Introduction to Underwriting

Introduction to Underwriting INTRODUCTION TO UNDERWRITING Underwriting is an agreement, entered into by a company with a financial agency, in order to ensure that the public will subscribe for the entire issue of shares or debentures made by the company. The financial agency is known as the underwriter and it agrees to buy that part of the company issues which are not subscribed to by the public in consideration of a specified underwriting commission. The underwriting agreement, among others, must provide for the period during which the agreement is in force, the amount of underwriting obligations, the period within which the underwriter has to subscribe to the issue after being intimated by the issuer, the amount of commission and details of arrangements, if any, made by the underwriter for fulfilling the underwriting obligations. The underwriting commission may not exceed 5 percent on shares and 2.5 percent in case of debentures. Underwriting has become very important in recent years with the growth of the corporate sector. It provides several BENEFITS to a company:- It relieves the company of the risk and uncertainty of marketing the securities. Underwriters have an intimate and specialized knowledge of the capital market. They offer valuable advice to the issuing company in the preparation of the prospectus, time of floatation and the price of securities, etc. They also provide publicity service to the companies which have entered into underwriting agreements with them. It helps in financing of new enterprises and in the expansion of the existing projects. It builds up investors confidence in the issue of securities. The issuing company is assured of the availability of funds. Important projects are not delayed for want of funds. It facilitates the geographical dispersal of securities because generally, the underwriters maintain contacts with investors throughout the country. TYPES OF UNDERWRITING Syndicate Underwriting: is one in which, two or more agencies or underwriters jointly underwrite an issue of securities. Such an arrangement is entered into when the total issue is beyond the resources of one underwriter or when he does not want to block up large amount of funds in one issue. Sub-Underwriting:- is one in which an underwriter gets a part of the issue further underwritten by another agency. This is done to diffuse the risk involved in underwriting. Firm Underwriting: is one in which the underwriters applyfor a block of securities. Under it, the underwriters agree to take up and pay for this block of securities as ordinary subscribers in addition to their commitment as underwriters. UNDERWRITERS To act as an underwriter, a certificate of registration must be obtained fromSecurities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The certificate is granted by SEBI under the Securities and Exchanges Board of India (Underwriters) Regulations, 1993. These regulations deal primarily with issues such as registration, capital adequacy, obligation and responsibilities of the underwriters. Under it, an underwriter is required to enter into a valid agreement with the issuer entity and the said agreement among other things should define the allocation of duties and responsibilities between him and the issuer entity. These regulations have been further amended by theSecurities and Exchange Board of India (Underwriters) (Amendment) Regulations, 2006. ROLE OF UNDERWRITERS The primary role of the underwriter is to purchase securities from the issuer and resell them to investors. Underwriters act as intermediaries between issuers and investors, providing for an efficient of capital. The underwriters take the risk that it will be able to resell the securities at a profit. Perhaps the most visible and familiar element of the initial public offering process is the underwriter. The underwriter is the organization that is actually responsible for pricing, selling, and organizing the issue, and it may or may not provide additional services. With direct public offerings, there is no need for an underwriter. Selection of a good underwriter is of the utmost importance, but its important to understand that many underwriters are equally selective of their clients. Because an underwriters reputation depends on successful issues, few firms will be willing to stake their reputation on questionable companies. When selecting an underwriter, its important to seek out an established company with a good reputation and quality research coverage in your field. The decision may also depend on the kind of agreement the underwriter is willing to make regarding the sale of shares. For profitable and established private companies, it shouldnt be difficult to locate an underwriter willing to make a firm commitment arrangement. Under such an agreement, the underwriter agrees to buy all issues shares, regardless of ability to sell them at a particular price. For riskier or less established companies, an underwriter may offer best efforts arrangement for the initial public offering. A best efforts contract requires the underwriter to buy only enough shares to fill investor demand. Under this arrangement, the underwriter accepts no responsibility for unsold shares. Aside from fees and sales arrangements, most underwriters are fairly similar in their roles. An underwriter will assist in the preparation and submission of all appropriate SEC filings, helping potential investors make informed decisions about your offering. All underwriters are required to exercise due diligence in verifying the information they submit, so a certain amount of investigation should be expected from any responsible underwriter. In addition to SEC registration filings, the underwriter will create a preliminary prospectus that will become a major part of the issues marketing campaign. This document is also referred to as the red herring, after a small red passage in the document that states that the company is not attempting to sell shares prior to SEC approval. Once SEC approval is obtained, the underwriter and the corporation will embark on a road show to gauge and attract interest from investors. While the road show does not involve getting binding commitments from investors, it helps the underwriter determine the best strategies for pricing and issuance. After the initial public offering, the underwriter continues to provide services for the newly public corporation. For months or even years after the offering, the underwriter may continue to make a market for the stock, ensuring liquidity for investors and making the shares more desirable. Twenty-five days after the issue, the underwriter is also permitted to make statements or projections regarding the company and its prospects. ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH ARTICLES ARTICLE 1 ROLE OF UNDERWRITER IN INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING (IPO) When a company wants to raise funds throughinitial public offering (IPO)it appoints aninvestment bank for underwritingthe issue. AnInvestment bankis also called asmerchant bank. There is no regulatory restriction to use the services of amerchant bankfor IPO. Since in an IPO a company participates for the first time, it doesnt have complete understanding of the rules and documentation, required to be submitted, to get a clearance from the regulator. Famous merchant bankers world over are Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley. Banks like Deutsche, Citi, UBS etc have investment banking wings. Underwriters assess and analyze firms current performance, firms future earnings potential, industry scenario, competition in the same sector, current local and global market situations etc. to decidethe issueprice/price band. They also work on the activities like completion of the mandatory documentation as required by the regulatory body. Underwriters charge a fee for this activity, which is generally a percentage ofthe issuesize. If the issue size is very large a syndicate of merchant banks takes up the task of underwritingthe issue. However onemerchant bankleads the other. MERCHANT BANKERS The merchant bankers are those financial intermediaries involved with the activity of transferring capital funds to those borrowers who interested in borrowing. They guarantee the success of issues by underwriting them. Merchant banks are popularly known as issuing and accepting houses. Unlike in the past, their activities are now primarily non-fund based (fee based). They offer a package of financial services. The basic function of merchant banks is marketing corporate and other services that are guaranteeing sales and distribution of securities and also other activities such as management of customer services, portfolio management of customer services, portfolio management, credit syndication, acceptance credit, counseling, insurance, etc. As per SEBI (Merchant bankers) Rules, 1992: Merchant bankers means any person who is engaged in the business of issue management either by making arrangements regarding selling, buying or subscribing to securities or acting as manager, consultant, advise or rendering corporate advisory service in relation to such issue management. MERCHANT BANKING Merchant banking activity was formally initiated into the Indian capital markets when grind lays bank received the license from reserve bank in 1967.grindlays started with management of capital issues ,recognized the needs of emerging class of entrepreneurs for diverse financial services ranging from production planning and system design to market research .even it provides management consulting services to meet the requirements of small and medium sector rather than large sector. Citibank setup its merchant banking division in1970.the various tasks performed by this divisions namely assisting new entrepreneur ,evaluating new projects ,raising funds through borrowing and issuing equity. Indians banks started banking services as a part multiple services they offer to their clients from 1972.state bank of India started the merchant banking division in 1972.in the initial years the SBIS objective was to render corporate advice and assistance to small and medium entrepreneurs. REGISTRATION OF MERCHANT BANKERS WITH SEBI It is mandatory for a merchant banker to register with the sebi. Without holding a certificate of registration granted by the securities and exchange board of India, no person can act as a merchant banker in India. Only a body corporate other then a non-banking financial company shall be eligible to get registration as merchant banker. The applicant should not carry on any business other than those connected with the securities market. All applicants for merchant bankers should have qualifications in finance, law or business management. The applicant should have infrastructure like office space, equipment, manpower etc. The applicant must have at least two employees with prior experience in merchant banking. MERCHANT BANKERS IN INDIA There are 135 merchant bankers who are registered with sebi now in India. There are public sector, private sector and foreign players registered with sebi. The below are the examples of few of the merchant bankers in each of the public, private and foreign players. PUBLIC SECTOR MERCHANT BANKERS SEBI CAPITAL MERKETS LTD. PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK. IFCI FINANCIAL SERVICES LTD. KARUR VYSYA BANK LTD. STATE BANK OF BIKANER AND JAIPUR. PRIVATE SECTORS MERCHANT BANKERS: ICICI SECURITIES LTD. AXIS BANK LTD(FORMERLY UTI BANK LTD.) BAJAJ CAPITAL MARKETS LTD TATA CAPITAL MARKETS LTD. ICICI BANK LTD. RELIANCE SECURITIES LIMITED. KOTA MAHINDRA CAPITAL COMPANY LTD. YES BANK LTD. FOREGN PLAYERS IN MERCHNT BANKING. GOLDMAN SACHS(INDIA)SECURITIES PVT.LTD. BARCLAYS SECURITIES(INDIA)PVT.LTD. BANK OF AMERICA.N.A. DEUTSCHE BANK. DEUTCHE EQUITIES INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED. SERVICES OF MERCHANT BANKS PROJECT COUNSELLING: Project counseling includes preparation of project reports,deciding upon the financing pattern to finance the cost of the project and appraising the project report with the financial institutions or banks.it also includes filling up of application forms with relevant information for obtaining funds from financial institutions and obtaining government approval. MANAGEMENT OF DEBT AND EQUITY OFFERINGS This forms the main function of the merchant banker.he assists the companies in raising funds from the market.the main areas of work in this regard include: instrument designing, pricing the issue, registration of the offer document, underwriting support and marketing of the issue, allotment and refund, listing on stock exchanges. ISSUE MANAGEMENT Management of issue involves marketing of corporate securities viz. equity shares, preference shares and debentures or bonds by offering them to public. Merchant banks act as per SEBI guidelines, the merchant banker arranges a meeting with company representatives and advertising agents to finalize arrangements relating to date of opening and closing of issue, registration of prospectus, launching publicity campaign and fixing date of board meeting to approve and sign prospectus and pass the necessary resolutions. Pricing of issues is done by the companies in consultant with the merchant bankers. MANAGERS, CONSULTANATS AND ADVISERS OF THE ISSUE: The managers of the issue assist in the drafting of prospectus, application forms and completion of formalities under the companies act, appointment of registrar for dealing with share applications and transfer and listing of shares of the company on the stock exchange. Companies can appoint one or more agencies as managers to the issue. UNDERWRITING OF PUBLIC ISSUE: Underwriting is a guarantee given by the underwriter that in the event of under subscription, the amount underwritten would be subscribed by him. Merchant banking subsidiaries cannot underwrite more than 15% of any issue. PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT: Portfolio refers