reasoning Instructor Zummuna Davis January 14, 2013 Singer’s Famine, Affluence, and Morality In the Peter Singer’s article â€Å"Famine, Affluence, and Morality†, he discusses the way that people should take moral in their help toward the support of the Bengal famine crisis. Singer states three obligations that would help the Bengal region through the means of a wealthy person, and those individuals living life on a dayRead Moresociety poverty has various definitions that lack the true picture that poverty depicts. Dictionary500 Words   |  2 Pagesreflected in Peter Singer’s â€Å"Famine, Affluence and Morality† essay and the opposing essay written by John Arthur in â€Å"World hunger and moral obligation: the case against Singer.† Peter Singer raises the question of poverty and our obligations toward it in his essay â€Å"Famine, Affluence, and Morality†. In the essay, Singer addresses the question of what obligations we have toward those around the globe who are suffering from lack of food, shelter or basic needs. Singer uses the terms ‘relieving famine,’ but

Study of the key Mergers Acquisitions of Banco Santande (2002-2010) Free Essays

string(76) " it attracts the bidding company to have acquisition of the target company\." ABSTRACT Mergers and acquisitions (MA) play a vital role in the corporate finance world. For many companies, M A is source of external growth when company organic growth has already reached at peak. Globalisation of the world economy allows company expanding their operations and also competes against the domestic players through mergers and acquisitions. We will write a custom essay sample on Study of the key Mergers Acquisitions of Banco Santande (2002-2010) or any similar topic only for you Order Now This study highlights the success story of acquisition of UK bank â€Å"Abbey National† by Spanish Bank – â€Å"Banco Santander† in November 2004.This acquisition profoundly transformed the Group Santander’s business profile, provided the growth opportunity in most profitable attractive market, diversified the risk and substantially increased the market capitalisation. This study examines the Santander strategic development post acquisition, impact on their financial performance also their long term performance in stock market. This cross – border M A has been very beneficial for the Santander. Santander continues to focus on delivering value for shareholders through organic growth and acquisitions. Analysis of the topic has been demonstrated by several examples. The data and the information source are publisher’s websites, literatures, news, and, various articles. 1. 0 INTRODUCTION Privatisation and deregulation have brought substantial changes in the financial markets since the 1970s. In 1980 deregulation was encouraged in the EU which brought major structural change. Introduction of the single currency in Europe was example of further deregulation, which encouraged countries to open their markets to foreign competition. Abbey National had gone through a big transformation in the last century from a building society, to successful bank and finally to a â€Å"bid† on the market. Abbey National was a well-established domestic name in the UK. It has been a successful business in the past. Abbey National proceeded to expand through mergers and acquisition in order to maintain its market position, however, diversification of its core businesses and a lack of focus resulted in large losses for the group from year 2001 had total loss of ?984million in 2003. In 2001 the Lloyds TSB placed offer to takeover, which was likely to result in a large market share ownership within the UK by one bank. This was overturned by Competition Commission and the Office of Fair Trading as it was against the public interest. Santander realised Abbey National as a safe investment compared to its Latin American banks that have been losing money for the last two years. Moreover, this acquisition for Santander was a new interest in retail banking, which was Abbey National’s strength. Abbey National plc and Banco Santander Central Hispano, SA reached an agreement on the terms of a recommended acquisition by Banco Santander of Abbey on 26 July 2004, which was formally approved by the courts and Abbey became part of Grupo Santander on 12 November 2004. 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW Mergers and acquisitions are source of external growth when organic growth is not possible. For smaller companies there is constant threat to their continued independent existence by the big player/competitor. The terms Mergers takeover are synonymously used although there is narrow distinction between the two. Merger is reorganisation of assets into a new organisation having agreement of both their shareholders. Merger involves company of similar size which reduces the dominance of each other. A take over is acquisition of the ordinary shareholders capital by another company. This may be financed by cash payment, an issue of securities or a combination of both. In acquisition bidding company is larger and dominant than the target company. Broadly takeovers can be classified into following three categories – â€Å"Horizontal takeover† – Company operating in the same industry and similar stage of production â€Å"Vertical takeover† – Operating at different stages production within the same industry. Vertical takeover may be a move forward in the production process to secure distribution outlet, or a move backward in the production process to secure the raw material supply. â€Å"Conglomerate takeover†- Combining two companies operating in different area of business. When there is international dimension involve it is called cross border acquisition. Justification for acquisitions – â€Å"Economic† â€Å"Synergy† – â€Å"When assets and /or operations of two companies complement each other, so that sum of their combined output is more than individual some†. â€Å"Economies of scale† – â€Å"Similar to above as the scale of operation is larger and better efficiencies/ output are experienced1.