Akhenaten Family Background Essay Example for Free

Akhenaten Family Background Essay Describe the family and family background of Akhenaten. In your answer refer to: the 18th dynasty pharaohs, his mother, his brother, Akhenaten’s wives, particularly Nefertiti (her origin and roles) and his children. Assess their importance to the pharaoh. In your answer refer to at least four sources, ancient and modern. You can also show diagrams if you wish. (500-550 words) Akhenaten was the tenth pharaoh of the 18th dynasty; he reigned over New Kingdom Egypt for approximately 17 years. Akhenaten was the son of Amenhotep III and his chief wife, Queen Tiy. Scholars agree that Amenhotep III and Queen Tiy had four known daughters and two sons, Thutmoses and Akhenaten, who was originally named Amenhotep IV. Akhenaten was a sheltered child and appeared to be rejected by his father as he was rarely included in portraits of the family and was never taken to any public events unlike his brother, Thutmoses, as he was not assumed to take the throne. Akhenaten became pharaoh after the death of his father Amenhotep III in 1352BC, as Thutmoses had died prematurely. It is believed that Akhenaten was already married to Nefernefruaten- Nefertiti when he came to the throne. Nefertiti’s origin or parents are unknown, there are two main theories of her origin, and the most accepted is that Nefertiti is the daughter of Ay, vizier to various pharaohs of the 18th dynasty and the assumed brother of Queen Tiy. This is believed as Nefertiti’s nurse was the wife of Ay, as well as references that Nefertiti’s sister, Mutnojme, is prominently featured in the reliefs of Ay’s tomb. Another theory is that Nefertiti was the Mitannian princess sent to Egypt for a diplomatic marriage, referred to as ‘Tadhukhipa’, this is supported as Nefertiti means â€Å"the beautiful woman has come†. Nefertiti was Akhenaten’s chief wife and it is clear that Akhenaten valued his beloved wife, in his tomb he referred to her as ‘the mistress of his happiness’, and according to C. Alfred on one of the boundary stelae at Amarna he describes her as â€Å"Fair of Face, Joyous with the Double Plume, Mistress of Happiness, Endowed with Favour, at hearing whose voice one rejoices, Lady of Grace, Great of Love, whose disposition cheers the Lord of Two Lands†. In Akhenaten’s tomb and in tombs of the nobles, Nefertiti is depicted as equal to the pharaoh, in Akhenaten and the Amarna Bradley states â€Å"she’s is treated as the king’s partner not only in their family life but in religious and political life as well†, unlike other pharaohs there are also many family reliefs depicting Akhenaten, Nefertiti and their six daughters making offerings to the Aten; no son was ever depicted in reliefs. Akhenaten and Nefertiti are accepted to have had six daughters together. They were Meritaten, Meketaten, Ankhensenpaaten, Nefernefruten-tasherit, Nefernefure and Setepenre. Meritaten ‘beloved of Aten’, married Akhenaten’s successor, Smekhkare. Around year 15 of Akhenaten’s reign, Meritaten was given the rank of ‘Mistress of the House’ and favourite of the King, at this time she was depicted performing certain religious rituals in the temple of the Aten. Meketaten ‘protected of Aten’ possibly died at childbirth (Alfred) or at the age of eleven (Redford), mourning scenes of Akhenaten and Nefertiti are depicted in the king’s tomb. Ankhensenpaaten ‘her life is in the Aten’, married Tutankhamun and became Ankhensenamun. Nefernefruaten-tasherit ‘Nefernefruaten Junior –after Nefertiti’, Nefernefrure ‘beautiful as the beauty of Re’, and Setepenre ‘chosen of Re’. What happened to the youngest three daughters is unknown. In addition to Nefertiti, Akhenaten had many other minor wives that he inherited from Amenhotep III’s harem as well as those he would have selected himself. Of particular importance is Kiya, one of Akhenaten’s minor wives. Her full origin is unknown, but she seems to have come from an official family with links to the royal household. In Akhenaten’s inscriptions Kiya was described as the greatly beloved wife of the king, this was purely an acknowledgement of her position as secondary wife and in particular as the mother of royal children. She is believed to be the mother of Tutankhaten (later Tutankhamen) and possibly Smenkhkare, who succeeded Akhenaten’s reign. It appears Kiya was a favourite of Akhenaten’s for a reasonably long time. Describe the building projects of Akhenaten in East Karnak, near the traditional capital Thebes, and Akhetaten (his new cult centre). Describe the features of the buildings and account for the stylistic changes, especially to do with the worship of the Aten. In your answer include evidence from sources ancient and modern. You can use diagrams and maps if you wish. When Akhenaten came to power in 1353BC instead of holding the holistic New Kingdom Egypt builder-warrior pharaoh, Akhenaten focused on his building projects and the establishment of Aten worship in New Kingdom Egypt. In the first year of his reign Akhenaten ordered that his father’s construction project be completed, this was typical of New Kingdom pharaohs. This project was of two decorated pylon gateways at the temple of Amun-Re at Karnak. The relief scenes carved on the pylon at this time show Akhenaten in a traditional way, they also depict the Aten as a falcon-headed god. In the second year Akhenaten ordered the construction of four temples dedicated to the Aten to be built at East Karnak, outside the enclosure wall on the east of the Great Temple of Amun-Re. These temples were Gempaaten – ‘sun disk is found’ , the Mansion of the Ben-ben stone, Rud-menu – ‘Sturdy are the Monuments of the sun-disk Forever,’ and Teni-menu – ‘Exalted are the Monuments of the sun-disk Forever’. The Gempaaten was an open rectangular court approximately 300m by 200m enclosed with a mud-brick wall, surrounding this was a roofed colonnade. The temple itself was adorned with colossal statues of Akhenaten. The decorative scenes shown in the temple showed a celebration of the Heb-sed festival in the second and third year of the king’s reign. According to an unknown source in the depictions of the first year the ritual was enacted before officials from all the districts and the gods of Egypt, whose statues had been brought from near and far to be placed in shrines. Akhenaten offered to the gods individually and was accepted by each to continue ruling. However, in the Heb-sed festival of the third year all the shrines of the gods of Egypt are replaced by the Aten and Akhenaten in the reliefs. Typically when a pharaoh is being depicted with a god he is either drawn equal or depicted kneeling to the deity, but as the sun-disc is shown at the top of relief scenes Akhenaten’s single standing figure becomes more prominent. There is no firm evidence of the other three Aten temples purpose or location at Karnak, as they were destroyed and the building materials were reused in later pharaohs building projects. It is believed that the Mansion of the Ben-ben stone was built for Nefertiti, the Ben-ben stone is typically depicted as a pyramid shaped stone, but in this temple it was shown as an obelisk. In the relief scenes Nefertiti is portrayed making offerings to the Aten as this role was generally undertaken by Akhenaten, these reliefs were the first to include Nefertiti in the triad of the Aten. A major change in the depiction of Akhenaten began to appear in these temples, he was no longer portrayed as the tradition pharaoh but instead