Russia in Wto free essay sample

Affaires Master of International Business Essay â€Å"Russian Federation in WTO: Advantages and disadvantages† Written by understudy Alexandra S. Gudimova MIB bunch Moscow 2013 Content Introduction3 Russian Federation in WTO: advantages4 Russian Federation in WTO: disadvantages6 Controversial issues8 Market access for products †levy and standard commitments8 Conclusion9 References11 Introduction Russian Federation an essential piece of the worldwide network. Characterizing the individual way of monetary and political turn of events, of our nation anyway can't stay standoffish from the procedures occurring around. The cutting edge world is directing its terms, and any State has the option to conclude whether to acknowledge them or not. Furthermore, if State takes, it must be genuinely or revised at the highlights of the turn of events. Russias promotion to the WTO, to which nation was going neither more nor under 18 years, is simply such a stage thinking about the fundamental circumstance of world financial procedures, Russia couldn't take them totally because of various national attributes. We will compose a custom exposition test on Russia in Wto or then again any comparative point explicitly for you Don't WasteYour Time Recruit WRITER Just 13.90/page What's more, Russian Federation on its approach to join the World Trade Organization confronted numerous snags both political and financial, and furthermore social issues. There was even an endeavor to hold a choice against the passage of Russia into the WTO; notwithstanding, this endeavor has not succeeded. Thus, August 22, 2012 can be viewed as the beginning stage of another phase of improvement of the Russian Federation it turned into an official individual from the WTO one hundred and fifty 6th individual from the WTO (156-th). It got to on good standing. Among the Big Twenty Russian Federation entered the WTO the last. Be that as it may, these days the contention regarding that matter doesn't stop. In this article I attempt to comprehend what sort of advantages our nation will pick up because of this move and will explain if there are any minuses of Russias promotion to the World Trade Organization. The World Trade Organization was set up in 1994 and is the replacement to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which, thusly, has existed since 1947. These days  the association controls about 97% of world exchange. The principle targets of the WTO are the advancement of worldwide exchange, commitment to the financial development in part nations and subsequently the expansion of government assistance of their residents. So as to settle on choices of such difficult issues archives have been created inside the structure and, obviously, their execution ought to be obligatory by all individuals from WTO. Without a doubt, Russias promotion to the WTO isn't equal with its brilliant monetary future, in light of the fact that each procedure has both positive and negative sides. Russian Federation in WTO: points of interest 1) Improving the picture of the nation as an equivalent member in world exchange. Diminishing hindrances to worldwide exchange advertise. Free access to set up universal question goals plots in the field of exchange (there is exceptional Commission for the settlement of debates in WTO). More open doors for Russian speculators to partake in the economies of the nations individuals from the WTO. 2) Increase in rivalry in the budgetary division thus it could be the decrease of advance rates for family units and for little and medium-sized organizations. 3) The modernization of the national economy as per the prerequisites of the these days phase of advancement of exchange and financial relations. Numerous Russian makers will be compelled to give unique consideration to the nature of their items so as to furnish it with high intensity else it will be difficult to enter the world market. 4) Reduction of charges. Therefore the quantity of imported merchandise will get less expensive (for example: prescriptions, nourishments, garments, IT-items, and so on ). Unquestionably from this decrease will profit just buyers, anyway Russian makers may lose. There will be likewise a decrease in send out obligations, which will prompt the way that Russian fares will likewise increment. From that decay will profit mostly characteristic asset enterprises. Remote organizations will be progressively dynamic in the Russian market and will upgrade rivalry. Therefore Russian merchandise will likewise get less expensive. 6) Entrance into the WTO is a significant advance for our nation. The Russian outside monetary action will turn out to be increasingly unsurprising and stable. Therefore, it very well may be normal an expansion in the quantity of outside speculation. Additionally, presumably, the ruble will turn out to be less unpredictable. 7) The straightforwardness of exchange laws of WTO individuals. Positively, it is consistently simpler to construct exchange and financial relations with an away from of the places of the gatherings, with no entanglements. There will be a help for exchange and monetary interests during the time spent appropriation of new enactment in the field of global exchange. Autonomous specialists guarantee: * Accession to the WTO is sure for the Russian economy, as it expect the improvement of the speculation atmosphere in the nation and the likely fascination of the new advancements in the economy. The expansion in the volume of outside speculations because of Russias increase to the WTO could sum at any rate a couple of percent of GDP, while the decrease of charges under understandings (import and fare) will be just 430 billion rubles or 0.8% of GDP. Russia’s Accession of WTO Membership is additionally positive for the Russian spending plan, as indicated by, estimates; the development of outside exchange will develop in the coming a long time at around 10% every year, so it very well may be very hopeful about the possibilities for the government financial plan and the state treasury pay development. The master accepts that the principle recipients of Russias increase to the WTO will be Iron industry (ferrous and non-ferrous metals), oil and gas businesses, compound and buyer segment and the vehicle division, and so forth. The fundamental advantage of joining the WTO will be felt by exporters, as it will be simpler for them to work, since participation in the association takes out the chance of the presentation of defensive obligations on traded Russian items. This will assist with making increasingly gainful fare arranged enterprises with high included worth, which will improve the structure of the Russian economy and will assist with diminishing reliance on oil and gas sends out. Russian Federation in WTO: weaknesses 1)  Many Russian organizations will be not able to contend. Accordingly there will be lost positions; the quantity of jobless will increment. Especially genuine outcomes will be in single-industry city, where as a result of the chapter 11 of city-framing venture can emerge a social blast. 2) The decrease of import obligations could prompt the way that various merchandise would be unbeneficial to create in Russia. The most serious hazard is for the agrarian division (both harvest and domesticated animals). 3) Reduction of import obligations may negatively affect the local vehicle industry the deluge of second-hand imported vehicles is an immediate danger to Russian automakers. (Model: The traditions obligation for import of trade-in vehicles, as of not long ago, was in excess of 40 000 Euros. After Russias increase to the WTO, it will fall by multiple occasions). 4) Reduction of fare obligations will prompt further spending shortfall, which will be paid by the discharge of government bonds. This may prompt an expansion in open obligation, with all its further results. 5) . The Russian economy will lose extensive adaptability in the remote exchange. For instance, Russia won't be capable so ardently ensure our vehicle industry, which is currently in the nursery conditions, and in the midst of dry season won't have the option to set a ban on agrarian items, as it was in 2010. It will be progressively hard for Russian Federation to dispose of reliance on crude materials. Free specialists guarantee: * Analysts contend that there are not many ventures in Russia which will pick up burdens of joining the WTO, however for the most defenseless among them (specifically farming, creation of vehicles, apparatus, and light industry) it has had the option to get longer progress periods for 5-7 years. This will permit to these enterprises to plan all the more viably for increase to the WTO. These enterprises will experience the ill effects of the way that there will be countless the all the more intriguing products to purchasers with regards to terms of the cost and quality, likewise, some household organizations in these parts will lose a huge volume of deals, income and benefit because of expanded rivalry. * However, it is likely while breaking down the IRR (inward pace of return) of the task to set up its own creation or to begin bringing in certain merchandise; business visionaries reach the resolution that net import is additionally intriguing and beneficial. For this situation, none of the Russian ruble will get from this enrollment in WTO. There will be just misfortunes as the decrease of expenses would execute residential makers, which promptly causes the development of joblessness and social breakdown, and even a progressive circumstance. * What will happen to Russia can be seen by inspecting what has befallen different nations that joined the WTO, the economy of which were as ill-equipped as Russias. For instance, in the Ukraine, which joined the WTO in May 2008, came the emergency in vehicle industry (- 57% in 2009) and the decay of certain segments of horticulture. For instance, there was the decline in the creation of flour (- 10% in 2009 and - 13% in 2011. ), in bread shop items (- 8% in 2009 and - 9% in 2011. ), in dairy productsâ (- 8% in 2009 and - 10% in 2011. ). Fell forcefully the creation of hamburger, veal and pork (- 21% in 2009 and - 12% in 2011. ). Dubious issues notwithstanding positive and negative parts of Russias WTO promotion there are still some disputable issues. These incorporate the slow vanishing of one-organization towns (single-industry city). An

Odysseus & Aeneas Essays - Odyssey, Trojans, Julio-Claudian Dynasty

Odysseus and Aeneas Essays - Odyssey, Trojans, Julio-Claudian Dynasty Odysseus and Aeneas On the off chance that there is any likelihood that an examination could be made with the well known excursions of Odysseus and Aeneas, it must be realized that Aeneas is really a legend in search of his own spirit while Odysseus is a legend attempting to locate his previous lifestyle and it could be said, his old soul. The Aeneid is a significant otherworldly mission, which makes it exceptional in old writing and interestingly with the Odyssey. Just Virgil admits to the chance that a character can change, develop, and create. In the storys prior stages, the character of Aeneas is clearly uncertain of himself, continually looking for guidelines from his dad or from the divine beings before conceding to any game-plan. In the black market he sees a point of view of things to come history of Rome down to the hour of Augustus, and that vision gives him the self-assurance to follow up on his own drive. Relatively, Odysseus is driven however his excursion starting with clear fearlessness and proceeding with a vindictive force. While checking on the legends incredible excursion, I thought about whether Aeneas was extraordinary since his destiny made him incredible or was he extraordinary in light of the fact that he had the boldness and assurance to satisfy the job destiny gave him? There is a side to Aeneas, I took note that isn't exceptionally noteworthy, in any event, when I could nearly comprehend why he feels the way he does. He is miserable, tired, continually sitting tight for his dad or the divine beings to guide him. Be that as it may, Aeneas consistently satisfies his obligation to his family, to his nation, and to the divine beings, even at the point when he is discouraged. He is rarely egotistical. He generally puts his duty to others first. In that manner, his activities all through his excursion to the black market were fairly unique that Odysseus. In Aeneas case, he also was as incredible of a survivor as Odysseus. Truth be told, he in any event matches him in the manner that he is one of those individuals who can lose everything and still start from the very beginning once more. Aeneas goes from being a casualty of the Greeks at Troy to turning into a vanquisher in Italy. Virgils Aeneas is the main character in Western writing who really changes and creates. His battles assist him with finding what his identity is and what he believes is significant. In the event that I needed to name one quality that characterizes Aeneas all through his excursion, it is his commitment to obligation, a quality that the Romans called pietas or devotion. This quality keeps him going in any event, when he would prefer to disregard his destiny. At last, this equivalent quality causes him to acknowledge, even welcome, that destiny. Since, when Aeneas at long last understands that all his endeavors will make the heavenly Roman Empire potential, his adoration for his family and his nation are satisfied. The outcome is that the Aeneas we see toward the finish of the Aeneid is decided, certain about himself, and sure that he realizes what is correct. He has gotten a incredible pioneer who can force request on individuals who show increasingly narrow minded and raucous feelings. Odysseus, as the great meaning of his name proposes, is really and person who raises extraordinary ruckus. All through the Odyssey, there are many immediate and aberrant conditions in which Odysseus unleashes ruin upon others. He leaves Troy, battles at the island of Ismaros, and witnesses the languid existence of the Lotos Eaters. He blinds and afterward stunts the one-looked at savage, Cyclopes, the child of Poseidon. Inevitably, he even covers Elpenor, one of his team individuals who was slaughtered during this difficulty. Never does he start nor end with an absence of fearlessness anyplace near the one displayed by Aeneas at the beginning of his excursion. After his first phase of destruction, Odysseus opposes the melody of the Seirenes, and sails between the whirlpool and the precipice, embodied by the names of Skylla and Kharybdis. In any case, his men tragically eat the illegal steers of the sun god, Helios. So Zeus wrecks Odysseus transport, suffocating the entirety of his men. Odysseus figures out how to endure Skylla and Kharybdis once more, and washes up at Ogygia Island where he remains eight years with Kalypso. After all that, he is as yet ready to fabricate a boat and set out again for Ithaka, yet he becomes wrecked by Poseidon and swims to Skheria, where Nausikaa, King Alkinoos little girl, discovers him. Homer appears to deliberately interest us by having other characters portray Odysseus, He had no adversaries, your

