Ethics in Child and Youth Development free essay sample

More so, one can expect to see a case study of an unethical practice that occurred at an orphanage in Zimbabwe. Just before the conclusion there is going to be a section of a reflection on how far the care of children came over the centuries and how it has affected the writer. Gharabaghl (2008:185) points out that the centrality of the concept of relationship within Child and Youth Care practice, it is clear that values are an important element of that practice. So much so that it is rather very difficult to imagine Child and Youth Care practice unfolding in the absence of any role or value. This then shows that in order for the organization to be a successful one people have to be able to follow a certain way of carrying out their different tasks. Hence ethical practice is important. It of paramount importance to take note that, personal values are shaped by our past, present and future thus people have different values. We will write a custom essay sample on Ethics in Child and Youth Development or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Therefore, in order to engage with children and youth one should be able to not allow ones’ values to provide a framework for ones’ thoughts of action in an unfettered manner or each agrees to mitigate or transcend specific values in order to limit the range of acceptable interventions and interactions. This is because if there is acceptance of the unfettered presence and impact of values in work, the risk of exposing or impacting children with harmful or negative interventions is great. A very good example is that many individuals view corporal punishment as deeply embedded not only as an acceptable practice but also as a core component of the value system related to raising and disciplining children. As a profession however, child and youth care practice does not accept the value system of endorsing corporal punishment. Furthermore, Banks (1999:56) postulate that, ethical values are important because ethics can serve as a bridge between differences within ones’ personal values and value systems of the profession and on the other hand the rights and well being of children and youth as determined by a broad social, legal and cultural consensus about the rules and methods of professional engagement with children and youth. Hence the presence of certain values gives room for professionalism thus when the practitioners are dealing with decision making it will not be biased because no personal values would have been used. Additionally, Sercombe (1998:35) mentions the following as unethical practices in the field of child and youth. These are selling of drugs to young people, having sexual relationships with them, sharing pornographic videos, embezzling agency funds and turning up to work drunk These are just some of the many unethical things that can happen in this field. Every action that one takes whether good or bad always has consequence. There might delay but they always come. In this case if one who was entrusted with children does something that is against the organizations’ values they have to pay the consequences. For instance if one decides to turn up to work drunk those in authority after giving the person warnings have to fire that person. This is so because the practitioner in question might be bad influence to the children. And at the end of the day the reputation of the organization will be in jeopardy. Another consequence of unethical practice that can be faced by a practitioner in the field of child and youth care work might be imprisonment depending on the unethical practice. In the case of one whom rapes children in his care, stiffer penalties like life imprisonment should be given. This is so because if such people are kept around chances are that they might continue with their behaviors or others practitioners might repeat the same error because they will be confident that no punishment would be given to them. It is also important for one to note that if unethical practices occur it might affect the whole organization in the sense that they may lack funding from their sponsors which will result in the suffering of the children. In the following paragraph is gong to be an example of an unethical practice that was done by a practitioner in the field and the consequences that he faced. A man in Zimbabwe, who used to be a practitioner in the field of child and youth care work, had the tendency of sexually abusing young girls at the orphanage that he worked. When his actions became known by the authorities investigations were made and he was found guilty of raping about ten young girls. He got the sentence of life imprisonment. This is a really sad thing to happen to someone who had vowed to work with children because being in the field is a clear indication that one loves children and that one has personal strong ethical beliefs. The development of the field of child and youth care as a profession is in my opinion the best thing that has happened to children because now the orphaned and the homeless have people who are specialized in taking care of them. This move of making child and youth care work to be a profession has made me realize that taking care of children and youth is of great value and should be taken seriously. Professionalization will always have its risks. Ethical problems, lack of clarity, conflict of interest, misinterpretation and lack of discipline are there but it is important to uphold the ethics and values of the profession. This is so because it will help the organization to reach its goals which is to ensure that every child in need is given attention and that the children’s’ needs are met. Practitioners who do not abide by the code of ethics of the profession should be given stiffer penalties. All in all ethical practice is very important in the field of child and youth care work.