† â€Å"Elimination of inefficient management† – â€Å"Acquisition helps replacing inefficient manager by efficient managers leading to deliver better performance and output1.† â€Å"Entry to new markets† – â€Å"Entry to new geographical and business area right from scratch may not be an economical option so acquisition is chosen as efficient route to expansion.† â€Å"To provide critical mass† – â€Å"Smaller companies experience lack of credibility because of their small size. Because of the increasing importance of R D and brand investment, merging company’s pool resources to establish critical mass required to provide cash flows to finance such requirements1.† â€Å"Means of providing growth† – When company finds organic growth difficult then this strategy will be a quick solution for providing growth. â€Å"Market Power share† – Horizontal acquisitions increases market share and earn monopoly profits, whereas vertical acquisition increase company power in raw material or distribution. 2. â€Å"Financial â€Å" â€Å"Financial synergy† – If the cost of capital decreases as a direct result of acquisition. In conglomerate takeover because of lack of correlation between the cash flows of different companies reduces the volatility of cash flow. These results in reduced business risk and cost of capital may decreases. â€Å"Target undervaluation† – â€Å"Target company’s shares are undervalued where capital markets are not efficient as a result company may be a bargain buys†. â€Å"Tax consideration† – Tax exhausted company will be benefited with the acquisition of non tax exhausted company so that tax allowable benefits can be brought forward which may offset capital allowance interest. â€Å"Increasing earning per share† – â€Å"Earning per share increases if the bidding company has a higher price/earning ratio than its target company†. 3. â€Å"Managerial Motives† – This may also arise if managers are more concerned satisfying their own objective rather than with increasing the wealth of shareholders. Sometimes motives behind such acquisitions are to increase managers pay power. Factors influencing takeovers trends are as follows – (i)â€Å"Booming Stock exchange† – With the increase in share prices it attracts the bidding company to have acquisition of the target company. You read "Study of the key Mergers Acquisitions of Banco Santande (2002-2010)" in category "Essay examples" (ii) Increase in company’s real liquidity and profitability encourages takeover. (iii) Deregulation external source of finance (debt) more easily available in the market. 3.0 RECENT HISTORY – 3.1 Origins Growth The Abbey National Building Society was formed following the merger of two long standing building societies in 1944. During the period of 1970 and 1980 it gained reputation for innovation changes. In 1988, Abbey National plc was incorporated as a bank and in 1989 the Society transferred business to Abbey National plc. September 11th attack in New York Enron turned out in 2001 damaged confidence in various financial areas. From this point, Abbey struggled from financial losses and a tarnished image. In 2003, the brand name was shortened to Abbey. There was major reorganization of the bank in September 2003. In 2004 it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Grupo Santander of Spain After two successive years of losses Abbey returned to profit in 2004 even though there was big cost of reorganization post acquisition charges (?564 million). Abbey was renamed Santander UK in January 2010. Table 1 – Grupo Santander’s Performance comparison in Year 2004 2005 Source – Santander Annual Report 2005 http://www.santandershareholder.com/financial-information/reports-and-publications/ Table 2- Abbey Full Year Results for the Year 2004 2005- Source – Abbey 2005 Full Year Results – http://www.aboutsantander.co.uk/investors/financial-results-and-presentations/2005.aspx 3.2 Main economic and legal environments in main market – There has been a good economic environment for business growth till 2007. Market was hit by deep recession in 2008 which continued till 2009. Year 2010 saw the recovery. Table 3 – Main Economic highlights 3.3 Strategic developments (2002-2010) Santander Consumer continued to develop its two-pronged growth strategy – organic and selective acquisitions – with excellent results. Banco Santander has expanded its operations aggressively with several acquisitions in the last decade. Santander strategy is to follow the business model of proven success in European and Latin American countries, and was applied in Abbey. The pillars of this model are – Focus on retail banking Diversification, efficiency Prudence in risks Balance sheet strength Flexible style of management, which enables them take advantage of business opportunities Adapt easily to the countries where they operate and to the changes and new challenges. 