his face become elongated, he showed very little upper body tone and had a pot belly. However large and remarkable Akhenaten’s Aten temples were, they would never be able to overcome the dominance of Amun at Karnak. This issue led to Akhenaten’s desire to form a new capital city entirely devoted to the Aten sun-disc. In year six of his reign Akhenaten selected a site halfway between Memphis and Thebes, where the cliffs on the east bank form an amphitheatre opposite from the river Nile, this naturally occurring amphitheatre was 13km in diameter and 5km wide. Akhenaten set up boundary stelae to mark the limits of his new city in every directions, he affirmed that the ground did not belong to any deity and it was the Aten himself who had revealed the land to Akhenaten. On the boundary stelae the king states the city is to be called Akhetaten meaning ‘the Horizon or seat of the Aten’, the message on the stelae mentions the temples Akhenaten intends to construct in the city – A House of the Aten, a Mansion of the Aten, a Sunshade of the Queen and a House of Rejoicing for the Aten in the Island. Evidence of most of these temples and buildings has not been found or confirmed. Akhetaten was divided into several main building regions; these included the Main city – with the royal palace and temples, the North Suburb, South city, Maru-aten (Southern Palace), a workers village and rock cut tombs. The Great Temple of the Aten was built as the centre of worship in Akhetaten. The building was an 800m by 300m open roofed rectangular court, similar to the Gempaaten in layout but much larger. The temple was not open to the public and only the royal family or high priest could enter into the Great Temple of the Aten. R. J. Unstead states the temple was designed in a processional way; entrance to the temple was from the west between two tall pylons, this entrance let into a small courtyard, ahead of this was the House of Rejoicing or Per-Hai. This was a hall filled with columns and adorned with reliefs of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. From Per-Hai you reach the next part of the temple Gem-Aten ‘finding of the Aten’, this courtyard contained rows of mud brick offering tables. Ahead of the Gem-Aten is the entrance to a long narrow court with a raised altar, beyond this alter is then entrance to another court, followed by a second and finally into three smaller sanctuary or garden courts. Each court of the temple, aside from the Gem-Aten had its own altar and colossal statues of Akhenaten as well as representations of the Aten on wall reliefs. There was no exit at the other end of The Great Temple so the procession of Akhenaten, Nefertiti and the Aten priests had to turn around and exit through the west entrance.

Merger Of Kingfisher Plc Business Essay

Merger Of Kingfisher Plc Business Essay Kingfisher Plc is one of the major retailers in UK managing over 600 stores and handling over seventy-five thousand employees. At present, the company is the leading provider of womens wear and lingerie in the United Kingdom. In the area of other apparel, these have incurred a considerable amount of growth. The company also provides for food retail. The company sells a wide array of food products from groceries to ready-to-cook meals. Nowadays, there have been a considerable amount of changes in the overall strategy of the company. Nonetheless, it still holds true to the basic principles of the company. Such principles include the offering of the wide selection of high-quality products which are considered chic and classic with the most reasonable prices in the market. Merger of Kingfisher Plc with DIY Supermarket:- To competerivals and to respond to the changes in the external environment of the organizations the management of the KINGFISHER LTD and the DIY Supermarket are planning to merge into a signal entity. Under the plans, KINGFISHER LTD would be re branded Kings and DIY Supermarket plc. KingsDIY Supermarkets and consist of two operating subsidiaries, Kingfisher PlcandDIY Supermarkets. Sava Centre Limited will be owned by Kingfisher Ltd., and DIY Supermarkets Supermarkets Limited will be re branded KIngfisher Ltd, being owned by DIY Supermarkets (HIGHSON, 2008) The Combined Group will have 1,300 stores, although they should be prepared to sell 300 so as to not refer the deal to the Competition Commission. It will be the UKs second largest retailer (behind Tesco), the UKs largest clothing retailer, and the second largest supermarket chain, with a market share of over 20%.(HIGHSON, 2008) The report will analyse the merger process and the change management process and as a change manager I will develop the change strategy for the KINGFISHER LTD to manage the changes in the organization as a result of the merger between the both organisations. I will analyse different models of change to implement the changes effectively in the KINGFISHER LTD and also develop the strategy to involve stakeholders in the change process to make change more effective and access the causes of resistant to change and develop the processes which can be implemented to reduce resistant to change being implemented. Models of change management: There are various models of the change developed by the researchers to develop and implement effective changes in the organization to compete in the external environment of the organization. There are following models of the change which can be used to implement changes in the given case of KINGFISHER LTD. in the current economic environment the organisation is facing strong competition from the rivals. There are the following models which I will be using to implement the change in the KINGFISHER LTD. THE THREE-STEP MODEL OF CHANGE In developing this model, Lewin (1947a:p. 228-9) noted that: A change towards a higher level of group performance is frequently short lived; after a short in an arm group life soon return to the previous level. It indicates that it does not suffice to define the object of planned change in-group performance as the reaching of different levels. For Lewins therefore, successful change involves three steps: Unfreezing the present level; Moving to the new level; Refreezing the new level; Figure: 1.1 Kurt Lewis model of changeSource: Online (accessed on 11/08/2012). John P Kotters eight steps to successful change: American John P Kotter (b 1947) is a Harvard Business School professor and leading thinker and author on organizational change management. Kotters highly regarded books Leading Change (1995) and the follow-up The Heart Of Change (2002) describe a helpful model for understanding and managing change. Each stage acknowledges a key principle identified by Kotter relating to peoples response and approach to change, in which people see, feel and then change. Kotters eight step change model can be summarised as: Increase urgency inspire people to move, make objectives real and relevant. Build the guiding team get the right people in place with the right emotional commitment, and the right mix of skills and levels. Get the vision right get the team to establish a simple vision and strategy, focus on emotional and creative aspects necessary to drive service and efficiency. Communicate for buy-in Involve as many people as possible, communicate the essentials, simply, and to appeal and respond to peoples needs. De-clutter communications make technology work for you rather than against. Empower action Remove obstacles, enable constructive feedback and lots of support from