Inequality and American Democracy

Introduction The Americans are globally famous for their relentless support for democratic governance. Jacobs et al asserts that the ideals of democratically responsive governance are highly cherished by the American people (3). Ironically, the situation is markedly different within the American government even as they actively support democracy in other countries. With the growing inequality issues in the country, the ideals of democratic governance have been highly compromised.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Inequality and American Democracy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The major disparities existing are mostly noticeable within the public domain (Jacobs et al. 3). Primarily, the issue is about income differences, opportunities for wealth creation and equal citizenship (Jacobs et al. 3). These gaps are growing rapidly in the United States compared to any other country in the world. Yet the US still conside rs herself the world’s greatest advocates of democracy. The American government is making little or no progress in the efforts to realize the democratic ideals set forth by the founding fathers of the nation. Equal rights The American society is the most culturally diverse in the world and this comes with a number of challenges as well. There were steps made to achieve equality in the 1950s and 1960s at the height of racism. Racial segregation and exclusion became illegal and socially unacceptable hence moving a step towards equality (Jacobs et al. 4). This allowed the white and black community to access education in the same schools and get access to health services in the same health facilities. This was a good gesture towards democratic governance. It is also worth noting that major gender based barriers started to break down during the same time and women were empowered to pursue academic, political, and economic opportunities just as men did (Jacobs et al. 4). Other marg inalized groups like the Latin Americans also got access to equal rights on an equal footing with the rest of the Americans. Notably, the previous barriers that promoted inequalities such as race, gender, ethnicity to mention but a few do not exist today. Nonetheless, new barriers that are fostering inequality in the American society have emerged and they are rapidly spreading within the government and the country at large posing a threat to the realization of democracy. The greatest of these barriers is the gaps in income and wealth between the Americans (Jacobs et al. 4). The gap between the rich and the poor is greatly increasing owing to disparities in income especially in the private and the civil sectors. This gap is increasingly creating a major segregation in the job market as well as in schools and colleges. Apparently, the rich and the wealthy are better positioned to cease opportunities that are out of reach for the middle and lower income classes. Consequently, the rich are in a position to get richer while limiting access to resources by the poor man. That is why the saying that the rich will continue to get rich while the poor man becomes poorer is very true.Advertising Looking for essay on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Some element of racist treatments is also present in school among students. In America today, one has to work very hard in order to maintain his or her current economic position (Jacobs et al. 5). One would expect that through hard work, there would be an upward mobility in the economic ladder but that is not normally the case in the US. Inequality in contributions on national matters Voicing the needs of the American people has never been easy and only a selected few can do this. The opportunity to exercise one’s right in the US does not come easily as there are factors that influence the ear of the government. These factors include a high income, occup ational or career success, and high levels of academic achievements (Jacobs et al. 4). Members who fit in these criteria are more likely to participate in political, social, and economic decision-making process than the ordinary citizen is. Government officials are more likely to listen to the needs of such elite citizens and deliver on their demands more promptly. Unfortunately, this is the bitter truth and the reality of the American government amidst its call for democratic governance around the world. Voting turnout has also declined since the beginning of the 21st century when the income gap began to grow rapidly. Statistics show that the majority who vote are also the elite while the low-income earners decline to exercise their democratic right to cast their votes. How does the decline of voter turnout relate to inequality? A number of decisive factors discourage or make the voting process a struggle for the electorate. The economic inequality is a major factor that discourage s the less economically privileged eligible voters from voting. There are also some laws in some states that forbid the minority from voting and a good example is the law forbidding prisoners and former prisoners from voting (Verba, Lehman, and Brady 1). In addition, the current methods of campaigns are keen on raising funds and persuading the already existing voters to vote. A more different approach is necessary to woo the non-voting yet eligible voters to get out and exercise their rights. Through campaign contributions, the rich and wealthy folks have a leeway to express and voice their demands as the platform gives them an advantage over the poor folks. Today, one can only gain justice and political influence through money and affluence thus leaving the poor man out of the standard bar. The least contributors in the national campaigns are the poor ordinary citizens while the few political donors are in charge in the political arena due to their financial influence. In order to exercise the rights of citizenship, one requires resources and skills. These requirements are only accessible to the wealthy hence the inequality. People with higher education and great careers such as doctors and lawyers among other professional have more confidence to speak compared to an ordinary citizen working as subordinate staff. Naturally, the nature of American politics gives no voice to the poor while the rich and affluent get enough attention at the expense of the poor man.