to investment in different kinds of securities such as shares, debentures or bonds issued by different companies and government securities. Portfolio management refers to maintaining proper combinations of securities in a manner that they give maximum return with minimum risk. RESTRUCTURING STRATEGIES: AA merger is a combination of two companies into a single company where one survives and other losses its corporate existence. A takeover is the purchase by one company acquiring controlling interest in the share capital of another existing company. Merchant bankers are the middlemen in setting negotiation between the companies. Merchant bankers assist the management of the client company to successfully restructure various activities, which include mergers and acquisitions, management buyouts, joint ventures among others. OFFSHORE FINANCE: The merchant bankers help their clients in the following areas involving foreign currency: Long term foreign currency loans Joint ventures abroad Financing exports and imports Foreign collaboration arrangements ROLE OF MERCHANT BANKER IN A PRIMARY MARKET ISSUE MANAGEMENT: Merchant banker is the intermediary appointed by companies in the primary market issue. It has to look at the entire issue management and work as the manager to the public issue. References: http://lastbull.com/iporole-of-underwriter/

Planning Activities to Meet Individual Needs in a Child

Planning Activities to Meet Individual Needs in a Child Nisha Patel (1) Explain the benefits for children when their individual needs are met. In the setting as every child is different, it is important to think about, plan for, and interact with the individual, as well as the group as a whole. Consider the range of children’s styles, social interactions and personalities: Some are quiet; others are noisy Some like to spend time by themselves; others are the life of the party Some are shy; others are outgoing Some are active; others are quiet Some enter into new situations easily; others like to stand back and watch There are differences in cultural and language backgrounds, life experiences, temperament, interests, skills and talents. If you are a new staff member, talk to colleagues who already know the children. Take advantage of what they know and how they see the child. A caution however: try not to use ‘labels’ and fixed ways of seeing a child. Everyone sees and relates to people differently. It may be hard to both listen to what others say and form your own opinion, but do try to keep an open mind about a child who is considered difficult or challenging in some way. Ask if you can look at the enrolment forms. They may have non-confidential information that could be useful to you in getting to know a child. Talking formally to the child’s family. They will have great insights about the child. Learn from their perspectives. Help nurture a culture among staff of talking to each other about children and sharing insights. Learn children’s names, greet them by name, and take every opportunity to have individual conversations with children. Be careful about talking only or mainly to the whole group or numbers of children at a time. You don’t really get to know somebody unless you interact individually. As you get to know children, try to notice, comment on or talk about something that is unique to that child – a new haircut or piece of clothing, a comment about something you did or talked about yesterday, something you read or heard that you think he or she might be interested in. Pay attention to a child who is telling you something. This is a challenge, as it might be necessary to maintain supervision and awareness of what is going on around you while at the same time engaging with the child. Be a good listener and observer. Spend time just watching children interact with others and engage with the material. Listen in on conversations. Make notes so that you can remember and make constructive use of the information. Accept individual differences in children. This doesn’t mean tolerating disruptive or destructive behaviour, but it does mean working with the fact that each child is different. Be aware of your own notions or biases of the ‘ideal’ child. Each of us probably has preferences – some like outgoing cheeky children, while others gravitate towards dreamy, quiet or reflective children. Think about how these ideals might affect your interactions with children. Similarly, think about what kinds of behaviour or characteristics really bother you in children. Acknowledge these biases to yourself and maybe even to your colleagues, and then work against them as you interact with children. When a child has an additional need such as a disability, or when there is a language or cultural barrier or a behavioural problem, try to figure out ways to deal constructively with it – for example to communicate with a child who has limited English, or to truly include a child in a wheelchair. At all times, there are choices of things to do among a range of different kinds of activities. There is flexibility about who is doing what, when and for how long. There are relatively few if any times when everyone is expected to do the same thing. The majority of materials are open- ended – that is, they lend themselves to a variety of uses so that children can adapt them to their own interests and agendas. (2) Describe how the principles of anti- discriminatory practice can be applied to practice. In the setting anti-discriminatory practice is very important in a childcare setting to ensure that everyone involved in the setting, such as children, parents/carers and staff members are not discriminated against in relation to their age, disability, ethnicity, gender, health, religious beliefs and sexuality. In my setting we apply anti-discriminatory practice with children by ensuring we show no favouritism in children and all the children get treated the same, also we ensure we do not refuse any children because of their beliefs, religion etc. Our setting is committed to anti-discriminatory practice to promote equality of opportunity and valuing diversity for all children and families. We aim to: provide a secure and accessible environment in which all children can flourish and in which all contributions are considered and valued; include and value the contribution of all families to our understanding of equality and diversity; provide positive non-stereotyping information about gender roles and diverse family structures, diverse ethnic and cultural groups and disabled people; improve our knowledge and understanding of issues of anti-discriminatory practice, promoting equality and valuing diversity; challenge and eliminate discriminatory actions; make inclusion a thread that runs through all of the activities of the setting; foster good relations between all communities. We do not discriminate against a child or their family, or prevent entry to our setting, on the basis of a protected characteristic as defined by the Equalities Act 2010. These