leaders reward and recognise progress and achievements. Create short-term wins Set aims that are easy to achieve in bite-size chunks. Manageable numbers of initiatives. Finish current stages before starting new ones. Dont let up Foster and encourage determination and persistence on-going change encourage on-going progress reporting highlight achieved and future milestones. Make change stick- Reinforce the value of successful change via recruitment, promotion, and new change leaders. Weave change into culture. Relevance of the selected models of change to the Kingfisher Plc: The above given models are very important for the implementation of the change in the organization as the KINGFISHER LTD and the DIY Supermarket are different organizations and while combining the both organizations will face several problems regarding the implementation of the changes in the organization.Like it or not, the changing economy will necessitate drastic reorganization possibly due to downturns in the economy. Lewins model could be used by managers of the Kingfisher Plc to more efficiently implement any organizational changes. For example, suppose that a firm is facing the prospect of downsizing due to a slow market. In the first step, unfreezing, senior management could inform all employees via the company intranet as well as through informal Townhall style meetings of the serious economic challenges facing the organization. Input gathered from employees as well as from internal audits would then be made available to all employees. The second step, change, would then be implemented, most likely in the form of reorganization involving the elimination of some positions. In the final step, refreezing, intra-organizational adjustments would be made to accommodate the new organizational work flow. Any employees who have been terminated could be offered post-employment retraining or vocational assistance. Most importantly, senior management ofKingfisher Plcwould need to demonstrate to the remai ning employees the efficiency  and necessity of the new reorganization.   Selection of Model to be used to implement change in KINGFISHER LTD: Lewins three step model of change involves developing a model for the driving change andlearning to either manipulate the process or enhance its effect.   According to Levin the first step in the process of changing behaviour is to unfreeze the existing situation or status quo.   The second stage is to move the target system to a new level of equilibrium.   Some assistance to this stage can be assisting stakeholders with seeing the benefit of interrupting the status quo.   In addition, the negative effects of remaining the same level can be driven by influential leaders.   The third step of Lewins model is to freeze thought after the change takes place at a new level. As a change manager of the Kingfisher PlcI can use this model in relation to the changing economy by melding their workforce to expect change and embrace its value.   There are few aspects of life that are totally negative and people must be educated to see this.   By looking at Lewins force field analysis I can use this information to help myself and my employees embrace change.   As for the aspect of coping with uncertainty, the anxiety a person experiences with the current economy hit people on many levels.   The goal is to fragment the anxiety into workable situations for people to deal with. Monitoring tools to monitor change: To monitor the effectiveness of the implementation of the change in the organization I will use different monitoring tools. I will develop the small targets and the goals to be achieved to monitor the performance by analysing the completion of these goals and compering the actual performance with the targets. The financial performance will also be analysed to access the effectiveness of the change process and it will be compared with the previous performance of the organization. Strategic intervention strategies in Kingfisher Plc: An intervention is a set of sequenced and planned actions or events and planned actions or events intended to help the organization intended to help the organization increase its effectiveness (Cummings, Christopher G. Worley, 2008)The strategic intervention is the set of the planned steps to be taken by the organization to develop effective strategies for the organization to be more competent and effective in the market. There are different types and levels of the strategic intervention being implemented in the organizations. There are various types of the interventions which can be implemented on the KINGFISHER LTD to make the organization more effective and competitive in the market. Theses interventions are as given below, Human process intervention Techno structural interventions Human resource management interventions Strategic interventions The human resource process intervention includes the developing processes for the coaching, training and development, team building process consultation, conflict resolution, intergroup relationships and large group interventions. The techno interventions include implementation of the technologies in the organization and these also include the downsizing, structural design development, reengineering, employee involvement, and developing effective work design. There are different steps which can be taken by the Kingfisher Plc for the growth and improvement of the human resources of the organization like setting goals, performance appraisal, rewards system development based on the performance appraisal, career planning and development, managing workforce diversity and employee welfare. The structural intervention include the following steps à ¢- ºIntegrated Strategic Change Integrated Strategic Change à ¢- ºMergers and Acquisitions Mergers and Acquisitions à ¢- ºAlliances and Networks Alliances and Networks à ¢- ºCulture Change Culture Change à ¢- ºSelf-designing Organizations Self-designing Organizations à ¢- ºOrganization Learning and Knowledge Organization Learning and Knowledge Management Which change interventions to use is an important consideration. Change ultimately entails the deployment of a range of levers covering all the organisational subsystems shown in the above change models appropriate for managing change in Kingfisher Plc. Given the interdependency of these subsystems, it is difficult to change one part in isolation. Transformational change initiatives in particular, which require a change in the shared assumptions and beliefs of an organisation, are more likely to fail if those leading change focus on changing just structures and systems, paying little attention to softer levers and mechanisms such as symbols, rituals and routines. The strategic intervention can be used to identify which change levers to use. Interventions need to be designed to remove the barriers to change in the existing state of the organization, and to create the new structures, systems, routines, rituals, symbols, and stories to effectively implement change in the organization. Communication, education, training and personal development initiatives will also be required to help individuals undertake the changes required of them. The greater the extent of change, the more such initiatives will be required. Realignments may still require a change in the nature of the work that people do and the outcomes they achieve, such as levels of productivity and sales or customer response of the Kingfisher Plc. THE TRIGGERS TO ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE Mainly organizations have learned to make minor, day-by-day changes to adjust to unplanned or anticipated events and it is changes of some magnitudes, particularly where they are undertaken quickly, that trend to be the most problematic. These are also called as the factors leading to the change implementation in the organization. These factors determine the need for changeq. These can be internal and external triggers or factors of change management to implement the change. There are following factors affecting the strategy of the Kingfisher Plc leading to the change management in the organization. EXTERNAL TRIGGERS TO CHANGE It is important to stress that environment is not just everything out there. to distinguished between those parts that are usually considered more important by organizations and those that are not, the terms task environment and wide environment are borrowed from a classic study by Dill (1958). Wide environment is one step removed from the organization, whereas task environment is that Part of the total environmental that is most relevant to organization in terms of achieving its goals or objectives. Because its impact is experienced as direct and pressing, this is where firms tend to concentrate most of their attention (Dill 1958). There are different types of the factors which affected the Kingfisher Plc and leads the organization towards implementation of the change in the origination, like the macro-economic factors such as political, legal, environmental and social factors and the competitive environmental factors as described by Porters five forces, competitors, threat from su bstitute, supplier or customers and the competition environment of the Kingfisher Plc. INTERNAL TRIGGERS FOR CHANGE Change to process factor often occurs because of the impact of triggers in the task environment. Some however can arise internally and act as spur for change in their own right. Example of those can require internal change are innovations that improve the way that something is manufactured, or allow a service to be delivered at a low cost, or the development of new products that enable the firm to diversity. There are following internal factors which are deriving the Kingfisher Plc for implementing change in the organization, Profitability Development of new products or processes Job redesign These all above determined Internal and external factors causes the Kingfisher Plc to implement change in the organization to achieve the goals and objectives of the firm in the long run. Resource implication: There are different resources which are required by the Kingfisher Plc to develop and implement effective change strategy in the organization. These factors include the Human resources like the workforce and the managers required to effectively manage the changed structure and business processes of the Kingfisher Plc. This also includes the hiring, training and development, rewarding, motivating and retaining the human resources of the organization. Other resources required to effectively implement change are physical resources e.g. equipment, vehicles, buildings; financial resources e.g. costs of training, redundancy costs, relocation costs; new building, refurbishment of existing buildings. The Kingfisher Plc has to consider the effectiveness and availability of these all above given factors to effectively and efficiently implement change in the organization. The inability of the management to effectively manage the resource implication while managing change can lead the organisation towards the failure instead of success. Because the resources play a vital role in the development of the organization for example without the effective human resources the organization will not be able to carry on the organizational functions or the quality of these actions will be very poor leading to the failure of the process. Similarly the financial resources are also very important for implementation of the change in the organisation because the finance is the soul of the organisation and organization can survive without profitability but it cannot survive without effective finances. Systems and strategies to involve stakeholders: The Kingfisher Plc must develop appropriate systems and the strategies to involve the shareholders of the organization in the process of implementation of change in the organization. These systems have different processes through which the management can effectively involve the stakeholders of the organization in the process of the change to make the implementation more successful. There are following stakeholders of the Kingfisher Plc who can influence the strategies of the organization and have important effect on the performance of the origination, Shareholders Customers Suppliers Employees Community Government Competitors I will analyse the importance and the power of all the stakeholders and these will be prioritised based on their influencing power to affect the change management process of the organization. As a change manager I will use the sic steps model to involve the stakeholders in the change process of the Kingfisher Plc. These steps include the identification of the stakeholders, prioritising stakeholders, mapping the profile of the stakeholders, develop communication and engagement strategy to involve stakeholders in the process of change, optimising their support by effective leadership skills and the last one is the monitoring change. Change Management Strategy: To effectively implement the changes and to make the change management more productive, I have developed the change strategy which consists of different steps or systems to involve the stakeholders effectively in the change process to make the change process quick, efficient and productive. These steps include, Preparation of change: the first step is the preparation for the change to be implemented and this will include the analysis of the internal and external forces effecting the change and then using the effective communication to communicate the need for change with the stakeholders of the organization. Building vision for change: the next step is the development of the vision to motivate the stakeholders of the organization towards the change process. The clear vision can develop the change more effectively and easily because it motivates the involved individuals towards achievement of the stated goals. Path of change: the change strategy will be developed and all the stakeholders will be involved in the decision making criteria so that they can understand the importance of change and they can play their role as participants in the change process. RESISTANCE TO CHANGE Woodrow Wilson If you want to make enemies, try to change something, advised. When seeking to Change an organization, it is strategy or processes, leaders run into Newtons law that a body at rest tends to stay at rest, advocates for change is greeted with suspicion, anger, resistance, and even sabotage.4 (www.1000ventures.com). But, Richard Branson has been exceptionally competent in handling corporate transformation and change (Manfred, 1998). He is able to achieve this because he envisions, empowers and energizes his employees. Secondly, the structure and design of his companies helps him to institute effective control and reward systems. An organization is able to create an effective environment, both internally and throughout its supply chain, which encourages an opportunistic position to be adapted. On the other