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Inequality and American Democracy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Jacobs et al argues that three quarters of the well-off citizens are in one way or another associated with an organization that has great influence on the political arena (10). They also noted in their research that half of the wealthiest people in America are in contact with public officials. This gives the rich double access to publ ic resources compared to the middle and low-income earners in the US (Freeman). Government responses Government officials are highly influenced by the privileged citizens. The response of the government today in America no longer represents the will of the majority. A selected few wealthy men and women determine the future of the vast majority which is not a principle of democracy. Money has become the essential for government attention. Ironically, the already wealthy and advantaged citizens who are able to take care of themselves are the most catered for by the government. Democratic rule should ensure equality and fairness with the majority influencing the political stands. Nonetheless, in America, it is a reversed role since the minorities hold the realms of power while the majorities ride under the mercies of the few wealthy citizens. Through money, the wealthy establish relationships with government officials creating a connection that enables them to access national resources that are out of the ordinary peoples reach. This gives them a further advantage despite the fact that they already have an advantage over the poor with their wealth and money. This disparity is among the issues that are widening the gap between the rich and the poor. The gap grows wider because the more one earns, the more they gain access to resources and consequently the further the resources get away from the poor man’s reach. The effect is cyclic in that one direction influences the other. The affluent also influence government policies as well and normally, policies will always consider the needs and demands of the wealthy business communities and organized groups (Frankenberg, Orfield, and Lee). The government is always bias when responding to national issues normally bending to the side that favors the rich (Skrentny). The government is moving towards a more tragic direction by allowing a few affluent individuals to take the country hostage. The lack of spread opportu nities and the gap between the rich and the poor is a disastrous condition in any economy. What this does is that the ordinary citizen will get discouraged and be reluctant to participate in national activities. This may include voting and working, which contributes to the national financial muscles, to mention but a few. Conclusion In the United States of America, democracy is only known theoretically and not as a practical state of affair. This paper has established the facts about government inequality and bias treatment of its citizens. The striking income disparity in the country is not a good example of a democratic nation since it is in contradiction with the idea of democracy. In the above research, it is clear that democracy is not as easy to achieve as it sounds and the quality of political leaders as well as the political will to pursue democratic governance highly counts.Advertising Looking for essay on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The financial gap between the American citizens is creating a division not only affecting social interaction but also economic and political well-being. The voter turnout for instance has been on the decline since the beginning of the 21st century just when the gap begun to build up. This clearly means that income disparities greatly influence the political structure of a country. Democracy is a good leadership model that allows for equal social, economic, and political opportunities for all citizens without favoritism. The government under democratic principles must always work towards engaging the majority rule and open access of power and influence to the majority as opposed to a select few. That is the real essence of democratic governance. Works Cited Frankenberg, Erica, Chumgmei Lee, and Gary Orfield. A Multiracial Society with Segregated Schools: Are We Losing the Dream? Cambridge, MA: Harvard Civil Rights Project, 2002. Print. Freeman, Richard. Working under Different Rules. A National Bureau of Economic Research Project Report, New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation, 1994. Print. Jacobs, Lawrence, and Robert Shapiro. Politicians Don’t Pander Political Manipulation and the Loss of Democratic Responsiveness, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000. Print. Jacobs, Lawrence et al. American Democracy in an Age of Rising Inequality.  Task Force on Inequality and American Democracy American Political Science Association. 5 Sep. 2012. Web. Skrentny, John. The Minority Rights Revolution, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2002. Print. Verba, Sidney, Kay Lehman, and Henry Brady. Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American Politics, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1995. Print. This essay on Inequality and American Democracy was written and submitted by user Joslyn Carver to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Leadership Qualities Essays - Christian Soteriology, Free Essays

Leadership Qualities Essays - Christian Soteriology, Free Essays Leadership Qualities The most meaningful and challenging experiences in my life have been through sports and the 4-H club. They have instilled the values of perseverance, confidence, and teamwork within me. I feel that my peers and others could learn valuable life lessons through participating in these organizations. They are not just clubs, but a guiding light for life. For example in sports I have had the opportunity to play on both losing and winning teams. This has given me a different perspective of looking at things. I now realize that even if you fail or lose that is no reason to give up, you still have to get right back up. Just realize your mistakes and errors. Then come back the next time, mentally and physically, ready to meet the challenge. To often in life youth and adults alike fail at something and automatically think that they cannot do it, and give up. Instead of just pushing themselves to run another lap, lift another set, study for another hour, or learn another theorem. Imagine a world if the early American settlers had given in to the British, if the North had given in to the South after the first loss of the civil war, or if Michael Jordan had given up after being cut from the team in high school. People just need to learn to have perseverance and believe in themselves. 4-H has been a series of stepping stones for me. When I first started out at age four I was shy and afraid to do things that I had not done before, but now I have blossomed into a confident and outgoing young man. I no longer fear getting up in front of large groups and speaking because of the experiences I've had in public speaking events. In addition, 4-H has given me the chance to develop myself as a leader. Over the years I have held various leadership positions on the club, county, and district levels. Also, 4-H has given me the chance to go into the community and help people by leading youth in workshops, assisting the handicap and elderly, and also learn from what others have to teach. In both of these organizations I learned the need for teamwork. For example last year my football team went 0-11 and the main reason because of that was we were not a team. Everyone had there own agendas and goals that they wanted to accomplish. In addition, if we were down everyone would try to put the blame on someone else instead of trying to lift one another up. It took us a while, but we finnaly learned that we must ban together as one. This year we are playing as a team and winning games.To often in life people tend to act like this, pulling someone down to make themselves look good for ther own personal gratifacation. People could learn from this mistake that my team made last year and start helping one another. So fellow students I say to you, when you are in a jam and breaking into a cold sweat and your first desire is to give up or quit, rethink the problem. Then be up and about the task at hand. When you try and reach out to give others a helping hand you not only help them, but you will be giving yourself a boost too.