a semester

a semester I’m huddled in an office chair in a tiny box-studio in Lexington, MA, where I’m living for the summer with my partner. Campus is 40 100 minutes away. Getting to MIT is a “commute” now. The bus chugs through the residential areas, stopping at every block to let out tired adults. It’s a “school bus” for the working class. And it’s odd to realize that I am part of it, not a mere tourist or spectator of the rush hour crowd. I go to MIT for work, wait for a packed train, then bus, and arrive home with the sense of overwhelming relief. MIT has been home, sure, but it doesn’t quite compare to a remote and private location that you have to clean and pay for in full, where you are the master of the domain, kitchen and bathroom included. Plus nothing beats coming home to someone. This is the closest to adulthood I’ve ever been. Next achievement to unlock: receiving and paying the electricity bill. The majority of my friends have left for different parts of the world, at least for the beginning of the summer. Over here, my Google search for “entertainment near me” only returns several toy stores and food venues plus a car rental facility. The two nearest movie theatres don’t even show all the new film releases. But we do have a Trader Joe’s, a Walgreens, and a Starbucks just three minutes away. Also, our studio has cable, which somewhat makes up for the lack of group outings and physical entertainment. The service is not much, objectively, but for me it’s a big deal. I finally have HBO access. Another in-house activity: I have to “cook” some days. You’ll be surprised how much one can concoct with just a microwave: “delicious meals in minutes.” It’s quiet and peaceful. No young people around. A quaint ice cream store close to home. Large nearby houses that make me feel conflicted about whether I want to someday own one or stick to the idea that they are too much space and resources for one family. So I guess I’m adjusting to suburban life: surprise of the summer #1. I’m a junior? It’s about to be Year 3 of MIT and I’m 3 times more confused about life goals. Every class adds new knowledge of passions and dislikes, new hero-professors to aspire to. But an assortment of interests and idols isn’t much help for figuring out life. I know my favorite branch of political philosophy and my favorite sassy philosopher. I know two or more MIT professors who I would love to be, for their knowledge and even more for their kindness. The truly great philosophy instructors at MIT respect every student’s input, never claim to have the correct interpretation, and interact with everyone on a first-name basis. They invite you to their offices to discuss your papers. It’s bizarrely wonderful. Bonus: all the other awesome HASS courses I could’ve taken this semester, seen in the elevator of the Humanities building, 14 N. (plus note MIT’s newest foreign language offered: Korean) I’ve covered most of these in previous posts (here and here). Still working at TSL (Teaching Systems Lab) to create materials for a (future) competency-based graduate school of education, Woodrow Wilson Academy. During the summer, I’ll be doing a blown up version of this UROP, going from 6 to 30 hours a week, right in time for the creation of a new batch of competency-based challenges. I’ll be writing, reading, video-making, and prototype-testing. Plus other stuff as needed. The Planned Parenthood Youth Advocate program is sadly entirely over, at least for now. I might get to help out next year as well, but not in the same capacity. So right now I’m searching for something new and edgy to do in the outside-of-MIT world. I’ve enjoyed hearing non-MIT perspectives and experiences through the Planned Parenthood program. You get used to the comfortable college “monoculture.” At MIT, everyone has taken (or will at some point take) Physics and Calculus but no-one can have three majors. The social justice discussions are not quite like those at Harvard or Wellesley. Sometimes, it’s good to leave. Still, on-campus activities are important too. MIT living groups facilitate friendships, but student group participation is also essential (see list of MIT student groups here). Over IAP, I joined Peer Ears, a group dedicated to supporting fellow students in their living groups. We get trained by MIT Mental Health to be active listeners and resources to those struggling with stress and mental health. To put it simply, Peer Ears are your next-door “trained” friends. We also get a budget to organize events and workshops in our dorms. Now it’s summer, and the group is restructuring, so it’s a great time to be a part of it. Plus every Peer Ear kind of has to be a good active listener. So making connections is rather simple. There’s not much else to do right now, but work is definitely going to build up from 10 hours this week to 40 hours a week sometime soon. Looking forward to having a real person job experience. After a packing/moving all-nighter on my last day at MIT, I went on an early search for breakfast. Turns out that 6 am, a time usually closer to my going-to-bed time, is beautiful. Everything looks extra-vividly green. The air is fresh. The sounds of humans are rare. Perhaps because it was my last day at East Campus, the dorm and its surroundings looked particularly beautiful. Pictures below. And that’s about it, folks. How was your semester? EC in spring and in the fall: still selling for $20 OBO (now with a courtyard trampoline!) between the Media Lab and East Campus (+ a bit of Boston’s Prudential Center in the sky) Green trees, grass, and Building Transparent Horizons (the metal piece of “art”): meticulously buried in snow and toilet paper, still standing Squirrel! Bonus: seen in the Infinite Corridor, Building 4

How Sociologists Define Human Agency

Agency refers to the thoughts  and actions taken by people that express their individual power. The core challenge at the center of the field of sociology is understanding the relationship  between structure and agency. Structure refers to the complex and interconnected set of social forces, relationships, institutions, and elements of social structure that work together to shape the thought, behavior, experiences, choices, and overall life  courses of people. In contrast, agency is the power people have to think for themselves and act in ways that  shape their experiences and life trajectories. Agency can take individual and collective forms. Relationship Between Social Structure and Agency Sociologists understand the relationship between social structure and agency to be an ever-evolving dialectic. In the simplest sense, a dialectic refers to a relationship between two things, each of which has the ability to influence the other, such that a change in one requires a change in the other. To consider the relationship between structure and agency a dialectical one is to assert that while social structure shapes individuals, individuals (and groups) also shape social structure. After all, society is a social creation -- the creation and maintenance of social order require the cooperation of individuals connected through social relationships. So, while the lives of individuals are shaped by the existing social structure, they none the less have the ability --  the  agency  -- to make decisions and express them in behavior. Reaffirm Social Order or Remake It Individual and collective agency may serve to reaffirm social order by reproducing norms and existing social relationships, or it may serve to challenge and remake social order by going against the status quo to create new norms and relationships. Individually, this might look like rejecting the gendered norms of dress. Collectively, the ongoing civil rights battle to expand the definition of marriage to same-sex couples shows agency expressed through political and legal channels. The Link to Disenfranchised Populations The debate about the relationship between structure and agency often comes up when sociologists study the lives of disenfranchised and oppressed populations. Many people, social scientists included, often slip into the trap of describing such populations as if they have no agency. Because we recognize the power of  social structural elements  like economic class stratification, systemic racism, and patriarchy, to determine life chances and outcomes, we might think that the poor, people of color, and women and girls are universally oppressed by social structure, and thus, have no agency.  When we look at macro trends and longitudinal data, the big picture is read by many as suggesting as much. Agency Is Alive and Well However, when we look sociologically at the everyday lives of people among disenfranchised and oppressed populations, we see that agency is alive and well, and that it takes  many forms. For example, many perceive the life  course of black and Latino boys, especially those who are born into lower socioeconomic classes, as largely predetermined by a raced and classed social structure that corrals poor folks into neighborhoods devoid of employment and resources, pours them into underfunded and understaffed schools, tracks them into remedial classes, and disproportionately polices and punishes them. Yet, despite a social structure that produces such troubling phenomena, sociologists have found that black and Latino boys,  and other disenfranchised and oppressed groups,  exert agency in this social context in a variety of ways. It Takes Many Forms Agency might take the form of demanding respect from teachers and administrators, doing well in school, or even disrespecting teachers, cutting classes, and dropping out. While the latter instances might seem like individual failings, in the context of oppressive social environments, resisting and rejecting authority figures that steward oppressive institutions have been documented as an important form of self-preservation, and thus, as agency. Simultaneously, agency in this context may also take the form of staying in school and working to excel, despite the social structural forces that work to impede such success.