hand, despite how friendly an organization is to change it will still face a degree of employee, supplier, distributor, stakeholder and consumer resistance to change it may manage to reduce the frequency and potency of such resistance but it will never eradicate the fear of unknown. There are different reasons due to which the employees and the customers of the Kingfisher Plc resisted to the change being implemented by the management of the Kingfisher Plc in all the levels of the organization these factors which causes the resistance to change. These factors can be summarised as follows, Lack of confidence Lack of trust Lack of the competencies Fear of loss of something of value Ineffective communication by the management Lack of clarity of the change being implemented by the organization Strategies to reduce resistance to change:- The Kingfisher Plc must develop effective communication strategies and the processes to implement the change and reduce resistance regarding the change being implemented in the organization. These strategies include the involvement of the different stakeholders in the process of the change management to make them motivated and focused towards the change being implemented. There are different steps which Kingfisher Plc should take while developing change strategies in the organization, Development of the effective mission and Vision regarding change Development of the communication strategies to communicate mission and vision of the organization Involve all the stakeholders through the six steps defined above Reducing the concerns of the staff and people by providing them training and effective skills to tackle with the change and making them more competent

Types, causes, and advantages and disadvantages of monopolies

Types, causes, and advantages and disadvantages of monopolies Monopoly is the situation in which there is a single seller of a product (i.e., a good or service) for which there are no close substitutes. The word is derived from the Greek words monos (meaning one) and polein (meaning to sell). Governmental policy with regard to monopolies can have major effects not only on specific businesses and industries but also on the economy and society as a whole. Types Oligopoly: Is a situation in which sales of a product are dominated by a small number of a relatively large seller who is able to collectively exert control over its supply and prices. Cartel: Is a type of oligopoly in which a centralized institution exists for the purpose of coordinating the action of several independent suppliers of a product. The best example today is the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Trust: Popular way to form monopolies in USA. This was an arrangement by which stockholders in several companies transferred their shared to a single set of trustees. In exchange, the stockholders received a certificate entitling them to a specified share of the consolidated earning of the jointly managed companies. The trust came to dominate a number of major industries (tobacco, sugar, etc.) Monopsony: Is the opposite of a conventional monopoly in the sense that there is only a single buyer or only one dominant buyer for a product for which there are multiple sellers. Some companies are both monopolies and monopsonies. By being also a monopsonist, a monopoly can increase its profits even further by putting pressure on the companies that supply inputs for its products to reduce their prices. Extreme cases Pure monopoly: One company has complete control over the supply or sales of a product for which there are no good substitutes. Perfect competition: There are many sellers of identical or virtually identical products. Causes of monopoly By developing or acquiring control over a unique product that is difficult or costly for others companies to copy. By having a lower production cost than competitors. By using various legal and illegal tactics (predatory tactics) By controlling a platform and using vendor lock-in. By receiving a government grant of monopoly status, becoming a government-granted monopoly. Advantages Despite their reputation for evil, monopolies can actually generate a net benefit for society under certain circumstances. These are usually situations in which the power and duration of the monopoly are carefully limited. Natural monopolies can be particularly beneficial. This is because of their ability to attain lower costs of production, often far lower, than would be possible with competitive firms producing the same product in the same region. However, it is almost always necessary for such monopolies to be regulated by a relatively uncorrupted government in order for society to obtain the potential benefits. This is because such monopolies by themselves, as is the case with all monopolies, have little incentive to charge prices close to cost and, rather, tend to charge profit-maximizing prices and restrict output. Likewise, there is often little incentive to pay much attention to quality. It has long been recognized that government-granted monopolies can benefit society as a whole by providing financial incentives to inventors, artists, composers, writers, entrepreneurs and others to innovate and produce creative works. In fact, the importance of establishing monopolies of limited duration for this purpose is even mentioned in the U.S. Constitution. Disadvantages Large monopolies have considerable potential to damage both economies and democratic governments and monopolists often go to extreme lengths to disguise or hide such harmful effects. Example The table below illustrates the case of monopoly. Marginal cost is the value of the additional resources needed to produce another unit of output. The marginal benefit to consumers is the price that consumers are willing to pay for each unit. You should recognize this column as a demand curve. The maximization principle tells us that the economically efficient amount to produce is five, the amount that gives consumers the greatest value. To produce the first unit, the firm takes resources that have a value of $5.00 and turns them into something with a value of $7.01. Because this transformation has increased value, producing the first unit is more economically efficient than producing none. By this logic, producing the sixth unit would decrease economic efficiency because the firm would take resources with a value of $5.00 and transform them into something with a value of only $4.51. The monopolist, however, will find it most profitable to produce only three units because it does not see marginal benefit the same way that buyers see it. For the seller, the extra benefit of the second unit is only $6.01. It sells the second unit for $6.51, but to sell the second unit, it had to reduce the price it charged by $.50. Thus, it lost $.50 on the first unit, so the net increase in its revenue was only $6.01. (You can get the same answer by computing a total revenue column and then calculating revenue increases.) In a similar manner, the rest of the fourth column can be obtained. Using the maximization principle, one can see that producing beyond the third unit is not in the interests of the firm. The fourth unit brings in added benefits of only $4.01 to the firm (it sells for $5.51, but to sell it, the firm lowers price by $.50 on three other units), but costs an added $5.00. From the point of view of the buyers, however, the fourth unit should be produced. It brings them added benefits of $5.51 and uses resources worth only $5.00.