are: disability; race; gender reassignment; religion or belief; sex; sexual orientation; age; pregnancy and maternity; and marriage and civil partnership. We do not discriminate against a child with a disability or refuse a child entry to our setting for reason relating to disability. We believe that no child, individual or family should be excluded from Pre-schools activities on grounds of age, gender, sexuality, class, family status, means, disability, colour, ethnic origin, culture, religion or belief. In the setting we will ensure that our service is fully inclusive in meeting the needs of all children. We recognise that children and their families come from diverse backgrounds. All families have needs and values that arise from their social and economic, ethnic and cultural or religious backgrounds. Children grow up in diverse family structures that include two parent and one parent families. Some children have two parents of the same sex. Some children have close links with extended families of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins while others may be more removed from close kin or may live with other relatives or foster carers. Some children have needs that arise from disability or impairment or may have parents that are affected by disability or impairment. Some children come from families who experience social exclusion or severe hardship. Some have to face discrimination and prejudice because of their ethnicity, the languages they speak, their religious or belief background, their gender or their impairment. (3) Describe why it is important to plan activities that meet the individual needs of children. In the setting it is important for practitioners to identify children’s care and learning needs in a setting, there are many reasons for this. Firstly, is to promote development. Some children develop and learn faster than others and it is partly our responsibility to ensure all children’s needs are cared for no matter what stage of development they are at. We can do this by carrying out observations; these help us to identify the exact learning needs of children. They can show us clearly what stage of development each individual child is at, we would compare each child against milestones for that age and stage of development and then we can begin to plan to meet the learning needs of certain children who are not meeting milestones and also plan to accommodate for those children who are over excelling the milestones. Children will develop better if there are adequate numbers of staff/adults present, taking into account the correct staff ratios for each particular age of children. With more hands on around the setting children will benefit greatly so it is important to plan how many adults/staff should be present for a particular day/activity, by doing so there is a higher chance of meeting all of the children’s needs. For example, in my placement I am in a Primary 1 class where there is a teacher and a classroom assistant. For this age range of children the extra support is extremely important as the children’s care and learning needs are higher than that of a Primary 7 child i.e. toileting, a Primary 1 child would need more assistance than that of a Primary 7 child. So if a teacher is caring for the needs of a child who has had a toileting accident it is important to have a classroom assistant so that the other children are supervised and their needs also met. (4) Explain how the practitioner can promote childrens physical and emotional well- being within an early year setting. Physical well-Being Between birth 6 months a child will: Turn their head toward sounds and movement Watch an adults face when feeding Smile at familiar faces and voices Reach up to hold feet when lying on their backs Look and reach for objects Hold and shake a rattle Put everything in their mouths Between 6 12 months: Move from sitting with support to sitting alone Roll over from their tummy to their back Begin to creep, crawl or shuffle on their bottom Pull on or push against adult hands or furniture to reach a standing position Raises arms to be lifted Turn and look up when they hear their name Pat and poke objects when playing Pass objects from hand to hand Look for things that have been hidden or dropped Reaches hand towards source of food Between 12 -24 months: Begin to walk Sits alone indefinitely Feed themselves Push and pull toys while walking Wave goodbye Point or make noises to indicate wants Enjoy a picture Shake head for No Uses thumb and first two fingers to grip Bangs objects together Stoops to pick things up from the floor Begins to show preference for one hand Builds tower of few bricks Holds crayon in palm and makes marks on paper Between 24 36 months : Kneels to play Throws Kicks ball Builds larger brick tower Pour liquids Between 36 60+ months: Jumps with feet together Walks on tip toes Walks up and down stairs Catches a gently thrown ball Climbs with increasing confidence Paints Gains control over eating tools Pedals Throws with aim Uses scissors Holds a pencil and can draw people/houses Hops Kicks with aim Catches ball Handles pencil with control Copy shapes and write some letters Sews stitches Emotional well- being: Birth- 3 months: Responds to adults especially mothers face and voice Smiles, concentrates on adults face during feeding Very dependent on adults for reassurance and comfort, quietens when held and cuddled Fleeing smiles when asleep Between 6 12 months: Enjoys company of others and games like peek-a-boo Shows affection to known carer, but shy with strangers Between 12 24 months : Likes to please adults and to perform for an audience May become anxious or distressed if separated from known adults May use comfort objects Mostly cooperative and can be distracted from unwanted behaviour Between 24 36 months: Developing sense of own identity, wanting to do things for self Demanding of adult attention, jealous of attention given to others, reluctant to share playthings or adults attention Acts impulsively, requiring needs to be met instantly, prone to bursts of emotion tantrums Enjoys playing with adult or older child who will give attention, beginning to play with others of own age for short periods Between 36 48 months: Becoming more independent and self motivated Feels more secure and able to cope with unfamiliar surroundings and adults for periods of time Becoming more cooperative with adults and likes to help Between 48 60+ months: Makes friends but may need help in resolving disputes Developing understanding of rules, but still finds turn-taking difficult Enjoys helping others and taking responsibility Learns lots about the world and how it works, and about people and relationships Makes friends (often short-term) and plays group games Needs structure and a routine to feel safe When behaviour is ‘over the top’, they need limits to be set Bibliography:- (1) Kate, Kath, Sue, Penny.(2010) 1st edition, London: Heinemann. (2) Kate et al (2010) 1st edition, London: Heinemann.