Women and Police Brutality - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1819 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2019/03/29 Category Society Essay Level High school Tags: Police Brutality Essay Did you like this example? Police brutality is one of several forms of police misconduct, which involves undue violence by police officers. It seems to happen in several countries, but very often in the United States against African-Americans. Studies show that the US police kill more in days than other countries do in years. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Women and Police Brutality" essay for you Create order (The Guardian, 2018). Generally, when individuals discuss police violence against African-Americans; recurring names such as Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Eric Garner continuously appear in broadcast media. It is very rare that police violence against women is brought to the publics attention. My conclusion is that there may be more women victims of police violence than there are men. The 2016 Census stated that 58.3% of the U.S. population was women (Census Quickfacts, 2016). This percentage could correlate to women having more incidents of police brutality than men. These statistics, based on research, are not currently studied, so we would not know. The lack of official definition of brutality could lead to instances of police brutality that are not categorized as such. Police brutality against women should not be silenced and should be brought to societys attention. Kimberle Crenshaw is a civil rights advocate, and a leading scholar of the race theory (Law UCLA). She is also a professor of law at UCLA and Columbia Law School. Crenshaw has worked on a variety of issues pertaining to gender and race in the domestic violence literature. Some examples include violence against women, systematic racial discrimination, and affirmative action. She also the creator of the say her name movement. Which is a movement is a social movement that seeks to raise awareness for black female victims of police brutality and anti-black violence in the United States. ( Why Kimberle Crenshaw is fighting for forgotten women). Kimberle Crenshaw has contributed many good deeds to the women community. By Crenshaw creating the movement, she brought exposure to the discriminatory experiences by women of color. More than 70 black women have died at the hands of the police in the past three years( The Guardian, 2016). Yes, the familiar Sandra Bland case that went worldwide. The event that took place with Sandra Bland she was pulled over for failing to signal while changing lanes. Eventually, Bland was arrested and found hanged in her cell. Her death still goes unsolved ( Sandra Bland: behind a poignant documentary of her life and death). Sandra Bland shined little light on women battling police brutality. But unfortunately, her case was unsolved and played a part in the tabloids for a short period of time. There are women of all ages from 7 to 93 years old killed by police violence. For Instance, 7-year-old Aiyana Jones, she was sleeping in her home on the east side of Detroit on the night of May 16, 2010, when officers barged into the home (Abbey-Lambertz). They were conducting a pol ice raid in search of a murder suspect who lived at that address when Officer Joseph Weekley accidentally fired his gun the shot, unfortunately, killed Aiyana. The reasoning for Weekley firing his gun is still a matter of dispute. Aiyanna was burned by the explosive and struck by a police bullet shot from outside the home. In addition to that, May 12, 2014, 93-year-old Pearlie Golden was fatally shot and killed by a police officer (The Guardian, 2014). According to The Guardian resources, Roy Jones told KBTX-TV he had taken Golden, his aunt, to renew her drivers license on that Tuesday, but she was denied after failing her test. As Jones took his aunt back to her home, he could tell she was upset. Jones said he was later sitting with his aunt on her front porch when Golden demanded her keys back. He refused, then Golden went into the house and got her 38-caliber handgun. Jones ran into the house and called the police, he told the station. Jones says Goldens soon fired two shots into the ground when an officer told her to drop her gun. Hearne police said in a statement that Golden brandished a gun when officer Stem arrived. A preliminary autopsy showed Golden was shot twice and grazed by a third bullet, the Robertson County district attorney, Coty Siegert, has said. Golden having a handgun is very cruci al, however, she was elderly and didnt deserve to get gunned down. As an officer, he is physically capable of taking Golden down. Instead of trying to get the gun off of her he immediately reverted to a shooting. Its also important that viewers keep in mind that Golden was African-American. Although there is no current evidence that race was playing a role. Society still has to consider that implicit bias can always play a role. There have been women with mental illnesses as well, victims of police violence. Somali Refugee was killed by the North Fulton police. Refugee suffered from a bipolar disorder. (Mcgee and Elassar 2018). When Refugee was gunned down by two Johns Creek police officers, she apparently was wielding a knife near the intersection of Abbots Bridge and Sweet Creek roads. The officers opened fire after tasers and a foam impact round failed to make her drop the knife. She later died of her injuries at Emory Johns Creek Hospital (Mcgee and Elassar). This took place early to 2018 and not many people are aware of Somali Story. Refugee family has questioned police training when dealing with mental health patients. Equally important, the police training should be taken into consideration. How is it that American police officers have such a higher rate of shootings compared to most countries (The Guardian, 2018). New incoming officers are taught, what is widely known as the first rule of law enforcement( Stoughton, 2014). The first rule of law enforcement is police typically are responsible for maintaining public order and safety, enforcing the law, and preventing, detecting, and investigating criminal activities. (Police Law Enforcement). Understanding the matter of being an officer is dangerous, but people who are trained to instantly fear the community can be problematic. If people get the idea they should fear the community they are more than likely to act off impulse. There is no proof of my statement, yet that how it is portrayed from an outsider looking in. According to Stoughton In most police shootings, officers dont shoot out of anger or frustration or hatred. They shoot because they a re afraid. And they are afraid because they are constantly barraged with the message that they should be afraid, that their survival depends on it.( Stoughton, 2014). He also explains that Officers arent just told about the risks they face. They are shown painfully vivid, heart-wrenching dash-cam footage of officers being beaten, disarmed, or gunned down after a moment of inattention or hesitation. They are told that the primary culprit isnt the felon on the video, it is the officers lack of vigilance. These officers are now worried about staying alive or possibly think that will never let event as such happen to them. ( Stoughton). The officer are not the only people to blame, the system has to take responsibility as well. Between facing systematic oppression, fighting for the right to vote, unequally pay, and amongst many other barriers. Being a woman appears challenging already. In addition to that these women are African-American. Which makes it more difficult; because being a black woman today is an extra barrier to overcome. Here now we have these women being discriminated against for multiple things. What are these women supposed to do? They no longer have someone to call for help. If our collective outrage around cases of police violence is meant to serve as a warning to the state that its police cannot kill without consequences. Then our silence around the cases of black women, and girls send the message that certain deaths do not need any repercussions. Black women are substantially helpless. Police officers are supposed to be people we call for protection. However, these women are not able to do that. It is devastating the future could be young black girls having to be trained to understand w hat to do when interacting with a police officer. Because of the matter, young girls live are being taken away by them. Everyone deserves to be treated as if he or she is human. However, the way police handle these women it is if they are animals. For this reason, the movement called say her name created by Kimberle Crenshaw should be pushed more by the public. They say her name movement responds to the increasing calls for attention to police violence against black women. By offering a resource to help ensure that black womens stories are integrated into demand for justice, police responses to violence, and media representations of victims of police brutality. There are not many people who know about the say her name movement. Women and men all over the world to attend should support #SayHerName campaign. It can start by a simple hashtag on the media saying say her name. By honoring these women on a specific month and day of the year. There has already been a womans march for #SayHerName In January 2017. Hopefully, the march keeps it going every year in the month of January. If the movement keeps moving, it can result to these ladies names with being recognized and honored the right way in the next two years. In the meantime, there are many obstacles to face, so that we can get to this point. People may not agree and give negative feedback. However, that should not be the reason from letting these women be known. This is why it is very important that the organization comes to the public attention through the media letting these victims family tell their stories. It can contribute as a major eye-opener to people. Displaying how crucial the issue is, and it may help people to jump on board. It has been overshadowed enough; it is now time these women deserve a stand. Society should no longer be capable to overlook this controversy. Marches, networking, and broadcasting are a great way to bring to their attention, however, they need more. People should start engaging communities in conversation, and advocacy around black womens experiences of police violence. As been noted hopefully that these women will get some recognition, any person victimized by police brutality get justice and police brutality comes to an end. Realistically speaking, all those things may not ever happen at once. On the other hand, say her name movement can be something that can be big in the future. In the meantime hopefully, these women can receive justice and they will be given the awareness they deserve. There are several future changes that need to make. This can be a start. By people simply making awareness can cause change. Change doesnt happen overnight, but little progress will matter. The most important thing is making people have an epiphany that police violence against amiss towards anyone it happens too. These black women should not be excluded.

The Changing Role Of Fathers In The Last Thirty Years Free Essays

The world is dynamic and has witnessed major changes over the past decades. Lifestyles have changed and so have priorities. The role of fathers has not been left behind too; in the past three decades fathers have changed greatly. We will write a custom essay sample on The Changing Role Of Fathers In The Last Thirty Years or any similar topic only for you Order Now This is an evolution that has been necessitated by the changes occurring in the various aspects of human lives and relations. Nothing would exemplify this change in roles than taking a critical look at the image and responsibilities of fathers in the 1970s. By then fathers were highly authoritative and much of their time was spent working. They were expected to be the sole beneficiaries in the family. Fathers took care of the financial obligations such as school fees, bills, rent and others. Mothers were expected to play good housewives and take care of the children and the house. Respect and reverence characterized the father’s image; they were hard to understand and were looked upon by everyone in the house. This is a role that would slowly and gradually start changing on the 1980’s probably as feminism became institutionalized in almost all modern societies. Women were no longer wiling to stay indoors watching the house and children. They were taking up more challenging tasks that priory were a preserve of the men. This newfound competition would force men to adapt and start spending more time with their children. Fathers started being more responsible and nurturing to their children, playing a visible role in their upbringing. Men at this time were no longer the sole breadwinners; women were chipping in and meeting some of the costs of running the family and thus spending more time away from home. Men hence were forced to make concessions and play an active role with the children. Nothing has seen a rapid evolution during the past three decades than the father involvement in their children’s lives. A study conducted by Levine and Pleck amongst others operationalizes the above fact. The study revealed that over the last recent decades, fathers were able to spend more time than before with an increase of over 10 percent. It is also this period that saw fathers watching over their children at home when their mothers are out working.  (Levine, James and Pittnsky T. , 1997). The image of father across the 70’s and the 80 changed considerably, but it is the late 90s and the last years of this millennium that has almost accorded modern fathers completely new roles that would have been unimaginable thirty years ago. It is not in question that fathers are no longer the breadwinners and the authoritative figures of the past. Parents are supporting each other financially, emotionally and in other essential cores of raising the families. Today’s fathers are looking for their children and changing their diapers. They are taking the children to school and helping them with homework at home. They are even raising the children single handedly in case of death, separation or divorce of a spouse and doing a commendable job out of it. There are those that are divorced and granted periodic visitations, a new role that many are still grappling with. Being a good father is no longer defined along economic lines only, it is a composite product of responsibility at home and being there fore the children. Fathers are playing an important role and being more close to their children than before, their satisfaction according to surveys, emanates from spending more time with their families. Indeed the roles have changed. Men of today are supposed and expected by the society to take up more roles than before. They are no longer inhabited by the societal traditional norms that could see them present a macho figure. In today’s world, they are playing an active role bringing up the kids rather than sticking to the financial obligations alone. How to cite The Changing Role Of Fathers In The Last Thirty Years, Papers

Reformed Episcopal Seminary Essay Example For Students

Reformed Episcopal Seminary Essay Problems in Living9/13/2004Class ScriptureIsaiah 42:3A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he notquench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. When you working with someone who is wounded, the heart has been damaged. So, when you work with this person, you must know how to love them and notbreak them. You find a way to structure them and contain them and notbreak them. 1. Psychiatry means medical therefore you use the medical model. a. The medical model does not fit when applied with scripture. b. The medical model uses a disease format. c. Any problem has to be labeled as a disease. i. e. alcoholism islabeled as a disease. 2. Four Layers of Psycho Pathologya. The brain layer the context with the brain layer is the brain asan organ. i. This is where the medical and disease model fits. ii. Brain as an organ is the territory of the neurologist. iii. Conditions where we can see (MRI) damage. iv. It is measurable brain pathology. v. Some people put ADHD at this level. vi. Alzheimers is at this level. b. Rhythm Layer (Systems) The body has drive states (appetites). i. Sleeping, eating, sex are rhythms. ii. Bi-polar disorder is a rhythmic thing. iii. Eating and sex additions (process addictions) you carry thedrug in your head. iv. ADHD technically belongs here. c. Character Driven Character is the same as personality. i. Personality is the sum of all your experiences. ii. It s how you thoughts, behaviors and emotions are organized. d. Constitution This is the technical term. i. This is your personal store what is unique to you. ii. Your personal story creates a psychological constitution. iii. Things at this level are easier to treat, because its mainlyenvironmental. Reformed Episcopal SeminaryProblems in Living9/20/04Christainpsych.org this is the website for the Society for ChristianPsychology. Direct Care You minister to people directly. Soul Care There is a spiritual side. We are concerned about orthodothcy(right beliefs) as well as how to bring that into practical living. 1. Personality Theory. There are ten personality disorders. 2. Four Layers of Psycho Pathologya. The brain layer the context with the brain layer is the brain asan organ. i. This is where the medical and disease model fits. ii. Brain as an organ is the territory of the neurologist. iii. Conditions where we can see (MRI) damage. iv. It is measurable brain pathology. v. Some people put ADHD at this level. vi. Alzheimers is at this level. b. Rhythm Layer (Systems) The body has drive states (appetites). i. Sleeping, eating and sex are rhythms. ii. Bi-polar disorder is a rhythmic thing. iii. Eating and sex additions (process addictions) you carry thedrug in your head. iv. ADHD technically belongs here. c. Character Driven Character is the same as personality. i. Personality is the sum of all your experiences. ii. It s how you thoughts, behaviors and emotions are organized. d. Constitution/Narrative This is the technical term. i. This is your personal store what is unique to you. ii. Your personal story creates a psychological constitution. iii. Things at this level are easier to treat, because its mainlyenvironmental. e. A person can have depression/anxiety form all four. 3. There are difference kids of depression. a. Bi-polar is different from narrsitist depression. 4. DSMa. It developed as a way of common language. 5. Your style processes emotions. .u2c84bbcb92d90d128c9b62f8b1762af2 , .u2c84bbcb92d90d128c9b62f8b1762af2 .postImageUrl , .u2c84bbcb92d90d128c9b62f8b1762af2 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u2c84bbcb92d90d128c9b62f8b1762af2 , .u2c84bbcb92d90d128c9b62f8b1762af2:hover , .u2c84bbcb92d90d128c9b62f8b1762af2:visited , .u2c84bbcb92d90d128c9b62f8b1762af2:active { border:0!important; } .u2c84bbcb92d90d128c9b62f8b1762af2 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u2c84bbcb92d90d128c9b62f8b1762af2 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u2c84bbcb92d90d128c9b62f8b1762af2:active , .u2c84bbcb92d90d128c9b62f8b1762af2:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u2c84bbcb92d90d128c9b62f8b1762af2 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u2c84bbcb92d90d128c9b62f8b1762af2 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u2c84bbcb92d90d128c9b62f8b1762af2 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u2c84bbcb92d90d128c9b62f8b1762af2 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u2c84bbcb92d90d128c9b62f8b1762af2:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u2c84bbcb92d90d128c9b62f8b1762af2 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u2c84bbcb92d90d128c9b62f8b1762af2 .u2c84bbcb92d90d128c9b62f8b1762af2-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u2c84bbcb92d90d128c9b62f8b1762af2:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: History of mental illness Essaya. If your personality organizes how you process, how people hear youis largely determined by their organized personality. 6. Ten Personalitya. Avoidance Fear rejection: this person will not get oncommittees, unless invited. Belief systems: Im not okay, butyoure okay and you have the power to reject me. b. Dependent They are anxiously driven: this person will greet youright after the sermon they will cling: Belief system: Im notokay, but you have the power to love me. Read DSM. If they let go,they will die. When the show up, they are not motivated by loveand giving. They are unable to give, they are takers. 7. Four Personality Types Must Prevalent. a. Narcisstic The language