The Catcher In The Rye :: essays research papers

Escape from the truth In 1950 J.D. Salenger captures one of society’s tragedies, the breakdown of a teenager, when he wrote The Catcher In The Rye. Holden Caulfield, a fickle â€Å"man† is not even a man at all. His unnecessary urge to lie to avoid confrontation defeats manhood. Holden has not matured and is unable to deal with the responsibility of living on his owe. He childishly uses a hunter’s hat to disguise him self from others. The truth of his life is sad and soon leads to his being institutionalized. He tries to escape the truth with his criticisms. Knowing he will never meet his parents’ expectations, his only true friend is his eight-year-old sister Phoebe, to whom Holden tells that he really wants to be ‘the catcher in the rye†. Holden admits his only truth and shows that Phoebe is his only friend. Another form of escape for Holden is his acting, which he uses to excuse the past. Holden has tried to lie, hide, and blame his way through life; when he find s that it is not the answer he collapses. Holden is a pathological liar. He lies, some times for no reason. Holden says his name is Rudolf Schmidt, who is acutely the janitor, to Mrs. Morrow on the train. He continues to lie throughout the conversation and avoids getting together by saying he has a tumor in his brain. This is the type of lies Holden tells. One reason for this might be that he is trying to hide his true identity. He does not want people to know who he really is or that he was kicked out of his fourth school. Holden is always using fake names and tries speaking in a tone to persuade someone to think a cretin way. He does this when he talks to women. While he is talking to the psychiatrist he explains peoples reactions to his lies like they really believe him, when it is very possible that he is a horrible liar and they are looking at him with a â€Å"what are you talking a bout?† expression. Holden often lies to the point where he is lying to him self. To Holden ever one is a â€Å"phony†, and every one has a problem that he feels he needs to exploit. While Holden is speaking to the psychiatrist, he criticizes each person as he meets them in his story.

Private Schools vs. Public Schools Essay -- Private Schools Public Sch

Parents often wonder how to start off their children’s education. Depending on ones religion or beliefs a private or public school is a choice most parents face. Of course, each school offers it’s own pros and con’s the choice is simple. Public schools offer the best well rounding of a student. While being enrolled in a public school, students are faced with real outside world problems, are with a different blend of students each year, and are also introduced to the latest technology faster. While, a public school the money is offered to them by the state easier then having donations like a private school. Ones child will most likely be with the same students throughout their educational years. Classes aren’t as big and varied like classes at public schools. While in a public schoo...

Critique on Distinctive Features

Andrew Ike B. Waga ENG 106 Dec. 14, 2011 2010-53632 Trubetzkoy, Jakobson or Chomsky, Whose Distinctive Features are truly â€Å"Distinct†? â€Å"Teacher, teacher, Help me, I have just been side swiped by a car! † These were the exact words that came out from the mouth of the school’s resident hooligan, Kevin, one afternoon after class.During those times, our school has been intensively campaigning for every student to speak English at least while on campus, in preparation for the coming PAASCU (Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges) visit, we were so prepped up that we were even speaking in English outside school â€Å"just in case the Assessors are just loitering around, observing† our teachers would say.So one afternoon, after finding not much to do, Kevin, decided he wanted to show his antics to us, saying that he is planning to pull off a prank on our school’s English Coordinator, and our class adviser as well, we had a carefu lly laid out plan, he would be rushing from the street towards our school gate while we convince our teacher to approach the gate as well, and then he shouted, the exact words on quotation, except that he pronounced swiped as /s? ?pd/. Our teacher, knowing Kevin’s reputation, was already sensing that she was a bait to a good laugh, calmly yet in an authoritarian manner said, â€Å"side swipe! s? aIp/ Next time, Kevin, try pronouncing the words well, so as not to lose your momentum, there’s always a next time! † with her signature smirk. I remembered this incident while reading about Natural classes, I am very sure that my teacher knew what Kevin meant, since all of us thought that Kevin’s pronunciation of that word was correct as far as we were concerned, until the jokes went back to Kevin. Growing up in a city that speaks Cebuano, it is inevitable for some English words to get that â€Å"bisaya† flavour, like the occasional /p/ becomes an /f/ or t he letter h is pronounced as /? ? / and many more, but nevertheless, besides deviating from what we know as a â€Å"standard† for American English, we pretty much understood each other despite the glitches. And so I thought, why was it necessary to dwell on the distinctive features of sounds when the main importance has been served, comprehension. But then, I had to understand that it is necessary so that I would know just how these sounds are related to be viewed as almost interchangeable, just how â€Å"similar† was similar? Hence, we go to the distinctive features of sounds.In dealing with Distinctive features, I focused first on the work of Trubetzkoy, most people would start with Jakobson before Trubetzkoy but I saw that it was Trubetzkoy who first saw Phonetics and Phonology as separate disciplines. He mentioned that form (contrast, system patterning) must be studied separately from substance (acoustics, articulation). Hence, there was a greater concentration on sounds first before they are seen as words. It was Trubetzkoy who introduced the idea of â€Å"oppositions† in Phonology which he mentioned in his primary work, GrundzUge der phonologie  (1939).Oppositions would refer to a pair or set of sounds sharing the same feature that is not shared with any other sounds. Here are some of Trubetzkoy’s Oppositions: a) Bilateral oppositions A bilateral opposition refers to a pair sounds that share a set of features which no other sound shares fully. For example, voiceless labial obstruents =  /p,f/. Note that obstruents are defined as having a degree of stricture greater than that of approximants (that is, stops and fricatives). b) Multilateral oppositions A group of more than 2 sounds which share common features.For example, labial obstruents,/p,b,f,v/, are both labial and obstruents, so they share two features. c) Privative (Binary) Oppositions One member of a pair of sounds possesses a mark, or feature, which the other lacks. Such features are also known as  binary  features which a sound either possesses or lacks. Voicing is such a feature. A sound is voiced or NOT voiced. The sound which possesses that feature is said to be  marked  (eg  [+voice]) whilst the sound lacking the feature is  unmarked  (eg. [-voice]). d) Gradual Oppositions The members of a class of sounds possess different degrees or gradations of a feature