Should people be allowed to keep pitbulls Research Paper

Should people be allowed to keep pitbulls - Research Paper Example According to some sources, it is believed that â€Å"currently the breed of choice for dog fighters, pit bulls are forced to fight, they do not choose to fight.† (Aavenge.com) Even Christine Hibbard, CTC, CPDT, reported once that â€Å"No, we do not believe that Pit Bulls are inherently dangerous.† (Companionanimalsolutions.com) There are many reasons of as to why people should be allowed to keep Pit Bulls and there should not be any ban enforced in keeping them as it will not benefit the safety of the society. Firstly, as it is known that this particular breed of dog has a bad reputation because of being aggressive and violent. It totally depends on the owner as how he trains and keeps them. It will be very biased to ban them only on the type of dog. Secondly, the Pit Bulls do not require much grooming as â€Å"Their short coat is very low maintenance and they can be bathed in very little time, not that they need to be bathed often.† (Petfinder) â€Å"Pit Bulls are wonderful animals that deserve a chance to have a good life like any other dog.† (Villalobos Rescue Center) There are reports that more people have faced death by the domestic rats than Pit Bulls. It is a myth that people say Pit Bulls attack more towards the people than any other breed of dog. However, Pit Bulls do not have the strongest of jaws; it is considered as the weakest among all breeds. What makes Pit Bulls as one of the most popular and demanding type of breed is that they are very loyal to their owners. It is said that the man has made a friend for life when he buys and owns a Pit Bull. There is a same response from the dog as well as they love their owners and they do not discriminate between the mankind. But, one of the best reasons, in my opinion is that Pit Bulls do smile provides a metal boost and confidence to their owners. If the owner of Pit

Critically Review the Marketing And Corporate Communications Essay

Critically Review the Marketing And Corporate Communications Approaches Used By a Company Of Your Choice To Transmit Information - Essay Example Let us look at marketing and corporate communication approaches taken by Kenya Power Company to promote its image and to realize profit maximization. Kenya Power is a public utility company charged with the responsibility of retailing, supplying and transmitting electricity within Kenya. Marketing entails presenting, selling and advertising a product in the best way possible. The ultimate goal of the same is to build a good name and use the same to enhance improved and sustainable profits. On the other hand, corporate communication refers to a management function that controls and coordinates both internal and external communication with the core objective of maintaining a good reputation with stakeholders and all those the organization depends on (Cornelisen 2010, p.4.). From the definition, it is clear that marketing is closely related to corporate communications and are both meant to create and sustain a good image of an organization. The paper will critically review the marketing and corporate communication approaches that are used by the Kenya Power. To critically review is to carefully examine, express and explain disapprovals of something with the view of changing it if necessary. According to Cornelisen (2010, p.7), one of the approaches of corporate communications is the enhancement of corporate identity. Corporate identity is often coined in the mission and vision statements of an organization. ... This mission is designed to please the customers who are the consumers of the precious commodity, energy, from the Kenya power. This is a very good mission on papers but the question is, do the customers really have better lives, the answer is no since the Kenyan population still witness numerous power interruptions, electric faults causing fire outbreaks, and high prices that keep on escalating. This phenomenon is detrimental to the economic growth of the country and the company. The Kenya Power should have a mission that they live up to. The vision of this company is, â€Å"to provide a world class power that delights our customers.† This is a good desire but a lot still needs to be done to realize this vision and in so doing, customer satisfaction and quality service should be the core concern. Claywood ( 1997, p.8) states that â€Å"it is far less costly to keep a customer than to find a new one.† To find a new customer, an organization has to invest enormously in a dvertisement as an approach in marketing. Advertisement involves relaying persuasive information with the aim of luring customers to use a product. Advertisement is very critical in the expansion, sustainability and fair competition of any company. It involves the use of media outlets like television, radio, print media and billboards among others. To be able to compete fairly with other businesses, good strategies and far reaching advertisement is core. Kenya Power is a public utility company that enjoys monopoly of transmitting and distributing electricity in Kenya. This is why it has not been very aggressive in advertisement, for example, a serious issue like power

Nationalisation of Royal Bank of Scotland

Nationalisation of Royal Bank of Scotland Purpose The purpose of this report is to discuss the change in Royal Bank of Scotland indicated by the companys nationalization in 2008. Shareholders lost the most part of the company in favour of the government and management of the bank had to be changed. The purpose will be fulfilled by analyzing the process of nationalization and its implications for RBS. Theoretical literature provides a lot of models of change management and strategic management. For example, Ansoff (1987) model suggests four quadrants of strategy. Companies can grow by penetrating the market and winning larger market share while competitors share will shrink. Firms can also develop their key products which are their strength and this will be a strategy for expansion. The third Ansoffs (1987) strategy would be to diversify the products and operations to achieve growth. Finally, the company can choose to pursue market development which is entering new geographical areas or new niches that will help generate higher revenue. The case of RBS represents this final model of market development. The banks pursued the new market of mortgage backed securities in the US through acquisition of ABN Amro. This strategy appeared to be unsuccessful and led the bank into a position where accounting losses reached tremendous value of over 30 billion pounds in 2008 and led to national ization of the bank by the UK government. Company Overview Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc is a banking corporation with its branch Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) that is spread around United Kingdom with almost 700 sub-branches, located in Scotland, England and Wales and is one of the largest banks in UK. It