Culture: The Wests Biggest Export? :: Tourism Tourist Papers

Culture The West's Biggest Export? I spent a month over the summer of 2002 trekking in Borneo with a team of 15 other boys from my school. This was the first time that I had traveled outside England, my home, to a destination that was not geared towards hosting tourists. The expedition provided me with a very interesting perspective on the march of developed culture across the globe. The tourism industry is simply one example of this expansion, but it is an interesting example because it is the industry that takes the public to these â€Å"exotic† lands. The 20th century has seen the creation and rapid expansion of the tourism industry, fuelled by our ability to travel faster and more conveniently to remote places on the planet. Tourism describes a huge variety of different activities, all falling under the banner of people traveling for pleasure. I think of tourists as falling into two main categories, those people who travel to find somewhere to relax, and those who travel to experience new cultures. The first category has less direct effect on the spread of tourism, as these people prefer to travel to places in developed countries, where they can relax in comfort. The second category likes to travel to experience new cultures and environments without necessarily having a relaxing trip. It is these people who are constantly pushing the tourist industry into new areas. Once the tourist industry realizes a region is becoming popular with adventurous tourists, big resort hotels appear, and the wild is tamed for the benefit of the to urist who likes to feel adventurous without having to endure the hardship of dingy, cockroach-ridden hotels. The location is now ruined for the adventurous tourist. These westernized resorts can be found all over the world, giving a highly sanitized version of the local culture. This leaves the adventurers to go in search of a new location to visit, an even more remote and exotic place is visited, and so the cycle continues until we will have a resort hotel next to every lake, mountain, forest and beach on the planet. I have been lucky enough to see this expansion of tourism firsthand during my trip to Malaysian Borneo in the summer of 2002. This was a very interesting place to visit because different parts of the country are at different points in the transition between untouched wilderness and popular tourist spots.

net bans :: essays research papers

In July of 1995, Florida put into effect a new law banning the use of gill nets in all inshore water of Florida. The law contained two significant provisions: 1) some non-gill nets would be allowed, but maximum size would now be limited to 500 square feet; and 2) unemployment compensation would be available to affected netters through a 20 million dollar fund set aside to purchase the nets that would be made obsolete(Stearns, par.5). This ban on nets has led to a dramatic comeback for a variety of fish species, including the Spanish mackerel and Florida mullet. In the following essay I intend to show the ban laws, what they encompass whom they affected, as well as their reaction. Most importantly, I intend to show the ban has made an overall improvement on Florida's marine environment. Over the past 100 years, Florida has been known for having some of the best recreational fishing as well as marine environments. Locals and tourists alike could pick any given day to spend on the water and return with a wide variety of game fish. Unfortunately, over the past decade this trend has been on the decline. The cause of this decrease in the population of Florida's marine environment as well as in other parts of the world, is the indiscriminate use of the monofilament fishing net (par.2). One of the areas that have seen just how destructive these nets can be, is the Florida Coast. In 1990, commercial gill-netters harvested 26 million pounds of mullet (DeYoung, par.56). In 1994, Florida's became alarmed when the mullet spawning population plummeted to about 15 percent of normal. They also felt the impact this loss of forage food had on game fish. One of the largest causes of this plummet is the lucrative market in the Far East for mullet row, which had almost completely decimated Florida's stock of these fish (Stearns, par.2-3). Due to this large decline, the Florida Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) placed restrictions on recreational and commercial harvest of mullet. In 1992, recreational fishermen were now limited to fifty fish per boat per day, with no size limit, while commercial fishermen have no "bag limit", but are required to release any mullet under eleven inches in length. The results of the restrictions lowered the harvest on mullet by recreational fishermen from four million to one million pounds. There was a 75 percent reduction in recreational harvest as a result of the FMC's restrictions.

Analysis of Beloved Essay examples -- essays papers

Analysis of Beloved Beloved is actually a quintessentially American story. Its topic slavery however may not seem to be a traditional one in American literature. The novel written by Toni Morrison is an American survivor’s tale, which depicts the collective experience of slavery defined by the identity of the black community in America for years. The topic of slavery continues to be a vital part of the American consciousness today,in addition, slavery as an institution was a part of American culture as a whole until the Civil War, and its repercussions on race relations are still being felt today. The genre of the survivor's tale is one way that contemporary authors can depict and discuss this formative American experience. ‘Beloved’ is the tale of Sethe, a survivor of slavery, and her family. Sethe is an escaped slave who made the split second decision to kill her daughter, rather than have her return to a life of enslavement. The entire novel revolves around this horrific act; the entire story is slowly unraveled through the remembrances of Sethe and others. These memories and "re-memories" do not follow chronological order. However, when they are all pieced together, the whole picture of slavery, Sethe's act, and its aftermath emerges. A universal characteristic of the survivor's tale is the subjectivity and incompleteness of the survivor's knowledge. The author works to provide a more objective view of events by including several storytellers. ...