Social Realism Essays - Art Movements, Art History, Modern Art

Social Realism Social Realism In Art Social realism, in art, describes both a specific stylistic approach and an overall attitude toward the subject. Social realism aims toward the not so lovely part of life. Its goal is not to amuse but to show the observer the evils of poverty , immorality and war. Social Realists believed that paintings should describe and express the people, their problems and their times. The roots of social realism lie in the 18th century. Some of the artists involved in the start of social realism are William Hogarth, Francisco de Goya and Honor Daumier. William Hogarth attacked drunkenness and foolish extravagance with his engravings of the 1730's to the '50's. Goya had a series of horrifying etchings titled The Disasters of War. Daumier had satiricial lithographs of the 1830's to '40's, that reflect deep social concern. Social realism painting declined, in France, after the 1860's which was the time it became important in Great Britian. Sir Luke Fildes's Applicants for Admission to a Casual Ward, Frank Holl's Newgate: Committed for Trial, and Hubert Herkomer's Pressing to the West depict grimy scenes of urban poverty. In the 1900's the British social realist tradition was carried on in the United States by the Ashcan school. After 1920 its emphasis was carried on by several major American painters. Ben Shahn was one of the artists in the 1920's and early '30's. He showed laborers and other victims of the Depression as well as scenes of the Sacco and Vanzetti trial and execution. Also Ivan Albright and Edward Hopper focused on the isolation of individual people in a society.

Learn How to Conjugate Produire (to Produce) in French

Learn How to Conjugate Produire (to Produce) in French The French verb  produire  looks similar to its English meaning of  to produce, so that makes it relatively easy to remember. However, if youre going to use it properly in a sentence, its necessary to know its  verb conjugations. These allow you to say things such as produced and producing and this lesson will help you learn those essential conjugates. The Basic Conjugations of  Produire French verb conjugations are not the easiest part of learning the language because you have many words to memorize. Some verbs are more challenging than others and, unfortunately,  produire  is one of those. Produire  is an  irregular verb  and it does not follow a regular conjugation pattern. However, it is not alone because all  French verbs ending in  -uire  are conjugated in the same way. To make each a little easier to learn, consider taking on a few at a time. The irregularity of this verb means you will have to commit all of its conjugates to memory. Beginning with the indicative mood is the best approach. This includes the basic present, future, and imperfect past tenses that you will use most often in conversation. Using the chart, match the subject pronoun with the appropriate tense for your subject. This will show you which ending is added to the verb stem (produi- ) to produce the conjugate. For example,  je produis  means I am producing while  nous produisions  means we produced. Present Future Imperfect je produis produirai produisais tu produis produiras produisais il produit produira produisait nous produisons produirons produisions vous produisez produirez produisiez ils produisent produiront produisaient The Present Participle of  Produire Acting as a verb, or a noun, adjective, or gerund in some circumstances, the  present participle  of  produire  adds -sant  to the stem. This produces the word  produisant. Produire  in the Compound Past Tense Passà © composà ©Ã‚  is the French compound past tense. This construction requires the  past participle  produit  along with the present tense conjugate of  avoir. When you put the two together, you get phrases such as  jai produit  (I produced) and  nous avons produit  (we produced). More Simple Conjugations of  Produire There are a few more basic conjugations you may need. Among those are  the subjunctive  and  the conditional. The former implies uncertainty while the latter is used in if...then situations. Both  the passà © simple  and  the imperfect subjunctive  are literary tenses and found most often in literature. Subjunctive Conditional Pass Simple Imperfect Subjunctive je produise produirais produisis produisisse tu produises produirais produisis produisisses il produise produirait produisit produist nous produisions produirions produismes produisissions vous produisiez produiriez produistes produisissiez ils produisent produiraient produisirent produisissent You might also find  the French imperative  useful for  produire. When you do use it, its okay to skip the subject pronoun and simply say  produis.​ Imperative (tu) produis (nous) produisons (vous) produisez

Aristotle Quote Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Aristotle Quote - Essay Example Aristotle implies that every person should carefully analyze the circumstances of each situation and apply this advice, seek for an even solution. What is important is finding a mean of solving a situation, not necessarily by following blindly the general moral principles, but by carefully equilibrating one's hopes and desires in relation with the social demands. Aristotle suggests that circumstances dictate and sometimes even stand as an excuse for our behavior, but passion should not influence the core values of courage or boldness, depending on the case. Emotions and passions cannot be silenced and they do shape our life as humans, but the deliberation over a situation in a reasonable manner grants, if not always a clear solution, at least a better and, certainly ethical, aim in life; that aim is to make the best of our 'practical reason' that we can only acquire by learning how to act far from anxiety and pure instinct, under the influence of ethical values.

Chronicle of the Council Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Chronicle of the Council - Term Paper Example In addition, the precursors to activism intended to redeem the image of God’s church and teachings are examined in this study. It is imperative to note that, this study is confined to specific period attributed to the occurrence of the event. The vivid picture given out by Pope Urban II on the situation brings out the true inspiration of a person who loves his country and its environs. The Chronicles of the Council of Clermont dates back the year 1095 when Catholic faith was most respected. It formed the basis of unity and harmony. A people that fears God and is deeds characterizes this period. This nation believes an alienated tribe from the Persians society should not mix with God’s clean people. The speech is culturally upright because it upholds the key principles of a united nation that can only come together when intruded. It is evident from the speech that the alienated tribe had no cultural principles that guided their moral conduct. This is seen when the aliena ted tribe is reportedly raping women. However, the cultural beliefs of the Greek nation depict its people as mature and respectable to human rights and dignity. The narrator depicts the natives as blessed by God and believes in the word of God, and this makes their culture to revolve in the Biblical teachings. This is evidenced by the numerous verse quoted and referred from the Bible by the narrator Pope Urban II. A remark by Pope in the speech, that the ancestor’s deeds inspire the natives to rise up and achieve the concerted war indicates a cultural inclination towards the invincible powers of the ancestors; particularly those lived up to good things when alive. For instance, the reference made to King Charles the Great and Louis is son. These two men represented the strength and attributed success for their nation. The speech examines an alienated tribe fro m the Persian community that as forcefully invaded the native’s land and nation with the aim of performing ala rming and shameful acts which are against the human rights. For instance, the alienated tribe extends acts of rape and killing to the native people. This sends a wake up call to both the religion and political leaders who raises their voices high in a bid to condemn the intruders. It is evidenced by the speech that the alienated tribe invaded the Christians land and began to depopulate them through massive killings in form of sword, fire and pillage. In addition, the enemy tribe succeeds to take way the natives as captives. More devastating is the alienated tribe that has continually destroyed God’s church, defiles altars and initiates their ungodly rites and religion. Pope Urban II in his speech expresses fear of loosing considerable number of the Christians through circumcision and base death where navels were perforated and the extremity of intestines dragged out. Indeed this marked the climax of inhumane. Similar acts of torture prompted Pope Urban to encourage the native s in the strongest terms possible to redeem themselves form the bondage of the alienated tribe. It is imperative to note that, Urban’s speech intended to send a strong signal to the minds of the natives that, time for liberation was ripe and it is all systems go to redeem tier nation from the yoke of an alienated tribe. Urban, keeps reminding them that God remained firm on His promises upon them, however, the sole responsibility of