was founded in 1727 and is the first bank introducing overdraft availability to its clients. Since its foundation, RBS expanded greatly, with big number of acquisition deals, such as its acquisition of NatWest Group in 2000, First Active (Ireland), Charter One (USA) , Churchill Insurance (UK) and ABN Amro (Netherlands) in 2007 (House of Commons Treasury Committee, 2008). The Royal Bank of Scotland still uses a privilege of printing its own banknotes. Until 2009, it was one of the main shareholders of the Bank of China, but had to sell its shares after the global financial crisis impact. RSB is still in the list of worlds largest banks, being on 6th position in 2003, 10th in 2007 and 19th in 2008 (Financial Ranks Online, 2009). Financial performance of RBS was changing in the last years. In 2005 group operating profit rose by 16%, with total dividend for the year increase by 25%, with capital and earnings increase. During 2006, RBS showed great results and continuing growth, with increased dividends by 25% with total income growth by 10%. With unstable position in the market and in global financial system, RBS had some problems, but managers were working toward control of the situation, however growth of the operating profit decreased by 9%, earnings per share by 18% and return on equity 19.9%. The company faced big net losses of around 7.9 billion pounds. In the 2009 bank entered hard times with reorganization in management field and in structure. (RBS Annual Report, 2005-2009). Due to changing situation in the global economy, in 2008 Royal Bank of Scotland announced its greatest loss in the banks history with the amount of 692 million pounds that was connected to unhealthy loans and 71 billion pounds as a result of incorrect deal of acquiring ABN Amro (Bradley, 2009). Prior to the global financial crisis RBS have had great profit margins and was a respected brand with long history. And it is necessary to mention that the bank was at great position in terms of facing crisis, with little impact until the decision of getting ABN Amro, which brought various problems. In 2008-2009 UK citizens were under shock of the fact that one of the largest UK banking system representatives had incredible losses and unpredictable future. At this position RBS had one way to survive seek government support. However not all UK banks suffered from consequences of global financial crisis, which can be connected with accurate and carefully planned management strategy. RBS have got some capital of about 2 billion pounds from selling its share in Bank of China and after giving up part of Linea Directa, a Spanish insurance company for about 4.5 billion pounds. However, it did not help to make a radical change of the situation (Bradley, 2009). According to Hester, current Chief Executive of the RBS Group (2009), great losses of the Group had nothing to do with management of businesses as their performance was profitable. However problems appeared mainly in two divisions Global Banking Markets and Asia Retail Commercial Banking. Their profits were crushed by market and credit losses, within fast changes in the economic conditions. At the same time top managers of the Royal Bank of Scotland were facing risks of acquisition and had limited time to make decisions. Global financial crisis had its impact in different countries, affecting economies and markets especially in terms of exchange rates. Here, decrease in sterling exchange rate had an influence on further performance of the bank and changing market position intensified the situation (Hester, 2009). In spite of the fact that financial situation became critical for many banks, RBS was still having serious and stable business. Top management was taking steps to recover from crisis consequences, in order to return capital and provide stable ground for future operation such steps included applying to government support. The strategic plan for recovery was supposed to be finished in 2009, meanwhile the focus is on long-term customer franchises, quality and profitability. Royal Bank of Scotland can be an example of the fact that in terms of global financial crisis even big and powerful organisations can face danger. It is the biggest UK company that suffered from the global economic crash. Today it is still far from recovery, having bad loans and loss before tax in the beginning of 2009 was around 44 million pounds. From the forecasts, 2009 and 2010 will still be challenging for the RBS with main focus on debt returns. Now, after current management revision, directors of RBS are more confident of future recovery and success (The Telegraph, May 2009). New Chief Executive supports the position that management must stay calm and take steps for a slow but effective recovery, rather than fast and wasting strategies in order to save more that to spend (Murchie, 2009). However, human resource management of the bank is not so confident and planning to shorten around 9000 jobs, which is about 20%. It is believed that this action will help to decrease costs of around 3 billion dollars (Global Crisis News, 2009). Moreover, RBS represented the worst results in the market, being at the bottom of banking sector in September 2009 (Frei, 2009). Aspects of Nationalisation According to Encyclopedia Britannica, nationalisation is â€Å"alteration or assumption of control or ownership of private property by the state† (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2009) with several variations in the types and motives. Nationalisation usually appears through assets or shares taken over, and this can help the company to continue its business but under control of the government. If the company is nationalised by government it can continue to produce and operate, getting some revenue and have some returns on shares. Usually this process is followed by structural reorganisation, including traditional administrative strategy and style of control (Backhaus and Wagner, 2004). As a fact, nationalisation can come in the form of expropriation, if the previous owners do not get compensation for the business and in the form of rescue tool or governmental support. Not every company can get such support; it is usually a privilege of the companies and corporations that have national importance and heritage. There is a number of examples in the UK history of nationalisation, which helped to reorganise the structure of the company as well as to get financial support (Floud and McCloskey, 1994). It is believed that nationalisation started in the UK in 1908 after the establishment of Port of London Authority with the necessity of production control (Beardshaw and Ross, 2001). Some researches mention negative effects of nationalisation, pointing that it can damage economy and banking sector. One of the problems is decreasing competitiveness, especially in banking sector (Lee, 2007). Also, financial institutions and government avoid participating in management as it can lead to further recalls of nationalisation. And when the company fails to use management