The Portrayl of Women in the Media and the Effects it has on Young Girls

Young girls of today’s society are being severely negatively affected by the portrayal of women in the media. With the media playing a large role in young girl’s body images, more and more girls are having a negative image of themselves. They believe they are not sexy and attractive enough according to society’s standards. As a result of this they try to make themselves perfect and go to ridiculous extents to try and make that desire a reality. Girls will even decide to not pursue interests because they believe them to be unattractive and unsexy.The media’s blatant disregard for the real female physique needs to be dealt with quickly before it gets too far out of hand. Being exposed to the media daily through television, magazines, and advertisements, young girls base their body image largely off of media. The problem, however, is that the media displays unrealistic body images of women. Heavily photoshopped pictures in magazines are seen as the ideal body type, and women in movies and television shows are airbrushed to perfection. Along with the unrealistic beauty that women in the media hold, they are often dressed and posed in a provocative manner.On many magazine covers, women are seen with little to no clothing on, with only the lettering of the magazine title stamped across their chests to cover their exposed breasts. With these images constantly being shown in nearly every aspect of their lives, young girls create the illusion that they must look like these women in order to be considered â€Å"feminine† and â€Å"sexy.† Young girls begin to believe that their self-worth is based solely off of how they look.The inaccurate portrayal of women in the media would not be a problem if young girls were not trying to model themselves after these women. As a result of the unrealistic women in the media, young girls are often dissatisfied with their own bodies. This dissatisfaction can begin at a  surprisingly young age. A university of Central Florida poll (2006) found that fifty percent of 3 to 6 year olds worry that they are fat. Another study (2008) of 819 boys and 791 girls, ages 14 to 16, revealed that a far higher percentage of the girls were ashamed of their bodies than the boys. They revealed that they constantly monitor their weight, what they eat, and how often they eat. This constant policing of their bodies can potentially lead to unhealthy habits.Girls try to make themselves look like these â€Å"perfect† women in the media, and often times they put being â€Å"sexy† or â€Å"feminine† above their own health. They resort to strict diets as young as eight years old. Young girls with dress according to what the media portrays as â€Å"sexy† and â€Å"feminine,† even if it is clothing that is considered too provocative and mature for their age. With young girls putting their desire to be sexy above their own health, the portrayal of women it the media c an lead to serious ill effects.Often times this obsession with their body image can lead to eating disorders such as bulimia, a disorder where a girl purges her stomach immediately after eating, or anorexia, another disorder where a person will outright refuse to eat anything. They will be hospitalized for such disorders, and yet they will still find themselves to be unattractive in their own eyes. The media has drastically harmed the self-esteem of young girls.Along with needing to become â€Å"perfect,† young girls are not pursuing their own interests for the fear that it is â€Å"unsexy† and â€Å"unfeminine† according to the media. A study done by the Women’s Sports Foundation (2011) found that six girls drop out of sports for every one boy by the end of high school based on the sole reason that they feel it doesn’t make them look â€Å"sexy.† Another study done by the Women’s Sports Foundation (2011) found that twenty-three perce nt of girls between the ages of elven and seventeen don’t even attempt to play sports they may be interested in because they believe that it would be â€Å"unfeminine† of them to try.The media tells young girls that they should be into activities such as fashion design and modeling, putting emphasis on professions that show off their bodies and not their intellects. While modeling and fashion design are perfectly acceptable job professions, the problem lies in the fact that activities such as those are  the only ones being portrayed as acceptable in media. Young girls are getting the message that to pursue any typically male dominated activity would be â€Å"unfeminine,† and therefore would make them seem unattractive.Despite women making up half of the world’s population, we still live in a male dominate culture were women can be portrayed on unrealistic Barbie dolls in the media. This portrayal is having ill effects on the young girls of future genera tions. Media is playing a progressively larger role in a girl’s body image than ever before, and with the unrealistic images they are shown they being to be dissatisfied with their own bodies. Young girls begin to worry about being sexy and attractive at ages as young as eight years old, and worry about being fat as young as three. As a result of their dislike for their own bodies, young girls begin to try and make themselves â€Å"perfect.†They will starve themselves and work out, almost to an unhealthy extent. Putting this desire to be sexy above their health, some girls even develop eating disorders because of the unrealistic images they compare themselves to. Along with never finding themselves to be beautiful, girls will even deprive themselves of pursuing their interests because they believe them to be â€Å"unfeminine.† The unrealistic portrayal of women in the media needs to put to an end before the situation that young girls are put in gets any more out of hand.

Lean Operations Essay

Task 1: To what extent could or should Deane expect to apply the philosophies and techniques of JIT/Lean to the running of a staircase cell? Staircases Production Company (SPC) is a small, successful, privately owned timber and building materials company based in a small city in the UK. The company offers a wide variety of timber products, from regular doors, windows and staircases to special products such as non-standard sections or special profiles (i.e. old designs of skirting board). Its products stand out from its main competitors (small joinery businesses) with high levels of quality. Due to the quality of its products as well as the huge demand of special stairs in the region, sales has been increasing steady year by year particularly special stairs. However, the business is not as profitable as it was expected and some important customers have been complained recently due to late deliveries. Because of the loss of profitability, Dean Hammond, the new appointed General Manager of SPC, is thinking about carrying out some changes in the organisation in order to cope with the current problems. Precisely, he thinks Lean and Just-in-Time principles and techniques might help SPC increase its profitability as well as improve the performance of the whole organisation. However, although this philosophy has been applied successfully to manufacturing and operations environment (Chowdary and George 2012), Mr. Hammond unknowns if the application of Lean principles in a company that produces a high variety and low volume of products would make sense. The Lean management approach, developed by Taiichi Ohno (1912-1990) at Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan, forms the basis for the Toyota Production System. The term Lean was first introduced in 1990 in the book entitled The