The Work Of Saul Bass Film Studies Essay

The Work Of Saul Bass Film Studies Essay Moving and animated sequence titles are common to us nowdays. When we go to the cinema, play DVD or watch a movie in TV, we always know that there will be some. But what we do not usually know is who stands behind this mini-genre. No doubt, the man who is responsible for invinting the opening credit sequences as a free-standing movie-before-a-movie (Thomas, 1996) is Saul Bass, an American graphic designer and director. This essay will decribe his life and his most important outputs. Saul Bass was born on eighth May in 1920. As a kid, he was growing up in Bronx in New York. (Thomas, 1996; Brown, 2002) After graduating from high school, he studied Graphic Art at Brooklin College. Afterwards, he left New York for Hollywood and moved to Los Angeles. (Nourmand, 2000; Thomas, 1996) Initially, he was producing print work for film ads. For instance he created posters The Moon is Blue or Love in the Afternoon. In 1954, Otto Preminger approched Saul Bass and asked him to create a poster for his movie Carmen Jones . Saul Bass designed the poster with a strinkingly simple flaming black and red rose. (Nourmand, 2000). Otto Preminger liked Bass s work so much and decided to collaborated with him on the title sequence as well. (Brown, 2002) This was an important moment of Saul Bass s career. He recognised that graphic design and film design are closely related. Movie s first moments are very important and they create identification for movies. Otto Preminger liked Bass s seque nce title and therefore, one year later (1995), he called him on again to create a visual identity for The Man with the Golden Arm which experienced a great success. (Lamster, 2000, 129) Working on this project, Saul Bass got an idea of the title sequence which would be moving. He created the famous jagged arm design, suggesting the jarring and disjoined existence of drug addict (Nourmand, 2000) Usually titles named only movie, artists, director etc. Suddendly, it turned into an animamated event. Afterwards, Bass said (Lamster, 2000, 130): there was a time when titles were very interesting, going back to the early 1930s or even the late 1920s. Then it bogged down and became bad lettering produced by firms that ground out titles. What I did was reinvent the whole notion of using a title to create a little atmosphere. The idea of titling movies through animation became a classic mini-genre (Thomas, 1996). It influenced many artists and Bass s film-within-a-film (Neef et al., 2006, 166) became very popular. Not only Otto Preminger saw Saul Bass s potencial, Alfred Hitchcock asked him to design stuff for his movies as well. (Nourmand, 2000) Titles for Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959) and Psycho (1960) were all created by Saul Bass. (Kolner, 2004, 104; Thomas, 1996; Nourmand, 2000) Saul Bass s sequence titles spoke to the audience in a familiar language (Brown, 2002) Neverthless, it always reflected the true complexity of the movie and drew out the most important features of the other s work. (Woloski, 2005) In Vertigo, Bass summates Scorie Ferguson s descent into an obsessive hell with the austere and hypnotic image of a spiral (Woloski, 2005) and Bass s title sequence for Psycho was created by linear movement of the black-and-white, horizontal lines, the more phallic orientation of Psycho s particular brand of violence (Kolner, 2004, 108) In Bass s titles for Hitchcock, he presented the director as a star and as an attraction, which made the hidden presence of Hitchcock even more felt. (Neef et al, 2006, 173-174). Regarding Psycho, Saul Bass collaborated with Hitchcock as a directors as well. He drew some sketches for the Psycho s scenes (Kolner, 2004, 17-24). Moreover, Psycho s title music which was composed by Hermann was actually inspired by the Saul Bass s animation. (Tonks, 2001). Saul Bass s techniques were various. He employed visual imagery, hand-drawn type, pictographs, construction paper shapes, cotoun animation, montage, music and many others. Moreover, he used colors and movements precisely and very effectively (Taylor, 2005; Haskett, 2005, 64) With his title sequences which we can describe as a visual references, he developed a new part of the modern business and commercial world . (Brown, 2002) Therefore, he won sich a wide accleim that he was sometimes called the Picasso of commercial artists . (Thomas, 1996) Furthermore, Saul Bass worked also as a director. To his movies belong The Searching Eye (1964), From Here to There (1964), Grand Prix (1966) and probably the most popular one called Why Man Creates (1968) (Lamster; 2000, 134; Taylor, 2005). In 1968, the short movie Why Man Creates was awarded as a Oscar-winning short film. (Lamster, 2000, 134; Thomas, 1996) Besides creating design for movie and directing movies by his own, he was a very a famous graphic designer of logotypes. He devised trademarks and corporate identifications for firms such as ATT, United Airlines, Bell System, Minolta, Quker Oats, Warner Communications, General Food and many others (Haskett, 2005, 64; Thomas, 1996; Economist Books, 2003, 117). We can claim he was a corporate identities genius. His trademarks were extraordinary, clean, legible, readable and symbolic. In the 1960s he created logotyped for lot of the biggest American companies. (Nourmand, 2000) Regarding his personal life. He was married twice. First marriage ended by diverce. His second wife, Elaine Makatura was initially the first employee of his own studio (Thomas, 1996) This versatil and innovative graphic designer died at the age of 75 at Cedars-Sinai Medal Center in Los Angles. According to family, he died on non-Hodgkins lymphoma (Thomas, 1996; Taylor, 2005; Nourmand, 2000) Saul Bass s reputation as a designer of film is legendary. He has left his incredible signature on a number of pictures by Preminger, Hitchcock, Kurbick, Wyler among others. (Need, 2006, 166-168) We remeber his handwriting from title sequences for The Man with the Golden Arm , Psycho or for example from his Academy Award-winning short movie Why Man Creates. His output is so broad and large. He created many posters, title sequences, movies, visual identities, corporate logos etc. He brought a new innovative thinking and working to Hollywood. His innovation created an army of imitators, many of whom have carried his ideas beyond his original conception. (Thomas, 1996). Such was an impact of his work that his style became alsmost a clich of the mid-fifties through the sixties because of how often they were imitated. (Lamster, 2000, 133). In my opinion, the work of Saul Bass contributed to the modern art very significantly and left behind a great heritage not only for design but also for movies. His ideas and new style of creating posters and titles brought to the art industry a new broader dimension. He definitely influenced the contemporary art.

Kinds of System

Is a system that captures, enters stores, retrieves and processes the relevant details of business events, and generates the information/document necessary for running he organization and interfacing with external entities, such as customers. Transaction – Is the process of dlvldlng a body of data Into blocks and spreading the data blocks across several partitions on several hard disks. Features of Transaction Processing Systems 1. Rapid response – fast performance with rapid results 2.Reliability- well designed backup and recovery with a low failure rate 3. Inflexibility – treat every transaction equally. It may be used many times each day which means it has to be precise and inflexible 4. Controlled processing – maintain speclflc requirements for the roles and responsibilities of different employees. Types of -rps Batch processing Is where the Information Is collected as a batch and then processed later on. An example of batch processing is paying by che que.Batch processing is useful for enterprises that need to process large amounts of data using limited resources Batch Processing system Real Time Processing is where all details of the transaction are recorded and changed at the time as It occurs. Examples of real time processing are ATM's. The importance of data In transaction processing: Data security Is Important as data Is often confidential or has a commercial value, herefore, it needs to be protected from unauthorized access.Data accuracy means that the data is correct and that the data is up to date (current) Data integrity describes the reliability of data. This will include statements of data currency, correct entry of data and accuracy of the data. TPS serve two purposes. 1 . To support day-to-day, routine operations by being made accessible to those parts of the organization (as well as to external entities) where they are needed. 2. To feed 1 OFA effectiveness and efficiency of the operations. The computer system media ting between the humans and physical reality in an nventory application.Updates brought about by a transaction are of three types: Adding a new record, such as when a new customer signs up Changing an existing record, such as changes in credit available for a customer when that customer makes new purchases or returns already purchased products Deleting a record, such as when a product is discontinued TPSs are characterized by Large amounts of input/output Large number of users Huge storage requirements Low computational complexity Fast input/output as well as processing capabilities A high degree of concern for potential security related problems A high degree of oncern for reliability and fault tolerance.Five Stages of Transaction Processing Data Entry Processing Database Maintenance Document And Report Generation Inquiry Processing Management Information Systems Provide information in the form of reports and displays to managers and many business professionals to support business decision making. A management information system is an information system that uses the data collected by the managers can use it to make routine business decisions in response to problems. Some of the reports that this information systems creates are summary, exception and ad hoc reports.All this is done to increase the efficiency of managerial activity. Most management information systems specialize in particular commercial and industrial sectors, aspects of the enterprise, or management substructure. Management information systems (MIS), produce fixed, regularly scheduled reports based on data extracted and summarized from the firm's underlying transaction processing systems[5] to middle and operational level managers to identify and inform structured and semi-structured decision problems.Decision Support Systems (DSS) are computer program applications used by middle management to ompile information from a wide range of sources to support problem solving and decision making. Exec utive Information Systems (EIS) is a reporting tool that provides quick access to summarized reports coming from all company levels and departments such as accounting, human resources and operations. Marketing Information Systems (MIS) are Management Information Systems designed specifically for managing the marketing aspects of the business.Office Automation Systems (OAS) support communication and productivity in the enterprise by automating work flow and eliminating bottlenecks. OAS may be implemented at any nd all levels of management. School Information Management Systems (SIMS) covers school administration, and often including teaching and learning materials. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) facilitates the flow of information between all business functions inside the boundaries of the organization and manages the connections to outside stakeholders.Advantages The following are some of the benefits that can be attained for different types of management information systems. Co mpanies are able to highlight their strengths and weaknesses due to the presence of revenue reports, employees' performance record etc. The identification of these aspects can help the company improve their business processes and operations. Giving an overall picture of the company and acting as a communication and planning tool. The availability of the customer data and feedback can help the company to align their business processes according to the needs of the customers.The effective management of customer data can help the company to perform direct marketing and promotion activities. Some disadvantages can exist when using a management information system in a company. Expensive Installing a management information system can be expensive for a company. Information technology†while cheaper today than previous years†can represent a significant expense, especially for larger organizations. These systems may also require ongoing support or upgrade fees, which can represen t future fixed cash outflows.Companies must create a budget to pay for these items to ensure the information system stays current with business technology. Attempting to integrate these systems with technology currently in use can also increase expenses. Companies may need to hire maintenance individuals to help keep an electronic information system running smoothly. These individuals often need experience in omputer science functions and other business topics. Not only does this increase labor costs, but it also requires additional training and ongoing education for these individuals.Business technology can change frequently, creating an environment where companies must have trained individuals who can properly maintain computers, websites, servers and other equipment in use by the management information system. Ineffective Management information systems have the potential to become ineffective in a company's operations. As with all computer systems, the management information syst em is only as good as the programmer. Gathering unimportant or non-essential information can delay business decisions because managers must request additional input.Spending too much time reprogramming or correcting issues can also increase the time spent in the decision-making process. Business owners and managers may also need extensive training on new systems, creating a learning curve that will hopefully diminish over time. Unemployment While information, Information Security Selection Software Evaluation Reports, they secure Information Exchange in an Insecure World, Lack of Job security, Dominant culture , there is no privacy, expensive, maintenance and ineffective.