as an appropriate tool, the chance of mistake gets bigger with a cause of future nationalisation (Cuthbert and Dobbins, 1980). Mainly, nationalisation has political or economic aspects and motives. When government has power to control specific corporations and their production as well as financial position, it can use the company as an instrument to correct economy. In addition, government can provide more accurate and efficient capital and assets diversification. If the company is fully nationalised, government becomes the owner of the business and has to deal with its problems and debts. Nationalisation is connected to economy, here in order to have more attractive economy, government trying to stabilise financial system through bad assets escape. There are still debates around the necessity of nationalisation and its problems. On the other hand, there is a view that this process must have temporary term, and government acts more as guardian of the company or bank for the hard period. However, one must consider that the process of nationalisation must be done correctly and carefully, with revision of all advantages and disadvantages (Richardson, 2009). Looking at the advantages of the nationalisation first comes its ability to save the company or in our case the bank from heavy and senseless assets, which were collected over the time and are representing thread of bankruptcy. This will include separation such assets from the business allowing operating more efficiently. Unnecessary assets then can be put for sale or managed by another organisation and the bank, free from problematic sectors can continues to operate. In addition, nationalization can help to restructure top management, getting rid of dilettantish approach of operating the business (Richardson, 2009). RBS is also supporting this fact and according to Montia (2009), is now selling some of its asset management business with managed capital of 30 billion pounds. In addition, it is possible that RBS will have to sell more of its business and even at the very low price that is now at the market. It is also a part of the Chief Executives recovery plan for the RBS to separa te troubled divisions from working ones with further selling of non-core parts of the business (Bradley, 2009). Without considering the advantage of nationalisation, government can continue to give money support to the banks that are big and important for the economy, but this can create the situation, where nothing will be changed and achieved. Government support can give a privilege of a competitive advantage, for example, Northern Rock could cut its prices in mortgages and insurance and attract new customers. Among disadvantages of nationalisation is management problem. In reality it is very difficult to find right and appropriate human capital for each bank in order to manage them properly. Still there will be a chance of risks regarding new borrowings, credits and market position. And these risks are now to be taken by the owner. Again the problem of unnecessary assets appears and banks need to get rid of then, basically on very low prices. In this situation market will have clear advantages of nationalisation, while banks will suffer. In addition, nationalisation is very challenging to the government. It must find labor force and money to finance the process. Future performance of the company also depends on who will be in charge could be government itself or another managing company (Richardson, 2009). In order to avoid afterward problems, other options and decisions must be revised before the final decision of nationalisation. The company must stay efficient and respond to the market and global changes in time. Management must stay open and react quickly in order to avoid critical point. Change Process: Nationalisation of RBS In the beginning it is important to discuss global economic situation which caused problems in RBS and necessity of taking radical directions, including nationalisation. UK banking sector was under pressure of economic crisis 2006-2009 and is still recovering. It all started from the US sub-prime mortgage crisis and reached the rest of the world at the beginning of 2007 with increasing debts. Most of all crisis hit banking sector, central banks and international banks worldwide. As a result the Bank of England had to decrease interest rates, and all banks were under risk of failure (Rayner, 2008). Current crisis was named the worst for the last 75 years with negative effects on many types of businesses and customers expectations (Altman, 2009). During this time period management was facing great challenges, especially risk management. In addition, it is obvious from current crisis practice that risk management can help to win the race and using various models and strategies matters (Varma, 2009). Spreading from United Stated over Europe and UK crisis attacked banking sector. UKs economy is connected to the US through trade and loans and borrowings. As a result of the continuing bankruptcy of banks, some tried to avoid it through help request from government. The first bank that was fully nationalised in UK is Northern Rock, followed by the Lloyds Banking Group with partial control from the government. Some researchers put nationalisation under meaning of rescue, and as a fact not all banks or companies were getting such rescuing package from the UK government. In the case of Northern Rock, decision was made according to the point that this bank is special and its failure can cause growing instability in the UK banking sector (Tomasic, 2008). This also can be true about the Royal Bank of Scotland as it is bank with great history, representing Scottish nation as part of Britain, with its own printed banknotes and heritage. In spite of the fact that many banks across the world were put into critical situation, having choices of selling just assets or banks itself, not many were rescued (Woods, Humphrey, Dowd, Liu, 2009). In the report of the House of Commons Treasury Committee (April, 2008) it is discussed that in October 2008 RBS introduced new plan of rescue with capital amount of 20 billion pounds, however, shareholders were getting unattractive returns and government had to rescue RBS through acquisition of major part of its shares. At that time point nationalisation was inevitable in relation to future life of the RBS. Looking at the managerial problems that caused such consequences it can be pointed that RBSs top management along with its prior Chief Executive, Sir Fred Goodwin was taking over optimistic decisions as well as misunderstanding of the critical situation. Wrong decisions were made due to fast process of the economic worsening in UK and globally. According to Hester, RBS was suffering from great downturn due to prior decisions. In addition wrong risk management strategies that were adopted at that time made even worse, in particular control issues. It seems that RBS had a great balance sheet for a long time period and was not prepared for immediate change. In 2007, RBS