or property.For example, the three short front unrounded vowels in English  /? ,  e,  ? /  which are distinguished only by their height. In this system height would be a single feature with two or more degrees of height. As of present times, when Chomsky and Halle’s set of Distinctive features are accessible to us, this would seem very broad and general, hence, not really dwelling into more specific details. But this jumpstarted the notion that sounds share similar qualities and it is crucial for the development of his friend, Jakobson’s own Distinct ive Feature Theory.Jakobson is known as the first one to formalize the Distinctive Feature Theory. He followed the findings of Trubetzkoy as one of his basis for building up his set of distinctive features. Jakobson’s original formulation of the Distinctive Feature Theory aside from Trubetzkoy was based on the ff. Ideas: (1) All features are BINARY. Sounds are either [+voice] or [-voice] (2) A small set of features is able to differentiate between the phonemes of any single language. (3) Distinctive features may be defined in terms of articulatory or acoustic features.Here is a table showing Jakobson’s Distinctive Features: Though, the advantage of Jakobson’s set is that it also has an acoustic description, I do think that the articulatory description is sufficient enough, since after articulating the sound we hear the sound we produced ourselves and yet not at all times would people share the same acoustic descriptions to their produced sound, because we all ha ve our own ways of pronouncing sounds, hence, I think that the acoustic description should be left for the speaker to describe and not defined by Jakobson’s description.Jakobson’s idea was a good starting point for Chomsky and Halle’s own set of distinctive features. With Jakobson’s Distinctive features serving as a terminus a quo for Chomsky and Halle, they were able to refine Jakobson’s set of features. A great achievement done by this duo is that they were able to establish the idea of â€Å"Natural Classes†. The aim is to carefully choose distinctive features to form a natural class of phonemes. An advantage of this approach is seen in writing Phonological rules hence, we get to understand why we can still comprehend to some words though they are mispronounced.Another is that if we are to choose the features well, it should be possible to refer to natural classes of phonemes with a smaller number of features, therefore allowing a more re fined set of characteristics to describe the phonemes involved in a natural class. Chomsky and Halle also introduced the feature classifications such as the major class features, the manner features and the place features thus paving the way for a more organized description in giving characteristics of phonemes.Chomsky and Halle was able to answer the concerns of redundancy when giving features, which is found in Generative Phonology, a component of generative grammar that assigns the correct phonetic representations to  utterances  in such a way as to reflect a native speaker’s internalized grammar. Given the current situation, I would have to choose Chomsky and Halle’s Theory of Distinctive Features as the most functional, because it is able to give more specific descriptions as compared to Trubetzkoy and Jakobson.Since we have established that Chomsky and Halle’s set gives the most detailed, comprehensive and most organized distinctive features, it would be best to follow their findings. But It is also important to note that without the ideas of Trubetzkoy and Jakobson in the Distinctive Feature theory, Chomsky and Halle’s own theory would not be as it is today, not able to answer loopholes and deficiencies found in the previous studies. So for me, it is like a ladder, one has to go through the intial steps first before reaching your destination, because as what my teacher would have said, â€Å"so as not to lose your momentum. † Bibliography

Apple Financial Report Essay

Background Object: Apple Inc, an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. I would like to emphasize that this report supports in order to have a general look of long-term investment. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (or SWOT matrix) of Apple Inc will be mentioned below. Specifically, I will talk about issues which are relevant for investors in the long time. However they are concerned and depended on numbers with ratios in only financial report. Strengths Total assets are about $53,851 billion (Apple Inc balance sheet in Sep-2009). When we compare with some other companies, Apple Inc is really one of the leaders among technology companies. Company Microsoft Apple Inc Nokia Dell HP Assets (billion $) 86,112 53,851 51,276 30,060 4,265 Moreover, Apple’s products such as IPhone, IPod or IMac with good quality are appeared every countries and they have a large attraction with customers. For example, according to Brandonweir (from Apple’s Quarterly Earnings  Reports), 2010, 33 million IPhone have sold until the end 2009(1), â€Å"At the September 9, 2009 keynote presentation at the Apple Event, Phil Schiller announced total cumulative sales of iPods exceeded 220 million†(2) according to Downhill Battle in 2010. It figures strong abilities and important position of Apple Inc in the world. Established on April 1, 1976, with over 30 years surviving, Apple Inc have experienced an increase in their growth, profit and stocks while some large ones else such as IBM could not survive by the time. Since beginning, Apple Inc has not only survived for 30 years but also acquired many small and medium in various aspects. It proves strong ambitions to expand company more and more. In addition, from YCHARTS in 2010, R&D (Research and Development) of company is 6.58% of total assets(6), it makes company independent on potential threats. Here is 7 biggest companies of 28 which are acquired by Apple Inc(3) with total investment over 1,335 million dollars, according to Alacrastore in 2010. It is argued that the company has strategy plans for sustainable development in the long time. Time Company Value 7/2/1997 NeXT – Computer programming services $ 404,000,000 2/9/1997 Power Computing-Clone-Making–Clone computers $ 100,000,000 31/12/2001 PowerSchool – Online info systems services $ 62,000,000 1/7/ 2002 Emagic – Music production software $ 30,000,000 24/4/2008 P.A. Semi – Semiconductors $ 278,000,000 5/1/2010 Quattro Wireless – Mobile advertising $ 275,000,000 27/4/2010 Intrinsity – Semiconductors $ 121,000,000 There are nearly 899,805,500 and 888,325,973 shares issued and out standing until September 2009 (From financial report, p. 56). It is clear that a large of number shareholders do believe in company success and their capital are invested correctly. While their profit from stocks and shares are increasing, it is stated that investing Apple stocks will earn profit more and more. And the company has more capital from investors to use it for developing projects. Moreover, in fact, one positive point of Apple Inc is they do not pay out any dividends. Therefore company could re-invest the money into active capital structures. It shows a sustainable development with clear projects for long-term investment of shareholders. Weaknesses Apple Inc has 323 stores however 82% of them (265 by 323) only in US and UK(4), according to Wikipedia, 