Diversification and Firm Performance

DIVERSIFICATION AND FIRM PERFORMANCE: AN EMPIRICAL EVALUATION Anil M. Pandya and Narendar V. Rao Abstract Diversification is a strategic option that many managers use to improve their firms’ performance. This interdisciplinary research attempts to verify whether firm level diversification has any impact on performance. The study finds that on average, diversified firms show better performance compared to undiversified firms on both risk and return dimensions. It also tests the robustness of these results by classifying firms by performance class.The results show that among the best performing class of firms, undiversified firms have higher returns, but these returns are accompanied by high variance. Whereas, highly diversified firms show lower returns, and much lower variance. Results further show that diversified firms perform better than undiversified firms on risk and return dimensions, in the low and average performance classes. The paper concludes that a dominant undivers ified firm may perform better than a highly diversified firm in terms of return but its riskiness will be much greater.If managers of such firms opt for diversification, their returns will decrease, but their riskiness will reduce proportionately more than the reduction in their returns. In such firms, there will be a tradeoff between risk and return. INTRODUCTION Two seemingly irreconcilable facts motivate this study: one, diversification continues to be an important strategy for corporate growth; and two, while Management and Marketing disciplines favor related diversification, Finance makes a strong case against corporate diversification.With the help of a large sample, this interdisciplinary study tries to address this contradiction in the associative relationship between diversification and firm performance. Diversification is a means by which a firm expands from its core business into other product markets (Aaker 1980, Andrews 1980, Berry 1975, Chandler 1962, Gluck 1985). Rese arch shows corporate management to be actively engaged in diversifying activities.Rumelt (1986) found that by 1974 only 14 percent of the Fortune 500 firms operated as single businesses and 86 percent operated as diversified businesses. Many researchers note a rise in diversified firms (Datta, Rajagopalan and Rasheed 1991, Hoskisson and Hitt 1990). European corporate managers according to a survey, not only favor it but actively pursue diversification (Kerin, Mahajan and Varadarajan 1990). Firms spend considerable sums acquiring other firms or bet heavily on internal R&D to diversify away from their core product/markets.Of late U. S. firms are beginning to moderate their zeal for diversification and are consolidating around their core businesses. But this trend has not affected large Asian corporations which continue to remain highly diversified. As in any economic activity there are costs and benefits associated with diversification, and ultimately, a firm's performance must depend on how managers achieve a balance between costs and benefits in each concrete case. Moreover, these benefits and costs may not fall equally on managers and investors.Management researchers argue that diversification prolongs the life of a firm. Researchers in finance argue diversification benefits managers because it buys them insurance, and shareholders usually bear all the costs of such insurance. Diversification can improve debt capacity, reduce the chances of bankruptcy by going into new product/ markets (Higgins and Schall 1975, Lewellen 1971), and improve asset deployment and profitability (Teece 1982, Williamson 1975).Skills developed in one business transferred to other businesses, can increase labor and capital productivity. A diversified firm can transfer funds from a cash surplus unit to a cash deficit unit without taxes or transaction costs (Bhide 1993). Diversified firms pool unsystematic risk and reduce the variability of operating cash flow and enjoy comparative adva ntage in hiring because key employees may have a greater sense of job security (Bhide 1993).These are some of the major benefits of diversification strategy. Diversification, firm size, and executive compensations are highly correlated, which may suggest that diversification provides benefits to managers that are unavailable to investors (Hoskisson and Hitt 1990), creating what economists call the agency problem (Fama 1980) and managers stand to lose if they become unemployed, either through poor firm performance or bankruptcy (Bhide 1993, Dutta, Rajagopalan and Rasheed 1991, Hoskisson and Hitt 1990).Diversification can also lead to the problem of moral hazard, the chance that people will alter behavior after entering into a contract-as in a conflict of interest by providing insurance for managers who have invested in firm specific skills, and have an interest in diversifying away a certain amount of firm specific risk and may look upon diversification as a form of compensation (Ami hud and Lev 1981, Bhide 1993).Although it may be necessary for a firm to reduce firm specific risk to build relations with suppliers and employees, only top managers can decide what is the right amount of diversification as insurance (Bhide 1993). Diversification can be expensive (Jones and Hill 1988, Porter 1985) and place considerable stress on top management (McDougall and Round 1984). These are the costs of diversification.In the final analysis, this situational argument regarding balancing costs and benefits can only explain the performance of individual firms but it cannot address the theoretical question about the veracity of diversification as a valid corporate strategy. Consequently, following the benefit-cost agreement, whether in general, diversification enhances firm performance becomes an empirical question. Further, recent reviews of the rather extensive literature do not find agreement about the direction of association between firm diversification and firm performanc e.This lack of a clear answer in the literature motivates the present study. The paper is organized in four sections. The first section briefly reviews the empirical literature and presents the research hypotheses. Section two describes the research methodology and operationalizes the dependent and independent variables. Section three presents the results of the study. The concluding section discusses the results and summarizes the findings. REVIEW OF EMPIRICAL LITERATURE AND HYPOTHESIS The impact of diversification on firm performance is mixed.Three recent reviewers (Datta, Rajagopalan and Rasheed 1991, Hoskisson and Hitt 1990, Kerin, Mahajan and Varadarajan 1990), broadly conclude: (a) the empirical evidence is inconclusive; (b) models, perspectives and results differ based on the disciplinary perspective chosen by the researcher; and  © the relationship between diversification and performance is complex and is affected by intervening and contingent variables such as related ver sus unrelated diversification, type of relatedness, the capability of top managers, industry structure, and the mode of diversification.Some studies claim diversifying into related product-markets produces higher returns than diversifying into unrelated product-markets and less diversified firms perform better than highly diversified firms (Christensen and Montgomery 1981, Keats 1990, Michel and Shaked 1984, Rumelt 1974, 1982, 1986). Some claim that the economies in integrating operations and core skills obtained in related diversification outweigh the costs of internal capital markets and the smaller variances in sales revenues generated by unrelated diversification (see Datta, Rajagopalan ; Rasheed 1991).While agreeing that related strategy is better than unrelated, Prahalad and Bettis (1986), clarify that it is the insight and the vision of the top managers in choosing the right strategy (how much and what kind of relatedness), rather than diversification per se, which is the key to successful diversification. Accordingly, it is not product-market diversity but the strategic logic that managers use that links firm diversification to performance; which implies that diversified firms without such logic may not perform as well.Markides and Williamson (1994) show that strategic relatedness is superior to market relatedness in predicting when diversifiers related outperform unrelated ones. Others however argue, it is not management conduct so much, but industry structure that governs firm performance (Christensen and Montgomery 1981, Montgomery 1985). Besides diversification types and industry structure, researchers have also looked at the ways firms diversify. Simmonds (1990) examined the combined effects of breadth (related vs. nrelated) and mode (internal R ; D versus Mergers ; Acquisitions) and found that relatedly diversified firms are better performers than unrelatedly diversified firms, and R ; D based product development is better than mergers and acquis ition- led diversification (Simmonds 1990, Lamont and Anderson 1985). Among studies of acquisitions the results are mixed. Some report that related acquisitions are better performers than unrelated ones (Kusewitt 1985), or there is no real difference among them (Montgomery and Singh 1984).Some studies on breadth and performance find relatedly diversified firms perform better than firms that are unrelatedly diversified (Rumelt 1974, 1982, 1986). Others show confounding effects in firm performance because of diversification category and industry (Christiansen and Montgomery 1981, Montgomery 1985). Recent studies suggest service firms should not diversify (Normann 1984), whereas, Nayyar (1993), shows that in the service industry diversification ased on information asymmetry is positively associated with performance, whereas diversification based on economies of scope is negatively associated with performance. A contradiction of Johnson and Thomas' (1987) confirmation of Rumelt's findin g that the appropriateness of product diversity is judged by a balance between economies of scope and diseconomies of scale. It also appears there is a limit on how much a firm can diversify; if a firm goes beyond this point its market value suffers and reduction in diversification by refocusing is associated with value creation (Markides 1992).Apart from the empirical evidence, the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) holds that competition among investors for information ensures that current prices of widely traded securities are the unbiased predictors of their future value, and that current prices represent the net present value of its future cash flow. Evidence supports the existence of weak, semi- and near-strong forms of market efficiency (Fama 1970). If this view of the market is true, then investors have the information necessary to construct portfolios of stocks to maximize their risk/return strategies for a given amount of resource.Consequently, a firm's management cannot do better for the investor by diversifying into different product markets and create a portfolio that will improve returns or better manage risk than investor’s stock portfolio. Stockholders also do not pay a premium for diversified firms (Brealey and Myers 1996); the market does not value risk/return trade-off positively for unrelated diversification (Lubatkin and O'Neil 1987), and acquiring firms only earn normal returns (Lehn and Mitchell 1993), and not economic rents.Finally, corporate takeovers discipline managers who waste shareholder resources and bust-ups promote economic efficiency by reallocating assets to higher valued uses or more efficient uses (Jensen and Ruback 1983, Lehn and Mitchell 1993). The review of empirical literature from Management/Marketing disciplines and the theoretical and empirical literature from Finance show that the relationship between diversification and performance is complex and is affected by intervening and contingent variables. Taken toge ther, the evidence and arguments presented above seems to suggest that diversified firms (i. . highly unrelatedly diversified firms) as a class, should perform less well than an optimal securities portfolio, and thus for our study we propose the following null hypothesis. Our null hypothesis (H0) is that: Highly diversified firms should perform less well than moderately diversified and single product firms. There are numerous arguments and findings against the null hypothesis proposed above. In certain markets, an investor may face assets constraint in constructing a portfolio, restricting diversification opportunities (Levy 1978).Farrelly, and Reichenstein (1984) show that total risk rather than systematic risk alone, better explains the expertly assessed risk of stocks. Jahera, Lloyd and Page (1987), find well-diversified firms have higher returns regardless of size. DeBondt and Thaler (1985, 1987), argue that the market as a whole overreacts to major events. Prices shoot up on go od economic news and decline sharply on bad news. According to Brown and Harlow (1988, 1993), investors hedge their bets and over react or under react to important news by pricing securities below their expected values.As uncertainties decrease, stock prices adjust upwards, regardless of the direction of the impact of the initial event. The post-event adjustment in prices tends to be greater in the case of bad news than in the case of good news. Haugen (1995) also casts doubts on the validity of the EMH. Finally, Fama and French (1992), changing their earlier stance, argue that the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) is incapable of describing the last fifty years of stock returns, and the beta is not an appropriate measure of risk.This implies that a stockholder may not be better positioned to diversify his portfolio of stocks as compared to a corporate manager as implied by the null hypothesis. On the basis of this discussion, we could argue that market inefficiency may not allow i nvestors to optimally allocate their resources. It can put managers, especially good ones, in a more advantageous position to diversify their product market portfolios and thereby improve firm performance. Thus, our alternate hypothesis (H1) is: that diversified firms perform better in terms of return and risk measures compared to less diversified firms.Thus, on average, diversified firms as a class should perform better than moderately diversified or single-product firms. STUDY DESIGN The availability of the Compustat database has made it possible to study a larger sample of firms over several years and approach the problem of diversification from a more macro perspective. The approach used in this study is akin to that of military historians who examine past battles and in the context of operational tactics conclude that combatants with greater orce (material and manpower) tend to win more often. Those with insufficient force need the advantage of mobility and surprise to neutrali ze superior force in order to win. These insights, based on outcomes of many battles, allow historians to disengage from contingencies and specificities of stewardship and terrain. This does not imply that situational specifics should be ignored in planning military campaigns. The finding only points out the general truth of certain tactics.Similarly, in the context of the conduct of business strategy, we could also first examine the performance of diversified firms without regard to specifics of strategy, like type, breadth, modality