Machine that Changed the World by Womack, Jones and Roos. In â€Å"Lean thinking†, 5 principles were put forward an implementation framework to be used by an organisation (Womack et al. 1990): †¢Specify value from the customer’s perspective, †¢Identify and understand the value stream, †¢Improve work flow (minimize interruptions during processing), †¢Let value flow only through the customer’s pull (all work is initiated by customer demand), and †¢Pursue perfection continuously (the goal is zero waste) The core idea of Lean philosophy is to maximize customer value while minimizing waste. From a production perspective, Lean manufacturing uses Just-in-Time (JIT) approach as its production strategy for minimizing waste and improving quality (MindTool 2013). JIT provides for the cost-effective production and delivery of only the necessary quality parts, in the right quantity at the right time and place, while using a minimum of facilities, equipment, materials and human resources. JIT is accomplished through the application of specific techniques which require total employee involvement and teamwork (Lee and Ebrahimpour 1984). The application of these principles in the manufacturing and assembling processes characterized by a high variety and high volume (HVHV) of activity has been widely proven a great success. However, the difficulties associated with applying Lean principles within HVLV organization have been identified and analysed by Jina et. al (1997). The analysis of the applica bility of Lean principles in SPC has been carried out taking into consideration some aspects analysed by Jina et al. (1997): †¢Product and product demand. The manufacturing and assembling process of SPC begins with a customer’s order (simple dimensioned sketches of the required product) what is called â€Å"pull system†. Customer’s pull demand is one of the principles of Lean and it enables a company to produce only what is required, in the correct quantity and at the correct time. However, the nature of the orders (called â€Å"make to order†) makes the application of the Lean principles a huge challenge for SPC due to small changes of the inputs (changes in the schedule, differences of product mix between one period and the next one, volume changes between periods and the frequency of product changes within time-frame of customer lead time expectations) generates a large impact on the performance of the manufacturing system (Jina et. al 1997). Nevertheless, the result can be levelled within a set of well-defined flexibility parameters (Jina et. al 1997), to give some examples: commonizing raw material and finished parts and organizing for high and low level demand. †¢Process. It can be said that processes currently do not follows any flow structure: production is planned without any solid criteria and there is no single flow route for either materials or machinery. This unstructured work floor causes: joinery department job shops are untidy and congested (joiners are working on several part-finished items at once, single pieces of equipment are shared  by 10 or more joiners, joiners try to fit in with each other over the use of machinery, etc.) and big allowance of waste and timbers defects are found around the workshop. Despite of this chaos, it has been identified that the specific case of the manufacturing and assembling staircases follows a repeatable process steps (although staircases are different): cutting ti mber, sanding, machining and tenoning, which makes this process potentially standardised. Therefore, it can be said that Lean principles can be applied to this process. However, in order to identify the applicability of Lean principles to the rest of the processes, more information should be provided. †¢Workers. The processes disorder is supported by the fact that, on one hand, SPC’s joiners are capable of making any product and, on the other hand, because they enjoy the wide variety of challenging work. Despite of this, workers’ flexibility to carry out a wide range of tasks is considered as a factor that would help the implementation of Lean. To sum up, it can be said that the application of Lean principles is possible but it will be a great challenge for SPC. Task 2: What are likely to be the main categories of costs and benefits in establishing the cell? Are there any non-financial benefits which should be taken into account? Listed below, there is an analysis of the benefits (financial and non-financial benefits) and the costs (financial costs) expected to be achieved with the implementation of Lean principles in SPC: -Benefits. The company will gain financial and non-financial benefits which will affect the revenue stream of SPC and the level of satisfaction of both customers and employees. †¢The financial benefit of Lean for the company expected is an increase in its revenues as a consequence of increasing the productivity by finding and eliminating the waste within the process. This is achieved through reorganising and tidying the manufacturing floor (using 5S/CANDO or visual management), improving work flow to eliminate motion and transportation between stages of production (workshop layout) (Page 2004), and increasing employee efficiency by specialising and standardising the work and cutting out wasteful work; †¢Non-financial benefits are shown by the level of customer and employee satisfaction. On one hand, customer satisfaction increases by meeting requirements and on-time delivery; improving customer retention and attracting new customers by, for example, word of mouth (Cudney, Furterer and Dietrich 2013). And on the other hand, employee  satisfaction increases by empowering them and taking into consideration their opinion. -Costs. There are two aspects that would affect the cost stream: cost reduction within the process and cost of lean implementation. †¢Cost reduction can be located from different attributes of the manufacturing process: inventory, defects, maintenance, labour cost, compensation, etc. (Ross 2002; Stegall 2012). Each task in the process gets specialised and standardised, the employee can stop the production line if they detect defects, thereby reducing the number of defects and work-in-process; production line productivity is improved to deliver products on time, helping the company to avoid compensation and discount, and reducing over-time working. Specialised jobs require particular machines or tools, to be handled with care and regularly maintained by the employees using it, reducing risk of break-downs and repair/replacement costs. And also, a reduction of raw materials inventory (waste) is expected. †¢Cost of Lean implementation can be located from: training for employees for redefinition and re-assignment, production line stoppage, workshop layout re-organising, information technology systems and management cost for implementing new system. These costs might be quite high when the company implement the whole system, therefore in the short-term it could overcome the profit of the company. However, because Lean is a long-term commitment, it will help transform the company and enhance the profit for the long term.