2010. It is stated that Apple Inc should expand company to get more profit of potential customer from other areas in the world. Moreover, it is a chance to create new contracts with various producers. Because with well-known trade name and quality products, it is argued that if company only wants to increase profits in some big countries, it is a big waste. Opportunities Generally, potential investors need a general view about company STOCKS and SHARES since some years ago because it would help them to be sure that basically, their money is invested in right way or not. From 2004 to 2009, company’s stocks are increasing rapidly every year although it is affected by recession in 2008 therefore their profitability is their high earnings per share. Specifically, company’s stocks rose quickly from 100$ in 2004 to 957$ in 2009. From Apple Inc financial report in 2009, p.35 Meanwhile, from table below seems to suggest that a significant rate of development of Apple Inc when we compare some other index. In 5 years, this stocks in 2009 gets nearly by ten times (957$ and 100$) in 2004 (beginning). Moreover, it shows that stocks and share of Apple Inc is higher than competitive companies about development therefore investing Apple Inc at this time for a long-term is a correct decision. September 2004 September 2005 September 2006 September 2007 September 2008 September 2009 Apple Inc. $100 $277 $397 $792 $587 $957 S&P 500 Composite Index $100 $112 $124 $145 $113 $105 S&P Computer Hardware Index $100 $115 $123 $181 $152 $180 GROSS MARGIN PERCENTAGE of Apple Inc also rose from 2007 to 2009 with about 35% each year. Profit margin measures the performance of the company in generating profits from sales therefore from this ratio, Apple Inc figures a rapid development with positive effect. This is a percentage showing the relationship between a business’s profits before overheads are taken away (gross profit), and the total amount of income from sales. It is claimed that investors could believe in the company financial situation nowadays completely. 2009 2008 2007 Net sales $36,537 $32,479 $24,006 Cost of sales 23,397 21,334 15,852 Gross margin $13,140 $11,145 $ 8,154 Gross margin percentage 36.0% 34.3% 34.0% GEARING, which is defined DEBT divide EQUITY, is important because the level of risk increases as the proportion of debt increases and equity shareholders are paid after the demands of loan capital providers have been met. According to financial report, Company’s long-term debt is zero while equity is $ 1743 therefore gearing = 0 is enough low to invest with fairly safety. Apple Inc has a very good financial standing and is not in any immediate danger of bankruptcy. When we have a brief look, gearing and debt of others competitive companies like HP, Dell or Microsoft are higher so much than Apple Inc. Therefore shareholders could believe the safety of their capital in the long time. On the other hand, ASSET TURNOVER, which is defined TOTAL SALES divide ASSETS (36537 / 53851 = 67.85%) is used to measure the performance of the company in generating sales from the assets at its disposal. Asset turnover is one of two important ratios for shareholders to return on capital employed therefore it helps investors identify the safety of their capital. With 67.85%, it shows a positive number of efficiency for long-term investment. CURRENT RATIO which is defined CURRENT ASSETS divide CURRENT LIABILITIES relates the current assets of the company to its current liabilities. It is a measure of a company’s ability to meet its short-term solvency. These assets should at least be sufficient to meet the any short-term liabilities – generally that is taken to mean a ratio of 2:1 or better because many State Securities Bureaus will require this ratio for stocks and make investors believe financial situation of company. When we compare among some large technology companies, apple is the best of them (table above). This ratio shows that Apple Inc would be considered to have good short-term financial strength. If we have a look QUICK RATIO, which is defined: (CURRENT ASSETS minus INVENTORY) divide CURRENT LIABILITIES, excludes inventory from the current assets figure because it may be difficult to convert inventory to cash quickly. This ratio assumes that inventory is not available as part of the asset base a vailable to meet the demands of immediate liabilities. 1:1 ratio or higher is considered good because it proves financial strengths of company to meet any sudden accident. Apple Inc  is better able to meet their current liability obligations by using their liquid assets when the company is compared to the industry. With 1.86, Apple Inc defeated main competitive companies to pay its short-term debt and made customer confidence for company success. Threats Apple is still a successful modern company nowadays however actually, according to Ben McClure (Investopedia), 2010 when Apple Inc spends too much money with 1.109 billion dollars (2008) on R&D (Research and Development)(5) while some other aspects such as architecture of agents around the world need more capital to invest although it is a positive point which made a good position of Apple Inc nowadays. Another view that we need to consider carefully is recession. Actually, from the stocks chart above, Apple Inc was affected by this in 2008 (decreased from $792 in 2007 to $587 in 2008). Therefore when recession has not gone out completely, shareholders should examine their investment for sustainable future. Conclusions From SWOT matrix above, with rapid grow speed of stocks & company and also developing strategies in the long-term, I want to recommend that Apple Inc is a good choice to invest in the long time. Although the company has some threats and weaknesses, Apple Inc has every confidence from investors who have invested in the long time before. When we analysed SWOT above, financial ratios and numbers show a quick increase with stable development therefore it is claimed that investing Apple Inc for a long-term is a right decision. Notes Anyway, this report only analyses some salient features and predictions above can be not sure 100% in the future. Because company’s success is affected by many different aspects such as demand of customers in the long time however some of them are not mentioned in this report. Although the ratios and the financial numbers of Apple Inc are fairly good, nothing is impossible in the  long-term. References (1) Brandonweir, 2010, how many iphone have been sold, [accessed 29 November 2010], available at http://www.mahalo.com/answers/how-many-iphones-have-been-sold. (2) Downhill Battle, 2010, Are all those iPods empty?, [accessed 29 November 2010], available at http://www.itunesperipod.com/. (3) Alacrastore, 2010, Apple Inc Mergers and Acquisitions, [accessed 29 November 2010], available at http://www.alacrastore.com/mergers-acquisitions/Apple_Inc-1001101. (4) Wikipedia, 2010, Apple store, [accessed 29 November 2010], available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Store. (5) Ben McClure (Investopedia), 2010, R&D Spending And Profitability: What’s The Link?, [accessed 29 November 2010], available at http://www.investopedia.com/articles/fundamental-analysis/10/research-development-rorc.asp (6) YCHARTS, 2010, AAPL, [accessed 3 December 2010], available at http://ycharts.com/companies/AAPL