and industry, and figure out if in general, the average performance of diversified firms is better than that of undiversified firms. The diversification literature is unable to demonstrate that diversification type, breadth, modality, and industry have consistent and predictable impact on performance. We therefore treat these as situational contingencies and do not take them into account.Earlier studies of diversification use cross sectional data, smal l samples and single measures of performance. We on the other hand, examine a large sample of firms with data over a seven year period. We use about two thousand firms, and multiple performance measures. The starting point of our main study is 1984, the earliest data point for segment information available on the Compustat database. Specialization Ratio (revenue from a firm's largest segment divided by its total revenue) as the dependent variable measures the extent of diversification.Accounting and market returns, their variability, coefficient of variation, and the Sharpe Index are the independent performance variables. The study also tests the robustness of classification of firms based on SR ratios. For this part of the study, the data is available from 1981. It also tests the robustness of results based on the extent of performance and the degree of diversification. MEASUREMENT OF CONCEPTS Diversification is treated as the independent variable in this study. As a policy variabl e, managers can control the extent of diversification desired, and performance is the dependent variable.This section defines and operationalizes these concepts. Diversification This study uses Specialization Ratio (SR) to classify firms into three classes of diversification. Its logic reflects the importance of the firm's core product market to that of the rest of the firm (Rumelt, 1974, 1982; Shaikh ; Varadarajan, 1984). After we started this work some researchers have argued that the entropy measure of diversification is probably a better one. We leave it to future research to test the robustness of SR versus other measures of diversification.Operationally, SR is a ratio of the firm's annual revenues from its largest discrete, product-market activity to its total revenues. In the diversification literature, SR has been one of the methods of choice for measuring diversification. It is easy to understand and calculate. TABLE 1 Values of Specialization Ratios in Rumelt's and Our Cla ssification Schemes SR Values in Rumelt’s Scheme SR Values in Our Scheme Undiversified, Single Product Firms SR ? . 95 SR ? 0. 95 Moderately Diversified Firms 0. 95 ; SR ? 0. 7 0. 95 ; SR ? 0. 5 Highly Diversified Firms SR ; 0. 7 SR ; 0. 5 Performance Management researchers prefer accounting variables as performance measures such as return on equity (ROE), return on investment (ROI), and return on assets (ROA), along with their variability as measures of risk.Earlier studies typically measure accounting rates of return. These include: (ROI), return on capital (ROC), return on assets (ROA) and return on sales (ROS). The idea behind these measures is perhaps to evaluate managerial performance-how well is a firm's management using the assets (as measured in dollars) to generate accounting returns per dollar of investment, assets or sales. The problems with these measures are well known. Accounting returns include depreciation and inventory costs and affect the accurate reporting of earnings.Asset values are also recorded historically. Since accounting conventions make these variables unreliable, financial economists prefer market returns or discounted cash flows as measures of performance. For the sake of consistency, we use two accounting measures: ROE and ROA; along with market return to measure performance. Return on equity (ROE) is a frequently used variable in judging top management performance, and for making executive compensation decisions.We use ROE as a measure to judge performance and calculate the average return on equity (AROE) across all sampled firms and time periods, its standard deviation and also the coefficient of variation for each of the three diversification groups. ROE is defined as net income (income available to common stockholders) divided by stockholders equity. The coefficient of variation (CV) gives us the risk per unit of average return. ROA is the most frequently used performance measure in previous studies. It is defined as net income (income available to common stockholders), divided by the book value of total assets.We also calculate the average return on assets (AROA) across all sampled firms and time periods calculate its standard deviation and also the coefficient of variation for each of the three diversification groups. Market return (MKTRET), is the third dependent variable we use. MKTRET is computed for a calendar year by taking the difference between the current year's ending stock price, and the previous year's ending price, adding to it the dividends paid out for the year, and then dividing the result by the previous year's ending price.This study includes companies for which complete data to calculate the variances used is available on Compustat PC- Plus for the period 1984 through 1990. In addition, we calculate the average market return (AMKTRET) for each of the three groups, the standard deviation of AMKTRET, and the Sharpe Index (Sharpe, 1966), a commonly used risk-adjusted performance measure. It measures the risk premium earned per unit of risk exposure. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION As mentioned earlier, Table 1 presents comparison of breaks between Rumelt’s classification and the modified version.Using the Compustat database we then classified 2637 firms using Rumelt’s classification scheme for the years 1981-1990. Table 2 presents the AROE and its standard deviation using Rumelt’s classification. While we intended to calculate AROA and MKTRT for this data set we were unsuccessful because of the problem of missing data. The 1984 – 90 data set proved to be better and was used for the alternate classification scheme for all the three performance variables. Using the same Compustat database, we classified 2188 firms in three groups: Single Product Firms (SR ; 0. 5), Moderately Diversified Firms (0. 5 ? SR ? 0. 95), and Highly Diversified Firms (SR ; 0. 5), for each of the seven years, from 1984 to 1990, for which complete segmental data was available. We kept only those firms in the sample that remained in the same SR category for the entire seven year period, and had all the data for computing the variables. After classification, we calculated each of the three performance variables: return on equity (ROE), return on assets (ROA), and market return (MKTRET), for each firm in each of the three groups, for each year from 1984 to 1990.We also calculated the average ROE (AROE), average ROA (AROA), and average MKTRET (AMKTRET), first by averaging across the seven years for each firm, and then by averaging across firms by pooling across the years, along with their standard deviation, and coefficient of variation. Tables 3, 4 and 5 present the results. The number of firms in each performance group varies slightly because we had to ensure that the data was available for all variables, for all the seven years. Statistical ProcedureThe test of the null hypothesis requires a test of equality of means of each classification group , and for each performance variable. While the study may indicate one way analysis of variance (ANOVA), it is not a robust test. The application of ANOVA requires that the data set meet three critical assumptions: first, the test is extremely sensitive to departures from normality; second, the assumption of homogeneity of variance is necessary; and third, the errors should be independent of group mean.While for our study the first and the third assumptions checked out, the second assumption regarding the homogeneity of variance failed. We carried out Hartley's test of equality of variance for each performance variable. This test confirmed that variance of the three groups is unequal for each performance variable. We faced the Beherens-Fisher problem or checking for equality of means when variances of the underlying population are unequal. Such situations indicate Cochran's approximation test for hypotheses testing (Berenson and Levine 1992).This test requires us to test the null hyp othesis of equality of means, taken two at a time, and according to the test we must reject the null if the t (observed) exceeds t (critical) at chosen levels of significance. (Statistical information available from authors by request) TABLE 2 Performance Based on Rumelt's SR Classification Scheme: ROE-1981-1990 N AROE SD CV Undiversified Firms (SR ? 0. 95) 1663 3. 8 277. 73. 13 Moderately Diversified (. 95 < SR ? .7) 371 2. 3 181. 2 78. 78 Highly Diversified (SR < . 7) 603 9. 9 100. 9 10. 25 Results Classification Methods: Comparison and a Test of Robustness Table 1 compares the breaks in SR values. Table 2 reports the results using Rumelt's scheme with 1981-1990 data, and Table 3 reports the results using our scheme with 1984-1990 data.The first column in Table 2 shows the three categories of diversification based on SR values; N stands for the number of firms that remained in the same group for the period 1981-1990, and had performance data for the entire period under study; ARO E stands for the average of the ROE calculated over N firms; SD stands for the standard deviation of AROA; and CV represents the coefficient of variation, given by the ratio of SD divided by the AROE, representing the risk per unit average return. Tables 3 through 5 follow the same layout for ROE, TABLE 3 Performance As: Return On Equity (AROE)-1984-1990N AROE SD CV Undiversified 1844 -1. 6 323. 3 NA Moderately Diversified 315 32. 7 409. 4 12. 52 Highly Diversified 23 14. 6 9. 8 0. 67 N= Sample Size, AROE= Average Return on Equity, SD= Standard Deviation, CV= Coefficient of VariationROA and MKTRET. The highly diversified group in Table 2 has AROE of 9. , SD equal to 100. 9 and CV of 10. 25; the moderate group has AROE of 2. 3, SD equals 181. 2 and CV equals 78. 8. The Undiversified group AROE is 3. 8, SD 277. 9 and CV 73. 1. The highly diversified group has the highest AROE, the lowest Standard Deviation and the lowest Coefficient of variation. The results are in the expected direct ion. The results follow the expected path with the exception that AROE of the moderate group is less than that of the undiversified group but the mean values are not far apart and the difference is statistically insignificant.The result for the undiversified and the highly diversified groups are as expected. The SD values are also in the expected direction. Compare these results with results obtained in Table 3. Table 3 shows the relationship between the degree of diversification and group-wise performance measured by ROE. The sample consists of 1844 single product firms with SR greater or equal to 0. 95. The average ROE of these firms over the seven year period is -1. 6 percent, with a SD of 323. 3. The moderately diversified group with SR between 0. 95 and 0. , has 315 firms. The AROE of the group equals32. 7 percent and the SD equals 409. 4. While the AROE of this group is clearly superior to that of single productfirms, the group shows high ROE variability. Thus, the moderately diversified group shows an slightly improvedrisk-return profile. The third group with SR values of less than 0. 5, is the smallest, and includes only 23 firms. The average ROE of the group equals 14. 6 or about half that of the second group, with SD of 9. 8, which is much lower than the first and the second group.The CV is the lowest at 0. 67, which is about 1/20 of the moderate group. Table 3 shows that while highly diversified firms have lower risk than moderately diversified firms; moderately diversified firms have higher average ROE compared to highly diversified firms. It also shows that single product firms have lower risk than moderately diversified firms, but moderately diversified firms have much higher returns. When we combine the return and risk measures as given by the coefficient of variation CV, we do see consistent results, i. e. that highly diversified firms have better risk-return profile than moderately diversified firms; and moderately diversified firms perform be tter in risk-return terms when compared to single product firms. We find that the Tables 2 and 3 show results in expected direction. The highly diversified groups have higher AROE and lower SD compared to the other two groups. This comparison of the two classification schemes shows sufficient consistency especially in the two extreme groups to strongly suggest that performance tends to be invariant to classification breaks.The comparison also demonstrates the validity of using the more pronounced classification scheme used in this study. Performance as Return on Assets and its Variability Table 4 shows the relationship between the degree of diversification and group-wise performance based on ROA. The sample consists of 1848 single product firms with SR greater or equal to 0. 95. The AROA of these firms over the seven year period is – 1. 9 percent, with a SD of 38. 2. TABLE 4 Performance As: Return On Assets (AROA)-1984-1990 N AROA SD CV Undiversified 1848 -1. 38. 2 NA Moderat ely Diversified 316 4. 0 5. 0 1. 25 Highly Diversified 24 5. 8 2. 7 0. 47 N= Sample Size, AROA= Average Return on Assets, SD= Standard Deviation, CV= Coefficient of Variation The moderately diversified group with SR between 0. 95 and 0. 5 has 316 firms. Its AROA equals 4 percent with a5 percent SD. In absolute terms, the AROA of this group is higher than that of undiversified firms and has lower SDof 5. 0 percent, as compared to 38. percent of the first group. The CV is positive at 1. 25, which shows a much improved risk-return profile. The third group of the highly diversified firms includes 24 firms, with AROA of 5. 8 and SD of 2. 7. These values are lower than the first and the second group. The CV of this group is high at 0. 47, being 38 percent of the moderate group. Statistical results in Table 2 show that as we move from undiversified group of firms to the highly diversified group of firms, the average return on assets increases, and the variability of ROA as given by SD decr eases, and CV or the risk per unit return decreases.Statistically, according to Table 4, the above results are significant at the 1% level. Based on these findings reject the null hypothesis. Performance as Market Return Table 5 reports group-wise markets return performance. The sample consists of 1195 firms in the single product category, and 280 and 23 firms in the moderately and highly diversified groups. The sample for each group is smaller than it was for AROA and AROE because we eliminated firms that did not have complete information for the period under study.The average market return AMKTRET of the undiversified group over the study period is 8. 2 percent. The SD is 21. 1, the risk per unit of return as measured by the CV is 2. 57 and the Sharpe Index is 0. 0421. The moderately diversified group with SR between 0. 95 and 0. 5 has 280 firms. Their AMKTRET equals 13. 2 percent and the SD equals 40. 8 percent. Whereas, the average market return of this group is clearly superior to that of the single product firms, the group shows higher variability as compared to the first one. The CV, i. e. , the risk per unit return also is higher at 3. 