made a crucial decision of taking over ABN Amro bank, in cooperation with Fortis and Santander banks, this resulted in RBSs independence of private organization. Acquisition of the ABN Amro was a wrong step to take in the thread of economic crisis which made RBS unable to finish its strategic plan. Newly formed group was defenseless in the worsening situation of market changes (House of Commons Treasury Committee, 2008). The step of huge expenditure, acquiring ABN Amro in wrong time, could have been avoided by managers of RBS. Even more, loss of around 72 billion Euros intensified critical situation. Managerial decisions of this acquisition were made without disclose of credit and asset problems in ABN Amro prior to the deal. In addition, this decision was influenced by shareholders, here 94.5% of them agreed on acquisition and it may appear that they pressed top management to finish the deal. However, RBS directors and top managers agreed about the deal with unanimity. Consequence of this deal is big loss in 2008 of around 30 billion pounds instead of assumed profit. The change associated with acquisition of ABN Amro was a representation of Ansoffs (1987) market development strategy. RBS attempted to expand into the US market geographically and in addition the company attempted to profit from dealing with US mortgage backed securities. However, the failure of the strategy caused the banks to suffer losses and request the help from the government which acquired the shares of the business. The process of nationalisation of the RBS began with basic rescue program. In October 2008, RBS started new strategic program in order to increase capital. One of the solutions was to offer ordinary shares at a price of 65.5 pence per share. The offer consisted shares for 15 billion pounds. HM Treasury has got around 12% for 5 billion pounds and later on around 57.9% of shares were acquired by the Government. Decisions that were made by RBS and Government were directed to the achievement of more stable bank position and additional resources for strength and further capital enlargement. Government and the bank deny that there was a strategy of total nationalisation and when financial position of RBS will be stable, it will again be under private ownership (Webster, 2008). It can be argued that this nationalization is an example of emergent change rather than planned strategy (Whittington, 1993). Emergency was caused by the high dependency of the bank on the inflow of cash for sustaining its operations. Whittington (1993) proposed four basic approaches to strategy. These can be classified as classical, systematic, evolutionary and processual. Classical approach suggests that the companys strategy would be to maximize profit. Evolutionary approach suggests that the environment will select the strongest businesses. The systematic approach suggests that social environment will determine business strategy. The change in RBS is processual because it implies that the company consists of different stakeholders who have their own interests and ambitions. The goal of the management is to satisfy the interest of each stakeholder. If RBS was not nationalized and this changed was not made, the society, employees and even shareholders would suffer negative effects. However, it can be argued that the nationalization might have hurt shareholders even more because the value of their equity has gone down as the share price plummeted. PEST Analysis of RBS The change in the organization connected with the process of nationalization can be reflected in the PEST analysis of the company: Political Factors The Ownership of the bank is changed in favour of the UK government; Bail out was done out of the UK government budget; Support of the government will have positive effects on financial matters; Governments support will cause managers to act in the interests of the government rather than shareholders. Economic Factors Interest rates declined; so demand for lending can rise; Financial Crisis in the UK and the world may further deteriorate performance of the banks and additional capital may be required from the government. Social Factors The change in the bank is also connected with restructuring of the company and lay offs; Rising unemployment is a negative consequence of business failures such as RBS. Technological Factors Technologies are constantly improving and this facilitates the banking business of RBS because some costs are being reduced and the work is being optimised; However, since the ownership of the company changed from shareholders to the government, management will be rather interested in meeting the objectives of the government rather than optimising the work with new technologies. Conclusion Royal Bank of Scotland is now almost entirely owned by British government around 70%. Today, RBS is among first banks to enter new program named asset protection plan. In 2009 RBS had suffered of worst loss of about 24.1 billion pounds and adopted plan of survival. Some analysts point that as the RBS is not fully nationalised it can still face the risks and fail to satisfy investors expectations. As resent investors rate increased with great returns there is number of requests to have RBS fully nationalised (Werdigier, 2009). It is hard to judge whether RBS could have avoid nationalisation in the situation when it is hard to turn back and see other choices. However, there were some managerial mistakes that could have been avoided. Poor change management was not ready to face difficulties and get over them. Besides the acquisition of the ABN Amro that was already discussed, there was another managerial mistake of continuing dividend increase after the change in earnings that were decreasing. Trying to attract new investors with high dividends and please current shareholders, management put the business under risk of failure. After the ABN Amro deal, this, along with unhealthy assets that were not sold in time had lead RBS to the final step of nationalisation. Being attractive for investors and shareholders for a short time period RBS created consequences where investors of the company became most affected by nationalisation. Prior to the crisis RBS was a profitable company with attractive position. Later on there was a decrease of the UK shares market and dramatic drop in RBS share prices. Overall at the point that RBS entered in 2008, nationalisation seems to be the last chance of survival. It can give some extra time to make new strategic plan and to recover from the financial instability. There is still a chance for RBS in the future to become profitable, independent and private company. References Altman, R.C. (2009) The Great Crash, 2008 , Foreign Affairs, January/February [Online]. Available at http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/63714/roger-c-altman/the-great-crash-2008# [Accessed 27 October 2009]. Ansoff, I. (1987) Strategic Management, New York: Wiley Backhaus, J.G., Wagner, R.E. (2004) Handbook of public finance, Birkhà ¤user, pp. 