3.4 Business Opportunities On 26 July 2004 â€Å"Banco Santander Central Hispano† announced the acquisition of â€Å"Abbey National plc†, the acquisition was formally approved by the courts on 12 November 2004. In June 2006, â€Å"Banco Santander Central Hispano† purchased almost 20% of Sovereign Bank. In May 2007 consortium â€Å"Banco Santander Central Hispano†, â€Å"Royal Bank of Scotland† and â€Å"Fortis† made an offer to takeover â€Å"ABN AMRO†. In October 2007 acquired â€Å"ABN AMRO†. As part of the deal, â€Å"Grupo Santander† acquired â€Å"ABN AMRO’s† subsidiary in Brazil and its subsidiary in Italy. On 13 August 2007, â€Å"Banco Santander Central Hispano† changed its legal name to â€Å"Banco Santander†. In November 2007, it sold Banca Antonveneta to Monte dei Paschi di Siena. In March 2008, Banco Santander sold Interbanca, a subsidiary of Banca Antonveneta, to GE Commercial Finance In July 2008 it intended to takeover the UK bank Alliance Leicester, the acquisition was completed in October 2008.This was followed by the acquisition of the savings business of UK bank Bradford Bingley (BB) in September 2008. The banks, along with Abbey, are to be merged together under the Santander name in the UK by the end of 2010 These acquisitions saw Santander managing diversified portfolio which reduced the risk and also provided a profitable growth to emerge as the largest financial in the world. Santander’s continues to focus on the attraction, engagement, development, progression and retention of its senior leaders. 3.5 Long term performance in stock market – Table 4- Stock market Key Performance for Santander 2002- 2010 The above table shows Santander Group robust performance in the last decade. Share prices had doubled prior to the 2008 when there was worldwide recession and stock prices tumbled down. Company has shown a great resilient performance and recovered slowly to a steady growth position. Figure 1 – Share Prices of Banco Santander Figure 2 – Market Capitalisation of Banco Santander 4.0 Empirical Supports Table 5 – Key Ratios Performance of Banco Santander 4.5.1 Liquidity ratio Liquidity ratio shows company’s ability to repay short-term creditors out of its total cash. The liquidity ratio is the result of dividing the total cash by short-term borrowings. Current ratio = Current Assets/Current liabilities Figure 3 – Current Ratio of Banco Santander 4.5.2 Profitability ratio These ratios express the company ability to generate earnings as compared to its expense. Various measures used in this analysis are Return on equity (ROE), return on capital employed (ROCE), and return on asset (ROA) . 4.5.2.1 Return on equity Return on equity (ROE) – This measures rate of return on the ownership interest. It’s efficiency of generating profits from every units of shareholders equity. This is expressed as following formula – ROE = Net profit after taxes/Average shareholders’ equity Figure 4 – ROE of Banco Santander 4.5.2.2 Return on capital employed This measure earning with capital invested in the company. This is expressed as ratio of earning before interest taxes to the capital employed. Capital employed is represented as total asset less current liabilities or fixed asset plus working capital. ROCE = Net profit after taxes/Capital Employed Figure 5 – ROCE of Banco Santander 4.5.2.3 Return on Assets This measures the profitability of company’s assets in generating revenue. This is ratio of Net Income to mode of total asset. ROA = Net profit after taxes / Total Assets Figure 6 – ROA of Banco Santander 4.5.2.4 Cost-Income ratio This is measure of efficiency. This measure change of cost compare to income. It directly affects the profit margin. As the efficiency decreases means cost decreases or income increase or increase in cost is less compared to income. This results in improved margin. Figure 7 – Efficiency of Banco Santander 4.5.3 Investment valuation ratios Investment ratio is measure of returns in future. This is an anticipated value/Forecast on the investment. 4.5.3.1 Dividend payout ratio (DPR) This ratio measures the percentage of earnings (net income) per common share allocated to paying cash dividends to shareholders. Dividend payout ratio is indicates the earnings of dividend by every share against the earning per share. DPR= Dividends per common share/Earnings per share. Figure 8 – DPR of Banco Santander- 4.5.3.1 Earnings per share (EPS) This express part of a company’s profit allocated to each outstanding ordinary share. Earning Per Share is a measure/tool used by investors to asses profitability based on the number of shares they hold/own. EPS = (Net Income – Dividends on preferred stocks)/Average outstanding ordinary shares Figure 9 – EPS of Banco Santander Conclusion In this study the research has been carried out on the M A in general and role of M A on the financial performance of Banco Santander in particular. Deregulation