8. The Sharpe Index of the moderate group is 0. 1443, about three times higher than the first group, and is in the expected direction. The third group includes 23 firms. Its AMKTRET equals 16. 3, with SD of 10. 1, which is much lower than the first and the second group. The CV is 0. 67, about a fourth of the first group. The Sharpe Index at 0. 89 is about six times higher than that of moderately diversified firms. Table 5 shows that the average market return for the highly diversified group is higher than the moderately diversified group, followed by the single product group.The variability of market returns of the highly diversified group is lower than firms in the single product group. Moderately diversified firms on average have a higher market return, but higher risk than single product firms. The Sharpe Index, the i nverse of which gives us risk per unit return, and is a better risk-return measure, shows that the performance of highly diversified firms is much better than the moderately diversified ones, and performance of moderately diversified firms is better than single product firms. TABLE 5 Performance As: Market Return (AMKTRET)-1984-1990N AMKTRET SD CV SI Undiversified 1195 8. 2 21. 1 2. 57 0. 0421 Moderately Diversified 280 13. 2 40. 8 3. 08 0. 1443 Highly Diversified 23 16. 3 10. 1 0. 67 0. 8900 N= Sample Size, AMKRET= Average Market Return, SD= Standard Deviation, CV= Coefficient of Variation, SI= Sharp’s Index Analysis of ResultsStatistical analysis of the results in Tables 3, 4 and 5 are reported in Table 6. These results look strong. They `show that performance of firms as measured by all the variables in the undiversified group is markedly below that of the firms in the highly diversified group and that these results are statistically significant. The results also show that the performance of firms in the moderately diversified group is better than that of the firms in the undiversified group. These results are also statistically significant.The performance difference between the moderate and highly diversified group however, is not always that clear. When measured on AROA, Sharpe Index and CV, the results are in the expected direction and significant, but when performance is measured by AROE and its SD, and AMKTRET and its SD, the results are not as clear. TABLE 6 Statistical Analysis of Performance Variables STATISTIC AROA AROE AMKTRET n 729. 33 727. 33 499. 3 F max (3,n) 20. 17* 1747. 78* 16. 32* F12 58. 37* 0. 67*+ 0. 27+ F23 3. 43* 1747. 78* 16. 32* F13 200. 17* 1088. 33* 4. 45* t’12 6. 29* 1. 41**** 1. 9** t’23 2. 91* 1. 86*** 0. 96*+ t’13 7. 38* 2. 08*** 3. 07* *Significant at 0. 01 or less; **Significant at 0. 025; ***Significant at 0. 05; ****Significant at 0. 1; *+Significant at 0. 25; +Not significant. The results sugge st that we can reject the null and accept the alternate hypothesis: that higher the degree of diversification, greater is the average performance, measured in risk-return terms.The following paragraphs analyze the results for each performance variable in greater detail. Analysis of Results by Performance Class We further massage our data by subdividing each diversification category: undiversified, moderately diversified, and highly diversified, into three performance classes by adding and subtracting one standard deviation from the average ROE. Thus, each category is divided into three performance subclasses: Average ROE + 1 Std. Dev. ; Average ROE; and Average ROE – 1 Std. Dev†¦ This gives rise to a total of nine performance classes, three for each level of diversification.If the hypothesis that the higher the degree of diversification, the higher the performance is robust, then we should expect it to hold when we compare performance across the performance sub-classes. That is; the high, average and below average ROE performance of highly diversified firms should be higher than the respective performance of the three moderately diversified groups, and each of the three moderate performance groups should have higher average ROE as compared to each of the three undiversified groups.If this relation holds then we can say with greater degree of confidence that diversification of firms leads to higher performance for all classes of firms. We, therefore, hypothesize that the best, the average and the medium performing groups demonstrate a consistent pattern of performance across the three diversification groups on both risk and return dimensions. Table 7 shows classification of firms based on degree of diversification and by performance class. These results are both in expected and unexpected directions.The performance for the low and average performing firms, both in terms of risk and return diversification is in expected directions. But the results fo r the high performance group is found to be in the expected direction only for risk, while for the return measure the performance is in the opposite direction. In the worst performance sub-class, the AROE of undiversified firms is -59. 53, and the SD is 103. 16. As we go toward increasing level of diversification, AROE performance increases to -5. 78 and SD drops down to 5. 58 for the moderate group. For the highly diversified group, AROE becomes +2 and SD falls to 0. 2. In the average performance sub-class, the AROE for the undiversified group is 2. 46, and SD is 6. 87. For the moderately diversified group, ROE increases to 4. 21 and SD falls to 2. 91. For the highly diversified group, AROE increases to 5. 27 and SD falls 1. 60. The results for these two performance sub-classes are consistent with the results obtained for the entire group as shown in Table 3. The results for the best performance sub-class show interesting results. The AROE for the undiversified group is 35. 28 and the SD is 36. 44. AROE for the moderately diversified group decreases to 12. 9. SD also decreases to 3. 3. For the highly diversified group, AROE drops to 9. 52, nearly a fourth of the undiversified group, and the SD decreases to 0. 87, one thirty sixth of the undiversified group. Clearly the results for the best performance class are contrary to earlier findings as far as ROE is concerned, but they are in expected direction as far as standard deviation is concerned. We are, however, able to reject the null hypothesis if we look at CV (Risk per unit return). The value of CV decreases as we move from undiversified to highly diversified group.These results suggest that dominant firms operating with core competencies and operating in less competitive environments are better off concentrating on one business segment. Our results show that such firms have superior returns but are unable to diversify away market risks. These firms may waste investor resources by diversifying into other bu sinesses. On the other hand, firms operating in markets where they face considerable competition and have fewer core competencies, or are unable to dominate their markets, they are likely to be better off diversifying, as it would reduce risk for such firms and increase average returns.SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS The study began with questions regarding discrepancies in empirical and theoretical investigations into the relationship between firm diversification and performance. Our results suggest that the average performance of diversified firms (especially highly diversified ones) perform well on a risk-return basis on accounting measures as well as market-based measures, when compared with group of firms that are not as highly diversified. Managers tend to judge performance using accounting measures such as ROE and ROA where as financial markets use market-based measures such as MKTRET.Our results show that on both types of performance measures, the group of diversified firms on avera ge tends to perform better. The data show that with an increasing degree of diversification, the average return on assets, average return on equity and average market return, increase and the average risk per average unit return decreases. The results are clearer when comparisons are made between the highly diversified and the undiversified group, and the moderate and undiversified groups. The results are not as sharp when we compare results between the moderately diversified and the highly diversified group.The implication of the finding is that in general diversification is helpful but it does not tell us how much of it is helpful. Additional research on economies of scope for these groups of firms may throw some light on this issue. The marginal ambiguity between the moderate and the highly diversified groups may also be the result of eliminating the contingent variables like type, modality and extent of diversification. Controlling these variables may provide greater insight and clarify the differences between the moderate and the highly diversified groups of firms and lend support to theory building.The most surprising finding of our study was about the class of â€Å"best performing† firms. The study found that AROE of undiversified firms was four times better than the highly diversified firms, but such firms had 36 times the volatility of the highly diversified firms. This result implies that the best performing firms, if they diversify, will reduce their earnings, but dampen the volatility of their returns. Managers of such firms therefore will be tempted to dampen the volatility of returns by diversification.Such actions, according to this study will lead to a reduction in returns, but the reduction in volatility of returns will be much greater. This is clearly beneficial to managers and employees of the firm, but a benefit of such insurance for the shareholders is not as clear. The implications for investors are that, if they risk such high pe rformance, they ought to stay in for the long haul, and have high tolerance for volatility. But even for this class of firms based on coefficient of variation, we feel that the average performance of highly diversified firms tends to be better than that of the undiversified firms.One must judge Jack Welch, the CEO of General Electric (GE) in this context. GE's top management group insists that each of their divisions must be either number one or number two in their specific product markets. Thus GE, a high performing conglomerate is trying to emulate characteristics of a dominant undiversified firm at the product market level in order to earn very high returns and concomitantly it practices the art of being an aggressive and active conglomerate at the corporate level to reduce the risk engendered by dominant firms.But not all high performing firms are as careful, well managed or lucky. The study echoes the belief of senior corporate executives who think diversification enhances firm value because it contributes to improvement of the firm's risk-return profile. The results also speak to the concerns of investors. Diversification, especially for the truly high performing firms reduces risk but at the cost of returns. There is undoubtedly a trade-off here between risk and return when managers of such single firms diversify from their core business.Thus diversification does buy insurance for the managers which may help managers and employees more than investors. But in the case of the average and the low performing single firms (most likely the non dominant firms), gain from diversification in return and risk terms, seem significant. The moderate and highly diversified groups also benefit from diversification on risk and return dimensions but their performance is not stellar by any stretch of the imagination. One can argue that diversification tends to reduce the already severe competitive threat faced by the majority of firms in these groups.The implications for investors follow suit. They are better off picking stocks of well-diversified firms as these deliver better returns over time as compared to moderately diversified or undiversified firms. The finding that on average, highly diversified firms, including conglomerates, show better performance than single product firms or moderately diversified firms, supports the belief of corporate executives but is contrary to the viewpoint of research in finance. A classification scheme by definition remains arbitrary, no matter how well we justify the scheme.The only safeguard against such arbitrariness is to demonstrate that the results of the study are invariant to changes in arbitrarily set classification boundaries. We were somewhat successful in showing that changing classification boundaries did not change the thrust of our results. Both methods showed that AROE of highly diversified group of firms was greater than that of the undiversified group. But this still is a fruitful direction for f uture research. We were able to examine ROE alone because of data limitations.The 1981-1990 data set was not consistent for all the variables and segments of businesses. Other variables need to be tested. Researchers may also want to know if, at what point, the results are no longer invariant to SR classification values. Our study has several other limitations. The research period (1984-1990) of this study does not match the time periods reported in earlier studies. If diversification matters as a strategy, then it ought to do so no matter what the time period. This study has examined pooled time series data and finds the results consistent with expectations.Subject to the availability of data, replication over different time periods will adequately address this issue. Economic arguments require that we measure performance in terms of cash flows. We do need to look at the net present value of cash flows to make strong statements about the usefulness of a diversification strategy in the capital budgeting sense. Market return may be a reasonable substitute but the examination of the net present value of cash flow may be necessary from the point of view of the stock market. This is left to future research.Although SR is an acceptable measure of diversification, the entropy measure (Hoskisson, et. al. , 1993) has become an important and probably a better measure of diversification. This study was extensive enough. Perhaps multiple measures of diversification in a future study will alleviate methodological concerns about the appropriateness of diversification measures. The research design of this study differs somewhat from similar earlier studies, and as stated at the outset, it does not address the question whether investor portfolios outperform diversified firms.Therefore, while addressing several possible objections, we urge caution in accepting these results, and suggest future research to verify the findings reported here. Finally, this study examines the ass ociation between corporate diversification and performance per se. It does not address the differences in performance caused by types of diversification, like related, or unrelated; nor does it use modifying variables like firm size and other firm-level factors, or modalities of diversification such as internal product development or mergers and acquisitions.The results of this study are interesting enough to warrant the inclusion of variables that control for industry structure and contingency variables such as interest rates or the state of the economy; or underlying managerial motivation like risk reduction, agency problem, or moral hazard. Such controls will provide greater insight into the diversification strategy, as a practice and as a phenomenon.