554. Beardshaw, J., Ross, A. (2001) Economics: a students guide, Pearson Education, pp.740. Bradley, J. (2009) ‘RBS tipped for  £1.5bn Profit a Year After Crash, The Scotsman, July 19, [Online]. Available at http://business.scotsman.com/business/RBS-tipped-for-15bn-profit.5473605.jp [Accessed 29 October 2009]. Cuthbert, N., Dobbins, R. (1980) ‘Managerial Participation by Pension Funds and Other Financial Institutions, Managerial Finance, Vol.6, 3: 43-48. Encyclopedia Britannica (2009) ‘Nationalization, [Online]. Available at http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/405796/nationalization [Accessed 28 October 2009]. Financial Ranks (2008) ‘Worlds Largest Banks 2008 Update, [Online]. Available at http://financialranks.com/?p=69 [Accessed 27 October 2009]. Floud, R., McCloskey, D.N. (1994) The Economic History of Britain since 1700 3 volume set, Cambridge University Press, UK, pp.400. Frei, E. (2009) ‘RBS leads 100, London banking sector lower, Finance Markets, September 21, [Online]. Available at http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/2009/09/21/rbs-leads-100-london-banking-sector-lower/ [Accessed 29 October 2009]. Global Crisis News (2009) ‘Royal Bank of Scotland to cut 9000 Jobs, April 7, [Online]. Available at http://www.globalcrisisnews.com/europe/royal-bank-of-scotland-to-cut-9000-jobs/id=775/ [Accessed 29 October 2009]. Hester, S. (2009) ‘Group Chief Executives Review, RBS Annual Report and Accounts 2008, [Online]. Available at http://www.rbs.com/microsites/gra2008/gce_review/index.html [Accessed 27 October 2009]. House of Commons Treasury Committee (2008) ‘Banking Crisis: Dealing With the Failure of the UK Banks, 7th report of session 2008-2009, April 21, [Online]. Available at http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmselect/cmtreasy/416/416.pdf [Accessed 27 October 2009]. Lee, Kam-Hon (2007) ‘Chinese Banking in Asias Market Economies, Marketing Panoramic Review, Vol. 2: 24-26. Montia, G. (2009) ‘RBS to sell asset management business, September 28, [Online]. Available at http://www.bankingtimes.co.uk/28092009-rbs-to-sell-asset-management-business/ [Accessed 29 October 2009]. Murchie, K. (2009) ‘RBS boss fears ‘lost decade, Finance Markets, September 13, [Online]. Available http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/2009/09/13/rbs-boss-fears-%e2%80%98lost-decade%e2%80%99/ [Accessed 29 October 2009]. Rayner, G. (2008) Financial crisis: Stock markets across world fall amid emergency bank rescues, The Telegraph, 08 October, [Online]. Available at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/3160869/Financial-crisis-Stock-markets-across-world-fall-amid-emergency-bank-rescues.html [Accessed 27 October 2009]. RBS Annual Report and Accounts (2005) [Online]. Available at http://www.shareholder.com/visitors/dynamicdoc/document.cfm?CompanyID=RBSdocumentID=1108PIN=209446200resizeThree=noScale=100Keyword=type%20keyword%20herePage=6 [Accessed 27 October 2009]. RBS Annual Report and Accounts (2006) [Online]. Available at http://www.rbs.com/microsites/gra2006/default.asp [Accessed 27 October 2009]. RBS Annual Report and Accounts (2007) [Online]. Available at http://www.rbs.com/microsites/gra2007/index.asp [Accessed 27 October 2009]. RBS Annual Report and Accounts (2008) [Online]. Available at http://www.rbs.com/microsites/gra2008/index.html [Accessed 27 October 2009]. Richardson, M. (2009) ‘The Case For and Against Bank Nationalization, VOX, [Online]. Available at http://www.voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/3143 [Accessed 28 October 2009]. The Telegraph (2009) ‘RBS expects bad loans to mount in 2009, May 8, [Online]. Available at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/5294644/RBS-expects-bad-loans-to-mount-in-2009.html [Accessed 29 October 2009]. Tomasic, R. (2008) ‘The Rescue of Northern Rock: Nationalization in the Shadow of Insolvency, Corporate Rescue and Insolvency, Vol. 1, 4: 109-111. Varma, J.R. (2009) ‘Risk Management Lessons from the Global Financial Crisis for Derivative Changes, Indian Institute of Management working paper, February, pp. 2-26. Webster, P. (2008) ‘Royal Bank of Scotland under State Control, The Times, October, 13, [Online]. Available at http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article4932250.ece [Accessed 29 October 2009]. Werdigier, J.(2009) ‘Record Loss at Royal Bank of Scotland, The New York Times, February 26, [Online]. Available at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/27/business/worldbusiness/27rbos.html?_r=1 [Accessed 27 October 2009]. Woods, M., Humphrey, C., Dowd, K., Liu, Y. (2009) ‘Crunch Time For Bank Audits? Questions of Practice and the Scope for Dialogue, Managerial Auditing Journal, Vol. 24, 2: 114-134.

Proctor in The Crucible :: Arthur Miller

The Crucible In the The Crucible by Arthur Miller, justice is raped by the immorality of those who kill for pleasure. Salem 1690’s, an epidemic of accusations is going around the village. Women, Men and Children are accusing others of witchcraft. More than a dozen of girls fell ill, everything attributed to the devil. Men and Women are being killed by immoral accusations, some of them because of land disputes, but others because of forbidden passions. A forbidden passion between Proctor and Abigail leads into the tragedy of the play. Proctor is a man with a lot of moral problems, who always concerns only for the care of his family and social welfare. When avoiding his involvement in the trails of witchcraft, he is accused of witchery and sentenced to death. Arthur Miller shows us Proctor as a common farmer, who is honest, and respectable, who only cares for his family. Proctor lives in the town with his wife and their children. Nevertheless, as the play goes, Miller lets us know that Proctor has a significant secret, an extramarital relation with Abigail Williams, relation that was over for Proctor, but not for Abigail. In the following passage Abigail tells Proctor, why she loves him: â€Å"I look for John Proctor that took me from my sleep and put knowledge in my heart! I never knew what pretense Salem was, I never knew the lying lessons I was thought by all these christians women and their covenanted men! and now you bid me tear the light out of my eyes? I will not, I cannot! You loved me, John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet.†(page 177) Abigail does not want to believe that everything is over between her and Proctor. For Proctor everything is something of the past, while there is something in him that makes him feel love for Abigail. On the other hand, for Abigail, Proctor is everything and will make everything possible to get his love. Love that will soon come a passion that will set the tragedy in the play. In addition, this affair causes Elizabeth to not believe Proctor, which causes lack of communication between the matrimony. Proctor, who for seven months was trying to get Elizabeth trust again is tired of her suspicions, and tells that, â€Å"Spare me! you forget nothing and forgive nothing. Learn charity, woman.