â€Æ' Task 3: At what stage, and how, should Deane sell his idea to the Joinery Manager and the workers? To sell the idea of Lean implementation and cellular manufacturing to the Joinery Department, Dean should have a strategy to approach first the Joinery Manager (JM) and a its employees (once the manager is already convinced). Frist, Dean needs to sell the idea to the JM because he is the one who will decide whether this plan will be done or not because his commitment and leadership are essential to achieve a successful implementation (Wrye 2013). To convince and engage the Manager with the idea, Dean needs to conduct and present a business report of the company: an analysis of the current status of SPC (covering both quantitative and qualitative aspects), with the pros and cons of Lean implementation in a HVLV organisation. A strategy and implementation pl an which shows the roadmap, methodology, goals, and objectives to be introduced. Dean can then work with the JM to customise the implementation  of the plan to suit with SPC current situation. After gaining the approval of the JM, Dean needs to prepare actions to sell the idea to employees, to create an organisational understanding of the philosophy, methodology, implementation process, in order to take full advantage of the significant changes. The JM and Dean need to explain to the workers the current situation of the company, an overview of Lean and its benefits for the whole company and for each employee’s job. The workers also need to be acknowledged for the value of their work, their power over the production line and their responsibility of product’s quality. Some training and information about the new system might also need to be provided before actual implementation. Some details should be taken into account when the department start implementing Lean: †¢Because SPC is a HVLV manufacturer should adapt Lean principles to the reality of the organiation: product design geared to logistics and manufacture; organising manufacturing along Lean principles; and integrative supplier relationships (Jina et al. 1997); †¢The manager should have a clear goal for implementing Lean for the worker to follow (Womack and Jones 2003); †¢Lean is a new concept so it should be explained without technical terms or phrases to avoid confusion or resistance (Wrye 2013). The strategy of implementation should contain small steps to give the workers time, and help them gain their confidence a nd build momentum to continue with Lean.â€Æ' Task 4: How different would the cell work be from that in the main Joinery Department? Traditionally, each worker has their own zone and working on different product or order. Each worker goes through the same process, uses the same tools so they have to wait for the tools and their turn to use the machine. Lean cell manufacturing is a common workplace that has become an integral part of Lean manufacturing because it seeks to take full advantage of the similarity between parts, through standardisation and common processing. Its implementation in the work floor implies the specialisation of each step so that one person is in charge for one activity, using one particular tool or machine to eliminate delay time (Lean Enterprise Institute 2009). The worker will have space to move for their job but the movement and motion will be minimised by eliminating the gap between their tools and each other so that they can pass the finished part to the next stage immediately. Julian Page (2004) suggested the outward facing U-shape cells which taking up the same amount  of space and give the worker more options to communicate with each other with the least movement required. For the staircases, the workshop new layout will have 5 major cells: cutting timber, sanding, machining, tenoning and assembling: †¢Each cell have its own tools and machine that only that cell uses. The machine which will be used for different purpose will be placed at machining cell; †¢Machining cell will be placed near the middle of the whole workshop so that if any other cell needed to use the machines, they can access them with the least movement; †¢Cutting timber cell: after the order was placed, timber will be delivered by vendor on to the fir st station. Here timber will be cut to required shape. Off-cuts will be at the same place and the workers at this cell know how many and what shape there are, so they can be used for future occasions; †¢Assembling cell can be spilt into 3 smaller cells: glue, wedges and treated. After this cell, the product will be finished and transported straight to packing or delivery; †¢Workers can rotate within or between the cells if they want flexible jobs, since they can all do every stage of the manufacturing line. †¢Kanban card can be used between part manufacturing cells and assembly cells to limit the level of work-in-process (Jina, Bhattacharya and Walton 1997). Further information should be needed in order to assure if this layout can also be apply to the rest of the products of SPC. Another technique to be taken in is CANDO (clean-up, arranging, neatness, discipline and on-going improvement) to help maintain the Lean workshop, control obsolescence and inventory, preserv e working tools (Page 2004). The cells and workshop is presented below: Figure 1. SPC AS-IS workshop layout Figure 2. SPC TO-BE Lean cellular workshop layout Task 5: What risks are associated with Deane’s proposal? The main risks associated with Mr. Hammond’s proposal are listed below: †¢People. Behaviours exhibited by people in the workplace such as the lack of trust and commitment is the main risk identify in Mr. Hammond’s proposal. It is also one of the main reasons for unsuccessful implementation of Lean. oJoiners’ procedures to manufacture and assemble products might experience  changes with the implementation of Lean and, therefore, it may cause stress and rejection to them. Lean manufacturing requires constant employee input on quality control, which some employees may feel disinclined or unqualified to do (ÄÅ'iarnienÄâ€" and VienaÃ… ¾indienÄâ€" 2012). oDifficulties in finding managers with sufficient leadership and persuasion skills to overcome this can be also another risk to bear in mind (ÄÅ'iarnienÄâ€" and VienaÃ… ¾indienÄâ€" 2012). †¢Investment. Inability to make invest properly in the change. oDue to the unstructured work flow, SPC will need to make significant upfront investment in achieving a level of standardized processing. oImplementing Lean manufacturing often means completely dismantling previous physical plant setups and systems. The re-location of the machinery as well as training employees can increase considerably companies’ expenses. †¢Duration. The implementation of Lean philosophy and principles is a long journey process and not easy implemented. Bibliography and references CHOWDARY, B. and GEORGE, D. (2012). Improvement of manufacturing operations at a pharmaceutical company: A Lean manufacturing approach. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 23 (1), 56-75. ÄÅ'IARNIENÄâ€", R. and VIENAÃ… ½INDIENÄâ€", M. (2012). Lean Manufacturing: Theory and Practice. Economics and management, 17, 732-738. CUDNEY, E.A., FURTERER, S.L. and DIETRICH, D. (2013). Lean Systems: Applications and Case Studies in Manufacturing, Service, and Healthcare. 1st ed., CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group. JINA, J., BHATTACHARYA, A. and WALTON, A. (1997). Applying Lean Principles for High Product Variety and Low Volumes: Some Issues and Propositions. Logistics Information Management, 10 (1), 5-13. LEAN ENTERPRISE RESEARCH CENTRE (2013). What is Lean thinking?. [online]. Last accessed 28 November 2013 at: http://www.Leanenterprise.org.uk/what-is-Lean-thinking/what-is-Lean-thinking-and-key-Lean-thinking-principles.html LEAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE (2009). What is Lean?. [online] . Last accessed 28 November 2013 at: http://www.Lean.org/whatsLean/ LEE, S.M. and EEBRAHIMPOUR, M. (1984). Just-In-Time Production System: Some Requirements for Implementation. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 4 (4), 3 – 15. MELTON, T. (2005). The Benefits of Lean Manufacturing: What Lean Thinking