of having single currency Europe wide globalisation opened the market for foreign companies to expand their operation compete against domestic players. This acquisition is a case of cross- border where Santander got opportunity of acquiring diversified portfolio which reduced risk in their business. Ratios such as Liquidity, Profitability, Investors, Gearing Returns have been considered pre post acquisition for analysis in order to understand the financial performance of the bank in the last decade. Santander continued to grow organically and also followed very aggressive cross border acquisitions as a strategy. Santander has shown a very robust performance post acquisition. In 2005 after acquisition of Abbey Santander profits soar group shown 35% rise in profit during the first six months. Overall rise was 44% in the year. Santander continued acquisitions and business growth has been significant year on year basis. Santander performance has been resilient during recession and shown great recovery in 2010. Assets, Market Capitalisation, Profits, Earning Per Share has shown significant growth in the last ten year. High profitability led Santander to pay high dividend to share holders. Santander continues to focus on shareholder values and paid big returns to share holderâ€⠄¢s money. Santander emerged as world’s biggest financial group in a decade. References Watson, D. Head, A (2010) Corporate Finance: Principles Practices, Abbey National (2004) â€Å"History† According to http://www.aboutabbey.com Abbey National (2004) â€Å"Annual Report† According to www.abbeynational.co.uk BBC News (2001) â€Å"A battle for Abbey National† According to http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1170339.stm BBC News (2003) â€Å"Abbey National slumps into losses† According to http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/2799905.stm Forbes (2004) â€Å"Abbey National Shareholders OK Takeover† According to www.forbes.com Taylor. G (2003) â€Å"UK Building Society demutualization motives† Business Ethics, Volume 12 Issue 4 Page 394 Webster. J (2001) â€Å"Final Thematic Report – Retail Financial Services† According to www.tcd.ie/erc/Servemploi/reportspdf/FinalThRep/sevthrefiancial.PDF 5th Edition, Harlow: Prentice Hall http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbey_National http://www.aboutsantander.co.uk/ â€Å"www.google.co.uk† http://www.aboutsantander.co.uk/investors/financial-results-and- presentations/2005.aspx http://www.santandershareholder.com/financial-information/reports-and-publications/ How to cite Study of the key Mergers Acquisitions of Banco Santande (2002-2010), Essay examples

Manhattan Thirties Flash Essay Example For Students

Manhattan Thirties Flash Essay The poem Manhattan Thirties Flash is exactly what the title states. It is a quick description of Manhattan in the 1930s. The author, Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997) was a well-known firebrand, Ginsberg was a leader of the â€Å"beat movement† of the 1950’s and of the cultural and political protests of the 1960’s. He often writes about spiritual survival in a dehumanized, repressive society. You can see the dehumanization throughout the poem for example in line one when Ginsberg writes, repetitive machine Crash cookie-cutting. When he says, repetitive, this lets you know that the same thing is being done over and over again, like it is a program. Cookie-cutting, says that there is a template and it is being mass produced. Line two and three state, dynamo rows of soulless replica Similitudes brooding tank-like in Army Depots. The mention of the tank-like Army Depots means that what he sees is just an area filled with orderly components. Then again in line four, exactly the same exactly the same exactly the same with no .. Not only is Ginsberg directly telling you that there is no variation, but by him repeating, exactly the same, he further pushes his views. In line six, overwhelming force of robot obsession, our slaves are not alive, by him saying robot obsession he means that people are being forced into this dehumanized environment, and that we are just slaves of society. Once again in line nine, crowds of executive secretaries alighting from subway 8:30 A.M., one could clearly see that by stating this, Ginsberg wants you to see how we are part of a system, a repetitive system. He leads you to believe that these secretaries exit the subways every day at the same time, although he never states that. When examining the punctuation, you notice in lines one through three that there are several words unusually capitalized. The words are Crash, Similitudes, and Army Depots. They signify a central theme that these comparisons of society are perfectly arranged. The comparisons are of society and how it is ultimately a machine. In lines ten and eleven, bloodflow in cells thru elevator arteries stairway glands to typewriter consciousness, Ginsberg uses the text to resemble an analogy. Bloodflow in cells is to elevator arteries as stairway glands is to typewriter consciousness. Finally, he mentions the Con Ed skyscraper in line twelve. This random insertion of a companys name means that we are a slave to the systematic society. A society controlled by businesses but run by men.